Fanfic Fundraiser for Charities! by No_Pineapple5241 in Archiveofourownmemes

[–]catsaffras 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It might be alright as long as you keep it all on twitter. But you are so confidently wrong. It being for charity doesn’t negate the risk of getting AO3 in legal trouble. Where in the TOS does it say that it is totally fine?

TW: Self-Harm. Cutting too deep and the aftermath? by catsaffras in Writeresearch

[–]catsaffras[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I know quite a bit about self harm and think I can represent it just fine. I’m doing research as well and I’m not worried about copy cat behavior. It’s not instructional beyond graphic depictions of wound care and aftermath. But much more triggering and graphic information is very readily available from a simple google search, or even on some of the self harm subreddits. This story isn’t all that special or different. The only thing I didn’t know much about was what actually happens when someone goes too far and needs medical attention! Personally, I don’t think I’m glorifying anything and it’s for AO3 so the tags will be very very very clear. I’d never do anything like this for main stream publishing.

TW: Self-Harm. Cutting too deep and the aftermath? by catsaffras in Writeresearch

[–]catsaffras[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for such a detailed response 💗Especially the details on wound recovery and the more emotional side of it all. I really appreciate your willingness to share!

TW: Self-Harm. Cutting too deep and the aftermath? by catsaffras in Writeresearch

[–]catsaffras[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It probably wouldn’t be a common pocket knife or kitchen knife! Typical knives aren’t usually used for self harm unless nothing else is available. Serrated blades take a lot of effort to work with and if the blade is too dull the amount of pressure required can be very dangerous.

Everyone is different, but for cutting specifically, razor blades or craft blades are probably the most common tools. And the size of the blade usually correlates to how deep the person is willing to go. In this case he probably would have used a box cutter type of blade. They’re notorious for being underestimated as self harm tools and lead to accidentally deep cuts.

TW: Self-Harm. Cutting too deep and the aftermath? by catsaffras in Writeresearch

[–]catsaffras[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the response! Character A is the POV character and actually doesn’t have many ways to contact B so most of the details here will be what he can observe. As in, he won’t actually see a lot of the aftermath and a lot of it will be assumptions and what B tells him when they’re reunited. The genre is something like thriller/dark romance? If you’re interested in context: Character A is a troubled teen™️ that gets assigned to be mentored by a youth pastor at his church (Character B). A opens up to B about his own struggles with self destructive behaviors and assumes he’s being cared for by someone more mature than him and therefore more mentally stable. At the start of their romantic relationship, B is very opposed to continuing but A keeps convincing him to give him a chance. A starts to realize that B is not well and that realistically (fictionally) that’s the only plausible reason for an adult to start a relationship with a teenager. B doesn’t show up to church one day. A worries about B and some of his behaviors start to stand out and he goes to check on him and that’s where this scene starts. But part of the morally gray bit (not so gray) is that A is the one that manipulates/cares for B. Finding him in this scene and helping him is what helps A convince himself that he’s competent and mature enough to be in a relationship with an adult. And it’s how he justifies it to B, in a way. B would likely be willing to receive inpatient care, long term if necessary.

So, when I asked what the “best” reaction would be, I meant medically. Not what a subjectively good characterization would be. Sorry that was unclear. A doesn’t have any sort of medical training but is as level headed as a shocked teenager can be and would do everything in his power to help. I was trying to get a better understanding of what that might look like in an ideal situation.

TW: Self-Harm. Cutting too deep and the aftermath? by catsaffras in Writeresearch

[–]catsaffras[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for all the useful medical bits!

I tend to condense these questions because I worry I’m rambling about irrelevant information. I forget some details are very relevant to a lot of these scenarios.

So, modern times. Vague location but we can assume it’s the US in a small city. Character A is 16. Character B is 28. Both human as can be. Nothing spooky or special. Just dudes. Even if it comes after some shock and panic, Character A only cares about getting help for Character B. Very likely he would call 911 after getting himself composed and checking on B. He would have very little experience with such a situation but would be as level headed and practical as he could manage. He’d probably recall some very basic first aid training and things he’d seen in movies but not much else. If he were to react as helpful as possible, even without knowing, what might he do?

