Sfiddy's stuff

Nonsensical ravings of a lunatic mind. Bluesky: @sfiddy.bsky.social; Twitter: @sfiddyfic; AO3, ff: sfiddy

[linusbenjamin]

Pride and Prejudice 2005 ☼ dir. Joe Wright

[lionheartamelia]

Joking aside, I hope the bbc takes this as a lesson that relying on nostalgia all the time isn’t a good thing and they actually start to give new people a chance to tell fresh stories.

[contagiousgrace]

Sexualizing same-sex friendships is just one more way to trick people into thinking that intimate relationships only exist in a romantic/sexual context. And that is a recipe for isolation and hurt and confusion if I’ve ever heard one.

[mornington-the-crescent]

[goat-yells-at-everything]

You HAVE to read the whole quote by Lewis. This does sum it up fairly well but he goes on further and its just…gawd its good.

“Those who cannot conceive Friendship as a substantive love but only as a disguise or elaboration of Eros betray the fact that they have never had a Friend. The rest of us know that though we can have erotic love and friendship for the same person yet in some ways nothing is less like a Friendship than a love-affair. Lovers are always talking to one another about their love; Friends hardly ever about their Friendship. Lovers are normally face to face, absorbed in each other; Friends, side by side, absorbed in some common interest. Above all, Eros (while it lasts) is necessarily between two only. But two, far from being the necessary number for Friendship, is not even the best. And the reason for this is important. … In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets… Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, ‘Here comes one who will augment our loves.’ For in this love ‘to divide is not to take away.”

[hawkeyedflame]

on a related note please stop suggesting that i’m flirting with my female friends just because i’m gay. not only is it disrespectful towards me (not least because i’m in a relationship) it also feeds into a narrative that paints gay people as inherently attracted to or predatory towards people of the same gender and implies that emotional intimacy can’t be platonic for us which in turn makes us feel alienated and wary of seeking out close bonds with the people around us for fear of our relationships being misconstrued.

[inmh01]

That logic has always confused me- mostly because I’m bi, and so by that logic I would want to bang everyone I meet.

Except I don’t, because just like straight and gay people, I have standards for what I find attractive and what I don’t.

[rienerose]

OK….this. This. I have never understood the absolute certainty that so many women have while looking at male characters that they are in a sexual or sexually repressed relationship with each other. I don’t and have never seen it. Kirk and Spock. Aragorn and Legolas. Harry and Draco. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Erik the Phantom and the Daroga. I just don’t get it. I see men who are in this epic die-for-each-other type of friendship, these monumental band of brothers side-by-side friendship, but there’s no sexual energy there. You can like someone, love someone without wanting to have sex with them. If that’s what you’re into, fine, whatever, but I’m just not seeing it. :S And I’m sure I’m going to get slammed for this, but ok. I have no problem with same-sex relationships. But write them that way! Go for it! Make it clear that these two are hanging on by a thread and give me eighteen chapters of angst and longing!

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Honestly, as a German I can not quite understand the obsession of the English speaking world with the question whether a word exists or not. If you have to express something for which there is no word, you have to make a new one, preferably by combining well-known words, and in the very same moment it starts to exist. Agree?

[latveriansnailmail]

Deutsche Freunde, could you please create for me a word for the extreme depression I feel when I bend down to pick up a piece of litter and discover two more pieces of litter?

[thatswhywelovegermany]

um = around

die Welt = world

die Umwelt = environment

ver = prefix to indicate something difficult or negative, a change that leads to deterioration or even destruction that is difficult to reverse or to undo, or a strong negative change of the mental state of a person

der Müll = garbage, trash, rubbish, litter

-ung = -ing

die Vermüllung = littering

ver- = see before

zweifeln = to doubt

-ung = see before

die Verzweiflung = despair, exasperation, desperation

die Umweltvermüllungsverzweiflung = …

[serhumfreysbrokencollarbone]

This is a german compound on the spot master class and I am LIVING

[thatswhywelovegermany]

#my german is still too basic for this but I desperately want a compound word for how much these compound words piss me off

das Monster = monster

das Wort = word

der Groll = grudge, anger, malice, rancor

der Monsterwortgroll = …

[linguistikforum]

Monsterwortbildungsimitationsunfähigkeitsverzweiflungsgroll

[thatswhywelovegermany]

die Bildung = formation

die Imitation = imitation

un- = un-, in-

fähig = able

-keit = -ility

die Unfähigkeit = inability

der Monsterwortbildungsimitationsunfähigkeitsverzweiflungsgroll = anger about the inability to imitate the formation of monster words

[wildflower182]

Linguistikfehdenhandschuhwurf

[thatswhywelovegermany]

die Linguistik = linguistics

die Fehde = feud

der Handschuh = glove

der Fehdehandschuh = gauntlet

der Wurf = throw

der Linguistikfehdenhandschuhwurf = throwing down the linguistic gauntlet

[shiplocks-of-love]

*slowly backs in fear*

[meetinginsamarra]

@shiplocks-of-love, @thatswhywelovegermany

Monsterwortbildungsunfähigkeitsangstverzweiflungsrückzugsecke

Monster=monster // wort=word // bildung(s)=formation

unfähigkeit (s)=incabability  // angst=anxiety

verzweiflung(s)=desperation  // rückzug(s)=retreat // ecke=corner

=the corner in which you retreat when you´re desperate because of your fear when being unable to form monster words

[shiplocks-of-love]

*eye twitch*

But what I want to see now is two germans arguing over the construction of one of these monster words.

