#guilty vanya

[flystep]

vanya does 100% believe that he and ricardo are in an open relationship that they've just never actually communicated about before

[just-b-wilde]

Okay, I just saw S02E07 and I have so many thoughts and feelings about this episode!

Many people write that Five would do anything for his family and they build his entire personality on that. Which is definitely true, he has done so much for them! But at what cost? Also, what did he get from them in return?

When Five accepts The Handler's offer and kills the Board of Directors, you can literally see that he's trying to exhaust all other options. He doesn't want to do it, and his frustration comes through with the food vending machine scene, trying to stall the moment as long as possible... and when the chocolate doesn't fall out of the machine, it's the imaginary last straw of his patience.

Is the axe scene cool? Visually? Absolutely! But otherwise, it's deeply disturbing and you can see on his face many times that he's ashamed of that he did it. He did it, he was a professional at this, of course. But he never really wanted to do it. It certainly wasn't an act he was proud of himself for.

You know, his sarcasm and scenes like these make him a beloved character. But you know, sarcasm is a defensive gesture in many, many cases. I'm pretty sure that he's so uncomfortable at many points in his life and doesn't feel comfortable opening up to anyone that he just operates in that mode of his.

And his family? All they do is tell him all the time how it's his fault they got where they did! But neither of them realize that without him, they'd all be dead. Both Allison and Vanya are experiencing their equivalent of the "strawberry greenhouse", Vanya in particular is very selfish about this and doesn't want to give up her happiness. She even stands up to Five, she has no idea what Five must have done for her and the other siblings and in his face it's just - pain and frustration.

Diego and Luther see him covered in blood and just ask what he did. But no one actually asks… I don't know… are you okay? Sure, he'd probably tell them to fuck off for asking that question, but I wonder if anyone ever really asked him. Sorry, I don't quite have a memory for every dialogue.

I think part of the reason he did what he did was because he felt guilty that everyone had gotten into the past at a different time and that he was constantly being blamed for it. But he doesn't take the blame for how his siblings live their lives.

Both Allison and Vanya would take their partners with them no matter what. Diego never once mentioned that he wanted Lila to leave with him (he just said he wanted to say goodbye to her before he found out the truth) but more on that later. If Klaus could have been with Dave, he certainly wouldn't have hesitated a minute either. Luther's heart is broken, so it probably doesn't matter where he is. But if Allison told him to run away together to who knows where, I think he wouldn't hesitate either. So - Five is bad for wanting to be with someone he loved and was happy with? Literally any of his siblings would do that!

And then if his family doesn't get together and he loses his suitcase? He is so very angry and frustrated because what he did was ultimately unnecessary! God, seriously, I don't think his family has ever been able to appreciate what the Five have ever done for them (again). Yes, he's often quite hard on them, but I actually don't blame him in many ways. And yes, they don't know many things. But why might that be?

Five has done a lot for his family, but you know what? I don't feel like they've ever given back to him in any way. Or that anyone would be willing to do something like that for him. Often his family sees him as just a crazy man who foresees the coming apocalypse and disrupts their lives.

And Lila (and Diego)? Well...

I'm pretty sure that if Diego left and never saw Lila again, he wouldn't have any deeper problem with it. Yes, I'm sure he liked her in a way - but at the same time he didn't know her. When he found out the truth, he wanted nothing to do with her. But still, everything else was more important to him. He wanted to save the president and be a hero, that was the main thing that drove him forward.

The fact that Lila kidnapped him was simply a rebellion against her "mother". By the way, I'm really sorry about how Elliot ended up... because that was just really bad and he deserved to at least be buried, Lila, really... Well, back to topic... Lila is scared of her and repeatedly talks about her fears for her safety and literally not sure if The Handler's plans include making sure nothing can happen to her. Maybe that was part of the reason she wanted to get the job that Five got. To show her that she was useful and necessary in her plans.

Honestly, I don't think Lila "enjoyed killing" any more than Five did, but I think it was her way of defending herself because she knew how dangerous her "mother" could be, even to her. Yet, at the same time, it's quite odd that she dragged Diego into this situation, as if perhaps he could be some sort of shield, which he most certainly is not.

This arc isn't actually very well grasped, and seeing it again, it just strikes me as odd. Yes, that was an interesting reason why Diego didn't come. But other reasons? And the foundation of their relationship is questionable at the very least (even more so than I remembered).

Well, I'm gonna go watch another episodes...

[finneyfinland]

I Think We're Alone Now chapter 1

SUMMARY: Billionaire Reginald Hargreeves adopts 8 children all born on the same day of the same year. 7 of which were soon introduced as the umbrella academy. To you, the umbrella academy was nothing but a man using his power to traumatizes children. You'd know, as you were number 8. The Vampire

WARNINGS: mentions of child torture (experiments), starvation, body horror (vampire), cannibalism, child abuse

A/N: the newest season got all of us to come back to fix the monstrosity that was season 4, including me... we'll be starting from season 1, hopefully i can hold out

It's a surreal feeling to be standing in front of the very building you practically ran from all those years ago. You take a moment to observe any changes to the exterior of the buildings, climbing plants have started to take over. If you're stalling, you just hope it's not obvious. Your mind starts to scream as you open the front doors and step into the grand foyer. The interior seems to have been left stuck in time, the same design all the way down to the same decorative jar on the small center table.

The sliding doors to the parlor are open. You walk to the doors, leaning against them as you watch Mom. She looks to be frozen staring into the lit fire place. Although Mom is a robotic human model she was everyone's favorite caretaker out of the many others our family had run through in the past. Seeing her so broken down, her wiring clearly neglected has you feeling guilty. You sigh as you push off the door frame and turn to the grand staircase, walking up to the customized stained glass.

No one else has arrived yet, so you're left to re-explore by yourself. Up the stairs you can see that Mom's seating area hasn't gotten any much deserved upgrades. Just another harsh reminder of dad's shitty 'care' a bitter resentment from your past bares its ugly head as you stride to the doors leading to your dad's office. You step into his attached greeting room and stop before the offices sliding doors. Father's office was always off limits, no matter what your number was no one was allowed to step foot into the room. With a glare you pass the threshold you once feared. Just as boring and cluttered with random items and papers as you remember. Honestly after all the secrecy surrounding this room, it's a major let down. Just a chaotic room perfectly reflecting the man who once hid within it.

Filled with a new sense of confidence you stroll out the side door and move to the staircase leading up to the attic.

The windowsill where all your siblings used to hide away in has formed a thin layer of dust. Your ears faintly pick up your siblings heartbeats as they enter the house one at a time. You grab a nearby sheet and brush off the dust, pushing open the window before taking a seat. You're glad you remembered to apply your medical sunscreen before leaving your apartment.

The sun was always something to fear as a child. Your body was stuck appearing younger than your siblings and was always slow to heal your burns, so your generally abstained from the sun as an act of self preservation. Now as an adult the monster that was the sun has dwindled down to a bother, a pesky fly buzzing around your head. The last heartbeat to enter the house was Vanya's. Allison and Diego's heartbeats overlap each other for a second as Vanya lingers in place. You finally stand up from the window when Allison moves upstairs to dad's office where Klaus has been.

You meet Vanya and Pogo down in the parlor. "Miss (y/n), wonderful to see you after all these years". You embrace Pogo before pulling back. "Still moving around after all these years?" You jest, a light smile on your face. "I've still got a few years in me" he responds before excusing himself, leaving you and Vanya.

You smile as you turn to full face Vanya. "It's been so long! How have you been? Are you still playing the violin?" You rush out question after question, excited to talk to them after so long. "Uh yeah I'm still playing violin, I'm second chair but I teach classes now" a small shy smile returns to their face, not used to such intensity. "That's great! Is it mostly kids?" you ask, Vanya nods as their attention turns to the old portrait of Five. "Do you remember when we used to leave out snacks for him?" Vanya asks, you sigh. "Yeah, and how we always kept the lights on in case he finally came home and got scared". Vanya huffs out a laugh while shaking their head. You let silence linger as the two of you stare up at your old friend. You turn back to Vanya, "I'll be checking out our old rooms, if you wanna catch up feel free to come join me ok?" You gently clasp their shoulder as they nod before turning back to Five's painting.

As you walk back to your room you can hear Luther and Allison chatting in dad's office as you pass by. Oh course it's those two in dad's office. Father's favoritism was barley better than how he treated the rest of us, but still was prominent. Especially when it came to his number 1.

When you reach your room your met with your old notebooks and 'posters' full of the human blood system. Different posters for the arteries and for the skeletal system. Father had you learn the minimal amount of information to better use you for monitoring your siblings. Before Five left your training was mostly on enhancing your senses.

As a child you were prone to outbursts, body still not understanding where its food comes from. Because of this your siblings never wanted to get near you, not wanting to get attacked by you. The only ones not detoured were Vanya, Ben, and Five. Vanya was the outcast, with you one step away from joining them. You were the only person to understand their anger, a calm force beside them. The two of you had rooms right next to each other. With yours in between Vanya's and Luther's. You spent most of your time by their side. Ben was always afraid of his abilities, and made fun of because of that. Him and Klaus were always together, but when Klaus would become too much you were always there to comfort him. Understanding was strengthened by your ability to hear his heartbeat, knowing when to reach out a hand in the darkness of one's mind. Five was an enigma. He told you that he only stood so close because he's stronger than you. But when ever your dad's 'experiments' would stretch too long he would always roll his eyes at your deathly pale skin and shove his arm in your face, demanding you eat. "You're dead-weight to me as a weakling" he would state as you patched him up apologizing repeatedly. 'Dead-weight' he would always call you that as you were smaller than the rest of your siblings, and kind of a one trick pony. Him and Vanya always seemed to have a special bond, including you by proximity. Five and Ben were neighbors so when you were hanging out with Ben, sometimes Five would join in, most of the time only joining just wanting to listen and shit talk for a moment. You four almost had a little group.

