#and Lois not even taking a second to be shocked that her 6 year old is now 18 because he’s back

[whalehouse1]

Me, reading Chris Kent’s stories to help me with my research for a project: I love this guy. Why won’t DC bring the actual Chris back? …Well crap all of this arc might be tricky to work with, but it should be fine.

Me, learning about there being others besides Nightwing and Flamebird from their myths: Ok, this might help with the name issues.

[atqh16]

Take My Hand (Say You Need Me Still)

A Daredevil Fic (Matt/Foggy, Girl!Foggy. Pre-Slash)

Summary : Look, getting shot is just the New York experience. You haven’t lived unless you’ve been held at gunpoint at least once. And if you save someone doing it? Hey, bonus!

AO3

Foggy will very openly admit that it was actually a really stupid thing to do. Matt will be downright furious when he finds out. If she makes it out of this alive she’s not keen on facing down the utterly hypocritical wrath of her best friend. She’s pretty sure Karen would defend her which is a nice thought to dwell on.

After Karen had told her about what happened with Wesley, it was like a wall had broken down between them. Suddenly she was so much more relaxed, open. She didn’t look like she was going to throw up every time Foggy talked about how ridiculously admirable albeit stupid she was to insist on constantly putting her life in danger to chase a good story (Lois Lane would be proud).

You’d think Foggy would get a break with having to deal with only one dangerously reckless best friend but apparently life felt that she deserved to handle two

She wouldn’t change a thing.

Though she feels that its incredibly ironic how she finds herself to be the one bleeding out from a bullet wound at the Police Precinct after daring to step in front of a mook with a gun. In her defense it was either her or the 8 month old pregnant lady and really was that much of a choice?

Marci would be really pissed at her too if she ever found out about this even if they've split up for almost 6 months now. That is if she ever found out from where she’s staying in Los Angeles. Knowing how much of a tattle tale Matt is, she’d probably find out. No Foggy Bear this time. Probably just an ass whooping in the form of a chilling reprimand that only serves to remind Foggy how much Marci really cares. Especially since this is the third time she’s gotten hurt in almost 5 years. Must be a record. 

Maybe this is the universes way of helping her make up for the fact that she can't be out there in the thick of danger the same way her partners are. She’s not planning on making it a habit because this fucking hurts and the pregnant lady clumsily putting too much pressure on her stomach isn’t helping with that. She bites back a laugh at a sudden random thought that maybe her abdominal fat played a useful role for once and managed to absorb most of the bullets impact as opposed to her vital organs

She’s not brave she knows. Not in the same way Karen and Matt are. She can't even manage to take a bullet without crying because again, it fucking burns. But at the very least she’s comforted knowing neither Matt nor Karen are the ones bleeding out this time.

It’s a soothing thought and it helps that she’s starting to feel numb. There's a faint troubling nudge at the edge of her mine that she's sure is panic at this. Something about how it might be because she’s losing too much blood, she's going into shock. But the feeling is such a welcome compared to the overwhelming sting from before.

Charlotte -the pregnant lady- is saying something. Mouth moving, loud enough that Foggy can register the sound but her brain is filled with too much fuzz to actually tell what she’s saying.

Either way it doesn’t seem to matter. She’s just surprised she doesn’t feel more scared than she is. Her last thought is maybe that’s a cause for concern but really she can’t find it in herself to care. It occurs to her maybe that’s worse

*

*

*

*

*

“What the hell were you thinking Foggy?”

Foggy raises her eyebrows, actually impressed. Matt managed to hold off his furious outburst for five days after she woke up from her short induced coma – “It was two days Matt. Relax”, “You were intubated  Foggy. You were in the ICU. Don’t tell me to calm down” – and really it’s a full five days more than she’d expected.

“I’m confused. Was I supposed to let the guy put a bullet through our very nice pregnant client?”

“You were supposed to let the police do their job”

“Right, the very understaffed policemen on duty at the station that included the guy who put me in the cell with our client in the first place”

“Why were you arrested again?”, Karen interjected and Foggy doesn’t miss how it was a cautious attempt to drain the heat out of the conversation.

“Obstruction of justice, or so the very hot headed rookie claimed. I wouldn’t let him do an extensive drug search on my lovely cellmate and told him to get a female cop to do it.”

“Where was Brett?”

“He was at the drug bust at the pier with me. I called him there”, it’s Matt’s turn to explain. There's a hint of guilt in his voice and while Foggy doesn’t agree for it to be there, she finds it the perfect moment to throw in another excuse.

“To be fair, I did call both of you to bail me out.”

Karen looks a bit red in the face. Coughing loudly before she says, “I was under cover. At the Irish Parlor”

The angry flush in Matt’s cheeks seem to redden even more “The Parlor Mob ?! Karen….”

“I was with Jessica! Relax, Matt.”

There’s a short moment where Matt seems to have more to protest but instead, “At least one of you has some common sense”

“OK, now you’re just being a hypocritical asshole”, Foggy retorts, rolling her eyes.

“You should’ve waited for back up! For Brett or even me-“

“And what? I don’t think you understand when I say this guy had a gun aimed at our pregnant client and was ready to shoot her point blank any second. God knows why”

“I Don’t… Its just… I.. ��, words seem to have tied his tongue into a knot and Karen immediately understands it as her cue to leave.

“I think I’m gonna get some coffee. Have to talk to Jess. She actually asked about you Foggy”, Karen says. Providing an entertained smirk.

“Yeah well after all the times I kept her out of Jail I hope she does”, Foggy replies but there's no heat in it. Only a fondness that surprises even her.

“Tell her I said Hi, and tell her she still owes me my retainer”

Karen lets out a laugh but she doesn’t say anything else. She gives a soft peck on the side of Foggy's head before leaving. The sole of her sneakers  pad softly on the linoleum floor until she probably turns a corner after which Matt seems to be satisfied that she’s properly out of earshot.

Foggy raises an eyebrow that she knows Matt can’t see but she trusts her tone conveys her expectation for Matt to continue,“You were saying?”, she prods. Curt.

Matt’s hands are on his hips. A classic Murdock stance the few times he finds his clever tongue has failed him. Shuffling back and forth before taking a deep breath and - “You’re not suppose to get hurt. I know-“ He raises a palm to qualm his best friends protest “- it’s hypocritical of me. I know. But you’re meant to be safe Fog. Karen… I can’t stop her. No matter what I do. I’ve accepted that-“

“Like I’ve accepted the same thing about you?”

“It’s different fog!”, Matts voice is weighted with frustration and he’s gritting his teeth the way he always does when he’s trying to hold back from snapping.

"Matt, breath. I promise I'm not gonna make a habit out of this. I don't think my health insurance can take it. It's going to be hell to get them to cover my third hospital visit in 5 years. I'm pretty sure they're thinking about cancelling my contract at this very moment"

"Leave that to me", there's a challenging snarl in the undertone of Matt's voice - glad to have something else to direct his frustration at - that has something balloon all warm in Foggy's chest.

It's not that Matt has never showed off his protective streak before. She remembers how he reduced one of their classmates to tears in a debate when he found out they'd called her a fat fag at a party a few days before. Which frankly is not the worse she's been called and is just insultingly unoriginal. But it still makes something flutter fondly inside her at the unofficial confirmation of how much Matt still cares.

There hasn't been a lot of that going around lately what with Matt being stretched thin with Daredevil and a new gang trying to claim the territory Fisk had left behind. There hadn't been anything else that could take priority. Which, Foggy truly doesn't begrudge.

But she lost her best friend for months. Thought he was dead. She just got him back. Is it selfish for her to want him for herself for once?

He hasn't just been hers for a very long time now. Which, again, understandable. Matt's a fully independent adult, not an object to own. But she used to be able to hold his attention a lot more than she does now. A part of her knows its not because of her, but years of high school bullying have buried a vindictive voice in her head, constantly trying to convince her that its because she's just not important. Not enough.

Which again is so self-absorbed that she internally cringes every time it comes up. Still, to admit that it doesn't gnaw at her self-esteem would be a lie. Which is why she absolutely refused to raise the issue with her walking, talking lie-detector of a best friend.

She distracted herself with their workload. Both hers and Matts because she hadn't suggested they reopen their firm without knowing exactly what to expect. Not that Matt hadn't pulled his weight. The info he'd gotten for some of their cases as Daredevil was invaluable which is sort of important when their rinky dink little firm absolutely did not have the budget for a private investigator. There's only so many times Foggy can call Jess in for a favor before risking her busting his door down and throwing their office phone out the window.

Which, ok yeah that's not fair. Jess is a drunk asshole but she's not a bitch. Big difference. There would definitely be some empty threats and cussing colourful enough to make a sailor blush. But nothing worse.

So Foggy had done what she could and carried what she could. Which is why when their most recent client had called her from jail in a tearful panic, Foggy hadn't hesitated to rub the lethargy out of her eyes before making her way down to the precinct.

How could she have known that a cop - their clients ex, she'd been told - would pull out a gun on them both? She'd done her best to distract and try to diffuse the situation till one of the other cups could tackle the maniac. But he'd been a lot more trigger happy than any of them expected. Pushing their client out of the way had been instinct. It's not like she had purposely let the bullet hit her. She was just slow. Sue her. Her reflexes aren't that great.

But is it bad that she was having fun basking in Matt's attention right now? Matt mother henning her, from adjusting the position of her bed to chiding her into drinking more water (This is the third glass Matt. Anymore and my bladder is going to burst") to even fluffing her pillow.

Unfortunately she doesn't get to enjoy it for long because despite what waking up from a very long sleep would suggest, she still feels exhausted. The pain-killers are weighing her limbs down and the filter between her brain and her mouth has turned from a sieve to a funnel and she doesn't really want to say anything she's going to regret. Not anything bitter or sharp. Just thoughts. Feelings. Things that she's not ready to face, let alone voice.

