Ok, so, here's the thing:

It's been forever since I remembered this existed. A while back I logged on to my old email and happened across some alerts for these here fanfic concoctions. One was a message relaying how much the writer enjoyed re-reading The Pet (yay!) in spite of how WILDLY PROBLEMATIC it is (ah...yes). Honestly, I hadn't thought about it in years, but at that moment I remembered plenty. It is, in fact, HUGELY WILDLY PROBLEMATIC. I decided then and there that I didn't want my shitty pubescent ramblings to impact upon any impressionable minds how a relationship should be, and that I wanted to delete it.

And then I immediately forgot again.

So, aeons later, I once again logged into that old email and was genuinely shocked to see so many notifications for TP and TW, as recent as literally an hour before I began writing this. How it has not been buried in the sands of time is beyond me. That said, what's on the internet is there forever, so I guess that tracks. Anyway, the fact that people are still favouriting/following these fics did tug at the heartstrings a little. Truth is I will very likely delete it one of these fine years, but for now I think I want to leave it be, with an addendum:

WARNING, READ ME, AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!!!

All that said, hindsight is 20-20 and I couldn't in good conscience keep these fics online without flinging a handful of 2 cents their way. So, here goes:

The relationship between Alec and my OC was written by my drama-steeped tween brain and is NO WAY, NO HOW, NOT IN ANY FORM IN ANY CONCEIVABLE DIMENSION, A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP. Nyx is literally a hostage, a slave, there are no ifs buts or maybes about it. Alec treats her like shit a solid 85% of the time they are together. Friction is fun, for sure, but the situation I wrote cannot be ignored. One of my biggest concerns about leaving this fic be is that someone will read it, relate to it, and use it to justify the red flags in their own relationships. As the dipshit who wrote this, I just want to say that this should not, at ANY point, become a blueprint or justification for treating a partner badly. I'd throw in some specific examples from the story but that would require me to actually read it and if I couldn't get through the first 3 chapters drunk then it's just not happening. But I digress - I'm not trying to be preachy. People can read about all kinds of terrible things and keep them at a distance. I have read and written about murder, abuse, violence, rape, torture, you name it. Hell, my current obsession is Fuller's Hannibal, which I think speaks for itself. You can consume all sorts of things in your chosen media without it making a dent in your life. My fear is that someone will read this and in some form it will genuinely negatively impact their wellbeing. So to clarify: Alec and Nyx's relationship is abusive. That's not the way I intended or wanted or even considered writing it, but that's what it is. I don't want to ruin it for anyone. By all means, enjoy what you enjoy, like I do. Just take care of yourselves in the process.

Now, the big one: In one chapter (I forget which) I wrote a rape scene. And I don't??? Know???? Why?????? Seriously, just looking back on this I can tell how young and ignorant I was that this hideous thing was nothing but a brief and pointless plot twist with little to no consequences or impact on the relationship. Holy. Fuck. It being cheap writing is the best thing I can say about it. Relating to my last point: please, PLEASE don't for a second mistake this act for being okay. It isn't. Ever. Consent is a hot topic nowadays and my personal standpoint is that rapists deserve to be tortured. That's my whole opinion on the subject. If I was writing that fic now, Nyx would have set Alec on fire at the first opportunity. Happily ever after the end.

Anywho, I'm not writing this entirely to engage in self-flagellation. I was a kid when I wrote that fic and the memory does being me a lot of nostalgia (in spite of the gargantuan levels of cringe. Seriously - couldn't even read it drunk), and the fact that people are still enjoying it makes me happy. I just couldn't leave it out there without acknowledging and pointing out the problematic writing choices. I'm sure there are far worse fics out there, but this one is my responsibility.

So if you enjoy it, that's great! Just know that you don't have to exempt something from criticism just because you like it. Take care xxx