Discussing Inkling/Octoling Biology

[Globin347]

Well, I did say that the genetic experiment theory creates more problems than it solves...

As for the time thing, years seem to be pretty universally based on the revolution of the earth around the sun.

And since the game is clearly translated from the inkling language to ours, you can't really argue that a "year" refers to a different time period.

...maybe the evolution was accelerated because of nuclear waste and people who don't understand how nuclear radiation works.

Edit: before I forget, I should mention that real octopi can move on land with surprising effectiveness, although the sustained, effecient motion of true land animals still requires an internal structure.

Also: Adamjoseph's theory does explain how moe can float.

 

[BlackZero]

If this is true, than it would suggest that the inklings are actually a human genetic experiment

Humanity's obsession with the burning question of whether we are kids or squids grows out of control. Those who claim themselves to be squids set forth on a mission to literally become squids. The scientific community is enthralled by this project, abandoning efforts to combat man-made global climate change save for one man who perfects cryogenic stasis technology for cats. Years of genetic experimentation with squids/human gene splicing go by before geneticists and evolutionary biologists finally come across a series of DNA strands that would allow people to become their inner squid. However, they ignored global climate change for too long, and a grown cataclysm had reached the point of no return. Accepting their fate, they resolved themselves to securing the squid-dominant future. Teams began fishing up squids and injecting them with a controlled-release mutagen that would accelerate squids evolution into sapient life forms molded after their human creators.

One team, led by a scientist disgruntled because he got passed over for a big promotion for the boss' cousin even though he did twice the work, sought revenge by injecting octopodes with the mutagen. Then there was a group of temps and interns who thought it would be funny to inject a bunch of random sea creatures with the mutagen.

Then, in one grievous day and night, humanity was swallowed by the sea and vanished. This was widely considered a good move by the cosmos as it meant an end to terrible reality TV and Facebook posts. Over several millennia, the mutagen did its thing and man's dreams of being both squids and kids came to fruition, even if they weren't around to enjoy it. And it was good.

 

[MissingNumbers]

... By George, I think he's got it.

 

[adamjoseph]

The scientific community is enthralled by this project, abandoning efforts to combat man-made global climate change save for one man who perfects cryogenic stasis technology for cats

What a poor, and either misguided or ill-equipped scientist to be the last man on Earth who cares about climate change.

"Damn it, why does no one care about this?! Looks like the fate of humanity rests on my shoulders... I accept this challenge."

some time later

"Eureka! I've done it! I've frozen the cat! Wait. What was I doing again? Whatever. Off into space you go!"

 

[BlackZero]

"Eureka! I've done it! I've frozen the cat! Wait. What was I doing again? Whatever. Off into space you go!"

To be fair, "Save the cats!" would likely be humanity's reaction to the end of the world.

 

[adamjoseph]

To be fair, "Save the cats!" would likely be humanity's reaction to the end of the world.

This is probably true.

I like to imagine that there is a distant alien species watching our world progress as a form of entertainment, with the climactic end to our existence being punctuated by all of us loading the remaining cats, frozen, into spaceships and firing them off into the distance as rising sea levels / nuclear radiation slowly consume us.

"Huh. That was an interesting way for them go out. Oh well. Hey Zork, let's go out and gather those frozen cats. We can use them to make our OWN internet, because I'm pretty sure that's how it worked."

 

[Globin347]

It would be like our internet, but without anything remotely useful.

 

[adamjoseph]

It would be like our internet, but without anything remotely useful.

Depends who you ask. An internet entirely composed of cats is an internet without any of the unnecessary fluff for some. fluff pun for fluffy cats

Well anyway, to make my replies seem less like conversation de-railers - I always imagined the inklings transformation to and from squid and kid form to be almost like a massively sped-up and reversible version of a caterpillar morphing into a butterfly. When caterpillars are in cocoons, they're almost just a gooey soup. If you don't inspect carefully, it kind of looks like they dissolve into a pile of gel, but close examination reveals that major organs and muscles are kept intact as special groups of cells and special microscopic bits and pieces that keep it identified as an organ or a muscle of some sort. As it turns into a butterfly, the goo re-solidifies and those special areas which are identifiable as important body parts take their new form. An inkling moving through ink seems like what the caterpillar goo might be, and whenever it stops moving or turns back into a kid, the parts reform and such.

No idea about what happens with the clothes and weapons. I guess that's when you can start tying in the inter-dimensional stuff you guys were talking about. I'm racking my brain for a simpler solution (not because I think there's an actual canonical explanation; just for funsies) but I got nothin'.

 

[BlackZero]

No idea about what happens with the clothes and weapons. I guess that's when you can start tying in the inter-dimensional stuff you guys were talking about. I'm racking my brain for a simpler solution (not because I think there's an actual canonical explanation; just for funsies) but I got nothin'.

