#and will is looking for hannibal who is wearing a mask and they end up dancing etc etc

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Sexiest Podcast Character — Unscripted Bracket — Round 4

Propaganda

Glenn Close (Dungeons & Daddies):

#Propaganda for Glenn Close: one of the other PCs mentions multiple times how hot he is #Actually several characters point it out but especially Henry #Also the only person in a podcast that has to put a disclaimer about not being a BDSM podcast to have had sex during the course of the show

We didn’t do hot Glenn summer for him to LOSE. Spoilers for his story but MORE PROPAGANDA FOR YOU:

Young hot rocker dilf

Loyal to his dead wife <3

Does in fact smoke weed

BARD!! HES A BARD. HE WAS LEAD GUITAR IN HIS BAND (that he was kicked out of)

His band was a Christmas cover band btw.

Literally the fandom had hot Glenn summer which consisted of drawing him being incredibly hot and sexy

Anti government (ofc)

Kind of cringefail (Disney adult) (was on dilfs of disneyland)

Young and sexy not your style? Then how about HIM AFTER YEARS LOCKED IN A TIME PRISON WITH A DAMN HANNIBAL MASK ??

Lost an eye and wears a fucking eyepatch

One incredibly buff arm

Has a pet rat named after his son <3

Immeasurable amounts of trauma in this man- becomes progressively more unhinged

OH OLD HUMAN BARD ISNT CUTTING IT? FINE

HE BECOMES A FUCKING DEMON

A COOL HOT ONE-EYED DEMON WHO WANTS TO KILL HIS DAD (also sexy)

HE CANONICALLY ENDS CHRISTIAN HELL VIA CHRISTMAS

IS ALSO WAY OVERLEVELED

Becomes a demon hunter for the rest of his existence

Also nonwhite !!! We are done with cringefail whiteboys !!!!!!!!!

I can’t put into words ok just know he is the best plz love him.

Listen, I don't know this other character but I've seem some good arguments for her However Consider Glenn Close winning through no effort of his own in a bullshit way despite being a dick is the most in character thing ever. He leveled up three times and got a crab mech, we GOT to give him this win, it's fitting

I don’t regulate if minors follow me or not bc I’m a pretty chill space but I hope the world is aware that’s the only reason I haven’t been downright nasty about Glenn close. I’m down bad. I’m NOT in the boat of ‘Glenn isn’t sexy but I want him to win bc it’s my fandom’. I would estimate I have 200+ drawings of Glenn on my phone that AREN’T safe for work. Way more that are. Where did they come from? That’s MY business. But I tell you this fact to assure you- Glenn IS sexy. I’m not voting to represent my fandom I’m voting out of TRUTH AND LOVE. IF YOU DON’T GET IT YOU DON’T GET IT!!! I just think my level of feral over this man is more powerful than y’all realize. If you don’t get his sex appeal that’s okay, but don’t doubt that this is my truth.

Okay but Glenn made a minivan cum by talking to her so

HE HAS A BOOK THAT HE MARKS X’S AND CHECKS FOR EVERY DAY TO SEE IF THAT DAY WAS A SUCCESS OR NOT. TO SEE IF HE DID GOOD THAT DAY. ITS ALMOST ENTIRELY X’S. HE WAS CUCKED OUT OF A SON. AND A DEAD WIFE. HE DIDN’T EVEN GET TO KILL HIS DAD IN REVENGE. There’s absolutely nothing going for him except his sex appeal in his life. Nobody he loved remembers him. He lost his eye. All he has is a pet rat and friends who admit they don’t really like him that much. He was kicked out of his own band. The band was named after him. He was kicked out of the Glenn Close trio. All he could do was deez nuts the big bad and be sexy. If nothing else, then pity him. Look in his eyes. Look at his heart and soul. Do you think pickman needs this to feel good about herself? Can she not accept a loss for the sake of a pathetic father? Can she shake hands with the minivan fucker and his human gun and just take the L on this one? He did not do the BDSM episode for this I’ll tell you what. Do this for my his sake. Do it for Nick Jr, who needs the prize money to pay for his rat snacks. Do it for his son. For Morgan. Ganbatte.

Mod Note: While I will still take "bad dads are sexy" propaganda and "bad dads aren't sexy" anti-propaganda, I kindly request no more discussion on whether or not he was a bad father. This is a sexypoll, not a parentingpoll. If you see a post you strongly disagree with, you can just not reblog it.

Mod Note 2: This tournament is about fictional podcast characters. Please do not vote for the real actress Glenn Close.

Lup (The Adventure Zone: Balance):

Is somehow the hot twin between her and Taako

Lup Bluejeans (née... Taaco? Tacco? Taco? Tako? who tf knows this is why I'm going with her husband's last name. doylistly she gets her last name from her brother whose last name is given as "Taako again but spelled differently"): Hot, funny, smart and undead. Is there anything else you could want in a woman?? Well, in case there is: she's also canonically trans

LUP IS THE HOTTEST. VOTE LUP.

[fanficshiddles]

The Redbridge Hunts, Chapter 48

Loki was going out of his mind with worry as he flew around Chris’ home with Matt, looking for any sign of him or Claire. Jessica, Spencer and David were at the hunt, looking for her there.

‘I don’t think they’re here, Loki. I can’t smell her at all, it doesn’t seem like Chris has been here lately, either.’ Matt said when they landed by Chris’ front door.

Loki went up to the house and looked through the windows, but to no luck.

He looked up when he heard wings fluttering towards them, it was Jessica. She landed and turned into her vampire form as Loki rushed down the steps to meet her.

‘Anything?’ He asked desperately.

She shook her head. ‘No sign of her there, I’m sorry… The guys are still there looking, it’s such a vast area. There’s a lot of victims though, many don’t look like they particularly want to be there.’

Loki ran a hand down his face as he paced back and fore, he was terrified. He had no idea if Claire would even still be alive. What if Chris had just slaughtered her straight away? Or was he doing this deliberately to lure Loki to him?

‘Loki!’ Jessica called, getting his attention. She ended up grabbing his face to get him to focus.

‘Call Severus and your dad, we need all the help we can get. Hannibal is no use, he’s joined in the hunt and is having the time of his life. I did tell him to look out for Claire though.’ Jessica said firmly.

‘Right… Yes.’ Loki nodded and grabbed his phone out of his pocket.

‘I’m away back to the party to look around there. Matt, keep with Loki, yeah?’ Jessica looked at Matt and he nodded in agreement.

Loki called his dad first, who wasn’t able to answer as was busy doing surgery. Though he asked the nurse to pass on a message when he could, just saying that Chris was back and Claire was missing, that the tradition has been brought forward. Lucius would know what that meant.

Then Loki called Severus, but he didn’t answer. ‘Fuck!’ Loki screamed angrily as he kicked at a plant pot and sent it flying.

‘No need to take your temper out on an innocent plant.’ Came a drawl voice from behind Loki and Matt, making them both jump.

‘Fuck sake! Severus! Stop sneaking up on people!’ Matt snarled, putting his hand over his heart.

‘I heard what happened. Thought you could use some help searching. I’ve got a friend out looking, too.’ Severus said as he glanced from Matt to Loki.

Loki was just glad to have as many eyes out looking as possible.

‘Let’s go check the hunting grounds too.’ Loki said.

The three vampires began running down the garden, taking a few strides before they turned into bats and flew up high, heading for the woods.

-

Claire’s eyes fluttered open, her head felt a little heavy, as if there was a fog in her mind. Though it slowly did begin to clear, allowing her to focus and take in her surroundings.

She was inside a small shack, there wasn’t much to it aside from a fireplace, table and some chairs dotted around. Though what she did notice and was most alarmed at, was her hands were tied behind her to a chair. She couldn’t move.

Her heart started beating fast in fear and her mind began racing, trying to think back, what happened? She couldn’t remember though, all she could recall was being at the party. She went to the bathroom, came out and went to go back into the hall. Though she suddenly remembered seeing someone approach her, though they had been wearing a mask at first, till they got close to her and then lifted the mask off… but she couldn’t remember who’s face it was, everything was blank from there.

There was a loud banging noise from outside, it sounded like someone landed on the roof. It made Claire jump out of her skin. She looked up, then began to hear footsteps above her. Her heart started racing faster and faster as the footsteps went to the side, then she heard a whoosh as whoever it was jumped down from the roof and landed outside the door.

She heard a key being slotted in, then it clicked open. She wasn’t sure what to expect, though she wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or terrified when she saw Chris walk in.

What worried her the most was seeing his fangs were out and he had blood dripping from his mouth. His jeans were slightly torn and his red shirt had darker stains from blood.

‘Chris… what… what’s going on? Where am I? Where’s Loki?’ Claire blurted out, trying to sound as confident as possible, though Chris knew she was riddled with anxiety, he could tell by her voice.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved hand and stalked closer towards her, leering at her.

‘Your precious Loki won’t be able to save you this time.’

Claire suddenly clicked on how she got there. ‘You… you hypnotised me, didn’t you? To get me here? What’s going on?’

Chris could hear her heartbeat quickening.

‘There’s certainly no denying, you are a smart one.’ Chris hummed and began walking around her in circles, making her even more uneasy.

‘Chris… I know that you’re angry and upset about what the school board has done, but you can appeal. Loki doesn’t even want the job, he’s said himself that you are good at it.’  

‘You know nothing.’ Chris hissed at her from behind, making her swallow hard as she tried to keep her composure. She knew he could be dangerous, but he had clearly just been feeding, so would likely be feeling the high off that.

‘Then… tell me. Why have you taken me here?’ She asked, trying not to let her fear show in her voice, even though she knew that he would know she was scared already.

‘You have no clue where we are, do you?’ Chris asked as he walked back around on front of her, he put his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned closer to her, so his face was right on front of hers.

She shook her head in response.

Chris chuckled darkly. ‘This shack has been here for many years… In the woods. The hunting woods, to be precise.’ He grinned at the look on her face, the realisation that washed over her.

