#i think when hannibal realises what's wrong with will

[immortalsins]

CAUGHT out

[thestarfishinjootsoffice]

Old writing especially on Bo's and then Vincent's part. I realised that I was writing as if their s/o showcased their strength during later on into their relationship in the first three slashers, apologies.

A/n: I am no longer writing for Hannibal or any hannibal characters as I myself have forgotten my own perspective of them.

Slashers x reader who's stronger than them but doesn't look like it!

Warnings: blood and death on the ghostface duos part, very slight mentions of nsfw. But mostly fluff.

Slashers in this: Bo sinclair, Vincent sinclair and Thomas Hewitt, Michael Myers, Billy Loomis and Stu Macher (poly)

Relationship: romantic!!

Bo

It clawed at his ego, he's a pretty mean bastard and you know it 🫵.

He first thought of you as the most fragile and weakest person ever (and cutest), I mean, could you even lift a pot half filled with water?

Undoubtedly he used this assumption to 'help you' or more so at times tease you. He loves seeing your reactions and most definitely not because you're so small and kind to him, pfff of course not.

He just absolutely loves lifting you up and over his shoulder and he's definitely an ass guy. He loves ogling and smacking your ass but he won't get to that level until many many months later on. But he's still going to stare.

“Oh Bo, I think there's a rabbit under the truck!” You exclaimed to Bo as you noticed something white and moving below.

"An animal? *sighs* hold on, I'll get rid of that p-" He suddenly loses his ability to formulate words as he witnesses you lift the goddamn fuckin truck with one arm, and indeed there was a rabbit underneath.

“*gasp* it's so cute!” Bo cannot believe what he just saw. Damn, he gotta stop smoking so much it's messing with his brain. He's just staring at you as you pet the timid rabbit with your 'scrawny' arm.

He must admit he does fantasize about you lifting him up and shit, or topping him in bed. Whatever he's feeling that day, and he would rather swallow sand than ever admit that last part.... But y'know if you're up for it-

His cocky and prideful attitude seemingly making an apparent change, he would hold a cup or item you need above your head with a shit eating grin watching you get frustrated with him. Or when he would make jabs about you being too weak to lift three chairs at a time and would offer to help you. (So he could walk beside you.) But now... He still fucking makes jabs at you being weak, just to fuck with you even though he knows it's far from the truth. He loves making you seem like the little helpless princess and him being the asshole shining knight in armor.

You wouldn't mind tho would you? It's a win-win, you get to spend more time with your boyfriend and he gets to spend time with his girlfriend.

Vincent

So gentle and caring with you. He's gentle and caring with whoever he is with but your size just makes him think one wrong move and he's accidentally breaking your arm. And cause of this he can't help but be a worry wart at times and way too protective. Not budging even if you reassure him you're perfectly capable of doing something that requires strength.

During one of the dark evenings you walk with your lover in the forest, the side of the forest where there isn't roadkill so that you can breathe without torturing your nostrils. And finding some fire wood to spend the next dark hours star gazing and ranting to him while the sound of the fire crinkling and burning the wood serves as a nice background music.

Every step you take you hear the crunch of the dead leaves get crushed under your foot, both of you holding your flashlights. You have the warm and slightly calloused hand of your Vincent holding yours affectionately as his thumb brushes against the back of your hand and knuckles, gently tracing over and feeling the ridges and bumps.

You notice some fallen bark and shine your flashlight on it. "Vinny, look there's some firewood over there!" You exclaimed and shined your flashlight elsewhere, looking around more until you had shined it directly on a tree right in front of you that was occupied by a scary looking arachnid, its front limbs moving in a sluggish and relaxed fashion.

You let out a startled yelp and out of instinct your fist went to swing at the spider who somehow successfully managed to not get hit in the nick of time. This also startled your boyfriend who looked worriedly at you, his eyes scanned over to see that you were.. Fine! But the tree you punched wasn't. It has a big dent in it while the flesh of wood was cracked and damaged severely around the impact along with many splinters.

"I'm so sorry Vincent! There was a spider and I got scared!"

He almost let out a breath of relief knowing it wasn't anything serious but he can't get his eyes and mind off the injured tree. Did you... seriously do that? He gently took your hand and examined it, it seemed perfectly fine except for redness, light bleeding and a couple splinters on your knuckles.

He slowly raised one of his hands, pointing towards the punched tree. 'Did you do that?' Is what's probably going through his head. You chuckled sheepishly and nodded in confirmation. He sighed. For now, he'll worry about your fist.

Does this interaction change how he treats you?... Kind of. He isn't too pushy as he was since he now knows how capable you are of handling yourself but there's still that feeling in him, something that gnaws at his inner core for him to help you. He wants to feel useful and to serve you in any way he can, so...please let him dote over you still..? (Of course you will, you can't say no to him.)

If you want to pick him up he'll entertain you, though he'll be extremely flustered and giddy about it. He likes this way more than he should (in his opinion). How comical is it? He's a large 6'1 grown man being carried princess style by his tiny s/o. Despite all this, he still hopes you need him as much as he needs you.

Thomas

Trust me when I saw it really took Thomas by surprise. He's a really big guy and you say this little thing is stronger than him? Oh please, humor him after dinner.

He's a busy man with a lot on his plate, and you seemingly looking like the most harmless person in the world doesn't help, he constantly feels like he has to tend to you and supervise you from a certain officer.

Will usually not allow you to help him when he's working, it depends. He feels guilty letting yourself get caught up with all this but if you insist he'll gladly accept the extra hand with honest gratitude. But generally- 'Back away honey, you might get dirty.' Is what he wishes he could say.

In his eyes you're a saint, an angel. Made perfectly to fit in the space between his thighs he's sitting down and there's no flaw in the way his large hands cups your cheeks with those pretty eyes of yours staring into his – no room for mistake or complain. You're adorable.

The first time he allowed you to help him you admire your handsome behemoth of a lover chopping wood. Appreciating the rolled up sleeved that gave you a good view of his arms, his muscles flexing as he brought the axe down – after he was done with the first small batch of logs you hurried to grab the others.

Tommy watched with amusement and adoration before shifting his weight to help you but stopped as you started walking towards him five logs resting effortlessly in your arms. It didn't even seem to faze you as if it was just you were only a bunch of baby ducks.

Tommy watched in silence as you laid them out on the table, still kind of processing it before nodding his head in gratitude and resuming to chopping them up. He'll bring this up later, maybe. For now he'll focus on getting his work done and spending more with you, and your soft words.

He doesn't really care if you're stronger than him or not, as long as you love him and don't try to run away it's all good. If you want he'll stop trying to do everything for you even though he knows you don't need any assistance – he's so used to working around the house he feels restless not doing anything at all.

If you want to carry him, do it. He's all yours but please do it in private he won't be able to handle the embarrassment if his family sees it. And although he prefers to be the dom he doesn't mind it if you wanna take charge every once in a while and throw him around.

Plus, it creates something pleasantly warm in his stomach.

Michael.

He thinks he's going insane. (He already has.)

He's Michael Myers, the most ruthless killer Illinois has ever seen for the past decades. And you're saying this small creature that he's inhabited has greater strength than him... Yeah, no.

And then he sees you picking up three bodies out of the house with your bare hands while cleaning up the evidence of his the murder he left, quietly observing you. He won't admit it but it kind of irks him. He's supposed to be the one with power in this relationship and quite frankly he doesn't know the true extent to your power.

He warms up to it eventually – although it's more of he doesn't give a fuck anymore. You're not completely weak and helpless? Great, he doesn't have to worry about you as much. Key word: as much. He still does worry a lot when you're out for long hours – he's not worried you're injured or in danger (not anymore) but more as in you're not leaving him, right? Or ratting him out to the police?

Do not ever attempt to pick him up or anything even remotely close to that unless you want a glare from those void, soul-less eye sockets of his mask Or if you want a love tap on the head and cheek. If you give him enough guilty smiles and let go of him he'll let you off the hook. if not, bear the consequences. (They don't even do anything anyways, lmao)

He feels so incredibly annoyed when you start treating him like a child, telling him to go sit down or lie down in bed after he pulled a few all nighters and the fact you successfully manage to pull him back into bed: God dammit, why the hell are you even so strong and you're so small!? Grumpily he does stay put but only if you're with him too.

A man feared by hundreds, if not thousands because of the sheer power and mercilessness he leaves in trails of every step he takes in public... And then there's you, you're half his size and you have more control over him than he'd like. He'd never kill you though, not intentionally, but that will also most likely not happen.

Speaking of killing, don't think he won't murder someone if they attempt to hurt you and gets their ass kicked by you anyways. You attack, he lands the finishing blow. Don't protest, he won't listen.

Billy n' Stu

They're both pretty lean so you can believe it, if not for your given figure. They both adore it, so who cares? Billy and Stu will, eventually.

It was in the heat of the moment, you tell yourself but you remember in vivid detail the day where you saw the bloody escaping victim running towards you – adrenaline pumping in your veins, your mind immediately went into fight mode and swung a fist at their skull. You remember the sickening crunch as blood slowly pooled from their fractured cranium when they lifelessly fell down to the floor.

They first helped you with the lingering guilt first before Stu started annoying you.

''Can you punch me like that next but with a bit less-''

"No!"

Alright, no worries but now he's asking you to lift him up to reach things that he does not need help on. Maybe even just carry him and run around the house. (Don't be fooled, he just wants to be carried around like a child again.) Fluttering his eyelids at you and holding up a jar of pickles. 'Y/n, I can't get this to open!' Yes he can.

Billy, although tries to act neutral but can't help but let his thoughts wander. 'Wow... Strong girl... Can choke me...' He thinks to himself as he watches you and Stu. Not as if he'd ever admit that. He pretends he's disinterested in getting in your arms - no, he just doesn't wanna embarrass himself. But if you persist he'll begrudgingly agree. He indeed liked it.

Stu obviously takes a positive reaction, he loves getting dominated. You can take that however you like. Billy on the other hand feels conflicted, if he's not stronger than you then how will he stop you if you try to leave them or plan to rat them out? Assuming this is during the beginning of your relationship. But overtime the more he takes a good look at your face those thoughts will slowly drown away, there's no way you would, right?

The slashers will probably swoon if you agree to help them place the bodies where they want them to, like hanging them in the trees or something.

Billy keeps it more lowkey. Preferring to keep you in his lap and rest his chin on top of your head. Stu takes your strength to his advantage. When he gets drunk he'll whine and ask you to carry him to bed, and take his socks off. Annoying fuck but you love him either way. And Billy too.

[connorsnothereeither]

So, was Ulysses always supposed to be like a dad to Aax, or did it only come about after he was redeemable and wouldn't die at the end?

Definitely the latter! I don’t remember how much I’ve talked about things in depth before in terms of this, or how much I might be forgetting, so Metta or others can definitely correct me here, but he definitely wasn’t going to be Aax’s dad originally, in the slightest. That was a very late game decision. He was originally going to be almost a villain specifically for Aax and Ocie to combat.

Ulysses was originally just going to be involved with Project Leviathan, but would be able to give some information on Proteus (leaving the spot of the person who freed Aax open for a potential guest NPC)! At that stage, he was still going to be evil and die at the end. I remember at one point even pitching to some people (half jokingly) an almost Hannibal Lector style situation where they basically had him locked up in prison behind glass but would come to him for medical information, or for ways to help the gods (it would be why Fable ended up killing him, so that he couldn’t give information that could harm Fable).

Then at some point I think Metta was the one to suggest that Ulysses be the one who freed Aax. It would have just been a spur of the moment, sudden gaining of a conscience in what Ulysses thought would be his last moments. His final good deed, to make up for as much as he could as he realised how wrong he had been all this time, would be to free Aax. To make even the smallest of amends for the harm he’d caused, not because he cared for Aax, but just because Aax was there to be freed. Ulysses would have found that out not long before he died, and would have died knowing he was, despite everything he did, at least trying to do good. He might not have been a good person, but he did something good, in letting Aax out.

But the longer we sat with that idea, that Ulysses would free Aax, the more we developed it! As Ulysses was planned to stick around and not die, and we started to tie in that storyteller aspect, Metta approached me with the ideas for the animated cutscenes! This idea of Ulysses telling stories to taunt Perseus, but eventually growing despondent to the ways of the Telchin, to the point where he freed her. We scripted the four myth animatics (which eventually were cut down to only three, Proteus, Arachne, and Perseus) where they got softer each time, and we actually rewrote the last one to make it more parental and loving, in the end. And then that arc eventually became more of a caring, loving relationship. Where Ulysses viewed Perseus not as “a living thing that deserves a better life” but “the child I care for and who is my responsibility, who I need to give a better life”.