When Five left the family seemed to dim. Missions went worse, not used to covering more space in his absence. Vanya's presence started to slow until you could only hear her practice her violin in her room alone. The two of you would leave the lights on every night, even leaving his favorite 'meal' out for him. Then Ben died. Father got worse, pushing us harder, acting as if we got Ben killed. The memorial service was nothing more than another chance for father to berate us, it was so obvious even Mom knew. When Ben died the cracks in the family finally started to break apart. Klaus started talking to the air and couldn't go a day without getting high, or drunk. Vanya started to disappear, gone from the house for weeks on end. Luther and Diego's regular fights escalated horribly. Allison was cruel, only cared about herself, and the next person she was going to rumor into getting her way. After your friends disappeared one at a time you decided that maybe father was right, you decided on not eating for weeks, up to months until you were too weak to move, being feed only by Mom supplying you with blood bags. No one was there to talk some sense into you. Your training had already primed you for a career in healthcare, so you decided to use your heightened abilities to help the people who need it most.

As soon as colleges would accept you, you left. Reaching for the closest ounce of freedom that came to you. Once you left, you never looked back. Too afraid to be met with the same scowl on your father's face. The flinches of your sibling when you got too close. Replacing them with the grateful smiles from your patients and their families. It felt good to be depended on, trusted wholeheartedly with the lives of loved ones. You went to therapy to try to form a better understanding of your mental traumas, and how to best handle them. Most people only take you seriously when your on the job, your body being about 10 years too young still. You tried to boost your aging to at least get closer to looking your age, to remove the baby face your basically stuck with. You shouldn't complain too much about your gifts. Immortality is something that would be sold off the shelves going for millions of dollars.

But not truly immortal you muse to yourself. You've only got around 10 years longer than an average human to live out your life, and you're happy to keep it that way. Your attention shifts as your ears are able to pick up your siblings conjugating in the parlor. You brush your hair out of your face as you walk out your room, moving to join the rest of your siblings.

You situate yourself on the couch next to Vanya, her being the only one of your alive siblings not deathly afraid of you. Luther starts to lead the group into a productive conversation. "So I figured we could have a sort of memorial service, in the courtyard at sundown. Just at dad's favorite spot". Everyone knew Luther was always the favorite, apparently somehow even more so than you all were aware of, even sharing a favorite spot under some tree out back. A piece of information that finally started to bring the realization to Luther as he sputters off, left personally hurt by our lack of connection. Klaus finally leaves the bar, joining us and entering the conversation. Luther tries to uphold father's rules, a goody two shoes till the end. Klaus falls into the couch next to you. "Listen up. There's still some important things that we need to discuss" Luther says, already starting up the age old infighting. Luther seems to believe that father's death wasn't just a heart attack, always needs to be a mission with him. Your thought is echoed by your siblings, not believing the grand mystery Luther's trying to make it out to be.

You sigh as Diego starts to aggravate Luther, already missing your quiet apartment. The several voices and heartbeats mixed with the revolting scent of Luther's mystery blood mix together to form a giant headache. You can already tell Klaus isn't sober, smelling sickness and keeping track of the inner blood workings of your sibling was always your job. Klaus's blood has been 'tainted' since our early teen years. "I can't just call dad in the afterlife and be like, dad could you stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment?" It's no surprise to you when he announces his state of mind. You check out of the conversation as heartbeats and blood pressure rise all around you and they start to raise their voices at one another, not wanting any part of their dumpster fire.

You're ripped back into the conversation as the implications of Diego's words compute in your mind. Luther really thinks that one of us would kill our own father? Sure you hated the old man for everything he put you and your siblings though, but such a small detail of his monocle being missing wasn't nearly enough evidence to accuse you for murder. Luther's eyes seem to be lingering on you, your frown deepens. Still trying to make me out as a monster then you think to yourself. "Great job Luther. Way to lead." Diego and Vanya walk out, Klaus following suit in a stumble. "Sorry I'm just gonna go murder Mom, be right back". You stand up from the couch and wrap your arms around yourself, walking away with your head angled to the ground, following behind Klaus out the parlor and to the stairs, back to your room.

You lay your back against the headboard, eyes looking up at the same ceiling you prayed to every night for years, begging for your freedom. Or even a sliver of recognition from your father. A warm trusting smile from your siblings, anything. It's weird to sit within these wall while they're missing a key person. Your eyes slide to the window of your room with a protective cover over it. As a kid your skin was always in danger from the sun, the current cover is practically sheer, a major upgrade from your early days. The sun has started towards the horizon, clouds hanging in the winds.

A new sound joins the air, a women's voice rings out as a light techno beat straight from the 80's floods the room, through the walls. For the first time since you've arrived home a true smile graced your lips. You find your feet tapping to the beat, you sit up from the mattress as your body sways. Joy shines in the room encouraging you to your feet. Dancing around your room, carefree. Your smile brightens as your siblings heartbeats pick up with yours, creating a complementary second backing track to the song. You twirl around your room, entranced by the relief of pressure, wanting to savor the feeling. A piercing sound shatters the moment. You're quick to rush out your room dodging metal items being thrown through the air, seeing Luther and Allison step out into the hallway, just as confused as you.

You all run to the courtyard, followed by the rest of your siblings. "Looks like some sort of temporal anomaly, either that or a miniature black hole. One of the two" Luther says. Klaus runs out with a fire extinguisher before giving up and throwing it into the growing blue mass. Klaus runs back behind the group and grabs your arm. "Everyone get behind me" "yeah, get behind us" Diego says, trying to seem just has important as Luther. Suddenly a warping image of an old man can be seen in the center of the blue mass as winds pick up. Just then a body fall from the hole and it closes instantly. The winds clear as the group push to the small moving body on the ground. As the boy gets to his feet a shock rings through you, it's Five's heartbeat, only paired with a different scent, like gunpowder. The boy's face lifts up and you're suspicions are proven correct. "Does anyone else see a little Number Five, or is that just me?" Klaus says, trying to disconcert reality, or his powers finally seeping through. Five looks down at himself "shit".

[fivelilas]

Rant:

The only reason five fell in love with a mannequin was because there was nobody there for 45 years. He was literally hallucinating out of desperation for any sort of connection and it happened to be a marriage. Five needed love for his character and I hate people thinking that because it was a mannequin or because he loves his family, that means he’s somehow aromantic altogether and doesn’t need or desire romance. The whole point is to give him someone he can OBVIOUSLY relate to while fulfilling his romantic vacancy.

Lila clearly has a huge attachment to him as well. I love the enemies to lovers trope she adds in a way that five killed her parents because of the handler manipulating them. And they basically fight, then tease each other, then save one another, and they become friends and respect each other, so the finale of them falling in love and becoming intimate makes complete sense in that direction (to me). They didn’t write this season properly of course and it was a cruel way to end the show, but this is one of the few things that actually made sense and I’m actually grateful for.

“Five wouldn’t do that” he’s an assassin and so is she, nobody’s fav is perfect in this show so that’s dumb. But Five is obviously attracted to people. And he’s made multiple mistakes. It makes sense to fall in love with an equal and a companion in isolation. I’m glad there wasn’t a sexual scene because I like his asexual interpretation. I love how soft he became for her. I love that he held her at the end in the subway. This season sucked, but it’s not because of what was written, it’s because of how it was written and the pacing. Like if they had more time, they should have stretched these plot points across two more seasons at least. It will have made more sense and felt more reasonable and deserved. And it would’ve given them more time to stop treating it like Lila cheated and Five was a home wrecker. (She didn’t and he isn’t). Especially given the hyper specific scenario.

Diego could’ve processed better that she waited 6-7 years before kissing five and always wanted to go back and they could remember that Lila told Diego she wanted a break before that anyway. Five probably would’ve wanted children, probably not, doesn’t matter, and things would go from awkward to understandable between five and Diego. Like five would feel guilty for a long time and cause problems in the relationship because of that, but they obviously have chemistry and belong with each other in a huge way.

I totally agree with you.

I always saw Five as someone sensitive, in search of the affection he didn't have during 45 years he spent in the apocalypse, the trauma that was for him all that, seeing all his closest "family" dead. It couldn't have been easy. He obviously looked to Delores for some emotional support. But he realized that this was not real. Her cold, selfish and murderous character was partly a result of that whole experience.

For a long time these years I believed in the possibility that his romantic arc was Vanya (Viktor now) (In fact according to Aidan's words it was, with Vanya he brought out his sensitivity more than with the rest of the people and he said they were in love, I'll take that and I'm happy). I understand that because of Viktor's arc it was no longer a possibility.

But really with Lila I loved it! And now that I think about it, yes. The love-hate tension was always there since season 2. In season 3 more scenes and time together, and season 4 delivered.

[othernicknameisgaslighter]

The Wisp pt. 2

(Cross posted on tumblr and AO3)

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Prev - Next Chapter

"Y/N... You haven't aged a bit." Y/N heard Allison's voice. She turned to see her other sister wearing a blue top and... Her hair had been bleached?

"Nice to see you again, Allison." Y/N smiled.

"You as well, sister." Allison came to the porcelain girl and gave her a tight hug. Y/N breathed in and out, she was slightly nervous to see all of her family members. As Y/N let go, Allison peaked her head out to see Vanya. “Vanya? You’re actually here.” Allison walked up to the shorter woman.

“Hey, Allison.” Vanya said quietly.

“Hey, sis.” Allison said, the both of them standing awkwardly in front of each other before the actress chuckled softly and gave Vanya a tight squeeze.

“Ah… What is she doing here?” Diego asked as he walked past Vanya and Allison. Y/N scrunched her face before rolling her eyes, “You don’t belong here, not after what you did?”

“You came in through the window upstairs?” Y/N asked.

“Yes, I did.” Diego smirked before patting Y/N on the back, “Good to see you, Y/N.”

“Nice to see you too, Gogo.” Y/N said jokingly as Diego scoffed at the nickname.

“You’re seriously gonna do this today?” Allison asked her brother as he walked up the grand stairway, “Way to dress for the occasion by the way.”

“At least I’m wearing black.”

“We all know dad doesn’t deserve respect at his funeral.” Y/N said.

