Halfway There
Scootaloo awoke that morning to near pitch blackness, the iridescent glow of the blaring alarm clock a poor replacement for the sun that had yet to rise. Yet, her imagination upon waking was filled with sunlight. A dream, she supposed. One of the ocean, or as near enough as she could imagine; she had never seen the ocean. But before her was a massive body of water, blue-green underneath a brilliant orange sun that was either setting or rising. And though there wasn't a cloud in the sky, she remembered a rainbow, and feeling utter contentment.
That feeling lingered as she roused herself from her bed, and despite the very busy day ahead of her, she felt a combination of nervousness and excitement as well. She had work, yes: Her paper route, a morning shift at Barnyard Bargains, and a dinner shift at Olive's Garden. Before her evening shift, she had to deliver her Newborn Celebration Day presentation day to Cheerilee after school. But after that? She would visit Twilight, back from her visit with Princess Celestia and the Cabinet of Seers with news of the Princess' Blessing, and with it, news of her future and whether or not it would be an airborne one. She hoped beyond hoping that the answer would one of affirmation, that she would one day take to the skies on her own. But even if Twilight came back with disappointing news, at least she would know. She could be done worrying... if the Princess Blessing actually worked at all that is.
Too many ifs, Scootaloo thought as she spread peanut butter onto the bread of her morning breakfast sandwich. There's no doubt that peanut butter sandwiches were a most cost effective meal, but Scootaloo's dry and sticky mouth was quick to remind her that it was also best served with a glass of cold milk that she could ill afford. Once her problems with the bank were cleared up, she'd have to buy herself some.
There was a nip in the air that morning, and Scootaloo could have sworn she saw the faintest sliver of foggy breath in the air when she exhaled through her nostrils. She was warming herself well enough, the wagon behind the scooter she was pulling was filled with dozens of copies of Monday's Ponyville Express. The load got lighter with each delivery she made, however, and the sun rising higher gave her light enough to glimpse various headlines and articles. Weekend weather up in the air? read one, and Hung Jury: Courtroom drama Twelve Donkeys as frustrating as it sounds read another. She would have to discuss that with Ripple next time she worked with him. Scootaloo's wings buzzed faster as she sped along, hoping to avoid any of her fellow classmates before they left for school. It was bad enough they had to see her lose her temper with Diamond Tiara (to put it mildly), but seeing her working instead of preparing for school like the rest of them would just add to the "shame," and alienate her further. They didn't have a clue what she had to do to maintain a semblance of normalcy, and she was just fine with that. It would be just another thing for them to make fun of her for, as if having to work for a living was something to be embarrassed about. The flightless, family-free, working class filly fighting for a currently uncertain future.
Maybe they'd just feel sorry for me, Scootaloo thought, her paper route nearing its completion in the ritziest part of the town. She didn't want that either; she just wanted everypony to treat her as they'd always done. Her wings buzzed just a bit faster as she rode past the tall gates sealing off the Rich estate, haphazardly tossing a paper over the golden barrier. The size of the mansion within easily dwarfed her own abode.
But still, she thought to herself once she was free from the privileged gaze of such a decadent home. It is MY home. One of the only things I have to call my own. Best to keep it that way.
Hopefully after her day was done, and Twilight's meeting, she'd have just a touch more surety about at least some aspect in her future. Even just a little less confusion would be very, very helpful.
Time, however, seemed to adopt her confusion, and it made no effort to conceal it. Scootaloo's nerves were composed of equal parts dread and anticipation: Dread for the presentation and Twilight's findings, and anticipation for the exact same things. Not sure of how best to torment the filly, time simply changed the rate of its passing at random.
Scootaloo felt as though she'd stocked an hours worth of product onto the shelves of Barnyard Bargain's seasonal aisle, only to discover that a mere fifteen minutes had trickled away instead. Naturally, mopping a small spill in front of the refrigerated juices section couldn't have taken her but all of 15 minutes. The short, thick hand of the clock took a step forward to prove her wrong. Before she knew it, she was sitting in the breakroom anxiously nibbling her lunch variation of sandwich (it bore a striking similarity to her peanut butter laden breakfast meal). And then, the clock took its sweet, self absorbed time as the seconds ticked away at an agonizingly relaxed tempo. But then, 3:00 rolled around, and Scootaloo's time card was punched shortly thereafter.
