Fanfic Recs / The Umbrella Academy (2019)

Proof that the remaining 10% is worth preventing the apocalypse for.

These are recommendations made by tropers for The Umbrella Academy fanfics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. After a few samples, you will be able to note the interests of the tropers recommending them, and judge whether you might be also interested in a certain 'fic.

Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here^note a copy of the template is just below. Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory. Some people just don't like it, and as we all know, Shipping is Serious Business.

Reviews of fics are encouraged, but if you choose to write one, please make it substantive, and give specific details about what you liked / disliked in the fic. If you want to give a fic a thumbs-up without writing a full review, you can add your troper handle to the Recommendations Line. Please refrain from posting "Comments" or Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.

General

Stories which primarily focus on the normal goings on of the cast.

The Dead Aren’t Good Company by Rosy Page

• Recommended by: Phylomedusa
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: They’d been back in time for less than a month when their father forced Klaus back into the mausoleum. But maybe this time his family can do the right thing.
• Tags: family-bonding, hurt/comfort, Post Season 1

I'm Not Okay (I'm Getting There) by kittykatthetacodemon

• Recommended by: ggoulden1695
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: Between seven adults, even ones as severely damaged as they are, there's got to be at least enough common sense to mimic one semi-functional, competent human. Post-season one, Klaus and his siblings travel around in their own pasts, sort out some of their shit, and relive the week of the apocalypse one last time. This time, they get it right.

istanbul by Utopiste

• Recommended by: ggoulden1695
• Status: Dead; last updated April 2019
• Synopsis: “Why would you do that?” Vanya asks. “After what I did to you-”
• “There’s not that many people who can understand how it feels to be raised by Reginald Hargreeves, you know,” Klaus contributes. “If you’re gone too, who are we going to tell our trauma to? A therapist? Ha. Hard pass.”
• “But I-” Vanya starts to protest, but then Allison’s arms are slung around her shoulders, and she buries her face in her hair, and for a second Ben lets himself hope everything will be alright in the end.
• (Once again, the Umbrella Academy saves the day - not that the day cares much about it one way or another.)

catch and release by sauntering_down

• Recommended by: Sakami
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: Klaus, needing a distraction from his newfound sobriety, decides to go hunting for a missing Number Five in the Argyle Library.
• Comments: An extremely well-written oneshot fanfic that blends comedy with engaging and in-character dialogue. Does a wonderful job of imitating the atmosphere of the show itself. A great take on the relationship between Klaus and Five that is a must-read if you enjoyed their limited interactions in the show.

Sheepdogs by Dog_Bearing_Gifts

• Recommended by: Glitter-Goddess
• Status: Completed series of oneshots, although the author has expressed a willingness to write more within the same continuity. The first one, He Saw the Ghosts, diverges slightly from canon to explore what could have happened if a kinder vet had spoken to Klaus in the VFW. Subsequent installments adhere mostly to canon but bend it a bit.
• Synopsis: A broken young vet walks into a bar. He's drunk, and sobbing over a picture of men he can't possibly know. Somebody wants to kick him out. Somebody else says no.

the desperation murmur of a heartbeat by slytherincosette

• Recommended by: an0mally1827
• Status: Ongoing
• Synopsis: Five makes it his job to protect his siblings, because God knows no one else is going to do it. Instead of jumping forward in time, testing the limits of his powers, he stays. He stays, and he stitches his broken little family back together. And then, one day, they run. AU in which (most of) the Hargreeves siblings run away at age sixteen and do their best to make it on their own. Only they're not really on their own, because they've got each other.

Bizarre For You Is Normal For Us by pupeez4eva

• Recommended by: Gintama200
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: Dave/Klaus is there but not the main focus of this fic.
• Synopsis: A hilarious One-shot of an outside perspective on the Hargreeves family. The poor waitresses.
• Comments: This is a hilarious fic on exactly how bizarre everyday life for the Hargreeves can be to other people and how they react to it.
• Tags: One-shot

Only Way to Help Them is to Let Them Go by 1PB2PB3PB4

• Recommended by: ThisWebsiteIsAWormhole
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: 5 times Diego was there to help Klaus, and why he stopped. Diego being longsuffering and trying to help Klaus' issues while having his own.
• Comments: possibly a bit clunky at times but gives a reasonably convincing narrative of Klaus' and Diego's relationship explaining how they got to the point in the show told from Diego's POV.
• Tags: pre-series

Nutrition Facts by kaulayau

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: Because — Five has opened an infinite number of causal loops. Of chains that close back and back and back, inward and inward — the Commission prides itself on these. This catalyzes this causing this, starting this, finding this. They have collided past the point of recognition. The map in his mind is erasing itself. In other words: Five is losing his memories.
• Tags: post-series

Along the Corridor and Up the Stairs by TheArchaeologist

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: The vacation is Allison’s idea. The road trip is Ben’s. Luther hires the eight-seater car. Klaus picks most of their destinations with a pink marker pen. Diego is their designated driver. Vanya reads the map. Five simply tucks himself into the backseat and tags along for the ride. He does not comment on the way the sight of a stupid pen makes his chest tight, or how stuffy the car becomes without the air conditioning. He does not mention the news, and the terrible, painfully familiar images that come with it.
• Tags: violence, dark, heavy angst

this house is a circus by wearealltalesintheend

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: The one where the Hargreeves decide to visit an Amusement Park and it goes about as well as expected.
• Tags: family bonding

Ashes and Dust by Devilbaby

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: The apocalypse has been diverted...but at what cost?