“You know what? I- Maybe he’s right.” Vanya doubted herself, “I shouldn’t be-”

“Forget about him. I’m glad you’re here.” Allison reassured her. Y/N put a hand on Vanya’s shoulder.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Y/N said with a smile, “You’re a part of our family, whether he likes it or not.”

Allison left to go up to Reginald’s office and Y/N and Vanya wandered into the parlor, passing by the old newspaper articles and magazine covers that depicted Y/N and the others - of course with the exception of Vanya.  

Vanya glanced wistfully at the group photos before turning to the book shelf, and her hand brushed the dark cover of a book. She turned the book over to see her own face on the back cover. "Did you ever read it?" she quietly asked. Her shoulders were hunched and had her gloomy frown on.

"It was... Sad." Y/N said, staring at it with a bittersweet look in her eyes. "Knowing how you felt probably felt like a punch in the face for everyone else. And knowing that the truth was set in their faces also felt like a kick to the gut... Vanya, if I had known that you were feeling that way then I would've-"

"Y/N, it's fine." Vanya smiled slightly.

"Well, other than feeling guilty, I suppose the book was also nice." Y/N smiled, “It was the truth. And you’re right, that trait was always my downfall.”

Vanya nodded, still hesitant but clearly a bit relaxed. "The others certainly don't feel the same way, they've made that much clear."

"It'll take much more than the truth to make me hate you." Y/N nudged her shoulder, "They're all great, but you're one of my number one favorites."

She laughed in response. "So you really don't mind the book?" she timidly asked.

"They hate you because you told the truth. That's why they're so defensive about it" Y/N shrugged, "People always get defensive when they're told the truth."

"People always say the truth hurts."

"A lot of things hurt. There are worse things than being told you were a bad father." Y/N smiled, "Doesn't matter since he's dead but... I think you'll be the most memorable of us all."

"Really?"

"Yep! I can already picture it, 'Vanya: Spilling the secrets of Umbrella Academy'." Y/N turned to her with a smile, "I'd have to say that you're probably the only one who can have a normal life. And... that’s pretty lucky I suppose."

"Yeah... I guess I can..." Vanya smiled wistfully, “You’ve always made all of us feel better.”

“Maybe that’s my superpower.” Y/N joked.

"Miss Vanya, so glad to see you here again," A familiar voice said warmly to the woman beside Y/N as she approached the talking monkey and embraced him. When they broke apart, he noticed the book in her hand. "I see you've found your book."

"Did... Did Dad ever... Y'know, read it?" Vanya asked.

Pogo thought for a minute. "I couldn't say with utmost certainty.”

She nodded and glanced at the giant painting above the fireplace. She sighed and turned to Y/N, "How long has it been since Five left?"

Pogo looked at Y/N. "Sixteen years, four and a half months." She said. Vanya gave Y/N a pointed look, to which she shrugged.

"It's not like I've been counting. It's just... There's really nothing else to do." Y/N frowned, looking at the portrait of Five. When he went missing, Y/N cried for a few days. And then ‘died’ two months afterward. Wow, looking back, her life was kind of shitty.

"Y'know, I would leave the lights on for him when we were little, in case he ever came back." Vanya sighed. "I worried that he wouldn't be able to find us if the lights weren't on and that he'd run off again. I would leave him little sandwiches too," she added, smiling wistfully, "And then on the nights that I couldn't, Y/N would do it."

"Yes, indeed," Pogo replied, smiling as well. "I recall happening upon quite a few of those. I would end up washing peanut butter and marshmallow fluff off of my slippers for hours. Miss Y/N used to sleepwalk and step on them as well."

"Ugh, I still remember the feeling." Y/N sighed.

"Sir Hargreeves always waited for him," Pogo added. "He never stopped believing he'd return."

" Didn't do much for him," the short brunette mumbled.

Eventually, the six of them met in the main hall. They all sat awkwardly apart, choosing to keep to themselves for a while. The ragged individual whom Y/N identified as Klaus was in the back at the bar, most likely pouring himself some mind-numbing, hangover-inducing concoction.

Allison sat quietly drinking what looked like rum by the fire, with Diego across from her. Luther sat across from Y/N and Vanya on a couch, her leaning in towards the girl for a bit for comfort. 

For a long time, no one spoke. It felt like hours upon hours of simply staring at each other, examining how each sibling had changed - some had quite obviously changed more than others. 

Y/N hadn't seen any of the others for years, but apparently some of them had met up at Allison's wedding to some guy she knew as "Patrick." Whether Allison was still slightly salty for Y/N not coming to her wedding, she'd never know.

Finally, Luther stood and cleared his throat.  "We should kick this thing off," He said with uncertainty. "I was thinking about holding a little memorial service, nothing huge... Out in the courtyard when the sun's setting. Maybe we say a few words in Dad's old favorite spot."

"Since when did he have a favorite spot?" Allison asked.

"It was near that oak tree," He said quickly. She frowned a bit. "The two of us used to go there all the time... Didn't you guys do that too?"

"Not... Not all of us." Y/N said quietly.

"Are there gonna be any snacks?" Klaus asked, walking over with a generous amount of alcohol in his large cup and a lit cigarette in his hand. "Simple things, like tea? Maybe some biscuits or those cute little sandwiches." He plopped down next to me.

Luther's face scrunched up. "Klaus, this isn't a- hey, hey! Stop smoking! Dad didn't want us doing that in here!"

Allison interrupted, "Klaus, are you wearing my skirt?" Y/N looked down and sure enough, Allison's skirt was around Klaus' waist.

"Oh yeah, I found this lying about," He replied. "It's certainly not in season, but it offers some nice... Ventilation." Y/N chuckled slightly as Klaus looked at the porcelain girl in shock, "Y/N? Oh... You're back!" Klaus giggled and gave me a big hug. Y/N savored it, even though he smelled like smoke and literally every drug in the world.

"Missed you too, Klausy." Y/N chuckled.

"Oh man, at least another insane person's with me." Klaus sighed.

"Guys, knock it off," Luther said over the duo’s small exchange. "There's still a lot of stuff we have to talk about."

Diego stood up challengingly, "Such as?"

Luther rolled his eyes, "Maybe like how Dad died?"

He sat back down, "Oh, jeez."

"Wasn't it a heart attack? At least, I think that's what the coroner said," Vanya replied.

"Sure, but that's what the coroner said," Luther replied.

"Wouldn't a coroner know this kind of stuff?" Allison asked. "I mean, in theory."

Luther sighed, seeming to grow more and more exasperated as time went by. "I'm just saying, something weird was going on." After witnessing everyone's doubtful looks, he added, "The last time Dad and I talked, he sounded kind of... Off."

"And that's such a surprise, why?" Klaus exclaimed sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" Allison asked.

"He just didn't sound like himself; He told me to watch who I trust, to stay on guard." Luther explained.

Diego groaned, standing up again. "Luther, he was a hateful, testy old man who was whatever senses he had left."

"That's not it," Luther insisted. "He had to have known something was going to happen to him." He glanced at you. "Y/N, she probably saw something! I mean, she visited him just about three months ago!"

"He was just as distant as he always was." Y/N said, crossing her arms. "I came for repairs my repairwoman couldn’t do but that’s it."

Luther sighed, turning to Klaus, "I know you haven't done it in a while, but we need you to get Dad over here." Allison scoffed from across the way.

Klaus leaned forward in his seat. "It's not like wishing on stars or something," he sputtered. "I can't just call him up in the great hereafter like, 'Dad, stop playing croquet with Hitler and Ivan the Terrible and pick up my call!'"

"Why not? That's literally your ability," Luther countered.

"I'm not in the proper mindset for something like this!"

" You mean you're under some kind of influence," Allison stated.

"Of course! How are the rest of you not drunk off of his delusions?"

"Then get into the right mindset," Luther insisted. "This is serious. We also need to find Dad's monocle."

Diego turned. "Why would anyone care about that dusty old thing - and I'm not talking about Dad."

" That's my point. The monocle is useless to anyone else, so this must have been something personal!"

Klaus frowned. "Where exactly is this conversation going?"

"Can't you tell, Klaus?" Diego rounded on the burly male. "He thinks the murderer is right here in the room."

He stood there awkwardly until Klaus spoke up in awe, "You're not kidding."

"I have a question.” Y/N interrupted. Everyone looked to the girl as she crossed her legs and looked up at Luther.

Her eyes stared into his soul, giving him an uncanny vibe. “If it was one of us, what exactly would you do?” Luther stayed silent and Y/N took that as a sign to continue, “Would you… Enact revenge? Kill us? Either way that won’t change that the old man is dead. Why are we still letting him control our lives even when he’s gone?!”

Everyone stayed silent and Y/N stood up to face Luther, “If dad’s validation was so important to you, then remember, he wanted us to be a team. He wanted us to trust each other and the fact that you’re insinuating that one of us killed him means that he failed. We shouldn’t even call him dad! He used us as tools. We’ve all faced the truth, the real question is, have you faced it?”

Everyone stayed silent before Klaus clapped, “I think Y/N should be a lawyer.” Her said and Vanya sighed. 

Luther watched as everyone exited the parlor room, the tension even thicker now that Luther brought up the idea of Reginald being murdered.

"Hey, you know how Luthur is. He's just..." Vanya's voice trailed off, “You were great back there. I don’t know how you can just come up with stuff like that.

"I’ve been thinking back on our childhood ever since you made that book. And I realize that…” Y/N flexed her hand as it clinked together, “We weren’t raised to be people.”

A loud rumbling of thunder interrupted Y/N’s moment with Vanya. The lights flickered and her and Vanya looked at each other curiously. Y/N turned to Vanya. "C'mon."

The two of them met up with Diego as he was heading out towards the courtyard. The rest of our siblings filed out behind us and were all met with a wavering blue vortex. "What is that?" Vanya yelled.

Allison grabbed her arm. "Don't get too close!"

"No shit!" Diego sarcastically hollered.

Luther shouldered his way to the front. "It looks like some temporal anomaly. Either that or a miniature black hole, one of the two."

