#Octwovio

[octowussabi]

@asksquidbeakagents

“Why did you build a spaceship?”

It’s a sunny spring day in the Splatlands, but Sabi and Tay are in the shade. A conveniently large boulder casts a shadow over the sand, where the Octarian Emperor has parked the modified Octobot King to be worked on.

“Seemed like a good idea,” Tay replies, his focus entirely on tightening something inside the mechanism.

“Because Ribbon had a dream about it?” Sabi scratches his ear. He passes his brother a screwdriver when his hand is held out for it. “Can this even safely leave the atmosphere?”

“It was a cool dream—and if it looks like a spaceship, it might as well be a spaceship. It’s all about the aesthetic. I have no doubt that I could make a fully functional spacecraft, it would just, er, take much more time. I have a lot of responsibilities, you know.”

“Which is why we’re out here fixing this, and not back underground??”

Tay stops, though not because of anything his brother has said. “Did you hear that?”

Sabi’s ears prick up slightly, though whatever his brother heard is no longer audible. Still, he asks, “Is—is someone there…?”

Outer Splatsville wasn’t exactly the safest place to run into strangers, so it helped to be alert—but their suspicion was more of an old habit than anything.

[splattales]

“We vacuumed it all up! Every last drop,” Ribbon cheers, skipping out of Tay’s unusually modified mech and onto the Alternian ‘snow’. “I bet lil’ buddy could’ve eaten it all if we had enough power eggs, though.”

“I bet he could.” Tay laughs, walking out after her and toward the group of cephalopods waiting below. “It’d be a much more time-consuming process though, wouldn’t you say?”

Molly folds her arms as they approach, though there isn’t anything for her to find fault with. Ribbon was correct – the fuzzy ooze in Grizz’s rocket had been decommissioned, and every other remnant was now contained within Octavio Jr’s ship tank. Alterna was spotless. Well, still crunchy with a large amount of crystal dust, but otherwise spotless. “Guess that means we really can wrap up here, gang. Biohazard’s gone.”

“It’s about time we had a break.” Marie yawns.

“Huh? I thought you were on break this whole time!” Callie quips. “Gramps sure seemed to think so—he left before Tavio even started.”

“No way, I’m suuuuper busy being a manager here. Gramps isn’t technically part of the Splatoon anymore, so he can go home whenever he wants.” Marie shrugs. “He probably just left for his afternoon nap.”

“I don’t think Cuttlefish likes me at the best of times,” Tay scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I can’t say I blame him. But after today, don’t say I never do anything for you surface-dwellers.”

“I can’t blame him either,” Marie mutters. Callie elbows her, smiling.

Marina steps out from the group, speaking up. “Um—Mister Octavio, sir … what exactly are you going to do with the ooze…?”

The emperor gives a light shrug. “My science guy said he wants to study it, see if it can be used to reverse the physical effects of sanitization – and vice versa, for fuzzification. Seems like a long shot if you ask me, but the more he learns, the faster we’ll figure out how to break it down if it all needs to go.”

“Ah—I see. Thank you.” She clears her throat. “That was, um, everything.”

“Good work, team.” Molly gives a brief thumbs up, before turning to start gathering her things. “Boy am I ready to be back in Inkopolis…”

“You’re welcome~ I’ve got a broken ceiling to get through.” Tay turns, heading back toward his spaceship. His tail swishes behind him as he walks. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other again. It seems to keep happening, regardless of how desperately I try to avoid you.”

The Squid Sisters take this as their cue to leave as well. Ribbon has spent this time listening in silence, confused as everyone gives their goodbyes. “Wait, wait, that’s it? Everyone’s just gonna go home? I’ll see you all here tomorrow, right?”

“Well, you’ll see me tomorrow,” Marina tries to reassure her, “My job’s never done. But the Splatoon’s taken care of everything with their mission here.”

“But—but I live here. And I’m part of the Splatoon.”

“And you still are.” Molly pats Ribbon on the head. “You can hold the fort here and contact us if anything out of the ordinary happens. Same for us—we won’t leave you out of the loop.”

