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#we love both ben and klaus but they have issues
conduitandconjurer · 11 months
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I don't get why the fans are so pressed about Klaus needing someone around "he's just latching onto Five/S!Ben cause U!Ben died", like... yes?? Most likely?? That doesn't exclude that he can love them too. Also, if you go through a loss so big the people around you aren't gonna just isolate you so you can "become your own person". And the "It's just another addiction" it's also so extreme! He DOES need his family! I don't really get it. Do you have an opinion?
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Wait.
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Wait so portions of the fandom are upset that Klaus is projecting his love and guilt over "his" Ben onto sad asshole Sparrow!Ben? Or? What, that he's an emotional whore that just needs to go around clinging onto whoever's closest?
I guess I don't understand the issue--what exactly about that is problematic to them? Are they not aware that Klaus has never felt that his mental or physical boundaries were respected, because of Reginald's experiments, and the ghosts themselves To me all the above does is show how much Klaus loves and misses the brother with whom he was always tasked to tag along, as children, and probably feels the one way he can gain closure over all those toxic years of codependency with Umbrella Ben is to help Sparrow Ben face his rage and shame and sense of inadequacy.
Is the argument that Klaus isn't capable of loving his family and that getting Ben back is a "new addiction'/"distraction"? Because that's frankly such a distorted interpretation of canon that I don't think it's worth either you or I wasting much time or energy on it. Whoever watched Season 3 and gleaned that probably has a personal axe to grind with someone in real life. Klaus probably reminds them of that person or experience so they're grafting the lens of a dysfunctional coping mechanism over Klaus's desperation to make all his years of severe trauma, suffering, and misplaced shame into something honorable. These people probably also wholly miss the point of the "scooped out ice cream" moment, the reason why he let himself be subjected to "bus ball," and the suicidal moment in the White Buffalo Room and are quick to say that Klaus's temporary desire to just rest where he "belonged" was selfish and callous. They don't realize that maybe he's sick of only being loved when he's useful. A really forced and artificial overtone of TUA discourse has always been to "compare traumas" for the 7 respective sibs and make a debate for who "has it worst." What's the point? It's not slices of pie that'll run out. I wish I could say it was even isolated to TUA, but it's not.
I think it's also strange how absolute and purist the perception of "goodness" is. Well written characters are always lovable but flawed. And it's not conniving or selfish to be motivated both by selfless love (Klaus wants to be emotionally close to Sparrow!Ben and Sparrow!Reginald--the latter of whom I loathe, btw--and make up for lost time) and by the silver lining of self-benefit (Klaus wants to find closure, self-esteem from an outside source--never a good idea, but he's still learning--perfection of his powers, and clarity of purpose). I say this as someone who has lived 39 years as a consummate people-pleaser: we live in a predominantly Eurocentric Protestant social narrative that tells us we have to be productive all the time, give all the time, be selfless and self-effacing, and ignore our own boundaries to please others. It's a lie to say a character doing genuinely good and kind things with any simultaneous ulterior motive is somehow the Devil's Armpit. I have trapped myself in the role of a caregiver who never takes a turn for so long that I cheer for anyone who has that "ENOUGH" moment, followed by "no, this time, I'll look out for me."
Klaus isn't just here for a distraction, a fix, or shits and giggles. Klaus adores his family and mourns harder than anyone because there is no beginning or end to his access to the afterlife.
I know it's upsetting, especially if you relate to Klaus, but filter out these portions of the fandom and continue as best you're able to love what you love <3
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rebelumbrella46 · 2 years
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(Part 2) Do you know what I want the plot of S4 to be about...? – The Building Up…
This is a continuation of “Do you know what I want the plot of S4 to be about…? -The Start…"
In the previous post, I mentioned that I wanted Season 4 to start in two timelines, one; flashbacks to when they first arrived to this new world, and two; a time jump of a few years that shows the Hargreeves and Lila already settled in this new world.
So this post is more about world building and potential conflicts.
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The World: Since this is a new world/timeline thanks to Reginald's work in Oblivion... I think it would be a perfect way to introduce a more accurate version of the comic book world. What do I mean? I mean a more technological world, I really like the fact that there are no smartphones in this world and I’d prefer that they keep it that way... but I would love to see the Televator, The Levitator and, of course, the reason why Reginald won the Nobel Prize, his work on chimpanzee cerebral advancement... not only in Pogo but many other chimpanzees like in the comics... imagine the Umbrellas walking into a store for the first time and they see a chimpanzee behind the cash register and they think it's Pogo but it's not... actually it's very common to have talking chimpanzees around...
I'm not sure I want to see vampires like in the comics because unless they have a really good explanation for them, it could be pretty wacky even for TUA.
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The Conflicts: This I think would be the most difficult part, because it is the last season and they need to give closure to each of the characters as well as to the whole team/family.
But I think the best way to do it is to give each character a separate (internal) conflict that they have to deal with during the season. And then there's a huge conflict (external) for the whole team to deal with, simultaneously.
In the previous seasons they did this quite well, especially in S1 where each sibling had to deal with their own personal issues...
Luther with the death of his father and his conflict over being number one. Diego with Patch's death and having to work with his siblings as a team again. Allison with her relationships with Claire and Viktor (Plus Luther). Klaus with his addictions and traumas and powers. Five with coming back from the future and trying to stop the apocalypse and the Commission. Ben being dead and struggling to help Klaus and his siblings. And Viktor being the outsider, discovering his powers and Leonard.
And aside, the major conflict: The Apocalypse.
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I don't think they'll pick an Apocalypse again for the main conflict this season. So maybe the big conflict would be Reginald. Stopping him, or getting their powers back.
Each character could have an internal conflict that they have to deal with and it's not that difficult because they all have some problem or trauma that they haven't completely healed...
Luther could finally deal with the fact that Allison assaulted him, having lost Sloane, and the fact that Reginald killed him. Diego could deal with being a father, a good one, or maybe deal with the loss of the baby (since we don't know what changed by resetting the world). Lila could also deal with those same things, and also the fact that she struggles to have a normal life where there is no mission, no time travel. Klaus, I feel like he might be conflicted with Reginald's betrayal, with him losing his powers after he finally mastered them, and the fact that he's no longer immortal. He might have a hard time not being able to reach the Void again. Viktor, I think is also a character who didn't have time to deal with the bad things that happened to him in S3, like losing Harlan and Allison's betrayal. I don't think he minds not having powers. Ben, his conflict would be the fact that he doesn't have powers anymore, there's nothing in his eyes that makes him special and he might struggle with the fact that he's the only Sparrow left. The family he grew up with is gone. And Reginald doesn't care about him. I have a theory that Umbrella Ben somehow returns but through Sparrow Ben. So both of them are struggling inside of one body.
Allison seems to be the only one in the end that got what she wanted but I don't think she got her happy ending, I think whatever deal she made with Reginald is going to come back to bite her in the ass and I think her internal conflict would be trying to block all the memories of what she did during S3 and eventually breaking down, and all of those things would affect her relationship with Ray and Claire.
I feel like if they want to keep the show's tradition about the Apocalypse, I'd really love for one of the siblings to cause an apocalypse on purpose, just out of pettiness, to ruin Reginald's world, and I really hope it's Klaus. Or even Five, that would be ironic. 
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But when/where does the Building Up for the conflict begin? Since it is S4. I think it should be with Number Four. Klaus
As I said in the last post, everyone seems to be settled into the new timeline. It's not such a bad world, it's different, but what can the Umbrella Academy do? No more powers...no more Commission...no more time travel... and no more Apocalypse... there is no reason or way for them to try to change this timeline (yet) But just because it's a different reality doesn't mean they've changed too. So they still have the same traumas, the same problems.
And none more than Klaus. The events of the previous seasons had built up on him and he finally breaks. Ben's second death. Dave's death. The vietnam war. The cult. The powers. The Void. Reginald. And his addictions.
As he usually does, he pretends that he's fine, like the rest of his siblings, no one wants to deal with his shit, he thinks, they're all dealing with something, like Luther or Five. And even the others who seem to be doing better, like Viktor, Diego and Lila. And Allison wherever she is with her family. And Ben has gone to Korea. So he's on his own, he's depressed and he relapses. And then he dies...
And now The Umbrella Academy has to deal with the loss of another brother. Again... except this time there's nothing to do. Klaus is dead. No way to bring it back, no rewind time... ironically there isn't even a ghost to haunt them... Viktor thinks they should try to find Allison, tell her about Klaus’ death, see if she wants to go to the funeral. But they can't find her. So they have a funeral, they mourn Klaus. And then they try to move on. But they can’t. Luther is angry about losing another person he loves, he blames himself just like Diego does to himself. Five is secretly trying to find a way to go back in time, trying to figure out how he founded the Commission in the first place, how to make a briefcase. Lila tries to help him without Diego noticing, just in case they fail. And sadly none of them remember to tell Ben. Who is at the other side of the world... doing God knows what... (hopefully something important for the main plot regarding Reginald or the powers)
Meanwhile, in the Void. Klaus arrives at a desert land. He seems happy at first, relieved. But this time it is different, there is something different, he feels disconnected. And then he feels abandoned and alone. he misses his siblings. and for some reason the girl on the bike doesn't show up to send him back. So he walks and walks... until he finds himself in front of a building... Strangely, it looks a lot like the Hotel Obsidian... or Hotel Oblivion... And upon entering, he notices a long line... very long line to register... When he asks what the line is for. Someone tells him that he needs to tell them his name so that they can decide where he is going to stay for the rest of his death. In heaven or hell... Klaus thinks while looking at the long line of dead people, at least there is enough time for his siblings to find him and bring him back.
Meanwhile, in the Living World, Sir Reginald Hargreeves arrives at the place where Klaus was buried, and orders some of his men to start digging.
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I took some inspiration from Klaus Comic (You Look Like Death) 
Since every season is about an obsession, Luther and the Moon, Diego and JFK, Allison and her daughter. I think it would be great if instead of Klaus being obssessed by something (since he usually is, S1 - Drugs, S2 - Dave, S3 - Reginald and Powers) that the other characters are obssessed about getting Klaus back.
Maybe Reginald does. Maybe that’s how Klaus gets his powers back.
(Let me know what you think...)
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oddeyevibes · 1 year
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Chapter 2 - Epiphany
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Summary
Just as you were figuring out your real issue with this trip, the academy gets two unexpected—and violent—visitors.
Warnings? Click here
Then
Number 8’s abilities have hinted at the capacity for improvement. Making her a more valuable asset to the team outside of her healing capabilities. However, the chance at evolving is hindered by her delicate sensibilities.
Stern rearing has proved ineffective to change this at this point but Number 8 has achieved a new level of controlling her gifts. Number 8 now has the ability to create barriers for protection, seemingly more useful against that of projectiles.
Number 8’s lacking reaction time proves to be the biggest obstacle in using this ability to protect herself from physical harm. Subject is currently in recovery after sustaining an injury from her training session with Number 2. It would also appear that summoning the shield burns Number 8 slightly, the sensation growing stronger with each frequent use.
When I questioned Number 8, she said it was akin to touching an activated light bulb.
——✨——
Now
You came downstairs to the lobby looking to answer Pogo’s earlier inquiry. There you are forced to bear witness to a usual sight of Klaus sprawled out on the couch in some tighty…blueys. Your brother mumbling and fidgeting in his sleep, causing you to grow concerned.
“Klaus.” You called out to him.
There was no reply as he fidgeted more.
“Klaus!”
His eyes opened wide and he shot up from the couch, only calming down his breathing when he saw it was you standing over him.
“Oh…Glowbug…”
“You know you talk in your sleep?”
“Klaus, you ok?” He moved over as you sat next to him, raising the back of your hand to feel for his temperature. You let out a disappointed sigh. “Klaus, what did you take before you went to sleep?”
“Uhhhh…nice little uppers to get me through the day.” He faced you with a puppy dog look. “Grief can be a hard thing to get through sober.”
“Oh, you’re grieving? I thought you’d be celebrating.”
“I’m doing both.”
He crawled down to the floor, peeking underneath the coffee table.
“What are you looking for?”
“He’s looking for drugs.”
“Shut your piehole, Ben.” He leaned up, blowing a kiss his way. “Said with love.”
You glanced in the direction he was looking at in confusion. Klaus always talked about how he still saw Ben but with the ability to be able to see spirits being connected to his sobriety, you mostly chalked it up as him “talking to Ben” as a sort of coping mechanism for himself but also to make you feel better, considering it started after he passed and Klaus knew you were broken up about it the most.
You had no problem indulging him so long as he didn’t go overboard with his addiction. Though Mother Hera would always say that you were too soft on Klaus.
You knelt down beside Klaus. “How about we get you something to eat before you drown your sorrows in drugs?” You suggested.
Ben nodded. “Like some eggs or orange juice?”
“You can’t smoke eggs.”
“No but you can eat them and you should.”
Klaus groaned. “Why do you two insist on ganging up on me?”
“Because Herr Klaus, we care about your well-being and know you can do better.”
“But why deal with life sober when I can turn to my friends Molly and Candy?”
“Because Molly and Candy are gonna kill you one day.”
“Thank you”
“You’re more fun when you’re high.”
You playfully swatted at him. “Don’t compare my high to yours, the only girl I need is Mary J.”
Klaus let out a groggy chuckle before standing up and walking over to a nearby cabinet, searching for valuables no doubt.
“One of these has gotta be gold-plated, right?”
You looked back at your brother and sighed. Ben watched you. It was hard for him watching you desperately try to save Klaus from addiction. You started off so energetic, letting him stay at your place often and even getting him into rehab but Ben saw it all how Klaus blew it off every time. He really wished he could talk to you, tell you to stop putting in so much effort but then he’d feel like a hypocrite considering helping Klaus was one of the main lifelines to staying around some semblance of his family.
“By the way, Pogo said some box went missing from Dad’s office. Something very priceless and important.”
Ben looked back at Klaus in annoyance. “Really?”
“Really?”
“The thief wouldn’t happen to you, would it?”
Klaus feigned offense. “Glowbug…would I steal from-”
“You 100% would.”
“I have no clue where it could be.”
“Liar”
“Drop dead.”
“Low blow.”
“Would you shut up?”
“Excuse me?”
“Not you, sis. I’ve just been dealing with a lot of stuff lately. Y’know, a lot of memories coming up. All those good times…well, not so much good times as really awful, terrible, depressing times.”
You gave your brother a deadpanned stare. “Well...Pogo said that you won’t get in trouble if you bring it back.” You stuttered a bit. “Well, he didn’t actually say that but he definitely knows you did it.”
“Well, whenever I see the…scoundrel that took it, I’ll be sure to let them know.”
——✨——
Klaus had eventually left the room to get dressed, allowing you to have the lobby to yourself. You picked up the landline to dial Mother.
“Club Galerie, Sister Minerva speaking.”
“Hey Beth.”
Club Galerie had a theme with a lot of performers who worked there. Most of the work names were deity-inspired. Mother never felt comfortable with anyone using their real names. You didn’t mind it at all. Of course, people soon realized who you were after some time but even then you were no longer The Light as your father dubbed you but Sister Iris.
“Y/N? We were waiting for you to call.”
“Aww, did you miss me?”
“No, when someone returns to the home they ran away from as a child, it tends to spark some anxiety for people.”
“Yeah…”
“So, how is everything going so far?”
“It’s been pretty…meh.”
“What? Upset you didn’t get into more family arguments?”
“Oh there’ve been arguments, I just wasn’t at the center of them. My brother’s being a little pissant like usual.”
“The one that also hates your dad? Why?”
“Who knows? Knowing Diego, it’s probably because he didn’t get to leave first. Be the one to set an example next to Luther. He’s got a complex.”
“Hmm…are you coming back today?”
“Well…I don’t know yet. Might stay one more day to make sure there’s nothing else happens. Oh yeah! My brother came back yesterday too.”
“Which one?”
“The teleporting smartass.”
“Holy shit! SERIOUSLY!?”
“Not even kidding.”
“So what? You’re gonna make up for lost time?”
“Maybe. If I can find the little shit.”
“How is that even possible?”
“It’s a whole thing that I will explain when I get back cause I cannot possibly explain it right over the phone.”
Beth laugh. “Oh, I gotta go. Talk to you later, ok?”
“Bye.”
You hung up, your eyes lingering down to the floor before Allison spoke from the doorway.
“So who was that?” She tried to come off as sweet and non-threatening as possible.
“Full-time coworker, part-time paramour.”
“Oh, so you’re…”
You leaned back against the sofa. “I don’t really put a label on it.”
The silence was heavy over the both of you as Allison shifted uncomfortably, lost on how to bring up the sensitive topic.
“We didn’t really get a chance to talk. You know, alone.”
“I wonder why.” Your tone was cold.
“Look, Y/N, I’ve been wanting to talk to you since that night.”
“Did Luther put you up to this?”
“What? No.” Allison approached the couch but didn’t sit down. “When I saw you leaving that night. I was…not in the right state of mind. Ben’s funeral, dad…”
“Blaming it on us?”
“Yes. I didn’t know how to handle what I saw.”
“You know, I never blamed any of you for the shit I went through because of dad. I never blamed Diego for that time he almost cut off my finger when dad wanted me to improve my forcefields. I never blamed Vanya whenever dad finally noticed her just to shit on me. Even so young, I always recognized that everything we went through was his fault. That’s why…I was so confused about why you tried to do that to me…because I thought we were close.”
“We were.”
“Yeah, emphasis on were. I watched you use that power on so many people outside of this family…and I said nothing about it. I thought it was wrong how you abused it…and I didn’t say anything. You know why?”
Allison looked down, fiddling with her hands.
“Because I was scared of you, Allison.”
She looked at you with a mixture of shock and hurt in her eyes. “Y/N…”
“I was scared that if I stood up to you, you’d do the same to me. And that night, you proved it.”
“We were only seventeen. I was worried about what would happen to you.”
“I would’ve believed you if you had even bothered to check on me ONCE after Ben died.”
“I was grieving!”
“So was I! But the way you, Luther, and Diego looked at me…like it was all my fault. Diego blamed me and you never defended me because you felt the same way.”
Allison didn’t respond.
“But I guess it was easy.” You stood up, ready to end the conversation. “I was clearly supposed to be your safety net. Don’t matter how reckless you guys got during missions so long as I was on standby ready to heal you up…and I didn’t do that in time for Ben, I guess. Never mind the fact that Ben always hated this life that dad forced on us.”
Once again, you brushed past her but stopped when you reached the doorway.
“But thanks for realizing that rumoring people to sedate your ego is a bad thing years later.” You mockingly clap in her direction before leaving, heading back upstairs.
Allison stood there. Her apology was as heartfelt and sincere as she could have managed. She was really sorry but she didn’t know just how to make it up to you…or if it was even possible. She thought about how even after that night, she didn’t stop.
She thinks about how if she never had Claire, would there even be guilt. After all, it was losing her chance to see her face every day that brought this on. Her losing custody left her with nothing, coming back after her dad’s death seemed like the most logical thing to do. Even if the Hargreeves were as dysfunctional as they come, they were still the closest thing she had to family.
Allison took deep breaths, keeping herself from crying out of sheer melancholy, as she made her way downstairs to try and talk to Claire away from prying eyes.
——✨——
13 years ago
In reality, none of the Hargreeves children should’ve been shocked about the “eulogy” their father gave when it came to Ben’s death. Why send him off properly when you can twist the knife already in the hearts of your precious lab rats? Surely, that’ll motivate them.
Your siblings only listened in a mix of anger and sadness as they heard you kicking your dresser but none of them had the heart to tell you to stop. You were expressing the very thing they were crying to sleep to. Even though everyone eventually fell asleep, Allison became suspicious when the noise from your room grew quiet and your bedroom door opened.
However, at first, she chalked it up to you simply going to the bathroom but you didn’t return for a while. Then she remembered that room you and Ben always hid out in. So she went to find you, give you some company. That’s when she found you sitting on the window seal, your legs dangling on the outside with the strap of a black gym bag secured around your shoulders.
“Y/N?”
Your shoulders jumped as you quickly turned back to face Allison’s worried expression.
“What are you doing?’
It didn’t take Five to figure it out but the scene was still shocking for your sister. She looked at your face in its current state, your eyes were red from crying and the tears showed no signs of slowing down any time soon. Not to mention, you were breaths were frequent and heavy like you were still in the middle of some sort of panic attack.
“I can’t stay here, Allison.” Your voice was shaking.
“You’re leaving?” She rushed towards you. “You can’t leave!”
“Dad proved it today! He doesn’t care about whether any of us live or die.”
“Y/N, I know you’re upset but we have to stick together.”
“Until what? What if the next mission I die? What if Klaus dies? What if Luther dies? Are we just gonna be stuck being blamed until Vanya’s the only one left? Then what happens to Vanya?”
“Y/N, we’ll make sure-”
“You can’t! We don’t mean…” You fumbled your words. “SHIT TO HIM! We are lambs to his slaughter.”
“But you can’t run off alone.”
You didn’t respond until you gave her a hopeful look. “We could all run.”
Your sister stammered. “I don’t know…”
“We could, we could just take care of each other. We could…use our powers to help us survive. We don’t need to rely on him.”
“Where would we go? Where were you even gonna go?”
You shrugged. “I don’t know. Somewhere. Anywhere is better than here.”
Allison just gave you a sad look before inching closer. “Would Ben want you to leave?”
You shook your head. “Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Don’t try to use Ben against me. If I knew he was gonna die soon, I would’ve convinced him to run away sooner.”
“He’d be worried sick knowing your out there all alone.”
“I think he'd be worried sick that we were all still here after today. He hated this, Allison. We all knew that.”
You turned away from Allison, fully ready to climb through the window until she grabbed onto your arm.
“I can’t let you leave!”
The look on your face portrayed your confusion and offense. “You can’t let me leave…or you won’t let me leave? There’s a big difference Allison.”
A stare-off started between the two of you as you anticipated just what Allison was implying. Sure enough, when you showed you weren’t backing down from your decision, she said.
“I--”
“Allison don’t.” You warned.
She stared at you with determination etched in your expression. “I heard--”
“Allison, I am not in the mood for this.”
“And I don’t wanna see you leave.”
“Allison…please…”
“I heard a rumor--”
In that quick second, your eyes shined a bright as a white aura manifested from your body. “STOP!” You screamed, sending a forcefield of light in Allison’s direction, launching her backward to the floor, her back hitting against the carpeted wood with a heavy thud as the lights throughout the estate flickered.
Your eyes went wide as your breathing got quicker but you calmed a bit when you saw Allison pick herself up, resting on her elbows as she looked at you in fear.
“I’m sorry.” You whispered before climbing through the window in order to prevent the others from finding and trying to stop you.
Allison had sat up, backing away towards the wall to cradle herself and cry into her knees. Not too long after the incident, your dad and the others finally found her and questioned her about what happened. Of course, Reginald didn’t say anything that made the others feel better.
He merely looked at the window in disappointment. “If only she had shown this type of grit, maybe Number 6 would still be alive.”
Allison looked up at her father in disgust as Luther held her and Vanya caressed her head. Even if they held out hope much like with Five, they never did see you again after that.
