TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Editor’s note, Ali Gianutsos

2. Editor’s note, Augusta Leigh

5. An invitation

COSPLAY

23 “Will and Stag,” tumblr users bonzananza and thecumbercollective

47 “Still from animated Will Graham collage #1,” tumblr user savethewales*

60 “Still from animated Will Graham collage #2,” tumblr user savethewales*

69 “Will wishes for doge (and gets doge),” Sandra Kirkway

CRAFT

20 “FANNIBAL” cross-stitch pattern, Britani of questionablestitchery*

31 “PROTEIN SCRAMBLE” cross-stitch pattern, Britani of questionablestitchery*

68 The best of JUST CANNIBAL THINGS

72 “EAT THE RUDE” meat tie design, Courtney Flanagan

FICTION

11 “In Your Own Bed,” tumblr user ohwhatagloomyshow

24 “A Mongoose Does Not Crack pt. 1,” Katerick Lash

32 “A Mongoose Does Not Crack pt. 2,” Katerick Lash

45 “Exposed Nerve,” Katerick Lash

50 “Gunshots Are Painful,” Katerick Lash

59 “Socks; Sharp; Sense,” Katerick Lash

ILLUSTRATION

6 Will at dinner, Zzoha

10 Hannibal drinking, Marion

13 “La Morte,” tumblr user brokeandbaroque

18 Mounted Will, tumblr user avmccammon

22 No one is going to SAVE WILL GRAHAM, Sandra Kirkway

26 Eat the rude, tumblr user pylade

27 Masked Hannibal, Manuel Alfonse

34 Hannibal and Will, Marion

36 Will and the no good very bad day, Angus Cearbhal

44 Sleepwalking, Natalie

67 “Apocynum Cannabinum,” tumblr user brokeandbaroque

META

7 “Of reboots and entrées: the construction and destruction of metatext in Hannibal” Mary Borsellino

14 “Design of Darkness” September Jane Lain

17 “Creating the Grotesque in Hannibal,” Ali Gianutsos

21 "Character Analysis—after “Buffet Froid” episode Pt. 1" adapted from senator-of-sorcery's "Hannibal

Thinking Chair" show analyses

28 “Hannibal Lecter, A Contemporary Frankenstein,” Christi Gravett

35 "Character Analysis—after “Buffet Froid” episode Pt. 2" adapted from senator-of-sorcery's "Hannibal

Thinking Chair" show analyses

37 “The Importance of Knowing Will Graham as a Self-Identified Autistic,” Augusta Leigh

41 “Will Graham and Fandom Made Me Cry, The Bastards, Or How Hannibal Impacted Someone With

PTSD,” tumblr user tsingdra

43 “Insanity Defense: Hannibal and Mental Health,” Ali Gianutsos

48 “Why Hannibal chose not to kill Will in Episode 8,” tumblr user littlepsychohoh

49 "Character Analysis—after “Buffet Froid” episode Pt. 3" adapted from senator-of-sorcery's "Hannibal

Thinking Chair" show analyses

54 “Hannibal is Not God,” tumblr users brokeandbaroque and reclaimingpassion

56 “Hannibal’s Perversion of Faith: manipulation and/in the Christian tradition,” Augusta Leigh

61 "Character Analysis—after episode “Roti”" adapted from senator-of-sorcery's "Hannibal Thinking

Chair" show analyses

62 “Homages to Stephen King,” a chart by Mary Borsellino

63 “Found Families, Flannery O'Connor, Misfits and Good Men in Fuller's Hannibal,” Augusta Leigh

65 "Hannibal Thinking Rug—after episode “Roti”" adapted from senator-of-sorcery's "Hannibal Thinking

Chair" show analyses

MUSIC

19 “the devil’s in the details,” Laurel

53 “In His Image,” Katie

66 “Ravenstag,” by Halia Meguid

71 the 80s playlist, Ali Gianutsos

*indicates where companion material may offer a more illuminated experience; online access

supplemented in the event of a separation of the .pdf from its companion materials.

Editor’s Note:

As the internet is fond of saying, the Hannibal fandom came out of nowhere.

The Fannibals sprang up suddenly into a thriving and productive

phenomenon and I have been continually astounded by the quality of the

fanworks—art, fiction, analysis, 80’s playlists, and stag kigurumi cosplay shoots.

With the ever-expanding range of online tools, it is only natural that the way

we interact with our media is changing. Fandoms of all sizes and compositions

are springing up across the web—no longer the sole haunt of the hardcore fan.

More and more people have blogs and express and invest themselves online,

giving greater and greater numbers of people access to others with shared

passions—and favorite tv shows. It is easier than ever to discuss any topic

under the sun at any time of day or night from anywhere at all, and easier, too,

to take a three second screenshot, a five-second caption, and have over a

thousand people laughing at that pun your loved ones didn’t find funny.

With the ease and normalcy of sharing online, it’s no surprise that new people

are discovering “fandom” as a community and audience in one for their

thoughts and excitement about popular media—and NBC’s Hannibal has done

a great job of keeping itself on the lips of viewers everywhere. After all, it is

easy to talk about anything online, so this particular show could have fallen by

the wayside if not for its wholehearted embrace of modernity. Between the

online efforts of the NBC Hannibal tumblr and Bryan Fuller’s tweets and the

show’s willingness to take risks—with visuals and gore but also with complex

issues and characters—everyone who watched had something to say. And,

more than that, we became invested. We connected with one another and

with the show and its crew. We wanted to see our little show, our little

community of comments and criticism and creativity, survive.

So we hope you feel welcomed to our family dinner-- sink your teeth into the

fruits of a season’s worth of labor. Bon appetit!

Ali Gianutsos

A note on fandom, followed by a note on Fannibals:

In many circles, “fandom” is a dirty word (only slightly kinder than the disparaging “cult media” to refer

to its fruits). It’s hissed with dripping connotations of childishness, of immaturity. The Oxford English

Dictionary (OED)’s first documented use of the modern construct of “fandom” in a 1903 pressing of the

Cincinnati Enquirer characterized the populace as “fandom puzzled over Johnsonian statements.” The

second time “fandom” is utilized in a significant manner, it’s in a summer of 1928 edition of Publishers’

Weekly, on the cusp of the U.S. stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression, describing the

collective idolatry of a baseball icon.

Near the middle of the 20th century, attitudes seemed to have changed. A Times editor from

1958 “calculate[s] that at least half his British writers have been recruited from ‘fandom’.” This is

actually a radically delayed uptake. The behaviors of fandom precede the word “fandom” and certainly

precede the OED’s documentation of it. And more obviously, “fans” and “fandom recruits” had been

participatory in mass audience-catered writing fields (mainstream, academic, or otherwise) for ages

preceding.

Fandom is the crux of saint cults of the Catholic middle ages: the obsession with trading relics, of

documenting hagiographia (divine fanfiction), of organizing mass pilgrimages (conventions). Fandom is

not being able to discern the difference between Lisztomania from Beatlemania because the

impassioned reactionary screams overwhelm the music and the wall of writhing bodies equally obscure

the view of the idol who’s very presence should only be glimpsed in tasteful windows (lest the fan be

turned to stone or a pillar of salt, or be assumed back into Hades). Fandom is noting that Lord Byron

could have penned Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” and dedicated it to Lady Caroline Lamb or Dr. John

Polidori. Fandom is the legitimate existence of alternate universe play where King Hamlet’s ghost and

Frankenstein’s Creature booze up together and sing raucously. Fandom is the community of

Frankenstein-derived pieces constructed in Mary Shelley’s lifetime, her witness to many of these

products, and her expression of privileged gratitude. Fandom is John Milton’s Paradise Lost completely

re-sculpting Christians’ interactions with the original source material by bringing life to minor characters

that barely existed in the text at all through extensive meta (the Les Mis fandom can relate).

This is not a thorough nor even a condensed history of fandom, nor is it even a definition of what

“fandom” is. Most people reading this ‘zine have interacted with fandoms not exclusive to this one—but

even if this is reader’s first fandom, said reader (possibly you?) already has constructed a reality of

what fandom is and what their identity as a fan is (Hint: it’s as valid and as significant of a contribution

of the community of fandom as any BNF’s or long-time multi-fandomer’s, as fandom is individualized

and collective and unique in all aspects of being so; fandom needs this evolution to expand as well as

to sustain.) and how they perceive the landscape of fandom.

What this is, however, and what the intention of cataloging historical implications of fandom suggests is

a defense of fandom. “Fandom” evokes sexually charged teenagers (especially girls), socially

inadequate and/or physically sub-standard human beings (often illustrated as fat fanboys), over-

emotional niche tirades (politely dubbed “meta”), spontaneous queer sexual awakenings in defiance of

the vanilla heteronormative (slash)… all of which are prevalent and true in fandom at large, but more

importantly, all of which are necessary for fandom to survive without justification. It would be a wash to

state that the difference between “fanon” and “canon” is that “fanon” relies only on the camaraderie of

other fans to assure its validity rather than the approval of a supreme high-academic cabal to ‘make it

so’—but it is true that fandom exists and will continue to exist with or without the scrutiny or the

approval of the world of canon. It would be more apt to say that fanon, as a whole, is a critique of canon.

Fandom is not a contest. Fanon is not the prioritization of one reading over another. BNFs, unlike

mainstream literary critics, are not lauded as experts or idols on par with the source authors themselves.

Fanon the ability for the readings of BNFs and modest, passive rebloggers to co-exist, to marry, to

fluctuate—fanon is not streamlined, nor indisputable.

The Hannibal fandom is like any fandom in that it is a unique collective of diverse individuals—not just

demographically so, but in respect to their productions. This ‘zine intends to represent a fair menagerie

of the possibilities, but in absolutely no way will it be capable of reflecting the entire legacy of

Fannibals; in no way can it encompass the thousands of tags, tweets, reblogs, comics, paintings, crafts,

themed parties, cosplays, fanmixes, nor can it capture the real-time reactions of Fannibals who

screamed in ranging pitches of anguish and adoration at their or their fellow Fannibals’ televisions,

iPods and computer screens. What this ‘zine can do, however, is immortalize the passion and the

respect that 1. we as Fannibals have for the source material, 2. we as Fannibals have for each other.

That this project has received as much attention as it has within the Fannibal community is a direct

microcosmic zoom of the attention that Fuller’s show has absorbed in its first season. Cathy of Tumblr’s

‘justcannibalthings’ noted this when she pledged her support of the project (and for many, it may have

been the convincing factor of our submissions):

This project is very dear to my heart (as is this fandom), and since the Fannibals are the

most dedicated and wonderfully creative people, we should all contribute to the ‘zine.

If I had as much power as the editor of this ‘zine as the contributing editors of the OED, I would

absolutely revise it to add Cathy’s reblog as a 2013 incidence of fandom, because to me and to every

individual who reblogged or liked the post sourced from Cathy, that is what fandom—this fandom, our

fandom, every fandom—truly is. We as Fannibals by the sheer virtue of participating in fandom are an

empathetic bunch. Our contributions to this ‘zine display this virtue as prominently as Will Graham’s

halo-glistened crime scene re-renderings. This is our design.

Augusta Cordelia Leigh

AN INVITATION

Within these pages are the creative, intellectual, prospective and inspired

contributions of a small but diverse sample of a rampant and international phenomenon.

Within these pages are fannibals. Our community is much like a sequence of “dinner and

a movie” dates spread across a season. We all w(h)ine and dine together.

Our “dress code” for YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED… is somewhere between Will Graham and

Dr. Lecter—very Alana Bloom “business casual,” if you will. We hope that our language

is accessible to any and all fannibals who choose to parse through this ‘zine. While

this volume is in English, the native tongue of the broadcast, many fannibals are non-

native speakers, including some who have contributed to this volume. Their syntax has

not been altered in any way by either of the editors.

Overall, only minimal, superficial edits to formatting (including colour-coding, font,

text alignment and spacing) have been imposed in order to best optimize the most

aesthetically pleasurable reading experience from any .pdf-reading platform.

(Note that many of these submissions, especially the meta contributions, are time-

relevant to the point in the series at which they were written and submitted. We the

editors find the foreshadowing abilities in some of these to be incredible; and in the

events where these pre-conceptions are disputed, we commend the show for its ability to

consistently surprise its viewership.)

All individual works reflect the opinions and observations of their individual

writers/creators only.

We hope that current and future fannibals will be pleased with this volume and just as

they (you) have preserved the endurance of the Hannibal series for a long and healthy

lifespan (no laughing) that they (you!!!) will also keep the fandom alive between

seasons and for future seasons to come. It is in the interests of the editors of this

volume and its submitters to continue and potentially expand activity for future volumes

of YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED… to come!

If you have any questions, concerns or would like to contact any of the authors or

artists of this volume, please contact operation.hanniballin@gmail.com

Of reboots and entrées: the construction and destruction of metatext in Hannibal by Mary Borsellino Reboots are common these days, and understandably so -- they’re a tried and tested product while also being shiny and new. Origin-story reboots and prequels are especially popular, and operate in an increasingly intertextual and metatextual way. For example: in the film X-Men, Wolverine makes a quip about not wearing yellow spandex -- a joke which relies on viewers knowing that, in his earlier incarnation, that’s what his outfit was made of. Then we get to X-Men: First Class, and the origin story it offers doesn’t match that established by previous films, but there’s the same actor playing Wolverine in a cameo. The actress who played Mystique in X-Men returns in First Class, too, playing one of the shape-shifts that the new, younger Mystique goes through. The potential -- but perhaps now impossible, since their beginnings no longer match -- future of who the character was going to grow up to be has now become her past. Things completely outside the realms of continuity somehow nevertheless exist, even if only as a wink to those in the audience who remember. Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham were in this position already, before the TV show Hannibal. Red Dragon was published in 1981, adapted into the film Manhunter in 1986, and then adapted again in 2002 into the film Red Dragon. The original novel and Manhunter were both created before The Silence of the Lambs was written or adapted. By the time the 2002 film was made, on the other hand, Hannibal Lecter had become an iconic horror villain, Red Dragon had switched from being a stand-alone novel to being the first in a growing series, and the story it told had shifted into the prequel to the much more well-known Silence. This makes the two movies of the same book remarkably different. In Manhunter, Brian Cox’s Dr Lecktor is a supporting-character antagonist to William Petersen’s Will Graham -- compelling and charismatic, but ultimately a fairly minor character in the narrative, peripheral to the main action and serving largely as an example of how damage done to Will by his past work with the FBI continues to cause him pain. In the years between Manhunter and Red Dragon, however, Anthony Hopkins played Dr Lecter in the film of The Silence of the Lambs, won an Oscar for it, and became one of the most famous murderers of the movie world -- probably the most famous cannibal. So the film Red Dragon opens with Hannibal -- Hopkins again, who had also played the role in the film Hannibal a year earlier -- in his element, serving suspect meat to a sophisticated dinner party and exchanging witty banter with his guests. In the original book, we are simply told after the fact about how Will Graham caught Hannibal. He went to speak to the doctor about the death of a man who had once, long ago, been Hannibal’s patient, and then in the doctor’s office he caught sight of the illustration ‘Wound Man’, a medieval surgical guide depicting a variety of wounds on a single body. Upon seeing the illustration, Will made the connection between the image and the injuries inflicted in the very murder he was investigating, and “knew” by virtue of his near-psychic profiling talent that Hannibal was the killer. Hannibal, realising he had been discovered, savagely stabbed Will and nearly killed him. Will survived -- though not unscarred -- and Hannibal was incarcerated.

