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mythical-lotus · 1 year

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This is a thought I had about God of War Ragnarok that I feel like I've not seen anyone else discuss but has plagued my mind since it ended. Everyone - characters and players alike - seem to forget that Brok accepted his death at Odin's hand.

Let me elaborate.

Brok (and Sindri) built Mjolnir for Thor. He had worked with the Aesir in the past. And, upon seeing the horrible destruction wrought from the hammer, created the Leviathan Axe for Faye. He was also a dwarf, and while we may not know the exact timeline of Asgard's occupation, he is obviously well aware of what Odin did in his home realm - specifically to what happened to dwarves who attempted revolution or other uprising.

The point is, Brok was very aware of what Odin and Asgard were like when he decided to help Kratos and Atreus.

Now, on to Post-Brok's death.

Obviously Sindri is heartbroken, and I cannot blame him for his anger against Atreus and Kratos in any way at this point in time. They were the people who effectively recruited Brok and Sindri into the protagonists' group, and even if the two dwarves were happy to do it, Kratos and Atreus were still the ones who asked them to. Brok's death resulted from that request.

But it was still Brok's informed and willing choice.

To quote Freya from God of War 2018, "I put my needs, my fears before [Baldur's] own." And that feels very much like what Sindri has done with Brok in my opinion.

When Brok originally died in the forge, Sindri saved him but refused to tell Brok what happened and in turn caused their split. When he died a second time by Odin's hand, Sindri came to blame Atreus (and to some extent the others), regardless of Brok's agency and knowledge of what he was getting into. Brok knew that they were heading towards Ragnarok and feasibly their deaths. He obviously didn't want to die, but he openly accepted the risks that came with aiding Atreus.

Sindri placed his own fear of being alone above the desires of Brok to know how he died and to help with Ragnarok.

I should add here that it's one thing for Sindri to blame Atreus initially, because he was grieving the death of his beloved brother and literally about to go to war. I won't blame him for that.

But, given what's been set up in the games, Sindri will probably continue to be antagonistic. And, if he continues to blame Atreus for what happened to Brok - it will draw an interesting parallel to Kratos and Freya in my opinion.

One party blaming the other for the death of a loved one that was partially the blamed person's fault, while the true culprit (Odin in both cases) is left unacknowledged. In the first case, Odin is ignored because Freya could not get to him, but she could get to Kratos and blame him for Baldur's death. In the second case, Odin is already dead by Sindri's own hand, Brok's soul cannot be revived, and Sindri mostly lacks the power to do more that tell Atreus he hates him. There is no satisfying vengeance to Sindri's grief that hasn't already been achieved, which is why I think he'll be an antagonist in the future, since he's obviously still angry.

There's also a side-tangent I could write on - the fact that Sindri was sent to rally the dwarves against Asgard, but chose not to involve them during Ragnarok. Obviously it did successfully keep the dwarves safe, which was Sindri's intention - but it robbed them of their ability to fight for their freedom during Ragnarok (something they probably wanted to do very badly considering the rebellions talked about in the game), which is once again a parallel to Kratos, Freya, and Baldur's death.

We see it in almost every other aspect of the games' story. Atreus and Kratos lying or withholding details from each other - not maliciously, but with the intent to protect in a way that backfires (in both 2018 and Ragnarok). The same with Freya and Baldur (her protection spell driving him insane), and even with Thrud, Thor, and Sif (her mother claiming that Thrud can't be a Valkyrie because Sif is afraid of what Odin will make her do in that role, while Thor encourages it so that she might be strong enough to keep herself safe).

And finally, Sindri claiming that Brok's death was the fault of Atreus despite Brok's informed and willing choice to fight Odin, denying Brok agency over his choice to help, even in death.

A quote Kratos from God of War Ragnarok to sum this whole thing up, "I do not regret saving your life and never will. But the choice between life and death should have been yours to make. I should not have robbed you of that choice."

#damn that was long #god of war ragnarok #god of war #god of war ragnarok spoilers #god of war 2018 #atreus #freya #kratos #brok #sindri #brok and sindri #god of war baldur #god of war odin #yes i am tagging literally everything #i spent too long on this not to add tags #gaming discussion #is that a tag ppl use? idk #anyway happy reading

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smalltimidbean · 6 months

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Alternative to the last post with 03012's unique threat display hehe

#those markings are called 'eyes' for a reason y'know!#this also did not turn out how I wanted but I spent way too long on it and it is still cool regardless #OC: Cas the Peppiclone #pizza tower oc #pizza tower #gif #idk how to tag this exactly so please lemme know if I need to add extra cw tags!!!#eye contact #scopophobia

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basicallyjaywalker · 4 months

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Wanna ramble about a moment/character in ninjago you think people need to talk about more?

I don't know who you are anon, but I'm glad you asked!

I am desperate for people to character-analyze Wu. I'm desperate for a lot of character analysis including Nya but since I got a lot of my Nya feelings out with some lovely folks the other night (edit: the other night was a month ago dw about it. this took a minute) I'm going with Wu this time

Master Wu to me is such an interesting case of a character who it is so easy to ignore the bits of the show that hint at his wider issues and traumas. He is a man defined heavily by his family and by his past. A lot of criticism he gets, I think, is due in part to that.

I've mentioned before that I've been rewatching S1 with a friend of mine and intermittently pausing to infodump on them about interesting character things I notice from that season. A lot of that has been Wu-focused because despite having seen RotS dozens of times throughout my life (watching it on CN, watching it on Netflix when only it and Legacy were around, rewatching it with friends) I have only just started noticing the seeds of character written in.

