#bedannibal meta

[dana-is-snax]

Do you think Hannibal was in love with Alana and Bedelia? The same way he was in love with Will? Or how do you see Hannibal's relationship with Alana and Bedelia compared to his intense love for Will?

okay, buckle up, this is gonna be a wild ride. [that escalated a bit, short answer: here.]

First of all, I want to say that I am not sure how Hannibal would define love. I think for him it is mostly about being understood and seen.

Second, I think that Sorbet is really telling about his three main relationships. It contains the first session we see between him and Bedelia, we see the beginnings of his and Alana’s romantic relationship and we see Will missing his session and Hannibal coming to see Will, their conversation where Will gives such an accurate assessment of the Ripper’s motivation.

Third, since Hannibal is so manipulative his relationships are often written in a way, where we often see what he wants us to see and then later, it is revealed that it was a whole other thing entirely. In my opinion that makes it hard to assess his relationships.

alana bloom

In my opinion he neither loved nor was in love with Alana – she was an esteemed colleague. He carefully flirted with her and entered a relationship with her as means to an end, a future alibi, because she was someone Jack would trust. It was built on manipulation – even if Hannibal expressed regret for that and offered her an out.

“I was hoping you and I wouldn’t have to say good-bye. Nothing seen nor said. You may have found that rude.” “[…] I was so blind.” “In your defense, I worked very hard to blind you. You can stay blind. You can hide from this. Walk away, I’ll make no plans to call on you. But if you stay, I will kill you. Be blind, Alana. Don’t be brave.” Mizumono, 00:29:37-00:30:27.

It is mentioned, they worked together in what I think was a mentor-mentee relationship. This previous platonic relationship, their history, is what he constructed their romantic one on.

“You had me examining PhD candidates that week.” “And I’m grateful you were examining PhD students and not the Ripper. You realize those candidates thought we were having an affair. Why didn’t we?” Sorbet, 00:25:50-00:25:58.

I think for Hannibal it is important that people see him, that someone understands him. Alana did not and could never – “while being able to understand Hannibal's philosophies, [she] is unable to accept or digest them.” (cf. tayasui-mono in her post)

“Could I ever have understood you?” “No.” Digestivo, 00:26:32-00:26:40.

[honorable mentions]

that weird ass kaleidoscope sex scene

the theremin rizz

bedelia du maurier

I do believe that he was in love with Bedelia once upon a time, at the starting point of the series I would say he loves her but is not in love with her anymore.

In Sorbet, Alana mentions an affair he had while she was working with him. I always interpreted that this affair was with Bedelia.

“You were already having an affair.” Sorbet, 00:26:05-00:26:07.

In my opinion, Bedelia is one of two people, who get to know Hannibal under the person suit. Alone by her knowledge that there is a person suit she knows him better than most. The best scene for that is the first session we see in Sorbet.

She sees small glimpses of him. When she mentions the existence of his human veil/person suit as well as the loneliness that surely must come with it, we see a small smile flash over Hannibal’s face, acknowledging her knowledge of him. More so she knows that she knows him.

“I see enough of you to see the truth of you. And I like you.” Sorbet, 00:18:18-00:18:22.

Not only does she confront him with the fact of his dishonesty, with the existence of his human veil/person suit, but she also distances herself from him being his friend; they are colleagues and in a doctor-patient relationship. She gives clear boundaries, BUT crosses them in the same scene by drinking a glass wine with ‘her patient’.

Bedelia is morally ambiguous, we never know whether she is scared or complicit – or a little bit of both. Or if she even knows.

“Important to get across was the degree to which she is aroused by what is happening. Why on earth is she there? I mean, I know she is titillated by him. But the fact that she got on the plane and went to Italy with him implies that there is something deeper between them. This is the first time he commits a murder in front of her. It was important to see the degree to which she is on the one hand completely terrified. And on the other hand, there’s a part of her that is definitely turned on by and enraptured by the danger and him.” Gillian Anderson in ‘Gillian Anderson Rewatches The X-Files, Sex Education, Scoop & More’ for Vanity Fair.

I believe also that if Italy had been the first time she ever was directly confronted with Hannibal’s violence - while acting like or rather being his wife mind you – she would not have been so torn about it.

Something that I also don’t want to skip is the fact that she killed before and that she liked it – at least that's how I would interpret the orgasm-like camera work in that particular scene. Therefore I would say that Hannibal likes to play with that darker side of her – to provoke her.

“Observe or participate?” “What?” “Are you, in this very moment, observing or participating?” “Observing.” “You say you’re observing, but this…this is participation, Bedelia.” Antipasto, 00:37:25-00:37:53.

In the end though, Italy happens while Hannibal is already and still very much in love with Will and he is literally talking to his ‘wife’ about his boyfriend.

“Was it nice to see him?” “It was nice…among other things .He knew where to look for me.” “You knew where he would look for you.” "He said he forgave me." “Forgiveness is too great and difficult for one person. It requires two: the betrayer and the betrayed. Which one are you?” “I’m vague on those details.” "Betrayal and forgiveness are best seen as something akin to falling in love." "You cannot control with respect to whom you fall in love." Secondo, 00:00:53-00:01:57.

After all that there is no way Bedelia didn't feel used. She knew she was filling the gaps Will left in Hannibal's life while understanding that although they are similar she could never replace him in any manner.

