Will's Insight | Opt-In Post

[empathicfault]

In the series Hannibal, Will Graham is shown to have a unique ability- he calls it 'interpreting the evidence', whereas Hannibal calls it 'pure empathy'. It lets Will know what the people around him are feeling, often to Will's detriment. Will frequently appears to be overstimulated by the outside world, slumping in chairs and avoiding eye contact. He finds comfort in dogs and being alone.

However, this ability can often be extremely useful for determining motivations, desires, and fears. When he uses it at crime scenes, the series shows murders taking place as if Will were the culprit. He sees fantastical visions and metaphorical imagery as he places himself in his target's place, seeing the world as they see it.

I'd like to write out some of this imagery in narration as I roleplay, but I also don't want to infomod. So if you are interested in letting Will into knowing your character through this ability, please reply here.

What I'd like to know (feel free to copy+paste, or just write out what you'd like)--
<b>1. What would you like him to be able to suss out about your character? </b> He works in emotions, so fears, desires, motivations, immediate wants, all that sort of thing is good. <b>2. Is there a character trait or emotion you absolutely do NOT want brought up?</b> Will isn't magic and he's not always right with this ability. It's easy to veer off of any topic you might want to avoid. <b>3. Is there any visual imagery you associate with your character, and/or is there anything specifically that you'd like Will to visualize?</b> Sometimes he sees things that don't seem to make a whole lot of sense until later- I tend to interpret that as him integrating evidence that he hasn't logically noticed yet. <b>4. Any plot threads or development you'd like to actually get going through this mechanic?</b> Let me know, I'd love to plan with you! Will could be a good way to weasel info or feelings out of someone who would otherwise keep them hidden, if that's something you'd like. I'm also very happy to just see where things go.

Thanks, and please let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to know or talk over with you.

Comments

[empathicfault]

I can easily see Will getting confused by Sweeney's 'deal'. He's usually very sure in his visualizations, but since Sweeney has so many different ones I'd imagine Will might flop back and forth between them. Thanks for the clips! (and for filling this out, too) American Gods clearly has the same flair for visual imagery as Hannibal (more colors, even!), so that should be fun.

As far as botanical hallucinogens, that IS more of Hannibal's thing. However, Will is cataloguing 'tools' for later use (and possibly in the event that Hannibal ever shows up), so he would at least show some interest there. And yeah, Will is definitely going to relate to: a) Not being sure of who the heck you are, and b) Never catching a break.

[madaboutit]

Brian Fuller is the man, and you can 100% see his vibe all over the place in season 1. He left before season 2, but they still valiantly tried to keep it up. Watching it always makes me crave a Hannibal rewatch.

Whatever happens with Will and Sweeney, I'm confident it's going to be fun.

As a random aside, I have seriously considered playing that Hannibal before you arrived. I just couldn't figure out a 'path to redemption'. But much love, and who knows, I might still app in the future.

And two random clips of Brian Fuller alumni, who I love.

Scott Thompson (cw: gore)
Jonathan Tucker

[empathicfault]

Oh geez, I didn't even know he was responsible for American Gods (season 1 anyway). Well, no freakin' wonder! That's awesome. I really need to just watch everything Brian Fuller's ever done, clearly.

Ha, well- that is the sticking point, isn't it? A path to redemption with Hannibal would be rough. You ever figure it out, though? I'd love to see him. Maybe there'll be a 4th wall thing sometime or something?

[madaboutit]

I would absolutely play him in a 4th wall event. And I'll keep brainstorming a way to get him onboard. I would love to play him opposite Sweeney because they're SO different. And it would be amazing to get to play him with Will. They're just so complex together.