He ran a finger down her cheek and then slowly down her neck over her pulse point, he could sense her blood rushing through her veins.

‘That’s right, little mouse… You’re going to be my main attraction in this special Halloween Hunt.’

[opera-ghost]

thoughts on march 1, 2023 evening phantom performance

the opening line of my notes on this is literally "julia was amazing, ben was on point! paul was there."

i'm so sorry i just don't like his raoul, he seems really bored during think of me and annoyed during the rooftop scene- two points where he just fell really flat for me. him and julia don't have a ton of chemistry either so it's kinda a perfect storm if you're a phantom/christine fan

i could NOT stop watching ted keegan during hannibal, his reactions were entertaining and he actually encourages elizabeth welch's princess to volunteer for carlotta's role after she leaves. it was just really fun to try and look out for the various characterizations from the ensemble

there was a point in angel of music where the white robe thing got caught on julia's hannibal skirt so it didn't fan out to make the white dress she wears for the first lair. it was still caught when she got up from her seat, but then at the end when polly baird and her held hands, polly very subtly pulled the robe for her and it fell halfway, then fell fully into place a few seconds later. this really does not matter but i find little variations like this really interesting so i'm writing this for the one person out there who likes that stuff too :)

some laughter during the STYDI crawl. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i will live and die by this moment. i can't describe to you the intense joy i got when i first saw jeremy stolle do the crawl live in december- it was so creepy and pathetic, i immediately became obsessed. so yes, even though ben's crawl looks a bit funny comparatively, i will still defend it till my dying breath

kanisha was funny to watch during sitzprobe, her mouth fell open in shock when carlotta was insulting the don juan score. her ensemble character is overall very feisty and i love it

let's talk about ben's PONR. this man was SUFFERING. like hyperventilating, panting, shoulders rising and falling with his chest with such intensity while julia sang her verse and he was on the bench. his fingers were moving so much, he had his palms facing up the entire time so he didn't grip his knees/the robe (thinking about franc d'ambrosio.......) which is really a shame BUT he's still so good. when julia went to feel his mask up at the end of the number (fuck you new PONR blocking), he kind of threw up his hands from his lap in a "you've gotta be kidding me" gesture or like "really? now?" and it was hilarious. he did something similar and threw his hands up a bit when she unhooded him too. these two moves weren't something he did the second night i saw him, so it was an interesting choice i guess? idk the best way i can describe his PONR is just "feral"

not as devastating a final lair as the next night with ben and emilie, but this final lair was pretty good too. when julia said the "please raoul it's useless" line, she had an emphasis on "useless" and said it like an insult, while looking at ben with a kind of frustration. ben's second "i love you" seemed really hard for him to get out which killed me, and he sobbed into the veil too (just less audibly than the 3/2 show). i could probably jog my memory with more notes about this part but i genuinely can't find the emotional strength to put myself through it again

[mx-lamour]

s01e01: "Aperitif"

(That's right, I'm taking notes this time. #hannibal rewatch 2023)

Whenever someone says "May I?" and invades Will's personal space, he doesn't agree or give permission, but he also doesn't protest. He lets them do it. (Is it out of curiosity? Is it masking? Self-deprecating? Something else? All of the above?)

When Jack first accosts him at the end of Will's lecture, he pushes up Will's glasses so he can't hide behind the frames. (This moment infuriates me. It smacks of my mom trying to tell me how to wear my own glasses. You never touch a person's glasses without expressed permission, y'all. That's so intimate. Bad form, Jack.)

When Hannibal brings Will breakfast, he asks to come into his motel room like a freaking vampire. Asks twice. Will doesn't give any kind of permission, but also doesn't shut the door in Hannibal's face.

"I don't find you that interesting," Will says.

But then Hannibal tells him he sees him as the mongoose he wants under the house when the snakes slither by, and that throws Will off-guard a bit. It's unusual. I can't really read Will's reaction, but it sticks like flypaper.

Hannibal has basically kidnapped Will. Framed like a date. Brought him breakfast, said "oop, looks like Uncle Jack is busy; I guess it's just you and me, alone, together" and took him out investigating. Jack finds Alana in the lecture hall later and asks, "Where's Will?" but like, he should know. He doesn't know, so Will wasn't supposed to be out there.

(Will, of Hannibal's copycat display) "It's like he had to show me a negative, so that I could see the positive." (Hannibal cheerfully sharing his human sausage) "You and I are just alike. Nothing for either of us to feel horrible about."

(Garrett Jacob Hobbs, after Will shoots the absolute shit out of him and is panicking over Abigail's drifting life) "See?"

I am somewhat amused by the fact that Alana was the one concerned about Will getting "too close" but was also the one who referred Hannibal as a good candidate for Will's psychiatrist. To be fair, she wouldn't have known what would happen. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, I guess.

[bllsbailey]

Biden Tweets About Trump's RNC Remarks, Reveals One Reason He's in So Much Trouble

Given Joe Biden's issues, it often sparks the thought, "Who is running things?" since Biden seems not to know what is going on so much of the time. 

Biden is now "isolating" in Rehoboth Beach, allegedly with COVID. As we noted at various spots coming back from Las Vegas to Delaware, Biden was not wearing a mask, and he had trouble even getting into a car at one point. 

But just after 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Biden (or the intern who tweets from his account) began posting a slew of things about watching former President Donald Trump's RNC remarks because he was sick. If that were true, why didn't he post about it on Thursday during the remarks? Why did he wait to post until now? The thing is, I think he/his team is trying to convince people that he's up and not asleep after 8 p.m. So that's really funny. Even though I say "Biden," assume from here on in I also mean whoever is running his account: 

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 20, 2024

"I’m stuck at home with COVID, so I had the distinct misfortune of watching Donald Trump’s speech to the RNC.What the hell was he talking about?" Biden said. He was trying to deflect from his own incoherence, and to pretend that Trump has the same problems he has. No, Joe, sorry, projection doesn't work; the problem is all yours. 

Then he posted a thread full of lies. I'll hit on the highlights. 

Here, he lies his head off, claiming that Trump told people to "inject bleach": 

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 20, 2024

Trump, of course, never said that. That's a lie that Biden keeps saying, despite it being repeatedly debunked. But that's Biden; he doesn't care about the truth. The other lie in there is "while over a million Americans died." No, most of the million who died of COVID died under Joe Biden; that was with the vaccine, and with more knowledge. Biden is just spewing nonsense, when more people died under him. 

Biden also lied about Trump wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare: 

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 20, 2024

Trump has repeatedly said he would protect Social Security and Medicare. Indeed, it's Biden who has taken actions that have affected Medicare Advantage. So once again, this is blaming Trump for something he's doing. 

Biden claimed that Trump gave the "biggest tax cuts ever" to his billionaire buddies, and that "his Project 2025 agenda would raise taxes on the middle class": 

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 20, 2024

This is more lying. First, Trump's tax cuts helped most Americans, it benefited the middle class and working class Americans the most. Meanwhile, Biden wants to stop those cuts that Trump put in place and therefore, would raise taxes on most Americans. And Trump has nothing to do with Project 2025, no matter how many times Biden or his minions lie about it: 

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 20, 2024

He said he’ll end inflation, but even the Wall Street Journal published an article agreeing:Trump’s Project 2025 would cause even more inflation. My economic plan is lowering costs and inflation.

Now that's just fantasyland, on so many levels. Trump has nothing to do with Project 2025, and it isn't what Biden claims it is anyway. Trump had virtually no inflation when he was in office, thanks to good policies. It was at 1.4 percent when he left, despite Biden lying and saying it was at 9 percent. Under Biden, it rose to above 9 percent because of Biden's overspending. So he's blaming Trump who was great on inflation for something he, Biden, has been horrible at. Biden's inflation has been crushing Americans for almost three years. 

Biden attacked Trump for talking about Hannibal Lecter, the fictional character in the movie "Silence of the Lambs": 

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 20, 2024

Trump was talking about Lecter in the context of crime, basically saying you don't want to invite such things into your house. Biden, of course, leaves out the context. But Biden needs to take a look in the mirror and remember his made-up story that he told people, about his "Uncle Bosey" being eaten by the cannibals. Biden can't really talk about anyone else, when he's making up cannibal stories. 

Finally, Biden claimed that Trump attacked unions, claiming he, Biden, was the "most pro-worker" person to occupy the Oval Office:

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 20, 2024

First, you can't be pro-worker when you're crushing Americans with inflation, throwing open the border to illegal immigration, and wanting to raise taxes on workers, like Biden wants to. That's being anti-worker.

Second, Trump invited the head of the Teamsters to speak at the RNC. Here's what that union head said about him. 

Warning for language: 

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 16, 2024

O'Brien said in light of the assassination attempt, "Trump has proven to be one tough S.O.B.!"

Unfortunately, when it comes to Biden you can't even know if he's tweeting from his own X account. But whether it's an intern or not, it's someone lying on Biden's behalf. However you slice it, it's wrong. It makes it even more problematic when you consider it's probably anonymous people pretending to speak for him. These are the crazy people presently holding sway over our government.