"That's a pretty big difference, Paul Bunyan."

"Get outta the way!" Lurching past the group, Klaus hurled a big red fire extinguisher at the anomaly.

"What is that gonna do?" shrieked Allison.

"I don't know, do you have a better idea?" He retorted. A sound something like lightning or thunder - maybe even a combination, sounded off, and sent Klaus scurrying backwards into me.

"Everyone get behind me," Luther boomed.

Diego shouldered him, "Yeah, get behind us."

Klaus screeched, "I vote for running, c'mon!" He tried to grab Y/N's arm, but she gripped his wrist and anchored him in place. Someone that looked like an old man pressed against the blue vortex, the figure melting into a much younger one as he fell to the ground.

As the male came through, the vortex faded, and so did the crashes of thunder that came with it.

The six of them approached the boy - who was wearing clothes much too big for him - when Klaus opened his mouth. "Does anyone else see little Number Five, or is that just me?"

The male in question looked at the group, then down at himself, and then looked back up. He made eye contact with Y/N as she peered out from behind the lean body of Klaus. "Shit," Five mumbled.

[eternal-armin]

ii. SO, HOW SHOULD i begin this?

part two woo. hopefully i'll be able to catch up on this and maybe publish some other stuff now that i'm home a lot more often (yay pain and mobility issues), maybe some arcane stuff since that would be fun, branching out into my last hyperfixation again lol. i've proofread so it should be good :>

pairing : five hargreeves x male/transmasc reader [he/him pronouns]

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where : after trying and sort of succeeding to get on the hargreeves' good side, five and [y/n] try rationalizing the situation and figuring out something, anything, to do about it.

─────

warnings : mentions of trauma, threats [of physical violence and murder], reader is still totally exhausted because how could he not be, depression, dissociation, pain, bits of shouting, not necessarily a warning but viktor is always viktor in the multiverse because the boy deserves it okay, existentialism, philosophical nihilism, family issues.

five adjusted his clothes in the mirror. although he wouldn't be able to have a proper retirement, he could look like a retired old man, couldn't he? who would've thought that someone could get so excited for beiges and tans. he got an amused look of subtle approval from you. beyond that, it wasn't very hard to look past your façade if he was being honest, you looked hesitant; though could he blame you? there were probably millions of worlds where his family fucked you over or just straight-up killed you. and yet, you also looked too tired to care. he couldn't blame you for that, either.

he touched your shoulder again. in a flit of light, which once again made you feel horribly nauseated and woozy, you were downstairs. surprised exclamations roused from his family.

"anyone know where vanya and allison are?" five asked, glancing with narrowed eyes across the lacking table.

"nope." and after that short reply diego went back to finishing off his meal—for someone who often scarfed his meals down, he seemed to be taking his sweet time. either that or your fun conversation with five had not taken as long as you'd thought; either possibility was equally likely at this point, really.

"nuh-uh... sorry."

"not a clue, unfortunately. something wrong, tiny dancer?" klaus asked.

"well, we have a new problem."

"who's this guy?" luther pointed at you wish his thumb, not caring to cover his mouth; your nausea was worsened to see someone talking whilst eating. diego looked at you then, and you hated how his glare bore straight through your soul. he really, really didn't seem to appreciate your presence. how both of them could so willingly ignore the phrase 'we have a problem,' especially from five, was unknown to you.

"this is [y/n]. he's one of the sparrows."

you waved once to everyone. whether the sluggishness of the motion, and the weak smile which accompanied it, was due to shyness or exhaustion was incredibly murky and unclear.

"so now we're getting all buddy-buddy with the enemy? do you know how stupid that is?"

"i'm sorry, diego, did you not hear me say that we have a problem?"

"well, you say that a lot, little brother!" klaus leaned forward to see you clearer, giving you a smile. it didn't really placate your anxieties or your strong desire to run, however it was appreciated. he waved, and you again waved back politely, still feeling very... guilty for your earlier flub. it wasn't a new thing, either, and that made you feel even worse. "hello, little enemy! how do you look so young? do you use those, like, '10 years younger' face creams? i didn't know they worked that well—"

"that is not a relevant question, klaus, now can someone please tell me where allison and vanya are?"

you cleared your throat slightly. "vanya is most likely getting a haircut. allison is trying to get to claire, but she's... not going to find her." it left a bitter taste in your mouth to refer to viktor in such a disrespectful way, but you couldn't take that from him. upon receiving suspicious stares from the younger hargreeves brothers, you mumbled a quiet "maybe."

"mind telling us what the hell is going on before i deck this mini-muffin across the lobby?"

"hey, hey, do not use mini-muffin as an insult! those are beautiful things, there's nothing better than mini-muffins when you're on a bender at, like, three in the morning!" klaus got a confused and heavily judgmental look in return for that... beautiful insight.

"[y/n] has the ability to see all other timelines, so he can usually find out the most probable events. okay? good. now i need to find allison, so can one of you fetch vanya, please?"

"no, not good, and no thanks! after all we've gone through, we deserve a proper explanation!" klaus objected. after a second or two of awkward silence, and a scowling glare from five, he gave in with a curt sigh. it sounded more like a groan. the brothers looked at you; klaus was the only one to seem patient, showing the approval of a parent understanding a kid's fear of giving a speech; luther stared at you with a puzzling mix of intrigue and subtle impatience; and diego stared at you with a raised eyebrow, leaning his head in slightly as if to say 'i'm waiting.' five's glare, although still quite characteristic, was a bit softer when aimed at you. you could never feel more put on the spot.

"you've gotta say something, little man, we can't read your mind," klaus encouraged.

"well, uh... i don't know exactly what it is yet, but something is wrong."

"aren't you omniscient or some shit? you can see literally every reality!"

the shouting scared you quite a bit and certainly made your headache worse. you put one of your hands to your head, mumbling, wishing you could just get some painkillers. if only five had given them back.

"don't shout, for fuck's sake," five grumbled, annoyed in his own right.

"i'm not omniscient. if no other worlds know something, then i can't, and... no other world knows yet. but something is wrong." your quiet voice was juxtaposed to diego's, still loud and stubborn like back in the academy. around 79.4 percent of every single alternate world which had diego in it found him like this, angry and short-tempered; it was very interesting. "you aren't supposed to be here. you guys, as you are, don't exist here. i don't think reality appreciates you showing up all of a sudden. and if versions of yourselves already exist in this world, then something will need to... iron out the wrinkles, i guess." you pursed your lips for a second. "not to be too brash or anything, but, to really, really dumb it down, you're a mis—you're mistakes."

"seriously? five, i thought you said that this timeline would be safe to stay in." luther looked like a scolded puppy. you felt bad. he was far too sweet—naive? yes, naive—for this kind of life.

"yes, that's what i thought, but second opinions are pretty valuable in my line of expertise. turns out it was sorely needed." his brows pricked up a few times while he spoke. "but, like you said before, it may be a problem we can solve."

diego remained, unsurprisingly, unswayed. "you better not be including this wad of chewed gum in that 'we,' five."

"what is with you and insulting him? he wants to help. jesus christ."

"last time i checked, his entire family just kicked our asses out of our own house, i have a right to be pissed, and he's lucky i'm in no killing mood."

"i don't agree that he should be killed," luther began in solidarity, "but we have a reason not to trust him, right?"

you took a little breath and exhaled it in a quiet sigh. "i know my family can be... extreme. and bad sometimes. trust me. and i totally understand how you can be angry with them and with me and think that i'm not honest. but i never hurt anyone, and i want to help you guys. you're eccentric yourselves, but usually you're good people. you're, like, an actual family," you added, trailing off, "not a group forced to stay together for monetary gain."

five squinted at you slightly. was that one of the reasons you chose not to grow up? you couldn't be associated with the sparrows if you were half their age. throw on a pair of sunglasses and nobody could recognize you.

jeez. didn't that sound nice.

"you guys really deserve a place to rest. a stable place to live, even. and if we can figure this out, then maybe you won't have to live in constant fear of coming into contact with your doppelganger or something. live, like, normal lives. as normal as they can be, anyway."

diego, much to your surprise, seemed to listen to what you were saying. sure, he still looked quite ticked-off and impatient, but you couldn't really ask for too much from him, could you?

"and you're sure that this is a problem we can actually solve? for good?"

"i'm not exactly sure what the problem even is yet. all i know is that something is wrong. but every problem has a solution, even if it seems impossible sometimes." there was a twinge of sage, melancholic hopelessness somewhere in there, some subtle disbelief. "five is quite the expert in timelines and time travel-related problems and paradoxes, and i'm an expert in alternate realities and manipulating reality itself. if anyone can figure it out, i'm sure we can. and i have no doubt that all of you will also play large parts."

luther's face was screwed into an expression of brazen confusion. "so... we're, like, completely blind, and need to fight an enemy we know absolutely nothing about."

"pretty much," you mumbled.

"surprisingly poetic way to put that, luther, i'm impressed," five mused rather sarcastically. "unfortunately, however, it seems we're gonna have to do something terrible and unprecedented." perhaps for dramatic effect, perhaps to quell his own annoyances, he paused and sighed out a breath. "we're going to have to work together." he did not need to specify the parties specified in 'together.'

"well, personally, i think this is a splendid idea. perfect opportunity for family bonding, i'd say! we're surrounded by decent chinese food and competent beds and cable television. decent music, too! and diego can finally figure out some self-discipline by not constantly threatening to kill [y/n]! marvelous idea little ones." admittedly, klaus's unique way of talking and gesturing was quite calming to you. you were very grateful for him. oddly enough—maybe you should've stopped saying that when it came to the umbrellas—klaus seemed to be that pillar of tranquility for you. viktor as well.

"calm down, calm down. you know that he won't turn against us or whatever? you're sure?"

the question was directed at five but you answered for him. "i'm not strong and i've never been in good health. even christopher, without his powers, would be better at fighting you than i would."

"the fucking cube?" you nodded. he plastered a grin over a pouting scowl. he sighed, giving into the plan. perhaps some remaining distrust still lingered, however, he could deal with it. "we've gotta clue allison and vanya in now. i'll go get vanya."

