#will sees hannibal for the first time after three years while he's in that ugly prison jumpsuit and haircut

[itscuntingseason]

i’m not a part of the ‘will never actually loved molly and should’ve just been with hannibal all along’-believers but. will visiting hannibal in prison and acting like his sluttiest self possible after claiming not to have thought about him for three years is just very funny to me.

#dani talks #nbc hannibal #hannibal lecter #will sees hannibal for the first time after three years while he's in that ugly prison jumpsuit and haircut #cue that scene in fifty shades of dakota johnson spiritually and emotionally climaxing after meeting mr grey #will graham #molly graham #also on the molly front: i'd say he did love her and care about her but just not in the same way he loved/felt connected to hannibal #like yes obv he loved her and wally and he was angry at hannibal for trying to get her killed but he was never truly himself w her #hannigram

[antis-delete-your-blogs-pls-thx]

Mouse’s Reclist (#2/?)

It’s time for a second reclist! Here’s the first, if you want. This is again in no particular order. Title, author, pairing, and fandom will be listed, as well as if it’s a WIP.

The first few are going to be Snarry, because my reading list recently has basically consisted of entirely Snarry. Why? Because I fucking love Snarry. Sue me.

Angels on the Moon by Writcraft - Harry Potter/Snarry  - The aftermath of the war is almost as difficult as the war itself, Harry is a mess and Severus is a reluctant survivor forced back to Hogwarts to recuperate from his injuries. When a brick-bonding spell goes awry, Harry and Severus are forced to confront hatred, misunderstandings and a new and unexpected intimacy which takes them both by surprise. Notes: This is the classic-style Eighth Year!Fic, which has long been my favourite trope in the HP fandom. It’s an especially loved trope of mine when it comes to Snarry, too, as I am problematic filth, and teacher-student relationships are my jam. It’s also a classic bonding!fic. But the way it handles the tropes is just… *chef’s kiss*

The Man Underneath by maraudersaffair - Harry Potter/Snarry - Severus is a secret Auror and must always be disguised. When Harry Potter becomes his new partner, Severus struggles hiding his true identity and burning attraction. Notes: This is more bottom!Snape than top!Snape, which I know isn’t to everyone’s taste. However, it’s fucking fantastic, and as someone who has a cathartic and self-fulfilling love of “char A is ugly and has a shittonne of self-hatred and yet manages to score super hot char B” (something that I struggle with myself and still worry how I manage to keep my own gorgeous partner over), this is perfect. Not that I even agree with J.K.’s assessment on Sev’s ugliness. I like the “goth filled with churning angst” look. 

a forest, dark and deep by bleedcolor - Harry Potter/Snarry - Once, many years ago (for that is when all great stories begin, many years ago; we never consider we might be in the midst of our own great story) there lived a boy. But wait, you might say, there is nothing special about a boy living, many people do and never amount to much of anything. You would be right, but you would also be wrong, because this story is not about a boy who lived, but The Boy Who Lived, and that is all the difference. Notes: Harry is cursed and must go on an adventure to the Fountain of Youth to find the cure. I cried. I cried a lot. I cried a lot a lot a lot a lot. Happy ending, though! Fairy tale fic. One of the best fics to read if you want magic in the HP universe portrayed more like magic in ancient medieval history tends to be portrayed: mysterious, Eldritch, Occult-like power that requires strange and sometimes dangerous rituals to harness.

you like making me work for it by bottlefamebrewglory - Harry Potter/Snarry - “Before what, Mr. Potter?”//Before Snape had looked at him, drunk and miserable without knowing why, and told him that he could change his future if he wanted. Before he had pulled Snape out of the darkness he’d been determined to drown in. Before the memories. Before he’d looked into Snape’s eyes and watched him die.//Harry didn’t often change his mind, not about people. He’d been accused by Hermione more than once of being stubborn, even prejudiced. And, once upon a time, he’d thought he’d known exactly who Severus Snape was. But that had changed and Harry was no longer that boy anymore, just as Snape could no longer ever be just his hated professor.//“Before,” Harry said again, more finally.//Harry was pretty sure the fact that everyone never thought he’d live past seventeen was at least half the reason becoming an actual adult was so goddamn strange. Severus just wanted to get on with his life now that it was free of controlling old men.//Or, five times Harry flirted with Snape and one time Snape flirted with Harry. Notes: @snapedefender‘s most recent masterpiece. Post-War!fic, one of the best of. Harry worms his way into Severus’ life, as he always does. Also he has a big crush. Their interactions are golden. Everything about this is golden, in fact. It’s just delightful. Read it, please.

How the War Was Won by avioleta - Harry Potter/Snarry - Severus Snape should be dead. Instead, he wakes up after the Battle of Hogwarts to find himself quarantined in a house full of Gryffindors, waiting for Harry bloody Potter to save the world…again. And Severus must be going crazy because he can’t seem to stop thinking about Potter. (Or, where Harry needs a distraction, and Severus doesn’t refuse.) Notes: War Doesn’t End with The Battle of Hogwarts!fic. And it’s by avioleta, a longtime and well-loved Snarry writer. Well-loved for good reason! They know what they’re doing, and it shows. I’ve long loved “Harry and any number of Slytherins are holed up together and must get along” as a trope, and this nails it perfectly. Another fav was in my previous reclist, Hauntingly by ObsidianPen, where Harry is holed up with Draco, Sev, AND Tom! Fun times!

Chasing Ghosts by DictionaryWrites - Harry Potter/Snarry/WIP - “I guess I’m not ready to join the land of the living just yet,” Harry says. “Need a little more time here at Hogwarts, with all the ghosts. You know what I mean?”//In the aftermath of the war, Harry doesn't feel ready to leave the safety of the castle, and to go out into the world at large: he wants to stay. The Room of Requirement - with great reluctance - grants his wish. Notes: Adult!Harry wakes up in the Marauders Era and becomes a teacher, all while he tries to figure out the nature of spacetime. TIME TRAVEL!FIC! That’s in all caps because I love and adore time travel!fic with all my heart. Again, more of a bottom!Snape story. I used to think I preferred top!Snape, but bottom!Snape has come into my heart with a passion as of late and showed me I’m not always going to want Snape to nail Harry into his mattress. This also shows more of Snape’s backstory, with mentor!Lucius and all, which is a fav of mine as well.

OKAY! Enough Snarry, yes, sorry. Moving on!

Love Potion #9 by murderlight - Bleach/GrimmIchi - Gifted with a horrifying box of potion-laced chocolates from Urahara in the hopes he might feed them to somebody, Ichigo thought all the excitement for Valentine’s Day was done with. Then Grimmjow had to get snacky.//A story in which Ichigo is entrusted with the scientifically altered affections of his once-enemy, and might just discover some of his own. Notes: I love the goddamn love potion/love spell trope. This one highlights the dubcon nature of making someone fall in love with you (even on accident) a lot more, but still makes everyone’s feelings feel genuine and real. And of course it ends happily. And there’s no noncon, if that’s not to your taste. Ichigo is a good boy and does not stroke that pussy until that pussy is entirely free from Kisuke’s experimental serums. Yes, I made that pun.

The Edinburgh Problem by snorklepie - Sherlock/Johnlock - “A nice holiday, just a bit more...murdery. ” John said drily.//“Yes! The best kind of holiday!” Sherlock beamed. “So we won’t get bored!”//After he separates from Mary, John returns to Baker Street. Following a request for help from Sherlock's cousin Violet, the detective and his blogger take a trip to Edinburgh. John discovers more about the Holmes family and Sherlock than he bargained for, but tries not to run screaming. Notes: I fell in love with Violet immediately. I am so gay. If you are also attracted to women, you will probably join me in falling in love with Violet. She is amazing, and very Holmes. But a more balanced Holmes. Well, as balanced as a Holmes can be. I love case fic, I love Sherlock Holmes in general because of my adoration for murder mystery (yes, I am a forensics major, thank you for being able to clock me very obviously), and I love deep backstory and family bonding. It’s a long, long ride, but it is undoubtedly worth every single minute.

The Loss of Flesh and Soul by deuxexmycroft - Sherlock/Johnlock/Abandoned WIP - Five years after John Watson puts the murderous Sherlock Holmes behind bars, a vicious copycat killer emerges. A reluctant John is pulled out of retirement to seek the expertise of the only man who can help, a man who has developed an unsettling obsession with John himself.//Crossover with Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs Notes: It’s Hannigram but Johnlock, what’s not to love? Sherlock’s characterisation in the TV show is already unsettling enough (well, in the beginning, but I like to pretend Sherlock doesn’t exist past S2), so adding in a little Hannibal Lecter is fantastic. Yes, it’s an abandoned WIP. Yes, that hurts like hell. But it’s so, so worth it anyway. Seriously, this is one of the best executions of serial killer!Sherlock I’ve seen in fandom, and given how fucking gigantic the Sherlock fandom is, hopefully you can see how big of a thumbs up that is imho!

Sinking the Land by emungere - Sherlock/Mystrade - Three weeks ago, Mycroft Holmes picked Lestrade up outside New Scotland Yard and made him an offer he'd been unable to refuse, despite his best judgement. Mycroft had sucked his cock, dropped him off at home, and Lestrade hadn't heard a word from him since.//Now, the door of the black car swung open as Lestrade drew level with it. He could just see Mycroft's profile, hawkish nose and shallow chin limned by the orange glow of the streetlight. Notes: Porn WITH plot! That’s the best way to take your porn, imho. One of the best ways I’ve seen the Mystrade relationship developed. It’s just so real. And Lestrade is so head-over-heels, which is my favourite way to take my Lestrade :p.

Clark Kent, of Krypton by TerresDeBrume - DCEU/Superbat - Batman crashes on Krypton a few days before the Turn of the Year celebrations, and Kal-El's life takes a sharp turn to the left, on a path that will, ultimately, lead him to becoming Clark Kent. Notes: Krypton Wasn’t Destroyed!fic is always, always, always my favourite. Sci-fi mystery again, yes. If you saw my first reclist, then you understand that I am always going to fall for a sci-fi mystery fic. This one develops Kryptonian culture beautifully, and equally-as-perfectly encapsulates what “Clark Kent Pretending to Be a Mild-Mannered Reporter, but on Krypton” would actually look like.

Q It Again by writerofprose - Star Trek/QCard - Picard thinks his position, as captain of the Enterprise, plays the largest role in Q's obsession with him. Q would like to take that bet, even if Picard wasn't making one. What say they try it again, from the start? Without the captain nonsense? Notes: A poignant take on Q’s weird fixation with Picard. Not that anyone can blame him. I mean, shit, the man is Jean-luc Picard. Anyone would be fixated on him. Q uses his Q powers to explore Picard in multiple alternate universes, and erases his own memories in order to come in unbiased. Picard gets to keep his original memories, and those of the AU. Does Q still like Picard as much when he’s not at the helm of the Enterprise?

American Outlaws by manic_intent - Red Dead Redemption/Morston - “Bounty’s for one ‘Jim Milton’,” Sadie said, as she got close to the man under the oak tree. “Wanted for murder, robbery, and unnatural acts.”//“Unnatural what?”///“Don’t got details on here.” Sadie passed the folded up poster to her hunting partner. “You all right?”//Arthur Morgan didn’t answer her as he smoothed open the poster. He was aggressively smoking a cigarette, his second, judging from the stub on the grass. Notes: I loved RDR and RDR2 so much that I wrote my own fic in the fandom, despite knowing jackshit about late 1800’s America. It was only a ficlet, in order to hide how little I remember from my contemporary history classes, but much more talented people than me took on the burden of whole-ass novels. Here’s everyone’s fav BNF manic’s take on a fix-it Morston, pre-RDR1 but post-RDR2. It’s excellent. Who doesn’t enjoy forbidden love historical romance? Especially with a delicious helping of age gap. If you’d like Vandermorgan or even Vandermorston, check out more of manic’s stuff, and also kriegersan, who is another long-time fav of mine. 

Every Deckerstar fic by wollfgang. But especially a softer beginning, an amnesia!fic, and if you saw all of me, a true form!Lucifer!fic. You know, since angels are described as weird Eldritch beings in ancient texts. Both tropes are my favourite. Also that latter one has monsterfucking and we are all monsterfuckers here.

A Modest Proposal by ignaz - House M.D./Hilson - Tritter's case against House still depends on subpoenaed testimony from Wilson. To save House from losing everything, the doctors of PPTH decide on an unusual solution, which in turn leads to unexpected consequences. This is a story about the sacrifices we make that turn out not to be such great sacrifices after all. (Contains spoilers for everything up to and including "Merry Little Christmas.") Notes: Work 355 on the AO3. It’s that OG. And for an OG slash fandom, too. Well, not Star Trek levels of OG, but it’s a fandom based on Sherlock Holmes, and ACD did come before Star Trek! You’ve probably read it. It’s the OG Hilson Pretend Marriage!fic. But I had to rec it because when I get bored I watch House on Amazon Prime (or the thousands of clips they upload to YT nowadays), and I always am struck by HOW GAY HOUSE AND WILSON ARE OH MY GOD. I can never watch it with Mum in the room, though, because she was in the medical field before she retired, and the unrealistic nature of how House characters behave (and some of the medical procedures) make her SOOOOOO peeved. Though doctors, especially surgeons, were apparently huge egotistical dicks at times. Maybe not kill your own patient levels, though.

In A Place Where No One Appeared by Gefionne - Star Wars/Kylux - Following the destruction of Starkiller Base, General Hux is ordered to remove a wounded Kylo Ren to a place where he can recuperate. Knowing nowhere else to house him safely and discreetly, Hux takes Ren to his family’s estate on Arkanis. He anticipates adding this experience to the already long list of abhorrent memories he has of his childhood home, but six weeks in company with Ren turns out to be something quite unlike Hux expected. Notes: The imagery is so fucking vivid, I love it. The entire world of Arkanis is just lit up so beautifully in Gefionne’s words. This takes a little liberty with Hux’s backstory, given there wasn’t too much out at the time, but it’s so fucking good, I’d prefer its canon to the actual one, lmao. 

all that you love will be carried away by coldhope - Star Wars/Kylux - Supreme Leader, the oscillator is failing. The collapse has begun. There is nothing that can be done.//Hux, sent to retrieve Kylo Ren from the dying Starkiller Base, has lost almost everything, and has little patience or tolerance left for anyone or anything--particularly not Snoke's pet pseudo-Sith and his amateur theatrics. But you do the job that is in front of you, to the best of your ability, and you hold on as long as you can. Notes: One of the first Kylux fics, and one of the best. Their relationship is just so real here.

London Calling by SectoBoss - Overwatch/WidowTracer - Recaptured by Overwatch, Widowmaker is sent on a mission to assassinate a high-ranking Talon agent in London. It should be an easy mission – get in, take the shot, and leave. But when Tracer’s your getaway pilot a lot of things can go wrong, and things like 'subtlety' and 'discretion' tend to be the first casualties. Now, lying low after the mission goes awry, the pair of them have to survive in the city until Overwatch can get them home. Notes: Written when OW was in its heyday. And before the fandom was qqqquite as bad as it became. A WidowTracer case!fic, with Amelie as the reluctant good guy, which is always the best trope and I don’t take concrit on this point.

To the Victor, The Spoil by Annakovsky - Hunger Games/Haymitch/Katniss - No berries, no mockingjay, no rebellion. Katniss killed Peeta in the arena, and now she has to live with herself like every other victor. Notes: An old fandom, an older fic, back in the day when nobody complained about fucked up dark!fic. And fucked up dark!fic this is. Rape, age gap, age gap rape, Katniss losing all hope about the future, etc. But damn, it’s good.

The Want of You by MKK - Star Trek/Garashir - Julian Bashir is not quite sure yet about his feelings toward his enigmatic new friend Elim Garak. So when they both show symptoms of a mysterious illness, it seems they'll now have more time apart to ponder the future of the relationship. Their symptoms worsen, however, and to their shock, they discover there's only one way to effectively and inexplicably ease the pain: getting physically closer and closer - and closer. Notes: A forced bonding!fic where Bashir doesn’t actually know Garak all that well. As in, set very early in the canon. Very early. Which is my favourite way to read this beloved trope, because the whole fun of it (imho) is characters who barely have a grasp on each other’s personalities being forced to learn them.

Timeshare by astolat - Harry Potter/Drarry - “It’s not for long,” Hermione said. “By the time we get back to Hogwarts, the Unfettering Brew will be ready.”//“Listen to you!” Ron said. “He’s got to get through a month with the Dursleys and a month at Malfoy Manor. With Draco Malfoy.”//“Yeah, thanks,” Harry said, because he hadn’t just spent the last week contemplating just how much more horrible his summer holidays were about to be than they’d ever been before. Notes: Another forced bonding!fic, this time by AO3’s own founder. I love it. I love it, I love it, I love it. Their interactions here are perfect.

Speaking of Drarry, here’s a Veela!Draco fic I’ve recced before, but I don’t believe was in the original masterpost.

Talk to Me by Saras_Girl - Harry Potter/Drarry - When the usual channels of communication are shut down, the most surprising people can find a way in. A strange little love story. Notes: Harry is temporarily deaf and blind thanks to a misaimed spell. Draco takes care of him, in secret. Identity porn at its best.

Semaphore by DevilDoll - MCU/Stony - "I’m trying to like you, Tony. You’re just making it very hard." Notes: I wanted to rec another OG. One of the first Stony fics in the MCU, and still one of the best. It holds up very, very well and is worth a read if, by some miracle, you haven’t already.

Prisoner’s Dilemma by AvocadoLove - MCU/Stony - After taking the airplane down in the Arctic, Steve wakes to find himself imprisoned as a human test subject. With no idea where in the world he is, his only ally is a fast-talking inventor in the cell next door. Something’s off about Tony that Steve can’t put his finger on, and it’s obvious Tony doesn't fully trust him either. But to escape they may not have a choice… Notes: IDENTITY PORN! And it’s by an author I adore. AvocadoLove has pioneered the MCU MattFoggy fandom, and also donated their efforts and words to Stony. It’s the best. And it’s canon divergence! Which is another favourite trope, and one I can’t ever seem to stop writing myself. I have a lot of appreciation for it.

Speaking of MattFoggy, all of theapplepielifestyle’s works for the pairing are amazing. And all of their works in general.

Belief Space by magicasen - Marvel 616/Stony - The Time Gem appears not when it is wanted, but when it is needed. Steve learns this the hard way.//(Or: an Infinity #6 AU where Thane refuses his birthright and the Avengers are doomed - until the Time Gem shows up within Captain America's grasp.) Notes: A 616!Stony fic, if you’re craving something in the comics rather than the movies. Still with Civil War angst and Stony angry tension, just this time it’s even more painful, because their friendship in the comics!verse was beautiful and their fallout even more devastating.

This time tomorrow (where were we?) by dorcas_gustine - Marvel 616/Stony - Tony goes to see Wanda, and suddenly Steve is alive and there are Skrulls! Or maybe Tony is just going crazy. Nothing happens in this fic, until the very end. Seriously. There's a lot of talking, mostly at inopportune moments, Tony's views on the acceptable gifts to give people are slightly different from everyone else's and he spends more time than would seem necessary being (half-)naked. What else is new? Notes: More 616 for your Stony needs! Tony time travels into a word pre-Secret Invasion and decides to fix things his damn self.

despite the threatening sky and shuddering earth (they remained) by praximeter (Zimario) - MCU/Stucky - “They really didn’t want the mask to come off.” Hill thumbed through the scans, and pulled out a film that she then handed over to Sam, face mostly expressionless but for the flat line of her pursed lips.//Sam accepted the film and held it up to the light, angling so both he and Steve could see it, squinting at the outline of the Winter Soldier’s skull, and the blips of unnatural white that showed up, God, in his brain, not to mention about half his teeth, plus the mask, with its thin protrusions—//“Those are pins,” Steve realized. He looked over at Hill. “The mask—it’s nailed to his face.”//Hill’s face was as unmoved as ever. “Like I said. They really didn’t want it coming off.” Notes: TWS Identity Porn!AU. Gore, given that the Winter Soldier’s mask is literally stuck to his face. But it’s excellent.

