Application: Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Spartacus : Blood and Sand)

[masteroftitans]

((WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS for Spartacus: Blood and Sand, season 1.))

A middle-aged man of unimpressive stature, dressed in the garments of a successful Roman and drenched in blood, appeared on the floor of the Sorting Room. After a moment, he stood up, looking around. There was supposed to be a river. And a ferryman. And a three-headed dog. But

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[masteroftitans]

Titus Pullo was like a breath of fresh air compared to what he'd been dealing with so far, which seemed to be mostly comprised of maddening conversation with foreigners that made little sense, and talking dogs. Here was someone who seemed quite sane and sensible, and most importantly, Roman. And with what sounded like a well-adjusted mind.

Batiatus returned Titus' grin. "What kind of businessman would I be if I didn't watch for an opportunity? Sounds like a fair deal." He'd far rather Titus get the aureus than some rumored talking hat, and he did really want one of those shirts- at least he'd have something to show for his odd trip, and, if Lucretia did arrive, he'd have the promise of amazing materials to improve her mood.

"I was expecting the fucking pit of Hades, but, I don't think I've gone mad. Perhaps half the people here have, but, I'm pretty damn sure I'm sane as yourself." Titus appeared eminently sane, being a Roman with his interests in the proper place. "Perhaps once I'm out of this room, we can share some drinks, and find ourselves a few of these native women- there have been entirely too many cocks in this room." Not that Batiatus wasn't used to a majority of cocks around, when running a ludus- but, most of his household slaves had been female, and excellent specimens thereof.

[pullo_xiii]

Pullo waved over one of the house-elves. "You, go up to my room and get a couple of these." He grinned at Batiatus. "The sooner the better, am I right?" The house-elf bobbed its head and scurried off.

"Sounds good to me. This place? Plenty of drinks, plenty of women. Makes up for the general oddness of it all."

[masteroftitans]

"If only this rumored hat was so timely, my friend. For, I'll need drinks and women after this ordeal. People have been helpful, and polite enough, but, they should know better than to tell people they're in the fucking future without the promise of drinks and women to assuage a troubled spirit. So which part of the Empire do you hail from? And 'when', I suppose." It was weird as hell to ask someone when they were from, but, it seemed to him that Pullo was likely to be a close contemporary to himself. "I am Quintus Lentulus Batiatus, lanista by profession. My ludus is near Capua."

[pullo_xiii]

((So, I just realized something amusing while double-checking dates. Apparently Batiatus was played by Ian McNeice in the 2004 USA miniseries. And now, I am loling. Making some assumptions on historical dates, if this is objectionable let me know and I'll change it.))

The name was vaguely familiar--something that reminded him of the late Senator Pompey, in a roundabout way. But Pullo was no historian, and had never bothered cracking a history book in curiosity in all the time he'd been at Hogwarts, and so shrugged it off.

"A lanista?" Interesting. "Had a few run-ins with your type before. Been sentenced to die in the arena twice, me. Never made it the first time, killed the cunts who insulted the Thirteenth the second time." With a little help from Vorenus, of course, and if Vorenus were here Pullo would give him credit. "Former legionary Titus Pullo, of the Thirteenth Gemina under Caesar. I'd say current captain of the Aventine collegium, but I'm currently here, so I suppose that should be 'former,' too."

[masteroftitans]

((I -must- see the 2004 miniseries after having learned this, which I also discovered while double-checking dates. XD))

Sentenced to die in the arena twice before? Impressive, considering he wasn't dead, and it sounded as if he'd slipped out if it entirely the first time. Very impressive indeed, especially when combined with the positions. Although, he wasn't entirely sure of whom he was speaking of, Caesar not having ascended to his position of power yet, at least according to the mun's research. Gah, dates!