The actual loving parent decision was very last minute. Like as in,,, the few weeks before that reveal stream I think, when we recorded the cutscenes of the final myth and Ulysses freeing Aax, and saying he was proud of them and cared for them. Not quite being able to say he loved them. It basically wasn’t until we were in prestream call and then actively in the stream role playing live that we decided to have Ulysses say he loved Aax and thought of them as his child, and Aax to say that Ulysses was his dad. It just felt so right to play it like that in the moment, even if we hadn’t planned it to be specifically like that.

And I’m so impossibly happy with how those decisions snowballed and came together and formed into the story we have. It’s genuinely one of my proudest moments as a storyteller and creator and it means so much to me and I can’t thank Metta and everyone else involved enough 🫶

[pastelwell]

‼️ New fic alert! ‼️

The long road home

This was such an indulgence, and it all started earlier this year w a pic of Mads where it looked like he ran a bar. Somehow I took that and invented an entire AU where Hannibal owns a bar that Will frequents bc he is dependent on alcohol to avoid the complexity of emotions. Totally normal thing to do…!

35k words later and here it is. I never intended to post it, it was just a silly lil project I was sharing with friends, but it felt a bit wasteful keeping it to myself! Hopefully it finds its audience :)

~

PREVIEW (pretty long sorry!)

It’s unlike anything he’s ever felt in his life, but not in the way he expects. It’s a shock, first and foremost, but he’s more surprised by how numb he feels, from head to toe, a blanket of emptiness that settles on his shoulders and begins to slowly drown him.

The death of Will’s father came suddenly and unexpectedly. After eight years of almost no contact, Will hadn’t expected to feel anything at all, and in a way he was right. But in another way he was completely wrong. He doesn’t feel nothing, what he feels is the absence of something, and it looms over him constantly like a heavy, unshakeable shadow, always present but never fully seen. There’s a knot in his stomach and a lump in his throat that won’t go away. He feels restless and incomplete. He feels the permanent burgeoning of something, like he’s on the brink of an abyss, and it scares him to death.

His initial response is diversion. Something that will distract him from the feeling and push it far, far away, so that he doesn’t have to deal with it. He tells himself it’s a temporary fix until he’s ready to feel whatever he needs to feel, even though he doesn’t really understand why he feels anything at all. His father was distant, aloof and often cold. They rarely saw eye to eye, and Will has hardly thought about him in the years that have passed since they last saw each other. Until now. Now he’ll never see or speak to him again.

Drinking works, for a time. One glass before bed to turn off his thoughts turns into a glass with dinner to make the evening pass by in a haze instead of a hardship, but it only continues to escalate. He finds himself craving the indistinctness in his head, the escape and the sanctuary that alcohol provides him, and quickly his temporary fix becomes a longer-term solution. A habit he can always rely on to fade every incomprehensible thing that he’s feeling down to nothing at all.

Will has never considered himself avoidant, but if he stopped to think about it he would probably realise that evading the intensity of his emotions has been a game in his life that he has long been the champion of. It feels, to him, that this new and unfamiliar emotional response requires a new and unfamiliar battle plan, and eventually, rather than considering himself an alcoholic, he considers himself a person who is simply existing the best way he can in a world filled with unpredictable horrors.

His father left him his house — the house Will grew up in, the house he left when he turned sixteen. He didn’t go far, he never could convince himself to leave more than a few towns away, but returning feels like visiting another planet, another lifetime. Seeing it again, empty and hollow, is eery and discomforting, but despite how he feels, Will finds the idea of selling it to a stranger almost unbearable.

The plan had been to come here, make arrangements and leave, but on his first day Will notices a leaking drain, then a hole in the fascia, and before he knows it he’s chopping wood out back like he did when he was a kid. Hours and hours lost to it until the store is overflowing. A house in the forest, secluded and solitary, but still close enough that he can drive into work. It should be a sanctuary, but there’s a part of Will that still feels grief sticking in his throat every time he stumbles across another memory in the attic.

He begins to inadvertently collect strays. They have a habit of finding the house, or finding Will. He realises that people often dump their unwanted pets on the edge of the forest, his forest, as if they know a man in need of a project to nurture lies in wait. He takes each and every one in, trains them diligently, walks them as a pack well into the night. The routine helps at first, but every time Will returns to his bottle of whisky and his endless, inescapable thoughts.

Eventually, Will realises the dogs and the alcohol in the quiet of his new home aren’t enough, and he finds himself trudging through the snow to a bar he’s passed several times but never once ventured inside of. Just to be somewhere new, just to feel something different.

That’s how he meets Hannibal.

Keep reading…

[a-pigeons-soliloquy]

oouugghhh hannigram either 7 or 45. maybe even combine the two.

ok so it has been. a while. this one got, uh, more than a little out of control lmao (almost 3500 words holy fuck). but it's finally finished! i'm not sure if it exactly fits the prompts anymore but i tried to combine them both :) i hope you like it! (even if it did just end up as yet another mizumono fic lol oops)

***

"You were supposed to leave," Will hisses, and his voice is a devastated, furious thing.

There is blood soaking into his shoes and the scent of iron hangs heavy in the air, and the worst part is that Will doesn't even know whose blood it is anymore, but the question is lost to the back of his mind. Because in front of him stands a dishevelled man whose shirt is a mess of shiny red stains, a knife dripping in his hand.

A man who isn’t supposed to be there at all.

"I didn't want to leave without seeing you one last time," Hannibal says. The words one last time should be ringing alarm bells in Will's head, but he can’t hear them over the overwhelming chorus of thousands of other alarms, because everything is going wrong. There is blood on the floor and on the walls and Alana and Jack lie dying among shards of glass, and there is a SWAT team likely only minutes away, and yet Hannibal is still here.

They both are.

And now Will doesn’t know what to do, hasn’t known what to do for the last 3 months and hadn’t known what he’d do next when he’d made that phone call, telling the Chesapeake Ripper that they know. All he’d known was that he didn’t want Hannibal to die, didn’t want him locked up in a cage by his own hands. But here he is, faced with the consequences of his own actions, and once again Will doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know what to feel, or even what he is feeling beyond the adrenaline and desperation and horror and relief and confusion. He doesn’t want to feel the overwhelming guilt and sense of responsibility that has been steadily building behind his ribs since this whole scheme began. Yet that guilt now tears at the lining of his chest and crushes his lungs and holds his throat in a chokehold, and it’s just all too much and all he can think is none of this was supposed to happen and this is all my fault and what if?

Seeing Hannibal alive, he’d been struck by a sudden wave of relief that had almost caused his knees to give out beneath him. But now, as Hannibal’s eyes meet his, the awful look that greets him makes a pit suddenly form in his stomach, and the relief gives way to guilt again. And Will can’t take it.

None of this was supposed to happen.

This is all my fault.

What if?

And then it hits him: none of this was supposed to happen. And it hadn’t needed to. This awful mess of glass and blood and ruin could have all been avoided if Hannibal had just listened. If he’d trusted Will when he’d picked up the phone with shaky fingers and told him to run. But he hadn't. And this realisation comes with a sick sense of understanding, because for the whole time Will had known him, Hannibal had always had to have something hidden up his sleeve, always had to keep secrets from Will. Always had to know better. Feel superior. At last the final veil falls from Will's eyes, and all at once he can see how foolish he'd been to ever believe that they could be equals. How pathetic it was that, for those few long weeks they'd spent together, he'd actually believed that they were.

(Will fiercely forces back the voice in his head that whispers that he hadn’t exactly given Hannibal a reason to trust him.)

Heart hammering against his ribs, all of that guilt and fear melts together and stretches and twists and is reborn as deep, righteous anger.

Because no, all he’d wanted was for Hannibal to be safe and free and far from here, even if it meant Hannibal hated him, even if it meant they could never be together, even if it meant that one day Hannibal would come back and rip his still-beating heart from his chest without remorse. But instead here they are, highly armed police likely mere minutes out. And all because Hannibal hadn’t listened. Bitterly, Will thinks to himself that maybe he couldn’t change Hannibal in this way after all.

As if hearing the war cry of bitterness and anger, the resentment he’d kept locked away over the last year begins to bay and claw at its cage too, and, with no reason left to hold it back, Will finally opens the latch and lets it loose.

His next words come out as a growl. “Well now neither of us might get to leave at all”.

Hannibal looks at him, and before he can hide any emotion behind his mask Will can see surprise and deep betrayal warring behind his eyes. It should make him stop and consider, that surprise - that indication that he is behaving in a way that Hannibal did not quite anticipate. But the look of betrayal is like a knife to his chest, and so Will grips his resentment tightly and fumes.

What had Hannibal expected? For Will to be small, desperate? Cowering? Begging for forgiveness? His lip curls in derision. As if he would give him the satisfaction. No, mongooses have teeth and claws, and may whatever god he believes in help Hannibal if he thinks Will won’t use them.

Hannibal manages to force the emotion all behind a mask of icy indifference, and now when he looks at Will his gaze is blank. Though it is not his usual blankness which Will has become familiar with. It is an empty, unsettling kind of blank, the sort of blank he’s only ever seen in the eye of a shark. When Hannibal speaks his voice is cold, colder than Will has ever heard it.

"Forgive me for having doubts about the sincerity of your warning when you've been lying to me for the last month. Forgive me for wanting to see the truth of where your loyalties lie."

The acknowledgement is agony. All the guilt Will had been trying to force down suddenly rears its monstrous head again, and he finds his voice suddenly drying up. His throat feels tight.

He whispers. "My loyalties lie with you'

Hannibal only scoffs. It is ugly. Will has never seen Hannibal ugly before.

"A last minute change of heart is hardly loyalty, Will," he says. “What does Uncle Jack think of your loyalty, lying bleeding out in my pantry? Alana, shattered on the street? How can I be sure you do not still intend for me to join them?”

Hannibal takes a step towards him, adjusting his grip on the knife. Will’s heart pounds. He forces himself not to take a step back.

“Because I chose you, Hannibal, I was always going to choose you, I just needed time to accept that.”

But Hannibal just looks away. “If that is what you truly believe, then you haven't just been lying to me, you've also been lying to yourself.”

It’s so wrong, yet Hannibal had said it with such certainty and disdain that all Will sees is the arrogance with which Hannibal always assumes himself to be right. He dares to presume to know what Will is thinking better than Will knows himself? It turns out Hannibal Lecter really is just like every other psychiatrist Will has ever met, and a sense of grief rises up within him at the loss of something he’d never thought he could have until meeting Hannibal.

He hates himself for mourning what he shouldn’t want.

Will smothers the voice in his head whispering that Hannibal may in fact be correct, that he really does know Will's mind better than Will does his own. Instead he lets anger take over again, and this time it burns.

“You know nothing,” he hisses. His hands shake. Deep waves of indignant resentment roll over him, the roaring of the waves matching the blood in his ears.

He doesn’t know what he expects Hannibal to do next, but it isn’t for Hannibal to hum to himself, then huff a mirthless laugh and concede in a tone both melancholy and angry, “Perhaps you’re right.”

Once again Hannibal meets his eyes. “You know, I've never fully been able to predict you, Will, but this time I had hoped. It is a mistake I will not make again.”

He prowls closer still, and this time Will steps forward to meet him. Fight has won over flight and as the rising fury makes it hard to find words Will’s body seems to have decided to speak for him. The ticking clock of the impending arrival of the FBI ignored in favour of the burning, all-consuming rage within him.

But the fear of their time running out is still there, forced down as it is, and between that and the anger it’s only getting harder to think, and Hannibal is only making it worse. Every word that leaves his mouth brings fresh waves of intense emotion and it’s rapidly reducing Will to a state where there is nothing in his brain except pure animalistic rage-fear.

He just needs Hannibal to stop talking for one moment so he can think.

With what little coherent thought remains in his brain, Will decides to tell Hannibal in the only way he can manage anymore.

“For once in your life can you please just shut the fuck up”.

Hannibal's eyes flash dangerously. His lips curl up into a snarl, and the part of Will that still understands anything knows that he’s made a mistake - he’s only succeeded in confirming for Hannibal exactly how his words are affecting him, and getting him to stop now won’t be achieved without consequences.

Hannibal is quick to recover, a cruel grin taking over his face. His head tilts condescendingly. “Terribly rude, Will,’ he taunts.

The fire inside Will soars higher. He can feel it scorching his insides.

“Fuck you, Hannibal.” He spits.

Hannibal begins to loom over him, moving closer still in a manner that can only be called predatory, until all that separates them is an arm’s length. The knife still glistens in his hand.

