#throw some particles our way

[notwordsspoken]

Missing Creek like a mf

[mysticstronomy]

CAN TWO SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES MERGE??

Blog#440

Saturday, September 28th, 2024.

Welcome back,

A team of astrophysicists that includes the University of Toronto’s Gonzalo Alonso-Álvarez has shown that pairs of supermassive black holes can merge together into a single, larger black hole – a major breakthrough in addressing what is known as the "final parsec problem."

longstanding astrophysics problem refers to a discrepancy between the detection of gravitational signals permeating the universe – which astrophysicists previously hypothesized had emanated from millions of merging pairs of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) – and theoretical simulations which showed that the approach of SMBHs stalls when they’re roughly one parsec (about three light years) apart.

Not only did the final parsec problem conflict with the theory that merging SMBHs were the source of the gravitational wave background, it was also at odds with the theory that SMBHs – each billions of times more massive than our Sun – grow from the merger of less massive black holes.

The new research, published in Physical Review Letters, has shown that pairs of SMBHs can indeed break through the one-parsec barrier and merge into a single black hole. This is demonstrated by calculations showing that SMBHs continue to draw closer because of previously overlooked interactions with particles within the vast cloud of dark matter surrounding them.

“We show that including the previously overlooked effect of dark matter can help supermassive black holes overcome this final parsec of separation and coalesce,” says Alonso-Álvarez, a post-doctoral fellow in the department of physics at U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science and the department of physics and Trottier Space Institute at McGill University, who is first author on the paper. “Our calculations explain how that can occur, in contrast to what was previously thought.”

SMBHs are thought to lie in the centres of most galaxies. When two galaxies collide, the SMBHs fall into orbit around each other; as they revolve around each other, the gravitational pull of nearby stars tugs at them and slows them down, causing them to spiral inward toward a merger.

Previous merger models showed that when the SMBHs approached to within roughly a parsec, they begin to interact with the dark matter cloud or halo in which they are embedded. These models indicated that the gravity of spiraling SMBHs throws dark matter particles clear of the system.

The new model introduced by Alonso-Álvarez and co-authors James Cline, a professor at McGill University and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, and Caitlyn Dewar, a graduate student at McGill, reveals that dark matter particles interact with each other in such a way that they are not dispersed. The density of the dark matter halo remains high enough that interactions between the particles and the SMBHs continue to degrade the SMBH’s orbits – clearing a path to a merger.

“The possibility that dark matter particles interact with each other is an assumption that we made, an extra ingredient that not all dark matter models contain,” says Alonso-Álvarez. “Our argument is that only models with that ingredient can solve the final parsec problem.”

The background hum generated by these colossal cosmic collisions is made up of gravitational waves of much longer wavelength than those first detected in 2015 by astrophysicists operating the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

Those gravitational waves were generated by the merger of two black holes, both some 30 times the mass of the Sun.

The background hum has been detected in recent years by scientists operating the Pulsar Timing Array. The array reveals gravitational waves by measuring minute variations in signals from pulsars, rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit strong radio pulses.

Originally published on https://www.utoronto.ca

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024)

"WHERE DID MARS' ATMOSPHERE GO??"

[kayawolfhorse]

Day 16 — The Anatomy of the House

—☾—

“Frankly, this one’s on you for giving it legs.”

“I needed to move it somehow—I just would’ve preferred it to stay in the spot I moved it to.”

Pearl levels Grian an incredulous look from where she perches cross-legged on the edge of the workbench. She’d nabbed his favorite spot before he could get to it; resigned, he’d made use of the single chair in his starter base and propped his feet up on the other side of the bench.

“You could’ve rebuilt it where you needed it to be, nice and limbless,” she says.

“Some of us aren’t willing to tear down and remake an entire base because it faced the wrong way.” Grian flicks a pen at Pearl, who catches it and shoves it into her pocket. “Hey, I need that!”

“Should’ve thought about that before throwing it at me.” Pearl sticks her tongue out and adjusts her tied-back hair. “So, just to get this straight, you’ve given the rock the ability to move on its own.”

“Yep.”

“And a heart.”

“Used to have multiple, technically.”

“And the ability to abduct people.”

“Adds to the shopping experience.”

“You really should’ve expected this,” Pearl says, tracing the wood grains of the table beneath her. “What is it with you and making sentient builds, anyway? Does abducting people count as sacrificing them? What’s your deal with sacrificing our friends to things?”

“The Entity does not abduct people.” Grian waves a hand. “Levitation just seemed like the coolest way to get in.”

“It is cool,” Pearl admits, “but now there’s a giant, dubiously alive rock wandering around the server that can suck people up into itself. Why’d you have to give it such bloody insides?”

Grian shrugs. Afternoon sunlight streams through the narrow windows and catches against the particles in the air. It’s a perfectly lovely, suspiciously Entity-less day.

“I think you just have something against it,” Grian says. “You have no leg to stand on here—isn’t your entire base alive?”

“Yeah, but plants are supposed to be alive,” Pearl points out.

“Didn’t you lure Scar over to see if your suspiciously people-eater-looking plant actually eats people?”

Pearl hides her giggle behind her hand.

“Exactly!” Grian gestures at her with a second pen. “Point is, I could use some help. Up for some boulder wrangling?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

[jameswebb-discoveries]

Webb Telescope Just Blew the Doors Wide Open on Dark Energy!

In a new finding released on March 11, 2024, Webb Telescope Just Blew the Doors Wide Open on Dark Energy!

Remember the Hubble Tension? That whole thing where Hubble said the universe was expanding way faster than how fast it should be based on the Big Bang afterglow? Well, Webb just came in like a cosmic plot twist and confirmed Hubble's measurements!

This basically throws a giant wrench into our current understanding of dark energy, the mysterious force causing the expansion to speed up. Here's the lowdown:

Hubble Said "Whoa, This is Fast!" For 30 years, Hubble's been meticulously measuring the universe's expansion rate.

Planck Said "Hold Up, Not That Fast!" ESA's Planck mission looked at the Big Bang's afterglow and came up with a different expansion rate.

Webb Confirmed Hubble, Not Planck! Webb's sharp infrared vision can see through dust and precisely measure distant stars, confirming Hubble's data.

So, what does this mean? It means our understanding of dark energy might be WAY off! Here are some mind-blowing possibilities:

Dark Energy's Got Clumps? Maybe dark energy isn't evenly spread out, causing pockets of the universe to expand faster than others.

New Physics Alert! The universe might hold forces or particles we haven't even discovered yet, influencing expansion!

Gravity Needs a Tune-Up? Einstein's theory of gravity might need some tweaks to explain dark energy's behavior on a large scale.

This is HUGE news! Read more here - Webb Telescope Deepens Universe's Expansion Paradox, Points to New Physics

#WebbTelescope #cosmology #science

[chemblrish]

Actually, you know what @onewigglyworm I will tell you all about quantum things - from a spectroscopist's point of view, of course.

Let me introduce you guys to

✨ the quantum numbers ✨

which describe the state of an electron in an atom. This will be long. Ready? Let's go!

I’m not going to begin with how the quantum theory came to be – it’s a genuinely fascinating story and I suppose it would fit in here nicely, but let’s be realistic: with my inability to shut the hell up this post is already going to be way too long as it is. So, let us find ourselves in the year of 1913 when the standard model of the atom was still Rutherford’s model: a dense clump of positive charge in the center and tiny particles of negative charge (electrons) orbiting it – a microscopic analogy of the Solar System with its large star in the middle and the planets orbiting it.

Rutherford wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t pulling things out of his ass (his scattering experiment? A thing of beauty!), but that model simply couldn’t be real. A moving charge creates an electromagnetic wave and therefore radiates energy which means our electron should begin spiraling towards the nucleus, making the atom an unstable system.

If Rutherford’s model was true, we wouldn’t be here to learn about the crazy wonders of our world, so let’s say THANK YOU!! to Niels Bohr who enters our story at the moment and flips Rutherford’s shit upside down.

Bohr made the following suggestion: “Hey, what if the macroscopic electrodynamics and microscopic electrodynamics were two totally different things?” He figured out that the energy of an atom is quantized – meaning it can’t have any possible value you can think of, but rather those values are discreet, they come in lil packets, and the energy of an electron depends on which orbit it occupies = how far from the nucleus it is.

This is where our first quantum number comes onto the stage: the principal quantum number n. The principal quantum number tells us which orbit our electron is on and therefore what energy it has. Let’s take a look at the periodic table and pick some element, any element – potassium, maybe? It’s in the fourth period which means its valence electron (the one that’s the farthest from the nucleus) occupies the fourth orbit which in turn means its principal quantum number equals 4 (n = 4). Easy, isn’t it!

That’s all cool and dandy but doesn’t solve all of our problems. Bohr’s model described the hydrogen atom perfectly, but failed to explain some of the phenomena related to… well. All the other elements (stop booing! Bohr’s model was a huge achievement at the time and it’s still a handy simplification to this day, even if it isn’t exactly correct).

Enter Sommerfeld. Sommerfeld thought, “Well, Bohr’s model isn’t bad, but what if the orbits of the electrons aren’t circular but actually elliptical?” That gave rise to the second quantum number: the azimuthal (or orbital angular momentum) quantum number l. You know those balloon-like models of the orbitals of an atom? I mean those:

[via]

This is where they come from! The shape of an orbital is determined by the quantum number l.

