#and that affects how i metabolize foods a lot —

[sitronsangbody]

Thank you for asking!

There are a lot of factors that go into this, including but not limited to (and in no particular order):

- not everyone has access to good nutrition. Some people can't afford fresh produce, some have no ability to store it, and some live in places where you plainly can't get a lot of foods (so-called food deserts). For some, it's low variety and heavily processed foods, or nothing.

- a number of medical conditions cause weight gain and/or make weight loss even more difficult than it already is, this is easily googleable stuff if you're interested

- mental illness and especially eating disorders obviously influence people's food intake. No one chooses to have an ED. The most common ED is binge eating disorder, and the majority of people with EDs are in the overweight category. Anxiety and the accompanying hormones has also been shown to affect fat storage around the stomach. How we feel over time impacts our bodies a lot.

- some people can't cook for themselves. Maybe they have chronic pain or disabilities that make it impossible, maybe they just don't have the time or energy between work.

- let's not forget kids. Children often have little to no say in what they eat. They don't choose their meals, and some don't choose the amount - some get less than they're hungry for, and some are expected to clear their plate even if they're full.

These are things that are important to keep in mind re: the choices people may not have when it comes to their nutrition and the limits to individual control. But also:

- some people gain weight as they become adults simply because their metabolism changes and that's their normal body now

- some people just are fat, they're fat as kids and as teens and as adults. This is true for every society where the population isn't perpetually starving.

Finally, it's important to know the following:

- being fat is not inherently bad for you. Not all fat people have health problems related to their fatness, and as such there's no medical reason for them to try to change their bodies.

- intentional weight loss is very complex and very difficult, and statistically unlikely to maintain. The human body is programmed to retain energy, not shed it. Most people who lose substantial amounts of weight gain it back within a few years. Dieting comes with a lot of health risks and abysmal odds of success, yet it's still so often sold as the obvious right choice for anyone who's fat.

- even if you could look at someone's lifelong history with food and exercise and establish that they're objectively to "blame" for their fatness (which is of course not how life works), so what? That doesn't make it okay to discriminate against them, bully them, or overstep their boundaries. Nor does it mean that they can definitely lose the weight if they just choose to.

If you should decide to really dive into this issue, I recommend the book "what we don't talk about when we talk about fat" by Aubrey Gordon as a starting point 🙂

A core feature of anti-fatness is the "you did this to yourself"-view. People are very invested in the idea that size is within everyone's control. It's soothing to believe that all fat people are a small series of good choices away from becoming thin and staying that way, and that thin people are success stories by virtue of existing.

Any time we speak up about discrimination and fatphobia, someone inevitably plays that card. Trolls will say "eat a salad, pig" and well-meaning health nuts will gently explain what calories are. In either case, we're met with a "you know, you can stop this at any time." Why, if nobody was fat, thin people wouldn't need to examine their biases! It sure would be an easier time for everyone if we weren't so Around and Bulliable!

[schakira]

the other day, during my trip to the ER, i learned that drinking alcohol would medically be terrible for me. i don't drink any but it's good to have another reason to turn down alcohol.

[thevoidstaredback]

Phantom's Coffee

Enough Caffeine to Kill an Elephant Side Story

There is a lot that comes with being a ghost. Most of that is really cool superpowers. The unfortunate side effect with the whole being dead thing is that he doesn't have need for human functions or sustenance.

It had been a horrible thing to discover, really. The lack of constant need for sleep and food and drink was sometimes useful, but that came with the realization that nothing affected him.

At first, Danny and his team thought it was because he was dead. No blood flow, no working organs, no metabolism. This lead to a lot of experimentation. Drugs and alcohol had no effect, neither did poisons. He didn't get sick anymore, no matter what he did!

And then he realized that coffee didn't work.

Naturally distraught, Danny went straight to Frostbite to figure out what was going on. It's finals season, damnit! Coffee was gonna be the one thing to pull him through his studies!

"From what I can tell," the yeti explained, "your human functions have stopped. Quite the opposite, really."

Danny blinked. "But, I'm dead. Ghosts don't have working organs or stuff like that."

"Indeed, but you're only half dead."

"What difference does that make?"

Why did Frostbite now have charts, and where did they come from? "I can only guess, but when you died and brought back, the electricity jump started everything in your body. It essentially supercharged you. I can only assume that it'll die down in time to the point of non-function, but we can't know for sure."

"Wait," Danny's voice was nervous, "What does that mean?"

Frostbite took a minute to think over his words, looking for how to phrase what he wanted to say. "When you are alive, your heart beats slower than it did before your death, yes?"

"Yeah."

"That would be the effects of the ectoplasm that reanimated you. Your heart rate is slower, breathing takes a more conscious effort, your blood flow is slower, your organs are all working at half of what they used to." He took another moment of pause. "When you are dead, your heart beats faster than it did, breathing is faster, blood flow is faster, your organs are working at twice capacity."

Danny's breathing, now that he was very aware of it, picked up. "What- But that- What?!"

"With a high enough voltage, electricity kills. With a high enough concentration, ectoplasm reanimates."

"Reani- but I'm alive!"

"Indeed."

"But that doesn't make sense!"

"Doesn't it?"

"No!"

"Perhaps I should try a different phrasing." Frostbite said. "When you are Danny Fenton, you are more dead than alive in the sense that your body has been killed and not fully revived. When you are Danny Phantom, you are more alive than dead in the sense that your body was revived and not fully killed."

Danny was quiet for a moment. "Reanimated and revived aren't interchangeable, Frostbite."

"In some contexts', no. In others, they are."

"Are they here?"

A beat. "Yes."

Danny knew he was lying, but he didn't call him out on it. That was a crisis for another day, thank you very much.

So, higher metabolism for Danny Phantom, lower one for Danny Fenton. Great.

All crises pushed aside to freak out about never later, Danny's ew mission was to find out exactly how much caffeine would be required to give him the buzz of wakefulness that he was searching for.

Normally, the course of action would to be to measure how much e weighs and look up the maximum caffeine intake his body could handle. It was the first thing he tried, and it failed.

By the tried and true method of 'Fuck It, We Ball', Danny learned that he needs to have 35,000 milligrams of caffeine in a single sitting before any effect takes hold when he's drinking as Phantom.

The calculations running at a 5:1 ratio, caffeine milligrams to weight pounds, the lowest end on the scale of average weight of a small female elephant (3,175 kilos), multiplied by five gives him the 15,875 milligrams that would be enough to give him a low buzz and keep him awake for a few hours. That's enough to kill the elephants on the low end of the scale.