I might also just be reading too much into things, but hear me out

In S1 (and by extension, the pilots), Wu is characterized as your typical old wise teacher. In the first few minutes of EP1: Rise of the Snakes, he is chewing out the Ninja for playing video games instead of training. The line he uses? "Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today."

It's a line that gets repeated throughout the series. In fact, it gets repeated that very episode when the ninja go (pun not intended) to fight the Hypnobrai and a literal pre-teen. At first, it seems to just be a piece of wisdom. Some old proverb Wu's picked up over the years, possibly one he even coined himself. However, in EP7: Tick Tock, Wu tells the story of who, possibly, first told him this.

(Source: Tick Tock/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added.)

It was Garmadon. Now, I'm not gonna dwell too long on Garmadon, if you spend five minutes talking to me you'll learn he was the first character whose story I obsessed over and I want this essay to be about Wu, but I think he plays a role in Wu's overall story, as does Wu's family as a whole.

Prior to this, Wu and Garmadon's relationship has been more of a sibling rivalry taken to a good vs. evil extreme. We didn't know why Garmadon was evil and we didn't know about Wu and his relationship as kids. However, this scene establishes the backstory. They were, as Wu puts it, "the best of friends." That is, until Garmadon gets bit by the Devourer going to get the katana Wu lost.

Now, I know the Devourer bite was destined to happen because of the Overlord or some shit, but Wu doesn't. As far as he's concerned, Garmadon getting bit was a direct consequence of both his mistake and his cowardice. He lost the katana. He was too scared to get it. Garmadon went over instead. Garmadon got bit.

The scene goes on to show the FSM tending to Garmadon in the aftermath. Wu is watching from behind the door, likely told to stay back, but concerned. And in his POV, we get this intense moment, where Garmadon turns, looks directly at him (his eyes turning bright red for the first time), and says "It's all Wu's fault!"

(This clip should begin at the start of Wu eavesdropping. If it doesn't, skip to 0:58. I highly recommend also paying attention to Wu's body language during this scene.)

The camerawork does a great job of showing how this probably felt for Wu. It zooms in, Garmadon's voice echoes, and the background blurs. We see in the flashback that this is a moment Wu has etched into his memory. Not to mention, he was likely a very young child when this happened. LEGO characters' ages are weird, but Wu in this scene has the Big Eyes, which always seem to be used for characters under 12. We don't know exactly how much older Garmadon is to my knowledge, but he doesn't have the Big Eyes, so he's probably closer to 12 and a few years older than Wu for sure.

Imagine that. Being in elementary school and your older siblings gets hurt. They're acting strange. They're lashing out at your father. Then, they blame it all on you. They're hurt because of you. Wouldn't you internalize that?

I could go on about Wu's relationship with Garmadon, but again, I think I've spent enough time on it and I don't want to only focus on that. It's an important part, but there are others.

Let's talk about Wu's relationship with his dad.

Now, I have not yet read the Spinjitzu Brothers series. I cannot speak to any development of Wu and the FSM's relationship in there. I have, however, read The Book of Spinjitzu and blogged some of my thoughts on it here, including some of what it says about Wu.

For those who haven't read it, first, there is a Google Drive folder floating around with all of the canon spinoff books/graphic novels in it. Here's the link if you wanna read them!

The FSM is an... intriguing figure. I mean, in the series he's basically god? He made the entire world. That's already a very high bar to live up to. Then, in Book of Spinjitzu, there's a few specific parts that, when I read them, signaled that Wu internalized a specific message when he was young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 3).

Wu does not want to disappoint his father. It is up to him (and Garmadon until he turns evil) to "uphold the legacy of Spinjitzu" and, by extension, his family. He says he was "very young" when this was explained to him. Considering he seems to already be training at an elementary age, "very young" means VERY young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 16).

Here, we again see Wu being very aware that he has some large burden to carry. Something else interesting here is that the thought of the Green Ninja Prophecy is already weighing on him too. His considering if he might be the Green Ninja is of extra interest because of how the Green Ninja Prophecy and the--I wouldn't call it obsession, possibly fixation?--with who it is factors into his later actions, but we'll get to that later.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 19).

This one in particular gets me because it comes after Wu mentions Garmadon becoming more evil. It is a statement of power. Wu knows that the legacy of Spinjitzu now rests in his hands alone. He cannot let himself fall the way Garmadon did. He cannot disappoint his father. Whether or not the FSM intended it, Wu always knew the fate of the world rested, at least in part, upon his shoulder. He knew this from the time he was a young boy and it remains in his mind to this day.

Now, these quotes are indirect, but they all point to one clear idea: As a child, Wu internalized the idea that he alone is responsible for keeping Ninjago safe. He will play a pivotal role in its history.

There's not evidence in this book that the FSM's was a bad father, per se. However, just because one doesn't set out to harm their children, doesn't mean they won't. I often say Wu has an "Atlas complex," which I have no idea if it is an actual concept but use it to refer to this idea. Wu feels as though he is responsible for holding up the world, much like Atlas. He must keep the balance, he must solve the Green Ninja prophecy, he must make his father proud.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 61).

I'm going to get further into what this means for Wu as a teacher to the current Ninja Team, but for now let's look at Wu's first foray into teaching.

Morro. Wu's Biggest Mistake.

