Jürgen Hubert

Translates German folk tales. Tries to learn #Italian .

#ttrpg #pnpde #dnd #folklore

Public Key

npub15ct692pt9k83z4t0h5wtz30uvx4f7raducdtqh0jdzuwgclhhe0st4hjnk

NIP-05 Address

juergen_hubert@mementomori-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs2v9az4q4jmrc324hm6893gh7xr25lp7k7vx4sthex3w8yv0mmuhcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsjg7agt

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub15ct692pt9k83z4t0h5wtz30uvx4f7raducdtqh0jdzuwgclhhe0st4hjnk

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Last Notes

2026-05-25 02:53:59 UTC

#oligarchy #AIBubble #AI
https://www.newyorker.com/cartoon/a61987
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/116/632/945/846/667/988/original/59c74d656fbc941f.webp

2026-04-13 09:40:45 UTC

I've never tried to hide that I want to build up my side business of translating old German folk tales into a significant side income. "Quit your day job" levels are unrealistic, since my day job pays decently and I quite like the benefits, but maybe it will be possible to work reduced hours one day.
Currently, I earn about €200 per months. I do have some expenses - commissing cover illustrations, hiring a copywriter, and pay for domain and website maintenance (which has gotten more expensive as of late - thanks, #LLM scrapers!).
https://sunkencastles.com/the-books/
Right now, my books are primarily a marketing tool for my Patreon campaign, although I do get some money from them.
My sales per year are:
2020: 71 (Release of "Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles")
2021: 69
2022: 133 (Release of "Lurkers at the Threshold")
2023: 78
2024: 50
2025: 52
Even though I haven't released a new book since 2022, book sales haven't declined nearly as much as is usual for books. I assume that this means that knowledge of their existence is spread by word of mouth - thanks to everyone who has recommended them to others! Still, I really need to get "Old Goatfoot" out (the next book) - and I have enough material to start on the manuscripts for "Magic in Theory and Malpractice" and "Unnatural Taxonomies" as well (with "Spirits in Motion" not far behind). While publishing my weekly translations on Patreon remains the first priority, this is the second highest one.
https://graphtreon.com/creator/sunkencastles
Speaking of my Patreon campaign, it has generally plateaued since its high point in 2023. I suspect the reason for this, too, is the lack of new books, which are the visible representation of all the work I do. If my people see more of my books on the shelves, they will be more intrigued in the early release material I publish there.
And once my Patreon campaign grows big enough, I hope to use it to pay for custom illustrations for the tales - but alas, I am not there yet.
But of course, I do further marketing beyond selling books. After I abandoned/fled Twitter, I focused on #Mastodon as my primary marketing tool. I tried a #Facebook page for two years or so, but that was a waste of time - I never attracted even a hundred followers, and I refused to pay Meta for advertising. Better to stick to the #Fediverse, where there is no algorithm that hates you.
Still, even my Mastodon-based approach has seen some refinement. I used to share my tales as screenshots, but that was not ideal from an accessibility point of view. Thus, I spent seven months on building up a wiki repository, and now share invididual tales as links:
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Main_Page
This required a lot of effort which distracted me from working on the book manuscripts. But now it is functionally complete, and I think the end result is worth it.
So here you have it: My focus for the rest of the year is to get my next book published, and hopefully this will bring me a further increase in revenue.
Does anyone have any further questions about my work as an independent author/translator, and my future goals?
#amwriting

2026-03-27 17:15:59 UTC

I want this year to finally be the year where I get away from #Amazon as the only marketplace for my books. So tell me: What platforms would you recommend for selling self-published English-language books on folklore?
I am looking for both Print On Demand and Ebook options.
Important: The platforms must allow non-exclusivity - that is, I must be able to sell the books on other platforms as well. This is non-negotiable.
#amwriting

2026-03-19 17:32:12 UTC

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@nprofile…5y0h
I do have to admit that I see this pretty often among artists.
I think I even saw a website once that helps with that kind of thing.

2026-03-09 01:00:31 UTC

Disrespecting bread will soon bring you to a bad end.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #bread
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Sinkhole_near_Hochstedt

2026-03-02 11:21:49 UTC

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@nprofile…ugpy
It's the latest iteration of "Watch this two-hour video, which will counter all your arguments!"
Flooding the zone with time-wasting bullshit, rather than actual engagement with the discussion.

