yup. they're tiny tiny subatomic particles with almost no mass and no electrical interactivity and they move through matter like it ain't shit. they come in three flavors (that's the like official scientific term for it, too, i'm not kidding) and they're really abundant but hard to detect.
[ Aaaaaand now he's just rambling about neutrinos. ]
hell yeah there are. i mean, that's what the particle accelerator at star labs was for. you take a tiny particle, like an electron or something, propel that baby along until it's going close to the speed of light, and then you smash it right into another particle so they both break up and you can study the even tinier, even weirder stuff they're made out of.
[ Eddie better watch out or he is going to get Cisco into Full Geek Mode. ]
yeah yeah i've heard that one before but see a good engineer would recognize that within certain limits a larger glass has a much wider range of applications than a smaller glass, without losing any of the functionality, so really it is most efficient to build one glass that accommodates a wide variety of water levels instead of a smaller glass that doesn't and it's just a joke i'm thinking about it too hard aren't i?
i kinda want to see this book when was it published? can you bring it back with you?
[Honestly, Eddie probably wouldn't have understood any of that if Cisco hadn't said it in such an accessible way. But even if he hadn't been able to, he'd still think it's somehow both adorable and impressive all at once.]
Wow. That sounds a little bit like what they do to make an atom bomb though. Or am I wrong?
You are.
The biggest nerd.
I love it. ;)
I love you.
Yeah, I'm going to bring it back, but I'm not gonna let you read it. It's my belated present to myself to be able to make you laugh whenever I want.
so okay bear w the metaphor but atom bombs are like when you've got a big group of friends and two friends in it are dating but then they break up and all hell breaks loose. cuz what happens is there's a nucleus (which is your squad), made up of protons and neutrons (friends of person a and person b). explosion is their breakup, which then splits the squad into two smaller factions, with a whole lot of drama (i.e. energy) getting released along the way.
(but even then you don't just split one nucleus and ka-boom, you need like a WHOLE LOT OF THEM, enough to trigger a chain reaction.)
particle accelerators typically just crash one solitary electron with one solitary electron. the electrons are by themselves and not in a squad, plus an electron is like about 2000x smaller than a single proton or neutron, so it doesn't cause almost any drama at all.
[ That is... mostly accurate if simplified, and a bit silly, but it's the best way he knows how to explain it without getting technical. ]
but seriously if i ever go too nerd on you in a bad way just tell me and i'll stop bc i know i can get carried away
Wow. That is the first time I've ever actually understood nuclear weapons, and I didn't even know what the particle accelerator did exactly, until you explained it. So don't worry about going too nerd on me. You're perfect. <3
And I didn't even know you needed a lot of atoms to make an atom bomb.
[That analogy - he can't help but think of him and Iris, and he pushes that thought aside.]
[ Okay he'd been planning on explaining in more detail why a lot of atoms are needed in an atom bomb but he gets sidetracked by realizing he doesn't know when Eddie's birthday is. He goes back and reads the text before and asks: ]
[ Cisco doesn't bother to do the math to count back to the exact date. 25 days ago was since they started dating. Hell it's since they started getting serious. Since Iris had arrived. Maybe even since they first dropped the l-bomb. ]
oh my god i missed your birthday i didn't even know i didn't even realize i didn't know until you brought it up i am the worst boyfriend in the history of the world
[Honestly, Eddie doesn't care, particularly, about his birthday. July 4th has always been about Independence Day and his birthday has always come a distant second. He hadn't even noticed it when it happened.]
Hey, hey babe, come on. There's no need to say that, even if you're not being serious. I didn't tell you, and you had no way of knowing.
Honestly, so much was going on at the time I completely forgot until about a week ago.
Also, I don't know your birthday either. And you're the best boyfriend in the history of the world.
i'm being serious and there is a need and there was totally a way of knowing i could have ASKED
wait what was going on at the time? [ And now he finally counts back and asks: ] july 4th for real?
[ It wasn't like the place had been decked out in red white and blue or anything, now that he thinks about it. Guess that was too specific a holiday for this place. ]
Yes July 4th. As I'm sure you can see, I am pretty used to not bothering to celebrate. And at the time we were just. Busy. It wasn't a good time for me to even mention it, and like I said, I forgot.
There is no need to say that. You are seriously the best boyfriend I could ask for.
This is what I mean when I say you're the best boyfriend ever. The fact that you care about me more than all of America. Or just that you care about my birthday in general. I haven't really celebrated it since I was 21, and before that it was when I was a kid.
You don't have to spoil me. Though, I mean, if you're offering, I might ask you to cook me something...
