i’m about to start gatekeeping interacting with fic authors from a lot of y’all. u need to learn how to behave
“i need more” “pls continue this” “when are you posting the next bit” why don’t you try showing some proper appreciation for what’s already written before you go demanding more!!!
a lot of time and energy goes into each piece of writing and it is incredibly disappointing for the primary feedback to be “give me more!” if you’re trying to motivate authors to continue, this kind of response has the opposite effect.
you know what is motivating? specific praise.
let me break it down for you.
How To Leave A Comment Without (Unintentionally) Sounding Like A Pri- [GUNSHOT]
point out a few specific things you liked about the fic and why. how it made you feel.
highlight a line or two or three that stuck out to you.
if it’s an incomplete work, express excitement at seeing where they’re going — without a demand for more.
it’s quite simple, and it doesn’t even have to be a long thing. this can be done in a hundred words or less.
and yeah, it takes effort. takes a bit of time. but fandom is about mutual support. it’s about community.
fic authors are not celebrities who don’t even see your attempts to get their attention. there is a real person on the other side of that screen living a real life, and if you want to encourage them in their craft and properly motivate them to write, try treating them like a fucking human being.
authors put in hours to create content (that only ends up not being truly appreciated). i think you can spare a few minutes to leave a detailed, thoughtful comment in turn.
idk just a semi-friendly reminder that authors don’t owe you shit actually
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Helluva Boss Tickle Headcannons:
Stolas:
Super ticklish despite not being tickled very much in his younger days, (Blitzo is definitely the first one to discover this weakness when they were kids and never really forgot how ticklish Stolas was, or is, for that matter.)
Is a switch, but is definitely is more lee leaning! He enjoys the bondage aspect of it and definitely experiences the most anticipatory giggles.
Has one of the most adorable laughs ever. It doesn't take much to get him laughing. He has such a high-pitched laugh that gets squeaky if you get the right spots.
Worst spots are wings and beneath his feathers.
As a ler, my goodness is this guy fucking RUTHLESS.
Is a demon, so expect to receive whatever tickling is dished out tenfold in return.
His feathers and claws are horrendously evil tickle tools and the mothefucker KNOWS it.
Uses tickling as a torture method for those who most deserve it (cough cough, Blitzo).
Blitzo:
Regularly involved in childhood tickle fights with Fizz. Used to win most of the tickle fights until the accident happened.
So playful and silly, he was the first to initiate a tickle fight with Stolas and the first to realize what a ruthless tickler Stolas is.
Also a switch, very needy as a lee and super teasy as a ler.
Surprisingly a very gentle ler unless otherwise provoked.
Definitely tickles Stolas the most of anyone because Stolas absolutely loves it. Also frequently tickles Millie and Moxxie but mostly Moxxie because he deserves it. Doesn't DARE tickle Luna (he doesn't have
Most ticklish spots include ribs, tummy and underarms.
Super silly laugh, loves provoking others to tickle him, and is so shameless about it, the little shit.
Millie:
Is ticklish but is much more of a ruthless ler. Mostly tickles Moxxie to get him to relax or not be so uptight.
Absolutely ruthless. RUTHLESS.
Not only does she know Moxxie enjoys being tickled, but she encourages the other IMP's to tickle him.
Doesn't mind being tickled by Moxxie but will destroy anyone else who tries.
The worst spots are her hips, thighs, and knees.
Has a bright, carefree laugh.
Will 10/10 dish out absolutely unholy revenge to those who dare to tickle her.
Moxxie:
Is such a lee! 100% lee. Is baby.
It doesn't take much to get him all flustered, just a few well placed pokes, a wink, or teasy voice.
Prefers to be tickled by Millie but is the frequent victim of gang tickles. Not that he minds.
Is wayyyy more susceptible to gentle and teasy tickles.
His back is an absolute death zone. Absolutely cannot handle back massages AT ALL.
Screechy and screamy laughter. AHAHAH.
Hides his face a lot, or at least he tries when tickled. Lol. He can't even help it.
Will literally beg to not be tickled.
PUPPY DOG EYES.
Deserves to get his shit WRECKED!
Ozzie:
WE AREN'T gonna pretend this man isn't ticklish.
I mean, he is. Has a super boisterous laugh.
I mean, if this anyone has a tickle kink, it's him lol.
I feel like he's got tons of ler energy. He tickles Fizz so much, lmao. Surprise tickles, tickle games, tickle hugs, teases, etc. ASDFGHJKL. Fizz eats it up, of course.
Is kinda ticklish in a couple secret places only Fizz knows about. I mean, I don't even know, and Fizz didn't tell me lmaooo. It's a secret, do with that info what you wish.
Is actually the tickle monster. Hehehe.
Fizz:
Is such an adorably ticklish imp.
Arguably, the most ticklish character.