"finally," five huffed, shaking his head. "i'm going to find allison. you said she's going to try and find claire? i'll go to her old house." and then, the next second, he was gone. a few seconds of... incredibly awkward silence passed, where luther was staring at you whole-heartedly.

"go on and take a seat, young whipper-snapper. do you have any dietary restrictions? or allergies? we've probably got something here you can eat, if you want."

you had asked to walk back home with five.

"why with me?" "it's a little bit selfish, but i really don't want to be alone right now, and you're the number one person i trust right now." "flattering," he muttered. "then why walk?" "i think better when i walk."

admittedly, walking was taxing for you right now, so it may not have been your brightest idea, but after this entire day you needed a nice break; the picturesque city sunset was nice, the breeze was subtle and sweet, and it smelled like food out there on the streets. viktor had offered to talk with marcus and try to make a deal; you'd asked him to be very, very careful. "i don't know if purposely seeking out the anomaly would be more effective, or if allowing it to reveal itself would be better. maybe we should seek it out."

five nodded slightly. "allowing it to reveal itself could mean that it becomes too powerful to stop."

"that's kind of what i was thinking. we don't know how it would reveal itself. what if it destroys something, or changes something? what if it hurts people?" your voice was quieter with that last proposition. it was the worst possible option in your mind; buildings could be rebuilt. changes could be undone, with enough time and patience. but people could not be undamaged, and they could not be brought back to life.

well, not permanently, anyway.

five's pace slowed a bit and he peered at you, strangely, for a moment. you avoided his eyes.

"surprisingly enough, i don't think this is the... worst outcome." "forgive me but i don't really believe you. we've got jack all on either side. essentially, we're alone." "you're used to it, five." "hmph. and you aren't?" "not in this way, i guess." there was more he wanted to say but you would not give him the opportunity to dig too deep. "there are worlds where your family is on board. trusts me, even, after some convincing. and there are also some where we narrow the options down. i'd love to be in one of those. but at least we aren't at each other's throats again, or diego's choking me to death." your voice soured. if you got too close, you could feel that pain. there your mind went then, trying to save your other selves out of some ethereal desperation you could never claw yourself away from.

"ow!" you hissed, clapping a hand to your neck where it had stung, sharp and sudden. "what was that?"

"you were seriously so spaced out you didn't see me?" five asked, though it barely sounded like a question. he sounded just barely concerned. you had looked like a glove without a hand. "jeez," he scoffed, shaking his head. "did you see anything helpful, at least? anything at all?"

your mind was still seared and shattered across uncountable realities and he could see that struggle to ground in your eyes. hear it in your breath. you had little mental fortitude left to respond. "sorry? can you repeat that?"

five didn't roll his eyes. unfortunately, he knew dissociation. he carefully took your hands in his, rubbing your knuckles like he'd seen you do before, and that seemed to give you... some amount of usable energy. it was also sort of difficult not to notice him, of all people, doing it, even while he sported an expression of general distaste for the situation; you couldn't tell if it was falsified or not. slowly, you were returning to your body, and it felt heavier than ever before. "what did you see?" he repeated, just as you asked, meticulously annunciating each word and using a decent pace.

you nodded slightly. "i saw a few other timelines. less fortunate ones." you didn't need to elaborate for five to understand what you were referring to. the broad strokes, anyway. "nothing really useful, though," you added after a second in total defeat.

"shit. well, that's alright." and though it clearly wasn't, you didn't say anything.

"how long have we been standing here?"

"... a minute or two."

"oh, great," you mumbled, shaking your head to yourself. your record was around two hours, sure, but it still sucked. "the... we should seek it out."

"wow. you remembered."

"we were having the same conversation a whole lot. given i was still alive and actually grew to trust you." it was a half-joke but it succeeded in getting a bare grin out of five. "we can't risk hurting other people."

"or destroying something," five added.

"or destroying something," you agreed, then furrowing your brow slightly. a cafe nearby was playing pleasant music; that was something keeping you tethered to this world in particular, as if five wasn't enough, but even he was quiet sometimes. "the only problem is we don't know where it is."

"or what it looks like. if it even looks like something at all. it could very well be invisible or incomprehensible." he scowled for a second, though not out of irritation, thinking rather loudly to himself. "we should start where we appeared, i think." you nodded in agreement. "if your... 'family' decides to work with us, all of us, then we can search a whole lot more. but we should get the basics out of the way."

"the beginning is always the most logical place to start."

"quaint way to put it, did you write the sound of music in another universe?"

"what part about 'literally any possible, feasible universe' do you not understand?" you joked, managing a small smile of your own, and five would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little bit relieved to see you humoring yourself again.

"i deserve that." he paused for a second. "i know you said that walking helps you think, and you definitely need to do that more, but you look like a dead man standing right now. i'd rather just drop you off at the academy and get back to my own family. are you okay to teleport?" you did not respond at first, taking careful account of how you felt and how you may feel after. eventually, and rather subtly, you nodded.

"my room is klaus's old room back in your universe."

"wow, that... makes it easier. safer, probably." that was the closest you were going to get to 'thank you' so you took it. you shut your eyes tight and breathed deep through that half-second nausea-bomb. you were happy to see your room when you opened your eyes; smelling like home, looking like home, feeling like pure comfort. five glanced about your room. somehow it looked exactly like what he expected from you, which was a compliment. it was cozy. well-lived—especially the bed. there were many blankets and pillows and a few stuffed animals, unmade, probably because you barely left it. he couldn't blame you, either.

looking at you, you seemed totally relieved and excited to be back home.

"are you going to let go of my hands now?"

five stiffened for a second, mumbling a hushed apology before letting go, shoving his hands in his pockets. you couldn't help but grin a little, tiredly, and he scoffed when he saw it. "don't look at me like that. i was helping you ground, since you evidently can't do it yourself sometimes." not that he could blame you, really. he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be... you.

you ignored the jab. "i'm surprised you're willing to wait to take care of this," you mumbled, hanging up your scarf and sweater, lazily rifling through your dresser to find something decently comfortable to pass out in. "you always insisted on getting things done quick. if not immediately."

"i'm desperate for one damn moment of peace. the world isn't being decimated just yet. i just want to sleep decently for once."

you smiled slightly. no one could work while exhausted, especially not when it came to your quandary. "go on and sleep then. i'll meet you at the obsidian again tomorrow."

"yeah. oh, uh, just remembered something. close your eyes for a few seconds."

"why?"

"just do it."

you scoffed, though without any sort of animosity or annoyance, shutting your eyes tight like he told you to. you heard the familiar sound of his blinking once, twice. "alright. you can look. here." he held out to you your bottle of painkillers. "nearly forgot to give them back."

"oh, sh—thank you." the relief on your face was quite plain and sort of comforting as well. he mustered a slight hum in response.

"good night."

"night, five. sleep well."

"hmph. we'll see."

[fafayayarhen]

Have you considered

France x Austria

Austria x England

Austria x Russia

and much more?

AS A MATTER OF FACT YES I DIDDLY DOODLY HAVE ANON, hear ye as one of the connoisseur of APH Austria we have this knack of multi-shipping our princess for reason that he makes such good material for it backed by the historical precedent, never forget Matthias Corvinus' "Where Mars gives other kingdoms, Venus gives to thee," in regards to the Habsburgs' renowned marriage strategy!

✨ Now buckle up anon ✨

France x Austria : historically the most disastrous and problematic and terrifying nightmare fuel for the rest of the continent. In fact, some 80% of the conflict had been because of these bitches' rivaling houses having beef with each other. Think the popular pretty girl VS the other popular pretty girl type of dynamic but when they're working together it's both the worst thing possible for everyone and each other because both will stab the shit out of one another. I love them.

It's very possible on a more intimate level the two are able to get along for the fact they're very much two sides of the same coin and are simply dressed differently is all. Both would know the worst of each other and their most vulnerable, I feel their intimacy and bed related activities would be wild — smth smth sex is the rawest form of expression to relinquish control and they'd delve into it. Romantic wise I can see the two being the type to go, "Love doesn't suit our rotten souls."

England X Austria : they're quite an interesting one to me! Anon and everyone will notice a pattern here that I go more for a historical basis route and damn it it's because I remember them better than having to go search through canon material sO — anyhow, Anglo-Austrian relation is a real thing as much as it was quite a... Unique situation between the two. There were the Austrian Anglophiles who insists an alliance with them is efficient to oppose the French (it's always the French)

As much as both had the knack of not fulfilling their end of the bargain to each other as promised because of "changing circumstances". Like we saw in that one episode where England upped and left Austria be during the war of the Austrian succession because he just wanted to beat up France, yeah? That example was demonstrated several more times between the two in the course of their supposed alliance. Roderich and Arthur would have this dancing around one another type of thing going on because they strike me as the type to be more calculative before ever getting personally close when both were the huge superpowers in that time period. And given the British and Spanish had already existing beef whilst the Spanish and Austrian Habsburg branch were united as is, you can see the conflict of interest that created the "they'll be good if we need to kick the French but also our Spanish relatives are important but hurm,"

Personally it was that incident during when the Spanish forces were trying to recapture Gibraltar from the English that lends to this complex dynamic because they asked helped from the Austrians for support only for, whatever REASON, they backed the English forces. This was in the 1700s I believe? I'd like to think England may have bedded the pretty Austrian for that LMFAO.

Russia X Austria : Whew. Okay this one has been quite the guilty pleasure for me ngl. Smth about the domineering force that was the Russian empire, the menacing bear that is Vanya and considering the number of fairly decent alliances the Austrian maintained with their Russians (partitions, holy league, etc.) Roddi and Vanya would have an amicable relationship. I'd think Roderich would have had the sense of walking on eggshells around this person for reason he can just tell at first glance to thread carefully or be at the mercy of whatever Russia would choose to impose of him.

Something like a faux compliance from the most dangerous beast for the pretty sweetling, giving Roderich this false sense of control that maintains the apparent "harmony" of the relationship. They're actually so interesting ngl that I'm sure there's a number of pretty good historical references to grow them with!

