#will graham meta

[tayasui-mono]

Sick of the socially anxious, shy Will Graham retoric; this guy's anti-social and is a mistrustful prick. He sucks. He's rude on purpose. He barks. He bites. He spreads rabies.

"How does that make you feel?"

*scoff, "How does that make you feel?"

?????

"Tell me about your mother."

"Some lazy psychiatry, Dr. Lecter."

???????????

"Let's keep it professional." "I don't find you that interesting." "You could wreck some foster homes and torment some children. . ." "The light of friendship won't reach us for a million years, that's how faraway from friendship we are" "There will be a reckoning." "You didn't die enough." "Soup isn't very good."

Brother is so soft-spoken to his doggie children. Then he meets a human being and cringes like he can't wait to go home and wash his eyes with soap.

[kuroshika]

time for more kalypso babbles. @lesbian-hannibal as requested.

to understand this scene, we gotta get deep into will's character.

will graham is a university teacher and special agent for the fbi. he has a heightened empathic response, which hannibal refers to as pure empathy. he can draw off of the emotions of a killer at a crime scene and piece together how the victim was killed and what the motive was behind it. but he also wears a sort of second skin. he's putting forth a persona so that he'll fit in and not be seen as odd for what he actually is. he wears a person suit. so the persona of will we see (teacher, profiler, fisherman) is a cover of the man will believes he should be rather than who he actually is. he's split himself into two, and repressed part of himself in fear of being rejected. underneath this projection of will is what will really wants, what he craves and attracts. that's why he's so drawn to killing, i.e. "i liked killing hobbs. it felt just." he's convinced himself that what he felt in killing hobbs and adopting abigail into his life is a sense of just, what will's suit strives for. now that he's fed this side of himself, and now that hannibal is pushing him, he finds it harder to hide behind his person suit.

that brings you to hannibal. hannibal also wears a person suit. will cannot pull off of any emotions in hannibal, because his person suit conceals them. beneath hannibal's person suit is the chesapeake ripper. he's a murderer, he likes playing god. but in all actuality, the ripper is merely a worshipper, and now that hannibal has tasted it, the man beneath will's mask is the god he follows. there are times, as hannibal is showing will to cast off his person suit, that his own strains - will can pick up on the ripper's emotions, and the man underneath his projection reacts to them, going so far as to unconsciously mirror him and bare his weaknesses to the man.

little by little, as the show goes on, hannibal tears through will's persona and allows him to embrace the darkest parts of himself, the man beneath the mask, the killer behind the persona. will can be seen, throughout the show, to more easily and readily accept the parts of himself that he hid away. He hid it for alana, for jack and beverly, for the people his persona was supposed to care for - as is customary for any rational person to do. he's afraid of not being accepted, for having himself seen and being too much for the people that he believes he ought to surround himself with. but hannibal is slowly showing him that the darkest parts of himself are accepted by the people that matter most (i.e. him and their surrogate pseudodaughter) because they see that part of him, acknowledge it, and meet it in time with the darkest parts of themselves. will is fighting his own becoming because he's hid behind his mask too long to allow himself to fully shed the person he created to make a place for himself in the world. hannibal bared himself to will because he saw what will was trying to stifle, that was in turn killing him.

"i let you see me." - "you wanted to be seen." - "by you." this is where will begins to accept that he cannot hide anymore, as hannibal forcibly brings his persona to his attention. this is hannibal's rare gift.

and this is will giving that rare gift back.

will connects with others by stepping into their head, wearing their mindsets and emotions to understand them. he knows them from the inside out, he steps into them. by telling hannibal that he doesn't want to think about him, that he doesn't want to worry about him, he is taking his empathy away from him and therefore shutting hannibal out of his life. he is telling hannibal that you are no longer interesting. you are not someone that i find interesting. you are not welcome in my life anymore.

he's telling hannibal that he sees him. knows him. and wants nothing to do with him.

