wheregoodthingsthrive

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

been reading Neuromancer and I do think these assholes are kinda neat

#neuromancer #henry dorsett case #molly millions #do I want to be them or with them? #i don't know

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

Molly Millions from William Gibson’s Neuromancer! 

#neuromancer #molly millions #LOVE HER #she ran so everyone else could walk

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

bye bye vegito

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

🧡Son Goku

#db #dragon ball #dbz #dragon ball z #dbs #dragon ball super #son goku #kakarot #goku #dbz fanart #my art #go zero notes go!!

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

Pestering you again because your brain is huge.

I also think it's pretty established in canon that tails are unfurled in two main ways: the socially/intimately acceptable and in uncontrollable emotion. I don't think these are exclusive, but I think they show the two main categories that reflect Saiyan tail value.

Socially/Intimately Acceptable

I wanna focus on this one cause I feel the emotions one is a little self explainable (given the condition that Saiyans probably wouldn't want to expose their true emotions/outbursts in such a forward, physically viewable way but some more on that alter).

In the 2018 Broly movie (my detested beloved), Bardock and Gine instinctively let their tails down once they are in the privacy of one another's company/express a tender, romantic greeting between one another. The fact that Gine already has her tail down and Bardock only unfurls his once in her presence (and nice looking round lady doesn't say anything about it) implies its socially acceptable. Either when its in privacy or if its to demonstrate affection for one another.

Additionally, they keep their tails down when they are not in the sight of other people and are sharing an intimate, high-emotion moment together (whether you consider the new canon for Bardock's history and Goku's departure from Planet Vegeta or not, I think it's still important to observe Saiyan behavior within it). I think this further emphasizes the point that tail-loosening? Tail letting down? Tail unfurling? Is an instantly notable demonstration of trust, emotion, and intimately valued expression of the self.

I think there is also equal value in how then Saiyans would express themselves with their tails around different types of relations. Bardock and Gine are a romantic couple, so their tail usage seems pretty lenient given that understanding. I wouldn't be shocked -- and neither would the fanbase it seems, given I see this a lot -- that tail intertwining is a commonly understood gesture for ultimate trust and compassion, given that the tail is sensitive, dangerous, paralyzing, and fragile especially if not trained. Romantic, fraternal, familial, superior, subordinate, etc. relationships all reflect tail usage differently. I'm curious as to how that could've been explored... alas.

"Did they always wrap their tails most of the time or is that a recent cultural development?"

I think tail wrapping is a long-standing Saiyan tradition and custom that was equally distorted by galactic pursuits within the Frieza Force. The weakness in the tail and the transparency the tail provides to others has always been a liability for Saiyans in their warlike escapades across space and this emphasis on subduing those two things only worsened upon being subjected under the Cold dynasty. Wrapping one's tail has maintained itself as being an outward symbol of distrust or self control but I like to think different ways of wrapping ones tail has changed. Now that every Saiyan wraps their tail around their waist to maintain unity and possibly for predictability sake, these different wrapping techniques and meanings have been lost. This is way off topic and a tangent but I wouldn't be shocked if the direction of wrapping (around the left versus right sides of the body, around the leg - either left/right again, if the tail is ordained with clothing/jewelry, or pinned/tied in place rather than held by muscle/choice) would indicate things like rank, hierarchical presence, or roles in society. Especially given that royalty or high level officials wear skirts or cloaks that would naturally protect the tail anyways.

"[It's definitely implied] that losing your tail has some horrible social stigma"

FINALLY. Seeing someone else mention this. I think losing one's tail is a deeply seething social wound, especially for a warrior or higher class individual. The tail is the most expressive part of a Saiyan-- it is connected to the spine, their celestial body ties, one of their distinctly alien traits. I believe the ability to exhibit self control and preservation of the tail, especially if one is a roughed up soldier or high ranking hero or a prince, is a symbol of understood status. Do I have proof for this? No, absolutely not. But I think the stigma is severe for those with higher societal expectations. Not able to protect your own tail? How can you even protect me? How can you protect your planet? Our interests? Your squad? I will fight the notion that Saiyans do not care about their fellow Saiyan until I die and a part of it is because of this concept of the tail. I also think tail posture has social stigma, even more so after Force occupation. A let down tail in an environment you're not supposed to have it down comes with a greta wave of judgmental looks- people will think that one is sloppy, unawares, easy, not physically strong. I guess you could argue it could be the opposite if a trained tail means you can risk having it down but I'd wager that tail training is what is a new skill rather than an old one.