Manhunter doesn’t show us any of that, instead keeping within the timeframe of the novel and opening on Will several years later. In fact, Hannibal Lecktor’s backstory is combined with that of Garrett Jacob Hobbs by the narrative -- one serial killer is much like another, in the end. The 2002 film, made with a deliberate emphasis on Lecter, instead plays out the whole discovery/attack scene on-screen following the dinner party. Not only that, but a new, vitally important element is introduced into the mix: the idea that Will and Hannibal have worked together in the past and caught the Minnesota Shrike, Garrett Jacob Hobbs, together. The ‘Wound Man’ reveal is replaced by Will finding a cookbook on Hannibal’s shelves, marked at a recipe for the same organs missing from a recent victim. So that’s where we are, metatextually and intertextually, when the show Hannibal starts. Depending on how familiar we are with the source material, we almost certainly already know that Hannibal is a cannibalistic serial killer, we probably already know that Will is the one who will be responsible for his incarceration, we maybe already know that Jack Crawford’s wife will die of a terminal illness during the time frame of Silence. All that and the first episode’s first frame hasn’t come onscreen yet. The show knows and makes use of canon elements meticulously -- the one which especially struck me while watching was a throwaway comment in episode 4, œuf, about Will buying a present for Abigail while he was worked up. An equally throwaway line in the original Red Dragon novel notes that Will doesn’t even realise that he tends to purchase gifts when he’s feeling angry. But being aware of canon isn’t the same as being bound by canon, and Hannibal escapes the constrictions of previous continuities with breathtaking blitheness. Because it is a reboot rather than a prequel (a prequel-to-a-prequel, even, considering Red Dragon’s graduation to the role of Silence’s precursor) it is under no obligation to adhere perfectly to previous continuity, but those who walk in with prior knowledge of the characters and story expect that the bare shape of things will at least be the same: Will Graham is going to get Garrett Jacob Hobbs, perhaps with Hannibal’s help. Hobbs’ death is going to weigh on Graham so heavily that he’ll be institutionalised for a time, helped by discussions with Hobbs’ surviving daughter -- now given the name Abigail by the show, but introduced in a way which elaborates on but does not deviate from her mentions in the original novel. And as we watch this first episode unfold, we can safely expect that Will is going to work out Hannibal’s secret, whether through ‘Wound Man’ or a cookbook or by some other means. Along this same line of new-but-familiar is the rest of the cast: the books’ Dr Alan Bloom is now Dr Alana Bloom, the sleazy tabloid journalist Freddie Lounds is now a woman, Will’s (and, presumably someday in the future, Clarice Starling’s) boss Jack Crawford is played by Black actor Laurence Fishburne. We can assume, since the actor now playing Hannibal was born in 1965 and the story is set in modern day, that Hannibal Lecter’s backstory is no longer that of being orphaned and abused during the Second World War, though at the time of writing this no alternate backstory has been offered by the show -- what little we know of Hannibal’s past still maps onto this backstory, even if we know that the non-elaborated portions cannot possibly map to the earlier template. Freddie Lounds is arguably the most interesting of these changes. The character already has an intertextual weight to carry, because anyone who has seen Manhunter or Red Dragon or read the

original novel knows that the FBI will make a disastrous attempt to bait a serial killer through Lounds’ column and get Lounds brutally killed. Hannibal goes a step further and gives the character a metatextual framework, in addition to this intertextual one. By making the previously male character into a woman with long red curly hair, the show makes direct visual reference to Rebekah Brooks, the notoriously unethical tabloid journalist at the centre of the News of the World phone hacking scandal in 2011. What this example demonstrates is that the extra-textual narratives, cues, and shadowings happening around the text of Hannibal are incredibly dense and layered at any given moment, and this is rarely more obvious than in episode 6, entrée. FBI agent-in-training Miriam Regina Lass is intertextual with showrunner Bryan Fuller’s earlier series Dead Like Me, where Reggie Lass is the troubled younger sister of the show’s central character. Other Fuller characters have interacted with the periphery of Hannibal -- Gretchen Speck of Wonderfalls is saved from becoming an addition to a grisly mushroom farm by Will Graham -- but Miriam Regina and Reggie are played by different actors, where Gretchen was played by the same across both series. Additionally, Miriam Regina Lass cannot be Reggie Lass, because Miriam Regina Lass is Clarice Starling. Because of various different copyright ownerships, Hannibal is currently (at time of writing this essay) unable to use the character of Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs. Despite this, viewers beginning the series will naturally assume that the future of the title character will eventually cross paths with the young agent-in-training, as this relationship is arguably the most well-known aspect of either character -- Hannibal’s cannibalism being the only other real contender for that title. Entrée is overtly an homage to Silence in almost every aspect, perhaps most obviously in the dish of lamb tongues that Hannibal serves his dinner guests. He assures them that they were ‘chatty lambs’ -- an acknowledgement and subversion of the silent lambs being paid tribute to. The subversion/inversion of Silence continues throughout entrée. A nurse is attacked, in circumstances which seem at the outset to mirror those of an attack on a nurse in Silence. But though the scenes begin in the same way, their endings prove to be utterly different from one another. The most important, and most shocking, example takes place in the episode’s final scene. Miriam goes to speak to Hannibal about the death of a man who had once, long ago, been his patient, and then in the doctor’s office she catches sight of a copy of the illustration ‘Wound Man’. At the moment of Miriam’s realisation, Hannibal grabs her from behind and strangles her. It is the first murder we see him commit; all earlier kills were heavily implied but not actually depicted. The scene is shot with shocking, unrelenting intimacy, and is an absolute world-shift on every possible level for the show. Hannibal, in a single episode -- perhaps in a single scene -- removed all certainties which viewers may have previously possessed. If Miriam has already been Jack’s protege, then it’s unlikely that any future Clarice arc could play out as it has in book and film: we no longer have any idea when, how, or if we’ll see Agent Starling in this Hannibal’s life.

If Miriam has already discovered Hannibal’s secret through a revelatory glimpse at ‘Wound Man’ and then been attacked as a result, we know longer have any idea when, how, or if Will Graham will make this same leap of understanding. Any security, smugness or certainty afforded to viewers on the basis of prior knowledge of books or movies has been swept away. At the very moment when we’ve had what we already knew -- that Hannibal Lecter is a serial killer -- confirmed on-screen, anything else we thought we knew has been stripped away. It’s as if the series, having shown us what was previously only present in the metatext/intertext -- that Hannibal is a serial killer -- can now ignore that weight of previous versions and adaptations, and instead venture off into whatever mix of uncharted and familiar territory it wishes to navigate. All the bets are off.

Laura Z “In Your Own Bed” Cited Works: Episode 03, “Potage”; Episode 04, “œuf” / webseries

When he pushes against her, against her knife, the hot blood is quick to spill over the sides of her hands, of

her fingers. She can feel his pulse as it trickles over her wrists, embeds itself into her pores. Even as she

watches him stagger backward, listens to his haggard breath and then the fall of his body on the half-

carpeted floor, she is acutely aware of the redness digging beneath her fingernails, flowing between the

creases of her palms.

She hears the exact moment his heart stops.

She lurches awake and finds herself on his bright blue couch, hair sticking to her forehead and scarf

damp against the back of her neck; her clothes are disgusting with sweat but she barely notices against the

furious racing of her heart. She can still feel the hot blood on her hands—

But her hands are clean, the body is gone. The room is cool and incredibly empty.

Come find me if you’re having trouble sleeping.

He had retired before her, coming up noiselessly behind her on the second floor of the office to alert

her of his retiring. His smile was mechanical as he gave her directions to his guest bedroom, to his own

bedroom. He said he’d be up for another hour, but she should feel free to wake him if necessary. She had

nodded, had known she would never take him up on his offer, had watched him walk down the hallway

before climbing down and taking a seat on his couch, planning simply to rest.

Now, she shakes the tremors out of her arms, rolls her shoulders. Her heart won’t stop, the images

in front of her eyes won’t stop flashing over and over.

So much blood.

She stands carefully, wary of putting all her weight on unsteady legs. It takes a moment for her to

balance in the dark office, barefoot on the beautiful hard wood. She takes a few steps, luxuriates in the feel

of the rug between her toes when she comes to it slowly. Focuses all her nervous energy on the sharp fibers

against her skin.

But the second she closes her eyes the blood returns, the heartbeat pounds furiously in her head,

and the thought of closing them again terrifies her.

She thinks she may have a problem.

The only light in the office comes from the open door on the second floor: the hallway into his home

is lit and looks warm, almost inviting. She can’t get his voice out of her head, but that’s not necessarily a bad

thing.

She shifts her weight from foot to foot, embarrassed at the concept of going for help—but eager for

at least a bit of release from this nightmare. Her eyelids are growing heavy again, her brain cloudy. She

makes up her mind.

The ladder is a bit more difficult to manage in the darkness but she handles it well, and treads

through the new hallway shyly. She finds Hannibal’s door open at the end of the hall: when she peeks in,

cautiously, she finds him under the sheets and propped up against the headboard with several pillows,

reading a thick novel. She isn’t at all surprised by the black silk bedding. The bedroom is stylish and the light

makes it warm, homey. She knocks, once, on his door.

He doesn’t look surprised when he turns to meet her eyes.

“Come in, Abigail.” The book is placed on his leg and he beckons her with a newly freed hand. She

comes in, timidly; it takes a few more gestures to get her to enter the room completely. “Sit down. Make

yourself comfortable.”

She hesitates before taking a seat; the bed gives easily to her weight. For a moment she finds herself

comforted solely by his presence, by the now-familiar lilt of his voice. She gives herself this moment of

peace.

“Lie down.” It’s neither quite a command nor a suggestion, but she does it anyway, haltingly placing

her head on the silk pillow and stretching her knees out until she lies parallel to him, struggling to find his

features against the shadow his head casts from the lamp behind him. “There. I think you just need some

company.”

He offers another mechanical smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes; she smiles back automatically.

“Try to sleep.” She can’t help herself: she shuts her eyes on command.

He doesn’t follow his own command, but turns back to collect his book once more. She listens to the

rhythm of his breathing and his gentle turn of the pages. But she’s still tense in her shoulders; her wrists

tremble as they support her head.

She can’t stop the words.

“Can you read to me?”

She can feel his amusement, but he does as she asks. It’s something in French and the words are

unfamiliar but they lull her into a safe space. She drifts, and doesn’t feel the blood.

The Design of Darkness

“What brought the kindred spider to that height,

Then steered the white moth thither in the night?

What but design of darkness to appall?--

If design govern in a thing so small.”

- “Design” by Robert Frost

By: September Jane Lain

NBC's “Hannibal” often gives the viewer an

insight into Will Graham's mind, and the

visions that allow him to be the perfect profiler.

Graham is often called “unstable” by the other

characters and patronized because of it, but

calling Graham “unstable” actually exhibits a

profound misunderstanding of who he is as a

person and what's going on in his mind. Will

Graham is tormented by a lack of sleep and

things he can see and hear that no one else can,

but what he sees are his own true fears and

desires and those of the murderers he tracks.

This kind of thing is not as far removed from

sanity and stability as many would like to think.

Will Graham's flashes into his own haunted

subconscious drive the show forward by

allowing a glimpse into the psychological not

often offered in narrative but, scarily enough, is

not necessarily a glimpse into insanity.

Graham experiences visual and auditory

hallucinations that he is able to distinguish

from reality and become more elaborate and

difficult to tell apart from nightmares as the

show progresses. The majestic stag he caught

glimpses of in the backgrounds of his dreams

begins to trod down every hallway in his

waking life. As he is increasingly haunted by

dreams and guilt following his killing of

Abigail's father, his sleep patterns become

increasingly disjointed and he begins

experiencing the “waking dream” style of

hallucination that it has been proven even

individuals deemed mentally sound can

experience. A 2002 study conducted in

Germany by N. Dahmen, M. Kasten, K. Mittag

and M. J. Müller on patients diagnosed with

narcolepsy, schizophrenia, and a control group

of people who had no previous diagnosis of

mental disorders proved that visual and

auditory hallucinations can be experienced by

anyone—especially if something happens to

disturb their R.E.M sleep (Dahmen S94). This

is even depicted in “Hannibal” when Jack

Crawford, who thinks himself a remarkably

and unfalteringly sane and stable backbone to

the force and a source of structure and sanity

for Will Graham, finds himself seeing and

hearing things when deprived of sleep by

repeated phone calls from the Minnesota

Ripper. His mental state deteriorates in the

exact same way that Graham's does, and, in a

way, it does so faster. Will Graham has been

called upon to profile serial killers for years and

seen countless crime scenes, as Jack Crawford

has, but it only takes Crawford a couple of

days of interrupted R.E.M cycles to begin to

lose touch with reality.

Crawford could have likely passed any mental

competency test, but his descent into

hallucinations and rage proves that even the

mentally soundest person is capable of mental

instability and able to exhibit symptoms that

could be called insanity with enough stressful

situations combined with sleep deprivation.

Crawford had previously never dared to make

any decisions that were not for the common

good and did his best to protect Will Graham

while still utilizing his unique and important

gifts.

As his marriage starts to fall apart and the rest

of his life follows suit, Crawford becomes more

unstable and makes less rational decisions,

pulling Graham along as his mental

competency plummets. A dying wife or a

disturbing case could be enough to cause

nightmares and interrupt sleep cycles, even by

themselves, but it is the loss of his protégé

Miriam Lass, an innocent person who he

wanted badly to protect, that pushes him over

the edge and unlocks the part in Crawford's

mind that allows him to catch a glimpse of the

world that he has accidentally pushed Will into.

Crawford struggles with hallucinations and

disturbed sleep patterns as he struggles with

guilt and the impending death of his wife.

Will Graham makes it clear that he has never

experienced visual and auditory hallucinations

in his life, no matter how “unstable” he was

feeling. No matter how many cases he worked

on and dead bodies he saw, he goes through a

grave change after having to kill Garret Jacob

Hobbs to save Abigail's life. While he can tell

his waking dreams apart from reality, the

increasing appearance of reality from his

hallucinations start to weigh on him quickly

and cause his mental state to deteriorate and

causes him to want to shrink away from the

field. He feels alone with his mind, a mind that

was once a veritable castle but is now starting

to play tricks on him that he is finding it

increasingly difficult to decipher.

The viewers have every reason to trust Graham

and Crawford's intelligence and competence at

their jobs and has time to get attached to them

as intelligent, relatively stable, and responsible

people before being invited to watch them fall.

