I love Octavian and I'm a pretty big fan of the family I've created for him, including newbie to the family, his twin brother Julius. If you want more characterization for the twins check out Two-Player Game.

We're reaching the mid-point of the challenge, coming up is S.H.I.E.L.D., Avengers, Gravity Falls, and Over the Garden Wall. Enjoy!


"What are we doing for Halloween?" Julius started this conversation in late September, knowing Octavian would only start to warm up to the idea in early October.

"Aren't we a little too old to dress up?"

"Yeah, but we're identical twins, so we owe it to the world."

"Counterpoint, no one likes us, so no one would be amused by our twin antics," Octavian smirked like that was the final word but it most definitely was not.

Julius grinned at him and sang, "High school is whack, but we've got each other's backs-"

"No."

"It's what we do, we make it a two-player game."

"No." Octavian went back over to the pile of stuffed sacrifices and picked up a blue elephant, patting its head to apologize before cutting cleanly down the middle. He saw and Julius interpreted. He didn't mind that he relied on his brother for the full power of divination. He got enough of a high from seeing alone. Julius took to jotting down his interpretation, ending the theatrics and the conversation, but not for long.

"The possibilities are endless, Ian!"

"I really don't know how many times I've asked you not to call me Ian."

"Aw, come on. Lighten up a bit. It's not like we'd be the only people dressing up."

"We probably would be. Most people still have to train and do their duties. It'll look ridiculous and you know it."

"Counterpoint, people already stare at and whisper about us, so we might as well just do it." For a second, that swayed Octavian. Then he shook his head.

"You don't even know what we'd dress up as." Julius took this as a challenge.

"I'll figure it out."


"Miguel and Tulio." They were in their shared room, getting ready for bed.

"No."

"Thor and Loki."

"No."

"Fred and George."

"Oh for crying out loud, Jules, we're both blond."

"That can be changed."

"But it won't be! Either give me characters whose hair color isn't iconic or stick with blonds."

"Genderbent Elsa and Anna."

"Oh, that's actually a cool idea"

"Really?"

"No."

"Batman and Superman."

"You can write that down as a maybe."

"Mario and Luigi."

"Still blond."

"Yoshi and Toad, then."

"That can be a maybe. Or two different colors of Toad." They were getting somewhere. Octavian was a simple man who liked video games and movies. That being said, Julius still had to try out a few that would only seem appealing to him.

"Genderbent Elphaba and Glinda."

"Not ever in my life."

"Michael and Jeremy?"

"Evan and Connor/Jared?"

"No, and if you say another musical duo I'm just not going to dress up with you."

"Chip and Dale."

"No."

"Donald and Mickey."

"No."

"Flash and Reverse-Flash."

"Blond."

"Scott and Stiles."

"What do you not understand about blond?"

"Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn."

"Uhhhh..."

"It's a book."

"Shut up, moron, I know that. I just never read it."

"I'll take that as a no, then. Larry the cucumber and Bob the tomato?"

"I'd rather be genderbent Elphaba and Anna."

"Elphaba and Glinda," Julius corrected, making Octavian feel even more stupid.

"Stan and Ford Pines?"

"We're still blond, but it's better than saying Dipper and Mabel, so you're learning."

"So, maybe?"

"Yeah, sure, maybe."

"Lumiere and Cogsworth."

"Maybe." They were getting more maybes. This was a good sign.

"Woody and Buzz?"

"Blond," Octavian kind of sung his answer.

"Does that really matter in a cowboy hat?"

"I guess not. Add it to the list."

"Yes!"

"Don't sound so excited. What do we have so far?"

"Batman and Superman, Mario side characters, Stanley and Stanford, Lumiere and Cogsworth, and Woody and Buzz. What're you feeling?" Octavian blinked into the darkness.

"If we figure it out now we can get a headstart on our costumes," Julius pointed out. Octavian was thoughtful.

"If we dress up as Batman and Superman, do you think Reyna will dress up as Wonder Woman?"

"Oh, I so doubt that. But I dare you to try."

"Then I guess that's what we should do."

"Batman or Superman, Ian?"

"Batman," Octavian said, making his voice gravelly and mysterious.

"Good choice." Julius went to bed grinning.


"Reyna said no," Octavian reported, looking a little bummed out. Julius wanted this to be fun for his twin and Octavian really wanted to cultivate a friendship with Praetor Reyna.

"I'll give you a hundred dollars if you can convince her." Octavian nodded and rolled up his sleeves, ready to try again.

"Reyna! I got you a hot chocolate."

"It's Praetor Reyna to you, augur." Reyna was embarrassed that the augur lavished her with hot chocolates and had won over Aurum, who waved his tail when he saw Octavian. Her dog was supposed to be on her side. And her side was supposed to shun the augur twins. She tried not to have any biases, but it was hard not to be a little confused by such stormy and intense blue eyes. She didn't dislike him. But she was supposed to.

"The hot chocolate?" He reminded, offering it still.

"Since you already paid for it. But you need to stop this." It's unacceptable! People would notice. And maybe they would just snicker that the weird augur seemed smitten, but Reyna had a reputation. And she would rather not admit that she was kind of sort of friends with Octavian. He offered her a smile, a kind smile that rarely ever flitted over his face.

"The offer still stands, Reyna. About Halloween."

"I said no."

"Just think about it, okay?" Reyna glanced down. What could the campers really do, if she chose to spend just a little bit of time with the Alexander twins? She was Praetor. They couldn't mock her without being reprimanded. Besides, when was the last time she'd gotten to dress up for Halloween?

"I'll think about it."

Ian spent his hundred on PC games and coffees and yes, they got a lot of weird looks from other people. But those looks were lessened, since Reyna made a really good Wonder Woman, and their little Justice League was really glad that they dressed up together.


Oh, this was fun. Review if you liked it. Or don't. You do you.