lesenbyan

[lesenbyan]

bastille has done more for the queer community by just making all of their love songs about "you" instead of specifying a gender than taylor swift has in all of her discography. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[lesenbyan]

One thing that really gets me about Urianger comforting Minfilia in Amh Araeng is that when she says Thancred hates her, Urianger never actually says, no, he doesn't. He says instead, none of this is your fault, and the original Minfilia wouldn't hold anything against you, and in typical Urianger form he says some things about fate and faith, and his words are kind and beautiful--but he also completely sidesteps the question of how Thancred feels about her.

And I think this moment is very reflective of Urianger's relationship to Thancred and child!Minfilia as a whole. It reflects what we see when we first see all of them together in Il Mheg.

Urianger knows that the way Thancred behaves toward the girl is hurting her. He's spent enough time around the two of them to see that plainly. Theoretically, he could say something to Thancred about it; they're obviously close friends, and if Thancred was going to value anyone's opinion, it would be his. But he doesn't say anything, because he still feels guilty and responsible for all of it: about their Minfilia going to the First and what happened to her there, and thus for what both Thancred and child!Minfilia are going through now. Even though Thancred has never outright blamed him for it (however he may feel privately, which I think is hard to say), it seems like Urianger still feels like he has no right to say anything.

So he tries to compensate instead. He's kind to Minfilia, connects with her in his own way and gives her books, and by the time we see them together he's obviously become something of a familial figure to her. I would say that he and Thancred aren't so much raising her together as they're doing it... around one another. Thancred is gruff and cold and holds Minfilia at arm's length emotionally so that his protectiveness comes off harshly even when it's well-meant, and Urianger dotes on her and tries to make up for it all while avoiding the actual problem.

So that conversation in Amh Araeng is both touching and maddening to me, and it really drives home what's maddening about it when, upon overhearing it, the Warrior of Light turns to Thancred to ask him if he has anything to say to Minfilia--who has just said, out loud, that she thinks Thancred wishes she was dead--and Thancred just says, "Not today."

And so they both go on avoiding the actual problem, for just a little longer.

#long post; #ffxiv; #i only skimmed this but I mostly agree #anything further i have to say I don't have the words for rn

[lesenbyan]

do people who say things like ‘taylor swift is the most prominent white supremacist in america’ realize they sound like someone who says ‘these days you can’t tell people that you want to parade their severed head on a spike in the city center. the woke mafia won’t let you’

[lesenbyan]

these days you can’t tell people that you want to parade their severed head on a spike in the city center. the woke mafia won’t let you

[lesenbyan]

People tend to throw out the phrase "extremely specific kinks" as though that inherently implies something transgressive, but in my experience, the overwhelming majority of extremely specific kinks are so innocuous that you could see them in public and not even clock them. For every person who can only get off to having their nipples electrocuted, there are a dozen who are volcanically aroused by seeing their partner wearing one specific pair of socks.

#a character I've written (and hopefully will write again in the future) has a specific kink for his boyfriend's ungloved hands #and then later esp for wedding ring ON said hands #like sure there are expensive specific ones #but I've seen an anon thank a SWer i follow #for making them realize they have a thing for girls in white ankle socks #that's very specific and takes maybe $10 at worst

[lesenbyan]

ok so like. imagine. you're a high-ranking government official and one of your colleagues has announced his decision to step down and retire, and named his successor, so you and your coworker-bestie-husband(™️) go on an official administrative business trip to go meet said guy. and then you arrive and you find A Cat in the bushes outside the office. it's in poor shape but its microchip says it actually belongs to your other colleague-and-friend. you are bullied into taking the cat to the vet AND letting it tag along despite your protests. and you finally find the guy you were supposed to meet and the cat is like. staying in the room. where you are supposed to conduct aforementioned highly confidential job interview. and you try to shoo it away but the guy you're trying to interview is like No i want the cat to be there. Because i'm nervous. About the job interview. Let the cat stay. I trust him because my pet bird loves him :). so the cat gets to stay. and then you keep going and you bump into yet another old acquaintance of yours (now retired and living her best hippie life) (which is highly frowned upon) and she goes Oooooh! Is that my cat you've found? :) and you're like, what the fuck is the deal with this goddamn cat, but you can't say that outright because you are a government official on a very important mission, so you go "i wasn't aware you even had a cat? also the microchip says it belongs to our other colleague" and she goes "oh well no i don't but clearly this cat is wearing the collar i give to all my pets so it must mean he's come from the future :) where i will own this specific cat :) hi little kitty! pspspsp!" and you're like, what the fuck is wrong with everyone today? and then the cat looks at you and says "she's right. i come from the future. when everyone has been turned into cats since the world ended. also i will kill you in about twelve thousand years from now. fucker."

