Translation of the German text at the bottom.

This is, chronologically, right before the start of the Sense8 canon. Which will be the first bigger thing in this series, but I have to get something else done before for spoiler reasons.

If this series interests you, I highly recommend switching to reading on Ao3, as this has been posted there already for months and I can see that happening again.

a symbol to remind you

The thing is, Wolfgang was not the kind of guy who tends to read autobiographies. He really isn't. He can't stand all of that self-important talk, no thank you. He got enough of that when talking to the people he, unfortunately, shared blood with.

That doesn't mean that he is not an avid reader — he adores a good sci-fi novel about as much as a casting show, honestly — but it does mean that it takes him a while to notice the release of a very important book.

(Though admittedly, given his habit to just get as many books as he can carry shortly after a heist and read through them all before he goes again, maybe Wolfgang still would have taken a while to notice this book even if he was in the habit of reading biographies.)

Wolfgang first hears about it from a girl who would have been a one night stand — he's pretty sure — if she had mentioned literally any other book at that moment.

But she mentions this one, and he is instantly removed from the thoughts he had previously.

"Tschuldigung, was hast du gesagt?"

"Ich sagte ich lese gerade Äußerst Gewöhnlich. Oder, nun ja, technisch gesehen Extra Ordinary, da ich's im original Englisch lese. Erinnerst du dich noch an die Umbrella Academy? Diese Kinder mit Superkräften? Scheinbar gibt es ein siebtes Kind, Vanya Hargreeves, und hier erzählt sie ihre Geschichte."

He's not even aware that he froze until he's moving again.

"Tut mir Leid, aber ich muss dass hier früher beenden. Ich muss los," he quickly excuses himself. It's ruder than he prefers to be — he isn't his father, after all — but this is a special situation that requires his immediate attention. He can't let this wait any longer, especially since he currently still has a chance to make it to a bookstore in one of the major train stations, but even they'll be closing within the hour.

(It's one of the rare times he appreciates the fact that these stations exist. He'd probably do it more if he left Berlin more frequently, sure.

But then he would have to deal with the annoyance that is the Deutsche Bahn more often so no, thank you, he's staying here until he has a reason to leave.)

Wolfgang quickly puts his shoes back on, grabs his jacket, and is out of the door before dear Lisa really knows what's going on, especially since he's not responding to her questions.

A part of him pities her, but the majority of him is not sorry for his behavior at all.

(This is a family matter, after all. Way more important than a woman he had met this very night. Which isn't to say that she deserves this at all but this is a question of priority and he knows where and what his are.)

He just barely makes it to the store in time and tips the employee about half of the actual cost of the book to make up for the fact that he leaves a minute or two after the actual closing time. That's just the decent thing to do, really.

He takes a tram for a handful of stops, even though it's something he's usually consider walking distance because Felix — who's not the type to read much outside of novels connected to games, shows, and movies he likes, if that — needs to know about this as soon as possible and Wolfgang is pretty sure that his sprint isn't quite that fast.

Which is why he's now standing in front of his brother's home before midnight when just hours earlier he had gleefully announced that he'd be going out while Felix was stuck at home with the paperwork for his shop.

"Schon wieder zurück?" Felix asks without even bothering to look up when Wolfgang entered the shop. Obviously, the shop was closed and locked at this time, but just as obviously Wolfgang had a key. "Ohne mich kriegst du keine ab, hm?"

"Doch doch," he assurs his brother. "Auch wenn sie mich wahrscheinlich jetzt hasst. Was ich auch verdiene. Hab sie immerhin ohne Erklärung sitzen lassen."

Felix frowns. "Warum zur Hölle hast du denn das gemacht?"

"Weil sich herausgestellt hat, dass ich etwas wichtigeres zu tun habe," he replies and gets the book out of the bag and drops on the table before Felix can finish his question.

"Ein Buch, Wolfie? Was könnte ein Buch-" Felix wonders as he sets down the pen. Then he stops, clearly having read the cover. "Ah. Ich verstehe."

And for a moment or two, they both just sit there — well, technically Wolfgang is leaning against the table, but semantics — before Felix grabs the book and opens it to the table of contents. "Ich mein, das muss ja besser sein, als das, was die Klatschblätter über ihn zu sagen haben, oder nicht?"

"Die Autorin ist seine Schwester," Wolfgang agrees. Surely Vanya had to portray him in a better light than all of those gossip rags had been doing ever since Klaus had hit puberty. Or thereabouts.