Biden's further problem? He can't even hold the support of Democrats. Even his top Democratic friends have turned on him, and are trying to force him out because they think he's going to lose. Joe can rant all about Trump, but Trump is leading in the polls and that lead is growing:

— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) July 20, 2024

This is what everyone asks themselves every time @JoeBiden opens his mouth https://t.co/qcanwGcUk8— Brittany (@thebrittanyjea) July 20, 2024

READ MORE: On the Upswing: Latest Polls Show Trump Widening His Lead Over Biden

What Biden Campaign Is Telling Its Staff Shows How Much It's Burying Its Head in the Sand

[meilas]

Socks reviews POTO Poland 2019 part one

The boot starts with the chandelier being revealed. There is a slight delay from the cloth being removed to the overture starting. I don't know if this was a stylistic decision or a technical problem. This chandelier is… extremely extra. The drums are going as hard as they can during the title piece which fades out abruptly to Hannibal. Carlotta is singing Elissa's aria, and seems to be improvising during it. The set suddenly breaks down and a big curtain covers Carlotta. Time for a nap! The scene fades to Christine singing the aria. Reyer is doing his best "more passion! more energy!" but Christine just can't do it at first. The set flips around and she's suddenly wearing a fluffy white gown that doesn't look like it belongs in Hannibal. I'm told this non-replica takes after the 2004 movie, so that explains that at least. Christine rushes the cadenza at the end of Think of Me. I am indifferent to this since I don't really care about the cadenza in the first place. The scene fades to the Phantom leading Christine down some stairs, then after a minute of staring at a background, they come down some more stairs. Some candelabras roll onto stage being pushed by people waving their arms and it is very unsettling. I don't like it. Who the fuck decided human candelabras were a good idea? The lair set is very impressive. It's big. There are weird fucking statues hanging around. Christine screamed that last note. Anyway, the lair reminds me of that pixel point and click game Return of the Phantom. The white inner lining of the Phantom's cape makes him look more like Dracula than the Phantom. Christine gets to sit in a chair and take a break until the Phantom takes off his cape and asks her to stand up. His white vest doesn't work with that jacket. The vest makes it look like his shirt is untucked. THE ORGAN SPINS AROUND THAT'S ACTUALLY SO COOL Wait no portcullis sprawl? Not cool. And now we get to see what's going on with the big mirror in the lair. a light went on and revealed a mannequin/vision that took off her veil, and then Christine passed out. 7/10 for lack of jump scare, but 9/10 for vibes. I wish the stage had been darker so that we couldn't see the Phantom just. walk over to the organ. Oh well, it doesn't matter, because Christine has just gently removed the Phantom's mask, and he's now grumbling at her. He didn't plorp very far from her, so he's just rocking himself at her feet. This would be more effective if Christine were backing away from him, but really he should have started farther away from her. Not enough energy here. They are kind of getting really lost in the set. Which, again, looks great! It's just, a bit much. Buquet is cackling like some kind of creepy maniac and the ballet girls are just waving and skipping off. The managers' office is also very impressive. It has a giant bookcase and windows with drapes. What is that big gold circle thing supposed to be? No time to find out because now we're on the rooftop with Christine and Raoul! And we're only 17 minutes into this thing! Oh! Raoul and Christine are kissing and the Phantom is peering out from behind the statue to shake his fist at them. How sad. Nice harmony from Raoul though. The cloud rolling by on the backdrop looks pretty real to me. Like they're actually on top of a roof. If only this Giant Floating Head would get out of the way. Polish Raoul really has a nice voice. Here's the Phantom to lament Christine seeming to forget all about him. Not that we know what he did to deserve that since we didn't get to see Il Muto. And now he gets to cry over the rose that Christine forgot there. 8/10 for that "you will curse the day you did not do" nice voice excellent unhinged laughing OH SHIT THAT CHANDELIER FELL and the lights popping/sparking on it?! part two

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

Him? Very pretty? Travis looks at Hannibal as if he have two heads now.

Hannibal looks away from Travis.

“Because of my vampire heritage?” Travis asked.

Hannibal shake his head, but then hesitated and slowly nods. Tears coming out of his eyes. The tears keep coming, causing Travis to be in shock and concern for his stability. Is it something he said?

When it come to looks, they are very dangerous - Causing forgetting your true objective and who you actually love.

“It is no wonders why you weren’t able to get the ladies back then,” Hannibal tormented Travis.

Hannibal close his eyes tight, grimacing even more of his mistake. Travis is truly a heartthrob after all. He cannot stop thinking about him. He wants his heart to get a break from him.

“Something like that… , I wanted to be a hound, a hound whose is so strong, that they are always right and forgiving means you are not strong,” Hannibal explained. “I do not mind sleeping with a monster corpse to improves my adaptability in harsh environments.”

Hannibal is wearing a half-mask, to covered his Otherkind-ish appearance, a restraint mask, full harness restraints, and grip mitts.

“Alas, what I am trying to honestly say to you,” Hannibal continued. “I’m ugly, both physically inside and out. Which is why you do not care about ugly people, just gorgeous people. Likes Dorothy for example,”

“Hannibal, I-..” Travis shuttered and is now speechless. “I did not know you have those feelings,”

Hannibal close his eyes again. He nod. It took him a long time to tell him. It looks is very too late though. He finally have his closure. There is a bitter chuckles.

“On the bright side, for you, you do not end up marrying a Simone de Bastien,” Hannibal admitted. Travis is conflicted on that part. He never told him about his ancestor’s consort. Did he learnt about her from one of the vampires? Figures.

“Hannibal, man, yes we have our downsides, but at least we settle them like bros,” Travis admitted. “I consider you my colleague and friend. Your actions proved to me many times that you are than a…”

“A monster that cause destructive with no remorse,” said Hannibal. “I am not a monster. Or a villain. Or a hero. I am just an anomaly. That should not have exist in begins with,”

There was silence. His eyes are smouldered and empty.

“Thanks you for the offer though. I must depart right now.”

He turns to leave. He is messed up in the head, he help Travis get his career right on track for Sandra… He cannot be his partner because Travis does not swing that way. He is destined to be alone, and people will die if they wants to be with him for a longest times. Leading to more heartbreaks in the end when attachments occurred.

"You wanna hang out sometime?"

"... You are very pretty but I have no business in pretty things. I'll have to pass."

[cursemewithyourkiss]

Had a vision of a scene between Hannibal and Will like the ballroom scene in Labyrinth and I cannot stop thinking about it

[house-of-slayterr]

Hi I’m so obsessed with your writing to the point it’s unhealthy🤤❤️ , can I ask you to do please hannibal with an s/o who has covid-19 and had to be isolated due to quarantine. But like with their friend and that friend hannibal hates and jealous of

An: Thank you for bearing with me while this took so long. It's been a crazy few weeks and I have like 6 stories I'm writing that I had to catch up on. But I adore this idea. I kinda want the whole enemy vibe with Hannibal rn, so congrats, I'm your friend now, lol

Quarantine Quarrel:

Work had been rough on you for the past couple of weeks. You'd worked yourself to the bone, and what did you get for it? Yelled at by your boss for getting sick, when it was a customer's fault in the first place. The woman refused t wear a mask, and you tried to get her to put it on, but she refused to leave. And now you were paying the price for it. You hated your job.

So now you had to stay home, which would have been fine and all, but two weeks of isolation wasn't good for anyone. But hey, at least you had your roommate. They were kind, just a little bit of a goofball. But they were sick too, so neither of you could really leave the house for necessities.

"Fang, it's too hot in here!" You whined from your bedroom.

You heard a soft chuckle as your door was pushed open.

"Well maybe if you took the fan out of the box that I got you..."

"Yeah, yeah, you were right, can you do it for me?"

"Only because I love you."

They got to work unboxing your fan and putting it together to the best of their ability. You frowned when they left the room, but they came back with a cold washcloth and placed it on your head.

"Shoot me a text when that gets warm if you want to cool off faster you can put it on the back of your neck."

"How are you so good at this?"

"Hello, you're talking to the resident sick kid, being horribly ill is kinda my only skill." They joked. "Get some rest, your not going to beat this by fighting it. And the longer you're sick with covid, the less I can hang out around you."

"I know, I miss movie night."

"Maybe if we sit on opposite ends of the living room..."

They closed the door behind them and sauntered off to their own room for a nap. You were both woken a few hours later by a gentle knock on the door. Fang watched you peek your head out of your room, and you looked miserable.

"I've got it, you just stay over there with your germs."

You stuck your tongue out at them, before breaking into a coughing fit that made them frown.

"Very mature."

"You love me and my germs." They rolled their eyes before moving to answer the door.

"Look, if you're here for Y/N, they're very sick," they stated.

Nobody ever came to the apartment for them, so it was unlikely someone would start now. They finally looked up to see who it was, but they didn't really need to. The Armani loafers were more than enough to tell them who it was.

"Hello, Hannibal."

Hannibal knew t was rude, but he chose not to acknowledge their hello, it wasn't genuine anyway.

"I am aware of that, Frances, that's why I brought soup and mediation."

He lifted the neatly packed reusable bag for emphasis. He didn't need to ask to come in, because they just stepped aside. They knew you would be mad if they slammed the door in his face. Hannibal swiftly made his way to the kitchen and began unpacking. They watched curiously.

"You know, when most people say they brought soup, they've already made it beforehand."

"It will taste better fresh, not that you know much about taste."

"At least I dont week tacky overpriced Italian loafer in someone else's house. Isn't your whole stick like, heating the rude or some bullshit, take your shoes off, my guy."

"I'm not 'your guy', I wasn't aware that was a rule Y/N cared about."

He stepped away from the food and began to take off his shoes.

"Yeah well, we're trying to cut down on outside germs. Considering you stomp around at crime scenes all day, I'm sure your shoes aren't the cleanest."

He growled under his breath at this.

"I'm quite positive I've seen William in here with his boots on."

They scoffed and left the kitchen, not wanting to be in his presence anymore. They knocked on your door and opened it when you gave a groan in response.

"Your lovesick savant is here." they teased.

Your eyes light up in a way they hadn't seen all week. You rolled your eyes.

"Hey, hey, what's with the enthusiastic get-up, you're still sick, Take it slow, I'm sure he's not leaving even if I want him to."

"Why do you hate him?" "I dont. He hates me. I'm just reciprocating."

It was your turn to let out a dry laugh.

"You, you smell like my grandmother's left toe, you go shower, He's making you soup so he'll be distracted in the kitchen."

"I do not smell that-" You took a whiff of yourself and cringed, "ok maybe I do."

"I'll toss the sheets in the wash since you now have this miraculous strength to get out of bed." they laughed.

"You're the best."

"I know. And I'll try to play nice while he's here. Our bickering might give you a headache."

"'I'd-" "Give me a hug if it weren't for my shit immune system... I know. Now go get cleaned up."

As you showered, they cleaned up the room a bit and left a glass of ice water on your nightstand. Before going back into the living room and watching Hanibal finish cooking.