——✨——
You had all gathered in the lobby per Luther’s request and watched the surveillance footage of mom standing over Reginald as he slowly succumbed to his death before walking out of the room. You popped a grape into your mouth as you leaned against the bar.
Vanya was the first to jump Grace’s defense. “I mean, do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?”
“You haven’t been home in a long time, Vanya.” Luther replied. “Maybe you don’t know Grace anymore.”
Then Diego chimed in. “If he was poisoned, it would have shown in the coroner’s report.”
“Well, I don’t need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.”
“Maybe she didn’t mean it?” You spoke up.
Everyone looked back at you as you shrugged. “I mean, you’ve all noticed how…weird she’s being right? Maybe she…poisoned him by accident.”
“Dad programmed her to be state of the art, her programming wouldn’t just…deteriorate like that.”
“Maybe all that low gravity in space messed with your head.” Diego fidgeted with the television, zooming in the camera. “Look closer.”
Everyone’s attention focused on what Grace was doing as Diego explained further.
“Dad has his monocle. Mom stands up. Monocle’s gone.”
Klaus began chuckling. “Oh, yeah!”
“She wasn’t poisoning him. She was…taking it. To clean it.” Diego suggested.
“Then where is it?” Luther asked. “No, I’ve searched the house, including all her things. She doesn’t have it.”
Diego sat silent for a moment before answering him. “That’s because I took it from her. After the funeral.”
Allison looked upset. “You’ve had the monocle this whole time? What the hell, Diego?”
“Give it to me,” Luther ordered.
“I threw it away.”
Allison scoffed as Luther approached closer. “You what?”
“Look, I knew that if you found it on Mom, you’d lose your shit, just like you’re doing right now.”
“Diego, you son of a bitch.” Luther inched closer causing Diego to ready himself with his knife as Vanya approached the both of them.
Klaus strolled past them, using a nearby column to lean against.
“Hey. No. Calm down. Look, I know Dad wasn’t exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said. Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but…also as a protector.”
You pointed in Vanya’s direction, agreeing with her. “That’s a good point. Like I said, maybe Mom deteriorated a little. She was designed to be the perfect mother. All moms deal with empty nest syndrome and maybe…” You waved your hand around. “Maybe she snapped and took it out on Dad?”
Luther was astonished by this suggestion. Diego stood there in thought before nodding. “Y/N, what are you talking about?”
“Mom watched the way he treated us and she knew how to always make us feel better. What if, at some point, she decided that Dad is the reason that the nest was empty too soon? Maybe she…was just angry at him?”
Allison shook her head. “Y/N, that’s ridiculous. You heard Vanya, she was a protector.”
“Yeah, a protector of us and the academy…not him. Maybe she bottled it up.”
“She’s a robot, Y/N.”
“A robot that fed and nurtured us when our dad didn’t.”
“Now is not the time to let your hatred of dad get in the way of us solving his murder.”
Just as you were about to snap back, Vanya cut in once again. “What I meant is that she was programmed to intervene if someone’s life was in jeopardy.”
Luther thought about it. “Well, if Y/N is right about her degrading then we need to turn her off.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait.” Diego was at more attention than before, pointing the tip of one of his knives toward Luther. “She’s not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things, I’ve seen it!”
Luther tried to reason with Diego. “She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die.”
“I’m with Luther.”
Diego glanced back at Allison in annoyance. “Surprise, surprise.”
“Shut up.”
Diego looked to you for your vote. “I don’t think we should.” He felt relief and turned to Vanya.
With everyone’s eyes on her, she stumbled on her words. “I-- I don’t--”
“Yeah, she shouldn’t get a vote.”
“Diego…”
“Wh--” You and Luther tried to defend her choice to answer until she fully answered.
“I was gonna say that I agree with you.”
“Okay. She should get a vote.” Your brother turned his attention to Klaus. “What about you, stoner boy? What do you got?”
“Oh, so, what? You need my help now? Oh, get out of the van, Klaus! Well, welcome back to the van.”
“What van?”
“Who kicked you out of a van?”
“What’s it gonna be, Klaus?”
“I’m with Diego, because screw you! And if Ben were here, he’d agree with me.”
“I dunno bout that.” You mumbled awkwardly.
Sure Ben was considered the sweetest of y’all but one very thing about it that was hard to ignore was his pragmatism. If he were here, he would’ve thought Grace should be shut down.
“Three to two, no one touches Grace.”
“Vote’s not final yet.”
Diego turned back to Allison. “What?”
“Five’s not here. The whole family has to vote. We owe each other that.”
“Right.”
“No, we should wait.”
Much to Diego’s dismay, everyone started filing out of the room including you. Your eyes locked on your mother’s blank stare before moving past her and leaving.
——✨——
Then
Alarms blared throughout the halls as everyone scrambled to get ready. Ben sprinted through the house with half of his uniform on as he charged toward the bathroom. Meanwhile, Allison quickly downstairs, shouting for Luther to hurry up before heading to her room to find her mask.
“How will the Umbrella Academy ever become an effective crime deterrent if we can’t even leave the house on time for missions?” Your father’s voice boomed throughout the halls, only leaving you to further inch back under your hiding spot.
“Behind you!” Luther quickly slipped past Reginald and he kept rushing everyone.
Panic took hold of Allison as she frantically tossed out articles of clothing from her drawer. When she turned and saw Grace, there was some slight relief in seeing reliable help.
“I can’t find my Domino mask.”
With a bright smile, Grace pulled out the mask in mint condition. “It needed a little bit of TLC after the last mission.”
Allison let out a breath of relief. “Thanks, mom!”
With a prideful stride, she approached Luther’s room, the Spaceboy getting a few reps in as she leaned against the door frame. “Ready to go?”
Luther looked up at her with a smile, throwing up a thumbs up. “Yeah.”
Diego ran through the halls yelling for his knives as Grace came upon Vanya’s room. Number 7 trying to focus on the sound of her violin and drown out the noise of the alarm.
“Sounds beautiful, Vanya.”
Vanya smiled. “Thanks, mom.”
“Where is Number 8?!” Reginald’s voice echoed from a distance.
Grace continued her stroll, stopping in front of Klaus’ room when he heard his bed squeaking and the Seance giggling like a mad man. The blonde turned to see Klaus had started a fire in his desk and was enjoying the flames.
“Oh! Klaus!”
Grace marched into the room, grabbing a piece of fabric and tossing it over the fire, putting it out without issue.
“Thank you, Mother.”
She shook her head as she left the room. “Boys will be boys.”
Then she came across your room but you weren’t anywhere in sight. She was about to move on until she noticed movement from underneath your bed. With a sweet smile, she entered your room and bent down to call for you.
“Y/N, sweetie, are you ready?”
You let out a defeated sigh as you crawled out from under the bed clutching the bowl of ice cream in your hand. Your mother flashed you a shocked expression.
“Y/N! You know sweets are for after missions.” She scolded as she gently took the bowl from your hand.”
“Can I just have a little more?” You whined.
Grace relented, taking a small scoop and popping it into your mouth.
“Thanks, Mommy.”
“Now go finish getting ready and use the bathroom before you leave.”
She sent you off, following your trail out of the room and running into a distressed Ben with an unzipped suit.
“Oh, Ben.”
“It--it’s stuck.”
She quickly zipped it up for him, allowing him to run off down the hall as he shouted for the others. Finally, she came upon Diego’s room, hearing him trying to overcome his stutter. Something that Reginald constantly poked at him for while telling him he’d be a burden if he didn’t fix it but Grace knew how to handle it.
“D--Don’t mmm. Don’t mm… mm.. mm…”
She entered the room, gently rubbing his back. “Remember, Diego, just picture the word in your mind.”
Diego calmed his nerves as he focused on his reflection in the mirror. “D-Don’t mm… muh… D-Don’t mmm… Don’t mo-move.”
Grace perked up. “You did it! I’m so proud of you!”
Reginald cleared his throat, catching the attention of the two, as he stood in front of the doorway. He said nothing before walking off.
——✨——
Now
You were lounging in dad’s office, feet propped up on the desk as you indulged in the cold creamy pleasure of ice cream in one of dad’s wide chalices. He’d flip if he saw you doing this, which was the joy of it regardless of how childish and bratty it probably came off. Fuck it, right? It counts as pissing on his grave and legacy.
“What am I still doing here?” You muttered.
This trip was meant to be some magnum opus in finally healing all of the trauma that accompanied you for years. However, nothing really changed. You were really naive (or dumb) enough to believe that your neglectful and borderline abusive father dying was going to fix everything?
You thought about your issues with your siblings. How the hell could you possibly approach repairing bridges? There was one half of you that wanted to understand and be a family with them again but the other half needed to release…something. Were you even mad at anyone other than dad?
You never really hated Luther, you just hated his loyalty to your dad. Even now, he can’t just leave things be and feels it’s his duty to avenge Reggie. The man didn’t earn the privilege of being avenged. That was for people who knew how to love and appreciate others.
Diego was mad at you for leaving and blamed you for letting Ben die but you both agreed that even if Grace murdered Reginald, she probably was justified. Beyond that? What was there after that? Nothing. Once all is said and done, he’d still hate you.
You had your beef with Allison but as you matured through the years, you understood the situation. You were scared, angry, and just needed to get away and she was just as scared. She didn’t know what else to do when faced with the scene of you leaving. She repented and apologized, you weren’t sure you were still mad at her as much as you wanted to seem.
Klaus was…Klaus. You try to be the shoulder he can lean on with his addiction but some days…you just don’t know what to do to help him. Even getting professionals to help didn’t work out, Klaus telling you that they just didn’t understand his issues. You never wanna force anything on him but it was getting exhausting. What kind of sister would you be though if you just let him suffer alone, though?
Then there was Five…you had no issues with Five. Sure, Five vanished after being hardheaded but he was back now and that’s all that mattered.
Next was Ben, an old love you could never fully commit to. Sure, you weren’t biological siblings but you grew up together. Maybe it helped that you didn’t look like each other but seeing Allison and Luther getting teased by the others certainly didn’t help. Ben was the one to have it simmer down. He was always the more realistic one but it didn’t stop you from wanting to be close to him…make him feel better…and think about him. You figured you were naive to think that maybe when you got older he would’ve felt differently but that time never came. He died and you’ve felt like shit ever since. There was not a day that went by where you didn’t tell yourself that it should’ve been you.
Lastly, there was Vanya. Vanya often played the role of the peacekeeper in the family yet it didn’t stop her from being excluded and now you’re an adult feeling pissed off at younger you for following along any time the others didn’t want to include her. You’d make up for it now and then but you knew it wouldn’t have been enough. Even now, you kept in touch with Vanya out of spite of yourself from years ago and your siblings, who didn’t really seem to care as far as you knew…not that it made you any better. You were using your sister as a gotcha to prove a point.
Maybe that was it. Maybe you were just trying to be angry and spiteful because it feels like you should. Maybe you carried this hurt to cover up something. What it was? You didn’t know. Maybe fear? Loneliness? Something that kept you…stagnated? That’s when you had a thought…
“Oh my god…what the hell do I want to do with my life?” You whispered in a shaky voice. You placed the chalice down on the desk as you got up and started pacing the room. “Oh my god! Am I a diva?!”
If anyone else heard you speak those words, they’d be confused as hell but to you, it made perfect sense. You came back home to finally face your family expecting this grandiose series of clap backs but…it was all…bleh.
The moment you stepped back into the house, none of those feelings that you SWORE you felt for all of these years were there. You expected an explosion and only got a spark. The equivalent of rubbing two stones together after hours only for them to light up once against the cold air surrounding you.
“This is the epiphany of a lifetime! And I didn’t even need Beth for it, oh my god!” You gasped. “I gotta call Beth.”
Just as you were about to leave the room. The sound of rapid gunfire caught your attention, freezing you on the spot. You left the room and came over, only to run directly into a fleeing Diego.
“Diego? What’s happening?”
“Run!” He grabbed onto your arm, pulling you in the direction of the railing. He wanted you both to jump.
Just as two gunmen wearing creepy cartoon masks turned the corner and aimed at the both of you. Wasting no more time, you and Diego hopped over the rail, landing right in the lobby before the both of you split up behind different points of cover.
“Diego, who the fuck is that?” You aggressively whispered in his direction.
“Does it look like I have a clue?”
“You’re the one dressed like a bargain bin Batman, I assumed they were here for you.”
“Well, you know what they say about assuming.”
Your chatter stopped when you heard footsteps quickly approaching. Diego began moving, alerting the gunmen of his location and they began firing, pinning him to the spot. Thinking on your feet, you stood from your hiding place.
“Hey! Try that on me, creeps!” You shouted, earning their attention.
They immediately began firing in your direction only for the bullets to be stopped by the white barrier you conjured in front of you. The bullets hit against the shield and fell to the floor however, it didn’t deter the two.
Distracted, they failed to notice Luther approaching behind them, grabbing the one in the pink mask and launching them into the foyer with ease. The rain of bullets against you stopped as you dropped your hands in exhaustion as Allison charged in.
Just as the assailant in the blue mask turned and aimed their shotgun at Luther, Allison delivered a swift kick, knocking the shotgun out of their hand before delivering a series of kicks that had the gunman stumbling but didn’t take him down. A fact only made more evident when they grabbed onto Allison’s neck and began choking her.
Her strained gasps for air filling the room. Diego ran up behind them and began striking them in the back as he demanded for them to let go of Allison. Much like Allison, Diego’s strikes had little to no effect on the bigger of the two gunmen. He wasted no time in jumping on their back as Luther approached them, delivering a heavy punch to the gunman’s gut causing them to topple over and allowing Allison to break free from their grip as Diego fell to the ground with them.
Much like the first one, Luther launched the blue masked one into the foyer, leaving him crashing into the table that sat underneath the dangling chandelier. Allison glanced around between you and Diego.
“Who the hell are these guys?”
“You’re welcome.” Luther looked in Diego’s direction.
With his unwavering pride, Diego waved him off. “I was doing fine.”
Thus the two began arguing. “Oh yeah, you really had them--”
“Ever hear of a rope-a-dope?”
Still tired from using your shield after what seemed like years, you spoke up with an exasperated breath. “Is this really the time for this?”
Allison was about to come over and check on you until bullets went flying into the room yet again, scattering all of you once more.
Luther rushed you and Allison out of the room. “We gotta get out of here now! Go!”
“But Diego--”
“He’ll be fine, Y/N, come on!”
“Luther go!” Diego’s voice was heard among the gunshots as the three of you continued running.
Once he was sure the both of you were safe, Luther circled back to try and get to Diego who was left with one of the gunners. Meanwhile, you and Allison were high tailing it away from the one with the pink mask. Both of you heading downstairs towards the bedrooms with her hot on your trail.
Once you were off the staircase, she began firing more bullets which you had quickly blocked off as Allison ducked into the stairwell that lead even further downstairs to the kitchen. Once Pinky had stopped shooting, you ran off to follow your sister.
Pinky wasted no time in firing again once she reached the bottom of the stairs, lighting up the walls as you ran behind Allison, ducking into cover. Allison looked up at you and watched you take deep breaths and you shook the heat off your hands.
“Been a while, huh?” She whispered in your direction.
“Yeah, tend to not get shot in everyday life.”
She nodded. “That part.”
You both listened to Pinky’s footsteps as she unknowingly walked past the both of you hiding behind the pool table.
“I’m sick of running from this asshole.” Allison said before reaching for the pool cue sat on the table. She waited for her moment to strike and swiped the stick, tripping Pinky to the floor. Pinky stood up, taking hold of a broken pool cue snapped in half.
The both of you closed in on her from both sides. She swung one half towards you which you jumped back to dodge. She then turned her attention to Allison, swinging and advancing forward before smacking her in the face with the force sending her against the lesser dining table.
With her distracted, you ran towards Pinky, wrapping an arm around her throat and yanking her back before she could attempt to stab Allison. Diego then casually walked into the kitchen, nodding toward Allison as Pinky struggled to get you off of her.
“You wanna rumor this psycho?”
Allison wiped the small smidge of blood from her bottom lip. “I don’t need to, because this bitch just pissed me off.”
“Where’s Luther?”
“Handling the big one.” Diego answered.
With your focus taken, Pinky used the opportunity to finally free themselves from your grip, falling to their knees with enough force to knock you to the ground with a *jawbreaker. The impact from slamming into the floor knocks the wind out of you a little.
Pinky straightened out their suit. “We just want the boy.”
“Oh, well, in that case…” Allison charged forward, ducking underneath Pinky’s swing before delivering several kicks to the torso as you scrambled to stand up, rubbing your chin.
Allison and the gunner exchanged throws and kicks before your sister was sent flying back towards the coffee table with a roundhouse kick. The intruder’s attention finally turned to Diego as he strode forward.
“Y/N, go check on Luther, alright?”
You nodded. “Yeah, yeah, sure.” As you got to leave and find Luther, Diego began trading blows with Pinky.
When you finally made it back to where you assumed Luther was, you found him still fighting with the bigger intruder. You hopped in place a bit to amp yourself up to help.
“This is a dumb idea.” You muttered, charging forward and delivering a flying kick to the Blueman’s back, causing him to stumble and allowing Luther to get the upper hand on his assault until the Blueman grabbed Luther in an attempt to ram him into the wall but Luther stood his ground.
“Get Vanya out of here!” Luther yelled.
You were surprised to see Vanya on the ground in the lobby. Wasting no time, you rushed towards her. “Vanya, are you alright?”
She nodded, clearly shaken by being attacked judging by her disheveled appearance. You wrapped her arm around your shoulder and led her to the corner of the room, the both of you pressing your backs against the wall to be blocked off from view with a part of the wall as you both heard an audible tear and a heavy slam, though there was no confirmation on who was the temporary victor of the battle other than an indeterminate groan.
You heard heavy footsteps re-entering the room and panicked when you saw the Blueman scope around the room before leaving again. As much as you wanted to attack, risking being knocked out and Vanya being left defenseless was not in any way a good plan.
Vanya looked at you with a worried expression, allowing you to catch a glimpse of the blood on her face.
“You ok?” You whispered.
She responded with a dazed nod.
“Luther!” You heard Allison shout, giving you the signal that it was safe to move.
Luther was laid out on the floor on his stomach as Allison and Diego came into the entrance hall. Allison reached out in an attempt to pick Luther up.
“Come on, Luther, get up.”
Diego came along to aid her. “Ah, you gotta cut down on that fast food, soldier.”
A figure came into view, Pinky, staring down at all of you before breaking the mechanism that kept the chandelier in place. Sending it plunging down below. Luther pushed both Allison and Diego out of the way. On instinct, you ran over and attempted conjuring a shield over Luther however, the burning sensation grew too much and you lost control of the shield. It quickly dissolved, allowing for the lights to continue crashing.
“Shit, Luther!” You shouted.
When you saw movement, you let out a breath of relief. Luther slowly stood up, letting the chandelier slide off his back and hit the floor. You were about to inch closer until you saw his jacket fall off along with his shirt revealing a shocking sight to you, Allison, Vanya, and Diego.
You thought back to your conversation with Luther before. The small patch of hair you saw on his arm. You had simply assumed he was just self-conscious about his body…but it was clearly more to it. When he realized you were all staring at him, there was a look of hurt and shame in his eyes.
“Holy shit.” Diego let out.
Luther said nothing and simply ran off upstairs to hide from the rest of you. When he was gone, Allison noticed Vanya standing there and approached her.
“Did you know?” Vanya quietly asked her.
Allison glanced towards the stairs before looking back at Vanya. “No.”
Diego said something about mom and headed upstairs. You moved towards your sisters and led them into the living room to heal their injuries. You started with Vanya first, the light hovering over her forehead as Allison sat across from y’all.
“Who were those people?” Vanya asked.
“No clue.” You answered. “But they mentioned just wanting the boy, so I’m gonna assume they’re after Five.”
Despite being healed, it didn’t get rid of the headache she had from being hit. Allison eyed Vanya.
“Are you sure you’re ok?”
Vanya only nodded as she leaned forward. Diego entered the room and started pacing through the room, causing a concerned look from all of you.
“Diego, you alright?”
He looked at Vanya and stopped pacing, throwing a disapproving look her way. “What are you still doing here?”
“I’m just trying to help.”
“No, you could’ve been killed. Or gotten any of us killed”
You cut in to defend Vanya. “But she didn’t! So maybe chill out on throwing your rage around?”
Diego rolled his eyes at your defense.
“It’s not a crime for her to be here!”
“Of course, you would defend her.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“You find any excuse to have issues with me or dad!”
“You’re upset that we were attacked but don’t take it out on Vanya! How was she--or any of us for that matter--supposed to plan for two gun-toting psychos to bust into the house?! Would it kill you to not blame everything on everyone else for a second?”
Diego didn’t respond to you, instead, he looked to Allison. “She’s a liability.” He stated in a low tone.
You and Vanya looked at Allison hoping for her to be on y’all of the discussion. “Allison?” Vanya called out softly.
Allison merely looked down like she was trying to find the right words. “I think what he’s trying to say is that this kind of stuff is dangerous.”
You rolled your eyes, Allison was basically agreeing but in that way where she tries to fill Vanya’s role as the peacekeeper…just horribly.
“You’re just…”
“Not like you.” Vanya cut her off.
When Allison didn’t respond, Vanya stood up to walk off and Allison attempted to chase after her.
“No, that’s not what I--. Vanya, wait.”
“Let her go.” Diego was seated as he offered ill advice to Allison. “It’s for the best.”
You scoffed. Just when you were having your epiphany, reality slapped you back in the face. This is exactly what you didn’t miss. When Vanya left the house, you spoke up once again.
“You know, for people that’s so damaged by the way our father treated us, you waste no time in treating Vanya the same way.”
Allison sighed. “Y/N it’s not like that.”
“Yes. It is exactly like that. Even at your big ass ages, y’all seem to still cling onto this desire to exclude her whenever you get the chance. It’s even more annoying when you do it, Allison.”
“What are you--”
“You try to play this perfect peacemaker of the family and you fail at it every time. You wanna know why? Because you actually don’t care about everyone getting a fair share. You don’t have a backbone when it comes to standing up to Luther or Diego. You really take your Number 3 status seriously and it shows.”
Allison was insulted. “It’s funny how you talk about standing up to anybody because I never saw you take a stand to anyone…ever. You had to hide behind Ben and when he was gone, you ran off like a scared child.”
“Scared or not, I still left at the right time. Who knows? I might’ve ended up like Dollar Tree John Wick over there or maybe you, who can’t handle life without rumoring someone to enjoy being around you.” You scoffed. “Makes me wonder how Patrick even fell in love with you.”
The last sentence really stung Allison, which is what you intended. As much of a bitch you knew it made you, you didn’t care as you headed towards the bedrooms. It was about time you left.
“Fuck this place.” You muttered.
