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February 8, 2007 at 12:00 AM
20 million dollars? If she's not beat for that she should be. He might like her, but 20 million? I kinda doubt it. Very good chapter, thanks for sharing.
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January 10, 2007 at 12:00 AM
PLEASE UPDATE!!!!!
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December 4, 2006 at 12:00 AM
Hah! this story is a fucking epic!
I love it!!! mwhahahahha!
You so have to update, I need to know what happens next.
I'm on edge here! Did i mentin that I love this story?
^_^
Damn that Spike and his procrastination!
I love it!!! mwhahahahha!
You so have to update, I need to know what happens next.
I'm on edge here! Did i mentin that I love this story?
^_^
Damn that Spike and his procrastination!
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November 11, 2006 at 12:00 AM
AMAZING! yay!
i felt so jealous right there with Buffy! i can't wait for more. :)
i felt so jealous right there with Buffy! i can't wait for more. :)
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November 7, 2006 at 12:00 AM
great story, i hope you keep writting this, cant wait to read the whole thing.
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November 6, 2006 at 12:00 AM
I love this story!!!! Please update soon !!!
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October 30, 2006 at 12:00 AM
@Anon: I'm sorry, but I just don't see that you are paying any attention to what I write, neither in my fic nor outside of it. You read the parts you want to read and disregard the rest. No, I didn't "describe" myself as a Wiccan, I said I sympathize with Wicca strongly, because of the Wiccan respect for nature and other people - and am I mistaken, or was it the Bible that said "Suffer a witch not to live"? Sounds like a death sentence too, doesn't it? I try not to be dogmatic about anything. Islam has its magickal practices too, for example in Morocco, where Islamic men have a smoking ceremony to prevent evil spirits from entering their houses. This type of magick is perfectly accepted. Christianity has magickal practices too, such as eucharisty. But I'm getting distracted from what I really wanted to say.
Like it or not, there is extremism and fundamentalism in EVERY religion in the world, and there are good and bad people of every faith and culture.
You ask me when the last time was the Catholic church killed a woman for making her own choices? July 1st 1976. Her name was Anneliese Michel. She was killed in the process of a so-called exorcism that left her without food and drink until she died because she wanted her own life at her university with a boyfriend and without the constraints of her Catholic education, which made her parents and priests think she was obsessed by a demon. She was 24. The Rituale Romanum that killed her was officially sanctioned by the Church. That was 30 years ago, and still today priests are trained at the Vatican to perform exorcisms.
Call me naive if you will because I'm trying to understand other cultures, but the people described in the individual cases you cited from your newspapers are not Muslims (as the people who called Ms Michel were not real Christians), they are extremists, fundamentalists who use religion as a pretext for political hatred. Most Muslims are very sad about other people doing violence in the name of their god. Sorry if that doesn't fit the stereotypes you've read about. I had long conversations with an Islamic scholar from Lebanon. He showed me that the world of Islam is much more complex than the little that is covered in Western media, and he is one of the most respectful and tolerant people I have ever had the honor of talking to. Wish I could say the same about you. I can only say that the views you expressed make me sad. You talk as if I was defending misogyny or terrorism, which I am not. I only object to the black-and-white image you are painting. "Exterminate all the brutes!" ---- the world isn't that simple. What we need is more mutual respect.
As for the "young impressionable girls who read this" - the site is called ADULT fan fiction, which means those "girls" are women of at least 18 years of age, they are old enough to vote, so I trust them to have their own opinions.
As I said, you are asking too much if you expect this story to contribute to a political debate that has been going on since the Crusades. So personally I would prefer if we could discuss my fiction here, and not conduct a political debate. But I appreciate your compliment on my talent as a writer. Thank you very much for that.
Like it or not, there is extremism and fundamentalism in EVERY religion in the world, and there are good and bad people of every faith and culture.
You ask me when the last time was the Catholic church killed a woman for making her own choices? July 1st 1976. Her name was Anneliese Michel. She was killed in the process of a so-called exorcism that left her without food and drink until she died because she wanted her own life at her university with a boyfriend and without the constraints of her Catholic education, which made her parents and priests think she was obsessed by a demon. She was 24. The Rituale Romanum that killed her was officially sanctioned by the Church. That was 30 years ago, and still today priests are trained at the Vatican to perform exorcisms.