It is this, I would argue, that makes “Hannibal”

such a beautifully terrifying show. The viewer

can see themselves to different degrees in

different characters who they watch slowly fall

apart and then are struck with the terrible

realization that it could happen to them. It

could happen to anyone.

N. Dahmen, M. Kasten, K. Mittag and M. J. Müller. “Narcoleptic and Schizophrenic Hallucinations: Implications for Differential

Diagnosis and Pathophysiology.” The Journal of European Health Economics. 3.2 (2002): S94-S98. Web. 22 May 2013.

Creating the Grotesque in Hannibal

Ali Gianutsos

Bryan Fuller’s shows are particularly famous

for the visually compelling parallel worlds in

which they take place. From the brightly

colored Americana of Pushing Daisies to the

aristocratic, deep tones of Hannibal, his

creations exhibit strong and cohesive

aesthetics, and, particularly in the case of

Hannibal, understanding the construction of

these images is vital to understanding the

purpose of the show as a whole.

The staging and beautiful visuals of

Hannibal lead to its overall aesthetic appeal,

in spite of the horror of the material. In fact,

Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal aestheticizes death,

violence, and decay, creating an ideal and

beautiful world in which things that are ugly or

animal are made clean and elegant.

Tableaus of vicious violence are rendered

nearly bloodless, as in the scenes of

mutilation in Coquilles, or the botched surgery

in Sorbet. Boudish’s “angels” are perhaps the

most straightforwardly gory murders to date,

and yet the muscle and fat are severed neatly

and bloodlessly, like the flaps on an

anatomical model. Tobias Budge’s

cellocephalous victim was equally bloodless

and surgically clean, with his individual vocal

chords manipulated to align with the blunt

instrument forced down his throat. The

exposed area demonstrates more of the

same surreal, anatomical cleanliness—the

man has, after all, been converted into an

instrument, an object.

One of the most psychologically horrifying

episodes, Amuse-Bouche, includes extensive

views of the process of decay—one humanity

finds deeply and fundamentally repulsive—

but the carefully organized field of corpses

and the display of an idealized decomposition,

very green and white and brown and even,

with no real sign of insect activity or bloating,

suggests a peaceful and thorough return to

nature. The thoroughness stretches to the

thick covering of mushrooms outlining the

human forms and lends a strong insight to the

mind of the perpetrator, who saw peace and

oneness in their necrotization.

Acts of open violence are equally civilized.

During all three of the notable altercations

shown onscreen, the antagonist remains cool,

detached, and often even gentle. In Entrée,

thanks to Dr. Gideon, we are treated to Will

Graham’s reenactment of the actual murder.

He is slow and inexorable in his assault,

pointedly giving his victim time to see him as

a threat before attacking and also time to

attempt to crawl away once injured. He even

goes so far as to hush her softly during the

assault. Once again, the mess has been

removed from the fight, this time by placing

the aggressor in complete control. To call

back to the inspiration for the scene from the

novel Red Dragon, when Hannibal Lecter tore

out a nurse’s tongue, it was mentioned that

his heart rate never rose above eighty-five.

That same implication holds true for the

scenes of violence in the NBC show—the

characters are hardly ruffled by the

commotion, acting without anger or pleasure

or fear. This presentation of “clean” violence

holds true as well for Lecter’s strangulation of

Miriam Lass, with whom he is efficient and

calm, and whose struggles against him fail to

even muss his hair. This idea is challenged,

to some extent, in Lecter’s fight with Tobias

Budge, and yet neither loses their calm

facade or experiences a disfiguring or bloody

injury. In fact, Lecter retains the presence of

mind to stage the final blow heavily on the

symbolism and lightly on the fingerprints, and

expresses concern about the refolding of his

pocket square even with a significant knife

wound to the thigh.

Hannibal Lecter is entirely conscious of the

artistry of his own acts of murder and violence

throughout. In Apertif, the corpse arrayed on

the stag’s antlers shows a methodical use of

color and contrast. It is an art installation, as

reinforced by Will Graham’s remarks in his

lecture about elevating killing. Hannibal Lecter

is obsessed with the elevation of the animal to

the elegant. He takes the inhuman, disgusting

act of cannibalism and civilizes it with Cordon

Bleu cooking and stylish dinner parties,

balancing interests in opera and murder by

treating them with the same aristocratic

hobbyist’s passion.

The grotesque has been defined as the

intersection of beauty and ugliness, when

something has been distorted such that it can

be seen in both lights at the same instant.

NBC’s Hannibal has distorted and

aestheticized the hideousness of murder, of

violence and decay, such that the viewer sees

the beauty in the scene even as they are

consciously aware of the underlying horror.

This twisted portrayal displays the same

contrast of base and civilized as Lecter’s

worldview, offering a portal into his subtle and

grotesque mind, and distorting the experience

of the viewer alongside his own.

the devil’s in the details a mix compiled by Laurel with cover arrangement inspired by Lorna Simpson’s “Details”

track list:

1. a swan song (for nina) - clint mansell 2. trophy - bat for lashes 3. who did that to you - john legend 4. imitosis - andrew bird 5. lose your soul - dead man's bones 6. fresh blood - eels 7. afraid - the neighbourhood 8. the deer - woodkid 9. violent games - polica 10. kill and run – sia

screencaps from kissthemgoodbye.net

Fannibal Cross Stitch Pattern

Included files: PNG and PDF version of the color pattern, an inverted color pattern in case you don't want to print out so much black,

Black and white + symbols pattern,color chart, STH file (can be opened in KG-Chart LE for Cross Stitch. See FAQ for link to download)

Stitched on black, 14 count Aida, 2 threads, DMC floss.

[downloadable @ Questionable Stichery]

Finished size: 160 x 160 stitches approx 12 x 12 inches

Best to add an inch all around and trim when done. (So, make it at least 13x13.)

You may follow the colors on the chart or use your own. Feel free to edit the pattern however you wish. Have fun!

Hannibal Thinking Chair: Character Analysis—after “Buffet Froid” episode Pt. 1

Why would Hannibal need to get rid of the neurologist? Hannibal only looks out for his own best interests

and self-preservation, and uses people to his advantage. So, he probably played on the doctors desire

to learn more about Will’s condition in order to provide a time for Hannibal to kill the doctor without

suspicion, and frame it on the girl. Framing the mentally-ill girl would obviously protect himself, but killing

him… why? Once he got what he wanted, to confirm his theory of Will’s condition, he wanted to keep his

knowledge to himself… to either use against or for Will, but he did NOT want another person snooping

around in that business. Will doesn’t know, and the files proving of his neurological illness are hidden,

and by now, destroyed. The doctor knew too much, so he had to be disposed of. Hannibal had to have

killed him to protect his future actions/relationship with Will. The question is, what is the nature of that

relationship? To nurture WiIl? To study him? Hannibal refers to Will as his friend, yet he’s also his

psychologist. He knows Will’s mind, and can see that after each and every murder he commits, Will will

eventually see Hannibal for what he really is. And we can’t have that, now can we? He finds Will

interesting, but knows in the end he will have to dominate and destroy him. He will use Will’s madness

as a cover-up, manipulating everything in the air to his advantage. He sees Will as a pet that he is

knows must eventually be put down because he is a cancer to Hannibal’s way of life. Hannibal plans to

tear Will apart from the inside out. Hannibal is not here to save Will. Wills concern for his own health is

complicating everything Hannibal is working toward. He may have disposed of the doctor for his own

selfish reasons.

Another thing I have trouble ignoring is the stag. I’m convinced it’s a symbol for Hannibal—perfectly

normal, admirable, and majestic on the outside but on the inside… evil. It’s the opposite of what a stag

normally would appear to be. Just like how Hannibal is a cultured, educated psychiatrist—he helps

people—yet is definitely not afraid to get his hands dirty in the name of himself and he EATS people. I

didn’t see the stag at all in that episode. Hannibal may already be starting to worm his way past Will’s

consciousness. By lack of the stag, there’s a lack of an ominous presence. Hannibal is trusted as being

Will’s guide through his mental troubles. He is Will’s only hope, and Will believes in him and thus, sees

him in a more innocent, or rather cordial light. It’s easier for Hannibal to take root in Wills mind and feign

soothing it whilst actually destroying it, like a weed-like flower, if Will’s subconscious empathetic powers

concerning Hannibal are nearly eradicated. Plus, the whole ordeal with his mental issues of over-

empathizing are the cause, but now Hannibal will simply use the advantage of Wills guard being down.

Hannibal is an enigma but a lot of clues are provided to figure him out. And by clues I mean things that

raise questions. Actions he takes to suit his hidden purpose. It’s like fitting together pieces of a puzzle—

there are some provided already that help us imagine what the big picture should look like: his dress,

relation to Abigail, conquest for Will, for everyone in that matter. He doesn’t feel in the way the average

human does. Music obviously strikes passion in him, like art does too. Art satisfies his emotion while

science of people—eating, dissecting, manipulating, helping—satisfy his curiosity. He knows what he’s

doing. He knows the morals others expect and fits to them. Why does Hannibal kill in the first place? In

his mind, his judgment and desires are not clouded by emotion and inner conscious nagging him to fit in.

He is free. Free to do as HE wants, not as others with conscious think he should. He kills others as a

form of expression. His own form of art. He is a man of excellent taste, and of course turns something he

finds ghastly into something worth noticing. Improving his social happiness by eliminating those who

annoy him—the banal and rude—who don’t deserve the gift of life. And to honor them he eats them. He

isn’t a barbarian. The way he even MAKES his victims into food is art—fancy and delicious. It has

purpose and delicacy. He improves the imperfection of their existence. They are wasted in life, and

serve a greater purpose in death as art for the police and for his dinner guests. He shares that part of his

creations with others, feeding them. Abigail knows that all the meat is pretty much human. Others say

it’s the best they’ve ever had. It all depends on how you look at it. Hannibal is a manipulative, self-

preservative bastard but he has reason. There’s logic to his mindframe. He’s an educated man, highly

educated, at that. So don’t be romanticized by him, but don’t hate him yet. Then again… just because

you understand evil, doesn’t mean it should be excused. Will sees him as “one of those pitiful things,

sometimes born in hospitals. They feed it, they keep it warm, but they don’t put it on the machines. They

let it die. But he doesn’t die. He looks normal and nobody knows what he is.” Not even Will can see,

currently. This isn’t behavior; this is who he is at the core—a monster, “the lion in the room”. Hannibal

will not and is not capable to change into good.

A Mongoose does not Crack, pt. 1 Katerick Lash, originally published to AO3

He could see why Jack Crawford thought him a broken teacup. He could see the cracks forming in Will's presence, the essence of that which made him the type of thing Hannibal admired was pooling about his feet, dripping out of his ears as he came closer and closer to the ledge of sanity. He could see the spidering lines from the nicks and dings that Jack Crawford had caused with his obtuse and controlling nature. He was not angry, for he could understand the stressors of a wife slowly withdrawing from him to die, like a cat crawling under the house. He pushed people away while pushing them to their limits. He did not know how to handle Will, though he thought he did. He forced Will to make choices against his best interests, to fray him faster than he should be frayed.

Hannibal knew Will had a choice to make now, he knew which choice would be the best for Will, which choice would help the real William Graham show through, that would let this essence that was oozing out burst free and fly forth as it was intended to.

He could feel Will trembling under his grip as the shorter man avoided his gaze. "Soon this will be the only story any of us cares to tell," he said, turning the screw, threading himself deeper into Will's subconsciousness, becoming that much more of a paddle for him, that much more vital to his continued existence. He injected his venom slowly, carefully, making sure to ease it into Will's system until it became a part of him. He did not want to overwhelm him, he was already at that point, and Hannibal did not want to push him over the edge before he was ready.

When Will got into the Bentley with him, the drive was silent. Hannibal did not chance turning the radio on, for he could see just where the fissures in Will were glowing brightest, which ones would rupture in which way, should he introduce something unnecessary into his life. This dinner would be helpful. It would be a chance for redemption, for clarification, and, Hannibal hoped, for respect among all parties.

He cooked, and Will stood at the edge of the island, his eyes tracing over the hands that sliced meat with practiced ease, that created plates as artful as the Rennaissance masters created their Sistine Chapels, their Venus. "I wish I knew how to cook like that," Will said, making Hannibal pause his slicing of vegetables.

"I could teach you, you know," Hannibal said, a small smile quirking his lips, "Nothing so intricate as this, but I'm perfectly able to each you how to make yourself a decent steak. Perhaps changing your diet would help you."

Will spat a chuckle, "I don't think cutting out a cheeseburger is going to make me remember those three and a half hours,"

Hannibal flipped the cutlet over, searing the other side, "I didn't say it would. But if you are more physically healthy, perhaps your mind will follow suit," he saw Will shake his head, "Take that knife

and slice those onions, please, Will. It would save me a lot of time." His hands continued moving as he watched Will hesitate, taking the knife in his grasp as though it would electrocute him, and, when it did nothing of the sort, Hannibal smiled as Will took a deep breath to stop his hand from shaking and do as he was told.

Abigail, who had been dropped off by Alana earlier, in agreement that this dinner would be beneficial, was setting the table when the knock came from the front door. Hannibal raised his voice, "Abigail, would you please let Miss Lounds in?" He carefully took the meat off the burner, not plating it quite yet, not wanting to rush anything, as he walked towards his own foyer. "Miss Lounds, I appreciate you accepting my invitation."

Freddie took her coat off and Hannibal hung it on a hanger in his coat closet, "I've heard of your legendary meals, Doctor Lecter, I don't think I could pass up such an invitation."

Hannibal smiled, the expression never reaching his eyes, "Tonight I've made us all a steak ta--"

"Steak? Doctor, I'm a vegetarian," she stated calmly, eyes level with his, watching him as she threw a curveball to see how he'd react.

His lips pursed, head dipping down slowly, "My apologies," he said, "I'll prepare a hearty salad instead. It is good I have not yet cooked your portion." Abigail stood next to him, fidgeting with her sleeves until he spoke her name, "Please show Miss Lounds into the dining room,"

"All right," she said, faking a smile, though without the refinement or practiced ease of the doctor's as she spun on her heel and walked into the dining room, expecting Freddie to follow(which she did).

Will had finished chopping the onions when Doctor Lecter returned to the kitchen, "Don't you think inviting the press for dinner is sort of like getting into bed with your enemies?" he asked, rinsing the knife, his eyes red from the sting of the onions.

His hand covered Will's and took the knife from him, turning the faucet off as he withdrew his hand, "I think it is nothing like that. In fact, this dinner is exactly what Abigail needs. She is going to write this book whether we want her to or not,"

"But--"

"And," Hannibal continued, beginning to wash the lettuce for Freddie's salad, "seeing us getting along with Miss Lounds will be beneficial to her. She will see where our boundaries with miss Lounds lie, and be able to reinforce her own boundaries before she dives into this project head first."