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xrosekissed · 1 year
Text
my overly long harcest takes,
bc by god there’s too many ships in this category and i gotta organize my thoughts on them for my own reference.
but first, as a general note for this blog, viktor is a fictional character and there are 3-4 versions of this character - comics vanya, s1 vanya, s2 vanya (different characterization imo), and viktor (this change in characterization was conceived after elliot’s coming out, so i see it as a different interpretation of the character). my favorite iteration is s1 vanya, so while i fully respect elliot page and am extremely happy about his coming out, i’ll mostly be referring to this character as s1′s vanya. i won’t tolerate any transphobia on this post or on my blog.
also important, my score out of 10 is how much i like the ship, not an objective ranking!
luther/diego (luego) - i buy it. i totally fucking buy it. i feel like they had a bunch of sexual tension in the (superior) s1 with all that rivalry and angst between them. could 100% imagine that boiling over + them having insane sex (i think diego would enjoy luther’s ability to pick him up and push him around like. so much. extremely soft gentle dom luther/bratty sub diego. like cmon.), but could also imagine their character arcs/personalities/individual strengths really complimenting each other in a romantic storyline. 8/10.
luther/allison (alluther) - generally sweet through s1 and s2, and i very much admire tua’s guts in canonically doing this ship. sorta... assassinated by s3, in a way that felt very reactionary to mainstream fandom culture’s opinion on the ship, so... that wasn’t bodacious. but aside from that, if i’m just looking at the first two seasons, i’m not super into alluther - i like my ships to have more heat and drama, and there’s just not a lot of that with them for me. a valid and cute ship, just not my thing. 5/10. 
luther/klaus - agh i wish i liked this one more. wild child x by the book golden child? very fun, conceptually. i don’t feel romantic chemistry from their actors and i don’t find a romance between these guys super interesting to think about. 2/10.
luther/five - tbh i’d never really thought about them together, but it’s kinda growing on me as i make this list? world-weary bitter motherfucker five x moody but earnestly sweet manchild luther... luther could help five learn to like... enjoy things. five could help luther build a healthy self-esteem. they’re both emotionally-stunted as hell, but i think they’d make each other better, as they each have a lot to learn from the other. their banter delights me. also, i hc adult Five as just. being short for no reason other than bc god hates him, and considering the old man Five actor’s height, i think it’s actually just canon. and i love me a height difference! 8/10.
luther/ben - hmm. ok two routes for this one. luther/og ben or luther/sparrow ben. luther/ og ben is like. 1/10 for me, not super interesting, namely because we never see them interact, and luther doesn’t talk a bunch about ben in s1 + 2. but luther/sparrow ben? better! not my cup of tea, but i don’t hate it. 4/10. maybe a 3/10 as the final score for both versions as a whole.
luther/vanya (lunya) - i’m kinda here for it. you already know... the height difference. i’m incapable of shutting up about that trope ever. and they have perhaps the most in common out of all the hargreeves (isolation trauma, self esteem issues, big tempers they keep carefully hidden, a passion for music, treated very Distinctly by reg). i love thinking of young luther being just a little too soft for and protective of young vanya, and i love the idea of them having these little bonding moments that snowball into something more. also they have Angst and Tragedy and that’s yummy food to me. 8/10.
diego/allison - while i can feel some tension in their s1 fighting and s3 night out, i’m not compelled by this one. maybe i just like them with other characters too much to get too into it? i get why people would be into it, but i’m not. 2/10.
diego/klaus (kliego) - absolute banger ship that i 1000% see all over canon. unbelievable chemistry and a perfect dynamic. they just. work well together. opposites attract, and these opposites visibly love each other so much. i think this ship’s crazy popularity when she show first dropped makes me feel like when a really good song has been overplayed, so i don’t consider myself a kliego superfan. i am nevertheless... a fan. 7/10.
diego/five (fiego) - ughhh i understand this one so much but i cannot get into it. like it’s genuinely bizarre how much i can’t get into it. this is literally such a high-quality ship that should fit my type to a tee, but... i just don’t get hyped about it. 5/10.
diego/ben (biego) - i don’t feel it. i know they really loved each other and i know the hug between them in s2 was adorable, but i don’t know that they’d play off each other in ways that i find interesting. diego/sparrow ben doesn’t do it for me either, their interactions don’t captivate me like luther and sparrow ben’s do. 2/10.
diego/vanya (viego) - i like it more than the other ships i’m not into, but i’m still not really into this one. the scene where they talk about grace in s1 gives me a little bit of a vibe, and i know they’re a thing in the comics, but i am lukewarm. better than cold, but still lukewarm. it could grow on me if i read some very good fic? 4/10.
allison/klaus - can’t get into them as anything but best friends, i just can’t. they’re both very pretty, and the best friends thing is likely part of the appeal for their fans, but i don’t feel it myself. 1/10.
allison/five - OHHH i love this one. holy fuck do i love it. snobby mean psuedosiblings that have a thing about power and control and appearing perfect. it’s possible that allison’s the only one five could see as an intellectual equal in his family. i think five thinks klaus and vanya and ben are smart, but i think allison is who he’d pick as a 4d chess opponent. i can see sooo much potential for a fascinating and complex relationship in a world where these two are super into each other. a criminally underrated ship. 9/10.
allison/ben - i think i like it? not sure why, seeing as they hardly interact, but allison seemed quite torn up about ben’s death, and just based on their personalities/experiences/damage, i think they’d have a super interesting and fun dynamic had ben not died. imagine their banter....... excellent stuff. 7/10.
allison/vanya - another lukewarm one. i don’t not like it, it’s just not for me. i absolutely find their dynamic in s1 interesting, but not in a romantic way. i did feel some chemistry w allison/viktor in s3, but nothing to write home about given the way the show has such a hard time acknowledging their anger at each other post s1. 3/10.
klaus/five (klive) - i see it - i see klaus flirting with five a lot, i see five having a massive soft spot for klaus for no reason other than that he loves him extra, but i can’t get deep into it beyond generally thinking it’s fun. 6/10.
klaus/ben (horrance) - i like this one so much. i think it was my first harcest ship? just... their codependency. their banter. their anger at each other. grief giving way to a sad bitterness. their devotion to each other - ben wants klaus to fucking live, klaus wishes ben weren’t fucking dead. insane. makes me insane to think about. also the way ben lounges on the motel room bed in this needlessly suggestive way and winks at klaus? yeah that wink was what sold me. oh god, also i guess they hooked up in s3? poggers. 8/10.
klaus/vanya - yknow what? i like it. very underexplored. lots of potential for angst and fluff and mutual destruction as well as mutual growth. love thinking about klaus intentionally making vanya flustered by saying klaus shit, love the idea of vanya surprising klaus by turning it back on him someday. the way klaus remembers vanya crying about them stepping on ants as a kids does something to me, man. 7/10.
five/ben - i’ve read one or two really good fic about them, and seen some very sweet fanart, but i’m just not super invested in them together. 1/10.
five/vanya (fiveya) - utterly sensational. angst, tragedy, pining, childhood crushes, banter, devotion, hope. like... agh. they just have Something, in every scene they’re together - she’s the end of the world, he’s the accidental harbinger, but they could save each other. also it’s just... so fucking fun that proud, no-nonsense five chose shy and sensitive vanya as a best friend. that they chose each other. they see things in each other that no one else does. 10/10.
ben/vanya - i think i kinda like the idea of them in an au - maybe one where vanya can see the dead? she thinks she doesn’t have powers, just hallucinations of her dead brother. they’re both bitter and lonely, but just want to be loved, and are capable of great kindness. god it would be amazing actually, i’m really talking myself into liking them together lmao. 7/10.
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shayneysides · 2 years
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The writers in tua really added in a rising sun flag in s3 and the “ open up your kimono” line klaus said towards Ben was super weird considering bens korean, not to mention the fandom treats Lila like shit especially after s2 dropped the double standards were horrible. What are your thoughts on how Asian characters are treated by the writers in tua?
Oh my god I've been waiting for someone to ask me this for ages. Right off the bat I am gonna just say I can't really speak on how the fandom treated Lila when she was first introduced because I wasn't in the fandom then (I was there for s1 and s3 when they came out, but not s2). I can however speak about the other characters! 
Ben throughout s1 and s2 honestly doesn't have much character at all, in my opinion- I guess he's snarky, and kind of mean, and? is sad about being dead, I guess? But he mostly acts as Klaus's conscience in s1 and honestly just a thorn in his side in s2. His only moment of true plot importance is when he speaks to Viktor and is able to calm him down, effectively stopping the apocalypse- it's an amazing scene that really utilizes Ben as a character. Which is why it sucks that he literally dies right after it, and doesn't get any other scenes like that! I understand that he's dead, and there's only so much you can do with him, but it's still a little disappointing that he has next to no character development and just serves to forward the development of a white character.
Sparrow Ben is a whole other thing- thank god he at least has some depth to his character this time! I think they did a good job making him an asshole without making him completely unlikeable, and I really loved his whole arc of just wanting to be part of the family. I think his overall writing is pretty good, even though there are some weird moments- the "open up your kimono" line is entirely unnecessary and they very well could've just said robes or something like that. The moment where Ben and Diego are arguing and they start arguing in Korean and Spanish respectively- I guess it's funny, but it also strikes me as a little off given that neither of these characters really show any connection to their cultures before this season, and having the moment with that connection be when they're angry and arguing is a questionable decision. Overall, though, I don't have any real issues with how Sparrow Ben is written. 
The scene where Ben is born and we see his parents does bug me a little bit- compared to the other birth scene (Viktor's in s1) where the mother at least get to speak, I wish they had given us any sort of character past giggling schoolgirl. I would love to just once see a depiction of a young Korean woman that isn't just cute and innocent and, well, a giggling schoolgirl. Even compared to the snippets of the other mothers that we see, the rest of them are teachers, businesswomen, or at the very least grown adults, and I just wish Ben's mother could've gotten that.
As for Lila, race feels very removed from her character in general, which can be both a strength and a weakness in the writing. It eliminates weird, uncomfortable moments like what happened with Ben, but it can also remove some depth from her character. I dislike that they really didn't address the racism an Asian woman in the 1960s would face, but I'm also glad s2 didn't just become racism trauma porn. I also dislike that you could argue that she fits the "mysterious, sneaky, fierce mistress of the East" type of stereotype with her "seducing" Diego and then double crossing the Hargreeves, but I also think her character has a lot of depth outside of that argument and she has real motives for everything she does, so I'm not too pressed about it. And I don't mind how she's written in s3, either- I think the whole Stanley plotline is weird and unnecessary, but not really in a way connected to race, it's kind of just poorly written and very poorly casted. Overall, I think the writers have done a pretty good job with Lila, but if anyone disagrees, I'd genuinely like to hear your thoughts on it (especially since I'm East Asian, not South Asian, and I'm not able to understand as much of the nuance with her character as I am with Ben).
This one isn't exactly a character, but I still want to talk about it- Hotel Oblivion. First off, I didn't even see the rising sun flag when first watching, but I can only assume that's where it appears, and I hate that a lot! That flag represent imperialism, and unless you are specifically referencing that imperialism and the flag has a real reason to be there, you should not use it. I feel like that's common sense at this point, but I guess not. Second, what was up with Hotel Oblivion in general? Why was it Japan-themed? I mean, I know why, it's Orientalism, but you could at least give it a reason in the plot. I really, really hate that the spooky alternate dimension alien mysterious version of an American place is themed around Japan. Like we get it! Hotel Oblivion is a strange, scary place, and making it Japan-themed is either implying that the East is also strange and scary, or worse, that the East is what makes a place strange and scary. 
And then there's how the fandom treats Asian characters, and I know that's not really what you were originally asking, but I feel the need to talk about it. The way the fandom treated Ben throughout s1 and s2 is fucking infuriating. Like I said earlier, even with his lack of depth, Ben's character traits were generally snarky, sarcastic, and kind of sad. So naturally, the fandom treated him like a small child! Asian men, specifically East Asian men, are constantly infantalized, and that's exactly what happened. Everyone treated Ben as this little uwu baby boy cinnamon roll and why? Genuinely when does he act all sweet and innocent, like how fans were treating him? I guess in the bank robbery scene, when he was literally a child! Gee, I wonder why people focused exclusively on that scene, rather than when he punched Klaus in the face, or any of the other scenes where Ben was an asshole- or at the very least, not a literal child. And now that s3 has come out, and Sparrow Ben is extremely explicitly rude and mean, people are finally treating him like the adult he is, and I think it says a lot about how the fandom saw him that it took his whole character becoming a total dick for them to stop woobifying him. And again, I can't really say anything about how the fandom treated Lila post-s2, because I wasn't in the fandom then, but if anyone reading this does have thoughts on it, please feel free to add them here! I haven't really seen much mistreatment of Lila post-s3, but I don't doubt at all that it existed when she was introduced. The most I've seen has been about the Stanley plotline, but that's mostly been (rightfully) making fun of the writers. 
All in all, I think the writers haven't been super explicitly racist with anything except for the whole Hotel Oblivion thing, but they have made some poor choices in their writing. The fandom has definitely been racist, but I'm hoping it's starting to improve, as I've seen more people discussing the actual nuances of Ben's character post-s3. I think some people might read this and be like "But Klaus would say that to any character! But the fandom has woobified other characters too!" to which I say, you cannot treat characters of color the same way you treat white characters. That's it. You cannot treat characters of color the same way you treat white characters. What is a silly little comment from Klaus when directed towards a white character is a weirdly racially charged comment when directed towards an Asian character. You need to be careful when writing and discussing characters of color, because there are going to be different implications to their actions and actions directed towards them. Please, please stop ignoring fans of color when we tell you that your treatment of certain characters is racist, even when it's unintentional. 
Thanks for sending this, anon, I had a lot to say!
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uniasus · 2 years
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Since viktor ben and five are all alive and in the same timeline in make me your bomb verse, do any of them try to return a bit to the friendship they had as kids?
Like every so often having a hangout between just the three of em or something similar?
No....
And I say it that way because as much as fanon may present these three as tight I don't actually think they were. Five and Viktor specifically I think idolized a lot in hindsight too.
I see the three of them as different sort of outcasts that clung together, and I think naturally as adults they might have drifted away.
Five has an entitlement problem - he's smart, very useful in a fight, and the things he does to get Reginald's attention piss off his siblings. Plus, his interests don't really align with everyone else. His relationship with Viktor was a more shared-space environment. Viktor, desperate for company, was willing to follow Five's rules for interaction - don't interrupt him, don't ask dumb questions, and when he made requests for focus music he was able to comply.
Compared to some other sibling interactions, it was idealic. It's why Viktor really missed him, and Five considered him someone trustworthy, even if maybe not useful. As they grew into adulthood, those interactions took on a golden glow. Especially as Five's focus was returning to his family and to Viktor, Five was the only family member he potentially didn't burn bridges with.
By the time we get to Bomb, or post-Bomb, Five's protectiveness over his family is extreme and his ability to blink means his the most capable to do frequent family checks. His sense of importance and history of being too independent means over at the farm a lot to, not so much hang and be brother, but to make sure nothing has gone wrong. Because a lot has. Viktor not appearing for a month, Viktor's struggle with guilt, the health issues that crop up, the desire to know everything means he prods him about the kidnapping, deciding to help with surgery recovery on occasion. Don't get me wrong, he loves his brother, but they're not gonna hang out for a random movie night. Five needs a reason to visit. And there just happens to be a lot.
Viktor though is thrilled each and every time Five comes over. Because for him, all he wanted as a kid was to be acknowledged and loved and part of the family, and here's Five coming over to check up on him, help him out, he knew he was Five's favorite, he knew it.
Eventually, Five admits it because all that time with Viktor, who he checks up on more than the others, rubs off. But it's a few years done the road.
Things are different with Ben. As children, I think Ben and Viktor had a similar relationship as Viktor and Five. A lot of parallel play. Ben's powers made him completely uncomfortable and he wasn't proud of them, not like everyone else (I HC Klaus was until Reggie's training took a pivot). So he sought out quiet, isolated places and sometimes Viktor was there too. He'd read in the corner while he practiced violin. Or they'd sit on opposite couches, studying or reading. They both liked the escapism of fantasy. This increased after Five disappeared and Klaus started his substance abuse. Ben was number six, he rarely pushed back in any training and just kinda quietly followed Reginald's commands, resigned to the idea that The Horror wasn't just the beast in his belly, but him too. And Viktor just wanted to be seen and not be alone.
For a year or two, they actually interacted. Talking, hanging out, a slowly growing friendship around the abuse and Academy schedule. But then Ben died and Viktor was left, again, with the idea that Ben was one of the good siblings and missed him terribly. And Ben knows this, having followed him sometimes in S1. He develops this sorta parasocial relationship with Viktor that drives much of that S2 scene.
So when Ben's back post-Bomb, he's 100% ready there to help Viktor and Viktor soaks it up. It's Ben who stays at the farm for a month at a time, helping him control his powers. It's Ben who lives with them after Viktor's top surgery. It's Ben Viktor will call up just to chat. They talk about artistic endeavors and wanting a bit of inner peace. Of learning how to control not just your powers but yourself. They share book recommendations and movies and shows - Viktor pulling Ben into animation because he watches things with Harlan first that Ben might enjoy.
And as for a trio interaction. Ben and Five and Viktor? Doesn't really happen outside of family gatherings.
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seancecircles · 2 years
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season 3 thoughts under the cut ! spoilers for the entire thing.
I'm a little exhausted today, because tua3 took a lot out of me, but I'm feeling mostly positive.
None of the Brellies were sideline, which was really nice, and I would say I really enjoyed Klaus, Luther and Diego the most this season. Especially Klaus - god, my heart broke a few times.
I think in general my issues are that the initial setup was interesting enough on its own. The idea of a Sparrow Ben and is compelling enough to last as a season arc tackling the kids familial trauma, or at least be a story, but the season seemed to give up on the Sparrow idea early on. I don't mind that so many of them die so quickly, but Fei was wasted. This could and should be compelling enough on its own.
That being said, I loved what we did get. Loved the change between trying to navigate a new timeline and initial rivalry, to then trying to fix a paradox together, then ultimately nihilism, then Reggie's plan.
Allison did some awful things these seasons. I don't know how to feel. Her feelings and emotions and arc are all so justified considering she used to mention in 1 and 2 how awful and dependent on her powers she used to be. She's never been the perfectly healthy, positive person she's tried to force herself to be. And especially considering her trauma and the way she's been unable to express her emotions, I think it's a compelling and justified ones. But I think it sucks that the most significant female character on the show, especially as a black woman, has been put in a position where her arc is causing a lot of instant hatred. I think the scene with Luther absolutely does count as sexual assault, but could have been portrayed a lot better. To me, her wording of 'you want me' is meant to be lonely and isolated rather than sexual, but it's still sexual assault and not handled well within the show. But still, I think people are using "she sexually assaulted Luther" as a way to fight against any possible defence, compassion or explanation for her actions. What she did in the show was not okay in the slightest, and I think the writing DID throw her to the wolves in the sense that now she's seen as irredeemable to a lot of fans. It's messy, I don't know what to think. Emmy Raver-Lampman did a phenomenal job though, and I found her character so compelling.
Klaus. So much better handled than season 2. It's an interesting mix where they didn't go a super angsty route with him, but he felt very true to the character we saw in season 1. He's still Klaus, roping Five along on a road trip for his own purposes, but he's also still intensely compassionate, this time to his own detriment. Seeing his relationship with Reginald both warmed and broke my heart. I think it was so wonderful to watch Klaus try and tackle his own pain and trauma head-on, as well as genuinely help Reginald, only to get cast aside the moment he's not considered useful anymore. I'm glad to see Klaus develop his powers but I'm also so glad that we see Klaus in wonderful ways that aren't tied to that. I especially loved the scene where he spoke to Sparrow Ben about Umbrella Ben, being the one person to not treat his Ben as an angel. I like that Klaus's power development story arc wasn't like... the big hero moment to save the day or anything inconsistent and big, but a very self-focused thing that has its VERY important uses during what goes down. His dynamic with Luther was especially wonderful.
Luther is my second fave character and GOD. God I sobbed a few times. Genuinely believed they'd killed him in episode 9. What a lovely, sad, tragic arc for him. I don't have much I want to say but Klaus and Luther (and possibly Ben) feel like they've been set up for a s4 dynamic that I am super, super excited for.
I also loved Lila a lot more in season 3. Think that this was a great way to take her character after season 2. Diego of course I adore. Viktor was handled well and I loved to see him happy and included, and I also enjoy that they're taking the show in a direction where his actions are getting called to question, even though we see how much his siblings love him. Watching him bond with Luther especially was so lovely. But YES yes I loved him!!!
But anyway I loved the season. Very much always buzzing with new ideas. Can't believe this post was mostly about Allison but, y'know...
If anyone would like to talk, I'm very much all season 3 thoughts all of the time.
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allisoooon · 3 years
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Klaus, Addiction, and CodeBendency Part One: Defining Codependency
It’s not uncommon to hear fans claim any particularly close and faintly unhealthy relationship is “codependent.”  Occasionally, these fans even get it right, as in the case of Ben and Klaus Hargreeves, without necessarily knowing what the term means or why it applies to this relationship.  It’s led to some complaints about season two in particular, people claiming Klaus is more of an asshole to Ben than ever, or that he’s lost all his character development along with his sobriety, or that Ben is the “angel on his shoulder” when the reality is anything but.  Alternately, I see people yelling about how Ben is secretly the worst and Klaus is his victim.
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 Credit: I could not find the maker of this gif.  If it’s yours, let me know.
Codependency is a term that popped up as people first tried describing the relationship addicts have with a loved one who tries to help them.  Unlike other relationships that have a healthy, “loving detachment” quality, a codependent relationship leaves the addict’s loved one with little identity apart from the addict.  Their purpose and self-worth are tied up in helping the addict.  They will sacrifice anything for the addict, who typically repays their devotion with discomfort and rebellion.  The addict is the “dependent,” describing their relationship with drugs or alcohol, while their loved one is the “codependent,” who tries to steer the dependent away from the substances, but whose life is just as much caught up in them.
The term eventually evolved to describe any relationship where one person is trying to “fix” another, usually without being invited to do so; not just between addicts and loved ones, but spouses and children of narcissists, the chronically ill, and other situations where a loved one believes the other needs them in order to function--and, in return, needs to be needed by them.  This can ultimately result in actually prolonging the irresponsible or destructive behavior by shielding the dependent from the full consequences of their actions (this is called “enabling”).  It is not a mutual need for one another, but a deeply imbalanced relationship by its nature, with one person serving and the other being served.  A particular defining trait is a lack of boundaries, wherein the codependent tries to control the dependent and make the dependent’s business their business.  This can be accompanied by the horrible pain of the codependent feeling like they can’t be loved, so they will settle for being needed.  If, when separated from the dependent, the codependent still exhibits these traits in their other relationships, then it is not only the relationship that is codependent—it is the person, and they need help.  If you feel like this might describe you, I’m including links to the websites for Codependents Anonymous and Al-Anon in the master post for this series.