(Jazz vetoed any kind of caffeine that wasn't naturally occuring in chocolate when he's Danny Fenton. She said that he's already died once and that he doesn't need heart problems to kill him.)

(Danny calls bull, but he isn't willing to risk his sister's ire.)

Because he can't let finals get the best of him, Danny decided to take it a step further.

The highest end of the scale for the average weight of female elephants is 4,050 kilos, multiplied by the same five, gives 20,250 milligrams of caffeine.

Essentially, the lower end of the scale would give him the same effect as 99 (and a bit) 473 milliliter cans of Rockstar Energy Drinks in one sitting. The higher end of the scale would be 126 (and a bit) 473 milliliter cans of Rockstar Energy Drinks in one sitting.

All that was left to do, now that he has the maths for the desired effect figured out, was to mix that in his favorite drink: A Red Eye.

Truly an abomination for the ages.

After way too much brain power, Phantom's completed coffee order looks like this:

A large Red Eye with 20,250 mg of caffeine

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of honey

1/8 cup of chocolate syrup

and 3 mint leaves or 1 teaspoon of mint extract

(he added 4 shots of vodka when he turned 21)

Danny is gonna kick his finals' ass, and be hyped up on caffeine while doing it!

Storyboard

[kaidatheghostdragon]

Halfas and Fear Gas

Ive seen a lot of "fear gas makes danny high." Its hilarious and i love it. Other variations i recall seeing are: fear is not as potent, complete immunity, 'food supplement' fear gas, and the boring 'effects him like normal.'

BUT.

I haven't really seen anyone treat effect effect on the brain and core as separate processes. In other words, humans get affected one way, ghosts get affected another way, and halfas get blasted by both.

We already know how normal humans are affected, so we dont really need to go over that. Ghosts, however, are free reign. (Unless there's a canon incident where a ghost like boston brand or gentleman ghost are exposed to a fear gas attack? Any DC canon nerds out there that know of something like that?)

The options I've seen or thought up so far:

Complete immunity - ectoplasm just doesn't react to physical matter in a way that impacts the ghost. Fear gas, as in the chemical itself, has no effect whatsoever.

Effects ghosts like humans. Straight forward, it's a bit weird if you think about it, but eh.

Fear gas, as in the chemical itself, is like ghost weed, or perhaps something stronger. Might be hallucinogenic, but in a bad trip sort of way rather than a worst fear sort of way

Fear gas, as in the chemical itself, is accidentally a super effective health suppliment for ghosts

If emotions are food to ghosts, fear gassed humans can span the range between 'delectable snack sprinkled with extra sugar' to 'weird chemical food that isnt healthy but will still sustain you' to 'supercharged health snack completely saturated by nutrients'

Fear gas, either the chemical itself or the people affected by it, has a distinct smell. It could be good, bad, or neutral, possibly related to how it affects the ghost. (Or deceptive, for humor and/or angst.)

Fear gas is outright toxic to ghosts. Perhaps the chemical itself is similar to, but just left of, ectoplasm. Like many artificial chemicals that can substitute various nutrients / usurp metabolic pathways in humans, it could have any number of mild to debilitating, short to long term effects on ghosts.

(If anyone has another idea, feel free to add)

Now we get to halfas, who have both a human brain and a ghost core. Dany has a human body and brain that are affected normally by the fear gas: hallucinations, panic attack, adrenaline response, etc etc. Someone better at biology can describe the actual biochemical processes going on.

But the ghost core? Added on top of All That? Can be excessively angsty, somewhat mitigating, or outright hilarious.

Going through the list of options:

Complete immunity.

This sounds boring, but its actually my favorite. Why? Because danny is getting conflicting signals. His brain is compromised and in full panic, but his core is telling him that he's completely safe. As a hybrid, Danny could be capable of having critical thought with both organs. If he's clever enough to recognize the seperation between the two, he can exploit it as a sort of anchor (I'm imagining it somewhat like how a multitasker can do different things with different senses, like listening to an audio book while solving a jigsaw puzzle - the book is auditory, the puzzle is visual and tactile, neither interfere with the other.)

Danny, in this scenario, is definitely in an altered state of consciousness, seeing things that aren't there and right on the cusp of panicking or defending himself. But if he can recognize that his core is unaffected, he can focus on the sensory input that his core is processing, and the whole situation might be somewhat equivalent to becoming lucid in the middle of a nightmare - its terrifying, but just the recognition that it isn't real takes the edge off. To him, it's now like being stuck in a VR horror game and being unable to take the headset off, flinching at all the jumpscares but recognizing that his body isn't actually being attacked or injured.

Affects ghost like humans

Danny could either be affected exactly the same as anyone else or effectively double-dosed as both brain and core fight entirely different hallucinations. Maybe if danny is lucky, he'll just black out from the sensory overload.

Ghost weed

This could make what was initially designed to be a really bad trip into something catastrophic... or mellow it out. Idk. I've never done recreational drugs. Both the brain and core are cut off from reality. The brain is terrified, and the core is tripping out. If his core naturally reacts to his emotional state, it's gonna amplify the effects, which is Really Bad. If the core is compromised to a point where it can't really process anything, then Danny is still trapped in a nightmare state, just more loopy and otherwise no worse than any human.

Health supplement and/or literal food

This one is confusing. Brain is terrified, core is satiated? Energized? A boost to his powers is gonna make him much more difficult to contain and treat. When he comes out of it, there's real potential for angst from danny worrying that the conflicting emotions of absolute terror and hunger satiation are a sign that he's turning evil. Especially if his core was instinctually feeding off of the fear of nearby civilians who were also gassed during the trip. That undercurrent of predatory satisfaction is gonna leave him awake at night for a few weeks.

On the plus side, feeding his ghost core might help it clear out the toxin faster, so the trip is much shorter. Maybe he even pulls out of it before he accidentally causes any damage with his powers.

Smelly

Pretty straightforward. If it smells bad, Danny is automatically gonna hold his breath, limiting his exposure. If it smells good, he might take a good few wiffs before realizing what's up and holding his breath, or just keeps dosing himself more and more as that effects, good or bad to the core and definitely bad to the brain, settle in.

Toxic

Has the potential to be much more long-term and insidious. You can run the full gamut here. Does he need to be restrained and taken to the far frozen for days or even weeks of treatment? Does the ectoplasm incorporate the drug, and Danny has to suffer weeks or months of microdosing until it's used up, turning him into a paranoid schizophrenic during that time? Is it blood blossoms 2.0? Does it have no mental effects but screws with his powers? Does it influence his emotional self-control? Does he grow the ghost equivalent of a tumor that encapsulates the toxin and has to be surgically removed? Does he need supplemental ecto to remain healthy, temporarily, or permanently? Does it affect his ectosignature or peak power level? Injure his core? Lower his healing factor?