[ Cisco still thinks 'wants to celebrate his birthday with him' is such a depressingly low standard for Eddie to set, but instead of pointing that out now and potentially making Eddie feel self-conscious about it, he is just going to work that much harder to make the celebration that much better. He's already got a piece of paper out so he can jot down ideas, things he knows Eddie loves, traditional stuff and a few things that are a bit more off the wall. ]
oh i'm gonna. it's decided.
naturally. any requests in particular?
you want me to throw a get together or you want to keep this a just-us thing?
[ Most of the decisions Cisco feels comfortable making on his own, but that is a big one, and he will leave that up to Eddie. He knows that his boyfriend is much more introverted than him, might prefer to keep things intimate. Then again, maybe he will want a big crowd... ]
[It's not just 'wants to celebrate his birthday with him' - it's a lot more than that. It's everything Cisco does for him and how much he cares about doing it.]
Okay, okay, fine.
Hm. That's a tough question. This might sound weird, but maybe something from your culture? Something I've never tried.
I don't know. Who would we even invite? I guess Caitlin and Arya, maybe Caroline...
[ True, he doesn't know what Eddie has and hasn't tried, but he knows a few dishes that his mom always made that you couldn't really get at any restaurants he'd been to in Central City. Cisco would need to do some looking around for ingredients today, but he's going to be out finding presents and other supplies anyway. Suddenly his schedule just got a whole lot busier. ]
that's your call, eddie! i'm sure lots of people would love to, the question is how big a deal you want it.
Yeah? That's awesome. :) I'm really excited to try it.
Are you gonna surprise me?
I...don't know. Maybe a little gathering, with a few people and some drinks? Whoever you think might like to come. I don't really feel like being the center of a lot of attention and I don't need presents or anything seriously, but some dinner might be nice. Maybe I could fire up the barbecue or something, and we could have some beers?
oh i'm definitely getting you presents, but we can always open most of those after everyone goes home. and you better be prepared to be the center of my attention at the very least. 😘 barbecue would be dope you know i'm aways down for that
cool, traditionally prepared calf brains coming right up
(i'm just kidding, i would never)
[ He doesn't spoil Eddie, not really. But he sure is going to, for his makeup birthday. He's already brainstorming things that he can give him. Things he knows Eddie likes - things that Eddie might be too embarrassed to get for himself or not even realize he wanted. ]
oh, we're doing this. day after tomorrow. it's on.
[ That's enough time for Cisco to make all the preparations and let all the potential guests know, but soon enough that Eddie won't have to wait. ]
ok i would totally make it and indulge your adventurous gustatory side but i've never actually cooked it before and i'd be kind of worried about messing it up and giving you some kind of horrible disease neither of us have heard of, or you know just making it really gross, so maybe we can save that one for some other day.
but there will be plenty of other stuff you've never had, i bet. trust me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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No no, it's okay. You make me laugh all the time, it's my turn. Let me know if I manage it.
A photon checks into a hotel and is asked if he needs any help with his luggage. He says, "No, I'm traveling light."
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[ Aaaaaand now he's just rambling about neutrinos. ]
i am laughing at literally every one of these. 😂
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Subatomic. I guess that's what that means, huh? This is why you're the genius.
Either way, they sound so cool.
Okay. Okay. If they're making you laugh...
An optimist see sa glass half full. A pessimist sees it half empty. An engineer sees it twice as large as it needs to be.
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hell yeah there are. i mean, that's what the particle accelerator at star labs was for. you take a tiny particle, like an electron or something, propel that baby along until it's going close to the speed of light, and then you smash it right into another particle so they both break up and you can study the even tinier, even weirder stuff they're made out of.
[ Eddie better watch out or he is going to get Cisco into Full Geek Mode. ]
yeah yeah i've heard that one before but see a good engineer would recognize that within certain limits a larger glass has a much wider range of applications than a smaller glass, without losing any of the functionality, so really it is most efficient to build one glass that accommodates a wide variety of water levels instead of a smaller glass that doesn't and it's just a joke i'm thinking about it too hard aren't i?
i kinda want to see this book when was it published? can you bring it back with you?
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Wow. That sounds a little bit like what they do to make an atom bomb though. Or am I wrong?
You are.
The biggest nerd.
I love it. ;)
I love you.
Yeah, I'm going to bring it back, but I'm not gonna let you read it. It's my belated present to myself to be able to make you laugh whenever I want.
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so okay bear w the metaphor but atom bombs are like when you've got a big group of friends and two friends in it are dating but then they break up and all hell breaks loose. cuz what happens is there's a nucleus (which is your squad), made up of protons and neutrons (friends of person a and person b). explosion is their breakup, which then splits the squad into two smaller factions, with a whole lot of drama (i.e. energy) getting released along the way.
(but even then you don't just split one nucleus and ka-boom, you need like a WHOLE LOT OF THEM, enough to trigger a chain reaction.)
particle accelerators typically just crash one solitary electron with one solitary electron. the electrons are by themselves and not in a squad, plus an electron is like about 2000x smaller than a single proton or neutron, so it doesn't cause almost any drama at all.
