Words, about stuff

Also @colonel-kepler. A place where I talk about topics I find interesting and thought-provoking. In particular: The self, leadership, and how the self relates to the broader capitalist landscape. DMs are closed because I don't want to fall victim to any spambots. If you want to chat with me respond to one of my posts, I guess.

[softhe4rted]

self-compassion: an antidote to shame mb

[prokopetz]

One of the distinctive features of Old Norse poetry is the use of kenning: a circumlocutory device in which a straightforward noun is replaced with an allusive phrase.

For example, a ship might be referred to as a “wave’s horse”; a sword, a “wound-serpent”; a shield, “the shame of swords”, and so forth. Sometimes, kennings could be embedded in other kennings - thus, one might have “feeder of war-gulls” = “feeder of ravens” = “warrior”; this is known as a doubled or extended kenning.

Though many conventions of English literature can be traced back to Old Norse roots, kenning isn’t much encountered these days - at least, not in most genres. There’s one particular genre where the art of kenning is alive and well, though.

I’m speaking, of course, of erotic fanfic.

Whether you’re referring to a penis as a “porn-truncheon” or a vagina as “squish-pocket” (both examples I’ve seen employed in all apparent seriousness, incidentally), that perfectly fits the form and function of a kenning. Indeed, these examples even adhere to the idiosyncratic grammatical structure of many Old Norse kennings, with the base word being modified by an uninfected noun determinant inserted as a compound prefix.

Euphemisms for sex acts, meanwhile, can be even more baroque, forming multi-level allusions in the manner of doubled/extended kennings. “To ride the baloney pony”, for example, employs the act of riding a horse as an allusion to penetrative sexual intercourse - but the contained phrase “baloney pony” is, itself, a kenning of the simple type, with “pony” as the base word and “baloney” as the determinant, making the whole phrase a doubled kenning.

There are practical reasons for this sort of practice, of course; e.g., complex euphemisms can help sexually explicit works sneak through content filters. Still, it’s kind of fascinating that smutty fanfic has managed to preserve - in virtually unaltered state - a poetic form that’s otherwise been largely extinct in English literature for the better part of a thousand years.

[cs-inactive1-deactivated2020060]

amazing

[glimmerbulb]

This is the kind of content I want on my dash!!

[culumacilinte]

*head asplode* Right, I love kennings in old Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry, I love them, and it NEVER OCCURRED TO ME that that thing that terrible porn does is kenning. *falls over laughing* I LOVE IT.

[geekygothgirl]

*props chin in hands* Talk dirty and historical linguistic devices to me baby. 

[bead-bead-deactivated20190901]

PLEASE give us more fanfic kennings. I beg of you.

[lemonsharks]

(we need something like a porny kenning week)

[cenneidi]

do it grieving

[cenneidi]

do it while the ground falls out from under you; do it while everything you loved goes up in smoke; do it while the dream of your future is still burning embers around you; build anew on the hot ashes of everything you worked for; keep going, keep loving, keep living, even as all you want is to turn back (there is no turning back; it is gone already); do it through grief, which feels like fear in the body

do it grieving

[cenneidi]

The tag I have seen most often on this post is "I needed to hear this," and I am so, so grateful to have said something that was needed. These words came out of the depths of my own grief, and I am so grateful to have made this small connection with others in the midst of it. Grief is isolating and indescribable, but none of us are alone.

That said, these tags were what I needed to hear:

we're all gonna make it

it's okay if you can't see how yet. you don't have to believe in better. for now it is enough to just keep going, and eventually the path will emerge. you are not alone. you are not lost in the woods forever. keep going. I love you.

[mousidy]

don't forget that there are some women out there who have vaginas. it's called bottom surgery and it's magic

[mapsontheweb]

The collision of India and Eurasia, which started about 50 million years ago and continues to this day, formed the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.

Credit: Kristel Chanard, Tectonics Observatory, California Institute of Technology; Tim Pyle, California Institute of Technology

[stupidcupid06]

[catgirl-kaiju]

Has anyone else noticed recently that when you press the 🅐 Button while in the air you can hardly find the strength to do a Double Jump anymore? Go ahead and try if you want, but it won't work.

