theacademyforumbrellas

[theacademyforumbrellas]

i dont wanna seem like im projecting here, but klaus hargreeves constantly dealing with ghosts screaming in his ears and flashing before his eyes is a lot like what dealing with ocd is like

like, the constant mental energy it takes to ignore your intrusive thoughts and blink disturbing images away, resist compulsions, and calm yourself down is so similar to how klaus’s struggles are portrayed. and for someone who doesnt have ocd, i think this is a good character to look at to help better understand the disorder.

you also get to see him turn to drugs to keep the ghosts away, which many people struggling with ocd do. the disorder is often comorbid with anxiety and depression, and many sufferers become addicts or alcoholics and attempt suicide because of ocd and the constant suffering it brings with it.

[theacademyforumbrellas]

I wish I didn’t feel like I’m never enough

[theacademyforumbrellas]

☂️  the umbrella academy:

hargreeves siblings + first words

[theacademyforumbrellas]

hey, it's okay if the only thing you did for pride was exist. i'm glad & grateful you are in the world. your survival is a celebration.

[theacademyforumbrellas]

I’m sorry I haven’t done the TUA pride month my cat almost died from a urinary blockage (two weeks in the hospital and one week of intensive, supervised care at home). He’s doing well now but my OCD is completely crashing.

[theacademyforumbrellas]

literally all i want is to fall asleep on someone

that’s it

that’s all

i’m very tired and i want to lay my head on someone’s stomach and have them run their fingers through my hair and sleep

[theacademyforumbrellas]

Umbrella Academy family please help save my cat!

     Please help us save our cat. He is a four-year-old brown mackerel tabby named Mouse and we love him so much. He has a urinary blockage that recurred after he was unblocked on Friday night. Urinary obstruction in male cats is a terrible illness; Mouse will die within two days if he does not receive treatment. Our vet has recommended a surgery that will prevent future blockages but the total cost, including care until the surgery can be done, will be over $ 6000. Mouse is such an amazing cat. My sister was hospitalized for over four months last year after a horrible car accident. Our love for Mouse gave her strength and hope and helped us all see her through to full recovery but we we are still suffering from the financial impact of that ordeal. When we visited Mouse in the hospital yesterday he gave us so much love. He is very sweet and affectionate. We do not want to lose him! Please consider donating to save our beautiful little Mouse. Please reblog!                                                            

Here’s the gofundme:                                 

https://www.gofundme.com/99xdgd-save-mouse?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_dn_cpgnsharebartop_r&fbclid=IwAR1EB8mGlhN18R-ImeVid7yMVpQCYgQ8f92_k1k6YIUW4vLl7GB_dGlOyzE

[theacademyforumbrellas]

just wanted to say I love your talking sense in TUA community! Much needed imho. I've agreed with every point you make an it's refreshing to see someone see this complicated show as more than just black and white characters making black and white choices.

Thank you! And thank you for saying it—reading this ask made my day. I have a lot of Thoughts and Feels about this show, and seeing them resonate with others is amazing. 

As far as brushing the complexity of the show aside….you know, I get that it’s human nature to brush off the flaws of characters we identify with—hell, I’ve done it before, and I know I still do it—but with TUA the characters’ flaws are…kind of the point? Gerard Way said of the comics that a central theme was “we’re all messed up and we need each other.” It’s kind of difficult to portray that without writing characters who are actually messed up with deep flaws. So when I see fans trying to reduce the show down to “Vanya is the victim and everyone else is the villain” (didn’t see it stated on this site, but that’s more or less an exact quote from elsewhere) or “Luther is just like his dad and his siblings need to stand up to him,” I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make my eye twitch just a teensy bit. Each sibling represents a different response to abuse, a different way that abuse can fuck you up. Everyone is a victim and everyone is a villain, but everyone is a hero too. Reducing that down to black and white characters making black and white choices robs the show of its appeal. 

[theacademyforumbrellas]

YES!

