overjoyed au history (full)
Mar. 6th, 2017 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
satingThe Lecter family has enjoyed many generations of notoriety and respect on Leith, having been one of the very first families generations ago to take land on the moon. The Lecter family had little prospects of becoming one of the powerful families of Qresh, and so they happily took their chance to take a more prosperous life on Leith instead. Many generations later, the Lecter family has benefitted from the choice, existing quite comfortably in the Quad's social standing. They're powerful enough to be respected, but not quite so powerful that the Nine on Qresh consider them any kind of threat. However, Hannibal's father and grandfather were especially proud of the Lecters' choice to take Leith as their home, and fell quite firmly into the nationalist sentiments of True Leithians, and their political and social involvement is what the previous generations of the Lecter family are largely known for.
However, their strong views caught up the the Lecter family when Hannibal himself was very young. Though the Lecter family was well-respected as a whole, it was hardly universal, and as some members of the family started to organize more movement to stake out their claims to Leith and drive others out, some took issue with this. Though the circumstances around the actual events that led to the apparent fall of the Lecter family are shrouded in rumor, scandal, and mystery, the fall itself isn't so shrouded. When Hannibal was eleven, an attack on the Lecter estate was carried out by a small cell of Resistance fighters who wanted to make sure that the Lecter's plans to expell "younger" Leithians and migrant works from Westerley wouldn't succeed. Hannibal's family was killed, but Hannibal and his younger sister, Mischa, were spared, at least for a time. While the Leithians were able to leave the estate, the workers from Westerley were effectively trapped on Leith, and held the two children captive hoping to bargain for their lives, but the Company wasn't willing to budge. Mischa eventually died of starvation, and the workers not only ate her, but also fed her remains to Hannibal. It wasn't long after this that he managed to escape, though these events were foundational to who he would become.
After escaping, Hannibal managed to contact surviving members of his more distant family that had married "up" a few generations prior and lived on Qresh. Though not officially adopted because of the political complications and consequences for doing so, Hannibal was taken in by his distant aunt and uncle and lived with them for the rest of his youth. His uncle died not long after Hannibal came to Qresh, but Hannibal was quite close to his aunt, Lady Murasaki. Lady Murasaki was largely responsible for his upbringing, manners, and love of the arts, which is why as an adult, Hannibal is well-known for his manners and sophistication. Hannibal was raised like a Qreshi in every way, including the fact that his closeness to Lady Murasaki was incestuously amorous. Yikes. He was in fact so close and devoted to her that it was an insult to her that inspired his descent into his secondary life. As a teenager, Hannibal not only murdered a man that insulted her, but this man was also the victim of Hannibal's first intentional act of cannibalism, as he ate the man's cheeks.
Being exceptionally intelligent and gifted as well as an attempt to escape any lingering consequences from his first murder, Hannibal took up his studies quite early and left Qresh to pursue a career in medicine. However, during his higher education, Hannibal also took it upon himself to close a chapter of his life that he still felt was left open. While pursuing his studies, he also pursued those that had killed his family. Over the course of a few years, Hannibal methodically tracked down the Leithians that had escaped, and one by one, he killed each of them and ate a part of them. Though he had killed before, it was through killing these people that Hannibal truly came to let go of his regrets not only for Mischa, but as a whole, and he discovered and accepted the fact that killing people made him feel quite good. It was the beginning of Hannibal's macabre hedonism.
As Hannibal finished his studies, he also went through the process of reclaiming his family's estate on Leith now that he was legally eligible to do so. After picking up a medical degree, Hannibal was also able to reclaim his family's estate, now the official head of the severely diminished family himself. Because of his upbringing on Qresh and his own personality, Hannibal was quickly able to reestablish the Lecter name, though it was one of his own image. The political leanings of the generations before him weren't present at all, and instead, Hannibal spent his life as a young adult establishing himself as a doctor and a socialite. While his practice of medicine started off as a general practice, Hannibal instead found it much more lucrative to work as a concierge doctor to the well-to-do of Leith and Qresh, and began this work when he was 35.
