Gratitude - An Ode to the Wonderful Durtles

well deserved! That leaderboard thread has given me so much motivation - thanks so much for organising @quimda!

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“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.”

-Rachel Carson

When I was a little kid, one of my favorite shows on Cartoon Network was “Captain Planet.” Nearly 2 decades later, I still hum the title song…

Earth!
Fire!
Wind!
Water!
Heart!

GO PLANET!

With your powers combined I am Captain Planet!

Captain Planet, he’s our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero

I am so happy that I remember this title song when I think of this durtle. Because they are someone worthy of the title “Captain Planet”. Among all the durtles I have met in the last 10 months, I haven’t met a durtle who cared about nature as much as this durtle. They are as gentle as summer breeze and as powerful as the greenery protecting our planet. I affectionately refer to them as Midori because they remind me of a wonderful character called Midori Sakurazawa from Chihayafuru. They are none other than @Windgreen san :slight_smile:

I have met Midori san on the POLL thread. They were kind enough to offer me homemade cocoa chocolates :smile: When people are asked what do they fear most, the number one answer is not “Fear of Death” - it is “Fear of Public Speaking”. Midori san also belongs to the above said category, yet they struggled and fought through their anxiety, fears and worked hard to present a brilliant TED talk in front of hundreds of strangers. and it was not just a talk, it was a masterpiece :clap: It was witty, useful and had a clarity of thought that is rare to find. There is only one word to describe such a feat “FABULOUS”. I bow to your patience and perseverance to break through your barriers and fears to help the society :bowing_woman: :bowing_man:

The way they present their advice to overcome anxiety and fears through meditation permeates gentleness through out the conversation. It is non-judgmental, helpful and encouraging to the recipient. I can’t fathom the level of effort that took to reach that stage and still maintain the urge to improve while also staying humble :slight_smile:

If you think that they are all work and no fun then you are sorely mistaken. They are an absolute fun to be around. They draw, color, read and write (I am jelly of their beautiful handwriting :stuck_out_tongue: ). They are also the creator of one of the most creative and entertaining threads called “Stationery Thread”. If you love your stationery, hop over and share your favorites :grin: They also created the “Sticker Durtle” :metal: They sing in Choir and are a massive Pothead Potterhead :raised_hands: There is still a lot more to them. Fun fact: They are also the leader of Team Wind in Olympians XXXII thread.

Midori san, you once said:

I wish I was better at acknowledging and celebrating the achievements I do get

I hope you got better at this, because you are one of the most fantastic people I have ever met and you deserve the praise, satisfaction and happiness :slight_smile: I bestow upon you the title of Captain Planet Durtle

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Thank you very much! I won’t write a lot now in this reply but I want you to know that I deeply appreciate your post. It definitely made my start into this day a lot better :smile:

And sorry to all the Attack on Durtle fans that there hasn’t been a new episode last Sunday, especially after last episode’s end

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The one who was banned? Or the other one who was banned?

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Hahaha. I don’t know either of them, though I do recall reading some of their posts. I was referring to WindGreen san :slight_smile:

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Do or do not. There is no try.

-Master Yoda

Shinobu Kocho, Shinobu Sensui, Shinobu Wakamiya… Manga/Anime world is filled with awesome characters called Shinobu. We have such an awesome character among our durtles. It is @ShinobuSagi san :slight_smile:

Shinobu san is “chúng ta” type of person. It is a inclusive way of saying “We” in Vietnamese. I met Shinobu san on the GIF thread and our communication in the last 10 months was through only GIFS (which included the longest GIF spam featuring a single character - Anna Kendrick). It is like having a friend on the same wavelength. No words need to be spoken to get the meaning across :slight_smile:

Shinobu san is a fighter, someone who has been through hard times and fought through them by creating new habits and sticking with them rigorously to move in the right direction. They lead an interesting life as a tour guide in Japan and a teacher in their homeland. They are also the creator of The Mighty chew durtle and Komori Durtle (which looks a lot like me when I am doing reviews :stuck_out_tongue:)

Shinobu san is the kind of person who believes in doing something with all your strength. No trying, only doing. A special thanks for your valuable contributions on mental health and Japanese. It is always fun when you are around and Good luck on N1 :crossed_fingers:

I bestow upon you the title of Doceratops Durtle

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Who, luckily, was not (and, hopefully, would never be) banned :sweat_smile:

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That is what i thought too when I read that. :slight_smile:

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I am the bone of my sword

Steel is my body and fire is my blood

I have created over a thousand blades

Unknown to Death,

Nor known to Life.

