#AND MADS SAID HANNIBAL CARED FOR HER SO THERE

[thinking-destiel-thoughts]

sometimes I think about Hannibal and Abigail’s relationship and I think about the fact that he didn’t kill her to frame Will. it would’ve been pretty easy. he’s a capable killer and what’s more damning than a dead body? but he didn’t kill her. and he didn’t store her away somewhere like he did with Miriam.

he kept her secret, made sure she was well taken care of. when we see her for the first time (when Alana sees her), she’s clearly not locked away. she’s not restricted in movement or to a specific room. she doesn’t look dirty or injured beyond having lost an ear. she had new clothes and everything. which can only mean Hannibal went out of his way to get those things for her, and he did them discretely enough that no one noticed.

I’ve seen discourse about whether or not Hannibal cared for her. but why do all that, why go through all that trouble if he didn’t care about her? why bother?

he didn’t use her to lure Will to go with him. he didn’t kill her. he didn’t leave her to be arrested for the FBI. and when he killed her? why kill her like *that* if he didn’t see himself as her father? there were a lot of other ways he could have killed her. he could have taken her with him and killed her afterwards, could have made her into one of his masterpieces.

ultimately, I wish we saw more of Hannibal’s relationship with Abigail. but I really do think that he loved her. I think all the little glimpses that we got showed that. and I think that if he didn’t love her, we’d have seen real evidence of that. we’d have seen him brainwash her or something. it was more effort and more work to keep her alive and well in that house than it would’ve been to kill her.

[gallavichsreddie1128]

Jealousy looks hot on you (Hannibal)

Description: Hannibal gets jealous after Mason flirts with Y/N.

Warning: Smut

Word Count:939

Request:

Hi,

I absolutely love your one shots/writing style! ❤️

Could you please write a fanfic where the reader is Hannibal‘s secretary and he get‘s jealous after seeing a patient ( bonus point if it‘s mason or franklyn) flirting with her. He has a talk with her ( with smut in the end if possible) and starts confessing. Thank you for considering

Hi,

could you write a jealous Hannibal with a secretary reader? Mason or Franklyn started flirting with the reader and she seemed flattered (to Hannibal), which is why he get‘s jealous (they are not in a realtionship yet). He at first just wants to talk about it, but then snaps (smut in the end?).

Author’s note: I combined two requests for this one. Also thank you so much anon!!! I’m working on a Patrick Zweig request for tomorrow. Send in requests!

Being Hannibal’s Secretary was a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because Hannibal was a great lover. Oh and the man cooks! The curse was the unprofessional work relationships and the jealousy. Hannibal would need to get work done and instead by fucking Y/N on the desk minutes before a patient of his was suppose to be there.

His jealousy was unhealthy, they weren’t even together and yet he acts like they are. Y/N thinks that it’s just sex but Hannibal was in love with her. How could he not be? Y/N has been there for him through everything and even in the situation right now with Mason, she was here. Mason was odd to say the least. He definitely wasn’t okay in the head and he was about to be more fucked after Hannibal got him alone. Hannibal glared as he talked with Y/N. Well to Hannibal it was flirting and oh did Y/N look into it.

Mason was a rat and even looked like one too. How the fuck was Y/N okay with this? He watched as Y/N laughed at whatever Mason said. He wasn’t a funny guy, he was a creep. Hannibal bit his lip as he thought of a hundred different ways to kill the man. The smile Y/N had didn’t reach her all the way but reached enough to make Hannibal mad. What pushed him over the edge was when Mason reached out to touch her. Within seconds Mason was pinned to the wall. Hannibal was breathing heavy and his grip on Mason was tight. Mason didn’t look freaked out and had a smirk. “Hannibal, what the fuck?” Y/N asked.

He looked back at her and saw her scared expression. He let go of Mason and turned to her. “I need to talk to you.” He tells her. She looked at Mason and back at him. “Apologize to him first.” She said softly. He wanted to roll his eyes but fought against it. She really had no idea what kind of monster he was. “I’m sorry Mason.” He said but his voice gave no emotion. “I’m thinking that could have sounded more sincere.” Mason says but Hannibal pulls Y/N away. 

“You can’t be with him Y/N.” Was the first words that left his mouth once they were outside Mason’s house. She looked at him confused. “What?” She asked. “He’s not a good guy. You deserve better. He’s crazy and I-“ “Jeez Hannibal I’m not into Mason.” She exclaimed. He nodded and gave her a smile. “Very well then. We should get back to my office.” He said and she nodded and walked to the car. 

After a few drinks in his office the two were stripped off their clothes with Y/N in Hannibal’s lap as they made out in his chair. His hands moved up and down her back as her hands were placed on his shoulders so she could deepen the kiss. They barely pulled away to breathe. His hands went down to her ass and squeezed causing her to moan in his mouth.

He slipped his tongue in her mouth as they sloppily kissed. “Hannibal.” She pulled away from the kiss. “What?” He asked huskily as he ran a hand through her hair. “Why did you care that Mason was flirting with me?” “He’s a bad man Y/N.” “No Hannibal there’s more that you aren’t saying.” He looks down, his hand dropping. “I uh-“ she kisses him softly. “Tell me.” “I’m in love with you Y/N.” He tells her and cups her face. She looks at him and kisses him hard. “Take me to your bed Hannibal.” She said against his lips. 

She looks down at him as she slowly slides down on his dick. It wasn’t the first time but it was the first time that it was out of love. He looked back up at her and his brows furrowed a little as she took him in. She let out a shutter breath as she took him in fully. “You’re so beautiful.” He tells her as he places his hands on her hips. She sighs in pleasure as she starts moving her hips.

This time it feels different for them. The feeling was better and more intense. She shuts her eyes as she feels the pleasure coursing through her. Her hips moved deep and slow. Hannibal closed his eyes as well. As her hips moved his hands tightened their grip on her hips. She moans at the feeling causing him to open his eyes. Her head was back and her mouth was open.

Her hips were now picking up speed no long slow and deep. “Fuck.” He groaned as he felt her clenching around him. His bed was squeaking with each of her thrusts. “Hanni.” She moaned and looked down at him. She grabbed one of his hands and moved it to her boob. He squeezed it causing her to gasp.

His other hand moved to her clit and rubbed. She whined his name as she felt her high near. He groaned as he felt himself twitch inside of her. She grabbed the hand that was placed on her boob. Her hand squeezed his as she came with a scream of his name.

He grunted as he came right after her. Both of them moaning as she rode out their highs. She smiled as she collapsed next to him. Both of them were breathing hard and all sweaty. “Hannibal?” “Mhm.” “I love you too.” She said and turned towards him. “Oh and jealousy looks good on you.” She said and he gave her a side eye but smiled.

[atlasscrumpit]

Run rabbit

Part 2 - here

Hannibal prepared dinner in the kitchen as Will sat across from him drinking some whiskey.

"When is Y/N coming down?" Will asked as Hannibal continued to cook.

"She'll be down soon... You should know something about her. My daughter has some mental inabilities, she can get quite delusional and paranoid at times and even lose her memory. There's times when she believes I'm not her real father and that I kidnapped her." Hannibal explained rather casually as Will stared at him in shock.

"Oh... I didn't know she had issues like that. It must be tough to raise her." Will responded as Hannibal began to plate up the dinner he had prepared.

"As her father I will raise her no matter what." He replied making Will sigh a little.

"I didn't mean to offend you." Will reassured him, he hated to make Hannibal mad.

"I am not offended, Will. I assure you." He replied before they both heard a noise and saw you making your way downstairs.

"There's my wonderful child, Y/N I would like you to meet a friend or mine. This is Will." Hannibal said as you slowly moved forward and looked at Will.

"I'm Y/N." You muttered as he offered you a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Will. Hannibal has told me a lot about you." He said as you nodded a little, looking quite shy.

"Could you set the table for me, my child?" Hannibal asked as you nodded and began to set the table.

"Is she always this quiet?" Will asked in a low voice making a Hannibal sigh.

"It changes quite a bit, she had a rough night last night, that's why she's quiet." Hannibal explained making Will nod in response.

Hannibal served up dinner and you all sat down together.

"You dad was telling me you're home schooled, do you enjoy it?" Will asked, trying to include you into the conversation.

"Yeah... It's okay." You muttered while you ate.

"Darling, we talked about this. You are being rude to our guest." Hannibal instructed as you rolled your eyes.

"No, I'm not." You grumbled making your father sigh.

"I know you are tired but that isn't an excuse to be rude." He continued as you poked at your food.

"I'm sorry, Will." You muttered as he smiled softly.

"It's alright, I don't mind. When I was in school I never wanted to even acknowledge it, but you're lucky to have a good father like Hannibal to teach you." He said as you looked at him and nodded a little.

"Yeah... I am." You muttered, your face still void of emotion.

--

Will was washing the dishes while Hannibal took out the trash, you stood in the kitchen and watched Will.

"Are you and my dad in love?" You asked making him pause and look at you.

"Um... Well, we care about one another." He muttered in response trying to dodge the direct question.

"So, why have I never met you?" You grumbled, crossing your arms.

"Your father just wanted to make sure you were ready." He responded as you sighed.

"He's not my father... He's a monster." You whispered as Will looked at you in shock.

"Why do you say that?" He asked as you glared at him.

"I'm guessing you know about his hobbies by now." You muttered, Will was shocked you knew about it.

"Well, yes... I do know about it. Your father is quite complicated." He said, wiping up his hands as he turned to look at you.

"He killed me family and kidnapped me." You whispered as he stared at you, Hannibal had warned him about this kind of thing.

"Why don't we go watch TV?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Did he tell you I'm mentally ill and make up stories? He tells everyone that." You grumbled before you heard a sigh, you turned around to see Hannibal.

"Y/N, I have spoken to you about telling lies." He said as you looked at him.

"Why don't you tell him the truth then, huh!? That you fucking kidnapped me!" You shouted making him sigh.

"Y/N, you have one chance to apologise, if not I will be forced to medicate you." He threatened as you glared at him.

"Fine..." You grumbled before turning to Will.

"I'm sorry." You muttered as he nodded a little.

"It's okay, Y/N." He reassured with a kind smile.

"If you don't mind Will, I'm going to speak with Y/N." Hannibal said, leading you into his office.

He shut the door and locked it.

"We had a deal, didn't we?" He growled as you looked at him in anger.

"But, you just had to break the rules. I don't take kindly to disobedience, and you know that." He muttered, you looked away feeling fear.

"You will stay here, I will send our guest home and then I will come back and punish you, understood?" He asked, as you nodded a little.

"Yes, father." You whispered before he left you alone.

A few minutes later he returned, locking the door once again and staring at you.

"You seem to think a life without me would be more beneficial then a life with me. So, why don't we try it?" He suggested as you looked up at him.

"Come with me." He demanded, walking out of the office, you followed behind him until you got to the garage and climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

"Where are we going?" You whispered as Hannibal began to drive.

"You want to get away so bad? I'm just helping you along." He explained before continuing to drive in silence.

After about twenty minutes of silence he finally stopped the car and stepped out.

He opened the passenger door and pulled you out of the car.

"We're going to play a little game, it's called rabbit and fox. I'll be the fox, you be the rabbit, I'm going to give you two minutes to run before I start hunting. If you last twenty minutes, you can run away, go wherever you want...but if I catch you, which I will, there's no more escaping. Do you understand?" He asked as you stared at him in shock, the grip on your arm getting tighter.

"Please don't do this, I'm sorry." You begged as he reached up and ran his finger down the side of your face. 

"Start running, little rabbit."

[honeygrahambitch]

Jimmy Price stormed into the lab and shut the door closed behind him, making both Brian and Beverly direct their attention to him.

He looked as if he had committed a crime and needed to make a confession.

"I'm going to share something with you but it can't leave this room."

Beverly lifted an eyebrow unimpressed by his theatrics and closed the magazine she was reading.

"Fine."

"You're the Chesapeake Ripper?" Brian asked more for his own amusement but his smile faded when Jimmy's scolding glare was directed towards him. "Alright, alright, go on."

"So you promise you won't tell."

"We pinky promise we won't tell." Brian emphasized.

"I went to grab my sandwich from the fridge. The one that my wife has packed for me. And, after I bit into it I realized it wasn't mine."

"Huh?"

"Not to speak poorly of my dear wife, but the sandwich I grabbed was so excellent that it couldn't have been made by her."

"Asshole." Beverly commented.

"Wait, whose sandwich did you get then?"

"Well, we can do some profiling work regarding that." Jimmy went on. "Caramelized duck. Blue cheese. Fig marmelade."

"You ate Will's sandwich." Beverly concluded instantly and grabbed her magazine.

"Wait, Will can cook like that?" Brian inquired confused.

"Idiot, Hannibal must have prepared it for Will." Jimmy explained as the dread returned to his facial expression. "Oh no...I ate Will's sandwich..."

"C'mon, you can tell Will you bit into it and realized it wasn't yours, he won't be mad about the fact that a bite is missing."

"The problem is...it was so good I couldn't stop."

Beverly closed her magazine again as she and Brian sighed.

"Listen, I will give Will my sandwich."

"Sounds like a fair trade, pal. A ham and cheese sandwich for a Michelin star one. You are lucky Will doesn't care about this kind of things."

