everentropy:

kedreeva:

mollysynthetic:

tickety-boo-af:

kedreeva:

kedreeva:

Okay, I’m going to tell you a thing about Good Omens, but first you have to listen to a thing about physics, but I promise it’s relevant.

In brief and (hopefully) simple terms (and I know it’s WAY more complex than this but we only need the gist of it), there’s this theory that Time is actually a dimension. You’ve got the zero, first, second, and third dimensions that ordinary creatures like humans perceive, and then on top of that we have the fourth dimension which affects us.

The thing about these sorts of dimensions is that a third dimension creature (like a human) lives in the third dimension but is capable of perceiving the dimensions below their own in at least semi-concrete ways. Picture it like this: The zero dimension is a dot on a piece of paper. The first dimension is the same dot, but viewed from the side, where 1D creatures could see it is actually a line. The second dimension is the same line, but viewed from the a second side, where a 2D creature could see it is actually a square. The third dimension is the same square, but viewed from a third side, where a 3D creature like a human could see it’s actually a cube.

Now, say that I am a 3D creature looking at the 2D square on the piece of paper. I am capable of perceiving that second dimension. I am also capable of affecting that dimension; for instance, if I fold the piece of paper in the middle of where the line is drawn. The 2nd dimension can be affected by the 3rd dimension, even if it can’t really perceive the 3rd dimension the way it perceives its own and lower dimensions.

Thefourth dimension is reckoned to be Time. Third dimension creatures, like humans, can be affected by time, but we can’t really perceive it the way a 4D creature does. We can’t even really guess how a 4D creature sees the world, because where would you even start? It’s a little bit… ineffable, you might say.

Now, Crowley and Aziraphale, in their true forms, should be at least 4D beings, capable of living in the 4th dimension (time) while being able to experience/perceive the dimensions below their own. Now, I would posit that actually these two exist in more than 4 dimensions, I would say (if we’re following String Theory here) that they could exist in up to 7 dimensions (the 7th being the dimension where one can access multiple dimensions, which explains the existence of heaven/hell), but that’s… complicated.

The point is, the POINT issss…. if they are 4D+ beings, then the third dimension - OUR dimension - is to them what a drawing on a paper is to us. Their corporations are, essentially, a 3D representation of themselves the way we might represent ourselves by drawing pictures on a piece of paper. These projections of themselves would be governed by the rules of the third dimension; including the ability (or maybe necessity) to experience time the way we do while they are here (hence why powerful immortal creatures cannot skip around in time while they have corporations).

Anyway, basically what I’m saying is that god wrote a 3D comic strip and put them in it and is now the frustrated equivalent of a writer whose characters just won’t stop doing things without permission dammit. That or, y’know, she fucked off after creating it and they’ve been writing a slow-burn self-insert fancomic ever since while they wait for her to get back.

This would also explain their ability to a) manipulate time the way Crowley stops it several times (consider the way we can manipulate a 3D object), b) travel between heaven and hell and Earth (even though it appears they must do so with the aid of technology like the portal runes or the globe in heaven), c) not be seen by humans at any given time even though they’re in plain sight to the camera (they may be interacting with extra dimensions somehow so as to not be seen), and d) appear to us to teleport (because we may not be able to see their interactions in a fourth dimension).

Now of course you could explain it as “it’s magic” but at the same time, of course it would seem like magic. A square on a piece of paper looking at a cube might assume the cube is doing magic when in fact the cube is just interacting with the third dimension. For example, perhaps a square would see a cube resting on one side as a square. If you were to roll that cube up onto an edge, it would appear (to the square) to become a line. Were you to lift the cube and set it down somewhere else on the square’s paper, the cube might appear (to the square) to have teleported. It would appear to be magic when in fact none of these things have happened; the cube is merely interacting with a dimension the square cannot perceive, the same way angels and demons may appear to be magic but are, potentially, interacting with additional dimensions we cannot see.

Now, you might say that the way Aziraphale and Crowley act (or the actions they take) don’t make sense if they don’t experience time in a linear fashion but I would argue that those actions do make sense. Just because one can perceive time as a dimension does not mean that they can see all time everywhere. Just because we exist in 3 dimensions does not mean we see all 3D objects at once, or that we can see all angles of every object at once or even that we understand, as individuals, every object we ever see (for example, how many sightings have their been of cryptid creatures? How many phenomena in nature have we seen but been unable to explain for a while?).