Call me naive if you will because I'm trying to understand other cultures, but the people described in the individual cases you cited from your newspapers are not Muslims (as the people who called Ms Michel were not real Christians), they are extremists, fundamentalists who use religion as a pretext for political hatred. Most Muslims are very sad about other people doing violence in the name of their god. Sorry if that doesn't fit the stereotypes you've read about. I had long conversations with an Islamic scholar from Lebanon. He showed me that the world of Islam is much more complex than the little that is covered in Western media, and he is one of the most respectful and tolerant people I have ever had the honor of talking to. Wish I could say the same about you. I can only say that the views you expressed make me sad. You talk as if I was defending misogyny or terrorism, which I am not. I only object to the black-and-white image you are painting. "Exterminate all the brutes!" ---- the world isn't that simple. What we need is more mutual respect.
As for the "young impressionable girls who read this" - the site is called ADULT fan fiction, which means those "girls" are women of at least 18 years of age, they are old enough to vote, so I trust them to have their own opinions.
As I said, you are asking too much if you expect this story to contribute to a political debate that has been going on since the Crusades. So personally I would prefer if we could discuss my fiction here, and not conduct a political debate. But I appreciate your compliment on my talent as a writer. Thank you very much for that.
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October 30, 2006 at 12:00 AM
@ my other reviewers: Sorry for spending so many lines on commenting Anon's remarks and not having thanked you guys properly for your support! But what Anon brought up was an important point and I had to reply even though it was only loosely connected to my fic.
I'd like to thank you guys for your reviews! You are so great, and I'm happy you have enjoyed the story so far. More to come!
I'd like to thank you guys for your reviews! You are so great, and I'm happy you have enjoyed the story so far. More to come!
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October 29, 2006 at 12:00 AM
@Anon: When I set out to write this, I was aware that this story would cause controversy, and I am glad it did. Writing isn't supposed to lull readers to sleep, it is supposed to make them think and form their own beliefs and opinions, not blindly accepting someone else's, not the author's, and I can't stress that often enough. However, I never intended to write a political manifest. It is, as you correctly stated, a fairy tale, a fantasy, and my stressing this has nothing to do with trying to deny any responsibility for the story - it is my way of acknowledging that, of course, I am exploiting stereotypes here to some extent, that I've never been to an Islamic country, nor that I claim to be an expert for anything I'm writing about. The setting isn't real - I mean, come on, a half-British-half-fantasy-nation Sheik with an almost exclusively white harem in the middle of a desert, and some American girl coming along and turning his world around? Sounds more like a fairy-tale than a CIA secret report about an evil Islamic dictator trying to plunge the world into darkness, doesn't it?
Besides, I find it kind of amusing that you seem to be a fortune teller, knowing where I'm headed with this story before you've even read the last chapter.
As you decided to discuss the story on a political level, I am going to say a word or two about it. Many so-called Christians who rant against Muslims today forget that the oppression of women in Western societies isn't altogether a thing of the past. The Catholic church even today refuses female priesthood, denies goddesshood to the Mother Mary although she is welcome to intercede on their behalf, objects to a widow re-marrying, stigmatizes sex unless for reproduction, forbids contraception and thus condemns a whole continent to slowly dying from AIDS, claims that lesbians go straight to hell, refuses advice to pregnant women in need and excommunicates twelve year-old children who have been raped by their male relatives, while the rapist says three ave marias and is freed from his sin. The most representative icon of the West, Hollywood, tells our girls that eating is evil and that you have to be anorexic to be beautiful. On the top-100-income list of world-wide companies, there are only two women. Most women today are faced with a choice: resigning their womanhood to have a career or becoming mothers and resigning their independence. Careers are built at age 25-35, the age you usually have children at. Western societies lose a lot of economic, political and intellectual potential by discriminating against mothers in business life. A man with a PhD and high income is desirable, a woman with a PhD is frightening and not eligible for marriage. Women are suppressed, even in Western societies, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. This isn't an exclusively Islamic problem, it is a huge, huge issue that neither you or I have even begun to tackle.