Jimmy wanted to say something more but he stopped as Will entered the lab holding some papers, Hannibal right behind him.

Jimmy looked at his friends with the kind of look that says "What the fuck is HE doing here?"

Beverly and Brian had to make an inhumane effort not to laugh at the situation.

Jimmy felt the weight of his crime even harder now that Hannibal was in the room. The man had put all his love into that sandwich for Will and he had eaten it with no hesitation. And poor Will was probably starving.

"Jimmy? Did you-" Will started but Jimmy cut him off before he could finish.

"YES. Yes, it was me. I apologize, I just couldn't stop, it was amazing. It was the best sandwich I had in my life and I-"

"What are you talking about? I am asking you about Alison Brown's blood work." Will was grateful that for once he was not the weird one in the room.

"Yeah, she had diabetes. I ate the sandwich Dr. Lecter has made for you." He confessed again, giving more context.

"Did you enjoy it?" Hannibal asked.

"So much."

"I am pleased to hear that."

Hannibal had already killed Jimmy in three different ways in his head. He had eaten his Will's food. At the same time, he was pleased with the good review. And it gave him a good reason to take Will out for lunch. Will would not starve himself while he was there to help him with the case.

He made the quick decision not to end Jimmy's life that evening.

"You're fine. Hannibal is not the Chesapeake Ripper, you won't die." Will said as he returned his attention to the file he was holding. "Now, what was wrong with Allison's kidney?"

Hannibal eyed Will in a way that held more meaning than Will's colleagues would ever be able to understand. The fact that Will made that comment being completely aware he was the Ripper, made him smile.

[tg-headcanons]

Tokyo ghoul characters and what they’d wear for Halloween:

Hinami: Pirate, so she could go trick or treating with her bird. She can’t eat candy but she WILL have a good time and then give it all to Hide and Kimi

Kaneki: The Biologist from Annihilation. No one knows what it is, half the people he talks to think he’s not wearing a costume at all. And the other unfortunate half get the very long and convoluted explanation of the plot of the southern reach trilogy that he has locked and loaded

Hide: Hot Dog

Touka and Yoriko: Vampires. Touka never celebrated Halloween before, but Yoriko loves it and convinced her to let her dress her up. She ended up putting her in an incredible outfit and makeup, and she spent the night passing out the homemade treats Yoriko made to trick or treaters

Koma: he has worn the exact same Gorilla costume for the past ten years. So have the rest of his gang. They all dress like gorillas and terrorize the city

Irimi: bayonetta, she knows what she’s working with and is picking up 22 year old women at the club

Yoshimura: he didn’t have a costume so Irimi put cat ears on him and he let it happen

Nishiki and Kimi: morticia and Gomez Addams. He’s morticia and she’s Gomez

Rize: she would go in amazing cosplays. She had quite the talent for thrifting clothes and altering them for costumes, and it’s really easy to lure men away to be eaten when dressed as Misa Misa

Uta: He’s going Full rocky horror. He’s the best Frank N Furter the world has ever seen. He made the whole thing himself, he even made the leather out of human skin he flayed. Eco friendly king

Yomo: he just wears his ghoul mask

Tsukiyama: Hannibal Lector. He’s really mad that no one can guess it or thinks he’s not wearing a costume because he already dressed and behaved like that

Saiko: really shitty hatsune Miku

itori: INCREDIBLE hatsune miku

Urie: refuses to wear a costume so Shirazu tells everyone he’s going as a Virgin

Shirazu: he welded knight’s armor himself out of scrap from damaged equipment the CCG was throwing out. It keeps poking him and he had to clean blood off of it but it looks incredible. He wins 100 bucks in a costume contest and he’s so hyped, it’s worth the carpal tunnel

Mutsuki: He has a hidden talent for makeup since he’s been doing masculinizing contouring for a bit, and made an amazing zombie. After several drinks he had the time of his life scaring the shit out of other drunk people outside the club

Juuzou: he’s actually not wearing a costume but everyone thinks he is because he just dresses like that. His ass is trick or treating

Akira: cat. She has dressed as a cat every single year since she was seven and will not stop now. Her first purchase with adult money when she got her job was a high quality cat costume upgrade. She is committed and she’s not changing it now.

Seidou and Amon: they were planning on doing a couple’s costume of Deadpool and wolverine but when they showed up on Halloween they were both Deadpool because they thought they were the funny one in the relationship. Neither are correct

Arima: three hole punch Jim

Houji: to keep up professionalism but enjoy the spirit of Halloween, he went with Dracula because all it is is just adding a cape and fangs to his regular suit.

Tatara: when he met up with Houji to fuck nasty he wasn’t wearing a costume because he doesn’t care, but upon seeing Houji’s he ripped a branch off the nearest tree, sliced the tip a few times to make a stake, and said he’s going as Van Helsing

Naki: pumpkin head. He stole a Jack o lantern and put it his head and it was really funny until he couldn’t get it off

Eto: the cockroach from franz Kafka’s the metamorphosis, she’s operating the legs with her kagune and it looks so freaky. She’s getting on all fours and rat crawling around and genuinely looks like a giant cockroach. She’s making children and high people lose their shit

Furuta: playboy bunny

[b-bndi]

Do you think he was ever in love with Bedelia like he was in love with Will? I ask this because Bedelia says they were both the "brides of Hannibal". But Hannibal never courted her like he did with Will, Bedelia came into Hannibal's life much before Will but he never pursued her like he did with Will.  Mads said he wanted a future with Will unlike with other people he hooked up with Alana, Bedelia or Anthony. He took her to Italy as a consolation prize when Will betrayed him. Even in Italy H was pining about Will all the time and telling Bedelia how much he loves Will.  I know he slept with Bedelia but he probably slept with Anthony too and he slept with Alana, Hannibal is a hedonistic guy who sleeps around. For him  sleeping with someone doesn't mean he is in love with them.  On the other hand he took a bullet for Will, went to prison for years for Will, made a human heart for Will, jumped off a cliff for Will, committed a whole massacre for Will. But when Will confronts Bedelia, she pretends as if Hannibal held them in the same regard which is obviously not true. Hannibal would choose Will over her in a heart beat and even she knows it  but yet she acts as if Hannibal sees them both equally. I don't understand why? 😭 Why do you think?why make herself seem like a competition when she is clearly not?

YEA YES YES, I love everything about this bc you’re so right. Hannibal basically sleeps with anyone he wants bc he doesn’t care. You have to remember that the man has fucked up morals so he probably thought that as long as it was no strings attached then it didn’t matter, unlike with Will who he would literally gift a dead body to as some sort of fucked up mating ritual. Hannibal loves to get under his skin and definitely knew Bedelia would say sum shit to set Will off.

Also Hi!! I’m finally back, I was ick for so long 😭

[papaver-decervicatus]

Cat/Mouse/Den: Pt. 4, Mus Urbanus

Fatal attraction is one thing but stuck on a stakeout, a certain little mouse decides to push her luck with the cat who's been chasing her... just how far is too far, and how much more can they take?

CW: Obsession, stalking, canon typical violence, intrusive thoughts, unsanitary wound care

Authors Note: Hahaha, remember how I said I was going to do shorter updates? Yeah well, I felt really bad for missing the previous week but I did have a lot of terrible IRL shit happen, so working through that was a priority. That being said, going back through all the amazing comments and everything everyone has written has been absolutely keeping me afloat! Thank you all so so so so so much, you will never know how much it all means to me.

There are a couple of Hannibal references in this part that, hopefully, will start to make sense by the last part of the story (which was, coincidentally, the first part written!) Not going to lie, I am just glad to publish this so I never have to think about this damned part again as I have been stuck on in for literal months. Also sorry if Soap's accent sucks, the only experience I have with anything remotely Scottish in the way of language tendency is my grandmother whose father was a Scottish immigrant and that's it.

Anyways, I hope you like agnst and interrogation scenes, because next week, König loses his faith in god and in mouse while tied to a chair! See you there!

❣️Cura ut Veleas ~ Caedis 🥀

PREV | Pt. 4 Mus Urbanus | 4.2k words | Mouse POV | NEXT

“Mouse?” A voice from in front of her calls out, but only after she deliberately drags her feet into the threshold of the neutral ground, alerting him of her presence. 

“Quiet as a.” She utters her usual response, stepping into the little flat in Buenos Aries, Argentina. She hears the smile as Soap sucks in a breath at her little joke. Her callback should be old by now, shouldn’t make him smile anymore, but he does anyway. He’s easy to get along with, something hard to come by in war. She crosses the minimal space between the two and takes stock of his little setup. 

For a mission, it’s luxurious. He’s sitting, in a chair might she add, with a scope poking barely out of an antique window on the 7th floor of an apartment building, looking into a busy market square. His arms rest on a table littered with little signs of life, a map of the area adorned with notes and coordinates in inexpensive ink, no less than 7 pens whose caps are chewed through (everyone’s got bad habits but this little sin of his drives poor Price up and down the goddamn wall), two disposable cups with sediment rings denoting how much instant coffee was drunk from them at a time before they returned to their places besides their drinker. Most notably, however, are two radios in a strange moment of near fornication– backs ripped open and wires crossed in an almost pornographic display of field ingenuity. 

Damn demolition specialists, she hears the echo of Gaz say in her head and she absentmindedly rubs the scabbed over cut on her left hand where the shrapnel of a certain someone’s frag grenade got her two weeks ago. She wants to be mad but-

“Hear any good ones, lately?” Soap turns to her, he’s disengaging from his post, changing his guard for her to take his spot, just as command ordered. He’s been in this little nest for about 6 hours and she can feel his desire to scuttle and tinker about radiating off of him. As he takes apart his gun, already aware and familiar that she refuses to use anyone’s but her own, his eyes shine to life. The color of sky blue permafrost, yet they radiate a certain lived-in warmth impossible to distance yourself from. Eyes almost like-

She bites her tongue at the thought. Bad time to be thinking about König… she mourns. But, speaking of the man.

“Yes, but it’s bad,” she offers, in fake warning as she sheds her outer jacket before moving to unhook the case that stands between her and the assembly of her gun. She knows the warning will only intrigue the poor pyrotechnic more. 

His smile is nothing short of sadistic as he raises an eyebrow.

“No, like, really bad,” she emphasizes, throwing a pleading look his way. His grin gets even more shit-eating-er if that sort of thing were even possible. “I mean it, MacTavish. Pass it along to your long-suffering Lieutenant, and you will be picking teeth out of your shit.” “I’m sure I’ve done worse to Ghost,” he supplies, rolling his shoulders. Yeah, I’m sure you have, she thinks but is much too self-preserving to say, especially aware that the Frankenstien’s monster of a radio he’s resurrected from two dead circuit boards is likely not secure enough to promise any real privacy. She would rather not alert Simon Riley that she’s become a dealer in his and Soap’s arm’s race of terrible jokes. He does not take prisoners, after all… 

“Alright, alright, just don’t tell him it’s from me,” she smiles, putting her hands up defensively in a quick jest. “Okay, play along with me now,” he nods along as he steps away from the perch and lets her take his spot at the table. 

“So, what's the difference between a piano, a fish, and a gluestick?”

“I know about two-thirds o’ this one.” 

Mouse trap baited. She smiles.

“Give it a go, then.” She wiggles in the chair, pressing her cheek to the crux of the sight and its metal holder. She sighs into the familiar feeling of control that settles into her bones as she hunches over.

“Can tuna piano but’cha can’t tuna fish?” He supplies, half teasing her already.

“Yep, but you’re forgetting something.” She sighs and goes to fiddle with the red-light optics extension, Command is confident enough in her abilities that she was specifically told to take it off for this one. She hears Soap whisper a quiet ‘oh shite’ behind her when he realizes he probably forgot to himself and she laughs a little. 

“What about the glue?”

Mouse trap set. Poor Soap, always getting himself into ambushes…

She smiles wide and hums remembering how excited her kitty-cat was to tell her this part. 

“See, I knew you’d get stuck on that one.” 

Mouse trap sprung. A moment of silence.

“Oh fuck me, that one is bad.” Soap chokes out a hearty laugh as he collects his discarded coffee cups from her side.

“No thanks,” she purrs as she finally sets herself into position. “Use it at your discretion, soldier.”

“Aye, that I will.” 

Soap goes to rummage through the kitchenette to her right and she takes the moment she lacks supervision to indulge herself. She does not move her sights to alert the man with her of the wandering of her eyes, instead, she scans windows and alleys without visual aid. The stale air threatens to choke her as she rakes over the golden-hued morning scene with desperate efficiency. 

After what feels like an eternity of stolen glances switching between her targeted area and anywhere he may be, she sees him. 

Technically, she has no way to know for certain that it’s König, she doesn’t have his usual wave or cheeky grin (affectionately referred to as a Cheshire Cat Smile in her own belabored heart) to alert her to his presence. That being considered, there is a masculine figure barely peeking out of a window into an alleyway who is just shy of 7 feet tall and his face is covered. Yeah, probably König. She smiles despite herself and her company. She wonders if he has radio access to her little hideout. 

(She remembers the seemingly endless weeks of his arrival to her perch. The early morning light hits the streets the same way it had hit the forest ground that day. Like a fairy tale prince, beseeching a princess on hand and knee, he would always somehow appear in her sights, nearly as though it was just meant to be! 