School would be letting out in just a few minutes, and Scootaloo had to be ready with her presentation. She considered herself lucky that she was being given a chance to make up her assignment, and the last thing Scootaloo wanted to do was test Cheerilee's already stretched patience. She rushed home with her empty wagon as quickly as she could muster, thankfully avoiding any collisions with the townsfolk; the downside to her morning paper route meant that she couldn't bring her poster with her to work right away, owing to her wagon being used for the newspapers instead. She hurried through the front door of her home, snatching the posterboard from where she left it leaning against the staircase, and darted out before the front door even had a chance to slowly swing closed from her initial entry. She gently placed the posterboard in the wagon behind her scooter, and started off towards Ponyville Elementary.
Scootaloo didn't have a chance to see the clock hanging above the entryway in her house, but she felt a sinking feeling as she approached the schoolhouse. It felt like it had been at least twenty minutes since she had left Barnyard Bargains, and school should have been out of session. Yet, there were no fillies or colts leaving the schoolhouse, and no ponies playing on the playground. Did she take longer than she thought? What if she was really, really late?
"Oh no, no, no. Please still be here!" She parked her scooter haphazardly next to the front steps, grabbed her poster, and then hastily made her way up the steps. As she galloped through the hallway, all she heard was her panting and the quiet echoes of her hooves bouncing around her. Panic set in as she approached the door to her classroom, and she burst through the door...
...only to find the entirety of her class staring wide-eyed at her from their seats.
"Scootaloo?" Cheerilee asked from her desk at the front of the room, looking as confused as Scootaloo was. The rest of the class began to mumble quietly to each other, like a faint buzzing of bees. Out of the corner of her eye, Scootaloo could see the telltale white coat of Sweetie Belle, but made a conscious effort to avoid looking at her peers.
"I... I thought I was supposed to be here today after school. To give my report?" Scootaloo set her posterboard down in front of her, keeping the blank posterboard side of it facing her class. Her face was already very flushed from both her sprint to the school, and the ever increasing levels of embarrassment, and the last thing that she wanted her class to see was her (in hindsight} totally lame and mushy holiday choice. "Was I early? Should I come back or..."
Cheerliee smiled at the Pegasus. "Oh, no! You're just in time. Our class ran a bit late today, that's all. We were having a discussion about bullying, and it got a bit involved."
Oh no, Scootaloo thought, They spent the entire afternoon discussing how I beat up their classmate, and then I came bursting in like some madpony. This literally couldn't be any worse.
"I'll—" Scootaloo stumbled backwards to the door, her presentation sliding loose and falling to the floor. "I'll just come back later," she said with an acute awareness of her peers' piercing stares accosting her.
"No!" Apple Bloom burst out, and Scootaloo took the opportunity to glance at her class at last. They were all thankfully focused on her friend instead of her, but Scootaloo was quite a bit less thankful for what Apple Bloom seemed to be trying to do. Scootaloo wished she had a way to communicate that she just wanted to give her presentation to her teacher, and to be just left alone by her classmates. She was clearly already a joke to them, and her topic of choice wouldn't do her any favors.
"Doesn't anypony have anything that they want to say to Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle chirped up, and in tandem, the entirety of Scootaloo's class turned to look at the mortified pegasus at the front of the room. Scootaloo's mouth went dry, and she had no idea what to do; she just wanted whatever was happening to stop.
Rumble shifted in his seat, but then straightened himself up. "I'm... I'm sorry," he said softly.
"You're... sorry?" Scootaloo echoed inaudibly, but the intent was loud and clear to her classmates.
"Yeah," Twist piped up, "we all are." The rest of her classmates murmured in various forms agreement.
"I don't understand," Scootaloo said dumbly. "What are you sorry for?"
Rumble answered again, his confidence bolstered by the unity of his class. "For laughing at you. Last week, with Diamond Tiara's presentation." Scootaloo's ears folded back. "We thought it was pretty funny at the time... but it wasn't. It was actually really mean of her, and of us."
"You see, Scootaloo," Cheerilee spoke again, "Throughout the course of our discussion today, we went over how it's not just the job of the bullied to speak up when someone is treating somepony else badly. It's everypony's job to say something when they know something is wrong. That goes for all of us, not just your classmates."
"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked.
"I heard all sorts of remarks before, and I just chalked it up to normal teasing, like I had to deal with growing up," Cheerilee explained. "But I should have strived to do better. I should have said something about Diamond Tiara's behavior sooner, and for that, I hope you'll accept my apology."