So!  In TUA, we have Klaus and Ben.  Klaus is obviously the dependent, Ben the codependent.  It has become Ben’s purpose in not-life to try to “fix” Klaus despite Klaus explicitly not wanting to be fixed.  Klaus seldom reciprocates the emotional work Ben takes on for him, which can look, to an outsider, like Klaus cares less about Ben than Ben does about Klaus, and we can see Klaus alternating between pushing Ben away and drawing him close. Codependents are not martyrs, dependents are not (usually) victims of the codependent, and oversimplifying this relationship one way or the other does an injustice to how very, very well-written it is, as well as the degree of love these two have for each other.  To understand this relationship, we need to look at the realities of addiction.  I’m both a recovering alcoholic and a codependent, so let’s get started.  Keep in mind I’m speaking as one person, and every experience is different.  I can’t tell you how it is for all addicts or all codependents.
I meant for this analysis to be of a manageable size, but it’s such a complex topic that I’m breaking it down into about nine parts.  Remember I’m not an expert.  The expert is your therapist.  This series exists for the purpose of analyzing two characters and their relationship, not diagnosing anyone.
Master Post      next -->
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ok but can we just talk about how deep reggie's abuse of his children goes? like first, we have ben, who has repeatedly established himself to be the kindest and most understanding among his siblings. despite the fact that klaus has been treating him more of a show pony than a brother for most of season 2, ben still tries to be the angel on his shoulder and offers advice when he can. he even lets it slide when klaus tells their siblings that he didn’t travel back with them, even though it’s so obvious that the remark hurt, because klaus of all people knows just how much ben misses their family, misses being alive.
but the minute klaus insinuates that he sounds just like their father, he finally shows an emotion that is anything but calm, and even goes so far as to attack his brother. this alone should be enough of an indicator as to what kind of man hargreeves was in life.
oh, and should i add that reggie just upped and decided to turn ben’s funeral--a painful occasion on it’s own--into yet another scarring life lesson for the ones he’d left behind? just imagine being shy of seventeen and having at least half the guilt in the universe weighing you down, and ben--who is right there--just wanting to tell all of them that it was “never your fault, diego, please don’t listen to him, we both know you’re better than that,” but of course he can’t, because he’s nothing more than a ghost now, so yes, welcome to powerlessness.
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five goes missing and what does he do? nothing. absolutely nothing, aside from having a painting commissioned, but who's to say it wasn't a memorial like ben’s statue and more of a warning to the other children instead? something along the lines of look at how this brat disobeyed me; do you want to disappear, too?
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there's luther, who even after everything their father has done to them--to him, most of all--still manages to make up bland, half-baked excuses that he himself is starting to lose faith in, and all that rage and resentment keeps stewing inside him until he reaches his breaking point, rips off his shirt, and yells at his father to look at me! look what you did to me! and it's even more heartbreaking because reggie does look, he just doesn't care
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let's move on to allison. it was mentioned at one point that she was something of a daddy's girl growing up, and even though we aren't really shown much of their time together, remember when he made her rumor vanya? how she clearly didn't want to? imagine being so heartless as to instruct a four-year-old child to wipe her sister’s precious memories, all because you were scared of being unable to control her.
and who's to say there were no repeats after that: of allison turning people’s minds and bodies against them, every single one under her father’s orders as part of her “training”, and when allison fails because her conscience has finally caught up with her, who would stop him from hurting her?
definitely not her siblings or grace, and certainly not pogo.
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moving on: oh god, klaus. it’s really not a no-brainer why his son barely has any respect for him, even going so far as to put out his cigarette in his father's ashes as a final fuck you, because who could respect somebody who forced you to confront your worst fears at thirteen with no safety net whatsoever, even as you screamed yourself hoarse in that damp tomb, with only your nightmares for company
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later on, when klaus honest-to-goodness dies and meets him for the first time after so many years, what’s the first thing reggie does? insult him. no “i imagined it’d be a few more years before you joined me here” or “are you okay? why are you even dead, son?”
instead, reggie debunks his accusations as excuses and outright states that he will not accept a single one. instead, he reminds klaus that he is--and always will be--his father’s greatest disappointment, that him never achieving his full potential was klaus’ fault and his alone.
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and when klaus chastises him for being so harsh on them and leaving luther on the moon as an easy out for his shortcomings, what’s his greatest takeaway? that he should have burned every single package luther sent back to earth instead of keeping them under the floorboards. 
no apologies, no owning up to his mistakes whatsoever. 
he just deflects his child’s accusations, and even attempts to gaslight klaus once more into thinking that everything he did was to make them stronger and how dare you disobey me, i made you children what you are today and this is how you repay me? what a bunch of disobedient and ungrateful brats you all are indeed
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don't even get me started on vanya's treatment at his hands. otherwise we’ll be here forever.
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and then, we have diego. 
time and time again, diego has proven himself to be tough and capable; whose soft interior is something of a privilege bestowed only to those he truly cares for. and even though he's come so far in life and helped so many people, the minute reggie takes a shot at him with a few select words? 
nope, never mind, he's eleven-years-old and back at the academy again.
the man sitting in front of him may not be their father just yet but it’s the exact same words he’s heard for most of his life, the exact same weaknesses gleaned from a single glance, and even in an alternate timeline, his father just knows where to strike, every observation landing dead center like diego’s precious knives. 
(and judging from his siblings’ reactions, this speech is just a rehash of something they’ve all heard before, but it definitely doesn’t mean that it’s going to hurt their brother any less.
no, it will hurt more because he’d actually thought he was finally untouchable after all these years.)
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i mean, just look at him: at the way his shoulders shrink inward subconsciously, the excited light in his eyes fading, his stutter reappearing. and despite the fact that he has spent a decade away from this bitter old man, it only takes a minute for his hard earned self-worth to crumble, and suddenly it’s so clear to us just how deep his self-esteem issues go:
because aware or not, everything diego has done and said so far ("he's an asshole; i'm amazing”) has simply been his way of coping with the fact that no matter how many acts of heroism he performs as an attempt to live up to the “perfect superhero” mold reggie forced them to fill at such a young age, their father will never view them with anything less than contempt, not even luther who barely had to work for approval and their father’s twisted version of “love” because he used to be his loyal lapdog favorite, and that is the real reason why i'm gonna hate this jackass forever, in this essay i will
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fiveisnumber1 · 3 years
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Timeless - Five Hargreeves x Reader
Main story parts:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31
_________________________
Pt 31 - Commission Issues
As you zoned out looking at the sky and wondering about the possibilities of what would come next you hear Luther call out behind you,
"Five!"
Coming back to reality you turn towards the sound and watch as Luther follows Five back into the apartment building. You decide to follow them as well but not before looking at Klaus and Ben on the ground and say,
"Whatever that was, I'm going to ignore it but you two need to figure out where the others went while I help Five with whatever idea he has next, okay?"
"Uhh...sure" Klaus groans as he stands up
"Fine, we will," Ben adds
You nod your head and turn around rushing to follow the two boys who were heading inside the building. As you followed them up the staircase you could hear Luther exclaim,
"Hey! Five, doomsday is still coming. We gotta think of a new plan."
"Don't you get it, Luther? It's over, all right? We're already dead." Five complains
"Then where are you going?" Luther questions
"I'm going to do the unthinkable." Five replies frustratedly  "The hell is that supposed to mean?" Luther follows up
As the three of you enter the apartment you hear Five mumble to himself, "I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this."
With that, he enters what used to be Elliott's bedroom and shuts and locks the door behind him. Luther leans up against it knocking and yelling, "Come to what, Five? Five! Come to what? Five!"
Luther bangs on the door calling out Five's name over and over again to no response. You step next to Luther and when he looks down at you, you say,
"Let me talk to him."
Luther nods at you knowing that you were probably the best option to talk to him. If anybody was going to calm down and reason with him, it was going to be you. As Luther walks away to the living room portion of the apartment, you phase through the bedroom door. Once you enter, you watch as Five paces back and forth complaining to himself,
"All we had to do was get together on time. That was it! those idiots screw everything up."
"Five..." You say
"I do everything to try and save us from impending doom and I can't even rely on them for the simplest of tasks!" He continues to complain
"Five." You try again
"I bet they'll blame it all on me again too!"
"Five!" You call out grabbing his hand
Five stops pacing and his head snaps towards you. 
"What?!" He snapped
You were taken aback by his outburst, your eyes going wide at the harsh tone of his voice. You could see the frustration on his face and the anger in his eyes. You knew deep down that he was just worried, but sometimes his emotions didn't come easy and it hurt you to see him so upset. 
Five was done with the constant threat of the apocalypse. With not being listened to and with plan after plan to get everyone home failing. He wanted to run away from it all but then he saw the shocked look on your face, and his mind flashed back to all those years ago when you both were children. He recalled the anger and frustration he felt at his father not listening to him and not believing in his ability to time travel. The rage that burned inside him because things had not gone the way he wanted. And he remembered the way you held onto him and the shocked look on your face as he took his anger out on you. Those moments, that day, burned themselves into his mind and plagued him through his whole life. He had always regretted that day, and probably always would but there was no way he was going to make the same mistake twice. Five's head looked down shamefully as he quietly apologized,
"I'm sorry..."
Letting go of his hand you take a step forward and gently cradle his face in your hands, tilting his head up slightly so he can look at you. You look into his eyes and the anger you saw before was replaced with pain. Softly you cooed,
"It's okay darling."
"No. It's not. I shouldn't have done it." Five replied hurt "We both remember the last time I took my anger out on you and look how great that turned out."
Five turned his head slightly to look away from you. He couldn't believe himself for directing his anger towards you when you didn't do anything wrong. When you've never done anything wrong. If anything he had done wrong towards you. You knew Five regretted the day you both traveled through time. He had mentioned it to you a few times but sometimes he'd have a far-off look and you could just tell that his thoughts of that day were consuming him again. He lived with so much pain due to his actions and their consequences and you wished you could just take it all away. You tilted his face back towards you and tried to comfort him,
"Five, I don't blame you for what happened that day, it was the result of years of cruelty from your father, and no offense to them, but your siblings have let you down consistently over what has only been two weeks for you. You had and have every right to be upset."
"You're correct but that didn't and doesn't make it right for me to take it out on you." Five calmly explained "It was wrong then and it's wrong now. I'm sorry."
"It's okay my love." you forgive
"How can you be so forgiving of me? After everything I've done?" Five questions
"Five I knew who you were before that day, and I know you now. People make mistakes, and you're no exception, but it's the actions you took after them that prove you're a good person and worthy of forgiveness." You inform
Five just looks at you for a second before stepping forward and wrapping you tightly in his arms. You remove your hands from his face and wrap your arms around his neck hugging him back. He loved you so much and god knows what he would do if he lost you again. He didn't want to lose his family either. He'd never say it especially because he's tried to show it to no avail, but he cared about his siblings. They were his family and he wanted them to live just as much as he wanted you to. The apocalypse was coming and time was running out for you and his family. And that worried him. As you hug him, you can feel his face bury into the crook of your neck. Gently, you stroke his hair as he quietly says,
"They make it so hard. I just want you all to live."
"I know, but you have a brilliant mind and I know you'll figure out how to get us out of here." You whisper back to him
Five shakes his head on your shoulder before he lifts his head to rest his forehead against yours.
"I don't deserve you." He remarks
"Say that again and I'll kill you." you threaten 
Five lets out a light chuckle and a smirk comes to his face. He could not tell how serious your statement was but he found your threat of violence to be cute anyway. You and Five pull your faces back from each other and Five just looks at you for a second. He truly did not know how he could live without you. Nodding his head, Five straightened up and said,
"Alright, I have a hail mary plan in mind but I have to figure out some details first."
"Okay. While you do that I think I'm going to go check to see if Charlie is around. No guarantees he's come this way yet but just in case he has I want to let him know I'm okay." You reply
You nod your head at him and start to walk away but when you get to the door you turn back to look at him again and add,
"If you figure out your plan and I'm not back, just go without me I'll wait here."
"Okay." Five replies "I love you."
"I love you too." 
You then exit the room and let your boyfriend be. He was going to need the time and space to figure out what to do. As you walk out you see that Luther had passed out on the couch in the living room. Stopping the apocalypse was a pretty tiring affair. You walked out of the apartment and looked around the street. It was pretty barren and a lot of shops were closed given that JFK was in town. Most people had probably headed downtown to see the motorcade later today. it sure would be eventful. You couldn't really see Charlie's car anywhere and you were about to turn around when you hear what sounded like a woman yell out,
"HELP!"
Immediately, your instincts kicked in and you ran towards the voice screaming out. Following it down an alley you stopped and looked around for who was in danger. Before you could turn around though something jabbed into your back and you started to feel dizzy. You tried to fight off whatever was happening but it was too late and you collapsed to the group. As your consciousness started to fade in and out, the last thing you heard was someone saying,
"I'm sure your brother will be happy to see you."
Back at the apartment, Five had finally come to terms with his plan. He needed to intercept the last person he'd want to see in this timeline. Himself. An older-looking version of him had arrived in Dallas no more than 10 minutes ago to kill President Kennedy and although it was risky, if they could get the briefcase from him, Five knew he could get his family home. He needed to prepare though. Rushing out of the bedroom, Five heads towards the kitchen and loudly opens the refrigerator door. The sound of the fridge causes Luther to wake. And as he gets up from the couch he calls out,
"Five? Five?" 
Five ignored the calls as he grabbed a container of water and started to chug it down. When Luther entered the kitchen he looked upon the sight before him of Five intensely drinking water. Furrowing his eyebrows, Luther asks confused,
"Five, you okay?"
Five gasps heavily as he finishes the water and puts the container back in the fridge.  "I'm gonna need to be hydrated." Five states
"Hydrated?" Luther questions
Luther watches as Five frantically looks around the kitchen for something before having his eyes lock on the kitchen table. Five walks over to it and quickly grabs a bottle of baby powder off of it before sprinkling some down each sleeve of his shirt and then some down his pants. Luther grew concerned about what was going on as he inquires,
"What's with the baby powder?" "It'll help with the itching." Five responds  "What itching? There's itching? What the hell is going on here?" Luther asks before realizing "You do have a plan." Five does a few jumps and shakes to even out the baby powder he had practically doused himself in. Grabbing his jacket from the chair he walks past Luther into the living room of Elliott's apartment and explains, "Well, it's a desperation move, but since our brain-dead siblings are incapable of meeting a simple deadline, I got no choice."
Luther turns to look at his sibling and asks, "No choice about what?"
"I have to find myself." Five states looking at his watch "I just arrived in Dallas 15 minutes ago." "Should I be worried about you?" 
Five puts his academy jacket back on before bending over and starting to stretch. If he was going to do this he needed to know he was dexterous enough to fight or run after himself. With his younger body and surplus of energy, it probably wouldn't be that hard. Then again it was only two weeks ago when he was still working for the commission as well, and even in his old age, he was taking people out left and right. As he stretches Five explains,
"Luther, if you recall, I was sent to 1963 on a job by the Commission to make sure the president was assassinated." "Oh! So, wait, your old self is out there." Luther says
Five stood up and looked at his brother. Finally, the wheels in Luther's big monkey brain were starting to turn and he was starting to grasp the plan Five had come up with. "Precisely." Five states "What, just walking around Dallas?"  Luther asks confused
Nevermind. The monkey brain was still a monkey brain. Realizing his nitwit brother would not understand unless he described it in the same way he'd talk to a six-year-old, Five emphasized, "Walking around Dallas with a briefcase that can get us home." 
Luther's eyes go wide and a surprised expression appears on his face as Five watches the lightbulb finally goes off in Luther's head. It was honestly disappointing how long it took for that to happen. "Oh, my God. Five, you're a genius!" Luther exclaims
He may be a genius but the plan wasn't perfect though. There were significant flaws in it but it was a hail-mary for a reason. Turning to Luther, Five elaborates, "However, there are two significant problems with this plan. Problem number one: I am a trained assassin, arguably the most dangerous assassin in the space-time continuum. If I know me, I'm not going to react kindly to bumping into myself. Problem number two, and this is the real fly in the ointment here: you're not supposed to exist in close proximity to yourself in the same timeline. The side effects can be disastrous." "Side effects? What sort of side effects?" Luther inquires
"Well, according to Commission Handbook Chapter 27, subsection 3b, the seven stages in paradox psychosis are stage one: denial, two: itching, three: extreme thirst and urination, four: excessive gas, five: acute paranoia, six: uncontrolled perspiration, and seven: homicidal rage." Five explains "Homicidal rage?" Luther questions
"Yeah." Five states "Jeez, I don't know. This maybe isn't such a good idea."  "It's a Hail Mary. But what choice do we got, Luther?" Five exclaims "I don't know, you already seem a bit squirrelly if I'm being honest." "Look, Luther, I'm gonna need you to help me get through this one, all right? I...I need a spotter." "A spotter?"
"Yeah."
"What is that? Like, a wingman?" Luther questions
"In case the paradox psychosis gets too severe, I need you to help me stay on task, all right? So, whatever happens, whatever I say, we need to get that briefcase. Okay?" Five explains
"Okay, but where's (Y/N)?" Luther questions looking around
"I don't know. She said she was going on a walk to find Charlie but I guess hasn't come back yet." Five states "Maybe it's better that way though."
"You don't want your girlfriend coming? Don't you think she could rationalize with you more than I can if things get bad with this paradox psychosis?" Luther states concerned
"Most likely, and honestly I wouldn't mind some more steadiness from her" Five says
He then stops for a moment to think about the events at the Lonely Lodger Inn from earlier. He wouldn't mind that at all. 
"Five?" Luther calls
Pulled from his thoughts he looks back to Luther and continues to explain,
"BUT if she's not there I can use my knowledge of her as leverage against myself. 45 years ago was the last time he saw her alive. He's sad, desperate, and blames himself for her death.  We can use his emotional turmoil to get the briefcase if necessary."
Luther looked at his brother shocked. He knew where Five was coming from but it was almost vile considering using you against the other version of himself. Like he had said that version of him is sad, desperate, and blames himself for your death. Withholding knowledge about you just to get the briefcase would probably be on torture levels for him. Luther knew how strongly Five felt about you and the two of you were together now, so he could only imagine what could happen with the version that hasn't seen you in years.
"You're going to use your girlfriend like blackmail against yourself?"
"As I said, if necessary I will." Five comments as he starts to walk away "Now, come on Luther."
"Right..." Luther says to himself
Leaving out of the apartment the two of them head out in search of Five's Commission self. Although both still wondered where you were. 
____________________________
As you started to regain your consciousness the world around you began to flood your senses. Your mind felt fogged as your head rested heavily on a cold surface. Your eyelids drooped but you tried to open them to see where you were. Through blurred vision, you were able to make out an empty grey room. It reminded you of the interrogation room at the police station Eudora worked at. This definitely wasn't the alley you were in. You moved your body around and with enough force, you manage to get yourself upright but your heavy head still hung low. As you became upright you could feel your backside hit the backing of the chair you were in. You moved your arms trying to readjust yourself but as you did so you hear the sounds of clanking and realized there was something around your wrists. You were handcuffed. 
"Maybe Charlie was right about not running towards danger." You groan
It felt like your physical being and consciousness were both moving through sludge. Whatever that person injected into you to knock you out was sure as hell powerful. You tried to think of a plan to get out but all of them involved your powers and you could just feel the fatigue run through your veins from the sedative. Taking some breaths you tried to figure out where you were and where to go from here. Listening carefully you could hear the buzzing of the light above you but also the sounds of people walking and chattering outside the room you were in. Gathering energy, you threw your head back so that it was facing up towards the ceiling. You moved your eyes around and spotted a door to the left of you. There were no real defining characteristics to let you know where you were. Maybe Reggie had informed the government about you and now the FBI or CIA was going to use you as a weapon of mass destruction. Maybe the Soviets had kidnapped you and were going to use you as ransom to the US government because apparently, the world saw you as the adoptive daughter of an eccentric billionaire. Either way, you didn't know where you were and you didn't know how to get out. Overall, this was a very bad situation. Without any other real options, you sat there and waited for something to happen. As you did so you could hear the door open and the sound of someone walking into the room before closing the door behind them.
"Good, you're awake." The voice commented
You knew that voice. It was the same one as the person who had knocked you out. Although you were still too sluggish to do anything about your situation you could feel a fire start to build. Rolling your head to the side you looked towards the figure. Across the other side of a table stood a woman in all black clothes with a late 90s grunge cut with a fake smile on her face. Narrowing your eyes at them you demanded,
"Where am I?"
"You're at the Temps Commission." They responded
"Fuck." You said under your breath
This was worse than you thought, and now you were wishing you were captured by the KGB or US government. You had no clue what they knew nor what they wanted from you and since you couldn't fight back, the best course of action was to stay quiet. No matter what, you would not reveal any information about the Hargreeves but especially Five. They had been on his ass ever since he returned to 2019 and you were not going to let them get to him. The woman before you looked over as you sat in silence.
"What, no more questions?" They inquire "I feel like you'd have a lot more given who I am."
"I have no clue who you are." You remark
"Lila?" 
Oh. Her. Great. Letting out an annoyed huff you stare at her with an unimpressed expression. 
"Ah yes, now I recall," You comment, sarcasm laced in your voice "You're my emotionally damaged, older brother's sloppy seconds hookup, who in reality is a vomit bag of lies and manipulation."
"Listen here you little prick, I'm his girlfriend." She snaps
"You ain't shit. His girlfriend is a corpse, six feet under and somehow she's still better than you." You scoff 
As your confidence grew, you started to realize that the sedative was wearing off more. You started to feel less sluggish and although physically you couldn't do much your mind became clearer. You didn't want to tip Lila off that you were regaining your strength though so you stayed in your slumped position but kept a cocky look on your face. Lila slams her hands down on the table and stares at you intensely. 
"I should kill you." She threatens
"Do it. I'm sure that'll go over real well with my brother." You remark sarcastically 
"You a bigger pain in the ass than Five." She remarks annoyed
"Good." You reply curtly
The two of you stare each other down intensely, neither of you saying anything. After a few moments, Lila remarks,
"You're an asshole." 
"And you're the walking embodiment of sad British cooking. Fucking basic beans and toast looking ass bitch." You retort
You watch and Lila's face contorted with a flurry of emotions. Shock, confusion, anger. They were all present. Lila then stands up straight once more and in a monotone voice states,
"I have a meeting to go to."
Turning away from you she heads to the door. As she does so you shout behind her,
"Ha! That's right, leave! And just know if I could flip you off right now I would!"
As Lila steps out of the room you can hear her say to someone,
"You watch over her for now and bring her to my mother's office in 15 minutes. Understood?"
And as Lila fully leaves the room another woman steps in. Closing the door behind her, she looks through the glass window of the door as if trying to check for something before pulling the curtain down. Locking the door she walks over to the table and pulls up a chair across from you. With her hands clasped nicely on the table, she gives you a genuine wide smile and says,
"Hiya! I'm Dot!"
You looked at the woman before you. She seemed kind but this was also the Temps Commission so you had your reservations about trusting her. 
"(Y/N)..." 
"Oh, I know!" She replies in an upbeat tone "And let me tell you, a lot of us down at case management are so happy for you and Five. A lot of us wish the process was sped up but we have no real say in any decisions here but gosh we're just so happy for you two."