Inkling ink could be the end product of a string theory experiment to tap into the other 7 dimensions (String theory, depending on what type you look at, suggests there are no fewer than 10 dimensions and possibly as many as 26).

Imagine for a moment that you live in Super Mario World on the SNES. If you look at Mario "head on," you will only see two dimensions: width and height. Thus, Mario will look like a vertical line. Seeing Mario on the TV screen like we do requires a third dimension that does not exist in Mario's 2D universe. From the perspective of Yoshi, Princesss Peach, or Luigi, the image of Mario we see does not exist and is inconceivable. They would not be able to understand the image we have of him unless we were able to bring them into a 3D world, yet that image of Mario still exists outside of their known dimensions.

Using String theory and a little imagination, it's possible that Inkling Ink connects our 4D world to one or many of the other dimensions that mathematical models demonstrate to exist. We only see the 3 spatial vectors (X, Y, and Z axes) of the ink because that is all we are capable of perceiving, but the ink (and anything that falls in to it like Octoweapons) is pulled into other dimensions beyond our perception.

This also supports the "Squid Experiment" argument I flawlessly presented earlier. It's all coming together so beautifully...

Imagining Other Dimensions

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Uhm, are we trying to discuss Biology or pull each others legs here? o_O

 

[BlackZero]

Uhm, are we trying to discuss Biology or pull each others legs here? o_O

I came for the salad bar and stayed for shenanigans.

 

[Flareth]

Damn... I was gonna posit the question about what species each species evolved from (I'm guessing it would be convergent), but then y'all start postulating about genetic engineering.
And cover every single option in the process.
...what else about the Inklings' inner workings have we yet to discuss?

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Oh, I can think of something.

One topic I have been wondering about...
Okay, we know they have no bones.
But does that mean they can bend their bodies anyway they like?
I mean that would mean surpassing the skills of contortionists.

Or would there still be limits to the flexibility of their bodies.


The reason I am asking, is because I have once thought about hand-to-hand fighting techniques, that Inklings and Octolings could perform.
And since I am in a minor "Metal Gear Solid" mood lately, i have indulged the idea of Octolings practicing CQC-esque moves.
(Yes. Only Octolings in this case, since I figured only they would train every possible way of fighting, given that they are trained for serious combat)
For those of you who don't know, in MGS CQC makes primarily use of grabs, chokeholds and throws.

And in real life, those kind of fighting techniques work so well, is because they exploit the limits of the human body.
For instance, Disarming weapons involves striking the target limb in a way outside its "comfort zone" if you will, causing a reflex to open the hand, thus causing it to let go of the weapon.
Or something like that.


Now here I find myself wondering. Would such techniques even work on Inklings and Octolings?
Or would their boneless bodies alone render such actions useless?

I don't want to turn this into a "Martial Arts for Inklings/Octolings" topic.
Since that alone could warrant a topic for its own. (I think I even saw one the other day actually).

This is more about the limits of their bodies.
Where do their "comfort zones" lie. And more importantly: WHERE DO THEY END?!

 

[BlackZero]

The reason I am asking, is because I have once thought about hand-to-hand fighting techniques, that Inklings and Octolings could perform.

Actual squid v. squid fighting involves bumping heads together. I would imagine Inkling hand-to-hand would consist largely of headbutts with copious amounts of cute, Squiddish F-bombs.

Being soft-bodied organisms, I would imagine they'd be vulnerable to hard strikes. RL squids have rather large hearts proportional to their bodies. As an added bonus, their man parts are right beside it; both of which are in their head. Just think, every male you head shot is a two-fer.

Why do Callie & Marie have plus-shaped pupils while all the other inklings don't? Science, explain.

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

if you mean Kraken vs Kraken then yes. :p

But all jokes aside, like I said, this is more about the body-weaknesses such fighting techniques could exploit, rather than the fighting techniques themselves.
So the specific questions would be:
- Could a powerful impact still send a shock to their brain, causing unconsciousness? (Hard KO-Punches)
- Could outside forces prevent breathing, aka can they be choked? (Chokeholds)
- Is the flexibility of them limited, making it hard for them to get our of some pinches? (Restraining grabs and Chokeholds)
- Could some parts of their bodies be bent or struck in a painful way, causing unwanted reflexes? (Disarming)

At least that all i can think of, regarding body weaknesses, that fighting techniques could exploit.
But yeah, the question stands, as to where exactly their comfort zones lie and where they end.
Meaning how far can you pressure or bend their bodies, until it becomes painful?

And one other thing I am wondering: What kind of reflexes, in response to weak points being struck, would they have anyways.
Their humanoid forms have many things in common with actual humans, obviously.
But does that mean they have the same weaknesses? Or not?
Or do they have only some of our weaknesses, while some others only they have?

And tbh, I have once thought of the concept of being unable to switch forms, when certain parts of their body are under pressure.
Since the body would naturally not allow an outside force getting inside, thus disallowing the body to become liquid and therefore too soft for it to withstand said force.

