My personal theory for why they cannot swim is because salt ions in the water break down a protective layer of there skin and then they dissolve. However, they are fine interacting with just water which explains why they can deal with rain and can consume water
What about treated water used in places like Mahi Mahi Resort? Surely in a world full of Inklings and Octolings there would be at least SOME regulations around having a pool that you know... Kills a large percent of your population when they dive in. And please do correct me if I'm wrong but don't treated swimming pools use purely chlorine/ammonia cleaners? Especially one in what seams to be a very big resort in the Splatoon world.
My personal theory regarding this is that it depends on the relative speed and quantity of water coming their way. This would lead to lighter rains being uncomfortable but tropical storms being something to seek shelter from, as well as being able to slowly settle into a bath or hot spring but not fall straight into water. (That said, my headcanon is that showering is their primary method of bathing.) And of course, they can drink water since it's not like it's pressing against them from all sides like falling into it would be.
@@TheDemonOfSemenmaybe when mahi-mahi is in rotation, the staff add an increased amount of salt to the water as an obstacle? They probably then drain the pool water and open Mahi-Mahi up to the squids/octos again. It would be a costly endeavour, sure; however, I think they’d probably get their money’s worth with how many people end up playing turf war/ranked on there.
Another reasonable guess to how they move through ink is that their "ink" is actually a mixture of like stem cells and bacteria that when they move through the ink they are essentially moving through a mass of themselves and if their clothing is also made of those cells it could explain how they are able to do everything although I'd imagine the process of swimming and shapeshifting would be extremely slow I'd try to suspend my belief a bit. The reason I included the bacteria bit is because some real squids do glow thanks to bacteria in game certain accessories and hair glows while standing on ink but hat's probably an conscious expression of style or something but I mentioned it because there is another biological reason for how it would be possible
@@TGPRany Yeah! like I was thinking something along the lines of this, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-N462jZFr13k.html&ab_channel=Evopalaeo
4:28 hang on there sonny. oobleck is a liquid. what you're looking to say is that oobleck is a Non-newtonian fluid. it is a fluid with a changing density, something that doesn't flow with original newtonian fluid dynamics. it's still a liquid even though it feels solid. it's just becoming more dense under pressure. but i understand. it's hard to believe that living organisms are completely liquid and the only hard solid parts are our bones. but squids and octopuses don't have bones but squids do have a mantle to help holding their bodies to shape. it's probable that they just hold their bodies up with muscles but if their mantle can fit through then they can.
I never said oobleck wasn't a liquid, I just gave a quick description of how it can behave. I didn't find it important to go into detail about oobleck because that's not what my point was, I was simply drawing a comparison between how both oobleck and inklings have different behaviors in different conditions. I can see how someone could misunderstand what I was saying and I will be sure to choose my words more carefully in the future but again, you're misinterpreting what that part of my video is about and I gave a disclaimer for instances like this to begin with. With your two comments you've given me I believe you're just trying to find things in my video to correct. Why? Neither of them have actually explained how something I said was wrong so I think you're just hearing what you want to hear so you can flaunt how you're smarter than a teenager. Again, why?
@@TGPRany I'm not looking for things to correct. that's not a fun way to live. but if I notice something I note it. I hope you don't take offense to my comments. but I did apparently misunderstand you considerably.
My idea of why enemy ink hurts: The same reason why water kills them, but on a smaller scale. I remember hearing how the cephalopod kids have a permeable membrane, which makes it easy for them to basically become one with their own ink. However, water dilutes them by piercing through that permeable membrane, causing them to dissipate. Enemy ink more than likely works the same, in that a different substance is piercing through their membrane. However, because enemy is also ink, the damage isn't as severe unless you stand in it for very long, and even so, you can't die standing in enemy ink. Why it hurts them is up in the air, because they seem to be fine waist down in water. Cephalopod kids take showers and drink water, and can also cry water as seen from Agent 3 in story mode, so it doesn't hurt them. Perhaps each ink color creates a different chemical make-up of some kind of venom, so other cephalopods who step in enemy ink are being poisoned from it as well.
Squids and octopuses do have venomous bites, as well as the mucus in their ink causing suffocation, so you could be onto something with the poison theory!
That would make so much sense, actually! The chip that upgrades your ink damage in side order is called “poison ink”. I used to think that was just a metaphor for your ink being more harmful to the enemy, but maybe it’s an allusion to how ink damage actually works outside of side order’s simulation.
I remember hearing that it was specifically ink-eating bacteria/microbes somewhere (prob from a rassicas video or something), though I’m probably wrong.