I don't understand how people interpret her as annoyed or as if she "just didn't want to die". There was surely understanding and love between Hannibal and her, yet not like between Will and Hannibal.

And YES, they fucked.

[honorable mentions]

the dancing scene (and the whole antipasto episode just for their chemistry): “Bellissima.” “Grazie.”

the dinner scene: “My husband has a very sophisticated palate. He is very particular about how I taste.” “Is it that kind of party?” “It’s not that kind of party.”

will graham

Hannibal’s relationship with Will I always find hard to define as it is written in a way that is not so much based on romantic or sexual attraction but rather mutual understanding – ‘seeing each other’. (Which, let’s be honest, is probably due to NBC being homophobic.)

Because of his ‚gift‘, his heightened empathy, Will can assess the Ripper in a way that no one else can. In Sorbet, he does so in Hannibal’s presence and Hannibal finally finds someone who really sees him.

“Displaying one’s enemies after death has its appeal in many cultures.” “This aren’t the Ripper’s enemies, these are pests he’s swatted.” “Their reward for their cruelty.” “Oh, he doesn’t have a problem with cruelty. Their reward is for undignified behavior. These dissections are to disgrace them. It’s…it’s a public shaming.” “Takes their organs away because, in his mind, they don’t deserve them.” “In some way.” Sorbet, 00:34:44-00:35:21.

In each other they find someone that understands and reciprocates.

“They are identically different, Hannibal and Will.” Digestivo, 00:03:59-00:04:02.

With his Achilles/Patroclus reference in regards to their relationship Hannibal practically confesses that he is indifferent to anyone but Will in his life. (How Will misses the point of this reference is completely inexplicable to me. After this he still had the audacity to ask, “Is Hannibal in love with me?” YES, YOU STUPID MAN!)

"Achilles lamenting the death of Patroclus. Whenever he's mentioned in the Iliad, Patroclus seems to be defined by his empathy." "He became Achilles on the field of war. He died for him there, wearing his armor." "He did. Hiding and revealing identity is a constant theme throughout the Greek epics." "As are battle-tested friendships." "Achilles wished all Greeks would die, so that he and Patroclus could conquer Troy alone. Took divine intervention to bring them down." Tome-wan, 00:40:22-00:41:07.

In the end, Will and Hannibal are so incredibly complex, they are written so that they literally defy definition und do not fit into a mold. I could not even say that Hannibal feels intense love for Will. I’m not even sure that Hannibal is able to feel love at all - same with Will - or rather how they feel love.

But they see each other for what they are.

"Time did reverse. The teacup that I shattered there did come together. A place was made for Abigail in your world... You understand? A place was made for all of us, together. I wanted to surprise you. And you... you wanted to surprise me. I let you know me. See me. I gave you a rare gift. But you didn't want it." “Didn’t I?” Mizumono, 00:36:15-00:37:18.

 [honorable mentions]

the baby trap: "Who knows Abigail better than you and I? Or burden she bears. We are her fathers now. We have to serve her better than Garrett Jacob Hobbs."

the ogling: “Are you feeling paternal, Will?”

conclusion

Hannibal did not love Alana. She was an esteemed colleague but in the end, she was a means to an end. She was there to give him an alibi. He manipulated her.

Hannibal surely once was in love with Bedelia, maybe even loves her still but is not IN love with her anymore. I would say he took her to Italy for the love that once was there – for old time’s sake.

Will is ‘Blackbeard’s last wife’. He and Hannibal just have an unprecedented understanding for each other. Hannibal wanted a future with Will.

So, no, Hannibal was not in love with Alana and Bedelia, or at least not in the same way he was with Will.

[I want to note here that both Bedelia and Will often behave in a way that Hannibal would consider rude and he turns a blind eye to it. All this to say, if it had ended with Bedelia, Will and Hannibal as a throuple, Hannibal wouldn’t have had a peaceful day in his life ever again.]

#hannibal lecter #will graham #bedelia du maurier #alana bloom #hannibal meta #bedannibal meta #hannigram meta #hannibal nbc

[bonearenaofmyskull]

Why is it so difficult to have conversations with Bedannibal shippers? I am new to Tumblr and am trying to have meta discussion with Bedannibal shippers but every time I bring up what Mads and Bryan said about Hannibal and Will or even something that canonically happened like Bedelia crying when Hannibal kills Anthony Dimmond and trying to run away. Gideon teasing Hannibal about Will Graham or Hannibal coming to kill Bedelia at the end of the episode when Bedelia ended their patient psychiatrist relationship. I get said that's what "Hannigramers" say. I am trying to be as polite as possible and dismissed, I just want some Bedannibal shippers views but no one is engaging me. How to have meta discussion with Bedannibal shippers?

If you'll pardon me, it sounds like the conversation you're trying to have with them is a "meta discussion" about how Hannigram is more real/deep/canon/loving/something else than Bedannibal, or some variation thereof. What are the "views" that you want from them?

If you come to someone asking for them to justify their non-dominant ship preference with meta, I can sort of see why they're not that interested in discussing it with you. But people don't ship even canon ships because the ship is canon: they ship it because there's some vibe about the relationship dynamic that they like. Beyond that, shippers aren't obligated to provide meta backup for their ship even if the ship is canon.

