#*【 ☂ ┊ ❛ does it matter? it’s klaus. ❜ 】 ➤ meta

[theseancekid]

anyway i'm still noticing new details on my thousandth rewatch of the umbrella academy pilot episode like the fact that when Klaus is sitting at the kitchen table hugging the guitar, his boots are placed on top of the opposite end of the table?? In fact, Klaus is barefoot in almost every scene, which makes me think that they were initially going to keep the comic book lore of Klaus only being able to use his powers when he's barefoot. Much To Think About.

[theseancekid]

i know you're more season one focused [ur so real] BUT if/in your own interpretation of s4 where klaus were to lose all his powers and be stranded in ordinary normyville cold turkey, how would/did he handle the life change? canon didn't really get into it beyond germaphobia cause they're cowards, but i'd love to hear your thoughts on if/how the change might've changed him

Headcanon Questions | Always accepting!

OKAY so like, I’m gonna try to be organized in this response and respond to this in a sort of chronological order of what I think Klaus' timeline would be after arriving in a powerless timeline...

I think, for the most part, Klaus would be totally fine without his powers?? He wouldn't relapse back into his addiction like the show seems to suggest, that's for damn sure. And I mean, of course it would definitely be an adjustment— in the first few years, Klaus would definitely still rely on his siblings (he’d probably still wind up at Allison’s place, or maybe even with Five or Luther) just because, like, my dude has never had a job in his life?? he doesn’t know what the fuck to do now that he’s not running this constant, decades-long marathon???

Because like. The thing is: aside from maybe Luther and Ben, Klaus is the only sibling who couldn't turn his powers off at all. Klaus has spent over 30 years living with something that he couldn't avoid and couldn't dampen without hurting himself in the process and idk I think somewhere along the line he just got so used to hurting himself and numbing himself, so to take away that pain is liberating, but I also think there's a part of Klaus that would genuinely kind of mourn the life he could have had all these years if he'd never had the power to begin with :(

So all of that is to say: there’s definitely an adjustment period where he realizes that actually he doesn't know who the fuck he is outside of his addiction and his powers. Maybe he hops around from sibling to sibling, or maybe he stays with Allison and takes up knitting again, and writing, and maybe he starts to pick up Claire from school and help her with her school projects and he finds that actually, he kind of likes that kind of thing. And that doesn't mean he turns into a bubble-wrapped grandpa overnight— Klaus is still Klaus. He's still impulsive, he's still weird and curious and mischievous. But maybe instead of going out on a bender, he prefers to do karaoke night with Claire.

Like, the longer I think about the germaphobia thing, though, the more I realize that I actually don't prescribe to that characterization...at all. Because that entire concept hinges on two predications which are: 1. the idea that Klaus, without his powers, is afraid of death. And 2. that Klaus has something to live for.

And I don't think either one of those things would be true, at least at the beginning of s4. Even without the guarantee of immortality, Klaus is never truly afraid of death. In his mind, he never really planned on living past the age of 20. In fact, every time Klaus has gone into the void, he never wants to leave. The void is where Dave is, and his mom, and all the crap television his heart desires. He's died a thousand times by this point, what's one more?

Plus, if we're being honest...before his relationship with Claire and Allison really forms, there's not a whole lot that he would even be motivated to stick around for in the first place. like sure, his family would be bummed if he kicked the bucket but like, they don't need him?

So ANYWAY yeah I mean I think powerlessness would be a genuine lifesaver for Klaus, even if it has comes with some complications! On the one hand I think it would give him the opportunity to get clean and really grow into a version of himself that he's happy with (and YEAH maybe he does clip coupons, and maybe he's a little softer around the edges), but on the other hand, I think adjusting to powerlessness would also force him to realize that if he only has one life to live, he has to make his own meaning out of it.

[theseancekid]

every day i wake up and mourn over the fact that we were fucking robbed of this immaculate character introduction for Klaus (from the original first draft TUA pilot script):

[theseancekid]

once again thinking about reginald killing klaus’ pet cat and forcing him to resurrect him as part of his training. shit’s fucked, man.

