The Post-S3 Finale Fic Recs thread

September 20, 2015 3:39 PM

A masterpost of recommendations for fanfic, S4 or otherwise. Cannibal Club authors are highly encouraged to link their work here.

Denial, bargaining, but NEVER acceptance. THE FAT LADY HAS NOT YET BEGUN TO SING.

As long as we love him and keep his ways, Bryan Fuller will hold to his promise and Hannigram will return one day to save us all. Keep on the watch, for we know neither the day, nor the hour. Praise him with fanfic, and when Hannigram return, will they find faith on this Earth?

posted by tel3path to Cannibal Club (343 comments total)

Every MeFiFoFannibal should start with Problems From Everyday Life, which The Whelk and I whipped up during the S1 heateus.
posted by tel3path at 3:51 PM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

And, essential refuge when the relentless downer-ness of the show gets too much: the alt!nice!verse that is Through A Glass.

The problem, if you're going to write Hannibal as a nice guy (and not role-reverse Will into being the serial killer), is: why these two characters? Why not pick two entirely other characters to be really nice to each other instead of giving up the very thing that makes Hannigram what they are?

This fic resolves that question in a way that is 100% canon compliant. When life gets tough, imagine alt!nice!Hannigram snuggling with the dogs in a world of domestic bliss where none of the food is people. (You still have to imagine it, because the fic doesn't directly cover any of that - only creates the world in which it happens.)
posted by tel3path at 3:56 PM on September 20, 2015

Another approach to making Hannigram plausible that doesn't rely on dark!Will as the solution: Verisimilitude.
posted by tel3path at 4:00 PM on September 20, 2015

Nimble and Light by emungere, an especially prolific and talented Hannigram author.
posted by tel3path at 4:02 PM on September 20, 2015

Knife and Fork.
posted by tel3path at 4:05 PM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Folks, I spent my teen years talking about Harry Potter and Buffy on the internet, and I had writerly aspirations even back then, and yet I STILL never wrote fanfic - until this show attached itself to my skull like those Futurama brain slugs.

So here is my post-finale fic, in which I was basically trying to make sense of how a Hannigram relationship might be possible with a morally-grey-and-not-necessarily-gay Will, and also to see if I could write a sex scene with absolutely no sex in it: Silence in Heaven

There is absolutely no way I would have written this without you fellow nerds, and I'm pretty pleased with it, so thanks guys!
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:06 PM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

I love you beautiful cannibal nerds.

These are my favorites:

Sea Change

A Great and Gruesome Height

Blackbird

Ladders
posted by fancyoats at 4:06 PM on September 20, 2015

Heart and Mouth, sequel to Knife and Fork.
posted by tel3path at 4:06 PM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Here is a season 1 AU that was one of the first good fics I read, Wolf and I. Will is slowly, slowly being drawn into a romantic=shaded relationship with Hannibal, and he's conflicted about his sexuality, and then there's a tense chase through the woods, and then it becomes smut. Great stuff.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:10 PM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Nimble and Light by emungere, an especially prolific and talented Hannigram author.

Nimble and Light is part 11 of Ladders, just for the record. It starts out as post Season 1 Finale, with Hannibal breaking Will out of the BSHCI, and ends up firmly in AU territory. But good. It features Hannibal rescuing a puppy in France and Hannibal and Will skype-ing until Will falls asleep while Will is on a Freddie Lounds book tour in the US.
posted by fancyoats at 4:12 PM on September 20, 2015

I'm plugging myself, Interview With An Empath cause murder husbands in New Orleans with lots of Ovid allusions is my bag baby
posted by The Whelk at 4:32 PM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

All I Need Is a Stream for the magical reveal in the first few paragraphs which had me cackling and whooping with glee for waaaaaaaay longer than it should have.
posted by fancyoats at 4:37 PM on September 20, 2015

If you're feeling like something dreamy and swoony (and smutty):
Allegretto sostenuto
1921
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:49 PM on September 20, 2015

Filthy and hilarious (in a good way): Negative Space
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:10 PM on September 20, 2015

A Wood Not Marked
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:29 AM on September 21, 2015

I'm posting stuff over here at AO3. What's Left is a work in progress about Hannibal and Will several years down the road, still on the run but long since separated, and what happens when Hannibal remembers he's a clingy fuck and wants his ex-murder-husband back. After the World Falls Down was my immediate post-finale what-happens-next grief fic. Brave is a one-shot Alana story that was supposed to be part of the grief fic until I realized I wanted to focus that one just on Hannigram, so I spun Alana off into her own story. I want to come back to her eventually. And I'm not sure what Everything We Dream is. It was supposed to be an "I am tired of sad-trembly-puppy-Will stories, what if Will figured out that he actually has a fuckton of power in that relationship" scenario, and an excuse to write super-stoned Hannibal, but I've realized the story doesn't want to go where I wanted it to go. So I'm not sure if it's done or if I'm just letting it simmer on the back burner until I figure out a new direction for it. It's done for now, anyway.

In stuff that is not mine but also not yet posted here, towards the door we never opened is gorgeous and dirty and if that author doesn't come back to do a follow-up piece I'm going to cry.
posted by Stacey at 4:09 AM on September 21, 2015 [5 favorites]

SCREW YOU STACEY AND YOUR STUPID SAD LINKS TO POEMS THAT MAKE ME CRY

sobsosbsob
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:39 AM on September 22, 2015

Sorry. Ali Shapiro kind of destroys me. This other one of hers also wants to inspire a less plotty and more dirty fic, but there's also this half baked notion in my head about Hannibal Scheherazade-ing Will with sexy murder stories and damn it, brain, I have other things to do with my life than writing poetically inspired filth.
posted by Stacey at 3:51 AM on September 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

[perching on shoulder] Other things perhaps, but not BETTER or more USEFUL or WORTHWHILE things.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:14 AM on September 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

Guys it turns out writing Hannibal dinner party scenes is hard and it's even harder to resist the urge to have Hannibal expand on Italian art history for 3 pages while I just transcribe my lecture notes from Florence.
posted by The Whelk at 1:21 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

I was about to be all 'omg neeerd' before I remembered that the FPP I just posted was something I read for fic research purposes
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:26 PM on September 22, 2015

ASK ME HOW I KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT NEW YORK IN THE 30s AND 40S

Hint it's Captain America related.
posted by The Whelk at 1:35 PM on September 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

That seems easier to bring up in cocktail party conversation than the theoretical moral justifications for killing people
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:43 PM on September 22, 2015

Depends on the party.
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:44 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

We would have the best Cannibal Club meetup party.
posted by Stacey at 2:07 PM on September 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

We could play games! *puts flashlight under chin* the most dangerous game
posted by The Whelk at 2:13 PM on September 22, 2015 [4 favorites]

Lawn darts!
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:14 PM on September 22, 2015

[looking for lawn dart sharpener]
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:51 PM on September 22, 2015

I pretty much love Smol Will. It's only two short chapters, but it's smutty and adorable.
posted by fancyoats at 6:27 PM on September 22, 2015

Will your Cannibal Party be that kind of party?
posted by fancyoats at 6:28 PM on September 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

I feel like we have too many straight women and gay men for that to really work out to anyone's satisfaction but I mean I'm game
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:38 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

And while I will represent for the bi women of Cannibal Art Club, I don't think my partner is going to take well to "I'm off to have an orgy with my internet cannibal friends." Maybe we can just have dramatic readings of our favorite smutty fan fiction instead.
posted by Stacey at 7:03 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

You guys I literally just wrote a dinner party orgy joke into this chapter is group telepathy kicking in
posted by The Whelk at 7:06 PM on September 22, 2015

Sens8 as fuck
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:08 PM on September 22, 2015

I had a shit day and am too tired and sad to do any writing tonight but I intend to resume the becoming tomorrow, so if you all want to telepathically beam the next writing prompt to me overnight I'll see what I can do about it tomorrow night.

Also I am not too sad to READ more fic so everyone keep posting more recs please.
posted by Stacey at 7:14 PM on September 22, 2015

I'm gonna rec Borderline State, it's a post s1 fic in what is now a very alternate universe, but it reads like an excellent summer beach thriller and is just damn good.
posted by The Whelk at 7:24 PM on September 22, 2015

I feel like we have too many straight women and gay men for that to really work out to anyone's satisfaction but I mean I'm game.

C'mon, any Cannibal Party would have to include a certain amount of sexual fluidity, at least in theory.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:28 PM on September 22, 2015 [3 favorites]

yes whelk people reading your jokey fic need to know about 15th century Venetian trade law to get this joke that's a good thing Whelk
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 PM on September 22, 2015 [3 favorites]

My SO is on site for a while and I have no business obligations til October so let's just BORROW INTO THESE COLLEGE ART HISTORY NOTES and make a story
posted by The Whelk at 9:33 PM on September 22, 2015

and cause I have the FLUFFIEST ending planned. After so much planned bathing in blood. They're going to come out of this better then okay, Will might get more dinged up but he's gonna be PROVEN RIGHT.
posted by The Whelk at 10:43 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

And then we will have an ongoing series, yes? Like the Three Investigators or the Nancy Drew stories or the Bobbsey Twins?

All lined up on the library shelf, a little number on each spine below the title, bound in board with 1950s/60s style watercolor illustrations on the cover.
posted by tel3path at 2:47 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Update!
posted by The Whelk at 9:01 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

You guys, Captain Awkward is now writing Maggie-Estep inspired Hannibal fanfic poetry. This is everything I love. What a world.
posted by Stacey at 9:35 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Way of the Dead - Abigail and Beverley are ghosts with crossing paths, melancholy season three piece.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:20 PM on September 23, 2015

Ahaha I think I figured out a way for Hannibal to issue a sick burn via the medium of 17th Century French Cookbooks
posted by The Whelk at 1:45 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've decided that my Scheherazade story should be called What We Talk About When We Talk About Blood. I don't need an actual plot if I have a Raymond Carver allusion, right?
posted by Stacey at 2:04 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm Firmly on the side of allusions replacing plot
posted by The Whelk at 2:24 PM on September 24, 2015

Update, yes I WILL use a quote from an obscure recently translate French food journal from 1803! NO ONE CAN STOP ME
posted by The Whelk at 7:58 PM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

People, we are blessed. The famous Luminosity has passed through our fandom.
posted by tel3path at 3:00 PM on September 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

I saw that the other day; it's fantastic!
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:19 PM on September 25, 2015

And the final bit of What's Left is posted. That was fun, although once again I tripped myself up trying to get too fancy with structure. Note to self, fan fiction does not have to be a literary masterpiece.
posted by Stacey at 4:27 AM on September 26, 2015 [3 favorites]

In your case, it is, though.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:46 AM on September 26, 2015

UPDATE

In which there is SO MUCH MYTH
posted by The Whelk at 4:17 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Jigsaw puzzle coincidence? I THINK NOT:

Hamibal S4E02 (stellar as always!)
vs.
Rustic Charm
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:38 PM on September 28, 2015

I have officially harassed a professional tarot scholar into drawing Hannibal's deck for the next chapter
posted by The Whelk at 5:59 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

My pretentious symbolism will be accurate damn it
posted by The Whelk at 5:59 PM on September 29, 2015

UPDATE for the VERY ACCURATE PRETENTIOUS SYMBOLISM
posted by The Whelk at 11:00 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

at no point previous in my life did i ever imagine i would one day belong to a club of cannibal nerds

and yet here we are
posted by poffin boffin at 11:01 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Welp I am choosing to believe that I am now a tertiary character in Whelk's cannibal fan fiction and I have never been happier.

But I will be honest, I sort of always believed I would belong to a cannibal nerd club one day. Because my mother is sort of weirdly obsessed with the idea of cannibal recipes. She also introduced me to Thomas Harris. Suddenly I'm a little worried one of you is my mother. If so, Mom, I love you but please don't read the smut. Boundaries, Mom.
posted by Stacey at 2:32 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

I've been quite enjoying this little surreal story: The Joy of Creation
posted by fancyoats at 8:29 AM on September 30, 2015

Minor update cause I won't be near a decent computer this weekend - in which I reveal this entire fic is a HEATHERS homage

(Yes Theo is based on Taylor Swift, the first outfit we see her in is the red pants concert outfit from a year back)
posted by The Whelk at 11:24 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

(Not that it would ever come up but i figured Bo/Beaux looked like a photograph of teenage Alabama/missipipi native Channing Tatum. )
posted by The Whelk at 11:29 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

You're Not Fooling Anyone, in which Hannibal acquires a cat and Will pet sits for him, is adorable. Or maybe I just think that as a cat person. Dunno.
posted by Stacey at 5:19 PM on October 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh yeah, a small update, in which there are sad cannibal noises
posted by The Whelk at 5:39 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

You're Not Fooling Anyone, in which Hannibal acquires a cat and Will pet sits for him, is adorable. Or maybe I just think that as a cat person. Dunno.

I just read that and dashed over here to recommend it -- impossibly charming and lovely!
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:44 PM on October 5, 2015

That fic above also has a wonderful dollop of Beverly. If anyone is still looking for Bev-heavy fics, here's one: Rescues.

