Yes,I think it's the answer to that.

Is Hannibal... in love with me?🐟

The notion that the herbal infusion would have enough time to circulate and flavor Will’s tissues was a blatant excuse for being able to blow on the spoon, cup Will’s face, try to bid that dream goodbye when it had already settled in to stay. Despite his preternatural empathy, Will can’t really read minds. He rejected Hannibal because Hannibal had rejected even the specter of vulnerability and openness. “Will Graham deals with huge amounts of fear,” Hannibal tells Jack after their first meeting. In this, too, they are the same. And he is alone again. He meets Molly, they get married quickly in that limbo of the three years apart. And within that time he began wearing his hair more like Hannibal’s, gelled and combed back. Combing forward would’ve covered the thin, pale scar that matched his skin tone well enough easily, but instead he displayed it to a world that would look on it with distrust or pity, a world of people he’d once looked to for care and acceptance when it could never be given to him as he was. “It excites him to see you marked in this particular way.” “Why?” “Why do you think?”

Bedelia could only ever see the surface of Hannibal’s demons, of his fears and buried wants, her own reflection making a warped and inaccurate mirror of them. She only saw the fact that he wants to be seen a certain way, to do things a certain way, she could never see the true reasons why that is as Will can. It was easier to face a myth than the truth that her captor has weaknesses, just not ones she could exploit. Bedelia only saw the euphoria of possession and the gravity of desire where Will came to see the raw, unglamorous truth of their shared ache. She saw a fairytale monster in the shape of a man, Bluebeard with his doors and keys. But Will saw a man who has a vast capacity for the monstrous, who locked things away because he knows deep down he can’t be impenetrable and striving for it makes him less and less so. Even with a ring on his finger, there was only ever one emblem of belonging Will displayed openly on his body during those three years and after his isolation from Hannibal ended.

Desires to posses or be possessed are, at their cores, facets of that universal human desire to be unconditionally embraced with veneers of power and control over it to make it seem less personal and more comfortable. Will and Hannibal belong to each other because they have only ever felt as if they belong without exception when they’re with each other. “No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them.” “I’ve never known myself as well as I know myself when I’m with him.” “Freeing yourself from me and me freeing myself from you… They’re the same.” “We’re conjoined.” That scar is the white string that ties them together on a soul-deep level rather than a red one, it’s the line that divides and unites them in their struggles over and realizations about how their many conflicts have only ever been conflicts of self-realization and self-examination through the lens of the other.

that's a quote from women in love by dh lawrence (my wife), and i also think hugh dancy has said its one of his favourite books? (but don't quote me on that) and it reminds me very much of hannibal, and i think it encapsulates what i find so repulsive about his character, but also so tragic.

he has no sensual, primal enjoyment of the world, except in the pungent act of killing in which he bares himself so completely he cannot hold back. dh lawrence has this idea of 'sensuality' that he refers to in a lot of his novels, and although in the modern world it is generally interchangeable with 'sexuality', he refers to it more as a natural flow of sensory being. of course humans are 'sensual' beings, hannibal is not exempt, but he has this very strong belief in will over sense. he believes his 'will', or his 'consciousness', elevates him above animals, and the fortitude of his will elevates him again above other humans. this is for a few reasons- giving him a comforting illusion of control, differentiating himself from the humans he finds so detestable, giving him a feeling of power above all others, which makes him feel invulnerable, mentally and physically (shown by the CRAZY quote 'mental illness is an affliction of the powerless' -10000 aura what are you on about). this is his 'conceit of consciousness', but it is a cheap trick, and obviously doesn't fucking work.

because there are two warring forces in the mind- our conscious linguistic thoughts, and our emotional and sensual existence, and while they clash they do and must coexist, and, consciously blocking out one, hannibal blocks himself off from this whole facet of existence, a part of which being genuine human connection, which is what renders him so vulnerable to Will. because his very identity is assumed and he is essentially lying his ass off all the time, he can't connect with anyone on a personal level, but Will is the first person who looks past that and really sees him as he is and that is the one thing he doesn't have the will to tear himself away from.

but then why is he such a hedonist? to that i say his tastes are not true, they are curated, they are another facet of this identity he has carved out for himself. but he frames them as indulgences, because the truth, which is that the only indulgence he allows himself is killing, and still then, in elevating them to art, this is a conscious act, he can't bear. he basically tells himself 'i can't have human connection, but i can have wine!' and then pretends that that makes him superior for some reason...