Simple by Osidiano - MCU/Stucky - Written for the capkink meme; "To the Winter Soldier, there are basically three kinds of people in the world: superiors, mission support, and targets. He doesn't have the context to understand things like friendship. So what he sees in the Smithsonian exhibit and what little he remembers or feels about his past, he interprets in that light. He thinks that Steve must have been his handler during World War II. That the reason he couldn't kill Steve and the reason he was smiling in the museum photos was because Steve was a good superior who treated him well (or at least didn't hurt him like Pierce and Rumlow, which to him might be the best he can imagine).//Thinking he understands the situation, he decides to report to Steve. Cue misunderstandings, confusion, and heartache for both of them." Notes: Bucky taking a while to snap out of TWS mode is one of my favourite tropes. This fic executes it perfectly.

Bridge Over Troubled Water by soniclipstick (veriscence) - MCU/Stuckony/Phlint - Ultron is destroyed, the Avengers are in disarray, and the Winter Soldier is still in the wind. Steve knows that he has to fix the ever-growing ocean of distrust between Tony and himself, so he takes a leap of faith and tasks Tony with the most important thing: finding Bucky Barnes. But it takes a pair of sexy but stolen hand warmers, several robots, Hawkeye and countless selfies before Steve realises the immensity of what he's set into motion. Notes: I would die for Stuckony as a ship. It’s one of my favourites to read and to write, and this fic here encapsulates it quite frankly in the best way. 

Strange New Worlds by Leletha - Supernatural/Destiel/Sabriel - AU…THE FUTURE: Humanity survives everything, spreads to the stars, and finds it needs to know where it can land. Enter interplanetary explorers Sam and Dean Winchester…and sentient starships Gabriel and Castiel. Then ships and crews start disappearing out in the black and, as usual, all goes straight to hell. Notes: I corresponded with Le’letha when they originally wrote this fic, and my love for it has only grown in the years since. Sci-fi mystery, yes. Dude, Castiel is a sentient spaceship. That itself is premise enough.

In His Image by Anonymous - Supernatural/Sabriel - Kali can breathe life back into a corpse, but what exactly is Gabriel now? Gabriel flits around various centuries trying to work that out, Dean has another powered-down angel and a little brother to look out for, Castiel has forgotten how to trust, and someone keeps sending Sam annoying little notes on his laptop. Oh, and Bobby would like to remind you all that there’s an Apocalypse still going on. Covers season 5 from Gabriel’s death to the finale. Notes: My favourite Sabriel fic. God only knows why the author abandoned it. I have their original name, but it doesn’t feel right to reveal it when they made the conscious choice to anonymise. Let me just say that they were a favourite of mine.

If You Were the Last Woman on Earth by Vali - Doctor Who/Thoschei (Twissy) - Just because your best enemy accidentally destroyed planet Earth is no reason to refuse her hospitality. Written for the Only One Bed fanfic challenge. Notes: That last note doesn’t even begin to cover how wonderful this fic is. Tropes are irrelevant, this captures them perfectly. Still one of my fav ever Thoschei fics. Now just get me one where The Master calls our titular hero Theta Cubed Sigma Ex Squared Lungbarrow, please.

A Wealth of Sorrows by evelynwaaaaah - Dragon Age/Solavellan - Things are getting back to normal in Skyhold now that Corypheus is gone. Until the Inquisitor collapses in mid-conversation.  Notes: Solavellan is still a ship I would die for. This fic will make you ship it, if the game didn’t already. And this is coming from someone who romanced Cullen on my first playthrough.

Reclamation by copperbadge - Harry Potter/Background Jily and Wolfstar - In an alternate universe, one man still struggles with a moral decision made many years before. Notes: What if Tom Marvolo Riddle wasn’t quite the same maniac of the canon!verse and was accepted to the position of DADA professor? By the esteemed copperbadge.

