The fact people actually think chirotherapy works honestly makes me feel like shinji on the chair. They're literally the mormon version of health science. A KNOCK OFF PHYSICAL THERAPIST!!
Do folks not know the dude who founded it basically had a "it came to me to a dream" start. Anything they do is just letting some random person go ham on your body then ask you for 200$. Its releasing the air trapped inside the synovial fluid joints that create that pop/crunch sound; one can get the same results but letting a friend beat on your body. It can temporarily give relief but its not gonna last. Its akin to being an addict by how you get that high but then you crave the next. Its A SCAM of the medical world. The fact we letting people do this shit in general is almost embarrassing.
I was reading up on criticisms about Evolutionary Psychology, and I stumbled upon this headline on a pro-Evolutionary Psychology article:
Which as a queer, childless, atheist lefty is such a weird compliment. Evolutionary Psychology is a massive red flag, and I would recommend reading up on it.
Energy, due to it’s necessity for life, threads throughout the body somewhat like a metaphysical nervous system. It runs throughout the entire body, with larger pools gathering in analogs to pressure points, including gatherings in the hands, legs, and torso.
Magic, on the other hand, is gathered in a magical ‘core’ in the torso, with false ‘cores’, or impressions, present in parts of the body where magic tends to gather during spells. Most commonly, magical impressions gather in the hands and the head, although feet are surprisingly common to find impressions in, particularly with certain kinds of environmental magic.
There are different methods to measure energy and magical ability, but one of the most common ways is a universal system that measures each ability on a three way scale of capacity, output, and aptitude.
Capacity essentially refers to the gross power generation and storage ability, or in other words, how much of either magic or energy can that person produce or contain. Output refers to how much power they can safely use out their respective energy-pools, and is closely tied to capacity 99% of the time. Aptitude essentially refers to someones affinity with the delicate parts of power-usage, and generally also includes what particular aspect of power they find easiest to use, such as elemental affinities. It becomes more important the lower on the power-scale you go, because people with a lot more power to burn can use it to make up for a lack of finesse, while someone without much power or aptitude could only perform fairly basic spells/ techniques.
The tie between capacity and output is due to safety, and is weighted differently in energy and magic users. With energy, capacity and output are pretty much one-to-one, discounting the passive level of energy-generation necessary to life. With magic, it varies more, particularly due to the existence of mage species and magical beings. For example, on Earth, there are more or less three classes of people able to use magic: those who were born during a period of high-magic in their area and spontaneously received the ability, those who are part of a mage species, and those who are magical beings. A magical being is entirely made of magic, and as such is incapable of offloading all their magic or risk death; they generally have an output approximately 80% of their total capacity, although they also have exponentially larger capacities than other magic users as a trade-off. Mage species are typically the descendants of magical beings, far away enough from their ancestors to constitute a new species, for example, the difference between primordial and modern day demons. Due to being diluted over the generations with actual DNA, they can use more magic without dying, and have a similar output to capacity relation as the majority of energy users. People who are, for lack of a better term, randomly able to use magic are, on the other hand, capable of using up the entirety of their magical stores, as their magic isn’t tied to their status as alive like it is with everyone else, although they typically do have the lowest raw-power (side note-families of witches and wizards fall into this category and not mage species, because their ancestors were once non-magical).
The main exception to this tie between capacity and output are hybrids, who tend to be pretty messed up on a genetic level and use magic or energy to smooth things order. For example, in the case of the Son’s, Chi-Chi is a quarter Primordial and passed on her large magical stores to Gohan and Goten, who also inherited a Saiyan energy capacity from Goku, and this is what allowed them to be born healthy and stable. However, it also flipped their capacity and output relation in magic, as most of their magic is tied up in keeping them stable, which means that they can use approximately 10% of their magic without risk, 25% before they start to risk serious injury, and 60% before they risk permanent injury, sans-Senzu (generally, they can stabilize as their magic recuperates, but it doesn’t immediately repair the damage done, so high magic output is pretty risky, even with the cushion their high energy capacity provides). Their life-energy capacity-and-output relation, on the other hand, is mostly unaffected, as it was mostly used as a stabilizer during the embryonic portion of life and whenever magic levels dip low.
Sidenotes:
-Trunks and Bra get away with not-dying because Bulma’s mother has a longevity mutation that was actually a passive expression of unusually high magical stores that she passed on to her kids, who passed that on to their kids. Because she expressed the mutation randomly, however, essentially all of the Briefs magic is tied up in keeping them stable, which effectively presents as them having no magical ability-granted, Bulma never knew anyone in her family was magical either, so it evens out.
-A little bit of a retcon: Due to changing the magic-system a little, it’s a little bit more widespread on earth thanks to the existence of mage species and all that, although while people knowing about magic is widespread, places where people can train in using it are still pretty rare.
