#thought ctrl

[cogneartive]

when i think of benbaro sometimes my mind conjures up scenarios of van zieks walking around duckling style following mr harebrayne and saying "albert. #mybert"

[sforzesco]

I love how much Lucullus can't stand Pompey, and also this

Pompey the Great: A Political Biography, Robin Seager

with something from this thrown in for extra flavor

Crassus and Pompey, on the other hand, ridiculed Lucullus for giving himself up to pleasure and extravagance, as if a luxurious life were not even more unsuitable to men of his years than political and military activities.

Plutarch, Lucullus

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!

[dw-flagler]

Case 70 Dallon Sisters

This is a really fun one!

Let's assume that Case 70s are way more common, because canonically only twins can be case 70s and only in really specific circumstances, and the dallon sisters aren't blood-related at all, let alone twins. In fact, amy not looking like the rest of the family is a fairly major detail. So let's assume you only need the "they both trigger at the same time while touching eachother" part, not the "and also they're twin siblings" part.

A lot of this depends on when they trigger. The longer we go without them triggering, the weirder and harder this gets.

I think the best option we have here is that Victoria doesn't trigger at the basketball game, she actually triggers during amy's trigger event. Basically simultaneous, like the capricorn twins. That's how they trigger while touching each-other.

Their dynamic would be kind of weird. The capricorn brothers are supposed to hate eachother and their status as case 70s is supposed to WILDLY exacerbate that, but (at least at this point) the dallon sisters just get along. Obviously, not as well as they got on in canon (minus the wretching), they'd fight each-other way more than they did canonically (pre-wretching), but I can't see either of the sisters actually going super far like the capricorn brothers did.

Honestly, as far as I'm seeing, it's actually almost kind of a net positive for amy's mental health as opposed to canon. She wouldn't have the same kind of pressure placed on her as she does in canon, both because I don't think she'd be a healer (and thus would not be suffering from healing burnout) and wouldn't really have a similar pressure from her insane capacity for harm. This version of amy wouldn't feel like she was constantly holding herself back from killing hundreds of people, since she has a different power.

Also it would be harder for her to specifically develop romantic feelings towards victoria? I mean, they would never fight as badly as the capricorn brothers, but being a case 70 means by necessity they'd be stepping on each-others' toes and fighting eachother more often, creating a lot more resentment than the canon dallon sisters. I mean, think about it. You can get along with somebody really well until you're stuck with them. And in this scenario amy and victoria are very literally stuck with each other.

That being said if amy did develop romantic feelings towards victoria it would be way more creepy and awkward. Though it's pretty awkward no matter what.

It would absolutely fuck over new wave though. Like the vast majority of case 70s we see in canon hide the fact that they're case 70s, at least to the general public (cause there's basically no way to spin it)--Capricorn (the only canon case 70 we really see anything about) wasn't hiding it, but they weren't telling anybody outright either. But. New Wave doesn't--can't, even--have secret identities, so there's no way to feasibly hide this.

I imagine--okay, you know the worm fanfic swallowtail? So in Swallowtail New Wave is a pretty big deal in brockton. So they have their own webpage, with these very sanitized character profiles for all the members. I'm imagining something like carol writing the new wave web page and having to find some way to spin "two of my daughters are trapped together for eternity" into a harmless family friendly thing. You can't! you can't do that! It just doesn't work.

But what would actually be their powers? Now that's hard. Usually, when I do these, something will, you know, like, pop out as a cool thing. But there's really nothing that springs to mind for this! So let's do this step by step and hopefully something will grab me.

So, first, Amy. Amy's trigger event here would be basically completely identical to the one in canon. Amy sees her sister bleeding out and triggers from not wanting her sister to die (and leave amy alone). more or less i'm not an amy expert.

Second, Victoria. She's got a different trigger from canon. So, in this AU i'm coming up with, victoria doesn't trigger at the basketball game, but the basketball game still happens. And it affects her as a person. so the idea, I guess, is that victoria's trigger here is more like a drawn out version of her trigger event at the basketball game. Same trauma, but instead of her being like "i've never achieved anything" it's her being like "i'm going to die without achieving anything" so it's the same trigger but slightly different.

Okay, so, basically, my idea is that the Dallon Sisters share a body between each other, which they can swap between in a manner similar to the capricorn brothers. However, unlike the capricorn brothers (where the brothers swap places by having the brother who's fronting will himself to swap places), the dallon sisters would swap by the sister who's not fronting willing herself to swap places. I like the idea because it would be just as awkward but in a different way.

