His birthday
The 8th of the eighth.
He was born on 8 October 2026, the day Papermunch was started. The date suits an octopus: October comes from the Latin “octo” (eight), because it was the eighth month of the old Roman calendar. So he’s an eight-armed octopus born on the 8th of the “eight” month.
It’s also IAL exam season, which he takes personally.
His story
He hatched in a recycling bin.
Otto hatched in the recycling bin behind an exam hall, under a stack of old past papers. He was starving, so he ate one. Then another. Somewhere around the hundredth he noticed something: every paper tasted different, but the same flavours kept coming back. Stokes’ law, every single time. Projectiles, every time. He started tallying them on his arms and ran out of arms very quickly.
So now he munches every past paper the moment it’s out, so students can revise what keeps coming up instead of everything at once.
What he’s like
A nervous overachiever.
Eight arms means eight subjects at once, and he squirts ink whenever a 6-marker surprises him. On his very first forecast, his top pick for the Unit 1 6-marker missed and his second pick hit. He inked the whole room.
That’s why he checks every forecast after the exam and publishes the hits and the misses.
Things to know
Fun facts.
- On his first day he munched 113 past papers.
- His favourite snack is Section B. He saves the mark schemes for dessert.
- He always carries a yellow pencil and a blue mug of coffee.
- He never does leaked papers. “Otto doesn’t leak. He only inks.”
- He has two tiny front teeth, perfect for paper.
Otto doesn’t leak. He only inks.