#also i feel like allison would say that about any family reunions the hargreeves would have after she became an actress akjskdjfhas | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lavendersugarplum · 3 years

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☂︎ZEROᵗʰᵉ ʳᵉᵈ ᵘᵐᵇʳᵉˡˡᵃ

(The Umbrella Academy x Sibling! Adolescent! Reader)

sᴏɴs ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀs

─━━━━━━⊱☂︎⊰━━━━━━─

ZERO WAS OBSERVING HERSELF in the mirror imagining what her day would be like this morning. The change in the weather already had her feeling gloom, but she didn't really expect much from today. It was probably just going to be just like every morning, or so she thought.

Seconds later, Pogo came in, gently, through the door. "Miss Y/n, Luther, and the rest of your siblings are here." As soon as those words fell out of the chimp's mouth she froze as if she didn't know how to process what he just said. She couldn't believe it. Zero didn't think that they would even attend. After how so Sir Reginald treated them, this must be some kind of joke. Once Zero fully processed what was happening, she positions herself around and raised an eyebrow. "Why hadn't you told me they were coming before?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Pogo smiled gently at her before walking up to fix the tie on her uniform. Once he was done tying it, he looked at her with his big brown eyes. "You'll do fine. Just talk to them." Zero nodded in understanding, eyes furrowed. "I see....... and Pogo?

"Yes?""You don't have to call me Miss. I'm not quite grown up, as you can see."

"Well, I think you've grown to be a mature young lady," Pogo said smiling.

"Too bad Mr. Hargreeves didn't think so." Zero thought as she walked out of the room.

~☂︎~

TO SAY THAT SHE WAS nervous was an understatement. It had been forever since she had seen any of her siblings at all, including Luther. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Zero's head in anxiousness. Within every step she took getting closer to the living room, the feeling of her throat closing up came with it.

When Zero arrived in the living room, the first person she saw was her bulky brother Luther along with Diego, Allison, Klaus, and Vanya. They had all looked so grown up. It almost made Zero envy for how mature they had gotten.

"Zero has arrived." Pogo announced causing the five to have their eyes zapped straight to Zero. Vanya was the first to walk up to her with welcoming arms. "Zero." Vanya went over to hug her, causing Zero to back away trying to contain her abilities from being triggered. "I'm sorry." Vanya apologized as she backed away.

"You came back." Zero said, putting what had just happened aside. She was just overjoyed and slightly overwhelmed to see her family again.

"I told you I would come back." Vanya shyly smiled, running a hand through her dark brunette hair. The next person to the conversation was Klaus.

"Oh my, Zero! Well I'd say you don't look a day over..... Since I last saw you!" Klaus said acting surprised but was just really being a tease."Some family reunion, huh?" Zero slightly rolled her eyes at him. "Go on, M-I mean Zero. Go sit by Luther." Pogo held his hand out in the direction of the couch. As Zero made her way over to the couch, she tried to avoid eye contact with her siblings in pure shyness.

"So do you come out of your room now or is it just for stupid occasions like these?" Diego asked, clearly annoyed.

"Diego." Allison warned.

"It's fine." Zero said quietly, voice barely above a whisper. As soon as she said that Klaus's eyes widened.

"Wait. She can talk now?"

Klaus asked, but everyone just ignored it as a question.

"Why am I always the last to know about stuff?" Klaus groans as he fixes himself a drink.

A pensive silence starts to enclose over the room. Zero understood it was kinda awkward because none of them saw each other in such a long time.

Zero observed her siblings as they had their moments of silence. She looked to Luther who looked the same just as when he had left. With the chimpanzee DNA he took, he had gotten taller. She remembers when they were younger, with him being the leader. She knows Luther tried his best, but Reginald didn't think that was enough. Luther was always the leader, and she could feel how much it always got on Diego's nerves. Those two were always getting into rivalries.

Sh started to feel bad that he's going to realize he went to the moon for no reason. Reginald didn't read his reports at all; and she knew that.

Even though Luther was raised to be the best and most useful, Zero couldn't deny that he went through some trauma. They all did. He was raised to believe he was the best and a leader. Another example of Reginald's bad parenting. And as a result, his ego is still here, as Zero noticed. He's the only one that still cares for his father, while Zero just doesn't know how to feel after all the things he did to her. They say it's always better to forgive, but Zero just doesn't know.

Luther loved being hero more than anything, she had to just hope that he wouldn't put that over himself and his family.

Her pupils bored over to Diego. He may be brash, but deep down Zero senses that he's insecure and still wants to prove himself. Still trying to measure up to Luther, even though Diego has become very skilled in Zero's eyes. She still remembers the time when they had first interacted.

~☂︎~

ZERO WAS WALKING DOWN the hall with Reginald's reports in her hand; taking them to him. A thud into her shoulder made every last one of the reports fall out of her hand, but like magic, she reached her hands and the reports defied gravity to arrive back into her possession.

"Sorry"

Zero was about to walk away but Diego stopped her.

"W-wait. I heard you in my mind. What kind of ridiculous trick are you playing on?"

"...... I can read minds and feel emotions."

"Well don't do that on me. I-i don't need a weird girl like you looking through my mind." With that Diego walked away, keeping a guard on his mind.

~☂︎~

ZERO THEN PEERS AT ALLISON. She had grown up to be a very pretty girl, as so Zero thought. Allison was always nice towards everyone in the Umbrella Academy. She never once talked bad about anyone behind their backs, which is quite admirable to Zero. How much Allison craved for attention is what she didn't notice.

Then there's Klaus. Still the same rebellious person he is. Zero admires how he can just move on and not dwell on the past too much. Sweet and vulnerable as a boy, and also her other close friend thanks to Ben. Besides herself, Klaus got experimented on by Sir Reginald the most. Through the years he has become not all himself, which awakens her concern for his well-being.

Finally, there's Vanya. Zero learned that she became a writer. She remembers when she sent her book to Reginald, but he never read it. Zero finds herself wondering how her music career was doing. Though in the past she seemed aloof, not want to have anything to do with her siblings, Zero had always watched them from afar, knowing their feelings and insecurities.

But sometimes it would be too much feelings and insecurities.

Zero's thought process was interrupted when Luther began the gathering speech.

"I guess we should get this started. So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words, just at dad's favorite spot."

"Dad had a favorite spot?" Allison asked, astonished, an expression of surprise crossing her face along with the others.

"You know, under an oak tree. We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?" Luther asked, like it was a usual thing.

Not all of us were his Number One, is what Zero thought.

"Will there be any refreshments? TV? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner." Klaus asked as he nonchalantly popped a joint, joining his siblings in the living room, drink in hand. Luther's face scrunched up at Klaus.

"What? No. And put that out. Dad didn't allow smoking in here."

"Is that my skirt?" Allison says in tone, referring to the skirt Klaus was wearing. "What? Oh, yeah, this. I found it in your room. It's a little dated, I know. But it's very breathy on the." Klaus motions his hands. ".... Bits."

"Listen up. Still, some important things that we need to discuss, all right?" Luther proceeds.

"Like what?" Diego asked dryly and uninterested.

"Like the way he died."

"And here we go." Diego rolled his eyes, uninterested.

"I don't understand." Vanya mumbles. I thought they said it was a heart attack."

"Yeah, according to the coroner."

"Well, wouldn't they know?"

"Theoretically," Luther explained.

"Theoretically?" Allison asked.

"I'm just saying, at the very least, something happened. the last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange."

"Oh, Quelle surprise!" Klaus exclaimed gurgling his drink.

"Strange how?" Allison asked.

"He sounded on edge. Told me I should be careful who to trust. Hearing these things made Zero look up from her lap, at Luther.

"Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles," Diego said walking over to him.

"No. He must have known something was going to happen. Zero, you must know something. Did he say anything out of the usual to you?" Luther said kneeling to Zero.

".........No." Zero replied, looking back down.

Luther sighed and got back up. "Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad," Luther said referring to Klaus, causing Allison to scoff.

"I can't just call Dad in the afterlife and be like, "Dad, could you just...stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?"

"Since when? That's your thing," Luther encourages.

"I'm just not in the right frame of mind," Klaus replied.

"You're high?" Allison exclaims.

"Yeah! Yeah! I mean, how are you not listening to this nonsense?"

"Well, sober up, this is important. Then there's the issue of the missing monocle." Luther said.

"Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?" Diego said.

"Exactly. It's worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge."

"Where are you going with this?" Klaus asked.

"Oh, is it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us killed dad." Diego said, eyes trained on Luther.

"You do?" Klaus said in awe.

"And I already know exactly who is the main suspect is. He thinks Zero did it." As soon as Diego said that everyone's eyes went wide and Zero tensed up.

"No, Zero. That's not-" Luther reached out for Zero, but she backed away.

"Why......do you lie?" That was the last thing she said before walking out of the room, heading for her bedroom.

"How could you think she would do that," Vanya said in disbelief.

"She's a kid, Luther," Diego said.

"You're crazy, man. You're crazy. Crazy."

Klaus, Vanya, and Diego started to storm at the room not wanting to continue with the conversation anymore.

Allison started to walk away too with a disappointed look on her face.

"That went well," Luther said sarcastically. He sighs and settles down on one the couches and rubs his head in exhaustion.

"Master Luther."

Luther's thoughts were halted by Pogo, who walked in; wooden walking stick glued to his paw. Luther had called him in to ask him about Sir Reginald's Monocle which turned to be missing.

"I'm trying to locate Dad's monocle. Have you perhaps seen it?"

Pogo simply shakes his head.

"No, unfortunately I haven't, but I would assume it would be one of his personal findings."

"It's not there... I've already checked." Luther goes silent almost about to give up.

~☂︎~

ZERO WAS IN HER BEDROOM reading the book Ben gave her. She already read it a thousand times, but this book is the only thing she has of Ben. She soon started to hear the music play in the house. She shook her head and kept reading. Zero' started to think about what Luther had said about their father seeming off. It wasn't just him, she also noticed he was a out of character months before he passed. Reginald started telling her more about the world beyond the Academy. Of course they would have their usual sessions, like playing chest or eating breakfast together. Sometimes they would just sit by the fireplace in silence. No lectures, no teachings, just silence.

Zero's thought process was diminished by a Thunder clap and sound clouding her ears, along with bright blue shadowing over her room. Zero decided she would stay in a room since there is no way she was going outside. A blue glint casted her eyes as she just stared in awe at the illuminating glow. It was some sort of a wormhole forming in mid-air. She saw her siblings going out to look at it as well.

"And just what do they think they're doing?"

She saw Klaus coming out with a fire extinguisher throwing it in. She then saw Luther directing them to back away from it. All the Hargreeves just stared at it with the wind ferociously blowing. The unbelievable happened. A small figure fell from the whole. As soon as the person hit the ground, the wormhole instantly closed up.

The siblings started to inch closer to the figure, along with Zero who examined the person with curious eyes, eyes widening at what it was.

It was her missing brother.

Five Hargreeeves

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wantedbetterforyou · 4 years

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Missed you (D.H.)

Diego Hargreeves x reader

summary: There’s nothing better than couple reunions. Even in 1963 Dallas, you and Diego find each other and are eager to catch up.

“I think I got everything we need for the next few days” you call out into Elliot’s loft, expecting anyone home to reply. Sighing as you release the brown paper bags onto the wooden table. You’re relieved to be doing this, true be told when you arrived in 1962 you hadn’t expected anyone else to be here too.

You searched for anyone from the Hargreeves family for days. Returning to the Alley way multiple times before giving up and trying to adjust to life in the 60’s. ‘If the timeline’s getting fucked because I’m here might as well make it count’ you reasoned with yourself while becoming involved in local politics. It wasn’t a group of hundreds or thousands meeting to discuss strategies, instead it was groups of 15 or so meeting in black-owned establishments. That’s how you fortunately met Allison, when the meeting you attended was hosted at the salon she had been working at. You’d been staying in a spare room at her home since. You often returned to the Elliot’s store under the guise of needing a new TV, but foolishly desired Diego would drop out of the sky one of those moments.

You walk into the dimly-lit living room area to find Diego and Five discussing among themselves. You feel the air leave your lungs as your throat dries, Diego is really here. He looks different, longer hair, a beard rather than his usual stubble, and he looks stockier. What a sight for sore eyes. He’s tucking in his black shirt into his pants before he spots you, blissfully unaware that the same person he’s spent months thinking about is right in front of him. “Diego” you say just above a whisper, afraid that any louder and this fantasy would disappear, but it’s real. He’s real and he’s taking huge strides before you and you almost begin to speak again before he gently holds the sides of your face tenderly and pulls you into a passionate kiss.

You’re eyes flutter shut immediately, and you melt into his hands. Shock was your initial reaction to the sudden kiss, but your muscle memory kicked in and even you’re surprised your body still recognizes his touch after so long. It’s electrifying kissing him for the first time in months and if you could see yourselves now you’re sure it looks like a movie kiss.

You pull away first but cover your hands around his, making sure to keep them firmly planted on your sides. Then you’re stuttering and struggling to get a single sentence out. So much to tell Diego, you’re sure you could write a book about it. Your mind is racing and words still can’t seem to come out, all you can do is smile at him and laugh at how unbelievable the situation is. After a few moments of intense eye-contact, his features soften even more. He takes in your outfit. Something you would’ve never wore in 2019, yet here you were in a sunshine yellow colored dress that has a ribbon around the waist to accentuate your features. It is also adored with a collar and goes past your knees, it is the 60’s after all. “Holy fuck, I mean look at me” you finally express, letting your hands off of his to motion towards your dress and hair. You look good he tells you, giving you a once over as if he hadn’t been doing that since he noticed you. “I look like a housewife” you pause, “but you? You look really good” letting your arm rest gripping his biceps. When you meet his eyes again, he’s looking at you with such intensity you might explode.