All of this is on top of the initial fear gas trip, which he may have never even fully pulled out of. The angst possibilities are endless.

Then, there are liminals who have the potential to be affected like halfas or in an entirely different way. Does your headcanon give them proto-cores or baby ghost cores, or are they just severely ectoconaminated? How would that change their symptoms?

Anyways, just some ideas for people to use. My favorite idea so far, that I'd love to see someone use, is that Danny has learned to use his separate brain and core as insurance against mind control and mind-altering drugs. The freakshow incident was a sort of catalyst that helped him recognize the differences between his brain and core, and he taught himself how to lean into one or the other for various advantages in different situations. (Sort of like how a person can lean on either logic or intuition to make different types of choices.)

There's a lot of interesting potential here. Essentially, Danny could teach himself to be immune to mind-control and greatly resistant to drugs, as he can evaluate his surroundings with both organs and identify differences. Mind control wouldn't work unless it targeted BOTH brain and core, as he could shift to the uncontrolled one to break away. Any drug designed to knock out or roofie a human is countered by the fact that danny's core still remains conscious of his surroundings, and creative use of ghost powers counters the accompanying paralysis.

If ghosts dont sleep, one could argue that Danny's core is in a meditative state when his brain rests, which is why his ghost sense can wake him up from a dead sleep - he's never fully unconscious. Workoholic danny could find a way to get homework or paperwork done, or solve a problem, or design a piece of tech, or even play a videogame, while 'sleeping,' even using ectokinesis to move stuff while his body is sleep-paralyzed. Sleep-deprived danny is still functional because his core isn't affected by his brain's lapses in consciousness from micro-naps. (He is a lot moodier, though. His core is more emotion-focused while his brain is more logic-focused, on top of the normal mood-swings from sleep deprivation.)

This version of danny, after being fear-gassed, immediately recognizes that his brain and core are suddenly experiencing two different realities. He would be able to talk himself down from a panic attack and slowly find his way to safety. He probably wouldn't trust himself to hold back if he got in a scuffle, but he would be coherent enough to vaguely understand his surroundings to avoid danger.

And lastly, something I dont recall seeing in any fics - if the bats encountered fear-gassed Danny, and he's aware enough to refuse an antidote, I dont think the bats would push it. Yeah, forcing more medical trauma on our favorite blorbo is all good and fun, but he clearly has an altered metabolism that was affected differently by the fear gas than normal, so there's a heightened risk that the antidote would also have an altered affect, for the reward of removing the effects of fear-toxin (which is no longer guaranteed), which danny is already showing he's capable of working through.

On top of that, medical professionals are not allowed to force treatment if the patient refuses them and can walk it off. (If they are unconscious or can't get up on their own, they can intervene.) Medical conditions and allergies are a thing too, and its the priority of the patient to inform the medical worker as soon as possible to prevent complications. Jazz may have coached Danny about "in a medical emergency, declare closet-meta status with highly modified metabolism and unknown reactions to most drugs."

I see the conversation going something like:

"If you can hear me, im going to administer an antidote."

"Dont. Give it to someone who actually needs it."

And then the bat treats everyone else before approaching danny again to ask how they can help. They would be trained to take all of this into account:

Human male, visibly uninjured (unless the fic writer has different ideas) experiencing non-standard reaction to fear toxin. Probable indication of meta or enhanced status.

Victim is cognizent, replied to verbal communication, denied treatment. Appears to be managing the effects of the fear toxin. Not currently a danger to themselves or others.

Nonstandard reaction to fear-toxin implies potential non-standard reaction to antidote. Victim may be aware of medical condition that could complicate treatment, and is reasonably stable at the moment. Further questioning needed.

There are other victims in the area that are less cognizent, they become higher priority. Approach victim again when all other victims are cleared out, (in case of uncontrolled meta powers, to avoid further casualties), ask more questions and ascertain situation.

Once questioned further, danny drops the memorized line about altered metabolism and unknown effects, and giving Danny the antidote basically immediately becomes a non-viable option. They will probably argue Danny into being taken to Leslie's clinic, as he'll refuse a hospital (probably quite hysterically, given the fear toxin), which i'd imagine is the bat's normal protocol for closet-metas.

At least, that's how I imagine the situation panning out. Danny noping out before the bats return to him or during mid-interrogation is also extremely likely, which is gonna put the bats in panic mode for the next several hours. (Going to *any* secondary location with the bats is a non-option to Danny, for many potential reasons.) Danny is definitely going on a watch list (as in, possible meta with unknown powers, keep an eye out in case he gets caught up in another rogue scheme, need more information).

[starry-bi-sky]

potential 'tales of the passerine' au idea that might make it into the au after I sleep it over. Essentially it goes as follows: Danny uses music as a way to 'filter' his food.

Now let me explain.

It stems from the idea that ghosts can feed on the living's emotions. Like how Spectra feeds on teen misery and Ember feeds on fan adoration. For the average ghost its not required, but they can do it.

Gotham, despite having a high population of people, is low on ectoplasm. That is due to the overwhelming amount of emotional energy being poured into the city. To put it simply, the Bad Vibes are smothering the place. There's enough ectoplasm that it's not going to unbalance anything, but it does mean ghosts forming in Gotham are rare. Not enough ectoplasm to bond to.

Anyways, moving on; Danny feeds on ectoplasm naturally. Even when he's repressing his ghost half, he's feeding on it. Maybe not as much as he should, but he's still doing it. It's like eating food or breathing air. It keeps his body healthy in the basic bodily maintenance care way. Since Gotham doesn't have a ton of ectoplasm, he turns to feeding on its Bad Vibes instead to keep himself sustained. It's a win-win!

However, much like the human body processes food, his ghost half has to process those Bad Vibes and filter it out into energy. Otherwise those bad vibes are going to start affecting him, similar to how food can effect your health but from an emotional and behavioral stand point.

That filter is like the ghostly metabolic rate equivalent, and it can only filter out so much stuff at a set time when at rest. Danny's consuming a lot of bad vibes, his metabolism can't keep up on it's own. Danny can then turn and aid his filter by finding more outlets to help burn that excess energy and filter through it faster.

