the deal with thee/thou vs. you was that thee/thou was more personal/intimate, while 'you' was more formal

then english got over having grammatical relationship distance in pronouns & used 'you' everywhere

so when someone in an old-timey story says "Have at thee, villain!", they're actually flirting

(also "villain" literally means "landowner" — someone who has a villa.)

"Have at thee, villain!" --> "Hi I like your hair, and since you have a house and stuff I was wondering if I could move in with you?"

"Have at you, villain!" --> "My sword thinks private property is bullshit, and you _wish_ you had a monopoly on violence."

@lioness this is such a fuckin good one liner oh my god

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Computer Fairies

Computer Fairies is a Mastodon instance that aims to be as queer, friendly and furry as possible. We welcome all kinds of computer fairies!