#elements of chaos

[forever-eternal]

Hello, I’m making My Little Ponies. Have pictures of the first three:

[gladosluver]

they should set their differences aside and work together. imagine the horrors they could create

[chaosgenasi]

We came to a young world. We came to a world of raw, elemental wonder. Of chaos and exultant passion. Of energy vaster, and more potent than anything we beheld in the cosmos... It doesn’t seem like it’s random or chaos. It just seemed like potential.

[dontlookforme00]

fool

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Based on a real group chat convo (I was Jingyi)

[tourneys-by-me]

Round Two - Aquamancy (water) 7/8

Propaganda under the cut (beware of potential spoilers!!)

Hahli:

hahli my beloved. light of my life. she starts out as a normal, powerless water elemental biomechanical entity on a tropical island before going on a quest to become the Best Sportsball Player and also helping to save the island from evil roombas and eels that pilot mech suits. then she goes back to the post-apocalyptic city that she and all the inhabitants of her island forgot, for a while, before heading out on a dangerous journey with a bunch of her friends to help save god and also the six actually-elementally-powered warriors. after a brief sojurn through hell, she and her friends get struck by lightning, turn into actually-elementally-powered warriors, wash up on the beach of an island where ex-mafia thugs have enslaved the population, save said population, save the actually-elementally-powered warriors that they went after in the first place, and almost obtain god's defibrilator before it falls into the ocean and that's where she really begins to shine. from mild-mannered historian lacrosse champion to Hahli the Barbarian. she bluffs. she fights dirty. she gets mutated into the most badass fish warrior ever. she gets FINS that look like WINGS and GILLS that look like BREATHING TUBES. she can summon the powers of the creatures around her, and, seeing as those creatures are fish, and she, as a previous Powerless Water Elemental Village Literally Built On Water Swimming Champion, knows what fish, generally, can do, she becomes an absolute powerhouse. unstoppable creature of the depths. beautiful colour scheme. she used to have a moustache

Chaos:

No propaganda :(

[umbra-borealis]

A peek at Tikal's AU design. SA1's events are the same 'cept she's not a child. She was outnumbered but not weak. In fact I think Knuckles inherited his own strength from her in this timeline so please picture at least a few soldiers slapped around.

I also like the thought that the bright red fur is a trait that started with her. I know her dad was brown, but most of the other echidnas were shades of pink (which I'm gonna go absolutely feral with in the future) Oh yeah Knuckles is a direct descendant in this, I know it's not canon, that's why it's an AU :U

Her whole body is sketched out already but my hand started to hurt so I slapped in a color palette that felt warm and regal and called it a day for now.

[susielesbianism]

… anyway

[ID: A cropped screenshot of Deltarune’s battle UI, showing Susie’s MAGIC menu. The options shown are S-Action and Rude Buster, the latter of which has been edited to be underlined in deep blue. End ID]

[ID: A cropped screenshot of Deltarune showing only a textbox. In it, Susie’s dialogue portrait appears excited as she says, “Blood Crushers 3? Hell Busters? Invasion of the Cat Petters?” “Hell Busters” is underlined in deep blue. End ID]

[ID: A cropped screenshot of the final Asriel battle in Undertale, showing only the flavor text. It reads: “Asriel readies ‘CHAOS BUSTER.’” “CHAOS BUSTER” is underlined in deep blue. End ID]

yeah

[liquidstar]

I think ishigami/miko were really good conceptually as a couple, they're really interesting foils with their approaches to justice, and the most compelling part of their dynamic is that these convictions constantly lead them to help each other out behind their backs. A rigid sense of morality and justice is the center of Miko's character, and this means she always does what the Right thing to do is- including standing up for someone she thinks is a pain in the ass. On the flip side, Ishigami doesn't care about rules or whatever but he cares a lot about people, and can't stand to see someone being treated unfairly and thinks this should be corrected. But both of them agree, maybe out of pride, that they don't need to be rewarded for their help, so they don't really say anything. Instead they just keep helping each other out, whether it's Ishigami protecting Miko from bullies, Miko protecting Ishigami from within the public morals committee, Ishigami convincing Miyuki to help Miko during the election (Albeit in a different way than he thought), or Miko convincing teachers not to hold him back during his suspension. All that stuff.