Partners, Parents, or None of the Above by DarkFairytale

• Recommended by: DanglyLeggedOwl
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: Kenny's mom assuming that Diego and Klaus were A) a couple and B) Number Five’s parents was both bemusing and amusing at the time. But that was because it was the only time it had ever happened. Now though? Now they just can't understand why these misunderstandings keep happening.
• Tags: comedy, bromance

And Then There Was Five by maremote

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: Allison levels the gun at Vanya’s head, and pulls the trigger. AKA The one where Five gets better.
• Comment: Five and Klaus' living together after Vanya's death. Post season 1 AU.

This Lonely Pit in my Stomach by fantasiesdreaming

• Recommended by: LunaLobo
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: In the beginning, Ben just wanted everyone to like him. He wanted to be best friends with his beloved siblings and exchange secrets and gifts and laugh at the movies or whatever else he knew normal kids did from the few snippets of TV they were allowed to watch.

But there's a pit in his stomach, right below the Horror, that's growing heavier and heavier each year.Ben's experiences growing up over the years weigh him down.

• Comment: It's an amazing and gut-wrenching character study about Ben's relationship with his powers and his spiral into depression throughout the years before his death.
• Tags: Angst, Depression, Ben Hargreaves Needs A Hug, Dissociation, Suicidal Thoughts, Character Study, Hurt No Comfort.

Unsinkable by xahra99

• Recommended by: caroline99uk
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: Five makes a promise, regrets it, sinks the Titanic and reaches a turning point.
• Comment: A short and well written one-shot starring Old Five.
• Tags: Violence, Angst, One-shot.

Comes and Goes (in Waves) by hujwernoo

• Recommended by: caroline99uk
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: The apocalypse happens, Five arrives in the rubble, and his entire family is dead. However, one of them has power over ghosts. And even if being dead seriously sucks sometimes, Klaus is going to be there for his brother.
• Comment: A multi-novel length AU in which Klaus is a ghost and "follows his brother around like a discount Casper". Has its own TV tropes page. Needs to be read in order.
• Tags: Violence, Angst, AU.

Prayer for the Living by ama

• Recommended by: KittiePhanatic
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: Instead of going to the VFW, Klaus visits a nearby synagogue to mourn Dave.
• Comment: A very touching, slight-diversion-from-canon story where Klaus is treated with much more compassion from the synagogue members.
• Tags: Grief/Mourning, Judaism

The Shifting Mirrors by Orsumfenix

• Recommended by: Nouct
• Status: Ongoing
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: When Five goes to time travel, he’s stopped by an older version of himself who already made that mistake.
• Comment: An very, very in-depth exploration of what Five's life would have been like if he grew up with his siblings instead of time travelling to the apocalypse from 12 years old to 29 years old. Partially written pre-season 2 but integrates characters and details from season 2.

Creeping Towards Extinction by VIKAN

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: Complete
• Pairings: None
• Synopsis: Five takes a moment to catch his breath in 1963, and manages to lose it all over again in 2019. (Spoilers for Season 2— specifically, 2x10 and (speculatively) beyond)

Crossover Fics

the odds were never in our favor by aletterinthenameofinsanity

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: Complete
• Crossover with: The Hunger Games
• Synopsis: Umbrella Academy AU of the Hunger Games, with the Hargreeves siblings as Mentors/former Victors.

An Unexpected Future by aseies

• Recommended by: Gintama200
• Status: Ongoing
• Crossover with: My Hero Academia
• Synopsis: An AU based on if the Time Commission never existed in the first place and Five instead of time traveling to a apocalypse, teleports 200 years in the future in the middle of the USJ fight. Fast forward to see Five adjusting to his new surrondings while trying to find a way back and gaining two new dads in the process.
• Comments: A fascinating fusion that involves a lot of world building that includes unknown history of the Umbrella Academy being among the first people to be gifted quirks, being heroes and, the mystery of the impact they had in the the modern hero society. Expect a lot of Erasermic and the clashing ideologies between Five and the heroes of the future.

better run from the future by rosewitchx

• Recommended by: Lyra_Dhani
• Status: One-Shot
• Crossover with: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
• Synopsis: Homura, exhausted, looks for options elsewhere. Or, Five, after the end is prevented twice and he finally gets to rest, receives an unexpected visitor.
• Comments: Two time-traveller from two different fandom interacts.

Shipping Fics

Stories whose primary focus is on romantic or sexual relationships between the cast.

None Yet