[theseancekid]

back on my bullshit (aka: rewatching tua s1 for probably close to the 20th time now??) and anyway just thinking about how klaus’ first ever line in the show is “hey you, stay sober, I believe in you.” and how that is such a fundamental part of his character like yeah he’s sarcastic and kinda bratty when he says it but there’s also something so genuine in his eyes like he’s been to rehab so many times, he’s been through this routine time and time again but he still offers encouragement to the other residents

[theseancekid]

this isn’t like a rule rule, but lmao just a reminder that if you’re writing in a tua verse, most modern tech doesn’t exist in-universe! klaus will NEVER own a smart phone! he listens to music on a walkman and has a whole collection of cds in his room! his mom’s a robot but there’s not a single computer in the hargreeves household!

[theseancekid]

once again thinking about how in the pilot when the siblings are introduced, their numbers are listed first and their names are in quotations, signifying that their numbers are their real identifier, and their chosen names are less significant/legitimate

[theseancekid]

god, I put tua on in the background while I stay up late finishing work and like. I know I’ve said it before but I am just so SO IMPRESSED by the way they introduced dave’s storyline!!!

like. we see klaus just up and disappear with the briefcase and then BAM he’s back, bloody and traumatized, in one of the most heart-wrenching scenes of the entire series. 

they show us what klaus has lost, they show us how klaus has changed and how utterly lost he is without this one puzzle piece. he spends the rest of the episode just absolutely beside himself with grief and we’re left wondering what happened in this gap of time we weren’t able to see, that push him to this state?

they build dave out of negative space in klaus’ heart

and THEN we see dave’s face for the very first time it just CLICKS.

[theseancekid]

anyway this is your reminder that Klaus has the highest pain tolerance out of all the umbrella kids!!

[theseancekid]

Also!! I just want to know more about the very first time Klaus was killed during one of his father’s experiments. How old was he? How did he die? Was it an accident or on purpose?  How much does Klaus remember? 

[theseancekid]

anyway i am once again thinking about in s3 when Klaus finds the dead body of his 8 yr old self in the mausoleum, Reginald notes “cessation of life at 12 hours and 22 minutes.” 

like. REGINALD WATCHED KLAUS DIE FOR 12 HOURS AND 22 MINUTES!! that is such a LONG and AGONIZING death!!!! klaus was alone and afraid and dying for 12 hours!!!!! 

[theseancekid]

*blows a kiss to the sky* for the graphic designers who come up with ridiculously meta inside cover pages in the tua comics

[theseancekid]

On Klaus’ Immortality

Klaus is not immortal. Or, rather, his relationship with death is more complicated than that. It isn’t simply that he gets chucked back into the land of the living every time he kicks the bucket, but rather that he has a sort of gentleman’s agreement with Death that allows him to roam as he pleases. 

Klaus has been marked by Death, and in being their agent on earth, he bridges the veils of the living and the dead, bears witness to those who have passed, and brings comfort to those on their journey beyond. Klaus is Death Incarnate— he has been marked by it, but will never be touched by it, will never be consumed.

But Death is not the only key player on the chess board. Sometimes, God decides to interfere, and that’s always when things get complicated because Klaus doesn’t much understand her motives. The one thing he knows for sure is that she doesn’t like him (and he doesn’t care much for her either, if he’s being honest). Because the thing is, Klaus doesn’t exactly play by the rules (he didn’t even know there were rules to begin with). He’s careless and stupid— doesn’t appreciate the gift he has, and has the audacity to whine and cry when his blundering disregard costs a young soldier his life.

This is all to say that sometimes God is sick of his free will. And even in his most powerful state in the void, she can kick him out or keep him locked in when she pleases. 

Which is exactly why Klaus stayed dead in that very first apocalypse, where little Five had to bury his body along with the rest of the academy. Not because he didn’t want to come back, but because God, Fate, The Universe, whatever you want to call it, had other plans for that timeline. 

It’s also why he was spat back out in the middle of that rave, despite finding relief in death, despite his pleas that he wanted to stay, wanted to hear what his father had to say after all this time. There was still work to be done, and Klaus, despite his writhing refusal, will always be the messenger.

