| Inkling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Original | インクリング | ||
| Romanization | Inkuringu | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Molluscan
Humanoid (14 +) | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Aggressivity | Variable | ||
| Language | Inkling Language | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Inkopolis | ||
| Habitat | Terrestrial | ||
| Diet | Omnivore | ||
| Locomotion | Bipedal Swimming (in mollusk form) | ||
| Related species | Octarian Octoling | ||
| Status | Least Concern | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Splatoon | ||
| Created by | Nintendo | ||
An Inkling is a species of molluscan-like humanoid that convergently evolved in place of Humans within the video games Splatoon and Splatoon 2, being the main protagonist's species in the first game, and optional playable species in the second game.
Biology[]
All Inklings have two notable "forms" that they can freely change into at will: their common Humanoid form, and their ancestral squid form. Inklings come in numerous colors, which depending on the color also changes the coloration of their ink. Inklings, along with other marine invertebrates, evolve thousands of years after humanity due to rising sea levels bringing their ancestors inland, and them becoming stranded once the sea levels retreated.
In their humanoid form, Inklings hold an uncanny resemblance to Humans, but such notable details do split them apart: they have black markings around their eyes to resemble a mask, pointed teeth that mirror the shape of a Squid's beak (two pointed teeth on the upper jaw, and one single pointed tooth on the lower jaw), and their "hair" is actually the Inklings' tentacles, which while default to their birth coloration, can easily change color depending on the Inkling's association.
The Squid Form of an Inkling.
Their Squid form has a more natural Cephalopod-like anatomy, mirroring a normal Squid, but they still have their signature eyes and mask markings, though these eyes seem to be conjoined at the center. They possess six tentacles, two of which are much larger and more prominent than the other four.
Inklings don't have any bones, making their bodies mostly a liquid form, which ironically makes them unable to swim as they dissolve in water. It is also hypothesized that their excellent eyesight can only see particular colors in specialized ways.
Inkling language[]
The species has developed their own known language, known as Inklish. This language itself can mainly be heard as high-pitched gurgles. The language, both written and spoken language, is mostly indecisive apart from specific exclamations and statements heard. Some of these had been connected to Human language though:
1 - "Ready!": "Yeddy!", "Week-Week!", "Ye-squi-wy!", "Ye-i-ngyes!", "Hae-day!", "Ge-wy!", "Squeek-week!", "He-by!" 2 - "Hooray!"; "NGYES", "Ngyesh!", "Wowee!", "Gung-we-wy!", "Woomy!" 3 - "Thank you!"; "Mee-kyu!" 4 - "Help Me!"; "Sam-myooh!"
Interestingly, the phrases "This Way!", and "Hey!" aren't spoken in Inkling Language by the Inklings, and instead spoken in Human Language.
Life cycle[]
Inklings live excessively longer than Humans, some individuals easily reaching over 200 years old.
Inklings are all born as small, squid-like creatures, with infants holding no humanoid features whatsoever. These small forms have only four limbs to move around. Upon reaching childhood, they gain the ability to walk around on two legs rather than all fours, and metamorphose their humanoid-like shape along with growing an extra pair of tentacles.
They don't gain their humanoid forms until after fourteen years old.
Culture and society[]
Much of the culture and society of Inklings has, as they've convergently evolved to, mirror that of Humanity; they are self-aware and personality is specific and unique to the individual rather than the overall species, though they are considered "aggressive" due to their competitive nature during "turf wars".
Much of the most notable details of their culture derive from two main things: Fighting, and Singing.
Inkling battles[]
A prominent activity for Inklings to do is have Competitions and battles between each other, often played as a sport game, mirroring to that of Human paintball since much of it involves ink. These games and sports come in several different games, each with their own rules on how to play, many (if not all) games done with teams:
- Turf War - a two-teamed game of four players each. The main task is to cover the area with the most ink to the opposing team.
- Splat Zones - This game is similar to Turf Wars, but with a more "King of the Hill" approach: each team covering specific areas in Ink, and the winner is decided on the amount of zones covered.
- Tower Control - Two teams race to an assigned tower, and try to have said tower closer to their goal. The closest goal the Tower is standing towards by the end of the time limit decides the winning team.
- Rainmaker - Inkling "Capture the Flag", which two teams have to get a specialized weapon called the Rainmaker, and have to bring said weapon to the goal pillar at the enemy's base.
Singing[]
Cover art for "Squid Squad".
Outside of the many sports played by the Inklings, music seems to be another prominent thing within their culture, as numerous bands and songs performed by both Inklings and Octolings have been known and listened to. Many of these songs are often electro in theme, either as electric boogaloo, or hip-hop.
Religion[]
Very little is explored of the Religious aspects of the Inklings, though it is hinted that they believe in a being known as "Kami-Sama". One special event, known as Splatfest had its themes for each event revolving from a message coming from Kami-Sama (in reality, it's Human messages sent to satellites, which return to a Fax machine to the Inklings).
History[]
Mollusk Era[]
Around 2,000 years ago (10,000 years after Humans become extinct, due to rising sea level), Inklings first began their civilization alongside Octarians and Octolings, building their language and cultures throughout this time, which include using Zapfish as a prized power source.
The Great Turf Wars[]
"The Great Turf Wars"
As sea levels begin to rise again, the territory between Inklings and Octarians became more and more cramped together, this sparking what will be known as the Great Turf Wars over what dry land remained. The war itself began a hundred years ago in Inkling history, and eventually the Inklings themselves won it out.
Since then, the Turf Wars turned from a violent practice into a competitive sport.
Technology[]
Inkopolis, a city created by Inklings, is considered the largest Inkling city in the world.
Technology overall mirrors that of modern-day Humanity: with elaborate cities symbolizing much of Inkling settlements.
Weaponry with Inklings are very specialized, as they mainly involve the use of the Inklings' Ink as ammunition. Some of these weapons resemble true weapons created by humans (crossbows, water guns, bazookas, etc.) while other forms of weaponry more resemble painting tools for means of spreading ink (rollers, sprinklers, etc.) all of these are attached to a Ink Tank, which dictates the amount of Ink used.