[hxlbrook]

Will Graham and guilt

Okay, so I'm rewatching Hannibal and I have arrived at where Will kills Randall Tier. At the crime scene Will states that he doesn't feel guilt. I need to know if he really doesn't feel guilt or if he wants Hannibal to believe he doesn't feel guilt.

Please be nice. I've encountered so many times fans being angry at mischaracterization of Will Graham, so I am scared to ask this publicly. I just really want to understand Will on a deep level, cause I love him and I am writing my own analysis of the show :)

[love-songs-for-emma]

s2 post-prison!Will's Wrath/promise of a Reckoning is almost entirely about betrayal. & it's not just "a friend hurt me," it's "i finally found someone in this world who made me feel Seen and Cared For,, even and especially because of the darker parts inside of me. and it felt... Good." it's the fact that Will was finally considering himself Capable of Being Loved. and it makes Hannibal betraying that trust So Much Worse

a large portion of Will's Wrath is rooted in:

Hannibal Never really cared for me.

and how fuckin Stupid was i to think anyone ever could

it's the "i should've seen this coming from a mile away" not bc of all the other red flags but bc "how could anyone See me and not only tolerate it, but think it Beautiful"

and i think the worst of that is as s2 goes on,, Will falling back into his relationship with Hannibal forces him to wonder again "what's Real?" "is Hannibal playing me playing him?" "i cant be stupid enough again to believe he anyone Actually cares for me as me"

he comits to the bit ultimately, not because of hatred towards Hannibal, but because of hatred towards himself

and this is why s2 happens the way it does. it's Will's self-loathing waging with his overwhelming love for Hannibal. and his love for hannibal wins!! (but why this doesnt work out and Hannibal's POV is a post for another day) it's the "i wasn't decided when i called him. i just called him. i deliberated while the phone rang. i decided when i heard his voice" and he did. he decided he loves Hannibal more than he hates himself *the moment* he heard Hannibal's voice. because that's all it ever took. the Hannibal in front of him (or over the phone in this case) will Always beat out the Hannibal in his head. because Will could never conjure up a version of Hannibal that loves him nearly as much as the real flesh and blood version of him does

[pesky--dust]

the "diagnosis" Chilton gave Will during his trial was the one closest to the truth ("Will Graham has never been diagnosed. He won't allow anyone to test him. He has carefully constructed a persona to hide his real nature from the world. He wears it so well, even Jack Crawford couldn't see past it. (...) There is not yet a name for whatever Will Graham is.")

unlike Alana Bloom or Jack Crawford, he saw what a manipulator Will was and that in front of them he played a poor, confused, wounded bird ("(...) A particularly-manipulative one at that. Poor, confused, wounded bird for Agent Crawford and Doctors Lecter and Bloom. And for me, well, I get the psychopath's triumvirate: charm, focus and ruthlessness. The charm, of course, being debateable.")

he believed Will that Hannibal may be the Chesapeake Ripper and said Jack Crawford: "Hannibal once served me tongue and made a joke about eating mine. It's hard not to at least consider it.". Jack ignored him. (I think Jack was already planning some large-scale action against Hannibal, but that's a topic for another post)

he called Dr Lecter "Hannibal the Cannibal"

he understood that Will Graham was alive because Hannibal Lecter liked him that way

criticized Jack for letting Will and Hannibal get closer to each other and then leaving Will alone ("You dangle Will Graham and now you cut bait. You are letting Hannibal have him hook, line and sinker.")

when Jack expressed hope that the relationship between Hannibal and Will was one of those friendships that ends after the disemboweling, Chilton told him: "I would argue, with these two, that's tantamount to flirtation. Will is going to lead you right to him." and let's be real, he was right.