#ffxiv; #undescribed #6.0/x spoilers; #I was trying desperately to figure out who was who and then got to the 'must be mine in the future c:” #and just oh Venat <3<3<3

[lesenbyan]

req'd by @the-color-of-sound-is-space

so you're telling me if i reach into your bag i won't feel at least one ball of yarn

text: I'm a hooker. It's up to you whether or not I mean crochet

[lesenbyan]

Poll for writers and artists

Whether you write fanfic or original works or paint/draw, be it fan art or original work or whatever else - I have to know, because I have a feeling this is going to be very decisive:

Please reblog for sample size!

#polls #yes to the former and it depends on the latter #and the stipulation is /generally/ wether or not I have OCs in the work #bc if so i need you to talk to me to portray them accurately #but otherwise generally I'm good with it

[lesenbyan]

Reblog for larger sample size. Feel free to indicate in the comments your generation, approximate region of residence, your length of experience with fan fiction, or when/where you first encountered these terms.

#gender???? really???? #there was an actual citrus scale #those were just the two most used

[lesenbyan]

To those who wear glasses:

#leave in the bedroom? really? #i never once considered #polls

[lesenbyan]

#undescribed

[lesenbyan]

its important to do this every time a museum or school thinks this is a good idea

#undescribed

[lesenbyan]

Scars on your body show that you have lived; scars on your heart show that you have loved.

Nina Dul

#that sure went somewhere

[lesenbyan]

wistfully remembering how people (pretended they) cared about antisemitism when it was primarily coming from the right. like there are pre-2023 posts with tens of thousands of notes about antisemitism. now any mention of the existence of antisemitism (when its worse than it ever was) doesn’t breach containment outside of jewish circles. its almost funny how quickly people stopped caring when it was inconvenient.

[lesenbyan]

There’s still debate about split attraction on my dash why do you people even care

[lesenbyan]

taylor swift’s work wouldn’t be nearly as insufferable if she wasn’t constantly trying to present herself as some sort of tortured underdog. like, okay, she has endured hardships, and a lot of people, especially white men, are shitty towards her for purely misogynistic reasons. that sucks, i agree. but she’s never been an underdog before. she was born to well-off parents who did everything they could to start her music career when she was barely even a teenager, an opportunity that lots of people would kill for. now she’s extremely famous and wealthy, and everything she releases is destined to sell millions of copies and receive glowing reviews in nearly every publication. she is not an underdog, and i have trouble believing she’s particularly “tortured.” she’s not even an alcoholic, despite claiming to be one on the opening track of her new album! people like to defend her lyrics by saying she’s just playing a character, which i don’t believe for a second, but even if she was, i don’t think i want to listen to someone like swift play the character of a tortured underdog, not when there’s so many musicians out there who are actually tortured underdogs. it comes across as hollow. “you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me,” sung by one of the wealthiest, most famous, most critically acclaimed musicians in the world, who was born to loving parents who personally helped her start her career, who once said she’d never been to therapy because she “just feels very sane.” if you’re going to play a character, maybe pick one who we’re not supposed to pity.

#it feels very.... #it it not solely a black or even PoC experience by any means #but it feels very like trying to whitewash and poppify blues or something? #but like. #those singers are singing about what they know #like hnnggg #I used to be able to tolerate her #taylor swift;

[lesenbyan]

#5 mostly bc I'm solely a social drinker (otehrwise it just makes me sleepy) and my friends mostly can't drink #polls #but also I'm literally always high