Of course, during this time and up to the present day, his violent delight never left and only evolved. Hannibal also volunteers his services on Westerley regularly, and on occasion, he'll kill a Westie and eat (or serve) them. He has a special fondness for throwing dinner parties, and while not all of them include people, some of them certainly do. Hannibal finds it delightful to feed a Westie to the people that metaphorically prey on them. The Enforcers of Westerley are aware that these murders happen irregularly (though not of all of them), and this serial killer is known colloquially as "the Ripper," though investigating to find the culprit has never turned Hannibal's way. After all, the bias of the Quad makes people assume that it must be a fellow Westie committing such crimes, and it's an assumption Hannibal takes advantage of.
Hannibal lived this life of decadence quite happily, taking pleasure in his practice and his indulgences equally, and by the age of 40, had truly established the Lecter family as a well-respected name once more. This was despite the fact that Hannibal himself was occasionally caught in minor scandals, being as close to the highest social circles of the Quad that he is. However, Hannibal enjoyed each one because he loves drama, but also because his sterling reputation meant that they were never more than juicy gossip at a party. Even so, Hannibal Lecter's greatest scandal was without a doubt Will Graham.
While Hannibal stuck largely to concierge medicine for the convenience, he also has a friendly relationship with the (relatively) local Leithian hospital. If a difficult surgery comes through their doors, Hannibal is sometimes called to lend his skill. Four years ago, Hannibal got such a call and was brought in to save an Enforcer's life after he was nearly gutted by a killer he was pursuing. However, while Will didn't know Hannibal, Hannibal certainly knew Will. Most of the Enforcers assigned to the case of the Ripper didn't take it seriously, Will not only did, but had gotten the closest of anyone by guessing that it wasn't a Westerlen that was committing the crimes. Hannibal saved Will's life, but also lingered a bit longer, since he wanted to speak with Will. It wasn't out of wanting to harm him or escape what he'd done, but out of simple curiosity.
In a fairly routine followup that Hannibal conducted with all of his patients, he realized that Will Graham wasn't a normal Enforcer. Quite the opposite, as he was gifted (or cursed) with a unique talent: an empathy so powerful that Will could feel the emotions of those around him as clearly as they could feel their own. Hannibal became intellectually fascinated with the idea of it and tended to Will with a bit more attention than he normally would, but as he got to know Will, it also became more of an obsession. In Will, Hannibal saw something that he hadn't seen in other's before: the idea that someone might understand him in all that he was, both good and bad.
Of course, Hannibal kept those bad parts to himself, because there's little more likely to drive someone away than the realization that they're the very serial killer that you had been pursuing. After Will left the hospital, it became something of a sensation in the gossip of Leith, since it was fairly well known that Dr. Lecter was often using his trips to Westerley to also visit one Westie in particular. Hannibal had a rather long courtship with Will, since he wasn't quite so readily accepting of the idea of his once-surgeon having a romantic interest in him, but after a few years that were significantly less bloody than the canon version, Will accepted (or tolerated) Hannibal's advances and the two of them started to date. It wasn't long after that Hannibal officially proposed, since as cliche as it was, he had known he wanted to be with Will as soon as he had realized that chance to be seen and understood.
Their "courtship" was passionate, at least in a atypical sense of the word. After all, Will is a good detective, and the longer he spent in the company of Hannibal, the more he started to see that things weren't completely right. Eventually, he was able to discover who (and metaphorically what) Hannibal truly was, including his proclivity for eating people. At first, Will pushed him away, but through Hannibal's sometimes violent but always manipulative continued advances, Will eventually decided that he would rather be happy and at peace than to try and continue to catch the Ripper he had been chasing after. It was a complicated decision for Will, but the truth of the matter was that he felt a connection to Hannibal too, and tolerating Hannibal's vicious hobbies made him happier than trying to do the right thing.