Ok I have a wish proposal…

Umbrella Academy Funko Pops!

Thank you and goodnight!

[theacademyforumbrellas]

I’d like to be tagged please! <3

//Ok, so since it’s almost the end of the month, I’m getting the list of Tua Pride Month prompts together (I’m almost done) so does anyone want me to tag them when I release them? I think a tag list would be good, so if you want to be apart of the tag list either reblog saying you do, shoot me an ask, or dm me. (I will be tagging the people who helped me come up with the prompts as well, so if you’re on of these ppl don’t worry)

Also, in case anyone’s wondering, (most of) these prompts work for any medium (art, writing, etc.)

[theacademyforumbrellas]

not in the right frame of mind

[theacademyforumbrellas]

Klaus:  Look, all of Diego’s weapons are gone.

Allison: But I thought he kept his weapons in his vigilante suit?

Klaus: No, those are his everyday weapons. These were his good weapons - the ones he breaks out when company comes to visit.

[theacademyforumbrellas]

People in this fandom like to single out one specific sibling as Just The Worst. Usually that’s Luther, but I’ve seen it with others, too. And here’s why that doesn’t work: 

Luther locked Vanya up in a soundproofed room, ignored the advice of his siblings, and went into “take her down” mode instead of “let’s try and help her” mode once she snapped. He accused his siblings of murdering their own dad and often defended the man who abused them all for years.

Diego didn’t just push Vanya away—he pushed everyone away. His cutting remarks toward Vanya are the ones most often referenced, but he makes them toward everyone. He takes a dig at Allison’s divorce, makes a lewd remark about Luther’s body (of which he is incredibly self-conscious) and calls Klaus “stoner boy.” The only reason he’s given a pass for Klaus is because he’s shown to genuinely care for him, but that’s the lone exception. He also allowed his lust for revenge to distract him from the more important business of saving the world, not realizing or caring until the last minute that revenge would have been the opposite of what Eudora wanted.

Allison abused the hell out of her power, turning her own daughter into a puppet when she didn’t feel like being a proper parent and quite possibly mind-controlled Patrick into falling for her. She also allowed her emotions to get the better of her, lashing out at Vanya for the crime of trying to be nice.

Klaus hasn’t been sober in 17 years, as we’re well aware, but the darkest sides of his addiction are only hinted at in the show and rarely brought up by fans. Suffice it to say, the fact he’s been to prison, been in and out of rehab centers, and isn’t trusted by any of his siblings attest to many, many years of betraying his family to get high. 

Five is a condescending asshole. Yes, he’s a 58-year-old man in a child’s body, but that in no way excuses the way he treats his siblings. Age and experience are no excuse for telling your brother “I don’t think I’m better than you, I know I am” or telling your newly-sober and still-fragile brother “You’d know that if you were actually sober.” 

Ben doesn’t get as much screen time as the others, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only decent one. While it’s true he’s the only one who cares to try and push Klaus away from drug abuse, saying “Oh, waaahhh, I have it worse because I have to stay here and watch you be a dumbass” while Klaus is losing his mind to torture goes a step or three beyond tough love.

Vanya could have approached her siblings in private, told them how much they’d hurt her, and given them a chance to apologize. Instead, she decided to tell the world that they were all shitheads who had it better than she did, and played the victim when they hated her for it. She also took swipes at Allison, the only sibling making a concerted effort to be her friend, and ended life on Earth as we know it.

You see? You can’t single one sibling out as Just The Worst because, if you look at their actions objectively, they’re all Just The Worst. They’re all damaged by their upbringing, and they’ve all damaged each other. They’ve all done shitty things and have had shitty things done to them.

Now, you might be tempted to defend your favorite sibling, point out that they’re actually Just The Best. I’ve got both good and bad news for you, pal, because….