If we have a quantum number, then something should be quantized, right? In this case, that “something” is, predictably, orbital angular momentum (in very simple words: if a moving object has mass, then it has momentum, AKA how much will it hurt if someone throws an orange at you vs a watermelon. If said object is moving in a circle instead of a straight line, it has angular momentum). The quantum number l allows us to determine the angular momentum of an electron.

But Sommerfeld went further than that, because why come up with one quantum number when you can come up with two? He knew of what we call the Zeeman effect in which the emission spectrum of an element looks different in the presence of a magnetic field (more spectral lines appear than there are without a magnetic field) and he concluded that there has to be another quantized parameter – the orientation of the angular momentum. Come to think about it, it’s pretty crazy. Electrons don’t orbit the nucleus of their atom only “in two dimensions”, in a flat manner, like planets around their star; but their orbits aren’t scattered randomly all around the nucleus either – their positions are quantized. We describe those positions with the third quantum number – the magnetic quantum number m.

Obviously, this is a pretty big simplification – perhaps my physicist friends here will scoff at this explanation – but I think it’s good enough for the layperson who doesn’t necessarily want a lecture on vectors, dipoles, and precession.

Okay, so far so good. We have three quantum numbers, great job! We can now describe the state of an electron pretty well and all that’s left for us to do is to prove experimentally that we’re right and that the orientation of angular momentum is in fact quantized, and then we can all go home.

That’s exactly what Stern and Gerlach attempted to do. Again, I’m going to skip the details of the experiment (although I do encourage you to look into it yourself!), but the shortened version is as follows: Stern and Gerlach passed a beam of silver atoms through a non-uniform magnetic field, then observed the results on a screen on the other side. If the quantum theory was wrong and the orientation of angular momentum wasn’t quantized, then the screen should show a smooth projection of all possible orientations. If the quantum theory was right, the screen should show several lines corresponding to the quantized orientations of angular momentum.

So, we switch on the magnetic field, we fire the silver atoms, we take a good look at the screen… and we get two lines. Not a smooth distribution and not a handful of lines either but only two lines. What? Looks like there is some spatial quantization, but “regular” angular momentum isn’t what we’re looking at here.

The mystery was solved a couple of years later by Uhlenbeck and Goudsmit who suggested that, “Guys, what if electrons have some sort of inherent angular momentum that’s separate from their motion around the nucleus? We should call it ‘spin’, let’s call it ‘spin’, can we call it ‘spin’?” And so, we arrive at the fourth and final (wellll… final for this post) quantum number: the spin quantum number s.

If you've made it this far: whoa, congratulations! I had fun writing this, I hope you had fun reading it too.

I tried to make it as understandable to the random non-scientist as possible which naturally called for many simplifications and glossing over some details - I hope the quantum pros here will forgive me.

[lieslab]

The depths between: Chapter two

Trigger warning: Brief mention of blood and gun violence.

Chapter one

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

Nature vs nurture is a controversial topic to some. When it comes to human beings, is it embedded in our genetics? Are we victims of our own DNA? Are we like this by nature or are we nurtured to be this way? 

Does every serial killer have cold-blood? When they pop out of their mother’s wombs, was the story already prewritten or is it the people around them that make them that way? Does the bitter father and the emotional mother play too much of a role? 

Which one is the truth? It’s a topic that’s been debated for years. It’s either one dominant force or the other or maybe, just maybe, it’s both. Maybe we act the way we do partly from genetics and partly from the environment we’re raised in. 

Perhaps, it’s the people we call parents. The friends we surround ourselves with; the good ones and the bad ones. Maybe it’s the step-parent who tends to treat you harsher than their biological children. That one teacher who tended to go after you when you were just a defenseless kid. 

For Hwang Hyunjin, the picture was blurred. He wasn’t sure what made him turn out the way he did. Over the years and into puberty, something seemed to change inside of him. Maybe it was just the teenage angst that he never outgrew. 

The pessimism that started as a mustard seed until it grew and grew and grew. Eventually, the optimism faded away until it was nothing, but microscopic dust particles. He could attempt to reach out and grab it, but they slipped through his fingers. 

The truth is that you get to pick the kind of person you want to be. If we push aside the thoughts and opinions of others. If we pretend like those parental comments and snide remarks from bullies don’t hurt, you can be whoever you wish. 

Once you break free from the gravity of others, you become weightless. You are your own person, your own brain, and your own actions. You have the power to do whatever your heart desires. 

Growing up, there was only one thing that interested Hwang Hyunjin and that was pirates. It was probably a way to fulfill the void of missing family. The idea of being in the deep ocean blue with a group of people who wanted the same things as you. 

In the ocean, it’s sink or swim. You either learn to live with the people on their ship or they’ll throw you overboard without a moment of hesitation. There are no rules when you’re living the life of a criminal and very few morals. 

The thing about pirates? It’s incredibly hard to find them. Nobody walks around with their spine straightened and chin up proudly announcing that they commit crimes on the open sea. In most places, it’d get you a free ticket to jail. 

Hyunjin had to go look for those people himself. He learned everything he could about boats. He learned the positions and he learned about the wind. He learned about sailor’s lore and deep sea stories. 

He spent his days researching in the library and taking notes. He sang sea shanties and earned his keep. At least, he did in his head. In his head, he’d be the best pirate that there’d ever be. 

You want to know the truth about pirates? They’re fueled by greed. On quick ships with trustworthy crews, they don’t take boasts hostage for the fun of it. They’re there to do a job and they’ll do whatever it takes to complete a damn good job. 

Hyunjin knew what he was doing when he booked a sketchy boat ride through a dangerous part of the ocean. He knew the waves were high and there was a chance pirates would attack, but he couldn’t help it. Some part of him wanted to experience it. He wanted to feel the rush and adrenaline of it all. 

Pirates don’t have time to make friends with strangers. They don’t have time to talk to you either. They’re there for one thing most of the time. They just want whatever you have that’ll be valuable to them. 

It was a miracle when his small ship, with seven other people, got attacked. Hyunjin laughed in the beginning. It worked out exactly how he wanted it to. At least, it did until one of the pirates pulled out a gun. 

He didn’t remember what happened much after that. Beside him, the captain’s head blew into thousands of tiny pieces. He could still remember the sticky bits of brain that coated his face. 

He remembered the metallic taste of blood that landed in his open mouth. He remembered it all and he remembered everything. The screams came and then he finally felt the single thing that he hadn’t been prepared for; the fear. 

The last thing he remembered was diving. He jumped directly into the ocean and disappeared beneath the waves. He didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing, but he couldn’t let them kill him. 

Anger began to bestow in his veins. It ran hot through his temple and bubbled in his gut. He couldn’t believe something like this happened to them. He knew pirates could be mean, but he wasn’t expecting ruthless cruelty. 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been beneath the blue waves when he began to swim back to the surface. At least, he tried to swim. When his body wasn’t moving, he began to panic. 

The rope of the anchor was wrapped around his foot. He must have brushed up against it and kicked without realizing what was going on. Once he noticed the tangled rope around his ankle, the pain began immediately. 

The sharp sting of the rope fibers cut into his ankle. Clenching his teeth, he moved backwards and attempted to free his ankle. The more he moved, the more energy he used. 

Soon enough, he couldn’t breathe. His fingers fumbled at the rope blindly. He needed to get a breath of fresh air and he needed to get one soon. His fingers jerked at the water, in an attempt to free him, but he was stuck. 

When you’re taken by the water, you’re either good or evil. When Hyunjin’s eyes rolled back into his head and his body began to free fall, his anger went dormant. Without a conscience, there was nothing to be afraid of. 

Down, down, down his body fell until his limbs hung limply. The taught rope kept him from floating too far away from the bottom of the boat. Luscious black locks ebbed back and forth beneath the waves. 

Curious small fish began to swim through the gaps between his fingers. Their scaly bodies moved swiftly and their teeth gently nibbled. The tiny teeth weren’t much when it came to water-logged skin. 

The longer he stayed beneath the waves, the more his fingertips puckered with pruning. On the boat, the pirates took their fair share of belongings before they climbed back onto their own boat and drifted away. 

Sharks in the area were on the prowl. The sharp scent of blood was addicting and a high that even the weakest shark couldn’t resist. One bite of flesh and the bloom of perfumed blood, it was rare for them. 

The ocean was so big and vast. Sharks didn’t stay in one place. They swam wherever they pleased and some stayed further in the depths. If you were to munch on a human, you had to be in the right place at the right time. 

One moment, a shark was heading full speed ahead towards Hyunjin’s body. Jagged and razor sharp teeth grinned as the large being gunned him down. Before he could get there, Hyunjin’s body began to transform. 

Nobody understood the exact science behind it. One moment you were a corpse and the next, your body began to change. Gills carved into the side of your ribs. Invisible claws cut you open and you began to change. 

Hyunjin’s legs bound together and began to morph. The skin of his calves constricted tighter and tighter against each other until the skin began to burst. The soft skin jutted out and poked into tiny hardened pieces of fish scales. 

Soft popping filled the surrounding area beneath the water. It sounded a lot like the faint popping of popcorn. His precious toned legs would never walk on the land again. Being a siren is nothing, but a curse. 

Realizing what was happening, the shark halted and spun around instantly. Dark sirens were the deadliest creatures of the sea. Too many larger aquatic animals had been defeated. 

Over time, adaptation and evolution cause you to change. Sharks stopped fucking with dark sirens the moment dark sirens began putting their claws and teeth to good use. The stinging sensation of being carved open and ripped apart, bleeding out via your own bloody mist, was unforgettable. Not only for them, but for the creatures who happened to be in attendance as well. 

