#mostly because i don't think SM5 can let himself relax enough to actually work with number

[sharkneto]

any thoughts on how SM!5 and JT!5 would react to each other or do we just gotta let em sniff each other under the door

I've talked about all three Fives meeting before HERE, but just SM!5 and Number meeting... I do think that has different vibes without Canon!Five there. They are so close to being the same person. The only thing that separates them is an email; that fateful drunk email to Sarah that launched Number on a completely different trajectory from SM5.

I think no matter what point they meet after their divergence from one another, they don't get along. They're too similar, their divergence point so small, they bring out each other's worst insecurities. We'll put their meeting after the events of HIT, where Number has all the answers to time travel. This is already an infuriating point for SM5, because why the fuck did that version of him get all the answers handed to him and not him? It's a defensive wall he can throw up, that at least he's figuring it out for himself and that does make him better than Number.

Number puts so much pressure on SM5, shines too harsh of a light on all the ways his life hasn't really gone right, it makes him insanely defensive. Sure, Number has... everything, but is he a spy? Does he get to live in his own house in Scotland with his dog? Is he seeing the world on important missions with an unofficial archenemy? No, he's dumb and sits in an office/in class doing that thing neither of them are supposed to be doing and time traveling.

From Number's side, it puts a really stark light on how big of an impact Rob and Sarah had on his life. Without them, he would be a drunk who never sees or talks to his siblings and live way far away doing weird missions as a spy (...which, actually, is Very Cool but he will never ever let SM5 know that). Number is still winning as Most Functional Five, but he doesn't have the same ammo he had over canon!Five and SM5 can get into his head and make him overthink how much of his success he can attribute to himself. At least he has time travel to hold over SM5 but SM5 keeps throwing that in his face, too, for the same reason.

I don't think it's as explosive as canon!Five and Number's meeting, but I do think it's more vicious. Rob would have his work cut out keeping the peace between them because they're both more socially functional than canon!Five and they're so close to the same person that they know exactly what weak points to hit. And, again, I can't emphasize enough that all of this aggression towards one another stems from insecurity and trying to reassure themselves that they're doing life better and are better than the other one. Protecting their egos and the life choices they made to get to where they are. It's all a defense mechanism.

SM5 has a harder time convincing himself that he is better than Number (because Number does have friends and family and a PhD, which are all things he wants but couldn't figure out how to get himself) which makes him meaner, which makes Number meaner in response, which makes SM5 meaner, which makes...

Letting them sniff under the door first may be a good idea.

#they would be fucking exhausting to be in a room with #and i think they'd work together even worse than number and five work together #mostly because i don't think SM5 can let himself relax enough to actually work with number #it puts his ego too much at risk to have to acknowledge when number is right about something #He's Doing Just Fine Without Those Fancy Adult Friends And Degree Thank You Very Much #See? He's So Good And Functional #five is so distinct from the other two and they also owe him for not being him that it is easier to put natural five-self-hatred aside #thanks for the ask! #i love thinking about all the fives #their little differences and whatnot #it's fun #ask response #number #shifting mirrors #ficblogging #jt #hit #sm5