Anyways goodness gravy this one was long! Thanks for attending Toyata Yapaton hope some of this made sense

One of the things that annoys me most about not giving the saiyans their tails is that they can’t be used to show character development and relationships. Even just whether or not they wrap their tails up could be a lot of fun, much less actually emoting with it. I’ve always thought it would be fun to see Vegeta slowly wrap his up less often as he calms down over time. It would make for a small subtle difference between future Trunks and regular Trunks if the one who grew up with Vegeta tended to keep his tail wrapped up. Alternately, future Trunks might start wrapping it after spending the year with Vegeta. Also kid Trunks trying to mimic his dad makes for a fun contrast with Goten who definitely wouldn’t be keeping his tail out of the way. Maybe Goten and Goku notice that they do a similar quirk when they meet for the first time. It’s not really any different than regular body language in terms of being communicated to others but I like the subtle non-humanness of it. Also there would have absolutely been some antics with high school Gohan having a tail. He did not hide his secret identity well at all and this wouldn’t go any better lol. Showing it off to Videl as part of revealing his secrets would be cute.

The tails are definitely a missed opportunity for this sort of thing and I’d want to do something with it for fic or fanart some time

#db #dragon ball #saiyan #saiyan culture #I also think the royal family is much more articulate about their tails #which contributes to vegeta's much more deeply wounded ego and self when his tail is severed #this is a long lasting wound in his life and i refuse to believe otherwise #Vegeta also prides his tail more than the average saiyan because it IS one of the last remaining saiyan monikers besides other traits #speaking of which #I think saiyans can also be distinctly identified by hair/hairlessness eyes teeth pattern and broadness in hands and feet #to name external traits #internal traits? much more alien I will DIE on this hill #different muscular and skeletal makeup #their brains are shaped and function differently #saliva and blood have different properties #metabolisms and immune systems are completely different #dissect your local saiyan #SORRY I KEEP LONG POST REBLOGGING YOUR STUFF #i have so much to say

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

#db #dragon ball #son goku #kakarot #vegeta #prince vegeta

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

It is so refreshing to see someone else think about Saiyans as deeply as this. I think one of the best things from the lack of knowledge on Saiyans and the strange, in my opinion obvious, bias on Saiyan culture we see from Vegeta, Freeza, etc. etc, is that we can smash our heads together and try to figure it all out lol. Saiyan dietary needs and structure is so interested. We see them (Vegeta lmao) eating the species of the planet they conquer but I don't think that is a consistent, normal behavior (that is a whole other brain essay in and of itself). We also see them preparing food, as you pointed out with Gine. We see them being able to host dinners through King Vegeta & Beerus. I think a lot of food is imported in or taken from foreign planets, especially since Saiyans can obviously eat almost anything and seem to have the chompers and stomach/physical fortitude to do so. I also do believe that the Freeza Force actually increased their food imports (I refuse to believe Saiyans export for reasons) because now there is streamlined, intergalactic movement of goods and capital to benefit the army. As much as Freeza/Cold may not be able to stand their subordinates, it's better to make them fight for food that is readily available to them to increase their merit rather than how the force implode on itself due to hunger or feral-based competition.

Anyways -- I've always considered food a community activity for Saiyans, both in context of it helps them survive by making sure the soldier who will be watching your back will be fed but also in the sense of Saiyan values. Food keeps up strength, which keeps up offensive/defensive caliber, which ensures success, which brings pride and honor, which can then be celebrated via food. I think this communal aspect of food (both in the preparation, consumption, and collection of) is lost to a semi impactful degree when the Cold/Freeza Force moves in and implements more of it's merit-based individualism. (Saiyans are most definitely merit-based individuals, but I believe they have a foundation of community that bolsters the craving of merit to protect the numbers, the planet, the resources, etc. and that dissipates over time due to Saiyan nature in tandem with literal galactic colonialism and dictatorship. But this ain't about that, I can't let my polsci brain get in the way.) Also, given the Force wants to provide anyway to prevent internal dissolution, it's easier to no longer rely on societal norms when the army provides a slightly better benefit. Less hunt + more have = food gets to you quicker, even if it not as substantial or consistent. I think Saiyans starve rather quickly, but their bodies have mechanisms and unique reserves that prolongs the sufferings of starvation so that they don't shrivel and die but rather sacrifices things like size (height, weight, general stature), increased anti-socialism (avoiding groups so that they can instinctually only provide for themselves), shorter stamina in fights (greater focus on stronger, short, sudden blasts rather than long-sustained combat), slower metabolism or the Saiyan biological equivalent of it. I believe their bodies/minds do this instinctively, like an auto-pilot they cannot turn off but are definitely aware of because the pangs of hunger will eventually mean physical and behavioral altercations to protect the body. Sorry for yapping -- I don't know where else my brain was going on this one so I'm going to drop it here. Don't even know if I contributed anything to the conversation but I just LOVE seeing people overanalyze and explore Saiyan culture.

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.

