#Nerd Thoughts

[nerdby]

I think toxic romance should qualify as a subgenre as horror, and I can't stand horror nerds that don't believe in subgenres. Like the kind of people who think that anything that isn't oozing shock value and gore doesn't count as "real" horror. The kind of people who say Flowers In The Attic is a psychological thriller or tragedy instead of a horror-tragedy.

Like how is tragedy not horrifying???

What is not horrifying about children being locked up, starved to death, and so completely cut off from human interaction that they develop an incestuous bond as a coping mechanism???

[dyingroses]

So do the Black Widows take estrogen supplements (since they all had oophorectomies, removal of the ovaries, and that's the primary producer of estrogen in the female body) and like how does that work because even tho there are forms of supplemental estrogen delivery that have longer durations (3-4 weeks) if you are on missions having to be on chronic scheduled medication could cause difficulties.

And estrogen does so much!

aesthetic:

keep skin smooth and

prevent excess body hair

keep breasts from sagging

sexual:

keep vagina lubricated

cognitive and emotional side effects of estrogen depletion

trouble concentrating

fatigue

anxiety

depression

cardiovascular/hematological side effects of estrogen depletion

increased risk of cardiovascular disease due to abnormal cholesterol levels

increased risk of bleeding because estrogen is an coagulant

muscoloskeletal side effects of estrogen depletion

bone loss

other side effects of estrogen depletion

mood swings

hot flashes

night sweats

[hedonefemme]

Just watched the fourth episode of the Penguin and I’m literally obsessed

*spoilers*

While I would’ve loved more time to explore Sofia’s past with her family and I thought it was a bit rushed with how the show dealt with the remaining Falcones, I fucking loved this episode. So many great character moments for Sofia, but I think the best was during the electroshock sequence.

As she wakes up in her cell after each session she finds more of the walls peeling away like wallpaper to reveal the yellow wallpaper of her parent’s bedroom. Not only does this play nicely into her own backstory, but the allusion to The Yellow Wallpaper is so well placed. It informs exactly what Sofia is experiencing, and makes her plight all the more sympathetic and understandable.

Sofia has already been one of my favorite parts of this show and I can’t wait to see more of her.

[mrloganhowlettwilson]

show your kids The Iron Giant when they're 10 years old

then show them Terminator 2 when they turn 13

they're 80% the same movie/story

[sarcastic-salem]

Lady Loki: *Enters room*

Tony: Whoa, whose the hot brunette?

Thor: That is Loki.

Tony: *Chokes*

[andietries]

A Cockatrice?!?!?! That?!?!? What’s their source?!?! Harry Potter?!?!?

And people complain about the tomatoes omg

[choppun-kun]

That's a newer generational culture phenomenon. If it sparks joy and I can afford it, it's getting Y O I N K E D.

[youthofpandas]

What’s up with how the dunmeshi fandom just lies about this kind of stuff all the time. It is easily confirmable information that it was a monthly series, something incredibly common in the industry.

A not weekly magazine schedule is literally common !! Especially in the seinen shoujo and josei demographics, sometimes monthly, sometimes biweekly, sometimes every two months, sometimes seasonal! Please stop lying about how Dunmeshi was some special unique creation that defies all standards of manga just to hype it up because it is so clear that every single one of these comparisons is centered around Weekly Shonen Jump (and understand that SJ has many magazines under its brand that are monthly or semimonthly). Not everything is WSJ and it needs to stop being the only point of reference in conversations like this 🤧

[markscherz]

Meet the seven new frog species we just named after iconic Star Trek captains!

Artwork by A. Petzold, CC BY-ND 4.0

At the right time of year along rushing streams in the humid rainforests that stretch the length of Madagascar's eastern and northern mountain ridges, otherworldly trills of piercing whistles can be heard.

Are they birds? Insects? Communicator beeps? Tricorder noises?

No, they're little treefrogs!

Boophis janewayae. Photo by M. Vences, CC BY-SA 4.0

Until recently, we thought all of the populations of these little brown frogs across the island were one widespread species, Boophis marojezensis, described in 1994. But genetics in the early 2000s and 2010s showed that there were several species here, not just one.

Now my colleagues and I have shown that they are in fact eight separate species, each with unique calls!

These whistling sounds reminded us so much of Star Trek sound effects that we decided to name the seven new species after Star Trek captains: Boophis kirki, B. picardi, B. janewayae, B. siskoi, B. pikei, B. archeri, and B. burnhamae.