Luther not only tries to treat Vanya as an equal—giving her a chance to speak in family meetings, speaking to her and not over her—he accepts all his siblings unequivocally. He has no reaction to Klaus twirling around in a skirt, listens without judgement to Allison’s confessions of power abuse, makes no remarks about Delores. He apologizes quickly when he realizes accusing his siblings of murder was shitty, wrote poetry on the moon, and has great taste in 80s music.

Diego might be abrasive toward his siblings, but he sticks by a drunk and distraught Klaus long enough to figure out what’s wrong and is quick to empathize with Vanya when she too is locked up on suspicion alone. He tries to get Luther to recognize his own abuse as such, adores his mom, and, despite the stormy nature of their relationship, clearly treated Eudora well.

Allison is quick to realize she was wrong to mistreat her sister, both recently and as a child, and moves to make amends—and keeps it up even when Vanya purposely treats her poorly. She accepts responsibility for her power abuse and her spoiled attitude and defends the person who robbed her of her powers.

Klaus is probably the most empathetic of his siblings, and he’s not afraid to hide it. Even when suffering, he takes the time to comfort Luther and defends him at the cost of his life. When he confronts Reginald, he doesn’t only bring up his own abuse—no, he calls Reggie on the carpet for how he treated all his children. Even after he’s been demoted to lookout, he discovers a new power because he wanted to protect his siblings.

Five survived over 30 years in a post-apocalyptic wasteland because he thought he might stand a chance at going back and preventing the deaths of his siblings. When he accepts the Handler’s offer, it’s with the understanding that she will ensure his siblings survive. Everything he does is motivated by the chance of keeping his siblings alive. If that’s not loyalty, then I don’t know what is.

Ben doesn’t have to stick with Klaus. We see him walk away and vanish while Diego ties him up. He chooses to stay with him, give him someone to talk to, and fight a losing battle to push him toward sobriety—and when Klaus is about to give up and relapse, he accepts none of that bullshit.

Vanya may have been excluded by her siblings all her life, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about them. When Allison takes her to task for trying to be nice, she later calls to check up on her and make sure she’s okay. When she thinks she’s killed Allison, rather than running from consequences, she returns to the Academy just to apologize.

You can’t single one sibling out as Just The Best, either, because they’re all Just The Best. They’ve all done shitty things, but they’ve also done caring and even heroic things. They’ve all suffered and they’ve all made others suffer, but they’ve also tried to alleviate that suffering.

This show isn’t about one horrible sibling who makes their siblings’ lives hell. It’s about seven siblings, who are all horrible and all wonderful, trying to heal from the scars of their past. This show is best enjoyed when you take their flaws alongside their virtues, and appreciate them for the fantastically complex characters they are.

[theacademyforumbrellas]

so a witch curses a princess that wronged her but…

aqua © @parfaitperi

[theacademyforumbrellas]

Klaus singing to Dave: “Yeah, it's plain to see that baby you're beautiful and there's nothing wrong with you. It's me ' I'm a freak. But thanks for lovin' me 'cause you're doing it perfectly.”

[theacademyforumbrellas]

vanya, trying to come out to her siblings: i’m bi!

allison: say it again, i couldn’t hear you.

vanya: oops sorry, autocorrect. i meant i’m back home lol.

luther:

diego:

allison:

klaus:

five:

ben:

klaus: stop being so rude guys her autocorrect was on.

ben: klaus, were having a conversation in real life. not on a phone.

[theacademyforumbrellas]

Luther would absolutely not let Grace or Pogo take him to the infirmary even if he had a high fever or was delirious as fuck. He’d flip shit if he woke up on that table in the infirmary, especially if they were there with him, because they were partly responsible for administering the serum. He would need someone else to be there to watch over him like he did with Allison(that scene is so heartbreaking because he clearly has PTSD about that and can’t trust Pogo and Grace). If he woke up and saw them he’d have a full blown panic attack x2 because the last time he woke up on that table he’d been mutilated and he is triggered by them too. Honestly like the more delirious he was the more upset he would get. And it’s sad because grace probably took care of him whenever he was sick leading up to that and feels awful when he reacts to her like this.