One of these being... *drumroll* music! It doesn't have to be music specifically, it can be any activity that burns human energy as well. But I chose music because i like to make danny a musician, it can be something he used to be interested in when he was younger, forgot about, and only rediscovered after he moved in with bruce.

i haven't decided yet if its something i'm going to actually put into passerine because I haven't fully developed everything else yet. But I thought it was a cool idea and wanted to share.

[tteessiiee]

Health impacts of obesity, death feedee edition

TW: this is dark and very real, do not read if you are not ready to understand the consequences of feedism. And I really mean it. It may be f* scary.

You know I study physiotherapy at med school. And Im also a feedee, feeder, FA... Which means that mine internships in hospitals are pretty heavy and hard for me. I see all the impacts of obesity, or even morbid obesity on people and their health. On their life.

We are all talking about heart-attacks. Sure, your arteries getting clugged, atherosclerosis growing in your body and getting you closer to an early grave. But atherosclerosis does not cause only heart-attacks. It would be nice, wouldn’t it? Feeling your heart struggling, pain in your chest (which you deserve for being the pig you were), and pretty soon there is the end. Death.

But atherosclerosis can also cause strokes. And I don’t think you want that. Part of your brain gonna die, part gonna live. It can affect your motor functions, your ability to feel by touch, your ability to know where and how placed your limbs are, your speech, of course your ability to think. You may die, sure. Or you gonna survive and live way way worse life fully dependant on people around you… Did you know that?

You also might ruin your pancreas. Im sure that many of you already have insulin tolerance way higher than you should. Well diabetes mellitus is incoming if you will not change your lifestyle. It does not only mean that you will need to take insulin! It will also damage your nerves. Neuropathies are very common. DM can lead even to amputations of legs. And also an impact on eyes is very well known, you can become blind. Over all diabetes is a metabolic disease and it has huge impact on your whole body – nerves, organs, veins, everything.

Another effect of our feedee diet - your liver become fattier making it work less. And liver are very important organ! Liver steatosis can become cirrhosis, the organ will be very damaged. Btw it also gonna increase your blood pressure which has significant impact on probability of heart-attacks and strokes. Another thing – there can appear stones in your gallbladder. That is mainly caused by eating too greasy and fatty food. And this also can be very painful situation needing a surgery.

It is proved that obesity increases the risk of cancer, especially cancer in gastro-intestinal tract and urogenitals. One more thing that people do not want.

Not to mention your musculo-sceletal system. Arthrosis in joints (another painful thing restricting your daily life), unfit and stiff muscles, bones easier to break by your weight if you fall… And it will not hurt only when you move. But also when you lie in your bed getting stuffed to the brim once again. Who of you have never ever had back pain, mainly lower-back pain? It is not comfortable, is it? And it only gonna get worse if you don’t exercise.

There are also impacts on your skin but i'm not good in this field so can't say much about it.

I know it is a lot of fun to be a feedee. To gain, get fatter, heavier, softer. Getting out of breath easily? Oh f* yes please, it makes you so horny. But there is a huge impact on your health. Im sure you know it. But maybe you don’t know all the specific things that may happen. This is just a brief list of health complications that obesity brings. So if you are a death feedee, go on! Eat yourself to these diseases if that’s what you want. But be aware that your life probably will not end by a sudden quick heart attack. You will suffer many months and years due to many comorbidities till your body will give up on you. Are you ready for that long pain?

Wanted to let you know so that I can feel better when I actually encourage you to gain. You know, consent means that you agree while being aware of the consequences. If you want me to help you get morbidly obese I wanna be sure I warned you. And maybe (hopefully) this gonna help someone to stop gaining so much if they find out that they would not be happy. Because babes – I don’t want you fat in the first place. I want you happy.

That’s the reason why im drinking 700 kcal hot chocolate made of heavy cream while writing this article. It makes me happy to gain. It makes me happy being fat even though I know all of these things. And it also scares the s*it out of me. I fear it so much. I want it so much. Im not a death feedee in real life, will not let the kink kill me (I hope). But I definitely am a death feedee in fantasies, deep inside and sometimes it is really hard to find the difference between having fun and ruining your body.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I warned you it gonna be dark and real 🖤

Enjoy your life as you wish 💕 Give fully into hedonism or enjoy the parts of feedism that don't kill you - that is your choice. Your body. Your life. Your death.

~ Tessie

[dailycass-cain]

As promised many months ago to end this day, here's a 🧵of the insanity Cassandra Cain's "human" body can do due to what David Cain put her through (besides the two obvious ones of body language and various forms of killing he trained her in).

The best issue that showcases that is of course Batgirl Vol. 1 #14 where various government agencies look at the footage Cass got caught filmed in.

The first few pages are literally showcasing how inhuman, but still bordering on human she is due to what David Cain put her through.

This is always fully covered throughout Batgirl Volume 1 and is usually forgotten when writers and editors tend to have their job. Not saying any names or storylines of any RECENT kind where a WAR broke out in GOTHAM.

is still salty YES

We've seen Cass's speed all the time throughout the Puckett run. To just showcase the prior issue's bullet dodging or her issue of Tim (#18) be child's play (along with her taking several shots up close and dodging each one from a certain corrupt government bastard).

Nah the best example of Cass's true "speed" is in #34 facing the mob boss Ving and his gang.

Yeah, you're seeing that right she is faster than a freaking bullet. Surprising how SOME seem to forget that in other comics. 🙄

Something even Batgirls remembered (#15) when Cass was playing shogun dodge with Cluemaster who was trying to shoot her with a shotgun.

But what of Cassandra's strength? Just how strong is she really?

#19 where Cass is faced with the obstacle of three-inch quartz preventing her from escaping a gas chamber. So let's examine just how thick three-inch quartz is.

Well, let's google just that.

A SEVEN on the hardness scale. Further research says that it can only crack due to "extreme impacts" which wouldn't ya know:

As for her body itself, Batgirl/Ghost: The Ressurection Machine #3 suggests this about Cass being immune to A LOT of poisons:

Something Batgirl Vol. 1 "sort of" delves in #50 when both she and Bruce are doused with a new batch of super drug but it turns out they were both immune to it due to them being built differently than normal humans.

This is all the more surprising because a few issues prior to (#46) Cass is doused with a version of it, but you could say given what she "sees" Cass is under A LOT of stress (the building tension with Bruce, Babs breaking up with Dick, Superboy/Black Wind stuff). Plus she does "sort of" snap out of it to beat the bad guys in that issue.

Just like in #51 she avoids the pheromones to Poison Ivy even though she is showing signs of falling under the hormones but snaps out of it due to willpower (something Bruce was almost succumbing to before he fully snapped out of it too).