[ That is... mostly accurate if simplified, and a bit silly, but it's the best way he knows how to explain it without getting technical. ]
but seriously if i ever go too nerd on you in a bad way just tell me and i'll stop bc i know i can get carried away
i love you, too
[ Still makes him smile, typing that. ]
okay yeah that's fair.
present for what?
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And I didn't even know you needed a lot of atoms to make an atom bomb.
[That analogy - he can't help but think of him and Iris, and he pushes that thought aside.]
Oh, my birthday.
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how belated?
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Oh. 25 days belated.
[Yeah, it's July 4th.]
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oh my god i missed your birthday
i didn't even know
i didn't even realize i didn't know until you brought it up
i am the worst boyfriend in the history of the world
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Hey, hey babe, come on.
There's no need to say that, even if you're not being serious.
I didn't tell you, and you had no way of knowing.
Honestly, so much was going on at the time I completely forgot until about a week ago.
Also, I don't know your birthday either. And you're the best boyfriend in the history of the world.
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wait what was going on at the time? [ And now he finally counts back and asks: ] july 4th for real?
[ It wasn't like the place had been decked out in red white and blue or anything, now that he thinks about it. Guess that was too specific a holiday for this place. ]
mine's october 3rd
not for quite a while
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And at the time we were just. Busy. It wasn't a good time for me to even mention it, and like I said, I forgot.
There is no need to say that. You are seriously the best boyfriend I could ask for.
October 3rd.
I'll remember it. I need to spoil you.
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i'm sorry i missed it
idgaf about america's birthday but i'm throwing a party for yours i don't care if it's a month late
i get to spoil you, first. 🎂 🍻 🎉
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You don't have to spoil me. Though, I mean, if you're offering, I might ask you to cook me something...
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oh i'm gonna. it's decided.
naturally. any requests in particular?
you want me to throw a get together or you want to keep this a just-us thing?
[ Most of the decisions Cisco feels comfortable making on his own, but that is a big one, and he will leave that up to Eddie. He knows that his boyfriend is much more introverted than him, might prefer to keep things intimate. Then again, maybe he will want a big crowd... ]
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Okay, okay, fine.
Hm. That's a tough question. This might sound weird, but maybe something from your culture? Something I've never tried.
I don't know. Who would we even invite? I guess Caitlin and Arya, maybe Caroline...
I don't know if anyone else would want to come.
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[ True, he doesn't know what Eddie has and hasn't tried, but he knows a few dishes that his mom always made that you couldn't really get at any restaurants he'd been to in Central City. Cisco would need to do some looking around for ingredients today, but he's going to be out finding presents and other supplies anyway. Suddenly his schedule just got a whole lot busier. ]
that's your call, eddie! i'm sure lots of people would love to, the question is how big a deal you want it.
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Are you gonna surprise me?
I...don't know. Maybe a little gathering, with a few people and some drinks? Whoever you think might like to come. I don't really feel like being the center of a lot of attention and I don't need presents or anything seriously, but some dinner might be nice. Maybe I could fire up the barbecue or something, and we could have some beers?
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oh i'm definitely getting you presents, but we can always open most of those after everyone goes home.
and you better be prepared to be the center of my attention at the very least. 😘
barbecue would be dope you know i'm aways down for that
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You spoil me, you know that?
Seriously. Best boyfriend.
And you know I never mind being the center of your attention. ;)
Alright. If we're actually doing this, then just let me know. I'll make those burgers you like, and some steak.
[And he feels a little self-conscious and silly about it but...he's excited about this.]
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(i'm just kidding, i would never)
[ He doesn't spoil Eddie, not really. But he sure is going to, for his makeup birthday. He's already brainstorming things that he can give him. Things he knows Eddie likes - things that Eddie might be too embarrassed to get for himself or not even realize he wanted. ]
oh, we're doing this. day after tomorrow. it's on.
[ That's enough time for Cisco to make all the preparations and let all the potential guests know, but soon enough that Eddie won't have to wait. ]
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(I'd try it, for the record. I've eaten chicken feet and congealed cow's blood rolled in peanuts on a stick, I'm willing to try anything.)
Alright. I'll make sure not to have any plans.
[And, a few moments later.]
Thank you, Cisco. You're really good to me.
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ok i would totally make it and indulge your adventurous gustatory side but i've never actually cooked it before and i'd be kind of worried about messing it up and giving you some kind of horrible disease neither of us have heard of, or you know just making it really gross, so maybe we can save that one for some other day.
but there will be plenty of other stuff you've never had, i bet. trust me.
it's no trouble.
i'm just sorry it'll be a little late.
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And I'm looking forward to whatever you make. I just really like the idea of trying your cooking.
Don't be sorry. It isn't your fault, and I really, really don't mind.
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