#drye rambles

It's been a head-canon of mine for the past few hours that 50% of Raph's calorie intake, despite the existence of pizza, comes from only one source: rice.

A few reasons for this.

One: Raph's size. 

Starting off with the obvious point, the bigger someone is, the more they gotta eat (not to mention how active he and his brothers are). But why rice specifically? Well, just look at his living situation...

Two: Price. 

Food is expensive. It certainly didn't help that Splinter had to raise his sons in the sewers. In the US, 1kg of rice costs about $4, one of the cheapest sources of grain (not to mention how much 1kg of rice actually is once cooked)...

Three: Convenience. 

Rice is simple to cook, and has a shelf life from months to years. It could be easily stocked up in their home with as few trips to the upper city as possible, lowering risk of both shortages and exposing themselves above... The only issue they would have to deal with is keeping the rice dry while stored (i mean they live in sewers of all places), but that fix is relatively simple. 

 So why the emphasis on Raph and not all the brothers?

Four: now we're diving into Raph's character. 

In Rise, not only is he the eldest, but also the leader of the group. He largely is responsible for setting a good example, and putting the needs of his brothers before his own... This sentiment would bleed over to their meals, especially when they get older and have the means to nicer food: like pizza. While Raph would be perfectly justified to take more than his brothers, it would harm his need to set a good example...  

 But of course, he needs to meet his calorie quota, so while taking an equal share in special meals with his brothers, he can make up the carbs he still needs with the simple, plentiful food at home that most don't bat an eye at: rice. Not to mention having so much of it during childhood would lead to Raph growing up with the taste for it, along with it being an easy meal (if he had to cook when Splinter couldn't and Mikey was too young to be the family cook yet).

... It's probably one of the most boring HC's ever, but I think there's some interesting details to unravel in such a mundane concept. I'm surprised no one talks much about how much larger Raph's diet is with how big he is in Rise, and the implications along-with that. (Plus the image of Raph downing a whole bucket of rice by himself is funny to me I should draw that sometime)

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for 3 years and I cannot for the life of me figure out why I haven't responded to it until now.