When Hyunjin sucked in a breath, he realized everything was wrong. He attempted to kick his legs, but to his surprise, they were band together. His hands jerked against the water and that’s when he found the thin bands of webbing padded between each finger. 

When he found the long pitch black tail, he thought he lost it. He must have been out of his mind to imagine such a thing. The movement of it came to him naturally. The thin pointed webbing helped him slice through the water like butter. 

By the time he resurfaced, it took him a moment to switch his breathing from the gills to his nose. The sensation was strange and unfamiliar. There was an itch in the back of his throat and a burn around the gills. Would he ever get used to the salt water against them?

The metal hull of the ship stared back at him. It was still rather sunny outside when he popped up. Droplets of water fell down his neck and along his chest. He remained in the plain black shirt he was wearing when he died. 

His reflection was an entirely different story. The once normal human teeth became sharper. The two front teeth tapered off into two sharp points and the other teeth followed suit. He ran his tongue along them to confirm the sharpness. 

That’s when he realized his eyes were pitch black. The russet brown had deepend to charcoal. The color spread out and seeped into the rest of his eyes. The bright white scleras darkened to black. He could see perfectly, but it still looked unnatural. 

Questions surrounded him, but they were never answered. He gripped the fishing boat and attempted to pull himself inside. His arm muscles strained until he toppled over the edge. He wasn’t used to the new dead weight of his lower body. 

His tail thwacked right into a puddle of warm blood. He gagged at the sight and glanced around. The bodies of the people he was on the boat with were spewed in every direction. Faces were frozen in shock and fear. Limbs sprawled out in unnatural contorted angles. Everyone was attempting to get away when they were gunned down. 

The anger inside of Hyunjin began to grow. The people he idolized, the pirates, it turned out that they were nothing, but monsters. A crew of misfits who did nothing, but took and destroyed because there’s no law in the water. 

As the blood began to dry along Hyunjin’s arms, he vowed revenge. With sharpened teeth and a snarl, he dived overboard and back into the water. The sharp waving motion projected his body forward. 

He took off with hatred brewing in his heart. It wasn’t the first time he’d choose hate over love. Once you pick hate, there’s no going back. Dark sirens will never be pure again. Cursed from their human death onward, they’re like this until they’re destroyed. 

It’s rare, but it does happen. Every siren can be killed if you try hard enough. There is no heaven and there is no hell. What happens to a dead siren? They turn into foam; sea foam, ocean foam, whatever you want to call it. The soft white murkiness in the waves that brush against your bare feet. 

After all, sea foam is just the decomposition of organic ocean materials. And the souls? The ocean is a mystery and has many secrets. Some of which, you’re not supposed to know and you won’t know. 

You’ll never know because some things are meant to stay hidden beneath the waves.

| ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ |

Next part: Chapter three

Taglist: @ilovetocas1 @vvislici0us @fr34k4c1dr41n @hamburgers101 @juskz @x-0ophelia0-x @viviworkshere

Masterlist

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[faytelumos]

Some history/worldbuilding stuff I stopped to consider today:

The ancient Egyptians did not preserve the brain with the rest of the body.

To us — to me — it's unthinkable to take the one, single organ that is so completely and totally us, that contains all of our memories and emotions and experiences, and just… throw it away. When you put so much work into preserving the body for the ever after, for life beyond death, that is something you'd surely want to have!

Come to find, they don't even preserve the heart!

They preserved the stomach, the liver, the intestines, and the lungs.

The Egyptians weren't stupid, okay, and there's no way they existed for over 3,000 years or however long and never saw somebody take a blow to the head and suffer a TBI. I straight-up do not buy into the idea that they thought the brain's function was to make snot. That's ox crap.

But. But.

From a western perspective, the heart and brain are the most important organs. And what do they have in common? Well, a lot of things, but importantly, the ability to make electrical impulses. Western science and technology is deeply connected with electricity — electrons, waves, magnetism, particles, our microscopes, the way we share information, even our entertainment, so much of it is connected to our use of electricity.

But ancient Egyptians didn't use electricity. They famously describe impressive feats involving light and water. And, if I'm not mistaken, alchemy.

What do the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines have in common? A couple things, but especially, the ability of transmutation.

Egyptians threw out the heart and brain because, yes, sure, they were part of the body, but they weren't the part they cared about. No, they preserved the forge and crucible of the body, because those were the vital bits. Those were what you couldn't go through your afterlife without. Those were the parts of our body that related us to their understanding of the greater world.

And I think that is so cool. From a worldbuilding perspective, that is such an interesting thing to notice. To see how two different cultures, thanks to the differences in their science and technology, see things so differently! Even when those things are the bodies that they share!

It's just really awesome. Reminds me not to take my viewpoint for granted, and also shows a little bit all the fun ways cultural differences influence us.

[gentlemean]

I know the fandom loves throwing ideas around for a hypothetical adaptation, so why not chime in.

I think most of us agree that an animated series would be better than the dreaded life-action adaptation. Regardless of format, any adaptation would have to somehow preserve the peculiarities, the absolute whiplash, and way the narration shapes the narrative. In my opinion, an animated series could do this quite well.

We start off with Gideon the Ninth. It's shown in heavily stylized 3d animation (think, at least Arcane-style), with strong contrasts in the colors. The Ninth house is dark and desaturated, the lights in the eyes of animated skeletons and Gideon's hair positively burn among the dreary surroundings. Then, getting to the First, the world is vibrant and bright, lots of elaborate light refractions in the broken windows of Canaan house.

Characters are accompanied not only by small, individual musical themes, but also by visual clues. Each house might have distinct little particles and effects that appear in scenes in which the respective characters act. They might synergize in scenes where characters cooperate or contrast in scenes in which they fight. (example: the Niners are always accompanied by shadows, ink-blots staining the scenery around them. The Third are too graceful to be real, all of their animations use exaggerated smear-frames in overly grandiose flourishes. When Naberius fights Gideon, his strikes stir the shadows around Gideon, cleaving bright rifts into the inkstained dark.)

The story is told as we know it, without reordering or large ommissions. One thing we see not nearly often enough in modern television is actual narration in the background. We don't need it for all of the visuals and happenings, but so much of gtn profits from Gideon's thoughts and feelings.

A few scenes look differently though. When Gideon allows Harrow to take over her vision, the animation style changes. It gets a bit more abstract, the surroundings are textured like oil paintings, and Gideon herself has trails of smoke and ink following her movements. This is how they see the world together, and it is reflected again at the very end of the first book, when Harrow ascends. Except this time there's no borrowing, it's something deeper. The world is painted, more abstractly this time, and the characters appear almost like paper cuts.

And then the fun begins. We leave gtn and start htn. There is no more Gideon in our narrative, and yet there is her narration. As in the first series we retain parts of the narration, and it is her voice - mostly. Now, this is a source of great confusion in the book, right? The series would have to make it explicit that it is her voice, but it can have fun with it nevertheless. Some words are garbled, overlapping, distorted. Sometimes, Harrow's voice seamlessly takes over the narration, drifting in and continuing, while still using Gideon's pronunciation and vocal flow.

The visuals, on the other hand - now, that's an entirely different thing. At this point we know what the world looks like when Gideon sees it and what it looks like when they see it together. htn gives us two exciting new variations: 'Harrow with very little Gideon' for the Mithraeum story, and 'Harrow entirely without Gideon' for the river bubble. In the main, physical-world story we retain broad strokes of thick oil paint for the world around Harrow. The characters are too clean on a messy background, with some of the paint steadily bleeding into their shapes. The paint seems almost like it is an active participant in the narrative, crawling across inconvenient truths to blot them out, staining everyone but keeping it's distant from John, who therefore remains clearer than clear, shiny and bright, squeaky clean and lemon scented. But then there's the river bubble, and we get full Harrow, with a teeny bit of Wake. The scenery around the characters is vague and misty, swathes of color arrange into a distorted background like ink being poured into water. The entire scenery bleeds color and light into the surroundings of dark, barely saturated characters. It breaks at the seams when the uncomfortably realistic fleshy pipes wind through the walls, something too concrete for a tearstained world.

Towards the final act, we see a few changes: Abigail summons Nonius, and the shape language changes. Everything's still illustrated the way it was before, but the stark, desaturated characters in his proximity stop being mere dark blots in this scenery, and instead become almost comic-like. Their strikes and attacks are supported by respective action lines, their poses and moves adapt to the newly imposed genre conventions. Meanwhile, on the Mithraeum, Gideon is keeping the fires burning. We're almost back to the way we used to see the world in the beginning, Gideon's stark contrast and smooth environments. But there's the ink bleeding into the scenery from dark corners and bright red puddles, there's enough of Harrow here to stain the world.

And, well. We get to Nona. And Nona's world fundamentally isn't like the one the other's see. Nona's world is mismatched and chaotic and charmingly odd. Most of it is claymation, interspersed with some other materials. Cam's swords are real metal, the dust of New Rho fills the air, and most of the food is probably actual food that looks as dreadfully out of place in this world as it feels in Nona's mouth. There remains a touch of Harrow, expressive movements are exaggerated with her flowing ink, action lines like calligraphy. Of course, there are also the John chapters. Here, we get to have proper fun with the visuals. Let's recap: it's Harrow getting to experience a memory of Alecto, narrated by John. We already know Harrow's flowing colors that stain the backgrounds, and we get mixed medium animation with it: articulated plastic dolls, of course, with some natural materials (moss, wood, some metal scraps) as set dressing.