I'm not sure if the dallon sisters should be able to communicate without swapping out, so like victoria's fronting but she can hear amy. I suppose I'm open to either option, or maybe some third thing. Get in the comments!

But anyway, each dallon sister, when fronting, has a different changer ability. My second* idea is that the dallon sisters look like angels. But different kinds of angels. BIG DISCLAIMER: I have never read the bible in my life so I only know this from google. It's likely not totally accurate!

I'm thinking that Victoria's changer form takes cues from the idea of a Powers angel. According to this wiki I read, they're the most fight-y type. Here's a picture of one:

Now, perhaps interestingly, I actually don't think victoria would look much like this. I think it's kind of boring actually. There's one that's more accurate to what I think she'd look like, which is this:

but this is actually a Virtues angel, so a completely different type. I just like the less greek/roman-inspired armor and the big wings.

My idea for victoria's changer form would be human-esque, but not quite so much Just A Normal Guy With Wings like the pictures. My idea is that she'd more be stained glass taking the appearance of an angel. Still able to speak and move normally, and it would be very finely detailed stained glass, but very distinctly she's not made out of meat.

So basically, visually, my idea is a mix of these two images. The form and ridiculously large wings of the second, but a kim kitsuragi Big Circle Behind Head style halo and big red shield of the first. No sword.

I like the idea of her shield working almost identically to her canon forcefield, but directed. So, it basically stops any attack but immediately pops out of existence afterward. She also has a second forcefield which is completely invisible and about an inch above her skin that acts like a video game energy shield. It has, say, 100 hit points, and it can take 99 damage and recharge to 100 hit points in like 10 seconds, but if it takes 100 damage it completely shatters and regrows which takes way longer, like, 30 seconds or something. The forcefield is completely invisible but her halo is a visual indicator of how well it's working. If her halo has a bunch of cracks, her at like 10%, and if her halo shatters like glass, the forcefield is also broken. Oh and also the shield disappears. So like she can never have the shield if the halo isn't there.

One thing I really like is the idea that her entire angel form looks kind of immaterial, but her shield and halo are extra immaterial. If we take the stained glass idea, then the shield and halo are still-see-through tinted glass.

I also like the idea of her being able to fly but it very clearly not being because she has wings. Like, she just kind of floats. And she can't fly if the halo shatters. Basically, like all her abilities depend on the halo being there.

Meanwhile, Amy is a Thrones angel. Those are the Biblically Accurate Angels that everybody goes hog wild for. Here's a picture of one:

So these are both angels, but a thrones angel is the creepy one that looks monstrous and the potestates one looks like A Guy With Wings. Now, most depictions of thrones angels have the wheel thingies absolutely covered in eyes, but this one doesn't.

I like the idea of amy's form being similar to this, but way more stuff going on. Way more wings, which seem to sprout nonsensically from every gap in the wheel thingies, and hands, arms, and tendrils which also appear nonsensically, either from gaps in the wheel thingies or off the wings They also just sort of float near her person, seeming like they sprouted from something. The halos are actual physical objects, being, like, wrapped around the wings and arms.

Basically, the second you see amy's changer form (and you're not like "what the fuck is this") you immediately wonder how everything doesn't get horribly tangled.

For her abilities in this form, amy of course has a very passive ability that she just sort of. has dozens of arms and tendrils and stuff which are very long and sprout from anything, even appearing from nowhere and just kind of floating around. She can spawn or delete them at will, but there's a minimum amount of, like, 14 or something. Otherwise, she's got an extremely similar forcefield to canon victoria, but it takes more to pop and regenerates quicker. Each spawned arm is either part of the one forcefield, or has its own individual forcefield, if it's free floating. They still have to be in a pretty short radius though

the idea is that victoria is really strong against one target but weak against groups, but amy is strong against groups but weak against one target.

One idea i thought was kind of neat is that the longer victoria stays in her changer form, the more arms and wings she seems to grow, meaning that she has to either revert to human or swap to amy to stop it. Sort of a gradual change.

Oh, and each sister has a different thinker ability when they're not in control. So, like, when victoria's fronting, amy can see 360 around her and when amy's fronting victoria has a combat thinker power of some kind. I dunno i'd have to workshop it.