#db #dragon ball #long post #saiyan culture #saiyans are so fascinating #bring back their sharp teeth we see in the saiyan saga #I think talking about their food for me is more about social structure and political/societal cohesion rather than ecological and biologica #factors because my brain is not oriented that way #not a girl in stem <3

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

#db #dragon ball #son goku #kakarot #son gohan #son goten #prince vegeta #vegeta #bulla briefs #son pan

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

i love u baby bulma briefs please don’t turn the slime guy into a funny monkey please please

#dbgt #baby dbgt #bulma briefs #baby vegeta #super baby 2 #db #dragon ball #YOURE SO REAL FOR THIS

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

Rewatching dbz, so I had to draw them :>

#db #dragon ball #piccolo #son gohan

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

would tbh

#db #dragon ball #baby dbgt #super baby vegeta #vegeta #prince vegeta #WOW #THIS IS SO GOOD #i love the baby fanart this is marvelous #he came he served cunt and then he died #stole his wife his kids his home his planet his body his height his hair color his title his brain hi

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

☘️🎻🍇🌿Who wants to smash dragon ball OCs together like barbies please dm me I need dragon ball friends

All the bits under the cut cause I’m going to ramble about these

Okay. These are my pookie wookie bears from the depths of my brain that have spawned as a result of needing to stretch and chew on dragon ball's expansive universe.

Cress -- Saiyan, a runaway member of the Frieza Force who crashes onto a peaceful, shrouded planet inhabited by the Mel'hivi and their borderline god Andolin. She abandoned the force prior to the destruction of Planet Vegeta and has been willingly staying on Mel'ha with Andolin as she 1. has grown to love and value the planet, her life, and the Namekian and 2. to escape her Frieza Force squadron (SRF). She is dedicated to being a defender of the planet she lives on and its dragon balls. She and Andolin kiss sometimes. Name pun = water cress.

Andolin -- Namekian, a Dragon Clan Namekian who is the protector/'kami' of Mel'ha and the Mel'hivi population. He created, nurtures, and controls Escotera, the dragon of his created dragon balls. He is patient, somewhat stern, and extremely skilled in the magics of the Dragon Clan, creating nigh his own palette of skills that would qualify him as a nigh Grand Elder. Though he is young, he is mighty, basically. He and Cress kiss sometimes. Name pun = the mandolin.

Raserry -- Icejin? Arcosian? Frieza race. The leader of the Special Risk Force / Raserry Force (SRF). He is haughty and serious, showing off less glamor than his kin Frieza. Think Starscream from Transformers but with less "bug on the windshield" vibes. He is the one who organized the SRF, dedicating it to hunting down and executing or the reinstitution defected members of the Frieza Force. (DJD but in DBZ). He is ruthless, doesn't like to play with his food, and helps oversee the political maintenance of the Icejin-Arcosian-Frieza race planet in the absence of its political leaders (Frieza and at times Cold). Name pun = raspberry.

Saffren -- unique race (Zacin/Zacins). The green sketch one. Saffren is Raserry's right hand in the SRF and is the heavy, hard-hitter of the team. He, alongside the remainders of the SRF, are dedicated to the finding of the dragon balls for devious silly little reasons. Name pun = saffron. When Raserry is away, he runs the show with an iron fist and with merciless motion. We love him. He has four arms! That's his special bit.

Tarte -- unique race (Fumi/Fumian). The weird lady punching the super saiyan. Tarte is a member of the SRF. She is a Fumi, an aquatic dwelling mammalian creature who is such an amalgamation of traits and tropes that she is a melting pot of Bad. Her unique skill in the ability to quiet her ki, turn invisible via her mirage-inducing skin, and her traversing skills under water. Name pun = tarts.

#db #dragon ball #dbz #dragon ball z #dbs #dragon ball super #dragon ball fanart #dragon ball oc #saiyan #namekian #my art #go zero notes go!! #PLEASE BE MY FRIENDS

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

💚🪻Some compiled WIPs involving Dende

#db #dragon ball #dbz #dragon ball z #dbs #dragon ball super #dende #kami dende #dende db #dende dbz #dende dbs #son gohan #gohan #gohan dbz #my art #go zero notes go!! #wips

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

#db #dragon ball #son gohan

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

#db #dragon ball #piccolo #son gohan #dende #son goten #trunks briefs #son pan #pan

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

Saiyan Strength + Namekian Mystic Powers = Wukong the Demon Monkey King

I think in the actual DB verse the fusion dance produces a literal mash up of two people but I think it would be neat if two different species made an entirely new species when put together. In this case Saiyans and Nameks make Magic Monkey People

#db #dragon ball #son goku #kakarot #piccolo #THIS IS SO COOL

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

A very popular request :D

#db #dragon ball #son goku #kakarot #chichi #son chichi #gochi #YE A A AH