It's a silly but super-sweet (and super-mega-smutty) Non-MurderyNice!World AU in which Beverly and Will are bffs who run a service/rescue animal org, Hannibal is in med school, and Mischa is alive -- but H & W still retain quite a lot of their individual and combined H&Wness. For instance, Will continues to lack a "conventional politeness filter," which in this case results in some hilariously dirty embarrassing pillowtalk that nearly made me drown when I remembered it while swimming laps this morning. Also has a couple of adorable one-shot follow-ups.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:51 PM on October 5, 2015

Oh yeah, a small update, in which there are sad cannibal noises

Which had better resolve eventually into a fluffy happy ending AS PROMISED [worried].
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:06 PM on October 6, 2015

Fluff is hollow without pain.
posted by The Whelk at 5:40 PM on October 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

What We Talk About When We Talk About Blood: Okay, I started posting the new thing. I only know where the first few chapters of this are going and then I'm winging it, so this one could be a disaster. We shall see. It's basically just an excuse to force myself to learn to write dialogue. Because apparently you can't just write entire stories that are all mood and character study and feelings without actual plot or dialogue?
posted by Stacey at 5:17 AM on October 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

Because apparently you can't just write entire stories that are all mood and character study and feelings without actual plot or dialogue?

Of course you can!
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:25 AM on October 9, 2015

Suuure, tell me that after I start posting the story that relies on its two main characters being in different states/countries for like 95% of the story. I guess I could do a few chapters of them just moodily having feelings about the situation in between phone calls.

My big problem with this story right now is that Hannibal should be laying low and playing dead but I'm not sure I can resist the urge to have him just start sending letters to Will care of Jack, all "You know and I know that you're going to be opening and reading all of his mail so let's just skip a step and I'll send it straight to you to pass on. Also you look like shit on TV, get a haircut already. xoxo, your favorite cannibal."

I keep trying to write drama and it keeps turning into various characters sassily trolling each other. I should probably just accept that this is my design, intentional or not.
posted by Stacey at 9:08 AM on October 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh, Will and Hannibal have both been sassy trolls from the word go. Especially Will! Lots of fanfiction seems to paint him as this delicate little flower, but all of this was from the very first episode:

It’s a little hammy, Jack.

That may require me to be sociable.

I enjoy the smell of urinal cake.

My thoughts are often not tasty.

Please don’t psychoanalyze me. You won’t like me when I’m psychoanalyzed. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go give a lecture on psychoanalyzing.

Have Dr. Lecter work up a psychological profile. You seem to be very impressed with his opinion.

And, of course, this bitchy little number:

I don’t find you that interesting.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:20 AM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Incidentally, as I was skimming the script for those lines I ran across a shining example of "we have not yet quite figured out the tone of this character."

Filmed version: "Maybe we shouldn't poke him like that, Doctor. Perhaps a less, uh, direct approach."

Scripted version: "Keep poking him like that and those Get Smart doors are going to come down faster than you can say “Boo.”"
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:35 AM on October 9, 2015

We should definitely schedule a script comparison into the long-term rewatch plan.
posted by tel3path at 9:36 AM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Wow, got a flier today indicating that my nearest city will soon have an Orvis store; I feel tempted to make a pilgrimage there since it is one of the most important shrines associated with St. Will à Graham.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:13 PM on October 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's a one stop shop for flannel, fishing lures, and organic dog food
posted by The Whelk at 1:43 PM on October 9, 2015

UPDATE

Will's got no strings, to hold him down, to make him fret, or make him frown
posted by The Whelk at 9:36 PM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Soooo, I would just like to state that A) I've been dabbling in poetry for the first time in years after Cannibal Club reminded me that I actually like to write and am maybe not awful at it, B) it's really good to be writing again and I am so grateful to you all for encouraging it, and C) I ended up writing a poem on the bus this morning about what would have happened if my meditation class had eaten our teacher to gain her inner peace. So, uh, I'm a bit worried now that all I am going to write about forever is cannibals. I wonder if one can make a mid-life career shift into cannibal poetry as a profession?
posted by Stacey at 6:57 AM on October 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

So, uh, I'm a bit worried now that all I am going to write about forever is cannibals.

I realized recently that a sci fi story idea I've been working on for a while would really make a lot more sense if the characters (who are several generations into living on an inhospitable planet) practiced funerary cannibalism. So, um, oops
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:12 AM on October 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm sparing you all updates on every chapter of my current thing, but in case someone has been sitting around tapping their fingers going okay, Stacey, but are you ever going to let the Murder Husbands have a conversation?, you may want to come back now. It only took 11,000 words to get there but in the latest chapter the boys get to actually talk to each other. I hope my audience is a fan of the slow burn, because man, it was not supposed to take six chapters to get to this point.
posted by Stacey at 9:24 AM on October 16, 2015 [4 favorites]

in the latest chapter the boys get to actually talk to each other

That chapter, and the story in general but really really that chapter, is so beautifully written and moving it makes my brain bleed. I love the pacing because every chapter vicariously gives readers the same "wait for it, wait for it" Scheherezade experience that W&H will have.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:36 AM on October 16, 2015

I think I'm basically just doing this story as a protest against the person who complained that my last one was too short and moved too fast. You want slow burn I can give you slow burn enjoy your torture, jerkface.

This is why people tell authors not to read their reviews, isn't it?
posted by Stacey at 11:03 AM on October 16, 2015 [4 favorites]

This was entirely unplanned but one person wrote they wanted more of Will and Hannibal being easy and comfortable together and I looked over my notes and thought "Wow that was the worst time to want to that prepare for painful separation!"
posted by The Whelk at 11:17 AM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Update!

Murder Teens are fun to write.
posted by The Whelk at 1:47 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Murder Teens are fun to read too.
posted by Stacey at 2:18 PM on October 16, 2015

Thanks. It takes every bone in my body not to make them quipping non-stop.
posted by The Whelk at 2:26 PM on October 16, 2015

Murder Teens are the best teens.
posted by tel3path at 2:52 PM on October 16, 2015

So I was on campus today doing some light reading to kill time before a student recruitment event, and a coworker nearby was chatting to someone about her pre-teen daughter's interest in anime and dragon-lit fanfiction, when she turns to me and asks, "Fellini, are you familiar with fanfiction?" And I was like, "Sure, you could say that."
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:00 AM on October 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Heh. I have therapy on Monday and for some assorted reasons I feel like I should mention to my therapist that I've started writing again. Mostly I want to tell her about the poetry because a friend's encouraging me to submit some of it somewhere and I have FEELINGS about that. But I'm not quite sure how to slip in "Also, since we last spoke, I've written almost 50,000 words of Hannibal fan fiction. But I'm fine. Everything's fine. This is a totally normal reaction to life and I am doing absolutely fine. I mean, apparently Hugh has been giving Mads dirty fanfic to read so WHAT IF HE'S READ MINE wait no that's fine. I am fine."
posted by Stacey at 9:12 AM on October 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

"I mean, apparently Hugh has been giving Mads dirty fanfic to read so WHAT IF HE'S READ MINE wait no that's fine. I am fine."

Yeah, ever since Mads made that remark, I sort of feel like all AO3 comments should begin with "Hi Mads! [wave]" just in case. I just love how the cast and crew of this show are so matter-of-fact about their understanding of and participation in various fandom-y things in general instead of engaging in all the bullshit pretense of "Oh I know vaguely that it's out there but would never LOOK at it because ick" etc.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:33 AM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Speaking of fanfic, quoth Mads at Red Dragon Con:

Q. What do you think happens with Will and Hannibal after the fall?
A. I think they’re going to live a quiet secluded life for 4 years then start hunting.

I'll be in my bunk.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:31 PM on October 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

And also: There’s Will. He’s the light of [Hannibal’s] life in many ways.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:32 PM on October 17, 2015

Jesus, how many people at this con fell right over and died when Mads said of course Hannibal would let Will adopt dogs as part of the give-and-take of making their marriage work? He does ship these two harder than anybody.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:49 PM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

OK, so apparently a) Will initiates the blufftop near-kiss and b) Mads didn't know until today that the near-kiss was cut.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:13 PM on October 17, 2015

And here's the detailed skinny on the blufftop scene answer from the person who asked Mads the question.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:38 PM on October 17, 2015

Too funny
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:16 PM on October 17, 2015

Also amusing (sorry, I'm bored)
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:20 PM on October 17, 2015

Fantastic and funny take on the "Hannibal is the devil" trope (featuring Beverly): Morning-star.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:47 PM on October 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

From the writer of Sea Change: Mock the Meat It Feeds On
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:46 AM on October 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Update ! A useful rescinding point before my crazy late October work shed use and also SO MUCH PRETENSIOUS SYMBOLISM.
posted by The Whelk at 6:50 AM on October 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

one of my tags has made it into those Hannibal Fic Tag Photo posts
posted by The Whelk at 9:40 AM on October 19, 2015 [2 favorites]

Tumblr turned me on to an older series today, Morphology. Made me think of you all because while it is super-Hanigrammy (and in some of the installments, reeeeally filthily so), it also has some excellent Bev. This installment in particular, in which Bev drags a large quantity of TMI about Hannibal and Will's sex life out of Abigail, to Alana's mortification, led me to do some really undignified giggling on the bus this morning.
posted by Stacey at 4:42 PM on October 19, 2015 [3 favorites]

I really miss Beverly and dig all Beverly-inclusive fics. Her death was the worst loss of all because she was so interesting in her own right along with being Will's only real non-Hannibal friend, someone who took him as he was and didn't want something from him or want him to be a certain way.

Alive Abigail always got on my nerves -- not her character, just that constantly vibrating high-strung stressed-out thing that was perfectly understandable given her situation but super-grating. But I'm a big fan of Living Dead Girl Abigail, who is so much calmer now that she's a figment.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:03 PM on October 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Living Dead Girl Abigail Hobbs is seriously the most fun thing I write. I am trying so hard to think of a way to let her have her own story. But I think the only way that works is if Bev also lives in Will's head so Abigail has someone to talk to when Will's not there, and I'm not opposed to doing that but I don't have a feel for how to write Bev yet. Perhaps when I get further in my temporarily-stalled rewatch.
posted by Stacey at 6:13 PM on October 19, 2015

This installment in particular, in which Bev drags a large quantity of TMI about Hannibal and Will's sex life out of Abigail, to Alana's mortification, led me to do some really undignified giggling on the bus this morning.

OK, this is wonderful and caused me to choke on my own (coincidental) popcorn. And it has an Alive Abigail who has calmed down and become normal, so that's excellent as well.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:35 PM on October 19, 2015

Yesterday someone asked to translate my dumb cannibal fan fiction into Russian and today someone wants to get part of it tattooed on her arm. I think my internet life may have gotten out of control. Send help.
posted by Stacey at 5:57 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]

CAANNIBAL MADNESS
posted by The Whelk at 9:11 AM on October 27, 2015

cannspiration
posted by tel3path at 10:04 AM on October 27, 2015

I just, I'm sorry, even if you took the best piece of writing from the best cannibal fan fiction on AO3, much much much better than anything I will ever write, I'm still going to come down on the side of "It is not a good idea to get cannibal fan fiction tattooed on yourself."

(Watch, now I'm going to fall in love with some random obscure French cookbook reference from Whelk's next chapter and run out to get it tattooed on my face.)
posted by Stacey at 10:11 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

I was JUST saying to someone "You know I really wanted to include this semi-obscure bit of New Orleans folklore but I didn't think I'd have a place for it but I TOTALLY DO" and it would make a good tattoo subject
posted by The Whelk at 10:16 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Excellent. I look forward to hearing what my next ink will be.
posted by Stacey at 10:17 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

I just, I'm sorry, even if you took the best piece of writing from the best cannibal fan fiction on AO3, much much much better than anything I will ever write, I'm still going to come down on the side of "It is not a good idea to get cannibal fan fiction tattooed on yourself."

Same.

Buuut, if anyone wanted to get MY cannibal nonsense tattooed on themselves, I would of course respond "FUCK YES and send me a picture" because then, for the rest of your life, you could tell people that someone got a tattoo of your writing. "Oh, what did it say? What story was it from?" "Well, it's sort of personal" "Gosh you're so deep and mysterious!"
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:22 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

I go to this thing every year that is billed as a "writer's conference" basically so people can write it off on their taxes if they're actual publishing writers since many of them are, but really it's just an excuse for a bunch of people all over the country who've been internet friends since the late 90s to get together, drink and do karaoke, raise money for charity, and party for a weekend. And since I haven't so much as had a blog in years I always feel like such a fraud. This year I intend to show up proudly as a TRANSLATED and possibly TATTOOED author of...uh...let's call it "small press published work", you probably wouldn't have heard of it, it a very particular indie niche appeal...
posted by Stacey at 10:28 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]

Update, in which there is much meta
posted by The Whelk at 12:13 PM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

Correction: there are zero pieces of cannibal fanfiction better than What We Talk About When We Talk About Blood. Fortunately, much of the thing is already tattooed on my cerebral cortex, so no need for body ink. (Of course, if you were going to get a fanfic phrase tattoo, the specific one in question would be an amusingly apropos choice: "That thing asleep beneath his skin but only barely, turning restlessly in a dream of fire").

If various cast members do read fanfiction, here's hoping they read this one since it shows the entire genre to its very best advantage as, you know, awesome literature in its own right and also honors and illuminates the canonical characters and performances.

Well, plus it's fun to imagine them someday stomping into Fuller's office with Season 4 scripts in hand: "What is this shit, Bryan? 'Will and Hannibal drink Scotch and negotiate a somewhat hostile truce.' That's it? Where is the steamy tender all-night makeout session demonstrating their mutually shared sense of home? Where is Will's fully empowered confidence? Where is Hannibal's willingness to sacrifice for the light of his life? Where's the partially clothed groping, Bryan, where? We didn't blow off our religious-cult show and summer blockbuster gigs for this crap. Look at me, Bryan; this needs a rewrite."
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:42 PM on October 27, 2015 [5 favorites]

You're a love. I still think nothing I have ever or will ever write needs to be tattooed on anyone. (Although, obviously, I want pictures if one of you does ill-advisedly go out and do the thing.)