Scootaloo didn't know what to say, so she just nodded her head in response. In her experience, it wasn't very often that older ponies would admit they were wrong. Especially a teacher; who would expect a pony whose calling was to teach to be incorrect?
"Now, is there anything you'd like to say to the class?" Cheerilee inquired.
Not really Scootaloo thought to herself. But she supposed that wouldn't be very appropriate. She hadn't done anything to her classmates as far as she knew, but something Cheerilee told her last Friday was nagging at her. Perhaps an apology was owed after all.
"And I'm sorry," Scootaloo said, "to all of you. Even after being teased like that, I shouldn't have lost my temper. You all have a right to feel safe at school—" Cheerilee beamed at this "—and I shouldn't have scared you by... doing what I did. Can you forgive me?"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both rose from their seats, and made their way through the aisle to the front of the classroom. They exchanged looks with each other, standing before a wary Scootaloo, then nodded in silent agreement. Forelegs were wrapped around Scootaloo's shoulders as she found herself on the receiving end of a two-pronged hug.
"Apology accepted!" Sweetie Belle cried in her friend's ear.
"You're my friends, that doesn't count! You basically have to forgive me, right?" Scootaloo replied with a big silly grin on her face.
"What does that make uth?" came Twist's voice; the filly had appeared next to the crusaders, toothy smile and all. "We're your friendth too, right?"
"Umm..." Scootaloo hesitated as she felt another pair of hooves grapple her, "Yes?"
"Well, we definitely could have been better friends, couldn't we?" Rumble added as he too made his way to the front of the classroom. "Isn't that right, everypony?" he called over his shoulder to the cries of agreement from his classmates. "Looks like that's a yes!" He exclaimed as he embraced Scootaloo in yet another hug. She wanted to resist, but it felt... nice. She looked up from the floor and saw the rest of her class approaching, no doubt to offer their apologies via a swarm of hugs. She sighed and allowed herself another smile.
"Alright, everypony," Cheerilee cried over the din, the barest hint of moisture visible at the corner of her eyes. "I believe Scootaloo has a presentation?"
Scootaloo's reverie screeched to a halt. She'd almost forgotten why she'd arrived at the school to begin with. Her project had been pushed by the other ponies against the wall, and underneath the chalkboard. The last of her classmates brushed off of her, and to Scootaloo's horror, the herd ambled back to their seats instead of out the door. She glanced up at the clock; it was almost 3:25, almost fifteen minutes after school had officially ended. Surely, her classmates would rather go home instead of watching her silly presentation?
Her classmates seemed to disagree with her logic, as they all planted themselves in their desks. Scootaloo stole a glance at Cheerilee, who offered a nod of approval. "Whenever you're ready," she said. Scootaloo lifted up her posterboard, hesitating for a moment before turning it around to expose the front to the class. She steeled herself, taking a deep breath before she spoke.
"For my holiday project, I chose to cover Newborn Celebration Day."
Twilight's eyes blinked open blearily. She woke up to a sight she hadn't seen in many, many moons; her old quarters in Canterlot Castle, but she didn't know how she got there. She struggled to recall her journey there, and instead her brain was alight with everything she had since learned from the Seers: the princess's blessing, her brother's disdain, being cut off, Scootaloo flying, the books by P.F. Visions she needed to read for Record, and time's disparity between Equestria and Eres.
"Mmm..." she said sleepily, lifting her head to see the sunlight filtering in through the massive windows. She missed how much natural light she had here compared to the windows of the library. But why was it so bright? What time was it? "...time? Time! Oh goodness!" She stumbled out of bed, back hoof snagging on her inky blue bedsheets. She stumbled into a graceless heap on the floor, but quickly recovered and observed her self-cycling hourglass. If it was correctly calibrated, as she was sure it had been last she was here, then that meant the current time was...
"Two in the afternoon? Oh no, my sleep schedule! And Scootaloo!" She exclaimed aloud, hoping that there weren't any guards outside of her room listening to her ramble to herself. She wanted to clean the room up — it was still in the exact state she had left it since she hastily departed to Ponyville ages ago— but she needed to get back to Ponyville as soon as she could. School got out around 3:15, and Twilight estimated Scootaloo's presentation to be about fifteen minutes in length. That meant Scootaloo would probably be making her way to Golden Oak Library around 3:35 or so to speak with Twilight. Twilight flapped her wings a few times. She'd had several flight lessons with Rainbow Dash, but she didn't think she would be quite up to the trip from Canterlot to Ponyville just yet. Twilight galloped out of her old room, her magic closing the door behind her. She only hoped that there would be a train ready to depart to Ponyville in a timely manner when she arrived at the station. Down the spiraling stairs she went, earning the curious stares of a pair of royal guardsponies below. She'd have to remember to write Celestia a letter of thanks once she made it back home.