That might seem like an overstatement, but it's not.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

Okay he says regret, not mistake, but I was paraphrasing.

Let's turn back to his quote about his destiny. Wu writes, "Is my life's mission to be the Green Ninja? Or maybe it will be to find the Green Ninja and protect him (or her)??"

From a very young age, Wu was not only aware of the Green Ninja but prophecy but also thinking about his place in it. We see this again when he takes Morro in and trains him.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added)

A big thing Wu is criticized for here is making Morro believe he is meant to be more. That he is the Chosen One. And Morro, being a young homeless orphan just now given some semblance of power and protection, latches onto that. And I can see it, but when you take into account the above that he was trained from (likely) a younger age than Morro and given a similar level of responsibility, it becomes more understandable. Wu is just doing what he was taught. He doesn't believe that he is harming Morro until it is too late.

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This is the entire story, but I'm specifically going to be discussing 1:36 onwards here. I also wanted to add that rewatching this scene made me lay down on the floor! What the fuck! But I digress.

There's a lot going on in this scene. For one, Wu washing his hands of Morro in some ways, but not others. He turns his back on Morro when he tells him that destiny has decided, but looks at him again when Morro storms out. He goes to save Morro from the Grundal, but decides that he cannot "teach those who would not listen." Most importantly, when Morro leaves to go find the Tomb of the FSM, Wu leaves the door open. He waits for Morro to return, but never goes after him. And Morro never comes back.

Wu gives Morro's fate a dismissive response at the end of his ghost story ("I am saddened he was banished to the Cursed Realm") but it's clear he still cares deeply about him in the finale of the season.

youtube

Wu's VA in this is phenomenal btw. That "Please Morro!" and "MORRO!" make my heart ache.

Morro believed Wu stopped caring, but he didn't. Even after all he's done, even after trying to destroy all of Ninjago--destroying what Wu had spent his life trying to protect--Wu tries to save him. He begs for Morro to come with him. Morro refuses, Wu watches him perish.

Someone else Wu is close to is gone. Wu again considers himself responsible. Everything is his fault.

And finally, we reach Wu today. A cautious, secretive man. He loves his students, this much is clear. Even as early as the pilots, he drops his wise teacher persona to joke around with them.

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As with Morro, he trains them like his father did him. He even uses the same methods his father used when he trains them.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 32)

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While he is hard on the Ninja, wanting them to succeed and training them to help defend the Realm, he lets his guard down more than it seems he did with Morro. He also learned a valuable message from his experience with Morro when he hides the Green Ninja Prophecy from the Ninja, getting angry when they start to push themselves in the same way Morro did upon learning about it. It's clear he doesn't want a repeat.

Now, I can't speak for later seasons (I will eventually) but this fear of repeats, his students going down a dark path because they're tempted by power or greatness, losing someone else, likely drives Wu not telling them other important information. That is just a passing thought though.

Final notes:

I'm currently in the process of rewatching S7: Hands of Time. I actually got this ask right after finishing EP68: Scavengers, which opens with Wu having a nightmare. In it, he and Misako are walking outside of Yang's temple. While walking, Misako delivers this line in response to Wu reminiscing about the time they've spent together:

(Source: Scavengers/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

This line, to me, is Wu's subconscious trying to tell him something he needs to hear. It's hinting at what might be his greatest flaw. Wu is haunted by his past, by his mistakes. He finds it difficult to tell others because of both his guilt and his desire to not put that worry upon them. In this very season, he makes the mistake of trying to face his past on his own, and he nearly dies for it.

In the same episode, you see Wu trying to make sure Lloyd doesn't make the same mistakes.

(Source: Prev)

Wu stresses the important of the team. It's as if he sees Lloyd blaming himself for what happened to Wu, sees him doing the same thing Wu has, and is trying to prevent him from doing the same thing. This is further emphasized when, after Wu falls asleep (well, fakes falling asleep), Lloyd says "Wu's mistake was going in alone. So was mine."

Master Wu is, like many characters in this show, someone who is more complex than meets the eye. He is not just a wise, old teacher. He is a man who, throughout his life, has made mistakes and carries the weight of each of them on his shoulders. He is a man who tasks himself with making up for those every day. He is a man who wants better for his students, his family.

Until the day he dies, he will guide and protect his students. And possibly? Even after death too.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #master wu #long post #anon tag #this made my day i looooooooooooooove character analysis #i know a lot of what i post about it may not encompass the full series but i just think that makes it more fun tbh #i'm working with what i have and later i may come back to this and add even more things #i'm also very passionate about wu analysis as a former wu hater because i think the fact that his character stuff is so buried #leads to a lot of the hate #Why didn't he tell the ninja things? well he told morro things and look how that turned out #he grew up believing the weight of the world was on his shoulders #in one way or another #i won't lie and say the man does not make mistakes #but like i mention in s7 when he does he is fucking haunted by them #he is not breaking the generational trauma but he is damn well making an attempt for someone who probably doesn't realize he has it #p.s i tried to add image desc to each ss to make it more accessible but if i messed it up please let me know!#i spent way too much time on this #somebody do a word count i'm curious but too tired to copy this all into docs #falls over #part 2 of this is just the dark island trilogy but i think i'm gonna wait to do that #this took so long and the words are now refusing to words #thank you for reading #i need to take a nap after writing this I feel physically spent #please enjoy another rook branded ramble disguised as a comprehensive essay #other essayists bring you professionalism and academic vibes #i scream into the void and put way too many links o7 #happy birthday ninjago!!!! i finished this in honor of you hopefully it is worthy