His form stands out tall and proud from its surroundings and she recounts every single reason he should not be here. By the third time their eyes caught she’d decided he was doing it on purpose, but she never let him get away with it without some acknowledgment on her side. She can only imagine that if she’s getting hunted for sport, her calling out his position will, at least temporarily, halt his advance. 

But by this rate, she’ll be in his mouth by the end of the year. 

His eyes are cold and bloodshot red. Painted tears lick their way down the hood she’s never seen him without, possibly a feeble attempt at impersonality? Maybe if he looks enough like a monster people will just trust their first assumption and leave him alone. But she’s never been one to judge a book by its cover…

“I see you, König.” She warns out to him. He stills among the foliage, bathed in sweet-honey-like warmth from the rising sun. He does not shy away from his imminent death on the business end of her rifle, of course not! Instead, he raises his chest proudly, seemingly aware that the loneliness in her yields to whatever greater magnetism the loneliness in him commands. He’s an enigma, it bothers her that of all the people to put the effort into finding her, it has to be him. Mostly she curses herself for promising him a next time all those encounters ago, if she’d known what sort of a game it would inspire in the predator stalking her like prey despite her flipping sniper rifle, she never would have said a thing. 

He may be in her scope, but he’s got her under a finer microscope to seek her out so faithfully. She wishes she got this sort of dizzying devotion from someone, anyone else. It is the third day this week he has found her.

What she expects to happen is what has happened for weeks now, 1) he hears her transmission, 2) he smiles at her as a predator smiles at pray, his eyes find hers and her hackles rise in utter terror, and 3) he hums to himself and turns away, self-satisfied enough to have won hide-and-seek for the time being.

That does not happen. 

Instead, König sits down, right where he is, and pulls out that monster of a knife he keeps strapped to himself. He throws it up and catches it without looking at it, instead his eyes are laser-focused on Mouse. This is, of course, despite the fact he should have no earthly idea where she is. He plays with his knife idly for what must be an hour, but she does not- no, can not- look away from him.

She remembers her trigger finger twitching with sinful power, she remembers choking back the insistence at killing another lonely person, devoid of their autonomy on a basic level when they signed up for a mercenary-issued ticket to hell.

She remembers hopelessness. She remembers refusal. She remembers the smile reaching his eyes when she played along with his joke. 

“Why don’t rats like cats?” Her radio labors out. 

She half forgot what his voice sounded like, surprisingly excitable and shrill for a man of his stature. Her brain stutters around the implication of the only words she’s heard him say to her since the fateful ravine that gained Mouse her own personal 6’10” shadow. 

She blinks a few times in surprise, genuinely pondering if her long hours hiking through the woods have made her susceptible to hallucination and general hysteria. She is not thinking when she timidly responds-

“Why?” 

“Because they are weapons of maus-destruction.” Konig replies like it’s not the stupidest thing she’s ever heard in her goddamn life. Perhaps it's pity at the memory of his discomfort around his comrades. Of the thought of the way he tries to make his body so small when around others (truly an impossible task he routinely fails.) Maybe it’s irrational fear, twofold and buried in her instinct to shoot despite the clear disadvantage on his behalf and her insistence that she does not do her damn job, or fear of the inhuman man in front of her stalking her through the woods. Or it could be discomfort, no one ever prepared her for dealing with whatever the fuck this is in basic training or field school. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what it is.

In the sparkling, decadent light of a sunrise, her heart hammers in her throat at the first joke he’d told her, in some strange and desperate attempt to fill the meters of silence between them.

She laughs. 

And he hears it.

And with his wide stance, his ghastly executioner’s hood in the place of a crown, and his knife back in its holster- his beautiful eyes seem to smile. Suddenly, his eyes look lived in, like someone has just put up new curtains in an abandoned house. His whole affect changes hinging on what was an irresponsible outburst on her behalf at best.

And for the first time, she does not fear a monster hunting her through the woods, silent and purposeful in his pursuit of prey. Instead, she wants to understand a man, whose eyes have lit up like a princess has just laughed when he kissed her hand.) 

Soap wanders back into her small perch with two cups of coffee and sets one down next to her. She takes a quick glance and hums with appreciation. He takes another sip out of his and she remembers that they’re supposed to share shift for about an hour before his rotation ends.

“You treat all your girls to coffee in the morning?” She quips.

“Only the pretty ones,” he returns with an effortless charisma and her breath catches.

Not because of Soap, but because in that alleyway, where she really shouldn’t be looking, she sees the uneasy rise of two massive shoulders and-

Oh my god, did König just… get jealous? 

The next idea she has is downright evil, really this is not the place or the time or any of that but-

Fuck it. She’s already flirting with the enemy, what more could this do? She’s already told the poor mountain of a man something dangerously adjacent to “God I really missed you when we didn’t talk to each other for three weeks like a horny teenager and by the way I love you desperately and think about you when I’ve got my hands down my pants,” and she probably imagined him tensing up, anyways. No harm, no foul. 

Maybe, it's dangerous, to wave a steak in front of a mountain lion, but what if she wants to get mauled?

“Hey Soap, what page are you on?” She says, putting her terrible plan into action. She sees him look up from his report, or more likely an idle sketch, on her periphery. 

“Ah, only the second chapter, did'ya move my bookmark?”

“Nope, the book’s in the leftmost pocket in my duffle.”

“Thank ya,” He says and moves from his spot to go fetch the book from it. She takes a quick sip of her coffee, delighted to realize he’s made it to her specifications as far as milk and sugar go, as he rummages around in her bag.

The impromptu book club started nearly eight months ago when Nova passed her copy of Emma by Jane Austen off to Gromsko to help him with his English. That turned into Mouse recommending the book Jane Eyre to Nova on the pure suspicion that she would hate it, which she did. Gromsko still needed to practice and enjoyed the spirited discussions so he joined the blossoming group with an English copy of The Doll by Aleksander Głowacki after he finished Jane Eyre. Never one to be left out, and surprisingly well-read when he wanted to be, Soap had pitched the idea of The Lord of the Flies (because to quote “Fucking Brits,” and he wanted to subject others to his high-school reading list.) If she remembered correctly, Farah and Reyes had also started sharing copies of books they enjoyed occasionally.

“Can’t believe it was Gromsko that put it in rotation.” Soap says, pulling out a well-worn copy of The Silence of the Lambs from the bag.

“He said he picked it up years ago in Polish thinking it was a cooking field guide.” She offers, as the man next to her idly thumbs through pages.

“Yer shitting me, yeah?”

She just shakes her head and smiles into her scope. Soap laughs and removes his homemade bookmark, a pencil sketch of a stake-out view somewhere in Mexico scribbled onto scrap paper. He keeps his thumb on the page and flips through to where hers is, much further along.

“Yer a right romantic, ain’cha Bonnie?” Soap laughs somewhere between the pages and somewhere behind her. “Hmm?” 

“This part, that’ya highlighted,” she hears a well-meaning sneer in his words. “The one you put the hearts by and everything…”

Mouse’s mouth tethers itself into a terse line and she attempts her best noncommittal shrug. 

Somewhere in her line of sight, a mountain shrugs himself chuckling lightly. She wonders what it would feel like, to lay on his broad, muscled chest as he laughs, how closely he would hold her, how she could rest entirely on top of his chest and not touch the ground beneath them and-

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” She lies through her teeth. Soap’s laugh behind her is loud and proud. Suddenly, his casual sadism isn’t so amusing when turned around on her. 

“Do you think it's because I like to look at you and think about eating you up—“ he reads from the book, voice dripping in mock chivalry and breathless romanticism. “About how you would taste?"

She feels her cheeks and ears heat up as Soap loudly proclaims her funeral to all those who may care, and she doesn’t miss the way König leans a little too close to his radio as he goes about mocking her. His stance shifts as if he hangs on the very words like he’s found a secret buried deep in her subconscious. Technically, she has no way of knowing, but Mouse knows in her heart that König is smiling. At least someone is having fun. 

Once Soap comes down from his laughing fit he puts her bookmark back to its spot and talks at the back of her head. 

“With your pressed flower bookmark and everything. Oh, it would be sweet if he wasn’t Hannibal the Cannibal.” Soap hisses out. “I always figured you were…” he pauses searching for the right word, “adventurous from how Gromsko talks bout ya, but seriously cannibalism?”

If she’s not mistaken, König’s hand grips ever so slightly tighter on the radio attached to the best. Maybe the battle plan has to change, but she’s still got some ideas. 

Soap is completely oblivious to the electricity licking up the air between her perch and one man on the ground. He looks around frantically, seemingly desperate to find her, and look in her eyes. Mouse is a sniper, she really should hate the attention, but something fatalistic descends into her smile as she lets Soap continue his little outburst. 

“I swear. You and him, yer sure there’s nothing there? He’s even given you special field medicine lessons, no one gets treatment like that from Gromsko.”

“His name is Sobieslaw.” Notably, it is not a denial. Technically, everything that’s just been said is the truth. 

König’s shoulders rise. 

He looks right down her site. 

She smiles. 

Come and get me, kitty-cat. 

“See! That’s what I’m talking about. You’re the only person who calls him by his first name.”

“Because you never put in the effort to learn it.”

“That don’t mean a thing since I don’t have tits.” 

“You do, just not as good as mine.”

“Aye, off it. Gromsko is into you.” She can hear from the way Soap’s voice carries haphazardly around the room that he is pacing and talking with his hands. She doesn’t turn her back, gaze still fixated on the looming shadow in her sights. Soap continues, entirely unaware of the exact type of beast he is tempting. “He swaggers around you, never even bothers to fucking ask to pick up your boxes, he just does it. His voice gets all soft around ya, too, like he’s cooing at a goddamn pet animal or something. He nearly got into an actual pissing contest with Ghost the other day when he bitched about you beating him in poker. Face the facts, Bonnie, he wants you.” 

König’s eyes have focused with the ferocity of an apex predator and his chest labors out concentrated and sharp inhales and exhales. He resembles a recently sharpened knife, desperate for some carnage after a particular kind of attention. His body is crumpled in on itself not unlike a cat getting ready to pounce. His heels dig desperately into the cobblestones beneath his feet. His hand flicks out his beloved Glock field knife with all the reverence of a praying man.

In short, he looks every part like he does in immediate battle. He looks like he did the split second before he started sprinting for her in the snowy woods, the scene that occupies her lonely nights when she tries in complete vanity to recreate the feel of his hands cradling her sides.

Mouse should be scared of König.

Instead, she sees before her a scene of complete and hopeless adoration focused so intently on her alone that she should be afraid of. Realistically, she recognizes the clear and present danger of the moment. Is König upset at her? At Soap? At a potential adversarial suitor by way of Gromsko? She doesn’t quite know, but after a career of intentionally hiding like a coward, she basks infatuated by the calamitous captivation he exhibits.

He looks like he wants to maul something to death.

As keen as she is on getting him close enough to try to get over to her (and ideally, throw her under him,) in her infinite mercy, Mouse decides the teasing has gone on long enough.

“I like Gromsko just fine, but not like that.” Soap audibly scoffs and König’s entire form relaxes. Both men mutter something to themselves before an encore of gunfire breaks out. Mouse’s heart stutters to a stop when her radio comes in.

“Visual on Gaz, he’s hit!” Nova calls out, clearly alarmed. Soap grabs for the radio right next to Mouse and brings it to his face, holding onto a few loose wires as he does to ensure the amalgamation does not fall apart in his fingers.

“Where is he?”

“Two blocks from south from you, Gromsko is a click out.”

Soap looks at Mouse with his heart bobbing in his throat. The pain and worry on his face is palpable.

“Go.” She says. Soap looks around frantically at their supplies, seemingly taking a split second worth of inventory, making as many life-or-death decisions as he can in such little time.

“Soap, listen to me,” Mouse soothes. “I keep overwatch, you take my TAC vest and stabilize him until he can get a medic.”

“Mouse, I can’t just leave you-” “You can, and you will. Go.” She says with all the finality of a door slamming shut. Soap doesn’t look at her again as he gathers her supplies and nearly sprints downstairs. 

Soap leaves. Quickly. Quietly. He never looks back.

Her stomach settles into discomfort and she looks through the door he closed with the same sad nostalgia she looked through falling snow and monumentous trees. She can’t help but think she would not get the same priority in Gaz’s situation. Like some terrible premonition, she imagines bleeding out on the ground as Soap turns away, never once looking back.

Would König come for me? She ponders, before she smothers the paranoia-induced delusion with the memory of his large hands on her sides. She looks down at her shoelace, where she carved a cylindrical hole through his effigy to attach it. The birchwood mouse carving that sleeps at her right toe gives a silent reassurance: he never really left you, did he?

By the time she looks back into her scope, in between the all-too-familiar white noise of war that’s broken out around her, she sees a shadow dart out from the alleyway one down from where König is. The figure is cloaked in the specific type of military fatigue denoting his affiliation, one that is unluckily for him, kill on sight. It ducks behind the building to the right, where König is. It stalks out, lining itself up behind the hooded man, brandishing a drawn pistol.