You stared at her blankly. She seemed sincere in her congrats, but part of you worried this was just some ploy to get you to let your guard down. You shifted uncomfortably in your chair and quietly commented back,
"Uh...thanks."
Dot let out a small sigh as her smile faltered a bit. Giving you a soft expression she lowers her voice and states,
"Listen, I know you're probably hesitant to trust me but if I'm going to get you out of here you're going to need to."
"I'm not going to trust anybody here. Five has told me all about you all." You state
"I understand. Let me just do something to prove you can trust me. Please just don't run after I do it. It'll cause a whole lotta trouble for the both of us." Dot says
You watch as she gets up from her seat and walks behind you. You try to turn your head as best as you can to see what she's doing but between the sedative still working its way out of your system and the fact you could not turn your head like an owl it was difficult. You watch as she crouches down for a second and then you hear the sound of something clattering to the ground. Dot walks back to her chair and sits down. As she does that you realize the clattering sound was that of your handcuffs falling to the floor. She had let you go knowing there was a chance you would run away. If you were able to move better maybe you would but that wasn't a possibility yet and you were a little curious as to what was up with her now. Shaking your wrists out a bit, Dot comments to you,
"You're free now, but please don't run. Let me get you out of here the right way."
"Get me out of here? What do you mean?" You questioned as you rested your arms on the table
Dot looked around the room once more checking to make sure nothing was there to see and hear her. Looking back towards you she explains,
"The Handler is trying to take over the commission. I and a few other folks are part of an underground resistance effort to try and stop her, because if she takes the reigns of this whole place we have no clue what will happen, but we know it won't be good."
"What do you know then?" You question, leaning forward in your seat
"From what we can infer, she wants the apocalypse to happen and she wants it to wipe out Five and the rest of the Hargreeves. But Lila obviously has a soft spot for your brother and brought him here."
"My brother Diego." You state
You knew that it was Diego who she brought. Of course, it was. Logically, it was the only answer that made sense. Hell, she thought she was his girlfriend. And yet, there was a part of you that thought about your other brother, Dean. You knew it was unlikely that he was here. It was virtually impossible, but maybe if he was all of your friends were here too. The look on your face must've said what you were thinking because Dot reached across the table and took your hands in her own.
"I'm sorry about your other brother." She consoled
Your heart clenched at those words. Taking a deep breath you attempted to ask,
"I'm guessing he..."
"Yes." Dot answered, "Along with the rest of your friends."
You looked down and nodded your head lightly. You knew how the world ended. You knew that the reality you had known, did end. And yet, somehow up until now, you had been able to block out the true gravity of the situation. You remembered how you joked with Charlie that he was the only friend you had left and to stay away from fireplaces or else you would have no one. You truly had not grieved their loss for years and instead had evaded it with humor or distractions. But now you were faced with the truth that you had always known. Your friends were dead. The apocalypse killed them. You held Dot's hands a little tighter as you squeezed your eyes shut trying to keep the tears that were forming back. With eyes still closed, you took a few small breaths before quietly asking,
"How did it happen?"
There was a silence in the room as the air loomed heavy over the two of you. Dot then took a breath before answering,
"In their last moments, they were all together singing happy birthday to your friend Kenny."
You lifted your head towards Dot and opened your eyes. You nodded your head as you managed to fight back your grief and replied softly.
"...at least Dean kept his promise."
"I know this is difficult for you to deal with especially since things are already so stressful but we can get them back." Dot states calmly
"How?" You inquired
If you had a chance to save the Hargreeves, and get your friends back, you would take it, no matter what. You loved them all and nothing was going to stop you from keeping them alive.
"In the simplest of terms, stop The Handler, Stop the 1963 apocalypse, and return the original timeline." 
"I'm in." You reply without hesitation "What do I need to do?"
"Lila knows that you matter more to Diego than she does, so she brought you here to use you to keep Diego in line. We're going to head to the Handler's office soon so Lila can use you as said bait. What you need to do is still pretend that you are too sedated to actually fight or anything." Dot starts to explain
"Pretend? I am still too sedated to fight." You state confused
"Not for long though." She replies "I went to our Metaphysics Division laboratory-"
She had to be joking right? The whole concept of the Temps Commission was crazy enough but a Metaphysics Division was honestly ridiculous to you. Cutting her off you sarcastically questioned,
"Metaphysics Division? What do they do? Turn decades into candy? Synthesize a person's memories from their DNA into an injectable? Create bodies for consciousness to be transferred into?"
"They already did the first one, I'm sure they could do the second if they tried, and they accomplished the last one until Five blew up the briefcase room which unfortunately shared a wall with the lab. They moved the lab location to a safer spot after that." Dot explained, "Point being, I stole a vile of adrenaline for you."
"Because adrenaline helps bring back my powers. That's genius." You compliment
"Yes. So during the meeting, you're just going to pretend that you're still very sedated but after that, we move into phase 2."
"And what's that?" You ask
"We're getting you out of here and back to Five."
With that, Dot pulls the vial of adrenaline and a packaged medical needle out of her pocket and slides them across the table to you.
"I'm not sure what your limit is so I don't want to be the one to inject it. Also, as a fair warning, we don't have much time until I need to take you to the Handler's office." Dot explains
You nodded your head at her and grab the vial and needle. You had watched Kenny do this enough times for you that you felt you could figure it out on your own with minimal problems. Opening the packaged needle you go through the steps to fill it with the adrenaline from the vile before injecting it into your arm. You weren't sure how much you were supposed to give yourself but you felt much more energized even in the few minutes after doing so. Dot turned to you and you knew from the look on her face that it was time to go. Grabbing the handcuffs from the floor you handed them to Dot before putting your hands behind your back. Once they were on you got yourself in the headspace of pretending to be somewhat sedated and started acting less alert and coordinated.
"Are you ready?" Dot questioned
"Yup. Let's set this plan in motion." You reply
Dot then unlocks the door and the two of you walk out of the room down the halls of the commission towards the Handler's office. In the office though, the Handler looked in disbelief at Lila and her pick for new commission security detail.
"Are you kidding me?" The Handler exclaims
"You said I could hire my own team." Lila states "Yes, but I didn't mean him, for God's sake. If you don't see the problem with hiring you-know-who's brother, then you're not ready for that badge." The Handler complains
Diego looks at the scene before him of the back and forth between mother and daughter. This was going nowhere and he was not meant to be here. Trying to get up and leave he says, "I'm sorry, but I really need to get going." "Shut up!" They both yell at him
Diego slowly sits back down in his seat as the two of them go back and forth with each other. "I can't do this job if you don't trust my instincts," Lila complains "Sweetheart, your vagina needs glasses. He is not worth it." The Handler criticizes  "Mum! Oh, my God."Lila exclaims embarrassed before changing her tune "This may shock you, but not everyone here likes you."
The Handler looks at Lila confused as she states, "Sounds ridiculous, but go on." "You need fresh blood loyal to us and not the old regime. I've seen Diego in the field. He is so much better trained than most of the assholes here. Why waste that when we can use it? He'll be my personal responsibility." Lila explains to her mother
The Handler turns her attention from Lila to Diego.
"You know, your brother Five and I have quite a colorful history." The handler playfully comments with a wink
Diego looks at her confused and disgusted. He hoped to god that she wasn't insinuating what he thought she was because if so he was going to kick Five's ass. Trying to both change the topic, and gage what she meant Diego replies, "My brother has beef with all except one person, and that person is not me." Diego retorts "Let me ask you something. When you're looking down the barrel of a gun, where do your loyalties lie, with your family or your principles?" The Handler asks "With me. I don't belong to anybody. Especially Lila." Diego retorts
The handler stares Diego down for a bit and there is a silence in the air. Turning back to Lila she states, "That I can work with. Run him through orientation and fill out his paperwork."
A wide smile comes to Lila's face as she happily exclaims, "Aw, thanks, Mum! I'm glad you're on board, but just to be sure he behaves I do have an insurance policy in place."
"A what?" Diego questioned
The door then opened from behind him. You had been waiting on the other side of the wall with Dot for a few minutes for some kind of signal to enter the room. You guessed Lila wanted dramatic effect, which was very villain-esque and very cliche. Walking into the room you made sure that you looked physically weak so that they wouldn't feel like you had the full ability to fight them again. Dot sat you down in a chair in between Diego and Lila before walking back outside of the room. Turning to your brother you smile at him and comment,
"Hey Eggo, how's it going? Did you get drugged and kidnapped as well?"
Diego's pulse begins to quicken as he looks between you and Lila. Anger started to build inside of him as his eyes locked on Lila. She looked at him from her seat with confusion.
"Diego, what's wrong?" She questioned
Diego couldn't believe that it was even a question of what could be wrong. How could she not see the awful nature of what she had done? Shooting up from his chair, Diego moves to place himself between you and Lila. He wasn't going to let her get any closer to you. She had already hurt you once and there was no way he was going to let it happen again. Not on his watch.
"What's wrong?" He questioned rhetorically before yelling "YOU DRUGGED AND KIDNAPPED MY SISTER!"
Lila did not fully think this plan through. She knew that Diego had a soft spot for you so she knew she could use you to help get him to stay and work as security. What she had not anticipated was his anger. She thought he would be a little upset but still happy to have you with him. That was not looking like the case though. Standing up as well, Lila tries to downplay the severity of what she had done. 
"Diego, calm down, she's fine. A little sedated but fine." Lila explains with some nervous laughter
"Fine would be her not being here at all Lila!" Diego rebuked
The Handler looked at the lover's quarrel going on between the two of them.  It was unexpected but it revealed a side of Diego that was unknown before. It was impressive that Lila had thought ahead to bring in the one loyalty that Diego had so that he would be less likely to act out.
"I see you do have some loyalties..." The Handler comments "Good thinking on the blackmail sweetheart."
As you quietly sat handcuffed, trying to pretend that you had no ability to use your powers, you couldn't help but get irritated at Lila and Diego. Feeling the need to add your input, you cut in commenting,
"Y'know...I'm just putting it out there, but Eudora never would've drugged and kidnapped me to use me as blackmail because she was actually a good person." 
"Shut up." Lila scolds, glaring at you
"Don't talk to my sister like that!" Diego reprimands
"Yeah! Fuck you, beans and toast." You add 
"What?" Diego asks looking down at you confused
"Just roll with it." You whisper back to him
"Diego," Lila calls bringing his attention back to her "Look at it this way. At least she's with you her brother and not her awful boyfriend, Five."
"He's a pain in my ass, and I don't like sharing her but he's not an awful boyfriend. Everything he has done is for her." Diego replies
"I'm telling him you said that." You mention
Diego once again turns to look at you and in the sternest of tones he states,
"No." 
He then turns back to Lila and continues to explain,
"And second of all, I'd rather her be with him than here because then at least I know she's protected."
The Handler was becoming less and less amused by this argument the more it went on. Deciding she was done with their petty bickering she stood up from her desk and commanded,
"Enough. Lila, take your little puppy to orientation." 
Lila tried grabbing Diego's arm to take him away but he held his ground. No matter what he was not going to leave you behind, especially not alone with the Handler. Lila looked between her mother and Diego, growing increasingly worried about what would happen if Diego didn't leave with her soon. Lila tried pulling him along once more but he pulled his arm from her grasp. Placing a hand on your shoulder he turned to face the handler. Standing his ground, Diego demanded,
"I'm not going anywhere without my sister."
"Alright." The handler replies monotonously "Kill him, Lila."
"No!" You and Lila shout in unison
The two of you glare at each other before you look towards your brother. He was not dying just because he felt this need to stick around and protect you. You knew he was always going to put you first in a way he barely did with anyone else, but you were not going to risk losing your other brother because of his need to protect you.
"Diego please go." You asked calmly
Diego looked towards you before crouching down in front of you. Looking you in the eyes, he gently holds onto each of your arms. He said no words but you could feel his hands shake.
"I'm not leaving you." He stated, trying to keep his voice calm
There was a certain deja vu to the conversation you were having with Diego. Your brain traveling back to that day in 2019. You tried not to think too much about it but knowing what had happened after made this conversation even harder. You didn't want to make your brother leave, but you knew you needed to so he could be safe. You just hoped that this time things would turn out better.
"Diego. Go." You forced out 
He looked at you sadly but knew you wouldn't budge on the issue. Wrapping his arms around you he pulls you into a tight hug, not wanting to let you go. If your hands weren't cuffed behind your back you would've held him as well but all you could do was rest your head on his shoulder.
"I'll be okay," you whispered, trying to reassure Diego of the decision 
"I'm gonna come back for you." He whispered back
He let out a sigh before standing up and reluctantly nodding towards Lila to show him the way. You turned your head to watch him leave. Diego looked back at you one more time, hoping that he would see your face again soon. And with that, he left and you were now left alone with the Handler herself. You watched as she made her way around her desk and leaned back on it so she was now in front of you. She gave you a smile that was nowhere near as friendly as Dot's was. It unsettled you greatly. Instinctively, you leaned back in your seat as you stared quietly back at her.
"So you must be Five's little plaything," The handler comments "I'm so glad I finally get to meet you. I was hoping it would be on better circumstances but for some reason, Five never wanted to bring you around."
You could see why he didn't want you two to meet. Although she tried to portray herself as kind it was very evident that she was psychotic. 
"Not much of a talker, huh?" She questions "Maybe a candy would help? Would you like one?"
She gestures to a bowl of candy on her desk. Honestly, you wouldn't mind one and you were so done with the day at this point that you were willing to accept the risk it might be poisoned.
"Sure, but uh...I can't really grab it." You reply shaking your arms to gesture to the handcuffs
The handler moves from leaning on her desk to behind you and undoes one handcuff before re-cuffing it on the armrest of the chair you were in. Still not great, but at least you were able to have some movement of your hands and arms. The handler grabs a piece of candy from the bowl and hands it to you. A smirk resided on her face as she watches you take the candy from her hand.
"Here have this one," she says before walking back behind her desk
As she walks back to her chair, you unwrap the candy and pop it in your mouth. It didn't taste too great. It tasted like stress and tears and sadness, but then again it was not as bad as the weird food concoctions you and your friends had made before. You crunched on it a little bit before swallowing it all. As the handler sits back down in her seat she starts to say,
 "We've synthesized specific years into- wait did you just eat that whole thing?"
"Yeah." You reply bluntly
"That was The Great Depression candy." She states shocked
"Ah, that makes more sense. I thought it just tasted like finals week. Not bad though." You respond
The handler looks at you baffled. She purposely gave you the Great Depression as a way to knock you down and show her superiority but you ate the whole thing like it was nothing. 
"Not bad? It was made to taste like blood, sweat, tears, and depression."
You shrug your shoulders and nonchalantly reply,
"It could be worse."
"It could be worse? What is wrong with you?" She questions before saying "Nevermind."
The handler took a moment to try and regain herself. Not even she was able to eat the Great Depression candy without gagging. This was a situation she had not anticipated but she wasn't going to be confused or intimidated by some child. You on the other hand felt a pride rise inside you. You tried to hold your laughter back as you thought to yourself, Now I've thrown her off her rhythm. This situation was bad but at least you were able to make it entertaining. The handler after reestablishing her "polite" composure brought a faux smile back to her face as she turned her attention towards you again.
"You are quite the individual. Just like Five, we've had our eyes on you for a long time."
"That's kinda creepy but alright." You comment back
"Well, we do monitor all of time to make sure that what's supposed to happen, happens. Of course, we were going to notice children with unexplained immense powers, such as yourself. Molecular manipulation is quite the gift."
"Yeah, you could say I'm the main character of this story." You mention with a wink "No one can do what I do."
"I'm sure someone could mimic your powers."
"Ha! I sure would like to see that bitch try." you scoffed "The dipshit would be writhing on the ground in pain for their hubris. I can only imagine what type of dumbass would willingly take on feeling the extent of everything that makes up this world without years of tolerance training. Idiot."
You couldn't believe the stupidity of her statement. You'd think if she had been monitoring you throughout your life that she would know it took you forever to build up a tolerance to feeling the molecules in the world. Before you started learning to control your abilities you blew stuff up as a child because you were in pain. Imagine having such a large ego that you think you could copy that without putting in any training for it. What a "yeah let me just try to surpass god" type of mentality you were getting from this woman.
The handler couldn't believe you either. She was growing more frustrated with you having some kind of counterpoint to everything she did or said. It was like you were prepared to be here even though it was clearly established that you weren't. She was just glad that the only power you had right now was the ability to run your mouth. The handler knew she was going to get under your skin though. She had her ways.
"You know, it's just so sweet the history that you and Five have. Always believing the two of you would find each other again one day." She states, traces of malice in her tone "It's something I thought about during Five and I's involved, and colorful history."
You furrowed your eyebrows. Did- did she think you were stupid? You knew she was trying to suggest that she and Five were a thing but they obviously weren't. Anyone with half a brain cell could see that. Your boyfriend hated this woman and hated his time at the commission. He said it himself, it was nothing more than a job. He absolutely despised these people, especially her, and currently was working directly against this organization as he always had been. And on top of it, everything he's done was motivated by his love for you. Even Diego who was not happy that you had a boyfriend knew that was Five's motivation. This woman was certifiably insane. 
"Ma'am if you're trying to insinuate you fucked my boyfriend, I know you're lying. Intimacy of any kind, but especially physical intimacy catches him off guard." You elaborate unamused "Also if you two have such an involved history then why is that he spent his whole life trying to get back to me, despises you and the rest of the commission, and is actively trying to thwart you in every way possible."
The handler glared at you. She thought she was going to get under your skin with that comment and yet here you sat throwing it back in her face and getting under hers. Scornfully she rebuked,
 "You know I never quite understood why Five chose you. I can't seem to find one reason to like you."
"Well, I can seem to find a lot of reasons actually. I'm pretty, I'm smart, I'm powerful, I cared for him when no one else would, I didn't knowingly leave him alone in an apocalyptic wasteland for 45 years." You retort sarcastically "And those are just a few of the many reasons."
"You know pride is one of the seven deadly sins," The handler comments leaning forward in her seat
"So is envy." you retort
The handler gets back up from her seat and walks over to you once more. Looking down at you with contempt she asks,
"You know what I see?"
"What?" you reply
"I see a weak, pathetic child who thinks that she's the center of attention in this giant book of life. A child who is so scared of confronting her past she hides behind a harsh exterior with only her words to defend her." She attempts to insult
It didn't work though because you knew she was wrong. She had no clue who you were or what you were like. You had her stumped and you knew she was grasping at straws to try and put you down. To try and make you feel belittled so that she could exert power over you. She had no power over you because the fact of the matter was, you were the one in power here, and you were going to assert it.
"Well, you know what I see?" You ask with a smug smile
"No. Tell me, what do you see?" 
Still handcuffed you lean forward in your chair looking up at where she stood right in front of you. Lowering your voice you go on to say,
"I see a woman, past her prime, deluded by a fantasy of some kind of romantic tryst with a man who never wanted her to begin with. You have led yourself so far down a path of irrationality that you have convinced yourself there was some kind of connection that was never there. He was your subordinate, nothing more. And now here you stand, grasping at straws for some sense of control and power, in the middle of a failing coup d'état of your own making, because you feel like you are losing your grip on the reality you created for yourself. A reality wrecked by the very man that you convinced yourself wanted you back."
Immediately after you finished your statement, the handler's hand snapped towards you and grabbed your face. She forced your head up to look at her and you could see the rage in her eyes. You were winning this battle. Angrily the handler replied,
"You better show me some respect. I have the power to ruin your life, take everything you love away, I could even kill you for that matter."
"I don't need to show you shit. My life has already been ruined, practically all that I love has disappeared in one way or another," You retort "and just so you know, the only way I'll ever die is if I choose to let it happen."
The handler leaned in towards you and her grip on your face tightened. You could feel her nails sink into your skin a little more. You weren't intimidated by her though. She was pathetic and wasn't worth your time. When she got close enough to you a sadistic smirk came to your face for a moment before you spit in hers. The handler whipped your head to the side as she pulled back in disgust. Wiping her face off she looks towards you in anger but you sit there with a proud smile.
"You're lucky you make good blackmail or else you'd be dead right now." she comments furiously before shouting "DOT!"
Dot quickly enters the room and the handler whips her gaze towards her.
"Take this disgusting child back to her holding cell." She commands
Dot nods her head and quietly makes her way over to you. Unlocking the one handcuff from the armrest she redoes the cuffs behind your back before helping you to stand. The two of you walk towards the door to leave the handler's office but before you do so you stop in your place. Turning to face the handler you firmly state,
"Les chaînes des oppresseurs ne durent que tant que les opprimés les laissent rester. La liberté est inévitable."
And without another word you and Dot left.
____________________________
"Well, there I am." Five stated
He and Luther had made their way over to the pub that Five knew he would be at. From behind a pillar the two of them spied on older looking but younger self. Five remembered this day perfectly. He had sat over at the bar trying to perfect the equation to jump forward to 2019. He thought about you a lot, wondering how you would feel about him coming back, if you would be upset with him...if he'd get the opportunity to confess his feelings even though it probably would go nowhere. 
What a sad mess of a man. 
"Hey Five, why don't we just grab the briefcase and run?" Luther questioned "Luther, I would never let that happen. We're trained to guard these briefcases with our lives." Five explained "Plus, it's the inherent paradox where this gets tricky. I'm endangering my existence just being in the room with myself."
"Huh...What do you mean?" Luther asked confused
God, how dense was he? Did Five really have to spell it out for his brother? Letting out an exasperated sigh, Five elaborated,
"Luther, try to keep up. If old me doesn't travel back to 2019 like he's supposed to, the whole thing unravels itself. I cease to exist. You got me?" "I get you," Luther responds
Five was not confident though that Luther actually got him. "So our best chance is to talk with him, to reason with him." Five continues "He'll understand. Trust me. I know myself better than, uh...better than I know myself."
Unconsciously, Five reaches back and scratches the back of his neck causing Luther to quietly exclaim, "You just itched your neck. That's stage two of paradox psychosis."
"No, I didn't. I didn't itch my neck." Five denies "Denial is stage one." Luther reminds
Five was not going to deal with this back and forth. He was fine. Completely and utterly fine. Nothing was wrong at all and no paradox psychosis was setting in. He was good. Snapping at his brother he states, "I am fine, okay? Let's stay on task, shall we?"
Five attempts to start walking over to his commission self but Luther puts an arm out to stop him. "Wait!" Luther says "What?" Five questions
"Maybe I should go first."  "Why?"
"Well, you'll freak him out. Bumping into your own tiny doppelganger? He will lose his shit. Just let me break the ice." Luther suggests
Five thought about it for a second and realized Luther was right. It might be better to send him in, although now he was wishing he had you here because you would probably be the best option to reason with him. But then again, he could see himself freaking out even more because your presence in 1963 meant something very wrong happened. Well, at least he still had the blackmail option. Five nods to his brother and Luther slowly makes his way over to commission Five. Luther awkward leans on the bar next to him and calls,
"Five."
