awe yeahhhh, we like to RP different ages and AUs for them.... I really like thinking about those inbetween stages, all squishy.... prone to flopping over ...

the swim form is fun to think about, like Harpoon and Ruki goofing off in swim form in the lobby, him swimming over her ???? grazing her entire body with his weight... I think a lot of frivolous things can happen under the guise of swim form, you don't think so hard about the human gestures or implications, throwing these things around... I see Harpoon as having no hesitation towards Ruki's tiny little swim body, willing to reach into her ink and grasp her in his hands, throw her, hold her down, feel her squiggle and struggle. I don't think Harpoon would ever like to be smaller than Ruki though LMAO, what a normal boy in this way. I like both in swim or only Ruki in swim...

I like drawings of couples cuddling with only one in swim form. I like the rare exploration of sex this way, too ... I've seen a very lovely comic, of a girl fingering her girlfriend in swimform. I like the size difference.... how intense it would be, to grab that tiny, squishy body, in one fist, and drive fingers in with the other hand. I could imagine Harpoon really liking to do that, though Ruki would likely be shy about it at first, or surprised he could have such an interest in her (she's self-conscious at the best of times). I think treating the whole body like a kind of fleshlight would be appealing... very dehumanizing in a way haha. easy to contort the entire shape over cock...

I also like agegaps in inkfish, very rare to see, but some day I would like to explore a couple with this centrally... it was actually loong ago my first interest in Splatoon world at all; when I wondered "what kind of inkfish would I like to see if I was here?", I liked the idea of someone with a distinct penchant for that stage. I think the look of what would be nice. I like that, hair feels so culturally important, as a very fashion-obsessed species, being into anything before or in the middle of formation of that, would be very strange! genuinely not SUPPOSED to be attracted to haha...

In general, I do love theorizing on their biology, we spend a lot of time discussing this, haha. Ruki herself is quite stunted, a premature girl, so she has some unusual traits for an Inkling her age (part of what makes her pretty unattractive to peers, by and large) ... from her size, to her larger ears (cutting a more baby-faced silhouette), a soft beak that didn't quite develop properly, and many dead photophores in her tentacles (product of Harpoon popping/hospitalizing her when she was still in early development), resulting in her patchy white colors (eventually, she'll probably be entirely white, due to his abuse) (overall, the white patching reads kind of 'unwell' or 'sickly' to others, not too disimilar to a person who is rashy or something, I guess .... when baring in mind that a lot of fish and squid lose their color when sick or dead, HAHA, so she has a kind of unpleasant appearance). I think all these things, Harpoon really likes ... because he fell in love with her when they were toddlers, really, even if he doesn't remember her, his hindbrain itches over the neotenous features she retains.

I want to some time go completely off book though and like, make my own stupid evolutionary chain for Inklings .... the canon one do nothing for me.... how and why they became this way, and then what culture influences (like how human cooking culture altered the evolution of our jaw muscles, soooo dummy weak compared to other apes now)... I really like the development chain though, no notes rly, would only love to spackle the in-between stages.