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Wow. They are gonna have trouble in life. lol.
Okay, ideas.
Leon
Most likely, Leon is going to stay away from downtown areas, bars, and maybe police stations if that makes him think of German law enforcement during the war. There were a lot of parades, dances, and celebrations after the war, and I’m pretty sure he’d not want to be anywhere near them. I read a really awesome WWII series, and in the end when the soldier is home, he and a little refugee boy are at the town’s 4th of July celebration and the noise and shouting starts really getting to them. Then when the fireworks go off the soldier starts ducking down, recoiling, looking for the enemy, etc. and the kid goes into a panic attack. So yeah, fireworks and American celebrations (We is the USA can have some wild parties and most have some good natured wrestling matches/brawling.) In my experience at cookouts, my brothers and their friends usually fill up huge gallon buckets of water and chase each other all around trying to throw the water at one another. They do a lot of yelling and a lot of howling, and there’s a good deal of screaming when a huge bucket of ice-water goes down their backs. It normally ends when the guy savaging the others gets tackled and given a mud bath before being thoroughly drenched. So, I could see something like this with a group of boys ranging from 6-28 having some sort of battle like this really getting Leon on edge. And yeah, as I mentioned before, fireworks will do it every time.
I doubt Leon will be able to stand any sort of hunting. Depends on if he gets hooked up with a Church in America and what that church is like, he may be invited to go on a hunting trip with the guys. (This would include guns, death, and blood) He could either steer clear, or not be thinking it through and go along, only to have a panic attack.
Football Games. We Americans have always loved our football, and that could do it. There would be loud music, there would be shouting, and the players would be tackling one another.
Riker
My first thought: there is no way he can live in an apartment. Shouting, loud sounds, heavy/loud footsteps, are in apartments. Trust me, I’ve lived in them, and these are modern ones. Thing of what it would be like back then. He is gonna want a place in the country, or somewhere in a quiet neighborhood near the edge of town, or kinda away from everything. Places like factories are gonna trigger him, trucks backfiring. They did that a lot those days, and it scared the mess out of more then one soldier. He’ll want a light on at night. Maybe his wife(if she’s alive and made it to America) can’t sleep with a light on. Then you have them reach a compromise where Riker has a dim light on the floor by his side of the bed, and she just has to be okay with that because she loves him and understands. You could show a scene where one of his kids sneak up on him (kids love doing that to people) and Riker scares really bad. This, in turn, frightens the child, and then Riker feels awful and tried to comfort him/her and just hates himself for being so easily scared. You could have his wife or a friend lay a hand on his shoulder, and Riker recoils.
And then of course, a lot of what I mentioned for Leon could apply to Riker.
Those were some off the top of my head. Try thinking of things we as Americans love to do, and things Churches/friend groups might have gotten together and done, and then go through that and scan it for any triggers. Your audience is going to feel less sympathetic when Leon is doing something like visiting the police station for some reason and has a panic attack, or goes to a war museum, or something like that. What’s going to really get your audience to sympathies and feel sorry for him is when you touch a part of their lives. When a sweet moment with Riker’s wife is ruined because when she came up behind and laid her head against his back, it scared him and he recoiled away from her. When Leon goes into a panic attack on Forth of July. When Riker can’t deal with a problem in the crawl-space of his house. When Leon can’t go hunting with the guys. When Riker has to escape from a football game because he’s having flashbacks. Etc. Show the reader something they love/understand, and then show them how much it hurts Leon and Riker.
You could even have a cool scene of bonding between Leon and Riker when they’re both at some event and there’s something like Fireworks, and they both leave and run into one another. They’ll know, (with or without talking about it) why the other left, because they’re having the same problem. Then a noise scares them both at the same time, and they can see the fear on one another’s faces and they know that they both face the same thing. idk. Somethin like.
Well, I hope that helps.
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
@ellette-giselle I’ve also been trying to research (but can’t find many answers😅) if Germans faced prejudice in post WW2 America (book #3 is in the early 1950s, but still), and if that would affect Leon/Riker’s lives (esp. Riker’s) and them finding jobs, work, etc.
Because also (although this was more common then anyhow), neither Leon nor Riker ever even finished high school, Riker dropping out to provide for his family, Leon because he was facing too much attack/hate from Germans.
but idk if that would be a factor or not🤔
I am so glad!!!!! I know exactly what it’s like to be in a rut and then have someone throw out a bunch of ideas and suddenly have answers. Glad I could be of help
Okay, well you have two separate issues here.
German nationality is one. If Leon can prove that he was a Jew in a concentration camp, either from papers of scars/tattoos/stories, then he’ll get by okay. There was a tone of sympathy shown to anyone mistreated by the Nazi’s, especially when our POWs came home with a bucket of horror stories, and our boys brought back pictures and accounts from concentration camps.
Riker is the one who’s going to be in serious trouble. We (Americans) rounded up and punished many SS for war crimes. (and rightly so.)
The Warsaw trial of commandant Rudolf Höss,
The best known trial was that of the first commandant, Rudolf Höss, before the Supreme National Tribunal in Warsaw. On April 2, 1947, the tribunal sentenced Höss to death.
The Cracow trial of the SS garrison
The Supreme National Tribunal sat in Cracow for a second important trial, known as the Auschwitz garrison trial. Of the 40 people indicted, 23 (including the second Auschwitz commandant, Arthur Liebehenschel, political department head Maximilian Grabner, and women’s camp director Maria Mandel) were sentenced to death, and 6 to life imprisonment.