Commission Five registered the word the person had just said to him but wasn't sure if he was hearing him correctly. Looking up at the person he sees a giant man standing there. Looking him up and down he asks, "What'd you call me, big man?" "It's me. Number One?" Luther replies "Luther. How did you...?" Commission Five questions as he starts to reach down towards the briefcase at his feet
"It's okay. Everything is fine. I can explain. But first, I need to introduce you to somebody. Just promise me you won't freak out." Luther tries to calm "What the hell are you talking about?" Five replies with wide eyes
"Uh! Don't freak out. No freak-outs. All right?" "Hey there, stranger." Academy Five greeted
The two of them stare quietly at each other. This was the worst of situations and both of them knew it but what was more important was making sure they were the one to possess the briefcase.
"How about we all sit down together?" Luther suggests 
Commission Five leans down and grabs the briefcase as Academy Five continues to stare at him. Cautiously the two of them walk over to a nearby table that Luther has found available. Slowly the Five's sit down across from each other, their staring contest continuing on.
"I'll get us some drinks!" Luther exclaims walking over to the bar
Neither of them said a word to their other and tension loomed in the air. Neither knew if it was due to the paradox psychosis or just the fact that they both had to look at a reflection of their and future failures. Either way, it was an undesirable experience. After a minute, Luther comes back with three pints of beer in hand. Placing one in front of each person at the table he takes a seat and comments,
"Well...this is nice, isn't it? The three of us, together like this." "No." Both Fives say in unison "Somebody explain to me how it is I'm having a pint of Guinness with my younger self." Commission Five inquired
"Older, actually. I'm you, just 14 days older." Academy Five states
Commission Five leans in more as he remarks, "I have pubic hair smarter than you. How's that possible?"
"I can explain. You see, one hour from now, on the grassy knoll, before the president is killed, you break your contract with the Commission. I already know you're thinking about it. All those years in the apocalypse, we never stopped worrying about our family" Five explains taking a pause before continuing "About (Y/N)."
Luther looks between the two Fives confused. They worried about the family? It was understandable that they worried about you but the family too? Surprising. Commission Five's eyes glaze over for a second and he looks off in the distance as his teen counterpart's words resonate in his mind. He did worry about his family but mainly he worried for you. The image of that first day in the apocalypse never left him no matter how many years had passed. It was seared into his memory and haunted his nightmares. Coming back into focus, Five leans in and replies in a low voice, 
"Of course. Why wouldn't I worry about her? You know what happened." "I do know what happened and preventing that outcome is the most important thing. So today, you are going to do something about it. Today, you are going to attempt to time travel forward to 2019. However, you are going to mess up the calculations, screw up the jump, and end up in this younger body." Academy Five explains
"Okay. So what am I supposed to do about it, not jump?" Commission Five asks
"No, no. I need you to jump. If you don't jump, I cease to exist and there is someone in this timeline who would not be happy about that." Academy Five states firmly
Commission Five's eyes go wide. Instinctively, his hand and covers the part where his locket rested. Were you here in 1963 as well? His heart raced a little and he excitedly questioned,
"You mean-"
"Yes." Academy Five answered
"...What's she like?" Commission Five asked in awe at the thought of you being around
"Ethereal." "I'm listening. Go on." Commission Five pressed
This is exactly why Five was fine with you not being here. Now he had bargaining power against his former self. The pathetic man was desperate for any crumb of knowledge about you. An unfriendly smile came to Academy Five's face as he explained his offer,
"I'll be glad to tell you more in exchange for that briefcase you're holding under the table. And I'll even give you the right equation for this time if you want it."
Commission Five looked back at his teen-looking self without saying any words. Taking the opportunity to speak Luther re-explained, "Yeah, yeah, so you go back to 2019, as planned, see (Y/N) and this time with the right math, so you can remain a full-grown man. In exchange, we get that briefcase that you no longer need. Timeline restored, paradox resolved. Everyone goes on existing happily ever after." "That's quite a bit to take in." Commission Five commented
"What do you think?" Academy Five asked "I think...I need to piss." Commission Five responded
He then got up from the table, grabbing the briefcase from the floor below him, and made his way to the bathroom. Academy Five watched with wide eyes as he walked away from the table. Grabbing a napkin, Luther began to dab the sweat off of Five's face commenting, "Well, besides the flop sweat, I think that went pretty well." "No, there's something- something doesn't feel right about this." Five remarked
"What do you mean?" Luther questioned "I don't trust him." Five stated "But he's you," Luther replied confused "Exactly." 
Luther slowly nodded his head. The psychosis looked like it was really starting to pick up in Five. Luther hoped they would be able to get the briefcase soon so that Five didn't get worse. Downing the rest of his pint, Luther turns to Five and explains,
"Well, I need to go take a piss as well, and maybe as your spotter, I can reason with him a bit, alright? Just wait here."
Five watches as Luther gets up and walks away. He could only hope that things would all work out the way they should.
____________________________
As you and Dot quietly walked down the hallway you whispered to her,
"What's this phase two that you have in mind?"
You watch as Dot looks around for a second to make sure no one in the hallway was paying attention before pulling you into a side corridor. She takes one more glance around the surroundings before whispering to you,
"The resistance is going to get a briefcase so you can escape back to 1963, but to get to the briefcase room unnoticed, we'll need a distraction."
"Ah, I see where is going. You want me to cause the distraction."
"Yes." Dot replies "If you can draw enough security away from the briefcase room we can slip in and get one so that you can get out of here."
You nod your head as you phase your wrists through the handcuffs so you can have your arms free again. Looking back to her you state,
"I'm not leaving without Diego."
"Don't worry, I talked to Herb, another member of the resistance in the hall, and he said he was going to retrieve him." She reassures
"Good." You respond before asking "Where should I meet you?"
"Storage closet 2. It's on the east side of the building across from the period clothing department."
You peer around the corner of the corridor and look out into the hallway to see who was there. It was relatively empty with only a few people passing by. As you keep watch you ask Dot,
"Is the briefcase room to the left or right?"
"The right. Why?" She questions
"No time for questions. Just trust me. I'll see you soon." You respond
And before she can say anything else, you turn yourself invisible and sprint off to the left down the hall. Dodging the people who were walking by, you looked for some room that seemed important. As you searched, you passed the handler's office doors. Stopping in your tracks and backing up you look at the double doors for a second. A mischievous smile comes to your face as you take each hand and place them on the door handles. You heat the molecules of the handles and the lock inside of the door so that they all start to melt before quickly cooling it all down. With the handles and lock all now one solid amalgamation you knew that she would be locked in there for a bit. Turning back around you continue running off down the hall searching for a room that seemed important until you found one. Looking at the sign that said Tube Room you decided to investigate more. Phasing through the wall you entered the room and saw a line of different tubes spread down the length of a hall. Taking a look around to see that no one was there, you drop your invisibility and prepare for the mother of all distractions. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath and focused on the molecules around you in this room. Specifically, that of the tubes that lined the walls Shooting your eyes back open you took off running down the hall of tubes, blowing each one behind you up as you passed them by. You could feel the pulsing of the explosions and the heat from the leftover flames as you continued to move forward down the hall. As you reached the end of the hall, you ran through the wall to the other side hearing the sound of the last explosion resonate behind you. You stopped for a moment to brush yourself off when you heard over the PA system,
"Security to the tube room. Security to the tube room."
"I better get out of here." You say to yourself
You look around for any sign that would point you in the direction of the east side of the building. You should've asked for more directions from Dot, but you were all too excited to start bringing this organization to its knees. Down the hall, you see a sign with an arrow on it pointing towards the period clothing department. 
"Bingo," you exclaim
You start to quickly make your way towards the sign when you hear someone from behind you yell,
"Stop right there!"
Looking back you saw a significant amount of people in blue suits pointing guns at you. You were about to run away when you looked forward and saw another similar-looking group on the other side of the hall.
"Shit."
You were trapped. Granted, you weren't really trapped, you could just use your powers to sneak out of this situation but you had no clue if Dot was able to get a briefcase yet. Was this all the security they had or was there more scattered around? Dot had mentioned that Five blew up the briefcase room the last time he was here, so they had to have had more security for it. Security that you needed to draw to here.
"If you wanna stop me you're gonna have to kill me!" You announced
Guns drawn, the guards started to come towards you. You kept calm though and waited patiently for the first line of security to get close enough. If you were going to cause a distraction then hell you were going to make it unforgettable. Slowly, the 12 guards inched closer and closer until they were just where you wanted them. As this first line flanked you on all sides you gave them a wicked smile and within a second a boom rang throughout the hallway. It was all calm for a moment and then...chunks of flesh and blood rained down over the hall. There was nothing left where those 12 guards had stood, and at that moment it became clear that you were not trapped with these guards. They were trapped with you. You were Persephone, the bringer of destruction, and the chaos had only just begun. 
Pulling out two of your knives you watched as more guards started showing up to try and stop you. You could feel the adrenaline you had injected coursing through your veins. This is where the fun begins. Realizing what you had just done the guards start to rush in. One by one you started to take them down. It was like you were moving in slow motion as you fought the crowd around you. Your movements becoming less so fighting maneuvers and more of a rhythmic dance. In a focused daze, you made your way around slashing throats and melting brains of all those who charged at you. With their guns drawn, they sent shots your way but it did not matter because all the bullets did was go through you and hit other guards. You watched the blood and the shit spray as swathes of agents dropped to the floor dead. The lucky ones were shot or blown to bits while the less fortunate dealt with the pain of slowly burning to death or being tossed back and forth between the walls like useless playthings. You bathed in the sounds of their agony. They all were going to suffer the way they made your darling Five do for years. And like the Roman empire, they fell to their demise. 
When the combat had stopped you came out of your trance. Catching your breath you looked around at the bloodbath you created. The once white marble floors were now stained with rivers of red. You were victorious in your battle, and like the Queen of Hell, your destruction reigned over this place. You turned to walk away and head towards the storage closet when the sound of a gun rang out and pain came to your arm. You looked down and saw that a bullet had grazed your forearm leaving behind a wound. Your head shot back in anger to see where the shot hand came from. One guard was still alive, paralyzed from the waist down but still alive. You made your way towards them and they tried to shoot again but they were all out of bullets. Slowly, you crouched down to them on the floor, your eyes ignited with flames and you said in a low tone,
"You missed."
Reaching into their chest you ripped out their heart and crushed it in front of them. You watched as the light quickly slipped from your eyes. Letting out a huff you placed two fingers over your wound and used your powers to cauterize it. You were done here and made your way towards the rendezvous point. As you walked that way the adrenaline started to wear off and you started to fully realize what had gone down. Urgency set in as you saw the blood you were covered in and realized you need to get out of here. Finally seeing the clothing department you ran into it real quick and changed clothes, using some scrap cloths and a water bottle you found to wipe the blood off of you. You then raced across the hall to storage closet 2 where Dot, Diego and a group of other people were all standing around.
"Hey everyone," You say frantically "We need to get out of here fast because I'm pretty sure I just committed a war crime."
"Oh, uh okay. Well, unfortunately, we couldn't grab a fully functioning briefcase in time because people came back to protect the briefcase room," Herb explains
"But, we still got one!" Dot explains positively "It just happens to be a one-way case. They become useless after one time jump."
"We've already set it up with the correct time and location. Halfway between FBI headquarters and the pub where Five is located." Herb adds "Here are some maps to show you how to get to those places."
You and Diego both reach out and grab a map.
"Thank you." You reply quickly
Diego turns to look at you,
"Ready to go, kiddo?"
You nodded your head quickly at him. Diego took the briefcase in one hand and wrapped his other arm around you tightly. Herb stepped forward and pushed a few buttons before stepping back you could feel the energy from the case start to grow as you tried to manage your breathing. Giving the group of people before you one last look, you say,
"Vive la résistance."
Almost immediately after there was a flash and now you stood with your brother in the middle of Dallas, back in 1963. You watched as the briefcase started smoking and making unpleasant clanking sounds. Finding a nearby dumpster, Diego threw the defunct briefcase away before coming back over to you and pulling out his map trying to figure out the path to the FBI building. It wasn't far from where you stood but every second spent standing around was another second closer to Vanya ending the world...again. Looking up from his map he looked towards you. You silently looked back at him and waited for him to say something. You could tell something was on his mind. Diego was torn. He wanted to bring you with him to the FBI headquarters so he knew where you were and didn't have to worry that you had been taken by Lila again but he didn't want to put in danger of what Vanya was doing. The last time Vanya strongly used her powers you were seriously injured and putting you right in harm's way of that was something he would never choose. Diego came to a decision in his head. It was going to take a lot to say this but Diego knew it was the best option.
"Go find Five. He'll keep you safe."
You were surprised by his statement. Diego had been very back and forth on you being with Five since every before Five came back, although he would never admit it.  But this plus the comment from earlier were the strongest confirmations that maybe just maybe, Diego was coming around. Although his comments gave you reason to celebrate, this was not really the time and you were also very worried about him. You didn't want to be separated from your brother especially if he was headed to stop Vanya.
"Will you be okay?" You questioned
"I'll be fine." Diego responds "Now go get to Five. He can protect you from the commission more than I can."
Instead of saying any words you just took a step forward and hugged your brother. It was brief because time was of the essence but it was enough to reassure both him and yourself that things would be alright. You pulled away from Diego and the two of you gave each other knowing nods before turning in opposite directions and running towards your respective destinations. Using your powers you made yourself lighter so that you could move faster. You had no clue if the commission was after you. You wouldn't be surprised given you had pissed off both Lila and her mom, the handler. It didn't take you long to see the pub marked on your map up ahead. You slowed your pace as you made your way to the door and calmly entered the establishment. You looked around for a second before spotting a familiar uniformed boy, sitting alone at a table. You walked over to the table he was at and called,
"Five."
His head snaps over to you. His eyes were wide and his face was covered in sweat. You were taken aback by how frantic and unwell he looked. You cupped his face in your hands and felt the warmth radiating off of his skin. As you tried to cool down the water molecules in the sweat on his face you said,
"Oh my god, are you feeling okay darling? You look awful."
Five quietly stood up as you still held his face in your hands. He appreciated you using your powers to try and cool him down but he was confused as to what you were doing here.
"How did you find me?" He asked
"I'm fine." you instinctively responded 
"That's not the question I asked." Five states "Also are these new clothes?"
"Listen, the specifics of the situation don't matter too much right now but I promise I will tell you later. What's the plan?" You inquired
"I- I don't know." Five states scratching the back of his neck "I'm still working on it."
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay." you comforted as you brought him into a hug "We'll figure this out together."
Five wrapped his arms back around you and held you tightly. IF he was experiencing any paradox psychosis, at that moment it melted away for a bit. Just you being with him gave him a sense of calm even though the world around him was anything but that. He just hoped that this calm would last even after Luther had returned.
As Luther had walked into the bathroom a few moments earlier, he sees Commission Five standing in front of the sink looking at the glass eye that would belong to the future, Harold Jenkins. Walking over to the urinals he comments to Five,
"Yeah, that's a waste of time. Trust me."
A waste of time? It was one of the only clues he had. How could it be a waste of time? "Then why were you holding it when I found you dead in the apocalypse?" Five questioned
"No idea. But the guy it belonged to didn't end the world. Vanya did." Luther stated "Timid little Vanya?" Five asked confused
"Yep. Is more powerful than all of us put together. Turns out, she was pissed about the way we treated her when we were kids, so she destroyed the moon and ended the world."
"Fair enough." Five said nodding his head "This is perfect. We now know exactly what's gonna happen."
"Yeah, except it, uh, already did," Luther replies approaching Five
Five turns to him with plenty of new ideas rushing through his mind. Not only how to stop the apocalypse and get this version of Five to disappear. He was unnecessary. "Don't think, just listen. Forget about the little jerk-off's plan. It's way too complicated. A much better plan is for us to travel to 2019. All we have to do is make nice with Vanya, stop her from destroying the world. Easy-peasy." Five explains "Hmm. Well, that's actually...that's not bad." Luther responds "But what about Five? I mean, you? I mean, the, uh, young you."
"That's not me. That's a teenaged hormonal photocopy that got botched in the time jump. Besides, it's too late for him anyway." Five states
"Too late? Paradox psychosis?" Luther inquires
Five nods his head, answering, "Best thing we can do is put him out of his misery." "You're saying to kill him?"
"You're thinking about this all wrong. We're not killing anybody." Five elaborates "Look at me. I'm Five, and I will still be alive. All we are doing is getting rid of a mutant doppelganger."
"Are you sure you don't have paradox psychosis?" Luther questions concerned "I've never felt better in my life." Five states
I just don't know Five..." Luther responds warily "(Y/N) wouldn't be very happy to know her boyfriend is gone from existence."
Commission Five stopped in his place. His head slowly turned back to look at Luther who had an innocent yet conflicted look on his face.
"Boyfriend?" He questioned surprised
"Yeah. Boyfriend." Luther responds "But like I was saying, I don't know about getting rid of him, this would be like the third time she's lost him- you...y'all? And she's really powerful and she almost killed me once for insulting Diego, and you remember the bank she blew that guy's head clean off. I just don't feel like it's the best idea to rip that Five away from her..."
Commission Five hadn't listened to a word Luther had said though because once the word boyfriend had slipped from Luther's mouth his heart began to race. If that version was her boyfriend that meant she loved him too. No. That would be insane. Maybe Luther said the words too fast and so he said boyfriend when he meant boy��friend. There was no way that she felt the same way he did. Could she? Did she love him this whole time? Did she die loving him the same way he loved her? No, they were just friends. Just...friends. Five wanted to believe that what Luther was saying was true and that she did love him enough to have him be her boyfriend but it just didn't add up in his mind. How could she love someone who abandoned her in a different time, who took everything she knew away from her and left her wondering till the day she died if her best friend was mad at her. It was impossible though. Five looks up towards Luther who still towered over him like he did when they were kids.
"The little prick out there won't tell me jack about her." Five complains before asking quietly "What's she like Luther?"
"Well...I haven't been around her much but uh she's very powerful, more so than when we were kids. Uh, I mean she definitely cares about the people she loves, and um apparently she was dad's favorite both in 2019 and this timeline."
"That makes sense. When I read her diary she wrote about a lot of the things he did for her. Was too much to be coincidental." 
"Wait what? He did stuff for her?" Luther questions
"Doesn't matter. So she's here? In this timeline?" Five inquires
"Uh- I don't know where but yeah," Luther responds
Five nods his head. 
"Alright well, let's head out then." Five comments
As the two of them open the men's bathroom door and exit both of them see a sight they didn't know would be there. Five froze in place and his jaw dropped as he looked ahead of him.
"Oh look, there she is!" Luther commented
He was right. There you stood. Alive. Five could feel his heart stop and he didn't know if he was breathing anymore as he stared off at you. The world faded away as his focus became you and only you. Five could feel his heart clench as he remembered the last time he saw you alive. It was 45 years ago, right before you died. He remembered cradling you in his arms, blood getting on his academy uniform as he cried over your dead body. Tears pricked his eyes as he took all of you in. You were smiling, moving, breathing and to him, that was a miracle. He could only see the side of your face but the little shit was right, you were ethereal. As the world came back into focus he noticed you wrapped in the arms of his teenage counterpart. He saw the gentle look in his counterpart's eyes as your hands wrapped around his neck bringing him into a hug. Five wanted a hug from you, it had been so long since he had gotten one. As Five stood there, he felt Luther nudge his arm. Turning his attention to him, Luther says,
"Alright lover boy, time to get your head out of the clouds and go interact with the love of your life for the first time in years."
"Ah well, no...we're just- I mean..." Five stutters
"Oh, we're just best friends. Don't give me that shit you openly yelled about how you loved her when we were 12." Luther ridicules "Now c'mon let's go."
Luther starts to push Commission Five forwards back towards the table and Commission Five's heart begins to race with every step closer. As Academy Five noticed Commission Five head back towards the table he held you tighter to him. His face contorted into a scowl as he looked at this version of his approach towards you. He could see the look on his face, one of nervousness and awe. Academy Five didn't like it one bit and if it wasn't for you hugging him he felt like he would've punched the old man right where he stood. You felt as Five tensed up in the hug and pulled back to look at him. looking up at his face you saw it was filled with anger but couldn't begin to decipher why. You followed his gaze to see what had angered him so and when you looked behind you, you saw Luther standing there with an older gentleman. You looked back towards your boyfriend whose face was still filled with rage and asked,
"Five, who is this?"
Five stared the man down and let out a huff before replying,
"He's me."
________________________________
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conduitandconjurer · 2 years
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lila threatening klaus didn't make any sense because both her *and* diego followed reggie the next day :/
I know. :(
I'm gonna be candid here, and I know this is an unpopular opinion, so if people feel the need to unfollow or block, I won't take it personally. Here goes: the way Lila intercepts and threatens Klaus is really just one small symptom of a larger trend I see between Diego and Lila as a couple, that makes me very uncomfortable.
Put simply, I love Diego and I love Lila: separately, not as a couple. And I think she needs him much more than he truly needs her, but his sense of loyalty, his sense of duty/obligation, and his resolve not to become his own father, are keeping him with her; that, and the circumstances of the world ending, and Lila being the only person left that Diego has ever had romantic feelings toward. But "we're the only ones left and we've been through trauma together" does not a good relationship make.
Diego needs the space and the patience to learn how to verbalize his emotions. He's deeply traumatized, and he needs a partner who will help him work through his sense of insecurity and his determination to help others while coping with all his own problems silently and alone.
The entirety of the Stan "experiment" is not funny to me; when Lila told Diego in an insensitive and even almost snide way, about Stan's real identity, and he stuttered for the first time since Season 2 (the person who made him stutter last time was REGINALD, so let the implications of THAT sink in), I think my heart shattered into a thousand pieces. I admit to personal bias here: I'm an educator, and I work with kids who have disabilities on the regular, and I can tell you that that moment was indicative of major problems in that relationship. Diego stutters when he feels unsafe, when he feels undermined, when he feels insufficient. Lila is brusque and impulsive; she is insecure and will risk other people's wellbeing, their feelings, to make herself feel more secure--the reason why she hid her real pregnancy from Diego until she could "confirm that he could handle it." As much as Diego hates talking about things, that's what he needs, and Lila doesn't talk, she just acts, and often selfishly. She really is not equipped, because of her own (entirely valid) issues, to take on a romantic partner that way.
I'm not saying that Diego is a saint or that Lila is despicable. Again, I love and enjoy their characters, separately. I'm saying they both need and deserve to heal, but don't have what each other needs. Unfortunately TUA has never prioritized the pursuit of healthy relationships or healthy emotions. The series is too saturated in bitter gallows humor and the articulation of the whimsically, satirically bizarre. But that means Diego and Lila are likely to continue to be a canonical couple, and I genuinely fear that this will prevent either character from experiencing the sort of personal growth that we saw in Klaus, Viktor, and Luther this season (or even Allison and Ben, albeit backwards, in their case).
I think for a lot of Diego and Lila fans, part of what convinces them that she fits in perfectly is that she's the same kind of fucked-up as the Umbrella siblings are, so it's easy to imagine her as "part of the family" (according to Five and Klaus). Ideally, imho, she would become a much better sibling than in-law.