Have withstood pain to create many weapons

Yet, those hands will never hold anything

So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.

In that epic moment a thousand blades appear behind the protagonist. It is an awe-inspiring spectacle followed by one of the most spectacular anime fights. Whether you love or hate FATE series, as an anime fan you can’t help but feel your heart beat faster, your pulse quicken and adrenaline along with excitement surge through your body :smile:

That is the same feeling you experience when this durtle enters the thread. Their gaming skills make Villain NPCs (Non-playing characters) tremble with fear and Villager NPCs bow with reverence. Even in a game where you can earn rewards by killing harmless NPCs, this durtle still treats the NPCs and non-enemy creatures with love and respect. It speaks to the character of this wonderful durtle. It is none other than @TrinityBringer san :slight_smile:

I met Trinity san in the POLL thread. They are probably the most knowledgeable gamer durtle on this forum. And they are always willing to help me and others in a pinch whether it is providing a 3-post buffer or Japanese language help etc. :slight_smile: They have written one of the most useful and detailed posts on “Studying with native material - learn, dissect and mine.” They are learning Japanese, Mandarin and German languages. They are learning Japanese because they want to play Japanese games in Japanese :smile: Pure, Straight and Simple :metal:

If you ever gain the coveted “Regular” status on the forum and are worried that you might lose it, Trinity san has a pro tip for you. “If you want to keep the Regular status, all you need is to scroll by the posts, you didn’t even have to read them! You can just scroll in one hand and watch TV in the other… :joy:” (Reminds me of a certain Potato chip scene from a famous anime :joy: of course without the killing). Fun Fact: Trinity san is a durtle who can summon Koichi to the forum. (We have a screenshot and a post with 64 likes and counting to prove it :wink: )

Thanks for being a part of the community Trinity san :slight_smile: Thanks for sharing your funny stories, sad stories, advice and love. Like the protagonists in the video games, may you always be the victor in the end. I bestow upon you the title of Setzer durtle

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:grey_exclamation:Me, reading this post…

shinobusagi=naki

I (or can I now say “we” wihout being weird?) am deeply humbled to receive a mention in this thread. :pray: It’s an amazing thing you’re doing here and I have regularly considered sneaking in a post or two to thank my own helpful Durtles… (which clearly hasn’t happened yet though).

Our struggles are many, but we’ll keep on fighting! :mechanical_arm: Who knows, maybe this will be the year I finally crawl out from under that thick shell and make a few more positive contributions to this fantastic forum - other than brilliant GIFs of course :sunglasses: Seriously, that latest “conversation” was so entertaining I stayed up until 5am for it :joy:

While I must admit to taking a few too many “do not” paths on the road of life, now that I’m [un]officially a Doceratops Durtle, we’ll GO for the win. Thanks, KyokaJiro-san!


(did you know I love alliterations or was that just my luck?)

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This brings so many (good!) feelings! :green_heart:

tenor (2)

In situations like this, my instinctive response would be to run and hide… :see_no_evil:

NKW4

But not now. Now I’ll read your words, let them truly sink in, and say… Thank you! :green_heart:

It is with great 光栄 that I receive the Captain Planet Durtle you bestowed upon me! But then, I think you already know how I’m going to respond… :wink:

Thank you, Kyoka san (if I may call you so), for your kindness superpower! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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My pleasure Shinobu san :slight_smile: Thanks for your kind words :blush: Feel free to thank anyone who helped you.

Hahaha. It was the best gif conversation I had in my entire life :smile:

Deciding to discard “do-not” paths is also doing Shinobu san :slight_smile: The battles we chose not to fight are decisions as important as the ones we chose to fight.

There are no coincidences. Everything is according to Keikaku :wink:

Note: Love the Ninja bunny and the Power Ranger flexes muscle

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:slight_smile:

It is!! and it is time to make a difference :metal:

Of course, you may :smile:

I love the fact that you regularly link to Zen Pencils :slight_smile: It is such a wonderful site and is close to my heart. When I had to move to a different place, I could only pick 3-4 books among my vast collection. Zen Pencils (Illustrations were published into a book) was one of them. I still re-read at least one story every night before I go to sleep. They are truly inspiring and remind us to live a better life :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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When in doubt, talk baby.

(Best advice on speaking in Japanese)

One of the reasons I learn Japanese is to read a book by the Maestro Haruki Murakami in Japanese :slight_smile: I love the English translations and I firmly believe the translator has done an excellent job. The urge to read the original never goes away. This durtle is also a fan of Murakami Sensei. It is none other than @Saida san :slight_smile:

I met Saida san on a Wanikani Discord server. They moderated the speaking practice session with finesse and gently guided other durtles on the call with their clear answers. I was beyond impressed and completely awestruck at the level of effort that must have went to their preparations to achieve that level of mastery :slight_smile: Thank you Saida san.