“Oh. Well. Thanks,” Ribbon mumbles, still chewing on this thought. “I’m gonna come back tomorrow and help Marina with the human stuff, then.”

“I’ll be here—or at the trailer!” Marina confirms, waving as Ribbon plods off, still thinking.

As soon as the young eel hybrid disappears through the grate, Molly confronts the octoling. “What d’you mean you’re not coming back to Inkopolis?”

Marina blinks rapidly, confused by this line of questioning. “I live here—my old place in Inkopolis was just student accommodation, and now I have a job. Not to mention a human roommate to look after. All eight of my tentacles are full.”

“Right. But… What about Finn? Isn’t he going to miss you?”

“Well, sure he will. But he’s been missing you, Marie, and Callie this whole time too.”

“But—you’re our—you’re my friend.”

Marina stretches a smile. “And here I thought you were tolerating me this whole time. … Well, I’m not going to stop you from visiting. And you all have shellphones.”

“Right. Well, I’m gonna visit.” Frowning, Molly adjusts her hat so that it’s tight on her head and slings her bag of belongings over her shoulder. On her way out, she calls back, “and you’d better visit us, too!”

“Aye, captain.”

[octowussabi]

@sunshinelulusplatoon

Octavio yawns and stretches, landing on his chaise lounge with a thunf. It seemed like forever since he’d had a moment to himself, what with all the meetings and projects and ceremonies and paperwork. Tay hadn’t really understood the gravity of being emperor some five years ago, but now that he’d taken responsibility, it seemed ever-present.

He’d finished for today, though. There had to be some balance between work and life—he couldn’t lie around all day like he used to, but he couldn’t do a 160-hour workweek either. It would be better to have a daily cut-off so he could relax without thinking about the future of the Octarian empire (inevitable), starting today.

Despite this, he decides to switch on his shellphone. It had been blowing up with messages recently, so he’d just turned it off to forget. If anyone REALLY wanted to speak with him, they should just ask in person. Scrolling through, he ignores all the ones that are definitely work related, before stopping and gazing in horror. Several missed texts from Lulu!

How long had it been since their last meet-up? He’d had all eight tentacles tied up with everything. At least she was probably busy too, what with her new ruling responsibilities, her husband—AND HER PREGNANCY?!—instead of reading through what he’s missed, he dials her number.

“Hello?! I JUST got your messages, is everything alright with you? Got time to come over?? This is a formal invitation—”

[octowussabi]

@sunshinelulusplatoon​ moved from [here] !

Collin chucked at Tay’s reaction.

“Yeah, they know. They got back the day after we told everybody. Athena was insisting to be home for the birth and hatching. Vio is trying to hid his excitement but he’s a happy Octo; his first great grand child. He’s picked up the morning work to let Lulu rest cause she’s dealing with a lot of morning sickness,” Collin explained.

“That being said, I’m over the moon. Being told your infertile for like forever, it was a shock to all of us. Our squishy. My kid,” Collin continues with a happy chuckle, “Though right now Lulu wants to keep things on the low. Only family and friends knowing.”

“Glad to hear it—I figured Vio would be a big softy about it if it’s Lulu.” Tay smiles at the thought. “Nice of him to come home to take care of things.”

“Oh, really?” He rubs his chin. “Congratulations, then! A little miracle.” Was it a miracle if they hadn’t planned it? Collin seemed happy enough, so there was no point in putting a damper on things. “I could understand that—my lips are sealed. Is it alright for me to come in, or should I return at a later date? I wouldn’t want to disturb Lulu’s rest, but I don’t mind just talking to you.”

[octowussabi]

What’s been happening?

The About and Muse pages have finally been updated! The last thing to do is cover the recent story developments. 

After Tay went through his identity crisis, there was still a lot to take care of.

  Octarian Politics:

Some members of the Royal Octarian Council (R.O.C.) had been deliberately excluding Tay from their meetings. Some were following his father’s last orders, some were in the dark, and others were attempting to usurp the system.

