#I hope that made any sense lol

[lilwoofs]

I know it’s been a while but the more I think about it the more I think nothing from the flashbacks in dark beginnings were actually real. Of course there’s the big ones; in the journal it said that ark workers were the ones that calmed emerl down, not shadow (also Maria seems surprised about shadow fighting in shadow generations, but in dark beginnings she asks him to defend them) , and shadow didn’t seem to know he was black arms until shadow the hedgehog 2005 (and even in this shadow generations Gerald revealed to shadow and Maria that he made the deal with black doom and Maria seems surprised, that lines up with shadow being surprised in SH 2005, (and also Abe seems to act like it was a secret that he happened to see as a child)) so it just doesn’t make sense for Maria and shadow to have had that conversation. Not to mention so many other things are glitching and out of order

It seems like shadows current memories are the ones spilling onto old ones, Maria never confronted him about being black arms (because she most likely never knew) but shadow does know now and maybe that’s seeing a what if. He knows of emerl, and now he’s so used to fighting it’s kinda like a dream, where everything that he knows is getting mixed up.

In sonic adventure 2 we see a flash back (and even though shadows memories aren’t the best in this game, it’s so soon after it would’ve happened for him that I think it’s safe to say we could trust it) that showed shadow expressing that he wants to go to the earth, even saying something like ‘maybe if I go there I’ll find out what my purpose is’

So it makes sense that shadow, having know been to earth and it not doing much, would be concerned about not being about to fit in on earth, and the beginning part shows that, instead of him saying he wants to go down there he’s expressing doubts about being able to fit in, it’s similar to what happened, but also contradicting, which is why I think it didn’t exactly happened as they showed it.

(That could also mean the very start with Maria running wasn’t just done to be mean, but could’ve been done because that’s a strong memory’s of present that shadow has, again leaking into this ‘flashback’)

[sensorydephrivation]

That “compare hand sizes” question from the preshow… we say that dnp are testing boundaries with their audience but never has there been a more direct and obvious example than that moment. Dan asks the audience why they screamed for it, he proposes several ideas (that it represents dick size, that it’s a fetish thing, something about furries), gets the answers “it’s cute” and “flirty”, and then ends up doing it anyway despite not having a better answer than it being a “they touched” moment. What a clear example of trying to find out what kind of freaks (not negative lol) we are and then deciding they don’t care what we think, yet doing the thing anyway.

[ink-the-artist]

holy shit I did NOT realize how popular my "I will remove my teeth, for I want to remain kind despite my anger" quote is. I just googled it for fun to see what would come up, a bunch of people are quoting it not knowing who its from, an artist called Kuma made an album titled that, so bizzare

[puppyeared]

personal character design headcanons + brainrot

Note: the re-bound!au does NOT belong to me, it belongs to @chipper-smol I’m just not normal about it lol

[cherrieguroo]

the hunt — the desolation

[dootznbootz]

Do y'all ever think about how it's possible that Zeus' first verse in Thunder Bringer is about Penelope and his second is about Odysseus?

She's a "Damsel in Distress" (She's cool af, she just needs some help and misses her idiot), the suitors are prideful and hope to do what Zeus is singing about to her. Pressuring her to choose. Her "true nature" is revealed when her trickery with the shroud is found out .

The 2nd Verse about how Zeus is also the God of Justice and punishing them for the crew's crime of slaying the cattle. Odysseus saves himself to see Penelope again, meaning his crew/people will die. They died for touching Helios' cattle. Odysseus also saves himself AND Helps Penelope by killing all the suitors for their crime of flirting with/bothering Penelope and making her cry, while also bullying and eventually planning to kill his son. Many of Ithaca's men are killed for their pride too. Thinking that they're worthy of Penelope when Nobody is. Flirt with the Wife, you get the knife.

Penelope and Odysseus DO take each others' suffering away when they reunite as well. 🥹

[midnightmah07]

Sketches of design ideas for Daisy's new dorm uniform<33

I'm having a complicated time choosing which one I like best so i'm open to hearing other people's opinions! Also none of these are official I'll have to digitalize a version of this to be official!