“Is that all you have to say for yourself, Will? Childish comebacks? I’ve come to expect better from you. I'm disappointed.” There is a gleam of self-satisfied malice in his eyes and the shape of his lips. He looks dangerous. He looks beautiful.

Will hates him.

Will loves him.

Fuckyoufuckyoufuck-

And suddenly Will can’t take it any longer.

Before he knows what he is doing, he’s grabbing Hannibal by the bloody shirt and crashing his lips into his.

Time seems to stop, the world narrowing into a millisecond of time in which Hannibal’s hair brushes against Will’s forehead, breath warm against his mouth, their noses pressed almost painfully against each other. A moment where the cooling blood on Hannibal’s shirt soaks into Will’s palms and stains his fingers red. A moment where Hannibal stands deadly still, as if frozen, and Will feels as if he’s been frozen too.

There is a distant pressure in the corner of Will’s abdomen, then the vague sound of something clattering to the ground. But Will’s lips are on Hannibal’s and it is as if everything everywhere is inconsequential other than the feeling of Hannibal’s teeth against his, just as he’d imagined on so many a lonely night.

The moment seems to last an eternity before Hannibal’s hand finally comes up to grasp the back of his shirt tightly, and Will feels the sharp pull of the fabric against his skin, the pressure of Hannibal’s knuckles firm against his flank. A breathy gasp escapes his burning lips, and he can’t help the animal noise that subsequently tears its way from his throat. Luckily it seems that is what it takes for Hannibal to finally move his mouth and kiss back with equal force, teeth scraping sharply against Will’s. They gravitate closer and closer until Will’s arm is wrapped around Hannibal’s neck and their hips are pressed tightly together.

Eventually, Hannibal lets out a deep growl before he at last pulls away, dragging Will backwards until there is an arm’s distance between them. Will’s eyes flutter open and he gazes up at Hannibal. The adrenaline is still coursing through his veins and setting him alight, but this time it is not with anger but something wholly new.

As they lock eyes, Will realises that Hannibal is finally allowing Will to see, without barriers or veils, the full breadth of emotion in his eyes. There is still frustration and betrayal, yes (indeed, Will hadn’t let go of his either) but there is also - and Will’s heart skips a beat when he recognises it - pure and all-encompassing adoration. A wonderful warmth blossoms within his core, rendering him both weak and solid and light as a feather, and it is unlike anything Will can ever remember feeling.

He wonders if this is what it’s like to be loved.

Then those wonderful, expressive maroon eyes flicker downwards, and Hannibal’s brow furrows, lines around his eyes deepening. Confused, Will follows his gaze, and is surprised to see a growing deep red stain on his shirt, though any reaction he distantly thinks he perhaps should be having is dulled and seems to float just out of reach. It’s strange; there isn’t any pain, just the memory of an odd pressure that he’d ignored at the time and a peculiar sense of unreality.

For a moment he just stands, uncomprehending, but as the adrenaline finally starts to wear off he becomes increasingly aware of a dull ache at the site of the wound, and it isn’t long before that dull ache blossoms into a terrible burning pain. Hand instinctively falling from Hannibal’s shoulder to hover protectively over the wound, Will looks back up at Hannibal, a mix of confusion, surprise, pain and betrayal written across his face. An involuntary whine slips from his suddenly dry throat.

The vocalisation appears to spur Hannibal into action. He takes Will gently but firmly by the arms and quickly guides him to a nearby sofa, helping him lay down across its seats before sinking to his knees beside him and pulling up his shirt to inspect the injury. A moment passes, then a near-imperceptible line of tension seems to drop slightly from Hannibal’s shoulders and he pulls Will’s shirt back down.

“It is as I thought: due to the angle and the quick loosening of my grip on the handle, only the tip of my knife entered your body. The wound is not so deep as to require immediate attention, but it will certainly require stitches.”

He guides Will’s hand back to his injury and helps him to apply the right amount of pressure. It hurts, and when Will winces and lets out small pained noise, Hannibal brings a hand to his hair and cards it through the damp curls. It feels nice, it feels so very nice and right, and Will’s eyes slip closed for a moment, enjoying the feeling. When he opens them, Hannibal is looking down at him, face once again carefully blank.

“There is likely very little time left before the FBI arrives,” he begins, “and I will soon be leaving for Florence. I will offer you this once and only once, and you will have until I return with our passports and a select few other items to make your decision.”

He fixes Will with a heavy look. “One last chance, Will. You can come with me to Florence, and I will show you the city where I became a man. We will leave immediately, take up new identities, and likely never return.

“Or, I can leave you here. You can wait for the cops to arrive and take you to a hospital. Your reputation will remain intact, and you can go back to your job and your house in the woods, your life as you know it, and you will never see me again.”

An almost undetectable pause, and then, “This is your final decision, Will. I suggest you make it wisely.”

With this he climbs to his feet and leaves the room

For a while Will sits thinking, but deep down he knows his mind is already made up. The myriad of complicated feelings he harbours towards Hannibal still plague him, and a part of him still wants to lock the man up and throw away the key, but he’s finally willing to admit that it’s all inconsequential. He knows now he can't live without Hannibal, for better or for worse, whether he loves him or hates him, or a twisted mix of both. He’ll miss his life terribly for the isolated comfort it brought, but he’d miss Hannibal far, far more.

There is only one choice to make.

The moment Hannibal reappears in the doorway Will is speaking.

“I want to come with you.”

Hannibal’s face remains carefully blank. “You understand there is no going back from this. I will not change my lifestyle and you can never return to the false life you have led. You will be shedding your sheepskin for good this time, and the world will be on our tail for as long as we-”

Will cuts him off.

“I want to come with you,” he repeats firmly.

A long pause, and then a small but genuine smile graces Hannibal's lips. With a dip of his head, he seems to accept the decision. “Very well,” he says, though Will can hear the unspoken relief that lies beneath it. He lets himself smile back, tired but overjoyed and honest. It feels right.

Hannibal comes back to where he lies on the couch, and helps him get up, his touch firm yet gentle as he holds Will against his side.

“Do you think you can walk?” he asks.

Will’s breath catches as the shift to being upright pulls sharply on his wound. While it could have been far deeper - and Will doesn’t want to imagine what Hannibal’s initial plan for him was - it is still painful, and increasingly so as the last of the adrenaline wears off. Plus, he’s losing a fair amount of blood, and the change in angle temporarily darkens his vision and sends stars dancing across his eyes. Grimacing, he closes his eyes and waits for the pounding in his head to stop. Hannibal lets him lean against him, steadfastly taking his weight, and says nothing.

When the stars fade and he feels steadier on his feet, Will considers Hannibal’s question, and after a moment of assessment nods - he’s been shot in the shoulder before, he can handle this - and lets Hannibal lead him out of the house and down the street to an unfamiliar car.

Alana is unconscious now, and Will catches Hannibal’s eyes lingering on his jacket where it lies over her body. He looks at her, the person he’d once imagined sharing a life with, and thinks of how important she had always been to him, even after everything. A pang of bittersweet nostalgia hits him, accompanied by a longing for a simpler time when maybe it could have been possible. But ultimately he allows Hannibal to help him into the passenger seat of the car. This is the life he’s chosen, the person he’s chosen, cannibalism and all. There is no going back now, and nothing to be gained from contemplating what ifs.

Then the car door closes, and Alana is hidden from sight.

There is another noise as Hannibal gets in the car from the other side, and after fiddling with some dials and buttons, he starts the engine.

“I will drive us to the airport where our flight awaits. When we are a safe distance from the house we will stop and I will clean and suture your wound. But for now I suggest you sleep - you will need the rest if you are to recover well.”

He must notice the lines of discomfort on Will’s face, as he adds, softening slightly, “There are some painkillers in the door.”

After taking the pills as directed, Will lays his head back against the headrest and allows his eyes to close. The last of the adrenaline has left his system, leaving behind a sudden bone tiredness that makes his lids heavy and breathing slow.

With the sound of the vehicle lulling him and the comfort of Hannibal’s presence beside him - alive, together - sleep comes quickly, and the last thing Will knows before the darkness claims him is the feeling of a warm hand gently coming to rest upon his own.

[rethomida]

Rubric: "In this essay I will ..."

So I was scrolling Reddit reading some discussions about “Hannibal” and characters in general, and I was flagger bashed by the comments about Clarice.

“If you enjoy the powerful portrayal of Starling, then I strongly recommend you stay away from the sequel, "Hannibal". The ending in particular goes so much against Starling's character, and is so far out of line with the way she's been portrayed, that you will be horribly disappointed.”

Well, where to start. First of all, I don’t really have anything against the commentator, plus I actually think we share one vision in common. Clarice really changes in the “ Hannibal”, but I think that it is fair to point out that It's been seven years since the previous book, “TSOTL”.

We as humans are constantly changing and not standing still; it's only natural that Clarice is no longer the familiar character from the last book. She grows as she should ? 😅

Second thing that confuses me is the remark about Starling not being “powerful” anymore.

My question is, what is powerful?

It seems that everyone already has an idea of how her life should have turned out, and when their expectations do not coincide with reality it is a reason to say that there is something wrong with her, that she has become a weakling.

If we follow this author's logical chain, then if Clarice had stayed in the FBI and not run off with Hannibal, she would have stayed strong that way.

I honestly don't see the point of it. It seems to me that in this way she would only please others, including some readers, but certainly not herself.

For me she is a deep character, with her problems and feelings and I can find logic in her actions, but all in order:

Generally at the end of Silence of the Lambs I think the future looked promising. Clarice caught and neutralised Buffalo Bill while still at the academy and saved the Senator's daughter! What an incredible career awaits her?!

But in the next book, we're faced with reality. It's been seven years, but Clarice still hasn't joined Crawford's department. If my memory serves me correctly, in the first book he himself said that usually before joining his department, there should be about seven years of practice. But given the fact that Starling solved a problem that no one else in his team could, there's got to be some sort of grace, right?

In fact there was no grace at all.

We see that no one really appreciates Clarice, quite the opposite.

And I'm not even talking about Krendler now, and how easy it was to set her up and how no one but Jack tried to do anything about it.

At the very beginning of the third book,during the operation when she kills five people and Evelda Drumgo, who apparently first pointed a gun at her, everyone was well aware of the circumstances, that the principle of "you or them" applies. But Clarice was still a scapegoat, despite her reputation and her loyalty to the FBI. I realise it was all in the papers, but I don't believe anything could have been done. But it has shown one more time how undervalued she was.

Also, I'm of the opinion that for her, her work was a cage. It wasn't some sort of vocation or soul work. We all know (as does Starling herself at the end of the book) that Clarice did it all to make her father proud, and to silence the lambs, of course.

So given all of the above, I want to summarise that for me the outcome of the book was not the destruction of Starling's character, quite the opposite.

I believe it was a release from a burden she had been carrying for too long. It gave her a chance to start living, for herself.

P.s and I don't think I need to remind you the way Hannibal treats our special agent.)

Write your opinions in the comments if you have any!<3

Also,I want to thank anyone who responded to my previous post, I don’t I would write this one,if it weren’t for you❤️‍🔥

[hannibalruinedme]

Hannibal and my life long suffering

I know I'm late. I know you all have been in my shoes and survived. (or did you?)

I'll keep it very simple. I'm a very normal person. Once in a blue moon I stumble upon a piece of media so beautiful that I let it take over my whole soul. The media I consume, consumes me.

Long story short: I've finished watching Hannibal 2 days ago and the ache I feel in my heart is PHYSICAL. If anyone ever told me that I had yet to discover something which would make me feel the way hannibal made me feel, I wouldn't have believed in them. But boy I was wrong. I just know that this masterpiece of a series will forever torment me slowly. I'll never be able to NOT to feel pain whenever I come across Hannigram edits. It'll forever have this tormenting yet not welcomed grip on my heart. Am I suffering? Deeply. Do I want it to go away? No. Do I need more? A thousand times yes. This has to one of the best Achillean shows out there and we did deserve more of it. We still do.

It feels tragically unfair that there is little to no hope for a season 4. Yes I know, the s3 ending is very beautiful in it's own way. But was it worth giving up hannigram over? I don't think so. I wholeheartedly believe nothing will ever HIT home as much as Hannigram does. Once you get the taste for it, nothing ever feels the same.