In what I’m sure would’ve been a really cool and interesting arc, Tay and Sabi rooted out an old friend of their father—Rock Finbar—a member of the council that was responsible for putting Tay on the throne. He had been using his authority as the late Octavio’s ‘trusted friend’ to take over. Finbar threatened to out Tay as a fake as a final act of sabotage, but Tay did it first, revealing his identity as a clone to the underground.

This … went surprisingly well! Many of the underground’s inhabitants were born from tentacuts already, so finding out that their Emperor had been succeeded by one was A-OK. For the most part.

Because Finbar was under fire as the one keeping this from the public, it was easy to remove him from the R.O.C. board. There was a re-election for council members, but the newest additions and a few others were voted to stay.

Splatoon 3:

 While octarians had been going steadily missing for years due to Tartar’s interference, a large section of the octarian military disappeared all at once during an investigation. They’d been looking into some fuzzy growths taking over a kettle in a broken-down district.

Back on his feet and officially in charge, Tay built a cool new Vacuum Octobot in his plan to find and rescue the missing soldiers. Unfortunately, this mission went poorly when a misunderstanding led him to being beaten up by a 12-year-old.

That said, Octavio came in clutch during the final showdown with Grizz, aiding Molly and Deep Cut to stop the rocket before it took off. After the incident, Ribbon told him a cool dream she had about him building a Vacuum Spaceship. He’s considered making it.

Even though he found the troops scattered around Alterna, they’re fuzzy amnesiacs now—he’s not sure what to do about it yet.

Sabi is also here!!! Moral support!! After Deep Cut chilled out, he got to discuss music with them.

  Misc.:

 Tay is looking to appoint a new Shogun, because having both titles doesn’t seem right when he doesn’t ‘remember’ any of his father’s wartime feats.

The fact that the Great Octoweapons are filled with failed clones hasn’t come to Tay or Sabi’s attention yet. The weapon pilots have caretakers, who would possibly have made this known … if Tay hadn’t left the palace and rushed headfirst into the Splatlands.

Reed was adopted by one of Tay’s housekeepers, but still has him visit sometimes. In Tay’s then depressed and inexperienced state, he didn’t think he would be a good parent for the tiny octotrooper.

[octowussabi]

Blog is live? Good!

The test is in five minutes

"There's a test? But I haven't had the chance to study!" Sabi wails.

"Come on now," Tay huffs, "it's not that hard to remember the past year and a half. Ask away."

[octowussabi]

@manysquidsandoctos​ moved from here! 

"It's all good! Me and Aqua have been talking all friendly again, and now I'm in charge of Cuttlefish Cabin~ I'm like, a big responsible adult now!"

"I'm glad you're all good, Sabi. I know it can be hard to talk to others sometimes - Tay?!?! OMC!!! Mr. Tay, it's me, Emmy! I wanna say hi!!! I wanna catch up it's been such a long time!!! Come back!!!"

“I’m so relieved to hear that.” Sabi relaxes his shoulders—he hadn’t even realised he’d been tensing them. “I’m getting better at going out, but um yes, it can be very exhausting.” Turning to look at Tay, he’s surprised how much distance he’s made already. But the emperor isn’t looking where he’s going.

“I know who it is!! You’ll never catch me alive!!” Tay yells behind him, right before tumbling over a cooling box.

“Watch out…” Sabi warns him far too late.

[octowussabi]

"Tay! Sabi!" Lulu calls out as she rushes over, Lutarna walking behind her. "You guys doing okay? Lulu asks.

"LULU!!" Tay responds with just as much enthusiasm, opening his arms wide and, unusually, being first to go for a hug. "We're fine, except that I haven't seen you in forever! I'll have to send you to the dungeon for that!"

"Oh--hello, Miss Lulu. And another Lulu?" Sabi greets, somewhat confused.

"I suppose I never introduced you to Lutarna," Tay explains for him, although second guesses himself. "I ... think. Something about you is different."

[octowussabi]

"Sabiiiiii! Where have you been it's been ages!!!!" Emmy whined. "Also, where's Mr. Tay? I want to say hello!!"