I've just decided that Bryan probably wouldn't even bother WRITING S4, Mads and Hugh are gonna rewrite it anyway. They probably just all go out to lunch, he gives them the very broad mission statement (murder husband spree across Europe, picking up Uncle Bowie along the way or whatever), and then sends them off to come back with a seasons' worth of scripts of them making out. He adds in some weird wendigo bits for atmosphere and voila, season four is done.
posted by Stacey at 4:06 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

He'll need to add some bits of Alana and Margot (making out and) turning the Verger meat-packing into a vegan enterprise, of course. Bowie should be up for it if doesn't take too long; he's got an album coming out in January, and that's two new records in under three years, so his health must be much improved nowadays. But still, tick tick tick. None of the principals are gettin' any younger here.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:22 PM on October 27, 2015

Actually, my fave tidbit that came out of Red Dragon Con is Lara Jean Chorostecki saying she always just assumed Freddie Lounds has an offscreen Wendy like her book counterpart. Isn't that sweet? They can make out in S4 too!
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:24 PM on October 27, 2015 [3 favorites]

I would be delighted to incorporate that into my headcanon. Queer makeouts for everyone, please.
posted by Stacey at 4:57 PM on October 27, 2015

This Guy Has My Phone -- utterly silly AU cotton candy but featuring many excellent items: copious sass-laden W&H text flirting, ample amounts of Beverly, mischievous nerdy Preller, Franklyn being rescued by Will like a stray dog.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:33 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've just decided that Bryan probably wouldn't even bother WRITING S4, Mads and Hugh are gonna rewrite it anyway. They probably just all go out to lunch, he gives them the very broad mission statement (murder husband spree across Europe, picking up Uncle Bowie along the way or whatever), and then sends them off to come back with a seasons' worth of scripts of them making out.

While we're headcanoning S4, W&H should definitely go hang with Uncle Robertus. In the evenings, he can serenade them with "The Bewlay Brothers," "Wild Is the Wind," "Always Crashing in the Same Car," "Sweet Thing," "Teenage Wildlife," etc. while they read or lie in a hammock feeding each other grapes.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:57 PM on October 29, 2015

I'm more inclined to have them listening to Uncle Bowie's cover of "Cactus" but personal preference

(Thank you Hannibal Twitter for clearing up if people keep huge needles of controlled substances in thier house. I demand medical accuracy in this story about gothic romance murder wizards)
posted by The Whelk at 11:15 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I was thinking about this again this morning, Whelk, because god forbid I actually think about work. Have you specified what the gothic romance murder wizard was dosed with? Because if it's an opiate, naloxone/Narcan is a pretty good fast-acting relatively-easily-available magic wake-up drug that someone who has access to opiates would probably have on hand. Although your wizard would wake up really sick and cranky, which may or may not work for you.
posted by Stacey at 5:56 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm choosing not to specify but in my head it was some kind of contact opiate so yes it all still (waves hands around) works!
posted by The Whelk at 9:11 AM on October 30, 2015

Okay, so you want Narcan. Which, if you're messing around with opiates, you want to have Narcan on hand in case of eventual overdose. I don't know what Louisiana has in the way of naloxone programs; might be something you'd have to get in another state or know an EMT or ER doctor for, or something. In some states, at least, you can get it anonymously and free at a needle exchange, or non-anonymously at some pharmacies. Here's how you administer. People with an opiate habit, at least, tend to wake up super fucking cranky, having lost their entire high all at once, and feeling sick as hell. I do not know if someone experiencing a one-time dosing would have that same effect or might basically be fine if probably kinda groggy.

(I am a former needle exchange volunteer. I am not YOUR former needle exchange volunteer. Pls do not attempt to handle actual real-life overdoses without proper naloxone training, even if you are a murder wizard.)
posted by Stacey at 9:36 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm more inclined to have them listening to Uncle Bowie's cover of "Cactus " but personal preference

Thanks so much, Whelk, for causing me to intermittently sing, "So spill your breakfast and drip your wine, just wear that dress when you di-yi-yi-yi-yine" under my breath while meandering about the grocery store this morning.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:57 AM on October 30, 2015

update! or HOLY SHIT WILL
posted by The Whelk at 2:37 PM on October 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

You know, a Hannibal opera is all well and good. But after making the mistake of watching some Elsie Fest videos this weekend and being sucked back into the splendor of AVPM (a fine Michigan product that has held up remarkably well), it's become clear that Darren Criss and Starkid really need to stage a Hannibal fanfic musical since only they could do justice to the source material.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:42 AM on November 1, 2015

Note that Criss is pretty much a dead ringer for Hamibal's Wilgram.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:55 PM on November 1, 2015

Guys I just today caught up on several chapters' worth of updates to Stacey's and Whelk's fics and I've been doing several different types of helpless flailing.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:08 PM on November 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

I have also decided to continue on from my first fic, so here is the beginning of the next part, again pretentiously titled after a quote from the Book of Revelation because whyever not
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:11 PM on November 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

Oh, god, don't mainline my shipper trash all at once, it's gotten SO FLUFFY lately and I didn't mean it to get this fluffy but HERE WE ARE. I'm stuck halfway through the next chapter and I think it's because the fluff level is necessarily dialed back and I've forgotten how to write anything else.

Now I'm going to go read your thing IMMEDIATELY.
posted by Stacey at 4:39 PM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Please, friends, I love the fluff. Don't stop writing fluff.
posted by fancyoats at 8:28 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

update- the final chapter- A Nice Life
posted by The Whelk at 12:07 AM on November 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

To no one's surprise, the answer to "I'm stuck on how to end this chapter" was "return to fluff." I need to just realize that no matter what I sit down to write, it comes out fluffy screwball comedy. My formative influences are what they are. We should all just be glad I'm not writing actual Hannibal musical numbers. (And the only reason I'm not is that I could do the lyrics but not the music.)

WHELK I didn't realize your story was so close to OVER and now I am SAD but also DELIGHTED and CAPSLOCKY.

Man. This is the first day in two weeks I have woken up without a migraine and I am apparently a little giddy.
posted by Stacey at 5:18 AM on November 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

I like other people's fluff because I can't do it. I can READ it, but if I try to WRITE it my brain is like "psst where's the angst Liz? You forgot the angst!"
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:48 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also: New Orleans is such a perf Murder Husbands setting for so many reasons that it deserves to become a fanfic trope if it hasn't already
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:50 AM on November 2, 2015

It's nice that we're a well-rounded Cannibal Club, with fluff and angst and obscure antique cookbook references and mythological in-jokes. All bases covered.
posted by Stacey at 7:21 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh - also the lady who did the 'Hannibal's book collection' lecture gave me permission to post the entire book list on Tumblr. I'll do it later today and maybe it will compel The Whelk to immediately start another story because now there are ~primary source materials~
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:31 AM on November 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

I celebrated finishing the fic by finding a place that served Whelks for lunch
posted by The Whelk at 11:12 AM on November 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Time to start pressuring you for the next story then
posted by tel3path at 1:17 PM on November 2, 2015

Update. I think we've all had mornings-after like this.

Also I have maybe five chapters of this planned out in my head followed by absolutely no idea what happens, so that's exciting.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:53 PM on November 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

So much amazing stuff being written by the Metafilter Cannibal Club! To crib shamelessly from poffin boffin's Tumblr tags, "I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS RITUALISTIC SERIAL KILLER DINNER PARTY."
posted by merriment at 12:26 PM on November 3, 2015 [4 favorites]

My sister needs distraction from a breakup so I've promised to send her Hannibal fic recs. So if you've discovered something new and awesome, tell me quick.

I am best/worst big sister.
posted by Stacey at 12:43 PM on November 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Spielberg will save us?
posted by tel3path at 2:41 PM on November 3, 2015

That was meant for the other thread, sorry
posted by tel3path at 2:56 PM on November 3, 2015

Hannibal drops modern slang and pop culture references; Will reacts.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:05 PM on November 4, 2015

STACEY YOUR LATEST CHAPTER IS RIPPING MY HEART APART
posted by fancyoats at 3:14 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

YOU SEE WHY I POSTPONED IT FOR A DAY TO SPEND LAST NIGHT WRITING TUMBLR INSPIRED CRACKFIC ABOUT WILL'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION INSTEAD. MUCH LESS PAINFUL.
posted by Stacey at 3:19 PM on November 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

Hell, I might write the next chunk of the crackfic tonight just to cheer myself up. Except first I am being forced to watch an episode of CHiPS right now because my partner does not understand that love means never having to watch Erik Estrada.
posted by Stacey at 3:21 PM on November 5, 2015

Link please pretty please? not to CHiPs, but to highschool reunion crackfic??
posted by fancyoats at 4:17 PM on November 5, 2015

Update. The next time I update this I promise the action will not take place 90% inside peoples' heads while they think about things
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:44 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Careful what you say there, Liz. That's what I said ("I'm going to get out of people's heads and write dialogue!") and that is how I am one chapter away from completing a ~45k pile of complete nonsense involving theremin sex analogies, and I have basically promised people a sequel for some unknown reason.

First bit of the crackfic is here. I think it should end up a 3- or 4-parter, but ha ha ha ha ha (broken hollow laughter) that probably means I'll still be writing it two months from now and it'll be the length of Moby Dick.

However, my partner has commandeered me to write some text for his website, and I'm supposed to be doing this "write a poem every day in November (about something other than queer cannibals)" project so I begin to think I will not have time to embark on the second piece of the crackfic tonight. Which is fine because I need a little time to figure out whether there's any way Hannibal lets Will pick the road trip music, and if so, what on earth Will would listen to. Do we have headcanons about Will's musical tastes, anyone?

Okay. Now I have to go read Liz's thing. And then write for my partner's website. And then try to write a poem tonight. But there's an "it can be a limerick if you don't have any real poem ideas" clause in my project and I think this might be a limerick night.

There once was an empath named Will / whose therapist drove him to kill ....
posted by Stacey at 4:59 PM on November 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

There's no way Will doesn't like Delta blues. Not only does it fit with his backstory and his whole #aesthetic, it's also all so rawly emotional.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:03 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is there any poem that can't be improved by the addition of more queer cannibals? I think you should challenge the rule that it can't be about queer cannibals, or at least, if you just ADD them, it's not ABOUT them.
posted by tel3path at 5:08 PM on November 5, 2015

I think my limerick ends with "Netflix and chill."
posted by Stacey at 5:43 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure Will likes Tom Waits.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:35 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Man I keep having to remind myself that the specific murder husband dynamic I'm trying to write does NOT involve literal sex but it's actually really hard because these assholes really seem to want to go there.

Oh, hey. Now I know how Bryan Fuller feels.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:07 AM on November 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Heh. I was thinking earlier, "That's a cool thing Liz is doing, more people should do that, I wonder if I could do that?" and then every time I tried to think about how that might work, it all turned into theremin-playing. You carry on the good fight, though, someone ought to and you're doing it beautifully.
posted by Stacey at 9:25 AM on November 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

I basically just have to let them do whatever in my head and then deliberately dial it back about five notches on paper. Erm, internet paper.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:28 AM on November 6, 2015

Or...OR...you could write the first draft just like it exists in your head and then send it to me to beta for you and then cut out whatever you need to for publication. I'm just sayin'.

(Note, I do not understand what beta-ing actually is. I assume it means I fix any typos you may have accidentally committed, and squee at you about how wonderful you are, and also enjoy the five-notches-too-high dirty murder talk before it goes away.)
posted by Stacey at 10:56 AM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Man I keep having to remind myself that the specific murder husband dynamic I'm trying to write does NOT involve literal sex but it's actually really hard because these assholes really seem to want to go there.

See, this is exactly what I've been saying. Sex isn't the core of their dynamic or the essence of their bond or a major motivation in life for either one of them. I get that, 'cause I'm rather like that myself. But eros and violence are so interwoven in men's acculturation and human culture in general that they almost have to be tangled up together for these two on some level, even if mostly subconsciously or in emotional ways that never get acted upon.
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:54 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

In other words, the knife scene in Chapter 3 was totally murder-dirty, and I'm not sure there's any way to make that stuff not be. Bless you. If that was the dialed-down version, eek.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:02 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Emungere wrote another installment of Ladders: Not Even For A Day
posted by fancyoats at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

Ooh, this is dark and lovely. Short, creepy, and packs a punch. We've talked in this thread and others about how Hannigram might express itself in ways other than them falling into bed together...here's yet another means of influence to enjoy. After the Silence Has Returned, by Fahye. Mind the tags.
posted by merriment at 10:17 AM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think that's the wrong link, merriment. (Although linking to emungere is also always a good idea!) Looks like this is the right link for the Fahye story.
posted by Stacey at 4:30 PM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Ah, damn it! You're absolutely right, Stacey. I was simultaneously trying to show someone Emungere's bodyswap ficlets, and I borked the link. Thank you for fixing that!
posted by merriment at 10:03 PM on November 12, 2015

So I'm super late to this thread (and have generally fallen behind in the Cannibal Club activities), but my only excuse, aside from needing to sleep/eat/work, is that I did manage to post about 50,000 words of Hannibal fanfic (and that's not counting the 20,000 or so words of unposted material). If anyone is interested in checking them out, here are the links:

Paradiso is my immediately post season 3 story, and it's just about the slowest slow burn ever. It's also the fic in which I try to come up with a reasonable explanation for how they could get from the cliff dive to running away to Europe together.

