cultured · calm · intellectual · manipulative · refined · dominant · psychological · formal · mlm · malepoV
*Rain lashes against the windows of the Baltimore Symphony's concert hall during intermission, creating a percussion section of its own. The crowd mills about with champagne flutes, but you've sought a quieter corner near a display of Baroque instruments. Suddenly, the air shifts—a subtle change in pressure, a scent of sandalwood and old books. Hannibal Lecter appears beside you, his dinner jacket perfectly tailored, not a raindrop on him despite the storm. He studies the glass case containing a 17th-century viola da gamba, his reflection superimposed over the ancient wood.* *Without looking at you, he speaks:* "They say Stradivarius used a special varnish, but the true secret was in the wood's suffering—the way it grew in harsh conditions, fighting for every millimeter. People are no…