I'm completely shattered and depressed. I'm not being dramatic when I say that I sigh all day and stay up late watching old Hannigram contents over and over. I've literally texted Bryan (lol) on Instagram begging for more and I Google "Is there any hope for Hannibal s4" 5 times a day. Even tho the fannibals are always thriving (I love you), seeing a content which has "8 years ago" marked under it, makes me feel terribly lonely. It's deeply saddening to me. The phase I'm in right now, I don't believe I'll ever stop waiting for season 4. I've realised, after doomscrolling on reddit, that most of you've accepted the fact that it's over. Well, good for you. I hope one day I'll be able to reach that stage and be happy with how things ended.

But not for now, right now, I'm on edge. I wake up with knots in my stomach and go through my day feeling miserable. (it might sound extreme to some of you but if you've ever fallen in love with fiction deeply, you'd know). So if you're one of the fannibals who's hopeful (delusional) that there might be a chance of a season 4, please, pick me up. I need consolations from all of you. Please tell me what do you think. Is really there ANY chance? Please give me some hope. If it continues someday (someday...) with more Hannigram (as Bryan has already promised in the last online cast meet up) on the toe, I'd be the HAPPIEST person alive. The HAPPIEST. Even a film would do. Just something. Just a bit more of our murder husbands GOD PLEASE.

[hmmpup]

What’s your favorite Erejean aus and hcs?

I’m gonna do a list because there’s so many AUs and HCs i have for erejean that are so fun to explore… starting with AUs..

Hannibal AU HAS to be in here!!! (really any crossover over mine are some of my favourite AUs), but hannigram x erejean just fit the most to me :3 It’s fun to think about them as cannibal murderers… 😅😅😅One of my favourite quotes from hannibal too; “Cant live with him, can’t live without him” is something i rlly like to associate erejean with… there’s a lot of experimentation and manipulating of eren and jeans characters u have to do to make this crossover rlly make sense but like. idk. it makes to me! if you’ve watched hannibal it MIGHT be easier to understand where i’m coming from…..

literally any modern AU erejean. The erejean angst from canonverse (and hannibal au) is really fun, but sometimes i wanna see them in a modern world! literally just doing normal daily things. I love thinking about them just getting to grow up normally with each other, hanging out in real world scenarios like a party or something.. Imagining them simply going to school is fun because i get to relate to them more (and project onto them😭😭 i’d like to see a bit more domestic erejean stuff cause they can be so cute and sappy 😢

This goes with modern AU but also band AU erejean is another top favourite!!! Specifically i like drummer eren, and lead vocalist/ guitarist jean :33 I think eren also would be able to play the bass and do backup vocals. It can create some reallyyyyy unique scenarios, especially when u put eren and jean in like a situationship or something…. It’s more fun to think about them being real desperate for eachother over them actually being together, especially in this AU because they could write songs about eachother, the drama would be crazy…

also!!!! Fake or Break erejean!!! if you have not read that fic you’re MISSING OUTTTT. its on ao3 by hollycal75💙💙💙

for my favourite headcanons!

1. they talk about eachother NONSTOP. their breakups would be an inconvenience to everyone around them, and even when they are together, they just will not shut up about the other

2. They LOVEEE holding hands.. especially when they’re younger!!! (liek when they’re 15 or smth) neither of them would’ve been in a relationship,,, and i’d imagine jean would probably initiate it because he’s seen couples holding hands in the movies and gave it a go. it’s probably a comfort thing too..

3. Jean sometimes refuses to go out with eren if he’s wearing an outfit he deems stupid. Jean is trying to take eren on a fancy date, and eren could pull up wearing a tshirt and jorts or something 😔 So i think jean would dress eren up for some of these occasions… although eren DOES gain a little sense of style from it after a while.

4. kinda random? but i think because i like to make them unbearably clingy, they always want to take showers together. but they’ll always go horribly wrong because jean takes freakishly cold showers ( he does it for the “benefits”) and eren takes burning hot showers. (probably to annoy jean. )And they can never meet in the middle… 😔 but as long as they’re w eachother they’re happy!!!

5. eren loves the feeling of jeans hair… it’d be very soft… 😭😭😭

6. Jean fell in love w eren first. and fell even harder. realising he was in love with eren jaeger was the worst thing that ever happened to him. (or so he says)

there’s definitely WAYY more but my mind has gone blank😔

[cannibalovers]

creating a tag list btw if anybody wants to be tagged each time i post these then let me know!! (replies/dms/ask box)

Hannibal song of the day : song no.2

a bit about the song:

"Want" (released in 2000) is a song by Recoil, an artist I mentioned in my previous post. Recoil is Alan Wilder's music project. It was produced and written by him along with the vocalist Nicole Blackman. The vocals are spoken and the instrumental is simple yet with a lot of layers, quite dark with a focus on the drums, fitting the downtempo, triphop and experimental genre of the song. The meaning of the song is pretty straightforward, all of the sentences starting with "I want". It explores the themes of control and desires. The narrator wants to regain control, get revenge and destroy the ones that wronged them, the ones who they have loved, the ones that took away control from the narrator and destroyed them. It could be multiple things, people, substances, etc. although in my mind, I see it as the narrator aiming this only on one specific person. They want satisfaction and feel like they'll get it through vengeance.

when I hear this song I can really only think of one person, WILL. I have talked about this song before on my other blog and somebody said that this song was literally written by Will, every line just gets better and more accurate and I agree SO SO much. Not only do the lyrics fit WORD FOR WORD, the overall vibe just fits the show so much. This song really reminds me of honeypot/season 2 Will, if a song could explain his mindset and feelings about Hannibal (ignoring the fact that he was falling in love LMAOOO), then this would be the song, perhaps about how Hannibal ruined his life along with others.(more or less before finding Hannibal's actual plan of running away with Will since that's why Hannibal was isolating Will)

------------------------------

Intro

"I want to know how it will end I want to be sure of what it will cost I want to strangle the stars for all they promised me"

This is literally Will's intentions at the beginning of season 2. By the end of season 1, he realises what Hannibal has done to him, how he lied and manipulated him and through time, realised that Hannibal framed him for his own murders. His plan was to get revenge, end Hannibal and regain control.

The narrator wants to see how their story with their oppressor will end, they want to be sure of what it will take, they want the satisfaction of knowing that they have hurt them back. Will seems to want this as well, he himself literally confessed to Hannibal that he wants to kill him. WITH HIS HANDS. He wants to be the one to kill Hannibal, at least the one to initiate it, since he literally sent somebody else to kill Hannibal (although I feel like he would have regretted now killing him himself).

The narrator feels resentment and wants to hurt the ones that have hurt their trust and lied to them, breaking the promises they made - The same for Will. He was used by everyone, especially Jack who wanted him in the field so bad, everyone promising to protect him and not let him get "too close", but yet he did - Why? because of Hannibal. Hannibal was Will's psychiatrist, he took on the responsibility of Will's stability and mental health, he assured Jack that Will is strong enough for the field, lied to Will saying that there was nothing wrong with his brain (bros brain was literally melting into a soup) and just overall fucking with his brain. Nobody noticed what Hannibal did to Will and nobody believed Will when he saw Hannibal's true side and intentions, the promises they made about keeping him safe were not fulfilled.

"I want you to call me on your drug phone I want to keep you alive so there is always the possibility of murder later"

Drug phones are phones usually used secretly, kept away from personal usage, usually for drug deals or illicit activities - a person's secret part of their identity. For the narrator, it is most likely literal, the oppressor most likely encouraged the use of drugs, probably weakening the narrator and making them more vulnerable and dependent, that's how their got control (or the oppressor is literally drugs and the narrator is talking about giving up drugs and regaining control over their life).

whichever it is, drugs don't fit the theme of the show that much (although reminds me of the call hannibal made to Hobbs' house and Will calling Hannibal in mizumono), but I still can see a connection to the show taking into the account the fact that drug phones are used to contact people in secret, letting the recipient see the secret part of the caller, a part that they hide away from the public. Because of that, I think the line can still be applied to Hannibal. He sees Will as somebody who can understand him - throughout the show, he was slowly revealing himself to Will, although even if that's not what he was trying to do, Will figured it out anyhow. For Will and Hannibal, I see this line as Will wanting Hannibal to admit to his murders and other secrets Hannibal has been keeping away.

now the last like is quite clear when it comes to hannigram......... literally could be applied for both sides, but we're talking about Will so we're gonna talk about Will.

Will had multiple moments where he could kill Hannibal, but didn't. I personally think it's cuz he was falling in love (and let's be real, their love language with each other is literally trying to kill each other, but then not going through with it, that's so incredibly romantic that ur lover just loves u sm that he doesn't wanna kill u omgggg couple goals) - let's take the moment where Hannibal was tied up to be fed to Mason's pigs for example. He had the option to let his desire come true, he literally imagined this exact situation - slicing Hannibal's throat open and leaving him to the pigs (although I'm pretty sure he was imagining what Mason would have done but... still counts). He didn't take it and instead freed Hannibal; He probably did it since his plan was to get justice and get Hannibal caught to prove that he wasn't crazy, but also, because he wanted to kill him himself. Not with the help of others, not at the hands of Mason, if Hannibal is dying then it's gonna be at Will's mercy and his mercy only - yet another idea keeps popping into my mind; the idea that Will was hesitating if to even do it. I don't think he wanted to really kill him, since he said so himself, he became interested in Hannibal. He wanted to get to know him, perhaps find another way of getting revenge, or maybe even choosing mercy and letting him live as he slowly started to realise that he maybe does actually agree with Hannibal. Either way, he was keeping him alive so there was always the possibility of murder, later.

------------------------------

verse 1

"I want to be there when you learn the cost of desire I want you to understand that my malevolence is just a way to win"

The narrator wants the oppressor to realise what they have done and the narrator is trying their hardest to win over them.

Will wants Hannibal to realise the impact of his actions, whether he realises that Hannibal literally wants this, idk, maybe he did and that's why he decided to try and betray Hannibal instead, but whatever it is, he wants Hannibal to realise what he has done.

Malevolence means to want to hurt and cause harm, hostility. With how Will pretended to murder Freddie, I think the line fits perfectly. He's pretending to murder (ok although he did murder Randall but that's another thing ok...) for Hannibal, to show him that he is becoming him, to try and satisfy Hannibal, this is Will's way to win over Hannibal and get him back for the lying and betraying.

"I want the name of the ruiner I want matches in case I have to suddenly burn"

the narrator wants to ruin the oppressor, they want to take the title of a ruiner away and reclaim it, and so does Will. He wants to be the one to ruin Hannibal.

The matches remind me the burning body that was supposed to be Freddie's and how he said that Freddie was the fuel for the murderer, so he turned her into what she is, a fire that ignited him, started his new life as a killer. The fact that the lyrics say to "suddenly burn" just elevates it for me even mor considering that this was probably an improvised plan, I think he did plan to somehow frame a murder but to use fire as a metaphor was sudden in my eyes. He wanted to create a performance in Hannibal's style as technically Hannibal was his mentor for this, make this look like art, a performance (unless it was Hannibal's idea to set her on fire? lol if that was implied then i don't remember it oops), also perhaps overall Will trying to get an opportunity to betray hannibal, wait for the perfect moment but be prepared?

"I want you to know that being kind is overrated I want to write my secret across your sky"

Ngl I see this more as Hannibal saying this to Will, telling him that kindness is overrated and wanting to reveal his secrets to Will, although this can also maybe be Will telling others like Jack or Alana that he doesn't need their kindness and pity, after all they did break their promises, and the "write my secret across your sky" could be towards them as well, about revealing Hannibal's secret or actually writing his secret in Hannibal's sky, the secret being his plan of betraying him. After all, he did warn him about FBI coming during mizumono, as if he didn't really want his plan to go through and for Hannibal to run away. Honestly? with this line anything will work since there's so many secrets in this show lol

"I want to watch you lose control I want to watch you lose"

oh god these lyrics. Literally Will.

Hannibal is known for his control, Will knows it too, even tells Jack to not underestimate him, because he's always in control of the situation, one way or another. Will wants to take that away, he wants to see him weak, out of control, lost, he's curious about that. He's constantly trying to figure out which buttons to push and when to get him into this state - for fun? perhaps. to get back on him? yeah probably. probably both

------------------------------

verse 2

"I want to know exactly what it's going to take I want to see you insert yourself into glory"

For the narrator, the glory can be the loss of control they're aiming for their opressor to be in, wanting to see what it will take for them to lose it. This could be from Will's perspective, but I propose a more interesting idea:

Once again, I can see those as more Hannibal saying these to Will rather than Will saying this. Hannibal literally saw himself in Will, he saw the potential of Will becoming Hannibal and surviving it, him being at the same level as him. He really kept pushing Will, seeing what it would take to get him to that point (encephalitis apparently...) and insert Will into "glory" - they even talked about how "enlightened" and changed Will felt after committing the murders. To Hannibal, accepting your dark side and murdering is glory after all; That's what God does and are we not created in his image?