This is definitely going to be a longer post because i have a lot of criticisms just for those 10 chapters. Pretty much every interaction feels out of character. The hannibal depicted in paragon is solely centered around his relationship with will. Though i don’t usually have an issue with portraying hannibal as obsessive i don’t think that really scrapes the surface of my issue here. Hannibal is a character who’s ego is constantly battling his id. In paragon he is not battling anything it’s like the solely will part of his id was only highlighted and it doesn’t feel as personal as it would if it didn’t completely ignore how he’s a killer. That is also something that pissed me off. We all know who we are talking about when we mention hannibal lecter. Therefore i think that making his killings a little secret that is only gone over in subtext is pointless. Hannibal is only a shell of himself when you completely separate him from violence. One can separate the monster from the man but not without either part being unaffected by the other.

With wills characterization is a whole other thing. Wills character makes me genuinely so frustrated because it is just straight up not will graham. That is not the traumatized man being pushed to the edge by the fbi(and also had encephalitis but it hasn’t been explain how it would affect him on the levels it did in the show.) Will had just spent so much time in prison(still don’t know why) for crimes he did not commit and this time having no one to blame and no evidence to back it up. If anything he should’ve stayed non verbal much much longer. It make’s absolutely zero sense for him to have a few angsty monologues about his experiences in prison and that be it.

Another thing abour will is that he does not act like will in the first place. He is strangely much more casual and talks in ways i can’t picture coming out of wills mouth. He also acts so much younger. It’s not just that, he is portrayed as much younger. He is written as a lot younger and innocent and sometimes it is difficult for me to picture the real will graham whilst reading. I saw something about will being 29 during paragon. First off, ew please stop aging him down to make him more innocent it’s fucking weird. Also it’s just not possible. There is no way a 29 year old was in wills line of work unless he was young sheldon or someone. Seeing will aged down or infantilized always makes me feel really icky and that is exactly how paragon made me feel.

Will and hannibal are nothing like their actual characters and all of their interactions feel so awkward. Honestly every characters interactions feel unnatural and weird in this fic. This is mostly just me criticizing the quality of paragon but in my opinion it’s not good quality at all. The pacing makes absolutely no sense. This causes the characters to have no build up whatsoever and the only meaningful moments they have are just venting about shit. A lot of the times it doesn’t even make sense for them to be explaining how they feel because it’s either way too soon or completely out of the blue. It feels as if the story is attempting to have content but is failing. It is just poorly done form with out of place content and it’s pretty disappointing.

I knew when i picked up this fic i wasn’t going to get something life changing but more of a haha hannibal sex kinky sex hannigram sex yaoi smut sex haha. I honestly think it would be much more enjoyable for me if it was. I know that a lot of people really enjoy this fic and i don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I see the appeal as a “Oh this doesn’t have to be good it’s just for the silly.” Unfortunately it got on my nerves far too much to be that. One thing i have to say is why is this the bible. Can we pick a new bible like one thats actually good, just saying.

and he checks again with putting his torso forward and Hannibal recoils back a little bit (but stays put)

It shows that he is sensitive to Will's lead in their bodily geography. Will becomes more comfortable after the second check (maybe even aroused a bit, cause he feels in control)

All Will's dreams that include Hannibal, have an element of putting him in place permanently and Hannibal feeling okay with it, comfortable in Will's restraint, under his control.

Some may say that Will's s2 dreams are erotic, full of suggestive imagery.

well, so if we go all the way with this logic

On his knees, pinned, okay

Meeting Will for the first time in three years, freedom of movement only in his memory palace, glass wall, practically no agency at all. Greeting Will with his back and ass first okay

and hmmm

Will is more intense than Hannibal with his darker actions and manipulations while also being more removed when it suits him, watching people dangle and watching their reactions. Like a fisherman, he seems to favor reeling his prey in despite the risks they might see before gutting them— he enjoys having power over others in a way Hannibal doesn’t. His admission in episode two that killing Hobbs felt good and powerful and him saying he felt a “quiet sense of power” after killing Randall Tier demonstrate this. His multiple lucid visions of killing or hurting Hannibal while restraining him and binding the “firefly man” for his first tableau are potent examples.