But since they don't KNOW about the stuff the other person has been doing for them, they also feel resentment because of their attitudes seeming so laissez faire, which is the real source of most of their bickering. Like, "ohh after all the shit that I've done for this motherfucker they're seriously going to be a pain in the ass again today I'm going to KILL them. But yes I'll also keep helping forever obviously." And ultimately this fits really well with the themes of Kaguya-Sama as a whole, being about open and honest communication. And how, just like Kaguya and Miyuki, all their relationship issues really stem from just Not Talking To Each Other without masks on.

It's a REALLY good set-up and I think it's executed fairly well too, but I also think that after a certain point it becomes over-developed with drama on Miko's end since she realizes her crush way before him. But somewhat under-developed on Ishigami's end due to the ending getting rushed (which ik is out of the story's control), because he went from being in love with Tsubame to Miko a bit too quick and it didn't get to feel as natural.

So I kinda understand the manga ending on the note of "Now they're going to go through their version of Kaguya and Miyuki's love story." I do. But it also feels like wasted potential that we didn't see the actual ending of their arcs and I wish the story didn't just get rushed like that. SAD!

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Groundbreaker

The earth's memory is long, its retribution brief.

Artist: Matt Cavotta TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[chaotical-xe]

THE MOONBEAST SAGA: What Else

(cn: this scene is one of my favorites in all of Alter Chaos and was one I poured every bit of my passion for this series into, I hope you enjoy)

this chapter takes place following "Wait..."

OFF PANEL: He sneezes like a kitten...

(chapters are not released in the order they were created)

[hiitsuninjago]

It’s been a while hasn’t it? I’ve been planning a lot with my ninjago au story and I think I should start posting it here!

In my story, we have ninja ancestors! (Also known as the elemental ancestors). They’re meant to resemble Lloyd and his friends except they actually aren’t them, I’ll explain them later 👀

[shad-fanatic]

Ivory Silver

my 3 spiky boys are back together!!1!!1! :D

[painted-fanbird]

Jasmine had an ice core.

That fact took Vlad by surprise, by way of an ice encased foot trying very very hard to to connect with and break his ribs. He barely managed to twist away in time, firing a blast of ectoplasmic energy at Jasmine as he turned.

An ice core? Really? It didn’t suit her. They were for the serene and the graceful, people with personalities comparable to freshly fallen snow or frozen lake vistas. The quiet, the cold, the easily crushed.

Jasmine was many things, but serene was not one of them. Not by a long shot. She was clever, determined, ambitious. She could be described as controlled, but only when she was human. As Phantom that control slipped to reveal a… truly spirited young woman. Her personality was far more suited to an electric core, or perhaps, fire. Like his own.