Afterimages is my other post season 3 fic, although it's actually set 7 years after the season finale. It's at least partially just an excuse for me to be able to include Zeller and Price, Jack, Alana, Molly, and there's even a Bedelia cameo. Oh, and there are artsy murder tableaus which I enjoyed writing more than I probably should have.

Both of these are Hannigram fics, although it's something I'm building to, so at least for now, they're all smut free.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:35 PM on November 18, 2015 [6 favorites]

I've read those and they are good! I either didn't know, or had forgotten, that they were you. Thanks for sharing them!

I'm diligently working away on my next fic and am not posting it anywhere real yet. But as my contribution to Hannibal Advent on Tumblr I'm posting little sneak peek snippets over there. Said snippets may or may not end up in the actual thing when it's written and ready to post, though.
posted by Stacey at 5:47 AM on November 19, 2015 [3 favorites]

I definitely never recommend out-and-out smut, so someone else must have left this here.
posted by tel3path at 11:54 AM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

why do i feel like i just recommended you hardcore care bears pornfic i am sorry
posted by tel3path at 3:12 PM on November 19, 2015

I've totes read that one already, tel3path, so fear not, you have not besmirched anyone's innocence.
posted by fancyoats at 6:42 PM on November 19, 2015

For the record, Stacey, if you're wondering if we like the sneak peeks and would enjoy more, I LOVE THE FUCKING SNEAK PEEKS and NEED MORE PEEKS. I'm having like withdrawal symptoms for Averno.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:00 PM on November 19, 2015

Fortunately, there is the methadone of a mind-blowing new Bowie song+video to keep me going.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:01 PM on November 19, 2015

I definitely never recommend out-and-out smut, so someone else must have left this here.

Oh gosh, that's hilarious. I totally love all fics, filthy or not, that riff on Hannibal's completely over-the-top out-of-control hyperbolic adoration of Will, such as this silly bit of non-porny Hannibal Advent.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:12 PM on November 19, 2015

Heh. I have therapy on Monday and for some assorted reasons I feel like I should mention to my therapist that I've started writing again...But I'm not quite sure how to slip in "Also, since we last spoke, I've written almost 50,000 words of Hannibal fan fiction. But I'm fine. Everything's fine. This is a totally normal reaction to life and I am doing absolutely fine. I mean, apparently Hugh has been giving Mads dirty fanfic to read so WHAT IF HE'S READ MINE wait no that's fine. I am fine."

I was trying to actually read the whole thread before commenting again but I got to this and just had to say, I had this issue to! Like, I usually tell my therapist about most major things in my life, especially productive things that are positive and central to who I am as a person, but at the same time...well, how does one transition into, "Oh yeah, by the way, I devote many hours to writing homoerotic cannibal fanfiction. No, I promise, it's not weird at all. It's totally normal and healthy. Just ask all my other internet cannibal club friends! They would tell you there's nothing wrong with discussing the best way to cook an entire human leg. I mean, if you watched the show you would totally get it. Um, please don't make a note of that for my permanent medical record."

So yeah, I haven't gotten up the nerve to broach this subject yet.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:29 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Jesus, how many people at this con fell right over and died when Mads said of course Hannibal would let Will adopt dogs as part of the give-and-take of making their marriage work? He does ship these two harder than anybody.

YES THIS IS AWESOME. Mads totally just made something I wrote (and have yet to post) for one of my stories totally sort of kind of not really canon.

Also, I love how if you watch various interviews with the two of them over the years, Mads is always the one who is hard core shipping Hannigram, and Hugh is like, well, they have a relationship of sorts, and they love each other, but I mean, it's more platonic, or well, not necessarily sexual. And then you know Mads is whispering to himself, "We'll see about that."

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS FANDOM SO MUCH
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:40 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, I love that The Whelk is making use of Italian art History and 17th century French cookbooks.

Writing fanfic can actually be pretty educational. For example, I had to research and watch videos of different types of suturing methods. I also now have a basic grasp of how to sail a sailboat, and i spent a lot of time learning about different types of sail boats so I could pick the right one for Hannibal to get Will. Oh, and I've been going back through my school notes on ancient Greek and Latin poetry/literature/myths to find the best homoerotic allusions. I knew all those years of Latin would come in handy one day.

On that note, does anyone have some good sources for fancy Hannibal-style recipes? Books, blogs, anything like that. It doesn't have to be a super detailed recipe since I'm not actually going to be cooking it, but even just somewhere to get inspiration. I've done some searching, but I haven't had much luck so far.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:50 PM on November 19, 2015

This isn't a real cookbook , more of a history of strange eating, but it's very very Hannibal's space
posted by The Whelk at 9:24 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

That looks like a perfect starting place! Also, it looks generally awesome. I mean, seriously, the summary alone:

This is not a normal cookbook but a slightly sinister and highly literate feast of decadent writing on food. There are dishes from the tables of Caligula and the Marquis de Sade, a visit to Paris under seige (where rat was a luxury), some unexpected uses for cat food and some amblongous recipes from Edward Lear. There should be something to delight and offend everyone.

Maybe my problem is that I've been looking for recipes when I really just need to be looking for weird, obscure, and/or morbid food histories.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:31 PM on November 19, 2015

I name dropped her in the fic, but MK Fisher is a legend among food writers, her stuff is so dry, funny, informative, and more about the experience of being alive then cooking. How to eat a wolf, about cooking during wartime and under rationing, is great.

As for like, Hannibal level decant cooking, I've always gone to the old books, you know Escoiffler and I love my academic links to 13th century recipes (so little accuracy! So many complex sauces!) but i can't think of a single "read this and you can cook like Hannibal" source just a bunch of "read this and you'll be a better cook" stuff.

I mean except for Poon's cookbook coming out soonish apparently.
posted by The Whelk at 10:39 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Looking up crazy court dishes might help, the Tudor court was pretty famous for that, lots of stunt dining. In the late imperial Russian court Pepe sent pies with children inside to burst out and deliver messages.

For example, way back in season 2, when we saw the honey previewed, I thought we're going for a Mellified Man
posted by The Whelk at 10:42 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Lol ok so how many of us exactly have bashfully told our shrinks about our gay cannibal hobby
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:50 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

This is all super helpful because I'm sadly lacking in my knowledge of culinary history. Actually, I should probably take advantage of the super expansive university library I have access to. I bet they'll probably have some good resources I can use in my culinary history education.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:53 PM on November 19, 2015

DO check out the blog Austerity Kitchen, I link to it a lot and it's all about the social history of food , from the invention of the dining room to ice cream being immoral.
posted by The Whelk at 10:58 PM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]

(If you just like, name a dish I could probably think of a weird fact about some part of it, because I've been collecting weird food facts since the show started)
posted by The Whelk at 10:59 PM on November 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

Lol ok so how many of us exactly have bashfully told our shrinks about our gay cannibal hobby

I think I've been kind of scared off by the fact that every time I bring up this show in casual conversation, people give me weird looks. I'm pretty sure my own mother is concerned by it. To be fair, I think she's always been a little freaked out by my ability to compartmentalize and conceal my emotions because she's the kind of person who is so openly emotional and pretty much incapable of turning that off.

On that note, somewhat relevant personal anecdote: When I was in high school my mother was saying something about loving me unconditionally, but then she followed that up with, "Unless you do something horrific like commit murder," which even at the time struck me as a kind of weird and unnecessary clarification to make.

I guess what I'm getting at is I'm really glad that I have the Cannibal Club as an outlet for my Hannibal obsession.
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:12 PM on November 19, 2015

Also, incidentally, when I first saw this thread last night, I apparently managed to completely misread the description so I thought this was only for post season 3 fanfics (even though it is very explicitly not). Anyway, here are my two stories set during season 3:

The Road to Wolf Trap: This is a Digestivo missing scene. (I think maybe I linked to it way back when in the behemoth season 3 finale thread). I have to give tel3path some credit for this one, because I'm pretty sure her comment about how we should all suffer through Hannibal Rising because it's nothing compared to Hannibal carrying Will through the snow for 30 miles helped plant the seed for this fic.

The Persistence of Memory: This is set during the three year span between Digestivo and The Great Red Dragon. First chapter is basically tortured Will being tortured. Also, Winston! Second chapter will be Hannibal POV.
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:16 PM on November 19, 2015 [4 favorites]

Also, the next thing I'm writing cause I have huge momentum from Intervuew With An Empath has like, zero oportunitiesto talk about food and strange cannibal romance in it so it has to come out here

(Okay I lied in one scene someone serves spaghetti and people have 1940s Opinions About It. The Not!Gore Vidal thinks it tragically peasant and uses it as an excuse to name drop.)
posted by The Whelk at 11:19 PM on November 19, 2015 [2 favorites]

Haha. I see a shrink every year or so for an ADHD checkup. Last time I saw him I urged him to watch Hannibal. He said he probably would. He's transferred specialities into hypnotherapy over the years. My next checkup is due and I need to make sure he followed my advice.
posted by tel3path at 11:57 PM on November 19, 2015

I ended up only talking verrrrry generally about having started writing again. My therapist did not ask what and I did not tell her "cannibal curtain fic." There's also poetry that is not about cannibals so if she asks I'll just tell her about that. A girl needs her secrets.
posted by Stacey at 1:04 AM on November 20, 2015

DINING IN IMPERIAL ROME. By Pluatch

From the recent FPP on how pigs became taboo in desert cultures!
posted by The Whelk at 9:24 AM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Update! God Hannibal you clingy fuck. (Also: yes that is a line stolen from Buffy for no real reason)
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:02 PM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm not in therapy anymore since my shrink moved to Florida a few years ago (which was actually convenient because we had really only been randomly chatting rather than doing therapy for a while at the end because I couldn't figure out how to say, 'So I think I've resolved a lot of stuff and will be OK on my own now, bye' without feeling terrible, as if I was like dumping her or something, which probably means I still need therapy). But she would be totally unfazed and unsurprised by my tragic-romantic-cannibal-sex-show adoration and bereavement since she's aware that I'm a giant weirdo.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:44 PM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

God Hannibal you clingy fuck.

So I've been having a Mozfest this week, and as I was reading the (fab!) Mark of His Name update, this song incidentally came up on the hi-fi. I lol-ed.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:41 PM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Honestly, I don't think my therapist would be that weirded out by it. Well, depending on what level of detail I went into. More than anything, I'm kind of afraid he would want us to actually discuss it, and oh man, I just don't see this being a conversation I want to have:

"So this is a show about cannibals?"

"Well, yes, but it's also about the tragic love affair between these two men. You see, Hannibal is Will's best/only friend and also sort of kind of his therapist, and they love each other even though Hannibal frames Will for murder, purposefully hides his encephalitis and encourages him to go even crazier, fake kills their surrogate daughter and then for real kills their surrogate daughter. No but you see, he does it because he loves Will. And then he totally turns himself in so that Will can always know where he is because he loves Will that much, and then he sends this other crazy killer after Will's wife and child, but then they kill that other crazy killer in this awesome murder sex season finale...and then Will throws them both off a cliff."

"Okay, what is it about this show that you love so much?"

"Oh, well, you know, there are the beautiful murder tableaus and the cannibalism and the toxic, destructive relationships and the slowest of slow burn love affairs and well, Hugh Dancy as Will Graham is so beautiful and sad and tortured and Mads is just so sexy I can't even and, um, can we just pretend I never mentioned this?"

I mean, that's just one of many horrible directions for that discussion to go in.

But also, can I just say how much I love that this is a place where I can talk about the dynamics of explaining my tortured cannibal murder sex obsession to my therapist? Seriously, you guys are the best.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:56 PM on November 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, since I don't know how frequently everyone checks out the Cannibal Club main page, I wanted to mention that I made a masterpost thread for us to comple interviews, articles, tumblrs, etc. I've already posted some videos of various Hannibal cast panels, links to interviews, some tumblrs, and a few other random things, although I'm still in the process of getting the rest of the stuff that I have bookmarked posted in that thread.
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:38 PM on November 20, 2015 [2 favorites]

Busywork is a short one-shot I wrote last night as a change of pace, from a notion I'd had floating around of Hannibal deciding it's just boring to kill people if he can't do it with his Murder Husband. One is the loneliest number, and all that.
posted by Stacey at 2:29 AM on November 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

Stacey, idk if you watch Brooklyn Nine Nine at all, but there is a character on that show who has a weird fixation on erotic hair-washing, and your fic reminded me of that, and then I realized that his two main character beats are 'fussy epicure foodie' and 'hopeless romantic to the point of self-destruction' and, oh god, Boyle from B99 just IS Hannibal isn't he
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:10 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

I don't, but I've been told that I should! It's on my to-be-watched list. But apparently if I don't watch Jessica Jones over Thanksgiving break my friends are going to disown me so I think that's next for me.
posted by Stacey at 9:16 AM on November 24, 2015

Busywork is a short one-shot I wrote last night as a change of pace, from a notion I'd had floating around of Hannibal deciding it's just boring to kill people if he can't do it with his Murder Husband. One is the loneliest number, and all that.

Here's Busywork Hannibal's theme song. (Until this retrospective, I somehow hadn't considered just how much of Morrissey's discography is basically Sad Self-Pitying Cannibal tunes.)
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:26 AM on November 24, 2015

Oh gosh, another one. I may have to do a whole Mozzer = Hannibal mix.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:21 AM on November 24, 2015

I have to stop reading my comments, my one-shot is threatening to turn into a four-chapter epic because Frustrated Cannibal Noises are so much fun and my comment people egg me on shamelessly.
posted by Stacey at 11:47 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

This one was recently brought to my attention. Really great and disturbing and hot and twisted and sweet all at once.

you will know the love of man
posted by fancyoats at 5:31 AM on November 27, 2015

OH GOD. I REMEMBER READING THAT ONE.

brain bleach hlep cannot unread what i read
posted by tel3path at 5:52 AM on November 27, 2015

My favorite part of that entire story (which is very nicely written and new to me) is the trigger warning for vomiting.