Hannibal mutilates, manipulates, kills and tortures because it’s what will give him his desired “final product” for his tableaus or because he thinks something his victim did was unforgivable (or rather an erudite excuse to stretch his violent urges). It’s more about the result, the violence itself, the principle of the thing. But Will genuinely enjoys inflicting harm in a clearly sadistic way, beating armored Randall up with his bare fists, smirking openly while threatening Hannibal at gunpoint in his kitchen. He gets an emotional thrill from it that feels more illicit in its excitement.

Hannibal's choice to flee with Bedelia Du Maurier rather than alone is an act of mirroring his dynamic with Will. Bedelia, though a reluctant participant, becomes a placeholder for Will—a silent audience to Hannibal's "devouring" of Dr. Roman Fell's identity. Hannibal's actions in Florence, including his meticulous cooking scenes, echo his performance of love and violence for Will. The absence of Will here makes his presence even more palpable, as Hannibal shapes every moment in anticipation of their reunion.

Key Visual Motif:

Hannibal bathing Bedelia in the same golden, warm light that later envelops Will when they meet in Florence (Episode 6). It reinforces the idea that Bedelia is merely a stand-in for Hannibal's true obsession.

Mads Mikkelsen’s performance is a masterclass in restraint. His cold, calculating demeanor is punctuated by fleeting moments of vulnerability—tightened jawlines, prolonged stares—that hint at the emotional void left by Will.

Gillian Anderson’s nuanced performance is breathtaking. Her clipped speech and deliberate movements convey Bedelia’s struggle to maintain control in a situation where she’s perpetually outmatched

This episode is drenched in loneliness. Hannibal may surround himself with culture, fine dining, and intellectual conversation, but there’s a palpable emptiness to his existence. The absence of Will is felt in every frame, from the muted tones of Hannibal’s wardrobe to the haunting music that underscores his solitude.

I adore listening to him talk about the show sm.

My thoughts about this can be more or less represented as, Well, yes, kind of, but also not really, and also definitely not. All these pieces are disjointed from the development of the relationship in the context of the season itself, as well as the series as a whole.

First off, I don't think Hannibal was super excited about the decision to eat Will in the first place because the expression on his face when he's talking to Bedelia about it looks pretty sick to his stomach. In the scene itself he has kind of a mournful tone--tender sometimes, cruel others: a little angry, a little bitter, a lot regretful. He talks about it, how he's sorry to be leaving Italy because he would have liked to do some things for himself there, but mostly that he would have liked to show it to Will. So it's not a stretch to believe that Hannibal didn't really want to eat Will very much (except insofar as he's probably curious about eating most people just as a general rule of thumb, and ofc since this is Will eating him would probably be omg so much better than eating anyone, so there is that).

But the decision had been made. After all, he did have the location prepped with a bone saw all ready to go. He made the decision all the way back in "Secondo" when Bedelia helped him draw the connection between how his sister influenced him in ways he could not control to the way that Will influences him in ways he cannot control: from love, to betrayal, and thence into forgiveness. That Will, through his interactions with Chiyoh that reflected Hannibal's interactions with Bedelia, had come to his own version of the same conclusion that Hannibal came to--that each's influence on the other was so sufficiently out of control that the only way to end it was to kill (and in Hannibal's case, eat) the other--was of no particular consequence to Hannibal's choice, at least not in a cause-and-effect fashion.

Thus it is not a rejection on Will's side any more than it is for Hannibal: it is a gesture of their forgiveness. "You dropped your forgiveness, Will," remember? "You forgive how God forgives," he complains, in his usual hypocritical fashion (which Will turns around on him with the comment about God gloating, which of course Hannibal approves of, since they are each God in his mind). This is, God-like, forgiveness through retribution. Seeing it as rejection is far too sane and rational--and certainly far too conventional--for these two delicate creatures. Hannibal eating Will and keeping a part of him inside forever in the Hobbsean style of cannibalism, as he did with his sister, is an acceptance of how important Will is to him. On Will's side of things, choosing to kill Hannibal is the exact same gesture of acceptance: Will cannot reject Hannibal through the choice of killing, of all things, which is exactly what Hannibal influences him to do. As we see later in "Digestivo," Will can only reject Hannibal through choosing not to kill him. What happens in "Dolce" or any other point in time in S3 isn't ever a rejection (including the hug, I might point out)--not as long as Will is playing their zero-sum game. Not as long as violence is involved. Never forget that violence is love and sex and all things in between on Hannibal.