Truth and Illusion by penny_dreadful - Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica/MadoHomu/KyoSaya - “I’ve, um, been dreaming.” She closes her eyes because it’s easier to ignore Mami and Homura’s stares. “In, in my dream I’m still in bed, but I-I’m not alone, Sayaka’s next to me but she’s not breathing, she’s—”//She’s pale and cold and pretty in the same way the stained glass windows of Kyoko’s father’s church are pretty and she’s lying so still she can’t be anything but dead. But in her dream Kyoko still curls around her, soul gem in hand, keeping her warm, keeping her safe—//“—she’s dead, I didn’t even know her that well and she’s dead and in my dream I’m so, I’m scared that there’s nothing I can do.” She opens her eyes. “But there really is nothing I can do. She’s already gone, and we left her there.” She stares hard at her hands. “We weren’t really even friends.” Notes: Not really a fix-it for MadoHomu, but certainly one for SayaKyo. Homura does more spacetime bullshit. Kyouko remembers.

~~~

I think that should cover it for now! That took me ageeeees, and I have games to go waste my life on and fics to write now lmao. Let me know if you want a third installment!

#fic recs #recs #fic rec #long post

[kiss-my-freckle]

3x10 Rewatch: ...And the Woman Clothed in Sun

Francis has me cracking up at the open, trying to deepen his voice to impress Hannibal when he calls him. Fixing the phone lines at the old office. He has no idea what happened there at 7:30 on many a night, and he has no idea what he's about to step between. Hannibal quotes The Tyger. "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" Multiple conversations about acts of God and creations of. Bedelia and the lie she created to wiggle her way out of the situation she put herself in is paying off. "My journey to damnation began when I was swallowed by the beast." lmfao!! This entire conversation foreshadowing her finale scene. Another ugly face in the crowd. Jack, Alana, Chilton, Bedelia... all of them lying. "Will has not had his breakthrough yet." Breakthrough for Will, coming right up. Like Alana, she's doing what she must to keep herself alive. Will is hilarious too because he knows better than to buy it. "Suffering inside Hannibal Lecter's bowels for what must have felt like an eternity." He's there because he knows he's not strong enough to deny Hannibal. "I've seen enough of him." This ties in what Hannibal said to her earlier in the season. "I've taken off my person suit. I let them see enough." Ties in what Will said of his wife. "She's aware enough." And ties in what Francis said of Reba. "I shared with Reba a little, in a way that she could survive." Will's need to talk to her about Hannibal speaks to his weakness. He's getting personal with him through her. Francis takes Reba to see the tiger at the zoo. Quite sensual. Her fingers in the bottle as she pours their drinks... a close-up view of her wet fingers putting olives on a toothpick. Yeah... that's hot. The best way to play with your food. Someone should've taught Mason. Their sex scene is delicious. Like Will, he has a nightmare. Pearls becoming teeth, probably related to his grandmother. The Dragon with a gun in his hand, standing under the moon. He wakes alone, rushes out of bed and runs upstairs to stand before his Dragon god on display. He hears it growling, fights like hell to push him out of his head. Reba is ready to leave, and Francis certainly wants her to. He's afraid The Dragon will demand he hand her over.

Hannibal triggers the phone to make a call they wouldn't allow him to make otherwise. Speaking as an employee working at the office of Chilton's publisher, he orders a copy of Hannibal the Cannibal for Will. He wants him to read it. A close-up of his tongue licking the envelope for a card he sends to Bedelia. "He always includes a recipe." Will continues to foreshadow her finale scene. "If he does end up eating you, Bedelia, you'd have it coming." He's not kidding. As I said in a previous post, I do believe Hannibal refused to cross those boundaries with Will, having already told him he doesn't want to think about him anymore. "They are acceptable... to murderers and cannibals." The best of understanding. I love the double "And you" response. "You lied, Bedelia. You do that a lot. Why do you do that a lot?" She says she obfuscates to protect Hannibal as a patient, but it's not just about Hannibal, she has to keep herself off his dinner table. She had no problem informing them when she was granted immunity. Once claiming Hannibal was her psychiatrist, now claiming she was his. Everything to protect herself, like blaming Hannibal for the death of her patient. "Not the first time I've lost professional objectivity in a matter where Hannibal is concerned." His death was on her. She tells Will he's there visiting an old flame. I love how he's fooling himself, getting personal with Hannibal through her. Especially when she makes comments like that. "You couldn't save Hannibal. Do you think you can save this new one?" I don't know what makes her think Hannibal needed to be saved. And this is coming from the mouth that said, "Almost anything can be trained to resist its instinct." Almost anything. Harder to train what's been playing out in the wild for as long as he has. Able to influence? Sure, but it's not exact. Bedelia telling Will she wants to crush the vulnerable bird. She wouldn't crush it, but that would be her first thought. Same concept with the shepherd's dog. Doesn't savage the sheep even though it wants to. She thinks Hannibal led Will to believe he’s a killer. "You're capable of righteous violence because you are compassionate." Will asks how she's capable. "Extreme acts of cruelty require a high level of empathy. The next time you have an instinct to help someone, you might consider crushing them instead." No different than telling Will to savage the sheep even though he's trained to resist his instinct. It's whatever suits her, however she can save herself the trouble... wiggle out of situations she gets herself into. That's why it pisses her off when she becomes the vulnerable bird, her meat back on the menu. Compassion gives Will the desire to help. He'd kill Hobbs to protect Abigail. His empathy allows him the ability to understand and relate to anyone, including Hannibal. He admitted this in the pilot episode. Cut to another flashback as Bedelia crushes her vulnerable bird while he's choking on his own tongue. Deep-fisted his throat, then passed out. It looked... sexual.

A lucky sign screen-spin like the one they do with Francis and the moon. Will shows the tree marking to Hannibal. It acts as a double for The Great Red Dragon and the Chinese character. Back to that theme of luck. Will setting aside what Hannibal said, puts his focus on The Great Red Dragon, then searches his face for a response. Hannibal basically tells him to look for those few pieces of art, that's how he catches up with Francis for their first confrontation. Demonic sexuality. Will is fighting to figure out how he chooses his families, still doesn’t want to bother looking at the way he chooses his own. "I like this Dragon, Will. I don't think he's crazy at all. I think he may be quite sane." I love how this hits against Will, the look in his eyes. "Can't pass on those terrible traits you fear the most." Will walks into the museum as Francis is chowing down on the Blake Watercolor. His escort informs him he's the second person wanting to view it, so Will knows he’s there. Not sure why he stares at Francis as he does, perhaps looking for the reason he smashes mirrors - his disfigurement. Francis knows that he knows, so he throws him like a rag doll and takes off. I'm like damn... after three years out, this is the man you throw him up against? Will isn't built like Hannibal or trained like Jack. Still fun to watch.  

[invokeinspiration]

Reflections on Orthodox Judaism/Hasidic Communities

Like many people during COVID, I am watching a lot of Netflix. I’ve finished the entire Vampire Diaries universe (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies), I’ve also binged on Hannibal (of which I am currently writing a very in-depth fanfic), and I have watched countless fantastic films. I’ve watched Ip Man 1 and 2 and will be watching 3 and 4 soon. I have watched The Lobster, Moonlight, Resident Evil, Adams Family, The Danish Girl, and The Hater. I have watched shows and movies that have made me cry, made me laugh, made me do some research, and made me think about the story and characters long after the end credits. But early into my quarantine period, back before April, I came across a trailer for the show Unorthodox and it began a journey that I’d like to share. 

Unorthodox is an American/German limited series on Netflix that follows the story of a young woman, Esther (Shira Haas), who begins a marriage in a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn. She was a member of the Satmar sect that began with the Hasidic community in Hungary but migrated to New York after WWII. The Satmar sect is characterized as being more strict than the European Hasidic sects with a complete rejection of modern culture, fierce anti-Zionism, and strict adherence to male-only education. The story is based on the true life events of Deborah Feldman’s life depicted in her memoir. When I first saw the trailer, I was uncertain. I actually didn’t immediately watch it but after seeing the preview a few times, I thought to just take a risk and I am certainly glad I did. The visual style of the show was beautiful. There was an authenticity to the show that I was entranced by. I felt like I was truly in a Hasidic family and understanding Hasidic roots and traditions. I love it when good television transports me into a new world and allows me to really see all sides. 

Shira Haas was a breakthrough performer. She had a gentle brokenness that felt pure and raw. As a young woman, Esther wanted to be a part of her community but also felt a deep split emerging between her love for her culture and the desire for something that would break her from those roots. She made an extremely difficult decision by leaving her Hasidic family in Brooklyn for a life of uncertainty in Berlin. It was definitely a tale of an idealistic young woman following her heart, a story that we can all get behind. What was refreshing though, was depicting the reality of the loss of her community. It was never going to be a clean break and I’m glad the show told the difficult story as well as the happy one. 

She wanted to experience individual expression, something that was taboo in her culture where standing out made you troublesome and difficult. When her family told her to stop chasing after her mother that abandoned her for the secular world, she went anyway. When her family told her that her life goal should be to bear children and be a good wife for her community, she decided to chase her dreams of studying music. When she felt trapped in a loveless marriage, she wanted to find a passionate love. Even though she found moments of clarity and happiness, she still felt lost, trapped in between two worlds. The difficult decision of leaving home oftentimes made her feel confused and wanting to go back to the comforts of the only support system she thought she knew. Even though her husband came searching for her, she knew that she couldn’t trust that support system again. She had to create a new one.

As the story continued, not only about Esther but the dynamic characters that surrounded her, I became enveloped in the visceral empathy of their situation. I know that I am not a part of the community, but I could feel the turmoil as they were feeling turmoil. I could feel the frustrations from many sides as though I was feeling them. For example, Esther’s husband Yakov (played by Amit Rahav), was difficult to relate to at the beginning of the show. I know too many men in my personal life that have no interest in being truly sympathetic to women’s needs or follow along with the pressures of society without having enough courage to think for themselves. For the first few episodes, that was Yakov, but as the story continued, I began to see where he was coming from and felt like he was truly a good man. It’s not often that I see a beta male antagonist become a truly developed, sensitive man. It makes me feel hopeful that there may be more intellectual, loving, good men in the Hasidic community. These relationships, including every character’s relationship with God, were complex and ugly at times but it didn’t leave me with a bad taste in my mouth for the community. In fact, it left me curious. I wanted more. 

Netflix came out with a behind the scenes short documentary about the show and there was so much that went into the details of the show that really embodied the community as a whole. The writers and producers wanted to show as much as they could about the Hasidic community. They wanted to maintain respect for the community while also commentating on how the secular world sees it from the outside and how someone like Esther might feel trapped in between. There was still a whole universe I didn’t yet understand.

Since I, unfortunately, don’t have Hasidic friends to talk to about my new obsession for the community, I wanted to watch whatever Netflix had to offer. I came across the documentary, One of Us, which follows three ex-Hasidic Jews who left the community for a variety of reasons. Ari was a young man of about 19 or so who was sexually assaulted during his adolescent years and, after not feeling supported by his community, turned to alcohol and drugs. Etty, after years of suffering domestic violence in her marriage, decided to leave the community which left her in a custody battle of her five children, of which she subsequently lost. The third person, Luzer, decided to leave the community after he felt abandoned when he asked questions about God’s existence. Watching their stories also made me realize another piece to the puzzle of the Hasidic community. When I watched Unorthodox, I felt that it made most sense that women would be the ones to leave the community because they were significantly more oppressed than the men, as in most religious societies. However, after watching One of Us, I realized that men leave too. Men feel abandoned and invisible in the community just as women do. 

There was a point in the documentary where Luzer asked one of his Hasidic friends why the community is this way and his friend responded to say that, “it’s all about the survival of the Jewish community.” Without strict control, the community would fall privy to the secular world and lose its strength over time. It’s clear that the community leaders of the Hasidic community don’t want to lose people to the secular world. It is also clear that a lot of ex-Hasidic individuals miss and love their community, even with its problems and constrictions. I think that if the community wants to prevent more people from leaving, they may have to compromise by providing more support for people. There are times in every pious person’s life where there are doubts about God. For a lot of people, those doubts can be strong. 

For most Jews, there is profound respect for the rabbi and if more rabbis can encourage a more open dialogue about the doubts about God and the community, then perhaps people won't feel so isolated. For men and women suffering from sexual health or marital issues like abuse, there should be a trusted system in place to protect these individuals. It’s not the issues themselves that make people want to leave, it’s the feeling of abandonment of these issues by the entire community that make people feel isolated and wanting out. The specific issues discussed in the documentary may be why I have more specific ideas on how to approach a more progressive Hasidic community. This is what I gather from what I see in both Unorthodox, One of Us, and my own research. 

The end of One of Us left me to be more critical, rather than the appreciative aftertaste I got after watching Unorthodox. I appreciate that every religious community has its own faults, and harshly criticizing it hardly makes sense coming from a non-Jew. So, I return to simple appreciation, observation, and curiosity rather than harsh criticism.

If any individual reading this has any opposition, comment or question about my thought process on this topic, I highly encourage discourse. I love to be re-educated. 

However, my interest in the Hasidic community still has not stopped. It’s not because I am religious, but because I am deeply fascinated by the complicated world of Judaism and of strict religious communities. I also wanted to continue watching some of the more beautiful and interesting traditions that I grew fond to appreciate in Unorthodox. 

Which has led me to a bit of a different kind of show, Shtisel. Shtisel is an Israeli drama television show completely filmed in Yiddish. It’s a fairly recent show, with the first season released in 2013 and it’s newest season greenlit for production at the end of 2020. I’ve just started it but I am hooked. The actress, Shira Haas, who plays Esther in Unorthodox plays one of the supporting character’s daughters in this show.The show follows Akiva Shtisel, the protagonist, a young man who falls for an older, twice widowed woman. Though, his family disapproves, he can’t seem to get her off his mind. There’s lots of additional side stories that make the show interesting and I’m excited that a third season is coming. I’ve just started the show, but right now I am enjoying the story because it’s different than what I’ve seen before. I wanted to see more about the lives of people actually still in the community, rather than those who want to leave or have left. Shtisel is refreshingly different from Unorthodox, in the way that the Hasidic Jews in Shitsel are Israeli, which supposedly implies a more lax community. In some ways, I’ve noticed the changes. I noticed that there are women who work in the Torah schools and men who speak more freely about marrying for love rather than for community pressures, which seems to be different from the Satmar sect. 

I have a lot more I want to see and learn. I have a billion questions to ask about this world and I want to get to know more. I hope that more people become interested, just as I have. I want more people to find a new respect for the Hasidic community, the Jewish faith and of religious groups in general. I think the more we try to learn about each other, the closer we become as people. Sometimes, it isn’t as hard as we make it out to be. All it takes is a little Netflix surfing. 

Shalom.

#judaism #religion #philosophy #culture #unorthodox #shtisel #hasidic #netflix #opinion #oneofus #tv #writing

[queerhannibal]

Continuing #minivan au

The third kid is actually the child of one of their kills so adopting him is a little trickier. Abby and Rachel they have an obvious reason to have met and become attached to

(Rachel’s parents weren’t murderers, but she hid in the basement while they were murdered in a horrific and artful fashion and heard and saw some of what happened so Will had to speak to her for the case, and what was he gonna do, not immediately feel an immense sense of responsibility for her? Their house had way too many bedrooms anyway. Will joked that he was going to start collecting children the way he collected dogs; Hannibal nodded very seriously and said they could always get a bigger house)

But Diego is the child of a deeply unpleasant single father who they encountered at the science fair at their daughters’ school.

Hannibal and Will (perhaps less aggressively) pride themselves on being actively involved in and supportive of their children’s endeavors, so of course they’re both there to support their daughters science projects. Abby enlisted Hannibal’s help in making a detailed anatomical model; Will and Rachel made some kind of small robot that’s far more advanced than anything any of the other ten year olds made

Diego, who is only six (two years younger than Abigail), made a beautiful paper mache volcano, clearly entirely on his own as his father is berating him for how unoriginal and ugly it is. Hannibal, whose main calling in life is starting shit, goes up to the boy and praises his ingenuity. The father reacts by sneeringly saying that Hannibal’s children must have made some real crap if he thinks this project is good. It’s only Hannibal’s firm hand on Will’s shoulder that prevents Will from decking him right there. Not that Hannibal is any less angry: he makes a cutting remark and moves on, but inside he’s seeing red.

When they get home he doesn’t even have to suggest to Will that they look up Diego’s information in the school directory, Will immediately says “we’re not letting that guy keep breathing air after that, are we?” which is maybe the first time he’s been the one to suggest a kill, although it’s not the first kill he’s been a part of

They probably don’t wait long enough really to kill the guy; Hannibal usually likes to wait months or even years after his last interaction with a person, but Will points out that every day they wait is another day Diego is suffering, so it ends up being only a few weeks later. But the kill is an obvious Ripper kill, and nobody in their right mind would profile the Ripper as a suburban father with a minivan that has those stupid family bumper stickers on the back (two dads, the kids, and a custom breed specific one for each of the dogs). Anyway, everyone knows the Ripper never has a personal connection to his victims

Will of course is called in to look at the scene, and while he sees plenty of evidence that the Ripper is rapidly turning into a soccer mom (Rachel started soccer last fall) he finds ways to redirect that into another, more plausible, profile.

And because honestly, Jack never fucking learns with these two, he believes Hannibal has a purely professional interest when he suggests that he be the psychiatrist to talk to Diego afterwards (after all he does have so much experience with traumatized children, Jack, it’s only logical (meanwhile Alana is somewhere in the background shouting about objectivity while Hannibal blithely ignores her. She’d be more upset with him but he and Will are so obviously a good match and they are great dads, even if they do keep picking up Trauma Children to project on)) and anyway no one but Jack is surprised to hear that the Lecter-Graham household is gaining another dependent

They only stop at three because that really is the maximum they can fit in a car with them and the dogs unless they want to get an actual van. Plus Will points out when he’s in a morbid mood (so on a regular Tuesday) that they’re pretty old to have a six year old as it is (especially since one of them is a murderer and one of them is in law enforcement, not exactly high life expectancy things to do) and it would be pretty shitty to keep adopting young kids and eventually leave them without a parent

They maybe make an exception to that later after Rachel has left for college and they find a teenager in need of some good murder dads but I haven’t thought that out as well

#hannibal #hannigram #hannibal lecter #will graham #murder family #(but not really? only sort of) #mine #crack #minivan au #why am i so taken with this concept?? the world may never know #also my little brother was the one who brought up the family member stickers #an essential for any minivan #if you wonder what the fuck i'm talking about the tag is minivan au on my blog #bc tumblr doesnt like links last i heard

[hisband]

   VERSE WRITE-UP: THE HITMAN.

   “You’re gonna make my day / Gonna blow you away.”

   All it takes is one twist of fate to change the entire outcome of one’s life, it seems. During the night of Murdoc’s infamous “I Got No Strings” performance at the town pub, a mysterious fire broke out, taking most of the building down and the lives of several patrons with it. One of them was none other than Sebastian Niccals himself, whose charred remains were discovered in the toilets - which, mysteriously enough, appeared to have been blocked off before said fire started. The culprit was never found, and Murdoc was left without a guardian - not that Sebastian was ever much of a guardian to begin with.

   Without any extended family capable or willing to take care of him, Murdoc was placed in the foster care system, bounced around from home to home until he was eventually shipped off to Denstone College in East Staffordshire. After some initial difficulty getting settled in and following the rules, Murdoc decided to take the advice of a kindly guidance counsellor and channeled his anger and frustration into sports, following in the footsteps of his older brother Hannibal and becoming a lightweight boxer. What he lacked in size and strength he made up for in speed and strategy, winning a small string of competitions and eventually catching the attention of a local jujutsu instructor, who was so impressed by Murdoc’s prowess that he offered to teach him for free.

   Alongside his athletic endeavours, Murdoc spent most of his teen years studying mechanical engineering and medicine. Though his desire to rebel and cause chaos had lessened somewhat due to healthier distractions and the loss of Sebastian’s toxic influence, Murdoc didn’t have many friends and had little interest in seeking them out due to his traumatic history. While he maintained his passion for music and even played at venues, he begrudgingly came to the conclusion that this was not a hobby that would lend to a steady career path, so he kept it as just that: a hobby.

   Murdoc graduated Denstone College in spring of 1984 and began attendance at Newcastle University in the fall, taking an undergraduate in marine technology. By age 19 he managed to get an apprenticeship within the Royal Navy, becoming an engineering technician ( weapons engineer / submariner ) . Though he excelled at his job and made excellent marks at school, his lack of respect for his superiors and insistence to do things his way as opposed to following protocol landed him in heaps of trouble. Had Murdoc not repeatedly proved himself to be such a valuable asset to the team, he would’ve been thrown out a long time ago - something he was hyper-aware of and possessed a great deal of smugness about. He remained with the Royal Navy long after graduating from Newcastle, receiving a promotion to Petty Officer ( becoming a manager & taking responsibility for defect diagnosis ) after his first full year of service. Not long after that, he received his second promotion to Chief Petty Officer, having impressed his superiors with his quick-thinking, confidence and bizarre but highly effective techniques. Under this role Murdoc was able to demonstrate his abilities not only as a technical expert but as a leader as well, training the newly-commissioned Junior Officers and pushing them to their limits.