I'm still not entirely settled on the Nona Epilogue. As long as Alecto isn't out I'm not sure whether I want to keep in line with something from the next book, or whether it's its own thing. Until we know more: illuminated manuscript.

---

Well, that was more than I originally intended to write, but I've had those thoughts in my head basically since I've started the books, and they needed an outlet. There's plenty more ideas where those came from, please please talk to me. 'The Unwanted Guest' as an actual play, anyone? (When Cam makes contact with Babs, and the fight initiates, the camera zooms out from the now frozen claymation, revealing it's situated on a table in the front row of a theatre hall BTW)

[blossom-works]

Ow Ow

A cute lil story of Hades’ princess and how he began to love you more than he ever thought he could.

Part of my Hades series

The only thing that can hurt a God is a divine weapon. Normal, human weapons are mere toys. While this is true, Gods are not that invincible as they or others think they are. Gods can die if a fatal blow from a divine weapon lands on them. When a God does die, their bodies are turned into particles. Meant to dance in the realm of Niflhel for eternity. A realm where reincarnation or a re-birth is impossible. 

When you became the queen of Helheim, you gained an ability to regenerate yourself. Before, you could heal minor injuries but let us say, if you got your arm ripped off - Tough luck. Now though, you can heal a lost arm given some time. Not in the “growing a new limb like a lizard” heal, but the “regenerate the lost tissue like closing a wound” heal.

Neither you or Hades knew this would happen, but it did. So, why in the name of the Heavens does childbirth hurt so damn much! Even with the painkiller the nurses have injected you with have eased the pain!

“Three more centimeters to go, your majesty.”

You throw your head back in annoyance and frustration. Your left hand is being cradled by your doting husband who is sort of getting on your nerves too. A nurse to your right is patting your forehead with a cold, damp cloth. 

When you and Hades broke the news of a baby, it became bigger news than when Hades, the King of the Netherworld, was getting married. Sure, pregnancies and childbirth are common in the world of the Gods, but not when a major God is expecting. The last time something like that happened were with your nephews, and it has been centuries since then. For a week straight, all the Gods and Goddesses threw a party to celebrate the heir of the Netherworld. 

Some, like you, thought that your husband would became protective of you since his child is in your womb, but to your surprise, Hades was pretty okay. He did check up on you more often that he normally did, but he did not breath on you the entire time. Hades did though, get more affectionate. At least twice a day he would kiss your growing abdomen and when he could, cradle your bump. 

Your baby was not planned. Sure, you and Hades would talk about it, but never had the intentions of trying. Your lives were just too busy to have a child or two. Hades oversees all that happens in Helheim, while most importantly, keeping an eye on Tartarus. You share the same responsibility while upholding your duty as the Goddess of Life and Death. A baby was just not part of your agendas. Of course, fate has a funny way of working even for a divine being. 

“And you can’t up my dosage?” You beg. 

“I’m afraid not m’lady. Even though this baby is a divine being, we cannot risk their health by giving you more medicine.”

The nurse bow to you and your husband before exiting the room. When you told Hades about your frequent cramps (which were actually contractions), he sent for the best doctor and nurses in Helheim. The doctor suggested on breaking your water, but if you have learned anything about modern, human medicine, having your water be popped manually is a no go. Apparently, it makes actual labor harder and the contractions stronger since the body is not ready to deliver the baby. When you pondered over that, it was an automatic “no” that you are starting to regret. 

Your husband whispers encouraging words in your ear. He also does what the maids did and wipes the sweat before it can trickle down your face. As always, Hades is keeping his usual, calm composure. He is not named the “God Whom Other Gods Rely on the Most” for no reason. Hades did take off his eye patch though, so you are pretty sure some part of him is a little weary.

While Hades is a busybody, he halted all his kingly duties. He said, “I will not miss the birth of my own child. I vowed to stay by your side, beloved. My duties as king as trivial compared to our child you are about to bear.”

As another wave of contractions hits you, your body tenses up. The hand hold Hades’ squeezes his hand, almost like you are squeezing its life force away. Hades swiftly switches his hands so he can hold you behind your shoulders.

To you, it feels like days before the doctor instructs you to start pushing. While it hurts like hell, having a watermelon come out of your most sacred area, you are thankful you did not allow the practitioners to pop your water. In four pushes, the baby - the proof of yours and Hades’s shared love, has arrived.

Its cries fill the room while Hades is astonished at the blood and fluid covered child. He never left your side even when the nurses and doctors were coaxing him to wait out the room. To you, it feels like your husband helped you deliver your child more than the medical professionals. Relief washes over you when you push out the placenta and whatever it is that needs to leave your body. The nurses are carefully inspecting your child before wrapping it up and handing it to you

“Congratulations, your majesties. You have a girl - a princess.”

Still drenched in sweat and tears, you hold your child, your daughter, close to your chest. Your legs are still propped up as the doctor inspects your nether region. The nurses had cleaned the princess off so she is no longer covered in bodily fluids. For some reason, she somehow does not smell all that terrible.

The doctor informs you that your body should start healing itself shortly. Then, he and the nurses gathered their things and left the palace.

Your daughter still cries but her cries are not as loud as when she came out. With your index finger you gently caress her cheek. You start to memorize her soft facial features, wandering how they will change as she grows up. Feeling your touch, the babies calms down. Her cries have turned into whimpers. You caress her white head of hair. You wander how it is so soft already. Her lashes are thick and long, it practically makes you jealous. But how can you be? This child - your child - your daughter - is perfect after all.

Seeing a bigger hand hold the baby’s head from behind bring you back from your moments bliss. Remembering that you are not alone, you look at your husband. He, just like you, has fallen in love at first sight. His little princess is here. Helheim’a crown princes has arrived. Snuggling up to him for a brief moment, you hand your child to her father. You make sure Hades knows how to hold her and which way is most comfort table to him.

Your body has begun to heal itself, but you cannot bring yourself to care right now. I’m your husband’s arms is your shared child. Her whimpers have stopped and she now coos here and there. Subconsciously, Hades starts to rock her. His purple eyes scan her entire being. It seems that with every glance, Hades falls more and more in love with her. Not caring about how she just came out of you, Hades brings his baby up to his face, and plants a feather like kiss on her head.

Who knew having a child with the one you love most can be this serene and euphoric?

Carefully, Hades releases on arm from under his daughter and brings you close. Your first family hug. Family. You and Hades and your baby, are a family. Kissing you on the lips, he thanks you for your blessing. Fate is on your side today because as soon as you and Hades pull away, your daughter opens her eyes - Purple. Just like her father. You are sure Hades could not love his child more than he does right now.

You both question what her personality will look like the more she develops. Would she be social like you or reserved like her father? Would she prefer reading over physical activities? These are the questions you two talk about. You child falls asleep in Hades’ arms. By now, you are fully healed. Hades gives his daughter one more kiss before putting her in her bassinet.

Hades scoops you in his arms and lays on the bed, placing you on top of him. Unlike with your baby, his hold on you is firm. He presses multiple kisses on your lips and face. When you look at him, his eyes are a tad bit brighter and wider.

“Sleep. I know you are healed but I’m sure it took a lot of you - to birth our daughter and to heal yourself.”

Just like how he did the baby, Hades rocks you to sleep. He watches as you follow your daughter’s footsteps. Just before you get lost in dream land though, he tells you, “I did not think I could love you more than I already do. But when you gave birth to our child, my love for you has bloomed a million times over.”

When you woke up the next morning, you find your husband holding the awake princess. Playing with her with a white owl in hand. In two years, it will become known as “Ow Ow”.

[defining-skyology]

Defining Light.

(For real this time)

Alright, I'll admit it. We throw around the word 'light' in here quite often. I'm not proud of it, but it's unfortunately a necessity.

To clear up some possible misconceptions, let's understand that throughout this blog's lifetime, I'll be using 3 primary versions of the word 'light'.

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. 

The Light (in the Sky), also known as the Megabird.

Light; the direct physical substance/energy found in Sky's world.

So as we begin to prepare to Define Light, we have to remember that the subject matter for the day is #3:

Light: the direct physical substance/energy found in Sky's world.

Let's begin. [[[Long read/article ahead]]]

[[[Continue Reading]]]

Loremoths and even most non-Lore players do a fun little double take when first realizing that Light (the substance, not the Beings) has been around them in-game all along.

Walking across the butterfly field, as you step through the prairie, the blades of grass, tiny dandelions, and quaint colorful red yellow and white flowers light up around your feet, reacting and breathing in response to your presence and footfall. Their glow is genuinely incandescent; their light feeling alive.

You look around at the butterflies in the distance, the mantas beyond that, the birds traveling far beyond where you can catch them.

You think back to the tales of the conceptual Megabird, and how everything is made of Light. All things.

The Flora (plants) of Daylight Prairie are made of Light too.

We can determine this due to the way they react to our presence. It's not even the ones you touch; just that you get near them is enough. The fields are not just sensing you, they are sensing your Light.

This is intriguing, but it's not even the strangest thing to focus on here. Reliving the memory of the Laughing Lightcatcher, we watch them as they harvest Light orbs from the Stream of creatures migrating through the land.

We can also see the Green Light Orb from Bird's Nest behave very similarly to the cutscenes, but since it is an Elemental Light, we can't be sure it's a perfect sample of evidence. These Orbs are tricky to analyze just from these two 10-second shots from a cutscene, but lets lay out both what we understand and what is a possibility.

What we know:

The Orbs travel inside the Stream just as the creatures do.

They are generally found closely gathered to/by groups of mantas.

They eventually fall out of the stream on their own.

