Weirdpercyanality

she/they/he, your fave bread. @//weirdpercynality on insta, your friendly neighbourhood bookworm

[weirdpercyanality]

Intro Post!

Hi loafs!

I’m Cyan,

This is my tumblr blog for my insta fanpage @//weirdpercynality.

I’ll post textposts, quotes and random book updates, and maybe some of my own writings too~

I hope you enjoy my trash posting!

DMS or whatever here are open!

[ganseyboii]

THE ONLY PERSON I TRUST WITH ALL THAT I AM AND ALL THAT I COULD BE, HEIRESS, IS YOU

[folklorebau]

[weirdpercyanality]

COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU IS SUCH A GOOD BOOK YALL GO READ IT RN

AUTHOR ILY

[betelgeuseluvr]

can we all agree that dadu was the best character in counting down with you?

[tragedyfetishist]

Besties❤️.

[lostmoonchildsblog]

Wtf is the talking stage..... Either worship me or leave the earth

[weirdpercyanality]

Percy: "Did it hurt when you fell-"

Annabeth: *blushing* " When I fell from heave-"

Percy: "When you fell from the vending machine"

Percy: "Cuz u a snacc"

[pthalomars]

[avendell]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

[avendell]

Darling, I was the Night Itself

[rosiethorns88]

Double Addie Post! A new Sketch-a-Wish featuring a dizzying dance scene of Addie and Luc from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab! Voted on for February by my lovely Patreons! (Side note: I really must visit the Cicada Club on my next visit to LA. Totally my scene!)

[weirdpercyanality]

PJO CASTING!!!

WE FINALLY GOT OUR MAIN TRIO AND THEYRE ALL SO ADORABLE

bUt

I keep seeing some *cough* posts from mutuals/people who at first were like "we just want good actors! nothing else!" think they forgot to add good actors who are white.

[weirdpercyanality]

i know i shud be productive but the fact that i can get shit done if i want to in like 5 mins is not helping wtf me

[captain-jackson]

and dont you forget it

[greeksophiepjo]

“yeah he’s cute but let’s dye the hair” bae it hasn’t been 24 hours yet chill out. One step at a time now. Anyways WE HAVE OUR PERCY JACKSON-

[zazzander]

Why I believe Octavian could be on the autism spectrum

Looking for more? Here's my master list of Octavian analysis.

I don’t think Octavian was given these traits with autism in mind, but that doesn’t change how I see them.

One thing I do know is that Octavian is a sore point for a lot of people who struggle with mental and physical illness - much as he is for me. The way Riordan treats him in the text is extremely hurtful.

So, onto my arguments.

Social Cues and Facial Expressions

All in all, I believe Octavian is terrible at both “reading the room” and picking up social cues. His relationship with Reyna is all over the place and more often than not, it's Octavian who's trying to bridge them gap between them.

He doesn't seem to realise that she hates him now.

He also consistently fails to use the correct facial expression. He is often decribed as having a “cruel” look or having “madness” in his eyes. His smiles never come off as genuine.

He feels off to people, even when he is being completely honest. And the characters make a lot of assumptions about his intentions based on this.

A very notable example:

Frank scanned the crowd for Octavian. The centurion was watching with more interest than concern, as if he were examining one of his stupid gutted teddy bears.

As we can see, in a high-stress situation, Octavian fails to show the 'correct' expression. And for that, Frank accuses him of murder!

Special Interest

This is probably the most obviously autistic trait of Octavian. He is described as being “obsessed” with the Sibylline books and consistantly displays an active interest in them. Of the limited characterisation we get of Octavian, that is most consistent - and one of the only one’s we see directly, rather than something we hear by rumour.

It frustrates me to this day how people treat Octavian regarding the Sibylline books. Hazel mocks him for it. Percy assumes Octavian will literally hurt Ella because she has memorised them. The kid just wants to tell about this really cool thing, guys, stop hating on him.

Masking

There is argument that Octavian’s ability to speak is inconsistent, but I disagree. Octavian thrives in situations where he can effectively use a “script”. These can be as small as one liners “Possibly my namesake, Octavian - Augustus Caesar. Everyone says I bear a remarkable resemblance”.

Yet, outside of the Senate and other places were he could have predicated and practiced his words, he falls short. He gets lost in the conversation. He gets mocks and he has no recourse.

I also think this is why he upholds the “Roman” way so strictly. They have defined rules that he can follow, allowing him to mask as best he can.

Another, specific example, is when he tries to tell a joke. When we first meet him he says, “The message said: the greek has arrived. Or possibly: the goose has cried. I’m thinking the first interpretation is correct.” Like, if that’s not an attempt at self-depicating humour I don’t know what it. And neither Percy nor Hazel pick it up at all.

Basically with Octavian the words are there, but the delivery isn’t. Which is where he gets tangled.

