Biology of Inkfish - Health
Notably, neocephalopods only possess an innate immune system and completely lack an adaptive immune system as seen in most fish - their immune systems are “non-learning”. This means that cephalings do not form immunities to diseases, nor do their immune systems protect them from diseases they have endured before. In comparison to organisms with an adaptive immune system, vaccines are redundant to cephalings, but on the positive side, allergies do not occur.
Common symptoms of disease in inkfish include headaches, changes in ink consistency, ink droughts, duller tentacle colors, muscle weakness, dizziness, wobbly movements and loss of appetite. Excessive ink bleed, low body temperatures, dry skin, fatigue, loss of coordination and general tiredness are also common symptoms of various infections. Sick individuals usually naturally seek out warm or even hot environments, and may spend excessive time in hot showers, underneath heated blankets or even the oven in ill-advised lapses of judgment. Raising the body temperature helps combat infection and beat illness faster, but can exacerbate symptoms of dehydration and be potentially dangerous to the brain and organs if not controlled.
Infections are easily transmitted through fresh ink or skin contact with other inkfish. As a result, infected inkfish are strictly banned from ink sports, as one Turf War with one infected player will almost certainly infect every player coming in contact with the ink.
Cephalings also encounter many conditions that aren’t necessarily caused by bacteria, such as cancers, muscle tears, beak chipping and growth abnormalities. Growth abnormalities may include quickly manifesting issues such as deep-sea gigantism or splitting or malformation of limbs. Abnormalities in limb growth most often occur when a limb is regenerating, but typically pose no risks.
An inkfish in poor health, mental or physical, will often have thin or droopy tentacles, reduced ink production and dull coloring. Some very common causes for these symptoms can be stress, poor mental health, very poor nutrition or disease.
[The same inkfish when healthy (A) and when sick (B) exhibiting some common symptoms of illness. The most prominent symptom of any illness is desaturation of the skin.]
Cephalings are somewhat famous for their regenerative abilities and overall hardiness. Their bodies are incredibly flexible, and they have no bones - making them very impact-resistant. While they often sustain scratches and wounds thanks to their relatively thin skin, their regenerative abilities make up for many of their shortcomings.
In nature, neocephalopods would often lose limbs, from tips of the limbs to entire arms ripped off. This is a type of injury they are well adapted to, to the point that crown tentacles are even routinely cut off and minced for fashion purposes in the modern day. Wounds on the limbs bleed for a short time until the regenerative process begins; in inkfish, this window is even smaller due to ink bleeding out and helping to block the site of injury. Depending on whether the cephaling is healthy and gets proper sustenance, the limb often grows back in less than a year; in smaller species, it may grow back in even just a few months. Although cephalings can regrow their limbs as many times as they have to, it is quite common for mutations to occur, and the arm may split or grow in a strange shape.
Cephalings can regenerate a lot more than their arms - they can also regenerate parts of their organs, brains, and eyes to a lesser degree. Eyes can regenerate fully from shallow wounds, and partially from deeper wounds, to the point that an almost fully demolished eye can regenerate enough tissue to regain the ability to sense light. Minor brain- and heart injuries can also be regenerated, although with a higher margin of error with larger injuries that are still survivable. Damage to a branchial heart* is typically survivable, and the organs usually heal completely over time.
(* The branchial hearts are paired and are responsible for supplying blood to one gill each. Losing one entirely and surviving on just one gill is generally possible, although the reduced respiration poses some challenges.)
Large injuries can still be lethal for cephalings. While losing one or more limbs isn’t particularly dangerous, situations where this happens as an effect of a predator attack often leave the cephaling unable to flee and thus cause them to get eaten. Injury to the systemic heart or the brain is also usually lethal within a short period of time. While they can regenerate limbs and organs, they are vulnerable to damage to the torso and mantle and are likely to perish from wounds that involve chunks being ripped off.