It really feels like "this anti-poison" ability Cass had was all but forgotten once the series ended. Of course, naturally with a certain "infamous" story ONE YEAR LATER, but also Batman & Robin Eternal as she is affected by Fear Toxin (among other stuff too).

#9 & #59 showcase that David Cain shot Cass regularly so much that she can not even feel it. This could explain also HOW she was eventually able to dodge bullets and become so fast.

#22 also showcases this as well so this is not something simply just randomly put in. This was something the writers wanted to show the sickening lengths David Cain put Cass through.

Again, #14 brought up Cass's metabolism and how off the charts it was. I think something we just overlooked is that in #26 Cass slept for 20 hours a day for four days (or perhaps longer) straight until she fully recovered from fighting Lady Shiva.

That's not even going under the amount of food she consumes. This little detail was first showcased in #39 when Cass ate like she was freaking Goku.

This little bit of detail was brought back in #66 when she ordered THREE burgers (I'm assuming with everything on it) with three sides of fries and a BIG milk.

Amusingly, this detail was recently brought back in Nightwing #106 & #108 where she FEASTED on who knows how many pancakes.

Lastly, I feel this bit is worth mentioning as well from #47 with Doctor Lewis Friedman who started the theory on body language that David Cain made a frightening reality with Cass (shame he was never brought up again after this issue).

All this isn't even counting on the extremely LONG hours of shower time Cass picked up in the Gabrych run that even Willingham's Robin (which went on during this) teased (something again Batgirls kept up on).

So there you have it. The utter anomaly that is the body of one Cassandra Cain.

[skyscrapergods]

since bugs don't like mint, could mint be used as a repellent to changelings?

I had to do a bit of a deep dive to figure this out. This is all silliness but you can see the work that goes into my worldbuilding this way!

Changelings are descended from insects, but it's hard to call them insects today. They are the size of small horses, and they metabolize magic in addition to normal food. Because of this massive scale difference, some things that affect insects will not affect them.

One example is diatomaceous earth, which looks like white dust, but is actually microscopic particles of broken algae shells. These fragments become tiny, razor sharp shards that leave vertebrates unscathed, but cut arthropods to pieces. The dust soaks up the oils that exist on the bugs' surface, drying the poor things to death. This makes diatomaceous earth an effective pest killer.

Changelings are massive, and the surface skin between their joints is too thick to be cut by microscopic shards. They also keep plenty of oils inside their bodies and won't be dried out by some white dust. It will still probably be uncomfortable and cause irritation, though.

Back to mint, I had to look up a lot of studies to find the material and method of insecticide it has. I figured out the biocide in mint is menthol, but didn't know how or why it happened. Here's what I found:

So it looks like menthol messes up energy reserves, protein content (of the insect?), and digestive enzymes. I looked up the enzymes, and we also use amylase, protease, and lipase. Apparently chitenase as well, which helps our stomachs break down chitin (what exoskeletons are made of). So if humans (and presumably horses) have the same relevant enzymes, then would we be disrupted by menthol as well?

So there's nothing particularly special about bugs that make them more at risk to menthol poisoning except for the one thing: their size.

We can rub mint oil on our skin and be just fine, but a tiny mosquito is going to get that oil on them, absorb it by touching or sucking it up, and get some Consequences to their proteins and enzymes. It's a tiny amount to us, but a massive amount to a mosquito.

So, if the mosquito was the size of a horse, a tiny amount of menthol would be a tiny amount of menthol. Horsquitoes Have much thicker exoskeletons and joints, and would require a massive amount of menthol to hurt them.

So!!!! If a gigantic insect senses mint, it might be a bit worried the first time, but will learn it's not harmful in small amounts.

Horses and bugs alike should avoid massive concentrated amounts of menthol, relative to their size. To a bug, that's a mint leaf or two. To a vertebrate or vertebrate-sized insect, that's chugging essential oils, which most people don't do.

TLDR: Mint, like many insecticides, is dangerous to bugs due to their small size. But changelings and ponies are only in danger if they drink concentrated menthol, as we share many proteins and enzymes.

[wolf-tail]

Mortarion horny thoughts

TW: Hornyposting, feeder kink, internalized fatphobia

Tagging the Hornies: @ms--lobotomy @kit-williams @egrets-not-regrets

Okay, we've already talked about Dadbod Guilliman, and how his body is tied to his mental state. He naturally settles around the chubby dad bod range but is a) bad at self care and b) very self conscious. With the right beloved, however, one who made sure he was eating right and getting rest, he'd get some pudge. Though he'd of course be self conscious about it, his beloved would help him learn to accept it (with LOTS of physical affection❤️❤️❤️)

Let's talk about Morty.

I don't think he's naturally skin and bones at his healthiest. Think about it, He's been stuck survival mode almost since he was born, fighting for his life in ways that do NOT allow him to eat, drink, or rest enough, ever. He spent his entire life fighting to prove that he was worthy of living, in a society that took advantage of and abused the dead. He associates endurance with the ability to endure horrible hardship. The man literally huffs and does shots of poison, do you think he knows how to honor his own hunger cues?

Things would get SO much worse under Nurgle. He is so sick the he is no longer capable of metabolizing food properly. I'm pretty sure his digestive system is more tape worm than organs by now. Whatever he's doing at any given moment is guaranteed to be the opposite of self care.

But imagine a beloved that was able to break the yoke of Chaos, to bring back sweet Morty and pull him out the defeatist death spiral of despair that is Nurgle worship...

A beloved who makes sure their boy will never have a chance to ignore an empty tummy....

That boy would pack on the pounds. He'd get CHUNKY.

Lots of big muscles and soft fat🥵🥵🥵

He's a big hottie who's naturally inclined to store fat, good for endurance❤️❤️❤️

Imagine running your hands over your Pale King's softening body, admiring every inch of beautiful flesh, assuring him of the beauty in every aspect of his form...

[theambitiouswoman]

do you have any tips on hormonal pimples? or like teen pimples (idk what they r called) because i have so much of them but none of these toners and serums are helping.

Make sure to wash your face twice daily with a gentle cleanser. Avoid scrubbing your skin too hard, this can make acne worse.

Look for products that are labeled as "non-comedogenic," which means they won't clog your pores. This is especially important for makeup and moisturizers.

Products containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid may be helpful in treating acne. Start with a lower strength and gradually increase if needed.

Prescription strength retinoids can be very effective in treating acne, but they can be irritating to the skin. Talk to your doctor and start with a lower strength and use as directed.