Whereas the vera brothers' powers incentivize swapping out often and quickly, but swapping out being hard, the dallon sisters' powers are the opposite, incentivizing staying as one sister but swapping out being really easy.

I don't really know why angel popped out at me, the dallons are only catholic coded. Angel themed capes is also a really tough market since, you know. The Simurgh.

As a composite cape, I do like the idea of them being named something like Seraph to lean into it. Which you'll note neither of them are based on an Seraph at all and it doesn't actually make sense. But branding calls.

[tennessoui]

This. THIS.

I'm not even kidding when I say it stuck with me for the rest of the day. I was too stunned to speak.

It turned my world upside down because yes, why didn't I ever think about that ?? About the implications, about the level of intimacy and trust it entails.

This is why the bond they have is so deeply special and unique and incomprehensible to other people's eyes.

Anakin willingly gave Obi-Wan the only thing he ever craved for. I'm not well.

omg thank you so much!! unironically this was a very fun game for me of trying to remember which fic this was from, based on it being set in canon and about trust/intimacy and felt like it was from anakin's pov

(it's a more perfect union, my third guess after toss overboard and time&tide)

genuinely tho, i do find this element in obikin to be very interesting especially in fics - i don't tend to enjoy fanon/fics where their entire relationship or any big misunderstandings hinges upon anakin's past as a slave (or when his entire characterization does), but i really appreciate there being an element of that in their first understandings of each other. of anakin, slave, and obi-wan, master even if it is absolutely a different master with different connotations and different meanings. since it's the same word in the movies i watched, i like the idea of the two of them sort of sizing each other up like two wary alleycats for a few weeks/months as they both separately try to get used to what their lives have become

and then that becomes trust which is much more the actual basis of their relationship as master&padawan imo

[cinerins]

Jaster Mereel—born as a nobody on some farm world in the Mandalore Sector. An ex-cop; banished from his home planet for killing his superior, and so became a Mandalorian mercenary instead.

So committed to his morals and own ethical code, they drove him to murder a fellow (albeit corrupt) officer, yet also compelled him to blow his cover and risk saving a defenseless kid. He valued justice and honor enough to keep his Journeyman Protector sigil despite everything, even putting it on his ship.

He was intellectual and well-read enough to write a semi-philosophical rulebook for how he believed mercenaries should act and conduct their work, based on historical accounts and reformed traditions. Apparently it's so good, several of his peers adopted it as an ideological movement and dubbed him their leader.

It also made some radical traditionalist mad enough to leave the party and start the equivalent of a revenge quest gang war that would end up killing both.

He's a well-respected and skilled commander—pragmatic, yet ruthless when need be—but didn't really care much for what others thought of him, so long as they listened. Jaster was blunt and openly judgemental; he freely spoke his mind, sometimes lacking the foresight to realize when it was about to come back and bite him.

He was kind of short, often acted like an old man, and entrusted a recently traumatized kid with a bomb and gun during an ambush. He got intense vertigo from an injury and couldn't use jetpacks, relying on others to give him a lift, and it's what killed him.

He became a legend to some, mostly long after he died. The kid he took in and shaped into a soldier became so obsessed with his legacy, he impersonated him often enough for people to begin doubting his death. He's the primary reason Jango decided to raise a son.

Most of anything known about him stems from biased recounts, brief mentions, and the impressions left in others. There's no way to say how much of it is true or accurate, but in the end, he was still just a man trying to do what he believed was right.

That's how I see him.

[aeliem]

DTIYS results!!!

for #senseless400dtiys

3rd place!

@peach-flavored-cyanide i really like this one, it's simple yet not overly neat, the texture is vry nice and its not too overwhelming despite it (also N's eye is so freaky so cool)

2nd place!!

@azirakor i really like how the focus is on nightmare for this one, killer's pretty much just an object you can see tentacles going through his eyes and the way nightmare looks at him fdrnskjglhfruifojsd very nice

1st place!!! 🎉🎉🎉

@somehhuuuhh your stuff is amazing!!!! again i really love the colors you used here they're so bright and vibrant, it makes nightmare look so shiny, and nightmare's expression is just so delightful like he's so happy with himself i really love it!!!

honorable mentions!