   He remained in this position until he was twenty-two years old, at which point he found himself growing bored and restless. This led him to volunteer for the Royal Marines instead, participating in a highly rigorous 32-week training course at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) at Lympstone in Devon. Once again, Murdoc garnered the reputation of being unpredictable and flippant to his superiors, but incredibly resourceful, innovative and diligent when it counted. Once his training was complete and he’d earned his exclusive green beret, Murdoc chose to specialize in Platoon Weapons as a sniper.

   Obsessed with perfection as always, he spent his free time honing his skills by shooting targets. His hard work paid off, as he was eventually able to hit his mark accurately 20 times per minute at a distance of over 500 feet. It became obvious to those who worked with Murdoc how dedicated he was to his job, and thus it didn’t take long for him to be promoted to Chief Petty Officer yet again.

   Murdoc’s military career came to a screeching halt roughly three years later during Operation Haven, a humanitarian relief effort for Kurdish refugees on the Iraq / Turkish border. A spat between Murdoc and one of his COs - with whom Murdoc had developed a bitter rivalry for undisclosed reasons - turned ugly and ended in bloodshed, with the other man lying dead at Murdoc’s feet. Just before he could be court-martialled, he was approached by a lieutenant, who took Murdoc aside and informed him that he’d been watching the young marine for quite some time. He gave him an ultimatum: join his international contract killing agency, where Murdoc would receive special benefits and the respect he so clearly deserved, or get sentenced to a lifetime in prison.

   Terrified, desperate and sickened by what he’d done, Murdoc reluctantly accepted the offer, seeing no other viable options for himself.

   The next 8 weeks were spent undergoing intensive training, orientation and psychological evaluation. While Murdoc scored very highly on physical endurance and logic, as well as being noted for his excellent marksmanship, his Psychological Ops left something to be desired. The training director was not pleased by Murdoc’s defiant attitude, fiery temper and extreme sense of self-importance, concerned his volatility and narcissism would become a detriment to the organization as a whole.

   The solution? Subjecting their newest agent to electroshock “therapy” and various experimental serums designed to rewire his neurological and physical chemistry. Through torture, dehumanization, and long-term disconnection from the outside world, Murdoc Niccals was gradually transformed from a troubled soldier to a ruthless killing machine - one who takes absolute glee in his murderous assignments.

   As of the early 2000s, he has become one of the organization’s most valuable and expensive assets, tasked with the most strenuous missions and provided with state of the art weapons and technology. Despite Murdoc’s penchant for sadism and mass destruction, he has been conditioned into absolute obedience by his handlers ( for the most part, anyway ) and won’t make a mess unless he’s sure he can clean it up.

   And he always cleans it up.

IMPORTANT HEADCANONS.

TBA!

#( VERSE: THE HITMAN. ) #( VERSE WRITE UP. ) #torture mention / #death mention / #violence mention / #eye contact / #this one has been in the works for... oh a year? It's Finally Time.

[takingtea-and-tellingtales]

thoughts while re-watching ep. 2x12 of Gotham

*ice puns intensify*

wow harvey, interrogating jim gordon at this trial is a little two-faced of you (i will never stop)

drink for “someone tries to say ‘oswald cobblepot’ and with gravitas” 

(and then drink like nine more times for the rest of the scene)

i watched a crack-vid that played “love crime” from the finale of Hannibal over Jim and Oswald killing Galavan and now I can’t unhear it???? i also can’t find it again to leave a link here???? 

“detective, did you have anything to do with the murder of theo galavan?” “what? no. what? who’s galavan. never heard of him. is it hot in here? maybe you killed him, didja ever think of that???” BE A BETTER LIAR, JAMES

prosecutor voice: “jim gordon, is there perhaps a small shaky mobster being tortured in arkham for a crime YOU committed?” (yeah, yeah, oswald has committed upwards of 50 murders at this point i’m AWARE but he didn’t do this one)

okay, friends, let’s TALK about SOME THINGS: 

(1) I SEE YOU, JOKER-CULT SPRAY PAINT

CALLED. OUT. 

(2) This:

i should clarify. i know i’m generally very excited about pretty much everything oswald wears because he is STYLISH AF at all times. but this is different. everyone get out your shipper goggles and strap in, this is going to be a ride...

these are not oswald’s clothes. 

i know this for a few reasons

(1) oswald is a much better dresser than this

(2) oswald is a much less practical dresser than this

(3) that coat is too big for him

(i know this because @tigerinkangel and i spent way way way too long looking at the few shots of oswald in this coat in the episode and we determined that the coat is made for someone taller and with broader shoulders... gee. who was oswald just staying with who is taller and has broader shoulders? i wonder.)

these are ed’s clothes 

ed has given oswald not just a coat but THREE LAYERS OF CLOTHES so he DOESN’T GET COLD including a little checked scarf (that surely would match ed’s fab red coat from later this season) and a knitted toque (a hat for all you non-Canadians) 

this is PRECIOUS

i want you all to image how this went down:

“i have to go, ed, they’ll find me and you’ll get into trouble too”

“where will you go?”

“just lay low for a while”

“where?”

“around”

“you’re going to be cold and, frankly, recognizable in that getup” 

“i can’t exactly go back home and change now, can i?”

“well then you’ll take some of my clothes”

“your clothes?” 

“yes. i think i have some sweaters...” 

*cut of ed forcing ugly knit sweaters over oswald’s head as the grumpy little murder-bird complains the whole damn time*

*cut to ed making sure he has a walking stick because the umbrella is a dead giveaway but he needs something for his leg*

*smash-cut to me being trash. oh wait. that’s all the time.”

alright. rant kind of over for now. 

i am HERE FOR the moment in the lab where Ed has the police scanner running and he hears news of Oswald and drops the thing (tooth?) he is holding in his tweezers and stares at the radio. I AM HERE FOR IT. 

i’m slightly less here for butch’s drill-bit arm though it does give him a nice bond-villain vibe

otp: strangely enough i am kind of fond of you 

(Tabitha is me trying to flirt: “you don’t suck i guess whatever”)

come on, Mr. Fries, be cool 

chill out, Mr. Fries, no need for such a... frosty reception 

Harvey Bullock saying “you don’t deserve these lips” is now my preferred method of rejection

“froze her?” “told you it was weird” - oh my sweet summer child you don’t even KNOW how weird this is going to get

(when will there be live penguins wearing tiny rockets you cowards?????)

okay there’s a ton to unpack in this ed-explains-the-roses-and-liquid-nitrogen scene but i’m not going to unpack any of it because i spend a whole chapter doing that in my very long fanfic and i don’t want to spoil it for y’all... i promise it’s super extra, though, and very shippy. you’re welcome. 

i will, however, take a tiny moment to FREAK OUT about ed shattering the rose and saying “i don’t like being called names, detective” through gritted teeth because DAMN that’s a good moment

also harvey looking at ed in this scene is harvey staring into the void and the void staring back - i like to think he saw the riddler in that moment. i just really love it it’s super powerful okay??? 

jim: “what is your relationship with oswald cobblepot?” ed: “i believe the kids today refer to it as “endgame”? i admit the terminology is a little fuzzy...”

(i’m not sorry)

“saying the word ‘Cobblepot’ with gravitas: Ed Nygma edition” 

penguin looks so tiny being dragged through the GCPD bullpen in a coat that’s too big for him. 

also ed watching oswald get thrown in the holding cell #hearteyes

i LOVE this interrogation scene. oswald is beat up, cold, arrested, wearing borrowed clothes and he still has all the power in the scene. 

HOWEVER - why does he cover for jim, here? honest question. is he still kinda infatuated with jim? his he hoping this will pay off in the long run? what’s his game here? 

victor, your research is cold comfort in this hard time of illness (#i’llneverstop)

dear victor, being able to freeze someone without bringing them back is just murdering them more slowly. delayed-murder. 

hey it’s me, shipper trash, back again to talk about the scene where ed and oswald chat through the bars of the holding cell. 

first - the overhead shot of ed pretending to look through files and oswald sitting in the cell is awesome. just... awesome

“you doing okay? you look kind of funky” - ED STAHP he’s the head of the gotham mob - ugh he’s too cute i mean, normal things. i’m fine

sub-point: oswald’s tiny smile and laugh tell me that my above freakout is also his internal monologue

ed just wants to helpppppp they LOVE EACH OTHER (i’m FINE)

i wish we had a scene of ed leaving flowers on Gertrud’s grave that would have been nice i think

gee, i wish ed had gone to visit ed in Arkham so i didn’t have to write 100k of fanfic fixing that (jokes, i loved writing it)

Lucius Fox explaining cryogenics to Harvey is the epitome of patience. he is a better soul than any in Arkham

oh this scene in Arkham is so cringey i feel so bad for oswald (yes i know he killed lots of people just let me be sad about this)

“my name is oswald cobblepot” is gotham’s “harriet jones, prime minister”

*dalek voice* “we. know. who. you. are.”

Victor’s a cool customer in this tense lab experiment. #i’mhilarious

i’m having Fringe flashbacks watching this body melt and not in a good way

any fellow Fringe fans out there? yes? no? 

why the hell isn’t there a refill order on Nora’s medication? how did that happen? 

Alright let’s take a moment to appreciate the hell out of BD Wong as Hugo Strange because holy shit he knocks it out of the park. 

remember how i said earlier that oswald still has all the power in the scene with barnes? yeah this scene where he shakes hands with strange you can just see all the power gather around strange like - i was immediately genuinely afraid for oswald’s safety

he’s got to stand toe-to-toe with the worst of the worst in gotham and still have the upper hand and his presence on screen makes that happen from moment 1

those pink glasses are awesome and i love them 

i really like Mr. Freeze’s homemade outfit it’s adorable 

why is Freeze bothering to hide the bodies at this point? like he really should just run - he has the meds and doesn’t need the bodies

back to BD Wong because i love him

he’s so creepy i love the way he chuckles through the word “yes” 

he’s just got this low, rumbling voice - never yelling, never talking faster - that you absolutely have to listen to whenever he talks. such a great contrast to ozzie’s scream-crying 

oswald’s freckles are very cute in this scene which is a weird thing to focus on i realize but we don’t really see them much in other scenes and they are cute

the little power-play with the tea cup - i love it. oswald pouring tea for himself, hugo taking it away. so. much. intensity. and. passive. aggression. i. love. it. 

now, after all this time, nora finds the murder-basement - freaks out, then just sits there staring at the body. 

harvey and jim arguing over the name is pure though i love them they are absolute disasters. 

while conceptually i’m aware i’m supposed to be invested in victor fries as a character i’m just not - it was a good call to push him mostly to the background after this. 

jfc the guy in arkham gouging out his own eyes i forgot about that. did i mention i LOVE all the arkham plots it is my favourite setting in gotham 

ed doing a little crouch to check for the missing dead body under the table then just going “huh” is like... peak gotham. ed’s got the hang of this city 

“also seems to have had a rather unhealthy relationship with his deceased mother” - hugo strange, not afraid to tell the truth we all try not to talk about

everytime the newspapers give someone a nickname i headcanon it’s valerie vale, living her best life, naming literally every batman villain 

... alright folks i know it’s been a year since i finished one of these but i’m back at it on the regular now so, stay tuned if you enjoy this sort of nonsense. 

#gotham #gotham ramblings #gotham spoilers #gotham 2x12 #gotham 2x12 ramblings #mr. freeze

[trulyhumblenarcissist]

Hannibal or Hannigram

Well.. Unfortunately this amusing journey has come to an end. Yesterday I watched Hannibal's last episode and I am still hooked on it.

I'm not a quiet media consumer, I literally devour everything I like (lol), the faster the better. However I wish I was more disciplined and patient this time around, since Hannibal is such a deep and complex work you can't just binge watch it. If you're too hasty you'll end up missing some key points, affecting the whole experience. Every single line the main characters share is full of double meanings, layers on layers of lies and half truths that force you to constantly question your level of understanding.

The light is rarefied, usually diffuse rather than direct, the colors are cool-toned, never loud, with the exception of some intense flashes of red and orange. This contributes to create a deliberately somnolent, dreamlike atmosphere that accompanies the spectator through a meticulous, yet poetic inspection of the human unconscious.

The main subject of analysis is Will Graham, a man so skilled in understanding others the he usually loses himself. His "pure emphaty" is both a gift and a burden, something that makes him probably the most innocent being on hearth, a compassionate and merciful human mirror incapable of really condemn anyone, because he's too prone to wear other skins, even if they belong to serial killers.

On the other hand we have Hannibal Lecter, an extremely conscious and self aware man that uses his strong personality as a defense and attack tool. He secludes his real self into a fake human suit, impervious to any intrusion. This perfect camufflage that acts like a solid shield allows him to undermine  other people without being affected. Hannibal is basically the crafty puppet master always in control, while Will needs to be "contaminated" by humanity in order to better comprehend it. Apart from this fundamental difference, however, Will and Hannibal are tremendously similar. Both intelligent and condemned by an overly lucid vision of reality, they "feel things" deeply and can read the minds of other people as printed books. Many common traits attract these two men in a way that seems almost fatal.

Hannibal is soon interested in Will, although initially it is a simple professional curiosity: Will's mind and his peculiar functioning are a frequent topic of conversation in psychiatric circles. Doctors and psychologists wonder whether Will is a genius or a psychopath. Hannibal's approach is completely different. He doesn't seek a demarcation line between madness and sanity, he doesn't believe in psychotherapy either, or at least, he refuses the concept of a treatment that makes people more willing to be subjected to social conventions and morality. Hannibal is definitely a master manipulator, but I don't think he has ever wanted to "shape" his patients. He aims for their darkest fantasies and fuels them, trying to bring them to light. His therapy is like wearing a pair of corrective lenses: you put them on and you see things you originally didn't notice because you couldn't focus well. Things that had ALWAYS been there, in your deepest core, denied and soffocated by fear and shame. Hannibal's velvety voice is never imperative, it drives without force, it creates a sort of psychological malleability that allows you to find your true self, no matter how ugly it is, and leads to catharsis, unlimited freedom and inevitable destruction.

Without any moral qualms everything becomes possible and God himself turns from Judge to loving ally.

On a metaphorical bed of twisted personalities, the troubled relationship between Will and Hannibal develops harshly. It can be considered the true and only protagonist of the story. A LOVEstory in all respects, filled with courtship, burning passion, fear and desire for the other, tenderness, betrayal, redemption... Death.

Honestly I was pretty surprised by how much this mad love between Hannibal and Will seemed "right" to me. There is nothing canonically healthy in their relationship, yet they both find their own safe place in the other. At the end of the day, shouldn't love be just like that? Ideally, love should allow us to acknowledge our most intimate nature, through the expression of desires that we would never reveal to anyone else. Love should make us feel safe and confident thanks to the reassuring awareness of being perfectly understood and accepted for what we are, no filters, no shame. In reality, however, we keep some barriers to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Boundaries makes life apparently easier, creating a comfort zone where we can recognize our intact individuality and protect it from contamination and excessive exposure. Humanity is just as coward as that... But wouldn't it be nice to leave everything behind, every defense, every fiction, every useless embellishment? Wouldn't it be nice to competely surrender to the other (desire becomes surrender and surrender becomes power)? Will's answer to this question is yes, but only after a very rough path.

The first season is characterized by a strong relational asymmetry. Will is completely succube, he is sick and vulnerable, so he is eventually imprisoned for crimes committed by Hannibal. With the second season reality begins to be completely blurred. We are kept in anxious waiting, trying to find out if Will has truly become a killer without remorse, but in reality the most radical transformation is Hannibal's. Such a huge metamorphosis projects itself subtly under our eyes and we're too focused on other things to effectively catch it. 

Hannibal lets himself being fooled by Will's farce, he dangerously lowers his defenses and, as it happens to any "common" human being, he falls in love. He falls in love so deeply he begins to project a future with Will, far away from everything and everyone, the two of them caught in an everlasting artistic battle against this vulgar world. Actually the romantic family portrait in Hannibal's fantasies involves two fathers (murderous husbands as Freddie Lounds would say) and a daughter to protect and educate. Abigail represents communion, affection and heredity. All of this comes to a cruel end when Hannibal discovers Will's true intentions. Well, technically Will himself tells Hannibal to run away, but this is not nearly enough to what Hannibal wished for. He was laying bare in front of Will and Will ignored his feelings, or at least he violated his trust.

The third season leads us to a full closure. After a short period of separation Will and Hannibal meet again. They try to get rid of the yoke that binds them through different and useless attempts to kill each other. At some point the end up  escaping death together and Will, full of doubts and consumed by a deep discomfort, allows Hannibal to flee. He asks Hannibal never to look for him again and assures that he would do the same. This is Hannibal's equivalent to a terrible defeat, another painful rejection that drives him to a drastic decision: he lets himself being captured so that Will will always know where to find him.

The yoke is still there, around their throats, more lush but equally heavy.

Will tries his best to lead a normal life, he marries a nice woman and even takes the role of the perfect foster parent, but after three years of relative tranquility, the great red dragon makes its appearance and the fragile veil of stability is torn from its sharp claws. The great red dragon is a formidable catalyst: it symbolizes passion and raw nature, eroticism, primordial impulses that  express themselves freely, away from the inquisitive eye of the Christian God.

Francis Dolarhyde physically drags Will to a point of no return, he forces Will to decide who should be saved and Will chooses: the last fig leaf rushes to the ground leaving him completely naked and finally free. Will kills the great red dragon that was an almost perfect work of personality construction and by doing so, he acquires enough power to finally abandon the "idea of ​​duty", the preconceived dimension of right and wrong. He embraces both Hannibal and himself at the same time, he forgives and fully understans the indomabile force of his feelings for Hannibal: by loving him he truly loves himself.

"It's beautiful": Will whispers full of emotion, soaked in blood, dark like the night, clinging to freedom and new awareness. He finds his peace after a terrible journey, he finds it in Hannibal and in the stormy waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

I don't think it's possible to write a more poetic death for this two fatal lovers... Hannibal finally reaches Will with the power of his endless, loving stare and Will accepts it as an anchor of salvation that drags him into a place of absolute spontaneity and security, the true paradise on earth.

#Hannibal #hannibal tv #hannibal lecter #will graham #mads mikkelsen #hugh dancy

[aion-rsa]

The Best TV Comedies of 2020

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Have we ever been in more need of a laugh than in 2020? Amidst a historic global pandemic, a tumultuous American political election, civil unrest, wildfires, MURDER HORNE… alright, you get the picture. 2020 has been the pits, man. Thankfully, this year from hell featured some bright spots on television, even if rays of sunshine were sorely lacking in reality.

If the shows on our list weren’t making us laugh, we would have been ugly-crying since March. While we were all locked in our homes, we got reacclimated with the Warner Brothers (and sister), said goodbye to BoJack Horseman, and met regular human bartender Jackie Daytona, making quarantine a bit more bearable, if only in 30 minute increments. From brand new series like How To with John Wilson, to swan songs for Den of Geek favorites like Schitt’s Creek, TV comedies in 2020 kept us cackling through the chaos.

To determine the best TV comedy of 2020 in a particularly stacked, diverse year, we polled 12 Den of Geek staffers and contributors. Below, you’ll find our honorable mentions and our list of the series most likely to raise your mood in the darkest year of our adventures.

Honorable Mentions

The following shows received votes but just missed out on the top 20: 

Ramy, Never Have I Ever, Feel Good, The Great, Avenue 5, The Duchess, Staged, Famalam, Inside No. 9, Ghosts, The Shivering Truth, Bob’s Burgers, Katy Keene

DEN OF GEEK TOP 20 COMEDIES OF 2020

20 – Big Mouth (Netflix)

How long can a show about puberty, a very specific time in the life cycle, remain viable? Well based on the fourth season of Netflix’s animated comedy Big Mouth, just about as long as it wants to. Big Mouth season 4 succeeds by finding new avenues to delve into the psyches of its young characters going through chaaaaanges. In the process it also finds ways to expand its storytelling capabilities, delving into issues of trans youth, code switching, and anxiety. Through it all it remains as hilarious, and disturbingly vivid, as ever. – Alec Bojalad

19 – The Eric Andre Show (Adult Swim)

It’s not like Eric Andre reinvented the wheel or anything with the fifth season of his anarchic, absurdist talk show. If you were never a fan of anti-comedy that centers heavily around duping random people on the street, gross-out gags, and the torture of unsuspecting guests, then you’re not going to start liking it now.

However, for those of us already onboard The Eric Andre Show train, it’s no small feat that, five seasons in, this is still one of the funniest shows on TV. You’d think by now Eric would’ve run out of guests who have no idea what they’re in for, but, no, there’s an all-new batch of naive celebrities whose lives are effortlessly worsened by Eric, his crew, and his new house band. You’d assume he couldn’t prank people on the streets of New York City and Newark, New Jersey anymore because he’d be recognized by now, but, no, he pisses off a lot of people and breaks a lot of other people’s brains with ever-inventive, bizarre, obnoxious pranks. 

Finally, you might think the series would suffer irrevocably from the departure of co-host Hannibal Buress only two episodes into the season, but Eric demonstrates he’s more than capable of spreading chaos all on his own (though he’s sometimes assisted, alternatingly, by a Hannibal clone named Blannibal, comedian Felipe Esparza, and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Lakeith Stanfield). Season five is the same The Eric Andre Show as it ever was, but that still makes me laugh harder than anything else on television right now. I’d be happy for Eric to keep making this show forever. – Joe Matar

18 – Saved by the Bell (Peacock)

A Saved by the Bell reboot shouldn’t have worked. But as Peacock’s recent series showcased, with the right creative team and angle, you really can successfully reimagine an outdated but beloved ’90s teen comedy for 2020. Working as both a soft reboot and sequel, this is meta-comedy at its best. Saved by the Bell is fully aware of what made the original special and why they don’t still make shows like it now. Juxtaposing those two competing views through the lens of the privileged and perfect Bayside kids and the new normal students makes this an accessible and seriously funny series with a biting humor rarely seen in teen comedy. – Rosie Knight 

17 – Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Freeform)

Australian comedian Josh Thomas brings his off-kilter sensibility to a loving and sharply funny portrait of a modern family in Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. In the pilot, Thomas’s character Nicholas, a gay twentysomething from Australia, visits his father in the US and learns that his physically and emotionally distant dad is dying. Things really pick up as Nicholas steps up to care for his two teenage half-sisters, Matilda (Kayla Cromer) and Genevieve (Maeva Press), while also trying to date, and manage his melodramatic mother from the other side of the planet. 

