River doesn't know what to say
@riverraven.bsky.social
Il est toujours fatigué. he~they~il
The whole thing is too close to home, but also I sympathized with how people of color are feeling, knowing that there would never be such an outpouring for me and my wife.
January 11, 2026 at 3:27 AM
The whole thing is too close to home, but also I sympathized with how people of color are feeling, knowing that there would never be such an outpouring for me and my wife.
Yeah. Very true.
January 11, 2026 at 3:25 AM
Yeah. Very true.
In what way?
January 10, 2026 at 11:54 PM
In what way?
It's not. But it's nice of you to confirm my point.
January 10, 2026 at 11:16 PM
It's not. But it's nice of you to confirm my point.
If anyone were to say to me now that I have no right to say this as it is a distraction from the real issue, well then I'd say you really did internalize those silencing tactics. What I am saying does not take away from the tragedy any more than bringing up how lesbians are treated, or women.
January 10, 2026 at 10:57 PM
If anyone were to say to me now that I have no right to say this as it is a distraction from the real issue, well then I'd say you really did internalize those silencing tactics. What I am saying does not take away from the tragedy any more than bringing up how lesbians are treated, or women.
Punishing a gender conforming woman for being with someone who isn't a real man (such as themselves), is perfectly in alignment with their beliefs. YOU can't have her. As is the way the wife blames herself for what happened.
January 10, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Punishing a gender conforming woman for being with someone who isn't a real man (such as themselves), is perfectly in alignment with their beliefs. YOU can't have her. As is the way the wife blames herself for what happened.
What I am talking about is not about gender self ID, but about how people perceive someone as a woman "pretending" to be a man, and that is how erasure works. The person who did the killing would not have had the distinction of butch lesbian and trans man everyone insists exists.
January 10, 2026 at 10:57 PM
What I am talking about is not about gender self ID, but about how people perceive someone as a woman "pretending" to be a man, and that is how erasure works. The person who did the killing would not have had the distinction of butch lesbian and trans man everyone insists exists.
As I was watching people talk about the woman who was killed by ice agents, the void and absence around the wife, was a clear indicator that she was masculine. So of course, the conversation is all about it being because that's how lesbians and women are treated.
January 10, 2026 at 10:57 PM
As I was watching people talk about the woman who was killed by ice agents, the void and absence around the wife, was a clear indicator that she was masculine. So of course, the conversation is all about it being because that's how lesbians and women are treated.
The other book being The Three Musketeers, which is probably pretty self explanatory for a transmac.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
The other book being The Three Musketeers, which is probably pretty self explanatory for a transmac.
The books are The Little Prince, which is harder than you'd think because the writing is rather sophisticated despite its lack of density. Or rather in part, because of its lightness. It's written with the particular kind of precision of language found in poetry.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
The books are The Little Prince, which is harder than you'd think because the writing is rather sophisticated despite its lack of density. Or rather in part, because of its lightness. It's written with the particular kind of precision of language found in poetry.
I've started reading French books I loved as a young person in French, which is really super delightful because it's an opening up of something influential to me becoming me, and also the fruits of long dedication and work.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
I've started reading French books I loved as a young person in French, which is really super delightful because it's an opening up of something influential to me becoming me, and also the fruits of long dedication and work.
What makes me interested in any particular language just straight influenced by interest in music foremost, but shows, movies, books (translated). I've started reading French books I loved as a young person in French, which is really super delightful.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
What makes me interested in any particular language just straight influenced by interest in music foremost, but shows, movies, books (translated). I've started reading French books I loved as a young person in French, which is really super delightful.
I also briefly dabbled in German, Chinese and Korean. A lot of the thing that drives me is wanting to understand something that was misrepresented to me better.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
I also briefly dabbled in German, Chinese and Korean. A lot of the thing that drives me is wanting to understand something that was misrepresented to me better.
Later, after the disintegration of the USSR, I learned Russian for some years before switching to Japanese as you guessed it, anime became popular. I was an early anime fan. (I lost interest as I got older, so, I am not a good target for anyone's fandom).