"I want your touches to scar me so I'll know where you've been I want you to watch when I go down in flames"

The narrator wants their oppressor to watch them elevate and to frame them, have the evidence of what the oppressor has done to them and to use it against them to bring them down.

This can be seen from the perspective of Will's plan, getting to know Hannibal and letting him manipulate him to see Hannibal for what he really is, and perhaps it would even help him to understand what to use against him. The lyrics about the flames feels like another part of the "I want matches in case I have to suddenly burn", how Freddie was his fuel and he has set himself on fire to be reborn as a "killer". He wanted Hannibal to see it so he would be convinced.

(technically Hannibal did scar Will, left him with a "smile" as he calls it. mf literally gave him a C-section scar. but i feel like in this context it doesn't fit? but maybe this line could be taken paradoxically, Will wanting Hannibal to mark him so that he constantly remembers him and feels him, afterall he feels the best when he's around Hannibal and can't forget him no matter how hard he tries.)

"I want a list of atrocities (Done in your name)"

Will wanting a list of atrocities done in Hannibal's name should be pretty self-explanatory, he wants evidence to frame him and prove that he was right.

"I want to reach my hand into the dark and feel what reaches back"

for the narrator, it's overall accepting the dark desires and their dark side, seeing what would happen if they took the "dark, bad" path instead of the "light, good" path, the dark path being revenge and light path being letting go. Choosing the dark path would mean picking themselves, betraying the social norm, but picking the light path would mean betraying themselves, not satisfying their soul and desires because according to society, revenge of such intensity and violence is bad. mmm juxtaposition and paradox

I can see this as Will hesitating which side to choose, the "dark" side (Hannibal) or the "light" side (FBI and justice)(although one can argue that the dark side is FBI and overall going into the crime field and light side is having a "normal" life). Through the show we can see his curiosity about the dark side keeps on growing and he slowly starts to explore it. Perhaps what reached back was wendigo.

------------------------------

verse 3

the most straightforward one, I dont even know what to say help lol

"I want to remember when my nightmares were clearer"

i mean. do i have to explain that one

just Will trying to recollect what happened during his episodes and what Hannibal done to him, especially him trying to remember what happened when he kept losing time and the fact that Hannibal shoved a tube down his throat to put Abigail's ear in there. like. woah. what the fuck

"I want to be there when your hot black rage rips wide open"

wendiggoooooooooooooooooo

trying to kill wendigo, he just really wants him dead. But also reminds me of the scene where Will is being born as wendigo to show that he has successfully become Hannibal.

"I want to taste my own kind"

well.

he does decide to eat ppl for Hannibal (simp)

but nah also the temptation of accepting his dark side and choosing hannibal - his own kind, someone he feels understood by.

"I want to be wrapped in cold wet sheets to see if it's different on this side"

my man sweats buckets(and seas apparently), I think he knows what it feels like.

but also, "to see if it's different on this side". Overall, I think we can agree that being wrapped in cold wet sheets is prob not the most comfortable and feels incredibly weird, it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable and the narrator is powerful enough and accepting enough of the uncomfortable to chose it instead of a something comfortable - let's say the cold, wet sheets representing the vengeance but the "other side" (comfortable, probably dry sheets...) being a quiet, mundane life. That's what Will struggled to choose between, the quiet and mundane life or a life with Hannibal.

overall this whole verse, for the narrator, I feel like it's them giving into those dark desires and testing them. Specifically for Will, it's everything Will decides to do for Hannibal, to get to that dark side, try it, taste it, or what Hannibal made Will do to get to that dark side and the aftermath of Will going perhaps too far, not knowing if he wants to stay on that side with Hannibal or return to the light side and get revenge on Hannibal.

------------------------------

verse 4

"I want you to come on strong I want to leave you out in the cold I want the exact same thing, but different"

the narrator wants to the the same thing back, but even though it's technically the same, it will feel much different.

Will too, he wanted to come onto Hannibal strong, shock him, be forceful with him to get him off guard and leave him out in the cold suddenly, just like Hannibal did with him; He gained Will's trust and dependency and then framed him for his murders, completely destroying those two things - why? honestly idfk, to interest Will??? this man is weird and peculiar individual and his decisions are just there cuz he's a curious bitch I really don't get them sometimes lol

but Will wants to do gain the same thing, but not to interest Hannibal but to regain the control that Hannibal took from him. Same thing, but different

"I want some soft drugs... some soft, soft drugs"

give this boy some aspirin

but ok for the narrator, as I suggested, because of the repeating theme of drugs, maybe the narrator is having withdrawl symptoms or maybe they want the same thing they had - the trust and dependency on someone, but soft, genuine, and loving. Devotion and influence.

Maybe that's what Will wants as well, or just want to get high to forget about this all and relax for once omfg give this man a break PLEASE let him go on a fishing trip in peace.

------------------------------

verse 5

"I want to throw you I want you to know I know I want to know if you read me"

narrator is getting aggressive, they want the oppressor to realise that the narrator has seen through their games and won't accept them any longer, and so does Will. it's very straight forward, I always think of Will holding Hannibal at gun point in s1 ep13 when he realises what Hannibal has done, he wanted Hannibal to know that he figured him out, and also "i want to know if you read me" in my eyes applies to both as they both realise that they understand each other. I can kinda see Hannibal saying that line to Will and Will being a menace and replying with the next "I want to swing with my eyes shut and see what I hit" lol

but also, Will wants to know if Hannibal caught on, well, hoping that he didn't, and Hannibal, hoping that Will caught on on the fact that he wants the two to run away together. They're both reading each other all the time but this one time, failed, too blinded by the pain from the betrayals.

"I want to swing with my eyes shut and see what I hit I want to know just how much you hate me so I can predict what you'll do I want you to know the wounds are self-inflicted I want a controlling interest I want to be somewhere beautiful when I die I want to be your secret hater I want to stop destroying you but I can't

And I want and I want and I want and I will always be hungry And I want and I want and I want"

This sudden switch up is very quick and violent, expressing the anger and hatred the narrator is feeling; They're trying to regain control and dominance of the situation, perhaps they're going through with their plan - the wound being "self-inflicted" makes it sound as if they have planned this and are framing the oppressor, but try to appear innocent to others as they want to be seen as a "secret hater" - but it seems like the situation is getting out of control again, as they realise they can't stop anymore... or, the narrator hasn't come through with the plan but will never stop wanting to and the anger they feel will never disappear and they realise that without revenge, they will never feel satisfied. They will never stop wanting.

ok I still didn't watch season 3, but from spoilers and knowledge i have, I think i can make something out because this verse reminds me of season 2 but also the last few lines remind me of season 3. I see Will as someone that can be impulsive sometimes and this ending verse seems very impulsive. He's constantly trying to figure Hannibal out whilst trying to think of what he can do to break him, he wants to understand why Hannibal did what he did to him, but as he's doing so, he realises that maybe he doesn't want to go through with the plan of destroying him, because he's starting to understand Hannibal(and also finding out that Hannibal wanted to give Will everything back and run away together probably completely changed his view on Hannibal's actions). He wants to stop but he can't and no matter what he will try to do, he will never stop wanting to destroy him. His love for Hannibal just got as strong as his resentment, not to mention the fact that he didn't see the two running away safely together as an option, or perhaps thinks it's too late, he has gotten way too deep in the plan of destroying Hannibal and now can't back out even though he wants to.

in conclusion i'm insane cuz i spent 4 hours writing this................ but truly i've never heard a song that suits him more. Their trust issues are insane i love them.

------------------------------

additional notes:

HIGHLY recommend listening to missing piece and want together istg those songs together just represent will and hannibal individually so so well

could have used this energy and enthusiasm on my media studies essay but whatever we ball

------------------------------

my playlist

to anybody who read this, thank you and hope you enjoyed my rant<3

[vixnovacoda]

Doctor's Medicine || Chapter 4

Hannibal Lecter x Original Character

Word Count: 2.6k

CW/TW: NSFW 18+, graphic, disturbing content, dissociation, canon-typical violence.

[Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3]

[ao3 version here]

“The Ghost Writer.” was the latest topic at a lecture hall within the walls of the FBI Academy. “Sometimes, there will be people who leave no trace. There will be no apparent motive. The answer lies in the details; the victim’s appearance, the body arrangement, and how the mutilation proceeded. All are things this killer kept clean and specific. This is his story,” detailed the brown-haired lecturer. Sleep had not been kind to Will, a fact he tried to obscure. The button-up shirt attire was suitable enough by teaching standards, and his tortoiseshell frames distracted notice from the eye bags that started forming.

It had been these details that Emma had gleamed upon arrival. The case drove hard at all involved.

Avoiding meeting her eyes and Dr. Lecter, who joined Emma, Will carried on with his talk. “A story about obsession. An obsession that he is not alone. The author behind the fictional version of this death helped him realise that. Emma Darcy, finder of the first victim.” Glowering pixels made up for his lack of contact. Pictures depicting the dead doppelgänger, split, dissected, and pieced together next to Emma, whole and alive, looked down upon all those sitting and standing. “The Ghost Writer gave her a gift, inspiration which might cost her life. She is the true intended.” Rigour built Will’s reminder. He didn’t speak to the agents-in-training; he spoke to the living victim, who watched and haunted him. They were each other’s ghosts, stuck by dire circumstances.

Bzzt. Bzzt. And Emma had multiple ghosts.

Through the discerning glance of Dr. Lecter, she reached for her phone, sparing no second. Thoughts raced. It had to be Alex. It had to be her. That alone caused Emma to beam like a wish had come true; hope. 

Until it didn’t.

MARCUS: just making sure you’re alright. Let’s meet up later.

A wish was still a wish, some blatant desire for change, an impossible product. Alex would never give her the light of day again after the last time.

———

In another time and place, the phone is dialled and answered. 

“Emma?” Alex came through raspy, irregular – a fault of living in a different time zone (USA, East Coast), figured Emma.

“Alex,” said the much more alert Emma. “How’s Johnny and Amy?” Small talk.

“They’re… They’re fine.” Floorboards moaned off from afar.

“That’s good. Hey, I just finished going over the edits you sent over.” Straight to business; that was Emma’s modus operandi. Strewn about sheets covered with red marker splayed about in front of her, she had been in the middle of work when Alex called.

“Oh.”

“There were a few things I thought we should discuss…” Emma thumbed through the mess, searching for a specific set.

“Emma.”

“I really think we should keep in that scene betwe—”

“Emma!”

Empty air whistled. Emma haltered under the moon’s watch. “Alex, what’s wrong?”

“I…” Alex moved the speaker from her face, muttering incoherent blobs, such as ‘why that case?’ and ‘how could you?’ between gasps. Each utterance bleeding from a fresh wound. “I-I can’t do this anymore. Emma, I can’t. I’m sorry.” The phone echoed a long beep.

“Alex?” she called out, but no answer came; the call was over.

Fumbling, she dialled back. Sorry, the number you have called is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

… is currently unavailable. Please try again—

… unavailable. Please—

———

Guilt eroded the expression Emma held as reality dowsed her delusions. Latent and dormant became her features. She placed the phone into her handbag, fingers tracing the cap of a plastic medicine bottle, unaware the lecture had reached its conclusion. “Observe everything. What are they trying to tell? What is the story?” told Will Graham as he leant against the desk, everything in his view. From the eager to the meagre, all that left, and all that remained. The lecture hall felt empty without the agents-in-training, and what should have felt like relief instead turned into dread by Emma and Dr. Lecter’s lingering presence as Emma led the charge. “The three of us, all in one room. Feels like the start of a self-help group or an experimental therapy session,” commented Will, adjusting his glasses.

“I catch you at a bad time?” responded Emma carefully, stopping at an appropriate distance.

“Well, it wasn’t a good one,” said he. “It depends on where this conversation goes.”

“The Ghost Writer,” she started.

“A bad time it is, then.” He stretched his back, situating into his position and noted her demeanour. She was ‘calm’ – whatever fear she carried sat far off. The sudden change in character earned a pointed look towards Dr. Lecter as if to say, is this your doing?

“Emma seeks an ending to this killer’s story. Don’t you, Will?” challenged Hannibal. In other unsaid words, yes. He wouldn’t be here otherwise.

The glasses came off. “Why?” Will asked Emma.

“Because.” She shifted, adjusting an invisible weight. “When the killer is found, what I feel will go away,” Emma stated with a hint of that real emotion, dread.