Various ink infections. There are MANY kinds of infections that are caused when bacteria that really shouldn’t be in there get inside the ink sac. This typically causes atypical ink production and consistency, dizziness, possible body pains and ink droughts. Most ink infections are easily identified and are treated with antibiotics or gel that absorbs into the ink veins.
Ink bleed. A state in which ink bleeds out of the ink sac and the body involuntarily. It’s typically caused by the ink ducts being open involuntarily and abnormally, the body producing too much ink, the ink produced being too runny or a combination of several factors. It is usually a symptom of illness or abnormality of the ink sac.
Ink drought. The opposite of ink bleed. An ink drought is a condition where the ink sac produces much less ink than normal, or even none. It usually leads to issues with the muscles and upright posture due to low ink pressure, and usually leads to problems of the ink vein system and dry skin if left untreated.
Poisoning or Envenomation. The most common cases of poisoning are from contact with poisonous creatures, skin contact with chemicals, or from toxin accumulation in seafood. Symptoms of poisoning vary VERY widely based on the toxin, affected species and the amount of toxin absorbed, ranging from mild discomfort and lightheadedness to paralysis and rapid death.
Hypothermia. Low body temperatures are a very common problem within cephalings, especially during colder months. They can be caused by being in environments that are much too cold or consuming too much cold food or drink. Symptoms include drowsiness, shivering, weakness and lethargy. The treatment is simple and consists of warming up the patient, although this should be done gradually.
Malnutrition. Malnutrition is a bigger issue among cephalings than one would assume, and is often caused by either too little food altogether, or not enough meat being consumed. As a lot of modern street food is mostly carbohydrates and is vegetable-based, the overall consumption of meat can dip very low for some cephalings despite their carnivorous nature. Common symptoms include loss of muscle, tiredness and irritation, lightheadedness, consistent hunger, decreased ink production and stunted growth (typically in juveniles).
Muscle weakness. Issues stemming from muscle weakness are very common in cephalings, especially inkfish, which derive a lot of their stability from ink flow. Since cephalings lack real bones, any excessive weakening of the muscles can result in rapid loss of walking and standing ability. Significant loss of muscle function may result from general long-term inactivity, illness, malnutrition, low ink pressure or low ink levels and is quite common. Even slightly extended periods of inactivity or illness sometimes require people to depend on external mobility aids afterwards, and canes especially are a widely used option for countering muscle weakness both short- and long term. Some inkfish counter significant muscle weakness by abandoning bipedalism altogether and turning to spending most of their time in swim form. Some forms of muscle weakness prevent switching between forms altogether, though this occurs mainly in people who stop switching forms for an extended amount of time.
Ink pressure issues. An inkfish’s ink system pulses ink around at a somewhat consistent rate, keeping up the natural flow. An absence or overabundance of ink, ink infections, illness, stress and anxiety as well as a myriad of other things may cause ink pressure to be higher or lower than normal. High ink pressure typically causes restlessness, stiffness and ink bleed, whereas low ink pressure causes wobbliness and unstable movement, lethargy, muscle pain and reduced stamina.
Beak issues. Cephaling beaks grow slowly but indefinitely and need to routinely be filed down if not naturally worn down. If the beak isn't used enough to naturally even out from use, one may run into beak overgrowth. For most people, mild beak overgrowth isn't an issue, and parts of the beak sticking out of the mouth is generally considered inconsequential. More advanced beak overgrowth can become problematic by digging into parts of the buccal mass and causing infections and making eating difficult. This typically occurs with individuals who have fear regarding beak procedures or healthcare. Other common issues with the beak include beak misalignment and brittleness of the beak.
Radular decay. Radular decay occurs when bits of food are stuck between or under the radular teeth, causing infection, and is more common with plant-based food sources. It is prevented by regular cleaning or brushing of the radula. Mild forms may be limited to radular pain and occasional bleeding, but severe radular decay may require the radula to be removed, which significantly limits a cephaling's diet. For perhaps obvious reasons, radular decay is not of significance for species that have no radula.