Saiyan teeth are based partially on baboon teeth in that the canine teeth are notably larger than the rest of the incisors, although the rest of the incisors are also fanged, and suited for ripping and tearing. However, their molars are still similar to those of most omnivores, and are used for chewing. As a result, saiyans are classified as an omnivorous species, although they take the concept of eating everything to the extreme-for example, while a saiyan will gain little to no nutrition from eating stone or metal, they are technically capable of digesting materials commonly thought to be entirely inedible. Saiyans tend to prefer meat because it is high calorie and high protein-both necessities for their biology- but they do require plant based nutrition for a rounded diet. Their teeth are capable of cutting through bone, and their molars capable of grinding down tough woody stems. A saiyan’s digestive system is equally robust, and capable of resisting most parasites and poisons found in food. As a result, cooking is not a requirement for digestion, but most saiyans tend to have at least a couple foods they prefer cooked (or alternatively complex food items that require cooking to come together). Also, while not their primary food source, due to their incredibly large calorific requirements, saiyans on the battlefield will fall to eating the the bodies of their not-always fallen opponents (i.e. that one scene of Vegeta snacking on a random alien mook’s arm), which doesn’t help increase their intergalactic standing. Like some reptiles, saiyans are born with all their teeth and they exhibit polyphyodonty-if a tooth falls out, another will grow back in its place. Despite the large size of most of their teeth, they are fully hidden by the lips. Saiyan jaws tend to be larger and wider than those of most similarly sized mammalian species, and they have an incredibly strong bite force-although again, they are similar to crocodiles in that even a fairly small force stopping movement of the jaw will be an effective neutralizing method.
Half-saiyans retain the oversized canines, although the rest of the teeth are similar in appearance to those of a human. Half-saiyans are born with canines, and the rest of their teeth grow in sometime between three to six months. Apart from this, their teeth are similar to those are full saiyans, as are their digestive capabilities. Their jaws are larger than those of most full blooded humans, but not necessarily to the extent that their canine teeth will fit properly. As a result its fairly common for the canine teeth to project outwards and protrude slightly past the lips. This is entirely a cosmetic issue, and could theoretically be remedied by braces, although the issue of placing the braces for long enough remains an issue, particularly with the amount of facial trauma most saiyans go through, and also the problem of finding a dentist willing to stick their hand in that mouth.
Quarter saiyans, like half saiyans, retain most of the dental and digestive capabilities of a full blooded saiyan. They have oversized canines, although not to the extent of full or half blooded saiyans. Like human infants, they are born toothless; their canines grow in within the first couple of months, afterwards the rest of the teeth grow in between six to eight months. They do have a set of baby teeth, but after those grow in they retain the polyphyodontic trait.
Eyes
The pupil and iris of a saiyan have no differentiation, is ovular and elongated, and contracts and expands with the light (and, occasionally, emotion). Their visual acuity is no better than a human, although their night vision is far superior. Without the use of ki-energy, saiyan eyes possess tapetum lucidum- otherwise known as eye shine, which allows for vision in low-light activities; with ki-energy, a truer backlight is possible, allowing for some vision even in pitch-black environments. In fact, the general environment of earth tends to be a bit bright for saiyan eyes, resulting in slit-like pupil/iris’s. This is because saiyans originally evolved in a low-light environment from living under the canopy of their original forested planet (listen. listen. You do not get monkey-based species without trees. I do not know what was the saiyan origin planet in the main universe was, but I do not care, a rain forest type environment makes sense.), and later on the red sky of planet Vegeta was relatively dim compared the sky of planet earth. Additionally, because they tend to gain power with the moon, saiyans are naturally at least partly nocturnal, which also plays a part in their keen night vision. Saiyans also have sensory organs present in the inside corners of their eyes that allows them to sense heat energy of nearby organisms (i.e. that thing snakes can do? yeah kind of like that).
Half saiyan eyes are rather similar to those of a full saiyan, although the sensory organs are under-developed and unspecific. Gohan is actually tremendously, horrifically blind without glasses nearsighted, although not as a result of an incorrect blending of human and saiyan genes or entirely as a result of eyestrain from reading. Admittedly he did strain his eyesight throughout his childhood, because it didn’t get bad enough that he needed a book half an inch from his face in order to see it until high school, and he didn’t realize most people did not see the world in various states of blurry. Luckily, saiyan and half-saiyan eyes are similar enough in function to human eyes that regular glasses do work.
In quarter saiyan eyes, the thermoreceptor organ is entirely absent, and pupils are more ovular even in day-light. Otherwise they function much the same as full and half-saiyan eyes do.