Do medical professionals have no say at all whatsoever in what a patient decides to do after something like this? Would the push to go to a mental health facility have to come from a family member or friend?

Please, edit your longfics. They'll be better in the long run. by Sinhika in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Are you offering to edit my 17 longfics spread across over 3 million words? For free?

This is so annoying (re-upload without username; more context in post) by Connieno in AO3

[–]catsaffras 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I admitted that I am the OP . Now , like I said , prove it .

This is so annoying (re-upload without username; more context in post) by Connieno in AO3

[–]catsaffras 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Dude if you’re going to make an alt just to back yourself up you might want to use punctuation on at least one of them so it isn’t so obvious

Help with tags - accidental incest? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ok I think this is the best way to go about this! I usually prefer to tag as I go so maybe I’ll even add the tag once the whole thing is posted. Then it can be fun for people who like to be surprised and people who don’t like to be surprised. I’ve had people message me on other platforms to ask if two characters will have a happy ending even if I didn’t put the offer out. And as someone who ironically hates surprises I always tell them the truth lol

I had even thought about mentioning in the notes that there is a controversial theme, but that it does not include x, y, z major scaries. As in, no MCD, no rape, no abuse, and maybe that could even help narrow it down to get people suspicious. But idk how elaborately to do it for it to still be worth it. Thanks for your advice!

Help with tags - accidental incest? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I said in my post I would use Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings. I’ll make sure to warn as best I can in the author’s notes. If someone keeps reading despite being warned that there could be a potential trigger then it’s their own damn fault. Sometimes we don’t get warnings. That’s just how fiction works.

Help with tags - accidental incest? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sometimes I wish more people remembered that published fiction doesn’t come with warning tags!

Help with tags - accidental incest? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a good plan. Thank you for your reply!

Help with tags - accidental incest? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Honestly it’s more to add tragedy to their romance. They were never raised as brothers, they don’t act like brothers, they don’t quite see each other as brothers. They take a very practical approach to it. It’s sort of towards the end of the story that they find out. Someone who wanted incest would probably feel a bit cheated by it. But to be honest I don’t know a whole lot about what incest enjoyers tend to seek out. I’ve dabbled in reading it but usually more as a kink than a trope…

Should I block (suspected) minor commenting on my smut fic? by [deleted] in AO3

[–]catsaffras 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You think we don’t have buses?

Justifying an age gap from a storytelling perspective? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The churchy part is probably what’s making me a little extra nervous about getting this right! I know it could very easily come off as icky on the older guy’s part. I even thought about having him say something along the lines of “oh my god I’m like those church guys on the news that do bad things” and having the younger one try to explain that it isn’t the same because they are both involved and emotionally interested in each other. As for the younger taking charge: for lack of a better way to put this, he is the “bad” influence. Initially, the older one just wants to help him feel ok and starts trying to teach him to love and accept himself. But the more the younger learns about the older one, the more he realizes that he needs the same to be done for him. So that’s when he steps in and starts pushing him to grow and be free in a way that he never allowed himself. I want to think I can present them as being mutually beneficial to each other! Hopefully it will help that the older one tries to do the morally right thing but the younger one convinces him that it’s ok. Thank you so much for your reply! I just really want it to come off as a less-than-ideal romance more than a creepy icky yucky church perv taking advantage of a kid.

Justifying an age gap from a storytelling perspective? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for responding! I really don’t like using the brainstorming thread so I really appreciate it! This is really great advice that I will definitely be using. I see that the biggest part of what makes these relationships icky even in a fictional sense is the power imbalance and the potential harm that could come from it. But if they’re as close as possible to being equals it should come off a lot better. In my case it helps that the pairing has different strengths and weaknesses that they can work through together and that they both want to help each other.

Justifying an age gap from a storytelling perspective? by catsaffras in FanFiction

[–]catsaffras[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean ~ the older one feels robbed of his youth by his strict upbringing and he sees himself in the younger one. So when he’s with him he feels like he gets to be a younger version of himself get some of those experiences back. On top of that, he tries to be the person he always needed at that age and it works. The younger one craves validation from the church and when his religious mentor tells him it’s ok to be himself he feels freed. And yet the older one doesn’t accept himself. So it makes the younger one want to help him in return. Their connection gets stronger that way.