Caring about fairness

Octavian hates that Percy becomes praetor in less than a week. This is presented as him hating Percy because he’s a Greek - but it could be argued that Octavian sees it as fundamentally unfair. Praetors, traditionally, earn their rank after years of self-sacrifice, training, and leadership. Percy has done none of that.

The same can be said about Frank’s promotion to centurion. Especially because Frank’s promotion is explicitly (divine) nepotism.

Coping Mechanisms

Octavian spends his time at the Temple of Jupiter, seemingly, so he can be away from people.

Red flashes of lightning washed the monuments in blood-coloured light. "Octavian is busy," Hazel said.

Basically - Octavian sets up a big signal for the world to let everyone know "I'm busy, don't bother me".

And the fact that everyone knows he’s going to be at the Temple and not his Cohort's barracks means he probably spends a lot of time there. Despite the fact he can perform auguries anywhere. It doesn’t need to be at the Temple of Jupiter.

These are the few hours each day he isn’t surrounded by other people - it’s his only time where he can unmask.

The Teddy Bears

I admit, it doesn’t seem like he cares for the toys on the outset. But…why not have your evil character kill actual animals? Why sanitise that when a few chapters later Frank tells Percy he could die in the training. They don’t even use training gear, they fight with Imperial gold! A girl dies in front of them!

Riordan made this choice, it seems, to add a comical element to Octavian's character. It makes him easy to mock. Why? Because teddy bears aren’t age appropriate. And several characters dismiss him or make jabs at him regarding this.

Of course, that's a meta answer to "why" Octavian has them. Why he doesn't use real animals.

But what about an in-universe reason.

One thing a lot of people have called out about the title "augur" is that it's a position that means someone who divines the future via the movement of birds. Octavian, instead, acts as a haruspex. This disconnect between titles isn't easily explained (in-universe) expect that perhaps Octavian has admitted the role of augur to suit himself and his experiences.

Perhaps it is a good reason to carrying around his comfort animals. Yes, he gets mocked for having them still, but it's justified in a way that it wouldn't be if they weren't "tools of the trade".

And we see Octavian using the bears for comfort in the story. Here are a few examples where I think Octavian is using his teddy bear to (try to) regulate this emotions.

Octavian shot to his feet. "You need to ask?" His face was red with rage. He was strangling his teddy bear.

and here:

Octavian gripped one of his teddy bears, strangling it with shaking hands. His eyes fixed on Ella. "What was that she said? It sounded like-”

[...]

“I, uh…” Octavian dropped his teddy bear. “No, but-”

We can see that Octavian often clings to his stuffed animals, especially when he's feeling emotional.

Octavian’s Empathy

Octavian cares deeply about New Rome and it’s people. That much is clear from his anger at seeing it attacked. I guarantee people were injured in that attack, too many bolts were fired.

Beyond that, he also refuses to let any Roman die on his watch.

(As I discuss in a different post)

But that's the expected stuff. Octavian is loyal to his friends and family. Not a surprise (I hope).

But his empathy doesn't end there. He is also one of the only demigods to consistently see monsters as people. He gives them positions of rank and respect, once he has the ability, and is horrified when Nico slays some in front of him.

(I also discuss this in more depth in another post)

Emotional Regulation

On thing about masking all the time is that your emotions get buried. Octavian has moments where he loses control - and that comes out in big emotions. Either he comes off as heartless or he's "losing" it. Much of the end sequence in Blood of Olympus involves Octavian have a huge mental breakdown. And it's what makes his death even more tragic.

One final note

We get told a lot about Octavian by Hazel and Frank, even Reyna, but a lot of what we are told misaligns with what we see. It’s the classic show-versus-tell.

We are told he pays his friends, but who? We don’t know.

We get told people hate/fear him, but who? We don’t know.

We get told that he has bought his votes, but did he? The fact of the matter is Octavian has no true rival until Percy. He simply didn't need to.

The people we hear this stuff from either have a vested interest in pushing Octavian down or they dislike him and are willingly to believe the worse about him.

So, basically, I think Octavian fits in the category of autism. Even his position within Camp Jupiter is a metaphor for an autistic experience. He is both one of the legion and completely seperated from that. He is the only augur at the camp. He's different, isolated, and ignored.

As a young reader

When I was younger, a part of me looked up to Octavian.

Despite all his weaknesses, Octavian had found success in his life. He has been recognised by his society (as shown by his medals and rank) - and that gave young me a lot of hope. I looked up to him (as weird as that sounds).

I refused to accept his death for a long time due to these feelings. Which is one of the reasons why I still think about this character all these years later.

Now, as an adult, I feel even more sympathy for him, because I’ve been through depression, anxiety, burnout, and betrayal. I just wish Octavian was given a better ending than he did.