Besides, there is no "one" Islamic view on the role of women - there are as many different opinions as there are Muslims, and generalization of any sort is an extremely dangerous thing. I don't know how many Muslims you know or have talked to about their religious views (not too many, I assume, or you wouldn't say as immature and uninformed a thing as "the sickly taint of Islam" - personally, I am sick of hearing people quoting Bush's anti-Islamic propaganda to me like parrots), but I definitely know more than one who would walk through the fire for his wife.
I'm not Islamic, nor do I have any Islamic roots. My parents are agnostic, I got a Christian education at school and am strongly sympathizing with Wicca. I believe that all the Gods are one God, and all the Goddesses are one Goddess, and that it is only the narrow perspective of being human that causes religious strife. If we took the time and made some effort to understand each other's cultural background, we would benefit from the exchange. That does not mean we have to share one another's positions, how boring the world would be if we all believed in the same things!
So if you're asking what message I'd like to send out to all who read my fiction, it would be this:
"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." (William Shakespeare)
I stand by what I write. I'm true to myself, and so is my Buffy. Strong, independent, but still a woman. If I didn't believe in woman power, I wouldn't write Buffy fanfiction. And I think that when I finish the story, this will evident.
Just let me say one thing to finish with: I won't allow anyone to insult someone else's beliefs with words like "pollution" or "sickly taint of Islam" on the same page as my fiction --- mind your language, be respectful of other opinions if you want your opinion to be respected, otherwise you leave me no choice but to delete your comments.
I am grateful for criticism and feedback, but think before you say things you might regret later.
Besides, I find it kind of amusing that you seem to be a fortune teller, knowing where I'm headed with this story before you've even read the last chapter.
As you decided to discuss the story on a political level, I am going to say a word or two about it. Many so-called Christians who rant against Muslims today forget that the oppression of women in Western societies isn't altogether a thing of the past. The Catholic church even today refuses female priesthood, denies goddesshood to the Mother Mary although she is welcome to intercede on their behalf, objects to a widow re-marrying, stigmatizes sex unless for reproduction, forbids contraception and thus condemns a whole continent to slowly dying from AIDS, claims that lesbians go straight to hell, refuses advice to pregnant women in need and excommunicates twelve year-old children who have been raped by their male relatives, while the rapist says three ave marias and is freed from his sin. The most representative icon of the West, Hollywood, tells our girls that eating is evil and that you have to be anorexic to be beautiful. On the top-100-income list of world-wide companies, there are only two women. Most women today are faced with a choice: resigning their womanhood to have a career or becoming mothers and resigning their independence. Careers are built at age 25-35, the age you usually have children at. Western societies lose a lot of economic, political and intellectual potential by discriminating against mothers in business life. A man with a PhD and high income is desirable, a woman with a PhD is frightening and not eligible for marriage. Women are suppressed, even in Western societies, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. This isn't an exclusively Islamic problem, it is a huge, huge issue that neither you or I have even begun to tackle.
Besides, there is no "one" Islamic view on the role of women - there are as many different opinions as there are Muslims, and generalization of any sort is an extremely dangerous thing. I don't know how many Muslims you know or have talked to about their religious views (not too many, I assume, or you wouldn't say as immature and uninformed a thing as "the sickly taint of Islam" - personally, I am sick of hearing people quoting Bush's anti-Islamic propaganda to me like parrots), but I definitely know more than one who would walk through the fire for his wife.
I'm not Islamic, nor do I have any Islamic roots. My parents are agnostic, I got a Christian education at school and am strongly sympathizing with Wicca. I believe that all the Gods are one God, and all the Goddesses are one Goddess, and that it is only the narrow perspective of being human that causes religious strife. If we took the time and made some effort to understand each other's cultural background, we would benefit from the exchange. That does not mean we have to share one another's positions, how boring the world would be if we all believed in the same things!
So if you're asking what message I'd like to send out to all who read my fiction, it would be this:
"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." (William Shakespeare)
I stand by what I write. I'm true to myself, and so is my Buffy. Strong, independent, but still a woman. If I didn't believe in woman power, I wouldn't write Buffy fanfiction. And I think that when I finish the story, this will evident.
