'Klaus blinks into the mug in his hands, shaking and in danger of spilling. The book sits between them on the couch, her own face looking up at her, searching, accusing.'
One of the many interesting thing about Netflix series The Umbrella Academy
is the knowledge that this team of superheroes - these
children - were famous as kids.
Fame is something that has to be handled very delicately when it comes to
children - as the self-destructive tendencies, and generally poor mental
health, of many former child-stars, shows.
So the first series (and I am soooo excited for when the
second series releases on 31st July!!!)
introduces us to this group of former child stars, who also happened to be
child soldiers.
The 'ordinary' sister, Vanya, managed to get her own 15 minutes of fame in the
form of a tell-all book about her life as the non-super-powered sibling.
We're not told what exactly was said in the book, (at
least, not as of the end of series 1,)
but we're given the siblings' reactions to it - which are
not positive.
...All of which is fertile ground to plant the seeds of fanfiction in!
Which brings us to this week's fic.
What I like about this fic is that it explores the fuzzy line between fact
and fiction - Vanya's interpretation of her siblings' personalities and
actions is based on what she sees and what she knows.
...But she never saw everything.
And she very much viewed what she did see of her siblings' lives from
the perspective of the kid who was left out of everything. The one who didn't
get the attention, didn't get to join in with the others.
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...But you still tried to, Vanya! Via Giphy |
And now that she's confronted with Klaus' perspective of their
upbringing... she's struggling to decide what she actually remembers, and
what she just remembers writing.
It's really interesting - how much of how she views her brothers and sister is
based on her own description of them, rather than their childhood?
A few content warnings for this one, dearest nerdlets:
- drug/substance abuse
- childhood trauma
- child abuse
- child soldiers
- homelessness
- bereavement/grief
- family issues
(Oh, and there may be some mild spoilers for series 1.)
This week's fic, then, is:
unseen, unheard
by EllisLuie
Would you ever write a tell-all book about your
family?
If they were famous, would you be tempted to?
Talk to me! 😊💬
Related Reading:
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Last updated: 2nd December 2020
My grandmother actually told me I should write a book about her life. But, idk. I wouldn't want to annoy any of her family members who did not consent to having themselves put into a book. I guess name changing is the way to go!
ReplyDeleteHa, name-changing sounds like a plan, tbh. In Victorian times etc., they used to just use initials if they didn't want their butts sued, like 'and then M - a prominent member of society - informed me that his sh** did not, in fact, stink. Which I didn't believe, since he'd defecated in the corner, and there was quite an odour.'
Delete(...I'm in an odd mood this morning, sorry!)
I think if I was Trump's neice, Mary, who's recently written a book, I'd kind of *have* to, y'know? But if your relative is in a band or whatever, and hasn't committed any crimes or anything, then a tell-all might not be the way to go!