@@delta_craft685its actually originally from a singleplayer scroll from splatoon 1. it mentions how over time ink disappears because there are airborne microbes that eat it
This video is really well thought out and I love that you went the extra mile using actual examples from science and animals! My theory as to why they cannot swim is due to osmosis. It’s stated in one of the Alterna logs that during evolution, they developed a thin membrane-like skin in order to be able to transform between kid and squid, but in the process they lost the ability to submerge in water (which is actually why the Great Turf War happened, but that’s lore not biology). When an Inkling/Octoling is submerged in water, osmosis occurs akin to how a cell would be affected by a greater intake of water. The water molecules attempt to balance themselves out on both sides of the cell membrane (the Inkling/Octoling’s skin), and if there’s too much water, the cell (Inkling/Octoling) will burst, causing the explosion-like effect we see in game. Though it is stated in game they can take showers (thanks Marie in Splatoon 1), and they can clearly intake liquids as seen by soda vending machines and Tacticoolers, so I think that their membrane is relatively durable and will only burst if there is a much greater water-to-body ratio, so things like low water pressure showers and drinks and washing your hands would be fine. Keep in mind I have a high school level of understanding of osmosis, so this may not be accurate, but that’s my hypothesis. It was really interesting to see a different take on it though!
yes they can! But that's because they don't have hard body parts aside from their beaks which is why I talk about cats. I should have probably clarified that in hindsight lol
great video! i like the idea of the different ink colors having different lipids but what if they also had antibodies like how people have different antibodies with different blood types and thats why inklings and octolings take damage from enemy ink in addition to not being able to swim in it
i have my own personal theory that inklings have very thin skin that can't handle a whole lot of water. So when inklings get submerged in more water they can handle, their bodies collapses in on itself and exerts all its insides, like filling a balloon full of water and watching the water get forced out of the top.
I think it’s supposed to parallel how octopi irl have more de-centralized nervous systems: each of their limbs essentially has its own brain! I assume in this setting that those brains can still operate on their own once the tentacle is severed from its owner.
Oh hey I've been learning about phospholipids in school recently,good to know this video exists so my autistic brain can remember all this information- Really interesting stuff and great video :D
I found interesting how you pointed out that the reason rabbits change their fur color has to do with the ability to avoid confrontation with predators. I feel like the inklings and octolings could similarly change the pigment in their tentacles when they are in a situation of stress due to predator-prey confrontation, which translates eventually into sports competitions (such as the turf wars) once the species reach a civilization level sufficient to have sports, similarly how humans have a fight-or-flight mechanism even though we dknt need to fight for food anymore. Idk i might be going crazy as well with headcanons
nono that actually seems pretty cool and I hadn't thought of that! It is something that happens quite often, almost like a vestigial trait of sorts. Do you mind if I put this comment in part 2?
I always assumed Inklings were just ink made sentient by a soul. The soul can mold the ink in any form it wants, but if it loses its mass, the soul simply retreats into a spawner, which then reincorporates the soul with the ink, through a process involving pressure. That's why they can appear any color they want and morph at will. Whenever they buy "clothing" or "weapons" they're simply buying the right to change their bodies and utilize the copyrighted material. Essentially, Inklings are just ghosts, possessing ink!
Thank you for that explanation on how they get damaged and can’t swim through enemy ink. I kept getting caught up on that. (I know there’s no official explanation it just kept bothering me) Now let’s talk about how they reproduce. Inkling and octoling anatomy is very twisted compared real life cephalopods. Originally I thought their ears might lead to their mantle but [this text had been redacted]
I headcanon the inklings as having cartilage skeletons, or just having REALLY STRONG MUSCLES, which I think is why they can jump so high. And dude, I love these kinds of videos. Logically explaining fictional ideas is just so fun. Keep it up!
I always thought that the reason they splat in water is because the pressure underwater increases and is too great for their relatively thin skin. How else would they drink? Bathe? Walk in the rain?
I think it's because of water potential. Same sort of thing as our own cells, it's all about how much water they're around and how diluted the water is
@@TGPRanydo you mean like hypotonic solutions? Cells in those conditions swell and burst because they’ve got more solids than the surrounding water, and water rushes into the cell to try and balance out that difference. Do you think that’s happening with Inklings and Octolings on a multi-cellular scale?