“Neither of you will have to work together again, either. You can return to normal,” said Dr. Lecter, closing the distance between him and his patient, standing one pace ahead of her.

“By diving head first.” Will folded his arms. The idea both intrigued and worried him.

“Sometimes a dive is better than a dip,” began Dr. Lecter. “When done right, it produces desirable results. It is fast. It is forceful. This case is not the sort of thing you approach gently.”

“But done wrong, and it has harsh consequences, Dr. Lecter.”

“Correct.”

“Though, in reality, worse will occur from a dip,” said Emma, her ‘calmness’ swaying back and forth, and the Special Agent swivelled his attention. Neither met eye-to-eye and still, he could feel that fear as if it was his own; it weighed between tolerable and unbearable. She saw his shoulders and the realisation sink, defeated. The longer they took, someone would die. That was a fact, not speculation; they had already taken enough time. “So, what have you found?” she asked, garnering his silence as acceptance to discuss the topic. Emma had known he’d agree because she did. Because it was their character; because it’s his character, Dr. Lecter had informed her. Will Graham’s fault laid in a want to save others. That, Emma learnt, is what the Doctor meant.

“Compared to what we already know? Nothing,” he answered, and reflexively, his hand muscles tensed as she crossed the divide, resting against the desk as he did. The two stood in equal positions. They could talk like this, Hannibal before them, their mediator for eye contact. “The interviews bore no fruit. Has labs?” Will exchanged earnestly.

“Barren. Jane Doe is still Jane Doe. No prints; burnt fingertips. No dental records. No hits.” She sighed; a futile frustration boiled inside the both of them. “You said ‘observe everything’. Those were your words. Have we done that?”

“Multiple times, except…”

The words spilt forth. Thoughts ran freely from Will’s tongue until his convictions got the best of him. Will silenced himself. Torn, he shared a look with Hannibal, a silent conversation. A discussion made up of twisted eyes and a slow nod. Only they knew what remained, and Emma did not. Hannibal could not convey it to her; he had to remain impartial, which gave Will no choice. If they wanted to catch this Ghost Writer, he’d have to do as Jack Crawford did to him; let her go into the deep and trust Hannibal Lecter.

“Except what?” echoed Emma.

  Warm air guided itself into Will’s lungs as he shut his eyes before speaking. “Your statement. We never properly went over it.”

“Honestly, I don’t remember much besides what I told you. It’s mostly a blur.” Truly, the most prominent image of all remained the building of the body, every detail: smell, touch and sight. But she couldn’t admit that.

“That’s the issue. A gap, no matter big or small, leads to the possibility of missing something,” explained Will, torso angled to face her.

Emma pushed herself off the desk. “Then what are you proposing?”

“We retrace your steps. Go back to the house,” he said. “We see what memory resurfaces or what detail becomes uncovered.”

The thought of missing something hadn’t crossed her mind. Nor willingly going back to that house. “Will it work?”

“It’s all we have.”

In a simple glance, Emma conferred with Dr. Lecter, he that held more awareness than them; he at the centre of it all. “Your memory is the only variable the killer can’t control,” said he, who remained stoic, though she saw how he favoured the idea, which allowed it to cement further into her mind and take root. Out of options, it made simple sense. The real reason she had driven here, confronting her thoughts up close; this was how the mirror stopped hurting, how she could return to normalcy. 

It was decided. Emma couldn’t disagree. 

Better to have a quick dive than a long dip.

———

Mid-century architecture slumped within the Maryland woods. Trees gathered around, shaming the home with bristled leaves and tall forms for the committed crime. The house had tarnished the forest’s well-earned peace by way of death. Yellow tape marked the front, flippant and tarnished.

Emma stood at the mouth of it all as the evening christened the horizon. Silence loomed in the air, a chill reminder. Nothing living resided here, not a soul, only death and nature. A brisk breeze nipped at her skin, causing pin-pricks to form as if to warn her of the impending doom ahead.

“You surprise me, Will,” said Hannibal, the gravel driveway crunching under his shoes as he moved beside the profiler. Both a distance away from the distant-minded author.

“Then you surprise me, Dr. Lecter,” retorted Will. Defensive.

“How so?” his sharp face edged slightly into Will’s periphery like a knife cutting through the world.

“Because,” said Will, turning his head towards him, “you knew I’d agree. That’s why you brought her to see me.” Not an inclination of surprise crossed the psychiatrist. Had there really been such, then it must have remained internal. Instead, he smiled. Small and wide. Proud and impressed.

“I can’t take claim for that. That would be an awful thing.” Mistaken, then, was Will as his eyes fleeted onto Emma with a questioning brow. “I am here to help her as I’ve helped you, Will. You needn’t think otherwise,” explained Hannibal. Gravel picked up beneath him once more as he carried on, leaving Will with no time to ponder and no choice but to follow. And like a knife, Doctor Hannibal Lecter proved beneficial when required to get to the thick of something in a single slice. He was clean and precise. But, like a knife, danger remained a possibility. 

An always overlooked possibility.

“It’s quiet. Not, however, peaceful,” muttered Emma as her psychiatrist/co-worker/acquaintance came into view. Naturally, Hannibal inclined himself forward. “The scenes back home had a similar stillness. Eerie and off. As if some form of the deceased stained the atmosphere. An echo, we called it. So loud and invisible… I don’t know why I thought it would be different here.”

“Control and deniability,” responded Hannibal, giving her the answer she did not ask for. “We all seek to alter undesirable situations, wishing that what we lived through never occurred, so we may hide behind the truth. 

“You’ve done this before. You know what will happen, what to expect. However, this time is different. You are no longer an outsider looking in.” A warning hid amongst gentle words. All eyes were on her; that is what he conveyed. Deniability had no place here.

“So this is how it feels,” Emma mused behind a tightened jaw. Previous victims stood where she did now, alive and dead. Scrutinised under knives and bloodhounds. Pressure built in them, and so too did it in her. “Take us through that afternoon,” spoke Hannibal. ‘Us’, referring to Will, who had caught up.

In turn, Emma flexed her hand. An attempt to cast away the feeling as she recollected. “I pulled up to the driveway, made my way to the door with key in hand and went indoors. Nothing out of the ordinary—”

“What about the present?�� interrogated Will, eyes narrowed.

“The present. I…” She shut her eyes to play the memory through a clearer lens. “It rested against the door. I took it inside,” she rectified. A fog rolled in as her vision came back, ready to live out the past reality. A haze only she could see.

She should have been startled when hints of mist covered the ground. She should have shut out the thoughts which followed suit. But: “focus on me, Emma,” said Hannibal calmly, catching her attention instead. His darkened eyes, so full yet so empty, held her aloft. Like this, she could keep going.

Or could she?

Maybe.

Yes, she had to. Right. She had to.

“The details. Focusing on them will help your mind process the event accordingly,” elucidated the psychiatrist, Dr. Lecter. He stood closer now. Closer than she’d normally allow. Yet, she didn’t mind as his words reached her first and foremost, guiding, almost commanding. Just loud enough to break through sense.

Wading and melding with mist, dappled light came through, highlighting the small things as her breathing became focused. With a gloved hand on the door handle, Emma entered the memory. The box felt light when she carried it through, not a hint that it contained half a human body. There wasn’t a decaying smell either. She couldn’t have known at the time when her shoes remained by the door, steps muffled against wooden floorboards, and the package placed perfectly on the kitchen counter what sight hid inside. Nimble fingers pulled apart ribbon and string, blue and brown left stranded atop marble as both hands held the rest. The lid lifted and fell first, landing by the table before the first pieces of flesh flopped in closer succession, marbled muscle against marbled stone.

Flesh, muscle, organ, and bone. Not a part wasted.

A gift. Human sacrifice.

Emma recalled the itch which coursed through her nerves when the pattern pieces stuck to the tiles. Incomplete, requiring to be put together. It was overwhelming. Soft tissue moved in a sequence under her delicate hand. Each piece grasped between tissue paper and spread out along carpet. The kitchen held little space (enough for a person but not enough for this grand gesture). Hence, the living room.

The carpet: a passionate red akin to wine and not blood. Blood never touched it either, only water droplets. Water that failed to dissuade the defrosting puzzle from attaching soft, thin, coiled carpet fibres to the undersides. The fibres: cotton. Old, worn. Emma knelt where she had been that evening, the fibres scratching her trouser-covered legs. An irritating sensation, and it wasn’t until then that a rush overcame her.

The carpet. Scratchy on the surface and on closer inspection, the fibres stood short, wispy and elastic. It wasn’t cotton at all. It was wool. It had been replaced.

Someone had replaced the carpet.

Emma stepped back, her breathing erratic as she eyed the floor for missed details, fingers rubbed together. A vague rectangular outline, the two carpets almost indistinguishable but not for her. The details were off; this was her thing, what she was good at.

Slender fingers peeled at the edges of the rug-sized carpet, tearing and pulling up without a care. Beneath is what mattered. Beneath laid a missing underlay, fresh wood planks and blood. A hard lump formed in her throat. ‘Found me.’ spelt the blood, dried up, having waited for numerous days. Rotten meat and fruit crept through the cracks of the subfloor.

Decay.

Heart pounding, Emma lifted the boards. They came off with ease. No resistance. She had been meant to find this, to reveal what was built between the floor joists. 

Her breath hitched. Body stiff, unblinking.

The putrid smell spread, and Hannibal hovered over Emma. He inspected with nonchalance as Will lurched by the threshold, hand searching for the nearest support, gripping the doorframe with rigidity. New images recreated themselves in the FBI’s unstable minds. He saw as she did. He felt what she did, and it felt overwhelming.

A phone dialled. The line answered. “Jack,” started Will, “there’s another body.”

[that-void-boy]

Hannigram and Wishbone by Richard Siken

I love this poem so much , and I need to talk about it for a second , especially since certain lines can link so well with hannibal and will , I tried to keep each part as short as possible ,,,

all the quotes are straight from the poem :]

' I took the bullet for all the wrong reasons, I’d just as soon kill you myself '

ok , so starting out with a fairly obvious one , this aligns well with their overall dynamic , especially on will's side in the earlier seasons when he had more conflicting emotion towards hannibal . like in s2 when he sends mason after hannibal but ends up saving him before he can be fully lowered into the pig pen , this idea of wanting the other dead yet not wanting it at the same time , ' can't live with him , can't live without him '

' I say I want you inside me and you hold my head underwater, I say I want you inside me and you split me open with a knife '

' I want you inside me ' can easily refer to a number of things , though in the poem it does mean it in the literal more nsfw sense ( which does also work for will and hannibal ) , it can also refer to the more obvious comparison of cannibalism , and also the idea of being behind the veil or between the stitches of the person suit that they both wear , I want you inside me as in I want you to be within me to be able to properly see me and know me .

this line from the poem works well in the context of s2 when they are both attempting to kill each other as a way of flirting , especially since will sent matthew brown to kill hannibal when he was swimming , hence the ' and you hold my head underwater ' . and then also in mizumono when hannibal guts will , this aligns with ' and you split me open with a knife ' . the line shifts from hannibals point of view at the end of s1 and the start of s2 where he has framed will and wants him to understand and see him , and yet he is rejected at first as will is very determined to have him killed or convicted , this is the whole ' I want you to see me and be with me behind the veil and you need to be here in order to understand that ' and yet will ultimately tries to kill him for it at the start . then as the point of view shifts to will at the end of s2 when he realises this is what he actually wants and he returns to hannibal and chooses him in the end , it is too late and his betrayal is too great , and so he is also rejected as punishment for his actions .

they both clearly want to be seen and understood by eachother at this point , especially in s2 as they begin to interact with this part of their relationship more and more , even if it is still part of the honeytrap plot , its undeniable that will had awoken something inside himself and saw something in hannibal that led him to choose him and continue to follow him .