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Later, after the disintegration of the USSR, I learned Russian for some years before switching to Japanese as you guessed it, anime became popular. I was an early anime fan. (I lost interest as I got older, so, I am not a good target for anyone's fandom).
As to the why of choosing a language to study, well Spanish was always around me and I was taught it in school. Plus I also really like the music and dance from south/central American culture.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
As to the why of choosing a language to study, well Spanish was always around me and I was taught it in school. Plus I also really like the music and dance from south/central American culture.
As a person who enjoys studying language, there is the why of it. For one, I am interested in language generally, it is a part of one of my two main artistic hobbies, writing. (The other being drawing, in case you were wondering). I even briefly toyed with a linguistics major in college.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
As a person who enjoys studying language, there is the why of it. For one, I am interested in language generally, it is a part of one of my two main artistic hobbies, writing. (The other being drawing, in case you were wondering). I even briefly toyed with a linguistics major in college.
My girlfriend teases me for my love of ugly cute birds, but it's true. I like French in part (aside from the journey to know it) because it is my ugly cute bird.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
My girlfriend teases me for my love of ugly cute birds, but it's true. I like French in part (aside from the journey to know it) because it is my ugly cute bird.
I started learning French right from the early days of transition, so these gendered aspects of it have been forefront in my mind. But I like French now, and my understanding of the French speaking culture is informed by someone on the inside, which makes me more fond of it, surprisingly.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
I started learning French right from the early days of transition, so these gendered aspects of it have been forefront in my mind. But I like French now, and my understanding of the French speaking culture is informed by someone on the inside, which makes me more fond of it, surprisingly.
So the interest in learning French in my back pocket was picking up interest as if it was a katamari ball, so that by the time I started dating my French speaking girlfriend, I was really excited to start.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
So the interest in learning French in my back pocket was picking up interest as if it was a katamari ball, so that by the time I started dating my French speaking girlfriend, I was really excited to start.
So I was completely disinterested in the French language until I came across that Yelle music video, which was the coolest thing to me at the time. I had sort of dedicated myself to pick up Spanish though since I had studied it off and on my whole life and it seemed the most useful.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
So I was completely disinterested in the French language until I came across that Yelle music video, which was the coolest thing to me at the time. I had sort of dedicated myself to pick up Spanish though since I had studied it off and on my whole life and it seemed the most useful.
French's association with romance makes it sound romantic to...women mostly. And conjures fears of emasculation for American men. So its portrayal in American culture swings wildly more so than a lot of other cultures.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
French's association with romance makes it sound romantic to...women mostly. And conjures fears of emasculation for American men. So its portrayal in American culture swings wildly more so than a lot of other cultures.
The French language isn't actually particularly appealing on its own (Spanish is actually one of the most pleasant auditorially, which is why it was one of my longest back pocket languages).
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
The French language isn't actually particularly appealing on its own (Spanish is actually one of the most pleasant auditorially, which is why it was one of my longest back pocket languages).
Then there is Pepe le Pew, and how in our movies our bad guy when not British, is the bisexual, oversexed, gay, feminine, aristocratic man. French women were sexy, French men were gay.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Then there is Pepe le Pew, and how in our movies our bad guy when not British, is the bisexual, oversexed, gay, feminine, aristocratic man. French women were sexy, French men were gay.
There was the romantic aspect yes, as played with as indulged in the Emily in Paris show. But that is also a very gendered positive of French culture that made me dislike it.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
There was the romantic aspect yes, as played with as indulged in the Emily in Paris show. But that is also a very gendered positive of French culture that made me dislike it.
So that explains why American culture is forever obsessively denigrating French culture. But for me being an isolated American child, the way I was exposed to Frenchness was off-putting.
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
So that explains why American culture is forever obsessively denigrating French culture. But for me being an isolated American child, the way I was exposed to Frenchness was off-putting.