Like, how do you tag for vomiting and not vore?

Oh, God, I just taught my phone's dictionary the word "vore." Damn it, show.
posted by Stacey at 6:35 AM on November 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

Also, I just discovered this little series, and found it delightful.

We Shall All Be Healed
posted by fancyoats at 10:07 AM on November 27, 2015

Here's an oldie but goodie:

Exsanguination

Gets across WHY Hannigram are so into each other in ways that weren't quite decipherable at the time.
posted by tel3path at 3:37 PM on November 27, 2015

Philosophy - Second Installment: Jean-Paul Sartre

wat
posted by tel3path at 4:28 PM on November 27, 2015

I've added a couple more chapters of The Mark of His Name, aka Will Graham Drives Cars And Drinks Whiskey And Thinks About Murder. Shit has gotten uncomfortably real. Also I think I finally know how this thing is going to end.

This is way more fun than I thought it would be.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:47 AM on November 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

And it's beauuuutiful and I love it. Damn, Will.

Me, I started posting the sequel to What We Talk About When We Talk About Blood, which is titled The Last Four Years. Alternate possible titles: Fluff and Nonsense; Slow Murder Burn; Will And Hannibal Travel The World Being Pretentious And Sassy In Various Countries; Literal Curtain Fic.

To you all and only you, I will admit that I'm a little alarmed. I seem to have more of a fan base than I knew I had? Apparently people were waiting for this nonsense thing I write in my spare time and I did not quite realize that and now I'm not sure it will be good enough to appease them and they might turn on me and eat me. If that occurs, please send donations in my name to MeFi for hosting Cannibal Club and indirectly bringing about my downfall. And tell my mother I loved her. Don't tell her about the smut.
posted by Stacey at 11:19 AM on November 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

I unequivocally LOVE both of these, Stacey and showbiz_liz. I am DYING to know what happens next, DYING I tell you, and Will is just sitting there, watching my eyes glaze over and my breath leave my body.
posted by fancyoats at 11:45 AM on November 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yeah, I adore both of these fics more than life itself and hang on tenterhooks with bated breath for every future word. The new Mark of his Name chapter definitely lives up to its snazzy "holy fucking shit Will" tag and then some. And Stacey, the whole reason you have a shrill and manic fanbase in the first place is that your writing is brain-meltingly excellent and enjoyable.

Really, I always sit here reading these things while beaming at you both as if you've just bitten and spit out Cordell's cheek chunk.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:10 PM on November 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

I am DYING to know what happens next, DYING I tell you, and Will is just sitting there, watching my eyes glaze over and my breath leave my body.

This is, of course, my design.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:43 PM on November 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

By the way, sometimes I think I might be getting too flowery with my metaphors, and then I remember what show this is fanfiction of, and then I double the flowery metaphors
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:51 PM on November 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah. Much much later in part 2 of Averno there's a whole conversation about Persephone that's drafted but not fine-tuned yet and I dread getting to it in my edit. Because I really like it for personal reasons, but it's totally beating you over the head and should be cut, but *Hannibal* would happily beat people overhead explaining the symbolism, so maybe it works and doesn't need to be cut? Maybe it needs *more* pretentious analogies instead.
posted by Stacey at 4:09 PM on November 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd do it, but toss in some bits Will thinking "jesus christ Hannibal you pretentious little bitch I love you so much"
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:18 PM on November 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, that's probably where I'll end up. BRB off to tag all my fics "idiots in love".
posted by Stacey at 4:30 PM on November 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I was so happy to see the Selkie fic rec'd on yr tumblr, Stacey. I looooooooved that one. Also, I had been skipping the Sentinel AU one, and you've convinced me to give it a shot. I hadn't realized they were by the same author.
posted by fancyoats at 4:57 PM on November 30, 2015

Hey, by the way, if you're participating in this redonk thread, message me your AO3 name? I wanna know who you all are!
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:02 PM on November 30, 2015

I am not on AO3 because I don't actually write anything......I just read it and read it and read some more.
posted by fancyoats at 5:11 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Seriously, I swear, the Sentinel one is really fucking good and I'm mad at myself for avoiding it for the first several chapters.

Gingerest (who hangs out in some of our threads but maybe not this one? I'm not sure?) twisted my arm on Twitter to make me read the selkie one when I was avoiding it, and she was absolutely right, and I will now read anything she tells me to read, forever and ever amen.
posted by Stacey at 5:40 PM on November 30, 2015

I think I linked it way at the beginning of this thread? The Selkie one. Seriously, it had me with my head on the desk howling and crying for AGES.
posted by fancyoats at 6:37 PM on November 30, 2015

I am just jonesing for the ending of AGaGH, but mokuyoubi isn't updating it until the second week of December she said? Lasjafsldhdlnfadldnjfsfn
posted by fancyoats at 6:38 PM on November 30, 2015

Also can we talk about how many goddamn fics drinkbloodlikewine and whiskeyandspite have written? There are legit more than 130 Hannibal fics alone and so many of them are 100k+ words. Goddamn.

I know their Epistolary series has been rec'd here. But I didn't see Selcouth mentioned yet. (those who have been following emungere's recent teen hannibal ficlets on her tumblr might enjoy The Selcouth series). Or also the Vignettes of Sex and Violence. There are just so many.
posted by fancyoats at 6:42 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm really excited to read all these fics that everyone is recommending and that you guys have written, but I haven't gotten around to it yet because I've been struggling with major writers block on my own fics, and reading other fanfics only ever makes that worse for me, especially when I read really good fanfic, because I start getting hyper critical of my own stuff, and then suddenly my brain is like, "Why bother even writing this at all? All these other fics are so much better anyway. Seriously, does the world need another sort of hurt/comfort, slow burn Hannigram fic?"

I mean, it's really stupid, because obviously fanfics are meant to just be enjoyed, but I can't seem to keep myself from doing the annoying comparison thing, so for now I'll be bookmarking these fics for future reading.

Hey, by the way, if you're participating in this redonk thread, message me your AO3 name? I wanna know who you all are!

My AO3 profile is linked on my mefi profile page. Does anyone else have their AO3 name linked in their mefi profile? It would be neat to know everyone's handle over there, especially for anyone who hasn't linked to their own fic in this thread.
posted by litera scripta manet at 7:16 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm awaiting my invitation, but I will be/am tel3path over there too.
posted by tel3path at 4:52 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I, for one, need another slow burn Hannigram fic. Or a fast burn Hannigram fic. I also need Marlana fic, which I'm clearly going to have to write myself if not enough other people are going to do it for me. So I think you should write me some, when the block lifts, lsm.

I think y'all know where to find me on AO3 by now. In case you don't, I wrote you a tiny ficlet of pure pain this morning because I was having some Joni Mitchell feelings and purging them via rewatching the end of Mizumono seemed like a better idea than actually getting dressed for work. I have the very worst ideas first thing in the morning, you guys.
posted by Stacey at 5:26 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, help. This fic is so perfect, with amazing Hannibal POV, and Will getting nice things, and they're on the BOAT, which is currently my favorite setting. I want 50,000 more words of it.

Here, by Petronia.
posted by merriment at 7:54 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Based on a random AO3 comment I saw this morning, I have to ask y'all: who the HELL reads Hannibal fanfiction without having ever watched the show, and how could doing that be anything but profoundly upsetting and nightmare-inducing for a regular person?

I mean, there are a bunch of us cooing over this totally goofy little ridiculous AU series in which Will and Hannibal are both murderers who Meet Cute literally over a maimed corpse, and there's like strangling and flirting and dismemberment and sexual tension and single parenting all blended together in a frothy frappe. Even we are a bit horrified at ourselves for finding it so thoroughly sweet and adorable; I'd expect any normal non-Hannibal-viewer who wandered in there to run screaming in nauseated shock just from the comments, let alone the actual fic content.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:56 AM on December 1, 2015

Hee. I wonder if you mean the same person who's commented on a couple of my fics this past week or so? And apparently has never been able to bear the thought of even watching Silence of the Lambs but has now asked for the Hannibal DVDs for Christmas?

Bless her heart, but I'm a little worried for her.

I am also considering asking her this evening, when I run through and reply to comments on this morning's Pain Ficlet Of Emotional Torture, how on earth she found this fandom in the first place because I'm dying to know. If you're secretly a MeFite, person, MeFiMail me and tell me! I promise I won't tell anyone but I would love to know how you got to me.
posted by Stacey at 10:01 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

There should just be some type of special AO3 warning:

The characters and, shit, let's face it, the whole world in the fic you are about to read are, by definition, completely and utterly twisted and fucked up beyond redemption. Please click if you are over 18, nuts, and determined to continue. No, seriously, think about it before clicking; this is some fucking creepy stuff here. Enjoy!

posted by FelliniBlank at 10:05 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

When I first started reading the fic - during the dark time of the first Heateus - I thought a lot of the fic was incredibly immoral.

I still think that, actually, but I've also found room in my fictional moral mind palace for fluffy kawaii murder hubbies.

I still like the Through A Glass-verse best, where they're not murderers at all. That's the verse I can relax into and stay in long-term. But the "I Heart Hannibal" murder family type stuff is cute as long as you take it in the right spirit.
posted by tel3path at 10:35 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I guess this is where I give in and go ahead and link Pretty Red Heart, which is maybe the sweet spot of all the worlds - no one is a murderer! No one is a cannibal! But everyone has really screwed-up fantasy lives about being murderers and cannibals which they have a lot of fun talking to each other about in and out of the sack.
posted by Stacey at 10:51 AM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Pretty Red Heart is my jam! -- lots and lots of sex-positive, enthusiastically consenting and mutually respectful filth. Plus Beverly and dogs.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:17 AM on December 1, 2015

I think there are some people who'll like... have a fic author they like in a fandom they follow, and then that author will post a story from a different show they DON'T follow, and they'll read that, and if they like it they might seek out more of it.

In other news, Will just got home. (No way can I maintain this pace, I had some free time last week.) And Stacey I continue to believe that some Sens8 shit is going on here, because we both just wrote essentially 'Hannibal you useless angsty conflicted blood-kink-having cannibal' at the same damn time
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:35 PM on December 1, 2015

I honestly believe you and I would write some amazing joint fic, if I had the slightest idea how people write collaboratively.

I'm saving your chapter until I get home, as your genius cannot be properly appreciated on a noisy bus.
posted by Stacey at 12:38 PM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think there are some people who'll like... have a fic author they like in a fandom they follow, and then that author will post a story from a different show they DON'T follow, and they'll read that, and if they like it they might seek out more of it.

I'm sure that's the case in some instances. Now I'm envisioning a My Little Pony fanfic reader going, "Oh, hey, my fave MLP author just wrote something called 'I'll Suck Your Marrow in the Wine-Dark Depths' about that Hannibal show. I should check that out!"
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:11 PM on December 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

By the way, I thought I would share that when I'm in the middle of writing these things, they are pretty much full of, like, "Hannibal was [fucking flabbergasted]" and "Hannibal was looking at him like [idk something flowery and insane]"
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:29 PM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

My current favorite from the semi-drafted Averno is (put some fucking food porn here later).
posted by Stacey at 2:32 PM on December 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Hannibal Mad-Libs would be a lot of laughs.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:42 PM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Does anyone ever look back at their outlines (which is really more like somewhat chronological brainstorming) and just feel like, wtf was I even doing? Because I have to assume some of these notes are just 4 am me trolling myself. Like, these are actual excerpts from the outlines/brainstorms I have for my fics:

Hannibal draws Will. Shirtless, naturally. (Save the Hannigram re-enacting the Titanic drawing scene for another time.)

What’s for dinner? Leg du Maurier (Bedelia. It’s what’s for dinner.)

GREAT BONDING MOMENT ... MAKEOUT?????

--

I can usually eventually piece together what I meant (although not always), but some of this shit is clearly just me being way too amused by myself. Or something like that.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:31 PM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Home sick today, so I'm writing. Just dropped a (look up a fucking fly-fishing metaphor, ugh, why can't Will have a hobby I know more about?). Thought of you all.
posted by Stacey at 10:24 AM on December 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Update! In which I try to pay off the 'what is Will's plan' cliffhanger I set up in the last two. I swear I was only doing it because it seemed narratively correct! I'm sorry!
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:28 PM on December 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

Update! In which I try to pay off the 'what is Will's plan' cliffhanger I set up in the last two. I swear I was only doing it because it seemed narratively correct! I'm sorry!

You have solved Season 4. And so elegantly!
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:13 PM on December 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm gonna need more than three more chapters of this, girl.
posted by Stacey at 6:41 PM on December 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

well shucks

But seriously I'm glad people like it! It's been interesting/hard to try and sell Will as both genuinely liking/loving Hannibal and genuinely wishing he could just kill him already.

And for that matter, yet again, it is almost impossible to stop these two idiots from making out constantly. In fact, just go ahead and assume that's already happening, it would change literally nothing if they were
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:41 PM on December 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

And for that matter, yet again, it is almost impossible to stop these two idiots from making out constantly.

At least you don't also have actors conspiring with the characters like Bryan does. He's probably somewhat relieved that the cancellation prevented his whole franchise from devolving into softcore porn next spring.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:26 PM on December 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

You guys, this is totally the best day ever! I wrote 1,200 words of fanfic, and just now I checked the mail and two of my internationally ordered Mads DVDs came in the mail (Exit and Die Tur). They actually weren't supposed to come for another week or two, so I wasn't expecting them yet. It's almost as if the fannibal gods were rewarding me for getting over my writers block.