König doesn’t have the time to react to the blood spray that litters across his back from the other man’s head once Mouse pulls the trigger on her gun, silently thankful (as awful as it is,) that Gaz getting hurt allowed her to take the shot without Soap inquiring into her actions. (But maybe it’s her fault in the first place that König was distracted enough to allow someone to get the drop on him…)

König looks back towards her and his head lulls to the side like a heavy flower bloom weighed down by morning dew. His eyes, somehow the softest she’s ever seen, are also carving a large chunk of her soul like a knife cuts through soft wood. When he lifts his hood to blow a kiss to her, she knows she will never get her traitorous heart back.

“Danke, mein Engel,” the radio on her table whispers in his voice.

“It’s only fair. I did owe you, after all.” She responds, all together unconcerned with whether or not he can hear her. She smiles, thankful she can see those bright eyes another day. 

When he turns away, she feels her entire heart walk away with him. With every step of his fleeting form, she feels less and less herself, as though someone had separated her shadow from where it meets her feet. Something has changed in the air between them, a sad resignation settles into her trigger finger when she releases it.

For the first time, she does not feel as though she wouldn’t run if he took her, but rather that some integral part of her is with him as he leaves. 

All is fair in love and war, but she’s not sure just how much longer she can stand to play cat and mouse.

taglist!

@kneelingshadowsalome @sprout-fics @bucca2 @dead-cipher @gallowsjoker @lostagoodcigar @berryjuicyy @haisebo @crowbird

And special thanks to @bucca2 and @ivymarquis for finally kicking my ass into gear to write this. Can't wait to read yall's WIPs!

[super-who-locked-me-in-here]

Do you think he was ever in love with Bedelia like he was in love with Will? I ask this because Bedelia says they were both the "brides of Hannibal". But Hannibal never courted her like he did with Will, Bedelia came into Hannibal's life much before Will but he never pursued her like he did with Will.  Mads said he wanted a future with Will unlike with other people he hooked up with Alana, Bedelia or Anthony. He took her to Italy as a consolation prize when Will betrayed him. Even in Italy H was pining about Will all the time and telling Bedelia how much he loves Will.  I know he slept with Bedelia but he probably slept with Anthony too and he slept with Alana, Hannibal is a hedonistic guy who sleeps around. For him  sleeping with someone doesn't mean he is in love with them.  On the other hand he took a bullet for Will, went to prison for years for Will, made a human heart for Will, jumped off a cliff for Will, committed a whole massacre for Will. But when Will confronts Bedelia, she pretends as if Hannibal held them in the same regard which is obviously not true. Hannibal would choose Will over her in a heart beat and even she knows it  but yet she acts as if Hannibal sees them both equally. I don't understand why? 😭 Why do you think?why make herself seem like a competition when she is not?

My personal take on it is that Bedelia is Hannibal's Molly. Molly/Bedelia was the second choice, pursued after the man that Will/Hannibal wanted acted unexpectedly and now he has to live without him.

Bedelia and Will were both Hannibal's brides, the same way Hannibal and Molly are both Will's.

The ultimate difference between Will and Molly and Hannibal and Bedelia lies in what the women saw and how much they accepted. Will worked hard to keep his true self from Molly and she was content with the fact that she'd never be able to see all the way behind the mask. Hannibal exposed a lot of himself to Bedelia, and what little he didn't show, she forced the mask the rest of the way off so she could see it. Molly offered common courtesy and a happy family picture to escape to whereas Bedelia offered a safe façade to escape with, with no remorse for her prying actions.

I do think Hannibal slept with Bedelia because regardless of the intimate hints that were there (unzipping Bedelia's dress, him walking around shirtless without his hair slicked back, her bathing him), Bedelia is a curious creature and her curiousity shows itself as gluttony. I don't actually think it's lust that she felt for him, and definitely not love, but she wanted to glut herself on every detail about the way Hannibal's mind and body worked, and she wanted to be the only one to know both, or at least be the first. She's a hedonist, just like Hannibal, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if between her curiousity and both their hedonism, they slept together once to experiment and it ended up working for both of them, even if it was an emotionless act, so they continued doing it.

And I think Will was tolerant of his marriage with Molly. It's really funny the way the loop works out because I've already elaborated on how Bedelia is Hannibal's Molly, but I think Molly is also what Alana would've been to Will if they'd pursued a relationship earlier on. She's sweet and friendly and beautiful. She's good with kids and Will's dogs. She appears delicate and lighthearted but is actually quite headstrong when those she cares about are put in danger. She's tolerant. She's the perfect wife, and she always will be until the moment Will exposes himself and his desire to pursue darker interests, to pursue Hannibal. Then he's not a good husband, and it's hard to be a good wife for a bad husband. Molly at the very least didn't have the chance to leave Will; he made that choice for her.

But in the end, hedonism and tolerance are very different than true happiness and acceptance. So no, I don't think Hannibal loved Bedelia. I think she was a distraction and a means to an end and an escape to an unfulfilling life because Hannibal couldn't have the good life that he wanted with Will. And to some extent I think Molly was all that for Will too.

[voxmortuus]

Hello!! Can I request Will Graham or Hannibal x fem!reader? Reader is a nurse and she helps him in an injury or something but he goes batshit crazy in love with her and stalks her and eventualy kidnapps her??

►PAIRING: Will Graham X F!Reader ►UNIVERSE: Hannibal ►WORDS: 1k ►SUMMARY/PROMPT: See Above. ►SONG INSPIRATION: Obsessed by Elle Lexxa ►TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mention of injury | Hospital | Blood | Will goes crazy | Stalking Will | Will Kidnaps Reader | I may be missing some, but you get a general idea, so please proceed with caution if there is anything in there that is overly triggering please let me know politely and I will make sure it is added to the list. ►NOTE: Sorry if this isn't what you expected, or had envisioned yourself, I apologize. But I hope you enjoyed my vision. ►IMAGE & DIVIDER CREDIT: @nyxvuxoa ►My Master Masterlist | Hannibal Masterlist

"Y/N, you have a patient in room 207. Head injury of some sort, superficial. Dr. Humphrey said to go ahead and clean him up, get his vitals and go ahead and send him home." the charge nurse told you. She gave you the chart and sent you off in that direction. Going through things all you wanted to do was go home.

Honestly, you were exhausted, and the idea of a hot shower, your favorite pair of sweatpants and tank top, followed by a bottle of your favorite brand of wine, some chicken wings, and binge-watching that show you've been meaning to watch sounded like a fantastic idea. That... that was the dream. But, right now, that was not reality.

"Hello, Mister..." you take a moment to look at the chart as you lick your lips. "Graham. A head injury I see here. Luckily it's nothing too serious. Nothing a little cleaning up and bandage can't fix. Then we'll send you on your way." You state looking over him for the first time. He was sweet looking, like a battered stray puppy. You tilt your head and let out a soft breath before you check out the wound on his forehead.

As Will is gazing up at you as you step close, he can't help but be in utter awe of you. How your eyes are shaped and the depth of their color of them, your nose seems to have that perfect shape, and your lips move when you speak. The way your voice sounded was like music to his ears and your complexion was absolutely lovely. It was the way your hair fell, and your scent, it was intoxicating in its own way. Though yes, you may have looked exhausted, but it was at that moment, he had this undying need to take care of you, to make you feel like you need not a car in the world.

Will watched you so intently, listening as you spoke, and when your hands came to his skin, he smiled softly. "Your hands are very pleasant." He stated softly.

"Excuse me?" You ask, the compliment took you off guard.

"Your hands, they aren't cold like most, they're very warm, it's a nice change." He stated.

"Oh... well... thank you, Mr. Graham. Now please, stop moving. I need to tend to this okay?" you give a soft chuckle, your eyes soften, and your aura relaxes.

"Oh, yes, sorry." He stated lowly and watches your face as you work.

Finishing up, you toss your gloves in the trash along with the items you used to clean up the wound on his head. Looking over him you offer a kind smile. Your smile, it was something that was really sticking with him. It was just you. Love at first sight, some would say, but to him, you had become an obsession. He needed to know everything was to know about you. He needed to know how you took your coffee, how you smelt after a shower, how soft your skin was after lotion, what you wore when you weren't at home, and how you cut your food, it was the simple things that drove him mad with needing to know.

He started to follow you. He began to learn your routine. Where you got gas for your car, what floor of your apartment you lived on, what time you went to bed, and when you went to work. He learned all of the little details. It was all so simple in his mind.

It wasn't like you knew, you were so involved in yourself and your work you didn't think to pay attention to your surroundings. And when he could have struck any time, he decided that his obsession was starting to consume him. He was dreaming of you, he was following you to the grocery store and would get behind you in line just to smell your hair.

You were that one thing he couldn't let escape his mind. He didn't want you to escape his mind. He damn well knew what he wanted. He had dreamt of it.

One night you were out of work, and instead of getting to your car, he approached you from behind, and with a rag he had used chloroform on he placed it over your mouth and nose, and after a few brief moments of inhalation you had passed out. Your body falls limp in his grasp, putting you in the back of his vehicle.

He didn't take you back to his place, instead, he took you to someplace he knew no one would come snooping. Not even Hannibal was going to come looking for you. He knew who you talked to, who you avoided, no one was coming. The thing is, he wasn't set out to murder you, he was obsessed with you, and he was going to do anything in his power to make you love him.

Once you were tied to the chair he sat across the room watching you, but it was taking a fair bit of time to wake you up. He watched, and watched, but nothing. Growing antsy he got up, and decorated the room around you, with flowers and nice things. Coffee- fresh even. Biting his lip he waited, and at that moment he heard you stir he moved to you.

"Wh...where am I?" you asked.

"Hi, I don't know if you remem-"

"Graham... head injury, why am I here? What happened?" you ask.

"I needed you. I have fresh coffee, flowers, and snacks..." he points out

"No, you needed me? Coffee, flowers, snacks... why am I tied up. Graham..." you start to panic

"No, no relax, I'm not going to hurt you I promise. You're safe, I promise, please, call me Will." He stated with a kind smile... damn a loving smile.

"Relax?! I'm tied up in some stranger's home! LET ME GO!" you demand.

"No, no, please, You don't have anyone else. I promise. You won't want to go home after this. Relax. Okay? I'll show you." He nodded.

This was the start of something utterly insane, he hoped that maybe you were going to love him, that you would stay, and maybe in time you did, or you managed to escape, or he let you go, the end is unforeseen, but it's not like you cannot dream of what the future for you holds.

[nhescio]

Do you think he was ever in love with Bedelia like he was in love with Will? I ask this because Bedelia says they were both the "brides of Hannibal". But Hannibal never courted her like he did with Will, Bedelia came into Hannibal's life much before Will but he never pursued her like he did with Will. Mads said he wanted a future with Will unlike with other people he hooked up with Alana, Bedelia or Anthony. He took her to Italy as a consolation prize when Will betrayed him. Even in Italy H was pining about Will all the time and telling Bedelia how much he loves Will. I know he slept with Bedelia but he probably slept with Anthony too and he slept with Alana, Hannibal is a hedonistic guy who sleeps around. For him sleeping with someone doesn't mean he is in love with them. But when Will confronts Bedelia, she pretends as if Hannibal held them in the same regard which is obviously not true. Hannibal would choose Will over her in a heart beat and even she knows it but yet she acts as if Hannibal sees them both equally. I don't understand why? 😭 Why do you think?why make herself seem like a competition when she is not?

Wow. Okay. First of all, thanks for your ask! I'm surprised you chose to send it to me, but I'm glad that you did :D

For your question, if I could only choose "yes" or "no", I lean a towards a "no", but of course, how I feel is a lot more nuanced than that. So, fair warning, this answer might be a bit long.

Personally, I read NBC's Hannibal as a completely different person than book Hannibal. (Not really that hot a take.) So since we're talking about the show, I just want to clarify that I don't see Hannibal as a psychopath/sociopath (aka still a person, but a person that happens to mentally compute the world differently). The writers and actors have mentioned again and again that their Hannibal was meant to be larger than life. He isn't someone that has the same morals as an average human because he isn't really human at all. His mindset is so divorced from that of society's that it is completely impossible for us to understand how he thinks and acts.

Because of this, I think technically, yes, Hannibal did love Bedelia. Was he "in love" with Bedelia though? No. And especially not "in love" like he was in love with Will.

I think Bedelia may have believed Hannibal letting her "see behind the veil" mind meant that she was an important person to Hannibal. Isn't that obvious to her? He even took her on his escape to Europe in place of Will! I think Hannibal really did care about Bedelia, but nowhere near the level he cared about Will.

We have to realize that everything we see on screen has to be taken with a grain of salt. There are often things hidden in the subtext- especially in a show like this. Unfortunately, that means we can never be sure of the motives of our favorite characters, but I don't see that as a negative. (This is what lets the community have their widely different "favorite headcanons" and write our delicious metas.)

I'm not going to say that this is exactly what happened or these are Bedelia's exact feelings, but I think ultimately, she overstated her relationship with Hannibal because she was looking to provoke Will. I can't be sure that Bedelia believed Hannibal loved her more than he really did (not that she fully reciprocated that love), but she definitely saw her status as something elevated. When she told Will that they were both Hannibal's brides, she was right in the fact that they both allowed to know the truth of Hannibal's motives. But, while she was given a peak in his doors (most likely because she was his pet therapist), Will was welcomed with open arms. Both she and Hannibal knew that Bedelia was in no way equal to Will, even if she pretends to be later on in her sessions with Will.