Photos of all new species described by Vences et al. 2024. CC BY-SA 4.0

I subtly and not-so-subtly built some Star Trek references into the paper, but probably the best one is this one:

'Finding these frogs sometimes requires considerable trekking; pursuing strange new calls, to seek out new frogs in new forests; boldly going where no herpetologist has gone before.'

— Vences et al. 2024

There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that there are at least two Trekkies amongst the authors (including yours truly). As fans of Star Trek, we are also just pleased to dedicate these new species to the characters who have inspired and entertained us over the decades.

On a personal note, this marks a milestone for me, as it means I have now described over 100 frog species! I am very pleased that the 100th is Captain Janeway's Bright-eyed Frog, Boophis janewayae (if you count them in order of appearance in the paper)—she is probably my favourite captain, and I really love Star Trek: Voyager.

You can read more about the discovery of these new species on my website! You can also read the Open Access paper published in Vertebrate Zoology here.

[lanawinterscigarettes]

gotta be one of the best twink death dilf births that I've ever seen

[tarzinnia]

One thing I didn't quite understand with respect to Peter/Spider-man involved his vision. In the first TASM, Peter removes his contact lenses prior to being bitten in order to wear his father's glasses (I assumed his father had two pair, as Richard Parker was wearing glasses during the plane crash we see in TASM 2 and also in the car when Peter is left with Uncle Ben and Aunt May). However, once Peter was bitten, I perhaps incorrectly thought that the glasses were no longer a necessity (and that may be due to the first Raimi movie and Tobey). But Peter wears them a couple of times after being bitten. He wears them at Dr. Connors home and he wears them while he is working on the webbing, and I think he is wearing them when he is sitting on the roof and looking at the decay rate algorithm. When he wears them at Oscorp prior to being bitten, no big deal, but afterwards, I thought it was not necessary and unless the prescription was very low, would have interfered with being able to see without blurred views. (I get that this is hypercritical and part of the film's asthetic)

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

dir. Marc Webb

[nerdby]

Just imagining what it would be like dating Loki and living with him, and like trying to get him to do chores. Just like imagine if it were raining outside, and so you haven't left the house in almost a week. At first it was kinda nice because you'd sit in Loki's lap while he's stretched out on the couch, braiding your hair while you're watching movies or listening to music or reading.

Loki is kinda lazy because he grew up being pampered by servants and his mother on Asgard, but he loves a clean home and being surrounded by nice things. He doesn't love doing chores, though. You guys would be lazy together for those first few days. Then the dishes would pile up, the plants would need watering, and the mailbox would be full of unpaid bills.

Since Loki is clueless about how bills work you would go to your desk by the window, grab your laptop, and the little pink spray bottle for the plants. "Get the plants, please," you'd say.

Loki would roll his eyes and probably over water the plants, but then magic them back to perfect health later -- you'd never need to know. Then he would start on the dishes, and you'd be on the phone arguing with the bank or insurance company. Then he throw himself down on the couch and look at you accusingly because for some reason you always insisted on balancing the bank account by hand and it always took forever.

"Y/N." He would say quietly and impatiently you while you chewed on your pen.

"Not now," you'd say, waving him off. "I'm almost done."

And Loki would flick his wrist, sending the pen flying from your hand.

"Loki!"

"Y/N!"

"What if the app is wrong?" You'd ask. "What if the account overdrafts and I have to pay a fee?"

Loki would round the desk. Then he'd reach over your shoulder and close the laptop with a click. "Then I'll get you more money to pay it off with."

"You wouldn't do anything illegal, though?" You'd ask uncertainly because it'd obviously be hard to tell if Silvertongue was lying.

"I make no promises," he'd smirk down at you. Then he'd pick you up, throw you over his shoulder like a ragdoll, and bring you back to the couch with him.

[reverie-starlight]

i think if you ask atsumu if he’d still love you if you were a worm one night before bed, he’d get all excited and turn to face you with this huge smile and be like “I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YA TO ASK ME! I’VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT A LOT!” and go on to explain his plan for two different scenarios- one where you get turned into a worm in front of him via wizard/warlock/witch/spell user/some curse, and one where you turn into a worm overnight and he’s not sure where tf you are in the morning bc he wasn’t there to see it happen.

he then goes on to proudly explain that in the first scenario he’d build you this little portable terrarium and carry you around while he finds a cure for you. and he’d take such good care of you.

in the second scenario he freaks out about you being gone, but comes to the conclusion that he’d somehow eventually realize that you were the worm he found on your pillow that morning and take good care of you and work tirelessly to find a cure as well. he tells you about the terrarium he’d build you in extreme detail. you’d apparently be living a luxury life worms could only dream of, according to him. no birds are getting you while you’re under his care. (<- his exact words.) he’ll get you the premium dirt and a huge fish tank.

so short answer is yes, he would absolutely still love you if you were a worm and he would go above and beyond for you.

you’re touched of course, and also very tempted to find a worm to put on your pillow before he wakes up and hide in the bathroom tomorrow morning to scare him a bit.