[ghostdrinkssoup]

“could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you and find nourishment at the very sight of you?” is such a romantic line because despite cannibalism sustaining the illusion that hannibal can control everything and determine outcomes and reverse time, loving will has changed him so drastically that instead of consuming will, will consumes him. and hannibal hungers for him, yearns and aches for him, but is content to just exist near him. to stay in his orbit somehow, if only will allows it. hannibal, who needs to cannibalise others to stay in power, finds nourishment just by looking at will. he loves him so profoundly that he could be imprisoned forever and still it would be better than knowing he might never see will again. it sates him more than eating the pigs beneath him. in will, he finds religion

[thedarkmongoose]

it's interesting that it pans to will fishing in the stream when chilton says "he likes to play god" bc speaking of religious allegories, will graham is a fisherman and a "fisher of men." both in the profiler sense (he catches criminals), and in the sense that he captures men's hearts (jesus urged his followers to be fishers of men to the gospel). except will's gospel is darkness, and while he doesn't forcibly push people towards it like hannibal, anyone involved with will gets dragged down into the inferno. for he is a fisher of (damned) men. subsequently, the "saving lives is just as arousing as ending them" bit could be said about god, which is a sentiment hannibal shares throughout the series.

[morningstarbee]

i was looking up the driving time in Savoureax for a fic i'm writing and

Hannibal drives Will 18 hours from Baltimore to Duluth ???? What the fuck were they doing in the car that entire time??? And 18 hours is without breaks. Hannibal drove Will 18 hours and wasn't even getting dick, that's crazy, he was so whipped

All those posts going "aww Will fell asleep in the car with him he must trust him <3". No mfer he fell asleep because it was an 18 hour drive

[sapphire-weapon]

So here's an interesting thing.

This is Saddler's POV when Ashley picks up Leon's gun:

Leon isn't looking at Ashley.

He's looking right at Saddler. And that's the look of a man who's ready to kill.

It's only after the first shot is fired that Leon actually looks at Ashley, and his expression is completely different when he does.

From Ashley's POV:

This might sound weird, but this is probably the best showcase of how fundamentally changed Leon is in RE4make from RE2make. In RE2make, his focus would've been Ashley first. He would've been worried about her and scared for himself. Saddler would be an afterthought; Leon can worry about Saddler after both he and Ashley are safe.

That was probably what Krauser was referring to during training when he told Leon that he was too soft to do what's necessary. You know, before Krauser himself went nuts, and the meaning of that statement became something else entirely.

But in RE4make, Leon's first response is rage. It's violence. It's murder. His instinct isn't to save Ashley or protect himself -- it's to kill Saddler.

It's only after it hits him just how stuck he is -- after that first shot is fired -- that the worry starts -- that the regret and heartache kick in.

What Krauser taught Leon -- what he really taught Leon -- was that protecting someone is more than shielding them from harm or pulling them to safety. It's eliminating the threat around them so that they can be safe. Shields can break, and running protects no one.

So, sure, the "being held against my will" thing is the main reason why Leon turns down Ashley's offer at the end of the game -- but it's not the only reason. It's because Leon came to accept, over the course of this mission, that he's not that guy anymore. He can't stand by and be Ashley's guard. The only way he knows how to protect her is by eliminating the threat around her -- and that's not what security detail does.

But that's who Leon's become now. The ship of "serve and protect" has sailed, for him. In his own words: "You've gotta keep moving forward."

[tayasui-mono]

Ok but Will doesn't even wear plaid that often. He wears a lot of Chambray-ish shirts, henleys, sleeveless vests, blazers, pullover sweaters, and a variety of jackets. He wears a lot solids and mix & matches his wardrobe constantly. What REALLY stands out is that everything he wears aside from his button ups and sweaters are stained. Fresh stains as well as permanent stains that can't be washed away, which makes me deduce (twisting my fake moustache here) that he classifies his clothes into 3 categories;

1. Professional clothes (plaid & solid shirts, ties, blazers -- unstained)

2. Bedtime clothes (old, too-worn, holey t-shirts and boxers)

3. Hobby attire / Casual clothing (literally everything else in his wardrobe that he doesn't go to work in -- henleys, vests, fisherman tops -- all stained with grease or something else. ++ Lots of sweaters/fuzzy tops which are kept with relative care)

And!! He visits Hannibal a couple times in his hobby clothes outside of work. Which makes me think this is his favoured state of dress.