I don't completely understand why Bedelia chose this route, but maybe there were hours of Hannibal whining about Will that she had to endure that we don't know about. Bedelia is likely just using her experience with Hannibal to gloat, since she was smart enough to distance herself to not get hurt. She would be elevating herself into a position of mental superiority to Will since he came out completely changed and scarred. She was just interesting enough that Hannibal wouldn't kill her and smart enough that he wouldn't physically hurt her since she isn't completely under his thumb. (Also, by that point, Will was probably the only person she could discuss these things openly with since Hannibal was incarcerated, but I digress.) What she didn't realize though, is that Will was just as dangerous to her safety, if not more, than Hannibal. I've seen an amazing analysis on here comparing Bedelia to Gideon since both had taken roles that they didn't have the right to- Bedelia as Will and Gideon as the Ripper. This is why their "punishments" parallel each other, with both being forced to consciously consume what they know is their own human flesh.

TLDR: No, Hannibal was not in love with Bedelia like he was in love with Will. Yes, Hannibal did hold some level of love for Bedelia, just like he did for Alana (and to a lesser extent, Jack). Bedelia, probably too used to being able to squirm out of tight situations, chose to provoke Will by gloating about her clean escape instead of prioritizing her own safety. What she didn't realize was that any affection Hannibal holds towards her is nothing in comparison to his willingness to fulfil Will's whims. (Which is why they chopped off her leg to eat.) Basically, all the stars aligned (negatively in this case) and Bedelia made every wrong choice at the finish line which led to her fate at the end of the series.

Did this response completely derail from your question? Maybe, so I'm sorry about that. Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading!

[scribblesandsorcery]

So a few weeks ago, I got a certain anon ask that had been going around the fandom. I was fairly amused, since the anon had to have either scrolled back a couple years in the Bedannibal tag or had to have dug through the notes of certain mutuals' posts to have found me.

My policy usually is "don't feed the trolls", but the ask arrived when I had been awake for far too long and I had to stay awake for another six hours for real life reasons, so I took that time to word-vomit a rebuttal into a Google doc. Now that I've caught up on sleep a bit and have had a chance to read it back I decided it was, in fact, worth posting.

Anon: Hello!! Do you think he was ever in love with Bedelia like he was in love with Will? I ask this because Bedelia says they were both the "brides of Hannibal". But Hannibal never courted her like he did with Will in s2b despite knowing her longer, Bedelia came into Hannibal's life much before Will but he never pursued her like he did with Will.  Mads said he wanted a future with Will unlike with other people he hooked up with Alana, Bedelia or Anthony. He took her to Italy as a consolation prize when Will betrayed him. Even in Italy H was pining about Will all the time and telling Bedelia how much he loves Will.  I know he slept with Bedelia but he probably slept with Anthony too and he slept with Alana, Hannibal is a hedonistic guy who sleeps around. For him  sleeping with someone doesn't mean he is in love with them. But when Will confronts Bedelia, she pretends as if Hannibal held them in the same regard which is obviously not true. Hannibal would choose Will over her in a heart beat and even she knows it (she even says my relationship with Hannibal is not as passionate as yours)  but yet she acts as if Hannibal sees them both equally. I don't understand why? 😭 Why do you think?why make herself seem like a competition when she is clearly not? And then get scared shitless when Will actually took her as a competition and released Hannibal which led to the leg eating scene?

You’re asking me to address a billion different things, but the short answer is: yes, I think Hannibal was in love with Bedelia.

For the long answer, I’m going to address your points one by one:

But Hannibal never courted her like he did with Will in s2b despite knowing her longer

Really? I think there’s a pretty strong parallel between Hannibal’s actions towards Bedelia and his actions towards Will.  The initial connection is professional, Hannibal arranges a situation for each of them where they kill someone and continually pushes at their “professional” boundaries.  After Hannibal betrays Margot to Mason leading to her forcible sterilization and the termination of the pregnancy, Will says to Hannibal “You don’t want me to have anything in my life that isn’t you” (Tome-Wan script, page 16). This parallels to Bedelia’s situation with Hannibal: Hannibal’s actions lead to her retirement, but his refusal to accept her retirement leaves him as her sole patient (which has some interesting implications that what Will always wanted was a family and what Bedelia always wanted was her career, but I digress).

He offers them both the same thing: the chance to know him, just in different ways.  Bedelia is much stricter about boundaries and professionalism, and so Hannibal gets close to her through his professional connection to her and offers her glimpses through their therapy sessions.  Will has more issues with maintaining such boundaries (from telling Hannibal that they shouldn’t get too friendly to more or less adopting a child together over the span of a couple episodes), and so Hannibal is able to woo him in what could be regarded as a more ‘traditional’ fashion (their dinners, conversations, professing to care about him, their…ahem…shared hobbies in season 2B).  

Overall, to me that suggests less that he wasn’t trying to court Bedelia in any way and more that he had different approaches because they’re two different people with different relationships to him.  And even though Bedelia is stated to have refused invitations to dine with Hannibal, he still finds a workaround by bringing her dinner in Savoureux.

Mads said he wanted a future with Will unlike with other people he hooked up with

I admit I don’t remember the precise quote from Mads Mikkelsen, but did he say he *wanted* a future with Will unlike the others or that he *saw* a future with Will unlike the others? Because if it’s the second then it’s very possible to interpret it that he wanted a future with any/all of them but that Will is the only one he thought would accept the future he offered them.

Even in Italy H was pining about Will all the time and telling Bedelia how much he loves Will.

I’d say this is not entirely true. Will is not a topic of conversation in all of Antipasto, and in later episodes it’s Bedelia who tends to turn the conversation back to Will. She’s the one who draws the comparison between Hannibal’s feelings for Will and Mischa, and in Contorno Hannibal is talking about snails and fireflies and Bedelia is the one who mentions Will (page 4).

I know he slept with Bedelia but he probably slept with Anthony too and he slept with Alana, Hannibal is a hedonistic guy who sleeps around. For him  sleeping with someone doesn't mean he is in love with them.

I’m inclined to agree that Hannibal isn’t necessarily in love with everyone he sleeps with and has probably slept around a reasonable amount. But beyond just hedonism, I don’t think Hannibal regards sex as the ultimate intimacy. The ultimate intimacy, the intimacy that he is continually seeking, is being known and understood completely, and here we get into where his relationships with all these different people diverge.  

Anthony was never particularly meant to understand him. In fact, he could be seen as presumptuous in assuming he understands Hannibal and his situation better than he actually does.

With Alana, it’s stated explicitly in Digestivo (script page 23): “Could I have ever understood you?” “No.” You can quibble over whether Hannibal was being honest, but I think Hannibal overall is actually quite honest unless he has a reason not to be. In that moment, she knew what he was and she also needed him to save Will and help deal with Mason, so I don’t think he had a reason to lie in that situation. If anything, it could be read as him being kind and giving her closure by telling her she never stood a chance. There’s a sense of finality to it.

With Bedelia, I think it’s important to go back to their very first scene together in Sorbet (page 18).  By the time the show starts, she has an awareness that he is not entirely as he presents himself, that he wears a human veil.  Even though she says that they are not friends, she also says “I see enough of you to see the truth of you. And I like you.” And, most significantly, in the script it is followed by the direction “Hannibal smiles, liking her, too.” That is, in fact, the only direction given in the script in that entire exchange. It was important enough to note in both the dialogue and the direction that these two people like each other.

When she tells him she is no longer his therapist in Sakizuke, he is hurt by this (the exact directions in the script read “Hannibal pauses, an imperceptible wound”, page 6). He is hurt by her rejection, just as he is hurt by Will’s rejection later in the season. When they reunite post-Mizumono bloodbath, he is still clearly hurt (“You’re not in a position to ask, Dr. Du Maurier. You ended our patient-psychiatrist relationship.” It’s downright petulant). But he does say something else very significant: “I never found you to be lacking” (Antipasto script, page 17). He fully believes that she has the ability to understand him and engage with him in the way he wants her to.  

she pretends as if Hannibal held them in the same regard which is obviously not true

Will is the one who dubs her “Bride of Frankenstein”, and she replies “we’ve both been his bride”.  This isn’t her elevating herself, she’s calling Will out on his hypocrisy.  I’d also like to point out that “not the same” does not inherently mean “less than”.  

she even says my relationship with Hannibal is not as passionate as yours

That is in response to Will asking her if she ever considered killing Hannibal. She’s pointing out to him that the way he and Hannibal express their passion for each other is attempted murder and is telling him that is not how her relationship with Hannibal works.  

why make herself seem like a competition when she is clearly not?

Again, I don’t think she does? She repeatedly turns their conversations back to Will’s relationship with Hannibal and how he feels about him and whether his experiences with Hannibal and his feelings for him are informing his current actions.  Directly from their conversation in “And the Woman Clothed in Sun” (page 23):

WILL GRAHAM How is one patient worthy of compassion and not another? BEDELIA DU MAURIER I'm under no illusions how morally consistent my compassion has been. (then) How is one murderer worthy of compassion and not another?

And then get scared shitless when Will actually took her as a competition and released Hannibal

Once again, I’d like to refer to the directions in the script (The Wrath of the Lamb, page 14-15).  “She sits motionless, staring into the middle distance, absorbing what she’s just been told.” After he tells her he doesn’t intend Hannibal to be caught a second time, it describes “a flicker of alarm”.  And finally after he outright threatens her, “Bedelia is enraged in a way we’ve never seen.” Shock, a flicker of alarm, and then rage. “Scared shitless” is your interpretation, there are other interpretations of what is actually shown and written.  

which led to the leg eating scene?

Even though Bryan Fuller stated that his intention with the stinger was that Hannibal and Will had gone after Bedelia, he also mentioned a couple other interpretations of that scene (that Bedelia did it to herself, or that it was someone else, potentially Hannibal’s uncle Robert). When commenting on scenarios he’d imagined for a season 4 he also mentioned a scene of Bedelia walking down the street and then arriving home and removing her prosthetic leg, indicating that he intended for her to not only survive but remain at large, which has some interesting implications. But aside from that, I don’t think loving someone and eating them are mutually exclusive actions to Hannibal. After all, he did take a bone saw to Will’s head with the intention of eating his brain. 

So to get back to your first question: Do you think he was ever in love with Bedelia like he was in love with Will?

I realize that this is a slightly unpopular opinion, but yes. Furthermore I believe that Hannibal was capable of loving Alana.  The sticking point with all of these relationships is whether they were capable of loving him for what he is.  

I believe Mads Mikkelsen made a comment that when Hannibal seems to like people - Jack Crawford, Alana Bloom, Bella Crawford, etc. - he is not simply pretending to manipulate them, he does genuinely like them. To me, there is a real simplicity about Hannibal as a character, in that he does what he wants. “I was curious what would happen” is a major motivating factor for him - he wants to see what will happen if he does something, so he does it.  In that way he’s very honest. Furthermore, I’d say that he is, at heart, a romantic. He romanticizes everything, including things that most of us don’t (pain, death, cannibalism). It isn’t a stretch to think that he is romantic enough to love anyone he considers worthy of his time and attention.

Of the three we see involved with him through the show (Alana, Bedelia, and Will), there are a lot of similarities.  All three of them are intelligent, attractive, and all three of them have the potential capacity to seek to understand him in the way he wants most.  

In spite of what I wrote about his relationship with Alana above, I think there was some real potential.  They have a decent amount of history together. Alana is a psychiatrist, and she has a real curiosity, enough that she has to resist the urge to be too near Will Graham because she would not be able to separate professional and personal interest.  That sort of curiosity could potentially lead someone to want to understand Hannibal, but in the end that curiosity doesn’t extend to actually being able to truly understand or (more importantly) accept him (see above).  

Will’s empathy means that understanding isn’t the issue, which is what first appeals to Hannibal and what he talks about with Bedelia in Fromage (page 33):

HANNIBAL He’s nothing like me. We see the world in different ways, yet he can assume my point of view. BEDELIA How has he demonstrated that? HANNIBAL He’s demonstrated the capacity. BEDELIA By profiling the criminally insane? HANNIBAL As good a demonstration as any. I find it reassuring. BEDELIA It’s nice to have someone see us, Hannibal. Or have the ability to see us. It requires trust. Trust isn’t easy for you.

He sees the understanding that Will is capable of and it’s something he’s always wanted, but even though Will comes to see Hannibal by the end of the first season, he does not accept Hannibal or his own ability to be like Hannibal. That’s the central conflict for Will for the remainder of the series.  Even though he admits that them killing Dolarhyde together is “beautiful”, he still pulls both of them off the cliff, and the intention behind that is debatable.  Is he rejecting his Becoming by trying to destroy himself and Hannibal? Is he trying to fake their deaths so they can escape together? Was it something he planned all along? Was it impulsive when he realized how far gone he was?  Since the show doesn’t continue there are multiple ways to read it.  That’s where fanfictions and headcanons come in.  I’m not dealing with that scene in my fics so I’m not required to have strong feelings in any particular direction at this time. 

When it comes to Bedelia, it’s obvious from the first scene that she and Hannibal have known each other for a long time.  As pointed out above, their first scene is very clear about the relationship they have: Bedelia may hold to certain professional boundaries (and those are a little fuzzy what with the after session glass of wine and all) but ultimately they are two people who like each other. 