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darkinerry · 8 months

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A while ago I was tagged by @sherlockig to do this picrew , thank you dear <33

And so, here it is 😊:

I'm not sure who did this already, so I'm going to no-pressure tag @bizarrelittlemew , @gentlebeard , @blakbonnet , @saltpepperbeard , @snake-snack-stede , @xoxoemynn , @girlbossblackbeard 💗

#I spent way too long trying to make this but I really like how it turned out 😄#and discovering I could add a skull-face onto the heart was the best thing :D #tag game

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systemerror8 · 10 months

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HIH I SAY HI TO THEM DO YOU LIKE THEM

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sofitai28 · 1 month

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uhm. did this instead of work today. mr sims eating a calzone. i don’t even know man just had to show people the fruits of my labor

#legitimately don’t know how to tag this #shitpost #i guess?#spent way too long on this to be so fr #another white british man to add to the collection #someone stop me #jonny sims #died for our Jonny sins <— friends addition to this post #mr sims I don’t even have an excuse I just had the overwhelming need to draw this #art #csp #which I still haven’t figured out #I really should learn my art program more huh

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children-of-subcon · 1 year

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I swear if I forgot ANYONE in that group shot I'm going to riot

[< First] [Next >]

#In other news local bee finally figures out how to add more than 10 images. Im stupid #A Hat in Time #AHiT #ahit au #Ghost McDonald's #ahit!Haunted Hats #ahit!Swapcon #USAU #Do I really tag all of these characters. Yes I spent way too long on this not to #ahit Moonjumper #ahit Hat Kid #ahit Snatcher #ahit Bow Kid #ahit Vanessa #ahit Shapeshifter #ahit Timmy #ahit Mustache Girl #ok nvm I give up that's good enough

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worlds-silliest-local-group · 11 months

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GTDT what does FC's name stand for

(if this is too big or early or both a spoiler you do not have to answer it!!!)

his name was Forced Connection. But we barely know anything about them anyway. The only thing that matters is that his puppet was eaten by the rot. I doubt we can do anything about that.

#drawing that took me way too long that i messed up anyway #whatever. legends tell of how tired and sleepy i am #they call him sleepyhead. they call him wants to be snuggled up in a blanket taking a nap rn.#anwyay…….. this rat #[ gtdt ]#mothwingedmyths #iterator oc #rw iterator #rain world #rainworld #im legally allowed to add these tags i spent extra time on this. look at my rat!!#i forgot her tail. whatever man!!!! i love life and i love my blanket and pilloww honk shoo #rat is like. who cares that guy dead #stop asking questions about my dead brother i didnt even know that guy

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mrsbakashi · 1 year

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get to know me - picrew edition

thanks for tagging me, babes @honeylavendr

no pressure tags: @smutteedreams @madarasthicc @justmyownreality @hashira-mal @silvermadara @mothervvoid

#just a basic bitch with her straight short hair because she's too lazy to have long hair #except when she's too lazy to het a haircut so she ends up with long hair and hating every single second of it #i spent MONTHS trying to convince myaelf my hair was at least wavy #but no it's straight #just so boring #also i wish i could add another cat #and why the hell 3 hobbies?#what am I? a princess????#i have one hobby: sleep #and then another one which is music #and that's it #sleep wasn't even an option #but overall this is really me it's scary #i fit into a picrew i'm really that basic #about me #tag game

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kimdokjas · 2 years

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hi pal! we've been mutuals for a while but never really talked much haha. but I was wondering if you could give any tips or resources for learning german? (cus I think you speak it right?) I'm actually moving to germany really soon to finish my phd there. I have some very rudimentary knowledge from several attempts on duolingo in the past but I really want to learn it well, in the case I end up living there for a long time! anyway feel free to do with this message as you please

Hi dear! Ahh that’s amazing that you’re moving to Germany to finish your PhD, congratulations!! Thank you for thinking of me for this kind of advice, I’m honored <3 and of course, I’m more than happy to give you some tips! This got super long lol I hope you don’t mind!

Here are some of the things that worked for me, feel free to take them or leave them depending on what you think would work best for you! As with any language, I think the best way to learn is to try to get as much exposure as you can, so here are some tips and resources organized by topic:

MOOCs

There are a lot of online courses available for free! Here are some of the ones I’ve seen (some are borrowed from this post and I added some others I found!)

Learn German

Deutsch lernen

Deutsch Akademie

Getting Started with German (I, II, III)

The German Project

Intermediate German: The world of work

Advanced German: Language, culture and history

Deutsch im Blick

Podcasts

This depends on your proficiency level and areas of interest, but I’d recommend starting with those that are more focused on language learners! In particular I found those from Deutsche Welle really helpful.

Once you feel a bit more comfortable, you can slowly work your way up to more technical or specialized podcasts, such as those related to your PhD subject! For me this is a great way to keep my German up to speed, especially since I’m unable to practice it much where I live. Some of my recommendations are:

Slow German mit Annik Rubens, focused on everyday topics spoken slowly for easier understanding! There are even transcripts available so you can read along

Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten, news spoken slowly for easier understanding

Top-Thema mit Vokabeln, discussing current topics with a focus on vocabulary (~B1 level)

Wort der Woche short episodes focused on learning one new term per episode (~B2 level)

For more advanced podcasts, try filtering the charts for Germany and see which ones look interesting to you! I personally love science topics, so I usually listen to Spektrum der Wissenschaft and Wissen Weekly among others!