Will took in a shaky breath and rubbed at his eyes, "I think she needs a different editor,"

"I am not disagreeing with you. But perhaps Abigail is stronger than you give her credit for, Will. She will not let Miss Lounds take advantage of her current state in lieu of the truth."

The salad went together perfectly, the dinner conversation was civil, though Hannibal would have preferred a slight less amount of father bear posturing from Will. He found it strangely endearing.

Washing dishes with Abigail allowed Hannibal to turn another screw, sticking it into place between the folds of her scar, between the sweat and the fear, just barely touching that strength. She cracked earlier than he anticipated, and he opened his arms, encircling her as the ouroboros, as the spider with his web. "We are going to protect you," he whispered, letting her cry herself dry against his forearm. He could smell the salt and desperation as she got herself under control, and it was then he knew just how he would mould her, how he would push Will into moulding her. He stroked her hair as she had stroked the deer's hide with her father, "You are safe now," he whispered.

Hannibal Lecter, A Contemporary Frankenstein

By Christi Gravett

Prometheus was punished for his pride in being a “creator” of men. So,

too, was Victor Frankenstein punished by fate. For his prideful action,

he ultimately lost everything.

The character of Hannibal Lecter is similar to Victor Frankenstein in

that he’s also, as Mary Shelley said of her creation, a “Modern

Prometheus.” Frankenstein, for his times equivalent to modern day man,

was repressed both sexually and emotionally. One or both of his

parents, together with the prudery of 19th century society’s social

mores and taboos, most likely caused this repression. Through the

creation of an ultra-virile male monster, Frankenstein’s repression

found an outlet.

In Thomas Harris’ novel, Hannibal Rising, Lecter experiences

oppression through war, the loss of his family, and the violent death

of his younger sister, Mischa. Lecter, like Frankenstein, develops an

interest in human anatomy, the former going on to become a medical

student in France. Not long after his mother’s death, Frankenstein

left for Ingolstadt where he quickly developed an interest in anatomy

and “the structure of the human frame” (30). Here we have two men with

an ardent obsession: cheating death (and the prideful act of

conquering it).

It also may be said that both men were unable to consider forming

personal, even sexual relationships as a result of this obsession.

Frankenstein displaced these unconscious desires, either for his

mother or as a result of her passing, with the creation of the monster.

He cheated his anatomy by becoming pregnant, if you will, but once

having given birth to the monster was unable or unwilling to rear it

as his own child. How can we, then, relate his experience to Lecter’s?

This brings us to Bryan Fuller’s interpretation of Hannibal Lecter.

Fuller’s Lecter may inhabit both the character of Frankenstein and the

monster in that, by taking and consuming life, he’s not only creating

himself, but creating and controlling how he’s perceived by those

around him. He often feeds those undeserving of life to those who do,

like Will Graham and Abigail Hobbs.

In Frankenstein’s acting out and general failure as a parent to his

creation, he demonstrated feelings of estrangement. In Fuller’s series,

we’ve already seen Lecter not-so-subtely attempting to be a parent to

both Graham and Hobbs, by remolding and manipulating them into his own

constructions. We also see this in Harris’ novel, Hannibal, with

Clarice Starling, although Lecter’s reprogramming ultimately fails.

Frankenstein’s mother actively encouraged him to form and maintain a

relationship with his cousin, Elizabeth. In his “grave worms” dream,

it is apparent that he was either unable or unwilling to have a normal

sexual relationship with his cousin whom his mother had chosen to be

his life partner. It is possible that Frankenstein was afraid that if

he fell in love with Elizabeth, she would die and he again would be

left alone, as he was following his mother’s death.

Perhaps this is why also why Hannibal Lecter’s romantic relationship

with his aunt, Lady Murasaki, ultimately failed. He was not able to

escape the loss of his parents, and more importantly, the loss of his

sister.

As Lecter, in Harris’ novels, lived the majority of his life avenging

his sister’s death, Frankenstein lived his life endeavoring to satisfy

his mother’s will, but clearly her desire and his fear were opposed.

As Mischa’s death created the monster in Lecter, Frankenstein’s mother

created a monster in him. And as the monster stood looming over

Frankenstein following his dream, so would he likewise stand over

Elizabeth. The “grave worms” represent more than death’s corruption,

they stand for Frankenstein’s incompetence and his failure in cheating

nature: they are inevitable. Though Frankenstein succeeded in

animating life, nature beguiled him. It is almost as if, in trying to

defeat nature by creating life, nature reacted against Frankenstein,

perhaps trying to restore a balance, a karma.

This brings us to Hannibal Lecter and his pension for “eating the

rude.” Frankenstein, like Lecter, wanted mankind to evolve. However,

to Frankenstein’s regret, he realized that this evolution would not

occur through deviant, pietistic means because of the natural inertia

of man’s thinking and method of development. Mankind would evolve, but

not hurriedly.

Frankenstein’s behavior suggests feelings of rejection towards his

mother, possibly because she chose Elizabeth as his wife, denying him

the opportunity to court other women, almost as if an arranged

marriage was being imposed upon him. Frankenstein was denied the body

of his mother, and therefore he felt the need to destroy “domestic

love” (19). This destruction was accomplished on his wedding night

when the monster killed Elizabeth.

Lecter, similarly, was denied the body of his sister after she is

cannibalized by the militiamen. Both Lecter and Frankenstein’s

“affairs” with feminine nature produce the monster.

Frankenstein often conceptualized nature as being feminine. This

notion follows the metaphor of Mother Earth, and the archaic theory

that bearers of children are more emotionally involved and therefore

tied to the earth to a greater degree than those who cannot bear

children. At different times in the novel, nature is comforting to

Frankenstein, almost maternal. At other times, he resents and fears

his environment, for it represents the facility to give and preserve

life, abilities denied to him.

Both Harris and Fuller’s incarnations of Hannibal Lecter reveal a man

with, for lack of a better phrase, a great respect for feminine nature.

His murders are almost exclusively tied to whether or not his victims

insulted his sensibilities. His first murder in Hannibal Rising, Paul

Momund, was the result of Momund’s insults against Lecter’s aunt. In

Fuller’s series, Lecter only kills Miriam Lass after she finds the

“wounded man” illustration, revealing Lecter to be the Chesapeake

Ripper. Before killing her, he renders her unconscious, and actor Mads

Mikkelsen performs this in a strangely tender way, avoiding any

intense suffering.

When Frankenstein began telling his story to Walton, he made the

statement: “No creature could have more tender parents than mine” (19).

There is, of course, a bit of foreshadowing happening here, and yet,

Frankenstein also seems to be saying something very significant. This

quote is a reckoning of Frankenstein’s intrinsic knowledge and

learning. Frankenstein is relinquishing his journey through

dehumanization, and expressing the remorseful awareness of what he has

become as a result of his failure to preserve himself and the people

he loved.

A similar awareness is present in Fuller’s Lecter. It is conveyed

through both the subtle gestures of Mikkelsen, and Fuller’s

implicating dialogue. Fuller’s Lecter may be manipulative, but it is

often out of the desire to connect and to form “human” friendships.

However, when Lecter sees his own inhumanity reflected back at him

though the character of Tobias Budge, although interested, he has no

desire to connect. Lecter sees a light in both Graham and Hobbs in the

series, and Starling in the Harris novels. In them, he sees the

possibility of creating something meaningful.

Protein Scramble Cross Stitch PatternIncluded files: PNG and PDF version of the color pattern, color + symbols pattern, black and white + symbols pattern,

color chart, STH file (can be opened in KG-Chart LE for Cross Stitch. See FAQ for link to download)

Stitched on white, 14 count Aida, 2 threads, DMC floss.

Finished size: 250 x 109 stitches approx 17 x 7 inches

Best to add an inch all around and trim when done. (So, make it at least 18x8.)

You may follow the colors on the chart or use your own. Feel free to edit the pattern however you wish. Have fun!

[downloadable @ Questionable Stichery]

A Mongoose does not Crack, pt. 2 Katerick Lash, originally published to AO3

Dinner had ended, Freddie Lounds had left, Abigail was taken home, and now Will stood in the corner of the dining room, unsure of what to do. "Will, you need sleep, you should go home," Hannibal said.

His eyes twinkled as he laughed, "You seem to have forgotten that I didn't drive myself here."

Hannibal smiled, "I didn't forget. I have a guest bedroom upstairs, it is far too late to be driving you home tonight. I have appointments early in the morning." He clenched his fist, digging his thumbnail into the pad of his ring finger inside his pocket as he watched Will stiffen momentarily, meet his eyes for longer than he had dared before.

"I can't sleep here, I need--"

"I assure you, we will wake up in plenty of time to get you home to your pack. They will survive one night without you. You've left the heat on for them, the will not freeze, and their bowls are full, they will not starve." Will wanted to interrupt him, the unuttered phrases sticking to his teeth as he tried to cut Hannibal off. Hannibal's tongue ran over his bottom teeth as Will hissed in a breath.

"That's not what I need,"

"I'm sure that whatever you require, I have a suitable replacement."

Will's head twitched as he tried to grapple with the amount of kindness the doctor was extending to him. His nerves were frayed, his body was in danger of shutting down as he hadn't slept more than an hour in the past three days. He knew Hannibal could see this, and he knew Hannibal wouldn't take no for an answer. He could feel the cracks in his psyche bleeding through, cracking his very skin, his human shell, he almost wondered if Hannibal could see the cracks. "I--" he said, starting to walk towards the stairs before his knees buckled and he lost his balance.

Hannibal moved to catch him, slithering under his arm to keep him upright, "You're sleeping here. There's no further discussion, Will." Will was dazed, dissociated, and Hannibal saw that the shell he was holding currently was not Will Graham. He tried to move them forward, but Will's legs did not want to work, "I cannot carry you to the bed, Will," he said, his voice ever-so-slightly stern, "You have to help me."

His feet moved, one in front of the other, step by step, and he placed Will on the bed with as much care as he could muster. "Will, Will," Hannibal raised his voice, but Will was so deeply buried inside himself at the moment that not even he could penetrate those walls--forts, Will had called them.

Ensuring he would not injure himself within the next few minutes, Hannibal retreated to his own bedroom, opening the dresser and selecting an undershirt and a pair of thin pants. On his way out, he paused, went back and grabbed something, and as he entered the guest bedroom, found Will much as he left him.

His hands moved with ease as he replaced Will's clothing piece by piece, folding them and placing them on the chair in front of the dressing table, his shoes neatly beneath it.

"Will, it's time to go to sleep," he said, garnering the same non-response as before. The sheets were turned down, and he placed the towels he had grabbed on the bedside table, within easy reach for Will.

He did not expect Will's hand on his forearm, "Will," he said, looking at him, but Will's gaze had not moved from the non-descript spot on the wall he had been focusing on the entire time, "If you need something, you're going to have to come back to the room and tell me," he said, looking right in Will's eyes, though they were unfocused, staring through Hannibal's head.

Hannibal had known Will was strong, but the sheer force with which his arms wrapped around him caught him off-guard for the barest of moments. "Will, come back," he said, repeated, quietly until the vise-like grip broke abruptly and Will skittered across the bed.

"I-I'm sorry....I--did you change my clothes?" he asked, incredulous.

He smiled, "As a guest in my house, you're not going to sleep in the clothes you wore today. I promise you your levels of modesty are intact. Your clothing is on the chair there," he pointed over his shoulder as he took a step back and straightened out, much like a cobra unfurling its hood.

Will's eyes darted across the floor, Hannibal's knees, his own hands, "I don't think I'm comfortable with you having done that,"

"I apologize. You had dissociated, you know how dangerous it is to try to force someone out of a dissociative state. I did not want to risk it," he said, his voice calm, low, soothing.

Will stuttered a nod, "Next time, you should risk it,"

"I will keep that in mind. Sleep, Will. My bedroom is at the end of the hall, should you need anything. The guest bathroom is across the hall. I will take you to my office tomorrow and you can pick up your car and drive home, after I've made you breakfast of course."

Another snorted chuckle, "If you bring me to work with you, people will talk," his attempt at a bad joke made Hannibal smirk.

"Will they, Will? Will Uncle Jack suspect something?" A shake of the head, "Goodnight, Will."

"Goodnight, Doctor Lecter."

Hannibal closed the door, not latching it, and padded to his bedroom in his stocking feet. He chose to forgo his usual night routine of wine and classical music, choosing instead to sit silently and listen until he was sure Will had fallen asleep. He tutted once to himself, quietly constructing a room in his memory palace much like the current guest bedroom in his home, but larger, with enough room for Will's pack, his dogs. He wanted to forever remember Will, to be able to look back on this moment, on this man as he was right now, on the verge of the greatness he was so carefully easing him into.

Hannibal Thinking Chair: Character Analysis—after “Buffet Froid” episode Pt. 2

Moving on from Hannibal, Jack Crawford irks me. Why does he push Will so hard, to the breaking point?

It’s not the first time it happened. There was an incident with a student agent he sent into the field that

was killed. The reason why it happened was he got carried away. He was so consumed within his work

he lost touch with humanity. He still has no connection. He has a failing marriage to a wife with cancer

who hates him because he spends so little focus on her. He never gives his opinion on a crime scene;

he depends solely on Will because he cannot relate to people. He can’t see the details within the blood

splatters on the wall. These crimes were committed by humans against humans, and if one cannot

connect, they cannot see. Will is highly empathized so much he doesn’t look in others eyes, he sees too

much. But that’s for later. Jack has a problem with obsession and duty, maybe. He feels obligated to

serve the people, and thus neglects the people he wants to serve by obsessing over tasks and losing

touch with the people he swore to protect. He barrels ahead and fails to stop and look at what his speed

does to his coworkers, mainly Will, and leaves them struggling to keep up with his demands that he fails

to contribute to because he’s so forceful in wanting to accomplish the task that he himself cannot focus

on—like getting frustrated and not being able to concentrate because you’re so angry. But he feels no

visible anger, maybe deep inside at himself though. He values time and thus loses it. Pushing people

faster than they can go and faster than he should go is counterproductive. They crash and burn after too

long. And the crashing and burning only makes Crawford more obsessed over solving the cases and

fights the desire to go even harder on his agents. He is noble in his reason, but his methods are by no

means the best.

Where to start on Will… let’s pick up where we left off with him. He is very connected to people. So

much so he can understand everything. And maybe that’s why he avoids them and has so many dogs.

It’s all too much. He doesn’t just reflect on events based on evidence, he absorbs them as if he was

present during the traumatic experience. And even though he knows it’s all in his head, he feels it

actually happened. There’s only so much trauma a person can experience before they start to lose their

sanity. This is why after the very first day in the field he started to see the stag. By absorbing all the pain

in the room, part of that experienced latched onto him. As did the next. And the next. And all of it

intensified the more he had to think about them to solve each case. And he’s expected to just move on

after the killer is caught? No it can’t work like that. He still carries the trauma with him and it just builds

and builds. He’s too intelligent/empathetic for his own good. It will lead him to his downfall, along with

Hannibal and Crawford’s separate manipulation. In addition to the crime scenes, branching off again

saying he’s an empath,

Will subconsciously knows something isn’t right—as indicated by the stag. His subconscious is trying to

tell him Hannibal isn’t as he seems and is the link behind most of the crimes. Hannibal appears too

cordial for him to realize it though. Because Will trusts Hannibal already, it’ll take considerable force to

displace that trust. Will might already have his suspicions due to the Tobias incident, and if not Will then

Jack. Jack is quite observant but too direct and impassioned. Hannibal has to be careful. He’s teetering.

