I know this spits in the face of fanon, but I firmly believe that Farkas is not actually afraid of spiders, as hilarious as that would be. When playing through the Companions questline again recently, I noticed that when you tell Farkas about Skjor's death, he first reflects on his feelings and then immediately says he needs to find his brother. I headcanon that the more moderated reaction we get from Vilkas is after Farkas has had time to talk some sense into him and let him blow off some steam. Then later in Ysgramor's Tomb, when Farkas says his bit about spiders, he specifically says that he's going to stay behind with Vilkas.
In the same way that Vilkas looks out for Farkas to keep him from being led astray or being taken advantage of because of his trusting nature, Farkas tries to keep Vilkas from being swept away by his feelings. He knows his brother is his own worst enemy and he shouldn't be left alone in a dark, haunted tomb in the middle of nowhere with nothing but his grief and self-loathing.
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The fact that the twins grew up in Jorrvaskr and remain there as Companions is a very unique situation with quite a few implications for how they relate to the other Companions and to themselves. It seems like living in one's parents' home until marriage is reasonably typical in Skyrim. It is unprecedented for a Companion, however, to have the same connection to Jorrvaskr. The people that saw each of the other Companions grow up are elsewhere. It would be very odd to have all of the Companions know these two shield-brothers as children.
For Farkas, we see this odd situation in how his image is so solidified and doesn't always match up with the truth of his personality and talents. I think Farkas just accepts this fact and lives into it. He's strong, nice, and not so smart himbo in everyone's eyes and he's not going to be able to change it, so he gets it to work for him as much as he can. We know it does get to him when he says that the people who don't think he's smart get his fist. That could be why he goes out of his way to support the Dragonborn when we arrive and everyone is saying we're kinda useless-looking. He may also see this as an opportunity to make a friend who will judge him for how he is now, and not as he was growing up.
For Vilkas, it means that he has a child-like impression of his elders. We see his when Skjor dies and he says that he always saw Skjor as "invincible." I think it's also where a lot of his anger comes from with the Beast Blood issue. He has never had to question his worldview before and if that's wrong, what else could also be wrong? He, too, seems to have been labeled. He's "the hot-head" and been allowed to just run with it, be a total jerk face to whomever he wants and no one does much to stop him. People are just like, "That's just Vilkas. What are you gonna do?" As good of a teacher as he may be, I also think his attitude is a big reason there are so many empty beds at Jorrvaskr. Not many people would keep putting up with that for too long.
"You keep complaining about not being allowed into combat..." Vilkas to Torvar, Winds of Change, ch 2
Based on this in-game conversation.
Farkas: "You'll do all right some day. Today you need to keep training, though."
Torvar: "Enough with the training. I want to go fight something."
Farkas: "No fighting just yet. Not till Skjor says so. We train now."
Torvar: "Easy for you to say. You get to fight."
Farkas: "But before I fought, I had to train."
The fact that the Glenmoril covens seem able to maintain their populations without admitting men into their number is also an object of suspicion for those who live in their vicinities. There is an age-old libel that the Wyrd Sisters replenish themselves by stealing girl-children from neighboring farms, but such a practice has never been documented (except in the case of the notorious Fen Witches of Hjaalmarch—but they worship Molag Bal, and child-abduction is the least of their objectionable habits). My inquiries, which have been extensive, lead me to the conclusion that in most cases covens gain new members when unwanted girl-children are brought to them by distressed parents. (What happens to unwanted boy-children in the northern regions is probably a question best left unasked.) --- The Glenmoril Wyrd by Lady Cinnabar of Taneth
This is where the idea for the prologue came from. We know that that twins were rescued from necromancers. As worshipers of Molag Bal, the Fen Witches would surely have been necromancers. We do not encounter them in-game, so the Companions wiping them out would be reason for that.
I also wondered that necromancers would want with them in the first place. Their being identical twins would seemed to be a likely reason. Assuming that the witches were doing something Molagy to the twins, it would probably have some sort of lasting effect.
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Farkas seems like such a hugger. Ria maybe to a lesser extent, but Farkas is definitely the hugger of the Companions. I'm talking great big, squashy bear hugs. When he says to the dragonborn, "Some people don't think I'm smart. Those people get my fist. But you, I like." it totally means we're in for some hugs (which could be hilarious depending on the dragonborn).
Vilkas also gets hugged. Farkas knows it embarrasses him, so he tries to restrain himself, but sometimes he just can't help it. He just has so much love, he has to express it sometimes. Also, Vilkas needs a hug now and again whether or not he will admit it.
At first I thought it was an odd choice that the game pairs Vilkas and Ria as mentor/protege. Once I started writing them though, I think they're so perfect and I adore them.
When the dragonborn starts out with the Companions, Farkas and Ria are the ones who are nice to them. They have similar dispositions. With that in mind, it seems quite natural that she would be paired with Vilkas. She would be patient with his mercurial personality and her similarity to Farkas would inspire siblingly fondness that doesn't come easily to him otherwise.
Ria's lines about wanting to train with Aela provided food for thought, because Ria obviously has some hang-up about training with Vilkas. A lot of people headcanon that she's crushing on Aela, which is a totally valid interpretation. However, it also seems natural that, Ria, a woman (and the newbie), would want to go out into the wilderness with another woman and not a much more skilled man with a nasty temper.
No need to read on if you don't care about fic-specific stuff.
That was where I decided to tie those lines in with Ria's backstory. She seemed really well-adjusted, like she had a stable, loving family life. Yet she is here with the Companions, calling them her family. I gave her an older sister who was going to join up with her. The sister gets double-crossed by a hired trainer and doesn't survive.
After that Ria's parents have a difficult time seeing her training. They want her to quit and stay safe with them. Ria, however, wants to get into the Companions even more in her sister's honor. A bit of a rift forms between them on that front. They are very proud of Ria and she writes they often so they know she is okay. Still, the day she left for Jorrvaskr was extremely bittersweet.
Vilkas' bad experience with Arnbjorn (heretofore only hinted at in the fic) ended up countering Ria's worries and allow her to begin tentatively trusting him and kicking Vilkas' protectiveness of her up a notch. I really like Ria and want to write more for her. Hopefully, time and space will allow it.
