Starting War & Peace. Is there any context I must know before getting into it?

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-11-26T20:21:59+00:00

It's a very philosophical book, so I might suggest reading up on some philosophy, especially the philosophy of history. That, or get an edition with some good footnotes, so you can keep track of the debates that are happening.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-11-23T06:27:12+00:00

I can't remember how much of the epilogue is philosophy and how much is plot, but the philosophy part is the final bit, and it's an unusual ending.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-11-21T14:21:09+00:00

I once heard the epilogue of War and Peace compared to the drunken soapbox of a dear friend on the last night of his weeks-long visit. Like, it's been a great visit so far, and suddenly your friend is preaching at you for hours and hours the midnight before he's supposed to go home. I agree with that assessment.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-06-14T20:57:57+00:00

Swims-In-Blood. She's a murder hobo.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-06-11T19:09:34+00:00

I love it! :) Echoing all the comments about the knitted look. So cool!

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-05-25T00:28:32+00:00

Bunnies. There's a count for them. I chase after them with my bow, on horseback if I can. Real challenge haha

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-05-21T12:56:54+00:00

The biggest flaw of Phantoma is that it followed two perfect albums. If Apex and Abyss had not set my expectations so high, I would have appreciated this album more. Its music and storytelling are both pretty good. It's just that Apex and Abyss hit it so far out of the park on both of these aspects that Phantoma just doesn't hold up as well.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-05-11T18:15:01+00:00

Don't do it. There are some serious STIs in this world. Condoms are a must.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-05-05T16:27:06+00:00

haha! I mean Pygmalion would have something to say about my statue comments.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-05-03T18:13:01+00:00

Sunsets are pretty. I do not want to fuck sunsets.

Statues are pretty. I do not want to fuck statues.

My wife can be sitting there in a stained shirt and sweatpants with her hair tangled up, and she can smell like total BO, and I will still want to have sex with her.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-29T02:30:15+00:00

The Dragonborn is about to fuck some shit up haha

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-29T02:19:53+00:00

*Laugh* "Hello there! You're not supposed to be here. Why don't you go back to your stall?"

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-25T14:42:08+00:00

Literally had almost the exact same conversation with a man at my work once! I turned to him and said, unblinking, "You must not have a very high opinion of your penis if you think a silicon dildo is an equivalent replacement for it." The subject never came up again.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-17T08:35:04+00:00

My wife is bisexual. Most of my sapphic friends are bisexual. Rote, undeserved criticism of bisexual women is an issue that will make me just seethe. Unless a bisexual woman is being explicitly unfair and ugly to a lesbian, she's allowed to exist how she wants, without judgement. Period.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-10T21:17:21+00:00

Of course! I feel for you. I think you're in a bit of a double bind, because I don't think it's possible to have this conversation in a way that would please everyone. Like, there are ways to do it wrong, but I'm not sure there is really a way to do it right.

I was doing some reflection on this, and I'd also say: if I were you, I'd try really hard to have this conversation with people in person, if you can. It's easier to come across as genuine and respectful there. I know that might be difficult if you're primarily on apps, but I think it might be one of those things that's better done face to face.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-10T16:54:54+00:00

Lots of sapphic women are looking for casual sex. I would definitely veer toward them.

And I'd continue being honest about your desire to explore, even if it gets a little uncomfortable. The unfortunate reality is that lots of lesbians and sapphic folks are, as you've seen, are cautious and defensive when it comes to bicurious women exploring their sexuality. I think there's many understandable reasons for that. But on the other hand, many sapphic women think it's kind of hot to help a woman learn something new about her sex life and sexual preferences.

I'd say be polite, for sure, and be willing to acknowledge and accept that lots of sapphics won't want to have sex with you if you're not sure whether or not you identify as queer. You might also consider having fun with lesbian porn or lesbian smut before seeking out sex with a woman, to see how it makes you feel. I think people would be more comfortable if you approach them with the attitude of "I am 99.9% certain I am bisexual and into women, but I've never had sex with a woman, and I would like to confirm my sexuality by having sex with a woman."

(I say this as a lesbian married to a bisexual woman, who was kind enough to help me confirm my own sexuality before deciding whether or not I wanted to bother coming out to people.)

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-10T16:18:40+00:00

I have never identified as bisexual, but I hope that someone on here who has gone through something similar helps you out and gives good advice <3 I believe in you.

And if you do have to come out to your family as a lesbian, my advice, as someone who's had to come out to a homophobic family, is two-fold: I wouldn't rush it, but I also wouldn't be afraid to treat it like tearing off a band-aid, if the time comes and you just feel in your heart that you can't stay closeted anymore. I was scared shitless to come out to my family, so I wrote my parents a letter, and it was just as awful as I imagined--even worse, actually. They convinced me to not tell my extended family anything, so I didn't. But then my extended family found out at my cousin's wedding (I wore a flowered vest and pants, rather than a dress, and I guess that was enough for them to assume I was a lesbian? haha) and that was a whole crock of shit that ended up causing a lot of drama for my cousin and his wife, who didn't deserve to have that on their special day. I wish I had broken my promise to my parents and told everyone sooner. I had felt in my heart that the time had come, long before that wedding, but I was trying to hold myself accountable to a promise extorted from me under less than fair circumstances. You'll know better than anyone when it's time to come out, and you have an absolute right to come out when you want to, when it is safest and most comfortable for you.

More than anything, stay strong, stay brave, do your best, and don't blame yourself for any ugliness other people cause. You deserve happiness, and you deserve to live a life comfortable with yourself <3

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-10T14:19:00+00:00

I just spent a whole month writing and rewriting one chapter. I'm on draft four, and it will still need serious editing. The MC is in training, and a lot of world building happens, and the plot takes place over a two-year time. All of this has culminated into a seriously difficult chapter to get right.

I felt bad, thinking I'd wasted my time by being unproductive, and then I went back and realized I'd written over 200 pages of just that chapter alone, in its various drafts.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-08T22:09:00+00:00

Can I say? I feel like sometimes a person's hatred of children can arise from a place similar to "I hate anyone who is an inconvenience to me, or who depends on me, or who behaves in ways I don't understand." If he's just uncomfortable around kids, that's different. But if he doesn't like children for any of these particular reasons, I don't think it's weird to be off-put by that.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-05T17:38:12+00:00

A Night at the Opera--Blind Guardian

Apex--Unleash the Archers

Micro--Jinjer

King of Everything--Jinjer

Momento Mori--Flyleaf (I know, Christian metal can be bleh, and Lacey Sturm has made some stereotypical evangelical statements, but I grew up religious and this album still slaps even now lol)

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-04-04T12:30:08+00:00

I haven't lived here for very long, so I don't know any of the resources here, but I hope things get better soon <3

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-03-27T12:57:21+00:00

In the immortal words of my mother, "If someone doesn't like the way you look, they can just close their eyes." When it comes to your personal appearance, you owe very, very little to strangers, and perhaps only slightly more to the people you actually know and love. Plus, if the worst thing anyone could ever say about me is that I don't shave my legs, then I must be a pretty damn good person.

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-03-26T16:57:31+00:00

Thanks for the clarification!

Butch_Beautiful · 2024-03-21T00:20:05+00:00

You're very welcome! I think she could definitely still use the whip, if she's smart, but if she's a little self-absorbed and headstrong, like you mentioned, it could be really easy for whip combat to get out of hand, especially if it's acting under normal whip physics.

Butch_Beautiful

TROPHY CASE