(details for my inspo and thought process under the cut!)

Bc Daisy is from the 50s I decided I wanted to use the dresses as inspo! You can see how most of the dresses have like really puffy skirts so I'm using that as a basis... Also I really love that one jacket, but it's just so hard to draw, so I might ignore it 😔 oh and the gloves!! I really like the gloves!! They give a nice touch<3

Daisy is twisted from Cinderella, so I'm also taking inspiration from the way Cinderella's dress is shaped (which, not a surprise since the movie came out in the 50s, is very close to the shape I already had in mind!), I'm also using my own old design as reference to keep the black details underneath the skirt, the bow and the glass slippers which I really like!

Since Daisy is from Ramshackle I'm trying to hint at it with her clothes, I'm trying to see if instead of that saturated dark blue I might try to color it in a similar way to the ghosts' scarves, and I always will make sure to add a bow, because Daisy's supposed to be matching Grim! But overall I'm focusing more on the 50s theme and Cinderella theme than Ramshackle😔🙏🏻

[beldaroot]

murai yakumo: using guilt to grieve

i find it so interesting how inukai-sensei implied that yakumo treating survivor's guilt like a luxury and using his classic big canvases weren't a proper way in handling the theme of guilt.

because in the later chapters we learn that yakumo himself has survivor's guilt over sanada's death. and while he claims sanada's death was "likely an accident" he probably feels like he had a hand in it since he didn't go shopping with her that night because he was annoyed at how effortlessly good she was at art so he wanted to paint instead. he's had to live with the guilt of surviving as well as the guilt of possibly being able to have prevented her death plus the guilt of resenting her for her artistic talent. that's why he always refers to sanada being "killed" as if he played a role in killing her.

but then momo says that sanada wasn't killed. sure, there are multiple "what-ifs" that could be said like "what if that man didn't call out to sanada and shock her into falling in the sea?" or "what if yakumo did go shopping with sanada that night?" or "what if the ledge wasn't so icy and the water so cold?" or "what if sanada wasn't so curious?" - but it's all a guessing game because the reality of it is that in the end, sanada still ended up dead and they all have to live with that. i think momo is reflecting inukai-sensei's previous argument against yakumo that guilt isn't something fortunate. that's why she calls yakumo a "brat" about sanada's death because he's treating it like some luxury of being alive instead of properly coping.

it's been three years since sanada's death but yakumo is still in the denial stage of grief. he's been in arguments with hacchan about how he moved on too fast after sanada's death and he hasn't even talked with momo about it at all. he's likely just scared that those feelings of guilt that he had when she died are slowly fading. yakumo knows that he's childish and he has been trying to grow-up and move on, but i like that he also uses his naiveté as a source of inspiration and drive to complete his art of japan piece. through his art, i think he can finally say his goodbye to sanada. and i'm curious if this piece will allow him to let go of notion that survivor's guilt is something luxurious.

[sea-buns]

Forgive me if I'm a bit nervous about Gorgug this season. It's just that the last Zac Oyama pc was Colin Provolone, who was arguably one of his greatest D20 performances, if not the greatest.

Zac always does great with every pc he plays, but Colin was something else. He came out swinging with actions and words that were teeming with unspoken emotional baggage. The way Colin's presence affected the other pcs; there was this level of depth that I don't think I've seen in any of his other characters. It was understated and quiet in that signature "just a guy" way that he tends to be, while still captivating everyone instantly with just how raw it was.

Not to say we haven't seen emotional depth in Gorgug. It's just that, compared to the other Bad Kids, Gorgug's journey and progression as a character has been very... impersonal? Like, yes, he found his birth parents, and he found friends who appreciate him, and he faced his insecurities about his intelligence, and he navigated relationship troubles, and his trial through the claustrophobic bug-tunnels was a horrifically-uncanny parallel to how he's spent his entire life trying to make himself as small as possible.

