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ghostdrinkssoup · 2 years

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hi hello tumblr dot com, can we unpack will and hannibal’s character introductions?

trick question and I don’t care: we’re unpacking this whether you like it or not <3

for the people who wanted to be tagged here you are: @forgivenessishisdesign @kitzual

so anyway last night I rewatched apéritif and now that I know how the series ends a lot of small details stuck out to me. there’s so much content to pick apart that I’m actually losing my mind a little so I’m gonna divide my thoughts into two parts because this is going to be long. first we’ll do will’s introduction, then in the next post I’ll write about hannibal’s

EDIT: you can find part two (hannibal’s introduction) here :)

with that being said, let’s get started

will:

as far as character introductions go, will’s is so perfect to me that I need to dedicate some time just to infodump about it. let it be known that I am obsessed with this scene. there is so much packed into literally only four or so minutes and it’s glorious

funnily enough it’s pretty simple: the scene opens with a flashback. will is depicted recreating a crime scene using his empathy disorder (although audiences are not aware of his empathy yet) and ends with him returning to the present, where he’s lecturing his students about psychoanalysing serial killers, using the case as an example. that’s it. but the scene does everything it needs to do

an effective opening should tell you:

1) the rules/qualities of the world (which can either be exceedingly normal or very bizarre depending on the nature of the story’s subtext and extended metaphor)

2) the protagonist’s worldview, thus foreshadowing the nature of their arc

3) depict theme and raise thematic questions

4) and set-up the climax of the story, which should ideally mirror the opening so that we’re left with a circular narrative

by opening with will’s empathy we are immediately shown that this is a normal part of the story-world even if it’s fantastical by nature. it’s something will can do and that’s just how it is. it’s important that this is the first thing we see because his empathy serves a plot, character, thematic, and genre purpose. it’s a device, as well as an integral part of the show’s subtext and extended metaphor. it automatically puts him on an axis between empathy and psychopathy, or rather, humanity and monstrosity. even before we’re introduced to hannibal himself this is clear through a study of visual contrasts, since in the same instance we’re introduced to the concept of “empathy”, will is taking on the role of the killer, coldly explaining how he murdered the victims bleeding out at his feet. this is the first murder we see in the show, meaning, by proxy, will is the first “killer” we see as well, even if he’s just recreating the scene. we never see who killed mrs marlow, and so the only impression we have of this killer is will’s face. this sets up the structure of s1, since each murder reveals more about will himself, but I digress

and sure, the precision of his empathy is exaggerated and unrealistic, but we believe it a) because it’s the first thing we learn about him and is an unquestionable part of the story-world and its logic and b) because it adheres to its genre (crime/gothic horror). the gothic horror aspect in particular justifies the phantasmagoric, almost supernatural nature of will’s empathy, as well as it’s visual aesthetic (it’s represented through a hypnotic, pendulum type swinging motion). the gothic deals with topics of transgression, the unnatural or unexplainable, and most importantly the unknown. even if the show’s gothic elements aren’t exactly clear yet, the opening certainly maintains this tone. it’s why when the show moves away from the standard crime procedural structure, it’s not exactly jarring or beyond audience expectations (even unconscious ones)

but in all honesty, what really stands out about this scene is what will tells his students after. there are five elements fixed into the few lines he says (which I’ve highlighted below) and it’s all that’s needed to tie the scene back to theme and the show’s main through line

the first thing will says after he’s finished recreating the crime scene, returning to the present and leaving the killer’s mind, is “everyone has thought about killing someone, one way or another.” if the initial flashback worked to place empathy and psychopathy on a conceptual axis, paradoxically blurring the line by contrasting what we know about will vs what we see of will, then the above dialogue blurs everything even further. according to will’s worldview he, and as a result normal people in general, all think monstrous things. therefore, we all have the capacity to understand monsters

to will, humanity is not divorced from monstrosity

this is immediately followed by “be it your hand or the hand of god” introducing a new dimension for us to work with: man vs monster vs god. this gives his initial worldview a righteous edge. here we have a character who understands humanity’s capacity for violent thought, but it’s rendered through a type of divine justice. for him, there must be reason and meaning behind violence. better still, he would prefer it to be righteous. this of course sets up much of his dynamic with hannibal. they talk about religion a lot in the show. lines that immediately come to mind are “killing must feel good to god, he does it all the time” “is this meal an act of god, will?” “did god feel good about that? (violence)” “he felt powerful” etc. I think there’s also something to be said about how by thematically juxtaposing humanity with god, the concept of fate and free will also becomes implicit. we all think about killing, sometimes we choose to do it ourselves and sometimes god does it for us. who has power here? when does it stop being righteous? can one take on the role of god when killing? and if one does take on the role of god, would all blame be erased?