"Impressive, my friend- I never did have the privilege of serving in the military. I inherited the ludus from my father and carried on the tradition. I believe we may hail from slightly differing periods? You may hail from my future." Batiatus went on to explain who were the highest-ranked consuls of his time, which would hopefully indicate his own time period, which was only a few decades past. And yes, the mun was extremely lazy there! "If so. . . tell me- did you ever hear of a slave called Spartacus?" Batiatus had a pretty bad feeling about what was inevitably going to happen- or what had already happened, and long ago, he supposed- after the revolt of his gladiators. It wasn't quite like a house full of average slaves being unleashed. These slaves had slaughtered a bunch of Roman guards in their revolt already, and, he had a feeling that they weren't likely to stop anytime soon.

[pullo_xiii]

Your research is correct!

Pullo frowned, thinking. That was a familiar name, something of a boogeyman, though not as much as Hannibal had been. And there was a connection to Pompey--the dead Senator had stopped that revolt all those years ago. He had not heard much about the dead gladiators until he joined the military--despite the treatment of slaves becoming somewhat less harsh as a result, it wasn't a name slaveowners liked their property to hear.

"Oh? You're from that ludus in Capua?" Pullo chuckled. "Gerrae. I wasn't even born then. No, that's all over with. We're fighting the Gauls now." He stopped, corrected himself. "Then. Lots of wars going on now, but I'm not involved in any of them. More's the pity, I miss a good fight."

[masteroftitans]

'That ludus' instantly confirmed Batiatus' worst suspicions- the trouble started by his gladiators had indeed spread, and quite possibly to a degree that made being dead the far easier alternative. "So then, death was possibly the better alternative- I doubt Rome would have been forgiving of such a mess." he smirked. He hoped that Spartacus and Crixus- especially Crixus- would suffer every torment of hell before they were finally put down. They deserved it. "There are those here who've said that the Roman Empire no longer exists, that this is some distant future- in which case, we'd have little to fight for. But, there's always entertainment- I suppose if I'm stuck at this fucking school for long enough, I may as well attempt to bring it some games. Without any Spartacus-types." The last thing he'd need was a repeat occurrence- of course, he'd soon learn that he'd indeed be stuck with auctorati , unless he felt like training house-elves.

[pullo_xiii]

"Really." Pullo perked up at the mention of fights. "So for these fights, would there be some kind of cash reward? Or..." What was the word they used now? "Merchandising opportunities?"

[masteroftitans]

Batiatus was pleased to see that Pullo appeared to be interested in the idea of gladiatorial matches- from what he'd already heard of Pullo's past, it seemed like he himself might be an excellent candidate as auctorati. "I don't know about 'merchandising opportunities'," Batiatus replied, "But, there would certainly be a monetary reward, which means I'll need to find a patron." Luckily, Batiatus would find this easier than he anticipated, for the Hat would direct him to one. It was likely he'd learn about merchandising opportunities in the modern world soon enough, and when he did so, it was certain he'd lament never having got the idea to sell cheaply-produced memorabilia.

Vote: Slytherin

[pullo_xiii]

"Can't help you there, friend. My own patron is recently popcorn." Damn shame, really. Octavian wasn't a bad sort.

"Tell you what I'll do. I think you'd find Slytherin a good fit for yourself, and once you're settled in, you can do some searching. Keep me updated, eh? Titus Pullo, in Slytherin."

Re: Vote: Slytherin

[masteroftitans]

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm seeking a new one- perhaps I'll be able to help you out as well." Batiatus gave Pullo a comradely smile, and in fact did intend to assist his fellow Roman with what matters he might be able to. In fact, Titus was already giving him a few thoughts. What Batiatus had already learned of Pullo wasn't much, but, it was enough to indicate that the man was likely to be a very skilled fighter. And, if Batiatus was to find a way to establish some sort of ludus at Hogwarts, he'd need to find a doctore. Pullo seemed a good potential candidate. "My thanks for the recommendation, my friend. Whether or not I've the good fortune of finding a patron, I'll be sure to seek you out for an introduction to the local drinks and the local women."