“So how many siblings is it you actually have?” you hear an accented voice question wandering into the room, she vigilantly watches you from her position against the door frame. “This is my partner from 2019” he explains, glancing at you briefly before directing his attention back to her. You aren’t sure why you feel this pang of insecurity hit you and to find relief from it, you intertwine your hand with his. “And in the current present too” you add, squeezing his hand for reassurance. She chooses to ignore your responses and directs her attention to Five and Diego again, questioning what they plan on doing as soon as they find Reginald Hargreeves.

Five insisted that they leave now as to not waste anymore time but Diego managed to spare a few minutes to be alone with you.

“I don’t think your friend really likes me” you mention while casually caressing his face and tucking his long strands away from his face. His hands interlocked behind the small of your back in order to be as close as possible. You never imagined Diego with long hair - in fact he kept himself very clean cut in modern times, you’d have to ask him about the cause of his drastic change. The new look isn’t unwelcome though, if cameras were more ready available during this time period you’d memorize this moment forever. Diego needs into the touch and allows himself close his eyes. He’d never fully let his guard down but moments like these, he’s the most vulnerable. He still doesn’t know how to ask for the things he desperately wants but you’ve learn to read him.

Prior to the time travel, your relationship had gone through every stage there was. At the beginning neither could get enough of the other. There were nights Diego closed up the gym and waited so he could bend you over on the ring and nights where you both took your time. Kissing and licking every part of one another, you had fallen into a comfortable bliss of sex when wanted and could let each other know with the simplistic of body language tics.

Suddenly very aware of how little distance exist between Diego and you, you calculate the next moves precisely. First letting your arms to drop to his hips and walk backwards until you hit the bed. This maneuver being muscle memory after so many nights spent in the gym boiler room. Hitting the bed with a slight bounce you quickly get back to work, undoing his belt and pulling him towards the bed and on top of you. He’s quick to catch your lips in a heated kiss before using his arms on the sides of your head to prop himself up. It dips as he debates kissing you again. You’re breathlessly looking at him, flushed and the way you’re staring at him makes him want to take you right then and there. You’ve got a dress on and he thinks about 10 different positions he could make you cum in without having to take off his clothes but debates against this. Five needs him, they have to follow through with the lead.

“Please, I need you” you sound just as desperate as you actually are but it’s been so long that shame is taking the backseat today. He breaks the eye contact first. Letting his head hang and sighing before completely removing his weight off your body. “I’m still me under this dress” you try to remove tension from the situation with a joke, you don’t want to take the rejection personally. You stand up patting down any creases that might have formed on the dress. “It’s not that, I have to go” He immediately responds, sensing the insecurity in your order and wanting to do anything to dissipate it. There isn’t enough words to express how relieved he is to see you and how BAD he wants you too but alas. “The dress looks good. You look so good. When I’m done with this shit, I’m going to fuck you all night” adjusting his belt and nodding his head towards the bed.

You take another good look at him, his beard still sticking out to you. Imagining the feeling of his beard against your most sensitive nether regions is too much to bear. Your thighs clench at the thought.

note: How do y’all write the canon story and not accidentally fuck up little things? oh well. If you liked this, like/reblog please. Yes this is a repost, not sure why I don’t show up in tags :(

#its a repost because the other one doesn't show up #diego hargreeves #diego hargreeves x reader #diego hargreeves imagine #diego hargreeves smut #diego hargreeves fanfic #tua #tua x reader #tua season two #tua season 2 #the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy x reader

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talesofesther · 4 years

Text

Anchor - Part 2

Five Hargreeves x Reader

Masterlist with the other parts

See part one for important notes

A/N: since so many people liked the first part, I'm posting part two a little earlier ♥. Also, I'm sorry that this chapter is a little bit smaller than the first one, but I wanted it to end where it did. If you wanna be added to the tag list, let me know.

"Jesus, who designed this fucking house?" Y/N muttered to herself.

She has been walking around the mansion for the past ten minutes or so, but it seemed a lot more than that. After their little breakfast reunion Klaus took Y/N to his room where he was insistent he wanted to learn how to knit, she presumed it was to keep his mind busy. She intended to leave the house because honestly, she felt like she was intruding. But if Klaus's begging was anything to go by, she was forced to stay.

And right now Y/N's after a bathroom. Klaus did offer to show her where it was, but she assumed the big house was filled with them so of course, she said "I can handle it".

She couldn't.

And for her luck, after turning what felt like the 100th corner, she bumped into someone.

"Oh god I'm so sorry" after Y/N backed away from the person she just collided with, she looked up to see a not so amused Five looking down at her.

The boy just adjusted his clothes, took a deep breath, and muttered "it's alright".

Ever since Y/N was a little girl, she was observant. She might be quiet sometimes, but she was always aware of the little things going on around her. And when Five clutched his side a little uncomfortably, she didn't fail to notice.

"Are you hurt? Is everything okay?" The girl's voice was timid but somehow demanding. And for the first time, she eyed Five up and down without an ounce of nervousness.

Five looked down at his side and then back up at the girl, he couldn't understand why her eyes showed genuine concern. For a stranger, for him.

"It's nothing. What are you looking for?" His voice was as serious as it was this morning, if not more. His eyes remaining on her.

Y/N let out a huff of air "a bathroom, I think I passed through every room in this house twice but I couldn't find one".

That made a tiny smirk appear on the boy's face, he was so used to this house that he forgot how it could be a literal maze for strangers. "Just go down this hallway, turn left and then enter the first door to your right. You'll get there"

Five was definitely not expecting the bright smile that appeared in Y/N's face when she said "Thank you". It made him gulp and avert his gaze from her eyes. The weird feeling in his stomach was back.

"No problem" he tucked his hands on the pockets of his shorts, his mouth forming a thin line and he only looked at her again when she walked past him to go down the hallway. As he watched her retreating figure he shook his head and told himself to snap out of it. Someone as tainted as him, shouldn't even deserve to be friends with someone like her, let alone...

He stopped his own dangerous thoughts.

_________

It's been a while that Y/N was once again chilling with Klaus in his room, they were both sitting in his comfy bed, sometimes they would talk but it was mostly a comfortable silence. Besides the fact that his room was a bit of a mess, it was actually very cozy, Y/N particularly liked the Christmas lights hanging around his walls. They made her happy.

But a sudden knock made her raise her head towards the door.

"Get up you two, we're going" Five walked in, seemingly agitated. Y/N furrowed her brows.

"Where?" Klaus stopped messing with his wool ball and glanced up at Five as well.

"Save the world"

"Oh is that all? Great" Klaus's comment made Y/N chuckle, she adored this man. Five shot a glance at her and in less than a minute they were already heading out.

But just outside Klaus's room, they ran into a man running inside another one of the rooms. Y/N was about to say something but Five beat her to it.

"Where have you been?"

"Jail, long story. Where's Luther?" The man answered and Y/N made a face that could only be read as 'what the fuck'. Honestly, this family has no limit.

"Haven't seen him since breakfast" Five answered him like this was just another normal day. And just now Y/N noticed he was standing right beside her.

The man finally came out of his room, putting on some kind of vest. "Shit, Allison is in danger". Just then he noticed the girl between Five and Klaus, looking at her with a questioning look.

Y/N noticed. "I'm- I'm Y/N"

"She's my friend, new addition to our little team" Klaus said as a matter of fact.

"Huh, I'm Diego" he didn't seem to mind her all that much, none of them did actually. For the most part, she was glad.

"So you- you know..." Diego asked while he did the last buttons of his vest.

Y/N let a small smirk appear on her face. "Everything, basically. I had a... A very insightful night with Klaus, about the end of the world apparently" she finished for him.

Five gave a side look at the girl. He was still figuring out if he was happy, upset, or sad that she got involved in all of this.

Next thing Y/N knew she was inside a car, apparently going after Luther. They found him in a bar, and just by seeing him sitting there all alone feeling sorry for himself, the girl almost felt sad herself.

Diego insisted on talking with the big guy alone, so the trio walked back and leaned on some tables. While they were walking Y/N couldn't help but notice that Five was limping, a lot. So she leaned a bit closer to him and asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Five felt her inching closer to him, he could almost feel her body heat on his own skin. It made him shiver, made his heartbeat just a little bit faster, his body was tense and for the first time in years he was afraid his voice would betray him. Why does she worry so much? What is happening to him?

"I already told you I am fine" that came out probably more harsh than he intended to, but he had to stop whatever it was that she was doing with him.

"Okay, I was just worried" she answered, putting more distance between them than there was before.

Five wanted to ask why, but he held himself back.

Not long after, Luther was rushing out of the bar, almost breaking the door in the process.

_________

They were all once again in the car, this time Y/N was in the front seat while Five drove and the other three siblings sat very close to each other in the back. Luther looked like he was too big for everything.

Y/N's gaze was focused on the passing landscape outside of the window almost the entire drive. She was almost sure Five didn't like her, not one bit. Or at the very least he was annoyed by her presence. She was just trying to be nice, and in her defense, she was genuinely concerned about his well-being. The guy was limping, what was she supposed to do? At least ask if he's okay right?

The girl rubbed her eyes and forced a stop to her thoughts, it wasn't worth it. She knew nothing about any of them, and it was probably better to stay that way.

"Can you go any faster?" Luther's voice caught her attention, but she didn't turn her head.

"Ask me again and I'll burn you with the cigarette lighter" this boy was definitely something else.

_________

It wasn't long after they all reached a cabin in the middle of the woods. Luther rushed out of the car just as fast he rushed out of the bar earlier. The other siblings followed shortly after so Y/N went in as well.

The sight inside the cabin squeezed her heart with an unpleasant feeling. There was a woman on the ground, Y/N presumed it was Allison, she seemed to have a deep cut on her neck and the ground already had a pool of her blood.

Luther held the woman close to him, saying things to her with his broken voice. It seemed like his whole world had crumbled. Y/N knew the feeling.

***

Thank you for reading ♥ the next part should be out soon. And if you have any idea about how this story should progress or anything you would like to see in it, please send me an ask or message and I’d be happy to include it. ♥

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pretend-writer · 3 years

Text

Kids Of The Future (Chapter 3)

(gif cred: @beth-cassidy)

Mini-Series

Summary: After time traveling from the apocalypse in 2019, a surprise waits for Diego and Y/N as they arrive at Dallas, Texas circa 1960.

Pairing: Hargreeves x sibling!reader, Diego Hargreeves x reader

Word Count: 2.2k words

Warning: mention of violence, mention of sex

✤ · ✤ · ✤ · ✤ · ✤

A few weeks passed by and we find Vanya, shopping at our local store with a lady and a boy. I tried waving at her but she gave me a weird look instead.

Eventually down the line, we found out that she had amnesia. She'd had gotten hit by a car, losing her memory which made her not recognize me at all.

We then found Luther at a bar, Diego and I happened to find him there one night when we had one of our friends from the Karate Dojo babysit Belinda. We were having our little date night and of course, they ruin a heartwarming reunion by bickering like a married couple despite not seeing each other for three years.

Five appeared out out of nowhere; as usual. He said he had been trying to find us for years. I'd say he did a shitty job considering that Diego and I found everyone else first except for Klaus. Our favorite cult leader reunited with Allison before any of us found each other.

'How did you manage to drop us off at different timelines?' Allison placed her finger on her temple, trying to make sense in all of this.

'Better question; Why did you two decide to make this love ring?' Luther joked, looking around the Karate Gym. He was the curious one that wanted to see what our Dojo looked like and he was here to make fun of it. Great.

'Okay, Bartender shut it.' Diego hissed at Luther. I never understood how they could go back to arguing even after years of being apart.

Five rolled his eyes, 'Anyways. Now that I've finally found you guys, I-'

'I found you actually.' I commented, grinning as I corrected Five.

'Okay fine! You found me, you genius of a sister. Why don't you find us a way to get back to 2019 then?'

'Three years apart and you're still a dick.' I flicked Five in the forehead.

Klaus laughed, clapping his hands. 'Ahaha, Good one Y/N!'

Vanya looked around the room as everyone else joined Klaus for a laugh. With a confused look on her face, she raised her hand. 'Can I ask a question?'

'Does it involve us getting back home?' Five asked.

'No.'

Five sighed, 'What?'

'We are siblings right?' Vanya scratched her head, looking directly at me as if she was judging me. I could tell what she was implying, causing me to blush a little.

'Okay, for your information, we aren't biologically related. We didn't even have time to act as siblings, Reginald made sure we didn't have a life.' Diego defended himself, squinting his eyes at Vanya.

'But still.' Klaus commented.

'Luther, Allison, don't act like this doesn't involve you guys too.' I practically threw them under the bus, I hated being the center of attention.

'You two have a kid together- a kid!' Luther face palmed, shaking his head.

'It's not our child!' Diego and I said in sync, we should've definitely braced for these comments before this family meeting.

Vanya cocked her head, 'Why did you guys name her Belinda?'

'Wow, more questions.' Five said sarcastically.