But she can't stop the warmth rising in her cheeks when Matt lifts a hand to her temple to push some stray strands behind her ear ("It's growing out", "I like it. It's more you", "Not very professional though", "Avocados don't follow society's idea of professionalism", "Well you got me there"). Or from curling her fingers around his hand when he grips hers between both of his, brought up to his lips as if in prayer.

Matt has never been able properly look at her of course. Hello! Blind! But even with his radar senses, the lack of use of his eyes and the presence of his glasses make it so that he never really bothers to adjust his pupils to give the illusion of eye contact. It took some effort and time but after a while she managed to learn how to read her best friend from his body language and the simple way he moved to communicate what he couldn't or wouldn't say.

From the difference between a fake laugh and a genuine one to the way he tilts his head when you had his full attention. How he stiffens when he's annoyed or pissed. The disparity of a toothy smile and a open lipped snarl.

Foggy knows her best friend. Has spent 10 years collecting bits and pieces of him and while Matt might disagree with the image Foggy has formed of him in her mind, Foggy refuses to budge on it. Matt insists that he's built with the devil under his skin and a fury that burns with it. Contrary to Matt's belief, Foggy has always seen and known that part of Matt existed. Its just, to Foggy, they didn't hide what laid underneath. The empathy and kindness that curled like roots from which all Matt's actions rose from. From pushing an old man out of the way of a speeding truck to starting a firm that barely earned pennies for the sake of helping the innocent to even his need to stalk the night with nothing but a cotton shirt protecting him from harm.

So foggy knows. She knows how Matt acts when he's around his friends. When he's around potential hook ups and even when he was with Elektra. Loath as Foggy was to see it.

But right here, right now, there's something different in the way Matt is moving. Something tender. His thumb swirling circles on the back of her hand. His lips brush over her knuckles. Chapped and rough but the kiss he leaves on them is lingering and hot from his breath.

Even as her eyes droop, Foggy's heart drums a furious beat that threatens to burst through her ribs.

"Matty?", Foggy barely manages to get his name out. So tired, blackness already easing her away from him. She feels more then see's one of Matt's hands gliding down to clasp her wrist while the other pulls hers closer to rest his cheek on the back of it.

"Sleep Foggy. We'll talk when you wake up"

She does and this time, nothing hurts.

[iggy-of-fans]

Of Being a Ladybug part 2

So, Paris is about 6 hours ahead of Metropolis . So if Marinette sent the message at say… 8 pm, and Jagged got it at 9 because he was at dinner, then getting lawyers straightened out and all that ...say Marinette starts school at 10 am, then it would be approximately 4am in Metropolis. It would be a 7 hour flight, meaning she'd leave at noon on Monday, and arrive at 2am on Tuesday. 

The cons of being a reporter. 

TUESDAY 2AM Paris 

Lois was as excited as she was exhausted. Paris! She'd always wanted to go to Paris. As her taxi drove her past the Louvre and she could see the Eiffel tower in the distance, she couldn't help but remember the call she received yesterday. 

"I know it's early, Lois, but I have a job for you in Paris" Bruce said from the other line. 

"I'm listening." 

"The satellites from the Tower have been picking up irregularities. Burning buildings, the Eiffel Tower toppled or completely missing, then the next pass everything is normal. Hal even claims he saw a giant baby on cams once. I've gone over all the pictures of the last year, a couple of weeks ago there… I can't explain it. I'll send you the images and we'll try to find a believable cover story for going in the middle of the school year like this"

"I understand, thank you Bruce. I'll book the earliest flight I can." Burning buildings? The Eiffel tower toppled? Nothing had been said in the news. If something on a grand scale like that were happening, they would already know. 

"Thank you, Lois. I will of course pay for your accommodations while there," Bruce offered. A consolation for sending her around the globe for film effects. 

She barely got a "thank you" out, before he hung up. She flopped back onto the bed, Clark raising an eyebrow at her. Of course he'd heard both sides of the conversation, so he obviously had his own opinion to share. 

"Well? What do you think?" she asked him. If Clark gave it some weight, she might take it more seriously. 

"A video was sent by the Mayor of Paris about a year ago, asking for help because his city was being overrun by stone monsters and their only hope lay with a couple of kids. I watched it and it looked like some cheap special effects and deleted it like the other publicity stunts people pull. Diana was the one to notice the inconsistencies with the Eiffel tower, and she swears she saw a couple kids flying on rooftops. It's why Bruce started investigating. But he has no reason to be in Paris at all, since Wayne Enterprises doesn't have an hq there, and he wants to save that excuse for if there IS any trouble. Anyways, try to enjoy your little vacation while you're there" Clark smiled. 

"... Does Bruce know the mayor called for Justice League intervention?" Lois asked slowly. This… Was… Not… happening. 

"No? I mean, just some publicity stunts, Lois. We get 20 of them a day" Clark dismissed. Lois was beyond words so she got up and started packing, and turned on her civilian phone to call for a flight. Before she could get dialing she got a call incoming. 

"Penny? Is everything okay? WHAT? YES! Of course I do! That's huge! Yes, let me just call my boss…. Oh? Oh wow! Thank you! Yes, I'll see you tonight… Or I guess tomorrow for you…yes. I understand. Thank you" Lois couldn't believe her luck. She grabbed her JL phone and called Bruce. 

"Bruce! I've got a cover! I've been asked by an old college friend to interview her client and a few others on Parisian TV. Yes, totally legit, she just called me… Penny Rolling. Yes, yes Bruce! I will keep my eyes open. Did you know the Mayor tried to call for JL intervention a year ago? No? Clark told me there was a video but thought it was a publicity stunt. Maybe try to find it and give me a heads up… okay… Thank you Bruce. That'll be perfect! I'll get to the bottom of this… Okay, thank you."

Finally done with the update she rushed to call the airline. 

" NOON?!"

Before she could take in the breathtaking view any longer, the cab stopped. Lois paid the fare and stepped out and looked up. It was a beautiful hotel, owned by Mayor Bourgeois. The cabbie was loading her bags onto a trolley with a Bellhop waiting stoically by the doors. Just as Lois went to inquire about Penny, the door opened and out she came. 

"You cut your hair!" Lois exclaimed, giving her friend a hug and a LA Bise. 

"You, my beautiful ginger, are late! Had you arrived a few hours earlier you would have had quite the show!" Penny said with a smile. She'd always been jealous of Lois's hair. 

"It's Paris, Penny. How exciting could it possibly be?" Lois asked jokingly, wondering just what her visit here would truly reveal. 

I was going to end it here, but I believe I owe you all an action scene 😉 

MONDAY 10AM PARIS

Ladybug flew over buildings in the direction of the explosions. She really wished she'd had a chance to see the classroom before leaving to see if she would have to once again go up against Alya. Or Lila. 

Maybe if she was lucky it would be another unfortunate soul altogether. One she hopefully didn't know personally. Because it was starting to really take a toll on Ladybug, every time she came face to face with a friend or loved one. 

Before she was ready she was at the scene. And she was shocked. The Akuma of the day was a barely visible outline of a woman. She had a flowy garment on and only became visible when she touched a person. The person would immediately admit to bad deeds, anything from finishing the ice cream container to more horrible crimes. 

Ladybug watched as a couple hid behind a vehicle to escape the fate, only for the akuma to lift and throw the car, one handed, into another vehicle, creating another explosion. The akuma drifted ghost like towards the couple and became fully corporeal as she touched them, first the man ("I tapped your phone! I hated how much time you spent always going out!" he blurted out) then the woman ("I  can't stand being with you!" she screamed back). Ladybug swallowed. This was not good. A non corporeal being with the strength of ten men and the ability to… Spill secrets? Ladybug wasn't sure, but didn't want to get too close before she had the full story. She went to grab her yo-yo to call Chat, only for him to pop up, baton swinging. 

"What have we here? Another scary movie victim?" Chat asked, drawing all eyes to them. Ladybug wanted to scream. Or toss him off the building. Once! Just. ONCE! 

"I… am Guilty Conscience. That voice that should tell you not to do bad… It Is too quiet in most people's heads. So therefore I shall make you scream your misdeeds to the world. No longer shall there be hiding behind white lies for innocence" the ghost whispered, yet to Ladybug she may as well have screamed. 

"Che, you're out of your league! I have a picture perfect record!" Chat smirked, ever brash and fearless. Without a second thought, he jumped off the building towards the ghostly form. And just as Ladybug predicted, went right through her. She did not become solid upon contact with a human unless she so chose to. Great… 

"Chat! Fall back, we need a plan!" Ladybug called, stepping back from the roof and readying her yo-yo. 

"Just lucky charm her and we can go out for coffee!" Chat yelled back, swinging his baton uselessly through GC. Ladybug shook her head. She was almost 90% sure they'd need more backup. 

"Lucky Charm!" she cried, throwing her yo-yo high. Down fell a teapot. Back up it is, she sighed. 

"Chat! Fall back, I'm going for backup!" she called out again. 

"Awe, but M'lady, I thought I was the only one you needed in your life!" she was sure he thought he sounded charming. She cringed. 

"Not now Chat. I'll be back in a while, keep her from following me but keep your distance. No need to waste your energy for now." 

Had she looked down, or paid more attention to her surroundings, she may have seen Lila hiding in an alley not far from the akuma. She may have noticed her trying to follow her. She may even have taken another route to get where she was going. Later she would regret not being more vigilant. 

To be Continued...

Looks like me tag list is officially full. I'll try to send the rest in the comments!