"That was a truly wonderful presentation, Scootaloo," Cheerilee told the pegasus over the ruckus of the other ponies filtering out of the classroom. "I had almost completely forgotten about Newborn Celebration Day, you know. Perhaps Ponyville grew to be too big a town to celebrate it every year?"
Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders. Outside of the Princess' curse (which she left out of her presentation, along with the Princess's Blessing; she didn't know enough about it to feel comfortable bringing the topic to light), there hadn't been too solid a reason for the holiday slowly fading into obscurity.
"At any rate, the maximum grade that I can give you for your presentation is a C," Cheerilee finished.
"Because I was late?"
"Because you were late," Cheerilee nodded. "Although if you weren't, you would have earned an A. You did a great job, and the poster was so neatly done."
"Thanks. Twilight helped me out a lot," Scootaloo explained.
"I bet you still did the lion's share of the work, though! I know Twilight wouldn't want to cheat a pony out of learning!"
"I guess I did," Scootaloo smiled weakly, stealing a peek at the clock on the wall; it was a quarter to four. "I actually should get going; she probably can't wait to hear all about how it went."
"I don't doubt it. But before you go..." Cheerilee gestured past Scootaloo's shoulder, beckoning Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle towards her. They must have been waiting for Scootaloo. "These two will be bringing you your homework for the rest of the week while you're suspended. I figured as your best friends, they wouldn't mind."
"Of course not, Miss Cheerilee!" Apple Bloom saluted.
"Great," Scootaloo rolled her eyes playfully, "Now I have to hide from you two!"
"Oh don't be like that!" Cheerilee said with a smile and a knowing hint of mock outrage.
"I'm just kidding," Scootaloo explained anyways. "It'll actually be fun to have a chance to hang out with you girls again... even if it is to do school stuff!"
The other crusaders giggled cheerfully, and Sweetie Belle motioned to her saddlebags. "We've got today's assignments in here."
"Then I'll let you three get going," Cheerilee said. "Say hi to Princess Twilight for me! See you two tomorrow, and I'll see you on Wednesday, Scootaloo!"
"Wednesday?" Scootaloo tilted her head. "Oh right, the Running of the Leaves! You still want me to come?"
"Of course I still want you to come! I suspended you from school because of what you did, not because I don't like you, you know. You're a great filly, Scootaloo. Just a little unfocused sometimes."
Scootaloo's ears folded back, and she didn't know how to respond. Her friends took her silence as their cue.
"Have a good evening, Miss Cheerilee," Sweetie Belle told her with an unorthodox hint of finality coming from the pale filly.
The crusaders exited the classroom in a wordless scramble, then left out of the front door of the schoolhouse. "So what's this about going to see Princess Twilight now?" Apple Bloom asked as they descended the steps towards Scootaloo's scooter. It wasn't knocked over this time.
"Oh yeah, to tell her about my project, and to ask her—" Scootaloo stopped in her tracks.
"Ask her about what?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Oh my gosh, girls," Scootaloo said with a clear and present shakiness to her voice. "Have you two ever heard of the Princess' Blessing?"
Twilight thought about using magic on the wheels of the train to make it go faster. It was 3:45, and they were still a few miles out from Ponyville. What if Scootaloo was already there? What if she already left? She had been counting on Twilight for this one thing, and the last thing Twilight wanted to do was disappoint her by not being there when she said she would. Goodness knows Scootaloo had dealt with enough of that for a lifetime.
Deciding against using magic to speed up the train, on account of the mechanical damage it would most likely cause, Twilight did some quick calculations. Being about three miles from Ponyville, and her library being a few blocks from the train station, she reasoned she could probably teleport the rest of the way once she got... well, not quite yet. But just a bit closer. She'd already paid for the ticket, so she was sure the train personnel wouldn't mind if she left early.
"So you'll actually find out if you're gonna be able to fly?" Sweetie Belle squeaked from the back of the wagon. "Like, for real, for real?"
"Yup!" Scootaloo shouted back as they rounded the carousel-esque Town Hall en route to Twilight's Library.
