Discussing Inkling/Octoling Biology

[Paragon-Yoshi]

I think many fans of Splatoon and especially its characters, have wondered about this...
Just how do the Bodies of Inklings and Octolings work?

I might be stating the obvious here, but for completion`s sake:
Basics
We are talking about humanoid creatures, that have no bones and are made of ink.
And they can change into a smaller form, looking like a "Squid" or "Octopus" and also change back at will.

In their human-form, they can fight as well as fire their ink-based weapons.
While their squid/octopus-form allows them to swim through said ink and even up walls, if the ink is sprayed there.

And last but not least, they are capable of "Super Jumping" to distant locations, using Ink as "Jet Propulsion".
Which is based on the "Japanese Flying Squid", which uses water as jet propulsion to fly over water and jump great distances.

And that's all she wrote.
But how exactly does that work?

There actually is some insight, in one of the Sunken Scrolls:

Unfortunately, it doesn't tell us all that much.
On how it can change forms, what kind of organs it has.
What that little "Inkling/Octoling Soul" is actually supposed to be
And more importantly, how it can sitll live, even after its body is more or less torn apart.
Those are some of the unanswered questions


Which is exactly what this thread is for.
Feel free to discuss how their bodies could function.

Knock yourselves out.
I will join the fray later. :D

 

[redacteddd]

>inkling and squid forms defy conservation of mass
>sub and special weapons just kinda happen
>swimming in ink that only coats the surface of the objects
>Octowhirl fight demonstrates this further
>tfw inklings are living pocket dimensions

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Looks like nobodies interested so far. :(
Welp, looks like I have to do the first move...


So yeah, for my personal theory on Inkling/Octoling Physiology.

If you ask me, the secret lies in the "Soul" that leaves their bodies, when splatted.
I think it actually holds their most vital organs.
Or the Soul-Squid/Octopus itself could be the Heart of the Inkling/Octoling.
And they form their actual bodies, by generating ink, then molding it like clay and soldifying it.
And if they want to change form, they briefly turn their bodies into liquid, reform their bodies to their new forms and them soldify it again.


Actually, they kinda remind me of a Zelda-Boss, from an infamous dungeon.
This one to be precise.

Spoiler: Click Spoiler to show image!

That's right.
"Morpha", the boss of the infamous "Water Temple", from "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time".

For those if you who don't know: Morpha is a small organ, that forms tentacles out of water, to attack Link.
They can even grab Link and throw him, even tho they are made of water.

Taking that into account, the Inklings and Octolings are actually very similar to Morpha.
Both have their small solid organs that use liquid to form their protective bodies.
Inklings and Octolings use Ink, while Morpha uses Water.

It is also noteworthy, that they have their set forms, never able to freely shapeshift into any other forms, other than the ones "programmed" for them.
Morpha can only form Tentacles.
While Inklings and Octolings can only form humanoid and squid/octopus-forms.
So the Inklings and Octolings actually have two forms they can freely switch in-between.
Just that they cannot morph into anything else.


In Zelda OOT, you have to kill Morpha to proceed.
And you do that, by pulling it's true form out of the water and then attack it until it dies.
And once you do kill it, all the water that was part of it, dissolves as well.

So I think you could actually kill an Inkling/Octoling, by attacking the "Soul", once it is free.
Though I don't think you could just pull it out of their bodies as easily, as you could with Morpha, since their bodies seem to be more solid.
Although it could be argued that you could easily penetrate them and deal a fatal blow to their inner organs, during the split second they are liquid when they change forms.


So yeah, that should basicly be it.

 

[Big Boss]

I like the theory that "squids" are just T1000s, but yours makes sense too.

 

[Globin347]

This may or may not be the most well-thought out thought, but I have always thought of the Ink in Splatoon in comparison to the graffiti in Super Mario Sunshine. The graffiti in question has the power to terraform environments, and things (like the residents of Isle delfino) can sink into it, even when the graffiti only exists as a thin layer spread across a solid surface. Said graffiti can even cause massive structures such as the grand pianta statue to sink into it, even though the statue was built on solid ground. This suggests the power to warp the space-time continuum.

While the ink in Splatoon doesn't appear to be able to terraform environments or make massive buildings dissappear, it might be able to cause smaller objects which are not fixed in place (such as an Inkling's organs (or perhaps "soul")) to sink into it. This would also explain how the inklings carry their weapons in squid form: the ink composing their bodies warps space to let the Dynamo roller fit inside of a squid less than half it's size.