Sucker infections. Infections of the suction cups are most prevalent in squid, which have chitinous sucker rings which can trap muck, grime and other particles between the ring and fleshy tissue. Alternatively, hooks or rings can grow incorrectly or overgrow if not maintained and dig into the flesh, causing infection. They occur more commonly in people who regularly use their suckers and get them in contact with different things, but often fly under the radar for people who use their suckers for touch-based things less and thus assume that sucker care is irrelevant. Infections of the sucker usually cause pain, bleeding, dryness and potential shriveling up of the infected suckers, where severe infections can cause individual sucker necrosis and spread to the whole limb. Crown tentacle infections are particularly dangerous in that the infection can easily spread to the brain. In situations where a sucker is badly infected, it is typically precautionary to remove the sucker, a part of the limb or the whole limb, as it is often safer and more convenient to replace an inflamed sucker than it is to wait for infection to subside.
[Three common limb mutations, the most common types of significant mutation among cephalings. Limb mutations can occur as part of a genetic condition or by chance during regeneration of a limb. With the modern prevalence of tentacle cutting, it is said that up to 40% of limb regenerations involve some form of mutation. Pictured are A. branching, B. anemonism and C. blanking.]
White Beak. The color of the inkfish beak especially varies greatly in its ratio of black and white. While the base of the beak is always pale, ancestral squid and octopus beaks were mostly dark in the exposed area. In modern inkfish, a common mutation makes the beaks almost entirely pale, which also has the effect of them being softer in comparison. In the current day, predominantly white beaks are more common than black beaks are, although the majority of people will have some form of gradient in beak color and hardness. In a big part of the population, this comes with a larger risk factor for beak chipping and limitations for food hardness, though it also reduces the risk of beak overgrowth in comparison to black beaks. Brittle beaks are usually treated primarily with a threshold for maximum food hardness and beak polish to protect the surface of the beak, whereas beak chipping is usually handled by attaching artificial parts to the beak to shield it during regrowth or filing the rest of the beak to be level with the chipped segment. Cracks in a beak can be filled in with a hardening filler substance that conceals the crack and strengthens the beak.
Color Lock. Some cephalings are born without some of their ink sac chemicals, which limits the colors of ink they can mix - some extreme cases are limited to just one color. Aside from the inconvenience of having limited ink colors, the mutation is harmless. In some cases, people may choose to treat color lock by ingesting dyes to color their ink to whatever the situation calls for. Sometimes, color lock can be caused temporarily by a disease or underlying health condition, but permanent color lock is only genetic.
Ink Wither. A condition in which the ink sac produces very little ink, and may stop producing ink completely. It causes permanent ink drought, though ink drought on its own is usually a temporary symptom caused by a myriad of things. Although ink wither usually exists from birth due to unusual development of the ink sac or other related complications, it is sometimes caused when an ink drought caused by other triggers, such as disease, dehydration, bacterial infections or malnutrition, is prolonged and becomes chronic. It is treated mostly through artificial ink refills, ink soak therapy* and external mobility aids due to low ink levels often causing complications with stability.
(*Ink soak therapy is a treatment in which an inkfish bathes in a shallow tub or dish of ink. Prolonged contact with large amounts of ink has been proven to stimulate the body's own ink production, so it is an effective remedy for some instances of ink drought and also helps absorb ink into the system.)