That would be the single disadvantage to said lovely fire core, Vlad mused distantly as he teleported away from Jasmine, reappearing just in time to hear the tail end of her frustrated scream. He matched up much too well against ice. He wished Jasmine could have been on more equal footing against him.

~~~

As Vlad stared down at Jasmine during their next scuffle a few days later, he was keenly aware of the fact that his… concerns about Jasmine’s core had perhaps been a bit presumptuous.

She was picking herself up out of the small crater Vlad’s fiery blast had left her in, frost collecting under her palms and feet as she hauled herself upright. Vlad opened his mouth to say something snappy, only to pause as the air grew cold. The frost had spread from Jasmine’s feet, coating the entire crater in a softly glowing blanket and creeping across the ground outside of it. The wind picked up, ice and snow solidifying in a swirl, with Jasmine at its center.

A blizzard.

It was in that moment Vlad realized an ice code suited Jasmine perfectly. It was no calm and gentle thing, Jasmine had an ice core like an avalanche. A tumbling, churning wall of ice on a warpath, a raging force of nature that would not, and could not, be stopped, especially not by something as insignificant as fire.

Vlad smiled as Jasmine shot towards him. This would work out well, actually.

[craqueluring]

lets talk about will's journey through hannibals mind palace in s3a, the myth of theseus, the minotaur, ariadne’s thread, labyrinths, and mazes (there is a tldr at the end of this! and this gets better & more cohesive towards the end i promise lol esp after the uffizi gallery screenshot)

background on theseus: theseus sailed to crete intending to defeat the minotaur, a beast housed by the labyrinth constructed by daedalus. it was constructed so well, daedalus himself could not navigate it. ariadne was the daughter of king minos, who ordered the entrapment of the minotaur. she fell in love with theseus, and,betraying her father and her country, she gave theseus a thread to tie one end at the entrance of the labyrinth, and carry the rest with him, so he could find his way back out. theseus succeeded in killing the minotaur and returned safely.

will graham sails to italy as theseus sailed to crete, and enters the labyrinth of hannibal lecter's mind palace at the norman chapel in palermo, italy. the imagery of the many consecutive doorways and disorienting paths in the catacombs under the chapel is notably labyrinthine, and is actually what made me think of this connection in the first place.

*note the consecutive doorways/arches. this parallels the shot of will and hannibal in front of la primavera. in that shot, there are also many doorways behind them.

hannibal is simultaneously

daedalus, the maker of the labyrinth,

the minotaur, the beast at the center, and,

partly, ariadne, the one who betrays her father and her country, falls in love with theseus and allows him to navigate the labyrinth (i.e. the heart in the norman chapel is what confirms to will that he is going in the right direction). just as ariadne's love of theseus was a betrayal of her country and her father, hannibal's love of will is a betrayal of himself.

perhaps hannibal as daedalus-minotaur-ariadne represents the many contradictory parts of hannibal: the person suit containing the monster (daedalus), the monster (minotaur), and lover (ariadne).

but ariadne, the symbol of love, could also be more accurately represented by both will and hannibal: their connection, and its portrayal through will's hallucinations:

the ravenstag which leads will on the train tracks after chiyoh pushes him off

the blood puddle under the doors to the norman chapel catacombs

the fireflies that lead him to mischa's grave

& more

this thread of connection that leads will through the labyrinth of hannibal's mind is universally present throughout season 3a. it is not the physical actions of a lover that lead will through the labyrinth like ariadne did for theseus, but instead the undertanding derived from love of the labyrinth-maker himself which allows will to navigate the labyrinth. 

if the entrance ("foyer") to hannibal's labyrinthine mind palace is the norman chapel, the center is his home in lithuania, as will's imagined hannibal says while he is in the lithuanian forest in secondo 3x03:

"is this where construction began?" "on my memory palace? its door at the center of my mind. and here you are, feeling for the latch."

perhaps the center of hannibal's memory palace is actually hannibal's home and what happened there. "mazes intended to be more or less impenetrable have a center containing something so valuable or so shameful as to warrant protection" (x pg. 91) — hannibal's labyrinthine mind palace was constructed outward to protect something at his origin, at the center of his mind: mischa.

will's last stop in hannibal's labyrinth, and perhaps the exit, is where he finds hannibal in front of la primavera, once again in italy. the long hall of consecutive doorways in the center of the screen, which mirrors the doorways in the catacombs during will's 'entrance' into hannibal's mind palace, gives a sense of some long journey coming to an end. he tells hannibal "i wanted to understand you before i laid eyes on you again. i needed it to be clear what i was seeing," plainly stating his reason for his journey through the labyrinth — understanding. 

*note the consecutive doorways in the center, which parallel the arches in the aforementioned shot of will entering the catacombs in secondo

as explained by penelope reed doob, the purpose of a labyrinth can be to…