Possible meanings:

The Orbs get stuck to the mantas.

The Orbs are Light shed from the mantas.

In general, what the existence of Light Orbs means for our investigation is that, in a broad sake of making sense; Light can gather itself into a substance.

Time to Define. Cambridge.org's dictionary has the most preferable wording on Substance, for our purposes anyhow.

substance

noun

material with particular physical characteristcs

We need to break this concept of 'Light' being a 'thing' down until it is truly just a material, a substance; a collection of mere utter compounds, atomic particles even. But in order to do that we need to Observe it.

Just like when we investigated Darkness, we need to find a Source. Well that's easy, due to concept art (and our work so far with Defining ol Megan); all Light falls down into the world, shed from the Megabird.

We have to assume this Light falls:

As shapeless content.

Anywhere and everywhere into the world.

Which means it can end up collecting anywhere and onto anything, clumping up, mixing together; and generally forming however it wants.

We know from here-on, that from here it can take the form of living Beings. (For reasons and with details we'll study on another day).

But this means that there has to naturally always be some sort of building blocks of life inside our substance of Light.

We can see from the Elemental Orbs found throughout the world that Orbs wander. Moving through the world, they float around listlessly, circling random spots. Even without consistently larger forms such as normal creatures of Light, this fallen substance of the Megabird (Orbs) seemingly are still naturally seeking purpose. With the visual affirmation of the Orbs shooting along in the Stream of Light, alongside creatures migrating to Eden, we can decide that the purpose is still the same as materialized Beings of Light; to rejoin the Megabird.

Perhaps it is easier for the Orbs to make the migration if they properly form into full creatures, and this is why they wander when outside of the stream; seeking some way to take the form of a creature. (Again, this formation will be discussed another day.) Otherwise, if they get caught/stuck on a creature of Light, or land conveniently in a Stream of migration, then they'll hopefully make it that much further to Eden. (Though it does show that they fall out of the Stream quite easily.)

Regardless, this intentional momentum shows that even Light substance is alive.

We can't assume it is technically a 'creature'; or even just an ill-bodied 'basic' creature of Light. Which means it has to be a group of organisms... organisms smaller than butterflies, perhaps smaller than singularly visible by the Ancestor's eye.

I'm talking about insinuating a concept of Light micro-organisms.

"A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells."

--Wikipedia

We're not gonna get too complicated trying to rationalize micro-organisms in Sky (in this post anyways ehe) but going forward with assuming that this is something along the lines of what our substance is supposed to be; this can change a lot about explaining why the traits of Light occur, as well as how they occur within our set environments.

Because now we observe the main, supernatural trait of Light;

the distortion of Space.

space /spās/

noun

"the dimensions of height, depth, and width within which all things exist and move."

[Sky concept art by Tom Zhao]

The most notable features of Light are as follows:

Defiance of gravity

Distortion of visible lightwaves

Ability to dramatically morph itself

Ability to draw in external content/material

Functionality as tether/access-point to the Megabird

We observe the first trait virtually everywhere in the world of Sky; with Captured Light levitating the kingdom's contraptions, corrupted Light swirling shattered power diamond shards through the air, and biologically through creatures of Light, Orbs, and Descendants.

The best example for the second trait is found all throughout the Vault of Knowledge. Captured Light is used to project holographic images, warping the imagery in front of us. This concept of Light visually distorting what we can see in front of us will also be important another day.

It's ability to draw in and absorb external material is Observed in the creation of Elemental Lights and the birth of Beings of Light; both of which draw on residual matter in their environment and are then influenced to create a form.

This distortion of Space occurs on multiple levels, notably:

visual

gravitational

[irregularly] polymorphic (inexplicable biological changes)

psychic/telepathic

Absolutely none of these traits are able to be 'explained' through 'science' as I traditionally do, unless someone in the Lore community wants to donate some useful information from Einstein's Theory of Relativity that I wasn't aware of yet. When we don't understand something, the best course of action is to just do our best to continue and observe. Perhaps it'll someday make more sense.

Either way, now that we can 'visually' comprehend our Substance of Light, we can understand that these 'micro-organisms' of Light are the substance somehow causing all of these traits.

And here we are at the end, after all. I packed a lot of information in, and without explaining half of it due to avoiding tangents, but there's still a lot we can put in our summary here, so let's roll and get Defining.

Light, as in the substance, is:

any collection of genetic (or biological) material/soup shed from the Light in the Sky

capable of distorting Space on a visual, gravitational, biological, and telepathic level

And we're done! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Of course there's a million nuances and a million unanswered questions, but I think this Definition is quite suitable to leave this topic on for now. And after all, aren't unanswered questions the Lore community's most favorite thing ever anyway?

I'm not sure if it'll be 'soon', but we will eventually tackle the Anatomy and phase of life of the creatures of Light; so the foundational groundwork we've made today will be incredibly important when that day comes. ⏳⏳⏳

I don't think this one was as important as some of the other groundwork articles I've worked on so far, but every little foothold of content I make will help so that, when I get to articles where it's just 100% my theories; the 2 people who read these all the way through will understand everything. But even if you're just one of the skimmers, I still thank you for checking out the deets. It's all important. ❤️💪

Have a good day/night y'all, and remember to check back on Friday night for the next post!

[archferret]

Alright I've got time before work and people did express interest so here's my headcanon on how Formie "Powers" and by extension Sparks Hat work.

So to start we know that the art book isn't true canon as Lake said if it's not in the games it doesn't count but given the minimal information given in the games it's really our only source of any kind of info. We also know Romalo functions off of Holographic Nanites and likely is the same for other "Nano Mage" units like the Qiqi's in 3. So let's start there. How I think (in an incredibly pesduo-scientific way as I'm not a real scientist and Spark isn't a hard sci-fi series) these robots (and by extension other Formie Powers) function is by the nanites they control emitting an electromagnetic field. The field simulates the properties of whatever is being made causing it to act as if it's really whatever is being simulated but the effect disappears if the nanites stop receiving power/a signal. So for example if Romalo makes a pie and throws it at you it feels like a real pie, but disappears as soon as he uses those nanites for another task. If you were to try and eat it the connection may become disrupted by your bodies own interference and it would vanish anyway, or if Romalo was damaged he might run out of power/disrupt the signal ect. Some effects might linger, for example nanties that cause fire aren't actually just fire they heat up already existing particles to cause real flames. Thus if you were to use a power to light something on fire it would remain on fire even when power/signal is cut.

Now onto Formie "Powers". The tools Spark picks up during Spark 1 are quite litterally just that, they're tools and toys used by other Formies in everyday life. And how I think they work is when you wear or hold the item it forms some kind of connection with a Formies nervous system through its electrical signaling. This allows a Formie to control the Power as if it was an extension of their own body. This would also mean overusing a Power too much can even cause physical exhaustion. They all come with an electromagnetic barrier (like Sparks Hat) which acts as "safety equipment" protecting the Formie from levels of physical harm to an extent. In this case I'm drawing more from pure theory than basis in examples but I'd wager normal commercial Powers tend to be fairly weak to allow them to be compatible with a wide range of people (since not every nervous system is identical) while modded/homemade gear like Sparks Hat tend to be more potent but more specialized to an individual. Not that it *couldnt* be used by others but the chance of "feedback" and damage from the connection would be much higher.

Now for Sparks Hat... in 1 he usually wears it in addition to the regular equipment provided by the Powers. For example the wind Scarf doesn't come with a hat yet Wind Spark still has hit hat on. What I'm thinking is Sparks hat while decently strong on its own is acting as an amplifier to the other equipment Sparks wearing. The stuff he's picking up are normal Powers and aren't as strong in the hands of someone else because Spark isn't using 1 Power he's using 2! So the regular Wind Scarf isn't anywhere near capable of what Spark can pull off with it.

And for the sake of just making things make sense in my head beyond gameplay mechanics being gameplay mechanics I like to headcanon the reason he doesn't use Powers in 3 the same way he does in 1 is that his Hat is actually too strong at this point and would overload any equipment he tries to use it with!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I’m Bored & Conflicted

Dec 2022 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

My School President (Fri YT) 3 of 10 - Honestly Tinn acts and talks like the voice inside of Sarawat’s head (from 2gether), I’ve never seen a bigger simp. The private tutoring was a good idea (Tiew is another one up for best wingman of the year). The way Tinn keeps getting accidentally defeated in his attempts at flirting is fun, and I love how they keep teasing us with tropes and then flipping or subverting them. GMMTV is being clever with audience expectations around the history of Thai BL and I love that. Also finally Gun is starting to feel something back... we enter phase two of a HSBL - moot pining but they both idiots. YES! 

Never Let Me Go (Tues YT) 1 of 12 - GMMTV’s answer to KinnPorsche this is (mafia lite?) spoiled prince + attack dog (whipping boy + bodyguard) suspense BL that’s actually a lot more like Golden Blood. It’s a pleasure to see PondPhuwin in something that’s not FUTS. Jojo (3 Will Be Free) is directing and daddy got himself a bouncing baby drone! We got a very dramatic opening with Paa shot on 18th bday. Puwin’s English is v good. Who knew? And Pond is v good at portraying insta-crush on poor little rich boy and I am not mad about any of it. IT’S GREAT. 

Between Us (Sun iQIYI) 6 of 12 - I still like WinTeam but I’m beginning to get annoyed by how many couples there are (5!) and how many of them were (DeanPharm) or are (BeePrince) in an entirely different show tonally. I understand they needed to pad-out this story, but they shouldn’t have, they should have just given us a shorter show. WATCH ALONG HERE.