Just let me say one thing to finish with: I won't allow anyone to insult someone else's beliefs with words like "pollution" or "sickly taint of Islam" on the same page as my fiction --- mind your language, be respectful of other opinions if you want your opinion to be respected, otherwise you leave me no choice but to delete your comments.
I am grateful for criticism and feedback, but think before you say things you might regret later.
schedule
October 29, 2006 at 12:00 AM
Your equation of Christianity with Islam is naive at best, dangerously misleading at worst. When was the last time Christianity put a women to death for insisting on the right to choose her own husband or live her own preferred lifestyle? You describe yourself as a Wiccan. In orthodox Islam that is a 'crime' punishable by death.
I have seen, first-hand, the appalling subjugation of women in Islamic culture. But don't take my word for it. One of your posters, above, describes her relief at excaping to the US and her concern over the fate of her sister, who has been confined to a hareem. One can only contemplate the horrors of such sexual servitude. And the sentence is for life, no remission, no parole for 'obedient' behaviour.
And if you think the above is extreme, consider this story from today's 'Guardian' newspaper...
DEATH IN BRESCIA
'See you soon,' chirped Hina Saleem to her boyfriend Beppe Tampini, after receiving a phone call from her father. 'I won't be late.' She also informed her boss, Grumail Multani, at the Pizzeria Antica India where she worked in the northern Italian city of Brescia: 'Some relatives have arrived from France - with presents! I must greet them, but I won't be late for work.' During the hours that followed, both Beppe and Multani tried to call the 21-year-old on her mobile - without success. The call home had been a trap: Hina's father, aided by three male relatives, had cut his own daughter's throat, after a family council condemned her to death for her liaison with Tampini, a local carpenter.
The Saleem family had arrived in Brescia from Pakistan five years ago. Hina warmed to the Italian way, with her tight jeans and T-shirts, and her love for Beppe was eagerly requited. The city was astounded by the 'honour killing' meted out to such a girl.."
Your story is fantasy, granted. And you have every right to present it however you wish. [I guess my major concern is not with your story at all, really. Which is why I apologised in my second post.] My (misplaced) annoyance springs from concern over Islamic attitudes towards women, particulalry Western women. And to see such attitudes idealised, even in fantasy, struck a nerve.
Again, however, the target of my ire should not have been your innocent work of fiction. [But it must be nice to know at least someone is paying serious attention to what you write:)]
I look forward to the chapter where Buffy does some serious ass-kicking!
I have seen, first-hand, the appalling subjugation of women in Islamic culture. But don't take my word for it. One of your posters, above, describes her relief at excaping to the US and her concern over the fate of her sister, who has been confined to a hareem. One can only contemplate the horrors of such sexual servitude. And the sentence is for life, no remission, no parole for 'obedient' behaviour.
And if you think the above is extreme, consider this story from today's 'Guardian' newspaper...
DEATH IN BRESCIA
'See you soon,' chirped Hina Saleem to her boyfriend Beppe Tampini, after receiving a phone call from her father. 'I won't be late.' She also informed her boss, Grumail Multani, at the Pizzeria Antica India where she worked in the northern Italian city of Brescia: 'Some relatives have arrived from France - with presents! I must greet them, but I won't be late for work.' During the hours that followed, both Beppe and Multani tried to call the 21-year-old on her mobile - without success. The call home had been a trap: Hina's father, aided by three male relatives, had cut his own daughter's throat, after a family council condemned her to death for her liaison with Tampini, a local carpenter.
The Saleem family had arrived in Brescia from Pakistan five years ago. Hina warmed to the Italian way, with her tight jeans and T-shirts, and her love for Beppe was eagerly requited. The city was astounded by the 'honour killing' meted out to such a girl.."
Your story is fantasy, granted. And you have every right to present it however you wish. [I guess my major concern is not with your story at all, really. Which is why I apologised in my second post.] My (misplaced) annoyance springs from concern over Islamic attitudes towards women, particulalry Western women. And to see such attitudes idealised, even in fantasy, struck a nerve.
Again, however, the target of my ire should not have been your innocent work of fiction. [But it must be nice to know at least someone is paying serious attention to what you write:)]
I look forward to the chapter where Buffy does some serious ass-kicking!