"…to entrap or enlighten errant mazewalkers, denying or controlling access to a center that may contain good or evil, and leaving the maze-walker with higher knowledge or in chaotic limbo" (x pg. 64)

certainly, will's journey through hannibal's labyrinth was, as doob calls it, "the labyrinth as a sign of difficult progress." as a plot device, will's journey through europe, hannibal's labyrinth, the mind palace, was a path designed to lead to will gaining higher knowledge, and the "transcendence of labyrinthine confusion" (x pg. 91) 

right?

but, even after will's journey, we as the audience, will as a character, and even hannibal himself, remain confused, turned around, and unable to see any end in sight, especially after both of their failed attempts at separation.

we are still in the labyrinth. 

"labyrinths, like life, involve chaos and order, destiny and free choice, terror and triumph — all held in balance, all perspective-dependent" (x pg. 252)

church labyrinths as a metaphor for life in particular emphasize a unicursal design, or there being only one true path — that of christ, who can act as a guide for humanity "to discover that the mythically multicursal and unstable labyrinth — of life, of the world, of hell — is in fact unicursal, stable, and extricable" (x pg. 133)

instead of this, nbc's hannibal purposefully emphasizes the multicursal and inextricable nature of life and the world through the use of a seemingly chaotic, and sometimes absurd, plot. there are so, so, so many paths will can (and does) follow in the labyrinth/maze of his life. but none are emphasized as the correct one. because that does not exist. everything becomes a matter of perspective, and even looking at the maze from the outside, one becomes disoriented.

thus, this gives even the viewer a sense that they are wandering through the labyrinth with will.

"The only pattern we are shown is the pattern of the labyrinth...all progress is illusory: we may think we are getting somewhere new, but really we are retreading old patterns, circling and turning and retracing our steps until suddenly we exit right where we entered, with an echoing line or repeated pattern, and not once only but time and again" (x pg. 336)

just as doob says of chaucer's the house of fame, nbc's hannibal as a whole "reconstructs, rather than transcends, the complexity of the many labyrinths in which we live and write — labyrinths we cannot, and perhaps do not even wish to, escape" (x pg 339)

the plot of hannibal has been criticized for being too absurd or chaotic, but the absurdity is the show's essence. it is a tool of emphasis to remind us of the fact that hannibal, will, bedelia, jack, abigail, alana, margot, are — everyone is — making their way through the inferno, wandering through the labyrinth, unable to see the forest for the trees, just as we are. 

"there is no overview of the labyrinth, at least not in this life, and nothing is clear but the uncertainties of the ambiguous maze above whose constraints we cannot rise. believing all this, some men might despair, but…if these be labyrinths, they are enchanting ones, as full of delight as of frustration…nightmarish as it may be, is colorful, energetic, chock-full of magnificent diversity, far more beguiling than cosmic spheres. it cries out for the shaping mind and voice of the poet to give order and perspective where none exists. if that shaping is no more reliable than its material, so be it: perhaps a well-wrought poem in such a world is all the more admirable, and much more fun. the confusions and errors of the maze may be as attractive as the transcendent view. and if truth is always deferred, redefined by another twist, a fresh perspective, a different viewer, so what?" (x pg. 337)

tldr: will's journey through europe, exploring hannibal's memory palace is comparable to theseus' exploration of the labyrinth in search of the minotaur. hannibal is simultaneously daedalus (the labyrinth's creator), his person suit, the minotaur, his monster, and ariadne, a lover who allows theseus to not get lost in the labyrinth. the ravenstag and hannibal and will's psychological connection and deep understanding of e/o could also be compared to ariadne's thread. the center of a labyrinth is commonly something that is protected; hannibal says his home is at the center of his mind — hannibal's mind palace protects mischa at the center. even when will leaves the labyrinth and finds hannibal, there is not much higher knowledge gained from the journey, as would be expected. that is because we are still in the labyrinth, such is life. the absurdity and chaos of the hannibal plot, the repeating themes, plotlines, and endless parallels exacerbate this point, and emphasizes the inextricability of life, and the fact that there is no one correct path in the winding maze of life.

[oh-i-got-dibs]

Since I've had too much spare time to think about cr3 and I desperately miss Imogen and Laudna, I had a one shot/fanfic idea. Campaign is over, things are getting back to normal-ish times. Then a message from Prism. There's a lead on separating Laudna from Delilah. Fearne, Imogen, and Laudna were having a little spa day but immediately leave to meet up with Prism, who is accompanied by Deanna and Deni$e (or Opal idk they could figure it out). The journey takes them to the Shadow realm or something but anyway it's a ladies team up kicking ass, helping Laudna, celebrating new beginnings etc. I just think they should all be able to interact more and I don't think Prism or Deanna would stop looking to help Laudna and Imogen. Also I think the ladies deserve to have a one shot together.