Noses
A saiyan’s sense of smell is probably their most developed sense. It is very sensitive, and capable of picking up minute differences in scent. They are adept trackers by smell alone as a result. That said, saiyans aren’t particularly good at blocking out potent smells, and overwhelming scents-particularly unpleasant ones-can be debilitating much as high pitched noises can be to a Namek. Unlike humans, saiyan noses have diagonally set nostrils instead of downward facing ones, much like new world monkeys. In half and quarter bloods, the angle of the noses shifts downwards with the addition of human blood, but otherwise the function remains the same
Body and Proportions
Saiyans tend to be stockier than the average human, and very much embody the idea of being built like bricks. They’re a warrior race from a high-gravity environment, and they look it. They have long torsos and longer arms, and a prehensile tail and prehensile feet from their arboreal ancestors (who were comparatively closer to modern saiyans than humans closest tree dwelling ancestors). A saiyan tail, apart from its noted sensitivity to being yanked and containment of trigger glands for the Oozaru transformation, is also an important part of a saiyan’s balance. Ki-energy can serve as a substitute, but without actively circulating energy, a tail-less saiyan has not insignificant balance problems. As children, saiyans tend to lean more towards a quadrupedal stance, although it’s considered improper in higher echelons of Saiyan society. As they grow older and proportions shift, they tend toward bipedality. Unlike human primates, saiyans have retained claws instead of nails.
Half-saiyans have more variety in body shape, although they still trend to more solid builds (e.g. even Gohan, the person closest to being a twig of everyone with saiyan genetics, has fairly broad shoulders and a barrel chest). Typically, the length of the torso, arms, and legs are more or less equal in length to each other. Half saiyans retain the prehensile tail and feet, although they’re not quite as hairy as a full blooded saiyan would be. Their nails aren’t quite claws, but they’re still thickened and come to a natural point.
Quarter saiyans have similar body shapes as half-saiyans. Their proportions are close to human, although they’re noticeably off to a practiced eye. The tail is thinner and shorter, but still present, and while the back of the foot is fairly human in shape, the feet are still prehensile. Their nails are mostly blunt, but still thicker than a full blooded humans would be.
Due to the high gravity environment of both planet Vegeta and the original saiyan origin planet, saiyan skeletal and muscular structures are several times more dense than those of most humanoid species of comparable size. This allows saiyans to hit harder and lift more than most species, assisting in part of their infamous power. Their skin and most of their other organs are similarly tough-without energy circulation, they can still be harmed by mundane means, but it takes a considerable amount of force to result in damage (e.g regular hand guns or even a car crash wouldn’t amount to much more than mild discomfort, but something along the lines of a missile launcher would) On the flip side, the amount of energy required to maintain their dense physicality is incredibly large. Even without much activity, around twenty to thirty thousand calories are necessary for a saiyan to function. Strenuous activity and/or energy use increase the required calorie usage exponentially. As a result, a saiyan can die of starvation in a matter of days. The tough physicality and intense calorie requirements are considered dominant traits, and remain present in half and quarter saiyans.
Namekians are an alien humanoid species with similarities to slugs and insects. They have long, slender, pointed ears and very acute hearing. Most Namekians have around six eyes, four on the face and two at the end of the antenna; apart from the two main eyes, the vision isn’t great, but it nonetheless does allow Nameks to have a certain degree of 360 vision. They have slit-like noses and a beak-like mouth that is often mistaken for fangs at a distance. True teeth are uncommon, and they have a proboscis-like tongue for swallowing water. Most namekians are technically capable of digesting things other than water, but they are often limited to soft, relatively bland food. The most common Namekian food source, other than water, are soft fluid-filled fruits and vegetables, which aren’t so much eaten as they are bitten into and have the fluid sucked out.
Namekians have a relatively soft, cartilaginous inner skeleton that allows them their extreme flexibility. They also have a chitinous outer-skin, and exoskeleton armor present in the smooth, muscle-like protusions. They have four fingered hands, and the final bone in the finger digits are fused with the exoskeleton to produce claws that appear to jut directly from the top of the fingers. There is little to no inner skeleton present in the lower body; instead their legs are distinctly insectoid in appearance, and as with the ‘muscle’ on their upper body, are heavily armored. Generally, Warrior and Dragon class Nameks are distinguished by their size and exoskeleton-Warrior Nameks are almost always a foot or two taller than Dragon Nameks, and they have rigid protusions on the exoskeleton patches for additional protection, unlike the smaller size and smooth skin of the dragon class.