2025-11-05 08:00:47 UTC

Do not let small children go out of the house unwashed and unblessed - or else the Wildg'fahr will get them!
#Austria #folktale #folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/return-of-67417322
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/115/496/035/637/714/746/original/f1c1bcb812df9ed7.png

2025-11-02 13:53:36 UTC

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4/ The Brothers Grimm, too, reported on such a "place of purgatory" within a mountain - the Zobtenberg or Ślęża in Silesia.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Men_in_Zottenberg_Mountain

2025-11-02 13:32:30 UTC

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3/ With increasing Christianization, these realms beneath the mountain were changed from regular afterlives into places of punishment - like in this tale from Valais, where the Underworld initially seems to be a nice place to stay, but the truth is far more sinister.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Goatherd_Boy_in_the_Illgraben

2025-11-02 13:30:54 UTC

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2/ This kind of story has a lot of precedence - in old Germanic beliefs, the "afterlife" of the departed was not in some distant dimension, but beneath the hills and mountains where they would carry on with their "lives". And remnants of this belief are widespread - in this tale from Styria, the distant ancestors of the modern-day inhabitants likewise still lived within the mountains of the region.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Ghosts_of_the_Old_Noricans

2025-11-02 13:26:09 UTC

1/ Since @nprofile…vk38 was curious, here is a thread on assorted "Underworlds" from German folklore. This will be a slow-moving thread since I need to go through my backlog of translated folk tales and put them on my wiki.
One iconic type of "Underworld" is one inhabited by a "Sleeping Ruler" - a former emperor, king, or other leader who is neither dead nor alive, but sleeps beneath the mountain until he is needed once more.
#folklore #death #underworld
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Category:Sleeping_Ruler

2025-10-21 11:12:52 UTC

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@nprofile…vk4k
...well, I suppose us folk tale translators will still have jobs for a few further years. 😉

2025-10-19 10:46:40 UTC

I have maintained for some time that we need a #Fediverse - based alternative to #Quora :
1. Because #GoogleSucks and the other search engines are likewise increasingly filled up with LLM-based filth.
2. Quora itself is overrun by Nazis and other crazies.
But we could still use some kind of system where we can ask for information, and receive answers from actual human beings. A federated approach to Quora might work for this need.

2025-10-19 09:18:28 UTC

One of the things that I love about putting all my folk tale translations into a wiki is that I am also using this as an opportunity to remove another #Google service from my life.
My old interactive map was done with Google MyMaps:
https://sunkencastles.com/german-folklore-map/
My new interactive map (still a work in progress) is created dynamically by a combination of #MediaWiki with the #SemanticMediaWiki and Maps extensions, and displayed via the #Leaflet API (which uses #OpenStreetMaps ).
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Main_Page
This gives me _far_ more flexibility in how to construct my interactive map - and it will give me the opportunity to dynamically create thematic maps, too!

2025-10-12 15:01:59 UTC

Some people are willing to use underhanded means to attain a piece of real estate they want.
#Germany #folktale #folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/summoning-119364512
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/115/361/796/415/339/123/original/b3b4d3c32fca08e2.jpeg

2025-10-12 03:32:57 UTC

Is anyone doing any #youth outreach for the #Fediverse ?
Because I think we should try to break out of our core demographic of 40-somethings. And we do want them to spend time here, rather than on Instagram and TikTok - right?

2025-10-10 04:37:19 UTC

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@nprofile…m9qs
Of course, Friend Computer!
And I shall regularly remind #TTRPG players of Alpha Complex that joining this Starter Pack is a great way of demonstrating their loyalty as well!
https://fedidevs.com/s/NjY1/

2025-10-09 10:59:02 UTC

I am in the mood for creating a #StarterPack for #ttrpg players. If you want to join, you must fulfill the following:
- You must post about ttrpg fairly frequently
- Your profile should be more about just promoting your ttrpg products
- You must have set your profile so that it shows up in discovery algorithms (see the screenshot), or else I won't be able to add you.
Post below to apply!
https://fedidevs.com/starter-packs/
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/115/343/842/717/519/460/original/4eec0d186938a117.png

2025-10-09 04:23:59 UTC

Because of recent, er, discussions, let repeat me it once more time for those in the back:
Being an ally to a marginalized group means to LISTEN, first and foremost. Do NOT propose solutions in advance of actual data. People from marginalized groups have almost certainly thought about their marginalization in oppressive spaces (which, yes, can include the #Fediverse ) longer and harder than you have, and thus your proposed solution is likely something that they have already discussed at length.
So listen to them. And when they are done talking, your reaction should not be:
"Here is how to fix your problems!"
but
"How can I help?"