@error7227 & @gatorshighfive

thank you so much to everyone who participated!! (my first dtiys wowie so many ppl)

i'll send everyone a message for the prizes. if you dont get a message/if i don't reply to you for a while feel free to ask me again! sometimes i just forgor

[darkwehl]

Bayley - How To Be A Dog by Andrew Kane

[safyresky]

It's amazing what weird details I remember writing about, not to mention the exuberant feeling when I locate said detail. Anyway, praise be to the writing gods for ao3 and the "view whole story" feature, which ONCE AGAIN proves to be my most trusty aide in this age old quest

[samijey]

Iyo Sky (Smackdown 05/01/2024)

[rhunsui]

(from yesterdays post)

These three mean nothing to me but i put so much care and detail to them for no reason

like... so much care and thought was put into these three that theres half a page dedicated to notes of their details (and incase i forget how their clothing is like)

(pssssttt.... K is yellow, F is orange and T is blue)

You can see there are a few minor details, but theres actually more that i dont have to note down (or haven't yet)

[celestialpoems]

So many hands have adjusted me to their liking and yet I am still imperfect.

Perhaps I may be more damaged now.

[luvlinkd]

✿  I slide you raf as a treat !

bold for things i could definitely see or want, italics for things i could see or am unsure of and striked out for things i don’t want or cannot see.

FRIENDSHIP.     childhood friends  /  work buddies or coworkers  /  family friends  /  friends with benefits  /  smoking buddies  /  adventure buddies  /  fake friends  /  recently friends  /  party buddies  /  friendship of need  /  dying friendship  /  circumstantial friendship  /  partners in crime  /  old friendship  /  [ your muse ] is the good influence  /  [ your muse ] is the bad influence  /  [ my muse ] is the good influence  /  [ my muse ] is the bad influence  /  opposites attract  /  ride or die  /  frenemies  /  roommates or flatmates  /  penpals  /  exes to friends  /  enemies to friends  /  other - "it feels like i've known you all my life" friendship where they click with each other immediately

ROMANCE.     childhood sweethearts  /  [ your muse is mines ] childhood crush  /  [ my muse is yours ] childhood crush  /  exes  /  exes to lovers  /  forbidden lovers  /  highschool sweethearts  /  secret relationship  /  opposites attract  /  long distance  /  unrequited [ from your muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from my muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from both sides ]  /  skinny love  /  friends to lovers  /  enemies to lovers  /  spurious relationship  /  power couple  /  newly entered  /  soulmates [ metaphorical ]  /  soulmates  [ literal ]  /  awkward  /  turning toxic  /  toxic love  /  cheating [ on your muse ]  /  cheating [ with your muse ]  /  other  - "it feels like i've known you all my life" (i wonder why)

FAMILIAL.     siblings [ half ]  /  siblings [ step ]  /  [ my muse ] is an older sibling figure to your younger sibling figure  /  [ my muse ] is a younger sibling figure to your older sibling figure muse  /  [ my muse ] is a parental figure to yours  /  [ my muse ] is a child figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal guardian  /  adoptive child  /  foster child  /  [ your muse ] is taken under mines wing  /  [ my muse ] is taken under yours wing  /  other

ANTAGONISTIC.     dangerous to each other  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into sexual or romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of off circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based off misunderstanding or lies  /  conflict of ideology  /  betrayal  /  hero - villain dynamic  /  enemies  /  fight club  /  friends turned enemies  /  lovers turned enemies  /  exes turned enemies  /  other 

pre-established relationships.

[cinerins]

Genuine question: How does the Stargate actually work, logistically.

Forget the wormhole-science for a moment—how do you know if an already active wormhole is incoming or outgoing? What happens if you try to step through an incoming wormhole? What if you try to enter the "back" side of it? Is it really one-way only and if so... why? How can you tell without potentially killing yourself?

I think I remember instances where, apparently, you would only rematerialize on the other side once "all" of you passed the event horizon... so what happens if you're attached to a rope? Would you only show up once the first gate is shut off? Would you be lost?

I know there's some inconsistencies throughout the series, so I'm curious how it's generally rationalized (in the overall canon or just among fans).

[cherryswisherz]

everytime i hear the ctrl album i want to scream at sza for thinking she knows me (she definitely does and we share a mind)

[qwuilty]

Is it somewhat sacrilegious (/j) to draw a man who had a very complex relationship and moral dilemma over technology as a robot? Maybe. But he looks so silly and fun that way and i love him and think he can get to be computer too.

Bonus attempts at Ethan and Lucas because they don't get the favorite boy treatment

[homoxoming]

there is no feeling like screaming supermodel by sza in the car