after this is: “now think about killing mrs marlow. why did she deserve this?” now we’re directly tying will’s dialogue to the flashback. to will, the death must have meaning. not only that, but for the perpetrator this must be righteous in some way. why did she deserve it? this line also adheres to the show’s genre and its conventions: this is a crime show, which means we’re exploring justice and injustice. again, thematic opposites. but, as he’s done the entire time he’s been on screen so far, will keeps blurring the line between these distinctions

he then says “tell me your design” which, as we all know, is a significant motif in the show. he says this all the damn time, after every murder. again, this brings forth the idea that the murders must have some kind of deeper meaning, psychological or perhaps even creatively. after all, “design” is an interesting way to phrase this. it sounds artistic, purposeful, imbued with meaning. however, the exact meaning of this is only cemented when he follows it with “tell me who you are”

“tell me who you are” is arguably the most important part of this entire sequence because, first and foremost, this show is about identity, specifically will’s identity. he recontextualises everything he just said in that moment, as well as the flashback we watched moments earlier. the design, the intent, the act of murder, and whether it’s divine or monstrous or purely human, is all linked to one’s identity. by understanding the murder, we understand the man. further still, there lies hidden commentary on one’s moral choices, as well as how autonomy fuels self-empowerment: we will understand who will is once he makes a choice to secure his own autonomy and power, which he does in the wrath of the lamb

it’s why he struggles to make solid choices all throughout the show, and why the specific choices he makes are so important, because whatever he authentically chooses to do will reveal who he is, no matter how hard he tries to hide from himself. he chooses to kill hobbs. he chooses to warn hannibal and gets his stomach split open in the process. if he hadn’t been so indecisive, he would’ve chosen to run away with hannibal too. he chooses to follow him to italy. and finally, he chooses to break him out of prison. because ultimately, once cannot change their nature. you cannot reduce him to a set of influences. he’s not a product of anything. he has his own design

and in hindsight, the questions raised here concerning will’s nature is resolved the moment he chooses to take hannibal down with him. the ambiguity of the resolution recalls the conflict between fate and free will, justice and injustice, and humanity and monstrosity (as set up in the opening scene) since although will actively chooses to drag them down the cliff, and as a result chooses loving hannibal over everything else, something he can’t really control anyway, he simultaneously leaves their fate up to god. it’s an act of faith. in that moment, when will finally seizes power and recognises who he is, accepting hannibal as his natural equal, his hand becomes the hand of god. in a final coin toss, will puts their lives in his own hands, and hannibal lets him do it anyway

#apéritif my beloved #listen I know the fall can be interpreted however you want #but I really really love the metaphorical approach #literal fall from grace AND the coin toss like AAAA IT LINKS BACK TO THE OPENING #all this finding empowerment through choice while paradoxically being unable to choose who you fall in love with (a loss of control)#really does speak to its queer themes too #like I’m sorry but this show is so queer dudes it’s not even coded it’s just there #I know cishet people probably don’t see it as clearly but it’s so obvious to me #anyway #I have more thoughts but this was getting wayyyy too long so we’ll talk about hannibal another time #probably tonight tbh NSBSHDH #I added pictures to this one just for fun <3 #my meta is evolving #but yeah I love will graham man he’s such a great character #hannibal #nbc hannibal #will graham #hannigram #hannibal meta #ghost speaks

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syxnewt · 8 days

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okay this is my valorant oc her name is accord and she is a menace to society :3

i tried something new with the shading here so i hope it looks good

#my art #valorant #okay here is an explanation of her abilities #COINFLIP - EQUIP a coin. FIRE to send it forward causing accord to appear at the location it lands. HOLD FIRE to extend the range of the co #n #SHINY - EQUIP a coin. FIRE to toss the coin a short distance forward. The coin will nearsight all enemies who look at it #FIND A PENNY - EQUIP a coin. FIRE to place on the ground. when an enemy steps on the coin it will reveal their location until removed. the #coin can be picked up and redeployed #LIFETIME DEAL - EQUIP a coin. when in range of an enemy fire to toss them the coin and convince them to join your side (only for that round #the enemy can harm their teammates but no longer harm your team and their teammates can harm them. your team cannot harm the affected enem #and that would cost 8 points but honestly 9 would work better #but i mean since clove's ult is only like 7 i dont think 8 is so bad #she'd pull the cartridges out of her pockets i guess i didnt really think about that #her backstory is basically she found a pouch of magic coins (an artifact like harbor's bracelet) and people who see them are obsessed #since she has the pouch she is immune but that's why shiny and lifetime deal work #since people love the coins so much they'd do anything to have them #OH also uh i think she's an initiator? maybe a sentinel i don't know #this feels more initiator-y to me but like idk #i just made her because i thought it was cool #valorant oc