2025-10-06 04:36:08 UTC

#ScribesAndMakers 5. October: Do you make your creations available for people to read/ view/ use? If so, where, and why there? If not, why not?
Beyond my books and my Patreon campaign, I am also slowly adding my tales to a wiki. 203 tales are up there, and I have about 550 further tales to go.
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Main_Page
As for making them available for use, I put all my translations under a Creative Commons Zero license.

2025-10-01 23:01:13 UTC

Be careful about what you pick up. It might not be as inanimate as you think...
#Poland #folktale #folklore #Devil
https://www.patreon.com/posts/possessed-71514002
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/115/301/395/418/891/745/original/c977109c56bf0e55.png

2025-10-01 13:44:10 UTC

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@nprofile…z7sj
In my latest book, I included a travel warning for regions in Germany where the #AfD - Germany's most powerful fascist party - gets a lot of votes.

2025-10-01 08:02:22 UTC

Wir suchen für meine Abteilung einen Projektleiter für den Standort #Oldenburg ! Wir entwickeln Leittechnik für Stadtwerke - die zentrale Steuersoftware für Strom-, Gas-, Wasser- und Fernwärme-Netzwerke.
Wenn ihr schon immer mal wissen wolltet, wie unsere Versorgungsnetze funktionieren, dann ist das der richtige Job!
Bei Fragen zu der Stelle könnt Ihr euch bei mir melden!
#GetFediHired #JobAlert #JobSearch #Hiring #SCADA #Energy
https://www.kisters.eu/de/job-vacancy/it-projektmanager-w-m-d-junior-senior/

2025-10-01 07:43:43 UTC

Question: Do you know of any #fantasy or #ttrpg maps that exist as downloadable #QGIS repositories? Other than the one for the #Golarion of #Pathfinder ?
I want to figure out how they do such maps for #worldbuilding purposes.
https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Map

2025-10-01 06:47:17 UTC

You know, one advantage of #Brexit from the perspective of the #EuropeanUnion is that we have lost a huge foreign policy liability.
I mean, none of the European colonizing nations (which by this point represent only a minority of EU member states, although a powerful one) have really done the work to come to terms with their Imperialist past and acknowledge their wrongs.
But the #BritishEmpire was by far the biggest Evil Empire in world history, and the British _really_ haven't come to terms with that - Brexit and subsequent events showed that the #UnitedKingdom has an epic dose of nostalgia poisoning, and they are hellbent on destroying what little international goodwill they have.
Really, the EU is better off without the UK as they are now - we have enough problems our own we need to tackle.

2025-09-07 04:13:25 UTC

Something clicked for me yesterday. I read about #RFKJr 's latest claim that #Tylenol causes #autism when used during #pregnancy , and I thought:
"Hey, I have read something very similar in a German #folklore text!"
And here you have it:
"If a mother uses a spell in order to ease her birth, then the Evil Enemy tries to lure these children in particular. Thanks to this magical influence, such children - if female - are born with the drive to trude. But male children are driven to theft (the 'Bilwez Cut!')."
"Truding" in this context means becoming a "night hag"-type spirit while sleeping who torments and squeezes other spirits (the "sleep paralysis" phenomenon) while the "Bilwez Cut" is the ability to magically cut down the ripe grain fields of others and steal the grain without spotting you. You can read the entire text at the link - though beware, it's full of ableist nonsense.
But now I am intrigued - both in JFKJr's modern claims (and presumably his fellow conspiracy fantasists, although I haven't followed them too closely) and this bit of folklore from 19th century southeastern Bavaria, the basic message is:
"Women must suffer through the full pain of childbirth, and if they try to alleviate this pain, their children will come out wrong somehow!"
Both qualify as folklore, not facts - but I wonder how widespread this piece of folklore was and is, today and in past centuries, and in which countries and cultures. Does anyone have further examples?
#ableism
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Witches_and_Trudes

2025-08-25 13:02:06 UTC

Disguising yourself as an evil poodle in front of armed guards is not the best idea...
#MythologyMonday #Germany #folktale #folklore #dog
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Ghostly_Poodle

