vodka and the sea

indie blog for a deadbeat octoling hypnotechnician

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OCVO breaking news (what did we break again?)

Good evening and welcome to our nightly broadcast of the Greater Inkopolis Area's news. Marlow Marimo here to bring you the freshest information below and above ground It seems like the squad behind last year's Splatoween Ball is at it again, organizing another edition of their yearly event hosted in Inkopolis' Megalodon Manor.

Numerous events, including two costume contests (themed and freestyle), numerous shows, attractions, games and rides, free food and drinks, and the long-awaited VIP ball, held in the inner ballroom of Megalodon Manor itself.

Note that you need to be aged 18 or over to attend the VIP Ball, and absolutely no violence, threats or discrimination towards staff or attendants will be tolerated.

For most, it will be an unique opportunity to set foot in this palace built prior to the Great Turf War, an architectural marvel like no other... *Ahem* Staff will start dispensing special invitations to the VIP ball on Friday, October 13th. This is also where this year's theme for the Themed Costume Contest will be revealed.

More information will follow in the following days. This was Marlow Marimo, for OCTO news.

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special broadcast from OCVO - live right now

“Good day to all of you listeners, Marlow Marimo here, in replacement of DJ Songbird. We’re live from Wahoo World to give you the newest information!”

“It’s closed curtains on the 2022 edition of the Splatoween Ball, and the organisation has reported a frank success.”

“A press conference will be held on Flounder Heights’ grounds later this afternoon, so that the organisation can give us attendance numbers, answer the medias and the fans questions.”

“Early reports have stated that the organisation has been proud that no major incident has happened onsite and we might get confirmation if the event will be held again next year.”

“Naturally, OCVO will be present on site to cover the event - for the pleasure of our faithful listeners! The press conference should be held around 16:30 today, on Flounders Heights’ ground.”

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octo-agent‌:

Aria normally wouldn’t have been that level of upset, but she was protective of her friends - especially Remy. He was one of her closest friends, along with Four, and it was no exaggeration she’d lay down her life for him.

“I’m not a copper.” She growls, then releases her grip on Marlow - it’s clear he won’t fight back, and she’s pretty sure she’s already intimidated him enough. Or more than enough - it was probably overkill. She takes a step back, but she’s still tense. “I’m an agent. I’m like…like, a vigilante.”

“We could argue about the validity of taking immoral orders all day, but I’m not here to do that. Listen, let’s…let’s make a deal, here. I’m gonna go try to help Remy and kick Octavio’s ass, and if you don’t get in my way, I won’t kick your ass or tell anyone what you did. It’s…it’s clear you regret it anyways.”

“Just one question. Where’s, uh…where’s his studio?”

“Are we arguing semantics? Of course you’re a copper in my eyes - agents, vigilantes, coppers, same thing.”

Little smile, which quickly faded away when she mentioned ass-kicking, Marlow had always been rather frail, but the last few years in seclusion didn’t do him any favors; the hypnotechnician is more than aware that he’d lose a stamina contest to pretty much anyone else, including literal children.

Physically opposing an agent wasn’t something he had in mind.

“Some immoral things must be done for the benefit of most; but what Octavio is doing right now isn’t one of them.”

Chuckles

“You think I know? Octavio doesn’t trust me that much - you’ll have to go and wait until the show.”

“Like anyway, don’t you agent folk have ways of tracking each other?”

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octo-agent‌:

Aria stares silently at first - it’s not too unusual to hear from those who remain loyal to Octavio that he legitimately wants to make things better. She can’t really fault someone too much for believing that, especially with the degree to which Octarian society was once full of propaganda. 

All semblance of composure leaves her as she hears the name ‘DJ Sango.’ She looks surprised at first, then confused, and then when it becomes clear what had happened…

She suddenly grabs Marlow by the front of his shirt, slamming him into a wall and stepping closer with a growl. She’s trying to be intimidating, even if she’s nearly a foot shorter than him. 