They are also one of the top 10 users on the forum with interesting threads such as Murakami Book club and Stump Leebo. They learnt professional Calligraphy and even sold their art :grin: It is not easy to put your work out there without feeling vulnerable. To put your heart and soul into breathing something new into this world is beyond admirable. It takes a level of courage to create art and even greater courage to sell it. Fun fact: They also train in Kendo :muscle:

Thank you for being a valuable member of the community Saida san :slight_smile: All of us are inspired by your actions and benefit from your knowledge. I bestow upon you the title of Rembrandt Durtle

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Listen, I’m not one to key smash, but…
DJDDBDHGDJDDKDHEH?! :sparkles::sparkles::sparkles::sob::sob::sob:
tenor (52)
Holy crap, this is the sweetest thing I’ve ever read! I don’t even know what to say! My heart! @KyokaJiro!!!

YOU EVEN REMEMBERED MY FAVORITE FF CHARACTER WAHHHHHH!!!
cd3703fab56ebf1392c6f2987826097d

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Your feelings are all that matter :slightly_smiling_face: nothing else needs to said :smile:

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Thank you for your kind words! I never realized you participated there, because I couldn’t link all the Discord handles to the WK handles. Do you maybe want to PM me and let me know who you are? Glad you were able to get something out of it!

Very much feeling like an imposter the whole time, sitting next to my teacher (8th dan calligrapher) and @ShinobuSagi, whose calligraphy and artistic sense are way better developed than mine. I just follow the rules, and try to force my left hand into the right movements to make it look not the worst.

Thanks for the Durtle! Did you choose Rembrandt because I’m Dutch? I’m not an artist, and as such my ‘artworks’ lean more towards the realistic styles, like Rembrandt, rather than more interpretive styles like Magritte.

Much appreciated, and I cheer on your effort of appreciation, as well! It’s fun learning a bit more about the users I’ve hardly met, but you’ve had such interactions with!

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My pleasure Saida san.

Yep. I rarely use the same username in a second place. I tend to have a zillion usernames :stuck_out_tongue:

Yes. I will.

Don’t we all feel like imposters no matter how proficient we are? The moment you actually put the brush on paper you ceased to be an imposter and became an artist :grin:

Yes, I did. The names I chose tend to consist of two parts - a core quality and an aspirational quality. Rembrandt serves both the purposes of enhancing the artist and at the same time a higher ideal to strive towards :slight_smile: What are we if we do not push our limits and become better :wink: While I know about art and history I am not too familiar with the styles and my intention was not emphasize the style but rather the qualities that made them great :slight_smile:

Thanks Saida san :slight_smile: Every time I learn a bit more about others it feels wonderful :ok_hand: The entire point of the thread is to go beyond a name and appreciate what makes you YOU :bowing_man: :bowing_woman:

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Naniwa-zu ni

Sakuya kono hana

Fuyu-gomori

Ima o haru-be to

Sakuya kono hana

In Naniwa Bay, now the flowers are blossoming. After lying dormant all winter, now the spring has come and the flowers are blossoming.

Karuta is a wonderful combination of art, history and culture. This durtle is one of the Karuta fans on the forum. It is none other than @Belthazar san :slight_smile:

I met Belthazar san on the General Anime Thread while discussing Chihayafuru (a manga dealing with Karuta). One of my original goals in learning Japanese is to read Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. I was glad to geek out with a fellow durtle about my love for Karuta poems :grin:

Belthazar san is a funny durtle and they keep popping all over the forum thrilling us with their wit. They have made some wonderful threads/posts on comparison of WK radicals and common radicals, Japan place kanji, Poem research club, Crosswords for fun and profit. They are one of the most knowledgeable and helpful users on the forum :slight_smile: It is no wonder that they are one of the top 10 central nodes in the forum.

Fun fact: They collect Manhole cards from Japan :smile: They are also the sole remaining active regular on the TextFugu forums.

Thanks for sharing your love for Japanese culture Belthazar san :slight_smile: We love learning the interesting tidbits and your adorable orange kitty pfp. I bestow upon you the title of Naniwa Durtle

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Aww, thanks.

I did notice you liking some of my old threads. :stuck_out_tongue:

Well… that’s… perhaps not, strictly speaking, entirely true any more.

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