2025-08-24 07:00:41 UTC

A frightening specter appears on the Lüneburg Heath during stormy nights.
#Germany #folktale #folklore @nprofile…gmux @nprofile…9g3w
https://www.patreon.com/posts/antecedents-of-78133131
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/115/082/450/666/700/512/original/ae09fb81a5613738.png

2025-08-24 06:08:54 UTC

A thought on #DnD - style #ttrpg where the player characters can be classified as "professional treasure hunters" either deliberately (they go into dungeons in order to seek treasure) or accidentally (they find treasure while they go into the dungeon for other reasons).
The absurd amount of valuables the player character find has ample precedent in European #folklore (click on the link for a few examples), and indeed, the whole concept of treasure hunting has precedent in the "Magical Treasure Hunting" craze of Early Modern Europe.
However, folk tales are almost always "one-shots" - the person who finds the treasure either gets rich and lives heavily ever after, or they feel regret for the rest of their lives because they missed their one big shot at riches.
In contrast, TTRPG usually feature ongoing campaigns, and thus the PCs will usually delve into "dungeons" and similar treasure-laden sites again and again. So the question the GM - and indeed, anyone who does #worldbuilding for such settings - needs to answer is:
"Why would the player characters continue to risk life and limb even after finding riches?"
What are your thoughts on this?
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Category:Treasure

2025-08-23 11:48:18 UTC

Dieses öffentliche Herumprügeln auf #Bürgergeld - Empfänger hängt mir sowas zum Hals raus.
Ich war selber mal - neun lange Monate - Hartz 4 - Empfänger. Das war die schlimmste Zeit meines Lebens - Ersparnisse futsch, Jobaussichten futsch, geistige Gesundheit futsch. Ich bin froh, daß ich es da wieder herausgeschafft habe, aber viele haben nicht dieses Glück.
Und mit den ganzen "Maßnahmen" und Beschimpfungen von Bürgergeld-Empfängern tritt man die, die sowieso schon am Boden liegen. Das ist unmenschlich!

2025-08-19 04:56:56 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 19 August. Talk about the influence #folklore has on your work.
...this prompt was written for me, right? Because my entire writing work is all about folklore.
German folk tales, to be specific - folk tales written down and published in (mostly) the 19th century, which makes them in the public domain and thus fair game for translation into English and release to an international audience.
So far, I have released two books (with a third in preparation), and I have published 748 translated tales on my Patreon campaign.
What's more, all my translations have been released under a #CreativeCommons Zero license, so anyone is free to use them in whatever way they want for their own projects. And if anyone is interested in how to make more use of German folklore in their own works, I'd be happy to advise.

2025-08-18 20:01:14 UTC

An old smith in Herkenrath once wanted to forge an "emergency hook", a powerful tool for magical transportation. But in the end, he decided that the risks were too great.
#MythologyMonday #Germany #folktale #folklore #magic
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Forging_of_the_Emergency_Hook

2025-08-17 06:25:44 UTC

I've long maintained that commercial #SocialMedia is a dire threat to the long-term survival of human civilization, and this article provides yet more evidence.
The #Fediverse _must_ grow and replace them, or else things will only get worse.
#Facebook #Zuckerberg
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/mark-zuckerberg-never-more-dangerous-20819500.php

2025-08-15 08:01:41 UTC

Wir suchen für meine Abteilung einen Product Owner Netzsicherheit (idealerweise für #Oldenburg )! Wir entwickeln Leittechnik für Stadtwerke - die zentrale Steuersoftware für Strom-, Gas-, Wasser- und Fernwärme-Netzwerke.
Bei Netzsicherheit geht es um Berechnungen, um die Sicherheit eines Stromnetzes zu gewährleisten - also was für echte #Mathematik -Nerds!
Bei Fragen zu der Stelle könnt Ihr euch bei mir melden!
#GetFediHired #JobAlert #JobSearch #Hiring #SCADA #Energy
https://www.kisters.eu/de/job-vacancy/product-owner-w-m-d-netzsicherheit/

2025-08-15 05:09:16 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub 15. From which real-world events have you taken inspiration?
It's not exactly "taking inspiration" - more like, "what historical events do I need to research in order to understand the context of this folk tale?"
That being said, there is _one_ historical event which I could see writing an entire book about - the Thirty Years' War. This was the most traumatic war in German history, and I would have absolutely no problem finding enough folk tales about it to fill an entire book.
Another possible angle would be to write a book about all the pro-Emperor propaganda in German folklore works during the 1815–1871 period. But that would be a more scholarly text, and not a folk tale collection as such.