Her first scene also establishes that she is, at that point, far more aware of Hannibal than anyone else is (her comments about a “human veil”). She knows enough to know he is not being honest, and yet she still continues to be his psychiatrist. 

There’s also a significant scene in Fromage (page 32). Most of the scene remained in the finished episode, but some lines that are in the script didn’t make the cut: 

HANNIBAL For the first time in a long while I see a possibility of friendship. We are -- 25 INT. BEDELIA’S HOME OFFICE - DAY 4 25 Hannibal sits opposite Bedelia. BEDELIA Is there someone new in your life? HANNIBAL I met a man much like myself, same hobbies, same world views. But I’m not interested in being his friend. I’m curious about him and that got me curious about friendship. BEDELIA That’s progress. I always considered you an individualist. The social anti-social. HANNIBAL A polite way of saying sociopath? BEDELIA I’m not sure how to categorize you in those terms. And I think you prefer it that way. HANNIBAL I’m afraid once you figure me out, you’ll lose interest. BEDELIA Whose friendship are you considering? HANNIBAL Oddly enough, a colleague and a patient. Not unlike how I am a colleague and patient of yours. We’ve discussed him before. BEDELIA Will Graham.

Now, the cut lines are extremely interesting (“I’m afraid once you figure me out, you’ll lose interest” pretty clearly indicates that he wants Bedelia’s attention and interest), but even with those lines cut, it’s an interesting scene. Hannibal draws a comparison between his relationship with Will and his relationship with Bedelia. That could be interpreted as pushing at her previously stated boundary of “you are my patient and my colleague, not my friend”, maybe saying “see it’s totally possible to be friends as well as having a therapist/patient relationship. Or it could be interpreted as him taunting her slightly (“since you insist that you aren’t my friend I’m looking elsewhere”). 

A little later in the conversation, this exchange is in the script (page 33):

HANNIBAL (CONT’D) You’ve helped me to better understand what I want in a friendship. And what I don’t. BEDELIA Someone worthy of your friendship. The word “worthy” rings true for Hannibal. She can see it.

Hannibal is seeking someone worthy of his friendship, and since he has extended overtures to Bedelia and continues to extend them (the dinner in Savoureux) we can extrapolate that he has deemed her worthy and continues to consider her worthy (“I never found you to be lacking”). 

Furthermore, there are a few choice quotes on love from Hannibal in season 2. First is from Naka-choko (page 13): “You failed to murder your brother because you still love him.” There are a select number of people that Hannibal fails to murder throughout the series: Will, Jack, Alana (although that can be put down equally to Abigail) and Bedelia.  What’s more, he could be considered to have failed to kill Bedelia twice: in Sakizuke when he shows up at her house in his murder suit and again in Dolce when she says goodbye to him in a way he hadn’t planned.  

This second quote is technically less firm since it occurs during a dream/vision sort of sequence, but the writers still saw fit to put it in Hannibal’s mouth, so I think it counts: In the opening of Shiizakana (page 2), he says: “No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them. By that love we see potential in our beloved. Through that love we allow our beloved to see their potential. Expressing that love, our beloved's potential comes true.”

Everything that is said there applies to Bedelia as much as to Will.  Hannibal saw her potential for violence and placed Neal Frank in her path as a conduit to realizing that potential. He continues to push at her in that regard in Italy (“technically, you killed him”). 

Furthermore, in Mizumono, during his “breakup” with Will (page 33), this is what he has to say: “I let you in. I let you know me. I let you see me.” Who else does he let in? Who else does he let know him and see him? Bedelia.

So yeah, I think it’s totally reasonable to assume that Hannibal loved Bedelia.  

[liennka]

Fromage - part 1

Hannibal Lecter x Will's daughter/teen patient reader

Summary : When Y/N for once arrives early for her therapy, she ends up in a life-or-death situation... (s1 e08)

-> Feel free to insert yourself instead :) This is my first story and I am open to any criticism (be nice pls).

I just wanted to say that I am not the owner of this show, but I did make this story, so don't copy it without my knowledge, thank you.

Y/N was once again sat in the waiting room, awaiting her next session with Doctor Lecter. After some time, she gradually grew fond of her psychiatrist, who wore a “mask”, as she passed time trying to read his mind. It was not an easy task, but her efforts were bearing fruit as she was now able to recognise when he was bored, angry and most importantly, pleased. At that moment she knew he wouldn't be too happy with her early arrival, Hannibal didn't like his patients meeting each other, which was why they all had at least a 30 minute interval between each appointment. But her usual ride couldn't make it, and if she wanted to be on time, she had to take the bus, thus showing up an hour before she should have. 

----☆----☆----☆----

It was roughly halfway through the previous session when she heard footsteps in the hallway.  Y/N wondered who it could be, as she was Hannibal's last patient for the day. A tall black man in a suit made his way to the Doctor's door, walking slowly and steadily.

Something in Y/N felt wrong, her body hair rising and her mind automatically searching for the nearest exits. And she wasn't naive, it was her gut telling her to run. As much as she wanted to, she was cornered, the man approaching from one door and the other closed, if she tried to interrupt Lecter's session, he would kill her himself.

And when Y/N's chair was only a few meters away from him, she could finally see more details of his face. His dark expression, his dull eyes and the blood on his face. She sniffed and smelt some kind of acid and more blood, probably dried under his fingernails. Thanks to Will, she was more than just an average person, seeing few investigations and knowing the basics of corrupted minds. This man had the aura of a psychopath, the expression of a stoic killer and the smell of a mad scientist, if that wasn't enough she had no idea what was.

----☆----☆----☆----

She didn't knock, just quickly pulling on the doorknob, twisting it, opening the door and closing it right behind her.  A man was talking and then suddenly stopped as he saw her. Y/N's body was driven by her adrenaline, not minding the psychiatrist's look of shock and displeasure.

"There is a strange man. Blood on his face and hands," she whispered, her nerves causing her voice to rise an octave. 

Before Hannibal could say anything, Y/N retreated from the door and fled towards him. A few seconds after she had moved, the door opened again and that creepy man walked in. Y/N seemed to be the only one who did not know him, as the others quickly rose to their feet. Hannibal hid most of her body with himself, clearly hoping to shield her.  

"Tobias?" the smaller chubby man asked, eyes wide.

"I came to say goodbye, Franklin. I just killed two men," Tobias said coolly, some blood dripping from a missing chunk of his ear. 

"The police came to question me… " he added, intentionally leaving the sentence unfinished.

She tensed. Will never said where he was going, only telling her about his work when it was over. He himself never knew when Jack would snatch him and force him to solve another case. But this time she knew he was at work, leaving her no choice but to take the bus. And as always, her father would be the one to take care of all the murders in town. There was almost no chance that Will hadn't encountered this man. When Y/N looked at Hannibal, his composed facade was momentarily replaced by an expression of worry. She clutched at his jacket, her palm ruffling the cotton.

"You have to give yourself up, you might still be able to rehabilitate," Franklin pleaded with his friend. 

What a bloody idiot, she thought, there was no way Tobias would surrender, Franklin was more than naive, he was suicidal at this point. 

"Y/N, I want you to leave with Franklin, n-" Hannibal wasn't able to finish his sentence, but Y/N was swift and had already grabbed Franklin's suit. 

"Stay where you are, Franklin!" Tobias said furiously, interrupting Hannibal.

"No, no, no. We.Have.To.Go!" Y/N added weight to each word as she stepped into his field of vision. 

Franklin was momentarily flabbergasted, so Y/N took that opportunity and tightly grabbed his arm. But no matter how hard she pulled, Franklin's body wouldn't move, leaving her to try to drag him unsuccessfully towards Hannibal's desk. And then, when she thought he finally changed his mind, he turned around, not quite done with his motivational speech. He stepped back as he mumbled his words, letting her stay behind their doctor’s table.  Y/N was done with him. And so was everyone else.

----☆----☆----☆----

“I am not alone,” Tobias replied to one of Franklin's stupid quotes 

“That's right, you are not alone, nothing has happened in our real- ” Franklin's neck snapped, Hannibal behind him. 

The cracking sound was disgusting, making Y/N glance away. Franklin's body fell to the ground with a 'thud', sprawling his limbs like a puppet. 

"I was looking forward to that," Tobias groaned.

"I saved you the trouble," Hannibal smiled.

She was glued to the spot, watching them closely. As expected, Tobias got mad and threw his jacket on the floor. He pulled an iron cord from his pocket, a kind of weapon she had never seen before. He swung it a few times like a jojo, forcing Hannibal to retreat. Y/N made eye contact with her therapist and decided it was time to leave. She backed away to the patient's exit, not taking her eyes off the dangerous man for a second. Tobias tossed the wire at Hannibal and kicked him against the bookshelf. It looked bad for Hannibal, maybe if she was fast enough, she could call police. But only if she gets out first.

----☆----☆----☆----

Y/N had her hand on the doorknob, turning it slowly to prevent any sound from escaping. Much to her bad luck, it clicked and Tobias noticed.

----☆----☆----☆----

[gallavichsreddie1128]

The Notes (Hannibal/Will)

Description: Y/N finds proof that Will is cheating on her with Hannibal.

Word Count:1,804k

Author’s note: I am going to C2E2 tomorrow to meet Mads and Hugh so I will not be posting a pic tomorrow. I will post another one later today that will be for tomorrow.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the note, well notes that Hannibal and Will had been writing to each other. They weren’t just friendly notes that just friends write to fill each other in on how life was going. They were notes that lovers wrote to each other that told a story. A story of what they did and wanted to do to each other when they saw each other again. Her eyes skimmed the words that Will, her husband, wrote to Hannibal.

He was in love with him and though she tried to push it in the back of her head, she always knew. She always knew that she would never be good enough for him or like Hannibal for that matter. And Hannibal loved him back. Of course he did. This wasn’t something that was in her head. This was real life and she was reading it on paper.

Tears streamed down her face as she realized that Will was lying to her. Will had told her that it was in the past and that he didn’t love Hannibal like that. She was hesitant to believe him but she did. Now she just felt stupid. This man who was confirmed to be the killer and was in jail for it came into their life and fucked up their marriage. She knew that love didn’t have options and that it wasn’t a choice but lying was and that’s all her husband did to her. “Maybe you shouldn’t go, Will. It’s been three years.” She said to him as they sat in bed talking about how Jack came by and told him there were more murders and that he needed his help.

Y/N hated Jack too. He was a part of the issue and that led her husband in the arms of Hannibal Lecter. Y/N wanted to be a supporting wife but couldn’t be when she knew that if he left he would be right back in Hannibal’s arms. So when he left she searched the place for any sort of evidence that gave into her thoughts or proved her wrong. Sadly, she wasn’t proven wrong, she was proven right. Some of the notes were from when Will was in jail all those years ago and some were from recently. They all said the same thing, just written differently. Her husband was in love with someone else. 

When the Red Dragon found out that Will had a wife he was more than eager to take the one thing that he loved away from him. But like Y/N, he didn’t realize that his wife was just a pawn. Y/N thought about letting him kill her just to teach Will a lesson. See if Will even cared for her at all or if he just acted like he did. Would he cry when she died? Would he regret what he did? Would he realize that he made the biggest mistake of his life? It was tempting but she couldn’t let that happen. So as she lays in the hospital wounded Will is by her side holding her hand and praying that she’s okay.

She was but once she opened her eyes and saw him sleeping in the chair beside her, she had a whole new outcome on the situation. She squeezed his hand to let him know she was awake. He jumped up a bit and gave a heartful smile to her that gave her butterflies. She loved that smile, god she loved that smile but it didn’t feel real. “I’m so glad. You’re okay.” He told her with tears in his eyes.

She wondered if those tears were for her or for the guilt that he felt for everything he did and caused. “I shouldn’t have gone. This is all my fault.” He said through tears. She looked at him. He was right, it was his fault. All of it, everything. He put her in danger all because he was in love with Hannibal and couldn’t stay away. So as he lies to her, she lies to him. “No it wasn’t. Jack was the one that approached you with the case. You were just doing your job.” She said and squeezed his hand again. The small smile she gave him was as good as she could. She couldn’t conjure up a real smile. Maybe it was the physical pain or the mental pain. 

Her and the dogs were back safe at the house and it seemed as if that was all Will could ever ask for. He looked so happy to have his family back and okay. She almost thought it was real, but then remembered everything else. He leaned down and kissed her. He kissed her like he loved her and that she was the only thing in the world that mattered. Those kisses were the best. They were full of life and love. But in the back of her mind the kiss was just a coverup to distract her from everything. She figured that Will knew that she wasn’t happy and that she might catch on. He wasn’t aware though that she did in fact catch on. But she kissed him back, playing into his game. What they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. 

Will was gone again and told her it would be the last time. The last time he worked a case, the last time he would see Hannibal. She almost laughed in his face. She knew that there wouldn’t ever be a last time. In 3 more years something would come up and Jack would be back at their doorstep asking Will for help and Will would agree, not to be helpful but to see Hannibal. His one true love.