Literally used to be nearly tickled to death by Blitzo as kids. And ganged up on by the other imps. Was pretty much defenseless lol.
Blitzo used to knock him down a few pegs for getting all the attention by tickling the everloving snot out of him.
Literally never won tickle fights until after the accident. The robot arms improved his tickle fight game tenfold.
His robot arms are indeed also ticklish but offer an advantage in tickle fights by being able to stretch or tickling people far away.
Bottom ribs, hips and sides are his worst spots.
Cannot handle his ribs being counted. (Ozzie found this out, and the poor guy can't rest ahah).
Wheezy laughter that eventually goes silent, and he also thrashes a lot.
Uses his robot arms for tickling and bondage purposes with Ozzie and to also get well deserved revenge on Blitzo, haha.
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Tagging, Censorship and Consent in Fandom
Hello darlings~ I'm back at it again with the essayposting - blame the creative block for that, but as always I'm neck deep in Fandom which is exactly where I wish to be anyway~
Now, today's essay is going to mention potentially triggering topics by name, however will not be going into great detail on any of them. If you feel you are in a place within yourself where you might not be comfortable encountering some terms and topics, please feel free to turn back now and I hope to see you next time instead.
For the rest of us...
How To Tag Your Content and Engage With Creative Fandom Safely - A Serious Essay Again with TavyliaSin (And how to respect your readers/viewers) ((Consent is important and this is how we do it)) (((And it's always good to keep learning every day to keep each other safe)))
So again, there will be heavier topic mentions from here, and I welcome all points of view to the table. We're going to cover boundaries, safety, and this will be all ADULT CONTENT so 18+ ONLY please and thank you darlings~
Subheaders follow of course~
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What Are Tags And Why Should We Care?
This is the easy one here. Tags are the markers on the map, the signposts on the gate, the labels that tell us what is in the tin. Perhaps it is best to think of them like food labels - sometimes people have allergies or intolerances to ingredients.
Often, a dish is clearly not going to be suitable - one doesn't order the Nut Roast with a nut allergy, after all - but other times there are unexpected ingredients that might cause an unintended reaction.
The exact same applies to content, whether it is angst, dead dove, kink, or really any number of topics that can be difficult for some to handle. We all have our own "food allergies" - there may be some we can never "eat", and others that we can stomach if we prepare first. In both cases we need those labels to know before we dive in.
And just to be clear here, I'm not talking about just mild discomfort. Encountering certain topics can put people into severe PTSD episodes that can take days or even weeks to fully recover from. A huge number of us unfortunately live through life events that could be described as traumatic, and whilst we should not place the responsibility of handling our problems on the shoulders of others, we should also be respectful of how content we create and share can affect those with life experiences different to our own.
Boundaries And Safety
We need to extend this to our online interactions with other creators and fandom friends too - express your own boundaries when you need to, seek help if they are crossed with poor intention, and take care to listen to the boundaries of those around you.
And whilst I shan't be touching on the topic heavily, this also extends to those in the more public eye. Send and tag only content that is explicitly welcomed, respect boundaries, and help to keep all of our communities happier for it.
Additionally, the obvious one too - under 18s should not be interacting with NSFW content, nor should NSFW creators be knowingly interacting with under 18s. This is for the safety not only of the underage people, but the adult creators too. Whilst we can rationalise that most of us encountered inappropriate content for our age, if we are found to be knowingly allowing or sharing it towards those who are underage then we are at a very real risk of landing on offender registers. Use a reasonable amount of care, and seriously any minors still here, first you should not be, and secondly if you have any respect for the NSFW creators please never interact with us until you are over 18.
Alright, So What Should Be Tagged and How?
There are a lot of content types and tags out there. Largely you can put them into 3 Categories:
1. Violence
2. Sexual/Kink
3. Misc
Yes I know misc is a bit of a catch-all, but the first two are the most common at least.
The lists I use in the House of Hopeful Sinners Discord Server are as follows - though it should be noted I am adding to and refining these as we go along, either with things that are requested or those that I realise I have missed. There are likely far more comprehensive lists, and AO3 has a lot of suggested tags to use too.
My rule on Discord is that all of these topics are permitted but must be spoiler covered and tagged appropriately (I'll cover a section on Discord specifically later). For some of these topics, we have threads that allow people to discuss them in a creative context in a space separated from the main conversation channels, so people can engage and indulge in the content without those who are uncomfortable being exposed to it.