2025-08-14 08:07:27 UTC

#WritersCoffeeClub Aug 13 - What regrets do you have regarding your work?
Not having as much time for it as I would like.
But alas, I too live in late-stage Capitalism, and at the present time I cannot rely on writing as my primary source of income.

2025-08-13 18:22:16 UTC

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@nprofile…05ph How about some neighborhood ghosts you can borrow drinks from?
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Brave_Girl_in_Ohmes

2025-08-12 11:36:17 UTC

What topic from German #folklore interests you the most?
Pick something, and I will try to add an appropriate tale from my backlog to the wiki soon (assuming that I _have_ an appropriate tale).
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Main_Page

2025-08-11 17:01:14 UTC

Even dragons can be slain if they are caught napping.
#MythologyMonday #Germany #folktale #folklore #dragon
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/The_Last_Lindwurm

2025-08-11 06:26:39 UTC

A general warning to the #AmWriting community: There is a new type of #scammer active on #Facebook, and I have reason to believe that they are active on #Mastodon as well.
These scammers pretend that they are famous authors, and claim that they want to "assist you on your writing journey". Which is odd - why would "famous authors" want to start a new account just to help other authors, instead of their own works?
No doubt this approach is intended to get you to spend lots of money on some "consulting service" which will get you "additional sales and reviews". So be aware, and be deeply suspicious of anyone contacting you out of the blue who pretends to be a famous author.
#Scammer #scam #writing #WritersCoffeeClub #WordWeavers #ScribesAndMakers
#PennedPossibilities #WritingCommunity
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/115/008/675/954/341/163/original/c7384fe3ff4aa3c7.png

2025-08-11 05:00:29 UTC

I've hit the 50 mark with the folk tales I've added to my wiki this morning. Not bad...
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Category:Folk_Tale

2025-08-09 17:51:09 UTC

There is ample folkloric precedent for the rock-throwing abilities of #DnD giants.
In fact, the giants of D&D were _toned down_ when compared to their folkloric counterparts, who regularly threw rocks at targets many miles distant - although their aim tended to suck, which is why Northern Germany has so many glacial erratic boulders scattered around the countryside.

2025-08-08 08:01:11 UTC

2025-08-07 13:06:55 UTC

If you have a #blog , does it have #ActivityPub integration - either natively or via an appropriate plugin (such as the ActivityPub plugin for WordPress)?
If so, share its account name here - so that people can follow them and comment on them with their regular #FediVerse account!
I think this functionality is one of the most underappreciated aspects of the Fediverse. It's not quite an #RSS feed, but it's awesome in its own right.
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/987/624/582/058/814/original/1f1e542e66cd3f17.jpg

2025-08-07 09:39:44 UTC

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@nprofile…pdav @nprofile…qhvh @nprofile…mfrn
Pretty much this. So how do we get more of that?

2025-08-07 08:45:27 UTC

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@nprofile…pdav
Mostly the latter. I mean, the former is spreading through social media all the time (although having better fact-checkers would be nice), but doing actual deep dives is a professional skill.

2025-08-07 08:37:35 UTC

"Traditional" #journalism had its fair share of problems, but the rise of Google's advertising empire completely wrecked the primary source of income for most newspapers - and the remainder are gradually bought up by the fascist-adjacent business elite and turned into right-wing propaganda pieces.
Yet I do think that good journalism - delving into the facts of a situation, and explaining it to the public - is desperately needed. So how can we get more of it - and finance it, in this late-stage Capitalist hellscape we find ourselves in?

2025-08-06 08:51:30 UTC

Question: Do you know of any #TTRPG / #PNPDE blogs around here which have ActivityPub integration (such as WordPress with the relevant plugin)?
I'd like to subscribe to them, if they are out there.