"That's great news!" Apple Bloom cried aloud, her voice catching as the wagon bounced. "Or not so great, dependin'..."
"At least I'll know," Scootaloo said. With the wind rushing past her, she wasn't sure if the Crusaders had heard her, but it was a reassurance to herself nonetheless. The large, hollowed out tree loomed ahead of the trio, and her answers hopefully waited inside. The scooter slowed down, before Scootaloo pulled to the right harshly to slide it to a stop quicker.
"Whoa, easy there!" Apple Bloom cried out loud as the wagon careened onto two wheels. "Careful, Scoots!"
But Scootaloo barely heard her as the filly leapt from her scooter and charged towards the library's door. She opened the door abruptly, the bell above sounding and alerting Spike, who jumped with a start from his seat at the table. His Power Ponies comic floated to the floor in the commotion. There were another few patrons in the library who also looked around curiously at the cause of the noise, but went back to their browsing once they saw it was just Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo!" the dragon called to the filly, currently whipping her head around in an excited frenzy. "Where's the fire?"
"Is Twilight back yet?" Scootaloo asked as the bell sounded behind her; she looked backwards and saw not Twilight, but her two disheveled friends.
"Nope. Not yet," Spike said apologetically, scooping his comic book off the floor and back onto the table.
"Oh..." Scootaloo frowned, "I thought she'd be back by now."
"Me too," Spike agreed. "I'm sure she won't be too much long-"
There was a bright purple flash, and a popping sound. In a burst of dazzling light, Twilight Sparkle appeared on the table that Spike was sitting at. The sudden displacement of air sent his comic book down to the floor once again.
"Spike!" Twilight cried out, ignoring the stares from the yet-again-disrupted visitors browsing for books. "Scootaloo? Is she—" Spike pointed behind her towards the door, and the wide eyed orange filly staring up at the princess.
"Well?" Scootaloo asked apprehensively, bracing herself for the worst.
Twilight pivoted to face the little pony. Then, she smiled.
"Have I got some news for you!"
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Amazing. As always, I love seeing an update of this story. You're such a fabulous writer. I really need to go back and reread this wonderful story again. There's so many homeless/poor Scootaloo stories and so many Scootaloo can/can't fly stories around here that it's hard to stand out. But I love how you write the characters, it really feels like they are three dimensional. I also like how you don't rush things at all, and take time to go through each detail and explain what's happening in a way that almost feels real(as real as a magical universe can feel, anyway).
Another new chapter! Feel honored! Personally, I HATED how Scootaloo's aunts 'looked after' Scootaloo in her parents' absence in the series. This ironically holds some actual emotion!
I'll read this saga once it's complete!
More of the best filly
Thanks for the chapter
My favorite part about this exclamation is that her first thought wasn't to Scootaloo, but rather to her sleep schedule. Better not let Scootaloo know about that mindset. Her trust issues are bad enough without knowing that sleep is more important to Twilight than she is. Seriously though, I do like that reaction, because as subtle and quick as it is (a blink and you miss it moment), it brings some lighthearted comedy into a normally serious and emotion driven story.
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I'm confused. Is your issue that with her aunts, it's not emotional, or that with her aunts, there's no need for it to get emotional? And her aunts were canon long before season 9, as well as being canon that she wasn't an orphan. I understand why you'd prefer the emotion of this story over the canon, since it defeats the idea of an orphan Scootaloo and the emotion that comes with that concept. Stories like this exist either because they don't know about pre-season 9 canon, or don't care because there's not as much emotion in the canon. Though if we want to go into canon orphans, perhaps people should start writing stories about Gallus.
Also, I think you're misusing the word "ironically."
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Hearing kind words like this, knowing that there are folks out there that enjoy something I made? It literally makes my day, and makes me feel inspired to keep going.
Very well written! I'm proud of you for keeping this going.
Your story Scootaloo & The Cabinet of Seers seems to be a great hit, I hope you make more chapters soon I want to see what happens next and also, good job.
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Oh, hi 8 month hiatus. Grrrrr!
I'm low on Scootalove and could use more.
I think one of my favorite aspects of this story is the world building, closely followed by characterization! I just adore every little piece of information given to us in each chapter. While at times it did feel a little drawn out, there was always something in every chapter to advance the story.
Also, how tantalizing these last couple of ones have been! I really feel Twilight's flurry of emotions over what is basically a prophecy... Albeit a really really vague one. The intense emotions following her meeting of them definitely weren't good, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything terrible either. Since ya know, emotions can be disproportionate to an actual situation and yadda yadda.
