Hi Milk, do you think there's any possibility of Will not really desiring sexual intimacy with Hannibal? Not because he doesn't desire him but we don't know if Will likes the idea of penetration, and we don't have any canon proof if he is into men.

Would Will actually want to be penetrated by Hannibal?

The first thing I will say is that I don’t think we needed any “canon proof” if Will was into men or not, because I don’t think he categorizes Hannibal as men, but as a complete unique form of life that wouldn’t really fall under any sexuality. Will is into Hannibal, regardless if he’s into men.

As for the rest, it’s often assumed that if either Will or Hannibal hesitated in desiring sexual intimacy, it definitely wouldn’t be Hannibal. His inherently sensual nature, fluidity, and overt passion toward Will make it easy to believe he would embrace physical intimacy without reservation. Will, on the other hand, struggles with invasion, control, and the mingling of violence and pleasure in his psyche.

While we lack explicit evidence of Will’s sexual fluidity, what we do know is that he lives in a near-constant state of invasion: by Hannibal, by other minds, by his own intrusive thoughts. This pervasive lack of personal boundary could make him wary of certain aspects of physical vulnerability. Specifically, penetration may be something he instinctively resists, not as a rejection of intimacy with Hannibal itself, but as an extension of his broader discomfort with being entered, seen, or possessed too completely. It isn’t that he would never allow it, but rather that it would take time, trust, and a shifting dynamic between them for him to reach that point.

But Will seems far more eager to be the one doing the invading. His fascination with dissecting Hannibal’s mind is obsessive, and his jealousy toward those who have accessed parts of Hannibal he cannot, like Bedelia or even Alana, suggests a deep-seated desire for exclusive, unrestricted entry. Hannibal, for all his expressive intensity, is also an enigma to Will, someone he has attempted but failed to fully penetrate, both mentally (in totality) and physically. In this sense, the idea of Hannibal allowing himself to be invaded, yielding in a way he never does, would hold immense appeal for Will. It would be an act of ultimate access, proof that he has been granted something no one else has.

Their intimacy, then, would be less about traditional roles or expectations and more about their ongoing battle for control, dominance, and understanding.