' I swear, I end up feeling empty, like you’ve taken something out of me, and I have to search my body for the scars, thinking Did he find that one last tender place to sink his teeth in? '

s1 will graham through and through , the vulnerability he ended up having with hannibal , the manipulation , how hannibal began isolating him and became his main support structure . will sleepwalking and losing time , having to 'search [his] body for scars ' when he comes around again because he doesn't know what has happened , and even more so from an audience perspective when we see things in s2 like hannibal putting abigails ear down his throat while he isn't conscious

also the idea of ' sink his teeth in ' is very visceral and I love it , shows the more animalistic sense hidden behind the person suit while also being a haha cannibal joke

' I’ll be your slaughterhouse, your killing floor, your morgue, and final resting '

hannibal and will have a form of obsessive love for one another that becomes all encompassing , hannibal even moved to a whole other continent with a different person and yet all he could think about was will , and the same goes to will when we consider how he was able to find hannibal and how he always went back to him .

this line really speaks to their relationship as a whole , its somewhat grotesque yet powerful and alluring , and there is a sense of quiet peace , like the calm in the eye of a storm . they could only ever die by eachothers hand , and neither would have it any other way , they will always find each other , and in a way , they were eachothers ' final resting ' . whether you believe they survived the fall or not , they definitely were able to find that peace within eachother in the moment before they fell off the cliff , that sense of belonging and that this could not have gone any other way , this was always what was meant to happen . they are equals , and they were predestined to die by eachothers hand , either during the fall or long after

' Don’t you see, it’s like I’ve swallowed your house keys, and it feels so natural, like the bullet was already there, like it’s been waiting inside me the whole time. '

will realising how he is so alike to hannibal towards the end of s2 and the whole of s3 , these acts he commits feel so natural to him and its as if he has tried to conceal this part of himself for so long , hidden behind the cold and off-putting exterior he puts on for his job , yet beneath it he knows what he is capable of , hannibal saw it and will saw it ripple beneath the surface the moment he pulled the trigger on hobbs . from that point onwards , he has an internal battle with himself until admitting to hannibal that what he did felt powerful

furthermore , in s2 , when he kills and displays randall tier with hannibal as part of his becoming , it seems to be no bother to him , he doesn't at any point seem to regret his actions or think about any repercussions he may suffer from them , he is already comfortable with this nature of killing and he willingly then eats tier alongside hannibal , it comes easily to him , as if its ' been waiting inside [him] the whole time '

' Do you want it? Do you want anything I have? Will you throw me to the ground like you mean it, reach inside, and wrestle it out with your bare hands? '

I think that this quote can be likened to hannibal in s3a where he is so desperate for will , and he is able to see how far will has come in his acceptance of this part of himself and they each gain eachothers forgiveness , now that hannibal knows about will and knows that he's still chasing after him , even after the events of mizumono , he so desperately wants to be wanted by him , and seeing will doing so is such a relief

the part ' will you throw me to the ground like you mean it ' after will in s2 saying how often he wanted to kill hannibal himself ' with [his] (bare) hands ' alongside the idea of will now being able to as he is much more comfortable with this part of himself in s3 , and hannibal wants that , he wants to see will kill and he wants to see him mean it fully . especially after his betrayal at the end of s2 , hannibal needs to know that will is no longer fooling him and that he can indeed be the person that belongs behind the veil with him . they aren't kidding around anymore and will isn't honeytrapping , they are able to be themselves

' If you love me, Henry, you don’t love me in a way I understand. '

will being confused by his own emotions towards hannibal , from s1 right through to the end of s3 , going from annoyance to reliance to need to fear to anger/hatred to realisation to acceptance to betrayal to sadness to forgiveness to love . ultimately culminating in the line ' is hannibal in love with me ? ' and bedelia confirming that he does have a very unique way of loving will , and yet it is still the most all-encompassing thing , will is very unsure about his own feelings towards hannibal in s3b up until then when he pieces it all together and I do believe that is when he realises that he does love him back . will's silences tend to speak louder than words , and his silence after bedelia essentially asks him if he also loves hannibal , speaks volumes , and almost definitely shows him having this realisation and finally coming to terms with it even if he does not fully understand how or why these feelings have come about

' There’s a bottle of whiskey in the trunk of the Chevy and a dead man at our feet staring up at us like we’re something interesting. '

this links back to s1e1 with will claiming ' I don't find you that interesting ' and hannibal replying ' you will ' , this line links to them later on in the show , perhaps with randall tier in s2 or later in s3 when they do eventually kill together or have some resemblance of that , the idea that they are now so much more intertwined with eachother and now they are much more ' interesting ' to one another

also will drinks whiskey so uhh , there's your other link

' This is where the evening splits in half, Henry, love or death. Grab an end, pull hard, and make a wish. '

this is reminiscent of their dinner the night before the kitchen scene of mizumono , hannibal knowing about wills betrayal and still offering him that chance to confess and suggesting that they leave that night and not leave a trace except for a note for alana , he gave will an opportunity to choose between ' love or death ' , and when will did not end up confessing , hannibal toasts ' to the truth then , and all its consequences ' , a thinly veiled way of showing his knowledge and how the future events will proceed , that is where the evening splits in half , that is when hannibal had to make his decision about how the next evening would plan out , even though will was technically still undecided about whose side he was on , he had unknowingly sealed his fate with hannibal

.

bam , I highly recommend reading the full poem , here is a link if you would like to :

https://anotherhand.livejournal.com/86133.html

there's obviously a fxck ton more I could talk about but I shall leave it at that snvdsbdb

:]]]

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

sniffs. can we get some will graham character analysis up in here

Gah I love talking about Will but I have the fear that I'm gonna end up presenting you with an entirely inaccurate analysis, and I just don't realise that all my thoughts about him are wrong. I also will admit its been a while since I've rewatched an episode.

Anyway: it seems like the reason Will even connects to Hannibal as quick and as hard as he does is because Hannibal is the first (and honestly only) person that has ever truly seen and understood Will for exactly who he is, and hasn't turned away from it. I haven't read the books so idk if there's anything more said about Will's childhood in those, but I doubt Mr "family feels like an ill-fitting suit and I never connected to the concept" has any positive experiences with family, whether family he was born into or chosen. Even the others around Will seem to find him useful or interesting rather than connecting with him as who he is. So with Hannibal coming along and continuing to connect with Will even after learning those things about him that Will thinks are bad (like when he admits he liked killing Hobbs), it's no wonder Will attached himself to Hannibal in the way he did in the show. Especially when Hannibal treats him with more respect and, to an extent, more care (of course, "care" is used quite loosely here considering Hannibal prevents Will's encephalitis diagnosis from being uncovered, and also frames him for murder. What I instead mean by "care" in this context is that like Jack wants to keep pushing Will to do his job because he's saving lives. Jack doesn't really seem to care that much that it's actively worsening Will's mental state. Jack would still put Will on more and more crime scenes. Hannibal also shows a bit more respect for Will, for example, in the scene after Will tells Freddie Lounds "it's not smart to piss off a guy who thinks about killing people for a living" Jack seems to almost place the blame on Hannibal and wonders why Hannibal let Will say something like that. Even though those are Will's words, not Hannibal's. Jack sorta just talks about Will as if he's not in the room. Hannibal does not. Alana does show more concern for Will, but its pretty clear that those two also are more like "professional" friends than having any proper connection.)

Anyway yeah, at least s1 Will Graham seems to connect with Hannibal quickly because Hannibal seems like the first person to at least try to connect with Will properly.

I've seen a few people make posts using dog motifs for Will and how Will is like a dog that bites. One that's aggressive and barks when he can. And yeah, I agree. But Will also is like a dog who is loyal I think. That's why he does go out of his way to travel to Europe to find Hannibal, and then to find a way to get him out of prison and kill with him.

Before I briefly mentioned that whole "parts of himself that Will thinks are bad" thing. Will himself admits that his "thoughts are often not tasty" and, with his empathy and the amount of serial killers heads he's been in, it really is no wonder his thoughts are like that. But I think Will wants to be better than that. He doesn't like the thoughts in his brain and he thinks all those things about him are bad. What probably doesn't help is how most of his coworkers talk about him, even to his own face. Beverly is the only one who even treats Will like an actual person (r.i.p Beverly, I love her so much btw). Also like in most scenes Will stands away from everyone else, not next to them. And it's because of what Will is like. Hell, there's times where Will says something strange and his coworkers briefly look at him like that one meme of the girls staring. Also, keeping in mind that Will is canonically autistic, it alienates him even further (and also makes him more relatable imo. Like I, too, stand away from everyone awkwardly and can't connect with people. He's just like me fr). So Will is pretty much completely alone in a way. He adopts stray dogs because he himself is like a stray dog. He lives in the middle of nowhere to be truly alone. But Hannibal sees these "not so tasty" thoughts and other strange behaviours, and still chooses to actively be a part of Will's life (and also falls in love with Will because of this stuff. Like Hannibal definitely manipulates Will into killing, but some of those thoughts and feelings were already there are the start inside Will. In Will's eyes, the best person of himself is a version that doesn't want to kill and isn't affected by thinking the way a serial killer does. But in Hannibal’s eyes, the best version of Will is a Will that doesn't deny who he is and the thoughts he has inside his mind, but accepts and indulges in them instead).

Anyway, s2 and s3 Will is when he starts becoming a lot more like Hannibal obviously. In s1, the two are still quite different characters. But, as time goes by, Will starts having similar kind of thoughts and behaviours as Hannibal. He manipulates. He kills. He even enjoys those things. After all, "you and I have begun to blur" (and that holds true for Hannibal too. I think another reason Hannibal falls in love with Will is because, to some extent, Will changes Hannibal just like Hannibal changes Will).

I do think that being away from Hannibal for years kinda slowly got Will to fall into his "old habits" though (as in, there was still a part of Will that just couldn't accept the killing and the "not tasty" thoughts inside him). That's why he married Molly. Molly is basically the opposite of Hannibal. Molly put her life at risk to save her son. Hannibal killed Abigail. With Molly, Will can have the family he's always wanted. But its not the life Will can have or even needs. Because Will still needs Hannibal. He can't live with or without him, but in a way I almost think without Hannibal is more unbearable for Will than with Hannibal.

In the end, Will has embraced those darker sides a lot more. Him killing with Hannibal is more romantic than most actual romance scenes if you ask me. I think that, if they were to survive the fall, Will would eventually fully accept the darker parts of him and, as a result, would also accept the fact that he's just as in love with Hannibal as Hannibal is with Will. The only reason he's not accepting it is because Hannibal is almost like a personification of all the things Will tries so hard not to be at the start.

[nervytumbleweed]

I’ve been dead on this account for so long but this post has brought me back from the grave 🙏🙏

THIS! I mean idk if I count as real gay man cause I identify as trans masc bisexual but I could never get into hannigraham because of the amount of abuse that Hannibal puts Will through. Is genuinely so disappointing and just disgusting. Sometimes I’ll get a tt video on them and the poster will be like ong I love them sm… WHAT?!?! HE IS LITERALLY MURDWRING SOMEONE WILL CARES ABOUT?! AND THE WHOLE OH HANNIBAL GASLISGHTS EVERYONE INTO THINKING WILLS THE MURDERER AND PROCEEDS TO GET HIM SENT TO PRISON AND THEN REALISES HE CARES FOR HIM?! WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK?!?! AND THEN TO ACT LIKE HANNIBAL DID ANY OF THAT TO CLARICE?!? He literally only helped her throughout the entire fucking series?!!!!! Huhhhhhhhhhhh

Plus like you already mentioned but I always HATED THE FACT THAT MOST OF WILLS LINES WERE CLARICES! It just pisses me off. Because they don’t fit and people try and make them fit when it just doesn’t.

And yess the whole moral thing is soooo big like yea I know it’s an amoral relationship BUT I CAN DIFFER FICTION AND REALITY!!! And what’s so wrong with a little immoralness in FICTION? So long as it’s not abusive/rapey/etc?!?!

And Hannibal would NEVER FUCKING hurt Clarice. BECAUSE HE A FUCKING CANNIBAL IS THE ONLY ONE TO NOT SEE HER AS A PIECE OF MEAT?! Legit everything you said about the clannibak dynamic is 100%! (Also Like yes it was wrong of him to drug her without permission I‘ve reposted someone’s post on that so I’m not going to get into that. )

Also like Clarice knew where her gun and badge was and Hannibal literally goes “yea I’m lowkey scared of her…” like he fully respects her and she is 100% equal to him… welllll she’s defintily a step above (but that’s just my silly opinion cause i love her and fund her character so fascinating all the twists and everything) and she clearly pushes him to be better as well and helps him he’s not the only one helping the other in the relationship because it’s an equal relationship.

"If Hannigram was straight"

I am infuriated, I´m gonna get cancelled, whatever, I can´t care less. But I´m really sick and tired of fetishizers of Hannigram. Surprisingly mostly are straight and queer women, haven´t seen or heard of real gay men giving their opinion on the matter.

I come across this tiktok of person saying that if Hannigram was straight it wouldn´t work and wouldn´t be interesting, because people will make them like Joker and Harley Quinn and the relationship would be like just another abusive heterorelationship because of the power dinamics.

First, bruh... have you heard of CLARICE STARLING? 70% of the character of Will has Clarice lines, plot and personality. Will WAS NEVER the love interest of Hannibal in the original books and movies.

