The Teacup Broke

if there is a screen

ao3 will be seen

Hannibal (2013-2015)

2x07 || 2x09

Do you envision a post-canon future where Hannibal stops hurting Will?

I think Hannibal would do anything to keep Will around. I think canon sort of proved this, in a way. So if hurting Will became unfunny to Will, then yes. But the problem is that Will enjoys that aspect of the dynamic and keeps circling back to it. I don't think he'd enjoy it as much without getting marked by Hannibal. So Hannibal would only stop if Will genuinely wanted him to. Because Hannibal doesn't actually need violence, but Will does, he's the one who craves it so intensely he repressed it. Hannibal craves something else, not violence itself. Like Will, like Francis.

i think about horndog will a little too often because i just know with all the stress he’s under and his sleeping issues he’s jerking it like he’s trying to rip it off every night just so he can sleep and experience some kind of relief and if we really wanna go into freaky territory i imagine him stealing hannibal’s socks or something eventually because it’s common knowledge this man is a freak for feet

um sorry for moaning when you stabbed me. it's been a really long time since anyone touched me like that

Other than the horrific murders and the gaslighting and the manipulation and the pretentious dialogue and the self entitlement and the god complex, can you even think of anything Hannibal Lecter did wrong?

putting my puppy to sleep with her puppy plushie that has a heartbeat and watching her fall asleep almost instantly

cathedrals (hannibal references) everywhere for those (me) with eyes to see (autism)

Why do you think Will and Hannibal both went through scarcity but relate so differently to money? (love your blog)

Will grew up poor, but there is no indication that he suffered from literal hunger. More likely, he lived in a state of constant limitation, having enough for basic sustenance and shelter but little beyond that. His poverty was not one of extreme deprivation but of restriction, of never being able to afford more than the essentials. Later in life, however, Will gained financial security through his professional roles...his work as an FBI consultant, his teaching position, and even as an author of a book used in official training. By the time we see him in the show, he is far from poor; in fact, he has amassed significant wealth. Yet his attitude toward money is cautious, even frugal. This is a common trait in those who grow up without financial security. Money is not seen as something to be indulged in but as something to be preserved. The fear of losing it lingers, and so he is unlikely to splurge, preferring comfort over excess, stability over extravagance.

Hannibal’s trajectory, by contrast, is one of dramatic extremes. He was born into wealth, lost it in an incredibly brief yet profoundly traumatic period of scarcity, and then regained it, never to lose it again. The nature of his deprivation was far more intense than Will’s, his suffering was not just financial but existential, marked by starvation, war, and the destruction of his entire world. This kind of scarcity often breeds an obsession with indulgence rather than security. Those who experience such extreme deprivation, especially those who later come into great wealth, frequently develop compulsions toward excess, seeking to consume, possess, and experience everything available to them as a way to compensate for past lack. Hannibal, with his tastes, opulent lifestyle, and relentless pursuit of pleasure, embodies this tendency. He doesn't just enjoy luxury, he devours it, making an art form out of indulgence itself.

This contrast in their financial psychology also mirrors their deeper fears. Hannibal’s greatest fear is the loss of control, but paradoxically, he has a repressed desire to relinquish it. His indulgences, his love of fine dining, extravagant possessions, and excessive refinement, serve as an outlet for this tension, a "safe" way for him to surrender control without ever truly doing so. He allows himself to indulge because he remains the master of his own excess.

Will, on the other hand, fears losing his mind. His life is not built around control in the same way Hannibal’s is, but rather around creating an environment that minimizes risk. He does not need extravagance, he needs stability, predictability, a life free from unnecessary variables. His frugality is not just financial but existential; he seeks security, not pleasure, and constructs his world accordingly. His job then is his way of indulging in risk.

In the end, their differing relationships with wealth reflect the deeper structures of their personalities. Hannibal, ever-consuming, transforming indulgence into control, and Will, always conserving, ensuring he never steps too far into uncertainty.