{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Issue 149 - Klaus Hargreeves","description":" Grab your Ouija board, because we're talking to KLAUS HARGREEVES! How can the Seance make a better connection with the living instead of the dead? Tune in to find out! Intro We\u2019re back! Thanks for all your kind words & thoughts New Patron - Austin! Reminder of AMA for 150 Background (3:35) Number Four (The Seance\/Klaus Hargreeves) created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba in The Umbrella Academy #1 Go back to Issue 130 for a look at Number Five The Umbrella Academy is a team of seven superpowered children, born to women who previously showed no signs of pregnancy - all adopted by Dr. Reginald Hargreeves, a wealthy philanthropist (secretly an alien) Vol. 1 - Apocalypse Suite - Klaus introduced as part of the team, a group of 10 year old children who stop the Eiffel Tower from destroying the world 20 years ago - in the present, their adoptive father Dr. Hargreeves dies, and the team reunites to bury and mourn him Their adoptive sister Vanya, long thought to be the only non-powered member of the team, turns out to be the most powerful, and undergoes surgery to enhance her powers of weaponizing sound - the team bands together to stop her, and Klaus channels Dr. Hargreeves and Igor Stravinsky as part of the plan before using his telekinetic ability to stop pieces of the moon from slamming into Earth Vol. 2 - Dallas - Klaus is captured by agents from the Temps Aeternalis, an organization overseeing time travel, in an attempt to find his brother Number Five, and murdered - he doesn\u2019t stay dead, however, returning to possess the agents and kill them in revenge (God kicks him out of Heaven) He, Spaceboy, and the Kraken all travel back in time to Vietnam to stop Number Five from assassinating JFK and irrevocably altering history, but then have to stop the agents from also killing Number Five Vol. 3 - Hotel Oblivion - Klaus is essentially a junkie being pimped out by a biker gang, who uses his ability to scam people into talking to their deceased relatives about hidden money, and then the gang leaders dig it up - Klaus turns on the abusers - he then joins his siblings in battling villains that escaped from an interdimensional prison built by their father - the volume ends with the team encountering the Sparrow Academy, a rival group of similarly powered \u201csiblings\u201d Issues - Theme is detachment (8:17) Living surrounded by dead people Drug use as a coping mechanism (15:24) Relationship with siblings constantly strained, both by his own actions and those of the team, but he\u2019s always one of the most \u201cloyal\u201d members of the team (22:30) Break (27:59) Plugs for BetterHelp, Hops Geek, and Gail Simone Treatment (30:11) In-universe -  Out of universe - (33:22) Focus on getting the drug use addressed first, then address childhood trauma Skit (41:32) DOC: Hello Klaus, I\u2019m Dr. Issues. KLAUS: Hello Doctor, pleased to meet you. DOC: So what can I help you with? KLAUS: I\u2019m not sure. I don\u2019t know if you can help me. Not your fault, just that I don\u2019t think even a mental health professional can comprehend what I\u2019m all about. DOC: I\u2019m not pretending to be an expert in everything, but I\u2019m a relatively fast learner. Try me. KLAUS: Ever been in a war? DOC: No KLAUS: Ever levitated? DOC: No, but I\u2019ve been around some people who can fly. KLAUS: Ever shot up? DOC: Can\u2019t say that I have. KLAUS: Come On! I was giving you an easy one. DOC: I work with peer counselors all of the time; I\u2019m not going to lie to placate your sensibilities. I know it\u2019s not the same thing. KLAUS: I\u2019m not one for those \u201cblank\u201d A meetings anyway DOC: Which ones? AA, NA? KLAUS: Yes. DOC: I see. It\u2019s interesting that you seem most closed off about the substance use when you also mentioned physical conflicts and the supernatural. KLAUS: Oh no, I don\u2019t hide that either. I\u2019m just tired of my abilities being used as a cheap parlor trick, or worse yet, as a way to scam money out of well-intentioned but clueless people. DOC: Indeed. Entertaining a person doesn\u2019t garner their attention the same as having a conversation. I will say though, that the two don\u2019t have to be separate. KLAUS: Well I don\u2019t \u201centertain\u201d as much as \u201cshock the hell out of\u201d people, but I get your point. No, I can strike a balance. That\u2019s where the dynamic shifts. You think talking to someone in trouble is speaking to their soul. Man, I SPEAK TO THEIR SOUL. DOC: What kind of lessons have you learned from that? KLAUS: Their regrets, mostly. Even the dead can still worry. I bet there\u2019s some you\u2019d like- DOC: Don\u2019t go there. KLAUS: Oh\u2026*some sort of magical sound* Oh. I see. Well, that\u2019s awkward. DOC: Not as much as you\u2019d think. Us mere mortals may not delve into that realm as frequently as you, but that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t a connection. Every. Single. Day. Even