But how much of that has actually changed him from the Gorgug we started with? I would agree that he's definitely happier with his life, given all the loving and supportive people that have been added to it when it used to be just him and his parents. And he's certainly grown into himself and become more self-assured in his abilities, even if he's still, and always will be, our anxious little guy. And there's nothing wrong with that. I've always liked how Gorgug was a representation of all the little things. The subtle acts and kindnesses that don't seem like much to most, but to some are everything.

We don't need another Bad Kid living in fear that their mouth could be shit-in at any moment. We've already got one-too-many.

All that being said, I just feel like Gorgug's personal story beats are much easier to sweep under the rug than everyone else's. He has the same soft and understated quality that Colin held, but they lack that extra oomph that pushed Colin over the edge from being just another guy in a series of dudes, to a character that the vast majority of us could not get out of our heads. He took someone who was anxious and softspoken, who ultimately never wanted to be violent— someone who is remarkably similar to Gorgug in many ways— and maintained that demeanor and core in Colin's character while still hitting us in the feels with character development at max velocity at every turn.

I think Zac gets better and better at this with every season that goes by. With each new character, there is always something that leaves me stunned in awe. And it's been, what, three? Four years since we last saw Gorgug?

I'm just,,, I'm cautiously optimistic but also going into a bit of a worry about what violence this man may inflict upon us

[synthshenanigans]

I'm curious as to peoples idea for what he'd do for the next power hour so

[These all being popular ideas or ppl he's mentioned]

This was all just a ploy to get you to read my info dump theory on the concept of a Chonny Jash Power Hour loser HAHAHA

Im joking tho. Not about my CJPH theory, that is very much real but I'm not forcing you to read it lol

However if you're curious, my inane rambles are further down :}

[Long Rant Post Below]

Okay so I'm gonna start with the basic idea I got it from; that being Nerd. Nerd already foreshadowed the THDPH & the WWPH [Even down to the last song for each of them] Not only that, but he references the stuff hes done in the past as well with a break/pause inbetween.

[This is what I mean]

The first three being all stuff he already did. BDG with Pocket, Tally Hall with Vol.1 & then Cage by Tim Minchin being the start the power hours.

The next two being the power hours he would do after this song [Memento Mori & Charlie's Inferno-Will Wood & That Handsome Devil]. But those are the only songs he would reference in Nerd, leaving no more clues as to what the last one would be. The only thing left in it is the video game references & Stairway to Heaven in the ending. [Which oddly enough also fit the pattern in a way. StH being about dying and the afterlife like Memento Mori & Chonny's Inferno and the video game references being all covers he made on his old channel]

While the VG refs could be a hint at a Videogame or Toby Fox Power Hour, I think at most, if its a clue at all, hinting at the next thing he does is recovering old songs.

----

Next, a couple of his songs reference his past stuff. Fine, I'm Fine has a good amount of lines that vaguely refer back to songs from the before [heres a post that goes more into it that's pretty cool!!]. And more importantly Dear Machine references Pocket, Dream (Outro from Calamity) & wings of wax. Pocket being later used in Nerd & the mention of Icarus coming back in Art. Not only that, but the voice in the very end Thermodynamic Lawyer is the exact same [if not very close to] voice filter/effect he uses in Dear Machine. Even down to the British accent he does in it. [Tho it is fairly normal for a music artist to reference their older songs in their music so it could be nothing]

Speaking of Dear Machine tho, quick thing to add about it is that it shows he not against covering his own songs. While yea technically its just a different version of Ode of the Cog, DM,HtC in a way counts as a cover of OotC. Same goes for bargaining/compromise & The Ballad of Dr. Jekyll.