609 Bedtime Story (Fri WeTV) 4 of 11 - We are finally getting Dew’s side of the story! And… its kinda dull. 

Remember Me (Sun Gaga) 10 of 12 - So Name is talking now? And they put Ja in a wig too? Did UWMA teach us nothing? Now I’m just annoyed with this show. Some more marriage equality schilling, because Thai BL has an axe to grind these days. Good luck boys! 

I Will Knock You (Fri Gaga) 5 of 12 - Honestly, the costumes in this show are insane and I also kind of like them in an odd way. There’s a Grease thing going on, and thus I keep expecting them to break into song (and being grateful that they don’t). The wardrobe is like the plot and the acting: loud and obvious and not very good but weirdly entertaining. Do I like it? Not really. Am I still watching it? Apparently. 

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) 12fin - Yes, Ai did use particles to claim Nhai again. Jealous boy. Honestly, this was kind of an epically boring final ep. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Viki) 11 of 12 - They are so stinking cute together. They also now have all the matching jewelry (not taken by MarkKit). This was a quintessentially them episode 11 of doom, in that they were parted because of communication issues and a maturing relationship occupied by immature characters. Still the leads were apart for most of the episode and that made it a lot less interesting as an episode.

Oh! My Assistant (Korea Thurs Viki) 5-6 of 8 - Kisses and separation! As drama llama episodes go, the reasoning is typically flawed and manufactured, but after watching Why R U? anything goes in an ep 11 (or its equivalent). So I’m still enjoying this show a lot. I don’t need my panicking gay boys and confused bisexuals to behave logically, certainly not in a KBL.

Candy Color Paradox AKA Ameiro Paradox (Japan Fri Gaga) 1 of 8 - A stakeout throws reporter Onoe together with photographer Kaburagi. Kaburagi's haphazard work style and player personality go against Onoe’s ethics. Yet, in joint pursuit of a scandal, these opposites attract move from enemies to lovers. Adapted from manga Ameiro Paradox by Natsume Isaku. Oh no! Our reporter is an unbelievably adorable pouty baby. Also big-ish cast and high production values in a BL, even for Japan. Even though it’s only been a little while since the last JBL, it’s such a pleasure to have one on my watchlist again! And the love interest is a big time flirty player. Very cliché (I still hold that the actor playing him looks like First of JaFirst). This is a lot more serious and a lot less slapstick than I was expecting, and I’m enjoying it because of that. But because it is serious, and this is Japan, we now cannot expect it to end happily. If you or someone who can wait, or likes to binge, and is very invested in an HEA you might want to consider holding off on this one. 

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 1-2 of 10 - A new employee whose director claims to have lived 300 years and insists that they have to date (eat, hug & kiss) if baby doesn't want to die. Office, fated mates, and that’s kinda my jam. I’m always annoyed when I really like a show that’s on iQIYI or WeTV. Sigh. But I really like this show, it has a lot of Japanese elements to it not the least of which is the office setting, but also the personality of the uke character. Hilarious to watch Korea deal with a plot that requires physical contact. It’s weird, but I like it, it’s also extremely short. Like shorter than most KBLs even. Each app is so padded there ultimately less than 10 minutes long (which is why is is 10 esp rather than the usually KBL 8, it’s gonna end up the same length in the end).

Choco Milk Shake (Korea Strongberry Tues YT) 11fin - airs Dec 20th

Happy Ending Romance (Korea Thurs Gaga & Viki) 7-8fin - I actually LOVED the ending, very hinting at poly, and mature. But this show ended up not really being a BL, no tropes and not really a romance either. 

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y (Thai Gaga) 20 eps - it’s just all too much for me.

2 Moons 3 (Thai) 10 eps - Possibly a future binge watch. Rumor is it’s banal.

Love Bill  (Vietnam Sat YT) - Bah Vinh is back but I’m too distracted. Also there’s a lot of fund raising stuff going on. I’ll wait and binge.

The Star Always Follow You (Vietnam YT) - same Team RL peeps we have seen before (Sunshine, Stupid)

Till the World Ends (Thai YT) 10 eps - ?

Why You... Y Me? (Thai Weds YT) 10 eps - It's not primarily a BL, but another meta show about BL shipping, with side BLs. @heretherebedork is watching it, ask them about it.

Ended This Week

Happy Ending Romance 

In this series, all the gay boys romantically behave like lesbians and professionally like straight dudes. It’s... odd. As a BL it kinda isn’t (sorry to say), there’s no tropes dropped and no real romance beats. This is about ego and dishonesty and pride and there is an elegance to the plot. Which is essentially the idea that possession is not love, and therefore, both men who love the Writer have to prove their love by letting him go. Honestly, I’m not sure how to rate this show. This is a blog about BL and this wasn’t it. 8/10 RECOMMENDED (but not if BL is what you’re after). Full review.

Ai Long Nhai 

Look this show was just a typical Thai BL university pulp about a confident gay and a clueless manic pixie dream boy. It had potential, chemistry, and earnestness going for it, but no plot and not enough side dishes. In the end, it was boring and you know I always rate boring lower than hot messes (because at least the hot mess TRIED). Still, Ai Long Nhai is better than your average Thai BL pulp, nothing happens but at least the nothing mostly shirtless, the gay dads are the BEST, which is about all I can say for it. 6/10 WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

In Case You Missed It

With the help of @isisanna-blog, here’s a cobbled together a Domundi line up (peeps behind Cutie Pie) for 2023 Thai BL. Lots of established pairs and it looks good if they can actually make them all, includes beautiful historicals, paranormal, other high concepts, and a royalty bodyguard romance (knight/prince) with ZeeNew! 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still coming:

Dec 21 - The New Employee AKA The New Recruit AKA Shinib Sawo from Korea, (prob Gaga or Viki) - From WATCHA (Semantic Error) virginal Seung Hyun scores the office internship of his dreams but on his first day at work he gets into it with his cool reserved boss. As you do. Stars Moon Ji Yong (Once Again). Based on Moscareto's web novel of the same name, directed by openly gay & queer activist Kim Jho Gwang Soo (Just Friends?). 

Dec 28 - H5: Love in the Future from Taiwan (prob Gaga or Viki) - A cheerful and energetic student from 2000 travels to the future (2022), works as a deliveryman, and meets his first customer, an heir with a domineering personality. Directed by Nancy Chen (HIStory 4, Papa & Daddy).

I’m working on my end of year wrap ups, trends lists, and BL stats reported. Let me know in a comment if there is any specifically you want to know of have deep feels about. 

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Beautiful pining work you’re doing there, Palm. Yearn, baby, yearn. (Never Let Me Go)

Fated mates, always a favorite of mine. (The Director who Buys Me Dinner)

GMMTV got itself a drone. Not sure how I feel about this. 

Games is my spirit animal (609 Bedtime Story) 

(last week)

[readingsquotes]

"

So, I want to ask: what is the role of poetry in genocide?

Samah Fadil: This question reminds me of the call to action Rasha Abdulhadi sent to me and urged other writers to use: “Whatever sand you can throw on the gears of genocide, do it now.” Poetry is sand that can be thrown on the gears of genocide, so I agree with Solmaz—the aesthetic pleasure comes second. But, one must remember that sand is made up of trillions of particles of eroding rock. Poetry is sand but sand is not only poetry… Poetry is a tool that can be wielded by anyone—for good or bad, status or self, self or salve. In my experience, I can’t say that my poetry has changed anyone but myself, but when I think of all of the poets that have inspired me to reach for my pen, and who continue to do so, I’d like to think that in some way, we are all continuously changing with each other’s words.

The answer above was written before the recent targeted assassination of beloved Gazan poet Dr. Refaat Alareer, and feels especially haunting now. I wish more people knew of him and his work before he was martyred. I wish people knew the poets who are still breathing as much as they knew the ones who are not. But to go back to the question, what is the role of poetry in genocide? After seeing the literal hundreds of people around the world who translated Refaat’s poem “If I must die”, it’s a reminder to me that in our hundreds, in our millions, we are all Palestinian. My last interaction with Refaat was him asking me to send him a clearer image of my poem “lucid”. I was so incredibly honored he asked. I did, and I hope he got to read my words. I hope he enjoyed them. He is someone who held poetry very, very dear to his heart and someone who taught its revolutionary potential to his students. My role as a poet is to honor that legacy.

[txemrn]

The Easter Magic

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x f!OC (Tatum Erikson-Ramsey), with special appearances by Alan Ramsey, Louise Ramsey and Cord Ramsey

Word Count: ~2498

Warning: fairly fluffy; smallest sprinkle of angst; a few curses

A/N: Some characters and plot points belong to our friends at Pixelberry

A/N 2: I wanted to join in on the Easter fun, so I am participating in two different prompt challenges. This is my submission for @choicesflashfics, where I am using Prompt #3: "I don't know if I want to know the answer, but what are you doing?" I am also submitting this to @aprilchallenge with the following prompts: bunny, Easter eggs, laughter, love, kiss, happy, hug. Thank you for allowing me to participate, and thank you for hosting these events! All prompts will be in bold.

A/N 3: Huge thanks to @sfb123 for helping me figure out the ending. We're going to get you on the OPH bus before you know it! This fic was not beta'd or pre-read. Please excuse my errors.

~🐰~

Turning the ignition off, Tatum looks at her watch. Shit. 9:22PM. She's missed bedtime. Again.

She grabs her shopping bags along with her hospital duffle bag and computer briefcase, and hurries through the garage and to the elevators.