This type of video is straight down my alley I love these over analyzations of things in fiction and it just scratches my brain whenever I see real world properties be successfully applied to things like funi squid gam
what i know is cannon that relates to biology of squids (wowee!) (source: 99% from youtuber Rassicas) -canonically, squid kids have no bones -they are held up from pressure (?) -they have a brain and nervous system, organs etc -i dont know how they go þrough grates and also change size with reasoning ... -alot of people think they dont have tongues. this is a lie. shiver and frye in s3 have tongues, easily seen in storymode or pose 3 when taking photos with them with amiibo (i checked for you) -they can change what they look like at will , i dont know the limits of this -octolings can cut off tentacles to make octarians ... less tentacles/limbs = less smart -dj octavio's machinery that has his limb scar on a wiggly tentacle IS his limb cut and regrown and i dont know if those are sentient (probably not) -i dont know if it's important, but the food chain of everything IS the same as now in splatoon. squids eat squid, squids eat salmonids, salmonids eat squid, jellies are mostly unbothered if theyre eaten but generally not eaten anyways... -i dont know if they still have crystal fluid from alterna's logs inside of them. most likely not -dont ask me where the gun and clothes of your character goes when they turn into swim form. i dont know, and it probably just gets absorbed and stuffed with the brain maybe -reproduction ... ask the splatoon manga instead its , DONT ASK ME???? -fun fact, inklings/octolings are able to change forms at age 14, which is why they cant play turf war before then. befoee theyre 14, they start out as a squid and as they grow older they morph into a human form. when they get too old (as seen with craig cuttlefish and dj octavio), they loose their ability to change into swim form (explained below) (but dj octavio just got heavily damaged so he's stuck in squid form, dont worry he's an old man) -you can sundry to live longer but you lose ink capabilities such as swimming and using ink weapons (or... become s3 craig. poor guy.) -there are restrooms in splatoon 3's splatsville -fun fact, in swim form, your eyes are gray and they are always gray. i dont know why, i think it's a bug, and isnt supposed to be canon -tentacles are like nails and dont seem to hurt when cut. its also recognized that cephalopods grill or fry their tentacles as a style trend (i do have sketches of this) any more that is canon i can add from comment replies:)
Maybe they don’t like the feel of water so this is some kind of flight response? They retreat into the air even when falling off a map without water. Another thing is the ink has evolved properties from the alternan crystals being able to “store” things physical and mental.
yeah their little soul thingy comes out but they kinda poof. I made my claims based on how their physical bodies react with the water. But hey, what do I know? I'm just a dumb guy on the internet
This is pretty cool, I might have to do a deeper dive into the science behind your reasoning, maybe even form my own conclusions. Also, I did have a few thoughts I haven't seen mention of yet. (Disclaimer: I'm someone who knows very little about any of this) When you mentioned how similar the species are in the beginning, my first thought that it is a case of convergent evolution. The lore backs this up as it mentions the evolution of squids and octopodes into inklings and octolings in a context that mirrors human's evolution. This also made me wonder if instead of cartilage, the skeletal structures are made out of chitin, the material in these cephalopod's beaks. It appears to serve similarly to cartilage, and their bodies already have the genetic coding on how to produce it, which may allow them to evolve to bones made of chitin much quicker than anything else. The similarities between human society and cephalopod society, as well as all the human made buildings and areas still prevalent throughout the world, seem to suggest that this evolution happened exceedingly quickly following the downfall of humanity. This to me points to inking and octoling biology being composed of materials squids and octopodes already produce: chitin. The one problem is that chitin is found mainly in exoskeletons and shells, not internal structures; however, I am unsure of how much that discredits my argument.
After a little bit of research, I found out that squids and octopi do in fact produce cartilage! It’s not used for any internal skeleton, obviously, but it’s not impossible for that cartilage to be repurposed as an internal support structure.
I know people love to point to the sunken scroll that says inklings have no bones and call it proof, but truth be told, that’s likely a hypothesis considering cartilage bones wouldn’t show up on x-rays (correct me here if I’m wrong). Even so, depending on what causes a turfling to go splat, you might not even be able to cut into one and see if there are bones before they go splat and you learn nothing. I still believe they have bones of some sort since how else would you be able to not only hold, but also control some of the more heavy weapons such as dynamo roller
Why inkings explode when they try to swim but are fine drinking water and being rained on (in universe): who the hell *can* know with 100&% certainty what the explanation is, because we have to dig up some hyper neiche biology terms and concepts found in creatures or experiments that nobody gave a shit about before the majority of people vaguely knew what the fuck a splatoon was. Why inkings explode when they try to swim but are fine drinking water and being rained on (irl reasoning behind the splatoon team’s decision to give the inklings this quirk): the splatoon team wanted inklings to die when they attempted to swim but drowning is apparently more violent than *LITERALLY EXPLODING TO THE POINT WHERE THE ONLY SIGN LEFT OF YOU IS THE RAPIDLY DILUTING STAIN IN THE WATER AND WHAT WAS ON YOUR PERSON, WHEN YOU STILL HAD A PERSON TO SPEAK OF.* Of course, they didn’t think further than that because censorship often stumbles around in the dark, accidentally stabbing those it is trying to protect, with logic and reasoning becoming “acceptable collateral damage” in this process.