It's too bad I have to leave for work like right this second, but I'm sure I'll be staying up until an obscenely late hour tonight binge watching movies and/or writing. But hey, indulging my fandom obsession is so much more important than something like sleep, right?

And tomorrow, Amazon should be delivering my Hannibal season 3 DVD, assuming they don't screw up like they did with the last couple things I ordered from them. But I'm sure they won't do that, because let's be honest, do you really want to mess with a fandom that's rabidly obsessed with cannibal murder husbands? I don't think so.

Basically, this is shaping up to be an awesome week to be a fannibal.
posted by litera scripta manet at 3:34 PM on December 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

My S3 DVD's in the mail, too! Can't wait.

In exciting fandom-but-not-exactly-fanfic news, one of my Buffy posts seems to have really resonated with people today...
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:10 PM on December 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh wow, that's the ultimate Buffy x Hannibal. I'm just finishing my pre-S3-DVD-arrival rewatch of S1-2 tonight, so the cheering up is much appreciated, thanks! (I always manage not to remember how completely suffused with sorrow and yearning Will is during the whole second half of S2, ugh, and then the entire cast is like that during all of S3. ugh ugh ugh). Plus Stacey, bless her, just updated Busywork with a fantastic Will-as-lure chapter that makes one positively vibrate with joy and anticipation, so there's that.

I'm still not sure I can manage to do an S3 rewatch at present. Just the deleted scenes the other week were pretty fucking painful(ly beautiful). I may have to put it off until next week after all my grading is done and I have the latitude to be a despondent vegetable for a bit.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:27 PM on December 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

I am berating myself for these last several days when I have been laid up with a back injury - I could have spent them rewatching S2 to be ready for the DVDs! I didn't even think!

Oh, well. I'll do the commentaries and extras, then backtrack to S2, then move on to S3 sans commentary.

And at least my bed rest gave me time to write fic to make FelliniBlank vibrate with joy, so it was not wasted time.
posted by Stacey at 6:14 PM on December 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yeah, god help me, I can't get enough of the whole "Will and Hannibal have intensely private intimate moments in public unbeknownst to everyone around them" thing -- like the bar scene in "Silence in Heaven," the S2 scenes where they talk dirty about Will killing Randall Tier or Freddie right in front of Jack and Preller, the S3 pre-bluff "pretty please" BSHCI conversation where the orderlies have no idea of the deeply fucked-up subtext.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:21 PM on December 7, 2015 [3 favorites]

And flirting with each other over the dinner table with Alana present.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:24 PM on December 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

And flirting with each other over the dinner table with Alana present.

Yeah, that was totally one of my favorite season two Hannigram moments. The whole, "We know where we are with each other *wink wink*" thing and then poor Alana just being like, What kind of fucked up three way murder love triangle have I gotten myself into?

Actually, this reminds me of a great point that was made in the weird deer rewatch recap for Sorbet which I was just reading today. She makes a note of a particular moment during the episode, when they're in the ambulance bay and Hannibal makes his, "This is very educational" aside to Will. Here's a quote from the recap on the significance of this moment:

Because this time, it’s them as a dark little joke-making unit set apart from the people around them. Contra mundum, Will & Hannibal against the world. Jen once told me that the surest way she knew how to bond with someone was to catch their eye in a group setting and grin over the same thing. Damn is she right. Because in that moment, suddenly you’re an “us” amongst the “them.” This quietly morbid sarcastic aside (I mean could it be more perf) is Hannibal & Will’s us-moment

I just thought this observation, that the greatest bonding moment is to connect with just that one other person when you're in a group of people, is so true in general, and it plays out so well in this show.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:17 PM on December 7, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm just finishing my pre-S3-DVD-arrival rewatch of S1-2 tonight, so the cheering up is much appreciated, thanks!

Oh, so you mean you guys haven't already re-watched each episode at least five times since the end of season 3? I definitely rewatched each season in order a couple times, and then after that I started going in and watching different arcs and different episodes depending on my mood, and now I just feel like I've absorbed this show into my brain so much that I didn't even consider doing a pre S3 DVD re-watch.

(Maybe this is why I'm so perpetually sleep deprived. Also why I have no social life.)

Actually, one of the reasons why I re-directed my energies to binge watching Mads's films and systematically watching every interview the cast has ever done is because I had this sudden realization that I might have years to wait for new Hannibal episodes, so I probably shouldn't completely burn myself out on the first three seasons at the very beginning of The Great Hiatus. Of course, I also only started watching this show in July of this year, so I guess I had to cram three seasons worth of obsessing into a short amount of time so I could catch up with the rest of the fannibals. Or something like that.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:29 PM on December 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

In exciting fandom-but-not-exactly-fanfic news, one of my Buffy posts seems to have really resonated with people today...

That is so perfect, showbiz–liz. It reminds me of that FPP about the Hannibal x Archer crossover tumblr. (I have to admit I haven't watched Buffy or Archer, but I still think these things are hilarious.)

I'm trying to think of what shows I've watched that I could turn into a Hannibal crossover picture mash up. Maybe Arrested Development?

Actually, I guess Sherlock could work too. In fact, that could work really well, especially all of those "We're not a couple" moments that John has. Wait, yes, this is perfect!

In fact, it's so perfect that someone has probably already done it before, especially since I would think there must be a pretty high overlap between the Sherlock and Hannibal fandoms. After all, I started watching Hannibal because I was like, "Oh look, another show about a "platonic" relationship between the two main male characters and also murders. I should totally check this out."

Also, wish me luck! I'm currently in the process of seeing whether my whole, "Sure, I totally know how to get my laptop to play Region 2 DVDs without using up one of my 5 region code switches...in theory" gamble will actually pay off.

Sure, the "sensible" thing would have been just to order one region 2 DVD and make sure that works before ordering the rest of Mads's not-findable-in-the-US movies, but, well, as you may or may not have noticed, impulse control is something I lack, especially at 3 am, which is when I somehow found myself impulse buying these movies.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:27 PM on December 7, 2015

Okay, sorry, I'm going to go back like 100 comments and three months in time, because I just remembered something I wanted to comment on:

>We would have the best Cannibal Club meetup party.

When I was playing catch up with this thread a little while ago, I read this and realized this is pretty much one of the things I want most in life (aside from an actual scene of Will and Hannibal having hot, dirty, murder-y sex) but then I got so busy responding to other stuff that I forgot about it. But seriously, this would be awesome. I wonder if enough of us live in a similar geographic area to somehow make this happen. It could possibly involve skype. Also maybe morbid table decorations and/or costumes.*

I'm in the Boston area. I have a car. I can drive long distances. I also semi-regularly visit the NY/NJ area. We should make this happen.

*I volunteer to be Margot Verger wearing one of her stylish riding ensembles because, um, I'm a woman with brown hair who rides horses.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:42 PM on December 7, 2015

Okay, I really hope someone hasn't already done a million Hannibal x BBC Sherlock crossover picture captions because now I'm super excited for my future "We're not a couple" Hannibal x Sherlock tumblr.

Finally a chance to make use of the fact that I've memorized significant portions of the dialogue from both these shows. Also an outlet for my current obsession with taking screenshots. I can't wait to give Bedelia all of Irene Adler's best lines.

In other news, yes, I totally can make the region 2 DVD work! Also, the amazon uk reviewers totally did not lead me astray when they recommended ordering the German DVD for Die Tur because it does in fact have an audio track of Mads Mikkelsen not being dubbed. Apparently the English language releases have Mads dubbed over with a native German speaker whereas the German DVD has both a dubbed and undubbed version. (You would think it would be the other way around, with the dubbed version only being released in Germany, and undubbed everywhere else, but whatever.) I mean, for all I know Mads's German accent is terrible, but the German guy sounds nothing like Mads, and since I only bought this because of Mads, it would really suck to have to listen to some German guy who sounds nothing like him. It also has Mads doing a DVD audio commentary, which is awesome and thankfully in English.

So, um, if you want to buy Die Tur, I can't say yet whether or not it's actually a good movie, but I can vouch for the German DVD having Mads's audio track on it, fwiw.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:14 PM on December 7, 2015

Ok, several things, litera scripta manet:

1)You are in Boston? I am in Providence! A meetup is totally within the realm of possibility!

2)I watched Vildspor, actually the day right after you so generously gave me the link and I have Feelings about it.

3)My German-speaking friend says that Mads speaks beautiful German, but yes with a clearly non-native accent. Apparently German audiences find this unacceptable? Hence the dubbing.
posted by fancyoats at 4:16 AM on December 8, 2015

I technically live in the Cambridge/Belmont/Watertown area, but yeah, basically Boston, and super close to Providence! Are there any other Cannibal Club members in the North East US? We should totally do this! I'm on the academic calendar, so in ~10 days when the fall semester ends, I'll have a lot more free time on my hands, at least until spring term starts.

2)I watched Vildspor, actually the day right after you so generously gave me the link and I have Feelings about it.

Oh my god, so many feelings! We should probably migrate over to the movie discussion thread for this, but I would love to discuss all my Feelings and Thoughts about that movie. (Also, if anyone else wants a link to Vildspor with English subtitles, just memail me.)

Speaking of feelings, I just watched like the first 6 minutes of Die Tur and my heart is already broken. I don't know why I do this to myself. (I'll avoid any major spoilers, but let's just say the first five minutes basically represents the usual roller coast rides of Mads's films: Oh look, what a sexy, attractive brooding man! --> Awesome, another sex scene! --> Why do you want to hurt me like this movie? Why? *sobbing*)

Apparently German audiences find this unacceptable? Hence the dubbing.

I was actually just reading something about how apparently in Germany, they tend to dub everything, whereas most countries use subtitles (although I guess that's typically in the case of non-German films). Personally, I hate any and all dubbing with a burning passion, but also, I wonder why they hired Mads in the first place for the movie if they were just going to dub over him? I'm curious to see whether he'll talk about this at all in the DVD commentary or in interviews about the movie. I'm assuming he must have known that they were going to do that.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:59 AM on December 8, 2015

I'll be doing a Boston trip sometime in 2016 but not sure when. You all should proceed without me, but when I do make it your way I will check in and see if anyone wants to hang out with me!
posted by Stacey at 11:47 AM on December 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm in NYC but also hella broke, BUT if anyone is ever in the area they should look me up!
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:42 PM on December 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME A GREAT AND GRUESOME HEIGHT HAS DISAPPEARED WHY WHY I HAVE bEEN WAITING FOR THREE WEEKS FOR A NEW CHAPTER
posted by fancyoats at 3:44 PM on December 8, 2015

Ok, ok deep breath. It's ok guys. It's still there. I have no idea why it wasn't...but for several dreadful, shimmering moments, it just....wasn't there. Geez, I am too old for these kind of heart-palpitations.
posted by fancyoats at 3:48 PM on December 8, 2015

There's a whole drama thing happening - the author put up a tip jar thing recently at Tumblr's behest, but apparently if you accept money for your fic it's against AO3's rules, and someone reported her to AO3 so they locked her out of her own fic until she took the links down.

She's feeling really crappy about continuing to write, apparently, now that she knows someone reported her to AO3, so kudos/comments might be a nice encouraging thing to do for her right now.
posted by Stacey at 5:32 PM on December 8, 2015

I adore that story and I have been adoring everything else she has written/posted as well, so it will be a serious bummer to me if she stops writing. How shitty. And also how weird that I apparently stumbled on like the last five minutes of it being locked. I felt like I was hallucinating, one minute it was gone and then it was back.
posted by fancyoats at 6:18 PM on December 8, 2015

Holiday cheer
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:30 PM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

Ok, I am officially recommending this one as amazing: Figure-Eights. Belly-Dancy is the light of my life.
posted by fancyoats at 3:46 PM on December 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Update - This is the 'how does everybody feel about the new status quo' chapter before shit starts to get real again.

There's a good chance I'll finish this thing over Christmas break, because I will be in the suburbs of NC with no car for a week and a half...
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:42 AM on December 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

By the way, I didn't realize until I was several chapters into this thing how much of it is lifted directly from my coming-out experiences. (I mean, like, on an emotional level. Not the murder stuff.)
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:17 AM on December 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

I ..may have unrealizingly put some actual relationship dynamics in mine.
posted by The Whelk at 11:19 AM on December 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh man you guys, I REALLY dug he has raised me from the pit and set me high by coloredink. A surprisingly persuasive "Will became an Episcopal priest instead of a profiler and also is gay, Hannibal is still Hannibal" AU. It doesn't pull any punches or give anybody an easy out from the situation, and is also weirdly, upsettingly romantic.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:47 AM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Bookmarking for bus read. Priest AUs fall into the category of "I'm not super into this and don't read it on my own unless someone tells me a specific one is really good", so please always feel free to tell me about any such things you find enjoyable.

My Will's panic attacks and stupid breathing exercise are all mine, and 80% of the snark of my Hannigram exchanges comes from daily life in my house. I do not know how to express love except by vast oceans of snark and sass, which serves me well in my fic writing, apparently.