Pen pals

I think one of the best ways to improve your German is to actually practice it with other people. It might be scary at first but trust me you’ll see a huge improvement if you try it!

I particularly recommend an app called Slowly. It’s a charming concept, with the traditional pen pal experience where your letters actually take time to deliver depending on how far away you are. You can specify the languages you speak and your level of proficiency, so you will be able to match more easily with people according to your level!

(Also, I’m personally a bit shy so something I really liked about this app is that it’s practically anonymous, you can just use a nickname and an avatar and you’re all set!)

Fiction books

Here is a wonderful masterpost of fiction books in German! It contains novels such as the Lord the Rings, the Hunger Games, and even classics such as the Metamorphosis. You can find the link to the Google Drive folder here!

Audiobooks

I didn’t really listen to audiobooks when learning German, but I’ve heard they’ve really worked for some people! Here are some of the ones I’ve been recommended (although I haven’t personally used them). These are links to Audible for reference, but I’d suggest using your alternate platform of choice or try to see if your local library has any available!

Café in Berlin

German Short Stories for Beginners

Learn German with Paul Noble for Beginners

Educational books

This is the more traditional way of language learning, but to be honest this was what most helped me learn grammar! I think resources such as Duolingo are great for day-to-day practicing, but they can be a bit lacking in terms of grammar, which is where educational books come in handy.

I mostly used the Menschen books for the beginner levels and Mittelpunkt for more advanced levels. These can be a bit expensive, so I’d recommend getting used books or looking in your local library, or even online.

For example, in the Deutsch Akademie website you can practice some exercises taken from these books among others for free!

Social media

Try to incorporate German into your social media experience as much as you can!

Tumblr: some blogs I follow are @thatswhywelovegermany @official-german-puns and @inoffizielles-deutschland and you can also try to follow some studyblrs to focus on vocabulary and grammar such as @learngermanblog

Twitter/Facebook: DW Deutsch lernern, they focus on language learners and sometimes they even post simple practice exercises!

Devices

This is more of a tip than a resource but one of the first things I did was switch the language on my phone and laptop to German. This forced me to read the language every day and I even picked up some new vocabulary thanks to this! Even stuff like the directions on Google Maps were in German so it was a great way of practicing. At first I really struggled, but you just have to stick with it and eventually it gets easier, I promise!

Music

It really depends on your taste in music but here are some of the ones I listen to! I usually lean more towards indie pop/rock. But I’d recommend trying to find a specific playlist for your favorite genre, e.g. rock in German and so on!

Playlists: Deutscher Indie, Deutschpop Hits

Artists: Phela, Joris, Philipp Dittberner, Yvonne Catterfeld, Kenay, Mark Foster

Entertainment

Of course movies, TV shows, and even YouTube are a great way of practicing the language even during your downtime!

In general, what worked for me was starting out by watching stuff with German audio and English subtitles (or your language of choice), and then slowly try to shift to using German subtitles only! Anyway I’ll try to recommend one of each:

TV shows: Dark on Netflix, great show and there’s really not a lot of dialogue so it’s good for a beginner/intermediate level!