Of course, there are a few problems with this line of thought. For example, in stages where birds can be seen sitting on parts of the map (Urchin Underpass,) said birds are able to sit on ground covered in ink just fine. There is also the question of how an inkling's gear gets from the spot they where splatted at to the spawn point, although that is not an issue exclusive to my thoughts. But still, I figure that some of my thinking might hold enough water (or Ink) to be of use (perhaps when combined with the Morpha theory in some way)?

...Speaking of the morpha theory, is it possible that Morpha can only exist in tentacle form because it is too primitive to do anything else? That sunken scroll suggests to me that an inklings humanoid form is very complex, as the inklings at least seem to have a clearly deliniated ink sac and brain.

Of course, one must keep in mind that this is all mere speculation. There's no hard evidence that Splatoon's ink is at all similar to Super Mario Sunshine's graffiti.

Ps: maybe the birds can sit on the ink because they're so light.

Pss: you mentioned the idea of killing an inkling by grabbing it's "soul" during transformation and hitting it. Wouldn't it be easier to splat them and grab the soul as it floats away? If you don't have ink, you could chuck them into a pool.

 

[Pinko]

In our version (EU/AU (closer to the japanese version as well)) that scroll says "Brain: Simple and hedonistic"
and that word means this
http://prntscr.com/8y1vrk

That pleasure means the most to them. They like pleasure.

Otherwise I don't know how I can contribute to this. Not that I don't want to, just dunno how.

 

[Globin347]

That's a noteworthy contribution, but I should bring up the counterpoint that the sunken scroll was written by the octarians, who are not on the best of terms with the inklings.

The derogatory way the scroll talks about the inklings suggests that this is octarian propaganda meant to "dehumanize" the inklings. This means that the scroll is designed to teach octarians to think if the inklings as lesser, animalistic beings who are "the enemy" rather than as actual people, alleviating the guilt that would othereise be associated with killing them.

The military forces of today do the same thing, as few soldiers can truly stomach the idea of repeatedly slaughtering thinking, feeling human beings.

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Wrong. The Sunken Scrolls were NOT all written by the Octarians.
Some of them were, but some others were written by Inklings, while others by humans from 13000+ years ago.

Clearly you don't want to imply that the "Good Bye Message from Judd's owner" was written by an Octarian, hm?


And tbh, for some Sunken Scrolls I thought it was the other way around, that their goal was to depict Octarians as lesser beings.
Hence some really BS-stinking messages such as "Octarians lost of the war, because their weapons were accidently unplugged" even though they have no plugs at all...
... or the message that says Inklings won the war because of their superior number of limbs...
I mean seriously what kind of BS is this?


And uhm, aren't we kinda getting off-track here? ^^;

 

[SkyBound]

So this ink is some transdimensional mini black hole?

 

[Globin347]

Well, I meant that this particular sunken scroll was written by the octarians. I'm sorry for not making that clear.

And yes, we probably are getting off track.

No, a black hole is a point in space where so much matter has accumulated that it has caused space-time itself to collapse under gravitational attraction into a point of infinite density. I am suggesting that the ink has the power to expand space, not contract it.

And now that I think about it, the fact that the ink can evaporate creates an interesting issue here. Perhaps the ink only has this power in large quantities.

And once again, this is mere speculation based on a source entirely foreign to Splatoon canon.

Edit: I just realized that, as mentioned by redacteddd, the octowhirl fight demonstrates that objects not made of ink can indeed sink into the ink. Yes, octowhirl is composed partially of ink, but when it rolls, the parts of it which actually contact the ground are clearly made of metal. So, perhaps my (and redacteddd's ) ideas have in-canon support after all.

 

[redacteddd]

Wrong. The Sunken Scrolls were NOT all written by the Octarians.
Some of them were, but some others were written by Inklings, while others by humans from 13000+ years ago.

Clearly you don't want to imply that the "Good Bye Message from Judd's owner" was written by an Octarian, hm?


And tbh, for some Sunken Scrolls I thought it was the other way around, that their goal was to depict Octarians as lesser beings.
Hence some really BS-stinking messages such as "Octarians lost of the war, because their weapons were accidently unplugged" even though they have no plugs at all...
... or the message that says Inklings won the war because of their superior number of limbs...
I mean seriously what kind of BS is this?


And uhm, aren't we kinda getting off-track here? ^^;

He was talking about that particular scroll you Octarian sympathizer.

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Ok, man. It wasn't clear to me.
Relax, people! -_-

Whatever the case, the connection between the Ink in Splatoon and the Ink/Paint in Super Mario Sunshine, has been made by many fans already.
Since they clearly have similar features.
Namely the feature to selectively walk on top of it or submerge in it, as if it were a sea.
As well as trapping your enemies in it.