"Don't suppose I'll be able to have any soup."

"It would be rude not to offer any. You're sick too after all."

"I'm always sick."

"Then consider this a special occasion."

"Oh I will don't worry, I'll take it to my room. You and Y/N will have your alone time. Though I'll tell you, they aren't as well off as they'll pretend to be. That's all for your sake."

He sighed heavily.

"I've asked them to stop doing that, it's a-" "Trauma response, I know. Nobody's friends with me unless they're a little screwy in the brain box. Try harder. I know they aren't your patient, but you do pretend to care about them."

"Do not presume I'm pretending."

They chuckled.

"Oh dear god, the doctors actually fell in love. How cute, is this whole house husband act just a glimpse into their future?"

"Why are you so bitter? Nobody ever fell in love with you?"

"I'm not your patient Doctor Lecter, do not psychoanalyse me. I'm not bitter, I'm protective. They're my only friend, and if you hurt them..." They pulled him close by the colour, "You're going to end up more deranged than one of your little victims. Because unlike you, I don't aim to kill, just maim. Like what you've been slowly doing to poor Willam over the years."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"For a manipulative bastard, you're a shit liar." They sighed. "That's how I know you love them, and I won't breathe a word of it to anyone. It would break them if they found out, at least if they weren't eased into it. But Hurt them, your little escapades as the ripper will be a distant memory."

"Noted."

You turned to the side,

"Welcome to the land of the living." You joked.

They cleaned up nice for barely having been able to keep down food the past few days. The look in Hannibal's eyes told Fang everything they needed to know. Hannibal really did love you, and it wasn't some sick obsession.

"You too kids have fun. Text me if you need anything." They excused themself.

"You look lovely." He breathed out.

"I look like road kill."

He winced at the thought of comparing you to something so lowly.

"We should eat, you'll need it to feel better."

"You always do take good care of me."

"Until the day you die mijn liefje"

He kissed the top of your head, not caring one bit if he got sick. You were worth it in his eyes. Hannibal would do anything you asked of him, even stop killing if it came down to it. All he needed was you, to fill that void he'd be endlessly trying to fill forever.

Dutch: My Sweetheart

[thedevilandhisbride]

[image id: a screenshot of tumblr notes from @thedevilandhisbride that read "#THIS#people look over the fact that hannibal is fueled by emotion#did everyone collectively forget his impulsive streak in italy?? where he was the most himself we have ever seen?#god i read this one post i forgot where it is but someone had said that#hannibals person suit is logical while who he is under it is founded and fueled by emotion#wills person suit is emotional while who he is under it is founded and fueled by logic#you strip hannibal down and you get an emotional and impulsive creature who is ruled by his feelings#you strip will down and you get a calculated and cold monster#the thing about it is that when you wear a mask so unlike you for so long- it starts to become part of you#hannibal is so emotional but he has merged into his impulsivity having logic in each step- or at least being able to make a plan insantly#will is very logical but that emotional and distant face he had on still creeps into everything else he is#his typical lack of sympathy doesnt apply with hannibal and that affects him#i like talking about this#hannibals master plan ended up going from 'blame will for my crimes' to 'i need to dick that man down NOW!!!'" end id]

imagine hooking up with someone's crush and their revenge is to indirectly give you a hysterectomy :) like not :) up :) in :) here :) bitch

[prncssguya]

Hi ! I am sorry I’m actually just writing to commiserate with you about the devil judge, I saw your post about how everyone just puts everything on Yohan and I agree sooo much, it’s infuriating to me, how Min Jung Ho just like immediately says it’s his fault he got attacked, and don’t get me started on the fucking priest, what the hell bro? He was a child, a lonely, weird, abused child, not the fucking devil. Seriously it is getting me crazy, it feels like the only person who sees him as a human being is Gaon. I know a lot of people have made a parallel between tdj and Hannibal, and like, I really disagree ? I understand where it comes from, but Hannibal and Yohan are vastly different characters, and the whole characterization of Yohan to me feels like the writers are saying that while every one thinks this guy is the devil, he is very far from it, whereas Hannibal is definitely a monster, and his relationship with will is monstrous as well (and very captivating don’t get me wrong). What do you think about that parallel ? It just rubs me the wrong way but I don’t know if I put it into words correctly. Sorry for the really long ask btw 😅

Hi! thanks for the question. I completely understand what you’re saying. I hope I can answer this well because it’s really so complex. Sorry if this turns into a whole dissertation essay, Hannibal is like my favorite show ever.

Yea I can see a lot of people draw comparisons to TDJ and Hannibal saying things like “tdj is just Hannibal in a courtroom” or “tdj is Hannibal without the cannibalism” lol. I think what people are mostly looking at is the dynamic between Yohan/GaOn and Hannibal/Will and how they’re similar to some degree.

Gahan and Hannigram have a similar type of tension with each other. The difference is Ga On already had suspicions about Yohan from the very beginning and was very antagonistic towards him. Will, on the other hand, initially thought Hannibal was just psychiatrist and sought out his help. It wasn’t until a little later that he started suspecting him and grew to understand his true dark nature.

Yohan/Hannibal— wealthy socialite, sociopathic tendencies, hiding a secret, wearing a “person suit” (more on this later) to fool those around them, misanthrope and thinks humans are beneath them, thinks no one in the world could possibly understand them until they find the one person who does and they can only show their love through violence and manipulation.

Ga On/Will— sensitive, empathetic, intelligent

Will is first introduced as this tortured genius who has an empathetic ability to recreate scenes. In short, he can vividly construct the mentality of criminals and psychopaths. Being able to step into a darkness like that, you have to eventually lose a part of yourself and start sympathizing with the monsters and that’s what eventually happens to him. They’re both capable of murder. Ga On was ready to kill the con artist for his parents if SH hadn’t intervened. They have a moral compass in their corner to keep them grounded (Jack Crawford for Will, Soo Hyun for Ga On—I won’t even mention Min Junho because the guy is sus). They’re both fighting against an internal darkness

Gahan/Hannigram— THE HOMOEROTIC TENSION.

“I want you to admit what you are.”

“Must I denounce myself as a monster, while you still refuse to see the one growing inside you.”

Actual lines from Hannibal. I can’t even mention all the lines that could apply to Gahan (I could hear these words being exchanged between them). Both Hannibal and Yohan bring out the best, and worst, in their partners. Hannigram is toxic as hell. Hannibal would go through all kinds of sick shenanigans to get Will on his side, Yohan has said he would do bad things to get Ga On on his side. Gahan’s relationship is one that starts out tense and mistrustful, then grew to curiousity, comaderie, now Yohan has come to rely on Ga On without him even realizing it or admitting it to himself.

“No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them.”

This is obvious. Hannibal is a cannibal, Yohan is not.

I was rooting for Will to finally succumb to his darkness and join Hannibal’s side because he found the truest version of himself in Hannibal. I have different expectations for Ga On because my sweet summer child is more different from Will, he’s not as drawn to darkness as Will is (in the recent episode, he was so horrified at the blood on his hands). Will in the end basks in it.

I agree with you about Hannibal, there’s really no denying that he is a monster. And there’s really no explanation for why he is the way he is; he wasn’t abused (as far as we know) but he was orphaned and left to raise his beloved sister (who died) and later became a serial killer. Yohan, on the other hand, was an abandoned and abused child who only had the love of his older brother. It’s no wonder that he puts up a tough exterior because all throughout his life, people have made assumptions about him without trying to get to know him. I mentioned the “person suit” earlier, this is a mask Hannibal puts on to blend into the human world. He carefully built his life and reputation as a surgeon/psychiatrist and socialite, presenting himself as the sociable doctor while living his philosophy of eating the rude on the other side on the veil.

Yohan’s person suit is a defense mechanism. Whereas Hannibal is using his suit to hide a monstrous nature, Yohan uses it to hide his vulnerabilities. He’s wearing this suit to blend in with the elite he hates, but underneath that exterior is just a lonely and misunderstood man (who’s actually a softie in reality)

Finally, I think these two shows don’t really have a whole lot in common besides the homoerotic tension. Gahan are vastly different from Hannigram. Yohan isn’t a true monster/devil while Hannibal is. Will turned his back on his moral compass and succumbed to the darkness, while Ga On can’t seem to let go of his moral compass and he doesn’t desire to become a monster.

Sooo ultimately…

[incorrectsnkaotquotes]

AOT Characters as shit I've said or my friends have said

Eren Yeager: “Whats wrong with me wanting to look like a girl? Girls are pretty and I want to be pretty too!”

Mikasa Ackerman: “I thought the world would end when MCR broke up.”

Armin Arlert: “Im 18 years old but I’m still afraid of Chlorine Sharks after Eren made me watch Jaws.”

Jean Kirstein: “Before I die, I want you guys to pour popcorn kernels down my throat so I’ll scare the shit outta my cremator.”

Marco Bott: ”My parents always portray me as a perfect little angel while behind the curtains I’m an asshole who reads gay manga in my spare time.”

Reiner Braun: “If I can’t believe in myself, I might as well believe in an nine foot tall ape man.”

Bertholdt Hoover: “For the longest time I was disappointed that I didn’t have a gay cousin until I realized I was the gay cousin.”

Annie Leonhart: “When the purge happens I’m just gonna rob a Hot Topic Warehouse.”

Sasha Braus: “I get that he’s a cannibal, But I’d let Hannibal Lecter cook for me.”

Connie Springer: “I wanna think I’m a badass like Captain America or Thor, but in reality I’m Luis from Ant-Man.”

Historia Reiss: “Is it too much to ask for Armand and Albert from The Birdcage to be my parents?!”

Ymir: “If all toys in Toy Story are alive, does that mean sex toys have feelings?”

Levi Ackerman: “One time when I was at a gas station, the lady pumping gas next to me said ‘You’re very mature for your age.’

I pulled down my mask and said I was 21 years old. I hate being short.”