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swinging-stars-from-satellites · 3 months

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Alright make up my mind for me

like I LIKE the background bits I've got written but I feel like it's cluttering the essay as a whole so. I do not know.

#Lu rambles #lftos essay #this doesn't really require any of said context just like. what do you think would be more effective #the essay is more about the lyrics than the actual guys themselves I just need to explain the importance of the lyrics. yknow??#bc I'm talking about their personification of death and thus the best buy incident and how it echoes in their lyrics since then #anyway. help me figure it out. I may not go with the results this is kind of just a coin toss to help me figure out what I actually #want to do

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texts-from-last-ninth · 5 months

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[Mercymorn Font: (415): He wouldn’t know a good thing if it bit him on the ass. Which, btw, I did.]

#The Locked Tomb #Harrow the Ninth #Mercymorn #John Gaius #or #Augustine the First #415 #mercymorn might hate the sexy parties but if she's involved they'd better fucking appreciate her talents #just living life perpetually offended #yes she's 10000 years old or whatever and has committed atrocities she can never reconcile #but also there's a version of mercymorn that had access to twitter #so it's really a coin toss over who's living their worse life

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roguerambles · 7 months

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I can't decide who will win Apollo vs Leonidas.

My gut is saying Leonidas will win, because I'm convinced "the greek gods have lost every round they've fought in" is going to be relevant in the story in some way.

On the other, it could just be LEADING us to think that, and Apollo will buck the trend.

OR MAYBE, they'll kill each other? I'm genuinely curious as to what a tie would mean for Ragnarök. Do both sides score a win? Is the whole round void?

I DON'T KNOW AND I WANNA KNOW, DAMN IT--

#record of ragnarok #shumatsu no valkyrie #ror apollo #ror leonidas #its really a coin toss at this point #ngl I want Leonidas to win #snv apollo #snv leonidas

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spicedfink · 6 months

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Break down of Lumpy Space Princess (or something? Idk)

LSP is one of the few characters we know the age of being listed as 15 when Finn was 12/13 so we know by the finale she's 19 or 20 years old

The basic time line is that she lived in lumpy space and only visited Ooo every now and then before getting into an arguments with her parents and running away to prove she can make it on her own

LSP then spends a good chunk of her teenaged years living out in the woods

LSP has complained about her parents through out the series and even gone as far as to compare them to monsters in her Fionna and Cake fanfic - the show frames these complaints as unreasonable. The problem with this is that children rarely act out for no reason and she continues to resent them even when she's had time and distance away from them

Her parents think she acts out on purpose - this sort of mentality made LSP feel like they saw her as a villain and was extremely frustrating since she didn't actually understand what she was doing wrong

Her parents are at the very least don't know how to meet her needs at worse are intentionally abusive towards her (there isn't really enough shown of them to determine a solid placement)

LSP has a hard time understanding how her actions effect others and is easily upset when people express displeasure with her - either from the delay between her actions and their reactions or she has a knee jerk stress from past experiences (probably from authority figures)

LSP is deeply insecure. Her insecurities can be seen in cases like risking life and limb for a plump lip potion, punching herself smooth for "the nice king" and when she asked Finn and Jake to preform plastic surgery on her to make her hot

Her confidents isn't faked however, her desire to change isn't based on how she actually feels about her body but instead based on wanting to be liked by others - a theme in LSP's story is wanting to be liked by others (especially romantically) Even though they don't really change how they draw the characters much it could also be implied that LSP's insecurities came from the changes her body had during puberty

But also Brad messed her up. They had an on again off again relationship where Brad would date her friends to make her jealous and ignore her boundaries and yet LSP spends years focusing on their relationship. He's a creep who tore LSP down and made her think she was somehow underserving of anything better