Yes, I have many crazy ideas. ^^;

 

[Globin347]

The inklings do have ink sacs... maybe they would spit ink in one another's faces?

...come to think of it, that may be where they got the idea to make the guns in the first place.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

The inklings do have ink sacs... maybe they would spit ink in one another's faces?

...come to think of it, that may be where they got the idea to make the guns in the first place.

Maybe spitting into the eyes of enemies as a last resort, like those lizards who squirt blood or those snakes that spit venom aiming for the eyes.

 

[Globin347]

Well, given how much ink the squid folk have, that might be a first resort. If you blind the enemy early, you can take them out more easily. Also, unlike most real world animals, it seems that inklings can afford to toss out ink like it's going out of style.

By the way... do you suppose it would be hard to force an inkling to liquefy? That's exactly what water does to them, and enemy ink (when coming at them at high speeds.)

While inklings can stand in enemy ink without splatting, it looks like it would quickly exhaust them. I expect that they would "fall" into the enemy ink once they lost their strength, and the enemy ink would tear them apart... especially if the inkling were being actively pulled down by an enemy... while their face was covered in ink.

It's possible that even unarmed inkling combat would revolve around ink.

 

[Flareth]

- Could a powerful impact still send a shock to their brain, causing unconsciousness? (Hard KO-Punches)
- Could outside forces prevent breathing, aka can they be choked? (Chokeholds)
- Is the flexibility of them limited, making it hard for them to get our of some pinches? (Restraining grabs and Chokeholds)
- Could some parts of their bodies be bent or struck in a painful way, causing unwanted reflexes? (Disarming)

Let's see... for #1, are we talking about a direct blow to the head? If so, I'm guessing that it could; besides the brain, there's a "giant axon" spanning the length of the squid's mantle which apparently controls the squid's jet propulsion. I don't think bashing that would be enough to knock a poor Inkling unconscious, but it might be enough to keep them from Super Jumping for a while (assuming the Super Jump is related to that jet propulsion mechanism... that's actually more of an answer to #4, isn't it?).

#2... they have lungs, which no cephalopod has ever had. I'm-a cop out and say that, having lungs, ergo they can be suffocated.

Well, squid still have their internal pen, so they're not quite as flexible compared to octopods. But their arms (and tentacles) are still pretty flexible & sucker-covered, so I could see the Inklings having an easier time getting out of a hold than most of us would... provided they're in squid form. In kid form, I'd assume it's more difficult for them as it is for most of us. Until they bitchslap their aggressors with their hair.
Actually, I wonder if the splat reflex alone might be enough to get out of a hold as a last resort.

Does that help?

 

[Paragon-Yoshi]

Let's see... for #1, are we talking about a direct blow to the head? If so, I'm guessing that it could; besides the brain, there's a "giant axon" spanning the length of the squid's mantle which apparently controls the squid's jet propulsion. I don't think bashing that would be enough to knock a poor Inkling unconscious, but it might be enough to keep them from Super Jumping for a while (assuming the Super Jump is related to that jet propulsion mechanism... that's actually more of an answer to #4, isn't it?).

#2... they have lungs, which no cephalopod has ever had. I'm-a cop out and say that, having lungs, ergo they can be suffocated.

Well, squid still have their internal pen, so they're not quite as flexible compared to octopods. But their arms (and tentacles) are still pretty flexible & sucker-covered, so I could see the Inklings having an easier time getting out of a hold than most of us would... provided they're in squid form. In kid form, I'd assume it's more difficult for them as it is for most of us. Until they bitchslap their aggressors with their hair.
Actually, I wonder if the splat reflex alone might be enough to get out of a hold as a last resort.

Does that help?

Interesting.

Though I don't think the Splat-Reflex is something that they could do whenever they want.
In fact, I'd think their body would do it on its own, without the Inkling or Octoling having any control over it.
And as far as i have seen, the Splat-Reflex is only performed in response to hazardous liquid.
Meaning it'd have to be a substance harmful to the body, like acid or something, to trigger that Reflex.
And it'd have to thoroughly cover the body.

But grabbing and holding hard, is not really harmful just... uncomfortable.
In other words, physical force wouldn't be enough to trigger the Splat-Reflex.


And I was really only talking about their humanoid forms, with by questions.
Since their Squid-Forms cannot fight at all (unless they use Kraken-Special).


So basicly, I have thought of this as a two-way street.
Hazardous liquid (Enemy Ink, Water, etc.) are harmful to the body, causing it to dissolve if said individual is completely submerged in it.
Using "Splatting" as a last resort to save themselves.

While physical force does not have the goal of "killing" them, but rather subdue them.
Making use of the bodies weak points and reflexes, to knock out an adversary without seriously harming the body and thus triggering the Splat-Reflex.