AO3 Fics - Mind The Tags
Hello friends, and young ones of Fandom. I've got something to share today.
I was happily reading a lovely fic, a time travel AU, beautifully written, that I absolutely loved recently. So, of course, I wanted to leave a nice comment for the author, because that's what we do right? RIGHT?!
Apparently, some of you haven't gotten that message loud and clear. Because I came across a comment that wasn't super great. And kind of looked askance at the author for something they wrote about.
Nor have you gotten the message to mind the tags. Always, always read the tags before you read a fic, my dears. Why, you ask? Well, all of us have squicks and triggers.
Squick: Something that makes you go “ewwww” and wish you had never seen/read it. Something that makes you deeply uncomfortable. Something you’re not interested in reading/seeing/thinking about, ever.
trigger: Something that you associate with/reminds you of a past trauma (mental, emotional, or physical) and therefore triggers your personal reaction to trauma (be it flashbacks, panic/anxiety attacks, unhealthy behaviours, a crying jag, whatever). x
-just adding a note here that trauma doesn't necessarily need to be in the past it can be current trauma too-
So really if it's going to squick or trigger you, you shouldn't read the fic. Right?! RIGHT!
DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT!
BUT, the commenter I saw chose to continue to read, and didn't read the tags, nor did they read the summary, which also stated what they had a problem with in it.
Oooh boy, I was hot when I saw it! I wanted to descend like an avenging angel with a flaming sword in defense of the author, and slash this reader to bits! But I didn't, because really, what good would it do at that point, and how bad would it make me look as a Fandom Mom? And, unleashing when you're angry, and can't use words well is... just not good. So, so...
Here is my PSA to remind you, please, for the love of gawd,
read the tags, and if you don't like it, please don't read it.
If you do decide to then go ahead with reading a fic, after reading the tags, you're taking your experience in your own hands. It's your own responsibility to make sure you're taking care of yourself and your mental health.
Also, if you don't like what an author writes, please don't tell them in the comments how they can make it better. You can offer some headcanon, of course, as long as you state them as such. But otherwise, please keep your unhelpful critical opinions to yourself.