She sat at the kitchen with a glass of wine as she read the notes they wrote to each other over and over again. She memorized every line and every word that they said to each other. Poetic really she thought. Hannibal really did have a way with words. She stopped crying days ago about it. Realizing that tears weren’t going to help. She got up from the table and left all the notes scattered about and the wine glass too. She put on some shoes and left the house. She was going to find them and catch them in the act. She was going to scream at Will and confront him for lying to her.

She was driving way above the speed limit but didn’t care. Will had told her where he would be with Hannibal and she went there. As she was driving she heard shooting. If she wasn’t so mad and in her head she probably would have freaked out. She parked her car and got out and walked to where the noise was. From a distance she could see her husband and Hannibal jump out of the van that was tipped over. She watched as Hannibal walked up to a police car and pulled the body out of the car and got in. Will had also got in the car making her quickly run back to her car to follow them.

She didn’t wanna make it too obvious that she was following them so when Hannibal pulled into this nice huge place she had kept driving but pulled into another place. She got out of the car and walked in the direction of the house. She knew that she would catch them in the act and maybe more. She wasn’t worried about them seeing her anymore. As she neared the house she heard a gunshot. She jumped for a second startled by the noise and wondered if it came from that house. Did Hannibal kill Will? She wondered as she walked faster to the house. She wasn’t worried if that was the case or if it was the other way around. She was tired of feeling like that when he wasn’t even in love with her, probably never was. She reached the house just in time and walked through the door quietly as she heard noises. She let out a silent gasp as she watched Hannibal and Will fight another man, together.

The guy looked familiar to her but she couldn’t place where. She saw that her husband was deeply wounded as was Hannibal. They were on the patio and she watched with wide eyes. Will had a knife in this other man’s stomach and slashed it vertically through his abdomen like Hannibal did to him years ago. If she wasn't shocked by the scene she would have laughed. The irony in that. Hannibal tore out a part of this guy’s throat with his teeth and Hannibal fell off his back and onto the ground. The guy fell too and looked at Will. Hannibal got to his feet and went over to Will.

Y/N walked closer to watch as Will took his hand and clung onto him by the edge of what she presumed was a cliff. They were hugging each other and almost kissed a few times. What stopped them? She didn’t understand why they didn't kiss. That would have been the perfect moment to kiss. “See. This is all I've ever wanted for you, Will. For the both of us.” Hannibal said, looking down at the man. “It’s beautiful.” Will said. They both looked at each other and finally kissed. Will had kissed Hannibal like he kissed his wife the day she came home from the hospital. Her eyes were dry as she watched. No longer feeling any emotion. She watched as they kissed passionately.

Like two lovers that finally got their chance. Which they did. Y/N walked onto the patio and towards them slowly. She didn’t make a sound as she stared at them having their moment. She didn’t stop walking and with everything in her body, all her anger, all her hurt and sadness she had managed to push them off the cliff. She didn’t even look as they fell from the cliff and ended up in the sea. She didn’t care if they were alive or dead. She stared at her wedding ring and all the good memories from their marriage popped in her head. All the kisses, the love, the laugh, the good times before Hannibal came along hit her like a brick. She shed a single tear and slipped off the ring. Without a second thought or hesitation she threw the ring off the cliff. She closed her eyes and gave a deep breath before looking over the cliff. She didn’t see anything but the body of water. No ring, No bodies, No Hannibal or Will. She looked one last time before turning around and walking away, leaving all the memories of her and Will, whether it was good or bad, she left them and the lies behind.  

[olderthannetfic]

So some tumblr user just suggested that pro-shippers are lying when they suggest toxic ships are on the pro-ship side, and that the real pro-ship ships are pedophilia and incest ships.

Am I correct in assuming this is a very wrong assertion? Like it sounds very much like a lie, like they're telling their opponents what they can and can't care about, and I think putting pedophilia and incest in the same category is weird because incest isn't a form of abuse, just a cultural taboo.

Like comparing the two and contrasting pedophilia with toxic ships as though they're separate things is very telling, because it shows that to them, hating pedophilic ships is less about the fact that pedophilic relationships are abusive and more about the fact that it's a taboo form of sex.

Especially since they later describe a teen her x mentor ship as "fucking weird" which seems like a very morally-neutral way to see it. Not "gross" or "creepy" or "abhorrent", just weird. "Weird" is what the Cars franchise is. But if you're this morally neutral to the topic, then why is pedophilia crossing a line? What line is it crossing if it's not a moral one? The answer is that, yet again, this person is only concerned with the fact that it's a taboo sex thing. The term weird is a direct admittance of that, that the first thing this person feels like complaining about in terms of this concept is that it's "weird".

Also I imagine there are a lot of cases that would prove this wrong. Like Sarah Z said once that some anti's were mad that she liked a toxic ship because they thought she was an anti and considered her defending this ship as confirming she was not an anti.

--

I mean, this is antis: "pedo" can mean "consensual teenage making out between 16-year-olds" or "I'm delusional about Lance, Keith, and Shiro's ages".

But yes, in general, most of the rhetoric around the proship vs. anti stuff is coming from hysterical antis fighting with imaginary enemies, and the rest is coming from hypocrites who call themselves proshippers but really aren't.

The general concept of being "proship" is supposed to mean that you don't think fiction and reality have a 1:1 relationship. Video games don't turn you into a spree killer, etc. etc. And, as a consequence, you think it's none of anyone's business what someone ships or what they like in fiction, and we should all just calm down and let people like things.

It does not indicate that you like anything dark or controversial yourself. It's a stance on bullying and thought crimes and censorship.

Personally, I tend to say that I'm anti-censorship and that I don't believe in thought crimes since the term 'proshipper' is so thoroughly ruined by people who go "Yes, except for [thingI don't like]".

Sarah Z is a bully who tries to have it all ways. She sounds good on the surface but is far too concerned with looking cool to the mainstream and being A Mature Adult Now, You Guys.

Her attack on that queer + proship hannibal pin with the pink triangle is just embarrassing. Learn your queer history, Sarah, or shut the fuck up. The real adults are talking.

[honeygrahambitch]

Hi, I'm new to the fandom and unsure who to ask my questions. I recently joined Tumblr and came across your posts while browsing the Hannibal meta tag. I have a few questions: What are Hannibal's feelings towards Bedelia and Alana? I remember Mads once said that Hannibal is in love with everyone on the show to some extent, so what exactly does love mean to him? Also, I'm having trouble understanding the line by Will: "You will only do that if I rejected you" (sorry, I paraphrased). I apologize if these are too many questions. Thanks in advance!

Hi anon! I am in a yapping mood so here we go.

1. What are Hannibal's feelings towards Bedelia and Alana?

They are absolutely women that he appreciates and respects to some extent. Hannibal does not engage with people he doesn't respect. Bedelia is his colleague and...friend? Depends who you ask cause Hannibal did say that he considered her his friend. He doesn't love her, but she matches his freak to some extent. She is a beautiful woman and she is intelligent and most importantly, she probably knows him better than anyone (up until the point he meets Will at least).

He was also very genuine towards Alana. He did use her as an alibi but I stand my ground when I say that he offered her to run away genuinely because he cared about her. She is also intelligent and beautiful, what's not to like about her? (i won't start ranting about Alana now, I have many thoughts ahhhhh). Tbh his feelings towards Bedelia are deeper. Alana did not see him for who he was. She didn't know him intimately enough. He has never wanted to eat her. Hannibal wants to eat people if 1) they are rude and 2) they mean the world to him (because how else to express your adoration). Bedelia did end up for dinner in the end. What he had with Alana was not that deep but it was enjoyable for sure. Alana is more submissive than Bedelia.

So I guess to sum up, both Bedelia and Alana were very convenient both as partners and as pawns for the bigger picture. But his feelings toward them are nothing compared to what he feels for Will.

2. What does love mean to Hannibal?

My take on what Mads said is that Hannibal is an individual who is genuinely in love with life. With every aspect. Life gets complicated? That's entertaining to him. Will did something unpredictable? Entertaining too. Rude people or people he loves are having dinner with him? Wonderful. Murder? Mesmerizing. He loves suits, he composes, he draws, he cooks, he is so full of life all the time. He is a little bit in love with everyone because he finds everyone a source of entertainment and that's really important to him.

Will actually making him suffer is however something he did not find so entertaining. Even if he did find some beauty in all that pain, I am sure he wasn't very entertained. It was a rare occasion where he was really in pain. He is not the same as in the first two seasons. He is more reckless, more impulsive. His little happy narrative was shattered because of a situation where he had no control over. Part of his life satisfaction and entertainment are explained by his need to control how all the subplots develop.

3. What did Will mean when he said "you'd only do that if I rejected you"?

Honestly this is one that I struggled with for a long time and I guess you can interpret it in many nuances. It's meant to be interpretable.

You can either see it as a) "I manipulated you to surrender and you fell for it. I knew which buttons to push. You can't handle rejection. You did exactly what I expected you to do" or b) (my favorite) "I had to say all those things because it was the only way to make you surrender. I knew that you wanted me to know where to find you. While what I said back then does not reflect my true feelings, I had to make you surrender."

[arkashas]

Will Graham’s Death and Rebirth: S1 Edition

in hannibal, death and life are two sides of the same coin, and death leads to new life. now let’s see how that factors into will graham’s own journey, in season 1.

i wrote this post after i thought long and hard about how it was strange that we don’t have a “death and rebirth” for will in season 1, when we do for all the other seasons, and turns out i was wrong and it does also happen in season 1 (you might want to read my post on the other times to clarify some of the ideas expressed here).

anyway, let’s start (warning: veeeery long).

hannibal: do you feel alive, will?

will: i feel like i’m fading.

and

will: i feel like I’m seeing a ghost.

hannibal: regarding this killer or yourself?

will: both.

and

hannibal: have you considered cotard’s syndrome?

hannibal: it’s a rare delusional disorder in which a person believes he or she is dead.

will: are you talking about the killer or me?

the idea of will being dead, or feeling like he is dead, is brought up from buffet froid onwards, which suggests his worrying mental state. why does will believe he’s fading from reality/becoming a ghost/dead though? a conversation in roti gives further insights:

will: i don’t know how to gauge who I am anymore.

will: i don’t feel like myself.

will: i feel like I have been gradually becoming different for a while.

will: i just feel like somebody else.

hannibal: what do you feel like?

will: i feel crazy.

hannibal: and that is what you fear most.

will: i fear not knowing who i am.

will believing he’s dead goes hand in hand with him believing he’s going insane and that he’s becoming garret jacob hobbs, given that hobbs is also dead. will becomes subsumed by hobbs’ identity in the first season, owing to the encephalitis and hannibal’s manipulations.

i’m going to list some dialogue which shows will being more and more entrenched in hobbs’ identity.

oeuf:

will: i got so close to him. sometimes, i felt like we were doing the same things at different times of the day. like i was eating or showering or sleeping at the same time he was.

hannibal: even after he was dead?

will: even after he was dead.

hannibal: like you were becoming him.

trou normand:

hannibal: i’m your friend, will. i don’t care about the lives you save, i care about your life. and your life is separating from reality.

roti:

jack: you’ve got to keep things in perspective. you’re got to keep yourself in perspective.

will: well, myself is a little hazy at the moment.

roti:

gideon: i don’t know if i will ever be myself again.

gideon: i don’t know if i've got any self left over.

gideon: i spent so long thinking i was him, it’s gotten really hard to remember who i was when i wasn’t him.

will: who are you now?

gideon (who has turned into garret jacob hobbs in will’s imagination): now i’m you. 

releves:

jack: this dissociative personality state you say he goes into…whose personality is it?

hannibal: he said he got so close to garret jacob hobbs and what he had done that he felt he was becoming him.

jack: and now he has hobb’s daughter.

hannibal: who hobbs intended to kill.

will’s descent into madness culminates into him hallucinating he’s killed abigail by slamming her into the wall of antlers in hobbs’ cabin. with this, will’s greatest fear has become reality - he’s become garret jacob hobbs and killed his daughter just like hobbs would have done. there is no more will graham, he is dead.

now i’m going to further narrate what happens to will and parallel the events with georgia madchen’s own arc along the way, because it’s talking about georgia which first allows will to give voice to his own fears of feeling like he’s dead, and so i believe that comparing their experiences will also show how will is brought back from the dead.

after the hallucination and arriving back at his house, will calls hannibal and tells him what he remembers:

will: i don’t remember going to bed last night. but i must have.

will: i hallucinated that i killed her. but it wasn’t real. i know it wasn’t real.

vs.

will: you know what you did, georgia.

georgia: but i don’t remember it. it feels more like a horrible dream where i killed my friend.

both will and georgia kill someone close to them in a dreamlike haze, abigail for will, beth lebouf for georgia. only, in will’s case it was a hallucination, while georgia killed her friend in reality.

will is taken to jail after he throws up the ear, but escapes from the prison van after learning that he’s also accused of the copy cat murders, not believing he could have murdered them all, and goes to hannibal’s office.

in roti, jack talks to will after sutcliffe’s body is discovered, asking why georgia followed him to sutcliffe’s office.

will’s answer:

i don’t know. i have a habit of collecting strays. i told her, tried to tell her the night i saw her, i tried to tell her she was alive. maybe she heard me. maybe that hadn’t occurred to her in a while.

and

will: it’s 1:17 AM. we're in greenwood, delaware. my name is will graham. and you're alive. if you can hear me, you're alive.

vs.

hannibal: i imagine abel gideon would want to find the chesapeake ripper to gauge who he is. and who he isn’t.

hannibal: will. you have me as your gauge.