But there is no possible explanation from our reality, on how that could possibly work.
So I guess it descends into the realm of "Video Game Logic".
And like it is the case in any Fantasy World, absolutely anything can work, even if it defies the laws, rules and logic of our reality.

 

[Globin347]

Well, in this case, there isn't a whole lot else to say. Based on my observations, those of everyone else here, and speculation, I propose the following.

Inklings (and octarians) have a bodily structure vagely similar to ours, but with some significant differences. Inklings are clearly heavily composed of ink, and much of their biology revolves around this.

Being of cephalopodic descent, the inklings have no bones. However, their terrestrial nature consists of efficient movements which would not be possible without some sort of internal structure. Observing their motion reveals that the inklings have clearly deliniated joints, while most of their body is rigid.

One possible explanation is that some of an inkling's ink is able to be compressed into a solid form which effectively takes the place of bones. Since these "bones" are made of ink, it is not difficult to imagine that they can liquify during the transition from kid to squid.

However, I believe that the inklings possess a great deal of "traditional" organs. Firstly, the scroll mentioned earlier clearly depicts a well-formed brain and ink sac. Although the scroll is biased, I cannot imagibe that the octarians would go so far as to depict the inklings as possessing organs they do not really have.

It is also hard to imagine how an animal-type creature could function without a stomach, liver, heart (all three of them), etcetera. The big exception to this (other than bones) would be skin and muscle tissue.

In order for an inkling to dissolve in water, they would have to be without skin or muscle tissue, as both are waterproof and could hold the inkling's body together (although muscle would be much better at it than skin).

This suggests that an inkling's body is composed of a number of loose organs suspended in ink. However, this ink can hold it's shape under everyday circumstances. This suggests that it contains or is composed of a number of cells which can hold on to one another, if not as effectively as skin and muscle proper.

There is an issue of how extensive these cells are. At the very least, the ink cells must be able to hold together under dry air and contract like muscle tissue, but a splatted inkling can retain enough of them to re-form only seconds later.

There is also the question of why the inklings would come to replace flesh and bone with something clearly less effective. The answer isn't too hard to find. It is to allow the inklings to merge into their ink safely, and leave it freely.

This ability has some clear benefits. Inklings can escape predators by hiding in their own ink, reach (nearly) any location connected to solid ground. Inklings can also fit into extremely tight spaces, like oceanic octopi, without giving up the solid body structure needed to effectively live on land.

Another intriguing aspect of inkling biology is that they can only assume two forms (three, if you count the kraken.) The humanoid form is explainable as being the inkling's "expanded form" in that this is the shape the inkling's organs are accustomed to. The inklings likely have bits of organic matter meant to hold then together in this form, restricting their options. Or maybe they do have some isolated muscles meant to hold this form together.

The squid form appears to be much less solid. Because it is smaller, and able to allow small objects to pass through it, I suspect that the squid form is a "compressed form" meant to take advantage of the pocket dimensional nature of the ink. This form presses all of the organs together to create a small, liquidized state. Inklings can apparently take foreign objects such as clothing into this state ss well. However, the objects still have weight, as the inklings cannot super jump while carrying the rainmaker (even though they csn with the dynamo rollers, which look just as heavy.) I would presume that the inklings have limits on how much they can carry. I also imagine that due to the organ-compressing nature of squid form, inklings can't remain in it for prolonged periods of time.

Ironically, this suggests that squid form is actually more dense than kid form, yet it is the squids which can slip through grates. My only explanation for this is the space-warping nature of the ink in question.

Another factor worth addressing is that inklings apparently lose the ability to secrete ink in great quantities as they age. This is mere speculation, but I suspect that cuttlefishes' ink is more solud than that of the kids, as a means for his body to cope with it's reduced ink-shooting capacity. Or maybe not; it's only a thought.

And I can't think of anything else to say right now. Perhaps further discussion will warrant more ideas.

edit: actually, that was a lot to say. I suppose this warrants another question: what am I doing with my life?

 

[Dolphoshi]

Ok, man. It wasn't clear to me.


Whatever the case, the connection between the Ink in Splatoon and the Ink/Paint in Super Mario Sunshine, has been made by many fans already.
Since they clearly have similar features.

