My Story was sent back, which of these themes violated the content guidelines?

[GhastlySmut]

Hello! I was directed to these forums after my first story was rejected after submission. I hope this is the right category to post about that in the forums.
I have read through the content guidelines and looked at my story to see what might be breaking those rules, and I've come up with some bullet points of what parts might've pushed the boundaries too far.
I really hope I didn't make whoever proof read it uncomfortable :S
When I submitted the story I was pretty confident that it didn't violate any of the sites guidelines as I've read stories on here that in my opinion push the boundaries further than my work. Though having reread it I can see some elements that probably do go too far and I'd like to change those elements if the story can be salvageable for publishing. If it is completely unsalvageable for the terms of this website I will of course not publish it, and I apologise for trying to publish something that violates the terms of this site.
If any experienced authors could give me some feedback and tell me where I've violated the content guidelines it would be much appreciated

Content Warning for anyone who doesn't want to see notes on my story; they contain non-consensual themes and some descriptions of violence

Here is a list of the elements of my story that I suspect have violated the guidelines:


*The main character refers to some women as 'tight teen girlies', maybe this was interpreted as sexualizing minors? I have a disclaimer at the start of the story saying that all characters are 18+

*Main character is said to have flashed women in the street and masturbated in front of them, it is described once as something he's done in the past, and later there is a passage where he remembers in some detail flashing a woman the previous night. During this passage he fantasizes briefly about groping her non-consensually & ripping her clothes off.

*The main character is described to have mugged people and there are multiple mentions of a switchblade he uses threaten his marks, though there are no mentions of him actually using the weapon to physically harm people.

*MC threatens a vampire woman (the sexual partner of the story) with his switchblade in order to have sex with her. He never uses it to hurt the woman, only pressing it against her throat to threaten her.

*The woman in the story is a vampire and there are multiple references to her feeding on blood and being in pain from sunlight.

*The sex act is non-consensual at first. The MC binds the woman's arms to have sex with her. She does get into it after a bit and gets very titillated by the act. But the first half of it is inarguably non consensual.

*The vampire woman plans to feed on the MC by biting his neck and drinking his blood, which she does at the end of the sex act.

*There are multiple metaphors that compare the MC to a dog, a hound and an animal, but they are quite clearly metaphorical.

*The sex act is described as an "assault" and sometimes as a "rape", and the MC is referred to as the "rapist" once or twice.

*There is a line where the MC thinks to himself that he wants to have sex with the woman 'until she passes out', but it's only a fleeting thought.

*The MC uses his switchblade to cut the woman's underwear off.

*Vampire woman briefly has the intention of killing the MC once she's got her strength back, it is illustrated by a line of internal dialogue. This doesn't actually happen, it is just a brief thought from the woman.

*As mentioned previously, the woman bites the MC's neck at the end of the sex act, it is not described in detail or in any gory terms and is only mentioned in one sentence. The woman initially plans to drain the MC but she decides not to. It is mentioned that she clamps her fingernails into the MC's back as she feeds on him. This act is framed as non consensual, this time for the MC.

*The woman shoves the MC into a pile of garbage after feeding and briefly considers killing him (not for any form of sexual pleasure, just for revenge) but she decides against it, leaving him laying there.

I understand that the story has violent themes, but this violence is never fetishized or framed as something to be aroused by. I also understand that this story might be pushing the boundaries of the non-consensual category, but the woman in the story does enjoy the sex after a while, although this might not be emphasized enough.

 

[SyleusSnow]

What exactly did the rejection notice say? It would have given a reason for the rejection.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I understand that the story has violent themes, but this violence is never fetishized or framed as something to be aroused by. I also understand that this story might be pushing the boundaries of the non-consensual category, but the woman in the story does enjoy the sex after a while, although this might not be emphasized enough.

Like @SyleusSnow said, the exact reasons should have been stated in the rejection notice, but as someone who's published a lot of NC/R stories, the hard rules are no gratuitous harm to the characters and victims have to derive some pleasure from being assaulted, even if it's against their will. The same goes for words like "assault", "rape", and "rapist", those are all words I've used in my stories. The "tight teen girlies" comment might have caught Laurel's eye but would probably be OK, depending on how you phrased it. It might also depend on which category you submitted this story to. Hope this helps!

 

[GhastlySmut]

What exactly did the rejection notice say? It would have given a reason for the rejection.

The rejection notices said this as the reason for rejection, so I looked through my story to come up with the list of elements I've typed out that could be in relation to it:

• Literotica is dedicated to healthy fantasy exploration in fiction. While we do accept submissions with graphic violence, we don't accept "snuff" or "vore" - i.e. death & extreme torture with the aim of titillation and gratification, sexual or otherwise. We generally do not accept submissions of nonconsensual sex in which the "victim" gets absolutely no sort of thrill or enjoyment from the acts, or is seriously and /or permanently physically harmed/abused/maimed/killed and the death is eroticized. For our full submission guidelines, please see: https://literotica.com/faq/publishing/publishing-guideline

 

[GhastlySmut]

Like @SyleusSnow said, the exact reasons should have been stated in the rejection notice, but as someone who's published a lot of NC/R stories, the hard rules are no gratuitous harm to the characters and victims have to derive some pleasure from being assaulted, even if it's against their will. The same goes for words like "assault", "rape", and "rapist", those are all words I've used in my stories. The "tight teen girlies" comment might have caught Laurel's eye but would probably be OK, depending on how you phrased it. It might also depend on which category you submitted this story to. Hope this helps!

Thank you for the feedback!
Do you think the bit with the vampire feeding on the MC would count as gratuitous violence? And to clarify, are you saying that those words are allowed or that they go against the guidelines? I submitted the story in Noncon/reluctance.
Are there any story elements in particular that you think might've crossed the line?

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

Thank you for the feedback!
Do you think the bit with the vampire feeding on the MC would count as gratuitous violence? And to clarify, are you saying that those words are allowed or that they go against the guidelines? I submitted the story in Noncon/reluctance.
Are there any story elements in particular that you think might've crossed the line?

I've published plenty of stories with those words included, so yes, they're definitely allowed. It's not the words themselves that matter for the guidelines, it's the mental picture they paint when taken together that matters.

As for vampire feeding counting as gratuitous violence, I have no idea. I have actually published some vampire-themed erotic stories, but not on Literotica. My instinct is that it should be fine as long as it doesn't cross the line into snuff or vore, but ultimately Laurel's opinion is the only one that matters. You could try toning down the blood-drinking parts a little bit and then add an author's note when you resubmit briefly explaining your position (bear in mind there's a word limit in the author's note box).

I also wouldn't use the phrase "tight teen girlies", but that's more of a personal preference.