Tatum sneaks into the darkened apartment, padding softly into the kitchen where she begins unpacking her groceries. She pulls out her pie crusts as she places a pot of water to boil on the stove. She sets the temperature to the oven as she pulls out a carton of eggs as well as several packages of fresh cut meats and cheeses for tomorrow's brunch.

As she waits for everything to warm, she retreats to a special walk-in closet under the stairs that stores holiday decorations. She pulls out Cord's Easter basket along with leftover plastic eggs and fake grass from last year's festivities. Spreading out all of her basket and egg hunt supplies on the counter, she notices that her husband did exactly what she had asked: set carrots out with Cord for the Easter Bunny. God, he's the better parent. She would've given anything to have been home, but she couldn't exactly leave in the middle of surgery.

She checks on the stove and oven once more, ensuring that everything is continuing to preheat. She digs in a grocery bag, and grabs a stencil of a bunny paw print, glitter and a bottle of baby powder before heading back to the front door. Climbing on her knees, she presses the shape to the hardwood floor before sprinkling the white particles and glitter across the cutout.

"I don't know if I want to know the answer, but what are you doing?"

Tatum startles, dropping the bottle of powder as dust billows around her in the air. "Ethan," she coughs into a chuckle, waving the clouds out of the way. "You scared me."

He squats down, a smirk on his face. "What is this mess?"

"I am making Easter Bunny footprints," she states as she returns to the project.

"O…kay," Ethan furrows his eyebrows, "why?"

"It's part of the Easter magic, Ethan," she retorts, "apparently, it's not enough that Cord wakes up to a basket full of goodies. We have to make it look like the Easter Bunny actually broke into our home–by the way, can you take a bite out of the carrot you set out?"

Ethan stares out the powdery prints on the ground before glaring at the carrot. "There’s Easter magic now?"

Tatum scoffs, throwing her hands in the air. "Yes, Ethan, I have to create Easter magic now or else I'm a bad mom."

Ethan's eyes widen. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said anything about being a bad mom?"

Tatum sighs, sliding off of her knees and into a sitting position. "No one," she dusts off her hands, "but I'm just sick of the other moms at the school giving me those judgmental looks with their snide comments. Like, I committed an unforgivable sin by having a baby and choosing to work."

"They aren't so bad," Ethan shrugs, relaxing his face nonchalantly. "The other moms are always nice to me–"

"That's because they think you're hot!"

"Oh, you're deranged," Ethan swipes his hand in the air.

"Am I, Ethan?" Tatum scowls. "I went to Cord's field trip to the duck pond, and four moms asked where you were!"

"Oh," he shakes his head grimacing, but then quickly turns back to Tatum. "Which ones were asking about me?"

With a grumble, Tatum squirts white dust in the air towards her husband before charging back into the kitchen.

"Oh c'mon, Tate, I was joking," Ethan chuckles, sauntering cautiously into the kitchen. He gently grabs her elbow, pulling her into his body before enveloping her in his arms. "Hey," he whispers, his lips barely tickling her ear. "You are an extraordinary mom." Tatum looks up at her husband with glassy eyes as he continues. "Those women? They're jealous because… well, hell, you're hot, too," he snickers, his comment making his wife fall into giggles. He kisses her forehead, "they hate that you have it all: the job you love, the adorable son with excellent genes, I might add, and let's not forget–"

"Yeah, yeah," she interrupts sardonically, "the hot husband." Tatum catches Ethan's lips with hers as she slips her arms around his waist. She relaxes her head against his chest as he continues to pepper her hair with kisses, falling into a comfortable silence.  "I just want him to have a happy childhood," Tatum admits softly.

"You don't think he does?"

"I'm scared I'm screwing him up," her voice starts to tremble before she clears her throat. "I just love him so much. Will he look back and remember 'Mom made everything special,'  or will he remember that his mom chose to work, that his mom wasn't there for bedtime, or that I didn't buy him microgreens–"

"Wait," Ethan interrupts, pulling back and giving a curious glare at his wife. "Microgreens?"

"Yes, your son asked me for 'microgreens' because Hayleigh Grayce's mom," Tatum singsongs the name obnoxiously, "told him that if he ate those rather than his goldfish crackers, he'd get taller and stronger."

"Are you fucking kidding me? That woman's got a lot of nerve," Ethan fumes. "Besides, he loves goldfish–"

"Not anymore," Tatum rolls her eyes. 

"Did you get him the microgreens?"

"He's four!" She sasses, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm happy when he even tastes something green and doesn't spit it out!" 

The couple falls into laughter as an alarm on the oven chirps, notifying them that the appliance has been preheated.

"Is this for tomorrow?" Ethan surveys the prep work Tatum has started on the counter.

"Mhmm," she hums, cracking eggs in a bowl before whipping them. "Don't forget; your dad's picking up Louise, and they'll be here around 9."

"Speaking of shitty parents," Ethan jokes, Tatum playfully slapping his arm. He chuckles, shielding himself; but then his eyebrows raise. "And you see? Even if you are a terrible parent, there's always hope for later life."

An unnerving frown etches on Tatum's features. Ethan draws closer to her, planting his mouth against her neck. "Hey," he kisses the sensitive skin again, "you are doing a remarkable job with our son."

Tatum's eyes meet Ethan's crystal pools. "Thank you, baby," she croons, slipping her hands around his neck for one last hug.

"So," Ethan claps, "what's left to do for this Easter Magic stuff?"

Ethan and Tatum finished prepping for the family brunch. They made the 'Easter bunny' paw prints, and left the carrots out with visible teeth marks for Cord to find. 

They started stuffing Easter eggs when Ethan noticed Tatum's energy waning. She had been at work since 7AM post holiday call, and now it was close to midnight. He insisted they both head to bed, that they could finish the egg-stuffing--and hiding--in the morning. Before she could even tuck herself in, Tatum was out like a light.

—

With boisterous laughter echoing through the master bedroom, Tatum's eyes anxiously pop open, instantly greeted with the bright light of the morning sun. She sits up, rubbing her eyes briskly with her fingertips. "Ethan?" She calls out, reaching for her discarded watch. 9:28AM. Shit. She overslept. She jumps out of bed, grabs her robe and hurries out the door.

Why didn't Ethan wake her up? He knew how important this morning was to–

"Mommy!"

"Oof!" Cord instantly crashes into his mom, throwing his arms around her legs. "Morning, baby," she chuckles, squatting down to take him in her arms. She nuzzles her nose into his blond hair, rubbing circles on his back.

"He came!"

Tatum pulls back from her embrace. "Who came?"

"The Easter Bunny!" Cord grabs her hand, eagerly pulling for his mom to follow. "C'mon! I'll show you!" They scurry to the front door area, Tatum pinning her robe closed with her free fingers. "Look, Mommy!" He giggles jumping onto his knees. "Footprints!"

"Wow!" Tatum acts surprised, relishing in her son's excitement.

"Did you show Mommy the carrots?"

Tatum twirls around to find Ethan leaning against the entryway. She stands up, but her husband already has his hands on her, pulling her snug into his embrace.

"Morning, baby," he purrs.

"Morning--uh… why didn't you wake–?"

"Shhh," Ethan sweetly hushes her, his lips meeting hers briefly once, then twice. "Because part of being a good mother is knowing when to take care of yourself." He tucks her under his jaw, his fingers combing into her tangled waves. "You're exhausted," he inhales deeply the floral notes in her hair, exhaling a soft moan. "And you looked so peaceful laying there."

Tatum jerks up. "I was snoring, wasn't I?"

Ethan boasts a guilty grin. "And drooling." He chuckles, hugging her again, running his warm hands up and down her sides. "But don't you worry. Everything is taken care of."

Tatum lets go, eyeing him suspiciously. "What do you mean? I have a casserole to bake and the eggs need–"

"Taken care of," he bares his teeth in a bright white smile.

"But… but how?"

"Easter Magic," he nonchalantly winks.

"C'mon," an older voice playfully chides, "let's show your mama."  Bounding into the room was Ethan's father Alan, carrying Cord on his back.

"Happy Easter, Alan," Tatum giggles, giving her father-in-law a kiss on the cheek before inspecting the remnants of a carrot in Cord's hand. 

"See, Mommy? The Easter Bunny came!" The little boy squeals with glee.

Tatum bites her lip, cupping her hand around her son's head. "Looks like he was really hungry!"

"And I got a basket with books and colors and–and books!"

"You did?" Tatum claps her hands. "Tell you what. Go pick out one book from your basket, and we can read it after we eat, okay?"

Cord nods excitedly as he slips down his grandpa's back, running full force to the living room to rummage through his Easter treasures.

With a twinkle in her eye Tatum looks back and forth between Ethan and Alan. "I… but how…?"

Alan gives his daughter-in-law an endearing side hug. "You already did all of the prep work, sweetheart.”

“It’s true,” Ethan nods. "There wasn’t much more to do; I finished Cord’s basket and got him ready while Mom and Dad stuffed the eggs."

"Wait," Tatum holds up her arms, "where is Louise?"

"She's finishing up in the kitchen," Alan grins, nodding through the dining area. 

Tatum turns on her heel, ensuring her robe is completely closed as she fidgets with her unkempt hair, pushing strands behind her ears. As she enters the kitchen, she watches as a thin, older woman pulls out a casserole dish of cinnamon buns.

"Louise?"

Setting down the pan, Ethan's mother carefully cranes her neck, her expression warming when she sees Tatum. "Good morning, dear. I–I hope you don't mind me. I, uh…" she motions to the kitchen and the dining room. "I didn't mean to overstep."

