Discussing Inkling/Octoling Biology

[Globin347]

Yes, that makes a great deal of sense. The big difference is that inklings can change ink type. I would expect that there would be more ink types than ink colors, however. Not sure why.

As for reacting with oxygen... yes that would explain the evaporation... but it would be a highly unusual reaction, because the reactants would not react until some time after they had been exposed to one another. I'm not sure how that's possible.

My theory as to why Inklings wear ink tanks to battle is that the tanks function as a safety mechanism to prevent them from drawing too muchink from their bodies and significantly weakening.

The issue with this is that an inkling's "flesh" appears to be different from their ink. This sort of overdrawing would be possible in models near the fluid side of the fluidity vs solidity spectrum, but inklings In the middle or at the other end could only empty their ink sacs.

An inkling's body tissue appears to have structures not found In ink, which hold it together. slso, it's unlikely inklings would develop the ability to spit/shoot their own flesh when that could be so dangerous.

 

[Flareth]

But anyway, ants recognize one another by smell. Ants release pheromones to identify which colony their from. if the tunnel guards encounter an ant with the wrong pheromones, they won't let it inside the colony.

but it goes further than that. Ants can secrete a variety of different pheromones to give different signals. One smell, for instance, means "the colony is under attack", and another might mean "there is food at the end of the scent trail I left".

Ants find food by sending a scout to go hunt it out. The scout leaves a trail of pheromones to the food, which the soldier ants will follow when she comes back

...Now that I think about it, this isn't actually anywhere near as relevant to the topic at hand as I thought it was.
Forget all this pheromone stuff and just hear this: Inklings and their ink contain identifying proteins, and inkling ink will attempt to destroy any ink that does not have matching proteins. That's what I was trying to say.

Nonono, I think you're onto something. Even if it's proteins and not pheromones that make the ink work, I'd bet they have them anyway for non-ink related business. Maybe they wouldn't be as sophisticated as the ants', though; I'd wager they're more similar to ours in function.

I was actually pretty sure that an inkling's ink tank has an apparatus to hook into an inkling's body and drain ink out of the ink sac, presumably because it's more convenient in some way to hook the weapons up to an ink tank than directly to the inklings ink sac. Sunken Scroll # 5 probably wouldn't mention the inkling's ink sac if they didn't use it for combat in some way. Also, I don't think the tank has any means of creating ink.

How do I put this... the ink tanks being standalone, matching the ink of the Inkling wearing it, hostile to Inklings of a different colour, but the ink doesn't originate from the Inkling itself... it has to be Inkling ink, otherwise they couldn't swim in it.
Actually, you've got a point there.

Come to think of it, what's the deal with the Inkling's changing ink colours? Does it stem from the colour-changing chromatophores in squid skin?
...nevermind, I think I answered my own question. But then why would it be limited to just the tentacles/hair?

 

[MissingNumbers]

Come to think of it, what's the deal with the Inkling's changing ink colours? Does it stem from the colour-changing chromatophores in squid skin?
...nevermind, I think I answered my own question. But then why would it be limited to just the tentacles/hair?

Technically, it's not limited to that. As detailed by the Squid Research Lab, they can change their skin and eye color at will.

 

[redacteddd]

The issue with this is that an inkling's "flesh" appears to be different from their ink. This sort of overdrawing would be possible in models near the fluid side of the fluidity vs solidity spectrum, but inklings In the middle or at the other end could only empty their ink sacs.

An inkling's body tissue appears to have structures not found In ink, which hold it together. slso, it's unlikely inklings would develop the ability to spit/shoot their own flesh when that could be so dangerous.

I haven't been following this thread so maybe you guys have settled on different conclusions than mine. I think that their flesh is just ink, albeit in a much thicker and resistant form, and going into squid for changes it into regular ink and that their body could just as easily revert it in a crisis.

 

[Globin347]

I haven't been following this thread so maybe you guys have settled on different conclusions than mine. I think that their flesh is just ink, albeit in a much thicker and resistant form, and going into squid for changes it into regular ink and that their body could just as easily revert it in a crisis.

Well, we technically haven't come to a conclusion on that. At one point in the thread, we couldn't agree on the nature of inkling flesh, so I created a spectrum of fluidity vs solidity.

On the far solid end of the spectrum, Inklings have muscle-like tissue resembling ours. This, of course, means that water can't dissolve them. Inklings on this side of the spectrum can't swim for other reasons. Of course, to explain the squid-kid stuff, this model states that the inklings can liquefy their bodies like sea cucumbers can. Forgive me for the less-than Ideal links. I had some trouble finding good sources on the subject.

On the end of the fluid side of the spectrum, Inklings are simply animated paint controlled by some incorporeal consciousness. Inklings in this model can apparently solidify and liquefy ink, but only seem able to take a few forms.