Imagine that you are standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower. You can see a LOT of 3D objects from there, for sure. But not all of them. You cannot see the Sears Tower in the US. You can see the Sydney Opera House in Australia. You also cannot see inside of all of those 3D objects. You can’t even see the far side of them. You cannot see the individual atoms that make up those objects without using some kind of technology. You also cannot manipulate the tower as a whole; you can move through it, and climb it, take pictures of it, etc, but you, as an individual, cannot pick it up and move it the way you can pick up a small cube, and in fact it would take a lot of inventing things in order for it to be picked up and moved by 3D beings. Even though you and 3D objects are both parts of the third dimension, there are limitations to how you can perceive and interact with one another.

So I would have to suppose that a being which sees in 4D would have similar (if unknown to me) limitations, the most obvious of which is that they may only see time in the space they are currently in. Perhaps there are things they can see but not really manipulate (like wind- you can move a little bit of air but not change a windstorm, or complete timelines may be like the Eiffel Tower; too big to move or affect as an individual without assistance). Maybe there are things which are hazardous to do (like how we can see magma and COULD touch it but it would damage us). There’s also the idea of optical illusion- our ability to perceive things we see can be manipulated by certain things like arrangements of color or placements of shapes (think of the person who took pictures of a giant penny beside large objects, in order to make them look small; they were not, but our knowledge of what a penny is informs our relative knowledge of the size of the car it is beside). Simply being able to perceive and manipulate some aspect of time doesn’t necessarily mean omnipotence or complete control of it, and their abilities would be further hindered by them moving part or all of the consciousness into a 3D body.

I don’t really have a point, I just wanted to talk about this more because I’m excited.

This is delightfully fun to contemplate. Crowley especially seems to have a few extra-sensory abilities, which are hinted at but not explained: 1) he can pause time, 2) he can sense where other ethereal/occult beings are or where their attention is (for example, finding an imperiled Aziraphale, and the body swap “Is anyone looking?”), and 3) in the book he references a future invention to Leonardo DaVinci. These all suggest an ability to at least interact with 4D+ dimensions. And it’s the last one about seeing far into the future that really makes me wonder.

I also wonder how much his interactions with short-term future time help him plan his demonic deeds. There’s imagination that allows humans to plan and create models for what we think the future will look like. But if you could actually see probable futures, it would be much more clear what actions to take. For example, knowing that only a rodent infestation would allow Crowley unfettered access to the mobile network controls. Or just how far reaching the effects would be of Londoners losing cell reception for 45 min. Unfortunately, he often forgets to check on himself in the future vision, so that leads to getting caught up in his own schemes.

And maybe it’s less an ability to sense where Aziraphale is that allows Crowley to swoop in and save him. Maybe he’s also peeking into time to find out what his angel is likely to be up to.

I need to know what the fifth and sixth dimensions are?!

@mollysynthetic

I can answer that! Maybe not simply!! But I will try! We’re going off of superstring theory in this, if you want to look into it on your own.

So, bear with me. You have the 4 space-time dimensions as follows:

• (0D: a dot, pre-space)
• 1D is a line (space, y-axis)
• 2D is a square (space, x-axis)
• 3D is a cube (space, z-axis)
• 4D is time (time)

So these, together, are the components of reality, the way cardboard is a component of a box, if that makes sense. They’re subject to physics forces (like gravity), but those forces aren’t a material of the reality, if that makes sense.

Dimensions 5-10 deal in alternate reality.

Consider our reality to be the zero dimension of this new set of dimensions. We are, from everything that we can see, the only point that exists. We are a reality dot.

The fifth dimension is a reality “line.” If you were to turn and look at the dot from a new side, you would see that it has one extra dimension- the fifth dimension. A fifth dimension being would theoretically be able to see its own reality and one other version of their own reality; when you look at a line you can see a line OR if you look at it head on, a dot. So, you could look at your reality, but be able to one slightly different version of it as well.

The sixth dimension is a reality “square.” In this dimension, you are now able to view your own reality, and instead of just the next version of your reality, you can see all other realities that start from your initial dot of reality. This is important: you can ONLY see the realities that begin from the same starting condition as you.

Now, a 6D being should, theoretically, be able to move between those realities, allowing for an approximation of “time travel” at will or “dimension travel” where you could visit alternate realities instead of just seeing them. You couldn’t do this on the 5th dimension because there’s no where to go on a line except the one line. You would likely gain free movement when you add the X-axis dimension.

And since you’ll probably wonder about the rest…. it gets weirder and I’m not sure I can explain them well because they start to include the concept of infinity in ways that are slightly beyond me, so take this with a grain of salt and understand it’s WAY more complex than what I’ve said in any part of this post.