----

Another idea with a CJPH is that in the CJFS discord theres a "Question of the Day" Channel. Where, as the name says, a Mod or Helper will ask a CJ related question & everyone can give their idea/imput on it. For Day 100, as a special fun lil thing, they asked Chonny if he wanted to give a question for that day. His question being:

And yes he does say that he doesnt plan on doing anything like that in future [if he even were to do it]. I fully believe he wasn't lying there & honestly I never saw him redoing any song ever until I had the idea of a CJPH [aside from stuff like Spring and a Storm & Storm and a Spring obviously]. But this is the best idea I could ever see him doing that. Also that question was from early August so a fair amount of time has passed. Whether thats enough time to equal "at least in the near future at all" I have no clue, but it is a thought.

----

One of my last points [that I remember atm lol] is on how he would end the power hours. Cos like, while yea he does whatever he wants & doesn't rlly follow what anyone says or asks [which I 100% agree with & is completely valid btw], I'd imagine he'd still want to end the PHs with a bang. Which is why I originally didnt think the recent one would be Will Wood.

He's stated a couple of time that hes one of his favorite artist & he definitely knows that a huge chunk of his fan base listen to WW as well. So why not end with that? Why not end with one of the most requested artist people wanted him to cover? Why wouldn't he end with a power hour of the artist that was his #1 on his Spotify Wrapped? What else could he do after that? Well maybe he'd go with his #2 artist? WHICH IS JUST HIMSELF BBYYYY

Plus, the name Power Hour already comes from this:

So it's very likely he's had himself play multiple times in a row & had a "Chonny Jash Power Hour".

Of course theories are just theories so there's always the chance I'm wrong & just insane. And again he does whatever he wants whenever he wants so who knows what it'll be. I just think id be an interesting idea for him to do.

As for how a Chonny Jash Power Hour would look? Maybe each song being a cover of a song from a past album or single? I'd imagine one from the before. & Covered in Discontent [maybe Gothic Whore?]. Like remake Pocket since its been referenced so much, tho that's still just a BDG cover so who knows. the before. would be interesting just to see how his perspective has changed since he originally wrote those songs. Gothic Whore he already has 2 songs that have a story version & a him version so I can see him doing another.

I HIGHLY doubt he'd do anything related to Vol.1 as its his completely separate thing & he doesn't rlly wanna touch any song that's TH/HMS related until whenever he feels like starting Vol.2 [which is valid lol]. If anything I could maybe see like TWWAY, Special or maybe Greener? Or go a different route with the og I'm Gonna Win or like a more outta the box one with like Just a Friend [only cos be did a 20 second "cover" of it in Mucka Blucka]. Again, I do not see him touching anything Vol.1 related but still something to entertain ig? [4th TME cover; The Chonny Electric when/j]

Tho maybe he'd just remake songs that he he fully made [like the before. or Gothic Whore], since those are more of actual Chonny Jash songs rather than the others just being covers. Would be very cool to maybe see a remake of some of his Majora's Mask song tho [no this isn't me coping over HEAL not being on spotify shush]. Or maybe he'd do songs from his old stuff like Don't Take it Personally? [also not me coping over wanting that song on Spotify too]

Idk these are just my thoughts on the idea of a CJPH [or even a Can of Soup Power Hour/j]. Either way I am gonna say idc what he'd do, BDG or Streetlight Manifesto are my other guesses, but anything he makes is always rll good & fun so I'll be interested to see whatever it is.

But ya know considering I typed all this out in the span of an hour & a half I kinda hope im not wrong PFFT

[crossbackpoke-check]

Why I Am Not Coming In To Work Today [abridged], Jess Zimmerman

part one | part two

[icewindandboringhorror]

finally finished all of one character's entire quests/optional dialogue/questions/etc.... 100,000 words... .... aughhh

[desertsfic]

Hi!!! You don't have to respond, but I can NOT stop thinking about the part in rng where Bro puts Dave's sword back in his strife deck and like??? I'd never considered??? That??? Ive been chewing on this for a while, but could you possibly elaborate on it? Like how did you come up with including it and what is the context within the universe?

Hi!

