On Today's Episode of 'As I German Learn'

Yesterday on As I German Learn, I tackled the first guise of the "werden" monster. "Werden" in its present tense form means "to get, become" and gobbles up definite and indefinite articles. "I'm becoming a doctor" becomes "Ich werde Arzt." Nice, compact, and momentarily dizzying to my brain, which secretly likes the clutter and decorative fringe of my native tongue. At this stage, "werden" is quite manageable, almost cute, and you might be tempted to pet it. It's a Mogawai, asking you to feed it chicken after midnight with big, winsome brown eyes.

But something awful happens to it in the subjunctive/conditional conjugation. Suddenly, it's Stripe, mohawked and badass and waiting to cut you down. It's like going to your first German class with the expectation of an elderly teacher with horn-rimmed glasses and a bun atop her head like a dollop of whipped cream and finding Till Lindemann instead, with assless chaps, a cat-o' -nine tails, a ball gag, and a custard-spurting dildo.

And goddammit, Firefox spellcheck, "dildo" is a correct spelling and a recognizable word. Stop being such a prude.

For those who don't know what Till Lindemann looks like, see my shiny, new icon. No, it's not default. Flack is still king, dammit.


On the ficcing front, there may be hope for my spn_summergen fic, after all. I don't want to say anything else, lest I jinx it, but the rock has finally started to roll up the hill.