(abel gideon is another character who can be paralleled to will with re: the loss of identity and medical abuse)

and

hannibal: i’d like you to draw a clock face. numbered. large hand indicating the hour, small hand the minute.

will: why?

hannibal: an exercise. i want you to remember the present moment. the now. often as you can, think of where you are and when. think of who you are.

will: it’s 7:16 PM. i’m in baltimore, maryland. my name is will graham.

hannibal: a simple reminder. a handle to reality for you to hold onto, and know you’re alive.

just like georgia goes to will because he’s the one source of surety and stability in her life, the one giving her a handle on reality, will goes to hannibal for the same reason when he is framed for murder.

will then goes back to hobbs’ kitchen with hannibal to see if he really did kill abigail, just like georgia goes back to beth lebeau’s house to see if she really did kill beth lebeau.

will: if she did kill beth lebeau, she might not even know she did it.

beverly: then why did she come back?

will: to convince herself she didn't.

vs.

hannibal: if we're to prove you didn't commit these murders, perhaps we should consider how you could have.

hannibal: and then disprove that.

and

 will: then take me to minnesota. i want to see where abigail died.

to make things simpler, i’m going to list all of the dialogue that occurs when they arrive at the hobbs’ kitchen, and cherry pick some parts for further analysis.

hannibal: it’s as if abigail was supposed to die in this kitchen.

will: her throat was cut. she lost great gouts of blood and there’s an unmistakable arterial spray.

hannibal: they haven’t found her body.

will: just the one piece.

hannibal: if you were in garret jacob hobbs’ frame of mind when you killed her, they may never find her.

will: cause i honored every part of her?

hannibal: perhaps you didn’t come here looking for a killer. perhaps you came here to find yourself. you killed a man in this very room.

will: i stared at hobbs and the space opposite me assumed the shape of a man filled with dark and swarming flies. and then i scattered them.

hannibal: at a time when other men fear their isolation, yours has become understandable to you. you are alone because you are unique.

will: i’m as alone as you are.

hannibal: if you followed the urges you kept down for so long, cultivated them as the inspirations they are, you would have become someone other than yourself.

will: you’re not alone. we are here together.

vs.

hannibal: you are alone because you are unique.

though these might seem like different scenes (will says georgia is not alone, hannibal says will is alone) ultimately they’re one and the same. hannibal telling will he’s alone makes will realise hannibal is as alone he is, which later makes him realise he’s not alone because they’re together in their alone-ness.

dialogue from tome-wan to support this:

will: you're right. we are just alike. you're as alone as i am. and we're both alone without each other.

will says hannibal is as alone as he is, and then goes on to say they’re both alone without each other, i.e. being with each other makes them not alone.

dialogue from savoureux continued:

will: i know who i am. i’m not so sure i know who you are anymore. but i am certain one of us killed abigail.

hannibal: whoever that was killed the others.

hannibal: are you a killer, will? you. right now. this man, standing in front of me. is this who you really are?

will: i am who i’ve always been. the scales have just fallen from my eyes. i can see you now.

hannibal: what do you see?

will: you called here that morning. abigail knew. you kept her secrets until she found out some of yours.

hannibal: you said it felt good to kill garret jacob hobbs, will. would it feel good to kill me now?

will: garret jacob hobbs was a murderer. are you a murderer, dr. lecter?

hannibal: what reason would I have?

will: you have no traceable motive, which is why you were so hard to see. you were just curious what i would do. someone like me. someone who thinks how i think. wind him up and watch him go. apparently, dr. lecter, this is how i go.

will begins to realise hannibal is the one who killed abigail, and turns on him, raising his gun and steadying it at him. there’s a final parallel of georgia’s arc with will’s, and it’s how they’re both brought back from the dead.

how is georgia brought back from the dead? by someone seeing her and by her thinking of who she is/realising who she is. which also is what happens with will.

 will: i see you, georgia.

 will: think of who you are.

and

georgia: am i alive?

vs.

hannibal: perhaps you came here to find yourself. you killed a man in this very room.

and

will: i know who i am.

and

hannibal: are you a killer, will? right now. this man in front of me. is this who you really are?

and

will: i am who i’ve always been. the scales have just fallen from my eyes.

and

hannibal: you said it felt good to kill garret jacob hobbs, will. would it feel good to kill me now?

i subscribe to the idea that, from releves onwards at least, hannibal actually wanted will to figure out he was the copy cat killer (too long to get into it right now, but suffice to say hannibal didn’t need to frame will for all the killings, abigail was enough and will was complying with his arrest. i believe hannibal had a change of heart and didn’t want will to believe he’s become hobbs and framed will for the copy cat murders as well to make will doubt that he killed at all, and so that will would continue profiling the copy cat killer, which would lead to him seeing hannibal. hannibal misdirecting will is a test, which will passes.)

hannibal follows “perhaps you came here to find yourself” with “you killed a man in this very room”. hannibal wants will to find himself through his killing of garret jacob hobbs, not his apparent killing of the copy cat victims. hannibal wants will to find himself through his preferred choice of kills - murderers. hannibal also doesn’t attempt to talk will down or make him hand him the gun, instead he goads him into killing him, because he is so very close to making will accept that he’s a killer.

notice how will doesn’t deny that he’s a killer, and answers hannibal’s question of whether it would feel good to kill him with, “are you a murderer?” it would feel good to kill hannibal if he killed abigail, because to will, doing bad things to bad people feels good.

most see this scene as hannibal finally taking the mask off and being seen for who he is, but the seeing goes both ways. hannibal sees will for who he is as well, someone who kills for righteous reasons, not a killer who’s subliminally acting out hobbs or any other killer’s wishes (even if hannibal did actually want will to believe he killed the copy cat victims and miscalculated on will’s tenacity and strength of character, it still holds true that in this moment he’s seeing will as a righteous killer). will is also affirmed of his identity, he didn’t get lost inside anyone’s head, he didn’t kill anybody because of his illness, he’s not garret jacob hobbs, he knows who he is. will, feeling betrayed and furious, brings the gun up to shoot hannibal, who is saved by jack at the last minute. this is will’s rebirth, or at least a return from the dead, a throwback to georgia being brought back from the dead by will.

and consider will’s last words before he blacks out, a fitting addendum to all that just went down:

see? you see?

EDIT : to add to all this, i was informed by someone’s tags on one of my posts that “the scales have fallen from my eyes” is a biblical reference. “And immediately there fell from his eye as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.” (Acts 9:18)  

baptism is seen as a kind of rebirth in the christian faith, which adds further support to the idea that will was born anew after being freed from garret jacpb hobbs ghost. further, hannibal is will’s own personal “god”, and this is the start of will’s initiation into hannibal’s doctrine and set of beliefs.

BONUSES

THE MOTIF OF FIRE

throughout the show, fire is transformative in nature. in ko no mono, as will says, “fire destroys and it creates. it is mythical”.

as will comments when he and the science team discuss her after she is seemingly burnt in the wheelchair, “freddie won’t rise from the ashes, but her killer will”. freddie’s death would have triggered will’s rebirth into a killer, had it have happened, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s in this episode that will’s “coffin birth” happens, when he emerges from the ravenstag’s womb into a half-formed manifestation of the man stag. half-formed, because will didn’t actually kill freddie, and so didn’t actually transform into the stagman, or hannibal’s monstrous alter ego.

in mizumono, hannibal burns his patient files, and we see will’s files and the disfigured clock amongst the flames. as hannibal says, “i’m dismantling who i am and rebuilding it brick by brick”. the burning of the files symbolises the death of hannibal and will’s previous lives as therapist and patient, and the start of their new lives as equals and partners.

we also have the repeated imagery of the burning wheelchair in season 3, this time with frederick chilton. setting up chilton is the start of will’s rebirth in the S3b arc, the climax of which is his slaying of dolarhyde together with hannibal.

finally, francis dolarhyde also gets a cameo, in the number of the beast is 666, he kidnaps reba to tell her who he is and burns down the house they’re in, and though he’s unable to kill her, he emerges from the ashes with the dragon fully taking over and with all traces of humanity gone with the severing of his relationship with reba. reba is also changed, from an innocent to a survivor.

in season 1, we see this fire symbolism as well. in coquilles, will hallucinates his head burning in the gaze of the angel maker, as the angel maker tells him he can give him the majesty of his becoming. will’s head burning is a stand-in for the encephalitis, and the angel maker a stand-in for hannibal, as hannibal is utilising the encephalitis as a tool to bring about will’s becoming.

in buffet froid, dr. sutcliffe also tells hannibal that he set will’s mind on fire by letting will’s encephalitis go unchecked. will is reforged in the flames of his illness into a brighter, clearer version of himself.

georgia’s painful death by immolation in season 1 also represents a rising killer - the copy cat killer. it’s with georgia’s death that will begins putting the pieces together and starts connecting the copy cat murders.

SEEING AND BEING SEEN

the concept of “seeing” is a repeated motif in the show.

we’ve already covered how for will and georgia, that being seen is what brings them back to life, but I’d like to further explore the concept in support of the theory.

in roti, will goes to hannibal’s office with gideon in tow (who he’s hallucinating as hobbs), and tries to confirm that what he’s seeing is real.

will: who do you see?

hannibal: i don’t see anyone.

will panics and finally sobs, “what is happening to me?” after pleading with hannibal not to lie to him. the language used here is very important, it’s hannibal saying he doesn’t see, which leads will to believe he’s going crazy, and will believing he’s crazy, as we already know, makes him believe he’s garret jacob hobbs, which further makes him believe he’s dead, or non-existent.

hobbs/gideon even disappears from his seat at the table after hannibal says he doesn’t see anyone. why? because now will believes he’s hobbs, which is further evidenced when he tracks down gideon outside alana’s house and sees hobbs in place of gideon, telling him, “now i’m you” (i just want to point out the brilliancy here. as soon as will believes he’s hobbs, hobbs disappears, or will disappears because will believing he’s hobbs makes him disappear from reality).

hannibal: there’s no one there will. we’re alone. you came here alone.

after hannibal says he doesn’t see anyone, he also says will is alone. i don’t think i need to explain the connotations here.

this might also be why will repeating his name and the time to himself like hannibal told him to to help him get a grip on reality didn’t help at all, because one’s existence cannot be asserted by oneself, we need other people to make sense of our place in the world.

in sakizuke, as will re-enacts the making of the eyeball mural, he lays out the muralist’s thought process:

i made you pliable. molded you. set and sealed you where you lay. this is my design. a dead eye of vision and consciousness. i am fixed and unseeing ... unless someone else sees me.

will says the eye at the centre of the mural is a “dead eye” which is “fixed and unseeing” up until someone else sees it.

will then says the muralist being there is “not my design”, meaning it was not the muralist’s intention to be in the centre of his masterpiece at all.

and in a flashback, we’re shown what happened. it was hannibal who interfered:

hannibal: when your great eye looked to the heavens, what did it see?

muralist: nothing.

hannibal: not anymore.

muralist: there is no god.

hannibal: certainly not with that attitude. god gave you purpose. not only to create art, but to become it.

muralist: why are you doing this to me?

hannibal: your eye will now see god reflected back. it will see you. if god is looking down at you, don't you want to be looking back at him?

previously, jack had said the muralist must have had an existential crisis. hannibal sewing the muralist into his own mural was him fixing that for him, so that the muralist can be affirmed of his existence and purpose in the world by seeing god and being seen in return.

the eyeball mural is also supposed to represent will and hannibal’s relationship, which is why in will’s visualisation of the scene he’s in the place of the muralist and hannibal in the place of god - as will says, “a challenge of equals”. and think of what it means to be seen by god - that doesn’t imply a normal, ordinary state of being seen, god is omniscient, he sees all of you. just like hannibal sees all of will, the good and the bad.

in secondo, when will meets the prisoner, chiyoh forbids will to even look at him, saying he lost that privilege with his act of killing mischa. chiyoh further goes on to say that he’s only allowed “the sound of water. it’s what the unborn hear”. we’re given the sense that no one looking at the prisoner, no one seeing him, renders him into a state of non-existence, to an embryonic state.

(with re: chiyoh saying the sound of water is what the unborn hear, this also relates back to will, in roti, an episode leading up to will’s rebirth, there’s a lot of water imagery - will dreaming about glaciers crashing down and flooding the beach where the  totem pole was, imagining his bed being submerged in water, telling jack, “i feel like i’m fluid, like i’m spilling”, hallucinating the morgue filling up with water, etc)

after chiyoh kills the prisoner, will makes him into the firefly tableau. just like with randall tier, this is will’s empathy granting his gift of being seen to the prisoner after his death. the prisoner lived a dark, confined existence, so with his new wings and the lights reflecting off of him and surrounding him, will, as much as he is able, sets him free after his death, giving him what he couldn’t have in life. the firefly is also the final stage of transformation from the pupal form, and therefore also represents the prisoner’s rebirth, after being “unborn” for all those years.

i’m sure i missed some more examples, but we’re shown, over and over again, that a major theme of the show, or the major theme, is that being seen and understood for who you are is what gives meaning to your existence.