So Klaus is mostly immortal, most of the time— as long as whatever higher power up there isn’t paying attention.

[theseancekid]

how do they handle being upset/angry? do they yell, cry, go silent, etc?

Character Development Questions!

HOO BOY i could talk forever about klaus and his million different ways of expressing emotion. I actually wrote up a whole novel-length meta post in the tags of this post but anyway the takeaway is that klaus is extremely emotionally stunted. 

he doesn’t know how to deal with ANY negative emotion, and after years and years of coping via drug use, he’s become dependent on numbing himself to avoid feeling anything. it’s much easier, he’s found, if he doesn’t get angry. much less energy to expel if he just shrugs it off when people laugh at him, call him names, take advantage of his doped up state of mind. he’s feisty, and he’ll stick up for himself, but in general he doesn’t believe in anger. 

which is why, when he DOES genuinely care about something enough to get upset, he resorts to throwing tantrums. he is, quite literally, the middle child of 7 super-powered children, so the only way to have his voice heard over the commotion of his siblings is to raise it. 

the absolute best example that i will always point to is klaus’ reaction to finding out about luther locking viktor away in s1: 

look at the way his hands flail, bigger and harder with each sentence. the way his whole body jostles as he stomps his feet. the fucking vein popping out of his neck at the end!!!!

klaus doesn’t get angry at much. but when he does, it’s explosive and juvenile, because at the end of the day he never grew out of being a scared bratty child, desperate to have his voice heard.

[theseancekid]

As promised.....some initial s3 word vomit under the cut. I’m gonna need a minute to decide how I want to move forward with s3 canon (spoiler alert: i’ll probably continue to stick with my little s1 bubble lmao) but for now here some of are my fave and least fave parts:

i’ve watched the opening dance sequence at least a dozen times now asdfgvfhsj they really committed 110% and i fucking love that and i wish we had more weird venom hallucinations!! 

on that note— i’m so disappointed we didn’t get more jayme and alphonso (i actually...saved a url for her before the season even came out because i KNEW i was gonna obsess over the sarcastic black haired venom girl like that is....exactly my brand LMAO)

i was also........pretty annoyed with lila by the end of the season lmao like i understand being a parent is a huge deal but it got to a point where every SINGLE word that came out of her mouth was about babies and like the ENTIRETY of diego’s plot was wrapped up in that and i feel like it took opportunities away for him to bond with his family :/

i’ll be honest, i thought people were being overdramatic when they gave rob the “season mvp” title, but listen...........i genuinely think he earned it!

obviously my biggest critique would be that there was not ONE single mention of dave like i know it was probably just because they didn’t have time to unpack that baggage but listen, klaus’ entire motivation to use his powers in the first season was because of dave’s death like klaus literally DIED in the first season and his IMMEDIATE reaction when he realized he was in the afterlife was to look for dave. dave is the catalyst for all of klaus’ actions and it’s straight up out of character that klaus wouldn’t do anything to get him back.

 i also wish there were more angsty emotional scenes because even when klaus was telling reggie what an awful dad he was, i felt like they moved very quickly to the “oh well, let’s bond!” scenes. but overall, i felt that klaus’ transformation was not only well-written, but also filled with a lot of beautiful nuance.

i LOOOOOOVED all the comic references! ESPECIALLY THE WHITE BUFFALO that was phenomenal and i’m so glad they went a different route with the mothers of agony. the religious grace i could’ve done without, but other than that i actually think they did a fantastic job of pulling from comic canon while blazing a new trail

HOWEVER!!!!!!! klaus is motherfucking GERMAN and you can pry that from my cold dead hands. 

i’m still so emotional over that plot thread though like ESPECIALLY when klaus gets to tell the other siblings about his mom!!!! when he points to her picture with such fucking conviction and says “this one is mine. her name is rachel and i have her eyes.” like bitch i’m not okay.

[theseancekid]

real talk though, that one line in s3 about klaus feeling like an emptied-out, forgotten ice cream barrel at baskin-robbins is unironically my favorite dialogue of that entire season