@sidd-hit-my-butt-ham @kuroko26 @northernbluetongue @zelladane @chez-pezeater @luciferge @vixen-uchiha @bluerosette23 @mochinek0 @krunchy-tuna @treebrosha @geekydragonyt @vivilakitty @sassy-spocko @bluefiredemon-blog @mindfulmagics @thornangelic727 @sidefrienda @xxmadamjinxx @thepeacetea @pandocatxd @whomthefyck @lamestplaceintheworld @miraculous-ninja @mikantsume @unabashedbookworm @kandi-pie @2sunchild2 @redsparrow12 @shamefullove @cadencehood @thatonechickathottopic @yin-390 @tazanna-blythe @bb-basbusa @zazzlejazzle @fanfictionaddict13 @royalchaoticfangirl @god-is-dead-and-so-am-i @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @slytherinsheashire @imanerddealwith @tinybrie @angelisalise @graduatedmelon @trickstermiraculous @ayuchan07 @thatrandomfandomsgirl @sweatyruinsstudentbored @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay

[black-dragon1998]

Game night part 1/2

part 6 of ‘Out of the box way of starting a family’ part 1-part 2-part 3-part 4-part 5

summary:  To make Lydia more confident, Kara and Lena decide to host game night with all the superhero's on prime earth. madness ensued.

“okay ukiem.” Kara tried to keep her daughter’s attention. Lydia was almost much too excited for what was about to happen for that. When Lydia turned to her again, she gave her a kind smile.

“remember what to do when everything becomes too loud?” Kara asked, straightening the cardigans the girl was wearing. ‘like mama’ she had said when she first saw it in the store. Lena found it too adorable to pass off.

Lydia looked at her mother with furrowed brows, like she was thinking hard about this. She knew her mothers had said something about this. Suddenly she perked up as if remembering what it was.

“Go to you owe mommy.” The dazzling smile was something she from Kara. The way she went over a problem she encountered, where definitely Luthor genes.

“Good! That’s my girl.” Kara hoisted herself up and reached a handout for Lydia to grab. When Kara pulled her from her sitting position on her bed, the girl went boneless as she let her mother put her on her feet. Giggling the whole time, she was in the air.

“why don’t you go see if mommy is ready with the snacks.” At a speed that was just a little to fast for a human. As Lydia ran toward Lena this gave Kara the time to get ready for game night.

Kara and Lena had decided to try and see how Lydia would react to a larger group than only the super-friends.

Sot they thought of inviting not only the super-friends and Eliza but also team Flash, team Arrow and The Legends. Clark and Lois couldn’t make it. Some problems in Metropolis.

Sara had promised to reel in Mick and Charlie. Well, Ava had agreed to it and Sara went with it reluctantly. Barry on his part promised to reel in Cisco when he became to mush.

They had also agreed to not come al at once. First, the super-friends would come. Followed by team Flash, then team Arrow and as of last The Legends.

 Lena was in the kitchen preparing the food and god was there a lot. On top of the dozen snacks already on the kitchen table, she had prepared take out to be delivered Chinees, Italian and Thai. Of course, pop stickers for Kara. If she hadn’t seen these people eat before she wouldn’t have believed she needed this much food.

No one was their jet, only her Kara and Lydia. Lydia who was running toward her, bursting from her bedroom. Dressed in matching cardigans with Kara.

“mommy! How awe the snacks?” Lydia comes to a shrieking hold next to her. Smiling at her mother.

“are love. R” Lena corrected. Mouthing the letter so Lydia could repeat it.

“arrrre.” Lydia repeated drawling out the R.

“good so sweetheart.” Lena high-fives her daughter.

“everything is ready if you are a chroi.” Lena smiled down at Lydia.

“I’m rready mommy. I want to meet your friends.” Lena heart almost busted out of her chest. Lydia was such a sweet and considered. Her daughter was blossoming more every day. She talked more and more. Even rambled a couple of times when she was telling about her day to whichever woman had gone to work that day. She didn’t know if that was a good thing. Kara couldn’t seem to be prouder about it, Lena couldn’t ger it over her heart to tell her it wasn’t that good of a trait.

“I’m glad you feel so excited about it angeal, but what do you do when there is too much noise?” Lena asks getting on eye level with Lydia.

“get mama orre you.” Lena ruffled Lydia’s hair while getting back up.

“good girl. Want a snack?” Lydia nodded at her own words and beamed up at Lena.

“Did someone say food?” Kara came bursting into the kitchen. Her gleam turned into a glare when Lena set a bowl of fruit in front of her with a dead serious face. The same fruits Lydia has devoured it in seconds.

“Lee. You know I don’t like fruits.” Kara whined. She felled betrayed by Lena that she would make her eat this.

“it’s not poison love. If Lydia wants to eat it, I’m sure you can put on your big girls’ pants and eat the fruits. It’s a good example for your daughter” Lena put a hand on her hip and gave her girlfriend a levelled look. Kara plopped down on a chair next to Lydia and reluctantly started eating.

Lydia saw her mama’s sour mood and took her free hand in hers. Like her mothers did with her when she was forced to eat something that smelled funny.

“there, their mama. Everything is okay. Mommy makes the best snacks. She even cuts it in small pieces” Kara knew Lydia was only trying to help, but it only made it more embracing. Lena couldn’t contain her laughter anymore, she tried to cover it up with a cough. The glare Kara gave her told her she failed; she was saved by a knock on the door. Lena was still giggling when she opened the door and greeted Alex, Sam and Ruby.

“what has you in such a happy mood, so early in the day?” Alex razed a questioning eyebrow. Lena didn’t reveal her reason for her mirth, just led them into the kitchen. Alex cackled when she saw her sister. Grumpily holding her daughter's hand while eating some fruits. Lydia still talking soothingly to her.

“it seems I finally found a way to make Kara eat healthily." Lena turned to the three new arrivals.

“ant Kara what are you doing?” Ruby asked confused. Before Kara could reply Lydia answered for her.

“eating snacks with me.” Not much else was said about the mater. Kara thanking Rao for that.

 All four women quickly settled down in the Livingroom, accompanied with a wine glass. Ruby and Lydia were sitting on the floor, on a blanket that held Lydia’s toys and her noise-cancelling headphones.

Lena had made them at L-Corp, specifically for Lydia. It had done wonders for getting Lydia out of the apartment. They even got to take a walk the other day. Lydia was ecstatic about that and couldn’t stop asking questions.

Ruby being too young to drink alcohol does get a wine glass. Instead of wine, it was filled with soda. Lydia was adamant of drinking from a ‘big girl glass’. Lena was a little bit torn, not wanting to start the night with tears she agreed to it. Only if the glass would stay on the coffee table. Going with not wanting to get the blanket sticky.

Kara and Lena were happy to have Ruby to entertain their daughter. The little girl enjoyed playing with the teen and Ruby liked being the older child. Happy that the adults trusted her this much. She also knew what to do when Lydia became overwhelmed.

 Shortly after getting settled there was another knock. When Kara opened Winn and James were grinning at her. Winn was holding several boxes of board games. James is holding a bottle of wine in one hand, while in the other was a six-pack.

Once they had their drinks Lena looked over at Lydia to see how she was doing. Who was still playing with Ruby. Still comfortable. It made Lena relax back into the couch. So far so good.

Deciding to wait for at least until all the super friends to be there before starting a game, the adults used the time to catch up while the kids played with construction blocks. She was so engrossed into her project she didn’t notice Brainy, Nia and Team Flash enter the apartment.

Getting thirsty from all the talking with Ruby Lydia stood up to get a sip from her drink. Getting up she hesitated. People who she didn’t know we're sitting on the couches and she was feeling uneasy.

Two females and two males were sitting in front of her mother’s.

Lydia knew she made a promise to try and meet her mother’s friends and you don’t break promises. Her mama had told her that. But know that she saw them she wasn’t so sure anymore. Ruby seemed to pick up on Lydia’s hesitancy and got up to stand next to her.

“everything okay Lydia?”

“don’t know them.” Lydia grabbed Ruby’s hand and gave it a little squeeze.

“Want me to go with you?” Lydia nodded and didn’t let go of Ruby’s hand. When they wanted to take the first step Lydia froze. Her eyes were still glued onto team Flash. Ruby acted fast and lifted the little girl in her arms before panic can set in. quickly walking toward the couch.

Cisco is interrupted in his story as they all notice Ruby with Lydia in her arms coming toward them. Sam immediately scoots to the edge of her seat, ready to take over if her girl slipped. Kara and Lena waited to get a response from their daughter. Just taking her would surely send her into a panic attack.

“Lydia look.” Ruby tried to get the little girls’ attention on her mother’s and keep her calm. She had once before seen one of Lydia’s breakdowns and it wasn’t pretty.

When Lydia saw Lena, she reached out for her with grabby hands. Lena immediately took Lydia over from Ruby and thanked her with a small smile. Ruby went over to Sam and Alex and sat in between them.

Lydia turns in Lena’s embrace and burrows her head in Lena’s collar. Kara turns toward her family and starts stroking the little girls back to comfort her.

“what wrong ukiem?” Kara asked searching for any sign that could have upset her daughter. Lydia turned her head so she could look at her other mother.

“don’t know them,” Lydia said in a small voice. Both mothers were relieved it wasn’t something more serious.

Everybody else had gone quiet at the exchange of affection. The superfriends were used to the affection of the new mothers. Team Flash, however, wasn’t and was a little shocked to see the young Luthor as caring as she was. The only few times they had seen Lena was when they were working on a crisis or during a few get together. They all liked Lena, but at first, she held everybody at arm's length.

Before coming, Kara had told them the basics of Lydia’s situation. Kara had also warned them Lydia would most likely not say hello ore act like a normal two-year-old. Like Kara had predicted Lydia hadn’t come over ore acted curiously toward the new people in the house.

 “Want me to tell you who they are?” Kara smiled, hoping to keep her calm. Lydia had her head still rested on Lena’s shoulder gave her mother a small nod.

“want to sit on my lap so you know them in the future?” Kara was still smiling while letting her daughter process the information. In threw Luthor fashions her face crunches up. After a long minute, she gave another small nod, reaching out for Kara.

When Kara has her in her arms, she kisses both of Lydia’s cheeks. Telling her how proud she is of her. Lydia is placed on Kara’s lap, facing the newcomers. Kara takes one Lydia’s hands in hers and points with the other to Barry.