"Em! I'm so glad to see you! I've been worried." Sabi puts his left hand down, only to clasp it with his right. "You're okay? Been safe? Made any new friends? ... I'm sorry, I've been at home. You're welcome any time. But I've also been helping Tay out, and he's—oh, he's right over..."

"...Tay? Where are you going?!"

[octowussabi]

Splatoon 2 Muse Pages

Once again, before I completely gut the profiles to make way for Splat 3 content, here’s an archive for the old stuff:

Wussabi “Sabi / Spice Meister" Tak'ko

xx [Link to full Reference Picture] xx

33 years old / 6'8" / Nervously disposed

General:

Going by the names Sabi and Wuss, this timid recluse has risen the Inkopolis charts under the pseudonym Spice Meister. Nobody who listens to the Meister’s music knows what he really looks like, but this attributes to its success.

In truth, Sabi is a ‘failed’ outcome of an attempt to clone a perfect successor to Emperor Octavio. It was a strict and complicated procedure, designed to make the subjects think they really were the original, and involved disposing of any clones that didn’t meet standard (so nearly all of them). Ten years ago, Sabi was rescued from his termination by Pansy. He feels indebted to her family for helping him integrate into life on the surface.

That said, while he lives above the underground, his home isn’t quite ‘on the surface’, and is more of a roomy bunker. Wuss spends most of his time here making music, but has to leave occasionally for supplies (and if he’s feeling brave, turf war).

Recently he’s been making trips underground to speak with the new emperor, as his royal roots are catching up to him. Even if it’s not his job, Sabi can’t help feeling responsible for the wellbeing of the Octarian people, so he’s trying to help clean up the mess his father left behind.

While he mostly focuses on the creation of music itself, Wussabi has an excellent singing voice. … And stage fright.

Appearance:

Sabi (naturally) bears a striking resemblance to Octavio, which is the main reason he avoids showing his face in public. Nobody’s supposed to know his ‘true’ identity – though his social awkwardness doesn’t help much either.

Sabi has a stoop, making him seem shorter than he actually is, though he’s still notably tall.

Because of the tell-tale scar that was cut onto his left arm, Wuss uses bandages to cover both. He seems to think having two makes it less conspicuous, though since he’s self-conscious anyway, he often wears long sleeves (and long trousers). When out in public, he covers his face with a bandanna to avoid potential ‘recognition’.

His wardrobe prioritizes comfort and modesty over style, though he owns some tidy collared shirts for more formal and/or brave occasions.

Relationships:

Wussabi doesn’t get out often and has difficulty socialising, but he doesn’t mind solitude all that much.

Pansy is Sabi’s best friend – it tends to happen, with people who saved your life – and many of his other friends are extensions of her own. He knows her ex-coworker Charles, her niece Ribbon, Brine, and a few others. Ever-so-slowly he’s beginning to branch out and forge his own friendships, but with some difficulty.

Meeting the emperor wasn’t quite as big of a shock to Sabi as it was for Tay, but his immediate reaction was concern. He’d already gone through the seven stages of grief accepting he was a clone, and so is keeping a close eye on Tay as he comes to terms with the truth. As the older brother, Sabi feels like he needs to act the part.

—

Octavio “Tay / DJ Takowasa” Tak'ko

xx [Link to Full Reference Picture] xx

24 years old / 5'6" / Charismatic, witty, extremely immodest

General:

It’s Octavio! Or … well, he thought he was.

Tay is a clone of the original Octavio, and he’s the current emperor of the entire underground. He’s the one that stole the Great Zapfish a second time, though this went about as well as the first attempt.

For two years, Tay thought he was his predecessor, having memories implanted during his time in the cloning facility. He was told by his council that any physical changes and inability to remember several major lifetime events were due to recovering from a terrible, life-threatening illness. These anomalies are ultimately what led to the truth: He wasn’t who he thought.

This discovery has been quite a blow to his confidence and self-worth, so while Tay is usually quite spirited, sarcastic and mischievous, he’s presently a bit more reserved and lethargic. He’s started to recover, though.