Anyone else who had the potential to figure out all would’ve been disposed of by now. Except that Will is

Hannibal’s friend. What does that mean? Maybe Hannibal finds his empathic ability so very interesting,

and Will himself a work of art that need not be made into something better in death. Hannibal looking

down on everyone couldn’t possibly have a mutual love as we know in society. He’s sadistic. He would

think of Will as a treasure—a pet. He’s attached to him, he is entertained by Will because he is not

banal, thus making him unable to dispose of him until it will be absolutely necessary. Or maybe it’s all

about the thrill of the chase. The desire to conquer Will so irreversibly. So intelligent and unique a

person, submitting to Hannibal. A victory. It may explain why he's possessive at times concerning Will,

shown by Hannibal's reaction to Tobias wanting to destroy Will, because he is HIS conquest and he will

allow no one to interfere. The challenge of an expert in human reasoning outsmarting/outmaneuvering

an expert in human emotion is exciting—irresistible, even. The ultimate prey for a predator. Just as the

desire to kill his enemies and eat them. Hannibal may not be honoring the person at all, but merely his

own whims of perception. He sees something undesirable, he eliminates it. He desires to destroy. And

thus by destruction he makes beauty. He prides himself on his work by eating it with others, sharing the

fruit of his labours and judgment. He is pest control. Like Hitler. Hitler wasn't crazy, he was really quite

charismatic. He wanted to improve the world based on his viewpoint. Just what he did was undeniably

evil. It was wrong on so many levels. I do NOT sympathize with Hitler. I am Polish. I'm just being logical.

THE NECESSITY OF KNOWING WILL GRAHAM AS A SELF-IDENTIFIED AUTISTIC

a defense by Augusta Leigh

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me man? Did I solicit thee / From darkness to promote me?” – Adam, Paradise Lost X.743-45, John Milton “’I expected this reaction,’ said the daemon, ‘All men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You propose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind.’” – the Creature, Frankenstein (1816) XI, Mary Shelley “…which doesn’t mean she can’t feel pain. It just means she can’t do anything about it. This is my design.” – Will Graham, Hannibal 1x01, Bryan Fuller Will Graham is not a patron saint of the autism spectrum. This isn’t because Will Graham is not autistic, as this essay chooses to accept, but because Hans Asperger himself noted in his research “wide individual differences” amongst his first diagnostics1. Will Graham as an individual who identifies himself as autistic, however, is a necessary forerunner for mainstream autistic acceptance and for establishing a space for autistic individuals to gauge their place in that mainstream. Graham is portrayed to be competent as an educator and desirable as a team player. The fact that people who upset him, knowing his cognitive state2, are visibly chastised on screen and/or are legitimately or at least politely contrite and confront Graham on-screen to apologize is hugely significant in establishing a space for autistics in a social sphere. When Bryan Fuller said his piece in an interview with the Bloodcast’s Ryan Turek:

Bryan Fuller: The thing that I found very interesting, was the- he has the

line in there about Asperger's where he says he's on the spectrum, but then

that all of a sudden became "Oh, he's got Asperger's". And I was like "Well,

no, he doesn't, he actually has the opposite of that".

Ryan Turek: I ran in to somebody the other day and she was like "Oh, that's

that show where the guy has Asperger's, and he's working with Hannibal." I

1 "'Autistic psychopathy' in childhood," published in 1944 2 Notable first-time offenders including: Beverly Katz, who comes across as insensitive in some lights, but overall well-meaning (including being conscientious of Will’s presence when coming across material that attacks his mental state); Freddie Lounds, whose objectifying and abrasive use of ableist language reflects her place in sensationalist journalism, a topic of chagrin; Jack Crawford, the first person on-screen to be sensitive and accepting to Will’s autism, but also not immune to significantly disrupting the trust and the boundaries of it on multiple dramatic occasions.

was like, "No, he doesn't really..." "But there's that line!" "You took it

out of context."

Bryan Fuller: Yeah, that has come up so much, and it's interesting because

he's got an empathy disorder, and Asperger's is you don't have- You can't

read social cues. He has an empathy disorder where he reads too much and it

overwhelms him. So it's kind of an interesting place to put the audience in.

We're bombarding them with all this violent imagery that the character is

bombarded with. But it's interesting what comes up in public perception.

I've heard that a lot, that we're doing doing a show about a guy with

Asperger's. We're like "No, he doesn't have Asperger's".

Fuller and Turek have done the exact opposite of what Will Graham as a fictional character is capable of doing in challenging myths about autism spectrum disorder (hereby abbreviated as ‘asd’). Autistic adults, unlike Graham, are not fictional. While the myth of autistics lacking empathy was not invented by Simon Baron-Cohen, it was radically popularized by his “Empathy Quotient” test3 which has become an industry standard and perhaps the greatest subversive joke taken too seriously by the mainstream launched by the Baron-Cohen family4. (Unfortunately, the latter is not the case.) Fuller and Turek single-handedly fell-back to pre-packaged myths of asd and have boxed and dismissed the apparently improbable notion that autistics can empathize by introducing intangible “contexts” to Graham’s 100% honest, straight-forward assertion in the first five minutes of the first episode that:

Jack Crawford: Where do you fall on the spectrum?

Will Graham: My horse is hitched to a post that is closer to Asperger’s and

autistics than narcissists and sociopaths.

Fortunately, Will Graham is not so radically alone in this sense (which is more to be said of his path within the show) as real-world autistics5 and autistic professionals are voicing their defenses very clearly and now, in a post-2006 world after the question “Who cares?6” was posed to the

3 The “EQ” ranks a person’s likelihood for autistic diagnosis by assessing their lack of responsiveness to a text-based presentation of curtly simulated real world scenarios, the result being a numeric representation of how empathetic a person truly is. It is worth noting at this point that Baron-Cohen developed a theory, which can be read in The Essential Difference, that the “autistic brain” is in fact an extremely “masculinized” brain, operating on the gendered stereotype that masculine persons are unable to evoke empathic responses as they are uniquely “feminine.” 4 In reference to Baron-Cohen being cousin to comic artist Sascha, infamous for his radicalized spoof characters such as Ali G, Bruno and Borat. 5 Seeing the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network or the ‘actually autistic’/’actuallyautistic’ tag on Tumblr.com as a direct rebellion to high-powered neurotypical-run organizations such as ‘Autism Speaks,’ of which the irony is already stated. 6 A play on the title of an original research document “Who cares? Revisiting empathy in Asperger syndrome,” published by authors Rogers, Kimberley, Isabel Dziobek, Jason Hassenstab, Oliver T. Wolf, and Antonio Convit to the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

allistic community, are being heard. Dr. Valerie Gaus, Ph.D, psychologist7 and author of Living Well on the Spectrum8, notes9. that “Empathy is a complicated concept … Some researchers have divided empathy into four components: two called ‘cognitive empathy’ and two called ‘emotional empathy.’ People with Asperger’s struggle with cognitive empathy but have no problem with emotional empathy. … When they do know [the other person] is sad, they are able to feel that sadness without any difficulty, perhaps even more intensely than typical people … It’s a problem of communication, not empathy.” Hannibal is not lacking in communication. The show is extremely dialog-heavy, full of nuances, word-play, dramatic revelations in quick sound-bytes, but more significantly it is also full of very human verbal and non-verbal exchanges about the reality and parameters of illness, both mental and physical. Will Graham’s disorder is as clearly defined as Bella Crawford’s cancer, and Jack Crawford is just as emotionally invested in being understanding and accommodating to both. Empathy, autistic professionals and autistics themselves have noted, is a two-way street10. While not every individual in the Hannibal universe knows how to interact with Graham’s autism or how to gauge his limits, every person in immediate contact with him is conscious to his boundaries and possibly a. disrupts these boundaries, the aftermath having very real and impactful consequences, or b. verbally stresses/discusses the importance of space and consent directly in conversations with Graham himself and/or to others engaged with Graham, particularly when staging how to approach to incorporate/involve Graham in emotionally demanding tasks. There is no irony in that Fuller himself wrote the lines where Graham identifies himself as autistic. Graham’s thoughts are not Fuller’s thoughts, and vice versa, because Graham is not a mouthpiece for Fuller any more than Graham is a patron saint of autism. By identifying with/on the spectrum, Graham is immediately confronting Fuller’s prejudice, and indeed the audience’s prejudices of autistics and asds, by asserting his autonomy. The confrontation between creator and creation harkens Mary Shelley’s construction of the Mont Blanc conflict between the scientist and the Creature in Frankenstein, wherein the latter articulates his defense of his inherent right to

7 Gaus’ work is received well within the autistic community with the majority of feedback in asd-catering publications and on online forum communities and online book reviews citing her claims and therapeutic models as helpful. 8 Extended title: How to Use Your Strengths to Meet the Challenges of Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adult Asperger Syndrome 9 Dialog taken from an interview with Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., moderated and reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. for publication on PsychCentral, a resource that abides by the HONcode standard. 10 A direct play on Nicola Martin’s contribution of a chapter bearing the same title to the book Neurodiversity in Higher Education: Positive Responses to Specific Learning.

humanity and the necessary bare minimum accommodations to survive alongside a proposal of all of his self-identified and self-taught skill sets and abilities. More curtly, it is the Creature’s defense that he is not a monster. While the scientist is disaffected and non-receptive to these claims (not unlike Fuller, who penned those lines of self-defense for Graham the same as the scientist who gave the Creature life), the audience is considerably more invested, as seen by the ongoing debate of the Creature’s humanity v. his monstrosity in academics, adaptations and appropriations (likewise seen in displays of Fannibals actively critiquing groans of boredom/dissatisfaction from other viewers for the focus on Will Graham’s “man pain,” noting the ableist connotations of being unsympathetic/unconscious to Will’s neurodiversity). Implicitly, by denying that an autistic is capable of empathy, and by retroactively claiming outside of the actual contexts of the scene (rather than the “contexts” invented to erase Graham’s autonomy11) that an empathetic person who identifies as autistic (and who others perceive as such) is not autistic, Fuller and others in agreement are establishing a ‘truth’ where autistics are lacking an essential part of the interactive human experience. In a fell swoop, autistics are rendered as monsters in a post-Sandy Hook world where journalists not of the Freddie Lounds calibre are already prone to cite sources that represent autistics as potential violent threats to the human population– “more often than not … somewhere, I believe, on the autism scale –due to “something lacking in the brain.”12 Frankenstein’s Creature commits murder; Will Graham pantomimes murder and even appropriates it as “his design.” However, the capacity for violence and violent ideation exists across neurotypes. Fuller, after all, a neurotypical adult, is just as capable of inventing and constructing scenes of violence (has indeed made a full career of it), committing them through re-enactment. The fact that these crimes are fictional in that they face no real-world repercussions simply because no real people are harmed changes nothing. Is Fuller’s position as a writer not a station of empathy, then? Empathy is a two-way street. Here is an essay empathizing with Graham. Here is an autistic academic adult empathizing with Graham for being the same. Here is gratitude to Bryan Fuller to providing this opportunity within the parameters of the show, but no less feeling snubbed when stepping out of doors to the ableism of the “real world” once more. 11 While acknowledging that it was Turek who utilized the phrasing of “taking out of context,” Fuller is complicit in not disputing it. 12 These quotes come directly from Piers Morgan’s and Joe Scarborough’s broadcasts following a rogue claim that the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, may have been diagnosed with Asperger’s.

Will Graham and Fandom Made Me Cry, The Bastards Or How Hannibal Impacted Someone With PTSD

By Tsingdra

I have complex PTSD. Going into the show, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it. Just thinking

about Hannibal, and the abuse it surely would display tastelessly, conjured awful memories.

The premise seemed like serial killer sensationalism, pandering to people who like watching

murder and torture from a distance — I expected even the characters themselves didn’t

have to deal with what happens after dealing with horror on a daily basis, much less in

a way I could relate to.

Except Will does.

The nightmares.

(And the insomnia they bring.)

The flashbacks triggered by everyday things.

(Daily sensory overloads.)

The excessive sweat.

(I’ve changed my sheets three times this week.)

The hallucinations.

(Don’t get me started.)

Doing things in your sleep.

(“You were barking like a dog,” my sister says.)

Time losses.

(“Were you in a safe place?” the doctor asks. I think of my feet at the edge of a subway

stop, hearing the screeching train a moment too early. “Yes,” I say.)

Inability to really talk to somebody about it since he’s staring into the dark alone.

(Because that’s the only way you can and the scariest thing you can imagine is if everyone

else saw what you do.)

And he deals with it by working. Taking care of dogs. A support system of sorts, with

Hannibal (which/who will bite him in the ass later, unfortunately) and Alana and Abigail.

Will’s not given a pitying, get-out-of-hardships-and-work-free card.

He works in spite of it all, is distressed but surviving, just like us. He has to. That’s

empowering. I can’t thank the people who work on the show enough for writing him so

damn realistically, because I’ve never felt connected to mainstream media (never been

white, straight, or male enough I guess) like this before.

For someone with PTSD, you feel isolated. Social interaction is difficult. Even if people want

to support you, and try to relate, they can’t really because they just can’t feel it too. It’s

easy to be distrustful and suppress everything.

So when the fandom slowly unfurled, I was literally amazed. Here were these people, geeks

like me, fannibals who reckoned Will Graham was all right in their books.

He didn’t weird them out with his mental deterioration.

They knew what he was going through, and that he wouldn’t get better; this is a fight you

don’t win, you manage. And fandom recognized that.

People who disassociate or hallucinate never see someone else reflect what it’s like through

in mainstream media without being demeaned, misunderstood, romanticized, or rendered

powerless.

(I kept saying “This is stupid, why am I crying over a fictional character” and she said no, it

wasn’t stupid and that it must’ve been something to see your friends accept him. Yes, I

suppose it was, I said and laughed.)

Will, with his trauma flayed for everyone to see, is liked by the Hannibal fandom.

Just knowing real actual people (You! Wonderful! Incredible! You!) feel this way is

exhilarating.

Thursdays are my favourite days, because of this show and you. Thanks.

Insanity Defense: Hannibal and Mental Health

Ali Gianutsos

Hannibal is not the only recent show to

address mental health in a critical light—I

would suggest Criminal Minds as a spiritual

sibling—but it has made some important and

brave points already that deserve our

attention. The very idea of a show focusing on

psychologists and serial killers has social

value, as it addresses the inner workings of

individuals usually written off as unforgivable

monsters, or labeled with the catch-all cop-out

“crazy”.