Piccolo, on the other hand, is kind of. Weird. Like the other sons of the original Demon King Piccolo, he is mutated, although his are relatively minor, as he was the intended reincarnation, and not noticeable to those who aren’t rather familiar with regular Namekians. He has two working eyes and two vestigal eyespots, and unlike the plain black of most Namekians, he has white pupils. He also has an inner tooth structure similar to a regular Namekian’s beak. His exoskeleton patches are overlarge and have a hyper-muscular appearance. He is capable of digesting a wider range of food than most Namekians, and in fact he does require a small degree of actual food to supplement his diet.
Disclaimer: (This is Entirely niche and entirely pseudo-science but by god am I going to write this anyway)
Notes/Transcription: Saiyan hair is very thick and rigid, notably thicker than human hair strands and not entirely dissimilar in texture to porcupine quills. There is a velvet-like covering the strands that is surprisingly soft (the combination of the two textures is often considered confusing by many). Unlike human hair, there’s a nerve center in the middle, which allows the hair spikes to stiffen with adrenaline into an unyielding mass of spikes (the normal give present is lost), partially assisted by the velvet-like outer layer becoming clingy, for the purpose of activating yet another weapon. While the risk of breakage is present, it’s usually not a major concern (and becomes even less of one with different transformations, where the material of the hair is even further reinforced).
Unlike most other traits that are fairly standard across the board, the texture of half-saiyan hair varies surprisingly wildly from individual to individual (likely, this is because the actual effectiveness of the hair spikes is primarily aesthetic, and thus not considered a primary trait to select for when crossed with other species ((is this how biology works? not really)). Trunk’s hair is simultaneously the thickest and the most flexible (from a distance it looks at behaves the most like human hair; the illusion falls away as distance decreases-it obeys gravity most of the time but it does spike with adrenaline and much of the nerve core and velvet texture is retained). Conversely, Goten’s hair is the most rigid, but it is also the thinnest. It’s very spiky and hard to handle, but it can be teased into a few different hair styles after a hair cut. Despite initial appearances, his is the hair that is texturely closest to a human hair texture, with minimal velvet texture and next to no nerve core. Gohan and Bulla fall somewhere in between Trunks and Goten. Their hair is thicker than a humans, but not to the degree that saiyan hair is, and while it’s flexible enough to style a few different ways, most hairstyle changes are very untidy and have a lot of cowlicks. A partial nerve core and velvet-texture is present. Pan has hair that is very close to human thickness, and it is fairly flexible. There’s a slight velvet catch present on every other strand.
Saiyan ears are noticeably elongated, and come to a distinct point. They are notably wider and more mobile than the ears of other pointy-eared species. Saiyan hearing is more acute than that of a human, but not by a great magnitude. However, due to the mobility present in the ears, a saiyan’s hearing is much more precise, and able to pinpoint the exact location a sound comes from. Half-saiyan ears are largely similar in form and function to those of a full-blooded saiyan, but the point is distinctly rounded. Quarter-ears are somewhat pointy and rather large, but are only mildly elongated. The mobility of the ears is somewhat reduced, and precision hearing is not quite as accurate as that of full or half blooded saiyans, although the acuity of the hearing remains the same.
The most direct ancestor of the saiyans was a baboon type primate like creature that had a symbiotic relationship with some of the native plant-life. In exchange for protection and mobility for the plants, the early ancestor recieved an additional form of nutrition. In the modern day, most all that remains of the original symbiotic relationship is a very weak form of photosynthesis and some coloration of the ancestral symbiotic plants. Usually, the coloration is present mainly in the color of the schlera and globules present in the blood that cause an accompanying undertone to the skin, mostly present in the more delicate portions of the skin. While there is a wide range of coloration, they generally do fall into certain spectrums based on the traditional saiyan class system. Coloration that falls somewhere into the green end of the color spectrum are usually found in members of the elite. Second class saiyans usually have yellow or blue coloration, and third class saiyans have coloration that fall somewhere between the orange and purple to red coloration.
In case of starvation, it’s not impossible that a saiyan can overextend their natural photosynthesis for nutrition. It’s not a proper substitution for actual food, but it usually allows a saiyan enough time to survive. Starvation based photosynthesis usually results in the normally almost undetectable undertone becoming the primary coloration for a time, and even lower class saiyans gain a temporary greenish hue. Additionally, overuse of photosynthesis can make a saiyan more vulnerable to certain autoimmune disorders that lead to a reactivation of defunct plant genes. Because the symbiotic plants were absorbed by early saiyans millenia ago, saiyans no longer have the proper capabilities to deal with the reactivation of the genes, and the plants become parasitic, stealing nutrients from the saiyan to the point of death if left unchecked. Before the advent of space travel, such diseases were almost always considered terminal, although the spread of the parasite could be slowed by proper nutrition, as most saiyans didn’t have the patience for advancing medicine. With the introduction of new technology from space, symptoms can be managed, although a proper cure was never developed for parasitic plants before the destruction of planet Vegeta.