Here are some product recommendations:

Cleansers:

CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash

Moisturizers:

Cetaphil Oil Control Moisturizer SPF 30

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Mattifying Moisturizer

Salicylic Acid Products:

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution

Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment

Benzoyl Peroxide Products:

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Stubborn Acne Spot Gel

Acne.org 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide Treatment

Non-Comedogenic Sunscreen:

Neutrogena Clear Face Liquid Lotion Sunscreen SPF 30

EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46

Spot Treatments:

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment

The food you eat is super important for how your body's hormones work. Hormones are messengers that your body makes to control your growth, metabolism etc. They travel through your blood and tell different parts of your body what to do. Eating a good mix of healthy foods helps keep these hormones in check. Things like protein, good fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals help make and control hormones. For example protein is needed for hormones like insulin and growth hormone, while healthy fats help with hormones like estrogen and testosterone.

Also, when you're stressed a lot, your body makes more of a hormone called cortisol, which can mess up other hormones. Moving your body through exercise can help with hormones by reducing stress and making you feel happy. Also, sleep is really important. Not getting enough sleep can mess up hormones that control hunger and fullness.

So, eating healthy foods, managing stress, staying active, and getting enough sleep are all really important. They help keep your hormones in balance and make sure your body works well.

Most importantly, don't let acne affect your self-esteem. You are beautiful just the way you are! Pimples are very normal and they do not take away from how amazing you are <3

[avonne-writes]

I was thinking about your fallen angel AU and was wondering about Gale experiencing physical needs/wants for the first time. I'm assuming that as an angel, Gale doesn't need to eat or sleep and that he doesn't get sick. How does starting to experience these things affect him?

Hi dear! Thank you for the great questions 🥰 They helped me come up with a few things for this au!

TLDR: Gale doesn’t have a problem with thirst, hunger or sleep, but he struggles with sexual desire.

I think I'm going more in the fantasy direction than towards religion, so angels are magical beings, but not spiritual - they're perceived as spiritual only due to their culture and humanity's beliefs. They have metabolisms, although very different from humans'. They eat, drink, sleep and age (slowly). They're culturally and magically trained to be asexual and only have sex during strictly specified mating seasons. Young ones are raised by the community and they don’t know their parents.

So, Gale knows hunger, thirst and exhaustion, but I think he only experienced them in a very muted way and he has never felt sexual desire before. I think he likes to experiment with new things so he tried to starve himself once or twice to understand the depth of human need before, but his community prevented him from truly immersing himself in the experience.

There are two ways of leaving his community, either by becoming a demon, which is essentially a process of joining a different culture, or becoming a fallen angel, which is a magical process of banishing the angel to the human plane permanently. This involves a forced magical transformation that also burns and tears the wings off, because the wings cannot materialize in that plane (it's physically impossible) and they want to force the angel to stay permanently on that plane. They can only do that if he/she has no wings anymore.

They fail to complete that process with Gale because [spoilers].

So, Gale is seriously wounded and has magical damage. He’s not quite a human, but not a biologically functional angel either. He’s in a lot of pain at first, so his new metabolism doesn’t register, not until Bucky starts caring for him in the only way he knows how, the human way, with human amounts of food and drink. And Gale is alarmed to find that he craves it, he wants it all. He should be sick from the amount he puts into himself but he isn’t, and he doesn’t crave the [magical sustenance] angels usually eat.

He’s okay with this - he might even find it fun and fascinating. It distracts from his pain, and he’s always curious to taste things. He loves loves loves that Bucky brings these things to him.

Bucky: *makes a cup of tea without sugar to avoid overwhelming Gale*

Gale: 😍🫠🥰

Sleeping so much annoys Gale at first and makes him think that he’s more gravely wounded than he is. But then he realizes that Bucky sleeps even more. He’s absolutely not used to touch on the human plane but really likes it, and his new state gives him more opportunity to cuddle.

Sexual desire though is something he tries to suppress with all his might. He feels like a freak, he feels defective, he loathes himself for it. He was okay with innocent kissing but the things he wants now are not fit for anything but mating season, and he hasn’t participated in that yet. He still hasn't lost all his angel senses though, so he can tell when Bucky wants him and it makes his heart pound in ways it never has before that he wants Bucky back.

I think he'd try to make it all better by performing courting rituals they'd usually do during mating season, to at least pretend what he's doing is culturally acceptable when he finally has sex with Bucky.

[moonspirit]

When watching aot it looks like Annie lost a significant amount of weight in the crystal, understandably as she didn’t eat and drink for 4 years.

Obviously starvation for this long will cause health problems and how would armin and the others help with this? I feel like they will give her extra food when they can, especially on fort salta when food is limited. Maybe even give her easier jobs while there there, like less lifting and stuff

Hellooooo anon!

Yes, she was so severely malnourished and dehydrated! I figure her titan powers made her go into a state of extremely slow metabolism, providing her with just enough to remain in a stagnant state of being alive.

Post-canon, it's interesting to think about how this will affect her. Two ways to look at it: after breaking out of the crystal, her shifter powers restore back to good as new, once she's had a decent meal and drink. OR, the effect is temporary and after losing her shifter powers, her health deteriorates like a normal person's would've.

In the latter case, it SHOWS on Annie (haha her pale skin isn't hiding shit) and everyone is C O N C E R N E D. I think trying to keep Annie's body healthy from a nutritional aspect would be their priority? Like making sure she isn't JUST stuffing her face with sugary stuff, but actually making sure she eats a variety of stuff for those much needed vitamins and proteins? I hc Annie as a somewhat picky eater too; she has some favourite foods, she STICKS to those favourite foods (to everyone's exasperation) and doesn't give a fuck for the things that are actually good for her lmao xD (fussy cat, you see it?)

On Fort Salta anyway, they're ALL tired, but maybe one of the others will take notice of her terrible state and general weakness (Armin, for sure) and tell her she doesn't need to be lifting heavy stuff and doing a lot of work. Unfortunately, I don't think she's gonna take kindly to it - of course she might be like "ffs sure then, I'll just slack off" if this was any other time, but post-rumbling Annie is... no longer the same old aloof slacker, okay? xD

(Cue: one day she just passes out at midday and everyone panics, with Connie attempting to fucking shoot the sun as revenge. Armin's just crying in the corner.)

[plumpybread]

Regarding Fontaine in the Obesity AU, I’m not sure it’s been asked before, but how do you think the culture/expectation of weight gain in Fontaine began? Was it something that just had to become accepted over time or was it almost encouraged like Mondstat and their insistence on freedom? Oh and I have to ask, would you be comfortable with me writing a Fic regarding your AU? (With credit of course). I love your AU and your work!

