[ SECRET POST #5359 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5359 ⌋

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


01.



__________________________________________________



02.



__________________________________________________



03.



__________________________________________________



04.



__________________________________________________



05.



__________________________________________________



06.



__________________________________________________



07.









Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 24 secrets from Secret Submission Post #767.
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

[fscom]

01. https://i.imgur.com/EmXt5d0.png

[(Anonymous)]

"Because someone is bound to complain about tags in the comments, I am purposely choosing to use this tag to let you know I am in fact aware there's stuff in here I didn't tag for whatever reasons of my own - and, importantly, to let you know it was not a mistake and I'm not gonna bother fussing with tags even if you complain about it, so don't bug me"

The purpose of the tag is to deliver the above message to people like you

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly, that's not always clear at all. I have been doing fanfic since 1999, and I thought it was a tag like about not caring if other archives made copies of the fic. Not cool, but whatever.

So OP is not the only one who didn't understand the intent of the non-warning. I'll just go sit by you, OP.

[tei]

The purpose is to communicate that you are not going to warn, not sure what there is to get.

Despite that, I don’t think you’re the only one very loudly “not getting” it.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, people seem very angry about it, in fact.

[(Anonymous)]

Pretty much the same people that click into fics labeled A/B then "don't get" why A/C isn't the main pairing in the thing they chose to read, and why plot XYZ didn't happen. Why is that? They are just so puzzled. Someone cure their confusion please.

[(Anonymous)]

I sometimes use it bc I'm not entirely sure where the story will go.

[(Anonymous)]

This! Also, sometimes I know I might touch on triggering subjects that AREN'T covered by the standard warnings, and so I want people to know there might be triggering material even if those wouldn't be accurate. It's really useful.

[(Anonymous)]

If you are using the warning system, then there is an expectation that your fic will either have a warning, or will not have warnable content. So for instance, if your fic has a major character death, then it should have a "major character death" warning. If your fic does not have a "major character death" warning, then a reader can reasonably expect that there is no major character death in the fic. So the lack of a "major character warning" tag communicates something about the fic to the reader.

If you are someone who simply does not want to use warnings, for whatever reason, then this system breaks down. So the "no warnings" warning is basically a way of saying: "the lack of warning tags on this fic is not an indicator of the content of the fic one way or another; you should not assume that warnable content does note exist."

[(Anonymous)]

Some people use it on their longfic to prevent spoiling plot twists and the like. Some people, like me lmao, have no idea whether the violence in their fic counts as graphic so chucks it under "Choose Not To Warn" just to be safe.

[feotakahari]

I used it because I wasn’t sure how long after canon I wanted to set it, so I didn’t know whether or not the ship qualified for the “underage” warning.

[(Anonymous)]

Here are some things it can be used for:

1. Author wants to avoid spoilers (this does NOT necessarily mean the story contains one of the big four. For example, I've used it on suspense fics where the main characters did NOT die, but I wanted the reader to worry that they might. Lack of an MCD warning would have been a spoiler for their survival)

2. Author can't decide if the violence is graphic enough, or that dead character major enough, or that dub-con close enough to the non-con line to merit one of the four required warnings, so they just decide to leave it in the grey area

3. Author doesn't like the concept of content warnings in general and wants to appeal only to readers willing to take their chances.

4. Author and a reader has a disagreement about whether a certain archive warning was necessary.

I'm sure other people can think of many, many more. It's a very useful tool for authors in a variety of circumstances.

[(Anonymous)]

Ultimately, for readers it means "read at your own risk, this could contain *anything*".

[(Anonymous)]

I don't understand why this is so hard to get for some people.

[(Anonymous)]

I have actually always wondered that (it doesn't bother me personally, I've reached a point where very little shocks me fiction-wise so as long as the summary is interesting enough for me then I might give it a go)

Dumb question; but if you exclude certain tags would it also exclude the choose not to warn?

[(Anonymous)]

When I first started using AO3, I kept clicking on that tag because I confused it with the other one ("No archive warnings apply"). An online friend asked why I kept using it when there wasn't anything that I needed to warn for in my fics and I felt like such a moron when she (very nicely) explained the difference between the two.

Well.

[(Anonymous)]

For AO3, when posting you have to check at least one of the major archive warnings. It is a requirement of posting (you need a Rating {'Not Rated' is default}, an Archive Warning, a Fandom, a Work Title, a Language, and something in the Work Text).

You can check all of the Archive Warnings, which I think is weird. If you choose 'No Archive Warnings Apply', I feel like it should automatically negate the other warnings. Likewise if you choose all the other warnings (Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage), then I think you shouldn't be able to choose 'Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings' (which appears as Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings in the tags).