In fact!! He vamps up his wardrobe in s2 to hide away his personality, offering Hannibal a battle-ready armour instead. He has stored away all vulnerabilities that Hannibal can take advantage of.

[undercovercannibal]

Hannibal 2.01 “Kaiseki” | 1.03 “Potage” | 1.08 “Fromage” | 1.09 “Trou Normand1” | 1.10 “Buffet Froid” | 1.12 “Relevés” | 1.11 “Rôti” | 2.08 “Su-zakana”

+ Will using Hannibal's assessment of him to lie to and deceive him

2.10 “Naka-choko”

[gothicwill]

My absolute favorite parallel in the entire show is wills response to “do you think you can change me? The way I’ve changed you?”

I see the first one as how it actually happened. Will is in pain but still delivers the line with this cutting smugness and self assuredness. His tone is even slightly playful despite the situation.

The second one is how Hannibal remembers/perceived it. Like a nail in a coffin. Will is looking at him with clear distain, even disgust. His tone is hollow and empty. Even the lighting is colder.

Hannibal remembers this moment as a tragedy while Will sees it as a triumph.

[kuroshika]

hey. *reaches for your face without warning and adjusts your glasses* where do you fall on the spectrum?

[honeygrahambitch]

Can we talk about how Hannibal knew from the very start that Will would be the one to figure out he was the Chesapeake Ripper.

"I don't find you that interesting."

"You will."

Not "you might", it's "you will".

He was 100% sure Will would discover him the way no one ever has. Will would see him and his darkness and his demons and he would find everything interesting, not horrible, not disgusting.

And not only does this show that Hannibal knows that Will is smart enough to put the pieces together but it also shows that he was willing to open up for Will to see the real him. Sort of "You will find me that interesting, I guarantee that, I will make sure you do."

[pesky--dust]

You have no idea how big supporter of the theory that the fall from the cliff never happened I am.

Like— The first scene of the series didn't even happen because Will was so immersed in the story he was telling during the lecture. It was only his imagination; at the crime scene Will quickly receives confirmation of all his conclusions, such as the fact that the marriage was tapped and I truly doubt electricians would have been called immediately to the crime scene along with the police, ambulance and FBI. And then he is suddenly “magically” back in the classroom from the house of the victims, when he says, “Everyone has thought about killing someone one way or another. Be it your own hands or the hand of God”.

And since the first scene of the series didn't take place at all, why wouldn't it be the same with the ending? During the battle with Francis Dolarhyde, Will sees him with the wings of a red dragon, something that is unreal. He is also only imagining that.

And the fall is also from Will's perspective, so did it really happen? Or is this only a metaphor for his fall as a human being? He genuinely felt that the brutal pack hunting he shared with Hannibal was beautiful, so he finally accepts his dark nature — he falls as a good and moral man, descending into the depths of crime (ocean).

I love it so much. I'm sorry.

[vampirecatprince]

I think my favorite part about Hannigram is just how interestingly they mirror each other?

Hannibal enjoys control over his surroundings because of his past and has internalized the idea and image of being a composed and cold killer- but when that all cracks and he lashes out? It's hot self-destructive anger at whoever is the nearest available target. Hannibal, deep down, is a deeply traumatized and violent little creature of a man with a veneer of respectablity who loathes those moments where he loses control.

Will, on the other hand, seems very lassez faire about his life at first glance. He lives in a rural area, enjoys nature and animals, he's often shown as being more openly emotional on the surface. I mean- his hyper-empathy is the reason he gets dragged into all of this in the first place. But- when he gets broken down? It's cold. It's nothing but cold, efficient, logical , detached spite.

I think one of the reasons Hannibal fell so hard, so fast is..... Will is everything he wishes he actually were. And Hannibal is a puzzle box for Will to pull apart.

They really are suited for each other in such a toxic way and I love it.