“This is Barry. You remember me telling you about him?” hoping to ease Lydia Kara had told her stories about everybody, some more censored than others.

“Fast.” Barry looked amused. Of course, that is what Lydia remembered.

“That’s right sweetheart. I’m 'very' fast.” Barry puffed out his chest a little. Without missing a beat Lydia busted his bubble.

“Mama faster.” Everybody laughed, even Barry.

“okay moving on.” Lena intervened, knowing her daughters' smart comebacks. Even for a two-year-old.

“the lady next to him is Iris.” Lydia doesn’t say anything, but she does give her a little smile.

“I’m Cisco!” it seemed like Cisco just couldn’t contain himself anymore and was almost exploding with how cute the little girl looked.

Lydia curled back into Kara, spooked by the sudden noise. Kara and Lena immediately spring into action to prevent a breakdown. Cisco on his turn gets hits by multiple people. Getting a dead glare from Alex and Sam.

“a good way to go moron. You scared her with your loudness.” Caitlin had become Frost to chastise Cisco. Frost had watched on for most of the night, even she couldn’t deny the cuteness of the girl. So, when Cisco spooked her Frost wasn’t pleased. Not knowing what to do she still wanted to try something.

Getting up slowly, not wanting to spook the girl more Lydia traced her with her eyes, Frost was sure she didn’t even blink. Kara had curled an arm around her while talking to her in a soothing voice, alternated by small kisses to her hairline. Lena in her turn had taken Lydia’s hand in hers to let her know she was there.

“Hey, sweety. My name is Frost.” Lydia didn’t respond but she also wasn’t trying to get away from her. It was kind of strange for Frost. Most people who knew her didn’t like her ore had an opinion about her. Even children tried to avoid her.

“you know I have powers too.” This seemed to draw the girl interest. Frost gives Lydia the kindest smile even team Flash has ever seen from her.

“Want me to show you?” a small nod encouraged her to go on. Putting her hands together Frost calls for her powers. Lydia was looking fascinated as she saw the cold air come from between Frost’s fingers. When she opened her hands, it revealed a snowflake formed from the ice. Lydia looks from the snowflake to Frost and back.

Everybody waits for what the little girl would do, her mother even the most. It caught everybody by surprise when she excitedly clapped her hands and asked for more. After a few figures, she seemed to relax. Lydia even crawled off Kara’s lap and in between her mothers.

Frost had in thirty minutes become Lydia’s favorite person of the night. The excitement was dying down and everybody could see the little girl starting to get tired. She was rubbing her eyes with her tiny fist. Everybody fawned over the cute yawns of the little girl.

Lena decided to make Lydia take a little nap when she started to sway in her seat.

“Alright sweetheart. I think its time for a little nap.” Lena excused herself while scooping up her daughter. Everybody told her to have sweet dreams.

Lydia was already half asleep when she walked into her bedroom with her. When Lydia noticed her bed, she weakly started to fight Lena.

“No, no bed. Not tired. Want to play with Frost.” Lena was glad Lydia had made a new friend., but she also knew what happened if she let it go too far. A temper tantrum until Lydia had exhausted herself completely/

“only a little nap baby. I promise everybody would still be here when you wake up.” Lydia looked at her with huge tired eyes.

“Promise?” her voice sounded sleepy.

“promise,” Lena answered kissing her on her forehead before tucking her in. walking out the bedroom she didn’t forget to turn on the noise-cancelling of the room and taking the baby monitor with her.

 part7

want to support me Buy me a Ko-fi

[superman86to99]

Superman: The Man of Steel #26 (October 1993)

REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN! In this issue: Steel vs. the Cyborg... or, if you prefer, John Henry vs. the Machine. The Man in Black and the Man of Steel are still exploring the Cyborg Superman’s ginormous Engine City (formerly Coast City) when they hear a massive rumble -- looks like someone put the keys in the ignition, which is bad news for everyone on Earth. See, the Cyborg’s plan was to put several of these engines across the planet to turn the Earth into a knock-off Death Star, but his lackey Mongul betrayed him and decided to start the first engine before time. As a result, the whole planet will spin out of orbit and break itself apart due to, uh, physics and stuff.

Our heroes bump into Mongul as he’s making his escape, and he decides to stick around a little while longer to beat their asses. The Man in Black decides to fight Mongul to allow Steel to go into the engine itself and hopefully turn it off before it destroys the planet. Now, Mongul might be a planet-killing bastard, but at least he’s considerate enough to give the Man in Black and Steel a little moment to themselves before they separate. Aw.

“It’s you! The guy who looks exactly like the steel mask I’ve been looking at!”

So, Steel goes into the engine, but the thing is so massive and complex that he doesn’t know how to even start turning it off. Luckily, he gets some unexpected tech assistance from the Cyborg (well, some chunks of metal animated by the Cyborg’s mind) and his complete inability to STFU.

Steel basically just lets the Cyborg keep talking about how the engine works as they fight, then uses that information to formulate a sophisticated plan to shut the machine down. That plan is called “jam the Cyborg and himself into the gears and make the whole thing explode”.

It works! The Cyborg is still alive and he still has a giant, kryptonite-powered fortress in his power, but at least the planet won’t crumble anymore, so that’s something. Anyway, let’s check on how the Man in Black’s been doing against Mongul...

Uh-oh.

Character-Watch:

Superboy had his big character-defining moment a few weeks ago when he pushed himself to the limit to stop that missile, and now it’s Steel’s turn. If Superboy’s moment was about rising up to the occasion, Steel’s is more about using his engineer brain to outsmart the Cyborg. His best stories are the ones where he tackles impossible problems until he finally breaks them down (literally, with a hammer). What a cool character. Too bad he died in this issue and stuff.

Plotline-Watch:

Halfway through the issue we see Green Lantern Hal Jordan coming back to Earth from a mission in space and he’s like “And now to take a big sip of water and check on my beloved home town of Coast City...” Don Sparrow says: “Some rough news, to be sure, but Hal’s been a noble hero for so long, I know he’ll be able to handle the disappointment like the hero as he has been consistently been portrayed for all these decades…”

Don’t worry, we’ll see Hal go “down there” in Green Lantern #46 soon!

We also see Old Man Eradicator flying down on Engine City. It’s all coming together!

Supergirl, once again in her invisible form, tries to help the mostly powerless Man in Black against Mongul, but he showers her with a convenient oil pipe and takes her out of commission in two seconds. If I were the Man in Black, I’d ask for a refund on my Emergency Secret Weapon.

Jeb-Watch: Lois sees Jeb “Homewrecker” Friedman for the first time since he kissed her last month, and he tries to get her attention with a pretty shocking accusation: that she (*gasp*) loves Superman. Jeb expert Don Sparrow says: “I’m pretty famous for my hatred of Jeb in these pages, so I gotta love how hard Lois is ignoring him. Aside from dismissing his sexist jabs, his would-be haymaker about her loving Superman and not Clark is flat out ignored, and to my memory, never brought up again. Besides, if Clark is dead, as Jeb thinks he is, what would be wrong with Lois loving Superman? Stupid Jeb.” Suck it, Jeb.

And I’ll just let Don keep talking now. More after the jump!

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

This entire issue feels to me like it’s being backed with a guitar solo, and the cover is no exception: pure badassery, as Superman and the Man of Steel run from explosions like action movie stars.  The opening splash on page one doubles down on the badassery, with Superman wielding an Image-comics-scale firearm (and while Jon Bogdanove has never shown an inability to draw feet, the convenient smoke hiding them does also remind me of Rob Liefeld, so more Image homage). [Max: I think he covered the feet so we can’t see Steel using his jet boots to look taller than Superman, again.]

Then ANOTHER splash follows on page 2-3 where we see the scale of our heroes relative to the giant engine structure.

Mongul’s bearhug looks pretty painful on page 6, and page 7 gives us yet another variation on the great poster from the Cyborg Superman’s first appearance. [Max: Those shots of Cyborg inside the machines always give me Superman III PTSD.] I love the mixture of low-tech and high tech that Bogdanove uses to show us the alien Engine City.  Aside from wires and gears, we also get shapes that look very analog, like transistors and the like.  Also the Cyborg being shown coming to life through his structures is a real visual playground for the art team, with some of his forms looking like himself, and others looking downright monstrous.

Did I think we’d get to see an oiled up Supergirl when I opened this issue?  No, no I did not.

The beating Mongul lays on Superman is very painfully drawn, particularly that last left hook Superman takes. [Max: Why does this look so familiar? It could be that similar cover image with Bibbo punching Superman, but I have a feeling both things are homages to something else. Some Neal Adams thing maybe?]

Mongul’s power level has always been something of a mystery to me.  Alan Moore’s “For the Man Who Has Everything” put him on a par with Superman, right up there with Darkseid for power level.  But then when Superman fought him in the gladiatorial games on Warworld, Superman didn’t have much trouble beating him, even though he had been out of range of a yellow sun for a very long time and was therefore, again, only using a fraction of his regular power.

The sequence of Steel hammering away at the Cyborg is well done, and appropriately reminiscent of The Mechanical Monsters, from the old Fleischer Superman cartoons (a well that Bogdanove rightly revisits a lot!)

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

This issue serves as a precursor to the Man of Steel comics from the early 2000s, where John Henry Irons served as an unofficial partner to Superman in Superman: The Man of Steel when it was being written by Mark Schultz (one of the more readable Superman titles of the mostly awful Joe Kelly-Joe Casey era).

Mongul’s done a lot of lousy things over the years, but it was downright decent of him to just flat out stand there and wait for Superman and Steel to have their bro moment before attacking the very-weakened Superman. [Max: Great minds, Don.]

This issue reads very choppily, as a lot of the transitions are jarringly abrupt.  From when Superman barely finishes his sentence when they come against Mongul, or later when we cut away from Jeb midsentence to the Cyborg, then jumping right to Steel in the engine room, it can be confusing as a reader.  Anyone else notice this?