“Sorry to break your trust like this, but I need some answers and I need them now.” Her voice is intimidating as she can make it. “Where are Remy and Octavio? Is Remy alright? ‘Cause I don’t care about a lot of crime, but I do care if you start hurting people. Especially my friends. Especially a fellow agent.”

Granted, whatever he’s done was dubious and thus, he did expect some form of outrage, but not a literal anger tsunami. That wasn’t unexpected; for some reason he didn’t quite grasp, people revered the agents. 

And so, soon as he felt his shirt being grabbed, Marlow’s instinct was to go and not resist - the more he’d fight back, the more likely he’d get beaten up.

“Thought you weren’t a copper...”

“Anyway, they’re obviously in Octo Valley, in Octavio’s studio. Most likely preparing for the DJ’s big comeback.”

“Look, I followed orders, that’s what I did. I’m not the one who had that idea in the first place - when someone pays you to do a job, you do it and that’s it. Especially when it’s Octavio.”

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octo-agent‌:

Aria listens quietly, contemplatively, and then crosses her arms. She’s trying not to be too intimidating, but she is slipping back into Agent Mode a little bit. It’s hard not to, hearing about Octavio apparently having an influence on crime in Inkopolis. But she needs to be cautious, because a story like that getting out to the press would be…not great, probably.

“I…wasn’t aware Octavio had this much influence on the surface still. That’s good to know. Well, it’s…it’s not good, but…you get the point.” She uncrosses her arms to look a bit less like she’s about to explode, and she’s marginally successful. “What…what did you do, if I may ask? Like, uh…you can tell me. I’m not a cop. Or a narc. I’m wondering if, uh…if whatever it is can be undone, or…” She’s really hoping that Marlow didn’t kill anyone; that would be awkward.

“Octavio trusted me like no one else ever has.” 

“Until today, I had no reasons to go and doubt his motivations about anything - I truly believed that he wanted to make things better for us; use his notoriety to bring us closer to the Great Octarian.”

Marlow grinded his beak, torn about how much he’s gonna say; she might not be a cop, or a narc, but it wasn’t impossible she knew cops or narcs.

“So, Octavio’s planning his great return to the scene, new mixtape, new tour and all - but he needed an opening act. Had to go and persuade a up-and-coming Inkling DJ -  surely you heard of DJ Sango, right  - to take part in the festivities - went to meet up with them at their day job, and brought them to Octavio.”

“The thing is...they weren’t exactly *willing* to come along.”

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octo-agent‌:

“Yeah, I know the feeling. What did…what did you do?”

Long sigh, how much is he gonna say?

“Couple nights ago, Octavio got in touch with me - that was a call I’ve been expecting for years, like, for realsies. Needed me for a job - something I’m more than qualified for.”

“So, went to Inkopolis, did the job, and now, I dunno, I feel like it’s not something I should have touched with a ten-foot pole, because it was illegal as hell.”

“And, not illegal in a *be gay, do crimes* way. Illegal, in the *what the fuck did you just do* way.”

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“Like, have you ever done something and regretted it like, 5 secs later because this is my life now.”

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Carelessly browsing through the documents Octavio sent on their shellphone, Marlow raised his head every time he saw someone enter or exit the Starfishbucks, waiting for their mark; they were about to leave work any moment, now.

The Octarian only had one chance to go and grab the *right* Inkling, any other going missing would end up being suspicious - especially after everything that happened in the area known as the Deepsea Metro.

“Callahan, Remy...Starfishbucks assistant manager, part-time student, B- rank...” 

Oh, their target felt pretty standard, not really exceptional - one would have expected Octavio to aim for a X-rank bigshot, rather than some part time battler who barely attends ink sports events, outside of the rare Splatfest.  

However, according to the DJ - there was much more that met the eye concerning the Inkling - the squidkid was especially careful about not bringing too much attention to their actions. 