Hanji Zoë: “One day I was wearing a plague doctor mask at the store because I thought it would be fun and this little kid was just staring and pointing at me the whole time and was telling his dad he wanted a mask like that. I love weird kids.”

Erwin Smith: “I like acting serious on the bus with my AirPods in when I’m actually listening to the Yarichin Bitch Club song on loop.”

[teddy06writes]

The Phantom Of The Opera AU

requested by this anon: “Okay so I know you’re a musical kid so you have probably listened to/heard of Phantom of the Opera. Picture this: Dream as the Phamtom x Fem!reader as Christine x Sapnap as Raul”

Dream x Fem!reader and Sapnap x fem!reader (with dream as the phantom and sapnap as Raul)

trigger warnings: death, dream being a low key creeper, maybe some swears, my general lack of knowledge of this musical

premise: Phantom AU, not neccicarily the full story, its mainly what I’ve seen/read/listened to that I think is important, and like eight of the songs. Ummm, I feel like the summary above is enough for you to get the general idea.

(y/l/n)- your last name

“blep” regular talking

“Belp” singing

When things are in counterpoint, regular text will be (y/n), (text in parenthesis is sapnap), and {bracketed text is Dream}

if you, like me are unfamilliar with the story, this is the summary that arrived in my inbox last night (thank you so much to the person who sent that by the way, it really helped)  

“So basically phantom of the opera is a love triangle between 3 people, the Phantom (P) x Christine (C) x Raul (R). C and R were childhood friends until R had to move away. C grew up in the Opera house with her dad (deceased) as a music writer. C grows up getting “private” singing lessons from P ( he is literally talking to her through a vent ((Among Us omg)) or something idk). Fast forward into the future to present day. C is a ballerina at the opera and one day, the phantom makes the set malfunction so that the lead female opera singer (she’s a jerk. Forgot her name) can’t preform and C has to preform as the lead instead. Coincidentally, the night Christine sings as the lead is the day R comes to see her show and R is like “ooWooga she be fine now ig”. R and C catch up after the show and R goes away for a minute and then P is like “aight C imma kidnap you for a sec with no purpose whatsoever to the plot except for a cool song” and then C returns to her normal life ig. P them sends stuff to the people in charge of the Opera saying “ayo C be pretty fine, let her be the lead again” the people in charge of the opera were like “nah fam, let’s have the person who was supposed to be the lead be the lead”. Upset by this, during the show, P broke the chandelier and it fell into the audience. C is like “I love you uwu” R is like”let’s get engaged” C is like “let’s keep it a secret so the crazy P guy doesn’t find out” and little did they know during that conversation P was hiding and overheard everything and is now sad boi hours. A masquerade happens and P shows up like “ayo I heard you trynna steal my boo” and R is like “nah she my boo” and they duel or whatever. Idk how it transitions to this but the Opera runs another show and they make C the lead to not upset P. However, during a love song (Past the point of no return, it literally slaps), C realizes that the person singing isn’t the original actor, it is P! And then P straight up kidnaps C after the song, takes her to his lair and is like “boo you gotta marry me or I destroy the opera house with everyone inside it” C is like “fine ig” P takes off his mask and reveals he is hiding burn marks and he kisses C and C kisses back. P is like” my mom never even kissed me” and P let’s C go, telling her to go marry R... or you can just watch this video lmao https://youtu.be/4a5nahw3zi8″

On that note, here we go:

{that only goes for the final scene where its all three, it varies otherwise}

{Things I have learned while preparing this story, 1. the actual phantoms name is Erik, like what a nerd, 2. he’s also not actually a ghost??? He’s literally just some creeper who lives in an opera house screwing with people; also yes Eret is the strict lady who yells at everyone and talks to the phantom, deal with it}

{pls send me more musical au asks I really liked doing this, even if it took me a while}

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The ravenous applause of the audience seemed to echo in your ears, even after you had left the stage. 

You’re debut as the female lead in Hannibal had been a smashing success, and as the rest of the chorus girls backstage were saying, it was all thanks to the Phantom scaring Hannah off.  

Niki practically ran up to you from the rehearsal room, “(y/n) that was incredible!” 

You grinned, “Oh I feel like I’m floating Niki! Thank you for volunteering me for the role.” 

“Don’t thank me, Thank whoever's giving you those lessons,” She bumped her hip against yours, grinning cheekily, “And if what the girls are saying is true you’ll have to thank him for getting Hannah out of here.” 

You chuckled, but before you could say anything else Madame Eret was approaching, knocking the end of their cane of the ground, “Miss Nihachu, you are a dancer are you not?” 

Niki nodded. 

“Then get back to rehearsal,” he waited until Niki hurried off to turn to you, “He is most pleased with your performance, here.”

You took the note from him, reading over it quietly, “Red scarf..... the attic.... little lotte?” 

She simply shrugged, leaving you to turn and head up your dressing room. 

As you changed out of your costume from the show you couldn’t help but hum the song that had earned the most applause, “Think of me, think of me of me fondly, when we’ve said goodbye.” 

Reaching around you found your dressing gown, pulling it on and tying up the front, “Remember me, once and a while. Please, promise you’ll try...” 

Your words faded off as your sat down at your vanity, beginning to brush out your hair. 

“Where is your red scarf Miss (y/l/n)? I hope you haven’t lost it. Not after all the trouble I went through to retrieve it for you.” 

You turned to see a tall dark hair man standing in the doorway, a grin spreading across your face as he continued, “I was only 14 and soaked to the bone...” 

“Because you ran into the sea to fetch my red scarf!” You exclaimed, jumping up and flinging your arms around him excietedly, “Sapnap! How I’ve missed you!” 

He chuckled, pulling away, and offering you a single red rose, “(y/n)... Little Lotte let her mind wander...” 

“You remember that too?” You asked with a giggle. 

Sapnap smiled and kept singing, “Little Lotte thought: am I fonder of dolls,” 

“Or of goblins or shoes?” You joined in, “Or of riddles of frocks, or chocolates.” 

“Those picnics n the attic...” He reminisced. 

You closed your eyes, remembering those long ago days, “Father playing the violin.” 

“As we read each other those dark stories of the north.” 

“No what I like best, little Lotte said, is when I’m asleep in my bed,” You sang, “And the angel of music sings songs in my head!” 

“The angel of music sings songs in my head.” He repeated softly. 

You smiled at him, an excited fond feeling forming in your stomach as you sank back into your chair,  “Father said, when I am in heaven child I will send the angel of music to you. Well now father is dead, Sapnap. And I have been visited by the angel of music.” 

“Well that is very evident,” He chuckled, taking your hands, “Your performance was wonderful. And now, we shall go to supper.” 

“Oh- sapnap I can’t, the angle of music is very strict.” 

He didn’t seem to understand the urgency in your voice as he laughed again, “Well I shant keep you up late.”

“No- Sapnap, things have changed-”

“You have to change,” He interrupted, “And I have to grab my hat. Two minutes little lotte.” 

As he went out the door you cried after him, “Sapnap! Thing have changed Sapnap!”

But he was out of earshot, and the voice that had become so familiar to you was booming, “Insolate boy! This Slave of fashion basking in your glory! Ignorant fool! This brave young suitor, sharing my triumph!”

“Angel I hear you! Speak, I listen! Stay by my side and gude me!” You begged up to the ceiling, “Angel my soul was weak! Forgive me! Enter at last master!”

“Flattering child, you shall know me, see why in the shadow I hide, look at your face in the mirror, I am their inside!” 

The voice sounded closer now, and you couldn’t help but look around, “Angel of music! Hide no longer!” 

You turned again, finding yourself face to face with what seemed like a mask, floating in your mirror, “Come to me, strange angel!”

“I am your angel! Come to me angel of music!” 

A shadowy figure seemed to appear behind the smiling mask, a hand outstretched to you. In a daze you stood, grabbing his hand and allowing him to lead you away down a dark pathway.

“Who’s voice is that?” Sapnap asked, knocking on the now closed door, “(y/n) who’s in there?” 

“Come with me angel of music!” Dream, the Phantoms voice echoed again. 

“(y/n)!” 

~~

“In sleep he came to me, the voice which calls to me and speaks my name!” You moved quietly through the passages, following Dream, “And Do I dream again? for now I find, the phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind!” 

“Sing once again with me our strange duet! My power over you grows stronger yet! And though you turn from me to look behind, the phantom of the opera is there! Inside your mind!” He sang, turning back to make sure you were following once more.

The walls of the tunnel seemed to widen, and you could almost make out an empty candle lit space. 

You reached out, fingers almost brushing the edge of his cloak, “Those who have seen your face draw back in fear! I am the mask you wear..”

“It’s me they hear...” 

As you emerged into a cross roads of the tunnels, you sang in tandem, “Your (my) spirit and your (my) voice in one combined, the phantom of the opera is there, inside your (my) mind!” 

He helped you into the boat that waited in one tunnel, before casting off, propelling the boat down the slow moving current, “In all your fantasies, you always knew the man and mystery...” 

“Were both in you....” You sang softly as the boat came to dock in a wide chamber.

Slowly you climbed out of the boat after him, looking around the dank space, and at the organ in the corner. 

Dream pulled off his cloak, “And in this labyrinth where the night is blind..”

“The Phantom of the opera is there! Inside my mind......” 

~~

As the people downstairs argued, you tried to think over what had happened. Was it a dream? It didn’t seem like it, but still, a man appearing in her looking glass? Taking her away and singing words of praise, words of love, words that made nearly no sense now that it was day, and a haze covered your memory. 

The one thing that remained clear was the monster she had found beyond the mask.

All too soon it seemed you were being rushed into rehearsals, being told you no longer had a speaking role, as Hannah had returned, and was back to her diva ways. 

Rehearsals that would normally drag on seemed to go quicker now, and soon you and the rest of the girls were getting ready for the performance. 

“This is ridiculous,” Niki muttered as she adjusted her costume, “You should be playing the duchess, not Hannab.” 

“Hannah is the featured soprano. She’s always the lead.” You retorted. 