Movies: Run Lola Run (1998), a thriller movie with a time loop concept

YouTubers: here is a Reddit masterpost of German-speaking YouTubers! I personally started out watching Gronkh which is a gaming channel. His Life is Strange let’s play has the game in English and commentary in German so it’s a good way to start out!

~~~

I hope some of these resources are useful, dear! As I mentioned, in the end you’re the one that knows what works best for you! But these are just some tips and resources that I personally found useful.

Either way, once you’re actually in Germany I promise you’ll see that your progress will increase exponentially just by simply listening and speaking the language daily in places like the supermarket, restaurants, etc. But you can always try to cover all your bases with additional resources such as these ones!

Again, hope this is helpful and please let me know how your journey goes! I’m excited to hear all about it :D

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deus-ex-mona · 1 year

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there’s a non-non-zero chance of success though… _(:3 」∠)_

#long depressing rant in the tags incoming ig? take warning!!#maybe it’s bc it’s 3am and i’m tired or maybe it’s bc of the 8-9 hour old fried vermicelli that i just gave up on eating but my head hurts~~#or maybe it could even be bc i spent like 3 hours unpacking my boxes (note: my fam moved last month) instead of chilling like i wanted to…#either way i saw some things while unpacking that i really should’ve left in the distant past and i’m feeling as empty as my stomach pre-米粉 #though i did uncover a dogtag i had engraved years ago with nothing but a ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) on it so that was pretty funny #but other than that… i remembered all the weird things i had given up on in the past via the things i unearthed…#like cooking! i unpacked this huge 1k+ page thick cookbook thing and remembered that i had a phase where i liked to cook #then i remembered that i had mistaken salt for sugar while making some meat dish with a ton of soy sauce and byebye cooking confidence :(#and to add to that i also read a past essay of mine about my culture and i remembered my grandma and i. yeah.#and i also saw stuff from my old hobbies that i had to give up on due to money/time constraints and i just. yeah.#and not to forget all the stuff from my former friends… i swear i always get ghosted the moment we affirm that we’re friends lol #am i a walking maxed social link or something? lol? yeah i have no irl friends. none.#i’ve gotten used to it though~ i don’t mind having no friends. it leaves me with more time for myself and my sleep~#it’s just that… sometimes i get the urge to hop over the country border for some ~chewing gum~ shopping… but there’s no one to go with lol #or like when i see interesting-looking events going on at local attractions but there’s no one to check it out with… or something.#and that got me wondering… am i just wasting my life or something? it’s a new year right? so i should make some lifestyle changes too right?#…and so i bought a hairdryer for the first time a few days back. yeah. that’s enough change for 1 year. lol #who needs friends when you can have a nice warm hairdryer? blast away good pal!!!!!!!!!!!!#anyways yeah. that’s my 3am rant of the day. sorry if you read this lol #sunday’s 🧂saltfest🧂#h e lp i forgot to disable rbs on this for a bit i hate 3am brain smmmm </3

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sealer-of-wenkamui · 2 years

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I CAN understand why Mohg's character would make people uncomfortable. I admit to being a bit hesitant on the character myself.

But in the end, the design drew me in. I tried to like the character without acknowledging that particular aspect.

"... You know what, it's a part of his character. If I am to enjoy this character, I'm gonna have to acknowledge the good and the bad. I've done it with Eddie Gluskin, and I've done it with Ramsey Snow."

And it DOES make him an interesting character! Doesn't make it right with what he did.

But the thing that buggers me is that Mohg gets a ton more hatred than Seluvis or Dung Eater -- and those two, imo, are worse...!

I'll give Seluvis credit for having that really fancy Sombrero though.

I don't blame people for being uncomfortable, even if objectively speaking he's not necessarily worse than any of the other demigods (all the murder, torture, grafting, etc.) sexual violence on a whole tends to make people more uncomfortable to talk about, and that's pretty heavily implied to be a part of what he's doing to Miquella (between his one-sided, possessive "love" for him, being inside of his body, the overtly sexual wording of the remembrance, wanting to start a dynasty with him, etc- even if you take a more generous reading of the situation and think there's no actual sexual contact, his violation of Miq is still very much framed as a parallel to sexual assault. Bedchamber is a very specific choice of words and JP even refers to the bedchamber of a married couple, and there's some level of violation of his body going on, even if the specifics of how much are up to interpretation.) People who are fine with depictions of murder and body horror often still find the topic upsetting, and on top of it, its also incest and Miq's initial appearance being childlike definitely doesn't help the situation either.

And I too think his design (and theme!) are some of the best in the game! I don't think anyone that's genuinely upset by these darker aspects of his story should explore them or anything, its most important to take care of yourself after all, I'm more just bothered by people that try to deny them completely or say how dare GRRM "ruin" his character like this! Because it IS part of his canon character and part of what makes him interesting.

It's as you say, if you want to fully appreciate his canon character, its an unavoidable part of it. And it's fiction after all, liking a character that has done truly creepy and atrocious things doesn't make you a bad person, its a place where you can explore these darker topics safely. I find Mohg in particular interesting because of the fact that he's doing everything from his idea of "love", and its likely his own rough childhood that influenced how he behaves now. It's fun to think about how someone could hurt the object of their affection so deeply because of "love". The FM's influence is a gift in his eyes! He is pleasuring his lover! He constantly is by his side, why wouldn't Miq come to appreciate that? It's really twisted, and yes, he's tragic but it doesn't excuse his actions in the least, but it does make for a very complex and interesting character! That's why I hate to see him demonized as PURE EVIL or his atrocities ignored (if we're talking about his canon character)

Oh yeah for sure they're just as bad if not worse, and they even both have the creepy sexual violence implications in their story too, so it can't be people just thinking Mohg worse for that?? Making living people into your own personal puppets and intentionally trying to curse everyone by doing things so unspeakable that a hardened criminal is deeply afraid of what's gonna happen to him you would think would get more hate (and its not just with one person but multiple people they're doing this too) but I dunno! The only thing I can think of is I guess Mohg is a more important character? Or more charismatic and appealing so he gets more attention in the first place?? Or else people are bothered by the incest/underage (though Miq doesn't seem to actually be a child so that's not even true) thing specifically?