"Are you kidding me?" Tatum quickly bridges the gap, throwing her arms around Louise, tucking the older woman tightly into her arms.  "Thank you so much, Lou," she softly hums, tightening her embrace. "You didn't overstep at all."

The older woman wraps her arms around Tatum, cherishing the hug from her daughter-in-law. "I guess, I'm just… I don't know, I'm–"

Tatum pulls back, taking her by the hand. "Making up for lost time."

She nods, becoming more serious in her demeanor.  "I wasn't always… a bad mother, you know–"

"Louise," Tatum takes her back in her arms. "What matters is now," she grins endearingly, "and you just gave my son a happy Easter."

Louise's eyes sparkle, peering up at Tatum.  "It really was fun," she giggles, wiping at her tears. "But that sweet little boy? You and Ethan are doing an incredible job."

"Thanks, Lou," Tatum gently pats her arm, "that means more to me than you realize."

The women grab the various dishes and serving utensils and finish setting the table for Easter brunch.  Tatum begins to fill the water glasses with ice.  "Lou, did you ever have that overwhelming sense that no matter how hard you try, you're bound to royally screw up your baby?"

Louise chuckles to herself, "Only every single moment of everyday. It consumed me… but," she grins poignantly,  "this is what I know now. Childhood is already a magical time; they're learning and experiencing things for the very first time that you and I, well, we take for granted," Louise puts an endearing hand on Tatum's arm. "They need love. That's what they remember."

"G'andma!" Cord calls out from behind the women. "Can I show Mommy what we made?"

"You made something?" Tatum curiously looks at Louise, giving her a playful wink. 

"Sure, sweetie. Make sure it's dry, and you can show your mom." The women exchange grins as Cord runs to another room. "I hope you don't mind. I brought over an egg dyeing kit."

"No, that's perfect–" Tatum is interrupted with Cord tapping her hip as he proudly holds out the colored egg.

"Look, Mommy!' He smiles proudly. "I made it for you, but--but G'andma helped me."

"Oh, Cord," Tatum gasps, her face expressive. "This is beautiful, baby!" She picks up the egg, appreciating the blue and purple watercolors, but when she turns it around, she notices writing from a white crayon that spells out the phrase Best Mom.

Tatum never thought in a million years she'd be that mom, getting choked up by cheesy clichés of being the 'best mom' or 'world's best mom', but in this moment, she gets it. She understands why mothers everywhere are so touched by being hailed for something so pompous.

Motherhood is damn hard. No one knows what the hell they're doing, and each mom, even the ones teaching their children to eat microgreens instead of goldfish crackers, think they're doing a terrible job.

But seeing that smile on Cord's face, seeing so much light and wonder in his crystal blue eyes, maybe Louise is right. And Cord is one deeply loved little boy.

Tatum pulls Cord into her arms, saddling him on her hip as she kisses his cheeks. "Thank you so much, baby. I love it." With a blush swirling on his cheeks, the young boy smiles brightly, coyly laying his head on his mom's shoulder.

"Hey," Ethan saunters up next to his wife, brushing his hand against her lower back. "Are we just about ready to–whoa!" His eyes widen. "The table… the food and the–and the decorations…"

"Do you like it?"

"Tate," his voice is low and breathless, his eyes darting across the table spread. "This really is, well, magical." 

She beams as a rosy hue paints her face. "I guess you're now a believer in the Easter magic?" She titters.

"I am, and… I guess I have been for a long time." Tatum gives him a curious glance as he pulls her into a heated kiss. "I'm looking at the magic right now."

~🐰~

Tags (please let me know if you'd like to be added/removed)

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@alj4890 @ao719 @charlotteg234 @issabees @kat-tia801 @kingliam2019 @mainstreetreader @mom2000aggie @neotericthemis @nikirennie87 @peonierose @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam

ALL OPH

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~🐰~

Thank you so much for your support! Every like, comment and reblog means the world to me! 🖤

~🐰~

[scaryblondelady]

while it would have been pretty funny for cath to have been the killer just to get her hobby farm for cheap, that ending would have left me feeling really disappointed. i’m honestly so thankful it’s not her or any of the other women for that matter.

before the finale airs tomorrow, i just wanted to officially cast my vote for whodunit and add a few more thoughts to this post that my gf put together last week. potential spoilers below this point, fair warning.

as stated in the original post, it’s ray pies. in addition to the evidence provided by pinselwurm:

ray had the perfect opportunity to blow up the loch nessie. he left skye’s dinner party early to drive eddie home and then promptly left the shack. most of the other key players were still at the dinner party when the loch nessie was set ablaze.

if ray is the killer, why did he throw up at the sight of jimmy on the cross? similar to abby, i think he accidently poisoned himself with arsenic while handling the mast of the loch nessie. after all, he had to craft the mast into the shape of a cross after stealing it. if he was unaware of the treatment on the wood, just inadvertently touching the material with his bare hands or breathing in fumes/particles could have made him physically sick.

in addition to ray, william carruthers and james have also been floated as potential suspects. listed below are the reasons why i don’t believe either is our murderer.

william: in the next episode, i believe we are going to find out that william carruthers is actually dead (has been for some time) and is buried out on that island that margaret is so fiercely protective of. sure, margaret is hiding something but i think we are going to find out that it’s related to money, whatever it is. maybe it has something to do with land rights or the carruther’s estate? did her brother want to return some (or all) of their land to the palawa? that could potentially explain why she wants miranda indebted to her.

james: he doesn’t care about anyone but himself, plain and simple. he absolutely does not give a single shit about any of the women in his life. just think about all of the times he undermines dulcie and eddie, or about how he constantly steamrolls abby, or about all the times he makes condescending comments to or about women. after witnessing his selfish behavior all season, i just don’t believe that this is the guy that would go on a killing spree to “dish out justice” for all of the abused women in deadloch. james has grand ambitions for his career and he wants recognition for his work. however, he really doesn’t need to take any extreme action in order to achieve those things. that’s the point. despite his shit work ethic and the way in which he treats his female colleagues, despite being an utter prick, he has still managed to become a “leader in his field” purely because he is a man. he is part of the boy’s club, he is benefiting greatly from it, and i don’t see how he’d have any interest in tearing it all down.

lastly, completely unrelated but perhaps most important of all, i really think bushy (eddie’s deceased partner) is a dog. idk, she just seems to feel really responsible for his death. and i just don’t see how she would feel that responsible for some grown ass man getting eaten by a croc while chilling on a speed boat. i could, however, see her feeling like absolute shit for leaving a dog tethered and alone on board.

anyways, happy almost deadloch finale day everyone. we’ll see whodunit soon enough.

[trashboatprince]

Drabbled idea, crossover style: 10th Doctor and Crowley stand off while Donna and Aziraphale watch

Gosh, I always love writing Ten and Crowley interacting, it's a lot of fun. :D

On with the fic!

--

Donna stared at the two man-shaped beings as one sat on a couch, the other holding a book open in his hands. The third man-shaped being in the room, the one that didn't look like the first two, was gripping his teacup rather tightly, his eyes never leaving that book.

"You can't just tell me that this was made in a workshop! Impossible!" The Doctor shouted, jabbing a finger at an old drawing of the sun, Aziraphale wincing at the hard jabs.

"I am tellin' you, cause it's bloody true!" Crowley shouted back. "I should know, I helped make it!"

"I've seen the thing explode! Hell, I can go back in time right now and watch it get made! I saw that with the Earth! Remember, Donna? It was during our first adventure!"

Donna snorted. "Yeah, I remember. It was right after I found out that my fiance was going to feed me to a giant spider's babies in order to take over the world. On my wedding day."

Aziraphale made a face. "What a terrible way to celebrate your wedding."

"Well, didn't help that I missed the blasted thing cause of him." She gestured at the Doctor, who gasped, putting a hand to his chest.

"Not my fault! You know this! It was the-"

"Yeah, yeah, ancient particles and all that. What the hell are you two even fighting about over there?" Donna asked, raising an eyebrow. "You two were doing just fine all morning, wouldn't shut up about this and that!"

Crowley made a face. "This guy here is telling me that it's impossible for angels to have created the building blocks of the universe. And even more impossible for this former angel, that being me, to have made stars. Specifically the one this planet is circling around."

"It is! I've seen stars be created!" The Doctor threw his hands up in the air and Aziraphale snapped his fingers, the book was now gone, probably back on a shelf or something. "My own people have helped in development on some!"

"That's cause Heaven decided to let some other lifeforms do what we do. It's, ya know, cheaper labor." Crowley said, waving a hand about.

"Cheaper la-!? Next you're going to be telling me that the universe was made only a few thousand years ago!"

Crowley made a weird series of noises that could have been words but Donna didn't catch any of it, not even the TARDIS could translate that string of nonsense. The Doctor stared in shock. "No."

"Yeeeeaaaahhhh... like, it's hard to explain, time is insane when it comes to angels and demons, we've got our own system and all that. Somehow the humans learned about it and now there's some people who really believe that, but it's like, really? Really? Nah. But yeah, to me, over six thousand years, 's not a big deal."

The Doctor looked like he wanted to throw a fit. Donna almost leaned over to ask Aziraphale if he had any popcorn for this show, but he seemed to be on the same wavelength as her, already holding up a bag for her to take a few pieces.

--

I still trust David's judgement on Crowley and Ten being very fast friends, but I just know that they would argue about science. Angel/demon science makes sense! When you're an angel or a demon.

Not really a standoff, but they're about to have a big nerd fight.