“But how will Sapnap know to look for you in the chorus?” Niki teased.

You elbowed her, laughing lightly, “Shut up. Besides I doubt the phantom would let him see me again.”

The show had gone well, at least until the fifth scene. 

All the music stopped abruptly as a voice boomed, “Did I not instruct that box five was to be left empty?”

“He’s here: The Phantom Of The Opera!” Niki cried from offstage. 

Your head jerked up to turn and look at the audience, “It’s Dream!” 

“Your part is silent, you toad!” Hannah snapped. 

From somewhere up in the audience Dream frowned, “A toad Madame? Perhaps it is you who is the toad...” 

Hanna opened her mouth to continue on her script, but no sound seemed to come out, save for what was close the a croak. 

The men who had bought the opera house, Wilbur and Tommy were coming rushing down from their box, “Ladies and gentlemen we apologize! The performance will continue in ten minutes time, with Miss (y/l/n) as the duchess!”

Tommy nodded as Wilbur finished, “And for now, we will give you the ballet, from act three of tonight's show!” 

The ballet didn’t last long, as when you returned to the wings dressed for the new role you had been given, someone let out a horrified scream.

“What the-” 

You were cut off as you looked up to see Shlatt, the stagehand in charged of the curtains, hanging from the rigging, a noose fully tightened around his neck. 

“Ladies and gentlemen remain calm! It was just an accident- remain calm!” Someone shouted. 

Through the darkness you could make out Dream’s menacing figure, the smiling mask watching you threateningly as you clamped your hand over your mouth to stop the scream that had ripped at your throat. 

“(y/n)? (y/n) are you alright?” Sapnap had run down onto the stage in all the chaos. 

“We- we have to get out of here,” You choked, grabbing his hand, “We aren’t safe here.” 

He didn’t seem to understand the reason behind your panic, but even so he offer you his arm, “Lets leave then.” 

~~

Twenty minutes later you ended up in an empty park, the panic that filled your chest not yet fading as Sapnap asked, “Why have you brought me here?”

“We can’t go back there!” You exclaimed. 

“But we must return.” He gripped your hands, “Darling their bound to be missing you.” 

You shook your head, “Sapnap- He’ll kill you! His eyes will find us there!” 

“(y/n), don’t say that! It’s okay (y/n), it’s okay!” 

You looked up into the darkened sky, “No it’s not- no it’s not- Those eyes that burn!” 

“Don’t even think it!” He cried desperately. 

You couldn’t tell whether you were trembling from fear, or from the cold, as you sang, “And if he has to kill a thousand men....” 

“Forget this waking nightmare!” Sapnap insisted. 

“....The phantom of the opera will kill.” You sang distractedly. 

He gripped your shoulders, “This phantom is a fable, (y/n), believe me!” 

“And kill again....” You shuddered at the idea of Dream doing anything to Sapnap. 

Both of you sang, “God who is this man, who hunts to kill? (this mask of death?)

“I can’t escape him!” You cried. 

He shook his head, “Whose voice is it you hear...”

“...I never will!” 

“With every breath?” 

His grip on your shoulders tightened, pulling you closer to him as you both sang, “And in this labyrinth where light is blind, the phantom of the opera is there, inside my (your) mind!”

“There is no Phantom of the Opera!” 

“Sapnap- I’ve been there, inside his world of never ending light! To a world where daylight dissolves into darkness, darkness! Sapnap I’ve seen him!” You cried. “Can I ever forget that sight? Can I ever escape that face? So distorted, disformed it was hardly a face!  in the darkness, darkness. But his voice filled my spirit with a strange, sweet sound in that night there was music in my mind And through music my soul began to soar! And I heard as I'd never heard before!” 

“What you had was a dream and nothing more!” 

You could hardly look up at him, “yet in his eyes was all the sadness in the world! Those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore!” 

“(y/n), (y/n)!”  Sapnap exclaimed. 

“.....(y/n)......” A different voice seemed to cry into the night. 

You gasped, pressing yourself against Sapnap, “What was that?” 

He hugged you tightly, before pulling back and singing gently, “No more talk of darkness, forget these wide eyed fears. I’m here, and nothing can harm you, my words will warm and calm you.” 

You relaxed into his grip, listening to his quiet voice, “Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears, I’m here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you.” 

“Say you love me, every waking moment. Turn my head and talk of summer time,” You looked up at him, biting your lip, “Say you need me now and always, promise me that all you say is true, that's all I ask of you.” 

“Let me be your shelter, let me be your light, you are safe, no one will find you. Your fears are far behind you.” He assured you, smiling softly. 

 “All I want is freedom, a world with no more night. And you to always be beside me, to hold me and to hide me.” You admitted. 

Sapnap’s smile grew wider, “Then say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me here, beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too, (y/n), that's all I ask of you.” 

“Say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time,” You repeated, “Say the word, and I’ll follow you.” 

“Share each day with me, each night, each morning.” You sang together as he leaned down to rest his forehead on yours.

“Say you love me?” 

He smiled, whispering, “You know I do.” 

“Love me- that's all I ask of you.” You both sang, before he leaned in to gently press a kiss to your lips, “Any where you go, let me go too. Love me- thats all I ask of you.” 

Sapnap kissed you again, before pulling away, “We could go anywhere- we could be married! You would marry me, yes?” 

“Oh, yes, Sapnap, yes I would. If you’d have me.” You nodded, eagerly. 

He grinned, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

You couldn’t help but giggle, before turning back toward the direction of the opera house, “I must go back, they’ll wonder where I am. Wait for me Sapnap!” 

“(y/n), I love you!” He exclaimed. 

“Wait for me, Sapnap. Order your finest horses and being waiting by the door.” You could go back, and continue working at the opera house, there was nothing left for you to fear while Sapnap was there.

“And soon you’ll be beside me!” He chuckled.

You grinned, “To guard me and too guide me!” 

Sapnap offered you his arm again, and you headed off out of the park, toward the opera house. 

Slowly, Dream slinked from the shadows where he had watched the proposal, “I gave you my music, made your song take wing. And now your repaid me, denied and betrayed me.” 

He groaned running a hand through his hair, “He was bound to love you, when he heard you sing. (y/n)- oh (y/n)-”

He was cut off by the sounds of your voices drifting down the street, Say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time, Say the word, and I’ll follow you. Share each day with me, each night, each morning.”

Dream’s hands flew to his ears, desperate to block out the sounds- he had been so sure that you could’ve loved him, but now Sapnap was stealing you away. 

“You will curse the day you did not do, all that the phantom asked of you!” He bellowed. 

~~

The following weeks at the opera house were a blur of panic masked by busyness, Wilbur and Tommy refusing to let the disaster of the chandelier falling from keeping the company from working on their next performance. 

You kept on working, the ring on the chain Sapnap had given you around your neck helping you to feel safe, even as the chorus girls cited the Phantom for the cause of all the distress. 

Now you were back in your dressing room, getting ready for dinner with Sapnap.

“Wander child, so lost, so helpless,” A soft voice seemed to drift down from no where, “Yearning for my guidance.” 

You looked up at the ceiling, “angel or father? Friend or phantom? Who is it their staring?” 

“Have you forgotten your angel?” The voice murmured, Dream appearing once again in your mirror. 

You turned to him, almost in a trance, “angel, oh, speak, what endless longings, echo in this whisper.” 

Sapnap, having arrived to the opera house appeared in the door, watched as you moved toward the phantom. 

“Too long you’ve wandered the winter...” Dream continued to sing, hand outstretched to you. 

“Once again she is his.” Sapnap sang, as you started to cross the room toward the mirror where the phantom stood. 

“...far from my far reaching eyes.” 

“Wildly my mind beats against you....” You sang, transfixed. 

Behind the mask Dream grinned, “You resist. Yet your soul obeys.” 

“Once again she returns, to the arms of her angel. Angel or demon? Still he calls her, luring her back from the grave. Angel or dark seducer? Who are you strange angel?” Sapnap sang, again, more to himself than you or Dream. 

Dream beckoned you forward again,  “I am your angel of music, come to me angel of music!”

“Angel of darkness, cease this torment!” Sapnap exclaimed, moving into the room properly and drawing attention to himself. 

Dream unbothered, continued to sing, “I am your angle of music! Come to me angel of music!” 

“(y/n), (y/n) listen to me! Whatever you may believe- this thing, this man is not your father!”  Sapnap yelled, “(y/n)! Let her go! For gods sake let her go!” 

Jarred by his sudden yell, you turned, the trance broken, “Sapnap...” 

Dream, unimpressed, began to clap, deadpanning, “Bravo monsieur. Such spirited words.” 

“No more tricks monsieur!” Sapnap yelled, stepping forward to put himself between you and Dream. 

“Oh, but that's not any fun. Why don’t you come closer, sir? Keep coming this way.” 

Sapnap, not liking to be challenged, stepped forward, “You cannot win her love by holding her prisoner!” 

“No- Sapnap don’t!” You grabbed his hand, pulling him back. 

He nodded resolutely, gripping your hand as you both moved toward the door, “Lets go then, no more time will be spent with this monster.” 

“Don’t go!” Dream wailed as you hurried away down the hall, “Now let it be war upon you both!” 

~~

Something was going wrong, of course it was, because when was it not?

Your entrance in Don Juan Triumphant had gone according to plan, but the man who had stepped out as Don Juan was not George, as it should have been.

You steeled yourself, trying to come up with a logical reason.

George must have gotten sick, and a stand in had taken his place, yes that must be it.

“Past the point of no return, no backward glances, the games we played till now, are at an end.” The man sang, “Past all thought of ‘if’ or ‘when’, no use resisting, abandon that thought and let the dream descend.”

Your panic seemed to rise, the double meaning in his words filling you with dread.

“What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire locks the door? What sweet seduction lies before is? Past the point of no return, the final thread hold. What unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return.”

You moved carefully to your next mark, trying to work out who it was in George’s place, “You have brought me, to the moment when words run dry, to the moment when speech disappears into silence, silence.