Matilda especially comes into her own as she hopes to go to college away from home next year— something others doubt since she’s autistic. Her autism is a reality that becomes part of the fabric of the show, a setup rather than a punchline. Few shows would include a teenage threesome that manages to be funny, heartfelt, and matter-of-fact, but in Matilda’s world, sex (and exploring her sexuality) are often all three. Everything’s Gonna Be Okay is a family show that acknowledges the realities of family: death, disabilities, teenage girls with sex drives, and laughter at funerals. – Delia Harrington 

16 – Star Trek: Lower Decks (CBS All Access)

Created by one of the writer/producers of Rick and Morty, it’s no surprise that the first episode of Lower Decks involved some pretty broad humor and wildly out of control situations. The producers of the 1970s Star Trek: The Animated Series understood the creative potential of animation when they replaced Ensign Chekov with a giant cat, and Lower Decks follows suit, the pilot giving us blood, guts, gore, zombies and a giant spider, all in Rick and Morty’s madcap tone.

As the show has developed over its first ten episodes, though, it’s become something more than that. The knowing humor is a delight—the focus on things like “second contact” (the less glamorous setting up of diplomatic relations after first contact), ascensions to a higher plane of existence gone wrong, and re-visiting half-forgotten alien races like the Pakleds shows the same sort of gently teasing love of the franchise that Galaxy Quest did. But the characters have also developed into real, complex people to the point that a character death is genuinely moving, and the audience are really able to care about what happens to these essential cogs in Starfleet’s machine next. – Juliette Harrison 

15 – Solar Opposites (Hulu)

A big part of what makes Rick and Morty so great is that, in addition to all the sci-fi hijinks, there’s meaningful development of the show’s characters and world. Unfortunately, as the series has progressed, this is also what’s dragged it down. As Rick’s nihilism has increasingly alienated the people around him, a lot of the fun has been lost. The show still puts out the occasional brilliant episode (for example, the season four finale), but it almost feels like all the characters on Rick and Morty straight-up hate each other and watching it can be kind of a drag sometimes.

It’s such a treat then, to see all that fun sci-fi silliness rebirthed in the form of Solar Opposites, co-created by Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty co-creator and writer/producer, respectively). Making good use of all the storytelling lessons they learned from their other sci-fi cartoon show, the two have released a confident and consistently funny debut season. Though it feels awfully similar to Rick and Morty at first blush, it has more in common with classic sitcoms, with its focus on goofy, self-contained plots about the alien family at the show’s center. However, the series shakes the sitcom formula up a lot with a surprising dedication to callbacks and continuity, most notably exemplified by the continuing, dramatic tribulations of a community of people who have been shrunken down and forced to live in the aliens’ multilevel terrarium. The combination of madcap sci-fi alien plots contrasted with the trials of the melodramatic dystopian shrunken-people world makes Solar Opposites one of the most inventive comedies of the season, and I’m excited to find out where it’s going next. – Joe Matar

14 – Dave (FX) 

There are countless hip-hop artists whose backstories would make for compelling television. So why did FX choose to spotlight a goofball white rapper from the suburbs with a mediocre penis joke for a stage name? It takes only one episode to realize any preconceived notions about Dave, based on the life and rap career of Dave Burd, aka Lil Dickey, should be spit from your silly mouth faster than Lil Dickey spits bars on a freestyle. 

A telling sign that Dave was going to be a sleeper hit was the involvement of co-creator Jeff Schaffer, a longtime EP and writer on Curb Your Enthusiasm and the creator of FX’s The League. Together Schaffer and Burd mapped out a first season that sees Dave navigate the early stages of his music career with a level of narcissism he believes is needed to be taken seriously in the rap game. But the series also shows another side of Dave, self-deprecating in a surprisingly endearing way, rarely swayed by what others think, and frustratingly true to himself and the path he sees for his life. This is FX’s star vehicle for Burd, but the show manages to make him the center of the universe while still developing key players in his life as the season progresses, giving each character an affecting spotlight episode. The standouts include episodes about Dave’s real-life friend and hype man GaTa and his struggles with bipolar disorder, the evolving managerial relationship with his roommate (Andrew Santino), and how sudden fame begins to erode a once promising relationship with his girlfriend, Ali (Taylor Misiak). 

Already renewed for season 2 and a ratings hit with FX/Hulu reporting high streaming numbers, Dave is no longer an underdog and will carry a new set of expectations as the titular character’s career ascends. If you’re still a skeptic, you need to adhere to television’s golden rule when it comes to Dave: Don’t judge it until you binge it. – Chris Longo

13 – Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox)

At only 13 episodes, Season 7 was the shortest season yet of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but it packed a lot into those 13 half-hours. With Melissa Fumero pregnant in real life, the writers used this to cover six months in series by following Jake and Amy’s attempts to conceive a baby, helping those limited episodes to feel like they were filling out more time. The show has also struggled to work in its annual Halloween Heist episodes since moving to NBC and being put into a winter start slot, but in 2020 Rosa managed to triple her victory by engineering Heists on not just Halloween, but Valentine’s Day and Easter as well.

Season 7 aired too early to deal with the Black Lives Matter protests that dominated the summer of 2020, but the writers have already pulled all their planned scripts for Season 8 and re-written them in light of those events, so that is yet to come. 2020 had a little bit of everything that makes B99 great—a dose of Pimento, Jake and his daddy issues, Holt’s adorable corgi Cheddar, and one final appearance from his nemesis Madeline Wuntch. For once, the season didn’t end with Holt somehow being removed from his job as Captain of the 99, but there’s still plenty to look forward to in Season 8—maybe 2021 will be the year that Charles Boyle finally wins the Halloween/Valentine’s Day/Easter/Cinco de Mayo Heist? – Juliette Harrison

12 – Animaniacs (Hulu)

Rampant remakes and sequel reboots have turned into the norm, but streaming services have especially embraced this idea as a way to anchor a library of programming. These endeavors are extremely hit or miss, but Hulu’s revival of Animaniacs is one of the few exceptions that feel justified for a return. Animaniacs always functioned as a radical cocktail of perversions of pop culture and classic comedy and 2020’s Animaniacs actively thrives with decades’ worth of new material to lampoon. The series has stripped itself back to its basics and temporarily removed most of the old supporting players, except for Pinky and the Brain, but this allows Animaniacs to build itself back up and establish new recurring characters and segments.

There’s such clear joy present in Animaniacs, whether it’s from the voice actors, the creative staff, or the animation team. Segments like an unauthorized Russian version of the Animaniacs or catchy songs about Shakespeare and the different First Ladies of America prove that the classic series’ sense of humor has successfully been maintained. If anything, the cartoon is even more fearless. It’s the perfect burst of ‘90s Saturday Morning nostalgia that’s also exceptionally funny and thought provoking. – Daniel Kurland 

11 – Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)

Rick and Morty is a colossal behemoth of storytelling that’s developed a fascinating and often antagonistic relationship with its audience. 2020’s Rick and Morty content only includes five episodes from the second half of the show’s fourth season, but they’re some of the series’ wildest installments when it comes to storytelling, perpetual jokes, and the show’s ability to deconstruct itself and its fandom. The series Emmy-winning “Vat of Acid Episode” explores the emotional highs and lows of “save states” while “Never Ricking Morty,” the show’s “Story Train” episode, is perhaps the most structure-obsessed piece of television that’s ever been written.

Rick and Morty continues to expand its universe in exciting ways and allow its characters to realistically mature. These episodes provide fascinating insight on both Rick’s relationship with Morty as well as his bond with Beth. Even Jerry and Summer get their moments to shine and Rick and Morty feels more like an ensemble than ever before as it prepares to shake things up even more in season five. – Daniel Kurland

10 – Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun (Netflix)

In 2019, Netflix gave us I Think You Should Leave, the sketch comedy series from Tim Robinson that birthed memes that somehow only get more relevant (and funnier) as time goes on. In 2020, Netflix, likely mindful they needed to hold us over until Robinson finishes filming season 2, gave us a gift from down under called Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun. If you liked Robinson’s sketch series, imagine that on crack, dialed up to 100, and featuring the three silliest Australian dudes to ever walk on that continent. The series stars Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly, and Zachary Ruane, a group of friends who formed a comedy group called Aunty Donna and gained a large following on YouTube with their absurdist humor that features simple premises that often descend into frenetic madness. See: them explaining how a board game works or doing roll call at school. 

In Big Ol’ House of Fun, the series opens with a musical number that will have you wondering whether everything’s a drum. Episode 2 will change the way you think about your morning coffee. Friendly faces like Scott Aukerman and Ed Helms (or is it “Egg” Helms?) even stop by just to play ball. Through its infectious and (mostly) good-natured absurdist energy, the series lives up to its name with endlessly quotable and memable sketches. And much like I Think You Should Leave, Aunty Donna material only gets better when you rewatch it. Here’s to hoping Netflix will let us come back and visit this Big Ol’ House again for season 2. – Chris Longo

9 – Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (Apple TV+)

Created by Rob McElhenney, David Hornsby, and Megan Ganz of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet is a new Apple TV+ comedy that easily justifies a subscription to the streaming service. Set within a video game studio for a popular MMORPG, Mythic Quest leans into certain workplace comedy tropes, but never feels derivative of the genre or that it’s just Always Sunny with a fresh coat of paint. The comedy effectively explores and skewers gaming culture, but a knowledge of the industry is not at all necessary to enjoy the program. 

Smart and creative scripts are punctuated by the show’s phenomenal cast, which features the likes of McElhenney, Hornsby, and Danny Pudi. However, Charlotte Nicdao’s work as Poppy Li, the studio’s neurotic perfectionist lead engineer, is a revelation. Mythic Quest works so well because of how it grounds its quick comedy in powerful character dynamics. The series’ “standalone” flashback episode, “A Dark Quiet Death,” received a ton of acclaim, but there are few episodes of television from 2020 that contain more heart and honesty than the series’ quarantine-centric installment. – Daniel Kurland

8- Search Party (HBO Max)

HBO Max’s first bingeable, bonafide hit was outsourced from TBS. After languishing on basic cable with critical praise but low viewership, Search Party made the move to the new Warner streaming service for Season 3 and proved that the series was the perfect “watch it all in one afternoon” comedy. What began as a comedic mystery series about a group of prototypical Brooklyn millenials on a quest to find their missing former classmate shifted in its third season to become a satire on celebrity trials and how tabloid spotlight can turn unassuming people into sociopathic narcissists.

Search Party’s strength is in its ensemble. Alia Shawkat brings an interesting vulnerability to disaffected Dory, but her other “searchers” are the real bright spots. John Reynolds is perfectly cast as the de facto worthless millennial “beta male,” and John Early and Meredith Hagner are consistently laugh out loud funny as self-obsessed, attention seeking airheads. Search Party has a twisty, interesting plot, but it’s also a scathing indictment on an entire generation obsessed with celebrity, self-analyzation, and searching for “meaning.” If you have not yet watched one of the year’s funniest shows, get caught up before Season 4 debuts in January 2021.  – Nick Harley

7- How To with John Wilson (HBO)

Life is strange. If you take a moment to actually watch and analyze many of the seemingly ordinary, day-to-day things you witness while walking down the street in a major U.S. city, you’ll be shocked at how alien it can all appear. In New York City in particular, every imaginable human behavior is on display somewhere, and documentarian John Wilson is out there capturing it all on camera. How To With John Wilson may seem like a series designed to teach you useful everyday skills like how to split a check or how to improve your memory, but in reality, it’s a love letter to New York, in all of its beautiful, ugly, life-affirming, and soul-crushing splendor.

It’s also insanely hilarious. Wilson’s deadpan, stammering narration on top of quick cut, slice of life footage is an endlessly watchable setup-punchline joke machine. Wilson also is wise to go down the rabbit hole and follow weird digressions wherever they lead him, like a Mandela Effect conference or the home of an anti-circumcision activist. Further, the series finale is the first piece of television to fully capture the reality of post-pandemic city life, putting to shame all of those half-assed Zoom created depictions of life in 2020. Few shows can effortlessly glide between cringe comedy and poignant moments like this. How To with John Wilson is unlike any other show on television, an absurdist masterpiece that makes the mundane feel surreal and vice versa. – Nick Harley

6- High Fidelity (Hulu)

In a time full of reboots and remakes, High Fidelity earned its existence and then some. To its many admirers, it warranted a second season for more eclectic music choices, guest stars, and beautiful lingering shots over the credits. Sadly, that is not meant to be. Hulu’s High Fidelity is so much more than just a gender-swapped adaptation, though Zoe Kravitz leads the endeavor in the lead role of Rob, the idiosyncratic record store owner counting off Top 5s, especially her Top 5 heartbreaks. 

Rob’s rich world is full of characters we’d love to spend more time with, like snarky Cherise, she of the eclectic taste who keeps putting off her musical dreams for “someday.” Or Simon, Rob’s ex and current best friend, who narrates an episode that completely changes how the audience views Rob. Zoe Kravitz carries this beautiful mood piece, sharing chemistry with just about everyone. While it seems relaxed and fun on arrival, High Fidelity eventually reveals itself to have plenty to say about being accountable for our actions and allowing oneself to be happy, before wrapping Rob in a warm summer night and sending her on her way. – Delia Harrington 

5- Pen15 (Hulu)

The debut season of Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’s brilliant series in which they, two adult women, play middle-schoolers surrounded by actual kid actors playing their classmates, was, in my opinion, the funniest show last year, but, as I didn’t actually get around to watching it until this year, I didn’t know that at the time. Rectifying my past mistake, this year—despite the fact it’s only aired half a season so far due to production being halted by COVID—it’s not just my favorite comedy, it’s my favorite show, period.

Though it still has its fair share of laugh-out-loud moments, the comedy in the second season has, admittedly, been scaled back a bit, but it makes perfect sense for where Pen15 is right now. From the start, what the series has done painfully well is zero in on the utter nightmare of living through our stressful and confusing pubescent years. As the series deepens its exploration of these characters’ experiences with friendship, romance, sexuality, the internet, and the impact of divorce, the stress and confusion should and absolutely do ratchet up. This season is also doing a great job of further developing the show’s side characters, with a standout arc for Dylan Gage as Gabe, who is grappling with the discovery that he may be gay. Though it’s still a hilarious series in places, Pen15 most wins me over most for how uncomfortable and tragic it can be with its stunningly well-observed depiction of surviving junior high. The secondhand shame and embarrassment you’ll feel makes it one of the toughest, but most worthwhile, watches of the year. – Joe Matar

4 – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Jason Sudeikis’s Ted Lasso first originated as a character back in 2013, when NBC Sports commissioned a commercial for its upcoming coverage of the English Premier League. “An American Coach in London” introduced the concept of an American football coach deciding to try his hand coaching “the other football” with top flight club Tottenham Hotspur. It was a hilarious five minute clip that seemingly exploited the “fish out of water” concept to its natural conclusion.

The character seemed destined to be a one-off goof. But then Sudeikis and producer Bill Lawrence decided to try their hand at the overmatched coach one more time with a series for Apple TV+. The end result was one of the most essential new comedies of the 2020 TV season. Ted Lasso works because its’ funny, first and foremost. The show proves that this fish still had plenty of more time to spend out of water after all. More important, however, is how aggressively wholesome and optimistic it is. In a year that saw ugly Americans all over over TV screens, Ted Lasso represented the stars and bars the only way he knew how: by believing in the best of people from aging football star Roy Kent, to selfish young buck Jamie Tart, to even the woman who got him this job in the first place as an elaborate revenge plot.  – Alec Bojalad

3 – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)

If Schitt’s Creek were a fairy tale (and in all the best ways, it is), it’d be about a group of puppets brought to life by a magic spell. When the Roses lose their fortune, they’re forced to swap wealth and glamour for unfashionable small-town living. They start out wooden, obnoxious and alone. Then, over six seasons, we watch them transform into a flesh and blood family who figure out how to love each other in a community that’s as weird as they are, and that ends up loving them back. 

If that sounds schmaltzy, then I’m saying it wrong. Schitt’s Creek doesn’t do schmaltz. It does smart and absurd and naughty. It does jokes and brightness and kindness. Or it did, because now it’s gone. 2020 waved Johnny, Moira, David and Alexis off with a final season packed with treats: Patrick’s spray tan, David’s bed-wetting, the world premiere of “The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening”, Moira officiating a wedding dressed in a Rapunzel wig and pearlised bishop’s mitre…

However painful it was to say goodbye, the alternative – another six seasons with diminishing returns – would have been much worse. Dan and Eugene Levy’s sitcom went out on a high, with a finale that left fans in joyful tears. Not least for moments like the one in which a usually armoured-by-sarcasm David tells his sister, “For what it’s worth, I am continuously impressed by you.” The feeling’s mutual, Roses. – Louisa Mellor

2- BoJack Horseman (Netflix)

Though BoJack Horseman premiered only the back half of its final season in 2020, those eight episodes were some of the best dramatic and comedic storytelling on television this year. This final season operated as almost a microcosm of the series’ entire run. Just like the show’s beginning, season 6B begins with BoJack in a place of relative stability. He has just finished rehab and is prepared to embark on a career as an acting professor at Wesleyan. Of course, something from his past has to pop up to shatter his fragile equilibrium, just like it always does. In this case, it’s a pair of journalists working on a story of what really happened the night Sarah Lynn died back in season 3. What follows is as sadly predictable as it is tragic… also there are jokes!

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BoJack Horseman has been a frequently occurring item on many of our year-end best-of lists since the show first premiered in 2014. And each time, it’s hard not to continually expound upon what a bizarre, touching, and incisive drama Rapahel Bob-Waksberg’s animated creation is. That temptation remains for this final season, which is as devastating as they come. But this year, for the show’s final appearance on any of our best-of lists, let’s not lose sight of how funny this all is. 

Yes, this is an exploration of the human condition and how the only way to repair our damage is to acknowledge it and then put in the work to get better. It’s also the show where Mr. Peanutbutter, his fiancée Pickles Aplenty, and international pop superstar Joey Pogo open up a Lazy Susan/small plate restaurant called “Elifino.” The animation remains just as bright in this final season, the dialogue just as witty and convoluted, and the background jokes just as rewarding. BoJack Horseman season 6 shoulders a grand narrative burden of closing out the story of the world’s most miserable Horseman. That it is able to do so is remarkable. That it’s able to do so while maintaining its sharp sense of humor is even better. – Alec Bojalad 

1- What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Adapting a beloved indie comedy film to the small screen seems a near impossible task. But when Taika Waititi convinced Jemaine Clement they should do exactly that, it was a stroke of genius. With Waititi busy on his Marvel movies, Clement was left to write and produce the FX series alongside Stefani Robinson and Paul Simms. What We Do in the Shadows began with a solidly silly first season but came into its own during a stellar second season which leaned into the absurdity innate to the idea of ancient vampire roommates. The series has also given us a new action hero for the ages in Harvey Guillén’s Guillermo de la Cruz. 

What makes season two so excellent is the writing and performances that play on the fish out of water setup the show has so much fun with. In “The Curse,” Nandor checks his email and discovers a chain email from Bloody Mary. Most of the hilarious runtime focuses on the crew trying to uncurse themselves. It sounds simple but it is honestly one of the funniest episodes of TV you’ll watch all year. “The Curse” is only topped by “On the Run,” which allows Matt Berry to go full Matt Berry as Laszlo leaves the nest and becomes a bartender, Jackie Daytona, who loves girls volleyball in smalltown America. It’s a pitch perfect riff on feel good sports movies while also being hysterically funny. It’s still a complete crime that Robinson didn’t win the Emmy for this one. 

But the real power of What We Do in the Shadows is its heart. Even within the broad comedy, genre parodies, and often gross out humor, this is a show about love, family, and friendship. Guillermo’s arc feels radical and boundary-pushing. It’s so well built in from the very first season that it’s also incredibly satisfying. This is the kind of comedy we need more of: inclusive, intelligent, and most importantly just really, really, f**king funny.  – Rosie Knight

The post The Best TV Comedies of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[margotverger]

the death of summer

For Hannictober: Leaf Piles! A very late admission, but I hope you’ll appreciate it! Read on Ao3, as well! Comments/kudos/reblogs/etc appreciated!

It's a gorgeous day in Montreal, Canada, despite the nagging cold; Will hardly feels it, though, too relieved that summer has finally perished, sliding into far more familiar weather. No more nights too hot to handle, and not in the fun way, and no more sticky days. Again, not in the fun way. Instead, he can sleep peacefully, sweat-free and cool, and spend his days taking walks with Hannibal.

Will inhales the brittle air and sighs. Hannibal is quick to pick up on it.

“Are you alright, Will?”

He can only smile at that. “Yeah. Just thankful for the weather.”

“Not a fan of the heat?”

“Are you?”

“Every type of weather has something to appreciate,” comes his response.

Will rolls his eyes.

“What?” Hannibal inquires, faux-innocent.

“Of course you'd say that.”

“Meaning?” There's amusement there, beneath a veneer of curiousity, so subtle that only Will would be capable of intuiting it.

“You know exactly what I mean. You're the most annoyingly happy person I know.”

“I disagree.”

Will snorts. “Not being able to kill people doesn't make you an unhappy person.”

“I disagree,” he repeats.

“I thought it wasn't a compulsion, Hannibal?”

“It is far from a compulsion,” he responds, with the slight upwards tilt of his chin, “it is merely a nuisance to have no way of dealing with irritances.”

Another snort; he is becoming perilously close to laughter. Odd, how relaxed he is, discussing murder. There is no guilt accompanying it, this time, because he is not indulging it. He is restricting it. He feels light as air, knowing that nobody is dying over pettiness. That, his moral core cannot oblige, though he understands Hannibal's frustrations more than anybody else could. “There are other ways to deal with your problems than murdering them.”