great video! i was expecting a funny video but this was actually quite an informational lesson OVER SPLATOON!! i couldn't be more joyful. it also helps i like science so i foudn it very interesting
I'm a bit late here, but... ...My personal hypothesis is that the ink itself is an alien organism that has formed a symbiotic relationship with the various species in splatoon. In some species, like the salmonids, the earth creatures have evolved a simple inc sac to hold it, where the ink grows and repilcates itself such that the salmonids can leave trails of ink behind. In Inklings and Octolings, the symbiosis is so extreme that the earth creatures are now mostly made of ink, with only small amounts of skin and muscle tissue to hold themselves together. The reason different color ink splats an inkling is because the ink is able to tell friend from foe via various pheremones and chemical tells, and actively digests anything it registers as an enemy. This alien organism also apparently has time and space warping powers, which is how inklings are able to "swim" in a thin layer of paint coating a surface (and how larger, metallic structures like the great octoweapons can sink into this surface coating that should logically be less than a centimeter deep.)
Something that could've been addressed is inklings' limited ability to submerge in water. Say what?! Well, in mahimahi resort in Splatoon 1, there's a ramp that leads into the water, and you don't melt until you submerge deeper than knee deep. What's up with that?
I think that just has to do with the collision detection. It would not be practical to make specific collision for every single wave animation on every part of the map so they just have a box to detect when a player is "touching" the water enough instead. Could still be interesting to think about, though, just too much for this video lol
What if Inkling "bones" are actually vessels that expand/stabilize by filling with liquid? Kind of like insect wings. That would mean that the only things that stay hard/the same shape are the beaks and eye sockets, the rest just deflates and shrinks when they enter their swim forms
As for inklings/octolings getting hurt by different ink colors, its easily explainable when you take example from blood types, if they are not compatible then damage will be afflicted and if same/similar then you either gain or no repracations will occur. This is maybe also why inklings/octolings can heal by swimming in the same colour ink even if its not theirs, its just basically blood transfusions where you know how different types interact with each other and if they benefit from the intake or not. 😮💨
there's textual evidence in the translations of the original japanese version of the game in how characters talk that actually inklings and octolings CAN swim in water, the explosion in the water is just an in-game effect, not canonically how their bodies operate. For some reason in the american version they added lines referencing the in game effect as if its canon.
Well done video Rany! I'm an academic, so it was very appreciated seeing you make sure to clarify what the scientific definition of theory is instead of the cultural definition. Another fun fact about the biology of Inklings and Octolings is that [1: Inklings actually have more cartilage in their bodies than Octolings do, and 2: For Inklings, females are the stronger gender since they have more cartilage than male Inklings(obviously;) the physical strength listing from strongest to weakest iirc is Inkling female, Inkling male, Octoling female, Octoling male.] Subscribing because I'm excited with my assumption that you will create more videos like this, keep doing this; you deserve so much more.
Actually, I have a theory that their ink color actually depends on hormones. And those hormones change a type of pigment that kinda functions like plasma, but if there's too much of it in one place, it becomes highly toxic. so the pigment is spread to elsewhere in the body so it changes the mouth and hair and fingertips if there's alot of excess pigment. And when water gets through a cephalokid's pores, it interacts with the pigment which makes it foam up and bubble which is very painful and eventually pressure builds up and they explode. Same with enemy ink because the molecular compounds of the pigment change depending on the hormones and genetics.Cephalopods can shower and consume large amounts of water though. And if an inkling wants to swim, they have to spray a certain chemical on their skin. Also, their skeleton isn't really bones, but it's strong cartilage with bone marrow. And when they get haircuts, they need a heavy dose of numbing / anesthesia and a tourniquet to stop pain and bleeding. And how they swim through grates is they squeeze through.
I just somewhat just learned more in a video about Splatoon than in school, and more quicker than learning in school. I’m surprised. Besides, that does sound pretty canon to me. 🤨
i could be completely wrong about any of this, but this is what i think happens when they come into contact with water: inklings and octolings are made up of ink, and ink diffuses into water. high concentration of water goes into the low concentration of ink, which then causes the inkling/octoling to explode. anyone feel free to let me know if im wrong about any of this, or if it doesnt make sense. sorry if this sounds strange or doesnt make sense at all..!