So if you're really interested in finding out what that juicy Bedannibal vibe is, you might be better served to just invite people to share what they love about Hannibal and Bedelia being together, and then just listen and enjoy them talking about what they enjoy. It's not a meta discussion. Don't try to make it into one.

#hannibal #hannibal meta #bedannibal #hannibal fandom meta #i have slowly learned #that the worst thing about having a canon ship #is that canon status somehow magically seems to become relevant to preferences #it doesn't it isn't it won't ever be

[bedeliainwonderland]

hey k, a little birdie told me you wanted the question :)

Do you think Hannibal was in love with Alana and Bedelia? The same way he was in love with Will? Or how do you see Hannibal's relationship with Alana and Bedelia compared to his intense love for Will?

😘❤️ aww thank you, you didn’t have to send it haha. I was just being overdramatic because I am annoyed.

But since you asked… *adjusts glasses and takes a sip of pink g&t, Lidl’s finest* WARNING: VERY LONG, read at own risk 💀

Soooo, let’s start by saying that Hannibal “loves” a lot of people. He loved Jack, he loved Abigail. In his own way, of course, and it’s not such a good thing to be loved by him. Can prove quite fatal. Not one of these 3 relationships are alike for many reasons. It’s like comparing apples, oranges and dog food.

Alana: Hannibal was absolutely fond of her and loved her in a way. She was a strong and intelligent woman and Hannibal has a thing for strong women, starting from his aunt (a thing that’s NEVER discussed by the fandom). Their connection was limited for obvious reasons: Hannibal could have never showed her his true self, she would have never accepted him for who he was. She wasn’t like him. When she asked if she could have ever understood him and he said no, it was actually a rare moment of truth from him. Yes, their romance was a form of a distraction, very useful for Hannibal, but he treated her well. Whether that excuses the lies and the deception, it’s up to everyone’s personal judgment. (I would have still slept with him 😏)

Will: *sighs* I am obviously not a fan, mainly because of the fandom and how the show turned into a bad fanfic by season 3 (because the creator loved being worshipped by a small group of people and ignored plot coherency in a process). Does Hannibal love Will? Yes. Does he love him in the way the fandom claims? Absolutely not. Will and his empathy are such a perfect thing for Hannibal. He’s a narcissist and what he loves most is himself. Will and his “gift” makes him an ideal clean slate Hannibal can project himself onto. He doesn’t care for Will on a personal level. He loves him the way one loves a favourite book or other object. You love it and you don’t want anyone else to have it, but you don’t expect the book to return your feelings. I imagine Hannibal had several other “projects” before Will, but no one them were so “pliant” to Hannibal’s tricks. Plus Will’s push back made Hannibal more and more obsessive. Would taking Will and Abigail to Europe work? Absolutely not, because again, Hannibal has never considered their own feelings. He has never considered them as persons. It would have blown up in his face and he would have probably killed them both (unless they escaped somehow). My biggest issue with the show is that Hannibal would have never forgiven Will his betrayal (or anyone else’s for that matter). Mizumono was a perfect break up with all his “relationships”. And don’t give me the “Hannibal loved Will so much he forgive him”. No, it was a creator’s choice to cater to the fandom and very OOC.

Bedelia: my biggest pet peeve is when people say she was “Will’s substitute”. Bitch please… if you must consider this in those terms, Will was the substitute. But you shouldn’t because those relationships have nothing in common. But the “brides of Frankensteeeein”?? I hear you scream. That was just Bedelia having fun toying with Will (and actually it was fan service…). She has never felt jealous about his relationship with Hannibal (she did find him a loose cannon though and was wary of what he might do to her). I once did a full on breakdown on their relationship throughout the episodes and wish I could find it again (search option here is… ughh). I will try to keep it short this time. Bedelia’s presence in Hannibal’s life is unique. When we meet Bedelia for the first time, it is being said that they have known each other for years at this point. Longer than anyone ever!! Hannibal is not a creature that keeps people around. So there’s something about Bedelia that makes her special. He is clearly enamoured by her and it’s an ongoing thing. If he “loved” her and then stopped, he would have killed her. What makes Bedelia special is that she is the only person that Hannibal treats like, well, a person. She is the only one on his “level”, the only one he respects. And it’s the respect that makes this so important. Hannibal has zero respect for anyone else, most people are just possible meat to him. He doesn’t respect Will or Abigail. It’s like Bedelia is a little pedestal above all others in Hannibal’s mind. But most importantly, she KNOWS. We don’t know how much she knows at the time of season 1, but she knows enough. Enough to know what he is. And she is not afraid or repulsed. Quite the contrary. And Hannibal senses she is like him, that’s why he sends her a wounded bird to kill. She does, proving him right, yet is not ready to embrace her dark side. Hannibal is: fine, I’ll wait. Again proving how special she is to him. She warns him, he doesn’t listen, she leaves, he lets her! But he wanted to kill heeer… no, he wanted to see if she was were really gone and if she had betrayed him (he’s fixated on betrayal in general). She didn’t, she left him a gift, once again proving how well she knows him and telling him they’ll meet again. Both his romance with Alana and his plan to get away with his “projects” only started AFTER she left. Bedelia wasn’t a plan B, she was plan A but she left. Let’s skip an essay on Florence since this is already ridiculously long, just a few points. Fandom’s obsession with pointing out that he only talked about Will: yeah, because FAN SERVICE, we had like 4 conversations between them, out of hundreds that would have taken place. Literally ALL the characters talk only about them. It has zero relevance to their relationship. The writers weren’t interested in developing any other storyline. But even so, we still got more than enough to see how much they meant to each other. Dimmond’s death: Hannibal literally (oops again that word) gives her an out. She could have left and he would have not followed. But she stayed and this was a moment when Hannibal realized he fucked up. His reckless behaviour has already ruined their life in Florence and now he finally see that Bedelia accepts him fully, like no one else ever did (NO, WILL DOESN’T). Things reach their boiling point, she patches him up (lovingly) and sends him away. And he ACCEPTS it! Even more so, he promises to support her story. This is HUGE, Hannibal has only cared about telling his own story and plotting his own way, and here he is like sure babe, I will say whether you want me to say. If that doesn’t make Bedelia a queen of his heart, I don’t know what does. Finally, contrary to what fandom says, Bedelia has NEVER betrayed Hannibal. She has covered for him and she has tried to help him. Bedelia is the only person who understands Hannibal. She is quite like him (same interests, same tastes) Hannibal never wanted and would never hurt or kill her. He feels protective of her, after all.