[catgirl-kaiju]

Nothing's been the same since she... fuck... I'm sorry... since she... since she left this world. If only I'd remembered that holding and releasing the 🅑 Button would've allowed me perform a powerful Spin Attack. If I hadn't forgotten, she might still be here today. Shit... fuck... I can't handle this anymore, I'm sorry.

[catgirl-kaiju]

There's a Save Point over there. They say if you stand on it and press 🅧 you can save your game. But can any of us really be saved? I don't think so. Not after everything we've done.

[catgirl-kaiju]

Press the 🅜 Button to undo the damage from this War. Oh? There's no 🅜 Button on your Controller? Funny that.

[nonbinary-bosmer]

Every time I see a Season Greasons post, I can’t help but wonder how many people actually know that image is from Man After Man and is supposed to be future evolved humans killing each other for food

[amingethia]

I’m sorry please elaborate what is Man After Man

And why are the evolved humans so hairy

[nonbinary-bosmer]

Man After Man is a book by Dougal Dixon on the speculative evolution of man after climate change, genetic engineering, and environmental collapse leads to the engineering of new human species to fill those biological niches, which then goes completely wild when society totally collapses and evolution runs wild.

As for why they’re so hairy? To survive in the freezing tundra. Why are they in the tundra? No idea. New human subspecies are created seemingly just to exist. However, be glad that they are hairy cause it’s the non hairy ones that are really horrifying.

Like the aquatics…

Or the space avocados Vacuumorph who were engineered to build spaceships for the elite…

Or these fucked up horsed people…

[amingethia]

I got this far down the rabbit hole. Might as well dive deeper.

[nonbinary-bosmer]

Goddamnit. Why did I even mention those? I don't want to be known as the Man After Man tumblr 🤦

Well you know the guys from the meme?

Well over the course of Two million years, they eventually go from that to this...

Yep, the hunters have now become literal Parasites who feast off the blood and fat of the now massive and hairless tundra walker Hosts

But it doesn't end there. You remember how it was mention that there were spaceships being built? Well those humans eventually return to Earth after several million years. And do you want to guess what they do?

This...

They turn the Hosts into this, massive immobile mountains of flesh harvested for meat as quickly as it grows.

So yeah, that's what the Season Greasons meme is all conected to and I am angry that knowledge of this takes up actual space in my brain

[nonbinary-bosmer]

This time of year, it’s important to remember the story behind a classic holiday image.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[dailymanners]

I feel as though what drives most rude / inconsiderate behavior I experience IRL on a day to day basis comes from a place of having this unearned and unnecessary sense of urgency in situations that aren't actually urgent. I think if more people became aware of this completely unnecessary sense of urgency in situations that actually aren't urgent, it might make co-existing and sharing public spaces with other people a lot easier and more tolerable.

That text post that's been making the rounds that goes something like "Omg you made it to the same red light as everyone else but faster and more dangerously and recklessly, should we call nascar? Do you want a medal?" summarizes exactly what I'm trying to talk about.

It's like when I have to change buses at one of the bigger and busier bus stops, and the people who get off the same bus as me shove and elbow past me to get off before me, and then shove and elbow past anyone even slightly in their way on the way to the bus they're switching, only to end up on the same bus as all the people they shoved and elbowed with several minutes to spare before it leaves and plenty of open seats left.

I think this unnecessary urgency a lot of people feel in their day to day lives drives a lot of bad behavior. I'm not saying I'm innocent of this, I've felt it too in plenty of situations that didn't call for it, and regrettably was less kind than I should have been as a result. But I try to be aware of it, and always try to ask myself it it's really as urgent as my lizard brain is trying to tell me it is, and even if it was that urgent, does that still justify unkind behavior?

Is shoving or elbowing another person aside going to make the difference between whether or not you make it to the bus before it pulls away? (hint: at least where I live, most of the time that's a no because the drivers usually won't leave if they see people from another bus heading towards their bus). Is shoving and elbowing people aside in a crowded grocery store going to make any noticeable difference in how quickly you get your shopping done?