As an additional note, his onstage persona is considerably more informal than how he presents himself in person.

Appearance:

Octavio Jr. looks much younger (and shorter) than the general public would expect, as they’re currently unaware that their emperor has been replaced. While he isn’t frequently permitted outside the palace, his new look has sparked endless gossip … though they talk more of plastic surgery than genetic experiments.

Tay’s octopus form, however, is a near-perfect copy of his father’s, the only difference being their size. This similarity is what netted him permission from the council to perform his collaborative concert with Callie Cuttlefish, as fewer Octarians would realise something had changed. If he were in Octoling form, for example, somebody might notice his tail! That was something the old emperor never had, and until recently it was in Octavio’s best interest to keep it covered.  

When not wearing his onstage getup, Tay can be found lounging around in nightgowns, promotional t-shirts, yukata and kimono, which happens to be the majority of the time. These might not always be befitting of his status, but since he doesn’t often get visitors, this has never been an issue. Some time ago he purchased Inkopolis gear as a ‘disguise’, and none of his staff seem to mind him wearing that either.

Like Sabi’s, the scar on his left arm was created in a controlled environment.

Relationships:

Tay doesn’t have a lot of friends, and so is desperate for attention (though he’s too proud to admit this). The people he thought of as friends were friends of his father’s, and they’d been lying to him the whole time.

One of the few people Tay confides in is the universe-hopping Lulu. As a granddaughter of another world’s Octavio, he saw her as his only family until Sabi came into the picture. Despite this, he’s not sure if he should consider alternate-Octavios ‘relatives’, though having them around might help normalise the idea of being a ‘copy’. The ones he’s met seem okay.

Sabi and Tay hardly know eachother, but since they’re both clones of the same person created in the same facility, they had a near-immediate sense of kinship. It was Tay’s idea to refer to Sabi as his brother, and though the two have opposing personalities, a familial bond has begun to develop.

While Tay wouldn’t say Callie was ‘squidnapped’ – she was summoned to the palace and came of her own volition – he’s aware using hypnoshades to partly erase her memory was foul play, and he did apologise. Eventually. He did it in letter format, however, and has avoided her ever since, so he isn’t sure where they stand.

Regardless, he and Marie share a mutual loathing for each other, and as for Cuttlefish … well, the hatred for him is still pretty deeply ingrained. ---------------

Changes

Perhaps you’re wondering, ‘what exactly is canon divergent about this blog?’ Well, this tab was created to try and explain that, as well as a few other things.

-

On Hypnoshades and Mind Control

ALL OCTARIANS HAVE FREE WILL, the Calamari Inkantation just reminds them of an era of peace and some think ‘hey that’d be cool again actually’.

The hypnoshades do work this verse, but their only function was to make Callie forget about her family. After this, Octavio told his side of the story, and she agreed to help him put on his publicity-stunt concert.

Once Tay had time to think about his actions, he regretted ever using such underhanded tactics, vowing to never to use the shades again. Stealing Zapfish is totally justified though.

(If you’re a Callie blog uncomfortable with the hypnoshades in general, I’m fine with discarding this plot thread in interactions.)

-

On Cloning

Tay and Sabi are clones of the original Octavio, raised to believe they were him. The original is the one seen in Splatoon (UK translation specifically), Tay is the (replacement) Octavio seen in Splatoon 2, and Sabi escaped, so he’s completely out of the vaguely-canon scene.

Due to memcakes created, consumed, and created again during their time in development, Sabi and Tay share several memories with Octavio. They’re patchworked together, so some recollections are different to others, and some are completely absent.

The old Octavio is dead, supposedly. His passing was kept secret from the public by the Royal Octarian Council (ROC) in light of his own wishes.

The cloning project was never satisfactory to the old emperor. While ‘tentaclones’ can be created far more easily, he wanted an exact copy that could continue his legacy. His methods resulted in confused Octolings at best and horrific mutations at worst. The majority were euthanized.

-

On Tay and his (lack of) Influence

Tay was a hasty replacement for the original Octavio when he unexpectedly passed away, and he’s now Emperor of the Underground. There’s no Shogun, so he’s adopted that title too - though he’ll accept any royal recognition thrown his way.