Biting my lip, I tried to ease my nerves. I was a little shy about talking to my child in front of my siblings. 'Uhm, her nickname is Bel and I thought it'd be right to make her name similar to Ben. A bit cheesy yeah but I really miss him and it's a cute name so.'

Allison and Vanya awed, Klaus making a sour face as he turned around to face no one. Perhaps talking to his ghost friend that he always argued with.

'What? What are you so butthurt about Klaus?'

Quickly turning back around, he flashed a fake smile. 'Nothing, nothing. So lovely you two. Congrats on the real fake kid you two had.'

Diego scratches his head and continued, making a joke. 'Anymore questions before we end this interview?'

Klaus raised his hand, 'Are you and Y/N not going to date? I mean you guys are raising a child together right? And I'm sure a lot happens behind closed doors with you two. It's no secret the tensio-'

'Okay, interview over.' I grinned and turned to Five. 'I sort of have an idea of a way to get to 2019.'

'What would that be?'

'The briefcase. I ca-'

Five chuckled, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. 'There's no "I can", Y/N. We're going to get caught because I'm the only one who know the way around The Commission.'

'Let me help, Five. I don't wanna sit around and wait.'

'Well, you have no choice because you're going to have to! I'll set up a trap for The Handler to come, figure out a way for her to come find me. You guys just stay put.'

'You're letting me help, Five.' I stood up and walked toward my small-but-sort-of-older brother. 'My baby may be in danger so now I need to come with you to help you take down The Handler.'

'Are you crazy, stupid or all of the above? This has nothing to do with you and Diego's love child!'

'It has everything to do with her!' I yelled back, 'Diego and I are involved in this crazy bitch's business, now so is Bel and I have to protect her. So let me help you.'

'So you can be a burden? I don't think so.'

'Fi-' before I was able to get another word out of my mouth, Five disappeared; Just how he did every time he was annoyed with an argument. Typical.

Vanya's eyes widened, 'Wow. This family is a little overwhelming.'

'Tell me about it.' Klaus sighed, 'Who wants to get wasted?'

'I'm in!' Allison grinned and eyed the rest of us.

Diego shook his head. 'No, no, no. You know I don't put poison into my body.'

'Come on, I've been stuck here thinking I didn't have a family. The least we can do is keep each other company.' Vanya smiled sweetly. It was so hard to process the sweet Vanya that we knew nearly destroyed the whole planet. Well, she technically did.

'The last time I drank, I-' Luther paused, his face turning red from having a flashback. 'Yeah, no I'm not drinking.'

'Popped your cherry right? We all knew that.' Klaus nudged his brother on his arm, 'Drinks on me! I already have loads to share. Y/N?'

On one hand, I was worried about what might happen to us. Not going back to our timeline scared me a little and I didn't want anything bad happening to Five. But right now, I wanted to forget it for just a moment.

'Spending quality family time? I can't say no to that.' I smiled as Allison, Klaus and Vanya cheered.

Diego leaned over to me with an anxious look on his face. 'Shouldn't we check on Bel?'

'Sarah said she'll look after her. Bel will be fine.'

Diego pov;

I sat on the corner as I watched everyone drinking and dancing in the middle of Allison's salon. Klaus brought so many drinks back and honestly, I was in shock. I couldn't believe Klaus was drinking again, didn't even realize how much he used to drank until now.

Y/N was surprising me as well, given the fact that I've never seen this side of her before. After all of us decided to move out of dad's mansion, we went our separate ways.

Even when we kept in touch every now and then with phone calls, it wasn't like we talked about our nightlife and love life. We simply told each other we were doing good and updated on where we were in our lives. Little did I know Y/N was quite the life of the party.

'Come on, Diego! Come dance with us.' Y/N cheesed, inviting me to come join her and the rest of them.

It was cute seeing her drunk and careless, she was constantly stressed and headstrong about everything around her. Never taking a break or relaxed for that matter, in a way I was glad she had this moment to be free for the night.

'I'm sitting this one out.' I smiled as Y/N pouted, tugging on both my hands, trying to get me to get off of this stool.

'Don't be a party pooper.' Luther gestured to come, 'Gotta let loose brother.'

'See, even Luther agrees.' Klaus laughed.

'Fine, fine.' I rolled my eyes and took Y/N's hand as she pulled me into the middle of the floor. The way she was swaying back and forth, I could tell the alcohol was definitely taking control.

Everyone continued to dance, quite sloppy as they were all drunk from Klaus' alcohol. As Y/N try to twirl, she tripped a little, gasping and giggling to herself.

Grabbing onto her, I furrow my eyebrows. 'Looks like someone drank a little too much.'

'Eh, I'll be fine.'

'Let's just sit for a bit.' I helped her sit down on one of the stools, she didn't fight back and maybe Y/N knew she had to rest also.

'Why are you so sweet to me?'

'Because I care about you.' I smiled at her, enjoying the different, drunk side of Y/N.

She stared at me, her eyes said something but I couldn't quite grasp what she really wanted to tell me.

'What are we doing, Diego?' Y/N scratched her head, chuckled to herself. 'Why do you do all these things with me? All these years... why?'

This had probably been the first time Y/N had been honest with her feelings. Even when we were little kids, she would never talk about herself.

I would never talk about myself either, leaving us to hide our feelings for so long. Despite the two of us having casual sex every now and then, I wasn't fully sure of how Y/N felt about me.

'Just trying to pass by time. You know, taking care of Bel and making sure we get back home with our family.' I bit my tongue, realizing I wasn't being honest with her. Beating around the bush was my forte, It was hard speaking the real truth especially to someone like Y/N. I didn't want to scare her off with how I genuinely felt and lose her.

'Ah, for a second I thought I actually meant something to you. Silly me.'

Y/N said so casually, I didn't think she intentionally said those words either. The alcohol in her system made her blurt out the truth, this time I knew she wasn't lying to me.

Growing up, I knew Y/N and I had special connection. Sneaking around every now and then behind Reginald's back, sharing gifts to one another since our loving father didn't do shit for us. She was someone I appreciated and I knew she was grateful for me too. Never would of thought that those feelings were something far more than friendship.

Y/N's pov;

Biting my bottom lip, I immediately regretted saying what I said. I've never in my life confided to anyone, the one time I did it had to be about my feelings. To the person I loved for a long time.

Just for him to tell me that we were doing what we were supposed to do solely for business.

I was embarrassed, trying so hard to keep my tears in. It was hard since the liquor I shoved down my throat was making my emotions bounce all over the place. Hopefully, Diego would think that it was all drunk talk and not my honest feelings about him.

'I'm going to get some fresh air.' I got off my seat, trying to play it off. Or at least I thought I did.

Diego quickly responded back, 'I'll come with you.'

'No, I want to be alone if that's okay?'

He nodded slowly before I walked through the back door into an alley. A part of me wished Diego came after me but that was just some stupid fairytale bullshit that ran through my mind. Besides, it was clear he didn't feel the same way.

'Just the person I want to see.' The voice startled me, not expecting anyone at this dark alley in the middle of the night. 'Hi, Y/N.'

'Uhm, who are you?' The complete stranger that popped out of nowhere made me completely forget about what just happened, maybe in a way it was a great distraction. Unless they were here to kill me.

'Your brother likes to call me crazy bitch, but I personally thought we were BFFs. Shocking.'

I stared at her, the way she looked didn't ring a bells. 'You're going to have to be more specific than that, miss.'

'The little one, Five's friend.' She smiled, I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or polite.

'Ah, you're The Handler?'

'Sure.' She smiled again, that same expression on her face that seems sincere yet deceiving. It was hard to tell but hearing stories from Five, maybe I couldn't fully trust her.

'Well, you must be mistaken because I'm not sure why you want to see me. If you're looking for Five, I don't-'

'No, I need to see you Y/N Hargreeves.' The Handler pulled out her cigar, this time with a smirk on her face. 'I have a proposition for you.'

#tua fics #the umbrella academy fics #n.8!reader #number eight fic #number eight!reader #diego hargreeves x sibling!reader #diego hargreeves x reader #tua series #the umbrella academy series #diego hargreeves fic #hargreeves x sister!reader

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certifiedskywalker · 4 years

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Old Regrets, Fresh Starts - Allison Hargreeves

Anonymous said: Would you please write something for Allison Hargreeves? Maybe she thinks reader is dating one of the siblings so she gets jealous and that gives away her feelings or something? Thanks for considering! Loved your head cannons for dating her!!

AN: I wanted to try something different. Let me know what you all think!

Allison knew that coming home--no, going back to the Academy would open old wounds. The old brick building hadn’t been her home for years but it still housed sore feelings. Shame, fear, and anger. On top of it all was the pain. It all came rushing back as soon as Allison opened the door. The place even smelled the same.

As she settled in, everything she wanted to forget returned and welcomed her new regrets with open arms. It was almost comforting in a way.

What Allison was not expecting was the jealousy. Since she had been a little girl, she had always gotten her way. If her demeanor didn’t get her what she wanted, Allison would rumor her will into existence. So, for most of her life, envy and wanting did not linger long.

Now, since turning over a new leaf, since everything with Claire, Allison had to get used to the feeling again. Though, she wasn’t expecting to feel it so quickly, so intensely. At first, she didn’t even know that it was jealousy that she was feeling.

“Vanya? You’re actually here.”

As her foot made the final step to the wooden floor of the foyer, Allison fell silent. She watched Vanya, still slight but older, walk through the door with someone else trailing close behind her. Allison cocked her head to the side to get a better glimpse. She half expected Klaus to stumble in, buzzed and high off of who knows what. Following her sister’s confused gaze, Vanya reached a hand back towards the figure walking behind her.

“Hey, Allison, this is Y/N.”

“Y/N,” Allison echoed, studying your form as you came into view. Her eyes met yours and Allison felt her breath hitch. Then you smiled and she was sure she couldn’t breathe. You were beautiful and Allison was helpless.

“Hi,” you greeted, “I love your movies.”

“Oh, I, um, thank you,” Allison felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment. Nervous, she tore her gaze from yours and let it fall. It fell and focused right on Vanya’s hand that was joined with yours. Cold, prickling, nettle-like and bitter, started in Allison’s stomach, a feeling she didn’t quite recognize. “Thank you.”

You and Vanya seemed to pick up on the change in tone because you let your joined hands drop. Guilt washed over Allison like a small wave as she stepped towards the two of you. She leaned in and hugged Vanya, arms awkwardly wrapping around the other. Over her shoulder, Allison met your eyes once more. You were still smiling and Allison felt the prickling in her gut ease for a moment. She looked away as she pulled back from Vanya and sighed.

“Weird to be home, right?”

“Y-Yeah, you could say that,” Vanya replied, glancing at you warily. Allison looked between the two of you and felt the impulse to speak up. She wanted to hear your voice again.

“Ah. What is she doing here? She doesn’t belong here, after what she did.” Diego did a double take, his brown eyes on you for a passing moment. “And who is this?”

“You’re seriously going to do this today?” Diego kept walking, ignored her question and stomped right up the stairs. “Way to dress for the occasion, by the way.”

“At least I’m wearing black,” Diego bit back.

Annoyed, Allison looked over at Vanya whose brown eyes were suddenly full of hurt. Allison also saw you, tensed, ready to leap to Vanya’s defense. Allison tried to remember when she had someone so willing to be by her side, who cared for her so blindly.

She couldn’t remember.

Allison sighed and looked back to watch as Diego’s form disappeared up stairs. Once he was out of sight, she turned to you and Vanya once more Your hand was on Vanya’s arm in a comforting manner. Fingers curled in the dark material of her coat.

Why did the sight of that make Allison’s stomach twist? She had to shake it off. “Vanya…”

“No, he’s right. I shouldn’t have come.”

“Forget about him,” Allison stepped towards the two of you. “I’m glad you’re here,” she smiled at you, “both of you.”

Vanya gave Allison a thankful smile and silence, strained and awkward, fell over the three of you. Allison wanted to say more, do more, tell Vanya everything that she had been holding in. She wanted to catch up with her, tell her about Claire, listen to what she had been up to all these many years. How did she meet you? How long had you two-

“I don’t mean to interrupt this reunion but,” your voice instantly drew Allison’s attention away from her thoughts. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“I don’t…” Vanya trailed off, eyes scanning over the stairs and open door ways. It was then Allison remembered that her sister, Number 7, was the first to leave. Vanya wasn’t there for Reginald’s remodels and decorative knit-picking. Sadly, Allison had been.

“I can show you. The best one is up stairs.”

“Okay,” you said, turning to meet Allison’s gaze. She felt a rush of heat ignite beneath her skin. For a moment, Allison was scared that she, and you, would burst into flames. Then you glanced back at Vanya with all the affection in your eyes and Allison felt cold.

“I-uh, I’ll be here, in the parlor.” Vanya pointed into the room to her right that was bright with sunlight. From where she stood, Allison could see the stuffed, animal heads mounted on the wall. Always watching.

As Vanya walked off, Allison looked towards you. Your eyes were kind but worried as the brown-haired woman made her way into the parlor.

“Diego will leave her alone,” Allison said, sensing your concern. You looked back at her and Allison felt her chest tighten. You were beautiful. “I wouldn’t say he knows better but he doesn’t. He’s probably busy though, brooding.”

Allison wrung her hands together, nervous. She couldn’t remember the last time she was nervous. There was something about the way you smiled at her that made her giddy. Though, when you looked back after Vanya, Allison felt the feeling fade into that prickling again. Then Allison finally placed it: jealousy.