7:13 while it isn’t technically a skeleton a squid’s pen inside its mantle is however made of chitin and protien. And though it’s flexible and somewhat malleable like rubber, when squids swim it can be sturdy enough to maintain its shape while swimming. One theory you can have alongside the cartilaginous skeleton is that the inkling’s internal skeleton could also be made of chitin and protein like a squid’s pen. With the same ooblec like body and non conjoined skeleton.
13:03 I was ready to go “That’s just a theory, A GAME THEORY!” And got a lil sad when it got cut off. (I’m obviously not watching this vid just to draw squid and octopus people clear… what?)
My work-in-progress headcanon is that on a cellular level they’re just made of ink, which they’re able to manipulate and restructure (including making some of it into cartilage so they have skeletal structure in humanoid form) kind of like the Pokemon Ditto, except they only have two main forms that they instinctively know how to properly mold themselves into: swim form, because they evolved from regular squids and octopi, and humanoid form, because of the crystals from Alterna (Splatoon lore moment). If they’re too severely dehydrated, their ink will solidify and they won’t be able to shift forms or do much of anything (see Cap’n Cuttlefish in Return Of The Mammalians), and if they’re immersed in water they’ll dissolve and be unable to hold their form together. I don’t currently know how this explanation fits with DJ Octavio being stuck in swim form because of his injury from the Great Turf War: maybe he has opposing-color ink embedded somewhere in his form (like a bullet still embedded in an old healed-over wound) that prevents him from shifting because it’s too close to some vital organs? I also haven’t figured out how changing ink colors, which is something I believe they can do, factors into this, although I’m also leaning towards accepting the idea that each inkling/octoling has a native ink color that’s sort of their default. Let me know what you think.
12:21 I think one idea that can be applied to this argument is that the splat competitions have a device or process that induces the phenotypic plasticity that causes the inklings to change their colors for the fights, so it’s easier for them to know what side they’re on.
how do their organs maintain coherent structure throughout liquification. like how do they store memories, how does that remain intact throughout transforming into liquid and sliding through a grate i mean i guess given that they don't seem to get amnesia after passing through a respawner it's probably related to whatever "soul" thingy comes out whenever they get splatted but here i am overthinking a contrivance for a basic mechanic of silly squid game
I think it's best to not overthink their organs when the simple answer will do: much like real squids and octopuses, their organs are likely soft and malleable
@@TGPRany That's true, and it would seem to be corroborated with how like. if they get put in a blender and violently agitated (octo expansion), that ends badly for them, but in cases where they're in control of the agitation (like when sliding through a grate) they're A.O.K.
Cephalopods don't have bones or cartilage, so I don't believe the inklings would (I ignore the fact that they move like they have internal skeletons; they also have boobs despite not being mammals lol). However, squids do have an evolutionary remnant from ancestors that had external shells, called the gladius or pen, and it's made of chitin, the same as their beaks (which are presumably what their "teeth" are). Cuttlefish have a thicker internal shell called a cuttlebone, while most octopuses have nothing. It's debatable whether the inklings have inner shells, since they offer some buoyancy control, and as we know the cephalopod kids can't float. I believe their bodies are made of an inklike liquid that is denser than water, making them naturally poor swimmers, and they have skin that becomes more or less osmotic depending on how excited they are. This means that other ink colors and exposure to calm water is normally safe to them, but the excitement of battle causes them to take damage from pressurized ink or sink before dissolving in water. Just don't ask me about the respawn system, any guess is as good as mine
In the brand new DLC for splatoon 3 called side order there is colors of ink that is probably not possible regularly but there is a explanation for it as it is in a virtual world and not the real splatoon world
My head cannon is that inklings are composed of some kind of oil and water emulsion. The colors changing and the different forms can both be explained by the “liquid crystals” talked about in the alterna logs.
@@nullpoint3346 you are right that bones are calcium rich but it would be naive to say calcium structure = bone. Just looked it up, apparently shark teeth are made of dentin. Dentin is not bone but it is comprised of calcium phosphate (similar to bones) which is probably where I got calcium from. They are very similar to our teeth. Think about it, though, teeth are not as dense as bones are, why would sharks, a species that need to not be very dense, have bone for teeth? I don't think this is a very productive or worthwhile discussion, though.
@@Maximumax977 oh so are all pediatricians creeps now? do children not deserve healthcare? is that what you're saying? you don't think we should understand the biology of kids? why not just take away healthcare from everyone at that point, don't want to let those creepy doctors invade our privacy.