My understanding of 7 and 8 is that they deal in more kinds of alternate realities. Seven I think deals in all alternate realities that belong to YOUR reality, regardless of how they begin. Eight I think deals in alternate realities that are not necessarily your own, but are governed by the same rules as yours (the same kind of physical forces etc, like gravity).

My understanding of 9 and 10 is that 9 deals with infinite alternate realities that may or may not have the same rules of physics as your own, and 10 is basically “everything else, anything goes.”

So when I said earlier that Crowley and Aziraphale may be up to 7D beings in their true forms, I meant that you could choose to think that they, in pure angelic (and possibly full demonic) form, could at least view (if not travel to) any reality that is a version of THEIR reality. Which does beg the question; is this particular reality, with Earth, the only version of their reality in which Earth was created, thus making it important for them to preserve it?

I think future sight might be more like when we try to look into the far distance- the further we go the more difficult it is. Like, you can tell it’s a person wearing red from far away, but that’s it. And it might also be that you can see events directly related to you easier as well. Like how in a crowd you could pick out your friend faster than a stranger from a photograph. It could be Crowley didn’t look into the future but it could also be at that point there were too many fates and looking would have been a waste of time for that event, because he wouldn’t have assumed he needed to…

audreycritter:

petermorwood:

illisidifan:

authorkims:

This is why she’s my favorite author.

Check out “Barry Lyndon”, a film whose period interiors were famously shot by period lamp-and-candle lighting (director Stanley Kubrick had to source special lenses with which to do it).

More recently, some scenes in “Wolf Hall” were also shot with period live-flame lighting and IIRC until they got used to it, actors had to be careful how they moved across the sets. However, it’s very atmospheric: there’s one scene where Cromwell is sitting by the fire, brooding about his association with Henry VIII while the candles in the room are put out around him. The effect is more than just visual.

As someone (I think it was Terry Pratchett) once said: “You always need enough light to see how dark it is.”

A demonstration of getting that out of balance happened in later seasons of “Game of Thrones”, most infamously in the complaint-heavy “Battle of Winterfell” episode, whose cinematographer claimed the poor visibility was because “a lot of people don’t know how to tune their TVs properly”.

So it was nothing to do with him at all, oh dear me no. Wottapillock. Needing to retune a TV to watch one programme but not others shows where the fault lies, and it’s not in the TV.

*****

We live in rural West Wicklow, Ireland, and it’s 80% certain that when we have a storm, a branch or even an entire tree will fall onto a power line and our lights will go out.

Usually the engineers have things fixed in an hour or two, but that can be a long dark time in the evenings or nights of October through February, so we always know where the candles and matches are and the oil lamp is always full.

We also know from experience how much reading can be done by candle-light, and it’s more than you’d think, once there’s a candle right behind you with its light falling on the pages.

You get more light than you’d expect from both candles and lamps, because for one thing, eyes adapt to dim light. @dduane​ says she can sometimes hear my irises dilating. Yeah, sure…

For another thing lamps can have accessories. Here’s an example: reflectors to direct light out from the wall into the room. I’ve tried this with a shiny foil pie-dish behind our own Very Modern Swedish Design oil lamp, and it works.

Smooth or parabolic reflectors concentrate their light (for a given value of concentrate, which is a pretty low value at that) while flatter fluted ones like these scatter the light over a wider area, though it’s less bright as a result:

This candle-holder has both a reflector and a magnifying lens, almost certainly to illuminate close or even medical work of some sort rather than light a room.

And then there’s this, which a lot of people saw and didn’t recognise, because it’s often described in tones of librarian horror as a beverage in the rare documents collection.

There IS a beverage, that’s in the beaker, but the spherical bottle is a light magnifier, and Gandalf would arrange a candle behind it for close study.

Here’s one being used - with a lightbulb - by a woodblock carver.

And here’s the effect it produces.

Here’s a four-sphere version used with a candle (all the fittings can be screwed up and down to get the candle and magnifiers properly lined up) and another one in use by a lacemaker.

Finally, here’s something I tried last night in our own kitchen, using a water-filled decanter. It’s not perfectly spherical so didn’t create the full effect, but it certainly impressed me, especially since I’d locked the camera so its automatic settings didn’t change to match light levels.

This is the effect with candles placed “normally”.

But when one candle is behind the sphere, this happens.

 It also threw a long teardrop of concentrated light across the worktop; the photos of the woodcarver show that much better.

Poor-people lighting involved things like rushlights or tallow dips. They were awkward things, because they didn’t last long, needed constant adjustment, didn’t give much light and were smelly. But they were cheap, and that’s what mattered most.

