Hi there!

I'm Liz, I'm 26 as of June, I've lived in a few countries but am a citizen of America, and I love any kind of storytelling ever made (books, TV, movies, comics...).

I have an incredible beta, Ceras Gala, who always helps me out, but I'm always open to other opinions and new betas. I really like the stories I write; I think they're good, entertaining stories. BUT I know that my execution is flawed, and my stories are a bit shallow--there are some scenes that just aren't coming out right, that gloss over things I'm trying to say. If you read my stuff and have suggestions, please, PLEASE let me know them! I 'm determined to improve!

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The opinion corner: Harems (Formerly: Character Bashing)

Harem fics hurt my heart. That there are men in this day and age who think that women are dolls to be collected is rather alarming. Please, if you're going to write one of those, do some research first into what harems were like in history; the women were homicidal, suicidal, drug addicted and miserable because of the unbearable horror of their lives. In modern day polygamy, you read a lot about horrible abuse by the alpha male (as in cults) or, even in best case scenarios (where the husband is a decent guy who cares about his wives), of the humiliation the wives suffer. It's a terrible, demoralizing, mortifying situation. A woman is not a toy, and a virile male is not all she needs to be happy.

Please keep in mind that I'm not talking about threesome fics (that is, fics where three people all share each other equally) whether they be boygirlboy, girlboygirl, or whatever. Nor am I talking about fics where a man sleeps with a lot of women, or vice versa, or stories about open relationships. I'm only talking about stories where one man keeps a bunch of women and they worship the ground he walks on, slaves to his virility (sometimes literally--I've read ones where the alpha male literally threatens to kill his women if they cheat). I also certainly don't think one women owning a lot of men is any better; however, as I've only seen two fics that do this, as opposed to dozens and dozens of fics where one man keeps many women, I wrote this mini-essay focusing on that.

In the end a fantasy is a fantasy, but some of the comments I read reviewing those stories are really frightening because they suggest that the readers are mistaking a harem fantasy for reality. I've read everything from how the women becoming slaves to "the embodiment of virility" is a "good deal" for them (which is rather like saying Black American slaves had a good deal because they got free food) to how the women "sharing" their man is proof of how much they love him (that he might show his love the same way and let the women have other men doesn't seem to occur to these writers). Again, I can only hope that people will research the situation on their own; look up cults and historical harems and I guarantee you'll be horrified.

NOTE: This is the revised version of this essay, posted because it seems the old version was too short and rather confusing. If anyone has any questions, or still finds this essay confusing, by all means let me know.

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March 12th: Michiru comes crawling in I...have...a job! gasp pant wheeze

Moving On is NOT dead, it's just on hiatus while I finish moving into my new apartment and train at work and all that. Actually I'm looking forward to getting the next chapter out...

I have recently fallen into the black hole that is HBO's former series OZ. It's like crack, as bad as Naruto as an addiction. Maybe I'll have to write some fic for it...