just for a few moments. KLAUS: Humor helps. DOC: Don\u2019t I know it! Is that your go-to coping mechanism? KLAUS: Plenty, but it\u2019s a quick fix. No, the problem, I think, is that there\u2019s no way to \u201cmove on\u201d for me. Folks like you get that transition and go about your business. I\u2019m just the chump that gets the feedback loop when others pass along. Gotta dampen that somehow. DOC: That\u2019s a common plight among those who suffer from addiction KLAUS: It\u2019s not all suffering, I DOC: *interrupting*You enjoy it until you can\u2019t, yeah I realize that. What\u2019s your motivation to change? KLAUS: *pause* I want to see where this goes. DOC: I don\u2019t have a particular agenda for how many sessions KLAUS: *interrupting* No, I mean ALL of this. It\u2019s a lot, man. I get put in spots where I\u2019m expected to call on some sort of \u201cgreat wisdom through the ages\u201d but I just want to listen to some music. Notice the little things. Be trivial. That\u2019s not as bad as it seems. My family, they get bogged down with saving the world when they can\u2019t save themselves. Dad was\u2026well, whatever the hell he was. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned from the dead. DOC: That\u2019s\u2026more than I care to imagine. I try to put myself in someone else\u2019s shoes, but you\u2026I don\u2019t even know where to begin. KLAUS: Yeah, it\u2019s a trip. That\u2019s where all the\u2026 substances come in. Help clear my head. I figure if I have to see all kindsa weird stuff, at least I can do it to myself. DOC: I can\u2019t even ask \u201cwhy the pain?\u201d Because it\u2019s obvious. Maybe a slight tweak. What do you FOR yourself? KLAUS: I just told you. DOC: Nope. You said TO yourself; as if your existence is a trivial one that can be used as a plaything. Just how important is your life compared to others? KLAUS: I mean, what difference does it make about the value of my life? I\u2019ve come back from the dead at least twice, so clearly life and death don\u2019t mean a whole helluva lot to me. And my siblings, well\u2026 I\u2026 \u201clove\u201d them, I guess. The world would be a lot worse off without them. DOC: So you show grace to those you love, but not to yourself, because you\u2019ve had an experience that\u2019s different from their own, AND YET, you view your unique experience as a negative to your self worth. That\u2019s what you\u2019re telling me? I don\u2019t buy it. KLAUS: Oh, our experiences are negatives to all of us. Not one of us is happy for what we\u2019ve been through. My point is just that compared to them, I\u2019m somehow less well adjusted. I mean, it\u2019s what it is. I\u2019m just calling it like I see it. Not looking for pity or anything, that ship sailed a long time ago. DOC: Are these the things you told yourself when you died? KLAUS: Which time? But seriously, I\u2019m just trying to do the best with the cards I\u2019ve been dealt. You a poker player? DOC: For the sake of rapport\u2026yes. KLAUS: So I\u2019ve got a three-eight offsuit. Flop came down Men\u2019s Wearhouse, all faces. I\u2019m looking for a runner-runner and praying to pull trips. That\u2019s my daily existence. Get the picture? DOC: Yup. But there\u2019s so much you\u2019re not saying that\u2019s vital to the hand. What\u2019s your position at the table? What are the stacks? Plus, you have a \u201ccheater\u2019s edge\u201d in your pocket. You\u2019re worried about what the dealer is going to think if you use inside information, not to mention the interactions that you have that can either bluff or intimidate the weak lays. There is so much more than basic math that would allow for you to come out with a fighting chance. KLAUS: Hmph. Fair points, Amarillo Doc.I suppose I can do a better job of reading the players at the table. Any suggestions? DOC: Start with yourself. Know your tells. Don\u2019t telegraph everything at once and wonder why everyone pushes you around with a bad hand. You have an ability that gets to see the turn and river over and over after the hand is done. Use that in how you deal with others. KLAUS: And I suppose you\u2019ll recommend I do this all with a clear head? DOC: Well, NO S**T. KLAUS: I can\u2019t promise it\u2019ll be all the time. But I suppose I can take a break from time to time and get a better handle on things. Now that we\u2019re done with that, ever done shrooms? DOC: I\u2019ll tell you what I tell most folks: Just say no to most drugs. KLAUS: Well if you ever wanna take a trip with me, you know where to find me. Ending (62:11)  Recommended reading: Vol. 3 is heavily focused on Klaus Next episodes: 150th episode, Moon Knight redux, Elsa Bloodstone Plugs for social References: Number Five episode - Anthony (3:56) Miss Minutes\/Loki - Anthony (6:20) Apple Podcasts: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter Facebook Patreon TeePublic Discord ","author_name":"Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling","author_url":"https:\/\/www.capesonthecouch.com","html":"