[melmey]

@shiplocks-of-love I don’t think that will happen. The words make perfect sense. I think if German is your mother tongue you get a feeling for combining words, like a 

Monsterwortbildungsgespür

Monster = monster 

Wort = word 

Bildung(s) = formation

Gespür = intuition

;-)

[a-german-learning-clown]

🤡

[dewdropbonnet]

Sprachirrgartenbelustigungsbeitrag

[thatswhywelovegermany]

die Sprache = language

• irren = to become lost (also: to err, to be mistaken; to wander, to stray)

• der Garten = garden

der Irrgarten = maze, knot garden

• be- = prefix with a variety of functions: ¹as part of a compound word, it denotes a processing or change of state; ²as part of a compound word, it denotes a touch; ³as part of a compound word, it denotes a more intensive preoccupation with or thematization of something; ⁴it forms from a noun an adjective with a pseudo-participle form because the corresponding verb does not exist; ⁵as a prefix, it forms a transitive verb from a previously intransitive verb; ⁶as a prefix of a verb, it shifts the focus and thus changes the sentence structure

• lustig = funny

• -ung = suffix turning an adjective/adverb into a noun

die Belustigung = amusement, entertainment, merriment

der Beitrag = contribution, article in a newspaper or magazine, posting on social media, input to a discussion

[linguistness]

Bloody love this language <3<3<3

[randomgerman]

The thing is, since in German you have to decline/conjugate many words in relation to the noun they are refering to those monster words actually serve a purpose of making the language simpler. A common example is a (as in any) red wine (ein roter Wein) as compaired to the compound a red wine (ein Rotwein). If rot is an adjective it has to be conjugated: der rote Wein - des roten Weins - die roten Weine - and many more. But it if rot is part of the noun you only have to decline Wein: der Rotwein - des Rotweins - die Rotweine. So, die Verzweiflung über die Vermüllung der Umwelt is way longer than Umweltvermüllungsverzweiflung and you would have to know three grammatical genders and the words’ respective declinations. Whereas for Umweltvermüllungsverzweiflung you only need to know that Verzweiflung is grammatically feminine (die) and its deklinations.

[mareebrittenford]

Ok, now I want to see Germans playing Scrabble

[thatswhywelovegermany]

[the-lax-disciple]

Doomscrollaufhellungsrepost

Doom scroll // self explanatory

auf- // lit.: „up“ indicates rising, or something becoming bigger, better, healthier

hell // bright

aufhellen // to brighten something up

-ung // makes a verb a noun

-s- // the glue that keeps german compound words together

repost // self explanatory

Doomscrollaufhellungsrepost // a repost to brighten up your doom scroll

You‘re Welcome!

[telltaletypist]

weirdest part of being an adult is the fact that you can put off watching a movie for nearly a decade and barely notice

[mxbuster]

And then think “huh I should watch that movie that just came out” and it was 2016.

[alonelystargazer]

writing goals for 2026 ✨

to write

[seventyeight-moose]

[allshipsareok]

[zykamiliah-temporal]

i think we should bring this back (with some amendments ofc) if we ever needed an "internet etiquette" for the younger generations, now is the moment to remind them. purity culture kills fandom

as well as the three laws of fandom:

Don't Like, Don't Read (DL;DR), Your Kink is not My Kink And That's OK (YKINMKATO) and Ship and Let Ship

[sorcererofsolitude]

📣 Purity culture kills fandom! 📣

[atlinmerrick]

NO ONE LIVING hasn't been squicked out by something. There's over 7 billion of us, my delights and disgusts aren't universal. So I move on. Don't like the ship? Move on. Don't like____? Move on.

I am not an exception. Neither are you. I don't like it I move on and shut my gob about it because everyone everywhere is squicked out by something and they need to put the thing down and just…motor.

[rewordthis]

This but also:

Frames this entire post and hangs it over the fireplace.

[sfiddy]

Proper, prosper, and positive 2026.

Up with joy and family. Raise your hearts, minds and thoughts.