[joycrispy]

One thing I love about Crowley --never stated, but consistently shown-- is that he is, at heart, an engineer.

I have a few different things to say about that. Let's unpack them.

As the Unnamed Angel, we see his designs for the Pillars of Creation are millions of pages long, comprised of cramped text, footnotes, diagrams, schematics, etc. It's very...Renaissance polymath, in the way it implies a particular intersection of artist and inventor.

Also: in the naked romanticism with which he views his stars.

We already knew he made stars, but in s2 we learn that he did NOT sculpt each of them by hand. He designed a nebula ("a star factory," he says) that will form several thousand young stars and proto-planets, and all --aside from getting the 'factory' running-- without him lifting a finger. We also learn that these young stars and proto-planets stand in contrast to those made by other angels, which are going to come 'pre-aged.'

...I'm reminded of Hastur and Ligur's approach to temptations. Damning one human soul at a time, devoting singular attention to it over the course of years or decades, and how that stands in contrast to Crowley's reliance on, quote, 'knock-on effects.'

Ligur: It's not exactly...craftsmanship. Crowley: Head office don't seem to mind. They love me down there.

Hm.

I'm also reminded of the M25.

The M25 may not be as grand as a nebula (sentences you only say in GOmens fandom...), but LIKE his nebula it's an intricate, self-sustaining engine that does Crowley's work for him, many times over. Again.

That's some pretty neat characterization --and so is the indication towards Crowley's disinterest in victimizing anyone tempting individual people. It takes a considerable amount of planning and effort (and creeping about in wellies), but in accordance with his design the M25 generates a constant stream of low-grade evil on a gigantic scale.

Cumulatively gigantic, that is. Individually? Negligible.

But no other demon understands human nature well enough to parse that one million ticked-off motorists are not, in any meaningful way, actually equivalent to one dictator, or one mass-murderer, or even one little influential regressive. That's the trick of it. Crowley gets Hell's approval (which he NEEDS to survive, and to maintain the degree of freedom he's eked out for himself), and at the same time ensures that any actual ~Evil Influence~ is spread nice and thin.

It's some clever machinery. And he knows it, too:

The Unnamed Angel and Crowley are both proud of their ideas.

(musings on professional pride, Leonardo da Vinci, the crank handle, and 'the point to which Crowley loves Aziraphale' under the cut)

In the 1970's Crowley gives a presentation on the M25, projector and all, to a room full of increasingly impatient demons. Maybe the presentation was work-ordered; the 'can I hear a WAHOO?' definitely wasn't.

Before the Beginning, the Unnamed Angel can barely contain his excitement about his nebula. Aziraphale manages a baffled-but-polite, "....That's nice... :)"

11 years ago, Hastur and Ligur want to 'tell the deeds of the day,' and Crowley smiles to himself because (according to the script-book) he knows he has 'the best one.'

(Naturally, his 'deed' has nothing to do with tempting anybody, and everything to do with setting up a human-powered Rube-Goldberg machine of petty annoyance. Oodles of 'Evil' generated; very little harm done.)

Hastur and Ligur don't get it, of course. That's also consistent.

Nobody ever knows what the hell he's talking about.

It didn't make it on-screen, but, in both the novel AND the script-book, Crowley was friends with Leonardo da Vinci. The quintessential Renaissance polymath. That's where he got his drawing of the Mona Lisa --they're getting very drunk together, and Crowley picks up the 'most beautiful' of the preliminary sketches. He wants to buy it. Leonardo agrees almost off-the-cuff, very casual, because they're friends, and because he has bigger fish to fry than haggling over a doodle:

He goes, "Now, explain this helicopter thingie again, will you?" Because he's an engineer, too.

(It is 1519 at the latest, in this scene. Why the FUCK would Crowley know about helicopters, and be able to explain them, comprehensively, to Leonardo da Vinci?

...Well. I choose to believe he got bored one day and worked it out. Look, if you know how to build a nebula, you can probably handle aerodynamics. And anyway, I think it's telling that this is his idea of shooting the shit. 'A drunken mind speaks a sober heart,' and all. He probably babbled about Aziraphale long enough to make poor Leo sick)

Apart from Aziraphale, Leonardo da Vinci is the only person Crowley has any keepsakes or mementos of.