And then there's everything in the middle.
My personal ideology lies a bit towards the solid side, but I still feel that inklings do disassociate when immersed in water or enemy ink (perhaps in part because of the sudden shock of falling in.) Their tissue is somewhat similar to ink, but has a great deal of organic structures in place to make it more resemble muscle tissue. the flesh can, however, be liquefied at will, to enter squid form.
I also feel that inklings would have a great deal of non-ink tissue, including some muscle, which helps explain why they can only take certain forms.

I don't know enough about the structure of muscle to describe this properly; We need a doctor on this thread.

 

[Dolphoshi]

how about a biology student what are you trying to figure out?

 

[Globin347]

Well, I'm not entirely sure what muscular tissue is...
It's hard to describe. I am trying to imagine how the various protein structures which serve to hold muscle tissue together could come apart and "liquefy" and then come back together in the same pattern.

and not just muscle tissue, but likely fat and other substances as well.

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

There is another thing, that I have been wondering about.
How good would our weapons work on Inklings and Octolings?
Knives, Pistols, Rifles, Grenades, Launchers, etc.
You catch my drift?

Could they still work as well on them, as they do on humans?
Or would it be tougher to kill them with these weapons?


An interesting thing to talk about. : 3

 

[Flareth]

Gonna guess that would depend on if they have conventional organs or not.

If they're nothing but ink, then being shot up would probably be a minor inconvenience for an Inkling. They could probably "fix" themselves by diving into the ink, letting it fill in the bullet holes.

With conventional organs... well, they're smaller, so I'd imagine even a .22 would kill without immediate attention.

 

[BlackZero]

Well, I'm not entirely sure what muscular tissue is...
It's hard to describe. I am trying to imagine how the various protein structures which serve to hold muscle tissue together could come apart and "liquefy" and then come back together in the same pattern.

I'm not a doctor, but hopefully this helps clarify some. Muscle is a fibrous tissue that contracts. Sea cucumbers are made up of fibrous collagens that soften by "detaching" from each other. They can then reattach them to reassume rigid form at will. Inkling muscle could work in the same fashion: the muscle fibers soften by detaching from each other on the molecular level so that the Inkling liquefies, then reattach to assume solid form. They could retain enough rigidity in their siphon structure to use it as jet propulsion while swimming in ink (just as real squids do while swimming) so that they wouldn't need their whole body to have rigid muscular structure to move in liquid form.

So, the Inklings would basically disassemble themselves on the molecular level, then reconnect the detached molecules making up their muscles when they wanted to become solid. Just my best layman's guess.

 

[Dolphoshi]

I'm guessing they would use water to replace the bonds between proteins, then when they need to reform they can just dehydrate and make sure that the

environment to reform correctly is there, then with no water to get hydrogen form they will reform the muscle bonds (because thats what atoms do) and be spraying ink like a madman

(this is commonly used in anerobic respiration (or cell eating food) as water has hydrogen which almost always fills in the spare electron bounds and oxygen will force weak bounds apart because it's very electronegtive)

or the muscle cells could just simply rearrange themselves to be in squid form (muscle tissue isn't just a protein they are actual cells that contract when given the correct signal)


As for our weapons hurting them I would be very surprised if they didn't hurt them as you are removing parts of them and depends on the bullet if you are using a lead bullet it will damage the cells around them by just being there (remember you do, do damage when you hit an inkling with an empty roller)

 

[Globin347]

I'm guessing they would use water to replace the bonds between proteins, then when they need to reform they can just dehydrate and make sure that the

environment to reform correctly is there, then with no water to get hydrogen form they will reform the muscle bonds (because thats what atoms do) and be spraying ink like a madman

(this is commonly used in anerobic respiration (or cell eating food) as water has hydrogen which almost always fills in the spare electron bounds and oxygen will force weak boundsapart because it's very electronegtive)

So then... inklings dissasociate in water because the water bonds with the muscle proteins? I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say.

Anyway, the muscle tissue descriptions here largely explain the solid end of the spectrum, but there are still a few questions.

One could argue that the inklings hold items via hammerspace, but if you assume that inklings are made partially of ink, there are a few kinks to work out...

It may be possible that ink cells can be made to contract, if the space-warping ink in question is indeed composed of cells... if not...

Perhaps the cells are bonded together via ink? That would be different from the sea cucumbers, but...

Well, anyway, this spectrum still exists, as there is not enough evidence to make a clear stand on how dangerous water is to inklings.

...someone should really ask Nintendo about this.

 

[Globin347]

And about the weapons...

Near as I can tell, bullets don't usually kill via lead poisoning.

They kill because they tear out chunks of flesh (which presumably stays in a chunk because of the protien bonding between muscle cells.)

...does this mean that bullets would be less dangerous mid-transformation (assuming they don't hit major organs?)

...forgive me if I'm wrong, I know little about bullets.

 

[BlackZero]

They kill because they tear out chunks of flesh (which presumably stays in a chunk because of the protien bonding between muscle cells.)