Perhaps the simplest and most important

function of a show about criminal profiling is

that it humanizes its subjects. There are no

“monsters” or “animals” among even the most

vicious killers once motives, pasts, and

emotions have been puzzled out and

understood; there are only sick human beings

obeying distorted logic and compulsions. The

show goes so far as to acknowledge the

perspectives of these unsound minds by

showing the audience the unsettling realities

of the world through the eyes of a man who

sees sin as hellfire and a girl to whom faces

are a terrifying blank. It encourages the

viewer not only to empathize with the terror

and pain of the victims, but also the fear and

confusion of the perpetrators.

There is a tendency to fear more and feel

less when confronted by mental instability—

an ingrained prejudice based on our societal

preconceptions. We delineate a strong divide

between mental illness and physical illness, in

spite of the fact that physical elements of

mental illnesses such as schizophrenia can

be seen by a casual observer on brain scans,

and even more subtle mental maladies are

chemical—no less physical than a virus.

Nonetheless, this idea of mental illnesses

being purely irregularities in thought remains

worryingly pervasive, and interferes with

treatment and research. That concept is

challenged strongly by the parallel of

Georgia’s and Will Graham’s mental declines.

Will Graham is desperate to believe that his

illness is “physical”, as the viewer knows it is,

but is deceived into believing otherwise, and

suffers symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia

alongside Georgia. He commiserates with her

because he believes that they are both losing

their grasps on reality due to a purely mental

illness—however, it is established that there is

hope for Georgia’s recovery and that their

psychological trajectories are similar in spite

of the difference in cause. What, then, is the

difference between Will Graham’s “physical”

encephalitis and Georgia’s “mental”

schizophrenia, other than the biases of

society?

Furthermore, similar biases are revealed in

what I would construct as a challenge of the

entire practice of diagnosis. It is an issue that

is rarely raised outside of the psychological

profession, and yet Hannibal lifts many of the

flaws of this system to the light. Obviously, it

begins by featuring the undiagnosable Lecter,

who is neither delusional nor truly

psychopathic, and also highlights the issue of

Lecter’s parallel, Dr. Gideon, upon whom an

array of psychiatric symptoms are forced by

virtue of their proximity to his own,

rationalized by connected diagnoses. Will

Graham’s encephalitis masquerading as

mental illness is another sign of the scientific

issues inherent in diagnosing instead of

treating individual symptoms, but is more

importantly symptomatic of the social flaws in

that level of quantification. As Georgia’s

case—and her mother’s interview—expressed,

once a patient has been diagnosed, their

personal experience with mental health and

personal arrays of symptoms are replaced

with the simplified and often stigmatized

framework of their “illness”.

Georgia’s mother was a further symptom of

the diseased mental healthcare system

currently in place—as interviews with the

family of the suffering have shown viewers,

the extant programs are both insufficient and

corrupt. Eliot Boudish’s wife was another

example, left behind as her husband’s cancer

progressed. In neither case was there any

kind of safety net in place to prevent

individuals known to be unstable from

harming themselves or others. On an entirely

different level, the mental healthcare system

failed Dr. Gideon, left at the tender mercies of

Dr. Chilton’s ambition, in much the same way

it failed Will Graham when left in the hands of

Dr. Sutcliffe. Even the motherly Alana Bloom

placed restrictions on her own behavior to

prevent herself from taking advantage of Will

Graham’s vulnerability to indulge her curiosity

or further her career—clearly, Hannibal is

showing us a world in which medical

professionals are not to be trusted. As the

psychopathy list, referenced by Freddie

Lounds and Will Graham, would tell, that

world is not so distant. Ambitious individuals

with sociopathic tendencies are drawn to

medical and research fields.

Hannibal is, in some senses, a revolutionary

show. It deconstructs the flaws and follies of

our society and system and leaves us

questioning ourselves. We empathize with

Will Graham and understand him, and his

decline is therefore the portal through which

we come to empathize with those he

investigates.

Exposed Nerve Katerick Lash, originally published to AO3

The seizure had come a little earlier than he had expected, which annoyed him, it was unfortunate. Will showing up at his door with Dr. Abel Gideon, however, had been a most welcome surprise.

The opportunity to plant another seed in his mind, to turn the screw of control he had over Will even deeper presented itself, and Hannibal could not ignore it. Will was so fragile, so vulnerable right now, like a newborn bird having fallen from its nest. It was all Hannibal could do not to crush him right there. No, that would have been too simple. He took much greater pleasure in making Will believe that his insanity had reached heights it had not reached, that his grip on reality was failing faster than it actually was. "There is no one there," he had said, looking right at the surgeon whose mind had been rearranged by Dr. Chilton in vain attempts at winning praise for having caught the ripper. He had smelled that the encephalitis had gotten worse, the heat had been so intense it was palpable, it had radiated off the shorter man, along with the scent of sweat, the pH balance was so that it had made Hannibal's nostrils flare uncomfortably.

Will Graham had smelled of desperation, of depression, of destruction. He had smelled nothing like the aftershave with the ship on the bottle, he had smelled like Hannibal expected--like an ill man at the end of his wits. Seeing Will attempt to stand and follow him out was quaint, like a lost gosling trying to shamble after its mother. Will trusted him so much. Trusted him like bedrock, though he was quicksand, and he was letting Will slip deeper and deepr away from himself. The iceberg of his sanity was calving, frenzied waves threatened to engulf him as the pieces of his mind fell away, leaving him exposed like a nerve that Hannibal took enjoyment in prodding. Scientists understood much of the physical inner-workings of the brain from opening up skulls and poking various nerves, noting the response. Hannibal did much the same thing with Will Graham's stability. His words, his subtle lies were stabs at the raw wholeness Will tried so desperately to hold onto. He forced Will's grip on himself to loosen up so that he might slip himself inside, take over and guide Will into his true reality, the newness that he was carefully coaxing out with each nudging manipulation.

When Jack Crawford called him, it had barely been an hour since he'd purposely left the keys and the gun on the table in his living room for Will to take. He knew exactly what the little savior would do when confronted with that freedom. He knew that Will saw the scrambled motivations of Dr. Gideon so well that he would shuffle his way to Dr. Bloom's house and stand outside her window, watching her like a swan in a cage, a tenacious beauty that he could only hope to experience.

The alcohol Jack provided was not Hannibal's usual, but he did not decline a few fingers worth as they discussed the state of Will and Dr. Chilton. The whiskey burned as it forced itself upon Hannibal's throat and tastebuds, flooding every corner of his mouth as he sipped it. It was a lot like Jack, strong, stringent, controlling. It engulfed Hannibal's sense of smell momentarily, the way Jack engulfed Will's sanity in his own way. There was a difference, however, between what Hannibal did to Will and what Jack did to Will. Jack's motivations were external, the safety of the others, the

safety of the world at large. Hannibal was only concerned with Will's safety, in a sense. He knew that the encephalitis would not kill him, nor that this illness that had nearly felled him would keep him out permanently. He knew Will's strength perhaps better than Will himself knew it. He would push him beyond his limits just as Jack did, but his purpose was to help no one but Will.

It was easy, while Jack was talking about how the doctor may not make it through the night, to smile inside himself, to plaster a placid look, as tranquil as an undisturbed lake, on the outside. He took pleasure sitting in Jack's office, drinking with him as he urged him to disallow Will the use of a firearm, as though Jack Crawford would listen to him--he had ceased doing so long ago. This did not prove any different.

Dr. Bloom had gone to the hospital with Will, and he knew of the affections she held for him, the true, genuine affections that ran deep like a stab to the gut; affections he mirrored in his own way, though they only scratched the surface. Hannibal's affections for Will were barely a papercut, he appeared pained by Will's descent into his sickness, but beneath the surface he remained untouched.

Bedelia Du Maurier knew something of what Hannibal's true feelings were, but even she was not allowed to see more than the scratch, the surface wound that could be closed and salved with chapstick, never to be seen again. He spoke of madness as medicine, hoping that she would understand, that she would see the world as he did, as blind, deaf, and lost in itself. Hannibal nearly wished the world could see itself through his eyes, the madness he had exacerbated within Will Graham, but he knew to wish such was folly, useless to waste energy upon.

Still, he sought comfort in her sessions with him. He knew she found him as interesting as he found her useful. With her, he could speak of things in such a way that he had been able to do with few others. He spoke of this friendship he forged with Will, built upon the bog of lies and manipulations that crept higher and higher around the other man. Would she see the mud and dirt on his hands? No, she could not, Hannibal knew that though she did not see him as others did, she would not see beyond what she had described as his "person suit." He was safe in her home, in her living room, and her advice was sound, though misguided in his opinion. Hannibal listened with an attentive ear, though he already knew the tenuous tightrope he walked between the friendship he had constructed and the professional relationship he was expected to hold.

Madness was medicine for the modern world. Madness was medicine for Will Graham, something he could use to cure himself of his empathy, break free of the strains of such based emotions and grow beyond them. And Hannibal would help him do just that when the time came.

As he left Du Maurier's office, he drove to the hospital and sat in his car outside, staring at the stone wall of the building, imagining it to be Will's iceberg mind, calving in front of him. He could see the murky shape trying to break free from within it, but there was still something stopping it. Hannibal left the hospital without entering. Will would come back to him, as he always did, when he needed him, which he always did.

Will would come, and he would be waiting.

Why Hannibal chose not to kill Will in episode 8 by tumblr user: littlepsychohoh

When Will found out that it was Abigail who killed Nick Boyle...

Hannibal was drawing when Will entered his office. And Will's first sentence was: “Abigail

Hobbs killed Nick Boyle." Not good evening, not hello Doctor, it was not even a question, it was a

clear statement. And Hannibal, of course, knew that one day Will would found out but probably not

that quick, had responded “Yes, I know." Such a good move, He chose to tell the truth, since he

knew that Will may already suspected that he was involved, there was no need to deny. (From his

deep mind he may be excited and a little bit worried about this though, excited for will's ability, but

worried about it also.)

Then he admitted that he help Abigail to dispose the body. It was like a battle between them

but without any smoke of gunpower, when will said that he didn't tell Jack about it because he

hoped it wasn't true. We could tell that Will really hoped so, he looked Abigail as his daughter and

now his daughter did such a dreadful thing. Then one of the most interesting and important part was

coming, Hannibal thought about it for a while and his left hand touched and moved the utility knife,

then he loosened it.

It was such a moment! Hannibal could kill Will by a killer (or Cannibal)'s instinct or just looked it

as a huge threat to him. But he gave the thought away quickly, why? I think it could be basically

summed up to two kinds of reasons, or both. The first one was Hannibal thought that he could still

convince Will by using his emotional intelligence to change Will's mind since he didn't tell Jack

about the killing, there was still some space to save this condition. The second one is that, well, as

we know from the previous episode, Hannibal started to look Will as a friend, “For the first time in

my life, I see a possibility of friendship." Hannibal was lonely and proud in such a gentleman way, it

was sure enough that he couldn't make friend with normal person or... I don't know. Even another

practical killer or artist, who used body’s to play the violin, had asked Hannibal to be his friend since

he eagered for somebody to understand him. But Hannibal refused. Probably because he was

going to kill Tobias anyway or he didn't think Tobias was interesting enough or because of other

reasons, anyway just want to state that Hannibal would not give himself away to somebody easily

just because he feels lonely.

But Will is different! He could understand Hannibal really well though they may kill each other

one day actually, “he has too much empathy and doesn't know how to use it”, he is falling, but still

believe in good. Will is like an exhausted but stubborn man that hanging at the edge of a canyon,

Hannibal wants to kind of push him to see if he is going to loosen his hand and fall straight down.

He knows it would not be easy, but that is the beauty of it. I feel like it is a kind of love (HEll YAY!!).

Hannibal can't just kill Will.

So basically based on these two reasons, Hannibal chose to talk to will instead of killing him. He

knew exactly how to use people's emotions and one step back today for two steps forward

tomorrow. He knew how to play the martyr and finally Will agreed to keep the secret. Again, good

move, Hannibal! (I am so sorry but I love you.)

Hannibal Thinking Chair: Character Analysis—after “Buffet Froid” episode Pt.3

Concerning Abigail, I believe that by society labeling her as a cannibal has turned her into one. She feels

sorrow and trauma at killing many people, and cries a lot. I remember her after she discovered human

hair in the pillows and CANNIBALS written on the garage and front door. After the media and neighbors

and victims family’s prodding, especially the boy who trespassed in her home for the death of his sister,

she gutted him. Just as her father taught her. It was in the heat of the moment but it happened

nonetheless. She unraveled under the pressure. Hannibal helped her, eventually wrapping her around

his finger (more on that further down). But it’s nature versus forced nurture. I’m not sure which one yet.

She was raised a cannibal, and she was labeled a cannibal, but she never intended to hurt anyone. It’s

not her, it doesn’t fit. She was forced to with her father, and the trauma caused her to replace the images

of the girls with deer. So, the answer to that question is nurture and labelment. And because it goes

against her original nature and conscious, in her despair, she feels trapped. Hannibal offers a way out

via common cannibalism, a way to relate. He offers solace. Thus, she and Hannibal hug it out. She

submits to him and he is victorious.

I’m not fond of the journalist. Freddie Lounds is resourceful, but so very nosy, arrogant, and bossy.

She’s vegetarian which I applaud, but it kind of feels like she’s throwing it in Hannibal’s face. As in “I’m

vegetarian because I don’t eat human. You do. I know you do”. That sentence is going a bit far, but it

interprits her snide character. Her attitude is horrid, but maybe I’ll support her in the future if her goal is

to bring Hannibal down. I didn’t like that she was trying to bring Will down though, that’s rude. Maybe

she thought he was working with Hannibal, which he technically is. Therefore, it’s not farfetched to

assume based on his mental state that he is similar to Hannibal in some ways, and thus evil. So/or she

works by accelerating his mental deterioration and accelerating the tension of plot? That or she’s just a

snoopy tabloid journalist, instigator, opportunist who barks up every potential story-tree she finds worthy.

Gunshots Are Painful Katerick Lash, originally published to AO3

He hadn't thought a man in a state such as Will Graham would have had the ability to hit him, even at such close range.

Getting shot at point blank range with a 9mm glock hurt. A lot. By the time Will fell beside him, Dr. Gideon had blacked out from the pain and the shock.

He had vague recollections of the ambulance, the soft cuffs holding his arms down as the two nervous paramedics tried to stop the bleeding, told the closest hospital that they were coming in hot with the escaped convict. He might have heard his name, he didn't pay close attention to anything but his insides being on fire as his blood leaked out of him.

The sedation wore off and his hands were still cuffed to his bed, as was his chest, just above the incision. The morphine drip was a nice addition. Everything was fuzzy, and he chuckled to himself, wondering if the fuzziness of who he was exactly had permeated his waking vision as well, making the entire world fuzzy. The ever-present beeping of his heart reat monitor broke through the fog in his mind to dispel that thought. He smacked his lips, mouth dry as a bone despite the saline he knew they were administering him. He took a few breaths, gauging where the incision was, wondering if the incredibly sick FBI agent had hit anything important. The clock on the wall stated he'd been out for quite some time, and the sun peering over the horizon confirmed it. His fingers clamped around the call button in his hand, throat so parched forming words would have been difficult.

