[ SECRET POST #3442 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3442 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[resized, not a repeat]


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 54 secrets from Secret Submission Post #492.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I have seen people pitch bitch fits when a fic was tagged as X/Y when it was meant to be Y/X. So.

[(Anonymous)]

Is it that difficult to understand that people have kinks, and they might kink on one character topping, but not necessarilly on this same character bottoming and getting their hopes up for a nice sexy scene only to be left with metaphorical blue balls is frustrating as hell?

That's no different from people who tag fics with an a/b paring, when the fic is actually an a/c pairing, where a/b is broken up. You can write what you want, but the readers aren't wrong, misogynistic or homophobic for being disappointed that the fic doesn't contain what they thought it did.

[(Anonymous)]

Personally, I find those to be totally non-equivalent situations. It's not a hard and fast rule that name order dictates sexual positions. In fact, doesn't AO3 just go alphabetical by default unless the author does something about it?

[diet_poison]

Do people on Ao3 generally follow the top/bottom tagging scheme though??

[(Anonymous)]

Most don't, but many do.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah sorry, but I don't ever tag for who bottoms/tops, nor do my pairing tags - or the order thereof - indicate anything other than those are the two characters who are together.

The reason I don't tag for this is that too often those tags don't just indicate a preference for positioning, but also for how the character is written... And way, way too often they're ooc caricatures, based on ridiculous gender norms (weak, effeminate bottom vs. hyper-masculine top...) that warp the characters beyond recognizability.

At least 50% of the time I see those tags used, I find the characters wildly ooc. (And that percentage is being generous). So to me, those tags are a warning more than anything else...

If it's such a huge issue for a reader, I'd rather they either reach out and ask, or don't read at all. I say this having gotten a lovely 'review' in which I was told that a reader 'wasted their time' reading 50k of plot & story just because the 'wrong' character bottomed in the 4k sex scene at the end of the story. If they'd asked, I'd have happily told them, but if you're that damn invested in who does what with the butt... and a fic isn't tagged, then either skip it or ask. I don't owe anyone tags like that.

[(Anonymous)]

More than 50% of the time fics that don't tag for a position still have sterotypical top/bottom dynamic, so if you're so scared to be associated with that, you might not tag for anything at all. And if you, and other people like you, tagged for positions regardless of characterization, then the tag wouldn't be associated with the characterization anymore. And no reader would tell you they felt like they've wasted their time, because they'd just look at the tags and skip your fic if they didn't like what they saw.

[(Anonymous)]

SA

And to counter your "if they didn't want to read it they should just ask" attotude - if you only want positive comments on your fics, you should also just say so upfront.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on your '50% of the time fics that don't tag' statement. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's much less likely to see characters go wildly ooc when who tops/bottoms isn't tagged for. I can guarantee that if I were to do a random sampling of fic both tagged and untagged, the large majority would find much less over-the-top and ooc characterization in the non-tagged fic. Basically the tags already have those negative connotations - because the people who tag for it are tagging it for that very reason - and there's no changing it now...

And, you seem to be missing the point entirely. I'd much rather not tag something as silly as who tops/bottoms and ensure a readership that's wary of those ridiculous dynamics, than risk warning off people who'd rather avoid them by tagging. So, I'm perfectly happy with my choices, thanks. If it means I lose a reader who pretty much wants to ignore plot and characterization for the sake of some silly bedroom dynamics? *shrug* Not counting that as a big loss, tbh. And really, if that aspect is SO absolutely critical to your reading - then why wouldn't you ask? Leaving a whiny review on a fic because YOU don't like something that might be present in the fic and took the risk of reading anyway...well, that's a shitty, entitled thing to do.

Oh, and nowhere did I say I was asking for only positive reviews. I welcome concrit, gladly. But 'I wasted my time reading cuz the buttsex was wrong' is quite, quite stupid and your hang-up, not mine.

[(Anonymous)]

What's the difference? Is X/Y an 'X tops Y' scenario whereas Y/X is the reverse? *genuinely doesn't know*

[(Anonymous)]

da

Yes. Back in "the good old days", before tumblr and ao3, people used the X/Y labeling to let people know who topped and who bottomed. Or sometimes XxY if you were in an anime or manga fandom.