“Yeah, Vanya told me about him. All of you, really.”

As you spoke, you looked back to meet Allison’s gaze. There was a moment of silence between you; a moment that Allison steeped in the long unfelt sting of envy. How had Vanya met you? How had she, Allison’s quiet sister, managed to hold on to you?

“So, uh, bathroom?”

“Sorry, yeah. Follow me.” Allison started towards the stairs. The very stairs Diego stomped up moments prior. With each step, Allison left her chest tighten with nerves. She wanted to ask you everything but found that her mouth was dry.

Emotions were running high. Reginald’s death, while a relief, felt strange, spurring on a stressed mixture of feelings on it’s own. On top of that, there was you. You and Vanya, that was, together, which only served to add to the emotional confusion swirling in Allison’s heart. All she was left with was the haze and a list of questions; some for you, some for her heart.

“Vanya told me that you’re married?”

The question lingered between the two of you as you made it to the top of the stairs. Dumbfounded, shocked out of the confusion, Allison turned on her heels to meet your eyes. There was a curiosity in them and she knew her eyes must have read the same.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, you’re fine. I just...we’re separated now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” you said softly, almost shyly. Allison felt a twinge of regret in her gut. She was obviously not what you were expecting. Allison, like her siblings, was just too much; far more than what you bargained for when Vanya brought you to meet her family. ‘Just too much’- the Hargreeves family tagline.

“It’s um, it’s alright. It’s probably for the best. We were...kind of doomed from the start really.” Allison took a timid step forward and continued leading you to the bathroom.

The hallway that spilled into the bathroom hosted the doorways to the childhood bedrooms. Memories lurked behind each shut door. Not all bad but barely any good.

“I’m still sorry,” you pressed. “Relationships are hard, love is…”

“Not the forte of any of the Hargreeves.” As soon as the words left her tongue, Allison froze. She thought of Vanya and turned to meet your eyes. “I mean, Vanya is probably the most...she probably stands the best chance, having left so young.”

Your expression shifted to a quizzical one, but you nodded. “Y-yeah, I guess. I don’t think she’s dated anyone, at least seriously, since we moved in together.”

“Well,” Allison laughed, “I would hope not, seeing as you two are…”

She trailed off, starting down the hall to point out the bathroom to you. When you remained silent, Allison looked back at you. Confusion was written plainly across your face, tucked in your furrowed brow and squinted eyes.

“You think that Vanya and I…” White-hot, tickling embarrassment ran through Allison as the realization finally hit home.

“I-I just....I thought you two…I’m sorry. Vanya always…I don’t know. And you’re so stunning, I, that I-I just assumed.”

“Stunning?”

Allison tensed before meeting your eyes. Jealousy was gone, replaced with that nearly foregin nervousness. For the first time in her life, Allison welcomed the feeling. For the first time in her life, she was willing to revel in the unknown, in the idea that you might slip through her fingers. All if it meant that you truly wanted to give her, give the two of you a try without any meddling or rumoring of her own.

“Yeah.” You smiled at Allison and, smiling back at you, she stepped to the side. “Here’s the bathroom, by the way.”

“Oh, um thanks,” you said, sudden shyness shining through your words. “Maybe later you could show me around.”

Allison smiled and, with a rush of courage, agreed. “Yeah, around town too. There’s a few diners...a few bars that popped up since I was last here. We could check them out...if you would like that…”

There was a tense moment, after she spoke, when fear overwhelmed Allison. It had been so long since she had asked anyone out; longer since she had asked anyone out without using a rumor or two. Yet, despite her towering fear, you seemed to over power it.

With a smile, Allison felt her shoulders relax and, while her heart still beat like mad, she wasn’t panicked.

“I would love that.”

Allison let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and felt renewed. Proudly, she nodded at you and walked back down stairs. With every breath after the last felt like a fresh start. Allison wasn’t ready for what the future would hold or if you were in hers but she, finally, was okay with that.

#allison hargreeves x reader #allison hargreeves imagine #allison hargreeves #allison hargreeves imagines #allison hargreeves fanfiction #tua fanfiction #tua fanfic #tua #the umbrella academy

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angst-fairygodmother · 4 years

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On Her Father’s Wings (The Umbrella Academy S2 Fic)

CHAPTER 2: FATHERS

What if there was one more thing left in Five’s care at Hazel’s untimely passing? Something more precious than a briefcase, more useful than a tape, and infinitely more infuriating. A smart-mouthed girl determined to pick up where her father left off and help save the world, whether the Hargreeves like it or not.

Word Count: 5230 Rating: T for canon-typical violence, swearing

Warning: this chapter contains major spoilers for both S2:E2 (The Frankel Footage) and plot twists later in the season. Read at your own risk.

Cross-posted to AO3: here Previous Chapter: New Sidekick

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“So that went well…” Piper drawled, leaning back against her elbows on the edge of the bar.

Five startled, causing her to snicker.

“How did you get in here?” he asked, sounding less surprised or impressed than she’d hoped and not even bothering to look up from his drink.

“Fun fact, they’ll let anybody in when you’re dressed like a cigarette girl,” she said wryly. “So what are you going to do now? Besides mope into a whiskey?”

I don’t know,” he admitted with a sigh. “I’ve struck out with both siblings I’ve been able to find.”

“So far. But you all landed in the same place, and Elliot said they all went back to the alley looking for the rest of you, so odds are these two aren’t the only ones that stuck around Dallas. Just have to keep looking.”

“And what if I say no?”

“Then I’ll kick your scrawny ass and do it myself.”

He looked up at her finally, surprised by her determination, only to quickly look away again, blushing from her sequined and very revealing outfit.

“Do you want me to stick around, keep an eye on this brother and see if he leads us to the rest?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.

“No need. He said he thought we were all dead.”

“Cheerful. Could he be lying? I mean he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see you from where I was standing. Maybe he thinks he’s protecting them?”

“Protecting them? From me?”

She shrugged. “Anything’s possible. I mean you are a time-travelling assassin. And I don’t know what family Christmases are like at your house.”

Five sighed in exasperation. “Stay if you want. I’m going back to Elliot’s. He’s still, unfortunately, my best lead.”

He continued to sip his drink. She rolled her eyes, not liking the feeling of being dismissed. Still, she decided, she may as well spy on his brother and Jack Ruby while she had the opportunity.

Just as she was about to walk away, Five finished his drink, muttering about how their father should have left Luther on the moon as they both watched the larger man “escort out” a drunk. Then he stood, the pocket of his jacket catching on the back of the chair and tearing away to reveal a bulky yellow box. He took it out, staring at it, puzzled.

“Do you know what this is?” he asked her almost absently, voice sounding like his mind was far away.

“No idea,” she answered, eyes fixed on the label, on handwriting as familiar to her as her own. “It was in your pocket. Why would I know about it?”

“I think Hazel put it there. When he saw those goons get off the bus.”

“Well, it’s probably important then. You should go figure out what it is. I’m going to stick around here and see if I can’t find out a little more about your brother problem.”

Five frowned, glaring as she turned the tables, dismissing him for once, but she was already walking away, a cheerful smile plastered on her face as she held out her cigarette tray in question to one of the other club patrons.

Not long afterward, Piper watched as Luther exited through a back door, and followed, keeping far enough back that he wouldn’t notice, or at least she hoped not. He seemed to freeze, staring as he watched a mystery woman climbed into a car near the payphone out front. Piper couldn’t see his face, but she didn’t really need to to recognize the shock written across his entire body. The woman stared back for just a moment, confusion on her expression evident.

“Vanya,” she heard Luther whisper as the woman shut the car door and drove away.

Luther turned, watching her go, and Piper caught a glimpse of his distress before she ducked back inside to avoid getting caught tailing him. Back inside, she leaned against the wall, biting the nail of her thumb as she debated sticking around to see what other events unfolded for the night and reporting back to Five that she had at least some idea of where another sibling was.

Her decision was made for her though, when an unnervingly large arm pressed across her, pinning her to the wall by her shoulders.

“Who the hell are you?” Luther asked, face mere inches from hers and twisted into a scowl.

“Relax, there’s no need for violence here,” she said, trying to placate him.

“Why are you following me?”

“I’m not. I mean I was. Sort of. I mean it was more general surveillance than ‘following.’ Although it did…also involve following…”

“Shut up and answer my questions.”

“Um, which of those would you like me to do? Because I can’t simultaneously shut up and…speak, which I need to do to answer your questions.” She tilted her head questioningly to one side and put on her most charming smile.

He pressed his arm harder across her collarbones, shaking her, the pressure making it momentarily harder to breathe until she adjusted to it.

“Quit playing games. Who. Are. You?”

“My name is Piper Rofa. I’m with your brother, Five. A fact that he’s not super thrilled with because of his whole grouchy loner thing, but I’m not about to let that stop me. I stayed behind to keep an eye on you in case there was more you knew or something, even though he’s willing to write you off as a lost cause. Because I’m not about to let the world end based on the fact that your asshole family can’t get their shit together.”

His hold on her slackened, though the arm was still large enough that even slight pressure kept her in place. “I don’t know anything. Until Five showed up, I thought everyone was dead.”

“So that wasn’t your sister in the car?”

“It…was. But tonight was the first time I’d seen her since…”

“Since she blew up the moon and tried to kill you all? Or was that the other sister?”

“No…that was Vanya. How do you know so much about us?”

“It’s a long story. One I’ll happily tell to all of you once you’re rounded up in the same room but I really don’t want to have to keep going over.”

“I’m done with that life.” By now he had released her completely, but she remained rooted in that spot anyway.

“But they’re still your family. Don’t you want to see them?”

“Are they?” his voice was soft, pained. “All I’ve ever done is push them away and hurt them. It’s better for everyone if I just…don’t go back.”

“Bullshit. Family’s hard, but also family’s family. Whatever you’ve fucked up, they still love you. Or at least, the one I’ve met does. You should have seen his face…”

He stared at her, mouth open in shock, face twisted in uncertainty. “How…how many of them are together right now?”

“None. But we can make it at least three, possibly four if you give me that address, and you come with me back to our makeshift base of operations. We still haven’t found Allison or Klaus?” she hesitated, unsure she had the names right. “And the other brother is locked up in an asylum which Five for some reason decided not to spring him from, but that’s…fixable.”

“I’m not going to give you this address. I don’t even know if Vanya actually lives there, but if she does…I don’t know you, no matter what you claim. And I need to talk to her first. Alone.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Fine, suit yourself. Just, when you’re done, both of you should come to Morty’s Television and Radio.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I guess that’s all I can ask,” she shrugged. “Now unless you’re planning any other secret sibling reunions or interesting events, I should probably be off.”

She gave him a wink and wave as she sauntered away.

“I can’t tail a car on foot!” she shouted in frustration as Five raged. “And what else was I supposed to do? Fight your brother for the wallet? He could snap me in half like a toothpick!”

“You incompetent…useless…” his face was rapidly reddening. “What is the point of you if you can’t even do a simple task?”

“Hey!” she glared, folding her arms over her chest. “At least we can confirm that she’s still in Dallas. And that she’s either a very good actress or didn’t recognize your brother. Neither of which we’d have without me sticking around, which you called a waste of time. Besides, Luther all but said he was going after her, so we can tail him there.”

“Don’t bother. Let’s just focus on this tape from your father and hope it’s more helpful than you are.”

She bit back the first retort that came to mind, sticking her tongue out petulantly. “Do you have the magic power of film development now too?”

His jaw flexed as he gritted his teeth angrily. “No. I don’t have the power to develop the film. But I’m sure I will find someone who can.”

“Some stranger? When there could be signs, clues, or references to the apocalypse? Great plan. Definitely won’t lead to panic or getting arrested as a terrorist or anything. Especially if you drag them out of bed to do it.”

He sighed angrily. “What would you suggest then?”

“Wait until morning, see where these came from,” she gestured to the photos around the loft. “Until then, do some more research through all this junk to see if we can find where the last two siblings are?”

She watched him struggle with himself, not wanting to admit that she was right.

“Now pass me that box,” she gestured to a large cardboard box overflowing with sheets of paper and newspaper clippings, clearly things that Elliot thought were important but hadn’t gotten around to sorting into his desk or “conspiracy wall.”

Hours later, Elliot shuffled out of his bedroom, setting up a pot of coffee before noticing that the two time-travelers were there, each wrapped in their own heads and oblivious to the world.

“Do…do you like eggs?” he asked them, stammering out an offer for breakfast, cutting through their thoughts. “Or cereal?”

Piper looked up, smiling politely as she accepted and Five waved him off, muttering about “just needing coffee.”

As the girl and Elliot ate, Five looked around again, eyes falling to focus on some of the strange images on the walls.

“Elliot, did you develop these photos yourself?” he asked, leaning in to look closer at one of them.

“Of course. Can’t exactly drop that stuff off at the neighborhood Fotomat,” Elliot stood, walking across the partition with his bowl of cereal. “Government has eyes everywhere.”

Piper rolled her eyes, half listening as they discussed the lack of darkroom and Five asked him to develop the footage her father had slipped him.

As Elliot began listing supplies and excuses for why they were difficult to get, she rose, moving to lean in the doorway, arms folded.

“Elliot,” Five said, face taught with frustration.

“It’s like five, maybe six hours.”