No, I would love to answer, actually. :) I actually think about this kind of thing a lot, and a lot of thoughts led me to writing that moment lol

If you know me you know that I really love working with the mechanics of sylladices! Generally I have been following the (extremely interpretive) rules as best I can, but not all mechanics are explained in detail, so sometimes you just make stuff up!

To start, we don't actually know what kind of fetch modus alpha Dave has, and because of that we can just make up anything we want. I think it actually makes that more fun! :)

but I like to think given the fact that the beta guardians seem to have fetch modi that differ from their kids, that Dave at least might be in possession of the original sylladex that Dirk possesses (techhop modus).

It's also the modus that I gave Bro, since he and Dave have been known to use them in quote unquote "rap battles", and it is the only other rap based human modi I know of (and because he is a Dirk).

Guardians are just made up guys, y'know, so we can say whatever we want about them.

And anyway, since it's the one that Dirk has, it just made sense for alpha Dave to be the previous owner! or at least have been vain enough to have assumed that his kid would want the same decks that he has lol

So we can assume, if they have the same fetch modus, and obviously the same strife abstratus, then Bro would be familiar with it.

So they have the same dex, and they're living in a world where this is a normal thing that people have, and have access to.

And if that wasn't the original intent thats not my problem because it's a fascinating world and I love exploring it.

Also just as a relevant side note I assume pickpockets exist in Homestuck I mean I don't have proof but I assume they do, right, so I assume, using a sylladex as an analog for a purse that can hold you wallet, there are people who are gonna want the stuff in your dex, and surely there are people amongst them who have found workarounds to accessing people's dexes or abstratus.

Bro seems like the kind of person who would be interested in exploiting those workarounds, and I think so in particular after the way he slices through the ABSCOND bar in the early acts, interacting with an abstract object that perhaps previously, in video game logic, we'd assume only the player character can see.

For him personally reaching into somebody else's sylladex, I was specifically thinking about Gamzees miracle modus when I was writing, and the way he just kind of reaches up in there and grabs the thing,

versus the other ways we've seen people interacting with them, from Dad Egbert's wallet (able to hold his car in a captcha card) to Jade and her pictionary fetch modus (which requires a drawing).

I don't remember the exact moment I decided on it, but I just remember thinking about abstrati and 'dices and being like, "wouldn't it be absolutely fucked if someone interacted with your own personal inventory space?" something I'm sure has occured in video games, but I can't think of an exact example off the top of my head (undertale maybe?)

I just imagine it would be extremely uncomfortable, perhaps a bit like a mix of having someone rooting around in your pockets with an extreme personal space violation and maybe even a little bit of head fuckery, since it seems that a deck is (maybe I misremember this) generally only seen by the person to whom it belongs.

It just seemed like the ultimate dick move, enough to leave someone like alpha Dave speechless, and kind of exploring the question "can someone interact with someone else's sylladex and strife deck?" I don't know! But it is fun to think about :)

[willowser]

I wrote this on my blog but I was wondering how you feel about it, Bakugo and on only child. Do you think it would be intentional or due to circumstance how would he respond to others saying something about it, what kind of things does he do with his kid ect. I want to write more about this but never really see anyone else talking about it. 🥺

hello dear !! you know — i have never really...pictured him as having more than one actually !! that's not to say that i couldn't imagine him having a few little kiddos, but, typically, when i imagine dad bakugou in my head, it's just with one 😌 i don't really have a reason for it, i think, but if i had to guess why i usually go with that thought is because i do see him as being a little older by the time he's having a baby bean, and i do typically headcanon him as — struggling with being a father LOL so in my head, maybe i just see him as feeling like one is enough for him !

as far as him being asked about it, hmm 🤔 tbh, i — feel like a lot of his friends would be unsure if he's going to have kids at all, so if he were to have one, i can't imagine anyone really saying anything about it ?? anyone that is close to him at least; being asked about it in, like, the media or by the public or whatever, i don't think he'd even give them an answer LOL but if he was asked about it by someone — like maybe his mother, or something — i think his answer would be very: *shrug* "'s'wrong with what i got?" LOL i genuinely think he could be totally content with just one, so he sees no reason to alter that reality for himself because — he's happy !!