Looks like Bog has skipped right past the Clint Eastwood of last week, and is taking the Eradicator right into R. Lee Ermey territory.

It’s fitting that in what amounts to the final issue of this being a Steel comic (until his own later series) that they finally raise the John Henry story, as the inspiration for Steel’s name.  In an industry with a reputation for underrepresenting people of colour, Simonson and Bogdanove’s Superman: the Man of Steel has consistently featured prominent African-American characters, and portrayed them with nuance and dignity rarely afforded in the mid-90s.

I would have liked to seen a little more acknowledgement from the Cyborg of just how much his plans are screwed up, but I suppose it’s all supposed to further demonstrate how insane he is.  One thing after another, his plans fail (Superboy survives, saves Metropolis, Warworld conversion fails, SUPERMAN IS ALIVE, Mongul betrays him, Green Lantern is coming to help, etc).  Now he’s saying “ah, it’s all cool, all that matters is my plan to kill Superman!” Except that he thought that Superman was dead when he hatched this whole plan! [Max: I guess they had to make it sound like there was still stuff on the line before the big climax... but yeah, that was weird. No one’s buying it, Hank.]

Aside from a few pages where they go ALL OUT (like the aforementioned Engine City spread), there’s a real dearth of backgrounds in this issue, with tons of figures on solid or blank backgrounds.

I’m glad we got a little update on Lois after Superman jetbooted away again, it was kind of her to assure them that this is indeed the real Clark who has returned.   Still, that conversation could have been a lot more awkward than it was.

FOOLS! The Man in Black is an impostor! My money’s on Bibbo now.

[pennstateuniversitypress]

#UPWeek: A Q&A with Kathryn Yahner, editor of Keystone Books

PSU Press Acquisitions Editor Kathryn Yahner grew a decades-old regional series into an imprint with impact. Here she answers questions about its history and shares an excerpt from one of her favorite titles.

What’s the origin of the Keystone Books imprint? How did it evolve when you took the helm?

The Keystone Books imprint began as a regional series in 1976 and has been cultivated by several different editors during the last forty-four years. In the 2010s, we determined that having an imprint dedicated to books about Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic geared toward general readers was the best way to continue to reach a wide audience. The imprint has grown to include titles related to all facets of the Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic story: histories, field guides, books of poetry, photo essays, and much more. Since I took the helm about a decade ago, the book-buying landscape has changed a great deal, and we’ve had to readjust. We’ve revised old classics (and are in the process of revising more), we’ve published beautiful coffee-table books with an appeal far beyond the region, and we’ve produced books on topics of great local and national significance: fracking, disability, and LGBTQ rights. In order to bring out books with high production values in today’s market, in some instances, we’ve been very lucky to partner with some wonderful local and state organizations—and the resulting beautiful books have received national attention.

How has editing the series impacted your relationship with local writers and organizations?

Since my role as editor in the Keystone imprint is far more developmentally hands-on than it is for my scholarly list, I have spent months and sometimes years working closely with authors to bring their books to fruition. Many of my authors are local; some live in State College, and I have gotten to know them quite well through meetings and numerous visits to the office. Others live elsewhere, and our relationship is cultivated over the phone or via email. This work has also introduced a close and gratifying relationship with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, with which we have worked (and continue to work) to produce high-quality books. One of my very favorite parts of the job is working closely with local writers to tell their stories.

What local story have you come across through the imprint that’s left the biggest impression on you?

There are many local stories that have left impressions on me in my years working as the editor for the Keystone imprint. One in particular, however, has left a strong impression. Out in Central Pennsylvania, which evolved out of the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project, began with a cold call to the author of an article I had read in Pennsylvania Heritage. When I was growing up in central Pennsylvania, I knew few gay people and knew even less about the LGBTQ history of our area. Working with the authors on this book and getting to know the story helped me appreciate the struggles of those who paved the way for modern rights and the depth of the rural activism that was born in this area. I’ve been fascinated by the unique connections they built and saddened by the horrific discrimination many faced. It is a history that has had local, state, and national implications, and I’m very proud to be a part of a book that is bringing this important story to the public consciousness.

Which Keystone book has most surprised you in terms of its impact, in Pennsylvania and beyond?

Probably Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers: A Visual History of Pennsylvania’s Railroad Lumbering Communities. This book of photographs by the itinerant photographer William T. Clarke is not only one of the most visually stunning books we’ve produced in my years of working with the imprint, but it also has a fascinating backstory. Dozens of glass-plate negatives sat in a barn for decades and were nearly lost because of the resulting damage, but they were recovered and are reproduced in the book, offering evocative and highly detailed scenes of life during the late nineteenth century. This could have been simply a niche regional topic, but the book has had a wide national reach. Once we created a book we were proud of, our design team and marketing team knocked it out of the park to make this book one that people wanted to own and to read. While I knew it was something very special from day one, its total impact has been a pleasant surprise.

===

An excerpt from Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers:

Who were those people? What were they doing? Who was the photographer? Where were the photographs taken? When? How? And why are their pictures here, of all places? Lois Barden asked these questions more than forty years ago. This book is an effort to answer her questions.

Lois and her husband, Bob Barden, were browsing through a toolshed near Honeoye Lake, south of Rochester, New York, in 1974. Bob’s other relatives were sorting through household goods and antiques in the nearby cottage. In the dark shed, Lois spied two wooden crates on the dirt floor in a damp, gloomy corner. They were filled with glass windowpanes. Maybe they’d be useful on their farm. She lifted an eight-by-ten-inch plate from a box and saw something more than dirt on it. She brushed away some of the grime, held it to the light coming through the doorway, squinted at the smudge she’d uncovered, and was shocked. A ghostly face stared back at her, a sudden and unexpected glimpse from a shadowy world beyond the grave. This was not a common windowpane! Seconds after her startling discovery, Lois replaced the glass plate, lifted the heavy crates, and moved them outside. She plucked plate after plate from the boxes and realized they were loaded with photographic negatives of a type she’d never seen before. One thing for sure, she thought, these are no ordinary pictures. And they’re old.

She figured the negatives were made with one of those old-fashioned cameras on a tripod, where the photographer inserted the glass plate into the camera mechanism, huddled under a cloth that was draped over it to block out the light, and looked through the back of the camera to compose and focus the picture before asking the people in front of the lens, “Please remain as still as possible.” Fascinated, Lois hauled the crates to the cottage and asked the relatives if any of them knew anything about the mystery images. No one did. Well, then, did anyone want the plates? No. Sensing the importance of her find, she stored the crates at the family cattle farm near Candor, New York. And there the negatives remained, ignored and nearly forgotten.

Some thirty years later, in early March 2004, Lois was taking a digital photography course at Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York. She mentioned the glass plates to Harry Littell, her instructor, figuring that because he had rephotographed scenes from historic photographs from a contemporary perspective and had helped author books dealing with regional historical photographs, he might be interested in her old negatives. And he was. In fact, when she brought a couple of the plates to the next class, he became excited, saying he thought she’d made an important discovery. Lois was thrilled.

Girls near a stream in the north-central Pennsylvania forest

Upon examination of the crates’ entire contents, they determined that the images depicted primarily forests, logging operations, and community life of long ago. They decided that the entire cache was remarkable and should be saved: the treasure trove consisted of 131 unique glimpses into the past.

Preserving the crates’ contents was arduous. For some plates they first had to remove dirt caked on the surface. Other plates had been exposed to water and the emulsion was nearly curled off the glass. Working carefully, they saved as much of the image as they could on each plate. Then they scanned the negatives, transforming them into digital format. Through the use of modern photographic technology, they rescued the surviving images from further breakage or damage. Harry then used digital tools to remove dust and scratches. Once the negatives were scanned and retouched, prints were made, necessitating further decisions and adjustments to create images that Harry felt would be faithful to the originals. The team decided that large areas of peeling and damaged emulsion at the margins of the images would not be altered. Subsequent prints based on this decision sometimes produced surrealistic effects, but the damaged photographs also reminded viewers that what they saw came from old, fragile negatives. During the restoration and preservation process, Lois and Harry found information scratched in the emulsion at the margins of several negatives. These clues helped them determine that the unknown photographer made the images in various transient logging camps and communities near Galeton and Port Allegany in north-central Pennsylvania during 1897 and 1898.

Lackawanna Lumber Company steam locomotive and tender, north-central Pennsylvania, 1898

For example, an image with the date 1898 scratched in the emulsion, showing a steam locomotive with the words “Lack’a [Lackawanna] Lumber Company” painted on the side of the tender, was helpful. The engineer and fireman were standing in the gangway and cab of Lackawanna Lumber Company rod locomotive No. 6, built in 1881 at the Brooks Locomotive Works, Dunkirk, New York. This locomotive and three other Lackawanna locomotives were kept busy in the 1890s, along with seventy log cars and three Barnhart log loaders. The Lackawanna Lumber Company logging railroad line operated primarily in northwestern Clinton County and extended into Potter County near Cross Fork in north-central Pennsylvania. “Lackies” transported enough logs for an estimated sawmill output of eighty thousand board feet of hemlock a day. Company headquarters were located at Cross Fork and Mina, operating from 1888 to 1903. And other images of gondola cars filled with logs and bark cars carried “Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad” markings, providing a further lead.

At that point, Lois Barden and Harry Littell did not know why these time-consuming gelatin dry plate images were made at what must have been great expense and effort under primitive and trying conditions. Nor did Lois Barden know how or why her husband’s late relatives came into possession of the crates of negatives. Lois and Harry invited a third person, Ron Ostman, and, later, others to help with the historical research concerning the Pennsylvania logging industry at the end of the nineteenth century. An Internet search led the trio to the website of the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, in Ulysses, Pennsylvania. A visit with Delores Buchsen, the museum’s director, and staff members and with Robert Currin, a curator and historian with the Potter County Historical Society in Coudersport, provided rich depositories of expert knowledge and stored information. The search was on.