“Would it go any faster with a sweet ride?” she asked, spinning her keychain, complete with neon orange rabbit’s foot, around on her finger.

Elliot’s eyes lit up at the prospect and Five became distracted by the call over the radio.

“The hell is a code 3-15?”

“Fugitives on the run,” Piper and Elliot said at the same time, glancing at each other in surprise before focusing back in on the rest of the call.

“Oh, Diego,” Five sighed, pressing his lips together and turning his eyes toward the ceiling as if to ask God ‘why?’

“Who’s Diego?” Elliot asked and Piper gave him a puzzled look.

Hadn’t they talked about it the day before, when he’d shown Five the mugshot? Or was the at least 30 hour day starting to mess with her memory? She shook it off, surreptitiously pinching the flesh of her own upper arm, the quick, sharp pain waking her up some.

“Imagine Batman, then aim lower,” Five explained before turning away from the radio.

She snorted at the description, which just about matched up to what her father had told her.

“You get started on that film,” he told Elliot. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“Actually, it’s probably faster for you to go alone,” she pointed out with a shrug. “I mean you can just pop to him and sort things out without…awkward introductions or sidetracking. Plus, I can get the supplies, help Elliot here; we’ll know what’s on that tape a lot sooner.”

Five hesitated. She flashed him a reassuring smile.

“I promise,” she said. “We’ll play nice. I mean, I can only hope the feeling’s mutual but I like Elliot, and this is something actually useful I can do. Now go teleport after your crazy-escapee brother.” She waved her hands in a shooing motion and Five rolled his eyes, heading for the door.

“Alright, Elliot,” she said, turning back to the man and planting her hands on her hips in an exaggerated, almost-superhero pose. “Hope you’ve got a shopping list and some cash because I have neither. But I’ll drive.”

Several hours later, she sighed, brushing hair out of her face as she bent to the task Elliot had given her, focused intently as they neared the finish line. Suddenly, something heavy clumsily smashed into the side of her head and she staggered away from it, dropping her tools and turning, shifting instinctively into a defensive stance to face her attacker.

“Elliot?! What the hell are you doing?” she shouted, watching the nervous little man drop the lamp he had swung moments earlier.

“I saw the footage!” he shouted. “I know what you are!”

Her head throbbed from the blow.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, frowning. “What exactly did you see?”

“I saw enough! And I won’t let you get away with it!”

She sighed, uncoiling her fists and trying to be as nonthreatening as possible. Holding up her hands, palms flat and facing him, she locked eyes with Elliot.

“Calm down Elliot, please,” she said, voice trembling almost imperceptibly. “I don’t know what you think is going on, but I promise there’s an explanation.”

“I’m not going to let you warp my mind!” he shouted. “You’re some sort of demon or alien or…or Russian spy!”

“What?”

Rather than responding, Elliot charged at her and swung a wild haymaker, so unexpected (and surprisingly quick) that it caught her off-guard. Striking on the same side he had already hit her, it drove her to her knees, vision swimming. The last thing she noticed as the world fell away were hands on her wrists and her only thought was that she had failed.

When Piper woke up next, she was somewhere completely dark. She could feel that her wrists and ankles had been bound together, trapping her in a hunched over position. Luckily, her captor (Elliot she suspected) made the mistake of putting the ropes in front of her, and probably didn’t know about her training in escape artistry. Gritting her jaw against the waves of pain and nausea that her movements triggered, she set to work, among other things discovering that she was in the darkroom closet.

Outside, she could hear shouting, and then, worryingly, the blast of a gunshot. Elliot wouldn’t actually shoot Five…she hoped. Though she also didn’t expect him to knock her out cold and tie her up, so maybe she didn’t know the nutter as well as she thought. And even if he wouldn’t really shoot Five, she couldn’t say the same in reverse if Elliot threatened him.

Finally, she felt the ropes go slack and stood.

“Where is she Elliot?” she heard Five ask through gritted teeth.

Her hand stilled momentarily on the doorknob, curious to hear where this would go.

“The one you left here to kill me when I found out the truth?” she heard Elliot snap. “I took care of her. Bet you weren’t expecting that.”

She rolled her eyes. So dramatic.

“I swear, if you hurt her…”

“Who are you talking about Five?” she heard another voice ask. “Is Allison here? …or Vanya?”

So that must be Diego then. Before things could go any further, she decided to make her grand entrance.

“Christ,” she said loudly as strode casually out of the converted closet, shaking the remaining ropes off her wrist. “That was uncalled for.”

Elliot stared. Diego and the mysterious woman with him stared. Five pointedly avoided looking at her, but she thought she might have caught a flash of relief cross his face.

“Seriously,” she smiled at Elliot who she now noticed was pinned down by the one she assumed was Diego. “That was an impressive punch from such a wimpy-looking guy,” her face fell into disappointment and she held out the rope, “but it was super unnecessary.”

“He managed to take you out with one punch?” Five asked, tone somewhere between mockery and incredulity.

“I mean, there was the element of surprise. And I think a lamp?”

“I had to do it! You people are dangerous! I know!” Elliot shouted, trying and failing to struggle as the strange woman tied his legs together.

Piper rolled her eyes. “You don’t know shit, Conspiracy Brain. Which would have been obvious if you let me explain instead of giving me a migraine. Now you had better have aspirin somewhere or I am going to be very annoyed.”

“Who the hell is this girl Five?” his brother asked.

“I like her,” the woman chimed in, earning her a glare from both Hargreeves and a smirk from Piper.

“My name is Piper Rofa, it’s really nice to meet you,” she called as she rooted through the bathroom medicine cabinet. “Do you want to explain the rest, Old Timer, or shall I?”

“Rofa…why does that name sound familiar?” Diego muttered.

Piper caught sight of Lila’s eyes, narrowed and studying her shrewdly. Something about her calculating look put the younger girl’s nerves on edge and she looked back with the same faux-casual inspection.

“Let’s just watch the film, see what’s got Elliot all worked up, and we can do introductions later,” Five said, brushing aside Diego’s curiosity.

They tied Elliot more securely, to one of the dental chairs he had inexplicably laying around. Lila dug out an old bottle of sickly green nail polish and began doing her fingernails and the captive man’s toes. Piper couldn’t help but chuckle from where she sat with her boots resting up on the corner of the kitchen table; the other woman was really doing a bang-up job of playing the loon.

They all sat in silence as the tape began. And then, realizing what it was, Diego leaned forward with a new intensity of focus.

‘He really is obsessed with JFK,’ she found herself thinking. ‘Professional interest or crush?’

“How do you have this?” Diego asked his brother.

“Hazel died to get me this footage,” Five explained, eyes flickering to his brother, and then to Piper who tried to hide her distress behind a blank mask, before turning back to the projector screen. “It must be the key to stopping doomsday.”

“It had better be,” Piper muttered.

“Hazel?” Diego said with an accusatory frown.

Piper stiffened, swinging her legs down to the floor. She did not want to deal with a confrontation right now when her headache was finally going away, but she wasn’t going to stand for anyone disparaging her father’s memory either.

“Long story,” Five said dismissively, still focused ahead of him.

“What’s doomsday?” Lila asked, looking pathetically up at Five from her seat.

“Longer story.”

“What exactly did he say to you?” Piper’s eyes flickered to Five’s face, equally curious for his answer as his brother was.

“Well he was killed before he could explain. But whatever he wanted us to see, it’s on this film.”

Her teeth found the middle knuckle of her thumb, biting down on it gently while she wracked her brain for something her father might have told her that could help, feeling useless. How could she claim to have known him, to be his protégé or fill his shoes if she didn’t even know what he died for?

Four sets of eyes flickered determinedly over the screen as chaos unfolded, only Lila looking away, confusion and fear on her face as she instead watched the watchers. Suddenly, Five muttered something under his breath and moved to rewind the tape, shifting the projector around to change the focus. Whatever he saw, Diego noticed the second time around, hesitantly unfolding himself from the countertop, mouth hanging open as he approached the screen in shock to get a better look. Elliot meanwhile, was thrashing about and struggling in his chair as if he still thought he could get away. It was distracting, and for a brief moment, Piper considered the lamp and returning the favor just to get him to calm down.

“This can’t be,” Five said, his focus fixed.

“Okay are you going to fill me in now?” Lila snapped. “What the hell is this shit we’re watching?”

“No that’s impossible,” Diego’s statement might have been a denial but his face seemed to say that whatever the realization the two Hargreeves had come to, it was as plain as the hair on their heads now.

“Clearly it’s not.” At least Five had the decency to sound awed at the new information.

Information Piper still didn’t understand.

“What…what is it?” Elliot asked from around the makeshift gag in his mouth.

The two remained transfixed on the grainy image in the center of the room.

“I gotta say I’m with Lila and Elliot on this one. You two might recognize the mystery blur, but the rest of the team’s,” she gestured around, “in the dark.”

“Dad…” they both said softly.

“Oh shit.”

To call what followed a discussion would have been giving far too much credit to the participants, and vastly underplaying the childishness of their sniping at each other.

“No, you’re jumping to conclusions,” Five said, pacing back and forth.

“What the hell else is he doing standing on the grassy knoll, holding an open black umbrella, on a sunny day, in Dallas, the exact same moment the president gets shot?” Diego shouted, gesticulating wildly at the screen.

“It doesn’t look good, I admit,” Five snapped back.

“I mean your father clearly had a thing for umbrellas, given the academy, tattoos, etc. so that could be nothing,” Piper drawled, inspecting her nails as the brothers went around and around in circles, physically and metaphorically. “Or it’s for shade, and maybe he’s there to watch or meet the president, like everyone else in Dallas? He’s not a supervillain, right?”

“You think it’s a coincidence? No. He’s the signalman for the whole goddamn thing.” Diego turned to face her, eyes ablaze. “And what would you know anyway? Who the hell are you?”

“I told you. Piper Rofa. I’m…a friend.”

“Bullshit.” From seemingly nowhere, he had drawn a knife, pointing it at her threateningly. “I saw your face while we were watching the footage. You know something.”

“I wish I did! I wish I could answer your questions or villain monologue or whatever it is you’re looking for. But I don’t know jack, except that the world is ending. It might be connected to Kennedy, it might not.” She shrugged, slapping her hands back down to her sides. “My father is dead, and he told me that The Umbrella Academy were the best chance at saving the world. So get your stupid knife out of my face, and figure it the hell out.”

“Who…?” Diego looked momentarily taken aback. “Who’s your father? How does he know about us?”

“Piper, don’t,” Five cautioned. “Now is not a good time to be bringing that up.”

She sighed, turning away from both of them and folding her arms around herself. “Hazel,” she admitted softly, almost apologetically.

She thought she heard Lila gasp and frowned at that, but there wasn’t time to address it as Diego seized her shoulder and slammed her into the nearby doorframe.

“Your father killed my…friend,” he hissed through clenched teeth, knife pressed to her throat and face in hers.

She rolled her eyes, undaunted. “Oh cry me river. Good people die all the time. Besides, that’s in the past…or the future? And I’m not him. Nor will killing me do anything, other than make a mess of this lovely apartment and delay what’s important. So can we focus back on your dad, who you apparently think is just as bad or worse than mine?”

He growled, pressing the blade harder into her neck, enough that she felt a thin trickle of blood, clearly not taking kindly to her opinion on the matter.

“Easy Diego,” Five interrupted, placing a hand on his brother’s arm and drawing him away.

Piper rubbed at her neck and shoulder where the majority of Diego’s weight had been, adding them to her growing catalogue of bruises to expect.

“Seriously,” Five sighed in exasperation.

“No, it makes sense,” Diego insisted, shifting instantly back to the topic of Reginald Hargreeves and JFK as if there had been no interruption at all. “This is what Hazel was obviously trying to tell you.”

His eyes flickered over to Piper and she shrugged. Lila stood up, offering to help her with the wound and hesitantly she accepted, both women leaving the brothers to argue.

“We have to stop dad from killing the president,” Diego declared dramatically.

Piper rolled her eyes and caught Lila doing the same. She frowned. There was something about this woman…something that set her teeth on edge but felt very familiar.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

“No. I don’t think we’ve met,” Lila answered with a smile that seemed to waver uncertainly. “But I can tell we’re gonna be good friends.”

Piper bit her lip, wanting to say more when Five’s voice cut through again.

“Dad’s clearly in Dallas, right? Let’s just go talk to him. Maybe he can help us fix the timeline.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Piper muttered, brushing aside the rest of Lila’s first aid to return to the main room in case she had to referee between them.

“Dallas is a big place,” Diego pointed out. “We need to find him first.”

“Gee, if only we had some magical, old-timey way of finding people and their addresses.”

Piper tossed the October 1963 phone book at Five, “Or should I pull another fast one on the 911 operator?”

He dropped in on the table. “Let’s start simple, his name.”

Before he could, Diego had already opened the book and bent over it, scanning for ‘Hargreeves’ with increasing frustration. When they didn’t find it, Five suggested looking for his company instead.

“D.S. Umbrella Manufacturing Co.”

“Yeah, I know the name,” Diego shot his brother a look.

“Seriously, more umbrellas? I think it’s time to consider it was a fetish,” Piper joked, drawing a laugh from Lila and a disgusted shudder from Diego.

When they found what they were looking for, the two almost immediately turned to go, rolling up the screen and heading for the front stairs down into the showroom.

“He okay to leave here like that?” Diego asked quietly.

“Yeah, he’s fine. What about the girl?” Five answered.