Really, had they not been an Inkling, Marlow would have admired this modesty, this desire not to get the spotlight on them all the time.

And then, the door opened for what might have been the three hundredth time in about 90 minutes. There was no fooling anyone - this man was the Inkling Octavio needed for his plan.

It was time to go.

“....good day, Callahan.”

Moment of silence

“Or should I say....Agent 3?”

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“Come on, don’t be mean to Lord Octavio! We’re collaborating to bring the bestest beats around - calling him a boomer is like, totes undeserved.”

Goodness, he hates when he slips back into Valley Girl accent - Guava’s behavior affected him a lot more than he wanted to.

“I mean, don’t do that. It’s not nice to go and call people boomer.”

[spicy-beats]

Boomer. Boomer. BOOMER. 

For a moment, Octavio wanted to go and splat all of these insolent brats - the ones who thought that since he was not longer the Octarian King, they could insult him as they saw fit. 

Was he a joke to them?

Probably, but thanks to his alternate’s experience, he knew exactly what to do to achieve peak freshness. 

He just had to contact someone; an old subordinate of his that was sent to the surface years ago, working on some kind of infiltration mission. Hopefully his loyalty has not wavered.

Grabbing his shellphone, he swiftly composed his contact’s number

“Yo, Commander Milano, this is your DJ speaking. I’mma gonna need you to drop everything you’re doing right now, and come see me in the Valley, yo.”

“I got a big job for you, and if you succeed, you’ll get hella rewarded for it, GYAH HA HA”

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When he answered the phone, the Octoling had no idea how to react; his emotions were a mix of surprise (”It has been so long, General, I thought you had forgotten about us!”), anger (”How dare you call me after leaving me to dry for so long!”) and simple disbelief (”Nah, that has to be an elaborate prank, no friggin way the DJ would call on me after everything that happened”)

Milano could feel his brain yell “Come on, just hang up, you’re worth more than the scraps the DJ throws at you” and yet, his fingers were frozen in place, unwilling to go and end the conversation. 

Because, no matter how much being abandoned by Octavio sucked, the old octopus still had his complete loyalty and attention. And thus, the hypnotechnician went, silently listening to the DJ’s every word, noting down everything.

This plan was foolish, dangerous, and in his eyes, had low odds of actually succeeding - but if it did, Milano would be set for life, and he wasn’t the type to reject that kind of opportunity.

“...Alright Sir Octavio, you got a deal.”

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“...I can’t believe it’s year 12019 and people want to teach an a...an idol memes”

[brittsmemes]

Send 💭 + a topic and my muse will tell you what they think about it.

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“She is a little more erratic than expected, but that’s extremely fitting for Chaos winning.”

“I’ll fix the vocal filters on her in a couple days”

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finalfest - marlow

ALIGNMENT - NEUTRAL

Marlow uses order to control his life, and yet, fears routine and hierarchy more than he likes to admit. 

While he would openly say that he’s completely fine with the way his life is right now, he absolutely envy the free-spirit of Inklings and wished he was brave enough to just abandon ship.

Having gambled what amounts to his life’s work on the Splatfest results, he’s extremely excited to see how things will unfold, even though he is unwilling to take part himself.

He will vicariously live the event through Guava, as usual.

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Marlow is extremely paranoid around everything that’s not a military Octarian - his mentality being that everyone else is out to get them. 

Given what happened to the Octarians in the past century, it’s hard for me to truly blame him - they were forced underground after the GTW, their energy relies on trade deals with the Salmonids, and even when coming to Inkopolis, they’ve been told that Squids are legally better than Octopus. 

So yeah, Marlow is well...absolutely paranoid, in a “Nothing personal, kid” kind of way

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what is actually happening right now

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kamabo-telephone replied to your post:

kamabo-telephone replied to your post: “Anyone...

“I know enough to bioengineer an entire Octoling body for myself, which I did.”

“Good for you. My answer is still no, I’m not risking the life of my crewmember by letting a foreign entity handle them.”