Ink Boom. An opposing condition to ink wither in which the ink sac produces excessive amounts of ink and continues to do so even when full. It usually co-occurs with chronic ink bleed. The severity of the condition determines difficulty of the treatment; in cases of slightly above-average ink production, attention to hydration and sufficient purging of ink throughout the day may be enough to manage the condition, whereas high-producing cases may require constant monitoring and frequent hospital stays. In most affected people, the severity of the condition varies on environmental or other factors and may come in episodes. Ink boom is a condition often developed by long-term ink battlers due to frequent usage of large amounts of ink, but may develop throughout childhood or in adulthood, where it most often develops from substance use or stress. Typical symptoms include comorbid chronic ink bleed, stiffness, swelling under the skin, dehydration, malnutrition and restlessness. Treatments include purging of excess ink to avoid buildup, monitoring hydration and nutrition levels, medications to relax the ink sac or, in extreme cases, removal of the ink sac, which imposes dependence on externally sourced ink but eliminates the root cause. Ink boom sometimes occurs temporarily as a comorbidity to various health complications, and is sometimes a precursor for progressing into ink wither later in life.
Branching. Branching is a state where the limbs split and branch at the ends to form new ones continuously. Branching can be developed at birth, upon which it is typically permanent. A person with branching will typically have their limbs split into two or more growths upon the tip being cut off, or a new branch may start growing out of a non-injured limb arbitrarily. It can affect all the limbs or just some of the limbs, but an inkfish with genetic branching will always develop branches on a limb, even if cut off and regrown, although the size and position of the branching may change and vary. In individuals where only some limbs are affected, cutting off an unaffected limb will typically spread branching to that limb upon regrowth. Consequently, there are many people that are unaware of having the condition due to having no external traits until a limb is first regenerated. Some people may develop temporary branching as a result of stress, or randomly while regenerating a limb. Branches can be removed by cutting off branches and burning the root tissue to prevent regeneration, although this is done primarily for cosmetic reasons due to branching of the limbs being generally inconsequential health-wise.
Anemonism. A common genetic mutation that causes more than the usual amount of limbs to form. In most cases, it manifests in the form of additional crown tentacles, but there are sometimes extra arms or legs. The rarity goes up with the amount of extra limbs present; it is quite common for inkfish to have one or two extra crown tentacles, for example. It differs from branching in that the new limbs originate straight from the body with complete or partially complete muscle groups, rather than branching off from an existing limb. New limbs do not grow in later in life, although the onset depends on the type of anemonism; additional locomotive limbs are present from birth, whereas additional crown tentacles will grow in with the rest of the tentacle crown. Conditions where one or more of the limbs or crown tentacles are absent are considered a subset of anemonism, usually referred to as reverse anemonism.
Blanking. A somewhat rare condition which causes less or no suction cups to form, resulting in greatly reduced amounts of suckers and a signature “blank tentacles” look. It is usually present from birth, although similar effects may occur in regenerated limbs for people without the condition. It affects both the crown tentacles and the graspers; some people may only have a few suckers, some people may have none at all, and it may affect different limbs disproportionately or only affect some of the limbs. It is most noticeable in octolings, although it occurs in all sucker-bearing cephalings. In decapods, it often causes the tentacular clubs to form in unusual shapes or not form at all, and commonly results in oddly shaped or missing sucker rings. People with the condition often have comorbidities affecting the suckers, such as splitting, asymmetry, stunted development of the sucker or dulled chemoreception. For people with blanking, cutting off and regenerating limbs still produces reduced suction cup numbers, and developing other regenerative limb abnormalities is quite common. It is a condition that doesn’t require medical treatment, although people for whom it affects the graspers may benefit from specialized equipment for fingerless species.
General Limb Abnormalities. Extra limbs, missing limbs, extra suckers or missing suckers, limbs with no hand or multiple hands per limb - the list goes on. There is a plethora of limb abnormalities within neocephalopods, and they are not actually that uncommon; roughly one in 5 inkfish has something of the sort at some point of their life. Oftentimes, extra limbs, suckers or arms are at least partially or even fully functional. Many limb abnormalities are permanent and present from birth, while the most common ones can develop at any time, usually resulting from damage to a limb. People with one type of genetic limb abnormality are also likely to have other coexisting conditions; for example, anemonism and blanking often co-occur.