When LSP got with Johnnie it showed her as really supportive and loving, the second she was flirting with someone who actually liked her back it went smoothly things only went wrong when Johnnie said she couldn't go to the dinner because it's a private business dinner with PB. She immediately thinks PB is trying to steal him from her, this is a clear reflection of her trauma from having Brad betray her trust and playing with her feelings so much

Side note on "Bad Timing" PB threaten to go to war with lumpy space because LSP was being rude despite knowing full well LSP has very little if anything to do with lumpy space's politics at this point (girl is homeless and PB is treating her as if she's a spoiled brat with a sliver spoon in her mouth)

I'm going to have to mention "Breezy", I know we want to collectively ignore it but I want to make a point about what this suggest about LSP's character. Her actions are a reflection of her own boundaries having been crossed repeatedly through out her life and she was told by the people crossing them that they weren't doing anything wrong which leads to her thinking that's what normal people do. It doesn't make it right but it's insight towards her world view where she rather see it as normal behavior then accept that people she cared for didn't care about hurting her

On how LSP communicates with others, she knows that other people don't say what they mean and that she is suppose to read between the lines but she doesn't know how so that leads to misunderstandings as she fills in the blanks (alt she's filling in the blanks based on lumpy space's social norms and can't wrap her head around Ooo having different ones) I think the best example is in "Gatcha" when she assumes Finn is in love with her because he's being nice to her and ignoring the part where she's flirting with him (he isn't taking her too seriously and doesn't know what she's talking about) The problem is others don't try to talk to her in a way she can understand: they get annoyed, frustrated or feel it's pointless so they ignore her. They yell and lecture at her for doing things wrong (she can't understand what people are trying to tell her when they lecture). Or they walk on eggshells and treat her like she'll go off at any random little thing, they just go along with what she says to keep her happy or go out of their way to make sure she doesn't get frustrated because they don't want to deal with her

The exception is Marceline. In "Princess Day" Marceline compliment LSP showing an appreciation for her bad girl behavior, she doesn't tell her she was in the wrong and supports her actions. This leads to them taking things too far but at no point does Marceline shame LSP for it, Marceline also owns up to her own part in the escalation. When LSP expresses concern about if these actions mean they're bad people Marceline doesn't dismiss LSP's feelings on this, she instead explains her own view saying she doesn't think there's such a thing as a "bad person" and that people just make mistakes. This was the first time LSP was able to explore her own guilt without being shamed or told she hadn't done anything wrong. Marceline supported and validated LSP's feelings through out the episode. This was the kind of support LSP needed the entire time but this is the first time she actually got it

LSP wouldn't have been able to grow as a person without that connection. Up until that point LSP had been become more and more detached from others, lashing out with emotional fits. After becoming friends with Marceline however she seemed to regulate and truly mature

One thing that reflects her growth is in her date with Lemongrab, when he gets up to leave she says he's afraid of intimacy, which while this shows she's still putting words in other people's mouths at this point there is a key difference in the words she using and even the tone of voice she says them. She says it as if she feels genuine concern for him, it's not indigent or aggressive it's soft. And she isn't talking about how his actions reflect on her looks but instead she thinks it's an insecurity he's feeling. She wants him to be able to face this supposed fear not because she feels cheated out of her date but because she doesn't want him being personally held back by it (Lemongrab doesn't actually have this issue)

You can also see growth in the Elementals episodes where she's the calmest she's ever been towards Finn. She's still hitting on him (I'm assuming it's a reflection of the fact she thinks everyone else is stuck in these changed forms and is seeking comfort via romantic escapism)

The finale shows her growth the most. She went to war to aid PB compare that to when LSP barely helped Finn cure Jake and treated it like a huge inconvenience that she isn't responsible for (despite them needing a cure because she accidently bit Jake)

Marceline is LSP's closest friend but Turtle Princess is LSP's BFF Turtle Princess and LSP can talk for hours, they listen to the other info dump and love trashy books, romance and gossip. They have trouble talking about other things and both become uncomfortable if they try. Turtle Princess thinks LSP is really hot and cool and looks up to her a lot. LSP thinks Turtle Princess is also hot and cool and will hype Turtle Princess up all the time

In summary, I think she has a lot of trauma and made a lot of bad decisions but is able to grow once she has a support system with friends who actually care about her

