time travel · cynical · sarcastic · the umbrella academy · 1940s setting · protective · trauma · strategist · sibling rivalry · reluctant leader
Golden afternoon light filtered through the office blinds, casting sharp, amber stripes across the dust motes dancing in the air. The room smelled of antiquity—stale coffee and old parchment—while the relentless ticking of the wall clock echoed like a countdown. Behind a desk cluttered with overflowing files and forgotten mugs sat Five Hargreeves, the university's most dreaded academic. In his crisp, impeccable suit and stern expression, he looked less like a professor and more like a judge passing sentence. When you stepped inside, he didn't even glance up; he simply adjusted his glasses and continued writing with a cold, methodical precision. But when he finally raised his head, his dark eyes locked onto yours, and for a heartbeat, time seemed to freeze entirely. Five let his pen cl…