Titles aside, Tay has minimal input into what his royal council decide to do with politics in Octopolis, Deepsea and Wetside. After recognising his position as a stand-in, it seems they have a lot more control than he first thought.

You’ve probably noticed, but this Octavio prefers his Octoling form, only usually using his Octopus form to perform (and be trapped in snowglobes). He claims it’s because he likes having hands.

Tay is not who the general public expects him to be. He’d like to tell them that he’s a successor and not his father, but he wasn’t aware himself until recently, and right now that could put him in a dangerous position.

On Sabi

Sabi looks even more like a younger Octavio than Tay does. Physically he’s a better copy, but his meek and wimpish personality is what put him on the chopping block.

After he was rescued, Sabi started living in Inkopolis. He’s been keeping his identity a secret ever since, but to his knowledge nobody ever tried to track him down.

Having been his own person for 10+ years, Sabi has managed to distance himself from the identity of his father, though it’s the only history he has. It still manages to cause the occasional identity crisis, however.

[octowussabi]

(An impractical conductor’s outfit for the Splatlands! ... I mean, it’s not what Tay was wearing in story mode, but it’s what he’ll be wearing for the time being.

Does Sabi get a special new outfit? ... No.)

[octowussabi]

I can’t believe they just killed Octavio in the single-player campaign like that.

[octowussabi]

I don’t have an explanation or reasoning for this, it’s just Tay. There he is!

While I’m not 100% satisfied, I’m quite pleased with how far I’ve come from a year or two ago. I’d add a comparison picture, but I’d want to burn it on sight. 

[octowussabi]

( @sunshinelulusplatoon moved from here!)

“Hehehe, yeah, really. But strange things are nothing new to me,” Lulu chuckled.

“Human langauges? Yeah, she knows how to speak and read them,” Lulu replied, “Why do you ask…OH! Did the other Tay write the letter he was writing in a human language? I know he didn’t like the idea of me looking over his shoulder to write it so I didn’t see what he wrote? You did find it right?”

“You... knew about that?” Tay tilts his head to one side, frowning slightly. She must’ve come to visit while he was in the other world. That saved him a lot of explaining. “In that case--yes. I have it with me.” 

He produces a slip of paper that he’d tucked inside his robes, handing it to Lulu. As expected, it’s the letter from Taylor. And it’s written entirely in English.

“I have no doubt that it’s for me, but I can’t read it. I was hoping Lutarna would be able to translate.” 

[octowussabi]

We're number one but it's Octavio and his clones

Now listen closely!

(This ask has been sitting in my inbox since before the twist was revealed. 

I started drawing it some months ago, but got caught up in a lot of other things I needed to do, and then forgot. For that I apologise. 

Have some non-canon content.)

[octowussabi]

@grandpacephalopods-rp

It was a great day for visiting the surface … though Sabi’s opinion of ‘great’ meant it was slightly cold, a little cloudy, and there were very few other people about. He’d brought his brother along, too – heaven knows Tay needed to get out of the palace once in a while. He’d been getting better, but it was all the more important to keep an eye on him because of that.

After insisting that Tay wear some arm warmers (he had not been happy, but complied) Sabi had taken him to Inkopolis Pier to visit the arcades. To be doubly safe, the location was in another world – or so he hoped. The method he’d used to get there was walking and wishing. It was unlikely anyone would recognise either of them as Octavio anyway, but Sabi wanted to take as few chances as possible. Some young Octolings could be very perceptive.

“Hey, I think I know those guys,” Tay says suddenly, snapping Sabi out of his thoughts. They were still strolling along outside, so it was easy to scan the area for other people. Tay points, and sure enough – yes, Sabi knew them too. He was about to say so, but he’s interrupted by his brother loudly coming to a realisation:

“Wait a minute, that other one… that’s the fraud that tricked me into adoption!”

“Oh dear. I had a feeling Reed couldn’t have come from anywhere else…”

“I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!”

“Wait, no—”