I ran out of space. If you got this far, I kiss you on the forehead 💋 thank you for reading!

#thank you for asking ���❤️ #bedannibal #bedelia du maurier #hannibal lecter #dana-is-snax #asks #meta save

[plain-as-pandemonium]

I’m going to start a thing on this blog and write some “DVD commentary” about the fics I publish to AO3 (i.e., what was going on in my mind when I wrote the fic). I’m going to call it What was I thinking?! 

I’ll include the ideas behind the fic and how they came together. This is mostly for my own benefit, to help document my writing process. These posts will include bits of my personal headcanons as well as a bit of meta/text analysis, but in a very informal way. I love to discuss the writing process, so I would welcome comments/questions.  I would also happily read the same on any of my mutuals’ blogs.

So what was I thinking when I was writing Air France Flight 3677? (Spoilers for the fic below the cut)

The Bedelia I was picturing in this story has made the choice to go with Hannibal, but she's definitely having second/third/fourth thoughts and hasn't fully committed yet. She isn't thinking two steps ahead. She hasn't got set expectations of how this is going to go, but obviously Hannibal does, and she finds the whole thing disorienting. Still, he's put her in a situation that's familiar enough that she can just take the next step if she wants to: First we check in for our flight, then we go through security, then we find our gate, then we go to the lounge to wait, then we board our flight, etc.

I wanted to set up multiple points where she could assert herself: She could pull her hand away, she could insist on her title at the check-in desk, she could say "hey, I want my phone back". But she doesn't because she is already waaaaay out of her depth even if she doesn't realise how MUCH yet.

The other reason she finds the whole thing so disorienting is that she is so used to being in control, and suddenly she's not in control anymore. And it's actually kinda ... nice? Which she wasn't expecting. She has also been really lonely and isolated. Up to this point in the narrative, we've only seen her interacting with Hannibal, and with the FBI, when she is very careful about what she says/reveals. We never see her in a more normal everyday context, having friends or a partner or family, situations where she'd be less guarded. What if she doesn't have those connections? Maybe her parents are dead, and she was an only child, and she's been withdrawing from social connections due to the fallout from the Neal Frank incident. In short, what if Hannibal has strategically placed her in a position where her loneliness would make her more vulnerable to a charm offensive.

I like how S1 set out parallels between the way Franklyn approaches Hannibal (I want to be your friend, it makes me sad I have to pay to see you) and the way Hannibal approaches Bedelia (I have friends; you and I are friendly). Hannibal is obviously much more smooth about it, but it’s clear he so badly wants to connect with her. We see Hannibal testing her boundaries repeatedly, having a drink with her after sessions (though it’s not clear whose initiative that was), inviting her over for dinner even if she refuses and then finally bringing dinner to her. While they're in her office, on her turf, she can easily put him back in his place. But now they're out in the world, on his turf, and she's just discovering how she may have miscalculated. And how difficult it would be to break away, or seek outside assistance.

I loved the idea of Hannibal having a passport with Bedelia's last name in it, ngl. Book Hannibal has travel documents with several different identities, so I figured show Hannibal would have that too. Plus, he can't exactly use his own passport to leave the country. He probably had a passport for Plan A (to leave with Will and Abigail); leaving with Bedelia was plan B. I wanted to leave it open whether this was a romantic gesture on his part, taking her last name, or whether he meant it as a power move: Look how much I know about you, I've stolen your father's identity, what are you going to do about it? I'm starting to develop a headcanon about Bedelia's family and the idea of Hannibal rooting around in her history looking for secrets amuses me.

What Hannibal does at the check in desk is strictly for Bedelia's benefit. Like, it's nice to get free lounge passes, but it's more about "love bombing" Bedelia, establishing his authority: I'm your loving husband now, I'm going to look after you, this is what people will see when they look at us, don't do anything stupid. While Bedelia the independent, self-contained Queen wants to tell him to fuck right off, she doesn't feel it would be safe to do so. At the same time she's wrong footed by how brazen he is, and how it’s unexpectedly nice to have someone look at her and touch her like that, to have someone else take charge because it's exhausting to be so in control all the time. So she falls back on observing, making notes, waiting to think about it all later when she can decide what it really means. She will eventually gain her footing, but this is her first real day in hell and the orientation programme has been a total nightmare.