Photographer William T. Clarke

Courtesy of the Lois Barden Photograph Collection, Candor, New York, BC 21.

[iraniq]

United

*inspired by the Justice League I watched last night*

It was almost the end of the world…. Weird creatures attacking our planet again … Nothing else to do, besides unite!

You weren’t allowed to go to battle with your husband, definitely not because you were pregnant. But simply because you don’t quite have superpowers besides sneaking and knowing secrets, oh boy the secrets you knew ... That was what you were trading with.

It has been 52 hours since they left. No internet, no news. You and another girl stood in the huge living room. You were peacefully reading a book and she was nervously pouting around.

-        Can you please stop! - she looked shocked at you. - Your first rodeo?

She really looked worried.

-        They will be fine. – you turn the other page. -        My boy … finance, already died once … -        Lucky you … - that came up completely wrong, well not that much, sometimes you wish yours was dead too, but only sometimes - I meant… You know, they will at least go back for him. - there was bitterness in your voice. Will they go back for yours too…

Another hour passed by.

-        Why aren’t you worried? -        I live with the thought my King may die any second, so we live like there will be no tomorrow. And instead of us doing it so now, I pursway him to go and help … - your eyes hot tearly. -        Oh, it’s ok … - she rushed to you - Don’t cry, it’s bad for the baby.

You brust in laughing.

-        It’s my 6-th one darling, I know how to handle babies.

Her eyes widened.

-        6? -        Yep, he said we will never have sex again after the twins, which was like 2 and half years ago, but he lasted only 3 days… - you both laughed - And I got him drunk 5 months ago, we had unprotected sex, and voala! - you pointed at your big belly. -        Wow… -        What about you, any kids, plans, something … Or you are waiting after the wedding. -        Well he was… - she paused for a second. -        Oh dear ... - you rubbed her back - I didn’t mention to strike a nerve here. -        No, he was in … coma, we weren’t sure if he was going to wake up. So we are keeping it slow, for now.

You smiled. An old man came in, holding a baby boy.

-        Simeone’s clingy. -        Come here. - you took your son. - Say “hello” Brandon. - the boy stopped crying as he saw you and waved at the girl. After he hugged you for a while. He took off and went to the old man. -        Looks like uncle Al got himself busy! - you joked after you saw the others creeping him from behind. -        Yes. - he answered calmly. But you could tell he was at the pick of his happiness. -        So… - she looked questioning. -        God, no! - you laughed.

Another hour went by.

You were dying on the inside, but didn’t let your kids see it. They had dinner and went to bed. You and the girl were yet again left alone; “uncle Al” was on duty to help the team United. As you could understand from your oldest daughter it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows there. It was very possible they may die wile saving the world. She just texted you this.

-        How old are they? -        The oldest girl is 12, the other is 6, the boy is 4 and the twins are 2 and a half. - you simply smiled and suddenly burst into tears. She came and hug you again. -        Please don’t cry, if it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead by worry right now. -        I am dead already … - you manage to sob, hugging your belly - this will be my last memory if him. -        Don’t talk like this. They will… -        No one will care, not to mention come back for the Clown Prince Of Crime! - you yelled. She froze, moving away at the couch. -        Yeah, Ms. Lane, they will come back for your alien, but no one will do for my King. - you wiped your tears and got up. - Now if you excuse me, I need to pee.

It was around 3 in the morning. She hasn’t spoke to you since you told her who you are. Alfred didn’t call either with news.

-        So why are you here, as you are the bad guy? - she asked with visible hate in her tone. -        Who do you think made all the “ bad guys” - you made air quotes with you fingers - go and join the quest? I trade with secrets, and I am also very good at convincing people … As they had the guts, and found it their duty to rob a bank, it is their duty to save the world they live in, as there will be no banks to rob otherwise… - she stayed silent, she knew you were right, but refused to admit it. -        They are back! - Alfred informed on the com.

* At the Jet Plane*

-        Someone wake him up! -        Are you serious? -        Arthur, do as I say! -        Is he dead? -        No, Barry, he is not dead, but we will be, if he is not awake when we land. -        He is alive! -        You have that kind of system too, awesome. – Barry fangirled. -        Can you wake him up, Victor? -        I think yes, Barry will have to sting him a little, and he will be fine. -        No way man, that’s the Joker, I am not gonna touch him! -        Are you scared of him to? -        It’s not funny mermaid. -        Don’t call me mermaid, Tin man. -        Boys, calm down! -        Thank you, Diana. Why are you so quiet, Clark? -        I want to rest, that’s it. -        Guys, he is waking up, he is waking up … - Barry stepped away, next to Victor. Arthur was sitting between Clark and Diana. And all were staring at J, lying across them. -        Fuck… - he yelled, putting his hand on his head. -        You will live, it’s just a scratch, Victor said it won’t even leave a scar. -        But my hair is ruined, B! She is soo gonna kill you! -        We just won a … -        You haven’t met his Queen! - Bruce was fast enough to answer.

Mr. J just smiled and sit.

-        Do you want a pain killer? - Victor asked. -        I live for the pain! - he growled - Are you scared child? -        Nope, I am not, completely not … -        You should be. Btw who is keeping my wife company? -        Louis. -        You left my fiance with the maniac’s wife? - Clark stood up, and Diana follows, worried they will get in a fight again. -        Chill, the only think your chatty reporter can learn from my maniac wife is how to get you drunk and get herself pregnant.

And then it happened … Bruce brust into laughter. A thing no one had seen or heard before. He was laughing loudly. And it was a pure heart laughter.

-        Don’t laugh man. Just don’t … Not that I don’t love them, just … I am not sure if I am physically able to love them all ant not broke into pieces.

They were all again shattered by this simple and yet unexpected confession. And how close these two “arch enemies” seem to be.

-        It’s the 6-th one right? -        Yeah … I think she is planning on collection or something. - J said, fixing what’s left of his hair. He was having a big scratch on his right, and half of his hair was gone. -        Wait … - Diana started - you are enemies. -        Yes we are … - Bruce said. -        We kinda created each other … So … Why not go friends as well? -        You are friends? -        Jealous much, Superman? - J blinked at him. - I named one of my kids after him. - J lied back - Me and my wifey were on a romantic date, breakibg into Gotham First Bank, and the old rat, over there, took forever to come and catch us, that we manage to even had sex. It was awkward… -        Having sex in the vault? - Barry asked. -        It was awkward for me catching them… -        Doing it in the vault … - J started laughing. -        Because of people like this I live in the ocean. -        So your son is named after him? - Clark asked. -        No, Bruce is an ugly name, we picked Brandon instead. -        I am gonna finally see him. -        Well you would’ve done it earlier when they were born, my Queen send you an invitation. -        I was busy. -        Yeah, go and lie someone else… - J played it offended.

The plane landed.

-        How’s my hair? - J asked Diana. She stared at him, with no answer. -        You are fine. - Bruce tapped his shoulder. -        You know you are getting it, right. -        Yeah I know.

The plane door opened, Arthur was first followed by Diana and Clark, and Barry and Victor, J was fixing his hair in desperate attempt to hide the half that was missing.

You and Lois were standing there waiting. Clark come and hug her. You on the other hand were not that patient and went through, as you walk, Victor stood at your way.

-        Go away, overgrown toaster! – you yelled and he stepped away in surprise. -        Oh, boy! – Barry whispered, certain you will be in his “I am afraid of” list. As you saw J you screamed loudly, causing everyone to turn at you. -        Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss? -        Tears of joy, I hate job hunting. -        Vacations over! – he said grinning. Quoting movie lines was indeed your thing.

You rushed and hug him. He was dirty and smelly, but it didn’t matter to you. You cover him in kissed while crying loudly. He just pet your hair, the long looks he so much love. As you stopped to take a breath you noticed his wound. You gasped and covered your mouth; tears were coming all over again.

-        Chill, Doll, it won’t even leave a scar, and … the hair will grow back again. – he started.

You looked at Batman.

-        Ma’am.

You smiled. And kissed your King’s lips gently.

-        Ugh … you stink… -        Like s superhero, I know! – he hugged you and started walking to the inside of the cave. -        It’s disgrosting! You can’t hug our kids like this. -        I know … Why are you shaking, are you cold? -        I forgot to pee. – you whined and he laughed, slapping your butt, and you rush inside. -        Run, Forrest, Run! – he yelled after you laughing. -        Do you know they have 5 kids? – Louis whispered to Clark. -        Did she told you how to get me drunk and get yourself pregnant? -        Yes, she insisted on me doing this, saying you are prefect gene material. -        Please don’t do this to me, I’ll volunteer. – they both laughed and walked in.

Only Barry, Victor, Bruce and Diana were left.

-        They are odd. – Barry started – but they are indeed couple goals … - the others stared at him – What, you know it’s true, just look at them. Like the Addams family but … in a homicide manic way … -        Yes, they are! – Bruce agreed. -        You may take some notes. – Diana teased. Alfred walked in. -        Master Wayne, your nephews are waiting. -        Are they all look like him?

Alfred chuckled.

-        Oh, man… - Bruce took his mask off. – And I thought the worst part was over.

They all got a shower and get prepared for dinner, or very early breakfast.

-        Why does the other kids have such big age difference from the first one? – Alfred asked as he was fixing Bruce’s shirt, who was still in huge pain to do it himself. -        The first one was Jack’s, before he turned into The Joker, they are a couple since kids, she was 14 when the girl was born. -        And he told you this, when you were … -        Yes. His father killed my parents and I pushed him into the chemicals … I guess we are even now. Why do you think they keep sending me invitations of baby showers and sonogram photos. -        So you check them? – Alfred smiled. -        Well … you can tell he is the only friend I have … in a way. -        You have more now. It’s not a bad thing. -        As long as they don’t turn into psychopaths, I guess it is.