#asks #anon #er tag #elden ring #ehh i spent too long typing this not to tag it whatever #i dont care if people want to do their own thing with mohg that's not canon or whatever #its specifically the trying to deny what he did to miquella or else saying it ruins his character that irritates me #its such a fundamental part of his character and adds a lot of depth to him #i love how at first glance he just seems like stereotypical evil demon but he's actually the most emotionally complex character imo

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m-aximumjoy · 1 year

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in celebration of my/our love Angel being introduced this past week I’ve been working on a re-paint of the Handkerchief Moment and not to toot my own horn, but I’m really proud of how the background came out and particularly of these two

Ignore the big ol’ hole it’s for Aki (heh)

#uggghhhhh I don’t want to tag this bc I simultaneously do not want anyone to see it and want to show it off #This Is For Me And My 60 Followers And For Us Alone #i spent So long on this fucking background. So Long. i could NOT figure out how I wanted to render it #tried a whole bunch of shit and then pulled a Karina ‘‘Delete Your Art’’ Farek #(though I guess it’s more of a Julia ‘‘Do Some Freak Shit’’ Lepetit move)#and just smudged and splattered and threw random shades everywhere #and after that I was like….oh. this works perfectly #after I’ve painted in The Gays I might do some more value work #try to make it a little more varied without drawing the eye too much #potentially add in some random color bits? very desaturated ones?#i dunno! point is I Made Progress and Did Something Scary #also I’m doing the entire thing on one layer which is also terrifying.#okay have I done enough tags for this shit to be buried #you used to just have to worry about the first 5!!!!!#now anything can show up in the followed tags page!!!!!!!!#it’s terrifying!!!!!!!!!!#anyways #chainsaw man #i thought of ‘oRYginals’ for an original post tag but idk how I feel about it #feel like it works better verbally than when it’s just text lmao #a n y w a y s.#if this does show up in the tag pls be nice I haven’t posted my digital art in at least half a decade #oryginals

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andro-dino · 2 years

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I don’t know how or where else to publish this but I wanted to share it because I did in fact just spend a large portion of time writing about about a fucking beyblade character so like, here ya go I guess. 2.1k words of Damian Hart in a very overly formal format. this is not proofread because I am too tired for that rn so apologies for any errors

The Damian Hart essay

An incomprehensible rant by Axel

Damian Hart is a character introduced in the latter half of Beyblade Metal Masters and is, in my opinion, one of the most tragic characters presented in the series.

Damian is a member and the leader of Team Starbreaker and is extremely powerful alongside his bey, Hades Kerbecs. He’s immediately set up to be a terrifyingly strong blader when he challenges Yu and Tsubasa, which hospitalizes them, putting both them and their beys in severe condition. This streak of massive destruction only continues with Damian when he battles Julien Konzern, not only defeating him, but Sophie and Wales as well, who jumped in to defend him. He effectively humiliates Julian and completely crushes his spirit, relishing in his despair at his admission that he is weak.

All of this sets Damian up to be a terrifying and dislikable character, however, further looks into his character show that this is merely scratching the surface of his character and that there is so much more to see.

For one, it’s important to establish exactly what goes on in Team Starbreaker. Team Starbreaker is managed by Dr. Ziggurat, a scientist who runs Hades Inc. and HD Academy. Each member of Starbreaker is also a member of HD Academy, a school for bladers that uses rather unconventional means of training. Rather than working to improve their skills, members of the academy undergo “arrangements,” a system which immediately draws out a blader’s hidden strength without them having to put in any work. However, this system is only compatible with a select few bladers, meaning that members of the academy are specifically sought after if they are compatible with the arrangement system. If they are not, it’s shown to cause severe damage to bladers. This system of course does not come without its drawbacks, and each member of Starbreaker shows a different way the arrangements affect people who undergo them.

Jack is somewhat of the “standard” for people who undergo arrangements, which is certainly saying a lot considering Jack is… well… Jack. HD Academy members were all completely unremarkable before joining the school, but saw extreme improvement almost immediately, and Jack is no exception to this. However, Jack does show one extreme side effect, which is that arrangements completely change a person’s personality. Jack is wild and chaotic, extremely all over the place and has a very over the top, flamboyant personality. He’s also incredibly obsessed with art, considering beyblade to be a perfect medium for him to express himself, and he credits his arrangements for his appreciation of art, and presumably also his general attitude. Jack is completely willing and happy to undergo arrangements and welcomes the changes they’ve brought him, very content with the person he’s become as a result of them.

Zeo, however, is on the complete opposite side of this spectrum. Zeo didn’t have much of a choice in joining HD Academy or not. In his time of grief and hopelessness over Toby’s illness that was quickly getting worse, Dr. Ziggurat sought him out, preying upon his desperation by promising that he would give Toby the best treatment he could get if Zeo took arrangements and showed results. While Zeo repeatedly shows that he really wants nothing to do with the academy or arrangements, he still does it because he cares for Toby more than anything else, willing to give up everything for him, even if he does suffer from it. While Jack and Damian both calmly and smoothly take their arrangements, Zeo’s are always presented as painful and uncomfortable, never fully completing one and trying to get out of taking them in any way he can. He only fully completes an arrangement when Dr. Ziggurat presents him with an ultimatum: defeat Masamune with the help of an arrangement or Toby’s treatment is terminated. Understanding that Toby will die without Ziggurat’s treatment, Zeo finally completes an arrangement, passing out immediately after the battle. Zeo, while not to the same degree, also shows a change in personality, seemingly from the arrangements and his experience at the academy. When Dr. Ziggurat found Zeo, he was already angry at Masamune for leaving and desperate because of Toby’s condition, and because of his time at the academy, these feelings only festered and bubbled over more and more, making him more resentful and chaotic in each confrontation he had with Masamune.