So yeah. I felt as irritated as you did, by that scene. It was controlling. Lila needs to let Diego make his own decisions. If HE wants to tell Klaus to fuck off, fine. They're siblings, and Diego has known Reginald as long as Klaus has, and has the right to make that call, about how much he wants to be exposed to their toxic father figure. That isn't Lila's call to make. Nor does she have the right to threaten one of Diego's loved ones with unending physical and emotional torture.
I know Diego's not great at self-preservation, but no relationship works if one partner calls the shots for the other, without involving them in the decision making process of their own welfare.
And I don't dislike or blame Lila for this. I blame the writers who thought that scene would be funny and that that dark humor overruled any problems of characterization that it might cause. Humor at the expense of characterization is one of my top five pet peeves of fiction, lol. Grrrr.
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in-tua-deep · 3 years
Note
au where five found out about vanya's powers in the apocalypse? Like maybe he found Reggie's book or he saw the eyes of vanya's corpse?
oh man like. that would be interesting to be sure, if Five managed to find Reginald’s book in the apocalypse
(He doesn’t read it at first, not for a few months after he finds it. He opened to the page that detailed Reginald’s experiments with how long Deigo could hold his breath in clinical unfeeling words and has to put it away while he breathed - not too deeply though, he didn’t want to breathe in more ash than necessary)
But he eventually does. He sits Dolores up and rages and vents to her, cursing Reginald’s name with every new sordid detail, every new terrible sin he now knows to hurl at Reginald’s feet. He reads no great loss under his section and he’s too dehydrated to weep but something breaks inside his chest nevertheless
(He’d never thought that dad loved them, not really. He might have hoped, back when he was little but he knew better now. He was thirteen, old enough to know better. But he’d at least thought that dad found them useful. 
Five had tried to hard, trained so much, been so adaptable. Even then he was no great loss.)
Five finds out from Reginald’s book about Ben’s death. Cold words that describe the way his brother died. Reginald seemed to care more about Ben’s death than Five’s presumed death, but that could be becuase Ben’s power was always bigger than Five’s. More violent. More efficient. Of course Ben was a greater loss, Five’s power wasn’t even inherently useful for fighting.
(Klaus’s power wasn’t useful for fighting either. Reading Dad’s dismissive words calling Klaus a failure makes him bristle. Reading about Reginald locking Klaus away in the mausoleum for days make Five want to hurl the book against the wall.)
Finding out about Vanya is - it’s weird. Vanya was always so ordinary. He loved her of course, for fucks sake he was the only one who cared to interact with her half the time. He loves all of his siblings but he has no illusions about how casually cruel they could be to one another.
But he reads about her powers and clenches his fists and wonders what Reginald would have done if Five had stayed, if Five had kept on his path of rebellion. Would Reginald have drugged him, too?
(Reginald had the power to take their powers away. Five wonders what Klaus thought when he found out, if he had cursed and sworn and raged at the man who watched his son suffer and turn to drugs to deal with seeing things no child should ever see. Reginald had the power to help, and he tortured Klaus instead.)
Because - of course Five assumes that they know. He reads Vanya’s books as well when he comes across it, tucking it into his wagon. He wonders when the truth came out, because the rage that drips from those pages is very real. Vanya doesn’t mention her powers in the book of course, but she would have been what, in her 20s when she wrote it? 
Vanya said in her book that she left home at 18, which means she’s had years to get the drugs out of her system and discover what their father had taken from her. Did she think that they knew? That they had kept it from her? Is that why the pages of her book drip with bone deep hurt, making Five’s fingers shake with the ache of them
(Or it could be the hunger, a now constant companion)
Five keeps both books close, even though he wants to vandilize Reginald’s book half the time. It’s strange to see the insight on them and their powers from the perspective of a scientist, odd to see the written results of the torture they went though
(He almost rips the page on the effects of electricity on his warping powers out on principle, but he just ends up curled around Dolores as he trembles involuntarily at the memories)
Five has so few belongings when he is recruited to the Commission, or at least has very few personal ones. He leaves Dolores behind in the apocalypse with a heavy heart but she’s too big to take with him. Too big to hide.
(Five always learned to only take what you can hide, because what you can’t hide will always be used against you.)
He tucks Reginald’s notebook in the waistband on his pants, the hard edges against his back a constant almost reassuring pressure. Vanya’s book gets pushed into one of his deep pockets. The glass eye gets shoved into his sock the same way he used to hide scavenged bills and quarters he would then place beneath the floorboards of his room
(He wonders absently if his money stash was ever found, but it doesn’t really matter now does it?)
He goes through the Commission with the knowledge that he has a bomb hidden away. As much as he keeps the notebook around out of a sense of sentiment he knows he doesn’t want it to fall into the hands of the commission, doesn’t want them to have this dissection of his powers on hand
(he has so little of his siblings left, just the bitter words of Reginald and Vanya both - the irony is that no matter how much Vanya extolled being excluded she had constantly been by Reginald’s side to write down observations, listening to his words, by his side more than any of them. sometimes he reads Vanya’s vicious words and hears the echo of their father in them. It makes sense. He still hates it, just a little bit)
He writes his equations into Vanya’s book instead of Reginald’s. He doesn’t like to read the red book, only opens it to look at the photos included so that he won’t forget what his siblings look like, tries to ignore the words that detail exactly how much force it takes to pop Luther’s bones out of his oh-so-durable joints
He solves them one day, or at least comes close. Closer than he ever had before, and he figures why not? Time for another little experiment. Who knows? Maybe he’ll add this one to dad’s book.
He pushes, and pushes, and then he falls and he’s in a courtyard he hasn’t seen in decades staring at people he hasn’t spoken to in just as long. He looks at them all with wide eyes
(He looks at Allison and hears his father’s clipped tone stating how Allison in improving at overriding survival instincts, he looks at Luther and hears Vanya’s childish voice accusing him of caring more about being a hero than anything else in his life, including his family, he looks at Klaus and sees a face covered in ash and blood with unseeing eyes)
He looks down at himself and sees smaller hands with smoother skin, absent of the burn marks from the variety of fires he’d set in the apocalypse, absent of the crooked knuckles from when he’d crushed two fingers in some rubble trying to get to a can of food, absent of the cracked and brittle nails from malnutrition and food issues
“Shit.” He says, with feeling.
He can feels the press of the glass eye against his leg, the solid weight of Vanya’s book in his pocket, the edges of Reginald’s notebook digging into his skin as he hauls himself off the ground and into a standing position.
They have a family meeting in the kitchen.
Sort of. Five flits about, snagging bread and peanut butter and marshmallow fluff from the cupboard to make himself a sandwich, trying to avoid looking too desperately eager. He hasn’t had his favorite food in so long that the anticipation is actually insane.
“What’s the date?” Five asks, and learns that he doesn’t actually have all that long until the end of the world. But hey, it’s doable. Probably. Unless the reason the world ended was like, political nuclear war or something? But there would probably be survivors of that somewhere, so it was more likely something bigger scale.
(It has to be something he can stop, or this was all for nothing. He refuses to believe he doesn’t have a chance.)
“Cool, so like, the world is ending.” Five says, because why the fuck not? He has all his siblings in one room (except Ben, he has failed Ben, will always have failed Ben because he’s a coward who couldn’t return to a time when Reginald Hargreeves was alive) and he has Reginald and Vanya’s words pressed into his brain, “We have eight-ish days to fix that.”
“Five, what the hell are you talking about?” Luther demands.
Five waves his hand, “Dad sucked, I time-travelled, the end is nigh. I figured even you could grasp that.”
(His eyes ghost over Luther, skittering about the room. He can’t look at Luther’s body without remembering the cruel diagrams pain stakingly inked into the book as Reginald grumbled about failed experiments.)
“You went to the future?” Diego says, voice full of doubt that make his voice harsh. It’s so much deeper than when Five left, no more of the cracks of puberty.
“No shit.” Five says, and he’s so tired. “I was in that hellscape for forty-five years.”
“Forty-five years?” Diego squawks, as though he’s personally offended.
“That would make you... fifty-eight?” Luther’s voice also has doubt in it, and Five can’t really blame him looking at his squishy little barely teenage body.
“Dad was right,” Five manages to get out without gritting his teeth, “Time travel is a crapshoot and sometimes your body does fun and wacky things on you, blah blah blah trees and acorns.”
“Prove you’re from the future!” Klaus demands, eyes bright as he leans across the table, “What’re the lotto numbers, baby brother?”
“I think they’re ‘fuck you the world had already ended by the time I ended up stuck there,’ Klaus.” Five says, mock thoughtfully before tearing off a chunk of his sandwich.
It tastes like ash and peanut butter. Only Five’s genuine trauma regarding food waste and the fact that most things tasted like ash in the apocalypse have him still chewing his food and swallowing.
“Rude.” Klaus says, making a ‘blat’ noise in disappointment.
“Dad’s rich as fuck, wasn’t him kicking the bucket essentially like winning the lottery?” Five points out, and this time it is Luther squawking at him in disapproval.
“Don’t talk about Dad like that!” He demands, and Five has some more uncharitable thoughts about the way Luther’s arms flex just a little unnaturally underneath that big trenchcoat.
“I like this version of Five better.” Klaus declares, looking like Christmas has come early.
“Dad was murdered and you guys don’t even care.” Luther spits out, looking very offended.
“You were murdered and I care very much about that.” Five retaliates, and the entire kitchen goes quiet.
“Can you elaborate a little, Five?” Allison says, ever the diplomat.
(That’s a lie. Allison started more fights than Diego, probably. She just got caught way less often.)
“Well. I mean, I dunno if murdered is the right word considering everyone was dead. You might have just been collateral damage, who knows? Does murder imply intent?”
“Everyone was dead?” Vanya says, voice very quiet.
Five shrugs, then nods, then shrugs again. He doesn’t like thinking about it. “Yeah, but that’s not going to happen this time.”
“I don’t have time for this nonsense.” Luther mutters, and Five valiantly tries to ignore him. 
“Five, are you - are you sure you’re alright?” Vanya’s voice wobbles and she looks like she wants to reach out and hold him or something ridiculous like that. She looks at him with big sad brown eyes, “Dad did say that time travel could... mess with you a little.”
Allison nods and oh, Five does not have time for this bullshit. 
“I have proof.” He says, and he reaches back and pulls out Reginald’s red notebook and slams it onto the table.
“Is that Dad’s - ” Luther cuts himself off, looking at the notebook with wide eyes.
It is very clearly beaten up to hell and back. Ash has stained the edges of the pages grey and there may or may not be a gouge across the front from a near miss with a bullet while working at the commission. It is a book that has clearly been through hell.
Five also dig’s Vanya’s equally beaten up book from his pocket to dump on the table as well, equally stained with ash and barely held together after being read over and over again for decades, including being used as a notebook in the final years.
(Vanya lets out a little gasp, hand flying up to her mouth with the knowledge that at least one of her siblings read her book. Certainly not the one she thought it would be.)
Five reaches into his sock to pull out the glass eye triumphantly, setting it down on his small stack of treasures.
“What the fuck?” Diego is the one to ask.
“If I time travelled from that day in 2002 to right now, how the fuck would I have Vanya’s book?” Five says triumphantly, “It came out in 2015.”
“Why do you have an eye?” Allison sounds slightly horrified.
“It’s the key to figuring out who caused the apocalypse.” Five says, turning it over in his hands, “It’s gotta have something to do with it at least.”
“Why does he have Dad’s notebook?” Luther demands, sounding equally outraged.
“Found it.” Five shrugs, like the little scavenger he is.
(Emphasis on little. His suit still almost fits, and reading the numbers in Reginald’s notebook versus seeing how fucking tall all his siblings got in person is frankly unfair.)
“Oh my god, okay.” Allison says, throwing her hands up in the air like they’re all nuisances. It’s a familiar Allison look, and Five actually feels a little soothed by the memory. “So the world is ending, Five is back from the dead, and our only clue is a goddamn eye?”
“I was never dead.” Five points out, “But basically, yeah.”
“I don’t have time for this, I have to get back to my daughter.” Allison says, shaking her head.
“I mean if you want Claire to live I would think stopping the apocalypse would kind of be a priority.” 
This draw Allison to a halt from where she’d been gathering herself to leave, “You... know her name?”
Five makes the executive decision to not mention the torn out magazine cover featuring his sister and niece that is pressed between some of the pages in Reginald’s journal. “I’d like to meet her one day.”
Just like that, Allison has been won over.
“Do you think it has something to do with whoever murdered Dad?” Luther asks seriously, even if the question makes Diego groan like this is an argument they have had before.
“Who knows?” Five shrugs, “But if we’re splitting into investigation teams, I call Vanya.”
Vanya startles from where she has been sitting quietly, “Me?” She asks, eyes wide.
“Yeah.” Five nods, “I mean, with Ben gone you’re probably the team’s heaviest hitter.”
“What?” Several voices ring out in confusion.
Five blinks, a little confused himself. Unless - “Wait, did you never train your powers?”
“Five,” Vanya says slowly, like she’s explaining a simple concept to a particularly dim child, “I don’t have powers.”
This was - this was unexpected. Why did he not think of this explanation? It’s just - he has now known about Vanya’s powers for like way longer than he hasn’t. It’s almost second nature to think of Vanya as having powers by now. And she doesn’t know.
“Oh boy.” He says, picking up Reginald’s notebook, “This debriefing may take a bit longer than I first thought. Oh, and at some point we should probably cut the tracker out of my arm as well.”
“The what out of your what?”
Yeah the day doesn’t really get much better from there.
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dogbearinggifts · 4 years
Note
What are your thoughts on tua S2? Did you feel like the characters grew? What did you like? What did you not? I’m interested in your perspective. Your analysis are super thoughtful and interesting!
Aw, thanks, Anon!
Overall, I really enjoyed S2 and thought it was a solid follow-up to S1. I do have my quibbles about it, so I think (for ease of reference and because my thoughts are a little scattered today) I’ll list some of my personal highlights (in no particular order) before getting into what I didn’t like as much.
Big spoilers ahead.
Allison. I thought they handled her storyline especially well. Of all the siblings, I think she had the most difficult obstacles placed in her way (not only is she a Black woman landing in 1961 Dallas, but she’s a Black woman landing in 1961 Dallas who can’t even speak in her own defense for a year) and they sugarcoated exactly none of it. The writers pulled no punches when showing what civil rights protesters went through, which just made their nonviolent response all the more breathtaking. Allison’s fear and anger during those scenes were palpable even as she kept them hidden. But along with that horror, we see the kindness and warmth of the Dallas Black community, the women who take her in simply because she needs their help, and her love for Ray, perhaps heretofore THE most thoughtful husband ever portrayed on screen. I loved him, and I loved him and Allison together. While I understand and respect his choice to stay in 1963, I wish they’d gotten more time together. They both deserved it.
Vanya. We got to see how much the baggage from her past affected her by glimpsing what she might be like if it were taken away. It’s an interesting philosophical question, and it was explored well, in my opinion. She finds it easier to love and be loved, and she stands up for herself more readily—but she also doesn’t hesitate to use powers she can’t quite control and threatens Five without fully realizing how dire her threat is (or how it might dredge up traumatic memories she doesn’t know exist). The moment where Ben finds her curled up, fully convinced she’s a monster, was heartbreaking. I loved watching her find happiness with Sissy, even if that was fleeting (and dear god, Sissy deserved her happy ending with Vanya, dammit, I don’t care if it would fuck up the timeline). Her patience and sweetness with Harlan were just beautiful. And the way she used the confidence she gained during her amnesia to fully come into her own not to exact revenge on her siblings, but to save them, was fucking phenomenal.
The humor. There was a lot more humor this season, and it was awesome. So many iconic scenes—Olga Foroga, Luther babysitting two homicidal Fives, Elliot awkwardly lecturing his guests on the history of Jello, “NEW TIMELINE NEW ME,” “Your vagina needs glasses,” AJ the fish gobbling up the cigarette bubbles, Five getting to say “fuck”….this season was a lot funnier than the previous one, and I think that was one of its strengths.
Klaus’ cult. It was played for laughs, which I both expected and thought was the best way to handle it. He didn’t want to start a new religion with himself at the center; he just wanted to not get thrown out of any more diners, but Destiny’s Children had other ideas. The “I too am a fraud!” scene was hilarious and tickled the question of whether or not a religion founded on false pretenses can still help those within it find meaning.
Luther. Getting him away from his dad, his siblings, and the Academy was exactly what he needed to become the pure of heart and dumb of ass genius we always knew he was, but his first major step in that direction was heartbreaking. We all knew he’d be rejected once he got to the Academy. We all knew Reginald would rip his heart out and stomp on it in his admittedly fashionable shoes. It gets Luther out on his own and forces him to become his own person apart from his dad, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch. He got the positive character development he needed, but the catalyst was tragic.
Diego. We see, for the first time, exactly how Reginald kept him in line—not with meds or with PTSD-inducing torture, but with words. Even when he knows Diego as little more than a stranger, Reginald is able to rip off his skin and fling it in his face with a single diatribe; and even at 30, with years away from his dad, Diego is left unable to speak, feeling as if all of his accomplishments up to that point were the work of a dumb kid who thought he was smarter and more capable than he actually was.
Luther and Diego sharing a braincell. Luther has bad ideas. Diego has bad ideas. When they put their bad ideas together, they get terrible ideas. I loved watching them work together as a team, rather than being at each others’ throats for most of the season, even if I’m left hoping Olga Foroga had a pleasant and quiet day after that phone call.
Reginald. At first glance, it may look like the writers were trying to make him likable so they could parade him around as your average abusive-parent-with-a-soft-side. But it’s more nuanced than that. Abusive parents (and abusers in general) often fly under the radar because they fool outsiders into thinking they’re good people. They’re active in their communities. They give to charity. They have friends who attest to their virtue, significant others who think they’re the greatest. And that’s what we see with Reginald. We see him as the rest of the world did: an intelligent, eccentric man with a sharp sense of humor who cared deeply about scientific advancement. That’s how he evaded suspicion—because there were stories from years past of lively parties at his mansion, of what a gentleman he was to Grace and of how he did everything he could to save little Pogo. But those stories would all have come from people he considered his equals. When he’s with people he considers his inferiors—aka, the Umbrella kids—he’s openly condescending and demeaning. We get to see how he fooled the world, and it is chilling.
Elliot. He deserved better, and you can ship him with any one of the Hargreeves kids and get the cutest thing ever. 
The Swedes. They said so much while speaking very little.
Ben. He got more personality and screen time, and it was glorious. His love of his family and resentment toward Klaus practically leapt off the screen. The way he says “I’ve missed you all…so much” once they’ve all left was one of those right-in-the-feels moments; and watching him get so much of what he’s wanted for years when he possesses Klaus was beautiful.
Now, as for things I took issue with….
Ben. I understand why they ended his arc the way they did. I get that they were probably afraid the Klaus/Ben dynamic would grow stale if they didn’t change it somehow and wanted to give him a larger role in S3. His death(???) was heartbreaking and extremely well-done. But it also wasn’t foreshadowed. We never got any sense of what ghosts in the TUA ‘verse are, so the fact they can be destroyed by a ton of sound-turned-energy or by going too far into someone’s psyche or whatever happened….it’s not that it doesn’t make sense so much as there’s not enough evidence to determine whether or not it makes sense. It feels like the writers just kinda made that up so they’d have a reason to change Ben’s relationship dynamics, but if that’s the case, couldn’t they have done it another way? Couldn’t they have made it so the immense energy or psychic woo-woo or whatever gave him a power-up instead of destroying him? Vanya transferred some of her energy into Harlan and brought him back to life. Couldn’t something similar have happened with Ben? And if it tied him to Vanya as well as to Klaus, great! More fodder for angst and humor! (”Vannyyyyyyyy, stop hogging Ben!” “You got him for 17 years, Klaus, you can part with him for 20 minutes.” “Guys, don’t I get a say in this?”) I’m glad they didn’t write him out of the series entirely, but I still wish they’d kept him and all the character development he’d gotten throughout S2.
Episode 10. It looks like they tried to cram half a season’s worth of developments into 45 minutes. Twenty minutes in, I’d already said “Wait what the fuck” half a dozen times. A lot of those moments were explained later on, and I was able to make enough inferences to fill in any lingering plot holes, but…still. Too much stuff, too little time. E9 was a perfectly satisfying ending to the season. Yes, it leaves the siblings stranded in 1963, but they could’ve tied up those loose ends in the S3 premiere.
Lila. She’s an incredibly fun character, but her arc is kind of a mess. Most of that is due to E10, and I do feel that more time to let her arc breathe would’ve worked wonders, but I’m left feeling like her turn from “Handler is the best mom ever and I lurve Diego too” to “KILL DIEGO AND HIS EVIL FAMILY” to “Handler is a bad mom and Diego is right” happened too quickly.
The Commission. Okay, so, the Handler announces the entire Board has been killed, and she’s stepping in as director even though everyone appears to know she’s been demoted (and demoted pretty severely—she went from having an office bigger than some apartments to being a case management drone). There’s suspicion and lots of it. But then, La Resistance is….ten or so people in a single room? And when she calls the temps agents to her side, thousands of them show up ready and willing to fight and die? I dunno. Just seems like there should’ve been more splintering going on there. Again, I think they needed more time to tie everything up.
Aside from those complaints, I loved the season. I set aside most of a day to binge it, and I do not regret that decision at all.
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hermitreunited · 3 years
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Give us the spicy Ben takes. You know you want to. Like putting too much Sriracha on your eggs, you want to tempt this fandom. Tell me, Roo
You are either the worst influence, or the best. You are both. Both of those things. 
Well shit, okay, it’s Spicy Ben Takes time!
So you know that thing in fandom where Ben gets credited as Klaus’ babysitter, the voice of reason that has managed to keep Klaus alive all these years? The viewpoint that Klaus is going to fall apart post-s2 without Ben there to help take care of him? I’m here to say that canon suggests the opposite is true.
Having someone watching you limits your freedom to make your own choices — or to put it another way, having someone watching you is an extra factor to weigh during the decision-making process. Unfortunately, people are complicated and messy and the Hargreeves are especially so, and so that extra factor is not always going to weigh in favor of making better choices.
And Ben and Klaus are siblings. 
There might be nothing more powerful than sibling-induced stubbornness. There was some musical artist that my older sister liked that I said was bad, and then when I realized they were good actually, I kept pretending to hate them until some time after we’d both graduated high school. In turn, because I listened mostly to movie scores, my little brother declared that any music without lyrics was bad and all sounded the same. He had to listen to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 and the opening track to The Dark Knight and tell us that they sounded so alike that he couldn’t tell them apart. 
He HAD TO do this. I don’t have a name as good as the Cain Instinct to describe it, but I submit that the inability to admit fault in front of a sibling runs as deep, if not deeper. It’s something to do with pride, probably, and more importantly the second part of this phrase: you can’t admit that you’re wrong or you’ll never hear the end of it. You aren’t going to fall out of touch when you graduate or whatever, this person will be around for the rest of your life reminding you of this fuckup whenever it benefits them, for forever.