Hi! It was kind of a process which took hundreds of years to get to this point.

I argued that Fontaine was always ahead in terms of technological advancements, as well as settling in a region without any real threats (unlike the dangerous thundering mountains of Inazuma or the vast desert and populated rainforest of Sumeru). The capital is surrounded by huge, secure walls and humans no longer find themselves having to do much hard labor in their lives.

All of that slowly but surely started affecting people's waistlines, and as people found more free time, they began to become more prone to indulge further, and food started to play a huge part of their culture and history.

As decades went by, overconsumption of food became more and more normalized, especially with nations like Liyue finding an opportunity to make a lot of money and beginning to assemble special lines of commerce to export food over there.

Through the centuries, Fontainian bodies were also able to slowly start adapting to the sheer weight they were carrying, now being able to carry themselves much better than other nation's people. After all, a 1000 pound Sumerian would struggle to even leave his own bed, but the half ton mark is usually just the minimum weight for the large majority of Fontainians.

Also, Fontainian bodies have adapted in a way where putting on fat is extremely easy, and moderation is required in order not to end up completely swallowed by a sea of fat, something hard to achieve in a hedonistic nation like this one. Losing weight is often also never an option, their bodies have developed in a way where shedding even a single pound is practically impossible unless they've been born with a lightning-quick metabolism. This means once they slipping up in terms of weight gain is a permanent action with no way of going back

-

As for your second question, yes, of course you can write about it!!!! I'd be incredibly happy if you decide to and I would love to check that out. I love hearing people's thoughts on this and see what they come up with

[theantarwitch]

About medicine in witchcraft: Health spells, Professional Healers and Unprofessional scammers (And two healing spells from me)

Lately I have been seeing a dangerous amount of medical dangerous videos in our usual witchy spaces (specially in Instagram, since I refuse to use TikTok) and that bring me here in one of my long rants who nobody really cares. But, as a healer with lot of medical background, I have to.

First, for the love of your deity, don’t take these damn vids seriously. I’m not a doctor but I know enough that a huge ton of what they put there is medical misinformation dressed as mystical powers.

I’m not asking you to become a doctor, but at least remember: Physical symptoms are NEVER caused by one single illness, and you HAVE to rule out all the possible physical illness before even consider it a symptom of your superpowers.

Yes, some minor things like a random ear ringing or a random tingle on your hand doesn’t need you to run to ER, but at least THINK about mundane causes to it.

Your ear ring? Are you using headphones a lot? Loud music? You shower and water entered on your ear? You are taking meds? Stress? Your neck is stiff and affecting your inner ear? You are neurodivergent?

Your hand tingle? Is the same hand in what you use your phone 20 hours at day? You sleep over that arm? Your shoulder is stiff? You use a mousse a lot? You practice a sport and the nerves are tired? Did you drink coffee or Red Bulls?

And I’m not even mention REAL illnesses, this is just a bunch of mundane causes! So how you dare to believe in more deeper topics of spiritual stuffs, if you have zero critical thinking in something so mundane and basic as your own body? How you plan to be an efficient witch if you don’t even doubt about these things? How you even dare to talk about your deity if you believe anything as a sign?  

An advanced witch bases their path in three big needs:

Need of study (Books or google, spend months or YEARS reading and learning)

Need of critical thinking (Think, think and ask, be curious and compare data, question it)

Need of wise skepticism (Don’t fall into the “The government want me to believe this but I’m smarter” or “Vaccines do harm, people don’t need calcium, there is brick’s dust on ketchup” kind of mindset (Yes, these are things I heard). That’s not skepticism, that’s being a Facebook Boomer Mom. Skepticism is question everything and to always be suspicious, but is neither “don’t believe in anything because I’m so smart that I can see the lies”.

And healers, my beloved healers. As one, I have to say it on the most real way: LEARN SOME MEDICINE. Specially before to do public claiming that can really hurt others.

Why learn medicine? Because as happened once… A lovely lady did a spell to lose weight. She got gastroenteritis and spent a week on the bathroom. She lost weight? Yes. In a dangerous unhealthy way? Yes. She recovers her weight back after go to the doc? Absolutely.

The body is a fine machine, a ton of process, hormones, parts, that you will always ignore and omit.

Another big mistake: “Spell to Boost my Metabolism”. Do you even know what a metabolism is? What it does? Do you even know that it has three main functions of metabolism? (Conversion of the energy to run cellular processes; conversion to building block of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the elimination of metabolic wastes). When you “boost your metabolism”, what you are aiming to do? You even know what your body need of these three…

“Spell to boost my Immune System”… Again, what part? Do you even know that your immune system is “slow” or it is just working against an illness as it should? (Reaction is not the same than an immunodeficiency) Are you aware that your body can be doing great and you will be pushing to get an overactive immune system? (And getting Asthma, Eczema, Hay fever, Food allergy and any other kind of allergy, Lupus, Type 1 Diabetes, Inflammatory bowel disease, Celiac, etc.).

Please, if you use “detox spell” in any way, just stop. Period.

If you are not willing to spend a couple of weeks at least in the damn Wikipedia, or you are in a rush, at least aim big and general, do a classic “Health/Healing spell”, that is focused on that, bring health where is needed. “My body gets healthier. My body gets health where is needed” It can’t go wrong, since you purposely don’t specify where or which part, you just do a “Somewhere I need it, and since I can’t know it, the Cosmos may know it and aid me”. If you need spells to focus a healing in a body part, maybe you need a doc, not a spell…. (Get a doc. If is so simple to not need a doc, then your body will do it without need a spell anyway)

You can also do the same with Physical Strength Spells (again aiming to boost what you don’t know what it needs to be boosted and avoiding to boost something that it DOESN’T NEED IT).

And if you are a Healer who really want to have a 90% of effectiveness on focalized and specialized healing spells, then time to study. You will need to know about hormones, chemicals, physical process, all the systems, nerves, bones, nutrition, meds… And pretty much being able to discuss with you client (to put in a way) about literally all their medical history.

And a gently offer to anyone who actually read all this shit, I give a couple of “simple” ideas for you all:

Regeneration Spell: Just a Healing spell, aimed to “attack” where is needed, but it focusses in a cellular level. General Healing spells usually are so general that include things like disposal of waste, mineral absorption, water absorption, digestion, hair growing, skin growing, muscle develop, and pretty much EVERYTHING that’s happening on your body right now, even including the gut bacteria. A Regeneration Spell will focus in each single cell of your body, from skin to bone, to neurons, to T Cells from your immune system. All. Something that your body do (except with the neurons) but that get slower with the age. This spell focus on restores damaged or missing cells to full function (you can help it to happen better with a good balanced diet, some basic exercise, proper sleep, and trying to reduce stress)

Big warning. BE SPECIFIC “My cells will get regenerated where my body need it to be healthy and in full function” or something like that. Why SO specific if the healing spells are general? Because Cancer.