“They are not nearly as efficient.”

“For you,” is his retort, “I'd argue they're very efficient for the people who aren't dead.”

“That is precisely what makes it a nuisance.”

“Well,” Will says, a little tired of—albeit slightly amused by—Hannibal's stubbornness, “you can't deny that it's been beneficial to us in the long run. We wouldn't last very long on the run if you were to drop a Ripper kill right underneath the nose of the FBI.” He evades attaching any names to the impersonal monolith, for his own benefit. For all of Hannibal's gripes, Will is by far having the most difficult time to adapting to his new life. A life composed entirely of Hannibal and he, and the entity they form together. He doesn't mention this, because he is aware enough of Hannibal's intelligence—one that the infamous Ripper wordlessly boasts is above every other lifeform on the planet bar, hopefully, him—to know, hope, that Will has drawn the short stick in their arrangement.

Then again, it is not unheard of for Hannibal's ego to best his intelligence.

Hannibal sighs, melodramatic as ever, lamenting his horrid life of not brutally murdering anybody who skips him in a queue. “I suppose you have a point.” Then, all of a sudden: Hannibal freezes, nose twitching like a bloodhound catching a scent. Will, synced to his partner's psyche to the point of mirroring, stops too, although he hasn't the slightest idea why.

“I think,” Hannibal begins, tone benign despite the excitement that is creeping into the foundations of his cadence, “that your thoughts on the matter of murder may be subject to change, however.”

Despite the hairs standing on edge at the sheer thrill building in Hannibal's eyes, resurrecting an expression that Will hasn't seen in years, Will manages to remain unfazed. “Oh?” his voice is a drawl, half-genuine in its relaxed state, half-falsified, trying to subdue the electricity stirring in his chest, “and why would you say that?”

“Because,” and there is, without a doubt, a certain giddiness to his voice now, a giddiness Will is certain only he bears the ability to hear, “there is a corpse beneath the pile of leaves by that tree.”

It takes a moment for Hannibal's words to land, and when they do, he hardly registers them; suspended in disbelief by strings of shock, Will finds himself blank, face wiped of emotion. Then, he laughs, a short burst that is composed more of breath than sound. “That's a fucked up joke,” comes his snort on the tail-end of his laugh. “And nothing's going to change my mind, Hannibal.” Back to being slightly reprimanding, he becomes far more solemn. “Murder is off the table.”

“While the irony of the situation makes for incredible comedy, I assure you, Will, that the joke is not my invention, but God's. And,” he addends, almost sternly, “I would advise you to not so boldly test fate.”

Will holds his stare, almost challengingly, for a few, long moments. Hannibal, unfazed, does not balk. Rather, he looks amused, which is rather disconcerting considering the apparent sheen of hunger in his eyes.

Eventually, his shoulders sink. “Fine. I'll rise to the bait.”

The trek is small yet feels long, gravel crunching beneath his feet, and as he approaches, he himself wonders what outcome he is hoping for: either, there is nothing there and he is saved from the burden of another's grim death, but victim to Hannibal's light-hearted mockery, the resulting humiliation enough to make his skin crawl pre-emptively; or, there is, in fact, a body, Hannibal is being honest, and then there is a dead body on their hands. He still is uncertain, but finds himself leaning towards the first.

Faintly, he hears the hushed crunch of gravel beneath Hannibal's shoes, and knows that he is shadowing him. “I can hear you, you kn—“ his casual call back is slaughtered mid-sentence as it hits him: a pungent odour, one he so intimately familiar with. The unmistakeable scent of death. No, not death; rot. Though it has been confirmed, the machinery of his body refuses to comply with the growing horror of his psyche, steadily marching on until he is kneeling by the leaf pile. Colour drains from his face as the scent possesses him; in his separation from it, he has grown weak to it, and the scent along conjures images of viscera and vileness from his past, each accompanied with varying levels of moral horror. He swallows the ball of nausea in his throat.

Hannibal, his shadow, is close enough that his heat pours into his skin through their clothes. “I told you so,” he murmurs, and though his tone carries the jest that is both friendly and cruel, his voice is not unkind. His palm finds Will's shoulder. Will does not move: his mind is alive with memory. “You don't have to look, Will. We may continue on and return to our lives. Leave this place, so that we may never see what comes of this.”

Will inhales through his mouth, through the wall of his teeth, and tries to swallow the surge of annoyance – both directed at himself and Hannibal, for this predicament – so that he may exhale a closed eye sigh. When he re-opens his eyes, his irritance has been subdued somewhat, and so when he speaks, his tone is almost fond. “God, you piss me off.” As if to soften the blow of his words, he reaches to meet Hannibal's hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, but I'm going to look.”

“I know,” Hannibal says, still voice not completely concealing his juxtaposing melancholy and excitement; he has always been a man of striking duality, if not entirely composed of incomprehension, after all.

“You knew I would. You were hoping I would.” After all these years, the anger is leeched from him; he has long accepted Hannibal's psyche, though he is not always tolerant of his inner workings. There is, true to form, a slight resentment, though it is, of course, a double-edged sword. Whatever intolerances he holds for Hannibal, he holds double for himself.

“I never hope for anything,” Hannibal says, and despite the surprising nihilism of it, his tone is reasonably bright, “but I was curious to see what you would do.”

“Ah, that old adage.” Not so unfamiliar: their three years may have been devoid of murder, but they have not been devoid of tests, of games. Will is nothing if not withholding when he wants to be, and Hannibal is ever so curious. “I believe another applicable one would be 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks',” he says, not without his own brand of dark humour.

Hannibal sniffs, both in amusement and derisiveness of his comparison. “A dog is hardly an appropriate metaphor for yourself, Will, but do as you wish.”

Will allows a smile at that, and continues staring at the leaf pile. He is trying to re-aquaint himself with the scent. It is proving to not be such a difficult task. He isn't certain how he feels about that.

“You're putting it off,” Hannibal acknowledges.

“Yes.”

“You don't want to look.”

“I do,” he argues, “and I don't. Want isn't particularly the word I'd use for it.”

“What would you use for it?”

“A word that hasn't been invented yet. A word caught between need, urge and oath.”

“I see.” Will doesn't have to look at him to see the imperceptible nod of understanding Hannibal is undoubtedly doing.

“Ah, fuck. Bandaid,” he says, and sweeps off a sludge of leaves—a sludge, curious—with his arm, only to reveal the ugly bloodless grey of what must be skin. Death is particularly potent now, utterly drowning the air. “Fuck.”

“You can stop now.”

“I can.” He won't. Now, he has involved himself in the Doe's death; he has discovered them beyond a suspicious scent. He has contaminated the scene of the crime. He contaminated the goddamn scene of the fucking crime. Morality dictates that he must stay here, else risk a botched investigation; an injust end for whomever the Doe may be (or injust until otherwise proven); an oddity in the case that may, may, spark suspicion. All suspiciousness revolving around murders, beyond the usual suspiciousness, are no doubt still monitored by the FBI, and if not, Lounds' cult following will no doubt be scouring every true crime fact in hopes of being the ones to find the legendary Murder Husbands. Before he continues, he dons his leather gloves, so that he doesn't leave any mark.

“Smart,” Hannibal notes.

Pluck, pluck; with each removal of a leaf, most clinging to either another or to the skin itself, he grows quicker. Almost fevered. Bandaid, bandaid: a mantra, but it is meaningless now. He doesn't do this out of a need to get it over and done with. Truth be told, the curiousity is killing him. What a mess, his head.

It is when he pulls off a particularly sticky, wide leaf off of a stump that he realizes the severity of the homicide. As it peels away, gross with coagulated red and brown, he eyes the stump.

“It's like an eye.” 

Will agrees, nonverbally, and finds himself transfixed in its stare.

“Decapitation.”

“Not your average murder.”

Will sighs, heavy with a younger Will's exhaustion. “It never is.” Further unmasking of the body shows that the decapitation is not the only brutality inflicted on the body: fingers, removed at the second joint; skin, at random intervals, removed, exposing the red innards, muscle; feet removed, one at its ankle, the other, taking the entire calf—and knee—with it. “Definitely not your average murder.”

“No face, no teeth, no fingerprints.”

“No identification,” Will follows the point to its logical conclusion. “I'm going to assume that, considering the amount of care going into removing the identifying body parts, the Doe won't have much of a defining record, either.”

“No DNA,” Hannibal follows his theory.

“Police are going to have a nightmare with this one.”

“Designed to be an eternal cold case.”

“No justice. Killer goes free.”

“They don't have to.” Excitement is peaking in Hannibal's voice. That, and something else. Something Will doesn't want to acknowledge.

Will's jaw moves with his tongue as he thinks. He's already gotten himself involved. Contaminated the case. Not that it was likely they would have been discovered otherwise – not for a while anyway. Too out of the way, its stink oppressed until one approached it deliberately – or had the olfactory power of three bloodhounds – it would be left to rot away. Destroying more evidence. “No.” His jaw sets. He stands. “They don't have to.” He is already taking a step back, preparing himself.

“It was a nice three years,” Hannibal says.

Will eyes him drily, knowing it is more for his benefit—as much as it stings—than it is honest on Hannibal's part. “Yeah. It really was.”

He closes his eyes. The pendulum swings.

#hannictober #hannibal fanfiction #murder husbands #hannigram #hannibal #mine: writing #fic: the death of summer #series: hannictober #some of our stars will always be the same

[elfnerdherder]

Where the Wicked Walk: Ch. 10

You can read Chapter 10 on Ao3 Here

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Chapter 10: Berenice

Three Years Before:

           She was a lovely sort, from the tip of her head down to her feet. On the rare occasion that Hannibal had correspondence with her, her letters were always well-written, to the point, and articulate. Molly Foster wasn’t the sort to mince words, let alone waste time.

           In person, she was even more charming, even as he wanted to rip her throat out with his teeth. He wondered if he’d taste Will’s kisses on her skin as he did it.

           “I wonder at him ending your relationship once again,” Hannibal said, studying her. “I’d rather thought the two of you were getting along nicely.”

           “He’s a commitment-phobe, Hannibal,” Molly said, flipping her hair over one shoulder. “If I get too close, he backs away. When you crowd Will Graham, he shuts down. You have to make him come to you.”

           “He shuts down?”

           “It’s a defense mechanism that I’ve noticed. He’ll share some things, but you can’t pry. I think he’s afraid to commit because he honestly believes that he’s on borrowed time.”

           “Borrowed time,” Hannibal murmured, and he licked his lips. “Is he drinking again?”

           “Definitely.”

           “What was the catalyst?”

           “I’ll need to figure that out,” she admitted. “It was bad enough he spent the weekend puking everything up before going right back out again. I went back to the apartment to make sure he was alright on Friday night, and whatever set him off, it was…bad. It’s a bad bender.”

           “Bad,” Hannibal repeated, and he tasted the scent of her perfume and her unease. A disquieted smell that muddled the air, turned it fetid and foul. “You wouldn’t give me this detail if it was not important.”

           “You’d wondered before if he still thought of you. You asked if he ever mentioned you.”

           Hannibal felt a thrum of interest at her tone, and he leaned in. “Naturally.”

           “I put him to bed when he got most of it up, and I told him that he was being reckless with his life, constantly doing this. One of these days, he wasn’t going to have someone nearby to help him in his drunken stupors. No one deserved to have to bury his body.”

           “The guilt of implying people need him alive rather than dead because of the extra work it’d be,” Hannibal agreed.

           Molly licked her lips, pressed them together tight. The color fled them, left the edges pale and wrinkled with the effort. “He laughed then, and he said, ‘Don’t worry, Molly…I’m already dead.’”

           “I’m already dead,” Hannibal murmured. His skin, thin and stretched over his bones, felt too tight, and the breath left him.

           Molly nodded, shifted in her seat. “He looked…unwell. Like he wasn’t there. When I asked what he meant by that, he’d already passed out. I wondered if he was thinking of you.”

           “I’m already dead,” Hannibal repeated, and the words rang, resonated deep within him as the doors of his mind palace fell away, left him with the memory of Will Graham staring at him in the courtroom, pulse fluttering in his neck, too fast for comfort. They’d only exchanged words once in the courtroom, in the midst of witnesses and forensics and verdicts. Hannibal could imagine Will’s pulse, heavy and full of life, thudding so hard he could feel it against his teeth as he smiled, stared into the eyes of the only person in this world that could move him and somehow not be moved in turn.

           “I’ll give him his space because he was convinced that I deserve better than him, but I’m genuinely concerned, Hannibal. I don’t know if it’s a simple depressive episode, or if there’s more to it than that, but he’s not well.”

           “Molly, have you forgotten the date?” Hannibal asked lightly.

           “No?” Her brow wrinkled in confusion.

           “It’s a commonplace date, all things considered, but for him it holds a special place. It’s the anniversary of his father’s death.”

           “…I see.” Realization made the wrinkles of worry smooth away, falling to a twist of pity and remorse. She’d have done more if she knew that, tried harder to break through walls that he lifted between himself and the world.

           That was why, ultimately, she was no good for him, though. Hannibal was. Hannibal knew Will Graham better than Will Graham knew Will Graham. While she stepped away when he built his walls, Hannibal knew the cracks in the foundation to help Will lower them instead. She was a proxy, a stand-in until he could break past the walls that contained him. She would have to do, for the moment.

           “He held his father in his arms as he died from cancer,” Hannibal explained lightly. Kindly. “In his death, he took some aspect of his son with him.”

           “I’m already dead,” Molly repeated with better understanding. She nodded. “Thank you, Hannibal.”

           Hannibal dipped his head in acceptance, a small, thin smile about his lips.

           He thought about it, though, for long after. Long after she’d left, her perfume light enough to tease but not stifle, long enough for him to be deposited back to his cell where the corner light flickered pathetically, long enough that Multiple Miggs had already masturbated and fallen asleep in a corner, and long enough that the lights in the hall had been turned off, Hannibal thought of those words, of a desolate and broken Will Graham saying them as he curled around a trash can desperately.

           I’m already dead.

           He thought of Will Graham walking by him in order to take a seat behind the partitions, having done his part in giving his testimony. Hannibal’s memory gave him every detail, from the sweat dotting his temples to the twitches of his fingers at the probing attention. Will never enjoyed close attention, let alone from so many at once. He could smell his sweat, a horrid combination with the cologne he’d worn throughout the entire trial. He could still smell it, something putrid that tickled his nose and tightened his throat. It reeked like something with a ship on the bottle. Cheap, encased in plastic, and set in the back of a medicine cabinet for far too long.

           I’m already dead.

           His eyes had said that, as he looked at Hannibal, truly, honestly looked at him. As much as Hannibal could see every detail of his starched shirt, his new slacks, and his scuffed shoes, Will Graham saw Hannibal, too. Will saw him, saw the hunger in his eyes, saw the calm, detached manner in which he sat. He’d swallowed so hard his adam’s apple bobbed painfully along his five o’clock shadow, and he ducked his head. In speaking against Hannibal, he knew that he was dead.

           “On borrowed time, Will?” Hannibal had asked kindly.

           “I advise you not to speak,” the DA urged.

           Will looked away from him, and he pushed the partition open, fingers stuttering across the solid, wooden frame before they gripped firmly. Resolutely.

           “Oh, yes,” he said absently, like remembering something last minute at the grocery store that he needed to buy. “In reality…I’m already dead,” he added, and he took his seat behind the prosecutor’s bench, utterly and impossibly alone save for the beating of his frantic heart.

-

           Will woke with two blue eyes on day seven.

           He marked them triumphantly, a small, savage smile at his mouth at the sight. Even when Matthew Brown unlocked the door and stood poised in it, a slight curl to his lip that had no real purpose other than to look intimidating, it didn’t quite reach Will the way it was likely intended. He wondered if Matthew had spoken to Hannibal Lecter yet of Will’s early morning ‘walk’.

           In the kitchen, a plate was made ready for him, pancakes with peach slices and a glaze. Bacon sat on a separate plate next to it, as well as what looked like fresh orange juice.

           “Dining alone?” he asked Matthew.

           “Everyone is busy at the moment,” Matthew explained. “Although Dr. Lecter wanted to ensure that you had a proper meal.”

           “That’s…considerate of him.”

           Will ate everything except for the bacon.

           He then wandered the house, time an odd sort of thing that didn’t quite sit right. He passed a grandfather clock in the foyer, marked the passage of the secondhand and felt distinctly separate from it. Time may have moved, but he didn’t.

           Truth be told, he hadn’t really left the space that he’d stood in while Nate bled to death.

           The sole comfort, as small as it may be, was that he could reasonably assume that Nate had deserved it. If he’d tangled with the FBI, he deserved what happened to him. If he was anything like Francis Dolarhyde, he most certainly, unequivocally deserved what happened to him.

           That didn’t clean the blood off of his hands, though. It didn’t stop him from dwelling on other nasty, ugly things that liked to crawl deep into his ear to rot.

           He paused in the doorway of a parlor at the sound of voices and stared into a room full of people. Followers. Cultists. The word sounded funny in his head, grave depictions of men in robes with curved knives. Usually there was a virgin running around in the trope, and they were generally the captive –captive he may be, but virgin he wasn’t.

           These people, for all their odd stares and touching, appeared relatively normal. No robes. No curved knives. If anything, it looked like a book club was meeting, one person standing and gesturing aimlessly while others nodded along, hands grasping at leather bound works.

           “You know it,” the speaker said, smiling. “You know it as you live and breathe, as you sit here and look at me; death is just another part of the journey. All of you that have taken a life –those that have felt changed, moved –you know the reality of what we do. What we’ve done.”

           Heads nodded, bobbed along. Far too many heads nodded. Far too many killers.

           “We know how life is nothing more than light and sound and sensations. Their loss fueling our radiance, our growth and beauty as we become more than what we are in those moments.”

           “In those final seconds…I’ve always felt a little bit like god,” someone chimed in, and the main speaker laughed.

           “Yes, yes! We are made powerful through them. They give us a precious gift, that they first were seen, and in being seen, Became.”

           A squeaky floorboard betrayed him, interrupting the discussion. Heads turned back to survey him, and Will froze next to the entryway, swallowing heavily when multiple eyes rested upon him. He was pinned by their scrutiny, more so when they recognized him than anything else. Expressions of confusion and annoyance gave way to utmost delight.

           “Mr. Graham,” the speaker said, pleased. “Please, come in.”

           “…I don’t…” want to, he finished silently. He licked his lips, tried again. “…want to interrupt you. Please continue.”

           “No, no,” the man urged, and he made his way through the onlookers in order to coax him further into the room. More from a desire not to be touched than anything else, Will reluctantly followed. “With your education, your knowledge…please, share your insights.”

           He reached the front of the room and turned, balking under the stare of shining, fervent eyes. Too many stares, like a toy shop with the marble-eyed dolls placed right at the entrance.

           “…Uhm…” he swung his arms by his sides, shifted his weight. At least fifteen people sat and stared with naked hope –that was probably the most frightening thing about it, in truth. They were waiting for him to say something. To be something. “…You’d…said that people are nothing more than light and sound.”

           “Yes,” the speaker agreed.

           “Quick noises, first started and ended because you decided that it should.”

           “In those brief moments where we can see their life and death, coinciding in that final moment of something beautiful,” he added with a smile. “Is that not lovely, Mr. Graham?”

           “…No.”

           He wasn’t surprised at the shock that rippled through the water, soft breaths and even softer murmurs.

           “I beg your pardon?” the man asked.

           “It’s the ugliest thing in the world,” Will added, glancing to him. “You make it very poetic and artistic because that somehow softens its reality, but killing is…disgusting. That moment where life and death coincides is a revolting and intimate thing to witness.”

           “You…you saved Agent Crawford. Surely you saw that moment then?” a woman asked, raising her hand. It was a half-raise, the sort made when they’re not quite sure if they even want to speak. Emboldened by their confusion, Will snorted.

           “I did.”

           “Did it not invigorate you?”

           “No.” He sighed, rubbed his mouth to remove a barely formed curse from his lips. “He said…light and sound, sensations fueling your radiance. What a load of shit.”

           “Excuse me?” The speaker’s cheeks darkened.

           “Tell me… everyone, be honest, raise your hand if you’ve actually murdered someone,” Will said, ignoring him. “Don’t…don’t lie.”

           He was just barely mollified when only three people raised their hands in the room. Just three out of fifteen or so. Not bad, all things considered. Still pretty bad, though.

           “Depending on how you did it, surely you realize it’s not all poetry and aesthetics, right?” At their stupefied expressions, he sighed. “It’s…heavy. Dirty. Messy. Slack mouths, a person at their most vulnerable, and you made them vulnerable. You made them that way.” He scoffed, glancing to the speaker again. “Air and light and sound…yeah, it’s not…like that. It’s more…a breath you cut short. Wasted. That’s what death is when you choose to administer it the way he’s preaching. It’s a waste.”

           “Dr. Graham, I don’t think-”

           “No, you wanted to know, didn’t you?” he asked. “You wanted my insight, and there it is. Your leader took Jack Crawford’s life in his hands, and he tried to waste it. He lived, though, and that’s life and death. You either live or you die, and no one here has the authority to decide who gets to live and who dies. None of us have that authority.”

           The room sat in silence, disquieted by his admission, somehow still keen on his words. Their quiet emboldened him, made him feel just strong enough to drive the point home.

           “Your friend just died,” he said, looking over all of them. As many mismatched eyes as matching eyes. “Nate? I held him up as he died. There was no poetry in that. Shot from a shotgun shell fell out of his stomach when we were lowering him onto the medic table. It was dirty.”

           “He had a soulmate,” one of them protested. “You can’t just…refer to him…like that.”

           “He had a soulmate,” Will sneered. “I guess that’s a huge focus for you people, right? Because of your leader?”

           “Dr. Lecter has a half-connection to you,” one of them agreed.

           “He will bridge the gap so that you can connect back,” another chimed in.

           Will’s lip curled, and his gaze looked over the crowd, surprised to see Hannibal watching him just at the doorway to the room. “…What a load of shit,” he murmured.

           “You’re a soulmate psychiatrist. Do you truly find no value in their existence?” the speaker asked.

           Will stared directly into Hannibal’s eyes as he replied, “I think that I’d rather end my own light and sound and color than deal with the overwhelming disappointment of a soulmate.”

           After a pained, taut silence, Hannibal smiled.

           “Dr. Lecter said that you understood us,” the speaker stated, appalled.

           “I don’t.”