Also from my life is the fact that I refuse to write sexuality!crisis!Will or Alana because I just sort of don't understand how straight people are a thing. (I should, having thought I was one of them for like twenty years, but...eh.) Normalizing bisexuality via the medium of cannibal fan fiction is my new life message, apparently.
posted by Stacey at 11:30 AM on December 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Everyone's Cannisexual for Hannibal
posted by tel3path at 12:06 PM on December 15, 2015

I don't normally leap on priest/religion (gods, etc.) AUs either, but I'm liking this one a lot so far. It's well-written and plausible, and I like how the whole premise grows out of the canon fact of Hannibal's office being next to a church. Another plus is that the dating etc. (at least through Chapter 2) is pretty similar to real-world dating etc.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:08 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also from my life is the fact that I refuse to write sexuality!crisis!Will or Alana because I just sort of don't understand how straight people are a thing. (I should, having thought I was one of them for like twenty years, but...eh.)

That's one of many likable elements of your fics: they reinforce my existing view and experience that a LOT of seemingly (to themselves or others) "straight" people are actually all sorts of other things like . . . circumstantially oriented?, gender oblivious, fluid but defaulting to the path of least resistance, totally queer given any realistic access and opportunity, etc., etc. Especially when you add all the permutations of gender identity/performance and different flavors of romantic and general neurodiversity into the mix.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:39 PM on December 15, 2015

That was one of my favorite things about the show itself (which, funny enough, is also something people point to when they accuse the show of queerbaiting, a viewpoint I obvi disagree with) - the fact that this relationship developed so organically from a friendship to a romance, and nobody ever said anything about how it was ~hella gay~, even though by the end it was very obvious to everyone that this was a love thing and not a like thing.

Actually, if it weren't for that one scene in the Red Dragon arc where they're giving the sham interview to Freddie, you could imagine that this show had taken place in a universe where homophobia just straight-up didn't exist and queerness was totally unremarkable.

Also yes hi I did not figure out I was bi until I was in my mid-20s because, well, doesn't EVERYONE think girls are pretty??
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:48 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yup, eeeeevery totally straight girl in high school spends a lot of time staring at her best friend in a bikini. For aesthetic reasons. Not cause of being hella queer or anything.
posted by Stacey at 12:56 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

Or, you know, at [name redacted]'s perfect hair gleaming in the late afternoon light that streamed through the windows of sixth period World History in 10th grade, wow it turns out I remember a lot more detail about this than I thought

Perhaps if the phrase 'friend crush' had not yet been invented, I would have put two and two together sooner
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:03 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Don't forget the totally platonic BFF "practice kissing." Because you want to make sure you're good at it when you eventually kiss boys in a 100% hetero manner.
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:51 PM on December 15, 2015

I mean, I'm sure some straight kids actually do practice their kissing on each other, but it probably doesn't morph into 20 minutes of making out.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:00 PM on December 15, 2015

TBH I still feel cheated that I never got to do the practice kissing. My friends really let me down on that front.

On topic: showbiz_liz and I have just concocted some sort of Hannibal As Tattoo Artist scenario over on Tumblr and I now desperately want that to be a thing. This Is My Design, LLC. Stag art a specialty. Anytime he designs a piece involving a human it SOMEHOW comes out looking just a little like Will Graham. He finds bad tattoo artists at conventions and eats them for the greater good of art.
posted by Stacey at 2:17 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

The fact that this relationship developed so organically from a friendship to a romance, and nobody ever said anything about how it was ~hella gay~, even though by the end it was very obvious to everyone that this was a love thing and not a like thing.

Yeah, I do like that, within the world of the show, the reason Will and everybody else (except Bedelia, bless her) keep denying or purposely not seeing or strategically not mentioning the romance as a romance has nothing to do with the fact that it involves two men and everything to do with the fact that one of the men is Hannibal and all the baggage surrounding that. (I'm not sure that's the reason why Martha and Bryan even now sometimes still harp on "bromance" and "non-sexual friendship," but hey, marketing means trying to keep all audience segments happy.)

If I were Jack and Will gave me that "because I wanted to run away with him" line, I wouldn't be able to resist a "Jesus, dude, that is so fucking unhealthy, srsly, get some help," but Jack's silence was a lot more about the fact that he's well aware of his own culpability for purposely enabling that attachment. He can't say much of anything without looking like even more of a giant asshole. And I'm not sure Alana ever knew enough about the specifics of what went on between W&H to realize it was a romance, especially since she saw it more as "therapist-therapee" relationship gone terribly wrong. It's really only Bedelia to an extent (and Freddie a bit), and us who know enough about how they were with each other to see it in all its glory.

And W&H circumlocuting it constantly is simultaneously the best and most annoying part. It's too bad I'd rather stab myself in the face than ever get married again because if I did, I'd totally include "my compassion for you is inconvenient" and "ignore the worst in each other to continue to enjoy the best" in the wedding vows.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:32 PM on December 15, 2015

On topic: showbiz_liz and I have just concocted some sort of Hannibal As Tattoo Artist scenario over on Tumblr and I now desperately want that to be a thing. This Is My Design, LLC. Stag art a specialty. Anytime he designs a piece involving a human it SOMEHOW comes out looking just a little like Will Graham. He finds bad tattoo artists at conventions and eats them for the greater good of art.

Sounds an awful lot like another mandatory one-shot (at least).
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:42 PM on December 15, 2015

And I'm not sure Alana ever knew enough about the specifics of what went on between W&H to realize it was a romance, especially since she saw it more as "therapist-therapee" relationship gone terribly wrong.

Personally I always thought of her "it's a courtship" line as having the subtext of both "oh god maybe Hannibal really IS involved in all this" and also "oh god and... does that mean Hannibal is cheating on me? with Will Graham?" Like no wonder she was done with dudes after that honestly
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:15 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh right, I forgot that line where her denial is crumbling -- and have no excuse for forgetting it since I just watched that ep last week. It's part and parcel with what litera scripta manet was saying about the dinnertable threeway scene. Poor Alana is just so increasingly dismayed every minute about what she has decided Will is, and how Hannibal seems to be egging him on, and how if that's true it means Will was totally right about Hannibal, and "ohmygod that means I'm fucking a cannibal murderer," etc. that she can't even really consciously fully let herself think about the possible "I'm fucking a cannibal murderer who may also be fucking the guy who is/was in love with me." Because then she'd have to just lock herself in her house and drink until she died. She knows so much that she won't let herself know that the "I was so blind" remark in Mizumono is just thermonuclear.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:25 PM on December 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

and I'm not sure Alana ever knew enough about the specifics of what went on between W&H to realize it was a romance

The thing that finally tipped her off was Hannibal inviting her and his boyfriend to dinner together. It wasn't Will trying to pry her away from Hannibal, it was Will stealing her boyfriend right out from under her nose.

I really do feel sorry for her at that dinner because really, it's bad enough to be the butt of that kind of joke when the guy that's dumping you and being all ARE YOU STILL HERE isn't a cannibalistic serial killer.

especially since she saw it more as "therapist-therapee" relationship gone terribly wrong

Nah, that was a polite fiction with which to talk about the problem in polite society. At the same time, that's also what it was which implies a long parade of patients-gone-wrong stretching back through her career too.

IDK, she must be thinking, maybe I *shouldn't* have insisted on bringing Hannibal to Help Will in jail while Will was wildly accusing him of all that totally false stuff that never happened.

Anyway... maybe I'd be totally straight if men were prettier... like they are on this show. But they aren't. Also, if Katharine Isabelle did not exist, then I might be totally straight. But who would want a world in which Katharine Isabelle did not exist?
posted by tel3path at 3:48 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yeah that one "well WE know where we are with each other" dinner with the three of them was like Larry David levels of deliciously awkward
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:49 PM on December 15, 2015 [4 favorites]

Wait you guys. Is anyone in this thread straight?
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:50 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

You know, genufa on tumblr explained it all lately! Will thinks it's Bedelia that Hannibal really likes! He doesn't get that Bedelia was just a rebound! And that he is the one Hannibal longed for the whole entire time!

So it's kind of like... "Is Hannibal... in love with me" as much as it's "Is Hannibal... in love with me?"
posted by tel3path at 3:50 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

not any more, apparently
posted by tel3path at 3:51 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

I love the character detail that Will just can't fucking stand Bedelia, jealous ex that he is. Best example being that scene where Jack is all "haha sweet alibi you've concocted here, up top" and Will just HISSES right in her FACE "I don't beliiiiiiieve you." We've all been there, babe. It's ok. You're prettier than she is. And that's only true of, like, 100 people on the planet.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:58 PM on December 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

God. I am going to need to write a Will-Bedelia conversation in a few more chapters of my Breathless fic, I think, and I just don't know how to do that dynamic justice. I might have to rewatch all the S3 Will-Bedelia scenes a few times to get it right. It's a sacrifice, but I'll manage it somehow.
posted by Stacey at 4:10 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh jealous Will! Is so great because of course he must have had no idea until he got to Florence that Hannibal had Bedelia with him. Last he saw her, they were on perfectly good terms at her immunity interrogation (wasn't that the last time?), and then as far as he or anybody else knew, she promptly got the fuck out of Dodge again to avoid Hannibal.

And then he shows up all train-bruised from Chiyoh to discover that Hannibal took up with this icy baggage like MINUTES after breaking up with Will? No wonder he's so pissed! What cracks me up even more is, considering how fucking hostile and bitchy and malicious Will is to her for the whole rest of S3, just THINK about what he'd do if he were aware of the part she played in the near-brain-eating episode.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:15 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well yeah, I mean, if she's going to steal Miriam Lass's story - possibly right out of her very mouth (it's possible she MET Miriam in the safe house!!!!!!!!!1!!!!! because WHERE ELSE WOULD SHE HAVE HEARD THOSE EXACT WORDS) and if she's going to encourage Hannibal to eat Will's brain...

Well, I can see the temptation. Just a little nibble. Go on, you know you want to.
posted by tel3path at 4:20 PM on December 15, 2015

And it's interesting that pretty quickly after the dinnertable threeway and the Shiva courtship conversation (during which she's delightfully giving Will a lot of "WTFingF Will?" looks), Jack lets Alana in on the whole scam, which conveniently if temporarily allows her to dial back to an "OK, Will's just semi-pretending (I hope) to seduce my cannibal boyfriend to take one for the team" level of denial.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:44 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh man you guys, I REALLY dug he has raised me from the pit and set me high by coloredink.

Thank you for this rec. I am loving it so far. I just finished chapter 7, when they were quoting psalms back and forth to each other. Sigh. So good. And all the religious discussions seem so very much part of the show-universe.
posted by fancyoats at 6:05 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

Wait, that was chapter 6, I think, with the psalms. I'm enjoying it a lot, like I said.

I also liked the one by the same author, coloredink, where Hannibal invites Will to his house in the Hamptons for a week...has that one been mentioned? and built a little house that we could live in
posted by fancyoats at 6:32 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yes, all that "pressure to believe something I cannot trust and that pressure..." could have been referring to the pressure to admit that UR BF IS DATING UR OTHER BF, until Hannibal smelled the gunsmoke on her.
posted by tel3path at 3:50 AM on December 16, 2015

I also liked the one by the same author, coloredink, where Hannibal invites Will to his house in the Hamptons for a week...has that one been mentioned? and built a little house that we could live in

Aww this was lovely! Totally in character for season 1 - romantic, but only from Hannibal's perspective (at least consciously).
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:23 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

I believe coloredink is working on a sequel to that one (the vacation fic), slowly but surely, so that's something to look forward to eventually.
posted by Stacey at 10:49 AM on December 16, 2015

Aww this was lovely! Totally in character for season 1 - romantic, but only from Hannibal's perspective (at least consciously).

I agree and am glad she's doing a sequel. That story is so understated and kind of quietly heartbreaking; it made me think of Will talking to Peter Bernardone: "Someone you considered a friend, who made you feel less alone? 'Til you saw what he really is." The priest one ended up just as wonderfully as it started; I had read a few of coloredink's other things here and there but now must devour all the others.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:26 PM on December 16, 2015

And I'm loving mokoyoubi's latest instalment of Christmas fluff.

The Christmas fluff is strong this week. Get your warm fuzzy murder husband feels here, with the Hannibal fandom.
posted by tel3path at 4:43 PM on December 19, 2015

And I note that the chapter before that one is labelled "Consensual Somnophilia" and "Drug-Induced Sex" and this immediately flags it as being towards the fluff end of the spectrum, because it includes the word "Consensual".

Oh fandom, never change.
posted by tel3path at 4:47 PM on December 19, 2015

I will note that I got my Christmas fluff in last week, with Season’s Greetings from the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane: A story about Alana Verger-Bloom being 100% done with everything, forever. I would like to write one more - I have my eye on something about Abigail's first (and only ) Christmas with her Murder Dads - but don't know that time and the god of plot bunnies will be on my side before I leave town for Christmas in Baltimore, with no laptop. We'll see. If not, perhaps I will come up with some New Year's Eve fluff when I'm back in Pittsburgh.
posted by Stacey at 5:40 PM on December 19, 2015 [2 favorites]

Ohh, goodness. Rageprufrock is writing Hannibal! Very promising start of a new WIP just posted to AO3. It has Clarice! And it's...not epistolary...what do you call it when a piece of fiction quotes excerpts from (imaginary) pieces of non-fiction? It has that, too! I am excite!

Ravenous, by Rageprufrock.
posted by merriment at 7:14 AM on December 20, 2015 [2 favorites]

Emungere just posted this one and it killed me dead: Long Enough
posted by fancyoats at 2:24 PM on December 20, 2015

You guys emungere left kudos on one of my things and idgaf if it's tacky to come here and say so because it made me ever so slightly giddy
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:35 PM on December 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

That's DELIGHTFUL and not tacky at all. You get a gold star for pleasing emungere.
posted by Stacey at 1:11 PM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

This is so well-written and has such a scarily perfect Hannibal POV that it makes my brain bleed: Pi's Lullaby.