They've been married for two years by now, and though the scandal of the marriage is never fully gone and there are enemies and rivals of Hannibal's looking and hoping to exploit that obvious weakness, they've both settled into a quiet routine. Hannibal continues to maintain his spotless reputation as a wealthy, charismatic, and charitable socialite in the Quad, and his much more reclusive husband gets dragged to social events for appearances, but is almost universally known as unpleasant. It makes those seeking to exploit the weakness of a Leith-Westerlen marriage difficult, since Will himself is difficult. Even if they seem like quite an odd match of opposites, the two of them are quite happy, Hannibal especially so. Though very few know the extent of it, Hannibal Lecter is well known for his own brand of hedonism.
However, their strong views caught up the the Lecter family when Hannibal himself was very young. Though the Lecter family was well-respected as a whole, it was hardly universal, and as some members of the family started to organize more movement to stake out their claims to Leith and drive others out, some took issue with this. Though the circumstances around the actual events that led to the apparent fall of the Lecter family are shrouded in rumor, scandal, and mystery, the fall itself isn't so shrouded. When Hannibal was eleven, an attack on the Lecter estate was carried out by a small cell of Resistance fighters who wanted to make sure that the Lecter's plans to expell "younger" Leithians and migrant works from Westerley wouldn't succeed. Hannibal's family was killed, but Hannibal and his younger sister, Mischa, were spared, at least for a time. While the Leithians were able to leave the estate, the workers from Westerley were effectively trapped on Leith, and held the two children captive hoping to bargain for their lives, but the Company wasn't willing to budge. Mischa eventually died of starvation, and the workers not only ate her, but also fed her remains to Hannibal. It wasn't long after this that he managed to escape, though these events were foundational to who he would become.
After escaping, Hannibal managed to contact surviving members of his more distant family that had married "up" a few generations prior and lived on Qresh. Though not officially adopted because of the political complications and consequences for doing so, Hannibal was taken in by his distant aunt and uncle and lived with them for the rest of his youth. His uncle died not long after Hannibal came to Qresh, but Hannibal was quite close to his aunt, Lady Murasaki. Lady Murasaki was largely responsible for his upbringing, manners, and love of the arts, which is why as an adult, Hannibal is well-known for his manners and sophistication. Hannibal was raised like a Qreshi in every way, including the fact that his closeness to Lady Murasaki was incestuously amorous. Yikes. He was in fact so close and devoted to her that it was an insult to her that inspired his descent into his secondary life. As a teenager, Hannibal not only murdered a man that insulted her, but this man was also the victim of Hannibal's first intentional act of cannibalism, as he ate the man's cheeks.
Being exceptionally intelligent and gifted as well as an attempt to escape any lingering consequences from his first murder, Hannibal took up his studies quite early and left Qresh to pursue a career in medicine. However, during his higher education, Hannibal also took it upon himself to close a chapter of his life that he still felt was left open. While pursuing his studies, he also pursued those that had killed his family. Over the course of a few years, Hannibal methodically tracked down the Leithians that had escaped, and one by one, he killed each of them and ate a part of them. Though he had killed before, it was through killing these people that Hannibal truly came to let go of his regrets not only for Mischa, but as a whole, and he discovered and accepted the fact that killing people made him feel quite good. It was the beginning of Hannibal's macabre hedonism.
As Hannibal finished his studies, he also went through the process of reclaiming his family's estate on Leith now that he was legally eligible to do so. After picking up a medical degree, Hannibal was also able to reclaim his family's estate, now the official head of the severely diminished family himself. Because of his upbringing on Qresh and his own personality, Hannibal was quickly able to reestablish the Lecter name, though it was one of his own image. The political leanings of the generations before him weren't present at all, and instead, Hannibal spent his life as a young adult establishing himself as a doctor and a socialite. While his practice of medicine started off as a general practice, Hannibal instead found it much more lucrative to work as a concierge doctor to the well-to-do of Leith and Qresh, and began this work when he was 35.
Of course, during this time and up to the present day, his violent delight never left and only evolved. Hannibal also volunteers his services on Westerley regularly, and on occasion, he'll kill a Westie and eat (or serve) them. He has a special fondness for throwing dinner parties, and while not all of them include people, some of them certainly do. Hannibal finds it delightful to feed a Westie to the people that metaphorically prey on them. The Enforcers of Westerley are aware that these murders happen irregularly (though not of all of them), and this serial killer is known colloquially as "the Ripper," though investigating to find the culprit has never turned Hannibal's way. After all, the bias of the Quad makes people assume that it must be a fellow Westie committing such crimes, and it's an assumption Hannibal takes advantage of.
