Eryn
A Hannibal and Hannibal Extended Universe (HEU) Enthusiast
Twitter: @xmh_4lx • Insta: @xmh.4lx • Bluesky: @xmh-4lx
Anushka Bidani: What made you first start a fan page for Hannibal?
Eryn: Back in 2020 I was working remotely and needed something to watch during the day, so when I saw that Hannibal had just been added I decided to start a rewatch. I had watched and loved it when the show aired back in 2013-2015, but it had been a while since my last viewing. As soon as I started the rewatch, I was hooked again, and it was all I had on for 40 hours a week while working in a constant rotation.
Soon I realized I needed to dive deeper, so I started looking into fanfics and art which lead me to Twitter where I was surprised to find a super active and large community of Fannibals. I figured this would be a good spot to quietly experience the discussions and works being created. I wasn’t expecting much interaction since this was my first Twitter account and I had no idea how any of it worked. It somehow escalated into me creating my own art, writing fics, chatting with some wonderful Fannibals and even helping to launch TrendHannibal here on Twitter.
AB: What’s TrendHannibal?
E: TrendingHannibal (@TrendHannibal) is a fan page on Twitter that @jennaraeisley, @ripleymargot and me started as a way to organize events and rewatches to get Hannibal to trend. We also host polls and giveaways throughout the year to celebrate all things Hannibal!
AB: You are a beautiful artist. What inspired you to create fan art for the show?
E: You’re way too sweet! I still don’t see myself as an artist, so it always makes me blush when people enjoy what I create. Growing up, I had always loved to doodle but I ended up going to school for graphic design over traditional art, so I actually stopped drawing for many years.
When Hannibal came back into my life, I wanted another way to share all the scenes in my head outside of writing. My vibe is usually on the less serious side of the fandom, and I feel art helps me express my more ridiculous ideas because visual media gives a different experience.
Hannibal was a great excuse to get back into drawing and push myself to grow. The fandom is full of so many amazing artists that it wasn’t hard to find the inspiration all around me.
AB: What attracted you to the Hannibal/Will relationship?
E: The darkness surrounding Hannigram’s relationship has always been a draw to me. In most media the ‘good’ character tries to change the ‘bad’ about their partner, but not here. From day one, Hannibal tries to pull out the underlying darkness from within Will for him to embrace. Will fights it of course, giving us the delightful push and pull between the two over the course of the show.
AB: Your username now also reads – Prince Char Fanclub. How did your interest expand from Hannibal into Enchanted and, from what I’ve seen, to Gellert Grindelwald?
E: Hahah yes it does! I always have it as something Char or Gellert related.
After rewatching Hannibal for the 200th time, I started seeing people discuss something called “SpaceDogs” and I was curious since it looked like Hannigram but certainly was not. That’s when I met the Hannibal Extended Universe (HEU) and fell in love. It’s such an interesting and unique concept that I had never seen before which allowed for so much exploration/interpretation within the fandom.
After a few months, I had sailed many ships like Tristahad, BlackWolves and SavageFantome, but none felt like they were 100% what I was looking for. That was until Mads was announced as Gellert. Within hours he was paired with Char, and I found my OTP in EnchantedBeasts. Char had been my favorite in the HEU for some time since I love fairy tales and Disney movies, but now that he had a dark wizard counterpart, I was ecstatic.
I could go on for hours about how they are perfect for each other but at their core they share a similar aspect of light/dark with Hannigram which is a favorite trope of mine.
Fact 1: Gellert hates the sun. Fact 2: Char loves to play mermaids.
AB: You’re right – the Hannibal Extended Universe is a very unique concept. Mostly because it’s only production companies choosing what becomes the ‘extended universe’, but here the fans have taken the calls themselves. Do you have any insights on how this happened?
E: I believe it all started from Fannibals wanting to explore Mads and Hugh’s other projects after falling in love with him in Hannibal (or even before). Soon, pairings were being shipped across movies and shows, linking the characters in unimaginable yet creative and enticing ways. I think the freedom to find one’s own stories within the provided ‘framework’ of the characters/settings of the HEU is what makes it so powerful in the fandom. Even though these projects have been produced by companies who had the final say on the product, the fans have taken that and created even more vast worlds and lore for even the smallest of character roles to the point of them outgrowing their original forms. The HEU has expanded alongside Mads and Hugh’s acting credits over the years, but as long as the fandom keeps creating, the HEU will knows no bounds for years to come.
AB: I know Bryan Fuller (creator of Hannibal) is very active in the fandom. Has he ever engaged with the HEU?
E: I haven’t seen him interact with the HEU much myself (though he did like one photo of Elias from Men & Chicken where I insinuated I was jealous of the chicken… so he definitely knows what we are talking about lol) but he is still very active on discussions of Pushing Daisies and other past projects of his so I believe he will interact with the HEU more once Dust Bunny is released. I’m sure he will be delighted to see the ships and art the fandom will bombard him with once we get even a trailer for the film.
AB: Do you only like their on-screen characters, or do you also keep up with Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy IRL?
E: I keep up with almost anything and everything it seems. I’ve got only a handful of HEU movies to finish watching before I have finished Mads and Hugh’s filmographies, but I also have been to some premieres with Mads and seen both men at a couple of cons. I was worried it would be a ‘don’t meet your heroes’ kind of situation, but Mads and Hugh are absolute sweethearts and seem to genuinely enjoy meeting fans, so I love keeping up with and supporting them.
AB: Do you only participate in the community over Twitter, or any other platforms too?
E: I am primarily active on Twitter, but I also have an Instagram where I post art (if I remember).
AB: How has being a part of this fandom impacted your real life in any way?
E: Absolutely! Aside from meeting Bryan, Mads and Hugh, I’ve also met some amazing friends that I now couldn’t live without. As I mentioned above, I planned on being pretty quiet in the fandom once I joined but now I have friends that 4 years later we have met IRL multiple times (even internationally) to do dinner, sightseeing and talk daily while planning our next adventures.
Looking back, I’m so thankful that I got over my initial shyness and made these connections. I could never go back to 4 years ago without these wonderful people in my life. There really is only before and after Hannibal for me <3
This interview by Anushka Bidani is part of the series, The Fan Page Project.