#I don't know how to organize my thoughts and a lot happens in the series #If I mixed things up or misremembered the timeline it's because it's all mushed together #I'm not looking at the comics or games just the show #Finn and LSP are two sides of the same coin in some ways #I have a lot of mix feelings on LSP cause when I was a kid my dad would compare me to her cause I didn't like her/she made me uncomfortable #and I still really don't like some of her actions #right now it's a toss up on if I still dislike her as a character or now like her #these toss ups usually land on me loving the character in question #I just love underdogs/characters that are unjustifiably picked on #adventure time #lsp #lumpy space princess #lumpygrab

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monstrousproductions · 1 year

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hi! hope you're having a good week. i absolutely love your podcast, it's one of my all time favourites of all time :) feel free to disregard this question, but are you comfortable disclosing, however vaguely, how much money the podcast made you? if it made you money at all, i have no idea about the costs involved in running a podcast. but yeah i love our presenter so much, i already know i'm going to miss new monstrous agonies drop day once it's over!

Thank you so much, I hope you're having a lovely week as well! And thanks for your kind words about the podcast - don't tell anyone but it's one of my all-time favourite too 😉

Your question got away from me a little, so my apologies if this is way more detail than you were looking for! But I think in audio drama in particular, and in creative industries in general, we really don't talk about money enough! If any other creators want to chime in, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

The cost of running a podcast like MA is very low in terms of actual cash. Aside from the first lot of equipment I bought - a mic, an audio interface, a mic stand and some cables, all coming in at about £180 total - any money I've spent has been on nice-to-haves rather than absolutely necessary outlays, like upgrading my mic set-up and building a little IKEA-hack recording booth over the summer, or paying for a domain name and email.

All this to say, my costs are a little higher than they need to be because I'm bougie 💅😌 If you're wondering what the hard, necessary costs of running a show like MA would be without those choices, it's really very low once you've got a semi-decent mic and built your recording booth blanket fort.

As for how much money it's made me, accounting for those expenses which off the top of my head I'd round up to about £1000, then MA has made me approximately £3000 since November 2020 - obviously with fewer people on the Patreon etc at the start, and more now. I'm sitting at about £250 a month from Patreon right now, which is absoutely incredible to me, and makes up a decent chunk of my actual living expenses. Thank you, everyone who pledges! 💖

However, the main thing I think people forget when they're thinking about money and podcasting is that old adage, time is money. I'm a freelancer and I work from home, so I can be very flexible about when I do MA work and when I do paid work. But the time I spend in the booth recording, or editing episodes, or even on social media (hello!) is all time that I'm not spending on actual billable hours.

Personally, that works out fine for me. I'm outrageously, stupendously lucky in terms of my financial stability, and am in a position where I can say, yeah, I'll work part-time for money and spend the other hours in the week making a podcast, knowing that the vast, vast majority of my audience isn't going to be able to/want to support me financially. (For context, MA is sitting at around 350,000 total downloads right now. If everyone gave me £1 every time they listened to an episode..... 😅)

Also, MA is a relatively time-cheap show to make. I spend about a day writing, and then the actual recording, editing and posting might take another 6hrs total? So two "lost" paid working days a week, basically.

But like... have a wee think about how bare bones MA is. Up to 50% of each episode could be written by submitters, and the rest is very formulaic and easily repeatable. It's a single voice production, with a couple of scraps of music and no sound design whatsoever, if I can help it! And the episodes themselves are only 15 minutes long, cutting all your recording and editing times right the way down.

So, let's say you're a podcaster who doesn't have the freedom and flexibility that I do with regards to your day job, and you don't have the comfy cushion of savings to cover upfront costs, and you don't live somewhere with a low a cost of living as Belfast, and you want to make a show that isn't so (intentionally!) stripped back and minimal... 😬

People like to say that podcasting has a really low barrier for entry and that's true to an extent - "all you need is a mic". But I think we do everyone a disservice if we don't look seriously and honestly about the financial costs involved - including time spent on unpaid work!

All this to say, I am so enormously grateful to everyone who is able to support MA financially, whether that's with the occasional fiver on ko-fi or a regular pledge on Patreon. It really does all add up, and it makes a real, genuine difference to my daily life. £250 a month is more than I hoped to make, and I'm really thankful for everyone who has contributed.

And if you do have an extra couple of quid burning a hole in your pocket, do consider supporting the creators you love 💖🥰

#monstrous askbox #necessary disclaimer that i KNOW not everyone can support creators in this way!#supporting them by sharing your love of their art is really really important and helps a lot #monstrous agonies #podcasting #audio drama #toss a coin to your podcaster etc etc

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