So let me get this strait inklings were made by egad (mind explodes)

lol ok but in all seriousness ceratin scrolls i don't trust, the main one we use in this thread is the biology of the inklings which seems to be previous generation of the inklings (or an octavin trick) because

it says that they don't have bones but we know they do

Spoiler: Picture of teeth

as well as not just being simple minded and predators (even though there are those online who are) so I wouldn't trust much this scroll has to say

as for death it is very possible that the soul (as yoshi said) is vital organs that are launched to a spawn pool of ink which then will allow the inkling to regenerate like a starfish or worm.
clothes reappear after you die so it may be like their actual skin because some squids are able to switch there color (which would explain ink color changes) so they see a design they like they pay to use this design (we do the same thing with copyrights) and they can then use it in battle for hats and stuff they can regenerate very easily so they can just regen a bit more on the head so they look like they have a hat and this makes sense (sort of) of why abilities are here certain body growths can allow for more room on parts of the body and the sub slots are there because as they use it more and more they get better with that growth thus boosting certain things. skype could just be charging for advice (a bit overpriced seeing how it costs more then a gun) on how to use those growths better
now for the ink it must be some kind of cell seeing how the inklings/octo dudes are made of it and the colors would be different "blood types" this would also explain why standing in enemy ink slows you down because it is attacking the inkling cells because it doesn't check out as well as explains why the ink disappears because without a host (microorganism cells anyway) will die thus making it look like it disappeared. how it blends reality ... I got nothing
squid form, both octopuses and squids are very flexible able to fit in holes as long as there beak can fix in it, so the squid form could just be it moving parts around to better fit the situation swiming quickly or flying though the sky.

granted this is just some dudes thoughts. thoughts on my thoughts?

edit I realize after posting this alot of this stuff has been posted sorry for wasting time

double edit (THIS IS MADNESS) is they are able to walk on land the ink they are made out of would have to form a bone like structure in odder for them to move (since real squids are in water and use water propulsion to move) so the ink (cells) must be able to change functions but this is very rare and can't find any evidence that this happens (besides in fetus or some animals)

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Well, in this case, there isn't a whole lot else to say. Based on my observations, those of everyone else here, and speculation, I propose the following.

Inklings (and octarians) have a bodily structure vagely similar to ours, but with some significant differences. Inklings are clearly heavily composed of ink, and much of their biology revolves around this.

Being of cephalopodic descent, the inklings have no bones. However, their terrestrial nature consists of efficient movements which would not be possible without some sort of internal structure. Observing their motion reveals that the inklings have clearly deliniated joints, while most of their body is rigid.

One possible explanation is that some of an inkling's ink is able to be compressed into a solid form which effectively takes the place of bones. Since these "bones" are made of ink, it is not difficult to imagine that they can liquify during the transition from kid to squid.

However, I believe that the inklings possess a great deal of "traditional" organs. Firstly, the scroll mentioned earlier clearly depicts a well-formed brain and ink sac. Although the scroll is biased, I cannot imagibe that the octarians would go so far as to depict the inklings as possessing organs they do not really have.

It is also hard to imagine how an animal-type creature could function without a stomach, liver, heart (all three of them), etcetera. The big exception to this (other than bones) would be skin and muscle tissue.

In order for an inkling to dissolve in water, they would have to be without skin or muscle tissue, as both are waterproof and could hold the inkling's body together (although muscle would be much better at it than skin).

This suggests that an inkling's body is composed of a number of loose organs suspended in ink. However, this ink can hold it's shape under everyday circumstances. This suggests that it contains or is composed of a number of cells which can hold on to one another, if not as effectively as skin and muscle proper.

There is an issue of how extensive these cells are. At the very least, the ink cells must be able to hold together under dry air and contract like muscle tissue, but a splatted inkling can retain enough of them to re-form only seconds later.

There is also the question of why the inklings would come to replace flesh and bone with something clearly less effective. The answer isn't too hard to find. It is to allow the inklings to merge into their ink safely, and leave it freely.

This ability has some clear benefits. Inklings can escape predators by hiding in their own ink, reach (nearly) any location connected to solid ground. Inklings can also fit into extremely tight spaces, like oceanic octopi, without giving up the solid body structure needed to effectively live on land.

Another intriguing aspect of inkling biology is that they can only assume two forms (three, if you count the kraken.) The humanoid form is explainable as being the inkling's "expanded form" in that this is the shape the inkling's organs are accustomed to. The inklings likely have bits of organic matter meant to hold then together in this form, restricting their options. Or maybe they do have some isolated muscles meant to hold this form together.