(okay a read more because this is looooong sorrrrryyy)
So, to take a common fandom scenario, if Ben says Klaus should go to rehab and get clean? Klaus can’t just do that, especially if Ben has said it before and Klaus established that his side of issue was that he didn’t want to. If Klaus decides he does want to go to rehab after Ben has been on his case about it, then Ben can claim for the rest of forever that he’s the reason that Klaus is sober now, and that would be super fucking annoying when dealing with addiction is such deeply personal work. It’s a lose scenario however you slice it (which is very typical for sibling stupidity — it’s a fight that you lose as soon you decide it’s worth fighting over).
Now okay, let’s back up and be clear here. Klaus falling prey to sibling-induced stubbornness isn’t Ben’s fault. I’m not suggesting that Ben is actively standing in Klaus’ way, or that Klaus would have made the choice on his own to go to rehab had Ben not suggested it first. I’m saying that Ben’s presence simply makes it a harder thing to do, a larger mountain for Klaus to climb, on a journey that is already intimidating enough on its own.
And Ben is always there. There’s no space for Klaus to go off on his own and cool down and admit to himself that he is being stupid. Irritation can only build and build for years with no relief — irritation on both sides. 
So, yeah. Very unintentionally, Ben advocating for Klaus’ sobriety may in fact be a hinderance to that sobriety being achieved in actuality. Klaus might have more motivation to make good choices and less inclination to make bad choices when he doesn’t have a brother constantly watching over his shoulder.
But don’t just take my word for it! There are a few spots in canon that bear this interpretation out. I first got this in my head when I compared the ending of s1 and s2 — instead of leaving Vanya alone, Klaus comes out to join her in s2, which prompts the others to come as well and seems to turn out better than s1. No moons are exploded in the making of s2. Of course Ben is not the only difference in the situation, and of course we don’t know if Klaus would have made a similar choice if Ben was there advocating for it. What we do know for sure is that Klaus is capable of making good choices on his own.
We also see a couple of times that following Ben’s advice is not always a great choice. In s2, telling the cult the truth doesn’t do anything useful, and going after Luther in 1x07 gets Klaus killed. It seems like the time that Klaus was living his most well-adjusted healthiest life was when he was in Vietnam, without Ben. 
This is all to say that no, Klaus does not need Ben to be able to take care of himself. There’s more reasons to believe that Klaus will fare better without Ben’s constant presence. Surely there are aspects of his life that will be sadder, and emptier, without the brother that was such a fixture of his life for so long. But there will absolutely be parts of his life that are better, too. That’s one of those things that makes loss and grief so painful and guilty, isn’t it?
So actually maybe this is all to say, I would really love to see some more fandom takes that explore this complicated, flawed dynamic, and less of the one-dimensional ‘Babysitter Ben’ trope. Ben Is a Nuanced Individual With Flaws and Whose Actions Sometimes Cause Unintended and Unfortunate Consequences, and All of This Makes Him More Interesting and None of it Makes Him Evil 2k21!! (is that still a thing people do?)
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chrstbll · 3 years
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miracles and lucky days| ben hargreeves
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(gif not mine) 
+tags: @lalisbitch @spaceclone-mom , @meowmeowrex23 @strangeyouthcrusade
plot: after coming back from the 60’s, instead of finding the sparrow academy, the group come face to face with a much more positive outcome of their actions.
                                                           -
The words of Klaus were diluted, inaudible and ringing loudly in your head. Your limbs could barely hold the weight of your body, and the nausea from jumping between timelines hitting your stomach didn’t quite put you at ease. All was blurry at first, not hearing nor seeing properly caused you to feel light-headed as well, but before your legs or your mind gave in, somebody strong arms held you up protectively.
- Are you good? – Diego’s gentle call for you brought you back to reality. He was always a little bit concerned about you. He didn’t show it in great actions, it was in the seemingly unimportant things he did for you. There wasn’t anything romantic involved between you two, instead of that it was a deep understanding of each another that made you appreciate the other significantly. You nodded to confirm that you were in fact all right, shrugging it off with a smile.
Klaus was right. After you successfully registered what he was saying, a wave of relief washed over your heart, mind, and soul. Your whole being. For once, all seven of you managed to successfully jump back to 2019 without any harm or mistake being done. It was quite unbelievable. A dreamlike scenario which proved itself to be nearly impossible to believe. Looking around the hall, everything seemed to be all right. It felt okay. The aura was intimately comforting, yet something was amiss. Different. Changed. It certainly was not a malicious ambiance that you discovered, but one new, something yet unexperienced thing. The others noticed it too, as all six of them were looking around suspiciously. Memories, feelings, and people rapidly invaded your mind, those you haven’t thought about a lot. Pogo? Grace? Are they okay now?
Luther suggested to enter the living room ahead of you, so that’s what you all mutually agreed to. Five was the one who went further on before you heroically and begged all of you to proceed with caution, because we don’t know what’s waiting for us there. The walk from the hall to the living room happened painfully slowly given that the feeling of uncertainty was sitting in one and all’s eyes and was at fault for your lack of speed. Upon realizing the academy was unnervingly noiseless, the anxiety birthed a huge lump in your throat, which you couldn’t swallow. Your heart was terrified from the possible negative outcome of this time jump. What if that moment of clarity and amenity was only a façade and was only felt because none of you faced reality in the short but drunk moment of arrival? Sometimes you thought about how nice it would be to just live without worry. To live in pure bliss, without a care in the world. Without a problem in the universe to solve. How astonishing it would be not to recall what loss, trauma, or sadness feels like. But then again, we would live in ignorance that way.
Turning towards the divans and sculptures in the living room, your attention automatically focused on the small moving figure, who was absentmindedly cleaning the shelves with dusting feathers. Recognition hit you like a truck, as the character of an ape appeared before you. Your breath hitched in your throat. Mercifully, it was a positive reaction, a sentiment you haven’t undergone in a long time.
- Pogo?! – Allison was the first one to call out their siblings’ friends’ name. Barely letting his name roll from her tongue, the sea of emotions instantly overthrew her, and tears stormed down her face. Their beloved guardian turned around in shock, he looked so puzzled, it was as he didn’t recognize the people in front of him. You feared that was the case. What if we screwed it up even more?
- Oh, children. I was waiting for you all to return – he’s spoken politely and gifted us with a kind smile, just like he always did. You almost forgot what a courteous and caring figure Pogo was. His scarce although deep voice reminded you of simpler times. A type of nostalgia which you subconsciously yearned for god knows how long. Everyone gathered around him in a matter of seconds, engulfing him in a suffocating hug. Pogo was still bewildered from the sudden act of affection, as you all were from seeing him alive and breathing, but in this instant of happiness, the questions why and how didn’t matter. What mattered was the present minute, what you currently knew as is.
And next, a voice broke the silence.
Who would dare to turn around first? Who wanted to confirm that the voice that was just heard from behind them, came from a legit source? On a serious note, was it even real? Your minds are only playing tricks on you. You were ecstatic for having Pogo back, but it would be too good to be true to turn around and see the possessor of the voice. We can’t have all the wonderful things. It never went that well for you. Your bodies turned stiff, and your feet were frozen on spot. But what made you fear to turn around? The horror of hearing something that’s not truly there or facing it bravely. Something…someone you haven’t faced in roughly two decades.
- What the hell took you guys so long? – the annoyance sounded so raw, hence genuine. You could hear and understand the words crystal clear; then why didn’t you believe your ears?
The group hug disassembled at a snail's pace and turned to face what they never expected to see ever again in their lifetime. You, on the other hand, had secretly wished for a moment like this. Your heart was aching for the chance, not caring about being rational nor delusional. It kept the faith in your soul steady.
- Please, tell me I’m not the only one who can see him – Klaus muttered.
- Ben – Diego confirmed in a hushed tone without letting out any more words as he didn’t need to. He was the bravest out of all of you to speak up.
So, there he stood in his monochrome outfit, with his black leather jacket hugging his form and a coy smile painted all over his face. The faint rosy cheeks, lively eyes and vivid emotions displayed told you everything. The Ben standing in front of you was very much real, and more importantly, alive, and well.
- All of you look like you’ve seen a ghost – he grinned from ear to ear, and his light-hearted joke legitimately freed your body from the tension which held you in your place so aggressively. Number Four didn’t hesitate one second longer, and slammed himself against his brother, who sweetly returned the embrace. Registering it, savouring it, then finally loving the physical contact, Klaus broke up in a hysterical laughter. The group succeeded to pull the strings in a way his death was luckily prevented. How the hell did we manage this? But he didn’t care. All that mattered was the present minute, what he currently knew as is.
- You’re telling me, man – his laugh slowly started to die down, but his joy only rose. Of course, a group hug was crucially needed and initiated effective immediately. Everyone surrounded him, and you held onto each other tightly, so he never slips away from your grasp again. You admitted it to yourself, that it felt heavenly, but more precisely, it felt so damn terrific. The others eventually backed away, but you stayed right in front of him.
- Hey, you – were all he needed to say for you to go flying into his arms – Where have you been? I missed you – his confession was a simple, warm, and loving anecdote, and it broke your heart in the best way possible.
You missed me?
Your loud sobbing, and ocean of tears was baffling and a mystery to him, and he looked at the others with a perplexed expression. They asked him to just let you be because they understood everything perfectly. Each tear was valid and every one of them had a reason. His arms were wrapped around your body, as he was shielding you from all the cruelty in this world. His embrace wasn’t tight, but fond and sensitive enough. You weren’t greedy at all; it was just all too marvellous. Hearing his stable beating heart as he held you close to his chest completely fulfilled you. A featherlight kiss was tenderly placed on your forehead by him, in an attempt to calm you down. It failed, as more droplets of salty water coated your apple-like cheeks. Even so, the kiss was given so compassionately, it must have come from heaven itself.
Maybe you were in Heaven. Maybe your life ended when you arrived in the hall. This isn’t real and I’m probably dead in Diego’s arms by now. But what if you accepted it as your reality now? You couldn’t believe it, even after feeling his touch and his kiss on your body. It might be because you thought you didn’t think your wish to see the person closest to your heart again would ever come true. After the horrific months you went through, it was certainly an impossibility to be gifted with something this enormous, significant, and joyous.
Maybe miracles and lucky days exist. Maybe they existed both on the same day in favour of you. I’ll accept this, I deserve this. You absolutely deserve to be happy and to drop the burden that’s been weighing on your soul for years. Nobody deserves to live their lives in inescapable guilt and grief. Having Ben back in all your lives meant the world to you. You were thinking about how you might have to fill him in on the details of the previous events, but that was a case for a later part of the day. For now, it was nice to bask in his love and warmth. You’ll care about every other issue later. This was the only feeling that mattered in that moment. Peace finally taking its rightful place back in your heart, which has been waiting for it for a long time now. He radiated pureness, an energy which was incomparable to anything else. Clutching his jacket was your anxiety making sure he doesn’t leave again. Maybe he was reading your thoughts, but at the same time he was realizing he’d never leave you even if it meant his life.
- I missed you too.
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majorsoapfan · 3 years
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The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Episode Titles Analysis
Now that the episode titles for season 3 have dropped, I’ve spent the last few days wondering and theorizing just what they could mean. Most of what I’ve gotten so far rests on symbolism, headcanons, potential theories and a lot of googling, but we all need some way of staying sane until season three drops, right?
Now this is just what I’ve come up with so far, I could be massively wrong in all of these, but these are just my predictions based on what I know of the characters and plot so far, previous ways of naming episodes and the very little I know of the comics.
Meet The Family
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Now this one is very self-explanatory and we’ll most likely get to know our birdies very well in this episode. We’ll probably be seeing a flashback to the Sparrows as children fighting crime - maybe already being better at it than their Umbrella counterparts were when they first started.
I’m hoping that we’’ll see another montage of introducing the siblings as adults like we saw in season one with our Umbrellas - which had been so helpful to me at the time as I had started watching the show about a week before season two dropped. I had known absolutely nothing about the show when I started, I had only clicked on it because Robert Sheeran was in the card as Klaus with his pink umbrella and I thought he was pretty. I became a massive fan all because I had thought Robert was pretty and I was bored.
So yeah, I loved the initial introduction montage of the siblings as it helped me figure out who was who quickly without wasting time. And I think that doing something similar for the Sparrows will also help give a better and quicker insight into their personalities and how they work when we see them in episode one.
The World’s Biggest Ball of Twine
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If you google ‘ball of twine’ it does mention that this is an archetype for an odd roadside attraction. Now if we’re going literal here, there are plenty of such attractions in the States, including one of just this in Texas, where our dysfunctional family had been last season. Maybe an indication of a road trip or even them fleeing the Sparrows and New York in order to regroup and figure out their next step without the birds circling in?
Ball of twine can also mean wrapping really strongly around something, especially as the material mentioned is usually very strong and durable. A ball of wool isn’t the episode title after all. Now this could mean maybe a family or an emotional issue that is massively at play here. Or more likely, the Umbrella’s and more specifically Five, are trying to figure out their exact steps and actions in the 60′s and just how badly they changed the past and future, both in the general sense of the world and for their own personal lives.
Ball of Twine can also mean wrapping around something tightly, so maybe a trap is being put in place or enacted. Either for the Umbrellas by the Sparrows, or the Umbrellas are trying to lure their counterparts into a trap to regain the upper hand.
Pocket Full of Lightning
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Now the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this title is something like this being described or mentioned regarding a character and their abilities. Now the characters that come to mind immediately when referenced to this are either Vanya or Christopher. Or maybe it may have something to do with a team-up, more than likely the Sparrows and what can happen when they team-up and combine their powers.
But lightning also has a lot of symbolism in many different societies and periods and in all honesty, I feel like I have to mention this. Symbolism includes but isn’t limited to: illumination, destruction, punishment, inspiration and revelations. Lightning is also highly associated with the King of the Greek Gods Zeus. Maybe Marcus or Reginald?
Marcus is after all described as a natural leader after all, gaining perhaps a Zeus like image in the public eye?
Whereas Reginald on the other hand would definitely see himself as being as King and acts like it at times, using his children as his soldiers to advance his agendas. Zeus isn’t a very kind or forgiving God either so unlike Marcus maybe this has something to do with the Hargreeves patriarch?
Kugeblitz
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Thank you Tumblr for having already given me the definition for this episode title when I had first found out the episode titles so I know that it means a black hole formed from radiation.
Luther and Five when I think of this title in terms of its definition a kugeblitz has me thinking of both space and science, as both topics are highly associated with these characters. Black holes have ties to space which Five who’s powers are teleportation and Luther who spent four years up in space both have ties to a title like this.
But of course we can’t forget the actual alien in the family Reginald Hargreeves. A black hole could be a reference as to what happened to his original planet, or maybe signalling a potential threat later on in the season. Will it cause another apocalypse or a warning for an alien invasion perhaps?
But it also might have links to a well known Umbrella Academy villain, Dr Terminal. I haven’t read the comics so I will admit to a lack of knowledge on this villain although I will Google him later. But as the season will be focusing on the Sparrow Academy and potentially any previous villains, Dr Terminal seems to be the most well known in the fandom and thus the most likely to make an appearance, whether in flashbacks or in person. A few people here seem convinced that this episode title will have something to do with him in some form.
Kindest Cut
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When I think of this episode title, my first thought goes of course, to Diego. People can often get cut with knives and they are of course Diego’s preferred weapon of choice.
Maybe however they are referring to another powered sibling and what harm their abilities can cause. Top contenders after Diego of course, are Vanya whose power we know can cut after seeing what she did to Allison at the end of ‘The Day that Was’ in a moment of anger.
But if we go with the Sparrows then Alphonso is at the top of my list. His character sheet is mentioned as him bearing the scars from his years of crime-fighting. His power is assumed to be the voodoo from the comics and if he can transfer the injuries he obtains or inflicts on himself to others, this may be what this title means.
But, and this theory I think is the one that I’m most obsessed with right now, is that the episode title could be an adaptation of the saying ‘unkindest cut’. The definition for this is ‘a cruel or devastating injury or insult inflicted on you by a supposed friend’. 
If we go by current timeline we’re in then my money is that Five may be joining the Sparrows either under duress or having worked out an agreement with Reginald that his siblings would be spared if he did. Only his family might not be aware of what Five has planned and agreed to and would only see the apparent betrayal of what they have all gone through together as a family. Of only seeing their brother join the team that probably want them dead.
But this betrayal may also be coming from the Sparrows and Sloane perhaps. Sloane is an inverse of Five in a sense in that while Five is driven by his desire to save his family, Sloane often feels like hers are holding her back from experiencing her dream of leaving. Maybe she betrays the Sparrows in some way by letting an opportunity to capture the Umbrellas flee or seeking them out as allies.
Marigold
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According to what I can glean from the comics, marigold refers to the balls of light that eventually became the 43 super-powered children. So could we be getting an explanation as to how these supers came to be and why?
But like with episode three’s episode title, I can’t not mention the symbolism connected to this title. Marigolds often have conflicting symbolism today. In modern western society their bright colours often have them being associated with the sun and positive emotions and energy such as happiness, optimism and good luck. Not what I think the episode will be about.
But on the darker side of things, which is something that I do think has more ties into what to expect, is that they also refer to jealousy, grief, despair, mourning and cruelty. It is a flower associated with death and the Day of the Dead in Mexico and is said to offer protection from evil spirits. This connection with death is what I first thought of when I saw the episode title and the most obvious character associated with Death is none other than our ghost-boy Klaus Hargreeves.
Klaus as a character has a lot of ties to death naturally and I did see a post on here describing how Klaus will be entering the fourth stage of grief which is depression for both Ben and Dave during season three. This makes sense as they are now both gone in a way that not even his powers can reverse nor can he summon their spirits. Marigolds can often symbolize a despaired love and strong passion as well as well as pain and grief, so it could be a reference to Klaus’ depression over permanently losing both his closest brother and his love. But the main reason I do think that this episode does tie in heavily with Klaus is that it’s a mid season episode and so far that’s usually when Klaus undergoes most of his development. Maybe it’ll continue that way in season three.
Of course if Marigold will also represent a despaired love there are other options in the Umbrellas other than Klaus and Dave: Diego with both Eudora Patch (who is possibly still alive in this timeline) and Lila Pitts still bouncing around the timeline. Allison dealing with leaving her 60′s husband Raymond Chestnut and maybe trying to track down her ex Patrick to find out what happened to daughter Claire in this timeline and Vanya with love Sissy Cooper. Or maybe even Five and Dolores or possibly a love interest for Luther could be a reference to this title. 
Explaining how the Umbrella and Sparrows came to be wouldn’t take the whole episode giving us time for some potential (doomed) love.
Auf Wierdershen
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This is very likely to be a Klaus focused episode, even if Marigold isn’t.
The episode title is German for goodbye and Klaus is the character most associated with Germany. Klaus is the only character to have spoken German during the shows events so far and his name is of German origin (interestingly enough, all of the male Sparrows bar Ben, have their names tied to Germanic origin. Meanwhile, Fei’s name is of Chinese origin, Jayme has both Spanish and Hebrew roots, while Sloane is derived from an Irish surname Ó Sluaghhadáin). Not only that but it is considered fanon that Klaus was born in Germany just like Diego and Vanya’s roots are considered to be Mexico and Russia respectively. 
Not only that but he literally has ‘goodbye’ tattooed on his hand.
‘Goodbye’ has many different interpretations for what this could mean especially if this is a Klaus centric episode like we are assuming. And like I mentionned above with Klaus going through the fourth stage of grief in season three, this might be the episode where he moves into the fifth and final stage: acceptance. Perhaps by having one last talk with Umbrella Ben in the afterlife or by trying to track down Dave after Vietnam and discovering he (seemingly - I do have hopes for Commission Dave later on) did live a long and happy life after the war. 
Mending fences with Ben and both getting the chance to air their genuine grievances with one another and mend their relationship from the horrific state it was in at the end of season two might help Klaus find closure. Klaus and Ben both love each other but they crossed a lot of lines and hurt each other deeply with their behaviours last season and they deserved the chance to try and fix the issues as well as say a proper goodbye to one another. This could give Klaus the opportunity to say just that as well as moving into accepting Ben’s death once and for all.
And when it comes to Dave, maybe just knowing that Dave moved on can help Klaus move from depression into acceptance. He was more than fine with stopping Dave from enlisting in the army during season two even knowing that it would mean that Dave would never meet or fall in love with Klaus. He was willing to sacrifice his chance at love with Dave if it meant that Dave would survive. Perhaps if he knew that Dave had been happy and safe in his later life he could then move on and say goodbye? 
And maybe by coming to terms with the departure of two of the biggest influences in his life, motivate Klaus to embrace a new outlook and control of his life and his powers?
Wedding At The End Of The World
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This very clearly has ties to the very first episode of the show which is ‘We Only See Each Other At Weddings and Funerals’. Both have marriage and death connected in their titles. The characters that we know have been married so far out of our Hargreeves family so far is Reginald and Allison.
Reginald was married on his home planet when his wife died. Not a lot is known about her other than she was the original owner of Vanya’s violin in the original timeline. Maybe we’ll get information on her and just why Reginald left his home planet?
The next character married so far is Allison who so far has been married twice already (maybe they’re going three for three this time?). And judging by the episode title in season one, that event was the last time the Umbrella Hargreeves (bar Five) were all together as a family until they arrived for Reginald’s funeral. Maybe there’s a link there.
Or maybe this is referencing a whole other wedding that may be happening during the events of season three? I wouldn’t be surprised if Five reunites with Delores and decides just to get married to make it official. To paraphrase Klaus, it’s probably one of the healthiest relationships that family ever had regarding love.
Six Bells
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Now this tile had me stumped for a good bit and it will probably make more sense when season three does drop and we watch the episodes, but for now I can just theories on it.
Bells have often been associated with religious services, which may tie in with the last episode, but can also be rung for important events or in deference of important people.
But what is really getting me is that the title is six bells and there are six Umbrellas left so far. Could the bells be in reference to something regarding them, some sort of trap perhaps? Which will definitely tie in in some way to the seasons finale:
Oblivion
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Now like episode one this one seems fairly self-explanatory. This seems like Hotel Oblivion is finally coming into play here, meaning they are probably switching the order of stories from the comics. But the question is: if it is Hotel Oblivion, did the Umbrella’s enter the Hotel/prison out of free will or were they trapped here by the Sparrows? Anything goes at this point considering that it’s the last episode of the season.
But when it comes to the Hotel there are so many possibilities as to what happens here:
- Are all of the Umbrella’s trapped inside or did one escape and their other cell mate is a Sparrow perhaps (Sloane maybe for trying to leave the Sparrow Academy?)
- How will this set up the cliff-hanger for season four? Will all or some of the Umbrella Hargreeves be trapped in the hotel once the season ends and that helps set up the tension for the next season. Or maybe a break out of prisoners just like in the comics occurs and the Umbrella's are forced to deal with it?
-Where will this leave our Sparrows at the season end, because I know that we’re going to get attached (I know I will). Will some of them come with us into season four? Maybe they are split into two teams as the season ends, each containing a mixture of both Umbrella’s and Sparrows?
Well that’s all I have, maybe I’m right about some of it, maybe I’m all wrong, just need to wait until season three to find out.
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