Hannibal lived this life of decadence quite happily, taking pleasure in his practice and his indulgences equally, and by the age of 40, had truly established the Lecter family as a well-respected name once more. This was despite the fact that Hannibal himself was occasionally caught in minor scandals, being as close to the highest social circles of the Quad that he is. However, Hannibal enjoyed each one because he loves drama, but also because his sterling reputation meant that they were never more than juicy gossip at a party. Even so, Hannibal Lecter's greatest scandal was without a doubt Will Graham.
While Hannibal stuck largely to concierge medicine for the convenience, he also has a friendly relationship with the (relatively) local Leithian hospital. If a difficult surgery comes through their doors, Hannibal is sometimes called to lend his skill. Four years ago, Hannibal got such a call and was brought in to save an Enforcer's life after he was nearly gutted by a killer he was pursuing. However, while Will didn't know Hannibal, Hannibal certainly knew Will. Most of the Enforcers assigned to the case of the Ripper didn't take it seriously, Will not only did, but had gotten the closest of anyone by guessing that it wasn't a Westerlen that was committing the crimes. Hannibal saved Will's life, but also lingered a bit longer, since he wanted to speak with Will. It wasn't out of wanting to harm him or escape what he'd done, but out of simple curiosity.
In a fairly routine followup that Hannibal conducted with all of his patients, he realized that Will Graham wasn't a normal Enforcer. Quite the opposite, as he was gifted (or cursed) with a unique talent: an empathy so powerful that Will could feel the emotions of those around him as clearly as they could feel their own. Hannibal became intellectually fascinated with the idea of it and tended to Will with a bit more attention than he normally would, but as he got to know Will, it also became more of an obsession. In Will, Hannibal saw something that he hadn't seen in other's before: the idea that someone might understand him in all that he was, both good and bad.
Of course, Hannibal kept those bad parts to himself, because there's little more likely to drive someone away than the realization that they're the very serial killer that you had been pursuing. After Will left the hospital, it became something of a sensation in the gossip of Leith, since it was fairly well known that Dr. Lecter was often using his trips to Westerley to also visit one Westie in particular. Hannibal had a rather long courtship with Will, since he wasn't quite so readily accepting of the idea of his once-surgeon having a romantic interest in him, but after a few years that were significantly less bloody than the canon version, Will accepted (or tolerated) Hannibal's advances and the two of them started to date. It wasn't long after that Hannibal officially proposed, since as cliche as it was, he had known he wanted to be with Will as soon as he had realized that chance to be seen and understood.
Their "courtship" was passionate, at least in a atypical sense of the word. After all, Will is a good detective, and the longer he spent in the company of Hannibal, the more he started to see that things weren't completely right. Eventually, he was able to discover who (and metaphorically what) Hannibal truly was, including his proclivity for eating people. At first, Will pushed him away, but through Hannibal's sometimes violent but always manipulative continued advances, Will eventually decided that he would rather be happy and at peace than to try and continue to catch the Ripper he had been chasing after. It was a complicated decision for Will, but the truth of the matter was that he felt a connection to Hannibal too, and tolerating Hannibal's vicious hobbies made him happier than trying to do the right thing.
They've been married for two years by now, and though the scandal of the marriage is never fully gone and there are enemies and rivals of Hannibal's looking and hoping to exploit that obvious weakness, they've both settled into a quiet routine. Hannibal continues to maintain his spotless reputation as a wealthy, charismatic, and charitable socialite in the Quad, and his much more reclusive husband gets dragged to social events for appearances, but is almost universally known as unpleasant. It makes those seeking to exploit the weakness of a Leith-Westerlen marriage difficult, since Will himself is difficult. Even if they seem like quite an odd match of opposites, the two of them are quite happy, Hannibal especially so. Though very few know the extent of it, Hannibal Lecter is well known for his own brand of hedonism.