Both men looked behind them to find Elliot, still tied and gagged, and Piper flipping aimlessly through a magazine, once again leaning back in a chair and resting her feet on the table, making it all to obvious that she was eavesdropping. There was no sign of Lila.

“Shit,” Diego muttered, turning back.

Five sighed. Piper pointed over her shoulder to the darkroom closet Lila had scurried off to as soon as their backs were turned. He sat down across from her while Diego went to check on the other girl.

“Are you coming with us?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“No. I think I’m going to stay here. We still need to find the rest of your family as fast as possible, and I have a few ideas. Plus something’s not quite sitting right with me that I want to follow up on. And I don’t think your brother likes me much.”

Five chuckled. “Diego doesn’t like many people.”

“He likes Lila a hell of a lot. You sure that’s not going to be a problem?”

“No, I’m not. But it’s one we can deal with later.”

She sighed, fidgeting with her hands on the table. “You wanna take my car?”

His expression softened, understanding the gesture of trust it was meant to be.

“No, I don’t want to draw attention.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a very flashy car, Piper.” The tone of his voice sounded almost like a scolding father, or like her mother’s not-quite-disapproval when she’d cut the picture out of a magazine and pinned it to her corkboard at fifteen. It made her smile sadly, rubbing at the sting of loss she hadn’t let herself feel completely yet.

Diego emerged from the cupboard, Lila following behind a few moments later.

“You three play nice now,” Five said, faux-sternly. Diego turned to him, surprised, but his face was blank, showing no sign that he might have just made a joke. “We’ll be back soon.”

Piper waited until Five and Diego had been gone for some time, and until Lila had finished painting Elliot’s nails, in case things went south – it would be rude to leave him with only two thirds of a mani-pedi after all.

“We need to talk,” she said sternly, setting aside the article she had been reading and sitting up to face the other woman, arms folded across her chest.

“About what?” Lila’s tone was the epitome of innocence and Piper found herself impressed. She was one hell of an actress.

“You’re Commission right?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lila frowned in confusion.

Piper scoffed. “Oh please. My father was a Field Agent til he met Mom and settled down. But you knew that.” She cocked her head to one side in question, inviting Lila to deny it again. “He taught me how to spot another agent, in case they ever decided to use us to force him into un-retirement or something.”

Lila tensed, body movements subtle but still there, noticeable to a trained eye like Piper’s as she got ready to attack.

“You can relax,” Piper sighed, waving a hand in the air dismissively. “You don’t get in my way, I won’t get in yours. Or rat you out.”

“And what if our missions are incompatible?” Lila’s eyebrow quirked, finally dropping her ‘scared little crazy girl’ act completely.

“Still no reason to bring extra parties in. If it comes to that, we settle things the old fashion way, and may the best woman win.”

The two women locked eyes, sizing each other up, baiting each other. The air practically crackled with electricity. Elliot, still bound and gagged and distinctly uncomfortable, tried to mumble something as his eyes flicked frantically from one to the other. Surprisingly, Lila broke the stare first.

“Yeah sure, I’ll agree to that, at least for now.”

“Excellent,” Piper smiled wryly. “Like you said, I can tell we’re gonna be good friends.”

#On Her Father's Wings #The Story of Hazel and Agnes's daughter #The Umbrella Acadmey fic #TUA season 2 spoilers #The Umbrella Academy season 2 spoilers #season 2 canon-alteration fic #I feel like it's been 84 years since I published the first chapter #but I finally finished this one #purely platonic Hargreeves/OC relationships #also: it should be obvious by now but (despite me not being a car buff or really having any knowledge) loving her car is a personality trait

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valkerymillenia · 4 years

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Umbrella Academy

season 2, episode 3

Next!

Again, live blogging and posting my reactions all in one post to avoid spamming.

This post got accidentally deleted yesterday so I had to write or all again (twice!)

Oh, starting with a Klaus and Ben 1960 flashback! Ah, Klaus... You have no shame. Let my baby eat though!

Lol "Chanel". Boy knows his fashion, of course.

And there's Boney M playing!

You can practically read his mind when he sees that diamond. Sugar momma alert! 😆

Damn, loving the black outfit, very sexy.

LEVITATING KLAUS WAS BEN LIFTING HIM UP! Seems that one crack theory on the fandom was right 🤣

Ben's face though 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

These two are the best combo. I love them.

61, Baja, NM. Traveling hippie commune.

Is Klaus still sober? He refuses a joint here so I'm inclined to believe that he is but he isn't acting very sober... Then again that might be an act, just him embracing the hippy life.

CALLED IT!!! BEN FALLS IN LOVE, DOESN'T HE?! I FUCKING CALLED IT IN EP 1!

62, Varanasi, India. The river scene from the promos. Yeah, I called this one too. Klaus is already looking seriously uncomfortable and realizing this is getting out of hand.

63, San Francisco. Poor Klaus is practically suffocating under all the touching and nobody respects his space or his words.

Destiny's Children! 🤣 You are such a 90s kid, Klaus.

Run away, Klaus! Run! Escape the crazies.

Ok, let me paused to write out a thought...

So a lot of people were worried about the cult thing and Klaus's intentions but it's clear he had no malicious intentions at all. He charmed and impressed some people for survival purposes and thrived, he enjoyed the love and attention at first and the cult just grew around around him organically whether he liked it or not, more a hippy cult of personality then a religious sect, but at some point he saw that it had gone too far, the pressure and expectation became too much and he realized he'd bitten more than he can chew.

It's actually rather sad how he just wants to escape but the cultists objectify him to all hell, he has no privacy or personal space. The problem with Klaus is that he doesn't do anything mildly, he always goes too big until he's drowning. Boy is already self-sabotaging and I'm sure he's going to start self-destructing very soon as well.

End of thought. Clicking play again.

Ouch! Poor Diego 😰 Lila, that is not how you cauterize a stab wound...

"what happened?" -your dear daddy stabbed you, dude.

Did she really need to strip him so thoroughly? 😏 Yes, yes, she did.

Well, at least she's not sewing you up, Diego. No needles, yay.

"oh, he isn't dead." "Disappointed?" "To see you? Always 😊" -did I mention I love Five's sass? I did? Well, I do.

Old family friend 😆

"you don't untie him?" "Was I supposed to?" Oh Lila, you're adorable, poor Elliot.

Vanya, that is suspicious as hell, just mow down that weirdo!

Ok, good instincts but too slow.

Run, girl, run!

Got to admit, these Swedes are good battle strategy, they are surrounding her surprisingly well.

Is this were the badass Vanya promo was from? Show me badass Vanya, please.

BADASS VANYA! 💖

Ooooooh, very smart, Five!!!

One of the machines though? What are the others for? I'm curious.

Plano Street Rooming House for Solitary Men? That's real depressing, Luther.

It's the "the end is nigh" guy the same that was screaming with Luther in ep 1?

King Kong! Not sure if cute or rude af...

Ahahahah! Luther literally STUMBLING on "Allison" and then acting like an awkward Steve Rogers when the kids call him out 😆 Boy, when will you realize that your obsession is creepy?

Honestly, ALL the Hargreeves siblings can be divided into two categories- sweet awkward dork or sass king/queen, there is no in-between (but Diego and Klaus get to be both).

Convenient that Vanya would just sit there and wait to be found by Five but ok.

"I have a brother?" -honey, you have five (pun fully intended)

IKEA MAFIA! 😂

Nice crop circle, Vanya.

Five just rolls with the amnesia, huh? Doesn't even question it. Ok, then.

Why is Ruby, notorious mobster, sewing sequins? It's it for the dog? I bet, it's for the dog.

"Hargreeves. She your ex?" *Cue Luther's super awkward fumbling* "S-Sorta...Y-Yeah. Sure." - big boy, this is the point where you realize how creepy your crush on your own sister is, time to reevaluate.

KLAUS AND ALLISON REUNION! THEY ARE SO CUTE! 😭💜

Honestly, I need more Klaus and Allison interactions. They have so much bff potential.

*le gasp* "oh, you're married?" 😲 -yes, Klaus, you met him.

"dicks, drugs, debutants. My holy trinity" -ok so everything Klaus says should be taken with a grain of salt but does Klaus still do drugs or not? Considering the evolution of his powers with Ben I'd say no, but we aren't seeing other ghosts harassing him so... Hmm, I need confirmation.

"alternative spiritual community" my ass

Ah, Allison falls into the sass queen category.

Allison can have a little PTSD, as a treat. 😢

Those shoes! Hi, Handler.

Those shoes really are her signature by now. Those heels could kill a man.

Handler as a brunette...? She looks good but I like her bleach blonde.

What did she say to make that boy pee himself?? Damn, Handler, no wonder your kid is a mess.

These dudes need to start listening to my girl Allison, instead of following her husband like puppies.

Great speech, girl! ✊

What is up with that sandwich???

Oh wait, it's Ben right? Klaus is using his powers to get Ray out of jail, isn't he?

Yup, of course he is.

Ben being all sassy and cocky about it gives me life.

"high places" - 😆

Poor Ray, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.

"family barbecues are about to get reeeeeeeal weird" - I'd actually like to see that.

"leave the pot, dear" - you're such an old man, Five.

"any questions?" Five, if be worried if she DIDN'T have questions after all that.

"asteroid impact" -aww 💜 you really do care for her feelings, Five... But you have to tell her the truth sooner or later.

Harlan likes classical music, huh? Good thing he knows a good violinist.

Harlan and Sissy... 😭 My poor heart.

Ouch! What is wrong with you, Lila? You're right but what is wrong with you?

"I can't believe I got shanked by my own father" - can't you, Diego? Really? After everything else that man did to you and your siblings?

"man to man, that son of bitch wouldn't stand a chance" - yeah, he would, he taught you all you know, boy

Not sure if Lila's story is true or not but... I still have that one theory that she was born on October, 1989...

"I don't understand you!!!" - ahah, poor Diego 🤣

Really? Right in front of Elliot's tuna mold?

Man, Handler is really obsessed with Five...

Oh, Luther, you giant puppy...

This is so AWKWARD!

Bonbons, Luther? Really?

Ok, this small talk is even MORE AWKWARD! It physically hurts to listen to this.

The pain in his face and voice when Luther goes "S-so great" 😭

boy, this is the moment you realize it's time to move on, you're not isolated teenagers in a dysfunctional home anymore, let her be your sister and find love elsewhere.

The sit in!

"seven languages" sassy, sassy, I love her.

YOUNG DAVE!

Oh no... Klaus, no, baby... Oh, this is painful.

Ben, don't be mean, let your brothe have this.

What kind of gay man doesn't know what eggshell is? 😆

"is this considered stalking? 'cause I think you're stalking now" - well, BEN, following your brother 24/7 for 15 years can also be considered stalking

Oh no, Vietnam flashbacks... Poor Klaus 😭😭😭

"Vietnam fling"? Ben, you know it wasn't just a fling! Stop being mean.

Aw, Klaus just wants to save Dave... He's willing to sacrifice their relationship to save Dave's life... 😭😭😭

I know Ben is just worried but he could be less mean...

Damn, this sit in thing is really upsetting...

Why is Ray being weird? Is he suspicious of Luther and Alison's relationship? Or is he just unhappy that Allison kept secrets about her family?

Oh Luther, no... Self-harm by proxy is not going to make you feel better.

Oh, motherfucker! That coffee thing was such an asshole move!

Shit, this scene is so well written, the way something so small is making the whole protest escalate to all hell... The police brutality, the parallels with recent events... Disturbing and brilliant and deeply relevant!

Yes! Rumor that motherfucker, Allison!

Oh no, don't be scared of your wife, Ray! Don't be suspicious!

Poor Allison... 😢

Oh Luther, you dumbass... 😢

Lila going to meet mommy, huh?

Oh, she's still wearing Diego's bracelet. Cute.

I know this scene between Handler and Lila was supposed to be a shocking plot twist but after David Castañeda's interview slip up, I already knew.

Still, an excellent scene and very cool surprise.

Like I said before, I really like Lila, I don't trust her AT ALL but I like her.

...

THIS WAS SUCH AN EMOTIONAL EPISODE... Again.

My god, this show gives me life.

#tua #tua s2 #tua s2 spoilers #live blogging #reactions #my phone keeps correcting vanya to baby #and honestly it's not wrong

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lonelyboy-in-space · 5 years

Text

Luther Hargreeves-centric Fic Rec

(pt. 1

Feel free to add your own (or even oh idk... write them..)

mostly angst

Eggshells by El_Imprestavel

He can't fail. He can't disappoint. Never. That’s what being Number One means, in the Umbrella Academy.

Self-doubt, emotional/psychological abuse.

dedication bordering on inhumane by s1357

This practice in empathy is foreign, a weird taste in his mouth, but Luther finds he actually wants to comfort.

Or, Luther reaching into his heart and giving six different pieces to six different people over the course of nineteen years.

Luther bonding with his siblings in a healthy way! Still angsty.

Every Mountain You Climb Takes You Further Away by siriuslyrose

In 1989, Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven babies from around the world. By 2007 only one remained.

They all left for slightly different reasons. But for all six of them it was The Monocle that forced them out the door. Ironically, he was also the reason his Number One never follow them.

This is the story of how the Umbrella Academy went from Six (Seven) members to One.

How everyone left, and only One stayed.

