Fic rec - TKO

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: TKO

Author: sidnihoudini

Fandom: Hannibal (tv)

Rating: R

Pairing: past Will/Molly, Will/Hannibal

Warnings: canon-typical violence (including cannibalism), spousal/partner betrayal, infidelity, alcoholism, non-graphic sex (het)

Other notes: post canon, outsider POV, all the female characters, vignettes, divorce

Length: 17k

Summary: Molly deals with the aftermath. 

    Frowning, Molly turns to retrieve two mugs from the cupboard. As she slides them from the cupboard she asks, “You think they’ll come back?”

    “It isn’t likely they’ve left,” Freddie explains, eyes trailing over Molly’s hands as she sets the mugs down and pours their coffee. “Jack Crawford is looking for them in Florence. Hannibal’s ex-psychiatrist turned up a week ago missing a leg. You tell me what continent they’re on.”

    The mug Molly is holding clatters against the counter top loudly, and coffee sloshes everywhere.

    “Excuse me?” Molly finds herself laughing, sharp voiced and flabbergasted.She turns again, enough to see Freddie, smirking and staring back at her from the kitchen table.

 

My thoughts:

 

Oh my god. Sometimes I find a fic that just rockets up to the top of the queue because I’m just way too excited about reccing it.

Ok. Ok, in short: all the female characters. This is a fic about all the female characters in Hannibal, which, while more gender diverse than the original books and movies, is still very much about male homosocial relationships and male homoeroticism. 

Second: Will is a villain.

Oh, I have read a lot of dark!Will fics, canon and AU. I just recced one last week, in fact. I’ve seen Will get broken, abused, manipulated. I’ve seen him written as an unrepentant sociopathic serial murderer. But this is the first fic I’ve read in this fandom where I really saw Will as a genuine villain, and I kind of despised him. 

Apparently partner betrayal is my line in the sand. I’m okay reading excessive gore, but emotional manipulation —

Ah.

Emotional manipulation of an unwilling partner. I suppose technically most Hannibal fics involve emotional manipulation. In fact, wasn’t I just saying how refreshing it was to see Will and Hannibal on even ground, up to and including manipulating each other, betraying each other? 

But the thing is — Will and Hannibal are both very strong characters. Well, Will gets, ah…woobiefied? Do we still use that word? He gets broken down a lot more, sometimes rendered completely helpless, and yet those depictions didn’t crawl under my skin like this fic does. Some of it is that, yeah, I do believe Will is a strong character, so having him rendered weak still feels like it’s kinda okay? Oh, man. This is why I write recs. I know what I feel, but why do I feel it? Why does this fic make me hurt?

Perhaps it’s the realism. Hannibal is, after all, a very surreal series. Hannibal is nearly supernatural in his abilities. Will’s “empathy” borders on being a magic power. But Molly — Molly is a normal person stuck in a horror movie. Ain’t nothing supernatural or superhuman protecting her. Just —

Just the knowledge that her partner, who she trusted, who she married, who she trusted with her child, was a monster. I must admit, I’m really not into true crime. There’s a sense of voyeurism that makes me a bit uncomfortable, and, oddly enough for a Hannibal fan, I actually have a bit of a weak stomach. I get queasy watching CSI and the like, and true crime is even worse, because I know it really happened somewhere out there. I can watch Jason Vorhees kill people, but I won’t touch a NSFL video. Though sometimes you can’t avoid it —I’m in California, and recently they caught a serial murderer/rapist, the Golden State Killer, after like 30 years, and it was huge news. That guy had a wife. He had children. There are —like, there are family stories, the ones you don’t understand until you grow up, when you realize “died in an accident” was actually “committed suicide,” or “sudden illness” was “died of AIDS,” or “working out of the country” meant “abandoned the family,” or “not welcome at Christmas” meant “keep away from young children.” It happens. It happens a lot. And you’re just left there, thinking, did I ever really even know this person? Could I have helped them? Would it have been better never to know them? How could I not see it? 

That horror is what this story is built on. It’s just — shoot, I think I need to use the word visceral again. I haven’t used that for a few weeks, I hope. Gut-punching, nauseous, helpless. 

And in any other fic, Will taking control of his own destiny and running off to be happy with Hannibal would be a happy ending. In fact, it is the happy ending of every other Hannibal fic I’m reccing right now.

Here, it’s a horror story. 

Hard to pick just one segment I enjoy, but:

“I have wanted nothing more than to eradicate Will’s presence from my life,” She replies, voice sharp, soft. Bedelia blinks back at her, mouth curved up into a delicate smile. “But I have people -official people from the FBI - asking me to leave my door unlocked, should he decide to come home on a whim. I have a son, who has to answer questions I can’t even wrap my head around because I can’t be there to protect him every moment of every day. I am fully aware that the only reason I’m alive is because Will wants it that way. Never, ever ask me if I am seeking Will out, because I am still living with him every single day. I can’t get away from him.”

Oh, oh. If that doesn’t sum up how hard it is to get away from the ghosts of your past in a line. Fff, I have a sudden urge to listen to My Immortal. Cheesy, but still has that emotional punch. 

Did I mentioned all the female characters are in here, and every voice is unique? Perpetrators, victims, people eager for more, people resigned, people who want to get away. When Jack shows up, I legit wanted to throw him out of the story. Jack is always a colossal asshole, but especially here — it’s like, you feel even more intrusive than usual, interrupting all this wonderful female interaction with your bullshit. GTFO, Jack. 

This is also another fic, like Graduation Day, where I wonder, is this a genfic? Because romantic relationships are driving a lot of the plot— Hannibal and Will lurking in the background with their grand love story, Molly struggling with her relationship with Will, Reba and her relationship with Francis, even a bit of Alana and Margot. Romantic relationships are a big part of this fic, and yet I would think this is more gen than anything. People are talking about love and loss, but no one’s really in love. 

I dunno how to wrap this up. Read the fic. It’s amazing and heartbreaking and a bit nausea-inducing (in the best way. Just a truly nasty queasy feeling expressed through text. Lovely.)

 

(Looking for more fic recs?)

Originally crossposted on tumblr and pillowfort on 11/04/18