It was amusing to watch a "nurse" come in--who must have been an olympic weightlifter in his spare time--with two armed guards flanking him. "What do you need," the nurse stated, not asked.

Abel took a breath, smacking his lips again, "W-water." Oh, how he wanted to say more, but his throat was protesting having even uttered those syllables. he cracked a smile as the guards now flanked his bed, the nurse coming to his left side with a styrofoam cup filled with ice water. The straw stuck to his lips as he gulped down the entire contents of the small cup. "Oh...more please," he said, his heavy sedation having not entirely worn off made it difficult to speak in as much volume as he was normally used to, "I'm quite dehydrated. Perhaps turn up my saline drip?"

The nurse glared at him, face etched into a look of stony silence.

"I'm a surgeon, I know when saline drips need to be increased."

"It's already increased as high as you need, Gideon," the nurse snapped, letting him have a second cup of water.

He practically inhaled this one, too, water coating his throat and lips, the cold eating away at his lethargy, "If you're keeping my dosage low because I killed those people earlier tod--yesterday, I will have no problem suing you. Let me talk to your attending."

Like they had all been magnetically summoned, the three men left the room and slammed the door.

"...how rude," he pressed the button again every minute for the next five minutes until the three men returned, accompanied by Dr. Bloom, arms crossed, bags under her eyes. "Why Dr. Bloom, making a personal visit to see me?"

"Abel," she was tired, annoyed, and beyond formalities, "Your saline drip doesn't need to be increased. You're not getting special favors. If you're not careful, they're going to take the call button out of your hand and let you lie there and suffer and scream if you need something."

He angled his head and smirked at her, "You can't separate a patient from his nurse call button, what if I have an emergency and pop a stitch or something? Screaming won't help me then."

"Stop harrassing the nurses."

"Nurse."

She sighed, "What?"

"Nurse. Singular. This big fella is the only nurse here, those two are armed officers."

As she turned on her heel and stalked off, he admired her and her clacking heels, "See ya," he said, his voice lilting as he put his head back on the pillow. "Big guy, when's breakfast?"

The nurse and the two guards left just as abruptly as they had the first time.

* * * *

It was two days before he was transferred back to the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane, "Home sweet home," he said as they wheeled him in through the front door. Despite his danger level, he was housed in the medical wing of the hospital. He was given a private room and the same guard set-up as the regular hospital. His nurse was a younger, unassuming man named Barney Matthews. He had seen him a few times before, but his interactions had been disappointingly brief.

"Dr. Gideon," he said, bringing in his breakfast, "I'll respect you as long as you respect me. I don't intend to be rude to you if you don't give me cause to."

Abel smiled. This man was one of the few who called him a doctor, though his ability to practice had been revoked two years ago. He was still a doctor, he'd still put in the years at med school and attending at Baltimore's hospitals. "Barney, I've got no problem with that."

He liked Barney.

(from Grey’s Anatomy, 1918)

compiled by Katie, album art by Britani

1. “Bad Blood,” Bastille

2. "Flawed Design," Stabilo

3. "Sweet Dreams,"

Marilyn Manson

4. "Counting Bodies Like

Sheep to the Rythm

of the War Drums," A

Perfect Circle

5. "Dreaming," System

Of A Down

6. "Bones," MsMr

7. "O Death," Jen Titus

8. "Animal I Have Become," Three Days Grace

9. "Delight And Angers," In Flames

10. "Vicarious," Tool

11. "Criminal," Disturbed

12. "Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the

Defiant," Coheed and Cambria

13. "Ave Mary A," P!nk

14. "Hear Me," Imagine Dragons

15. "Blinding," Florence & The Machine

16. "G.L.M.," ThouShaltNot

17. "Frontier Psychiatrist," The Avalanches

18. "I Need Some Sleep," Eels

Hannibal is Not God by BrokeandBaroque & ReclaimingPassion @ tumblr.com

Killing must feel good to God too; he does it all the time...and are we not created in his image?

Depends who you ask.

God's terrific. He dropped a church roof on 34 of his worshipers last Wednesday night in Texas,

while they sang a hymn.

Did God feel good about that?

He felt powerful.

This conversation from “Amuse-Bouche” seems to be focused on by many on the internet, where

most are inclined to reference Hannibal's character, insinuating (or perhaps literally stating) he

is God. Killing must feel good to Hannibal too, does it not? Is this not a perfectly veiled

suggestion? It's a piece of meta well-shared, a concept that Hannibal strives to be so powerful, as

he already sees himself as above others.

Some seem to mistake the messages in this conversation as Hannibal literally seeing himself as

God, as he seems just as infallible and powerful. I fail to recover the source but a text post often

reblogged on Tumblr stated, and I am paraphrasing: "Hannibal doesn't consider himself

straight, or gay, but as a god."

This impression is quite misguided, when you consider Hannibal Lecter's active distaste for

religion as a whole, Christianity and its affiliations especially. Even that statement is slightly

incorrect, as to say he hates God suggests that he believes in His existence -- and he does not.

Hannibal acknowledges His prevalence and domination in many parts of the world, but Dr.

Lecter holds no belief in gods or an afterlife. God is the essence of life, while Hannibal is one

who governs over death. He does not strive to be something that he does not believe exists. He is

a threat to all of God’s children, if anything.

Hannibal has a rich knowledge of religion which he views as he does all things he’s learned - a

tool. He uses it to needle at the devout, to privately mock the worshippers, and as a way of

making allegory of his day-to-day life when it amuses him. He is a Lucifer figure, a fallen angel

who goes against God’s wishes by treating himself as God’s equal. When he brings up, in his

conversation with Will about death, that God kills people too and surely feels power from it, it’s

a moment of dramatic irony for the audience and of a private joke for Hannibal. He’s pointing

out to Will - oblivious as he is - that he (Hannibal) is as powerful as God, and now Will has also

played God once. Hannibal is purposefully planting the seeds in Will’s mind to view murder and

chaos instead as a beautifully orchestrated act of unquestionable authority. And - in that same

breath - he is casting shadow on God, doubt into goodness, making the lines bleed into one

another. In one fell swoop, Hannibal brings the born-sinning man up to God’s level, and drags

the Lord down to the lowest rot and dirt that man can reach. This in itself is the biggest signifier

of Hannibal’s affinity towards tearing down God’s goodness.

All of this through the vehicle of Hannibal’s fixation on things being grand; religion is a great

and powerful social tool that he enjoys using to whittle away his own shapes from people.

Alternatively, Hannibal sees himself as a beast in human clothing, something carnal and mortal

yet very powerful. He absolutely revels in being able to blend in alongside unsuspecting civilians,

knowing what danger he truly is capable of being to them, something inhuman but better than

human. "Godliness" is something of a metaphor, or a symbol, but not the source. He certainly

doesn't view himself as immortal, in fact every part of his life is an example of mortality. He

weaves it into the fabric of his life, by being the one to take the life of another. He sees beauty in

death, he forces elegance into the macabre by putting his killed bodies on display and collecting

select organs to be made into artful and carefully-planned meals. Hannibal does not think

himself a God and above the physical plane - he invests himself fully into it and uses it to his

advantage. He wears elaborate and peacock-like suits, he makes sure his house and office - his

worldly domains - are fully decorated to impress. He was a practicing surgeon and is now a

psychiatrist, able to interact with and influence as many people as possible by pretending to be

on their level.

Hannibal has a disdain of divinity because he recognizes how powerful he is on his own, without

a God guiding him or granting approval to validate his existence. His purpose is self-given, and

he doesn’t require proving his worth to himself or others. God’s choice in killing was Hannibal’s

family when he was young, without a just cause. Hannibal’s choice in killing is based on those

who do truly deserve it. He demands reverence in the most subtle yet effective of ways; why then

strive to be an invisible entity that he does not respect?

Hannibal does not aim to be God; in his mind, he is better.

Hannibal’s Perversion of Faith: manipulation and/in the Christian

tradition

Augusta Leigh Mads Mikkelsen has famously noted that he’s modeled his Lecter after Lucifer, much to the

delight of fans (and to Fuller) who are more than willing to accept the ethereal Mikkelsen as a

deity (even a mock-one). Yet this is hardly the spry and revolutionary Lucifer of the Fall and First

Temptation; Mikkelsen has gifted the Hannibal viewership with an exquisitely unique perspective

into a long post-lapsarian Arch Fiend, one whose hardened reputation precedes him without

knowing that he comes. This Lucifer has evolved into Satan. This Hannibal has created an empire

of perversion spanning the entire Chesapeake area and has slyly yet firmly placed himself at the

helm of every authorial post (most significantly as Will Graham’s doctor). But while Lucifer has

yet to ever supersede the bounds between gods and monsters to confront the Creator directly

again in the Biblical/post-Biblical canon, Lecter often dines with his adversaries, inviting them to

his Pandaemonium more often than he elects to be present in their Kingdom.

Hannibal has built his authority by provoking and establishing the fallibility of the supposed

omnipotence of the Greater Good, the case in this arc being Jack Crawford’s FBI unit and the

messianic Will Graham. We have been privileged to see glimpses of Hannibal’s rise to power in

Chesapeake when he first provoked and consumed Jack’s first begotten protégé, Miriam Lass.

We’ve even witnessed Hannibal’s twisted resurrection of Lass (like Christ, there was no body to

be seen), a flickering glimmer of hope in the second coming before snuffing out that light, too.

Hannibal has long been anything but the “bringer of light” as the Latin vulgate of “Lucifer”

implies but now operates clandestine from the shadows.

Though, Hannibal hardly exists to be the antithesis to Jack Crawford. His ambitions are uniquely

his own with motivations extending beyond and unrelated to antagonizing Crawford and the FBI,

though all directly maintain his systematic reality (a priority of the civilized over the vulgar and

rude; a community of legitimate friendship; an extreme practice of core hedonism through

oscillating radical deprivation and full-frontal sensitivity).

Thomas Harris has constructed a legacy of Hannibal (and his narrative) conjuring Christian

iconography and ritual then blatantly rebuking and perverting it throughout the saga, from the

outright of Hannibal sketching decayed and destroyed churches in Silence of the Lambs to the

humbling of mundane “religious icons above the altar seem to read the tabloid over [his]

shoulder, as they would in a grocery line”13. Fuller and others have given Lecter and Graham

conversation cards on the pleasure of (in) power, most famously resonating with the Hannibal

fandom with the justification of what must good to God14. Hannibal could probably care less

what feels good to God15, however, as he only operates with the FBI the way a cat might play

with its prey and contemplate the mouse’s resolve (a.k.a., only enough to gauge responsiveness).

There is a uniqueness to his bond with Graham, namely in that Graham is understood by all

parties to be Lecter’s friend—a companion drawn by some aspect of empathy that is not

unusual from Graham’s perspective, but suspiciously systematic even at its warmest from Lecter.

Here is a point to muse on the actual assumption and cultivation of the identity of Lucifer, and

hence the identity of Hannibal: Protestant reformists such as Luther and Calvin have noted that

the oncoming medieval association of the morning star “as if it referred to Satan, has arisen

from ignorance: for the context plainly shows these statements must be understood in reference

to the king of the Babylonians”16 in Isaiah; of course, this reading would have been easy enough

to transmit as ubiquitous truth in a largely illiterate society (especially one relying on oral

translations of Latin concepts). The construction of the King James Bible would cement the

assumption of Nebuchadnezzar II as the new Biblical Satan, the construct of Lucifer17 and also

prove the reference point for Milton’s Biblical sagas.

Likewise, Hannibal relies on the manipulation of total ignorance. Mikkelsen’s Hannibal is a

Miltonic Lucifer, just not the one of Paradise Lost. Red Dragon is analogous to Milton’s Paradise

Regain’d, which in itself is an expansion of the temptation of Christ, unaware of the culpability of

his divine heritage, in the desert. Like Milton’s Christ, Graham is remarkably ignorant to the

extent of the role he plays in Crawford and in Lecter’s worlds18. This is not to say that Will

Graham is not competent, but he is also human and by the application of the Christian tradition

inherently bears cracks in the clay. Hannibal opts to exploit this, most significantly in the final

1/3 of the first series arc when he withholds the diagnosis of encephalitis.

13 Chapter 21, Hannibal by Thomas Harris; the same chapter refers to Clarice Starling as a ‘Death Angel,’ though by the end of the novel she’s been profaned (elevated?) to the status of a Madonna nursing an Anti-Christ. 14 This exchange includes a curt nod to Hannibal’s fixation on collapsed churches, permitting us a legacy to trace the hobby fascination. 15 Compare to Gideon, whose first name in itself (Abel) alludes to the son of Eve and the promised heir to humanity before being stricken down, who actively basks in his given status of godhood as the assumed Ripper, even after having this delusion debunked, by forgiving trespasses in 1x01. 16 This quote is borrowed from the Commentary on Isaiah, I:404. As translated by John King. 17 This translation would also draw a parallel between the Isaiah piece and the use of astrological imagery with Satan’s fall described in Luke 10:18, creating an allegorical alignment. 18 The amount of times psychoanalyzing Graham is referenced and the necessity of withholding all results until after his death on top of the presumption that his death is not only imminent but will precede the lifespans of his older colleagues serves as a willful prophecy.

Hannibal knows that the best way to exploit Graham is not through his talents, which take on a

supernatural light19, for Hannibal himself is not a god (nor does he aspire to achieve godhood as

he does to dismantle it), but through ethical manipulation. In Regain’d, Lucifer attempts to

persuade Christ three times to succumb to the temptations he offers, all of which are rejected.

Thus far in the series we have seen Graham reject to be psychoanalyzed, refuse an invitation to

dine at Lecter’s table20 and, most compellingly, defy Hannibal’s insinuations that Graham’s issues

are imperceptible and personally manipulated and must be rooted in some ephemeral, rather

than ethereal, cause by pursuing further tests and brain scans21.

Yet the fact that Graham continues to suffer in spite of his resilience is not a deviation from the

temptation narrative, or even an indication of submission to it, but rather a necessary phase in

Graham displaying his messianic burden22. The more Graham suffers on-screen, the more

tortured and abysmal he becomes, then all the more potent his undoing of Lecter will be. But

even here lies the fallacy that devout Christians and disciples of Harris’ canon alike will

recognize: Hannibal will continue to exploit these circumstances even after Graham’s imminent

sacrifice, and perhaps may even assume a more intimate and insidious role in doing so.

19 Literally such, as Graham’s visions are often enhanced by a warm glow. 20 The first occasion (and only one-on-one interaction cultivated around good) wherein Graham’s took Hannibal’s food, conversely, was in his own home. The second was in episode 8, though the focus was not on his consumption but on the implicit torture of Freddie Lounds whose vegetarian plate was far more insidious than the cheerful and lively tenderloin served to Abigail and Graham. 21 This, of course, is what finally loans Graham the credence to realize in the subsequent events of 01x11 that Hannibal is lying to him. 22 The overwhelming reality of which displayed in the baptismal fluidity in Graham’s night sweats and visions of being consumed by walls of water.