#bedannibal #bedelia du maurier #hannibal #headcanon #meta #about my fic #what was i thinking?!

[regardstosoulandromance]

@bedannibal-lectaurier yeah, I agree, and wrote a nice intelligent reply to this but tumblr seems to have eaten it *shakes fist*. It would be an interesting thing to explore- how both the old and new gods interact with gender and sexuality, being supernatural beings and all- but I doubt that will happen since it doesn't seem to fit the tone/narrative of the show.

#reply #replies #bedannibal lectaurier #american gods meta #also what is with the lack of diversity in the new gods??

[after-the-ellipsis]

5, 8, 22

For this meme.

5. Favorite shot, cinematography-wise?

The shots of the Muralist’s work in Sakizuke, particularly the hair-raising dissolve from Will looking at a photograph of the eye to him standing in its center. It’s the show’s greatest visual metaphor for seeing and being seen.

8. Favorite dish? 

Well, I really wanted to scarf up those wobbly bread puddings from Fromage, but they’re not narratively significant enough to top the chart. I suppose it has to be the ortolans, they are seared into my brain, and not just because of the mouth porn. Never has the act of eating looked so sensuous, and yet so gross and absurd, outright silly even. Those crunching noises! Their little beaks and feet! Eating is so goddamn undignified, yet Hannibal does everything he can to make his guests forget.

22. Have any personal head/heart canons that you don’t hear talked about often?

Jack!!! I never hear enough discussion about Jack. Especially his friendship with Will. That moment in Coquilles with the two of them in Jack’s office suggests a level of personal intimacy we never get to see. Apparently they go fishing together, or is that only when they’re running a secret operation? Will must have met Bella at some point, right? What was their dynamic like? Will and Jack’s relationship is as rife with manipulative tension as Will and Hannibal’s, but there was a real connection there, too, and I like thinking about that. Will as Hannibal and Bella’s surrogate son, how’s that for a messed-up, fractured family dynamic?

#hannibal #hannibal meta #will graham #jack crawford #bella crawford #hannibal lecter #bedannibal lectaurier

[existingcharactersdiehorribly]

The 2018 Hannibal Advent is upon us! Here’s some answers to frequently asked questions!

What is Hannibal Advent?

A fannibal celebration of the Hannibal ‘verse! A chance for us to give each other the gift of lots of wonderful posts!

How Do I Participate?

Make a post about Hannibal between November 16 and December 24. Tag it with #HannibalAdvent.

Voilà! You are a participant!

What should I post?

Whatever you want! It can be short or long! It can be art, fic, gifs, AUs, manips, crack, ships, favorite quotes, pic spams, meta, your favorite scene, “I LOVE HANNIBAL”, anything!

Anything you want to give to your fellow fannibals as a Hannibal Advent gift is the perfect thing to post for HannibalAdvent!  

Why November 16 - December 24?

We took a vote, and decided this year HannibalAdvent would run for 39 days, one per episode!

Do I have to post about the episode of the day?

No! It’s just a suggestion in case you need ideas! Anything goes on any day! It’s the thought that counts! This year we’ll be adding some additional prompts along the way for added inspiration!

Does it only have to be NBC Hannibal?

No way! Post about the books, the movies, your AU, your head canons, your Spacedogs, Strangepaths, and Tristhad. Clannibal, Bedannibal, your dreams for season 4 and beyond!

Whatever inspires you to post - please post!

Do I have to post every day?

Of course not! It’s a busy time of year. Some of us will do every day. Some one day. Most somewhere between. We’re just glad to have you!

Do I have to have a Tumblr?

No! The more the merrier!

Please use the #HannibalAdvent tag on Twitter and Facebook, too! That’s why we’re using one without the space! Best to have an outpouring of Hannibal love all over the internet!

What’s the rating for this event?

No restrictions, just tag content appropriately, as we know you would anyway!

Have any suggestions for posts?

Here’s a bunch of prompts to help!

#hannibal #hannibaladvent #mads mikkelsen #hannigram #hugh dancy #ha2018 #faq #ha2018faq #hannibal advent #edited to add prompts

[electric-couple]

FAQ

Introducing electric-couple, a bedannibal prompt blog! 

What is the purpose of this blog?

To inspire more fanworks for the bedannibal (bedelia x hannibal) pairing and to encourage interaction between bedannibal fans and creators.

How do I participate?

Every two weeks we’ll send out a prompt and encourage people to make fanworks related to the prompt during that 2 week period. When you finish your prompt make sure to tag @electric-couple and use the tag #bedannibalprompts so that we can reblog your work!

We also really encourage people to support writers and creators by liking, reblogging, and commenting on the works produced. Feedback is love. ♥

Who can participate?

Anyone and everyone! We don’t care if you’ve written 50 bedannibal fics or have never written a single word. We only ask that whatever you create a) focus on the bedannibal relationship and b) be related to the prompt.

Other than that, play nice with others and don’t be an asshole.

Can I submit prompts?

Sure. Just drop them in our ask.

As a good rule of thumb, broad open prompts are often better than super specific ones.

Where can I find fic inspired by the prompts?

We invite everyone to add their fic to our ao3 collection, electric-couple prompts. Just add it when you post your fic.

If you would like an ao3 invite, contact the mods.