Yes. Cancer. A cancerous tumor is failed cell of your own body. Our beloved bodies kill around six infected or cancer cells each DAY. Eventually (if you live enough or if your immune system gets weak) one of them will grow your body be on troubles. If you do a regeneration spell without that proper aim, you will also help to any cancer cell to regenerate, hence you can cause you a HUGE DEAL in a future. Will not happen 100% of the cases, many of these tumors can be not cancerous (benign) yet give you problems.

How do the spell? Just as any healing spell. Do your way.

Homeostasis Spell: What’s is homeostasis? Is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism, a state of steady internal physical and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. Is a stable self-regulated process of equilibrium between interdependent elements. In simple words, is the perfect state of full pure health of your body. Is a healing spell without the “but”.  

What it affects? ALL in the most basic small internal way. Body temperature, fluid balance, the pH of extracellular fluid, the concentrations of ions, blood sugar, oxygen, hormones, etc. If the body do it properly, then is balanced, in an optimal functioning, hence healing itself without big issues.

This spell helps specially (or BOOST) the body on regulate itself despite the many changes in the environment, diet, or level of activity. In this case, you don’t need to be specific, since homeostasis seek for health naturally. Do your regular healing spell but like “My body reach homeostasis”.

So. Rant and all made, I think is time for me to shut up. See you around, and check if you need drink water, sleep, rest, stretch, food, meds or hygiene!

[queer-apocalypse]

I don't see people talk nearly enough about what having your bending taken from you must entail.

Your bending is not just a weapon: it's the tangible manifestation of your energy, it's a big part of how you interact with the world and a vital, organic function of your body.

And I'm sure this was especially true for Ozai, if Iroh's description of his aptitude towards firebending from the cradle in Legacy of the Fire Nation is anything to go by.

I can't help but think about how losing it must've affected the rest of his bodily functions.

Ozai struggling to regulate his body temperature in his cold, humid cell, hugging his own shivering body tight enough to leave fingers imprints on his arms and still not finding any comfort because the cold is coming from within.

Ozai suddenly finding himself breathless after the mildest physical effort because a lot of his breath regulation was based around fire control as well, and his lungs still try to steal more oxygen than he now has need for.

Ozai losing sensitivity in his limbs some days, and being so overly sensitive his rough clothes feel like sandpaper on his skin some others, because his nerves' endings are raw and burned with the trauma of deprivation.

Ozai's body being incapable of holding onto much food because his whole metabolism was partially relying on the fire inside him.

Ozai's mind floating aimlessly every so often, unable to focus with the decreased temperature of his brain, unable to keep track of time and faces and to discern the muddy blur of his emotions, if he's still able to feel any at all.

Ozai slowly flickering and fading away like a flame trapped under a glass, with no oxygen and nothing to hold onto.

[blueper-saiyan]

I’m overanalyzing something that’s canonically not meant to be thought about, for fun, so here’s a speculative Saiyan biology question: how often do they actually need to eat? I’ve sort of joked about the possibility that it’s like large predators irl where they gorge themselves occasionally and then wait until the next big kill. This would balance out the amount they’re eating to closer to a normal human, just a surprising amount in one sitting, and dodge the thing I’m about to go off the deep end about. But I think they’re probably supposed to need that amount frequently? Which is like, rodent levels of frequency and portions, but unlike a small mammal, a huge amount of actual food consumed. It’s fine if there’s only a handful of Saiyans on a whole planet but how did that work when there was a lot of them? That’s a massive amount of food, where is it coming from? Are they mostly feeding their army by taking food from conquered planets? They’d still need to be producing enough for their homeworld. Is it being farmed automatically and that’s how they can have the majority of their whole species be soldiers? But like, Gine has a job processing meat, so it’s clearly not entirely automated. Stuck thinking about Saiyan agricultural production and supply logistics help.

Unfortunately, I can also say that almost immediately after finding out the amount that Saiyans eat, the back of my mind did jump to “how fast do they starve?” Like, is that a much bigger threat for them than a human or do they have about the same amount of reserves, even if they’re eating more? If it is way faster, how does that affect how they view food/hunger? As a fun irl example, hummingbirds have such an insane metabolism that they would potentially starve to death if they slept at night. So they don’t sleep like normal, they enter a state that’s more like hibernation to slow their metabolism down enough to survive. Many hummingbird species are fiercely territorial because they need access to their food source or they starve. I imagine a theoretical hummingbird society would be thinking about food differently. And because this is my indulgent post where I get to talk about animals, I’m also going to bring up vampire bats, which could also potentially starve if they can’t feed within two days or so (I did not go deep into scientific literature to find original numbers and sources for this estimate I’m sorry true bat fans. Actually same goes for the hummingbird estimate but I know more about birds.). Unlike the more territorial hummingbirds though, vampire bats roost together during the day in colonies, with the same other bats repeatedly. And their food source can’t be guarded like a flower patch can, so there’s less purpose to territoriality. So they can form long term friendships with each other by interacting in ways like grooming each other. Within these friendships, when one bat gets a meal during their few-hour-a-night feeding window, but the other one doesn’t, the one who got enough food will often share with their friend to keep them from going hungry. Then their friend returns the favor when their roles are reversed, keeping them both alive, along with the rest of their friend network.

So those are some very different responses to needing food nearly constantly. If I were deeper in ecology mode I could probably try and come up with explanations based on the types of food source and territory and other factors for why, but I’m here to apply this to Saiyans lol. Honestly, a cooperative strategy would make more sense given that they’re pretty human-like, but that’s certainly not the sense we get given of their society. Were they always super individualistic or is that a recent development? Are they even actually individualistic or is that fully a societal role thing (elites are different from lower class warriors)? Or is the idea that they don’t cooperate partly a lie made up after their deaths anyway? Speculative biology for intelligent species get the extra layer of culture just to make things more messy and fun. We also know pretty much nothing about their original home planet and the actual context that shaped them, so I don’t get to apply other factors, like how easy it is to defend food sources or how important it is to stick together. We probably won’t ever get to know anything more about their original homeworld/Sadala, which is disappointing given that we got hints about it, but it does leave more room for speculation.