In your room the kids were hugging and kissing their father.

-        So you are e hero now? – the oldest asked. -        Yep! Right in Batsy’s face.

They all laughed and cheered.

-        Come on, time for food. -        But you just ate mom. – the other girl said. -        Dunno, if it was for me or for him, so I have to eat again. -        Doll … - J grabbed your hand, letting you alone in the room, after the girls ran to meet uncle B. – You could’ve said you wanted another kid. It was a dick move! You laughed. -        I knew this will happen, and I suspect you will want to help, because if the children, and I … I was afraid, you won’t come back, so I wanted to have as much memories of you as I could.

He looked at his feet smiling.

-        Liar! You want a full collection don’t you! -        Fuck you, J! Can’t a girl dream. -        Anything my Queen wants! -        Baby wants, baby gets! – you smiled and kissed him gently. – I hope this hair will be fine soon, or I will be the end of the world. -        Yes, Ma’am!

______________________

@diyunho @rhina988 @nikkitasevoli @auntiemama1 @wolfgirl1074 @sookieblack12 @spillinginkwithlove @jayded-reality @cadeathens @fanalityfiction @lady-grinning-soul-k @lylabell2013 @larissaivanov @lostnorthofheaven @leto-madness @elliegrace139 @heavenlygaga @lovermrjoker @live-for-me-puddin @puddin-i-cant-swim

[rachelbrosnahanweb]

New Update has been published on Rachel Brosnahan Web

New Post has been published on http://rachel-brosnahan.org/2018/12/12/press-alex-borstein-talks-about-rachel-brosnahan-and-why-she-loves-the-world-of-the-marvelous-mrs-maisel/

Press: Alex Borstein Talks About Rachel Brosnahan and Why She Loves the World of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Sometimes it all comes down to having just the right chemistry. Several years ago, when Alex Borstein heard about Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Daniel Palladino’s idea for a television show about a woman in the ’50s doing stand-up, breaking into a man’s business and balancing family, and she was definitely intrigued.

This was two years before Sherman-Palladino actually had a script and mentioned there might be a part for Borstein, who portrays Susie Myerson, the curmudgeonly manager of Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) in the critically-acclaimed series from Amazon Studios.

The much-anticipated series, which garnered eight Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, recently returned for season 2. The third season of colorful episodes has already been ordered.

Borstein, 47, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress for Mrs. Maisel, has two decades of show business experience in such diverse projects as MADtv, Getting On and the voice of Lois Griffin on Family Guy and films Good Night, Good Luck, Dinner for Schmucks, Ted and A Million Ways to Die in the West. She has known the creators of Mrs. Maisel for many years and appeared as a cranky harpist and eccentric seamstress in the beloved mother-daughter series Gilmore Girls, also from the same creative team.

For Borstein reading the part of Susie opposite of Brosnahan’s Midge for the first time seemed like kismet. “It is really just kind of like speed dating; either it’s there, or not and it was just there,” she recalled. “It was something you can’t really put in a script; that’s how chemistry works.”

How is the second season of Mrs. Maisel different for you than the first? Are you more comfortable in Susie’s skin?

The newness is gone and now you’re stuck with this character, and what do you do to make it different and not hit the same notes all the time? And in Susie and Midge’s relationship, the honeymoon is over. They are, ‘OK, let’s do this. Now, we’re thrust into this relationship. But do I even like you? Can I work with you? Why are you annoying? You’re passive aggressive. Well, you’re aggressive-aggressive.’ So we have all this back and forth because Susie and Midge are a kind of an Odd Couple that happens.

Did you expect both the show and your character to be so well-embraced?

I know that Amy creates incredible worlds and I knew when I read the first script that this was one of those worlds. I knew that the part was special because Susie is such a cool woman to play, as are all of the women in it…I didn’t know how this show would be received but I was pleasantly surprised that it has been so warmly embraced.

What’s it like to be in that world created in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? When I watch the show I see this nostalgia for those who remember that time and a yearning for it for those of us who were too young to remember it.

It’s cool because in some ways it feels like this nostalgic fantasy and kind of cozy and safe… In other ways, it was a pretty turbulent time that was coming up with civil rights around the corner… It’s taking a picture of one tiny space within that world but there’s something very warm when you show up to the set and it’s all designed in the ’50s, and the cars from that period are all parked in the streets, and everyone that walks by is Dapper Dan and dressed to the nines. There’s something very lovely and calming about it in today’s crazy world. So, then going out of that world into your real life, is that jarring to you?

Yeah. It’s quite different, but Susie, the character, is hard-assed, and aggressive, and was kind of before her time. So, she doesn’t feel antiquated or old-fashioned. She feels like she could really fit into any time period.

Talk about the chemistry between you and Rachel, because it’s pretty strong right from the pilot and it continues to increase on-screen.

I came to New York to audition for Susie. I probably spent half an hour with Dan and Amy alone and then Rachel came in and we read together. And from the get-go, the chemistry was there. We just had this Mary Tyler Richards-Rhoda kind of thing that just worked and it worked well.

What do you think are the ingredients?

I don’t want to say it was pure luck because Amy wrote it and she said she had me in mind. She’d already found Rachel, so it’s not shocking that it worked, and Amy’s taste is pretty cool, and so she knows what’s going to go together.

It is a phenomenal cast of highly skilled actors, who have really sunk their teeth into these characters.

Like, Tony Shalhoub, I have had a massive crush on him from Galaxy Quest, and I got to know him years ago when he did a guest starring role on MADtv, the sketch show that I was on. I just thought he was amazing and he was so kind, and so cool to work with, and had always been one of my favorite people. When I heard he was doing this show, it was like ‘holy cow,’ here is yet another reason that I couldn’t possibly say no.

Have you worked together yet?

In season 2, our worlds meet a tiny bit. But he and I have yet to really get down and dirty and get to really, really work together. I’m hoping as the show continues to go, there’ll be more and more.

You do work with Michael Zegen, who plays Midge’s husband Joel?

Yes, and the chemistry between Michael and I, playing Joel, is just perfect too, that there is a disdain and a competitiveness between the two characters that it’s really cool and works really well between us.

You’re both vying for Midge’s attention.

It’s a love triangle. It really is.

Have you been to comedy clubs since the show began and did Mrs. Maisel change your perspective of them?

I did stand-up for a lot of years, and I’ll go if there’s somebody I know is there to see them. I still love seeing a well-crafted set, but it’s not my choice for a night out. It’s like I don’t watch sketch comedy anymore after doing MADtv for years.

It sounds like something that your character Susie might say. You must be proud of winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy. What was the experience like?

Very strange. First of all, I was very late. My parents and one of my best friends, Will, also came with me. He lives close to my parents. So, I told him to come to our house and I will pick everyone up with the car service. So, of course, he was late. We showed up and they wouldn’t let us in. They said, ‘You have to wait until a commercial break.’ And I’m getting texts of ‘Where the hell are you?’ I was like, ‘Excuse me, I don’t want to cause any trouble, but they’re telling me I need to be sitting because I think it’s time for my awards category…’ and they are not letting us sit, they are still telling us we have to wait…

That sounds nerve-wracking.

Yes. It was just very crazy, and stressful, and then finally they’re like, ‘OK, you can go in and sit down.’ Then literally, we sat down, and at that moment they announced, ‘The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are…’ So, I just made it. So when they called my name I was so not prepared in any way.

During the hiatus, are you writing? Are you acting? Are you looking for different projects?

I live in Barcelona, Spain, and I’m doing a musical with a small theater company there that opens on January 31. So, I have two children, and the bulk of my days is getting them to the bus stop, picking them up, going to piano lessons, going to dance, homework and making dinner, yelling at them, bath time, and then I go to rehearsals for this musical, which I’m just loving it so much. The musical is like feeding me.

How old are your children?

My daughter is 6 and my son is 10.

Have they seen the episodes of the Gilmore Girls that you’re in?

No, I don’t think so. I don’t think they’ve seen any Gilmore. They have come to the set of Mrs. Maisel and seen some episodes that we’re shooting. And the project I did before this was called Getting On, and they often came to the set. Well, my baby girl was born on that set, basically, so she was there every day, but my son was about 4 years old at the time and he visited a lot.

Do people recognize you from this show or any other work while your children are around, and what’s that like?

Yeah, people do. It bothers my son a great deal. If someone asks for a photo, he does not like it.

Yeah, he’s being protective.

He gets very angry and he knows that I don’t want him in any photos, so he’ll try to jump in to mess up the photo.

I used to go to Broadway shows in the ’80s and there was a group of autograph collectors who would share their stories. One guy had nearly every famous person who had performed on Broadway for some 50 years.

Well, it’s nice when someone is an actual collector. But now, people wait outside and they have 15 cards and they want you to sign them all, and you know they are going to put them on eBay that night. So I want to say, ‘What are you doing? This isn’t for you. This is Crazy!’

Well, if you put their name on the autograph they are probably not going to sell it.

Many times, I will… If someone says, ‘Can you just sign your name, please?’ I’ll write, ‘To eBay’ and then I sign my name or I sign someone else’s name and they don’t notice until they get home.