Do I have to write fic or are other fanworks acceptable?

All bedannibal fanworks related to the bi-weekly theme are acceptable. Fic, art, picspams, fanvids, meta, moodboards, fanmixes–whatever you want!

What happens if I finish a prompt after the deadline?

We really want to encourage people to stick to the deadline as much as possible. However, in the event you get inspired after a given prompt has passed, please still tag us and add to the collection anyway. The more fanworks the merrier!

What is the significance of the blog’s title?

It’s from Gillian Anderson’s description of Bedelia and Hannibal’s relationship.

Q: What would your interpretation be of Bedelia and Hannibal’s relationship when they were on the run in Florence?

GA: What would be my interpretation of it? My interpretation is very much what you see on the screen which is that there was in fact… that they were an electric couple.

#bedannibal #hannidelia #bedelia du maurier #hannibal fic #hannibal

[dana-is-snax]

Do you think Hannibal was in love with Alana and Bedelia? The same way he was in love with Will? Or how do you see Hannibal's relationship with Alana and Bedelia compared to his intense love for Will?

[long answer: here.]

Hannibal did not love Alana. She was an esteemed colleague but in the end, she was a means to an end. She was there to give him an alibi. He manipulated her.

Hannibal surely once was in love with Bedelia, maybe even loves her still but is not IN love with her anymore. I would say he took her to Italy for the love that once was there – for old time’s sake.

Will is ‘Blackbeard’s last wife’. He and Hannibal just have an unprecedented understanding for each other. Hannibal wanted a future with Will.

So, no, Hannibal was not in love with Alana and Bedelia, or at least not in the same way he was with Will.

#hannibal lecter #bedelia du maurier #will graham #alana bloom #hannibal meta #bedannibal meta #hannigram meta #hannibal nbc

[bonearenaofmyskull]

No no Actually a lot of Bedannibal shippers don't seem to ship Hannigram, like at all. I want to know from their perspective about how they view all the text, subtext, tweets from Bryan and interviews about Hannigram. After everything that Happened in the show many claim that there is no intimacy between Will and Hannibal whatsoever and Hannibal is apparently queerbaiting. Also they claim Hannibal doesn't respect Will and Abigail at all. Also some of them think m/m ships are apparently overrated. This was the discussion I was trying to have. Somebody even said "if Fuller wanted Hannigram canon he would have made them kiss"

I don't think you really understood what I was trying to say, so I'll be a little less gentle this time.

It's rude and illogical to go up to people who don't ship what you ship and demand that they justify themselves by supporting their ship with meta.

Now, if they initiated discourse by posting one of those claims that you mentioned, unprompted, and you're expanding the discourse to their post IN A REBLOG of the post (NOT in their inbox) with a well-reasoned and cited meta discussion, then sure, what you're doing is fair game because that's the way the meta game is played on this here Tumblr dot com: if you've got a public, rebloggable post, then by all means people can publicly reblog it to disagree with you. It would be foolish of them to start something they can't finish (and in this scenario they're fully making the same mistake you are, which trying to justify a ship preference with meta, or expect others to do so). In this case, everyone is responsible for their own manners or lack thereof. And everyone is equally guilty in perpetuating a ship war, regardless of who started it. And sometimes that may even be a justifiable and important position to take.

But they do not owe you--especially if you found them in their own ship tag--any justification, response, meta, reasoning, or anything else. Even on their own post. If they do a shit job supporting their claim, then they have a shit argument, but they're well within their rights to have a shit argument and that's just a win if no one responds to your reblog.

The question here really is about the sincerity of why you're engaging at all. You say it's just to find out why they think what they think, but it sounds like they've told you exactly what they think and why they think it, and you're still pursuing it.

If they've told you all these things that you've listed here, then you have your answer. You don't need to be still engaging.

#hannibal fandom meta #hannibal #typed on my phone so if there's problems deal with it

[bedeliainwonderland]

Have you ever thought why Hannigram shippers say what they say? Almost 85-90% of the people are Hannigram shippers including Bryan Fuller and Mads Mikkelsen himself. Why do they say what they say?

First of all, neither actors and especially not creators should be “shippers”. Second of all, Fuller wasn’t a “shipper” until he started getting all the worship from a select group of fans and got a taste for it. Third of all, if we must go that road, both Fuller and Mads both acknowledged bedannibal on more than one occasion. And Mads also said that Will is straight af but that one never registered with the fandom.

Of course, the majority of fandom is all for it. It’s the universal thing with all fandoms, m/m ships trump all others. The number of artworks, meta, even asking the actors about it (not cool btw) is staggering and overshadows everything else, even what the actual show presented. It also allows zero disagreement or even a slightly different take on the pairing. “Normal” people (non shippers) do not see any of it. It is also a universal thing that all m/m shippers must degrade other pairings and characters to make their ship work.

I got an entire essay in my inbox dismissing Bedelia and her role in Hannibal’s life and you know, Will is the only one bleh bleh. One of the highlights was saying the reason Hannibal didn’t kill her in Baltimore was Will, since he needed someone to talk to “about his boyfriend”. This is the level of disillusion we are talking about here.

I understand this was my fault for opening the Pandora’s box of madness. I should have known better to stay in my wonderful fandom corner. On a plus side, I got to read some aaamazing meta today and it made it all worth while.