00.01 by verybi_verytired

Number One - Spaceboy - Luther

a short, poem-like fic centring on self-doubt and Ben’s death.

run fast, run away (run straight into the loneliness) by ambroses

three snapshots into number one's life featuring his siblings

one of my favourites. features luther being excluded in sibling outings, his pressure of being number one, and his siblings being mean.

Pretend That We’re Safe at the End by CourtneyCourtney.

It makes Diego’s stomach turn, how easily he can picture it happening. Luther met with Reginald in private after every mission. Sure, they’d all always had some kind of meeting with dear old Dad afterwards, but Luther was the one he spent the most time on. It wasn’t like anyone kept track of how long he was in Dad’s study. No one would have thought to check in on them, to stop them, and Luther would have been too proud to tell anyone back then, even Mom.

(Written for a prompt on the umbrellakink meme: "child sexual abuse, Luther/Reginald, someone finds out about it and when they confront Luther, he breaks")

what it says on the tin.

clip my wings and look at the sky by lesbianbettycooper

The moon is lonely. His only companions had been Ben and the sporadic, at best, check-ins from home.

It took him a while to get used to. He’d never had many friends besides, if you could even count them, his siblings but at home, there was always people around. Pogo, Mom, his father, people out on the street.

When he was the last one remaining, the silence would feel suffocating, he would go days without having to speak to anyone.

or; luther like.... reflects. i guess?

The Price of Obedience by madame_faust

What was going through Luther's mind as he looked at Vanya from the top of the stairs?

Major spoilers for 'Changes.'

This Isn’t Me or You by Katydid_99

This isn't Five's body.

This isn't Luther's body, either.

Maybe they can reach a common ground...

Dealing with Five’s issues of body dysmorphia, and trying to talk some sense into Luther about his non-consensual body mutation.

Boys Don't Cry (and Other Rules) by Anon_and_on_and_on_and_onnnnnnn

Children are not machines.

Your sons are not your soldiers.

The Hargreeves boys are not okay.

Only one chapter at the moment, but the first one is Luther-centric.

Some Leader by Marmarhargreeves

Luther used to be the dream boy.

Reginald defiled him, stripped him the agency he once had over his own body. He was no longer gorgeous, no, far from it. He was a monster. He turned into this hideous, heinous creature. His body, something he took so much pride in, something that quite literally defined him, was no longer what he knew. It was something he despised.

Warning: body hatred, bulimia, body dysmorphia

(by the ever so lovely @queerhargreeves)

Skin by GlitterBitch147

*Mentions of Self Harm* A character study based on an interview with the TUA cast/crew about Luther.

we are no heroes, my dear by Sternstunde

“Ben,” he repeats, then shakes his head, “look at Luther.”

15 minutes later Ben’s blinking. “His movements…”

Klaus remembers.

“The rave was his first time taking drugs, wasn’t it?”

In which Klaus decides that Luther needs some family bonding, but ends up arguing with Five and revealing some stuff.

Luther remembers how the drugs at the rave made him feel better.

the other side by punkcowboy

When Luther was on the moon, he had a lot of time to himself. Whenever he felt sad, or lonely, he would dream about having a garden

leaders don’t cry by punkcowboy

leaders don’t cry, and monsters never die

Luther sometimes finds himself unable to breathe

Short and poetic.

Finding Yourself by KaytiKitty

Luther needs help to figure out his sexuality.

One Is The Loneliest Number by 1The_Quiet_Samurai1

Luther was fucked up. He knew it.

Unrequited Luther/Vanya, as Luther develops feelings for Vanya after they time-travel back. as a type of coping mechanism from what he did to her before

Brother Mine by orphan_account

They weren’t identical, but they looked similar enough that it was obvious that they were twins. Technically, all seven of them considered themselves to be something of a group of septuplets, seeing as they all shared the same birthday. But Luther and Five were special, they were full siblings. Related by blood, the only link they had to who their real family was.

But then Luther dyed his hair blond.

I'm tired of being alone (and you're more than enough) by TrippinOverMyFandoms

Luther Hargreeves was eighteen years old and the last remaining member of the Umbrella Academy. He's preparing for a life time dedicated to saving the world even if that means being alone. That is until the brother he hasn't seen in five years shows up in the courtyard.

This is their life together.

Follow Luther and Five as they uncover secrets about themselves and each other as well as things Reginald has hidden from them and the struggles that come with being a dysfunctional family.

tell me when my sorrow's over by WeWalkADifferentPath

The reunion with Luther is a bit of an accident.

In the end, the decision is all but entirely made for him, because Luther sees him.

Reunion between Ben and Luther after Klaus learns how to conjure him, but Ben is still a little mad at Luther.

gimme shelter by wearealltalesintheend

Klaus skids to a stop in front of Luther’s room, nearly colliding with the wall. He didn’t really have to run all the way from the end of the hall like this, but he felt it carried the appropriate amount of urgency for the situation.

“Have you seen Diego?” He asks, panting, and leans against the doorway to catch his breath. Behind him, Ben arrives walking calmly.

Luther, who had been clearly only pretending to read and actually nodding off, looks up, closing his book and sitting up in bed. “He left with Five an hour ago, why?”

“Oh, nothing. Okay, okay, that’s fine,” Klaus drums his fingers in the wood, starts picking at the chipped paint there. “Have you seen Allison, then?

Now, Luther is frowning suspiciously. “Yes. She left with Vanya to have brunch.”

Well shit.

or, the one where Klaus adopts a pet, everyone is out, and Ben can't be trusted to look after a small animal on his own

based on the prompt: Klaus and Luther bonding!

It Will Rise In Perfect by Light syrupwit

Few but those who knew him might have guessed it, but Luther loved poetry.

For A Sister's Sake by GinnyBloomPotter

Number One liked to think that, at seven whole years old, he knew exactly what his role was in this world. One night, he sees something that challenges that.

Forgiveness For The First by Anonymous

In the aftermath of the apocalypse, Luther avoids any physical contact. Especially from Vanya.

My absolute fucking favourite in this entire list. Ticks all the boxes for me.

Partita No. 1 in B Minor by neneyeeee

On October 2, 1999, the seven adopted children of eccentric billionaire and entrepreneur, Reginald Hargreeves, go missing.

(Or: After Number Seven kills the last nanny, Reginald does not create Grace and the children of The Umbrella Academy are left without a mother. As the pseudo-oldest, Number One takes things into his own hands.)

((Or: Without Grace, the Hargreeves children turn to each other for comfort.))

#luther hargreeves #fic rec #fanfiction #tua #the umbrella academy #luther hargreeves defense squad #luther hargreeves protection squad #luther positivity #luther whump #luther hargreeves whump

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gerardwayisarchive · 5 years

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Gerard Way on Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion and the TV Series

https://gerardwayisalive.tumblr.com/post/181689658259

https://www.denofgeek.com/us/books/the-umbrella-academy/278030/gerard-way-umbrella-academy

John Saavedra Jan 3, 2019

This article contains Umbrella Academy spoilers.

Gerard Way is a bit tired on the third day of New York Comic Con. He'd stayed up late for a Netflix cast dinner the night before (he's in bed by 9:45 most nights) and had overslept this morning. Worst of all, he'd been forced to skip his morning meditation.

"It's kind of throwing my whole day off," Way tells me as we sit together in a corner of the Dark Horse booth at the Javits Center, hidden from the masses. The writer/musician is dressed in a big fatigue jacket, hair long and shaggy. He's starting to show hints of a shiny gray. Once impeccably clean-shaven, he now sports a mustache and beard.

Gone are the days of bleached hair, marching bands, and eyeliner. The force of nature who belted out songs about wasted youth, love lost, and doom as the frontman of My Chemical Romance is dead (like the Black Parade itself). Three cheers for the next life of Gerard Way, one of the best comic book writers currently working.

In October, following his excellent work on DC's Doom Patrol with artist Nick Derington, Way finally returned to his original comic book creation, The Umbrella Academy, after an almost ten-year hiatus. The new story arc, Hotel Oblivion, is a grand return for the series as well as for Way and the brilliant Brazilian artist Gabriel Ba, who first collaborated on the series in 2007 and won an Eisner for Best Limited Series in 2008.

The Umbrella Academy is the story of an estranged family of superheroes, years past their prime, who must navigate a nightmarish family reunion, prevent the end of the world, and deal with their traumatic pasts at the hands of their cold (and sometimes abusive) father. In the series' first arc, Apocalypse Suite, the team must stop one of their siblings, a classically trained violinist, from bringing about the end of the world with her evil orchestra. The follow-up, Dallas, is the story of Number Five, a time-traveling assassin who's hired to go back to 1963 and kill John F. Kennedy. It's up to his siblings to either help him or thwart the assassination from ever taking place.

Just three issues into Hotel Oblivion, Way and Ba have laid the foundation for another epic story, this time spanning not only time but also space. At the center of this tale is the titular hotel, a purgatorial prison located in an alternate dimension meant to house the world's worst criminals. The secrets of this hotel and the family's connection to it are the focus of the arc, but there are also plenty of other strange shenanigans along the way.

You have to read it to believe it: 43 superpowered orphans are born around the world at the same time to women whom just seconds before hadn't been pregnant. This is the big bang of Way and Ba's outrageous comic book universe, an alternate version of our reality where Kennedy wasn't assassinated and wrestlers wage war against giant space monsters in the ring. Seven of these orphans are adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a rich scientist who also happens to be an undercover alien, and turned into the world's most famous superhero team, the Umbrella Academy. Together, these extraordinary kids have stopped the Eiffel Tower from taking over the world, defeated a rampaging Lincoln Memorial, and put all manner of costumed villains behind bars.

But those were the good old days.

By the start of the story, one of the orphans is already dead. You quickly find out he was the lucky one because the remaining six siblings are seriously fucked up, thanks to their manipulative and emotionally unavailable father, who's very good at saving the world but terrible at giving the kids what they need the most: love and support.

When the remaining members of the team -- Luther aka Spaceboy, Diego aka the Kraken, Allison aka the Rumor, Klaus aka the Seance, Number Five, and Vanya aka the White Violin (but only after discovering her apocalyptic powers as an adult) -- return home for Sir Reginald's funeral, things only get more complicated. Spaceboy struggles with depression, Kraken is unable to get close to anyone, Rumor's marriage is breaking down, Seance falls deeper into drug addiction, and Number Five...well, he's actually doing alright...

By the end of Dallas, the team is more broken than ever before and it seems that only distance from each other can help mend these characters. Well, a decade was plenty of distance, a lot of time for Way to consider what came next for his children. By the time Way started working on Umbrella Academy again in 2014, he found that the way he thought about these characters had changed.

"I think I understand them in different ways now," Way says. "I think I'm less hard on them. I think I've found more compassion in dealing with them. I've put them through some really hard things and sometimes I feel bad about it."

These days, Way is interested in really digging into the trauma these characters have faced and maybe even giving them some space to heal.

"Trauma is a very intense thing and a very real thing and everybody experiences it in some way. I obviously did not have a childhood like these kids. But I did have a childhood in which I needed to escape a lot."

Hotel Oblivion certainly feels like an escape for the Hargreeves siblings, who are spread out all over the globe (and in the afterlife because that's how the Seance rolls). The first four issues are a sort of exhale for these characters, who are still recovering from major losses, heartbreak, and the whole JFK business.

After all the blood, explosions, betrayals, and deaths, Hotel Oblivion is meant to be cathartic, according to Way: "It's about the past. It's about mistakes. It's about fathers. It's about redemption. It's definitely a therapeutic series."

At the center of the story is still the concept of family. The Rumor is trying to help Vanya recover from the injuries she suffered in Apocalypse Suitewhile also trying to reconnect with her civilian family and working with the ultra-violent Number Five on his latest gambit.

Most surprising is the mending relationship between the Kraken and the team's former leader, Spaceboy. While stuck in an eternal sibling rivalry in the first two arcs -- Kraken challenges Spaceboy's leadership, Spaceboy condemns Kraken's impulsivity -- these scarred heroes start to reach out to each other in Hotel Oblivion. It's a change in the dynamic of the team that didn't seem possible back in 2009.

"Kraken's interesting and his relationship with Spaceboy changes in this series," Way explains. "A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was tired of writing that type of character, that rebellious fool, that Wolverine kind who always gives the leader shit. I never saw Kraken always being that way. I thought he was gonna be that way in the beginning and then he would grow."

Kraken, the loner who most resembles the "Batman" of the group, is actually the one trying to reunite the superhero team. Meanwhile, an overweight Spaceboy, who fled to Tokyo after the events of Dallas, is dealing with an existential crisis and no longer interested in leading his siblings.

"He's searching," Way says of Spaceboy. "I like the idea of a lost leader. A leader that doesn't have the answers anymore. Who's maybe not even a leader anymore. So I loved exploring that with Spaceboy."

Spaceboy isn't the only leader in need of redemption, though. Even Sir Reginald deserves a re-examination, according to Way.

"I learned more about him. I learned more about his history in working through this stuff, and I can't reveal any of that, obviously. But I've learned to find even compassion for him. Like there's a reason he is the way he is. Over the course of the series, you discover that reason of why he is this kind of ruthless person."

For these heroes, their father remains the catalyst for their problems. Will these characters ultimately find peace (and maybe even love) where it previously eluded them? It's too early to say, but at the very least, the search for the Hotel Oblivion gives them a new place to inevitably find and help each other.