           “But he will,” Lecter interjected, still smiling. “That…is simply something we’ll have to show him. How our lights and sounds and colors can blend to something truly beautiful.”

           Will didn’t wait to be beckoned. He waded through the onlookers and made his way to the exit, ignoring the sensation of what it must feel like to have someone walk over your grave.

           Hannibal followed him out.

           His office was the same as before, apart from a small tray of lunch foods set out for them. Will picked at a sandwich, his back to Lecter. It must have been lunch time.

           “Did you enjoy riling them up?” Lecter wondered. Thankfully, he didn’t sound angry at the idea of it; merely curious.

           “…They love the idea of what you do. In application, they’d find it messy.” He thought of how the blood felt, drying within the cracks of his skin. “Sticky,” he added.

           “Most of them, yes,” Lecter agreed. His voice came closer, crawled along Will’s shoulder as he paused just behind him. “A lot of the people that came to me are, in truth, nothing more than lonely hearts; those left in the wake of despair or delusions, seeking comfort and stability. Quiet places like this are a haven for them.”

           “They were easily manipulated.”

           “Easily convinced that this is a safe place for them,” he corrected. His arm snaked around Will to grab the other plate where a sandwich waited. “It’s not so nefarious as you make it sound.”

           A weird sound gurgled in Will’s throat, a mix between a laugh and a sob. When Hannibal withdrew from him, Will made his way to one of the chairs near the fireplace and sunk into it. He considered the meat on the sandwich, thin slices of white with Cajun seasoning.

           “It’s chicken from a specialty deli,” Lecter said, sitting down in the chair across from him. He watched Will with an inscrutable expression, his plate perched precariously on his knee.

           “You must hate that I’m making you take lunch here rather than set up at a table with twelve courses,” Will said, inspecting the meat with extreme prejudice. It looked like chicken.

           “I can be flexible,” Hannibal assured him.

           Hannibal could be flexible. The meat tasted like chicken when he took a bite. Human meat hadn’t tasted like chicken when he’d first had the horrific experience of dining upon it, and he took that as a sign that this came from a deli rather than someone’s ribcage.

           It still made him uncomfortable, though. If he managed to live through this, Will would probably consider some form of vegetarianism. Maybe fish. Maybe not.

           “Nate didn’t survive,” Hannibal said as Will took small, suspicious bites of his sandwich.

           “I know.”

           “Would you like to talk about it?”

           “Would you like to talk about it?”

           “I’m more than happy to discuss it. I know that death is…a delicate topic for you.”

           He took a larger bite of the sandwich, far hungrier than he wanted to admit. He’d forgotten to eat the day before. “…I didn’t know him,” he said, swallowing it down. “And what I do know of him corresponds to this house and everyone in it. He didn’t exactly have a glowing reference for me.”

           “You still held him in some of his final moments.”

           “…I did,” Will agreed. Reluctantly.

           “Did it remind you of Agent Crawford?”

           “I walked into your office for therapy and found an FBI agent bleeding out on the floor, Dr. Lecter,” Will said, fingers digging into the soft bread. He wasn’t sure how many times he’d have to say it, but saying it made it real, resurfacing from the deep dark waters of his mind where he sent sordid thoughts to drown. “He was investigating you for the murders of several people, and you stabbed him. I find no correlation between him, a servant of the law, and the guy that stumbled out of a car from a wound that was likely given to him by a servant of the law.”

           “For hours after, though, you stared at your hands, clean but somehow still stained, and made the associations against your will,” Lecter replied calmly.

           Will jerked back, stung.

           “You’re wrong,” he managed.

           “You can pretend all you like that I don’t know you, Will Graham, but I do. For two years you came to me and opened your mind, laying out each piece so that I could examine it, to better understand it. You asked me to build you walls because you didn’t know how to, and you asked me what it was like to be able to compartmentalize your feelings and associations the way that others could. The way that I could. You wanted to know what it was like to be ‘normal.’”

           “I shouldn’t have asked you,” Will ground out savagely. “Seeing as how you’re not normal in the least.”

           “No, but for once in your life, someone understood. You claim that you don’t make the associations between Nate and Agent Crawford, but it is a lie, and a poor one at that. You stared down at the blood on your hands, and you wondered if you’d always feel that pull, that drive that whispers that maybe one day you will be the one to cause such violence. You wonder when the blood will flow because you willed it, rather than you having to catch it in the aftermath. Then, a quiet part of you said, ‘this is somehow your fault, anyway. If you hadn’t caused a half-connection to Dr. Lecter, none of this would have happened.’”

            Lecter had a way of speaking that was almost drug-inducing. His tone, the rhythm and melody of it, had a lulling effect, and Will found himself setting the sandwich down as he stared, enraptured. He swallowed a lump of barely chewed food down his throat, and he coughed.

           “…Let’s…say that you’re right,” he said slowly.

           “Alright,” Dr. Lecter replied with an encouraging nod.

           “It doesn’t matter. Even if I…feel the same, think of them as the same, see myself in their weakest moments, their…balancing act, it doesn’t matter. Even if I can see myself as the one to pull the trigger, the one to take a knife to skin, that’s not reality.”

           “In the nightmares you dream while awake, though, it is your reality. That is why you fight it so much. That is why you, for all of your degrees and education and capabilities, are a person that is driven purely by fear.”

           “Fear.”

           “When you’re afraid, you’re rude,” he explained lightly. “Most others entertain a fight or flight response in aggressive situations, but due to your fear of losing yourself within the minds of the people around you, there is an almost constant companion at your side named fear. That is what motivates you, what creates your reactions.”

           “His name was Winston, actually, and your thug left him behind,” Will retorted. “Kind of relieved, seeing as I was brought here instead of a safe house.”

           “I did maintain that animal therapy was an excellent idea,” Lecter replied. “I’m glad you took my advice.”

           Will busied himself with his sandwich, picking over the pieces of it that he didn’t want. The pickles he set to the side, along with the spinach leaves and tomato. He stared at the dressing that’d been drizzled over the meat, and as it oozed over the sides of the bread, he imagined the bloodstains on his shirt from Nate. From Jack.

           “His death was inevitable,” he said after a long, stunted silence. “I could see it, even as I couldn’t fix it.”

           “It reminded you more of your father, then,” Lecter observed. “Helpless as you were.”

           “The medicine made him vomit,” he murmured to the sandwich. “And I caught it in my hands. Called the hospital, but he was already gone. I called anyway, just in case.”

           “You helped Nate to our small infirmary, just in case.”

           “I didn’t hear screaming,” he said, glancing up. Lecter’s sandwich sat forgotten on the end table near his chair, focused as he was in watching Will decimate his own meal with plucking, nervous fingers. “His soulmate wasn’t here.”

           “Alyss has unfortunately been detained by the illustrious FBI,” Lecter informed him. “Therefore the pleasure of her grief was given to Jack Crawford, not us.”

           Will knew he should feel some sort of glee in that, Jack managing to get his hands on one of them. He thought of the pain, though, and how horrifying it’d be to hear the screams of someone that thought they were dying. The severance. The shock. He wondered if she’d torn at her own skin to try to pry the hurt out.

           “His wife has cancer,” Will said, then instantly regretted it.

           “Then Agent Crawford likely witnessed Alyss’ pain and knew that one day he’d share it, should Mrs. Crawford not survive.”

           “…Yeah.” He took another bite of food to have something better to do with his mouth than talk.

           “Your welcome here was sporadic, I know,” Lecter said as Will tried to focus on his food. “You haven’t properly met these people as a whole entity. They’re all really quite kind.”

           “Yeah, well, the first time I met them, they all started grabbing at me and Agent Dolarhyde had to get them to stop touching me,” Will said around a mouthful of food. “Second time, they were in a book club meeting talking about lights and colors and sounds. I’m not exactly impressed.”

           “’Slack mouths, a person at their most vulnerable, and you made them vulnerable. You made them that way. Air and light and sound…it’s not like that. It’s more a breath you cut short. Wasted. That’s what death is when you choose to administer it the way he’s preaching. It’s a waste,’” Lecter quoted quietly. “That is what you told them.”

           “It’s true,” Will said curtly.

           “I find it poetic, in its own way. You chastised him for speaking of death beautifully, but you did the same in your own rendition of loss and life.”

           “There’s nothing poetic about deciding that you get to be god,” Will snapped.

           “It reveals far more about you than you realize, though, Will,” Lecter replied. He stood and walked over to the small lunch tray, picking up a wine glass and taking a sip. “How would you administer death? Would you be wasteful with your choices, or would your choice in who lives or dies carry far more weight because you’d take the time in choosing?”

           “I don’t take on that responsibility. I’m not god; I’m a human being.”

           “You’ve thought about it, though,” Lecter chastised lightly. He sauntered over to Will, staring at him as he set his glass on the mantle. “Your adamant and passionate response tells me you’ve dwelled on the thoughts before, enough to make you defensive of them. Enough that once again it is your fear speaking for you.”

           Will had no answer to that. He wasn’t quite sure he could make the lie sound convincing if he did.

           “How would you choose?” Lecter inquired when Will didn’t –couldn’t –speak. “How would you choose who to kill, if you could do so without repercussion?”

           Will mulled the question over, even as he finished the sandwich, even as he was relieved of his plate. Even as Lecter coaxed him to his feet so that he could stare into his eyes, mismatched and ugly and clever, Will thought on the question, dangerous as it was.

           Enticing as it was.

           “I’d probably start with you,” he said, staring into Lecter’s appalling gaze. “If I was to kill anyone, I’d probably start with you.”

A lovely thanks to my patrons: Sylarana, Frosty Lee, Emily Elm, Heather Feather, Matilda, Starlit-Catastrophe, Duhaunt6, and Superlurk!

#LiaS scribbles #hannibal fanfic #soulmate au #hannibal soulmate au #Where the Wicked Walk #hannigram #slowburn hannigram #the following au #someone help will graham

[crowleyaj]

HanniHolidays #25

okay, finally I have some time. shitload of fanfics ahead. sorry for the late posting, truly. it’s a prequel to #18 mistletoe, no pairings this time (but a litle hint on a rarepair)

Holiday Party

It wouldn’t be Christmas if neither of the Quantico base employees organised a party.

Everyone could safely tell who gladly took up on the job in one guess – Beverly Katz and her lab team.

She decided it was taking place in her house, as it was almost as large as Hannibal’s place and he would never host such event on his own accord. He was more the type for the fancy dinner parties, on which he served gourmet specialties and vintage wine. No one could imagine seeing the psychiatrist wearing an ugly jumper, singing along to awful Christmas songs, and drinking lots of cheap cocktails, nor did they want to try to.

However, she has assigned him the task of bringing the food. It was too famous and delicious to omit. They couldn’t have called it a party without a specially designed holiday version of his hors-d’oeuvres.

Jack was the one to arrange alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (for Abigail and one of Bev’s pregnant colleagues). Brian and Jimmy helped with decorating the flat with tinsels, festoons, balloons, and hundreds of other ornaments that she did not set out while embellishing the Christmas tree.

They hung mistletoe on the living room chandelier. It played a part in their elaborate plan of how to get Will Graham and Dr Lecter to kiss and snog and finally go at it, for God’s sake. 

 When the first guests arrived, Bev, the ten-year-old child in a body of an adult woman that she was, forced them to put on a pointy paper hat made of cardboard and wrapping paper one would definitely call childish, and some of the unfortunate persons even had to take a selfie with her and the boys, which required attempts to appear excited, which could only happen after a shot of something strong.

She led them to the sofa, and told them to have fun, even though there was nothing to do quite as yet, have they not wanted to turn on the TV in order to kill the horrendous songs coming from the CD player. Right now, it was Last Christmas.

Fortunately for the holiday spirit, Jack and Bella were the next ones to come, carrying a whole bag of bottles of God-knows-what. Alana Bloom arrived a minute after the couple, bringing two bottles of wine as well. As a gift for the host, she said.

“Thank you, Alana, go put them on the table,” replied Beverly, and pointed on the large, glass dining table Jack was just decorating with his drinks.

He has brought vodka, Jack Daniels, other spirits of unrecognisable brands similar to it, even the deplored sweet liqueurs for the ladies (Bella’s doing), and two 2l bottles of coke. Beverly noted she had beer, too. To be honest, it looked like they were all going to end up with a strong headache and a ban on drinking from the boss till the end of the year.  

But. Where. On. Earth. Was. Hannibal. With the food? she thought. It was high time to commence the celebrations, and she was in fact starving!

Bev went to the living room to at least pour herself a glass, when the doorbell rang. She turned round, ready to go open the door, when Alana called, “I’ve got it!” and walked there herself. Coming to a halt, Beverly bumped into Brian who held a full glass of coke mixed with whisky (at least she thought so, because who would drink coke when there was alcohol) by accident, and almost caused him to spill the drink. It was by a hair’s length.

However, the spot they stood on happened to be right under the mistletoe bundle, as she saw when she checked why he has rolled his eyes up to look at the ceiling with an intense gaze sensing he knew in them. Awkward.

Jimmy walked to the kitchen, and when he passed them, he grinned, and whispered, “Looks like you have to kiss now.”

They could all hear Will Graham apologise for the late arrival apparently caused by inconvenient traffic in the distance and Abigail exchange few words with Alana. Hannibal was there as well, his unmistakable accent outstanding among all the people. Good.

Even better, the trio have arrived together like a proper family everyone saw them as.

The song switched to Jingle Bells, which was probably worse than the previous one.

Brian looked flushed at the thought of kissing one of his best friends – because he actually liked her for years but never told her –, but Beverly took initiative, and said, “Come here, you big man.”

She closed the distance between them, and gave Brian a friendly, smacking kiss with a loud mwah! She laughed, and so did he, but there was something else in his eyes. They moved on.

Bev rushed to the front door downstairs. Since she still hasn’t forgotten good manners, “Good evening, Dr Lecter, Will, Abigail!” And since she couldn’t wait for the finger foods, “I hope you’ve brought lots of snacks.”

Hannibal gave her a stern look but shook her hand and answered in affirmative. “Indeed I have, Ms Katz, don’t you worry.”

With a half-smile, he uncovered one of three platters he and his little ‘family’ brought with them as a small demonstration. It was filled with small truly mouth-watering hors-d’oeuvres made of prosciutto and mature cheese and nuts and vegetables and even fruits.

She offered to take the tray from him and carry it to the living room. “You’re a god, Dr Lecter. You deserve the best bottle of wine we have and the right to pick music we play for an entire hour; and even that would be insufficient thanks.”

“Then you’re lucky we’ve also taken few CDs,” Will responded by pulling three or four of his bag and waving them in the air. It was all the good old classic, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” said Jimmy emerging from somewhere behind them.

To whom it wasn’t fair, exactly?

“If you could cook as Hannibal, you could have control over the music too,” Bev riposted as she walked away, towards the table. She noticed some of the spirits bottles were already started on.

The doorbell rang for the last time as the last latecomers arrived. By the time, the speakers already blasted the first song of the Nevermind album, and they have opened and drunk more beverages.

“Put your Secret Santa presents under the tree to the others,” Bev told the group of agents upon sighting they have entered the room. Now, when everyone was present, the party could finally begin in the true sense of word – they could start eating and drinking properly and dancing and unwrapping their presents and realising their mistletoe plan.

That involved isolating Will and Hannibal from the crowd and getting them both under the plant sans their notice. Uh. Easy.

“Hey, Will, Dr Lecter,” she called so loud everyone would become aware she has initiated their plan, “I need to have a word with you!”

#hanniholidays #hannibal #*fanfic #ficlet #christmas #beverly katz #jimmy price #brian zeller #hannibal lecter #will graham #jack crawford #bella crawford #alana bloom

[mistermexico-blog]

Favorite Songs of 2016

21 tracks that moved me in 2016. 

Celebrate by Anderson .Paak

In my humble opinion, 2016 was the year of Anderson .Paak. Like many, .Paak (pronounced pok) first graced my ears on Dr. Dre’s Compton.  In early 2016 he dropped the soul/funk/hip-hop masterpiece Malibu, of which I could put almost every damn song on this list (and he did sneak his way onto this list multiple times). Celebrate literally brought a tear to my eye.  I was driving, and the song hit my face with a wave of emotion. This song wins with simplicity. Sometimes you have to remind yourself that simply being alive is a gift in itself-- so why not celebrate?

Favorite Lyric: It’d be a bad look talkin’ bout what could of been, so lets celebrate while we still can”

Also check out: The Bird

Celebrate VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SKpOW_o8Do

Forever’s Gone (ft. Na’el Shehade & Via Rosa) by Drama Duo

This song is beautiful. New age, bassy edm production laced with the voice of an angel.  You can kick back and chill with it, or get lifted and dance to it. That is something special, folks...to me at least. I’m excited to see where this duo out of The Windy City ventures next.

Favorite Lyric: “And I’ll love you far, after forever’s gone, and I’ll be here long, after forever’s won”

Also check out: Low Tide

Forever’s Gone VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVZRKAGD-kw

Cash Machine by D.R.A.M.

After Drake’s Hotline Bling allegedly jacked Big Baby D.R.A.M.s Cha Cha (the production is strikingly similar), I was very happy to have discovered this guys catalogue. Cash Machine is that feel good Chicago style piano driven jam (prod. by Ricky Reed) that makes you want to celebrate success. I took the crew to see him in Seattle and had the pleasure of a spacious front row viewing in an iconic intimate venue (Neumos). Dude can really sing, too!

Favorite Lyric: “I'm in the sky like all the time and now it's no layover, my records all across the wave and there was no payola”

Also check out: Broccoli

Cash Machine VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rx0eqQl8wk

Stupid Rose by Kweku Collins

My brother & I brought back “ghostriding the whip” to Stupid Rose this summer in Lake Chelan, a short and sweet highlight of the summer for me. Not the traditional song for such an extremity, but if felt right. His rap/sing style seems to come from a very natural place; hippy vibes, educated, rides the rhythm like a joyride pilot? Is this the result of the legalization of pot? Either way, this killer D’Angelo flip is a hypnotic warped out bouncy son of a bitch.

Favorite Lyric: “’Til she sat across from me my curiosity coiled like a snake around a finger”

Also check out: Death of A Salesman

Stupid Rose VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl6OW07A5q4

Show Me Love (Skrillex Remix) ft. Chance The Rapper, Moses Sumney, Robin Hannibal by Hundred Waters 

This song was hot, then I watched the video and for some reason fell in love. It gave me chills. I’m assuming it was shot in LA, but it’s a gloomy day and they’re just running around the city enjoying themselves. Chance the Rapper brings the best energy to every track he graces-- just anticipating his verse gets me hyped! Great message here too.

Favorite Lyrics: “Don’t let me show cruelty though I may make mistakes, don’t let me show ugliness though I know I can hate”

Also check out:

Show Me Love VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5bAVKzrBzI

Crazy Dream ft. Loyle Carner by Tom Misch

My guy Chase Decker threw this on a video he made and I HAD TO KNOW WHO THE FU$K IT WAS. I dug into the London prodigy’s Spotify/youtube accounts back in early Spring and continue to visit them on the regular. He plays guitar like a boss and sings like a swoon, bringing an incredibly sexy rock element to hip-hop. 

Favorite Lyric: “I had a dream about you last night, and we were listening to Pharcyde”

Also check out: Beautiful Escape

Crazy Dream VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa5HNkGrl8E

Real Friends (ft. Ty Dolla $ign) by Kanye West

This was one of the first songs I heard at the start of the Pablo run. I wish every song on the album was in this vein. This is as close as we’ve got to “old Kanye” to date. They snagged a sample from Couches by Frank Dukes and that just might be the kicker. Definitely a nostalgic, dreamy feel, Kayne getting a little vulnerable, Ty Dolla doing what he does, it’s nice.  

Favorite Lyric: “Who your real friends, we came from the bottom, I’m always blaming you but what’s sad you not the problem”

Also check out: 30 Hours

Real Friends VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUkV-U6_F_Q

Lingerie & Candlewax by Mayer Hawthorne

I’ve been hot on Mayer for almost a decade now, and the man continues to impress with every project he puts out. Definitely play Mayer’s Man About Town at the next function you host/DJ/highjack the aux at. This is some 213 meets Marvin Gaye, fighting temptation in the cadillac, smoking with the boo-thang music. 

Favorite Lyric: “Angel on my shoulder said, hold up, don't touch it, I'm so torn up, Latoya Luckett”

Also check out: Love Like That

Lingerie & Candlewax VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuBlCRYE4rQ&list=PLykkJfCk9HuODiVwhic00RUlnF05jwnSU&index=18

Nights by Frank Ocean

Frank is such a unique artist. Nights, is nearly three songs in one. He delivers these incredibly intriguing lyrics over rather bare-bone guitar and drum. I can’t tell if he’s rapping or singing and it doesn’t matter because it sounds fantastic. The song starts off upbeat then slowly transforms, allowing Frank to change up his delivery accordingly. His content is mysterious; I want to know what he’s talking about but at the same time I get the feeling it’s personal and therefore don’t need to know everything. He coulples up a lot of his bars, allowing just a few lines to coincide together then he’s off to the next subject. It’s a borderline ADD stream of conscious and it’s beautiful.  

Favorite Lyric: “Why your eyes well up? Did you call me from a seance? You are from my past life, hope you doing well bruh”

Also check out: Solo

No audio sorry folks! (Frank’s a boss like that)

Dang! (ft. Anderson .Paak) by Mac Miller

Mac Miller dun grown up! He seduced this groovy Pomo production just right, smooth talking his feminine subject until his honesty pushes her away. In an interview I watched, Anderson .Paak was apparently talking about losing someone to the skies above. Mac decided kept it here on earth and I think it worked. 

Favorite Lyric: “Wait, we was just hangin', I guess I need to hold onto, dang, the people that know me best, the key that I won't forget, too soon”

Also check out: We ft. Cee-Lo Green

Dang! VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR3GQfryp9M

Riot by Jon Waltz

Problems have never sounded so good.  Things aren’t picture perfect for Jon, yet I’m jealous of the picture he’s painting. I’d really like to see a video for this song; so much room for audio irony! The song itself is sonically untouchable, yet the lyrical contrast makes it super badass! 

Favorite Lyric:”We just wanna be loved, we need money and drugs, and a new place to stay”

Also check out: Bang

Riot VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNh34RlmE-A

Jusfayu (ft. No Wyld) by Kamau

While Andre 3000 was snoozing, Kamau must’ve crept in and inhaled Mr. Benjamin’s soul.  I first discovered him by his interpretation/cover of Hey Ya! by Outkast (well played) and instantly had to find out this guys story. He uses a decent amount of VOX throughout his tracks; beat-box elements with incredible harmonic layers. He sings, he raps, he dances, he’s fun as fu*k and despite drawing comparisons to Andre he brings a very unique flavor to the music industry.  

Favorite Lyric: “I’m not a bad guy, I ain’t all put together, but if you stick around you gon see I’m getting better”

Also check out: Gaims

Justfayu VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tim7MeDItPw