#anonymous #asks

[bedeliainwonderland]

Good evening to everyone and especially the anon in my inbox. Did I not make myself clear (or quasi clear as I don’t express my thoughts well when I’m angry)? Thanks for proving my points by saying the exact things h*nnigramers always say. I am tired of being a broken record so I will be focusing on awesome bedannibal meta instead.

Have a nice evening!

#i hit a nerve :))

[bedeliainwonderland]

I'm so tired of constantly seeing Hannigram posts and Bedelia hate in her tag. I don't get why they have to do this still now, it has been going on for so many years. Your posts are some of the few good ones in her tag and I'm always so happy to see them

🥰❤️❤️❤️ awww thank you so much for sending this!! I know exactly what you mean, I saw a few “metas” in the tag this week and it just made me so annoyed. I thought we were already pass the stage of having to hate on character to make your ship work… (I don’t need to slam anyone when shipping a very canon ship that is bedannibal 💅🏻)

Thank you for being in our small fandom corner, it’s the best place 😘❤️

#thank you 🥰❤️ #anonymous #asks #lovely people

[bonearenaofmyskull]

(On the Bedelia point): Because that would imply her covert therapy was to help Hannibal, which I never saw as possible. I'm considering that Bedelia thought her therapy would be useful, but thinking about all their conversations, I'm not sure how. In addition, Bedelia seems more indulgent in Hannibal's lifestyle/brain than the actual man. I don't recall anything that would have suggested she genuinely cared about him; she was mostly scared, observant, and manipulative, never to help Hannibal.

Would it imply that, though? Hannibal thinks he's helping Will all through season 1, after all, and look what he did there.

Not that I think Bird-Crusher Bedelia was invested very deeply in helping Hannibal in the way Hannibal was authentically trying to help Will, but...I also would assert that the show is perfectly capable of depicting people who legitimately care about someone and also are self-serving to the point of destroying that person. It's kind of the whole basis of the show. Bedelia could be crushing Hannibal for the pure joy of it (and I wouldn't argue with her sense of fun in this case because I rather enjoy it myself), but it's also arguable that that is in her best interest for long-term survival: as long as he needs her therapy, then he's less likely to kill her. Both those things can exist next to a real affection for him, at least within the show's universe ("They love and kill what they love"--"And eat what they love: it's a paradox"), and Gillian Anderson does play Bedelia with a controlled display of emotion that indicates she cares for Hannibal as she says and Will observes (see the flashback scene with her finding him in her shower, and how she reacts to his obvious grief and sense of betrayal). She obviously enjoys Hannibal, both as a patient and as a lover.

Hannibal isn't really a show that falls back on "this character is being psychopathic and has no real feelings" much, and definitely not with its main characters. Because there is such enormous precedent in the show with the behavior of characters who care for someone also hurting them tremendously, there would have to be something compelling to suggest that Bedelia's behavior doesn't fit this pattern, and I'm hard pressed to see what that would be.

#hannibal meta #bedelia du maurier #hannibal lecter #season 3 #hannibal #bedannibal

[bedeliainwonderland]

What do you think about the scene in S3 where Bedelia packs her things and attempts to run away but meets Hannibal at the door? She looks scared to me and like she's going to cry. I don't know how to explain it when their relationship with lots of love is canon for me.

Hi there! First of all, thank you for the ask, it cheered me up immensely. I always get excited when I get a chance to talk about them and it was nice since I am not excited about anything lately.

The reason Bedelia packs her bag and attempts to leave is the sudden appearance of Anthony Dimmond and the fact that he has already met Hannibal in Paris, therefore knows he is not “Dr. Fell” who he also knew. And Hannibal throws all cautious out the window, not only inviting him to dinner but inviting him to Dr. Fell’s (aka his) lecture. When she says “you let him go”, that is genuine concern for their privacy and not concern for Dimmond (aka she would not mind him dead). Obviously, once he sees Hannibal as Fell, he will know something is up. He is a sleazy character and Bedelia could not predict what he will do exactly, but it is clear to her that once he finds out, their cover is over. That is why she decides to leave before he gets a chance to contact the police or someone else. She looks scared because she does not know who is behind the door when the handle moves. I think at this point Bedelia was yet to fully establish her escape plan or perhaps was just taken by surprise of how fast this whole thing escalated.

Now the whole “observe or participate” thing, which I love, because it is a perfect foreshadowing to Bedelia’s speech in s3.5, once again proving that they are perfect couple -  like husband like wife. Like I always said, Antipasto is purposely played ambiguously, we are to question Bedelia’s situation, to keep the suspense. It would have been great story building if the following episodes were not turned into a Will/ fanservice show and the confirmation that Bedelia is very much where she wants to be and that they have a full on romantic and intimate relationship gets buried under focusing all the plot on Will. Literally every scene between Bedelia and Hannibal from ep3 feels like a side dish when it is clearly an extravagant main dish. But I digress. The confrontation between Hannibal and Bedelia after Dimmond’s death is clearly nothing more than a marital argument. It pained Hannibal that Bedelia has always kept a distance of sorts to their life together; a distance that was very much merited because Bedelia knew he would destroy their life with his recklessness. She tried not to get too attached as she knew it would only hurt her if she did (spoiler alert: she did get too attached). Plus she has always denied her dark side, despite it being very much there. And Hannibal knew that. So what he is essentially telling her is stop denying who you are and stop denying who WE are. Note that he leaves after that on his little trip to Palermo, giving her plenty of time to leave if she chose to. That is SUPER important. He has never planned or wanted to hurt her, he literally gives her a way out. But she stayed. Now, for Hannibal, who has major abandonment and betray issues (that is why the whole “forgiving Will” bs is total nonsense to please rabid fan girls, he would not!), this was a HUGE thing. Someone who not only has not betrayed him, but has stayed with him. If Hannibal were to ponder anything after his trip, it should have been that, not all that stupid Will nonsense (literally, his wife, a woman he has loved for years, has remained by his side, but imma obsess over a twitchy man who betrayed me and I have nothing in common with because bunch of girls is hardcore into us being together *rolls eyes* this is just plot garbage). That is also when Hannibal started to regret his recklessness; you can clearly see that in ep5, but it was too late, the pawns were already in motions for the game of his own self distraction. He does not want their life to end, but he was an idiot who acts rashly. Again, totally unexplored in the show.

