Zysia

a kite soaring above an empty landscape

Zysia

n.
the sense that you were born too early in history, all too aware of how crude and backward the present can be, feeling tired of having to sit through so much clunky exposition and slow-burning suspense, when all you want to do is skip ahead to find out what happens next.

A word tantalizingly close to being the last word of the dictionary, but not quite there. Pronounced “zee-zhah.”

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Spinning Playback Head

silhouette of a person looking out a window

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Solla, Solla, Solla

a hand reaching out for plant tendril

O’Erpine

a person looking at a grave

Cullaways

a lone sand castle on a beach at low tide

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Present-Tense

a close-up of a stopwatch

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Heart Of Aces

a person covering their eyes with their hands

Halfwise

a train coming towards the camera shot from the tracks

Fellchaser

a blurred shadow of a person in a dark room

Keta

a hand reaching through paper with a flower drawing

Nowlings

a pile of black and white puzzle pieces

Treachery Of The Common

Cover image for the Treachery Of The Common word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Dead Reckoning

Cover image for the Dead Reckoning word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Ledsome

Cover image for the Ledsome word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Harmonoia

Cover image for the Harmonoia word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Amoransia

Cover image for the Amoransia word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Spinning Playback Head

silhouette of a person looking out a window

Nachlophobia

Cover image for the Nachlophobia word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Heartmoor

a campfire with a kettle many small logs