2025-08-06 08:01:05 UTC

2025-08-05 15:01:31 UTC

"There were giants in the earth in those days..."
#Germany #folktale #folklore #giant @nprofile…gmux @nprofile…9g3w
https://www.patreon.com/posts/tales-of-north-130907027
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/976/757/472/245/788/original/19c6faae75c573bd.jpeg

2025-08-04 08:01:44 UTC

Wir suchen für meine Abteilung einen Vertriebsbeauftragten (idealerweise für #Oldenburg )! Wir entwickeln Leittechnik für Stadtwerke - die zentrale Steuersoftware für Strom-, Gas-, Wasser- und Fernwärme-Netzwerke.
Wir verkaufen üblicherweise sehr kundenspezifische Projekte, keine Produkte von der Stange. Kenntnisse über die Strombranche wären hilfreich.
Bei Fragen zu der Stelle könnt Ihr euch bei mir melden!
#GetFediHired #JobAlert #JobSearch #Hiring #SCADA #Energy
https://www.kisters.eu/de/job-vacancy/key-account-manager-w-m-d-softwareloesungen-smart-grid/

2025-07-28 05:09:35 UTC

#PhantastikPrompts 27.07. Machst du Ortsbesichtigungen zur Recherche? Nutzt du Fotos oder Ortspläne?
Die hunderte von deutschen Sagen und Legenden die ich übersetzt habe kommen von fast ebenso vielen Orten. Leider ist es mir nicht möglich, alle zu besuchen - ich habe weder unbegrenzt Zeit noch unbegrenzt Geld, und das alles ist aktuell nur ein Freizeit-Hobby statt meine Haupteinkuftsquelle. Aber die wenigen Schauplätze die ich tatsächlich besucht habe bleiben mir gut in Erinnerung!
Nichtsdestotrotz versuche ich immer die Orte der Handlung zu recherchieren - Wikipedia, Google-Suchen, alte Karten, und was sich sonst noch so alles auftreiben kann. Auch wenn ich es nicht selber schaffe, diese Orte zu besuchen, sollen zumindest meine Leser die Chance dazu haben!

2025-07-23 23:01:26 UTC

Magical methods of murder always have their downsides.
#Germany #folktale #folklore #magic @nprofile…gmux @nprofile…9g3w
https://www.patreon.com/posts/freischutz-part-104951658
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/905/034/550/238/437/original/aac730ed4d4cb408.png

2025-07-23 10:02:28 UTC

#PhantastikPrompts 23.7.: Musst du alles erklären? Fällt dir das Weglassen schwer?
Ehrlich gesagt halte ich das Erklären für eine meiner wichtigsten Aufgaben.
Ich übersetze deutsche Sagen und Legenden ins Englische. Und diese Geschichten haben einen Kontext, der für moderne Deutsche oft sehr schlecht zugänglich ist. Für ein internationales Publikum ohne besonderen Zugang zur deutschen Kultur ist das noch viel schwieriger.
Daher erkläre ich lieber zu viel als zu wenig.

2025-07-21 16:37:21 UTC

Since sharing screenshots of my translated German folk tales is not great for #accessibility reasons, I have decided to slowly put by backlog on a wiki and simply link them from here.
I've installed the wiki and come up with a basic structure for how to organize and present the tales. And I would like to hear your thoughts on the structure so far - it is easier to fix things when the wiki only has 5 tales instead of 500.
#folklore
https://wiki.sunkencastles.com/wiki/Main_Page

2025-07-21 12:28:43 UTC

I am willing to create a custom #FediCard - business-card flyers promoting the #FediVerse - for specific instances and events.
The rules are:
- They should be for specific instances, and these instances should be actively maintained.
- Ideally, these instances should have a specific theme or focus (such as the two #TTRPG instances and the political instance which I am showcasing below).
- You should specify the business card format you need (such as 3.5x2 inches for US business cards, or 85x55mm for most of the EU).
- You should have some intention of printing them out and distributing them at real life events.
https://kai.nl.tab.digital/s/fc9rHL6wxfxP8Rp
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/891/178/713/051/519/original/0c31503543eca6cd.png
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/891/189/342/690/893/original/8e546b27396a10d2.png
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/891/191/509/671/155/original/101eb4b87c2ea2b4.png
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/891/193/905/799/596/original/5f6f2d04cec2352e.png

2025-07-21 10:48:50 UTC

#PennedPossibilities 732 - Is your WIP a singular novel, a series of books, serial fiction, comics, or fanfiction? (Or something else entirely? Explain.)
Well, I had originally planned to release "complete collections" of my translations of German folk tales every few years, with new editions incorporating new tales that I had translated.
But I quickly realized that editing increases _geometrically_ with book length, and thus decided that a saner approach is to release shorter collections of 100 tales each, with each volume focusing on a specific theme.
My current WIP, "Old Goatfoot", is volume 2 in that series. But I have easily enough ideas and source material to work with to publish 40 further volumes - or more.

