At a Loss, is ticked

[kriadydragon]

So I'm reading this interesting though confusing (but still interesting) story that came with no warnings what so ever and... and... oops, slash and, oops rather graphic scene! - not sex scene but still pretty explicit.

I'm ticked, I really am, and want to say something to this author that warnings really would have been nice. But I keep wondering, should I say anything? Should I risk starting up a kerfuffle over warnings or should I leave well enough alone? I know a lot of people have warning and label issues, and don't like using either for various reasons. But, dang it, I hate running into stories that squick me because the story came with no warnings. I know some will say that the rating alone should be enough, but rating can be pretty unreliable (I've read pg-13 fic that should be a hard R, and R rated that could easily be PG).

Chances are that by the time I make a decision someone else will already have said something, but should this happen again, should something be said?

ETA: I said something, hopefully in a way that comes off as polite and reasonable. I told them how I had assumed the story to be gen, and that others - such as slashers - might skip the story assuming the same. Here's hoping that I don't get flamed :S

Comments

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

why is there is so much sex in stories now days ... man
i would just like to read a normal story

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Seriously. And with this story I didn't see it coming until, bam! It was there. I was so ticked, because up until that moment I had no reason to think the story anything other than gen. I want to say something, but because people can get huffy about such things, I'm afraid I may end up starting something that will only make matters worse.

Plus, because I'm ticked, my response could end up sounding less than polite.

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

its a touchy subject for sure

[dajaje.livejournal.com]

I would say something. It's one thing to not want to put a warning on that might spoil a plot device, but labeling a story for sex/slash is the most basic warning there is.

I read almost everything, but I still want a general idea of what I'm getting before I invest my time in reading something. I agree that it's very frustrating to be happily reading along enjoying a story and then BAM out pops something that would have probably kept me from starting the story in the first place if I'd known about it beforehand.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

"but labeling a story for sex/slash is the most basic warning there is."

As I told... someone, I can't remember who... warnings are also a kind of two way street. Because the story isn't labeled as slash, slash-only readers will probably skip it, while gen readers end up subjected to a pairing and then some.

Yeah, I probably will say something.

[sgafan.livejournal.com]

I'd say something. You can do it in a very polite manner and say "you might want to put a slash/het/whatever warning on the story. There are many people around that prefer not to read some genres."

Or something like that. :)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I'm going to do :D

[flingslass.livejournal.com]

A ficrec came through this morning that said PG-13 but with strong langauge. Now I'm an Aussie so not completely au fair with that rating but I assume that it wouldn't contain strong language for kids around 13. Or am I just living in the wrong Universe???
I gave up complaining, just close the page and move on.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think there's no point to rating fic. I've read stories that said G rated but kept using the F word :P Thus why I rely more on warnings and less on ratings.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Or am I just living in the wrong Universe???

No kidding...........Sometimes I feel like I
am in some AU.......where I am the only one who sees it.
That sort of material is NOT for PG-13 consumption anymore than what I read although sometimes I am ?????? when I see some PG-13 rated films as they are quite explicit...................and
I realize kids see and hear a lot of stuff, but I think we need to keep in
mind a proper rating whenever we offer something that the general public can
access.

[flingslass.livejournal.com]

Oh we are so on the same page here :D

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

I, too, get frustrated as you do. There are certain things I really don't care to read and get angry with the warnings are not given. I'm making a commitment to set time to read a fic, then I get angry when I've read half the fic when McKay suddenly leans over (with no warning) and kisses Sheppard. I stop reading and am angry for getting that far, enjoying the fic, and never finish it due to that.

Grrr.

But, after trying in the past to say things and having gotten burned, I'd be hesitant to say anything. I'd want to, but afraid to.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

But, after trying in the past to say things and having gotten burned, I'd be hesitant to say anything. I'd want to, but afraid to.

Yeah, the risk of being burned is why I hesitated. The person hasn't responded yet, and I kind of hope they don't, especially if it's just to chew me out. But I'm so tired of running into things that squick just because someone didn't feel like labeling their story.

I'm making a commitment to set time to read a fic, then I get angry when I've read half the fic when McKay suddenly leans over (with no warning) and kisses Sheppard.

I can kind of get not warning, say, a death fic, for shock value reasons. There are stories I've read that had the author warned for the death then the story wouldn't have had the same powerful impact. But I don't get not warning for a pairing, because without that warning, it will be assumed by readers that the story is gen. Genners will read and get ticked, while hard core shippers will skip the story. It's pretty much a lose/lose situation if you think about it.

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

I agree with the "lose/lose" situation. It stinks, but it's true.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Get in line.........
You are well aware of how I feel about this sort of thing.
I speak it as it is........they don't reply although I noted in one case, she did post a warning but it was too late for me.
I do NOT like being ambushed......her depiction of Sheppard's sexual
advance on Lorne and then how they both return to work as though nothing had happened was not, in my opinion, right for a multitude of reasons including
break down in discipline.
AND I don't care if Sheppard was under the influence or not, she needed to
post a warning. Had I known, I would never have read it.
PERIOD.
I am tolerant of those who want to write and read slash, but they need to realize I have just as much right to reject it
I no longer care if they are miffed by my refusal to participate.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I think I read that story you're talking about and yeah... ew :P I also recall wondering if the story was supposed to be slash as supposedly Lorne had "feelings" for Sheppard, but I can't remember if Sheppard returned those feelings. I was pretty much skimming by then, wondering what the heck the writer was trying to write. Warnings would have been really, really nice.

That's something that bugged me in M7 as there were a lot of stories that would have het out of nowhere, with no warnings. It was incredibly irritating to read along and, oops, het or, oops, sex scene!

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

That must be a different story you read. This one featured Sheppard and Lorne captured off world. Not sure where Sheppard's team is......
Sheppard is injected with something that puts him in hunt mode.........
They give Lorne a head start and soon he realizes who is hunting him
There is no earlier indication that there are any sort of touchy feely feelings between the two, ie subtle slash etc.
It is why I was so incensed.............When I expressed my annoyance some said
'well it is after all rather mild'
I don't like it if mild or whatever.........it is not something I want to
read..particularly because as Sheppard begins his advance, it is obvious
Lorne is NOT interested, but what gets me is they return to Atlantis to assume their individual roles.........we are to believe that would happen.
Uh, sorry, that would not happen.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

The slashy subtext came later in the story, toward the end. It wasn't heavy slash but more... Lorne exploring his feelings type of thing, really low key and possibly easy to miss. Really, I wasn't sure where the author was going with it, if she was aiming toward something slashy or if I misread it or what. It's something I come across with a lot of stories, these subtle little hints that the author thinks they are leaving up to interpretation, but in reality you know the author is trying to lean toward slash.