And there are plenty more I could list.
Riker was an SS, (if I remember right) so he would be facing a LOOOTTTTT of hate IF people found out who he was. So Riker is going to have to try and blend in. Maybe if his wife has a good reputation then she can help with that, or maybe Leon could help (depending on what sort of relationship status he and Riker are on) I’m guessing Riker won’t want to ask, but if he and Leon are friends at this point, Leon may be able to tell that something is bothering Riker and may surprise the truth out of him. Then he can give him a good reputation and help secure a job for him. Also, this is America which is the biggest melting pot of cultures, backgrounds, languages, and people groups in the world. There were many Germans in America, and a tone more came over right before and during the war. Several of them fought in the American army. So, if Riker can play it cool, and not too many questions are asked, I think he’ll make it by, though he won’t have a very good job because he’s an immigrant.
School Dropouts
Riker and Leon are going to be just two of hundreds. The amount of boys that dropped out of school to go fight (many of them still in high school but lying about their age) was astronomical. Plus, if you lived on a farm or were an immigrant you most likely dropped out of school pretty early. Not a tone of kids (especially boys) finished school. Especially not immigrants. Most of them were working in the day and going to school at night. If you could read, write, and figure (do simple math) then you had a good chance of getting a job.
So, i don’t think the little amount of schooling they got should affect too much.
Hope that was helpful!
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
@ellette-giselle That is very helpful, thank you!!! 💜
So, if Riker can play it cool, and not too many questions are asked, I think he’ll make it by
Let’s just hope that no one knows that he’s been out of prison for around 2 years following a 5-year sentence😬
and that’s what I figured about the school thing
Let’s just hope that no one knows that he’s been out of prison for around 2 years following a 5-year sentence😬
Where was he serving time?
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
idk where exactly, but in the US 🤷🏻♀️
he, his family, Leon’s family, etc. now all live in the Southern half of the USA now tho.
Well, it would depend on if he was serving time in the same part of the country as he’s in now. The smaller the town/city he was in, the more well known it would be. etc.
And also, what kind of job he was trying to get. If he wanted one that payed well then he would need to show his records, and then that would depend on the reaction of the owner. Dopes the owner believe justice was served and if Riker is deemed releasable by the law then he’s okay? Does he believe that God gives second chances and Riker is a changed man? Does he ask Riker to sit down and tell him everything and thus finds out about the resistance and the reasons Riker had for being in the SS? Does he believe everyone should be able to start clean? Or does he believe that Riker should be punished and he and his family should starve in justice? Or does he hate Riker for being what he was and believe that, justice or not, he should die?
I mean, it all depends on the response of the owner of the business. Leon giving Riker a good name would also help a lot, especially if his story is known.
So, yeah. maybe Riker has some bad experience and then finds a guy willing to hire him outright, Maybe it’s a test trial, “we’ll see how changed you really are, Nazi” sort of job, or maybe he has good luck right off. Or maybe it takes Leon speaking up for him to the right people that gets Riker a job.
So, yeah. Plenty of ideas/options to play with.
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
Please, help! I tagged you cause you were the only person that I saw on this page that I know. So I NEED help!
So my cat wanted to go out tonight, but I can’t let him. Cause he is an indoor cat, and we don’t know what would happen to him to him if he went out! Plus there are foxes in are neighborhood. So I couldn’t let him out! But when I gently pushed hi away from the door, he gave me THE death stare! Then I went into the kitchen to get a drink before bed, he followed me into there… And my older brother was in there. My cat WAITED for him to leave! He watched and pretended to drink from his water! But as soon as my brother left, his head slowly turned to me! And luckily my brother cam back in before he made a move, I dashed into my room and I am trying to find someone to contact before he comes up! And all of my friends ar….
Oh no! Oh no no no! He is here….
Pray for me!
"This sleeping child you're holding, is the great I AM!"-Mary did you know
Okay. So, first off, I was freaked out.
Now, after reading that twice, I’m not.
I mean, how am I going to help you? You don’t even know where I live. And why would you be sending a message on KP during a time like this?
So, I’m going to decided that this is you being horrid, and then tentatively send it and hope I didn’t misjudge the situation.
Did you survive the night?
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
And a cat attacking you?
Unless you have a little demon cat, I don’t think that would really happen.
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
Okay.
I am about 99.9% sure this is payback because you have been at me ever since I tagged you instead of Beth.
So.
I think this is payback, and I think you’re kinda nasty and should be kicked off KP………….
Just joking.
But seriously.
Okay. I will not look at page again.
I refuse to come back and re-read your post another time.
Goodbye. I’m leaving.
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
*Bites nails*
yeah there is no way that story is real. Nope. No way.
If you are pulling my leg, you are in for some serious trouble my man. You have aroused the beast.
In an author.
Bad move.
I will have my revenge.
You had better not be pulling my leg.
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
I have eight cats. And I used to have fifteen for a short period of time. Throughout my life I’ve had many many cats. Those are my credentials as a cat expert XD.
When they start giving you the death stare, you give them bologna. Or hamburger. They also love a good sardine can. Then they slink away, having forgotten (for the moment) that they were gonna kill you. They’re too busy savoring the taste in their mouth to ruin it on you.
So, good luck
"You need French Toast."
#AnduthForever (hopefully 💕)
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