The squid form appears to be much less solid. Because it is smaller, and able to allow small objects to pass through it, I suspect that the squid form is a "compressed form" meant to take advantage of the pocket dimensional nature of the ink. This form presses all of the organs together to create a small, liquidized state. Inklings can apparently take foreign objects such as clothing into this state ss well. However, the objects still have weight, as the inklings cannot super jump while carrying the rainmaker (even though they csn with the dynamo rollers, which look just as heavy.) I would presume that the inklings have limits on how much they can carry. I also imagine that due to the organ-compressing nature of squid form, inklings can't remain in it for prolonged periods of time.

Ironically, this suggests that squid form is actually more dense than kid form, yet it is the squids which can slip through grates. My only explanation for this is the space-warping nature of the ink in question.

Another factor worth addressing is that inklings apparently lose the ability to secrete ink in great quantities as they age. This is mere speculation, but I suspect that cuttlefishes' ink is more solud than that of the kids, as a means for his body to cope with it's reduced ink-shooting capacity. Or maybe not; it's only a thought.

And I can't think of anything else to say right now. Perhaps further discussion will warrant more ideas.

edit: actually, that was a lot to say. I suppose this warrants another question: what am I doing with my life?

I gotta say, this is a nice analysis there.

But I still think it is more of a "Morpha" thing, with the body comprising completety of liquid.
Yet the individual in question has the capacity to "harden" the liquid by such an amount, that it can become completely tangible.
But Inklings and Octolings seem to be even better at doing this. Given that they can "mimic" human bodies perfectly.
Shutting the vulnerable organs completely off outside contact.
Whereas Morpha could harden it's tentacle-bodies enough for them to grab Link and toss him all over the room.
But it couldn't make them hard enough to make them impenetrable. Which allowed Link to use the Hookshot and pull the vulnerable organ out of its protective water-bodies and attack it directly.

Inklings and Octolings however, seem to be able to "generate" bodies that are at least as tough as normal human bodies.
So it's not as easy to reach their inner organs for the fatal blow.


One thing that speaks for completely liquid bodies, is that fact that their bodies do become liquid when they change forms.
But how they can harden ink that much, that they can make bodies as potent and durable as human bodies out of them (if not even more) is something that I cannot explain.
I mean can hardened ink be as powerful to grab things (possibly even punch and kick and the like), while remaining flexible and easy to move?
It's an interesting thing to think about.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

it says that they don't have bones but we know they do

Spoiler: Picture of teeth

Teeth are not considered bones: http://www.livescience.com/33130-why-are-teeth-not-considered-bones.html

 

[Dolphoshi]

Teeth are not considered bones: http://www.livescience.com/33130-why-are-teeth-not-considered-bones.html

my apologies their beak (remember we are dealing with squids not humans and i don't think octoanvans know what bones are) (and yes we should eat them :))

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Yeah.
And it has been confirmed that Inklings and Octolings have no bones whatsoever, like real-life Squids, if I am not mistaken.

And then there is this one text from Callie and Marie when they talk about Blackbelly Skatepark...

Callie:
“I'm bad at skateboarding... I'd probably break a bone!”
Marie:
“Squids don't have bones, but whatever...”

Them having no bones is the entire basis for them being able to switch forms.
Otherwise none of the supernatural things they do would be possible for them... Nintendo thinks.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

my apologies their beak (remember we are dealing with squids not humans and i don't think octoanvans know what bones are) (and yes we should eat them :))

Well there are aquatic species confirmed for this universe based on vertebrates such as that fish character from Hightide Era:

Also Judd the cat as well as the birds. So there are species they are aware of that have bones that they can compare their anatomy to.

 

[Flareth]

Spoiler: Disclaimer

As a budding amateur biologist, I've recently become fascinated with what Inkling biology might be like. Being mollusks, and therefore quite different from what I'm used to seeing in media, I figured it would be neat to figure out what those differences could be. But, being an amateur, most of what I've come up with is pure guesswork and questioning things rather than actual scientific analysis, so please bear that in mind when I inevitably get my stuff wrong.

On the subject of how the Inklings can stand upright, I can see where the suggestion that the ink functions as a loose "skeleton" of sorts comes from. It kinda makes sense, given the squishy nature of most real-world cephalopods, and it would definitely allow for the sort of major transforming that squidkidding requires. However, I can't help but wonder if the squid pen still exists in the Inkling species as a sort of backbone; vertebrate bias here, but I can't see how a solely ink-based skeleton could be sturdy enough to support a bipedal body without it.

Speaking of squidkidding, just how do the Inklings manage to expand their smaller squid-form arms into full-length kid-form arms & legs? From what I've seen, only the squid's tentacles can do that, not the arms.