Does a few extra seconds of time actually justify cruel and unkind behavior towards people you perceive as slightly inconveniencing you?

[purlturtle]

Someone pointed out to me once how a lot of people, when out grocery shopping, amble through the aisles at a leisurely pace, maybe checking out this new product or that tester... But when the time comes to queue for checkout, all of a sudden everyone is super impatient and not leisurely at all.

That fully rewired my brain.

Ever since then I've tried to keep that in mind when I shop. If I'm not hurrying through the store, I'm not gonna be impatient in line for checkout.

[dailymanners]

#the urgency and impatience tends to drive a lot of ableism too#Gods forbid someone need help or walk slower or get stuck somewhere#people will walk into my chair because they're not looking where they're going#and I've almost gotten run over at intersections because I wasn't crossing the street fast enough even though I still had right of way#people who rush tend not to signal or say excuse me either which is both rude and unsafe

Thanks for these tags @disability-etiquette, because this unnecessary urgency (in situations that aren't actually urgent) really is a massive driving factor for ableism, and that needs to be addressed and discussed.

So many strangers have been so cruel to my elderly and disabled family members for being "too slow" in public.

And not to derail from the ableism, but this urgency / impatience also fuels a lot of fatphobia too. I've already had to block some people in the notes of this post for making fatphobic comments. People often get very angry at fat people for moving slower and/or taking up more space, and will use their unnecessary urgency and impatience to justify being mean and impatient with fat strangers in public.

[disability-etiquette]

Oh absolutely, and not derailing at all in my opinion, the struggle for fat liberation goes hand in hand with ableism! The overlap is significant - many disabilities can affect body size and shape, so it's very much connected to ableism in my eyes! You're 100% right and should say it.

[veltroxx]

its essential to challenge societal norms that normalize such behavior and foster empathy.

[existennialmemes]

Companies in the 2000s: You wouldn't download a car! Digital copies are still stealing, even if the original copy remains with us.

Companies in the 2020s: That digital copy, which you have paid for, doesn't really belong to you. We're removing it from your library now.

[existennialmemes]

Companies deleting media you've literally purchased is 1000x more realistically "stealing" than digital piracy, you cannot change my mind

[markovchaingang]

first they came for me and i was all like "hang on, aren't you guys supposed to come for other people first" but they pointed out that they had to come for someone first and we can't all be the guy from the poem and i couldn't really argue with that logic tbh

[septembercfawkes]

PSA: Just a friendly reminder that whenever you start a creative project, you will invariably hit a phase where the Thing™️ appears horrendous and you start asking existential questions. But if you keep working, it invariably passes and starts to resemble something less like the devil’s vomit. Doesn’t matter if it’s art, writing, or what–this happens repeatedly. Carry on.

[goldensunset]

ok i’ve been curious about something. can you name a character who is, all three at once,

1. canonically female (no variation)

2. canonically the protagonist of her story (if it’s an ensemble cast you have to say you can legitimately see her as The main character)

3. your personal #1 favorite character in that story (ties are acceptable)

?

yes

no

super nuance bald extract button (use this wisely)

Remaining time: 3 days 22 hours

[goldensunset]

ok i’ve been curious about something. can you name a character who is, all three at once,

1. canonically female (no variation)

2. canonically the protagonist of her story (if it’s an ensemble cast you have to say you can legitimately see her as The main character)

3. your personal #1 favorite character in that story (ties are acceptable)

?

yes

no

super nuance bald extract button (use this wisely)

Remaining time: 3 days 22 hours

[sicknastyjr]

Your 20s are not about getting your life together they're about learning to escape the self imposed torture labyrinth you've built inside your own head

[no-one-offical]

‎

[stupidcupid06]

it ain’t about blaming yourself for it

[sicknastyjr]

Your 20s are not about getting your life together they're about learning to escape the self imposed torture labyrinth you've built inside your own head

[no-one-offical]

‎