Violent Content
NonCon
Trauma
Death
Severe Injury
Injury Detail
Blood
Torture
Manipulation
Choking
Dead Dove
Needles
Knives
Guns
Ascended Astarion (positive context/romantic)
Sexual Content
DubCon
CNC (Consensual NonCon)
Spanking
Somnophilia (One person is asleep at the start or throughout)
Breeding
BDSM
Wax Play
Pain Play
Breath Control
Bondage
Pet Play
Urine Fetish
Scat
Omegaverse
Knotting
Wild Shape
Ascended Astarion (sexual)
Age Difference
Size Difference
Predator/Prey
Others
Pregnancy/Fertility
Traumatic Pasts
Medical Procedures
Sickness/Emetophobia
Animal Death
Grief/Loss
PTSD/Trauma
That's A Lot Of Tags - Won't It Put People Off?
Well, loves, this is the key. By having the tags there, people can choose to engage or not.
For every item on that list, there will be some people who want to avoid that content - and that's fine, you shouldn't want to expose them to it against their will! But there will also be those people who love that content!
For example, Breeding is something I'd always want to avoid. I don't want to encounter it in fic or art. But there are lots of people who love that kink, which is great! When it's tagged, I can skip the content, and those who enjoy it can flock to it - everyone wins here!
Should Some Kinks Always Be Censored Or Banned
Time for the tricky nuance part, darlings, but it does need to be said. I do not believe that there are many topics that should be censored or banned entirely in art and fiction for one very simple reason, which I will cover in a lot more detail in a future essay:
Everyone deals with their own traumatic experiences in different ways. Whilst some people may need to avoid anything close to certain topics, others are able to process their pain and heal from it by creating or engaging with fictional versions of that topic.
Writing and art are both things where the viewer/reader has control over the situation. Not in that they can change it, but they can step away at any time. They can stop reading/looking and never go back to it. The situation is, in that way, safe if they are prepared before going in to it. Although a trauma trigger might cause some similar feelings in some people to the traumatic memory/experience, this is not universal. It is not for any one person to dictate the ways in which any other heals or copes with their own scars.
It may be similar for a writer or artist, being able to explore and process their feelings. So no, I do not condone censoring anything but the most extreme/obvious illegal topics, which I'd prefer not to mention for my own peace of mind.
As long as works are tagged, and spoiler covers used to hide the content from people until/unless they choose to engage with it, everyone should be allowed to create and consume the media they choose. (The obvious caveat of course being "so long as none are harmed in the making of it", but I should think all of you would know that by this point in the essay)
What Do I Do If Something Isn't Tagged?
Chances are that writers miss tags sometimes, and not intentionally either. Try to let them know in a comment, or if you are uncomfortable engaging then ask someone to speak on your behalf (I will happily provide this service just DM me the link). In cases of Discord or other moderated spaces, speak with those moderators about anything that's troubling you.
If you've been alerted to a missed tag in your own work, add it in right away. It might help to ask Beta Readers to list any tags independently of the ones you have in mind before posting, so you can cross check things over.
How Can I Hide Tagged Content?
AO3 - You can't hide tagged content on AO3, but the tags are listed with every work. You might want to use the summary or pre-work notes if there is particular content you feel needs to be added.
As you can see here, I put more in the summary as well as in the tags.
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Tumblr - List your CWs in the top of your post, and then use the "Read More" marker to hide the cut content.
So you can see the actual content is below the line, in each case, which is also helpful to prevent post previews from being too long and gives you more control over Tumblr formatting anyway. For images, you may well need to make use of the community labels too, though I have been informed writing is less important for this as it doesn't show in post previews.
Discord - Spoiler Tagging is your real friend in Discord. Super easy to use, and hides text and images until clicked.
For text, using the || either side of the text will hide it, and for images you can click the eye symbol to spoiler it. You can also do this from mobile by long pressing the image preview to bring up the menu to spoiler.
Twitter - Click on the edit then select the flag menu.
Unfortunately you can't hide text on Twitter, so use caution there, or use threads potentially to nest the warned content in the replies. You may also wish to have a separate account for 18+ content if you have SFW content on your account too, or use things like the protected feature so only people who you allow can see your posts.
Is That All?
For now, darlings, I believe we have covered almost everything, but the floor is open in comments to add anything else you feel is important to discuss.
At the end of the day, engaging in fiction and art that contains potentially sensitive subject matter is all about that informed consent. The creator can make something and ask if someone wishes to see it, the viewer/reader then makes their decision if they wish to or not.
Our job as creators is to tag our works so people know what is safe for them to engage with.
Our job as consumers is to appreciate the work and know that not every work will cater to our specific tastes.
So really loves I'm telling you to go out and revel in how we have so much variety that we really can filter by what we do and don't want to see, and that we will also likely have readers/viewers for everything we are inspired to create.
Let's not have fandom in-fighting or dictating who should be allowed to create what - there are precious few cases in which those fights are worth starting. Be passionate about what you love, skip the things you don't~
Oh and if you do appreciate my philosophies and guidelines on these topics, it is my pleasure to inform you that my personal server is open and welcoming to likeminded people who are 18+. You'll find more details in This Tumblr Post Here
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