Viktor: Synonyms Are Weird Because If You Invite Someone To Your Cottage In The Forest, That Sounds Nice

I’m so happy that a majority of the tua fandom love Viktor Hargreeves. However, seeing the few transphobes that are upset by Viktor’s transition is very funny—especially when they argue that it’s “unrealistic.”

My brothers in christ, this show contains children with super powers, time travel, a talking monkey, a half monkey man, a fucking magical CUBE, and so much more. A trans character is quite literally the most realistic part of this show.

I kinda keep forgetting their situation as something that's tremendously traumatic, which is probably due to how often it happens. 😅 With that, yeah, I should have also considered "why" they're doing it and if it would be something they'd stop doing once the traumatic situation ended, which we can see some of them not drink until they find out the world is ending again (or in Allison's case in S3 she starts drinking when she realized Claire isn't in the current timeline and later on drinking and smoking).

I agree that I wish there were more episodes because not only do I want to get an answer to some of the questions we all have, like Allison's current situation, but I also want to see Klaus at least managing his addictions and maybe even having help from everyone. By then, not only would he be in a different environment that isn't as similar as his environment in S1 (and hopefully no impending doom like S2 and S3), but he'd also have a support system that he needs and wants. I want to see him get sober and not just because it's nice to see character development that's good for them and their wellbeing, but also because I'd love to see more media portray that if you're suffering from addictions it doesn't mean your life is completely ruined. I don't want his addictions in S1 to be seen as "some quirky thing we can added to him that we'll never talk about again". I'd also love to see him turn down an alcoholic drink because he knows it'll affect him negatively or his siblings always make him mocktails and such with everyone else so he doesn't feel so alone. I'd be surprised if we get any of that in S4, but a man can dream.

I saw your post talking about Klaus' addiction and how his family plays into the role of how society tends to treat addicts, which I totally agree on and I'm so thankful to see others speak up on it, but I also wanted to bring up that there's even more issues with how some people in the fandom, and society as well, treat addiction.

A lot of society only treats addicts horribly if their drug(s) of choice are "hard drugs". Nobody sees Allison's smoking cigarettes in S3 or all the drinking done in all seasons as an addiction because they've been so normalized. They're so normalized that there are hundreds of shows that show a lot of drinking and/or smoking cigarettes/cigars and hardly anyone considers any of those characters as addicts.

And I think that also plays into the way Klaus' siblings treated him while struggling with addiction because they participate in it too, but they never get called an addict because their addictions are "normal". "Why can't Klaus just drink like everyone else and not do 'hard drugs'"?

Oh absolutely, I did actually get into this a bit in a follow-up post (here)

And like, addictive behaviours can latch onto anything. Gambling, exercise, food, shopping, music, sex, gaming... if it gives a moment of happiness and dopamine it can become maladaptive as an outlet and an escape...

Alcohol causes much more social and physical harm than many "hard" drugs, and in much smaller quantities, despite being much more socially acceptable. And it isn't criminalized in the same ways (which is good, because criminalizing a health issue is wrong and doesn't work, because social rejection and judgment force people deeper into addiction, and by making things illegal you create black markets and fund organised crime and really do everything to increase the problem at hand).

And you're right in that the siblings (and society) treat drinking (and smoking) as different, even with Klaus who is very much an alcoholic...

Because many people do turn to bad habits and alcohol during bad times.

But it is interesting to note that while a large number of the siblings are self-medicating during that time due to their level of alcohol use, and in a very unhealthy way, it doesn't necessarily mean they're addicts as well. Or rather, not addicts in the same way as Klaus.

I'm reminded of a study done about drug use, particularly heroin usage, by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Where drug use was ubiquitous and at incredibly high levels. And yet when most of these soldiers returned home they stopped using it entirely (and this is a physical dependency causing substance, so unsupervised withdrawal can easily kill a person).

Because they were no longer in the situation they wanted to escape.

Of course not every soldier stopped using, and the homeless, addicted veteran is a well-known figure in the popular consciousness for a very real reason. But often those soldiers who kept using weren't coming back to any sort of support system or a good situation at all. And there was, and still is, a huge lack of support for the trauma inflicted by war on those forced into it ( I say as someone who had half their family conscripted into a Cold War related war, even if it wasn't the Vietnam War specifically).

It was something of a real-life example of the Rat Park experiment, which has trended on Tumblr before, and also illustrated how connected addicted behaviours are to the environment that people are in...

But this is to me part of why they treat their behaviour as "different" and why they also don't bother Klaus about his drinking in s2 and 3, even as he consumes much more than any of them and started carrying a flask again that he's seen drinking from constantly, even in the less stressful situations he's in since he first relapsed s2...

Because he can't stop once he started again.

The others can't comment on his drinking, if they even notice it with everyone being so wrapped up in their own things, because they're all also drinking at unhealthy levels, particularly in s3, and it's the end of the world so from their perspective, "fuck it!". But even though their own dependency at that point is unhealthy, it's still not at the same level as Klaus's...

Because there is nuance when it comes to addiction and dependence and situational dependency and so much else...

But it is also cause for them to finally sympathise and recognise that "there goes them but for the grace of god", because they really aren't as different as they would like to think... (which tbh, it seems like Luther got after s1, given how he's treated Klaus since)

This is another reason why I'm also so sad about the 6 episode announcement. Because these things being addressed would be best without the apocalypse hanging over them all and giving them the excuse to ignore stuff

But yeah, I think they're gonna be stretched to try and wrap up the plot, and character development and moments are gonna be sacrificed...

Anyway, I have so many thoughts about these topics, and I am so thankful for every ask that allows me to indulge in me thinking my thoughts!

me after finding out that the founder of the Commission turns out to be some other version of Five:

Klaus: I wasn’t that drunk.

Viktor: You colored my face with a highlighter because you said I was important.

Klaus: BECAUSE YOU ARE!

Actually screaming on the inside at how they basically told queerphobes and exclus to please fuck off and explicitly included us aspecs even beyond aesthetics like the pride flags and nail polishes

okay maybe I’m biased, but did it bother anyone else how literally none of the characters acknowledge that Harlan /is/ like family to Viktor? When they’re deciding whether or not to give him to the Sparrows it’s always “Harlan saved our lives” or “Viktor owes Harlan for giving him powers”. Not “Viktor partly raised him” or “Harlan is like a son to Viktor”. Family is soooo important but Harlan doesn’t get to count?

netflix… if i see you in the streets…

PLEASE never let Five Hargreeves find out about irish coffee that man would go BALLISTIC if he does