Don't let the "Will has a kid" thing put you off; it's fantastic regardless, and the rest of the 'verse is canon-compatible. The one downside is that I don't think it gets updated very often.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:42 PM on December 22, 2015

Yeah, I just finished that and while it was maybe *just* at the edge of my tolerance for kidfic, there's enough other really good stuff there to make it work. I'll second the recommendation heartily.
posted by Stacey at 5:22 PM on December 22, 2015

The fact that we see the kid through the filter of Hannibal's uniquely Hannibalian perception and attitudes (and how studiously he avoids any thought about the last child he knew well) really helps reduce the tooth-rot.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:53 PM on December 22, 2015

I don't think I've seen this rec'd here yet: Omega Point. It's very emphatically NOT an a/b/o story, despite the name. It's a sci-fi deal where Will is an engineer who designs and installs after-market modifications to androids, and tests out his designs on his own android, a rare and coveted Hannibal model. Surprisingly emotional and philosophical.
posted by fancyoats at 6:36 AM on December 23, 2015

This Christmas parody is spot on. I can't understand why it doesn't have more kudos. Roast.

Warning: WIP to be completed on the 28th.
posted by tel3path at 3:55 PM on December 23, 2015

Oh my, this is allready spot on in terms of direction Even the notes sound like an actual script
posted by The Whelk at 4:14 PM on December 23, 2015

Thanks for the rec of Omega Point, fancyoats! I would have skipped it just because of the title (since I don't read A/B/O), but now I am reading and it is killing me.
posted by merriment at 7:30 PM on December 23, 2015

Mokuyoubi's latest, which is blisteringly gorgeous: Strangers 'Til Now
posted by fancyoats at 4:22 PM on December 24, 2015

Mark of His Name update. Finally, we've hit the 'actively planning a murder' stage of our relationship!

Also, these tags are really getting away from me.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:28 AM on December 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

On the off chance that anyone who read Omega Point missed the sequel, there's also Aleph, which I am reading now and enjoying tremendously.
posted by merriment at 3:37 PM on December 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Omg, I had no idea there was a sequel! Thank you for pointing that out!
posted by fancyoats at 3:38 PM on December 26, 2015

Guys, I finally have a tumblr! To which I've already posted an obscene amount of Hannibal screenshots. And for some reason I started captioning said screenshots with absurd internal monologues for the characters, so... yeah.

And then just today I figured out how to make my own gifs, and I'm kind of afraid I'm never going to be a productive human being ever again. But look, Mads giving Hugh bunny ears gif-ified! (Which has probably already been done, but whatever.) Also my celebratory Mads is the main villain in Doctor Strange post had to be gif-ed too.

Does anyone want to be tumblr friends? Can you even be friends on tumblr? Would that just be following someone? I'm still not entirely sure how the "social" part of tumblr as social media works, but I guess eventually I'll get the hang of it.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:31 PM on December 28, 2015

I'm still not entirely sure how the "social" part of tumblr as social media works, but I guess eventually I'll get the hang of it.

If I follow you, and you follow me, then that's pretty much like Facebook friends. I'm following you now!

Get Xkit, it makes everything work a billion times better.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:34 PM on December 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Okay, I just followed you back! Yay for new tumblr friends!
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:44 PM on December 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

lsm, I followed you, but just FYI, because Tumblr is kinda wonky about sideblogs, the follow comes from my main Tumblr (cups-of-tea-and-history) and not my Hannibal one (damnslippyplanet).
posted by Stacey at 9:38 AM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about that weirdness with primary vs secondary blogs. This is a sideblog for me as well, so I guess that means I show up as artsandletters221b when I follow people.

Anyway, I followed you back! Yay for another tumblr friend!
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:34 AM on December 29, 2015

Ok, you guys, I just finished Odalisque, by drinkbloodlikewine and whiskeyandspite. It's a rent boy!Will AU in which they are both vicious killers and also bad at feelings. It is long, and smutty yet still plotty, and it was the only thing that kept my holiday with my crazy family sane and not violent. Now I am working my way through its sequel, Concupiscent. Which so far is more smutty and less plotty, but I am only halfway through so far.
posted by fancyoats at 3:00 PM on December 30, 2015

Oh, bloodandwhiskey. They are a blessing upon us all. (Although as their rentboy AUs go, I lean toward Selcouth, which I see you already rec'ed earlier. But bless their hearts for providing us with such a bounty to choose from!)
posted by Stacey at 8:58 AM on December 31, 2015 [3 favorites]

You know what I just realized, based on this gifset? I totally imagine teen!Hannibal from Selcouth as Eddie Redmayne.
posted by fancyoats at 2:42 PM on January 2, 2016

You know, I'm really enjoying Pretty Red Heart (rec'd above) despite really really really not liking any of the kinks described therein.

It's worth being actively grossed out, if I can read about a world in which (okay, spoilers ahoy if you care about such):

1. Will has people in his life, like Bev, who are straightforwardly his friends and come over to visit the way friends do

2. Hannibal cares for his patients in a psychiatric way, not a murder-apprentice way

3. Mischa is alive and well and working as a surgeon, wears scarlet suits and has cheekbones that she apparently could use as surgical tools

3a. Hannibal explains that he and Mischa were orphaned and spent several months living feral on the streets out of fear that the authorities would separate them, but nobody got et; in fact, that kind of traumatic experience is not even necessarily anyone's fault

4. Will cooks for Hannibal sometimes; he bakes trout he caught himself; his cooking is good enough for Hannibal, served without self-recriminating apology, and not accompanied by 1823543275 remarks about how "unstable" he is

4a. He serves the best-quality vanilla ice cream to Hannibal for pudding, while serving himself his favourite rocky road because he is "proud white trash" (I really don't like the phrase "white trash" or referring to any human being as trash in any context, but it's better than the usual classist bullshit we get about Will's impoverished background; you can tell a lot about someone's class origins by watching the assumptions they make about Will's childhood and this might be the first time I have ever seen anyone characterize Will as being PROUD of his upbringing and it is a breath of fresh air)

5. Can't remember if Hannibal and Bedelia are exes or are in a therapeutic relationship or not, but they interact as friendly co-conspirators in a fun way, rather than a murdery way

6. I can't remember ANY mention of Abigail so far? Either she doesn't exist in this universe or she is fine to the extent that I've forgotten about her, so that's great

7. Will's biggest source of self-loathing is that he thinks he's a pervert, not that he thinks he's a killer, and he has such a loving pervy relationship with Hannibal that he stops hating himself altogether

It's basically a long description of people being nice to each other all day every day, which is exactly what I wanted, and if their methods of being nice to each other include sticking their whole hand up each other's butts, well, if I can stand James Herriot I can stand that. One must take the rough with the smooth.
posted by tel3path at 7:51 AM on January 6, 2016

I have really been enjoying Quiet Asphodel, by FKAHerSweetness. It's a fairy-tale slanted season 1 AU, wherein Will is the adopted son of Jack Crawford, but lots of other things are the same. The same author wrote The Joy of Creation as well, which I linked way way upthread, but in case you missed it and want a delightfully well-written, post season 3 surrealist number, I'll link it again.
posted by fancyoats at 4:22 PM on January 17, 2016

Another smart, funny, well-written take on the post-S3 "Will gets left behind after the bluff" 'verse: The Shape of Me Will Always Be You.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:06 PM on January 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Insanely superb AU featuring a splendidly vicious Dark!Will: Black Rock Mountain. And soon to have a sequel, god help us all.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:00 PM on May 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

Oh hello fic recs thread, long time no see.

You HAVE to read this kindergarten AU where Bedelia is Hannibal's adoptive mother, Alana is his kindergarten teacher, and Will is Jack's adopted son.

Here was a story I expected to hate. I just can't get enough of it!
posted by tel3path at 6:42 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

And I'm itching for some good Halloween fics right now. Come back, people? THIS PARTY IS NOT. OVER.
posted by tel3path at 6:44 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

I don't have any Halloween-specific recs but I have really been liking Stacey/damnslippyplanet's Vampire Hannibal vignettes, of which I believe there will be more at some point!

(For my part, several months ago I took up a prompt thinking "this'll be a fun little diversion before I get into that longfic I've been planning," and it is now over 36,000 words long and not even close to finished, and just, fuck my life, this is going to wind up being a novel-length Hannibal/Star Trek crossover AU where instead of metaphorically invading Will's brain Hannibal just merges his consciousness with Will's because he is an alien brain slug. It's a lot. How did this happen to me.)
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:24 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]

Yup. I've got a couple of good prompts for that vampire 'verse, so there'll be more of it one day.

For this Halloween I'm working on something else but there is also a vampire. Sneak preview available at my Tumblr for the curious.

There are a couple of Halloween fic writing fests that just opened up for submissions today, so there might be a good flood of fic coming soon. Fingers crossed!
posted by Stacey at 9:38 AM on October 28, 2016 [3 favorites]

I am wondering what if we did a little round-robin where the Hannibal characters are trick-or treating and they knock on each other's door for a ficlet? When we're done, we could put it up on AO3.

If I can come up with an establishing scenario by midnight (GMT+1) tonight, would any of you be happy to open your door and find Hannigram there, and drop a ficlet in their bag? Any AU, any scenario, as long as it ends with a mechanism for knocking on the next character's door.
posted by tel3path at 9:43 AM on October 28, 2016

I'll just leave this here in case anyone wants to add to it. Other characters could also knock on Hannibal's door if that works better.

===================

It was a dark and stormy night. Somewhere in Baltimore, a shot rang out.

But in the leafy, genteel neighbourhood of Chandler Square, the houses were dim and quiet, with few of the windows illuminated. Only one house shone like a lantern against the evening sky, its inhabitant busily preparing within.

There was nothing, Will Graham thought to himself as he determinedly trod the familiar path to Hannibal's door, to suggest that that evening was different from any other evening. And yet. Will knew Hannibal better than anyone, and he knew what Hannibal's plans for that evening really meant. Will grimaced, knowing what he had to do. *I could stop here,* he thought to himself. *I could turn back now.* But he forced himself on. *Just a few more steps,* he promised himself.

Just as Will reached the front door, he realized a split second too late that Hannibal had anticipated his arrival. The door swung open and Will toppled face first into the entryway. As Will flailed to recover himself, the stack of pumpkins he had been balancing (bear hug, chin tuck) teetered and cascaded to the floor. For one moment, Will was sure he could right himself if he only tried - but the next thing he heard was a sickening thud followed by a soggy implosion.

Will sputtered and began to get to his feet, and was still wiping the pumpkin innards from his eyes when he heard a familiar voice. The last voice Will had been expecting to hear.

"Sorry," said - could it be?!? "But why didn't you just make two journeys? Always with the dramatic entrance." Until that moment, Will hadn't known it was possible to hear someone rolling their eyes.

"Abigail. Why are you here?" asked Will. "Didn't McGill celebrate Canadian thanksgiving already?" https://www.mcgill.ca/importantdates/key-dates

"I'll get a broom," said Abigail quickly, and vanished characteristically into the shadows. Will glanced around him at the entryway, which was already decorated more startlingly than usual.

This had the makings of a long evening. Will sighed and made his way towards the kitchen. Towards him floated the aromas of caramel, orange, cinnamon and some other notes Will couldn't quite place.
posted by tel3path at 10:34 AM on October 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ah, I'm just realizing I didn't include any baton-handing so I'll just add a bit up until the point where someone knocks. Hold on a bit:
posted by tel3path at 3:35 PM on October 28, 2016

Surprisingly - or not, depending on how you looked at it - Halloween was Hannibal's favourite time of year. His favourite thing was to make the best homemade candy in the land and offer it to the children who knocked on his door. This year, he had locked himself away for two days ahead of Halloween evening, mixing and stirring and boiling and pouring and twisting and cutting and frosting and decorating. Still, even knowing this, the sight of the kitchen blew Will's mind.

The orange and cinnamon aroma, it turned out, was from candied peel dipped in chocolate and fashioned into little worms with tiny dragée eyeballs (ignoring the anatomical reality that worms don't have eyes, an indulgence Hannibal would only ever have granted to children). There was chocolate bark elegantly swirled with ghosts. There were ranks of gingerbread men with the most incredibly detailed frosting: piped black hair, shirts with multicoloured vertical stripes, plaid suits which Will realized were double-breasted - "Is that Chilton?" There was a tray of what seemed at first glance to be uncharacteristically splodgy looking jellies, but a closer look revealed that they were - anatomically correct this time - brain lollipops. Fascinated, Will leaned in for a closer look.

"What are these lollipops made of?" He was tempted to give one a cautious poke, but he didn't want to be rude.

"Secret ingredient," Hannibal replied with a wink. "I'm saving those for the less polite visitors. Tell me, Abigail -" for indeed, Abigail had once again moved into the kitchen soundless and unnoticed by most people's standards - "what will you offer that ill-mannered boy, when he comes calling?"

Abigail looked startled; clearly she hadn't told Hannibal any more than she'd told Will about why she'd come home early. By her reaction, Hannibal had read correctly between the lines.

Abigail was about to reply when - there came a knock at the door.

========================

Red rover red rover
We call Whelk over
posted by tel3path at 4:16 PM on October 28, 2016

or anyone, really
posted by tel3path at 4:16 PM on October 28, 2016

You HAVE to read this kindergarten AU where Bedelia is Hannibal's adoptive mother, Alana is his kindergarten teacher, and Will is Jack's adopted son.

I also endorse this one strongly. The mother-son relationship between Bedelia and Hannibal is hilarious and so in character it's painful.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:39 PM on October 28, 2016