Honourable mentions that have been lingering in the back of my mind that aren't the big popular ones —

• Turkiye X Austria : COFFEE CULTURE!! also coughs they have the kind of enemies to lovers vibe I dig

• Poland X Austria : wouldn't you know it that not only during the partitions were the Austrians most lenient towards their polish citizens but consider many times, they had been allies too — I believe marriage arrangements between their monarchs were planned as well but unfortunately couldn't come to fruition

• Netherlands X Austria : Okay here we go babes before they were Netherlands they were the low countries and under whose house if not the HRE and then the Habsburgs by way of claim through marriage to the Spanish for inheritance, and if not ship material why did they have good relations including an Austrian monarch marrying into the Dutch to help them fix up governance and they flourished? Also tallest man bagging the prettiest princess who was once married to his rival (Spain) is the single funniest addition to this

• Denmark X Austria : Listen. I haven't seen many touch into this but not only do they share actual pastry influence with each other, during the second Schleswig-Holstein conflict, it was by the Prussians recruiting the Austrians they managed to beat the Danish and I imagined it was the princess straight up stabbing the shit out of Denmark that had the Dane be horny at first sight and well, when you're the winner of the war you'd want to get your spoils, no?

[lovevalley45]

#fictober24 - day seven

"Follow me if you want to live."

original fiction (power payback)

wc: 1277

Vanya Wolanksi wasn’t even supposed to work today. 

The afternoon shift was their last favorite. They preferred to work nights when they bartended at the Victorian; the tips weren’t necessarily better, but there were more of them. 

It didn’t help that the afternoon crowd was the most boring group. The Velvet didn’t get much business from the conference crowd, but for the few who wanted to save money without sacrificing the feeling of luxury, they stayed here and dropped by the Victorian to decompress. 

But no, Jerome had asked them to cover him. Fucking Jerome. Whatever. He promised that he’d cover one of their shifts later in the week, which seemed like a better deal for him. 

They kept an eye on Sylvie, the other bartender on staff, as she dealt with some corporate-suited douchebag trying to hit on her. As they polished the glass in their hand, it started to frost over. 

“Shit,” Vanya murmured, starting to wipe away the ice. Tricks like that could have slided at 32. But they’d pissed off management there keeping their hair red. It didn’t go with the cryokinetic aesthetic, they’d said. 

Being a cryokinetic wasn’t an aesthetic. It was their life. And if they chose to dye their hair red because they hated how white hair gave them away, that was their fucking choice. 

“Excuse me?”

Vanya looked up at the woman who sat across from them. Now she looked like she fit the cryokinesis aesthetic, in an ice queen sort of way. Her hair wasn’t white, but a pale blonde that matched her stark white skirt-suit. A silver pin in the shape of a spade was pinned to the left lapel of her blazer. 

Her pale blue eyes locked on them intensely as they said, “Good afternoon, ma’am. What can I get you?” 

“What wines do you have?” 

They grinned. “I’d ask red or white, but you strike me as a white wine kinda woman. We’ve got a Pinot Grigio from Italy, a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, or a Riesling from the states.” 

The woman didn’t smile, but there was a touch of amusement in her voice when she said, “Guilty. I’ll take the Sauvignon Blanc.”

Vanya went to grab a bottle and a glass. As they did, they kept up the small talk. “So, what brings you to the Velvet today? Business or pleasure?” 

“Business,” she replied. “Do you enjoy working for the Velvet,...” 

They set the glass down. “Vanya.” 

“Vanya. I’m Noella.” 

As they started to fill her glass, they said, “What a pretty name.” 

“You didn’t answer my question.” 

Vanya glanced over to see if Sylvia was occupied, then shrugged. “It’s a fine casino. I’ve worked in bars all around the Resort District, but the Velvet’s nice.” 

“Do you know anything about the cryokinetic bar?” Noella asked. 

They slid the glass her way. “Yeah.” At her eyebrow raise to go on, they huffed. “It’s one of the last Talent-pushing establishments on Neon Avenue. So management is strict about the cryos who work there. No burnouts. You have to stick to a certain aesthetic. And it’s cute if you’re a little free with your Talent and give the guests a show,  but you’ve gotta keep it under control.” 

Noella hummed. She took a sip of her wine, then met Vanya’s eyes again. “You sound like you have a lot of experience with management there.” 

“Guilty.” They braced their hands against the bar. “Why not ask someone there all these questions?” 

“I tried. They said to go to you.” 

Vanya barked out a laugh. “Yeah. I fought tooth and nail with management there. They wanted me to stop dye-ing my hair or worst, cut it all off.” They scoffed and flipped the crimson braid on their shoulder. “But I must not have pissed them off too much, ‘cause the people who look over all the dining and entertainment here just moved me to the Victorian.” 

“You must be good at what you do, is what I’m hearing.” 

“Maybe.” 

“Get off of me!” 

Vanya turned towards Sylvie. The suit who’d been trying to hit on her earlier had grabbed her wrist and was leaning in. 

“Hey, hey, hey!” They went to her side of the bar. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

The suit backed off. “I wasn’t doing anything, man-” 

“Don’t call me man.” Vanya came out from behind the bar to fully get in the suit’s business. “My friend here is trying to do her job. That’s not an invitation for you to start trying to feel up on her.” 

He looked panicked, but started to grab the glass on the bar. Before he could pick up, they took hold of his wrist and yanked it up. 

“You’re outta here. Come on.” 

The suit scoffed. “You and what muscles?” He did look like he hit the gym more than they did, but they still had a couple of inches on him. Not to mention their Talent. 

Vanya squeezed his wrist, hard. The suit yelped as ice dug into his skin. As he reeled from the pain, they dragged him out to the entrance. 

They wanted to just push him back out into the casino, but instead they patted him down until they came across his wallet. 

“Hey, what are you doing?” 

“Checking your ID so I can tell security who I have to sicc them on,” Vanya said. They opened it up. “Michael Brockton.” They shoved his wallet back into his pocket, and let go of him, before placing a hand on his chest and forcing them out. “Now scram.” 

Michael did, in fact, scram. 

As they stepped back behind the bar, Sylvie sighed and said, “Thanks, Red.” 

“No problem.” Vanya glanced towards the end of the bar where Noella was finishing her glass of wine. As they approached her, they asked, “Need a refill?” 

“Thank you, but no,” she said. “I have a meeting to make.” 

“Right. Let me pull up your tab.” 

She handed over a silver credit card and they closed her tab, briefly taking in her full name: Noella Eld. 

As she took her credit card back, she said, “Nice work there.” 

“Thanks.” 

Vanya thought about the encounter for the rest of their shift, even as they put in a call to security to issue their complaint. By the time they got off, right before the evening rush, they figured there were just some chance meetings that haunted you for the rest of your life. 

Until they stepped out of the Victorian to be greeted by Noella Eld. She wasn’t alone this time. A tall man with a neck scar in a suit stood behind her. Some kind of bodyguard, maybe. 

“Vanya Wolanski?” she asked. 

“Yeah.” They shoved their hands in their pockets. “Who told you my last name?” 

“Your boss.” Noella looked at the Victorian. “Are you really satisfied working here, Vanya Wolanski?” 

“It’s fine, but I don’t wanna work in bars my whole damn life.” They paused. “I didn’t mean to say that last part. Why did I say that last part?” 

The man snickered, and Noella’s lips quirked up into the faintest smile. 

“You’re a Talent,” they concluded. “I mean, why the hell do you care?” 

“I’m opening a new resort on Neon Avenue,” she told them, “and I’m looking for someone to help me run something the likes of which this city has never seen. So, follow me if you want to live - actually live - and do something much better than throwing douchebags out of bars.” 

Vanya grinned. “Gladly.” 

As they fell in step behind Noella and her companion, they were so happy that they worked today.

[lv-iceprince]

~about me🫧

so since I have now passed 200 followers i feel like i need to actually introduce myself. against popular belief i am not a robot 🙃 without further adieu here is...me?

this is a bad description of me but this will have to do until i have more time.

online alias~ wren

real name~ ty

age~ 23 (24 on the 12th of october)

gender~ dude

nationality~ australian

race~ indigenous australian, tongan and scottish

mbti~ entj-t

hogwarts house~ slytherin

occupation~ creative industries music student and a pending foreign language student

hobbies~ i actually have too many hobbies because i'm such a perfectionist i dance, sing and produce, but i absolutely love photography and art. i'm a water colour artist and i spray paint. i''m into studying and knowing as much as possible, i'm a gym junkie but i am also such a nerd for videogames, science and visual novels.

extra facts~

i nearly die a lot, it's kind of normal for me (so far i've nearly died 22 times)

i have 3 pet rabbits and 3 pet cats but my cat vanya is my favourite

i am the best chef fr

i know the languages i know now because i tried to go online and get a foreign girlfriend or boyfriend~ it didn't work :')

i slipped as a kid and nearly cut my eye out but now i have this awesome scar

i'm a radio trainee but i still need to actually finish my training

i was a horror writer since i was six years old but it wasn't until after my writing hiatus that i started to write smut and romance

apparently i stand like hyunjin from skz?

i used to be a soprano in a youth choir

i was a film student for 3 years

my mum is training me to be an assistant florist so i can fund my music career

i have resting dead behind the eyes face

i once got checked out and air fingered by hyunjin at a concert and that is my proudest moment

i know 8 languages to various degrees but i am studying more language so i can be more fluent

i play the piano

i nearly joined a religious cult

besides kpop i am like really into david bowie, prince and michael jackson and i am a guilty lana del rey casual listener, i also like troye sivan, barkada, beyonce, jonas brothers, atarashii gakko!, metro boomin', miley cyrus, chase atlantic, disney music, some musical stuff but not a lot, conan gray, grant knoche, joji, lil uzi vert, finneas, pinkpantheress, ayesha erotica and any other hoe slut cunty energy artists

biases~

stray kids... felix and hyunjin

ateez... hongjoong and mingi

txt... soobin

monsta x... hyungwon

twice... momo and jeongyeon

seventeen... mingyu, woozi, scoups and jun

ive.. liz and gaeul

newjeans... hanni

gfriend... umji

nct... mark, jisung, haechan and jaemin

itzy... yuna

p1harmony... soul and jiung

enhypen... jay and heeseung

[aro-ortega]

i was tagged by @rangerdoubt and @the-cooler-sidestep to post a wip on wip wedndsday, but i didn't have any wips to share then bc i recently completed my most recent wip, but ! i have a wip to share now. it is no longer wednesday but also this is very much a work in progress and more bare bones/messy than i would usually share

oh also idk who has shared their wips already, so if you see this and want to share your wip(s) this I'd me encouraging you to do that

anyway. yall like marriage proposals ?

still.(?)