Kraken Syndrome. Kraken Syndrome is a psychological condition where the Kraken response* triggers dangerously easily. This condition occurs when the body is conditioned to frequent Kraken transformations to the point where the brain becomes exponentially more receptive to triggers for Krakening and thus dramatically lowers the threshold for natural Kraken episodes to occur. When this threshold is low enough, the Kraken is triggered abnormally easily and Kraken Syndrome is diagnosed. It is treated mainly with exposure therapy, mood stabilizing medication, depressants and sedatives, and specific medications that induce fatigue or physically weaken the body enough to prevent physical Krakening. It is highly comorbid with anxiety disorders, which also often function as triggers. Kraken Syndrome became widely documented in the late 2010’s, almost uniquely among frequent users of the Kraken special weapon. It is not to be confused with the rare condition where the Kraken form is able to be triggered at will with no psychological effects; this is not a type of Kraken Syndrome as it involves a voluntary transformation as opposed to a lowered threshold for involuntary uncontrolled transformations.
(* The Kraken response occurs with the fight-of-flight response of inkfish and correlates with a threshold of emotional distress that triggers the transformation. During a Kraken transformation, the inkfish becomes aggressive and disoriented, ink production is drastically increased, ink builds in the muscles and tissues increasing the individual's size, and a deimatic display is forced, often creating a high-contrast pattern. It isn't a panic reaction in itself and not all panic reactions inherently lead to a Kraken episode, but some degree of extremely high anxiety and desperation or anger are mandatory for a Kraken to trigger. The threshold that a Kraken triggers tends to vary based on person, but it generally requires an extremely high-stress situation with imminent threat. In general circumstances, the average inkfish will probably Kraken zero to three times in their life.)
[An image detailing the differences between typical emotional agitation required to trigger the Kraken response between unaffected individuals and those with Kraken syndrome. The special charge state is considered the basic state of agitation when special weapons become usable due to increased metabolic rates and high ink production. The Kraken response is typically far above the average person's typical agitation levels and triggers only in extremely dire situations. Usage of the Kraken drug for Turf Wars artificially lowers that threshold for the transformation itself to roughly the same threshold as the special charge state. Frequent transformations under the influence of the drug do not trigger the psychological disorientation and other effects of the Kraken, but they are still generally detected by the body and brain as an emergency situation, which lowers the natural threshold for natural Krakening over a long period of transformations to compensate for frequent threats. This causes an effect where even minor agitation may trigger the brain into a full-blown Kraken transformation in response to a nonexistent threat and is the case for people with Kraken syndrome. High-strung Kraken syndrome is diagnosed when the threshold for Krakening is so low that it co-occurs with the natural special charge state of the individual or even before that emotional threshold.]
Deep-Sea Gigantism. Shortened often to DSG, deep-sea gigantism is a sudden growth spurt caused by high long-term stress levels. It is a defensive response to unfamiliar or threatening life situations, mostly fueled by hormonal changes in the body in the long term. DSG gets its common name due to its prevalence in people moving in or out of the Deepsea, in which case it is often triggered by extreme change in pressure levels, disorientation through change in environment and general stress of moving, which captures a lot of common triggers for the condition. The name isn’t to say that the underground or -water are the only conditions where it occurs; it may occur as a response to any type of long-term stress, anxiety, frequent threatening situations or even some medications. The main symptom of deep-sea gigantism is unnatural, accelerated growth that might be dismissed in the short term and only becomes apparent within the span of months where it becomes clear that the pace is abnormal, and it is common to outgrow the typical size estimates for one’s species under long-term DSG. Other symptoms include increased hunger and appetite, fatigue, rapid muscle gain, headaches and general disorientation. The condition may be self-fueling due to the body directing most of the energy into growth and thus causing potential deficiencies elsewhere. Long-term instances of DSG with significant growth may also cause issues and comorbid conditions to develop due to the growth of the body and the growth of the organs and ink sac often being disproportionate. Deep-sea gigantism differs from regular gigantism in that it is a temporary (albeit often long-lasting) condition that has external triggers as opposed to a permanent condition. It is typically treated with anti-stress medication, eliminating underlying root causes, and limiting energy intake. Short periods of DSG often go entirely unnoticed, but longer periods are highly problematic due to the increase in body size not being reversible.