I hope that answers your question, sorry this has got away from me, I LOVE talking about them! Ask me anytime. ♥♥♥

#thank you for the ask ♥️ #bedannibal #bedelia du maurier #hannibal #imma tag this as #hannibal meta #even though it is all canon #anonymous #asks

[plain-as-pandemonium]

More DVD commentary! What was I thinking while writing Oysters (and other bargaining chips)? 

Spoilers for the fic under the cut.

In this fic Bedelia still has a degree of optimism about being able to negotiate with Hannibal. I was hoping it would read as her evaluating him during one of their therapy sessions. She's probably used to reading him and relying on her readings because she knows he isn't totally honest with her. So I felt it was important to include not just the dialogue, but the subtext because:

1.      neither of these characters ever says what they really mean, but also

2.      it's important, specifically, what meaning Bedelia assigns to Hannibal's subtext here.

We know that in Florence Bedelia was trying not to eat anything with a central nervous system, so they must have discussed what she will and won't eat. Or, likely, they had a series of discussions, because it's Hannibal, and he can never just respect someone else's boundaries.

But he does respect Bedelia herself, and he clearly wants to show her his regard. And how does Hannibal show his regard for others? Let me show you my love by cooking for you. Throughout S1 he is so desperate to cook for her that he brings a feast to her table. (With roses for garnish??? OMG he’s so smitten.) For Hannibal I think a major plus of living with Bedelia is being able to cook for her and thus to show her how much he cares about her.

(I can also picture him barring her from the kitchen, like not even allowing her to make toast or tea, because he is just that fussy about it being his space. Or maybe he allows her to sit on a bar stool and watch him cook because his ego needs the reinforcement.)

I do think Hannibal adores Bedelia precisely because she's willing to have these sorts of conversations with him, to set limits and to stand her ground when he pushes back against those limits. Everyone else is so blinded by his charms and deceptions, but of all the characters on the show Bedelia has the fullest picture of him. Not the full picture, mind, but the most complete one. Bedelia sees past his person suit and accepts him, and she has her own charms that he's helpless to resist.

This conversation is just part of the long strategic initiative that their relationship has always been. Bedelia has always had a plan for how best to help Hannibal with his personal and therapy goals, and Hannibal has always had a plan for how to get closer to Bedelia. Here, they are far outside the doctor-patient structure they had in Baltimore. What Bedelia will and won’t eat is just one item they need to renegotiate from scratch as they establish the new boundaries of their current relationship.

Importantly, the odds are in Hannibal’s favour now, and Bedelia is in an impossible position. If she fights back overtly, i.e., if she angers or threatens Hannibal, she's dead. Conversely, if she fawns over him and thus bores him or, worse, makes him fall in love with her, she's dead. Because Hannibal can't love anyone without wanting to literally consume them. So in my mind, her only option is to be interesting, to push back against him, surprise him, set limits, because then at least it's amusing to keep her around. That conflict, the dark, high-stakes push and pull of it, is what I love about the pairing and what I enjoyed about the show; I was watching to see who would win the chess match. And Bedelia is good at being interesting, at knowing what to say and how to say it because she’s got her therapist’s training on her side as well as her knowledge of Hannibal to help her. Those are powerful weapons. At this point in the show (beginning of S3, while they’re still in Paris) she's optimistic about being able to handle him; that optimism will be tested in Florence.

And it is tragic because if Hannibal could just, like, stop wanting to actually eat her they would be a really good match for each other. Bedelia probably wouldn’t want to admit it, but Hannibal understands her better than anyone, just as she understands him. By bringing her to Europe with him, I think he (Mr Hedonism Himself) really does want to show her a good time, in his own way, because her life must have been bleak in Baltimore. They also share a mutual attraction and a degree of compatibility they wouldn’t have with anyone else on the show. Of the obstacles to their becoming a happy couple, most of them are to do with Hannibal being on his cannibal bullshit. It makes me want to kick him. Then again, if he weren’t so antisocial, if he actually cared about things like laws and rules and guidelines, the two of them would still be doctor and patient, and nothing would happen because Bedelia wouldn’t let it. Bedelia’s unwillingness to let him in, to allow him to get any closer to her is also a huge obstacle. Which is why they balance each other out.

#bedelia du maurier #Bedannibal #what was i thinking?! #meta #headcanon #about my fic