and with him having just one, i think he'd do everything with them ! put them in all the sports and encourage them to try all the things ! i don't think he's the kind to spoil his kid too much but — i think he also grew up fairly well off, so they're doted on in a way that he's taking them on trips for the summer and no expenses are really being spared for the things he thinks they need, because that's just what he's used to ! what his parents did for him !

that's his little pal 🥺 his bud 🥺 and i always think of bakugou as the kind of person that feels lucky to have whatever he has when it comes to romance and love and you and family and friends, that he wouldn't think to ask for more 🥺

[banana-pancake5]

Can you tell me about Amelia??

Ye :D

Under the cut bc I feel like it’ll get really long

Amelia was my first ever OC and was apart of my first ever AU, TOF (the odd family [of mutants and Yokai])! I still have the MasterPost linked which has a good bit of info on all the involved characters (although that story is discontinued bc of LFMFS and SADA)

Amelia was a failed experiment of Draxum’s that was accidentally created when the lab exploded (the same time the turtles were mutated). Draxum pushed her way too far with her training and never held back his thoughts (that she was pathetic, a failure, etc) and eventually he became too busy to care for her, so he gave he made a deal with Big Mama. The deal was that Big Mama would care for, raise, and train Amelia until she was 14 or 15 (cant remember which), but when Amelia came to the age Big Mama grew fond of her. Because of this, Big Mama manipulated Amelia’s first ever battle nexus fight (which she was SO excited for). Big Mama switched her opponent from Graham, my other oc in the story, to a much bigger, more threatening opponent. That fight ended when Big Mama thought her plan succeeded, when Amelia was horribly injured, missing a horn, and unconscious.

After that fight Amelia felt ashamed of her broken horn, a constant reminder of what she knew her whole life, she was failed experiment… a failure. So, she covered it up. She did what she does best and made a small fashionable hat to cover it up. She practically spent every second of her days inside her room working for Big Mama (she sowed outfits for clients, warriors, and champions). Until her sister Kiki, a friend’s oc who isn’t on tumblr anymore, coaxed her into sneaking out into the city. That first night outside the city she became obsessed. She and Kiki began to sneak out more and more until eventually she had the confidence to sneak out on her own (which Kiki did NOT know about).

On one of her trips with Kiki she found a cat. The cat had a bit of its ear missing just like Amelia had her horn missing. That cat immediately bonded with Amelia, but Kiki in the other hand… they didn’t get along for awhile. Amelia couldn’t bring the cat home, but she could visit it every time they went out (part of the reason she started sneaking out on her own).

On one of these solo trips to hangout with Myla, the cat, she bumped into a strange who was already playing with Myla. She immediately froze up, she wasn’t supposed to interact with anyone in the city. Mikey, the stranger, stammered and apology, but when Amelia saw he wasn’t a human she came back to her senses (somewhat) and accused Mikey of stealing her cat. Mikey explained and apologized again then left.

This happened many times, but instead of yelling and shooing him away, Amelia began to just sit in silence as he played with Myla. Mikey would ask questions, talk about his day, and just talk to her while she sat without a word of acknowledgement. But eventually on one of these trips Amelia’s curiosity got the best of her and she blurted out a bunch of questions at Mikey, who was understandably shocked, but he answered them anyway. After that they started to talk more and more, becoming really good friends in only a few hangouts.

One day when Amelia was out, she saw Mikey being “attacked” by three other people. She immediately jumped in to help her new friend without a second thought. A little fight broke out, lucky for her she was the only one who attacked before Mikey explained the situation. Those people were his brothers, they weren’t attacking they were just goofing off.

Eventually through all of that, she truly meets the Hamato’s, discovers they’re are HER brothers, Kiki plot ensues, then Graham plot ensues.

Okay, I realize I just explained her whole arc and part of the AU… well I hope this counts as “more about Amelia” :D

Any questions about anything I shall answer!

[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.