Also.. This..
. Nothing makes me happier than adults taking accountability for their actions against kids (cuz a lot of them don't, especially teachers). Though I guess I should say inactions in Cheerilee's case lmao.
Drives me mad when adults are like "Oh all kids get teased just ignore them," cuz, ya know, as demonstrated it's not always easy to see the full picture of whats happening (kids are craftier than adults give them credit for). Plus it's way easier for us as adults to minimize the pain of bullying when we're so far removed from it (and probably have gone through a lot worse). I'm glad Cheerilee realized she should have paid a little more attention and stepped in sooner.
Anyways, I'm looking forwards to the next chapter! Cheers!
I need more of this PLEASE-
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My heart breaks this story is unfinished the writers just vanished.
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You did not reply in the chapter; so now, the commentator should not see your reply.
The author might be in prison:
The author is attracted to children, but never acted on it. He was caught with KiddyPorn. One cannot having crossed wires, but one can decide how to act. Those choosing to molest children should be sent to arsepouding prison where they learn that being areraped is bad 1st-hand, but those who have chosen to never touch children should be sentenced to therapy where they learn coping skill for bolstering for never touching children. When we last heard from him, he was in a legal fight for his freedom. Even if one does not care about people with crossed wires who choose to never touch children, this is a terrible policy because in encourages childmoestation::
Let us suppose that one has crossed wires and on e is on the fence about molesting children, one might as well get the full experience by molesting children because possession of childpornography has the same sentence as childmoestation. For the same reason, we should decriminalize virtual childpornography:
Real childpornography requires the molestation of real children to produce; but luckily however, virtual childpornography does not.
This is the concept of harm-reduction.
HMXTaylorLee did not ask for crossed wires, has not touch children, and wants to be cured, but the courts probably threw him into prison.
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It's a good thing that I read to the end then. So I did end up seeing the comment. I don't get why it doesn't notify me though.
But yeah, as long as you have self-control, it shouldn't matter who you're attracted, which includes attractions as a result of crossed wires. That's why simply owning certain content shouldn't deserve the same punishment as doing the deed. If anything, having that kind of content is more likely evidence that he would NOT do the deed.
What's sick is the legal system in cases like this. I'll grant that when it comes to "nonconsensual intercourse", it's something you want to prevent before it happens. But when it comes to legality, it's one of the only things that you can end up going to prison for on the basis that they may or may not do it in the future. What's also messed up about it is socially, even if you're found not guilty, your life would still be ruined simply because of the accusation. There is no justification for having your life ruined just because of an accusation. If you're found guilty, that's one thing. But if you're innocent, or worse, it was specifically a false accusation, your life is still ruined. People lose their jobs, have trouble finding new jobs, lose friends and family, and lose their standings in society as a whole, DESPITE being found innocent. It's for that reason that I believe that false accusations should be punishable similarly to if the accused was found guilty.
POSSESSION OF PORN ISN'T SEX!
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About the bug, It is an error in the code requiring much modification; so now, as annoying as it is, we have been stuck with it for over a decade. It is kind of like the pathway for making vitamin C being broken in most primates and many rodents (we study Vitamin-C Deficiency in guinea pigs).
We cannot control our wiring, but we can control what we do:
If one molests children, one should learn that rape is bad 1st-hand in prison, where fellow prisoners arserapining one.
If one pays for kiddyporn, one gives money for molesting children and one should get at least communityservice.
Virtual kiddyporn hurts no children. Downloading free virtual kiddyporn is a victimless crime.
History misjudges the Mathematician Lewis Carroll:
Lewis Carroll took to the new invention of photography by taking over 100 thousand photographs. In the late 19th century, some childmolestors got caught with photographs of nude children. This lead to people no longer collecting photographs of nude children. The photographs of nude children Lewis Carroll took in the mid 19th Century represent less than .1% of the photographs he took. We have no evidence that Lewis Carroll ever molested children. At the time he took the photographs, representing less than .1% of the photographs he made in the mid19th century, the collections of the childmolestors were not yet discovered discovered. If one jumps to the conclusion that he molested children just because nude children made up less than .1% of the photographs he took, than he must have molested churches because he took far more pictures of churches than nude children. The fact is that Lewis Carroll is in the top 100 English photographers of the mid 19th century when ranked by shear numbers of photographs taken.