I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why, in my mind I already imagined, our bodies entwined. Defenseless and silent, now I am here with you, no second thoughts, I’ve decided, decided.”

You just barley stopped from trembling as you realized, it was Dream, “Past the point of no return, no going back now. Our passion play has now, at last, begun. Past all thought of right and wrong. One final question: how long should we two wait, before we’re one?”

“When will the blood being to race? When will the sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?” You finished, taking an only slightly shaky breath.

The phantom grabbed your hand as you both sang, “Past the point of no return, the final threshold. The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn, we’ve past the point of no return!”

Everyone in the audience seemed to hold their breath, they too knew that this was not George. The cloak that had hidden Dreams mask fell, and they gasped upon seeing the plaster smiling face.

He grinned behind the mask, and punctuated, “Say you’ll share with me, one love, one lifetimes lead me, save me from my solitude.”

The words stung even before he pulled out a ring, holding it out to you, “come with me, or this whole place will come down upon us.”

Slowly you looked to the audience, Sapnap was standing in the isle, looking worried.

You couldn’t let him get hurt.

You nodded reluctantly, as he continued, “say you want me by your side anywhere you go let me go too, (y/n) that’s all I ask of-“

Slowly, you reached up, pulling the mask off his face, revealing the terribly scared face to the world.

The gasps turned into horrible screams as a curtain was raised, and Georges body tumbled onto the stage.

Almost immediately Dream flung his cloak around you, disappearing.

Sapnap ran up onto the stage, along with the crew, police officers and other patrons.

“Sapnap! Sapnap you’ve got to come with me!” Eret cried, rushing out onto the stage.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Sapnap!” They yelled again, “I know where they are!”

“But can I trust you?” He demanded.

She nodded, “yes, and remember, keep your hand up at eye level.”

“Why?”

“Punjab lasso.” Was all he offered in explication as he led Sapnap away.

~~

Soon enough Sapnap was creeping through the shadows of the phantoms layer, watching as he tried to place a wedding veil on your head, “Too bad pity comes to late, turn around and face your fate, an entirety of this before your eyes!”

You turn to face him, looking up at the mess of scares that cover his face, “this haunted face holds no horror for me now, it is in your soul that the true distortion lies.”

The phantom turned suddenly, to Sapnaps hiding place, “Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest! Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight! I had rather hoped that you would come And now my wish comes true— you have truly made my night!”

“Free her!” Sapnap yelled, stepping into the light, “do what you want to me but let her go!”

“Your lover makes a passionate plea.” Dream laughed at you.

“Sapnap it’s useless!” You cried.

Sapnap shook his head, “I love her! Does that mean anything To you? I love her! Show some compassion!”

“The world showed no compassion to me!” Dream retorted.

He reached out toward you, “(y/n), (y/n), please let me see her!”

Dream grinned maliciously, “be my guest.”

Sapnap rushed forwards, as Dream contiued to taunt, “Monsuier, i bid you welcome, did you think that I would hurt her? Why should I make her pay, for the sins which are yours?” 

As he finished the last words the Punjab lasso came sailing out, and Sapnap barley had time to fling his arm back up as he was dragged back, the only thing keeping him from hanging being the fingers he’d wrangled between the rope and his neck. 

“No!” You cried, struggling to your feet. 

“Order your fine horses now!” Dream yelled, “Nothing now can save you, except maybe... (y/n).” 

You stood, shaking as he turned to you, “Start a new life with me- buy his freedom with your love! Refuse me now and send your lover to his death! This is the choice, this is the point of no return!” 

“(y/n), forgive me, please forgive me, I did it all for you, and all for nothing.” Sapnap sang, looking at you desperately.  

At the same time you turned toward Dream, “Farewell my fallen idol, and my false friend, one by one my delusions shattered.” 

“Too late for turning back, too late for prayers and useless pity!” Dream sang.

“{all hope of cries for help, no point in fighting!} (say you love and my life is over, either way you choose, he has to win!) {for ether way you choose, you cannot win! So do you end your days with me or do you send him to his grave?}”

“Why make her lie to you, to save me?” Sapnap yelled. 

You looked between them desperately, “Angel of music..... {past the point of no return!} (For pity’s sake (y/n) say no! Don’t throw your life away for my sake!) Who deserves this? When will you see reason? {The Final threshold! His life is now the prize you must earn! You’ve passed the point of no return....}”

You looked at Dream, no longer trying to hide the fear that coursed through your veins, “Angel of music, you have deceived me, I gave myself blindly to you.” 

“You try my patience! Make your choice!” Dream yelled. 

Looking back at sapnap for a moment you stepped forward, whatever it would take, you would keep him safe, “Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you, you are not alone.” 

Reaching out, you took the mask from his hand, tossing it to the side as he moved closer to you as well. 

Before you could hardly blink he was kissing you, and with little more than a second thought you kissed back. 

Sapnap watched, in partials horror, until the phantom drew back, shaking as he whispered, “No one has ever kissed me- not even my own mother.” 

You nodded, and then suddenly Dream began to move across the room, grabbing a knife from somewhere as he stalked up to Sapnap.

He paused for a beat, and you could feel the terror in the room- until he slashed at the rope, and Sapnap fell the ground. 

You rushed over to him, kneeling beside him, “Sapnap! oh Sapnap!” 

“Take her,” dream wailed, “Take her and forget me, forget all of this! Leave me alone- forget all you’ve seen....”

Sapnap struggled to his feet, holding you close to him as he backed towards the channel. 

“Take the boat, leave me here, go now, please!” 

The sounds of the mob looking for Georges murderer seemed to grow louder as they grew closer.

“Hurry! Now before its too late!” Dream yelled. 

Sapnap hurriedly started to help you into the boat, but you pulled away, moving back to the Phantom, long enough to hand him the ring. 

Then you were off, turning to Sapnap as the current carried the boat away, “I’m sorry Sapnap- I couldn’t let him hurt you- I couldn’t!” 

“Shhh. It’s alright (y/n), it’s alright. He can’t hurt you anymore.” He murmured, pulling you into his arms.

“Say you’ll share with me, one love one lifetime.” You sang shakily.

Sapnap nodded, “Say the word and I’ll follow you.”

“Share each day with me, each night, each morning...” The sounds of your voices traveled back up the tunnel for Dream to hear. 

He sighed, looking resolutly into the distance, “You alone can make my song take flight- It’s over now, the music of the night!”

[quirkless-deku-aus]

So um hi, I'm new to this fandom but please hear me out. How about a Tarzan-ish/Tribe DinLuke AU :D

This idea had been pestering me for the past 3 days now but I don't have the time right now to write a whole fanfic but I do have something short written and drawn for it.

SUMMARY:

So Luke, Leai, Han, Chewbacca, Artoo and Threepio went to explore the heart of a huge rain forest (idk what to call it yet) themselves because Leai believes that Gideon's so-called "Expedition" in the said forest is bantha shit and he's actually planning on destroying it. The worst part is that the Senate Council isn't doing anything about it. They're scared for the all of the life forms on that forest so they wanted to take down Gideon by gathering some evidence. When the news about a plane crashing somewhere in the forest took over the internet, they decided to check it out. What they didn't know, however, is that hidden tribes also reside in that forest and they're about to be pulled into something more than they bargained for.

--X--

This is my design for Luke. He still wears his iconic Poncho tho but I don't have the time to draw it yet sksksk Grogu finds him very interesting. He knows ALS and that's why he can communicate with Grogu. Din also finds him very interesting ;D

This is what I imagine Grogu would look like 0u0 he's...an escapee of some sort. He may or may not be selectively mute but he's very cautious of other people. He's very much attached to Din though.

He was on the plane that crashed in the forest, not sure how he survived, he just did. Din found him after he and some of his men decided to investigate the crash site. They took him in but Grogu doesn't have a skull mask of his own yet because he hasn't been officially blessed (?) as part of their tribe since he can't tell them his name. Until Luke came in that is hehe

I had a hard time coming up for Din's design but ngl I think he turned out great. The skull is supposed to be a Mythosaur but I didn't remember it's existence after I finished coloring Din :"D Please note that the color may vary from different screen to screen so it may be paler or darker than my original color palette for him >o< 

Din can understand and speak Basic (English) but he doesn't want to because of his anger towards outsiders. He's fiercely protective of Grogu and a jerk to Luke but he started to lighten up after seeing that they're just here to help them take down Gideon. Luke received extra cookies points for helping them get Grogu officially adopted into their tribe. The claws I was talking about on the sketchpad was his weapon/gloves I think.

Without his skull mask, he kinda looks like Lapu-Lapu (a hero here in the Philippines) because I imagine him with long hair or a mullet. I'll try to draw that when I get the time sksksk

--X--

ALTERNATIVE DARK HIDDEN TRIBE AU (ART CONCEPT COMING SOON):

The thing is that I don't know if I wan't to stick with this plot, I kinda like the idea of Dark!Din more where he captures the group so they could kill them for...food??? Yup, cannibals but I suck at this kind of trope that's why I usually just reads them. *cough* Hannibal *cough* So yeah, it could be a dark ending where they're killed except for Luke who's forced to be Din's spouse. It doesn't help that Grogu likes him and you know that Din would do anything for his precious son.

--X--

BONUS ART (WITHOUT COLOR THO BECAUSE MY FINGER IS KILLING ME):

Grogu is scared of Han for some reason I can't remember 😭 I was writing all of my sleep-deprived ramblings on my sketchpad but yeah, Grogu finds Luke very interesting so he kept following them. They recognized him as one of the missing children on the plane but Grogu was very adamant that he doesn't want to go back. Han suggested that they turn him over for some cash rewards which caused Grogu to cry and for both the Skywalker Twins to smack Han on the back of his head.

It's confrontation time! >:3

So Luke was captured by Boba Fett and was brought to Din since many claims that they saw Grogu with him. The problem is that Grogu was currently with Leia since they all got chased by Gideon's men and they had no choice but to split up. They were after Luke specifically so he gave Grogu to his sister when they split up. Din is furious and he had every right to be so, too bad Luke had to endure his wrath. Luke tries to explain but Din was having none of it and he was about to execute Luke then and there when Grogu comes in to save his ass.