Anyway, 'Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings' is a warning to read at your own risk. It may be because the creator didn't want a possible spoiler - for a murder mystery having 'Major Character Death' or not having it might lessen the mystery. It may be because the creator is unsure if a warning applies - maybe the timeline is nebulous and 'Underage' would apply in season 2, but not season 5 or maybe there is violence, but the creator isn't sure if their depictions counts as graphic (my scale for Hannibal is different than my scale for The Social Network).

[tabaqui]

Well, think of it like this: books in the library/bookstores don't contain warnings or tags, so - treat it like you would a probook.

[(Anonymous)]

Not using that tag doesn't mean I won't put a warning on a specific chapter if I feel it's warranted. I like to word things my own way so as not to spoil too much yet still give adequate warning, and offer to divulge more details if anyone has concerns. I'm also not entirely sure how to tag things, and kinda hate tags in general (when I read a novel, it doesn't come with warnings). Like... do I warn for rape/non-con when there's only an attempt (bound to disappoint people who are seeking fics using that warning) -- I definitely want to put SOME kind of warning on that chapter, but I also don't want to suck the suspense out of it with a "don't worry, the would-be rapist doesn't even get her clothes off" or whatever. I have to figure out the best way to do that in the Notes for that chapter. I've also had readers ask me at the start if there will be major character death, and I'll happily answer for THAT PERSON who needs to know, without ruining it for everyone else. That sort of thing.

I know some people won't even read my fic because of the "choose not to use" tag, but, can't please everyone.

[meadowphoenix]

It's tag of risk. It is actively saying that you are taking a risk with the story, the same way you would take a risk with a new novel and didn't have access to reviews or tbqf...any fanfic on a non-specific hosting site prior to AO3.

Look, I'm not really a fan of this warning (I think the point is to work against tagging norms that ironically pretty much only cropped up with AO3, so that authors have more freedom to write the stories without whiny or flamey comments, but "don't flame if you were warned" is a norm in of itself, so I think if you use the tag, you should be prepared for whine in the comments because you've already indicated that norms aren't what you care about here), but I also don't have to read stories I don't want to risk, regardless of the tags used. Everyone has agency! Yay!

[(Anonymous)]

Certain people conflate age gap with underage, but no, I'm not going to slap that label on a fic about a couple of dudes in their forties.

[(Anonymous)]

I feel you, OP.

[(Anonymous)]

I use it to stand in for “one or more of the warnings might sort of apply, but it’s complicated.”

Like when there’s a little non-con/dub-con in my story but it doesn’t seem like enough to warrant the warning. Like, a character is a rape survivor, and this is mentioned but not dwelt on. Or there’s dub-con of the “we fucked while drunk, but everyone was fine about it the next day” variety. Or, for the underage warning, if a thirteen year old gets an erection but there’s no sex per se.

I usually use appropriate tags and explain in the author’s note.

[(Anonymous)]

Over the years I've done my best to warn accurately (including using CNTW when I thought it was appropriate)

But I am so tired of all these whiny anti people needing warnings for every little thing, I want to switch ALL my fics to CNTW. I don't want overly sensitive melodramatic people reading my fics at all, even the fluffiest most innocent ones. I'm a sexual abuse survivor. I don't even write about that very often. But when I do, I do NOT consent to being scrutinized about my "right" to write it.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeesh, I didn’t expect this mundane topic to turn almost everyone into condescending jerks! It’s such a simple tag, there’s no need for all of this.

The secret itself reads as unnecessarily hostile, which could have been remedied by rephrasing it into an actual question. Especially because one of the nice responses expressed that they accidentally used this tag when they meant to use No Archive Warnings Apply in the past. But instead, the secret wasn’t framed as an innocent question or a mistake like that. Just a passive-aggressive jab at an inoffensive tag.

And pretty much all of the replies met the secret’s hostility in kind. And proceed to come off as just as patronizing. And some comments even seem to imply that trigger warnings themselves are unnecessary, and anyone who needs them “needs to grow thicker skin”. And make the apples to oranges comparison between content warnings in fics vs. books, as if that has to do with anything.

As has been established, this tag is a warning in and of itself. So it’s really weird to get mad at the tag. And it’s really weird to make fun of people who want content warnings in general, because most people who need them are smart enough to know the tag might not be for them. And know how to use and exclude the other tags to help as well.

This whole thread was a trip. And please note that I’m not calling the responses wrong just because they had patronizing language. I just don’t think anyone needed to stoop to OP’s level, or take what seems like bait.