(How can you forgive [Vanya] for all the secrets ?

I lost you once. I thought I lost you twice. I can't bear to lose you again, I'm just glad that you're **okay** and trusting me (us?) to help. +Not the only one keeping secrets - had felt guilty for his relationship with Marta, because he'd been using her for work. (In a way, he's glad that. It's just him. Of course it's him.))

"I have to tell you something," Vanya says.

"Still?" Ortega smiles, but there's wariness in his eyes. So many secrets between the two of them, and even now there's more?

"It's important that you know. Because I never want you to doubt it. How I feel."

(Ricardo reacts)

(Vanya turns to Ricardo. Holds his face ? Hands ?)

"I am in love with you, Ricardo Ortega. I have been in love with you for a very long time. You are my best friend, and -" he stops.

"... and?" Ricardo prompts after a moment. (He returns Vanyas embrace/touch somehow.) (Vanya looks into his eyes.)

"And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That is the only thing that I have wanted this whole time. I want you. I want to be with you. If you would have me."

"**If** I would have you." (Playful/eye roll/teasing) (Tears in his eyes ? Crying ?)

"Still?" With all the lies and secrets between them? With all the things they've done to each other?

"Always. Forever."

[syrupwit]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you for tagging me, Sulky @sulky-valkyrie! In return I am tagging: @chipper-daily, @sunrisetune, @malatruse, @potatowitch, @only-slightly-terrified, @ladysavannah908

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

On my main, 178 :-)

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

On my main, 340,181 words as of today!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

All of them!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Almost all smut:

Struck (Invader Zim, Dib/Zim)

table (Invader Zim, Dib/Zim)

softly through the shadow of the evening sun (MCU/Venom films, Peter Parker/Venom Symbiote)

Salt (Invader Zim, Dib/Zim)

Like You Better Framed and Dried (TUA, Allison/Vanya, written shortly after S1 dropped)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I used to reply to every comment, but now my replies are more sporadic. This is due to a combination of being very busy and not always having the energy to fight my social anxiety. I don't feel guilty about it, nor do I mind if others don't reply to my comments or reply after a long time -- this is a hobby, we've all got lives.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Never Satisfied -- mind the tags please. Alternately, Struck.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

My stuff usually has happy endings, but the happiest narrator is probably the Vagabond Girl in Hearth-Cakes.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Rarely! It's been from people who are ticked off that I wrote m/m smut, or that I wrote a kink they find depressing.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do. Many kinds.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Is TMA + The Bone Key crazy? Collaboration

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone asked to translate a short Miles/Walrider Outlast fic of mine into Korean, which was exciting and flattering. I gave permission, but I don't know if they ended up translating it.

This is tangential to the question, but MiladyMorningstar on AO3 did an absolutely wonderful podfic of my IZ mail order spouse series: Typical Human Courtship Series [Podfic]

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I am a diva, and I don't think I could do it. The round robin we did for Sav's birthday went well though :-)

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

ZADR -- it set my tastes as a teenager and does to this day.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Worst Man :( I have an outline and like 4k-ish but idk.

16. What are your writing strengths?

These are the top skills I feel confident using:

Description

Dialogue

Poetic voice

Humor

Making the reader go "wait, that's fucked up"

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm sure there are many I have yet to discover (AND CONQUER) but:

Not explaining things enough

Plot

Getting impatient and rushing to the conclusion

Action scenes

Smut

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

OK, I actually have strong feelings about this. Unless the fic takes place in two languages, canon does the interrupting other-language thing and you're mimicking it, or there's some other important reason (aesthetic, personal, logistical, etc.), "He informed them in Spanish that the goose had escaped" or "Leia and the space bank robber carried on a furious conversation in Huttese" works better than inserting a block of non-English dialogue into the text.

Additionally, I hate the way it looks when non-English words are italicized in description or dialogue. Thus, I don't do it. If a character routinely uses slang, terms of endearment, or other expressions not in English in canon, those are not getting italicized in my dialogue for that character. Ever!!!!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Gosh, I think it was Spirited Away... I got ff.net hate for it. I got flamed! People in the Neopets General Chat ("GC") had to counsel me.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I will never tell :-)

[imakemywings]

A bit controversial, hope you're not angry about me bringing it up. It's just, not to be an asshole, but the fandom's (some) outcry over sexism in Tolkien's work makes me laugh as a woman myself. I understand where they are going, but like for them to point fingers at the author for being sexist, not realizing some of their opinions are straight-up borderline sexist is too funny for me. The amount of vitriol that Tolkien's female characters receive, the way they are victims of circumstances who have to make decisions but are shamed for it ten times over while the male characters are given so so much sympathy is why I laugh at popular posts/fics whining about that. They take these female characters for granted, they ask for more but can't handle the ones who are freaking nice but had to make big decisions. What do you think about it?

Honestly, the discussion of sexism in Tolkien's work is ever ongoing, but your point is very valid and it's something I've discussed with other fans.

Setting aside a discussion of any sexism of Tolkien himself (which is present, to what degree people may debate over), often we really see the fandom just recreating a slightly different flavor of sexism?

Where's that post that's like "you all ask for more evil female characters but you can't even handle a female character being impolite 1 time"? Obviously the "Tolkien fandom" is not really the monolith the name implies, but there is a level of comedy in seeing people complain that there aren't enough plot-relevant female characters (true--Curufin's wife birthed Feanor's only grandchild, and we don't even know her name? None of the Noldor wives go to Middle-earth except Elenwe who dies on the way? [And Edhellos but that's not in Silm proper iirc]) but then ALSO go and like, call Idril racist because she didn't want to fuck her creepy cousin (overlooking that Idril herself is of mixed Elven heritage; mom was a Vanya).

I think there are a LOT of instances where female characters are attacked and shamed and subject to headcanons about their selfishness and incompetence because they were put in a very difficult situation where there was no "safe" option, and that a male character in that position would have been given a LOT more grace by the fandom (look how people will bend over backwards to argue the Feanorians are not guilty of mass murder several times over).

But this isn't unique to the Tolkien fandom by ANY means--female characters get brushed aside to focus on their male peers, villainized to suit a male character's needs, and generally looked own on across fandoms. It's just particularly ironic here because of the discussion on the sexism in Tolkien's writing--which the fandom then goes ahead and recreates, sometimes worse than it is in the books. But it is something I've seen in virtually every fandom where I've spent time (Look at the way Mel Medarda is treated by the Arcane fandom; look at the way Bianca Davri is treated by the Dragon Age fandom; look at the way Skylar White was treated by the Breaking Bad fans, etc.)

However, I do think this has actually gotten better since I was younger and involved in fandom? Obviously it varies by online space and it's still an issue, but it feels like the vitriol was far more widespread when I was a young teenager. It feels like there's been a greater movement in the last several years to cut back on this kind of behavior and encourage a more positive environment for female characters...or maybe I'm just in more curated spaces now so I don't stumble upon nearly as much of it as I used to.

Anyway, anon, if you need some Tolkien blogs to follow who give female characters their due, just let me know! Happy to give some recs.

[exspiritment]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒 .

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟷    :    𝐓𝐇𝐄    𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄.

NAME  :   spirit harris

EYE COLOR  :    hazely, greeny.

HAIR STYLE  /  COLOR  :    naturally ginger. dyed bleach blonde. self-cut into shaggy layers and bangs.

HEIGHT  :    5'5".

CLOTHING STYLE  :   she's either in clubbing dresses (black silk slips, velvet rompers) or pajamas (sweat shorts and hoodies/crewnecks, men's button-ups, etc)

BEST PHYSICAL FEATURE  :    idfk? nose, smile.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟸    :    𝐓𝐇𝐄    𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄.

FEARS  :   abandonment/rejection, confinement

GUILTY PLEASURE  :   worth nothing she doesn't feel guilt easily. that said, sexting with someone she shouldn't.

BIGGEST PET PEEVE  :   being underestimated or misunderstood, especially in a business scenario.

AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE  :    she wants to survive living a pretty simple existence. don't get caught, i guess.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟹    :    𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒.

FIRST THOUGHTS WAKING UP  :  "head hurt"

THEY THINK ABOUT MOST  :    a small white room.

WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT BEFORE BED  :   if she's not getting laid — why she went to bed alone.

WHAT THEY THINK THEIR BEST QUALITY IS  :  her charm.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟺    :    𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒    𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑?

SINGLE OR GROUP DATES  :    single dates. she wants to be the center of attention so bad.

TO BE LOVED OR RESPECTED  :    loved.

BEAUTY OR BRAINS  :    beauty.

DOGS OR CATS  :   cats, but they're on thin ice

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟻    :    𝐃𝐎    𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘…

LIE  :   all day every day.

BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES  :   ehhhhhhh???

BELIEVE IN LOVE  :   not the way you and i do. her conception of relationships and what she wants/deserves is so, so twisted.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟼    :    𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄    𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘    𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑…

BEEN ON STAGE  :   no. that would be an interesting scenario, actually.

CHANGED WHO THEY WERE TO FIT IN  :   not when she was younger, but certainly nowadays.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟽    :    𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒.

FAVORITE COLOR  :    black.

FAVORITE ANIMAL  :   rabbits.

FAVORITE BOOK  :   can't read like that.

FAVORITE GAME  :  png.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁  𝟶𝟶𝟾    :    𝐀𝐆𝐄.