2025-07-02 23:01:41 UTC

If a kobold appeared on your bed and shouted: "Take me! Take me!"
How would you... take it?
#Germany #folktale #folklore #kobold @nprofile…gmux @nprofile…9g3w
https://www.patreon.com/posts/concerning-part-30538497
https://media.mementomori.social/media_attachments/files/114/786/127/006/265/410/original/7315a1f376b10810.png

2025-06-19 11:20:00 UTC

For all the valid criticism of #Israel 's wars, _please_ don't stoop to tired old antisemitic tropes of Israel/"The Jews" manipulating everyone into going along with them. There are plenty of _other_ reasons for other nations to go along with Israel beyond "The Jewish Conspiracy". A few examples:
- Conservatives in both Europe and North America are heavily invested in a "Clash of Cultures" narrative, with the "Christian West" against the "Muslim Hordes". They don't give a damn about Muslim lives - whether in #Gaza or elsewhere - and they are in favor of anything that inflames tensions between Muslims and everyone else - because that gives them a pretext for arguing that Muslims "don't belong" into Western Nations and eventually purge any Muslim residents.
- Special mention goes to certain strains of American Evangelicals who believe that Israel needs to be "restored in its historical borders" so that Jews will mass-convert to Christianity and another milestone is reached on the path to the End Times.
- And Saudi Arabia sees #Iran as a major regional rival (on top of the whole Sunni-Shiite conflict) and has found Israel a very useful partner in keeping them in check.
So yeah, assign blame to the Israeli government where it is due. But they are not the only ones with agency, and they have had a whole bunch of willing enablers. #antisemitism

2025-06-08 04:54:26 UTC

Regarding the #LosAngeles protests:
I feel strongly that the _only_ way the #Trump regime can truly be defeated is via mass protests.
When Hitler took over the Weimar Republic, there _weren't_ any large-scale protests. Most Germans just went along with it and minded their own business, and thus the Nazis could do whatever they wanted.
But if there are mass protests in the streets - as there are currently in the USA, then this sends a powerful message to the supporters of the regime. Remember how quickly Google, Facebook, and other companies bent their knees at the inauguration and afterwards? That's because they figured they had much to gain by supporting Trump, and there were little in the way of negative consequences for doing so.
Mass protests send a different message. They show that there is real anger and wrath in the general public about what Trump is doing, and this makes clear to all the quislings that there is a real price to supporting Trump. Maybe some of them will reconsider, and become less conciliatory to the government.
And this goes for the rest of society, too. Police, military, the courts - none of them are immune to public opinion. If they believe they have nothing to lose from subservience to Trump, then they will do so. But if there is a real cost - in public perception, in self-image, and so forth - then maybe they will question their orders.
Anyway: Godspeed, and keep it up.
#LAProtests #Trump #ICE #fascism

2025-03-19 08:52:32 UTC

#ttrpg hot take:
The fantasy trope that some people are special because of their bloodline is deeply problematic, and so are #DnD sorcerers.
Discuss.

2025-03-14 10:29:26 UTC

#Censorship is spreading on corporate social media, and as usual #ElonMusk is involved.
#Luigi #LuigiMangione
https://slate.com/technology/2025/03/reddit-elon-musk-luigi-mangione-censorship.html

2025-02-23 07:55:34 UTC

I just did my civic duty and voted in the German federal #elections .
The whole process - including waiting in line - took about 2 minutes.
The horror stories from the USA that people in some voting districts have to wait in line for many hours only make sense if you accept that the goal is to actively prevent a lot of people from voting. Heck, remember the discussion how it was illegal to offer drinks to people waiting in line for the elections? In Germany this is a non-problem because people simply don't wait in line long enough to get thirsty!
The USA _could_ run their elections better. But they _choose_ not to.
#USPolitics

2025-02-11 12:08:03 UTC

Looking at how #LLM are promoted by their fans, I've come to the conclusion:
Pretty much everyone from a #STEM background - myself definitely included! - owes the #Humanities a huge apology.
I mean, I get it. When I was a young student of physics, it was easy for me to sneer at philosophy students and whatnot. After all, _we_ dealt with hard, measurable facts, while _those_ people dealt with some weird thought constructs that had no relevancy to the real world - right?
But this is the end result - #TechBro culture and a vast portion of our entire economy using digital bullshit generators instead of critical thinking, and using this to lead us into a fascist future where either Truth or Facts have become meaningless.
Mea culpa.