Source: Parade

[englishclassgermanlit-blog]

10 Interesting German Fiction Books

1. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, A.W. Wheen (Translator)

“This is the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German army of World War I. These young men become enthusiastic soldiers, but their world of duty, culture, and progress breaks into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the hatred that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another – if only he can come out of the war alive.’ (goodreads)

2. The Trialby Franz Kafka, Edwin Muir (Translator), Willa Muir (Translator), Max Brod (Afterword)

“Written in 1914 but not published until 1925, a year after Kafka’s death, The Trial is the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information. Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness of totalitarianism, The Trial has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers.” (goodreads)

3. The Readerby Bernhard Schlink, Carol Brown Janeway (Translator)

“Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany. When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.” (Goodreads)

4. Every Man Dies Aloneby Hans Fallada, Michael Hofmann (Translator), Geoff Wilkes (Afterword)

“First published in Germany in 1947, Every Man Dies Alone is a true masterpiece from a bestselling writer who saw his life crumble following his decision not to flee Germany and his refusal to join the Nazi party. The novel presents a richly detailed portrait of life in Berlin under the Nazis and tells the sweeping saga of one working-class couple’s decision to take a stand when their only son is killed at the front. With nothing but their grief and each other against the awesome power of the Reich, Otto and Anna Quangel launch a simple, clandestine resistance campaign that soon has an enraged Gestapo on their trail, and a world of terrified neighbors and cynical snitches ready to turn them in. In the end, Every Man Dies Alone is more than an edge-of-your-seat thriller, more than a moving romance, even more than literature of the highest order—it’s a deeply stirring story of two people standing up for what’s right, and for each other.” (summary.com)

5. Austerlitzby W.G. Sebald, Anthea Bell (Translator)

“In 1939, five-year-old Jacques Austerlitz is sent to England on a Kindertransport and placed with foster parents. This childless couple promptly erase from the boy all knowledge of his identity and he grows up ignorant of his past. Later in life, after a career as an architectural historian, Austerlitz - having avoided all clues that might point to his origin - finds the past returning to haunt him and he is forced to explore what happened fifty years before...” (Back cover of book)

6. Anne Frank : The Biographyby Melissa Müller, Rita Kimber (Translation), Robert Kimber (Translation)

“The first biography of the girl whose fate has touched the lives of millions. For people all over the world, Anne Frank, the vivacious, intelligent Jewish girl with a crooked smile and huge dark eyes, has become the "human face of the Holocaust." Her diary of twenty-five months in hiding, a precious record of her struggle to keep hope alive through the darkest days of this century, has touched the hearts of millions. Here, after five decades, is the first biography of this remarkable figure. Drawing on exclusive interviews with family and friends, on previously unavailable correspondence, and on documents long kept secret, Melissa Muller creates a nuanced portrait of her famous subject. This is the flesh-and-blood Anne Frank, unsentimentalized and so all the more affecting--Anne Frank restored to history. Muller traces Frank's life from an idyllic childhood in an assimilated family well established in Frankfurt banking circles to her passionate adolescence in German-occupied Amsterdam and her desperate in Bergen Belsen at the age of sixteen. Full of revelations, this richly textured biography casts new light on Anne's relations with her mother, whom she treats harshly in the diary, and solves an enduring mystery: who betrayed the families hiding in the annex just when liberation was at hand? This is an indispensable volume for all those who seek a deeper, richer understanding of Anne Frank and the brutal times in which she lived and died.” (history.com)

7. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germanyby William L. Shirer

“Hitler boasted that The Third Reich would last a thousand years. It lasted only 12. But those 12 years contained some of the most catastrophic events Western civilization has ever known.

No other powerful empire ever bequeathed such mountains of evidence about its birth and destruction as the Third Reich. When the bitter war was over, and before the Nazis could destroy their files, the Allied demand for unconditional surrender produced an almost hour-by-hour record of the nightmare empire built by Adolph Hitler. This record included the testimony of Nazi leaders and of concentration camp inmates, the diaries of officials, transcripts of secret conferences, army orders, private letters—all the vast paperwork behind Hitler's drive to conquer the world.

The famed foreign correspondent and historian William L. Shirer, who had watched and reported on the Nazis since 1925, spent five and a half years sifting through this massive documentation. The result is a monumental study that has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of one of the most frightening chapters in the history of mankind.

This worldwide bestseller has been acclaimed as the definitive book on Nazi Germany; it is a classic work.

The accounts of how the United States got involved and how Hitler used Mussolini and Japan are astonishing, and the coverage of the war-from Germany's early successes to her eventual defeat-is must reading.” (Goodreads)

8. Outlander (Outlander #1)by Diana Gabaldon

“The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon—when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord . . . 1743. Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life . . . and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire . . . and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.” (goodreads)

9. Number the Starsby Lois Lowry

“Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.”(Goodreads)

10. Debunking Holocaust Denial Theoriesby James Morcan (Goodreads Author), Lance Morcan (Goodreads Author),Hetty E. Verolme (Foreword)

“DEBUNKING HOLOCAUST DENIAL THEORIES: Two Non-Jews Affirm the Historicity of the Nazi Genocide, by independent researchers and filmmakers James Morcan & Lance Morcan with a foreword by Holocaust survivor Hetty E. Verolme (author of The Children's House of Belsen), aims to end the denial once and for all by tackling the bizarre phenomenon head-on. Written in close consultation with Holocaust survivors and World War Two historians, no stone is left unturned in meticulously verifying the historical facts of the genocide. The Morcans present a wide array of sources including Nazi documentation, eyewitness accounts, scientific reports and shocking photographic evidence to shut down the debate deniers wish to create.” (Goodreads) 

[workcamp2017-blog]

On Collecting Memories

by Dan Q. Dao

Another first day of work camp has come and gone (rather smoothly, I must say). Each year with Sunflower Mission presents a new set of challenges and opportunities, a new roster of faces and personalities, and, as a writer, my favorite: a new collection of words and memories. 

Dan Q. Dao and friends during the 2014 workcamp in Sadec, Vietnam. (Photo by Antonio Delgado)

As I set up our annual blog once again, I embrace the opportunity to tell the story of what we do and what we experience in Vietnam—through all of our words, photos, videos, and yes, even Instagram posts of food. Posting our first round of blogs tonight, I got a little peek into each person’s reason for attending camp and a little insight on what they hope to take away. 

With the first-time volunteers, it’s always refreshing to hear from new voices. And with returning veterans (looking at you, Kody), it’s remarkable to see how much you’ve all changed. And on that note, here’s a look back through some of my favorite little memories from the past years of SM workcamp blogs: 

from “Round 6″ by Don Dao (2015):

“Tiên was among the first children who braved their way past the school gates to interact with us, and by the second day of work camp, he was there patiently waiting for our morning arrival. He played around like the rest of the children, stealing hats off our heads and climbing on my back as I spun around, but he also demonstrated a genuine and caring nature, voluntarily cleaning oil paint off our arms and helping us pick up trash around the school yard. The day we finished the school, he went home from the completion ceremony without saying bye to us. Before we left, Carissa and I made the short run up to his house. He was hesitant to hug us goodbye as he had many times before, not wanting to accept that we would no longer return to the school the next morning.”

Tien (Photo by Don Dao)

from “Microscopic View” by Bùi Thanh Hằng (2015):

“It is not so easy to treat patients here. What can I do if they cannot hear, cannot see, cannot sleep, cannot eat because of frequent tummy ache, cannot carry the heavy weights they used to be able to carry. We have medications to give them: vitamins, Glucosamine, antibiotics, blood pressure pills. But we cannot give them hearing aids, do cataract surgery, order routine blood tests,  order fancy MRI or CT scans to diagnose their diseases. The unforgettable advice from my wise professors in first year of medical school still rings loud and clear in my head: when unable to treat, the least one can do is to give comfort.”

from “Running with Umbrellas” by Katie Nguyen (2014): 

“By lunchtime, a mini monsoon began to brew. I felt shocked seeing all the kids running out in the rain, but apparently it was normal! I wanted to join the fun, but instead of rushing out, I slowly walked. With an umbrella. I was surprised to find that the children had actually never seen an umbrella before, and it made me explode into laughter to see them running back and forth with my colorful cover bent over their heads.”

Girls with Katie’s umbrella in Sadec, Vietnam (Photo by Dan Q. Dao)

from “Two Weeks of Amazement” by Trang Nguyen (2014):

“I could understand them because I was once a poor child from the countryside. A notebook and pencil could bring a huge smile to a poor child yearning to learn.”

from “Selfless Kindness” by Claudia DeMarini-Welihan (2014):

“It was not the fact that Trang shared her candy what became astonishing to me, instead the fact that she shared her ONLY candy. Vietnamese people sure do not have many material possessions but they are the owners of endless kindheartedness, which most of us could use a refill of.”

Claudia DeMarini-Welihan with Trang in Sadec, Vietnam (Photo courtesy of Claudia DeMarini-Welihan)

from “Paint-Stained Clothes” by Brandon Trinh (2012):

“We prepared little gift bags with toothpaste, toothbrushes, school supplies and notebooks, and a backpack for each student. To see their faces as they received their gift bags was really truly touching, they were so happy to open their bags and see the different things they just got.”

Brandon Trinh presents gifts to students in Quang Loi District. (Photo by Dan Q. Dao)

from “Being a Teacher” by Zoe Pham  (2012):

“Most of the students had never seen laptops before either, and watched eagerly as we showed them how to use the mouse...They were very serious about finding right pieces and fitting them together, and it was very fun helping them put it together. It was amazing how they went from not knowing which way to fit the legos, to building a machine by themselves. I was very proud of my kids.”

from “SM Flashback” by Kim-Tuyen Tran (2011):

“Once we arrived and dove into the wall painting activities, I was humming along like a happy bee and did not let anything bother me. The sweat streaming down my face as I painted the wall were coming down so fast, I did not bother to wipe them at all. We joked about being in a sauna as we climbed up the table to paint the top of the wall. Strangely, we felt very happy and full of life as we sweated and worked together painting, cleaning, mopping, and dusting.”

from “My New Best Friend Khanh!” by Kody Ngo (2011):

“I made quite a few friends from both from the school and the volunteers for Sunflower mission, but there was one friend that stood out more than the others. A local 5 year old boy, Khanh, who has a dark tan, and wears clothes that are always one or two sizes bigger than usual. He would always come back for piggy-back rides, water, candy, etc. He is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen!!! I just hope that you or any other person who's reading this can meet a child as sweet as Khanh!!!!!”

Khanh (Photo by Nanhi Tran)

- blogmaster Dan