They’re often mentioned in historical and fantasy fiction but seldom explained: a rushlight is a length of spongy pith from inside a rush plant, dried then dipped in tallow (or lard, or mutton-fat), hence both its names.

Here’s Jason Kingsley making one.

@lurkinglurkerwholurks look it’s Cherryh of the Cuckoo’s Egg!

missbrunettebarbie-writer:

Last Line Tag

Thank you @laufire for the tag. Here is some Nefele content since she is apparently very beloved xDD.

Stella had braided pearls in Nefele’s hair. She didn’t know where her nanny -or more likely her father- could have found them. Pearls -and jewels in general- were extremely rare as it was well-known fairies hoarded them for their magical properties. There were even legends that said that a fairy could store their magic in a diamond or a ruby, if it was powerful enough to hold their raw power. And of course, a fairy without magic was a dead fairy. So it was most likely a myth. 

However she knew that young fairies wore pearls to their Naming Ceremony, as a symbol of their young and pure magic. She had always wondered if it was more than just symbolism. Did the pearl help them channel the chaos inside them? Nefele had to admit she felt strangely calm, considering the events that would unfold tonight. Unlike the days before, her magic wasn’t fighting her, trying to rip off the skin that was holding it prisoner. Instead it was at peace. Humming quietly in Nefele’s blood, making the girl feel like she was dressed in armor instead of pale green silk. 

Had her father chosen pearls as a mocking gesture? A Naming Ceremony was the most important moment in a fairy’s life, and she knew Xavier viewed this night as the most important one of his daughter’s life. Was this his own way of paying homage to the other half of Nefele’s bloodline? If yes, she was not sure if it was a kind or cruel gesture.

But she didn’t know allow herslef to dwell on her father. His mind had always been a mystery to her. She tried to enjoy the last moment of piece she had left before the show would begin. She hasn’t felt this comfortable with herself since before that fateful day, when she had killed the blond woman by accident. After that, she had often found herself at odds with her own magic. It had been a surprising, and entirely unwelcome, side effect of a guilty conscience. She knew that as a half-fairy, her magic was inherently tied to her emotions. If she felt revolted by herself, her magic would of course feel revolted too. 

She couldn’t help but wonder what it would think of her after tonight, when she would kill with intent. And not only that, but her victim was to be a fairy. She had never heard of fairies killing each other like humans do. Maybe there was a reason for it. Maybe their magic would completely revolt and poison the kinslayer from inside out. Nefele may be only half fae, but she thought it might be a half too many.

I am only tagging @nectargrapesand@starry-sky-stuff since I know they are both interested in this verse. And of course, anyone else who wants to do this can feel free to @ me.

anreill:

furbearingbrick:

jartitameteneis:

@the-conquest-of-shred

strwrs:

STRWRS’ ICON-MAKING TUTORIAL

Hiiiii welcome to my icon-making tutorial!! I really enjoy making icons, and I thought I’d share how I do it <3

This tutorial is not for beginners!! I don’t explain every step in detail. However, if you have a question about any concept within this tutorial, please don’t hesitate to send me an ask or a dm!! I am happy to help <3 /gen

For this tutorial, we’re going to be making the icon you see in the header. 

Let’s get to it!! :)

Keep reading

annaleigh:

Jonathan and his bestie Dracula!!

comixfax:

kekeriki:

The Murder

(Hotel Oblivion spoilers!) Here’s my fanart for my favourite new Umbrella Academy character! We know very little about her, including not knowing her name or whether she turns into ravens or crows. She’s my favourite of the new Umbrella Academy. I made some minor design changes with her, though.

But here’s the name I pose: The Murder, because that’s the name for a group of crows. But if it’s ravens, then it should be The Conspiracy for the same reason. As for her actual name, I’m currently calling her Eleanor Nevermore. These are both references to Edgar Allen Poe’s works (the author of The Raven). It also just sounds cute together. So meet Eleanor!

I am way too in love with this character despite how little we’ve seen of them. I had a lot of fun drawing her and hope to see more of her in the future issues! Can’t wait for season two!

This character, which appears in the very end of the last issue (“Reunion”) of The Umbrella Academy’s third volume, Hotel Oblivion, is amoung a few of the other new super-siblings that are introduced. With the power to either summon or become a flock of ravens or crows, she is calm, collected and cool, like the rest of her powerful, coordinated team.

Petition for the name The Murder/The Conspiracy, and Eleanor Nevermore!

fuzzydeergirlart:

Inktober day 14 - overgrown