[seasoflife]

Extremely rare Celestial Frost Auroras spotted in the skies of Alaska.

seasoflife

[noah-wyles]

she's the best of us

[homoquartz]

i’ve warmed up significantly towards the concept of small talk ever since i learned that its sole purpose is to make friendly noises.

as long as you smile and nod, people are satisfied. it’s just to show that you are nice and there with good intentions. we’re small in a big world and have to rely on other people to be decent to us. so we do our little human dance to each other to say, “i’m not here to hurt you. here’s something we have in common, like the weather or sports or itchy sweaters, so we both know we’re on the same team. we both agree on a basic fact, like that it is rainy or that being itchy is uncomfortable, and this proves we can get along. i’m being light-hearted and non-threatening right now.”

small talk isn’t to get to know a person. it’s just a greeting to affirm you’re buddies in the universe.

i am motivated by wanting the other person to know i am friendly, so i have gotten pretty decent at small talk when i used to hate it.

[feroxargentea]

Calling all X-Files fans still out there!

AO3 are archiving all the fanfic from the 1990s paper-and-ink fanzine DTA (Dreaming the Answers), published by cj2017 and me. But it's been 1000000 years and we no longer have current contact details for any of the authors!

If your fic was published in DTA and you want updated username/contact info adding or your username removing, or you don't want your fic to be archived at all, please contact the Open Doors project and let them know, or contact me. More info is here on the announcement post on AO3.

Please spread the word, thank you!

[sioltach]

Today's high schoolers romanticizing 2016 as if there weren't the clown incidents

[wizardshark]

This isn't even a shit post that actually happened

[audreyii-fic]

somehow we forgot that the rapture happened in 2016 and the chosen ones ascended, starting with David Bowie and ending with Carrie Fisher. folks, we're the left behind

[sfiddy]

I cannot tell you how often I've thought this. The VIP room in the heaven and hell afterparty has been rocking and we're stuck with the AI slop.

[selenekallanwriter]

John Oliver gets it, as usual. AI Slop is one of the best episodes of Last Week Tonight I've seen so far. Gen AI is theft. Those who use it are not authors or artists, they're grifters profiting from real creatives.

[nonasuch]

Currently I have a dilemma.

My parents are selling their house and downsizing to a condo. I’m getting the house ready for an estate sale.

There is a lot of Stuff, including a genuinely distressing number of Beanie Babies. Most of it is going to be pretty straightforward to price and sell. My dad is ebaying some of the more valuable stuff. That’s all fine.

My dad is a podiatrist, and so was my grandfather, so we also have things like his doctor’s bag from the 1950s (cool), film negatives of medically interesting feet (gross, but in a cool way), and badly out-of-date podiatry textbooks (gross, but in a boring way).

And. well. also there’s a human femur.

It was my grandfather’s, presumably for educational purposes. I cannot legally sell it in the state of Maryland and I don’t think I’d want to even if I could. I am certainly not keeping it. Throwing it out seems a) disrespectful and b) likely to cause an accidental police investigation.

Guys, I do not know What The Fuck To Do With This Thing.

I’m not sure that I should be turning to the bone-stealing witch website for ideas but my other options are mostly subreddits full of people who are a little too excited about the idea of owning a real human femur. Help.

[lilisonna]

I don't know if I have good answers, but I do have two answers...

1) call up your local University biology department and see if they would be interested in it

2) drive out to the middle of nowhere in a national park, fling it out your window while saying "fly Grandpa fly!"

[nonasuch]

2) seems like a great way to create an unsolvable cold case, but that’s really not what I’m trying to do here.

Also, I cannot stress this enough: the femur was my grandpa’s in the sense that he had it in his doctor’s office in the 1950s. At no point was it a part of my grandpa. I do not know whose leg it originally came from.

[kaelio]

Can you sell it in another state? How much do they want?

[do-you-have-a-flag]

[i set the days since last tumblr bone selling scandal counter to 0]

[strongermonster]

they’re opening up a new sister store in a different province and they asked me to do some email correspondence with my joint health and safety counterpart out there to help him get set up and run the team, but they warned me before hand that he was “notoriously difficult” so i was absolutely dreading this thinking “shit, he’s gonna be one of those guys who thinks taking direction is an insult to his masculinity and he’s gonna be rude and suck”

but it turns out he’s just really autistic and needs super clear direction + he writes his emails like a 1911 telegram. i LOVE this guy. i’ve never worked with someone who wrote so clearly and in such detail, and absorbs everything i say. plus whenever he gets an email he responds immediately with “received. response to follow. thank you.” top 10 coworkers of all time. top 5 even.

[tairneanaich]

„Difficult“ the man is literally the only son of a bitch on the planet communicating fucking properly

[moveslikekeithrichards]

the problem with me is i cannot differentiate what is & is not my circus and what are & are not my monkeys. this gives you mental health conditions

[psycorax]

Not to be a boomer on main but there is a reason the old prayer begs for the patience to live in the circus that isn’t yours, the strength to wrangle the monkeys that are, and the ringleader expertise to know the difference