Thus they each must attempt to kill the other simultaneously because they are one, not in spite of it. Bedelia observes that "Will Graham is en route to kill you, while you lie in wait to kill him" as an extension of the conversation about the reciprocity inherent in Hannibal and Will's relationship. Everything they do, they do reciprocally, at least at this point. This is why they can have such a tender meeting below La Primavera before getting down to business: all the deceptions are gone, and they're both seeing each other with not just truly clear eyes, but truly appreciative eyes. They each can see how much they mean to the other just as much as each thinks the only path forward is to subsume the other in order to regain self-control. They each offer the other "understanding and acceptance," Jack explains to Pazzi, right as Hannibal and Will are coming to same conclusion to off each other. Will can no more reject Hannibal in this moment than Hannibal can reject Will because they are the same.

As for whether Hannibal was slowing the meal process to wait for someone to show up and stop him, we have to look at the evidence of both what Hannibal knows and whether what he knows observably influences his choices.

Hannibal may have been able to deduce that Bedelia would give him up to the Polizia just as he would count that she'd give his location to Jack, but he might not have--Bedelia's kind of a wild card in that fashion, and her choice to give him up seems to have been made specifically in exchange for the investigator telling her that he'd let her off the hook for her and Hannibal's crimes in Italy. If she had not been able to solicit that commitment for whatever reason, then there's no reason to think that she'd have betrayed their location. She wouldn't play her card without getting her win. So it seems unlikely to me that that could be something that Hannibal would be able to know confidently one way or another.

Even if he did, it's hard to see it in the scene itself. He does wait for Jack initially, but that's because Jack has an important role to play. Hannibal doesn't seem to be in any particular hurry in the scene even after Jack shows up, but then he never is, so that means nothing in itself. He doesn't really waste any time once Jack is there, either. He incapacitates Jack and drugs him (he needs to do that to ensure Jack will eat), finishes his mise en place while he waits for Jack to become coherent-ish, and then to be fair, it's pretty minimal conversation before breaking out the bone saw. Just a couple minutes. So there's no evidence in the scene itself to suggest delay, and a certain amount of evidence to suggest otherwise. If the show had wanted to demonstrate delay, it would have been prudent to write Jack getting to the table earlier in the episode, and then use their conversation to emphasize the delay, with more than one scene in the episode. They could cut the elevator scene without any significant bearing on the plot. God forbid they speed up a scene with Bedelia in it. xD

But I think the real reason I reject the notion that Hannibal was delaying is because Jack was there. Hannibal is the devil, his punishments are symbolic retribution, the three of them are literally there in Florence acting out their own version of the Inferno. Hannibal may have been eating Will's brain to try to regain his own peace of mind, but he was absolutely involving Jack in the action because Jack deserved it. He played: it's his time to pay. And it isn't like Hannibal to half-ass a murder dinner, especially if he has a guest. How rude that would be!

The original ask went:

Hi! I've wanted to write about this for a long time, and your blog seems like a safe space. Let me give you a heads up—I am not against shipping at all. I am aware of the antis in your ask box, but I promise I am not affiliated with them. This is just a friendly direction. So, if you are truly open to discussion, I want you to view Hannibal as a selfish, manipulative, and extremely violent person. Notice how he is power-hungry and wanted to keep Will in his chokehold, never viewing them as equals. Hannibal created this delusional image of Will in his mind and inserted himself into Will's delusional world. Look at his actions again in season 3. Can you point out one scene where you can write, "Oh yes, Hannibal loves Will"? The problem with the antis is that they are questioning Will's feelings for Hannibal when they should question Hannibal's feelings for Will. Hannibal only liked Will when Will behaved like Hannibal—notice that in season 2. Does it change your view on them now?

OP didn't have anything to say to this, and my response was critical of anon's choice to bring this to OP's inbox, but the relevant part of what I said to the current discussion included the following:

...the basic rule [of writing discourse] is--if you're the one to posit the claim, then it is your job to support it.... You can't possibly do the leg work needed here to give your side its due. This is such a hefty claim that you've posed--that Hannibal's worst personality defects negate any authenticity/sincerity in his emotional response to Will--that the support it needs is probably running in the 6k words range. Or more.