"The story at one point was gonna be a little bit less about the people that live in the hotel, but over time I found that I really wanted to tell their stories, so there are a lot more characters in Hotel Oblivion than there were nine years ago."

The Hotel Oblivion, with its faceless bellhops and cockroach entrees, might remind one of Captain Willard's stay in Saigon in the opening minutes of Apocalypse Now. Willard's hotel room is a sort of purgatory before his journey back to hell, a way station where he's left to relive his trauma over and over until he's lying naked on the dirty carpet, crying, bleeding, and a bit mad.

Way's prison isn't quite as dramatic as that, but it's doubly as terrifying. When Sir Reginald sends the villainous Murder Magician to the hotel, we get to see firsthand the lengths to which Sir Reginald will go to "save the world," letting the bad guys rot in a TripAdvisor hellscape without a trial.

"The concept of Hotel Oblivion deals a little bit with capital punishment," Way explains. "I think in terms of current events and the state of our world right now, in future Umbrella Academy volumes, we'll see a little more of that creep its way into the book. But right now I really wanted to explore capital punishment because we know what a super prison is."

Watching the villain watch a grotesque Lynchian cartoon about mice on the hotel television with nowhere else to go for the rest of eternity, you even start to feel for him. In one panel, he looks out his window at the desert beyond the hotel, surrounded on all sides by desolation and the bony carcasses of animals. This place could break him, the villain's face seems to say (Ba's pencils bring depth and emotion beautifully to this book).

"You don't really see mainstream comics exploring the ramifications of somebody having to live in Arkham Asylum and what that does to somebody psychologically. Or if the Phantom Zone is ethical punishment. So it deals a lot with that."

Way took inspiration from his real-life travels when creating the titular hotel, which he based on the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon where he stayed while working on the original Umbrella Academy stories.

"It's a very old hotel and it's kinda classy, but it's also a little bit old. From the outside, it kinda looks like the Hotel Oblivion," Way recalls. "I would be really isolated in that room just writing. I started to become inspired by the environment that I was in."

There was a time in Way's life when the writing didn't come so easy, though. Way told EW back in October that writing Umbrella Academy while on the road with My Chemical Romance became more difficult, describing the twilight of the band during that final tour as "really taxing." The band broke up in 2013 and Way jumped straight into a solo album, Hesitant Alien, soon after, further delaying his comic book work.

Way has a steady place to work now, a studio separate from his house. That's where the magic happens.

"I wake up really early, I hang out with my daughter, get her ready for school, I take her to school, I come back, I meditate, and then I start writing. And that takes up most of my time. I only make music on Fridays."

Since our chat, Way has released two groovy new songs, "Baby, You're a Haunted House" and "Getting Down the Germs," which show the artist moving away from both his emo pop roots and Britpop revival sensibilities to a more psychedelic sound. "Germs" even has a flute solo courtesy of renowned flutist Sara Andon. A third song, "Dasher," is a lovely Christmas ballad about a girl who falls in love with a reindeer, with backup vocals by Lydia Night of The Regrettes. Yeah, this is Way like we've never heard him before.

Way is also working on the upcoming Umbrella Academy Netflix series. The first season, which is set to debut on Feb. 15, will adapt both Apocalypse Suite and Dallas. That's quite a bit of ground to cover (across at least three different time periods), but Way, who has spent a lot of time on set as an executive producer, says that the series is going deeper into certain parts of the story than the comics did.

"Since they have more time, they can get deeper into things that may only be like two pages in the comic. And that's been really cool. They explore the characters a lot more." Way teases that both arcs "were expanded for the TV show. There are new elements in there. They've kind of enhanced the experience of those two graphic novels."

Beyond Hotel Oblivion and the Netflix show are more comics. In fact, Way is already developing the fourth arc with Ba.

"I'm putting all my notes together. So basically I know that there are eight volumes of Umbrella and I know what happens in each of them. I know what happens in the fourth. We're basically gonna take about three months between Hotel and when we start series four."

What can Way tease about series four? The arc will explore the biggest mystery at the center of their superhero universe, according to Way.

"We're finally gonna get to see some more of the 43 individuals." But he won't say any more about that.

Don't worry, though. The writer knows that you've been waiting a long time to learn more about these characters, to spend more time in their world. At the end of our chat, he opens up about how much it means to him that fans continue to ask for The Umbrella Academy.

"I just really appreciate them sticking around," Way says. "If people didn't care about it, I don't know, maybe I would have moved on to something else. But they still really want to know the whole story and so it's my duty to tell that story. I'm gonna give them what they want."

The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion #1-4 are out now. Issue #5 is out on Feb. 6. The Netflix series premieres on Feb. 15.

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.

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aion-rsa · 5 years

Text

The Umbrella Academy Review (Spoiler Free)

http://bit.ly/2UGi03k

Netflix's The Umbrella Academy is an admirable attempt to bring the comic to the small screen that ultimately misses the mark.

Books

This Umbrella Academy review does not contain spoilers.

Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's The Umbrella Academy, which opens with the spontaneous birth of 43 superpowered babies right at the moment a wrestler elbow drops a giant space squid in the ring, might be unadaptable. Despite its best efforts to capture the delightful weirdness of the comic as well as expand on some of the storylines only hinted at in the book, the new Netflix series is ultimately too grounded and sluggish to really keep us invested. The series never quite finds its rhythm until the very end and is surprisingly dull throughout, especially in the first few exposition-heavy episodes.

The Umbrella Academy is the story of the Hargreeves orphans, a super-powered group of kids mysteriously born at the exact same time in different parts of the world, who are trained by their cold and manipulative adoptive father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, to save the world. Originally a famous superhero team of seven -- Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Number Five, Ben, and Vanya -- the family slowly begins to decay as the years go by. One sibling dies during a mission while Number Five capriciously travels far into the future against his father's wishes, never to be seen again. Most of the others eventually pack up and leave the Academy when they're old enough.

When the series begins, it's been 12 years since the team was together. But when Sir Reginald suddenly dies -- seemingly of natural causes, although Luther (Tom Hopper), the loyal leader of the team, is not so sure -- his adult children are forced into a nightmarish family reunion and back into old habits. As you would expect, things do not go well.

It should be said up front that viewers expecting an action-packed superhero romp or something akin to Netflix's Marvel lineup will be sorely disappointed. The Umbrella Academy is not that kind of show, trading in the action sequences (of which there are very few) for slightly long-winded family drama. Of course, this won't surprise fans of the Eisner-winning series, itself a deconstruction of iconic superhero teams such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and most importantly, DC's Doom Patrol, one of the comic's major influences. While the Netflix series does an admirable job of trying to captivate its audience with this particularly dysfunctional family of super-weirdos, it does so at the expense of its pacing. The Umbrella Academy is incredibly slow.

The show's biggest problem is that it tries to stretch the book's six-issue first volume, "Apocalypse Suite," into 10 50-minute episodes, with bits and pieces of the second arc, "Dallas," thrown in. It's clear two or three episodes in that the show doesn't have enough material to keep things moving to the end, so showrunner Steve Blackman (Altered Carbon) and writer Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four) crafted new storylines and expanded others while also remixing a few of the comic's character arcs. Unfortunately, these "bonus" scenes and new subplots rarely work. At times, they're actually detrimental to the characters.

Further Reading: Gerard Way on Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion

This is largely the case for protagonist Vanya Hargreeves (Ellen Page), who is inexplicably thrust into an unnecessary romantic subplot. In the comics, Vanya is an outcast, neglected by the emotionally abusive Sir Reginald and sidelined by her narcissistic siblings. When her father dies, she's lonely and without a support system, harboring a quiet animosity towards her brothers and sisters, who are too busy dealing with their own drama to notice her. They've never let her in, even with her father removed from the equation. So when Vanya makes the choice to leave the family behind and go her own way, it's not really all that surprising.

The show, on the other hand, puts Vanya in an awkward relationship in order to flesh out another major player from the comics. The problem might be that the show never fully commits to the relationship, spoiling a big twist before we're ever really even invested in Vanya's love life. In the end, Vanya's story feels diluted by the additional subplot.

It's all in service of getting this show, which could have easily been two or three episodes shorter, to the finish line. Other annoying additions include a murder mystery surrounding Diego (David Castaneda), the family's robotic caretaker Mom (Jordan Claire Robbins), and their super-intelligent chimpanzee friend Pogo (Adam Godley); and an extended look at time-traveling assassins Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) and Hazel (Cameron Britton), who also falls victim to a strange romantic storyline. In the case of the murder mystery, the family members search for Sir Reginald's missing monocle -- which might provide evidence of foul play in connection to his death -- but it never really goes anywhere. To make matters worse, the show basically gives up on the yarn in the third act, giving the audience the answer with a few lines of exposition.

Meanwhile, troubled, drug-addicted Klaus (Robert Sheehan) gets much more screentime than comic fans might expect, and Sheehan is excellent in the role as if it were written for him. But too often, perhaps inspired by Sheehan's outrageous performance as Nathan Young in Misfits, the character is played for laughs. The result is a joke that begins to feel repetitive. Klaus is nowhere near this dim-witted in the comics. One thing that does work in Klaus' favor is his ability to communicate with the dead, which adds a horror element to the show. When Klaus learns to finally use this power to his advantage in the climactic battle, I absolutely cheered.

Further Reading: The Umbrella Academy Cast on Creating a New Kind of Superhero Show

While all that's going on, knife-wielding Diego, the rogue of the family, also gets a love interest, and it's by far the least interesting love story of all. Why Blackman and Slater felt that the only way to explore many of these characters was through romance is beyond me. In Way and Ba's comic, introspection doesn't come from the romantic, but through the familial ties that bind. For example, in the comic, Diego has to figure out a way to work with Luther, an altruistic hero who is sort of incompetent at being the team's leader, and while at first Diego despises his brother, they end up growing together. In the third arc of the comic, it's Diego, a loner by nature, who has to convince a depressed Luther to get the team back together.

It's clear that everyone involved with this adaptation has real love for the comic, from the way it accurately recreates the young Umbrella Academy's costumes to the camera angles that recall the work of film auteur Wes Anderson, who is a clear influence on both the book and the show (you could almost imagine this as Anderson's very own take on the superhero genre, with all of the beautiful shots and retro zaniness). Blackman and his crew really took the time to make the show look and sound great -- one particular shot of helicopters flying over Vietnam comes to mind -- but it also feels like they don't fully understand what makes Way and Ba's fast-paced, minimalist, vignette-heavy family drama so effective.

Despite my complaints about Vanya's extended storyline, I'm happy to say that Page's performance as the timid and anxious main character of this family tragedy is top notch. She makes the best of every scene she's in, even when her romantic counterpart isn't quite up to the task. Page is subtle in scenes with her over-the-top siblings, layering in claustrophobic loneliness over her deep-seated anger at being the sister everyone always ignores. I loved watching Vanya absolutely lose her shit later in the season, and Page has already given us so much by that point that it's impossible not to sympathize with her character, even as she takes a dark turn that she may not be able to return from.

Number Five, played by Aidan Gallagher, who's spent most of his career on Nickelodeon kids shows, is also a highlight. Gallagher is well-cast and is able to convey the wisdom beyond his years necessary for the role of a 60-year-old hitman trapped inside the body of a 10-year-old (although he's slightly older than that on the show). He rarely cracks a smile as the self-serious Number Five, or partake in his family's childish shenanigans, but when he does let loose, it's entertaining and very funny.

Further Reading: Everything You Need to Know About Avengers: Endgame

This trigger-happy hero-turned-assassin is also one of the few characters who benefit from an expanded storyline. The show dives much deeper into Number Five's backstory, giving us colorful pieces of his backstory the comic never has. Along the way, we learn much more about the secret organization Number Five worked for before rejoining his family in the present day. His interactions with this faction of time-jumping assassins are among the best in the entire series. Here, the show doesn't rely on romance to flesh out a character and it's really refreshing.

Surprisingly, Luther and Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) get the least to do. While at the forefront of the comic, Luther takes a backseat to the characters the people behind the show are really enamored with, like Vanya, Klaus, Number Five, and Diego. On the show, Luther is a bit more bumbling and I had a hard time believing that any of these characters would actually follow him into battle, but there are some high points for him, too. His story is one of self-discovery, as he steps out from under his father's shadow for the first time (this is a man who's never had a drink or done a drug or rebelled against his dad), and it's in Luther's search for clarity as an independent adult for basically the first time that this character shines.

Allison is in the middle of losing a family, even as she regains another. "Hotel Oblivion," the current comic's third arc, begins to explore why Allison, who can alter reality at will by telling lies, has become alienated from her husband and daughter. The show expands on that, showing what created the rift, and it perfectly fits the character.

As the credits roll on an enjoyable final episode, it's hard to call Netflix's The Umbrella Academy a success, but like its troubled family of freaks, it's not a lost cause. There are parts of the series I really liked -- the latter half of Klaus' arc when he's given a bit more depth, a hilarious showdown involving an ice cream truck, and a character's complete infatuation with the torso of a mannequin -- that hint at a freshness that could set it apart from other superhero TV and movies. The Umbrella Academy is at its strongest when it commits to the weirder elements of its story and world, such as the aforementioned talking chimpanzee, and does itself a disservice by trying to ground its characters in needless romance and the menial. Like Vanya herself, there's potential here, the show just needs to go off the deep end first.

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.

2.5/5

Netflix

The Umbrella Academy

Gerard Way

Review John Saavedra

Feb 4, 2019

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