The basic principle behind bullets is the transfer of kinetic energy from the discharge to the bullet, and from the bullet to the target. That kinetic energy tears organic tissue (muscle, organs, etc) and causes blood loss. Different bullet designs operate in different ways.Hollow points, JHPs, and frangibles are designed to "mushroom" when they enter a denser medium (flesh). This transfers the maximum amount of kinetic energy into the target and sends small fragments of lead throughout the body to cause damage in a wider area round the gunshot wound than FMJs and APs (which are designed for penetration). Most of the damage is localized, hence the need for accuracy and one reason why trained shooters aim for center mass shots (plenty of soft, squishy, and vital organs for a lead projectile to tear up).

Some calibers (namely the 9mm/.38/.357 magnum) have also demonstrated an ability to cause damage to organs throughout the entire body via hydrostatic shock. Certain cartridges with the right size and amount of force behind them can send "shockwaves" throughout fluid in the body that damages organs and ruptures blood vessels in parts of the body that are nowhere near the actual entry wound.

Source: been around guns my whole life.

 

[Globin347]

...I wonder if a bullet could force an inkling to liquefy alongside damaging organs.

 

[Dolphoshi]

So then... inklings dissasociate in water because the water bonds with the muscle proteins? I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say.

Anyway, the muscle tissue descriptions here largely explain the solid end of the spectrum, but there are still a few questions.

One could argue that the inklings hold items via hammerspace, but if you assume that inklings are made partially of ink, there are a few kinks to work out...

It may be possible that ink cells can be made to contract, if the space-warping ink in question is indeed composed of cells... if not...

Perhaps the cells are bonded together via ink? That would be different from the sea cucumbers, but...

Well, anyway, this spectrum still exists, as there is not enough evidence to make a clear stand on how dangerous water is to inklings.

...someone should really ask Nintendo about this.

i just saying thats a common way that cells break down larger particles (like fats and glucose) i said nothing about them being melted in water, muscle cells will

generally use channel proteins to get the signal cross to other cells to contract i'm guessing that the inklings have a bit more room in between muscle cells then

we do this could explain why they can condense into squid form. (as for the water thing the inklings would have to have some sort of skin in order to survive

otherwise they would die of infection as well as easily being ripped apart by rain or other natural hazards that is why i think they literally just can't swim and splat

reflex thats why they look like they melt otherwise they wouldn't have time to wave their arms around helplessly as they would be ripped apart.)

 

[BlackZero]

...I wonder if a bullet could force an inkling to liquefy alongside damaging organs.

They may do so out of shock from getting hit. I don't think a bullet would force a transformation unless they suffered a headshot which caused them to lose neurological control of their bodies. I'm curious how severe the hydrostatic shock from a gunshot would would be considering their "bones" are a dense liquid rather than solid matter.

It's also possible that firearms designed for humans and animals with dense muscle and bone would "over-penetrate" (pass straight through them) while they were in kid form. Then again, water stops all but low-velocity cartridges almost instantly. Anything higher than a .357 magnum (which is still pretty high-velocity) disintegrates when it hits water iirc, so their liquid insides may be even more vulnerable to bullets than ours. Imagine a lead bullet practically exploding inside them, and you get the idea.

 

[Globin347]

i just saying thats a common way that cells break down larger particles (like fats and glucose) i said nothing about them being melted in water, muscle cells will

generally use channel proteins to get the signal cross to other cells to contract i'm guessing that the inklings have a bit more room in between muscle cells then

we do this could explain why they can condense into squid form. (as for the water thing the inklings would have to have some sort of skin in order to survive

otherwise they would die of infection as well as easily being ripped apart by rain or other natural hazards that is why i think they literally just can't swim and splat

reflex thats why they look like they melt otherwise they wouldn't have time to wave their arms around helplessly as they would be ripped apart.)

Ok... So, in the solid model, the muscle tissue is simply able to unhook, like the body of a sea cucumber.

In the mid range of models, perhaps the muscle cells are linked to one another via the ink, allowing inklings to hold on to weapons in squid form, easily transform, and perhaps regenerate tissue more easily.
the muscle cells are likely still in groups toward the solid end of the spectrum, and more distributed on the fluid end.

On the fluid end of the spectrum, inklings are still animated ink with an incorporeal consciousness.

As for the bullets... I say we just let BlackZero answer any questions we have.

 

[Globin347]

By the way... Who would win- Mario, or a team of inklings?

I'm assuming that Mario is equipped with F.L.U.D.D.

 

[BlackZero]

By the way... Who would win- Mario, or a team of inklings?

I'm assuming that Mario is equipped with F.L.U.D.D.

There are too many variables to say for sure. I don't know how Inkling ink would effect a human, nor is it clear whether or not a Kraken power-up would damage Mario. A charger would probably hurt, but I can't say more than that since we don't know if Inkling ink hurts people.

The Octoling Superweapons would be interesting assuming water from the F.L.U.D.D. doesn't short them out.