To which @melancholymournia responded:

Let's start a discussion then --

I believe Anon has a valid perspective. They were seeking opinions and I believe it's within their right to do so. Anon's main argument is that Crimson should view Hannibal as an antagonist, as he embodies a sinister role in the narrative. Hannibal's love for Will is portrayed as selfish, driven by desperation for understanding. Anon points out Hannibal's creation of a false image of Will in his mind, particularly evident in Season 1's exploitative and abusive behavior. Anon contends that Hannibal only appreciates Will when he mirrors Hannibal's actions,evident in s2 and Will's attachment stems from trauma and a sense of justice. Will attempted to kill Hannibal numerous times and even succeeded, but Hannibal's plot armor consistently saved him. Despite this, according to Bryan, it's "Will Graham's story," implying that Hannibal's eventual demise was always a possibility. Hannibal maintained manipulation over Will even in Season 3, from start to finish. People's justification of the Dolce scene and romanticizing the gallery scene surprises me, considering both instances involved plans for mutual harm. Despite Will expressing fatigue with the chase, questions about why he fell for Hannibal linger. After discussions, it became clear to me that his attachment wasn't love but a trauma response to his abuser. In Season 3, even when Will urged Hannibal to leave, Hannibal surrendered, manipulating the situation rather than acting out of genuine love. Hannibal caged himself to ensnare Will, who later moved on with a family, but the fandom struggled to accept it, mirroring Will's Stockholm syndrome-like attachment to Hannibal. Hannibal continued harming Will, sending the Dragon to kill Will's family to manipulate him into a meeting. Ultimately, Will chose death to escape both Hannibal and himself, feeling a resemblance to Hannibal in his mind. Throughout the seasons, Hannibal's actions show a lack of genuine love, portraying him as a greedy figure taking relentlessly from Will and ultimately causing his destruction.

I think this is a teachable moment about meta and what it needs to be successful. So this is my response--partially aimed at the content of what you've said here, and partially aimed at talking about meta itself and what it needs and how to do it justice.

https://www.tumblr.com/fannibalcascade/784306264270389248/why-do-you-think-will-rejected-or-will-reject

I hope this doesn't come out as harsh, but I think people are missing the whole point of the show if they think of what they are this way.

Will has always had the opportunity to be good. Yet we see him enjoying the bad, creating his own version of beauty step by step, tableaus equally beautiful and horrific.

You cannot find beauty in something (as claimed in the post you mentioned) and also reject it because you want to be good at the same time at your core. If one finds beauty in something, it merely means they resonate with it at their core. As simple as that. And Hannibal knows this perfectly.

This is a gothic story, not a fairytale of someone so innocent tempted by evil at the cost of losing himself in it. Not your everyday romance you see in novels, "You are bad for me but I love you so I have to let you go" kind of thing. Not the pretty, naive highschool chick who falls in love with the bad, bad boy in 12th grade who's an addict and wants her changed, so she has to let him go cause being with him means losing herself.

Eventually, Will has had the said sustainable, the safe. He had it for three years with Molly, and he had every single right and all the power to stick to it fiercely. He is already isolated enough to be away from Jack if he wishes to. And even if one claims he did it to be good cause his conscience would not have allowed him differently, then, remember that Will Graham never needed a Hannibal to guide him through cases or how he steps inside killers' minds.

Yet he grabs the first chance he gets to see Hannibal after three years of having a sustainable, safe """love""". You will not switch diets if the current one sustains you. You will not throw away the safety if you wish to remain safe.

With all this said, I do not mean to say Hannibal has not hurt or manipulated Will. He definitely has, and I don't think he'll ever stop (Which, lets be honest, Will always knew, and never had a problem with his nature in my opinion).

What makes Hannibal's presence so profound to Will is that he sees Will for what he is, for what he hides and hates in himself. Will does try his best to be good, yes, but every attempt is a bigger failure than the one before. Hannibal would have let go of Will way sooner if he merely wanted Will reshaped by his own will. There are a dozen more people looser than Will to be shaped by his hands.

What love does is to bare the person to you, make you love them, what they are and all their potential. Hannibal is not an idiot to waste three years and a possibility of a death penalty for another pawn in the game who is just a tad difficult to reshape. He wants Will free of what society has forced upon him, and (despite the two of them being so fucking selfish anyway) I think this is the most selfless kind of love cause it does not guarantee what you'll face once the person is freed.