Lucy The Tease by Allan Rayman

I don’t have a lot of info on this guy, but he was a Spotify Discovery find and I’ve really enjoyed his raspy chilled out vocals over it’s dirty hip hop production.  Super sexy track. I can see it in some action/drama movie soundtrack in the near future. Waitress seduces badboy motorcycle dude in a cheap hotel? 

Favorite Lyric: “And don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

Lucy The Tease VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o04LHGQwNf4

The Waters (ft. BJ the Chicago Kid) by Anderson .Paak 

The song is too smooth! .Paak rides the beat with such natural, genuine swag, telling his story so effortlessly. BJ lays it down like a young Usher meets D’Angelo. I had the pleasure of catching BJ open for Anderson in Portland in early 2016, and when they took the stage for this song I felt like I was witnessing the reason people make music. 

Favorite Lyric:”And I can do anything but move backwards, the hardest thing is to keep from being distracted”

Also check out: Am I Wrong

The Waters VIDEO: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2R2ticmolk

Caroline by Amine 

Young dude reppin’ Portland, Oregon! Another jam I found on Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” and instantly put in on repeat. So damn bouncy! Every component of this song is catchy. Amine played this like a savage too, being that this was his first release!  

Favorite lyric: “I love your bloopers, and perfects for the urgent, baby I want forever”

Also check out: Baba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j8ecF8Wt4E

Guru by Coast Modern

This is simply a chill-ass-feel-good-airy-summer song. Take it slow, cool out bruh. Reggae vibes with a hint of Glass Animals. Makes a man giddy for summer.   

Favorite Lyric: “Chillin’ on the sofa, I don’t want to yoga, I don’t want to life right now”

Also check out: Animals

Guru VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6XVrGv2W7Y

Wow by Beck

I recall thinking, “this is in response to Kanye West discrediting him after he won album of the year for Morning Phase” (he later admitted not even listening to the album).  Anywho, Beck’s Wow felt like old Odelay Beck was back in business.  Hints up hip-hop with modern cowboy vibes are you kidding me? This has to be Kanye approved, not that it matters. 

Favorite Lyric: “Standing on the lawn doin' jiu jitsu Girl in a bikini with the Lamborghini shih tzu”

Also check out: 

Wow VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyCkhPTU13w

Need to Know (ft. Chance the Rapper) by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

I feel like Macklemore’s This Unruly Mess I’ve Made was overlooked. Lot of great songs that album. This song was a highlight for me; an honest song about telling lies. Or rather, leaving out the truth. Ryan orchestrated this bad boy to perfection, Mack put his heart on the horn and Chance was the perfect addition. 

Favorite Lyric: “I cry when she smile with her eyes closed”

Also check out: Bolo Tie

Need to Know VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqFztNcQ0KE

One Dance (ft. WizKid & Kyla) by Drake 

I Can’t not have a Drake song on here. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t vibe the f*ck out to Views all damn summer. He recruited an amazing team to collaborate here and the result is this worldly piece of perfection.   I’d like to the video shot at some sexy beach side hostel somewhere near the equator. 

Favorite Lyric:”I need one dance, got a hennesy in my hand, one more time for I go, higher powers taking a hold on me”

Also check out: I’m With You 

One Dance VIDEO: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcer12OFU2g

Dapper (ft. Anderson .Paak) by Domo Genesis

Like Dang!, this is another groove monster produced by Pomo and headed by Anderson .Paak. They shot the video in a roller rink and they were 100% correct in doing so. Just dance y’all. 

Favorite Lyric: “Now I can turn a pussy to a kiddy pool”

Dapper VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_9HNEyLa4U

Neighbors by J. Cole

My guy Jermaine’s flow is straight head bobbing call the fire truck fuego here.  And I think I can call him Jermaine because dammit, I feel like know the guy-- he’s one hell of a story teller!  Apparently the house they rented to record the album at in North Caroline was raided by SWAT while they were away because “the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope”. All they found was a studio. I believe it’s J. Cole’s altered voice on the chorus and that matters because he’s suddenly two different dudes. This is the Cole I’ve wanted since Warm Up. He might even slip up in my top 5 with this song alone.  

Favorite Lyric:”I been buildin' me a house back home in the south Ma, won't believe what it's costin', and it's fit for a king, right? Or a nigga that could sing and explain all the pain that it cost him”

Also check out: Change

Neighbors VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOPgg7qqlcA

COMPLETE YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLykkJfCk9HuODiVwhic00RUlnF05jwnSU

ALSO, 

follow on Spotify @ Tyler Roberts “best of 2016″

[kiss-my-freckle]

3x8 Rewatch: The Great Red Dragon

Introduce Francis Dolarhyde. Exercising, then hitting a tattoo parlor. He had his grandmother's dentures replicated for himself, gets a tattoo of The Dragon that covers his entire back. He kneels before a photo he has displayed of William Blake’s The Great Red Dragon. "If I'm ever apprehended, my memory palace will serve as more than a mnemonic system. I will live there." Hannibal wasn't kidding. He's relying on his memory palace with everyone that visits him. Will seems to be the only one he imagines in the Norman Chapel. He listens to a child singing while they cover his arrest and confinement. Jack selling Freddie the story of Hannibal being captured. An excerpt from Chilton's book, Hannibal the Cannibal, something Jack made mention to. He copyrighted the title after he got shot in the face. Purposeful story direction. "There is no name for what this man is. He man not even be a man." Relevant later, when he and Will do The Dragon's profile for Freddie. Chilton basically saying Hannibal is an animal. 

A three year time jump. Wine and truffles. Alana informs Hannibal that's how she found him in Florence. I would consider this gloating. They talk about his insanity allowing him to escape the death penalty, but he only escaped the death penalty because she and Chilton lied about him being insane. They wanted him to feed their professional curiosity. She talks to Hannibal as if he should be thanking her for getting him off death row. He flat-out tells her he's not insane. He's drawing her exactly how she makes me feel in this scene. The almighty queen, sitting on her Verger throne. Hannibal's confinement and her newfound wealth turned her character to shit. "Ugliness is found in the faces of the crowd." One could easily compare Hannibal's confinement to Will's in season two. I laugh when he talks about faking an escape. It's a triple play. Gideon's, Will’s, Hannibal’s. A touch of foreshadowing with Hannibal's promise to kill Alana. I'll gif that later.

Francis is standing before his broken mirror, trying to deepen his voice. He hears The Dragon calling for him. Cut to him naked, covered in blood in the moonlight. Blood and chocolate. Sanguinaccio dolce for Chilton's visit with Hannibal. "But I promised myself I would never use colons in my titles. Colons lose their novelty when overused." I laugh at this line. It makes me think of the hyphen. Especially during his scene with The Dragon. "We all know it, but nobody ever says that G-dash-D won't do a G-dash-D-damned thing to answer anybody's prayers." Hannibal tells him he'll have to write another book. He’s constantly referring to Francis as a shy boy. Like Will's character at the start of the series. Hannibal already knows enough about The Dragon to know about The Dragon. He thinks he doesn't like being called the Tooth Fairy.

Chilton and Alana in what appears to be her office now. "It is our cabal, yours and mine." The two who spoke of Will as a billiard ball, working together to get Hannibal in their hospital. "Ugliness is found in the faces of the crowd." Alana admits that they both lied, then tells Chilton he wrote a book of lies. "Everything he writes is always about a problem he does not have." This is a nice line that ties into the pilot. "You and I are just alike, problem-free." Chilton is just as cocky as Alana. The stag behind his head is fantastic. "Detected a trace of competitive vanity in our man. I would be cautious. The Young Turk may inspire the Old Lithuanian to keep himself interesting." Chilton is the one comparing the two, I'd say he's the one who wants to keep Hannibal interesting. Hannibal doesn't care.

They scene hop between The Dragon and Hannibal. "Soon enough, I fear Jack Crawford will come knocking." He writes a letter to Will, warning him that Jack will be coming to take him for the case. "It's dark on the other side and madness is waiting." But his family is waiting. Hannibal’s letter reveals who he's really in competition with - Jack. He was right about the Tooth Fairy, he doesn't like being called the Tooth Fairy.  

More than halfway through the episode when we actually see Will. Necessary. Setting the stage, to show what he's stepping into before he steps into it. Like I said in my previous rewatch post, Will had plans to disconnect from everything and everyone who would remind him of Hannibal. That includes Jack and Alana. He didn't even know she had a child. More dogs, and I don't see Winston. Jack pulls up. His entire scene with Will shows just how much of an asshole he is. "You don't want to talk inside? Oh, you don't want to let me inside." This ties into his first conversation with Alana. That's why he ends up sitting at their dinner table. "He who sups with the Devil needs a long spoon." Will doesn't want any part in it. "Why should the cold stop what common sense couldn't?" Again, him and Alana are dumb as hell for allowing Will to even take part. Three years won't change anything. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. He tells Jack not to take out family pictures. Jack does it anyway. "Hold that."  

"With a little bit of luck, we might have a little more than three weeks before he does it again." Luck scattered through this half because of the tree markings. Molly and Walter are seen walking in, so he has Jack put the photo back in his pocket. The look on his face is enough. Jack's gonna get Will to take part in this case whether he wants to or not. "Yeah, I'm lucky here. I know that." Another hit on the luck theme. Jack takes advantage of the moment, pulling out the photo for Molly once Will and Walter take the dogs out. The way he puts his arms on the table, about to manipulate the situation to his liking. He's always been about his agenda. "So, whatever he says he wants to do, you'll take him anyway, won't you?" This line ties into episode 1x5. Will never had a choice. When Jack wants him, he takes him. That's why I never understood MIriam referring to him as The Guru. He can't compare to Will because he only cares about catching them, he doesn't care about understanding them. Going against Will's wishes, shows the family photos to Molly. "I promise I'll try to make it as easy on him as I can." He made the same promise to Alana when he said he wouldn't let Will get too close. "I know what I'm asking and I wished to God I didn't have to." He has to because he sucks at profiling.

"If you stay and there's more killing, maybe it would sour this place for you." Jack said the same thing of his classroom in episode 1x5. While Molly is sleeping, he steps out of bed and reaches for Hannibal's letter. Kept it in his drawer, but didn't read it. HIs way of holding onto Hannibal, but not letting his words pull him in. He looks back at Molly to make sure she's still sleeping. I don't think she truly knows just how intimately he and Hannibal know each other. I believe this is the only letter Hannibal wrote to him, so I think Will knew that he wrote about the Tooth Fairy case. Hannibal would've allowed him this distance because the last time they spoke, Will told him he didn't want to think about him anymore. He hasn't been crossing those boundaries Will set out of respect, something Jack doesn’t have. He's crossing them now because he knows how relentless Jack is. 

WIll visits the crime scene for his typical replay. He's been out of it for a while, so when he sees the room, it overwhelms him. His body language is powerful. The end of this replay is a nice foreshadow. The way he stands in front of the strings like his own pair of wings. How they light up as he's reaching out to touch the wife in his replay. The way he says, "This is my design." It all feels different. He’s connecting with The Dragon as it ties into episode 1x4. I love the way he storms up the steps. He’s connecting, but doesn't understand it yet. They print the wife's eye and do a mold of the cheese based on Will's replay. "Jimmy, you're the light of my life." Darkness and light scattered in this storyline. "He polished it after he placed it so he could see his face in there." SIght and sound, like windows to the soul. The Dragon in Francis, The Lion in Will. Capable of righteous violence. His empathy, capable of cruelty. "He may have a history of biting in lesser assaults. May be a fighting pattern as much as sexual behavior." Jack asks Will what he's fighting. Will is already connecting. 

Will tries to call Molly, then lays down in bed. Crime scene photos swirl around him. He connects to the family dog, wants to adopt it. "I have to see Hannibal." He needs Hannibal's help to recover his mindset because he snuffed out that dark part of himself. “You have to cut that part out.” Cutting out Hannibal, Jack and Alana, teaching and his work with the FBI. What happens when he cuts out his heart, fills the empty it leaves with a new family, then goes back to visit his heart and everything that reminds him. Will is cut between. His  transformation starts now. He will shed the rest of his humanity and become the Lion. 

“Hello, Dr. Lecter."

[kiss-my-freckle]

3x13 Rewatch: The Wrath of the Lamb

They open the episode with Francis testing Reba. He gives her the house key and tells her to lock the front door. "Don't try to run. I can catch you." Like Will later in the episode. "Don't run. I'll catch you." She tries to escape. Will lying in season two, the wrong thing being the right thing to do was too ugly a thought. Francis leaves Reba to burn. Hannibal leaves Will to bleed. "I wish I could have trusted you. I wanted to trust you. You felt so good." Hannibal puts his broken heart on display. "Probably saved some lives." Like Will. Hannibal left everyone to live, then tried to keep the peace in Italy. "You didn't draw a freak. You drew a man with a freak on his back." Will understands. "I know there's nothing wrong with me." But he’s unable to differentiate. She drew Francis, he drew Hannibal, so she must feel what he feels. "In making friends, I try to be wary of people who foster dependency and feed on it." Something he spoke about before. "You're fostering co-dependency." Hannibal responded with a question. "Is that what I'm doing?" I think Will views it that way because he's unable to separate himself in his associations.

He informs Hannibal that Francis committed suicide. "Only consolation is Dr. Chilton. Congratulations for the job you did on him. I admired it enormously. What a cunning boy you are." I love it when he nibbles on Will’s ear. "Are you accusing me of something?" Like he did with Bedelia, Will tries to deny that part of himself. "Does the enemy inside you agree with the accusation? Even a little bit?" Hannibal knows the lion agrees. He can't even look at Alana without seeing shards of mirror. "When life becomes maddeningly polite, think about me. Think about me, Will. Don't worry about me." Worry about Molly, since Will imagines killing her over and over. Associating prior to understanding. "I love you, and I miss you, and you're doing the right thing." Let me just reiterate that line... the wrong thing being the right thing to do was too ugly a thought. "You turned yourself in so I would always know where you were. You'd only do that if I rejected you." He turned himself in because Will wouldn't run away with him. If Will ran away with him, he'd have no reason to surrender. That's why he hasn't tried to escape, “We’re waiting for Will.” He lies to Hannibal, it was good to see him, but he's ready to go home now... to do what he did three years ago.

He returns to his motel room, where Francis knocks him out cold, then wakes to water being splashed in his face. I love this scene between them because they both want from each other, that’s why Francis isn’t torturing him. He's gonna find out for himself who Will is. He tells him to sit up, wants him to see that he didn't break his back. "Your face is closed to me." Because Will is cut down the middle. Able to hide, he's been doing it for so long. He already got into a cat fight with Bedelia, now he's looking at a man who could very well replace him. If Will goes home without a word, it'll be over. Francis will have the man he loves, and he'll be stuck with Molly... the wife he imagines killing over and over. Tried to replace Will with Bedelia in Italy, now he’s back at it with Francis. I mean... the man has been waiting for him for three years. “Hannibal said those words... to me.” lol!!! You’re just a temporary fill, Francis. Feel the competition now. There will be no sharing Hannibal with anyone. Big brother hands little brother everything he needs. "I shared with Reba a little, in a way that she could survive." Reba and Molly, Reba and Will. What makes Will different from Reba and Molly is the lion within. "I chose not to change her. I'm stronger than the Dragon now." What Hannibal spoke of when he thought Francis committed suicide. "Then he wasn't as strong as the Dragon after all." If Francis is stronger than The Dragon, Will is capable of being stronger than The Lion. No need to fear becoming Hannibal. Bedelia is funny. That kind of strength for Will would allow him Godly powers as a righteous, merciful, loving, empathic, and compassionate being. Downright dangerous. Like Hannibal, killing and sparing whenever he chooses. "Saving lives is just as arousing as ending them. He likes to play God." That's why I love Hannibal's conversation with Jack. I could totally see Will baiting his enemies into a church and collapsing its roof just to impress his murder husband. "Hannibal Lecter is who you need to change." Will is ready to become. Like Reba, he shared with Molly enough.

Then Will shows his ability to manipulate. Doesn't tell them he met with Francis, but allows them to learn he's alive through the autopsy. "The Dragon could absorb him that way, engulf him, become more than he is." He’s not gonna tell him The Dragon wants to meet Hannibal because he's the one who put it in his head. He knows very well that Hannibal would draw The Dragon, and I wouldn't be surprised if Will kept in touch with him after their meeting to let him know when the escape would happen. He makes sure to tell Jack the same thing he plans to tell Hannibal because it's based on the Chinese symbol in the tree. 

With Jack, allows him to believe it's their best shot at Francis. "The character also appears on a mahjong tile. Marks the Red Dragon." With Hannibal, informs him Francis will be helping them escape. "You hit it. An expression sometimes used in gambling." This scene plays well off Hannibal's surrender.

Gamble everything for love, gamble everything.

"We assign a moment to decision. What you propose is so thoughtless, I find it difficult to imagine that moment exists." This ties in Will's previous conversation with Jack. "Not all of our choices are consciously calculated." Choices aren't, decisions are. "No. But our decisions are. You remember when you decided to call Hannibal?" Will tells Bedelia, "Decisions are made of kneaded feelings. They're more often a lump than a sum." Will's kneaded feelings because he never stopped wanting to run away with Hannibal. I love how he uses "lump" after talking about “kneaded” feelings. Sums can be separated by their individual parts unless they’re lumped together like dough. His feelings can't be separated individually, so he can't cut out that part of himself that will always want to run away with Hannibal. "I don't intend Hannibal to be caught a second time." He wasn't caught the first time. Will doesn't intend for Hannibal to surrender a second time. "What you are becoming is pathological." I swear she's talking about herself here. "Extreme acts of cruelty require a high degree of empathy." Will is hilaroius in this scene, I love it. "You've just found religion. Nothing more dangerous than that." Will found the best religion. Love. There’s nothing more dangerous than that. "I'd pack my bags if I were you, Bedelia. Meat's back on the menu." Foreshadowing what's to come, and Bedelia is pissed.

I love Chilton's scene, in the chamber like Georgia was. Fire in, fire out. He's able to confront them for what they did, even though he's just as much to blame. "What Hannibal is capable of. What Will Graham is capable of. What you are capable of. You were the roper. Too bad there was not enough rope for you to hang yourself with. Just enough to hang me." Chilton was the one trying to rope everyone while they were recovering in the hospital, wanting them to catch Hannibal so they could put him in his hospital. I love it because of what he says to Alana. “Your face did not change at all when you first looked at me. Shock, in seeing me, is usually delayed.” Like Will saying her face changed because she knew he was hearing things. Alana meets with Hannibal to propose their deal. "Was it Will's idea?" He already knows it was, but he doesn't know if Will plans to kill him. "Yes. That worked out so well for Frederick Chilton." He knows his wrath is coming, he already warned Jack. He and Alana seem blinded by those three years they spent apart, they don’t think Will has reason to run away with him. "Your wife... your child... they belong to me. We made a bargain for Will's life, and then I spun you gold." He's the one who milked Mason with a cattle prodder. I believe this storyline would've played out a little bit had the show continued. I think Hannibal would've wanted to give Will another non-biological child. All opposite from their first meeting in 3x9.

Cut to Will, Jack, and Alana. He uses the same concept from his conversation with Bedlia. He told her he put his hand on Chilton for authenticity. Chilton's face, now Jack's career. For authenticity. Because "Someone has to be close. When the Dragon comes." Such a fun episode, it's got everything. "We kill Dolarhyde. And then... we kill Hannibal." Laughing at Jack for being dumb enough to believe Will would allow them to kill Hannibal. He takes another trip through the chapel. So much change in his eyes, love in a lovely scene. He continues to cover up his meeting with Francis, being specific in front of the orderlies. He told you, not me. "He told you he wanted to meet you. Maybe that was a serious invitation." Hannibal has yet to learn he and Francis met, he thinks Will learned he’s alive through the autopsy. “You hit it.” Francis is coming to help us, Hannibal. 

A flash to the museum when they met on the elevator, the double symbolism. "You know, Will, you worry too much. You'd be much more comfortable if you relaxed with yourself." This is his last chance to walk away, his last moment of decision. He stays, he can claim they were ambushed and return to his life. Jack loses his lamb. Alana loses her Verger castle. The last family Francis killed was the transport team.

Cut to the cliff. "You and I are suspended over the roiling Atlantic. Soon, all of this will be lost to the sea." One could easily survive it so long as the water is deep enough for their speed. World record cliff jump is 192 feet. "You're playing games with yourself in the dark of the moon." It's after their conversation at the edge of the cliff when I believe the fisherman thinks about faking their deaths. "Wasn't surprising that I heard from the Great Red Dragon." He knew Jack put their faces in the paper and The Dragon would reach out to him instead of Will. Because Alana took his comfort, he didn't have access to TattleCrime. He only knows Will caught up with The Dragon because he helped them escape. "Was it surprising when you heard from him?" Will tells him yes and no. “And you... You wanted to surprise me.” This gives him reason to ask if Will plans to watch The Dragon kill him. "My compassion for you is inconvenient, Will." I like how he downplays his feelings when Bedelia already told Will how he feels about him. Will is super-cute. "If you're partial to beef products, it is inconvenient to be compassionate toward a cow." Quiet in comparison because he's sorting things out in his head. "I don't know if I can save myself. Maybe that's just fine." Hannibal doesn't want to think about Will not being able to save himself. He just spent three years without him. He thinks Will is about to lay down his life for Jack. This entire scene plays off their 2x13 scene. Hannibal said he gave him a rare gift, but he didn't want it. Will wanted it, and he wants it still. He's about to give Hannibal a rare gift...

“Bella used to say your face was all scars, if you knew how to look. There's always room for a few more. How much room does Will have, Jack?"

Let’s paint each other black. 

“If this pilgrim feels a special relationship with the moon, he might like to go outside and look at it, before he tidies himself up. If one were nude, say, it would be better to have outdoor privacy for that sort of thing. One must show some consideration for the neighbors.”

“Have you ever seen blood in the moonlight, Will? It appears quite black."

“Blake's Dragon stands over a pleading woman caught in the coil of its tail. Few images in Western art radiate such a unique and nightmarish charge of demonic sexuality.”

Let Molly and Walter have the dogs, Will. 

“I like my life there.”

“That life is an anchor streamed behind him in heavy weather."

Abigail and Miriam... you faked their deaths. 

“And the bluff is still eroding."

“Sometimes at night, I leave the lights on in my little house, and walk across the flat fields. And when I look back from a distance, the house is like a boat on the sea. It's really the only time I feel safe.”

The same unfortunate aftershave, Will. 

Hannibal, the only thing that smells good on me, is you.