Hyperchromatophorism. Casually referred to as hi-chrom, it is a type of hyperpigmentation that causes chromatophore amounts in excess and causes the skin to be abnormally brightly colored in adult individuals where chromatophores are typically sparse. It is different from late onset of mature chromatophore sparsening due to the density of chromatophores being drastically higher to begin with. Usually, hyperchromatophorism is present from birth and affects either the whole body or large areas of the body, causing vivid colors and patterns to display across the whole body or areas of the body rather than just the crown tentacles. The intensity of these colors depends on the individual, and the condition may be light and only cause slightly increased saturation in parts of the body, or it can cause the entire body to be a solid color. It is mirrored by hypochromatophorism, which is a partial or complete lack of chromatophores in an area, and is about as common as the former but less noticeable due to mainly being visible in the crown tentacles. Either condition can occur in people without the conditions in areas where skin regenerates, and is quite common with large wounds.
Chronic Ink Bleed. Chronic ink bleed is a condition where excessive amounts of ink seep through the skin and the ink ducts are permanently, or predominantly, open. It is a consistently repeating or constant presence of the ink bleed condition which varies in severity based on whether the ink ducts are permanently open or only frequently open. Chronic ink bleed almost always co-occurs with chronic dehydration, low ink levels, malfunctions of the ink sac and ink system and mobility issues stemming from ink loss. It is usually managed with means that prevent or lessen ink evaporation; absorbent body wear, lotions that clog ink ducts around the skin or other medications that force the ink ducts to close, or alternatively frequent ink refills often administered by portable machines intravenously. Inkfish with chronic ink bleed often fare poorly in areas with dry air. Significant and long-lasting ink bleed is often a symptom of illness, and it may turn chronic after severe episodes of sickness. Chronic ink bleed can be a birth condition or it may develop later in life; late onset is often seen in professional Turf War players. It may also develop as a side effect of medication, unrelated illness, high stress or anxiety levels or hormonal imbalance, although in these cases it is typically reversible.
Color dysfunction. Color dysfunction is a condition where the color-changing skin cells aren’t under conscious control, and cycle colors randomly. It doesn’t apply to dead or inactive chromatophores as the affected cells are alive and active, but the ability to control them is absent, limited, or leads to inaccurate displays. Cephalings with the condition have highly variable skin patterns, from constantly cycling colors in no particular order, spontaneous deactivation or activation of the skin cells, or colors that somewhat correlate with emotion or activity but still have no conscious control. People with color dysfunction may have it across the entire skin, or it may be isolated to specific patches of the body while other areas have controllable pigment cells. It may also develop in areas where skin regenerates for people that do not have it as a pre-existing condition. It is most often present from birth, but sometimes develops later in life in response to stress, brain damage or psychological conditions, where it may be permanent or subside with time. Symptoms also often arise temporarily as a response to drugs, medications or high stress situations. Color dysfunction has a high occurrence rate alongside different psychological conditions and is presumed to be a mismatch of electrical signals in the brain to what is actually displayed on the skin, or overall dysfunction of the center that dictates color change.
Color stasis. Color stasis is a subtype of color dysfunction where the color-changing cells are alive but permanently deactivated involuntarily. It differs from chromatophore atrophy or chromatophore death in that cells are not dead, but deactivated. It is caused by inactivity of the brain center in charge of color change, whether that is due to an absence, partial inactivity or nerve damage to parts of the body or brain. It can be present from birth or develop later, typically due to brain damage or substance abuse. It may also extend to all skin or only be present in select areas or patches of skin. People without the pre-existing condition sometimes develop individual patches of color stasis in areas where skin regenerates.