Second, "it wouldn´t be interesting" , ohhh but that´s because you fetishize gay relationships and abuse, do you even read normal romance gay novels or series? I bet you don´t.

So it wouldn´t be interesting because according to you, a WOMAN cannot be at the level of Hannibal. Which is basically the opposite of what happens in the novels. Hannibal LOVES Clarice because she is at his level, is intellectually equal to him, he cannot even predict her or brainwash her.

Third. "it would be just another abusive heterorelationship" , oh... and Hannigram is not one of the thousand homosexual abusive relationship that exits??? This people also LOVE Killing Stalking, Berserk for the "gay relantionship" of Guts and Griffith (the homosexual undertones are obvious, but it is abuse), the Painter of the night (I couldn´t even get past the 5th chapter for the amount of disgusting r*pe that exist in the series).

Four. "power dinamics" ahh... yes, Hannibal is clearly OLDER than Will, has double of work experience as him, he is a llithuanian COUNT, he is rich as f*ck, he is way more educated than Will and smarter than him. Is that not another "power imbalance"???? or only works because you think woman are "inferior"???? uh...

Never seen people that love the books comparing Clannibal with Harley Quinn and Joker, not a single one. We know is a fuck*d up romance, that´s the thing, the world that they live in has betrayed them thousands of times. Hannibal when he was a kid and lost Mischa and Clarice as a woman in the misogynistic FBI and real world.

The books were never written in that tone, they are a crime and thriller books mixed with artisty imaginery (beautiful indeed), they are not a moral compass to follow.

You should like how Hannibal treats Clarice, he deeply loves her, tries to help her, gives her everything, admires her. At the end of the day the only have each other in the twisted world they live in and that´s it.

But how Hannibal physically and mentally tortures Will???? Killing people he loves in front of him, making his life a living hell... and that´s not abusive and power imbalance to you?

I´m having a real hard time finding Hannigram fans that are not misogynistic or fetishizers, I swear... and is very concering.

This has impact in real life queer people. Specially teenagers. If this is all the representation that they have, abusive relationships, what do you think they are going to seek in their significant other? Is hard enough for queer people to report abuse and r*pe to the authorities.

Now imagine been a 14 y/o exposed to the internet and the thousands of toxic gay men representation out there... and reading "ohhh I just want what Hannigram has" "Hannigram for life" "that´s real love".

Now you can cancel me all you want.

[casdeanwin]

Hannibal 3x13

Oh Will. My heart breaks for him. At this point, he knows that Hannibal is in love with him. He has had an outside opinion on the matter, from arguably the only other person who truly knows Hannibal (Chiyoh not included).

I wonder, if even now, Will still somehow manages to separate the two versions of Hannibal? Is he inadvertently saying that 'Hannibal the Cannibal' is not truly the man inside the body. But rather a 'freak' which had latched itself onto a young boy so many years before.

Is Will perhaps only trying to see this, as a way to save himself? "If I'm in love with this man, who is a cannibal serial killer, does that mean I too, am bad? Or am I in love with a man who can't shake off something which latched onto him as a child, but isn't who he truly is?"

We know of course, that Hannibal tells Bedelia that nothing happened to him. He happened. And deep down Will knows this. Hannibal isn't ashamed or guilt ridden by his actions. He sees nothing wrong with killing and eating people. But is this a matter of nature versus nurture?

I think this is the true conflict Will faces when it comes to Hannibal and their relationship. If Hannibal is the killer right down to the soul, then what is Will? Is he within himself innately bad, or has he become through Hannibal's machinations?

I think Will goes onto realise it's a little bit of both. Hannibal only drew out what was already within him. However deeply that was.

And when it came down to it, Will accepted himself and Hannibal for what they were. And regardless of the 'freak' on their backs, Will wanted the life Hannibal was promising him. A life together.

[house-of-slayterr]

I know they aren’t exactly “good” representation, but can we talk about Jame Gumb for a second? Please indulge me, Silence of the Lambs has been a special interests of mine since I was 7.

Like I just their they’re really interesting. Their aesthetic is fucking beautiful. They have great taste in music. And as a villain over all I think they’re just really interesting. Of course they aren’t as fleshed out as they should be, but Gumb isn’t supposed to be the main antagonist. That role of course belongs to one Hannibal Lecter.

There are many things they could have done better of course. Many people claim they shouldn’t have made this character at all. But I’m a firm believer of bad representation is better than no representation. Because at least it gets people talking, and we have a chance to explain what our community is actually like. And we can point to this film to show all the inaccuracies in detail.

I don’t think we should never make marginalised people the villain. Of course, it is bad when that’s all they ever do, because that sends a terrible messaged. But the oppressed are still capable of oppressing others. We aren’t immune to immorality. And Buffalo Bill is a great example of this. It’s fairly obvious that we aren’t supposed to side with them in the movie. And the people that leave this movie thinking “he’s evil because he’s a transvestite” are both brain dead, and incredibly dense. They have to know their being facetious right?

Because clearly they didn’t actual watch the film if that’s all they got out of it. Jame isn’t bad because they’re queer, they’re bad because they’re he villain. It’s their job to be hated. The people that hate on our community and use Jame as an example, we’re already hating on us before they knew the character existed. They’re just using them as their scapegoat. And they’re not arguing with logic and facts with those people, because their minds are made up.

But to the people willing to learn, I think this is a very interesting film to study. I’m much more a fan of the book, then the movie (although it’s is one of my top movies of all time) because the movie skips over some key character points. But all movies do that, they rush the story, and some characters suffer for that.

I think Ted Levine does a really good job with this character. Normally I’m more on the side of “cast someone from the actual group you’re trying to represent” crew, but in this case I don’t mind it as much. Like I think autistic actors should play autistic people. Wheelchair bound characters should be given to wheelchair bound actors. It’s not like theirs a lack of minorities to cast in films. But Gumb isn’t technically trans, even some of the characters in the story state this several times. So to cast a trans person, to play a caricature of a trans person would seem a little odd.

Gumb is a extremely disturb individual who happens to experience gender dysphoria. If any thing, this character is also offensive to the mentally ill. There’s more to them going on then just the fact that they are dishappy with their flesh. I honestly wish we could get a sit down with Jame, a conversation between them and Dr Lecter. I would like to hear Hannibal’s full psychoanalysis of Jame and how they function.

Jame never really gives us an explicit reason why they do the things that they do. And unlike other villains, they seem to not even realise that what they’re doing is wrong. They don’t act the way someone who would skin someone alive would. I should know, I’ve seen enough killers where that is their specialty. And they all have something that Gumb doesn’t, a conscience. Because they seem to actively ignore theirs. When these killers are caught and questioned, they don’t deny it. They know that what they’re doing is wrong, and they’re proud. But Gumb just seems misguided and confused at best.

They have compassion for animals, which is rare in most killers. I’m fact a common stereotype is that animal killing is the first sign someone is going to become a killer. Jame truly loves and cares for, and even spoils their pet. Most “women killers” are bitter incels with mommy issues. But Gumb, Gumb admires the women they kill. They’re think they’re beautiful, and immortalise them in their craft. They’re envious of these women.

Jame unfortunately falls victim to the time in which they were created too. The book was written in 1988 and the film was made in 1991. It’s 2022, the amount of research we’ve done since then is astonishing. Of course trans women have always existed, but they weren’t aloud be be a loud about it as we are now. They couldn’t talk about it, and nobody cared to research. So although true character is still slightly transphobic, for the information they had to go on at the time it’s not that bad.

Hannibal himself says that Jame isn’t a transsexual. He states Gamb is a “guilt stricken homosexual man” which I’m not sure if that makes this better, or worse. Unless they’re trying to claim that trans women are just homosexual men. But I don’t think that’s what they’re were trying to convey. I think Jame is an example of someone who experience trans euphoria instead of dysphoria. Which I think is where the disconnect happens.

Transmedicalist beleive you have to hate yourself and want to change everything about yourself in order to be a “real” trans person. But this mindset is extremely harmful. Because being trans isn’t a surgery, it’s an experience. One that can’t be governed or voted upon from the outside. Being trans has nothing to do with anyone outside of yourself. Transmedicalism is also extremely binary centric. It suggests there only one way to me trans, and that’s just simply not true.

So I personally do think Jame is a trans individual. This story takes place in 1983, so although Buffalo bill wouldn’t seem trans but the criteria of that time, today I believe they would belong to the nonbinary community. All lot of the things they express in the film are all lot of things, I, a nonbinary person also feel. I think they’re a nonbinary individual who likes men. Platonically and aesthetically they enjoy women, and they lean more on the trans femme side of things. But sexuality and romantically they are intended in men.

Something about this scene is mesmerising and I can’t seem to look away. Their joy and exultation in this scene are contagious. There’s a reason why this is their most talked about scene, and it’s so often quoted. Everything about it is iconic! I smile everytime I watch it. Now you all know I’m a slasher lover, so this fictional killer doesn’t bother me.

But if you set aside the fact that there a killer, and you just watch this in the context of them experiencing trans euphoria, it’s a beautiful sight. The line “would you fuck me? I’d fuck me, hard.” Is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Like yaaasss queen, get into you. You fuck, and you fuck hard. Like I want what you’re having bestie, because the confidence is amazing.

A line that breaks my heart is when Jame is passing. They look at Clarice and ask “what’s it like to be beautiful?” And god do I cry every time. Like that shits hurts man. Jame just wanted men to look at them and think they were pretty. Of course they went about it in possible the worst way they could have. But at the end of the day, they were just a person in pain, trying to fix themselves when the people who had the power to wouldn’t help.

If they were given proper access to therapy, and hormones and sex change surgeries, I don’t think they would have resorted to their nasty little habit. They wouldn’t have started kidnapping women and stealing their skin. If fucking Hannibal (listen I’m allowed to give this man shit, He deserves it, I still love him though) didn’t get his fucking medical training from like the 1800s, I think he would have had a better analysis of the infamous Buffalo Bill. He’s just a “guilty homosexual” my fucking ass boy, you’re dumb! Stop projecting you queer ass top!

But anyways, long story short, I love Jame Gumb. Those creator did them dirty, so I’m choosing to ignore cannon. Because as far as nonbinary rep goes with slashers we don’t have much. We do have Bubba Sawyer because they’re gender fluid, but other than that, we’re a barren wasteland. I’m curious, what other characters do you guys think are nonbinary? Am I missing anyone I should know about?

[arkashas]

someone: what are you thinking about

me: the takes about how will graham would have become hannibal's partner/murder buddy/husband easily if only hannibal treated him nicely are overly simplistic and dare i say, fundamentally wrong. will's acceptance of hannibal and his dark descent into killing in S2 has largely to do with thinking he's no better because he's an attempted cold blooded murderer, a position he was only in because he was framed and had no other avenues of justice to stop hannibal. not to mention, will's sense of rage/betrayal at perceiving abigail to be the lure/copycat shows that will would still feel betrayed if he found out hannibal was a murderer even if hannibal didn't frame him. will clung on to hannibal because he thought of hannibal as a mentally stable and respected member of society, and if hannibal was telling him his thoughts of murder are normal, then that could mean will is normal as well. to have it revealed that hannibal was in fact a murderer would feel like a betrayal to will because that would say something about him too, and his thoughts and beliefs. on the whole, people tend to downplay will's morality and put down his problems with hannibal only to hannibal's terrible treatment of him, when both sides play equal parts in his rejection of hannibal and his worldview, as we see in S3 when he feels as if he has to seperate himself from hannibal or become him, even after forgiving him. will accepting that he's a killer and accepting hannibal go hand in hand. if will found out hannibal was a killer in S1, the most likely scenario is he falls into a state of self denial and cuts off ties with hannibal, especially since he'd have no cause to believe hannibal about how he and will are just alike. that's why hannibal set up will to kill as much as possible, and why he alienated him from jack and alana who are moral/justice-inclined influences. the encephalitis was also not only to satisfy hannibal's curiosity, but increased will's dependence on hannibal who was his "paddle", got people to believe will is unstable and dangerous (which helps in alienating will from the general population and also discredits any accusations against hannibal in the event will finds out), decreased will's reservations about killing, stopped will from thinking clearly which helps safeguard abigail and hannibal from any realisations he might form, and might have led to will dropping out of the FBI which would help hannibal if will is ever to be his murder partner. also hannibal didn't frame will as part of his great master plan, he framed will because his great master plan went off the rails and he was forced to otherwise will would have found out he was the copy cat, which wouldn't have gone well for hannibal.

me: oh nothing lol