Think about that, though. Aziraphale's bookshop is bursting with letters, paintings, busts, and personalized signatures memorializing all the humans he's known and befriended over 6000 years (indeed: Aziraphale has living human friends up and down Whickber Street. He's part of a community).

Crowley doesn't have any of that. It's just the stone albatross from the Church (for pining), the infamous gay sex statue (for spicy pining), the houseplants (for roleplaying his deepest trauma over and over, as one does), and this one piece of artwork, inscribed, "To my friend Anthony from your friend Leo da V."

To me, at least, that suggests a level of attachment that seems to be rare for Crowley.

...Maybe he liked having someone to talk shop with? Someone who was interested? Someone engaged enough to ask questions when they didn't immediately understand?

...Anyway.

There's also the matter of the crank handle.

This thing:

This is one of the subtler changes from the book. In the book, Crowley knows Satan is coming and, desperate, arms himself with a tire iron. It's the best he can do. He's not Aziraphale; he wasn't made to wield a flaming sword.

The show, IMO, improves on this considerably. Now he, like Aziraphale, gets to face annihilation with what he was made for in his hand. And it's not a weapon, not even an improvised one like the tire iron.

He made stars with it.

[both gifs by @fuckyeahgoodomens]

If you Google 'crank handle,' you'll get variations on this:

Crank handles have been around for centuries. Consisting of a mechanical arm that's connected to a perpendicular rotating shaft, they are designed to convert circular motion into rotary or reciprocating motion.

Which is to say they're one of the 'simple machines,' like a lever or a pulley; the bread and butter of engineering. You'll also get a list of uses for a crank handle, archaic and modern. Among them: cranking up the engine of an old-fashioned car... say, a 1933 Bentley. That's what Crowley has been using his for, lately. But he's had it since he was an angel and he's still, it seems, very capable of it's angelic applications.

Stopping time. For instance.

(This is conjecture on my part, but, I like to imagine that Crowley has the ability to stop time for the same reason I can --and should-- unplug my computer before I perform maintenance on it. Time and Space are a matched set, after all, and in his designs in particular, one feeds into the other.)

I know everyone has already said this, but: I REALLY LIKE that when he needs to channel the heights of his power, he does so not with a weapon but with a tool. Practically with a little handheld metaphor for ingenuity. One from long-lost days when he made beautiful things.

(And he loved it. Still loves it --he incorporated that metaphor into the Bentley, didn't he?)

Let Aziraphale rock up to the apocalypse with a weapon: he has his own compelling thematic reasons to do exactly that. Crowley's story is different, and fighting isn't the only way to express defiance. And if you've been condemned as a demon and assumed to be destructive by your very nature, what better way than this?

He made stars. They didn't manage to take that from him.

Neither Crowley nor Aziraphale are fighters, really --they have no intention of fighting in any war. They'll annoy everyone until there's no war to fight in, for a start. But between the two, if one must be, then that one is Aziraphale. Principality of the Earth, Guardian of the Eastern Gate, Wielder of the Flaming Sword... all that stuff. Even if he'd prefer not to, it's very clear that Aziraphale can rise to the occasion, if he must.

Crowley was never that kind of angel. He wasn't a Principality. He doesn't have a sword.

...And yet.

It's Crowley who protects. He's the one who paces, who stands guard, who circles Aziraphale and glares out at the world, just daring anyone else to come near.

In light of everything else I've said here, I think that's interesting.

Obviously part of it is that Aziraphale enjoys it and, you know, good for him. He's living his best life, no doubt no doubt no doubt. But what about Crowley? What's driving that behavior, really?

Have you heard the phrase, 'loved to the point of invention'? Well, what if 'the point of invention' was where you started? What if where you end up involves glaring out at the world, just daring anyone else to come near? What is that, in relation to the bright-eyed thing you used to be?

What do we name the point to which Crowley loves Aziraphale?

...Thinking about how an excitable angel with three million pages of star design he wants to tell you all about...becomes a guard dog. Is all.

[sarcastic-salem]

Just sitting here realizing the Riddler is a caricature of the Irish mob/IRA. I mean, the dude has red hair and a bright green bowler hat. Holy yikes, how the fuck did anyone ever manage to overlook that?

[cursedcola]

Yuu: “It’s time I told you guys about my lore” *whips out powerpoint*

Riddle:….lore?

Azul: Oh - so you’re a gamer.

Idia: Oh - so you’re traumatized