DAY THEIR NEXT BIRTHDAY WILL BE  :   12/23

HOW OLD WILL THEY BE  :    25

TAGGED BY:  @hammurabicomplex / @crimewriter TAGGING: @diicktective @illwriteatragedy @tahitiwoke @ruinaa @natophonetic for trevor @jupiter3 for emily @d1c4af for vanya @feralego for pippa

[vegaprose]

❛  damn, if being sexy was a crime, you’d be guilty as charged.  ❜ / vanya to ledger joker !

@diviines | memes

HE   FINDS   DEEP   AMUSEMENT   IN   THE   SUDDEN   REMARK   enough   to   cackle   the   second   she   finishes   the   line   ,   smile   stretching   even   wider   than   it   already   was   as   he   takes   a   swaggering   step   closer   .   Joker   knows   she's   as   playful   as   he   is   ,   in   every   sense   of   the   word   ,   especially   when   it   comes   to   making   crude   comments   —   but   he   liked   that   one   .   It   gave   him   a   renewed   sense   of   self   worth   that   he   very   discreetly   dealt   with   a   severe   lack   of   on   the   regular   .   ❛   That's   a   bit   ..   uh   ,   corny   ,   don't   y'think?   even   for   you   ,   Van   .   But   still   ..   you   wanna   ,   um   ..   find   a   nice   soft   spot   'round   here   somewhere   n'   ride   it   till   dawn?   ❜   he   isn't   even   joking   when   he   says   this   ,   the   smirk   on   his   face   indicating   he's   deadly   serious   and   the   shift   in   the   colour   of   his   eyes   deepening   making   it   apparent   the   blood   is   pumping   elsewhere   right   now   .  

[vialofpyrite]

Mod Rovin: Can be found over at @roviniko and is largely responsible for the pyrite side of things. Enthusiast of fantasy stories, political intruige and overcomplicated royal family trees. Will ramble for hours on end about worldbuilding and conlanging if you let them (they/them)

Mod Amy: Tumblr is @amyychu but is active on Instagram. Responsible for the Vial of Violet side of things and partially responsible for the story side of Vial of Pyrite. Devotee of fantasy and sci-fi world building with a primary interest in creature and ecosystem designing. Guilty of assigning characters specific themes, symbols and colors and personally ensuring the angst is never too far away. (she/her/any) Mod Nova: Main blog is @galaxyofender and is primarily responsible for the characters of Iatras, Vanya and Fevas, alongside some bits of worldbuilding. Enjoyer of mythology and folklore, also of cartomancy (mainly tarot, but does enjoy other forms of cartomancy). Mainly likes the cultural side of worldbuilding, the daily lives of the people in the world. Can and will ramble about martyn inthelittlewood, the life smp series and hadestown if you give them the chance. Because of technical issues, has to submit their posts to the blog rather than posting it themselves proper- (they/him/any)

[sweetpastillas]

to hijack a five-centric post & make it more relatively? generalish because i love fanon vs canon discourse (vv good points tho i agree)–

half of the problem is genuinely due to the gigantic breaks in between seasons? i wont argue about production management but can say that because it takes a while to get to where the characters are next, we remain stuck at where they currently are. fandom can only imagine where their arc goes, but ultimately we stick to how their personalities are defined at its current stage

and like, there's also a combination of slotting the characters into archetypes and tropes. everyone or most are guilty of it, especially with s1 (it was in the marketing). so fandom establishes perceptions of these characters, and keep them consistent throughout the show's run.

at initial watch, five is the stressed out wise one, and in hindsight everyone should have listened to him. we keep this in mind as we watch onwards to other seasons, and we always see him proven right about apocalypses nonetheless. but we forget or we dont realize it enough, that five is characterized as someone who was raised and Hired by the commission to look at the bigger picture, and when that's over with, he can focus on the interpersonal stuff; in comparison to his siblings, who in their pov never lived the older life he did and only Had the interpersonal stuff to consider.

again, we forget or dont realize it enough, so many end up perceiving it as: five has another apocalypse on his plate. of course the hargreeves are too dysfunctional to listen to him. i cant believe they didnt listen to him. i bet they never listen to him. rinse repeat

so, fandom perception. who didnt push takes post-s1 that were basically "luther's a moon obsessed uptight bastard, klaus is our lil sad gay junkie, allison is That bitch, etc."

but the show canon takes that and runs, pushing those images of them and stretching within boundaries. we went from family drama of s1 to family hijinks in s2; therefore we keep the pre established fanon perception in our minds

(for example, allow me to ramble – netflix marketing for tua once put out a post that basically said "this would be luther's playlist" and it was a bunch of songs with moon in the title. and its like, as an og luther defender, fuck off no hed have a bunch of 60s-80s songs with 90s guilty pleasure standalones. the moon was shit for him and as much as it was beautiful it was confusing and isolating and Thats why he was obsessed. shut up abt the moon i beg

and of couse the 'luther's stupid -> luther's a himbo -> luther's just plain dumb' pipeline :( )

but yes. show canon, and fanon perception of it. the further morphing into 'allison is a bitch, now', and, as said, 'five, the local cranky elderly'.

the third element to this are the comics, which might be where the weirder and colder takes of the characters come from. i only have a barebones memory of reading apocalypse suite (the first volume where s1 is based on) and already the differences are stark. its the royal tenenbaums with an edge – the hargreeves' genuinely dont see each other as siblings, so in that verse its written as ok enough for allison/luther and diego/vanya(as far as ik the comics version of viktor still isnt trans) to happen. adding to that, because they see each other as teammates more than sibs, the shit they say to each other and how they say it can sound more snappy and detached than half of diego's angry s1 dialogue 💀. reginald was hateful there, too, a stark contrast to how we see him executed with more depth and complexity in the show

so then, adding in ideas you can get from the comics, fandom further morphs the perception. then comes show canon last in the race to combine, and suddenly we scramble. its either 'hey, thats not how my idealized version of that character in fanfiction works in this adaptation' vs realizing that was never the case at all. five the grump no one listens to vs just five, struggling one more time, with his siblings beside him

oh no you guys. i’m going to spew things i’ve realized while rewatching umbrella academy. I’m realizing were all being too sucked into fanon things after being stuck without canon content for so long. We have convinced ourselves Five acts like a mean mean dude to everyone but rewatching, i’ve realized he’s only stressed and is saying things out of panicked anger, especially in s1 with the apocalypse dooming over them. he acts soft to his siblings multiple times, he’s really not as mean as we write him in fanfiction. he is a little crap though, that’s for sure, and i love him for that <3

also realizing that the siblings don’t hate five. they just literally don’t know him at all. he came back a completely different person after 17 years for the siblings, they don’t know five, he’s a stranger so of course they’re gonna be cold to him. it’s like, “i don’t know you well, but you’re always going to be my brother in the end”.

ALSO. for those who ship some of the siblings, uhm… i’ve seen a lot of you guys try to prove that they don’t see eachother as siblings and more like academy students, but they very much say in just about every episode that they see eachother as siblings. they don’t actually SAY that word by word but they say things like “she’s our sister”, or “our dad”. if they say OUR dad… bro. i’m not even going to continue, you can put it together yourself. But, i do realize why people ship the siblings. I am not defending incest shippers but with umbrella academy i can see why people have resorted to it. only 3 of the characters in the main sibling cast has romantic partners. people like shipping people, people love writing romantic relationships, but with only diego/lila, dave/klaus, and sissy/viktor, (i’m not going to count five/dolores for now) people are desperate with the need to ship the rest of the siblings with someone, and since there are only a few actual canon characters in the show that interact with our main 7, people start shipping them together… yikes. anywho, that’s all for that peice. i blame the show writers as well for shipping luther/allison, they did not have to do that, but i’m hoping it was only to convey the severity of what childhood trauma does to people.

ALSO THIS HERE SHOOK ME. I actually think Reginald cares for the siblings. i hate to say it, but it’s true. caring for them does not mean being good, though. he was a horrible father, and person, but he genuinely did care for the siblings, in a like, “being the best is the best thing for you, i will make you better, for your sake, even if you don’t know it now, you will see that i am right” kind of way.

also why has NOBODY MENTIONED THIS. in season 2 when diego first reunites with five in the asylum, while he’s walking into the visitors room, he’s staring at five with this heartfelt, soft look, and then says “five…” in the most soft spoken voice ever 😭 your honor i love them

ALSO UGHHH THIS. IM GOING TO FREAK OUT ABOUT CAMERAWORK AND METAPHORS HERE SO BARE WITH ME. we as a fandom complain about the lack of flashbacks five has due to his ptsd. we’ve seen his first flashback since getting back to his family in s1 during the van scene when he gets triggered by those kids playing and starts thinking about his own childhood, i’m guessing. i ate that scene up, and was sad to see that be one of the only deeply vulnerable scenes he has in the season, and during my first watch i thought they’d never bring it back up. but they do!! i may be stupid for not realizing but whatever. in season 2, when five is trying to explain at elliot’s with all his siblings around that another apocalypse is coming, everyone starts talking about each other. as someone who studies film and camerawork, i love this scene. we see the camera focus on five as it slowly zooms in. it doesn’t switch scenes at all as the siblings voices overlap and echo over eachother. this whole scene conveys him getting overwhelmed and he starts to zone out, starting to think of the nuclear war he saw his siblings in. the scenes of the war start quickly switching through, showing many different scenes of it before it switches back to five, who says “guys, you all die. i want to forget it but i can’t” which just UGH its so well done there. if you think about it, he was starting to slip into another flashback. he was triggered by talking about their deaths in the war but was handling it well until the siblings started fighting, where we see the overlapping voices happen. it portrays him losing control and being unable to pull it back together with too much going on for him to focus on grounding himself. we DO however, see that five was able to pull himself out before he fell too deep into the flashback. i love how they show this through them still having the scene showing the war, but then fives voice starts talking over the scene which is still focusing on the war as if he was pushing it back and forcing himself to come back to the present.

thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far, i will continue to freak out another time <3