(A quick side note: since Wolfgang is Felix's brother and Felix and Klaus are brothers and him and Vanya are siblings, does that mean that Wolfgang and Vanya are siblings? Wolfgang likes to think so, even if he is fully aware that it will take him a minute to warm up to her and the others. He definitely likes the idea of trying, if they are up for it.)

The table of contents reveals that there's a handful of chapters about the childhood before Vanya switches over to discuss the other six Hargreeves children. Felix immediately turns to Klaus's chapter and Wolfgang moves behind him to start reading over his shoulder.

(There is also a chapter named 'Pogo and Grace' which tells Wolfgang absolutely nothing. He's going to take the time to read and understand it all eventually, but for now, learning about Klaus is a priority).

Of course, they know the basics. They know what the Umbrella Academy is, obviously, and they could probably give a more detailed overview of the missions and interviews done by the group than most.

And while Allision Hargreeves' fame is hard to miss these days, the other siblings seem to have disappeared from the face of the planet if one is going by press coverage, so this is a godsend, truly.

Klaus's chapter is…

It's not good. That's not a comment on the writing style or on Vanya's attitude towards Klaus — though there are some sections that Wolfgang imagines Felix would like to have a few words over — but towards the content. They had figured that his life wasn't as great as the interviews had tried to make it seem a while ago — after all Reginald Hargreeves is a major fucking asshole, so there was no chance in hell that he was the perfect parental figure. This, however, was so much worse than expected.

Vanya openly admits that she doesn't know all the things her siblings went through in the opening words of the chapter — it sounds like she is reiterating it, too. The things that she does know are more than enough to horrify them.

They read about how Klaus had been considered one of the disappointments of the family — next to Vanya herself — by Sir Asshole for about as long as they can remember and how it had only gotten worse from there. How Klaus had slipped into drugs and alcohol at an incredibly young age and how none of the siblings had done all that much to prevent it — which Vanya, to her credit, makes it quite clear that she at least regrets that. They learn how Klaus had gotten even worse after the death of Ben and how Vanya hadn't seen Klaus in years, despite the fact that neither of them had moved out of the city they had been raised in, but that when she had last seen him, Klaus had been living on the street and that there was no reason to assume this changed.

Once they are finished with this depressing chapter, Wolfgang and Felix looked at each other.

"Das kann so nicht weitergehen," Felix says once he has recovered enough to find his words again. "Wir müssen irgendwas tun."

"Ich weiß," Wolfgang replies.

And with that, they start planning.

Tschuldigung, was hast du gesagt? - Sorry, what did you say?
Ich sagte ich lese gerade Äußerst Gewöhnlich. Oder, nun ja, technisch gesehen Extra Ordinary, da ich's im original Englisch lese. Erinnerst du dich noch an die Umbrella Academy? Diese Kinder mit Superkräften? Scheinbar gibt es ein siebtes Kind, Vanya Hargreeves, und hier erzählt sie ihre Geschichte - I said I'm currently reading Äußerst Gewöhnlich. Or, well, technically Extra Ordinary, since I'm reading the original english version. Do you remember the Umbrella Academy? These kids with superpowers? Apparently, there's a seventh kid, Vanya Hargreeves, and here she's telling her story.
Tut mir Leid, aber ich muss dass hier früher beenden. Ich muss los - Sorry bu I have to end this early. I gotta go
Schon wieder zurück? - Back already?
Ohne mich kriegst du keine ab, hm? - Can't get anyone without my help, hm?
Doch doch - Oh, I did [don't think there's a literal translation for 'doch']
Auch wenn sie mich wahrscheinlich jetzt hasst. Was ich auch verdiene. Hab sie immerhin ohne Erklärung sitzen lassen - Even if she probably hates me now. Which I deserve. I did leave her without any explanation
Warum zur Hölle hast du denn das gemacht? - Why the hell did you do that?
Weil sich herausgestellt hat, dass ich etwas wichtigeres zu tun habe - Because it turned out that I have something more important to do
Ein Buch, Wolfie? Warum könnte ein Buch- - A book, Wolfie? Why could a book-
Ah. Ich verstehe - Ah. I understand.
Ich mein, das muss ja besser sein, als das, was die Klatschblätter über ihn zu sagen haben, oder? - I mean, this has gotta be better than what the gossip rags have been saying about him, doesn't it?
Die Autorin ist seine Schwester - The author is his sister
Das kann so nicht weitergehen. Wir müssen irgendwas tun - It can't go on like this. We have to do something.
Ich weiß - I know