Socks; Sharp; Sense Katerick Lash, originally published to AO3

He had been more than happy to come and feed Will’s dogs while he was away on a case. The FBI didn't need him, and he was perfectly happy to make the trip from Baltimore all the way to Wolf Trap. There were secrets lurking in that small town in the middle of nowhere, and he could smell them from here, permeating everything that Will owned, every piece of clothing stank with the rankness of things hidden, things never said aloud.

The number of dogs in Will’s home did not surprise him, in fact, he was nearly surprised there weren't more of them. The satisfaction he felt as they gobbled up his homemade sausage made his heart beat ever-so-slightly faster, and now he was in the cave, the deep dark secrets were laying all around him, disguised in plain view as neuroses and peculiarities.

The shirts and socks so neat, in fact almost everything was neat in his home, despite the disheveled look that Will frequently sported, he understood it clearly as a need to control the smaller things as the larger things began slipping through his fingers like unuttered phrases, unremembered dreams.

The boat motor made his lip quirk in a smile. Will had mentioned his pastime with his father at one of their sessions, the need to cling to something so familiar was quaint in Hannibal’s eyes, and he wondered if the smell of grease, the feel of screws, were able to calm Will and ease the troubles plaguing his mind. The boating theme followed him as he turned to see a half-constructed fishing fly on a vise. He wondered how often Will took time out to fish, or if he simply manufactured the flys for the distraction. Pulling a fish off the hook, even the smallest creature, he imagined, could trigger Will’s unending empathy, especially as his skin was raw with the heinous crimes Uncle Jack forced him to endure, to look at, to relive both as killer and victim.

It was then he spotted the last feather, the one he knew belonged on the fly, and he was seized by the necessity to finish it, his own ability to order things just as strong as Will’s—-though he had much more control over the bigger things than Agent Graham. He carefully wound the thread, tied it off, and dislodged it from the tying vise. The striped feathers reminded him of the lines in Will’s face, the fatigue he saw increasingly wearing away at the younger man. The point of the hook slid into his thumb easily, and he tasted the coppery blood from his own body. It was a taste of class in this unkempt burrow. He was energized, filled with much new knowledge of his new friend, and after making sure the dogs were fully seen to, he closed the door, exchanging the veritable hovel that reminded him somewhat of his parent’s cabin from his youth for the sleek lines and leather of his supercharged Bentley.

Wherever Will was, even where the only creatures he could refer to as family slept and shat, there was a distinct lack of belonging that lay heavy in the air. Perhaps he would be able to give Will that camaraderie that he so desperately—but not outwardly—sought.

Hannibal Thinking Chair: Character Analysis—after episode “Roti”

After watching episode “Roti”, I believe Hannibal is definitely the villain. He manipulates Will and the

copy-cat ripper for reasons that if you didn’t pick up on yet, shame on your dendrites. He not only

hides Will’s illness and commits malpractice, but because Will believes it’s all in his head and not

encephalitis, he is ripe for manipulation in his perception of nearly everything, as he’s losing the

ability to tell what’s real and what is hallucination. Gideon is baited by Hannibal tempting his desire

to kill Alana, and Will is nudged by Hannibal telling him that Gideon wasn’t real and Garrett Jacob

Hobbs wasn’t real. By telling Will to kill Hobbs once and for all, he kills the copycat. He manipulated

Will into killing the copycat of Hannibal’s ripping so as to avoid any evidence linking to him. Hannibal

was always the ripper, as we learned from previous episodes. The one Will trusts most is the one

who is destroying him. As Will descends into madness, Hannibal as his only audience and guide, it

opens up Will’s mind to Hannibal and whatever he wants to do with it.

Why does he keep saying he’s Will’s friend?! To secure his trust/stronghold on Will? To secure

others belief that he is close/feels bonded to Will and thus will do nothing to hurt him? It probably

leans more toward the latter right now. Well, the answer is both. He tells his therapist that he feels

for Will. That provides an emotional connection he hasn’t felt in a while, in the therapists mind.

Wanting him to learn/benefit from it she advises him to let him go. And that’s just what he wants to

hear. I think he milked it out of her, so when people started to snoop around his office as to how Will

lost his sanity, he could have something to fall back on—another therapists advice, or maybe Will’s

unsuccessful result of treatment thus far. He not only deliberately messed with Will's head, now he's

going to leave him on the side of the road and let Will’s brain do the rest of the work for him?! He

can’t let Will know he’s controlling him. It will lose the effect Hannibal has on him and his

manipulations won’t work. Keeping the friendly face up will chase away his doubts and fears, and will

lead him to cling to Hannibal even more.

Parallels: Just as the copycat was manipulated by therapists into thinking he’s the ripper, Will is

being manipulated by Hannibal, his therapist, into his own madness—into thinking what Hannibal

wants him to think. Example: the Gideon not being there when he was, and Hannibal saying

manipulation of thoughts doesn’t work if the patient knows he’s being manipulated during dinner

conversation.

“Found Families, Flannery O'Connor, Misfits and Good Men in Fuller's Hannibal,”

Augusta Leigh

Alana Bloom chose, of all things, Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” as appropriate

reading material for Abigail Hobbs’ bedside in “Amuse-Bouche.” For this cross-reference, it’s not a matter

of gauging how tastefully this story matches the circumstances (‘tact’ is a lost language in Hannibal), but

how eerily the circumstances of Fuller’s plot match O’Connor’s story.

It should be noted now that there are no wholly “good men” in Fuller’s cast (nor were there any in

O’Connor’s story). But there are a lot of lonely, desperate misfits coming together at an array of paces and

intentions with at least one goal in common. Alana, Jack, Abigail, Abel Gideon, Hannibal and Will23 are

actively seeking one another—figuratively and truthfully. To one another, these misfits represent security

and stability or even friends and family—or, at least they want them to.

Abigail has drafted her own replicate family, nursed by Hannibal’s drugs and pre-empted by her “break-

out” from that hospital that inevitably baited Alana Bloom. Hannibal offers a substitution by announcing

to Will that they, together, are “Abigail’s fathers, now.” Abigail plays with these arrangements, coyly

dubbing Hannibal “the man on the phone” from the scene that anticipated her family’s murder. Jack and

Will have a heated exchange in “Coquilles” that centered around the father/son dynamic the two can

evoke (which in itself follows the hereditary path of Jack and Miriam Lass, which in turn will breed the

relationship with Clarice Starling) after the audience has witnessed glimpses into the Crawford marriage

dynamic and home environment. Will seeks a romance with Alana who rebuffs his advances not because

of her own lacking desire (because desire she does not lack), but because Will fails to prove stable, let

alone constant. Hannibal yearns for true friendship, if not kinship. Abel Gideon, perhaps most tragic of

all, had all of these things—and then didn’t by his own means, only to find out that his own means maybe

weren’t his own means.

But just as instantly as connections are made in the Hannibal continuity, they’re severed (and then

possibly re-sutured and anticipated to live as before, mainly by the efforts of those most desperate [see:

all of them]). In O’Connor’s story, the Misfit shot every single family member until leaving the

grandmother.

Alana reads the story to Abigail as a means to establish a conscious connection in Abigail’s comatose

state; likewise, it is a device that invites her to have an open and frank dialog with Will (whom up to this

point she has only had chaste and strictly plot-progressive exchanges with) upon his awakening. But

when pressed to what she is reading, Alana admits that in her youth (specifically near Abigail’s age) she

attempted to emulate O’Connor, right down to her choice of pets. Alana in that moment is self-focused,

self-fixated and self-fulfilling: every bit of her is invested in that story. She corroborates her own

singularity by insisting that she sent herself, rather than made an appearance courtesy of Jack.

O’Connor’s story is a narrative entirely devoted to the grandmother’s journey in placing herself into

23 Freddie Lounds is specifically absent from this line-up, 1. out of the fingers-crossed hope that we’ll see her book-counterpart’s significant other, and 2. because even in the event where we lack the former, Freddie herself is in a fulfilling and happy relationship with her body of work even if, if not especially during, its most mortally threatening moments.

circumstances, seeking belonging. The grandmother is so terribly dissociated, however (due to

antebellum nostalgia, due to selfishness, due to tragically straying from the path), that there is no place

for her in her own family, in her childhood past, at The Tower, in Florida and especially not with the

Misfit, whom she claims to recognize in the final moments of her life as one of her own lost children. The

grandmother is an amateur master manipulator of her own right, though very rarely does she have anyone

but herself convinced.

Will notes the irony that Alana could be reading to a killer. Sleepy quips of “innocent until proven guilty”

and “it takes one to know one” from her part feel blood-curdling when backtracking or re-watching the

series (especially when there fails to be a distinction to which killer Alana could be reading to). Fuller’s

dialog has artfully recreated the O’Connor foreshadowing (really, the southern gothic foreshadowing).

Just as eerie is when Will questions whether they’ve been alone in a room together and Alana admits that

they aren’t necessarily alone (citing Abigail). One might take a moment to think of all the times that

characters are ‘alone’ and to question them. How many times since Jack Crawford shouted for all would-

be-bystanders to use the ladies’ stalls or since Hannibal confiscated Freddie’s recorder have we ever been

sure—really sure—that there’s no lurking presence? In O’Connor’s story, the Misfit shadows the family

first as a talking point (adapted from a headline), then as a predecessor, then in the flesh. In Hannibal, we

start to see extra empty chairs at the table, or parties segregated from conversation only by sheets of glass,

or the ominous multi-presence of Garret Jacob Hobbs.

Although the answer seems obvious, it is fair to ask who will be—or already was?—provoked into

‘shooting first.’ What’s to be said of Abel Gideon’s death, when Will Graham saw himself shooting

another man (who was already dead to begin with), and is that death any more or less affected by the fact

that Gideon was but the host of a ghost? Was Abigail Hobbs killed in “Relevés” following her

confrontations with Will and Hannibal? Will Jack or Alana disown their own when Will feels too much

like a liability? What we know for sure is that in that moment of clarity, when Will Graham finally

recognizes the Chesapeake Ripper and reaches out to him, it won’t take half the time for Hannibal to

react in the manner of the Misfit.

Hannibal Thinking Rug—after episode “Roti”

What did the water mean? Water has cleansing properties but Will’s dream was terrifying! Maybe it

was Will's way of trying to get rid of all of the bad things that cause him trauma: the totem pole of

bodies, the morgue body slots, his time and space distortion resulting from his trauma and

Hannibal’s manipulation. All of it. But his experiences have shaped him, as said in the episode by

Hannibal. Trying to wash it all away will end up in washing away himself. That's why he feels so lost.

He is swept out to sea, him drowning as he is flooded away with his problems. His consciousness

and identity trying to repair itself has caused him more confusion.

The pendulum goes back and forth in this episode as in every other when Will is erasing the present

to use his empathic powers in the past. But sometime in this episode or the last, the pendulum stops

in the middle. What does it mean? In order to answer this question, what does the pendulum itself

mean? A pendulum was originally used to tell time. It could represent Will changing his perception of

time to see what happened in the past. Or maybe it could describe Will changing his perception of

identity. He isn’t an observer of the crime, he becomes the killer. As the pendulum swings, he

traverses back and forth with his identity and another’s—almost like getting into character. And when

the pendulum stops, he is stuck between his own identity and the murderers. That’s when he really

starts to unravel. He is caught between both minds, that’s why he has black-outs where when he

comes to he is in a morally compromising position, such as straddling over the dead girl’s body as

though he actually was the one to kill her. He can no longer control who he is. Will doubts his own

identity, that’s why Hannibal can manipulate him so well. A brain cannot house two minds at once,

and when Hannibal caters not to reality, not to Will’s mind, but to one of Hannibal’s creation in telling

him Gideon isn’t there, he has a seizure. Hannibal is turning him into the ripper they’re trying to

catch.

THE RAVENSTAG An original song inspired by Hannibal with lyrics and melody by Halia Meguid

blue as night, the ravenstag was flying

as you plucked the hyde, the beast stood crying

was it ever not enough to torment enough, cried out the blood in the veins

of the ravenstag who told me your name

i’ve started dreaming the most peculiar pictures

the blacks and whites and colors are richer

did you feel it kind enough, yes kind enough to plant the seed in my brain

of the ravenstag whispering your name

vulgar fruit, it gleams like vulgar diamonds

a picture of my own designing

wish they’d said beware the signs, the meats and wines of the velvet joy and the pain

of the ravenstag when he calls my name

(bridge, bach aria medley)

come into my parlor says the spider

close my eyes, the space between heartbeats grows wider

maybe i’m not brave enough or sane enough to steady the knife of the gaze

of the ravenstag as it whispers my name

morning’s come and the ravenstag’s behind me

i’m a crimson stain and no wind can dry me

is an enemy enough to keep the love of a monster that swallows and maims

the same ravenstag who knows my name?

for both of her graphics, tumblr user brokeandbaroque credits deviantartists contntlbreakfst, innocentlexys, 9-liters-of-art,

anamcr, fictionchick-stock for their resources and kissthemgoodbye.net for the screencaps

(luckily, Fannibals can seem to make do with either)

THE BEST OF JUSTCANNIBALTHINGS editors’ note: Possibly one of the most-beloved fixtures in our fandom (and one of the best active parodies of ‘justgirlythings’), the JCT tumblr is a work of genius

in juxtaposition aggravates and diffuses the anxieties of the most recently aired episodes. We contacted Cathy Pylade for permission to reprint what

she/we/fannibals (by reblog numbers) thought were ‘the best’ of JCT:

Will wishes for doge (and gets doge)

a terrible mistake — selections for a

fictional serial killer

by ali gianutsos

1. Maneater — Hall and Oates

2. Father Figure — George Michael

3. Hungry Like the Wolf — Duran Duran

4. The Power of Love — Huey Lewis and the News

5. I’d Lie For You (And That’s the Truth) — Meat Loaf

6. Under Pressure — Queen and David Bowie

7. Demolition Man — The Police

8. Surrender — Cheap Trick

9. Every Breath You Take — The Police

10. Kooks — David Bowie

11. True Colors — Cyndi Lauper

12. Hip to be Square — Huey Lewis and the News

Courtney Flanagan’s masterful design for the #THISISMYDESIGN twitter campaign that we’re

not entirely convinced is not people

(since it looks pretty people-y to us)

(stag from A complete guide to heraldry, by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies)

THE TIM’ROUD DEER, WHILST HE FORSAKES THE PARK,

AND WANDERS ON IN THE MISGUIDING DARK,

BELIEVES, A FOE FROM EV’RY UNKNOWN BUSH

WILL ON HIS TREMBLING BODY RUSH,

TAKING IN THE WINDS THAT VARY IN THEIR NOTES,

FOR HOT PURSUING HOUNDS WITH DEEPLY BELLOWING NOTES

Anne Finch, “Upon the Hurricane” 1703