"Grogu wait-!"

Grogu stood in front of Luke with his arms stretched out, "Buir, no!"

Everyone was in stunned silence.

Din was the first one to recover and he easily side-stepped Grogu to point his spear at Luke once more.

"What did you call him?" His voice was so deep and grave that Luke couldn't help shivering from it.

"Answer me."

Luke wetted his lips, "Grogu. That's his name."

"You can understand him." It wasn't even a question.

"Yes."

--X--

That's all! Thank you so much for coming to my TED talk :DDD

I also publish it on AO3 if any of you guys are interested 0u0/

I’ll add the link a little bit later

[sasarahsunshine]

have you moved past cm? i went to your twitter and you post hannibal a lot but you arent on the cm server like at all anymore. if you have mvoed on then maybe give the server to someone else that is active

Hello Anon! I have a couple things to say to this, 1) I’m currently tipsy cos my friends and I were hanging out and I’m finally allowed alcohol after being sober for the last 3 years. So if I seen all over the place or don’t make sense, that why.

2) I’m still VERY active in the CM fandom, but I realize that it might not look like that outwardly since my activity has been taking place in smaller spaces/private DMs with people.

3) My Twitter rn is currently only for Hannibal, but I have been considering making a second one that’s Criminal Minds only. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to jump back and forth between them all the time without mixing them up, lol!

4) I’m not 100% sure what you mean about me not being active in the server? If you mean today (Sunday, May 22nd—even tho it’s the 23rd now whoops), then I wasn’t on Discord at all cos I was busy with real life things. Summer is on the way, quarantine is “over,” and I’m not locked in my home 24/7 anymore. I’m officially finished with my chemo; the benign tumor that was in my brain has shrunk, so I can finally get a job again (I haven’t worked a “real job” since January 2021), and I can hang out with my friends and family again. (I still wear masks when appropriate, and I’m fully vaccinated, but we’re “allowed” to be normal again, you know?).

But I can promise I’ve been in the server every single day, even if only once or twice to check in and make sure everything’s fine. I have a life outside of Discord and Tumblr, too.

Plus I’ve had a new puppy since the beginning of April, and he takes up the majority of my time while I’m training and caring for him. We’re actually about to get him properly trained to be a therapy dog, since my own therapist (and everyone else who meets him) says he would be perfect for it with his calm and friendly personality!

And, also, Twitter is fun. I’ve made new friends, found a fun new community among the Hannibal fandom, and I greatly enjoy how I can check my Twitter feed for only a couple min between my errands and still feel like I’m apart of the “conversations” there. Meanwhile here on tumblr, I need to set aside a whole hour or so for what I do (and I only use tumblr on desktop, for reasons I’ve explained before, unless I’m just checking my notifs).

I’m sorry that you feel I’ve left the fandom, or I’m inactive, but I also think I’m allowed to “take a break” from fandom things if I need to. While the CM fandom was getting a lot of hate anons, harassers, stalkers, and was dealing with A LOT of drama, the Hannibal fandom welcomed me with open arms and the friends I’ve made helped me feel safe while I was still sick and healing.

I have a whole timetable setup with plans for fun Criminal Minds based things I want to do this summer (including celebrations for milestones, watch parties, etc), but I just need to *get* to that point.

Hyperfixations come and go over time. I can’t really control if my fixation for Criminal Minds ends up fading, but I can promise that for now, it’s still going strong! I’m just ALSO having fun with the Hannibal fandom (think of it as my new shiny toy, I guess, lol! Criminal Minds is my favorite and always will be, but it’s exciting to be apart of something new).

Hope I was able to explain. Have a good day/night! <3

[shinelikethunder]

Rewatching Hannibal 1x07 Sorbet, and noticing how much of it is about what happens when you don’t become the mask you wear for the rest of the world. What happens to the part of you that’s stubbornly distinct from your façade, when it’s been trapped behind it for so long that even you aren’t sure what it might look like when viewed (...seen). The fear that it’s malformed and pitiable, followed by the slim, terrifying hope that the person who glimpses it might care more about it than about your meticulously-ornamented shell. (Which, among other things, hoo boy if that ain’t a Big Queer Mood... fitting, really, that this is the episode with a gratifying little revenge fantasy about medical homophobia, serophobia, and hostile assumptions about what “ugly little secret” you must be hiding.)

And in that context, one of the Thomas Harris quotes remixed into this episode makes a lot more sense to me than it did on previous viewings: “I see [the Ripper] as one of those pitiful things sometimes born in hospitals [...] They let it die. But he doesn’t die. He looks normal. Nobody can tell what he is.” It’s a demonstration of the thing Hannibal finds most terrifying and alluring about Will: he keeps seeing through all the personae and person suits. At this point it’s through a glass darkly, but still with shocking clarity, considering he doesn’t even know what--who--he’s seeing. Hannibal spends the episode coming up with new misdirections on the spot to test him: the “Chesapeake Ripper or organ harvesters?” red herring, the little game of “two lies and a truth” with the Ripper photos in Quantico. And every time, Will demolishes the misdirections and acknowledges the tiny scraps of truth, almost effortlessly, without even realizing what he’s doing. The episode ends with Will skipping out on the Extremely Person Suit dinner party to go examine its ugly underbelly: the Ripper cases that put the food on the table. Of course Hannibal is secretly delighted at the snub.

It’s the prospect of being seen that forces Hannibal to reckon with what the thing under his many masks might look like. The thing that so stubbornly refuses to die, even when starved of connection or recognition. And the unpleasant truth is that that thing looks a lot more like Franklyn than he’d ever want to admit.

Franklyn is so cringe-inducing to watch as a character--and no doubt even more unpleasant to interact with--that, as with Freddie Lounds, the audience kinda has to wonder why Hannibal hasn’t killed him already. I suspect the answer is that he has a weird soft spot for Franklyn as a form of painful self-recognition. Trying to help Mr. Secondhand Embarrassment Personified is like watching a well-hidden, well-guarded part of himself walk around naked, no manners or charm or cultivation, none of the protections that make his person suit so well-tailored. The part that craves connection but has no idea how to go about it, the part that’s fascinated with (curious about) other people but avoids looking at the stunted void it fears is where its sense of self should be. Or, to get all purple about it: Franklyn is a man who flinches at the threshold of his innermost self, but shorn of all the exquisite mental architecture Hannibal's built himself to live in, reduced to begging anyone nearby for shelter.

Even in the next episode, Hannibal goes out of his way to encourage Tobias not to murder Franklyn, which is about as much mercy as he ever shows to people he has personal affection for but wouldn’t hesitate to kill for pragmatic reasons. Of course, because he’s Hannibal, he ends up murdering the poor bastard himself with no hesitation or remorse--but it’s not because of some line of unbearableness that Franklyn finally crossed. It’s because his desire to spite Tobias was stronger than any hope of sparing Franklyn, who by that point had probably seen too much anyway. In his next session with Bedelia he tells her one of his little sideways truths--yes, it’s funny on its face to see him go “I feel responsible for what happened to him” about the man whose neck he snapped with his own hands, but I do think he feels regret if not remorse, for not managing to engineer a situation that kept his cringey shadow self out of the line of fire.

(Side note: I suspect the reason Freddie Lounds didn’t get eaten in the very second episode is that she was the only other person to see through Will’s protective suit of “socially inept smol bean who is very distressed by the insights he gets from his Unspecified Problems Disorder.” Sure, she’s an absolute bitch about it, but she’s an absolute bitch who can pull off outfits even more outrageous than Hannibal’s--she appeals to his sense of fun. As soon as he realized she’d clocked Will as absolutely fucking seething with all kinds of dark potential 24/7, he decided her rudeness and vulgarity were far outweighed by the entertainment value of having her around to cause problems on purpose.)

(Side note #2: All of this neglects the main casefic plot, which does connect to the same themes, but somewhat less directly. The other person going around without a mask in 1x07 is Devon Silvestri, who’s also kind of an inept schlub when viewed for what he really is. He didn’t arrange that crime scene to look like a Ripper murder, he just panicked and GTFO’d--all the conflation comes from Jack Crawford’s desire to find the Ripper and from Hannibal seizing on it as an opportunity for misdirection. It does lead to some fun playing with “are the mutilations for Art (artifice, performance) or for more prosaic uses of the organs?” when the answer, of course, is that the difference between the Ripper murders and the botched organ theft is “why not both?” Silvestri’s one real deception is to pass himself off as an emergency first responder (his day job) while he’s working his less altruistic sideline, and we also get some fun triangulation when Hannibal has to take on that role for real. Will sees him, gets his first good look at Hannibal’s mastery of this skillset that he once cultivated as part of his person suit, but also sees him looking absolutely in his element as he uses his power over life and death to preserve life. He sees it even more clearly against the backdrop of Silvestri’s dubious competence and furtive discomfort with what he’s doing. In his conscious mind he accepts the best possible interpretation of that glimpse, even as he feels a bunch of less-conscious connections snap into place at the sight--ones he isn’t ready to face yet, but boy is he having Big Feelings about it. Some of which may or may not be diverting blood from his brain, and/or setting him up for uncomfortable wet dreams about Hannibal’s hands in his viscera, but thaaat’s probably a topic for another post.)

Anyway. Sorbet as an episode is about the exact opposite of “fake it ‘til you make it”--it’s about the self that doesn’t become what it performs, the wonder of having someone glimpse it no matter how well-hidden it is, and, crucially, the terror of finally examining what someone else may have glimpsed and finding it stunted, ugly, even pitiable in its isolation. Neither the “thing that doesn’t die” quote nor any of the stuff with Franklyn makes sense, IMO, without the realization that Franklyn is an uncomfortable mirror of what’s under Hannibal’s human veil--and that Hannibal is equal parts intrigued and freaked the fuck out that Will keeps catching glimpses of him through the veil.