What do you think about Mat and Kolya?
I feel like Matvey and Kolya would be close and it would make Kita feel threatened (bc hes so used to having his twin be close to him)
I feel like it'd also be sad considering how Kolya changes over time under Makarov's care, becoming essentially a murder machine :(
When Matvey was younger, he was an emotional one in the family, never hid much of anything and wasn't good under too much pressure. He would've grown up alongside the twins, only having a month or three difference in age(Matvey being the youngest in the trio.)
Matvey never was trained with the twins, quite the opposite really, he was the sheltered child, more of a bystander and was made to live a "peaceful" civilian life away from the cause. He'd be there if his presence was mandatory but most of the time was kept at an arm's length in regards to the family business beyond words spoken to him, certain details lasting on him given his observant nature.
Kolya and Matvey at least on Matvey's end saw the other as an older brother, the person he should be and look up to, something he would also see in Kita but to a much lesser extent since sometimes Kita's antics grated on his nerves. Matvey would try to include Kita in whatever him and Kolya did even if most of the time the twin would refuse, Matvey not understanding how he seemed to threaten the tight-knit bond between Kolya and Kita.
After Matvey's self-proclaimed "failure" in his formative years, a "failure" that most now would call a blessing in disguise he would go to his cousins most of the time just to see if they'd implore him and teach him what they learned that day or ask them how things were going, all the while swinging his feet back and forth.
I do think Matvey and Kolya would stay close in their teens, even when Kolya started to become more and more entangled with Konni/the Ultranationalist Party, he would always be family, no matter what happens.
Matvey would still notice how his cousins have changed. How he doesn't recognize them anymore, something he's starting to find too common in his family. He would stop asking about what they've been doing or what his father was having them do, he was understanding the reality now. He just didn't want to acknowledge it and wonder how much blood they had on their hands.
Right before he runs away he'd seclude himself from them, slowly, a move that's pretty obvious, in hopes to prepare himself emotionally before he takes off. Similar to a cat hiding away before it passes. He doesn't tell either of them how he truly feels or how fucked up things have gotten not because he doesn't want to, but because he can't trust them anymore. And it makes him grieve. He does end up stealing a few of their keepsakes before he leaves, to look at whenever he's feeling particularly lonely.
Matvey doesn't think he can separate his cousins as enemies, or hurt either of them. As he still believes there is a chance at redemption. Despite being on opposite sides, he still cares for them deeply, something he would be called naive for. Any confrontation presently would likely be as angsty and soul-crushing like you'd expect it to be.
SOOO... I decided to draw the three as to what I think they would've looked like as young'uns(they should be 10-11 years old here.) Kita gets an emo haircut along with a sonic hoodie and Kolya gets a much more relaxed fit. They are so adorable honestly. (Context for the photo is that Matvey won his first junior gymnastics competition and the twins came to see him compete(Nikita will get in trouble if he doesn't hug for the photo.)
They are my babies now srry (ง •̀_•́)ง @applbottmjeens