Now, Jack and Zeo show two different perspectives of people who joined the academy, but how does this all play into Damian? Well, Damian is a third perspective of how arrangements affect people, as he didn’t join HD Academy; he was raised in it. Immediately, Damian shows signs of what is essentially a god complex, constantly talking about how he is “the chosen one” and praises himself for being compatible with arrangements, considering them to be a great honor to undergo. This is drastically off the walls, even with what we’ve seen from how Jack treats arrangements, and it’s no coincidence. In a flashback, we see a young, bright-eyed Damian being given his first bey by Dr. Ziggurat in the academy, showing that he’s been a part of it for his entire life. Not only this, but the fact that his entire worldview has been shaped around the arrangement system and how he is shown to be genuinely confused when trying to understand other bladers and why they value actual training, it becomes very apparent that not only has he been under Dr. Ziggurat’s control his whole life, but has also undergone arrangements for the entirety of it as well. He doesn’t understand training or the value of it because he’s never had to do it before. He only knows arrangements and the system that Dr. Ziggurat brought him into.

Now, this alone presents how Damian has been manipulated his whole life, but there’s also further implications that can be read into. Now, to be fair, this is mostly my own theorizing and is never stated in canon, but I strongly believe the evidence points to the claim I’m about to make. Taking a look at both Dr. Ziggurat and Damian, the similarities between their designs— specifically their hair— are clear. Their hairstyles are very unique, being round on the top but having spikes that swoop upwards on the sides, both also being colored the same way with the highlights being on the tips of these spikes. Their hair color is also similar. While present-day Damian has light blue hair, in the flashback, his hair is much darker, and Dr. Ziggurat also happens to have dark hair. Plus, consider: Dr. Ziggurat has had Damian since he was a young child, and I could not imagine that someone else would willingly give him their child for what he does, which all together leads me to strongly believe that Damian is Dr. Ziggurat’s son. This only creates even more horrific implications with Damian’s character, especially when you look into his and Dr. Ziggurat’s interactions. Their relationship is very formal, neither seeming particularly close to the other. It’s also not a very strong relationship. While at first, Dr. Ziggurat holds Damian as his star student and the poster child for HD Academy, he is quick to toss him aside after he is defeated by both Gingka and Kyoya, saying that he’s failed and disappointed, and then Damian is never seen again. The stiffness of their relationship alongside how unsympathetic and manipulative Dr. Ziggurat has been shown to be leads me to believe that under the idea that he is Damian’s father, he only had Damian solely to see what it would be like to raise someone on arrangements, essentially making Damian nothing more than an experiment to him. Dr. Ziggurat absolutely is not above using someone for the sole purpose of his experiments, as shown with Faust, so I don’t believe that this would be an unlikely story.

Under this premise, Damian is one of the most heartbreaking characters in my eyes. A child who has been experimented on and used for the entirety of his life, made to believe he was an incredible chosen one who was so high above everyone else, with his entire worldview warped and distorted, only to realize he was nothing more than a pawn in everything; a tool that was thrown away once it stopped serving its purpose. It’s a tragic story, and that is acknowledged in the story itself too. It is specifically pointed out and said that he is a victim in all of it, and yet, despite that, he never gets an epilogue or clarity. While in the manga, Gingka saves him and he’s grateful to be freed, in the anime, he’s never seen again, leading viewers to wonder what happened to him afterwards. How exactly he went about unlearning everything he’d been taught and trying to find his place back in the real world. It’s the open endedness of his story that ultimately ties his character off on a bittersweet note. You can theorize and headcanon what might’ve happened to him afterwards, but in the end, he really doesn’t get any clarity from the narrative alone.

Here I will now dissect his character design itself, because I appreciate the amount of symbolism there is to be found in it.

Damian, just from first glance alone, has a very strong, put-together aura to him. His design exudes confidence and strength that’s shown off very well. One aspect of this design that I appreciate is the use of colors to subvert expectations. The main colors of his palette are white, gold, and light blue, all colors that traditionally are associated with good and purity, giving him an almost ethereal look which very strongly matches his whole “chosen one” outlook, however that is very strongly subverted by… well… literally everything else about his character. He’s twisted and sadistic, hurting people several times just for the hell of it. It’s ironic that his color palette gives him an angelic look (maybe even wings too with the shape of his hair) while his entire motif is literally Hell. His bey is Hades/Hell Kerbecs and his special move literally opens the gates of Hell and drags his opponents down into it, with the bey itself being represented by Cerberus, guard dog of Hell. There’s even a variant of Hades Kerbecs that is red and black, a color palette much more commonly associated with Hell, but he specifically has the gold version, again serving to subvert expectations and preconceived notions about him.

Another aspect of his design I quite like is the silhouette his cape gives him. Damian himself is very petite, being extremely short compared to the rest of the cast and generally having a more childlike physique, however it’s hidden by his cape, which is large and bulky, making him appear much bigger than he actually is. I like how that parallels how his character is itself, him being just a manipulated child who believes he’s much bigger and stronger than he really is. Going back to his colors, his cape also plays into showing his character in a different way as well. While most of his clothing is gold and white, his bodysuit has black accents on it, a color traditionally used to represent darkness and evil, though again, this is harder to notice because of his large white cape. At first glance, he doesn’t seem all that bad, but under his exterior, there is noticeably something much more sinister and twisted going on with Damian, and I really like how his design plays into that.

Finally, what is probably my favorite part of his design is the incorporation of chains. Hades Kerbecs has chain designs on its energy ring, as well as using chains in battle in the show, as chains are used to visualize Damian’s opponents being dragged into the gates of Hades. He also has a chain that latches his cape together going across his chest. While I’m a sucker for bladers who look like their beys, this is not what is most interesting about the use of chains in his design to me. What really gets me is the chain loops on his collar, wrists, and boots. At first glance, Damian appears to just be wearing a black choker, though it quickly looks more like a collar once you realize that the metal piece in the center is a hook for a chain, and this is repeated again on his wrist guards and boots. This is interesting to me as it ties back into the idea that while Damian appears to be free, it’s clearly presented that he is very much not in control, instead being used by Dr. Ziggurat. While he believes himself to be strong and special, in the end, he’s just as much chained down as the opponents he battles are.

#i think I’m only just now processing that this is a thing I have done #I just spent way too long reading way too much into a character because why not #oh my god.#welp #yk I don’t think I’m gonna add any actual tags because I am slightly embarrassed about this lmao

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