Question about changing categories mid-series

[hephaestu5]

Hey everyone!

I’ve been writing this series, He Just Won’t Listen, in the Reluctance/NonConsent category. For the last chapter, I’m planning to make the sex consensual, so now I’m debating whether I should switch the category to something like Erotic Couplings for the last chapter, or keep it in Reluctance/NonConsent since the earlier chapters contain nonconsensual scenes and involve the same characters.

 

[jehoram]

Hey everyone!

I’ve been writing this series, He Just Won’t Listen, in the Reluctance/NonConsent category. For the last chapter, I’m planning to make the sex consensual, so now I’m debating whether I should switch the category to something like Erotic Couplings for the last chapter, or keep it in Reluctance/NonConsent since the earlier chapters contain nonconsensual scenes and involve the same characters.

I always match the story content to the category label whether even if it is in a series. But it it's a different content than the rest of the series, a note at the beginning should alert the reader.

 

[anthrodisiac]

In most cases, I'd say keep it in the same category, but this is a pretty big shift, so your R/NC peeps will be in for a surprise, so putting it in another category is probably best. If you have any major kinks that come out in this chapter, it might be better to put it in the category that best aligns with that kink, but if there aren't any, than EC is probably fine.

Additionally, the people you theoretically could pick up by putting it in a different category might not be into non-con, so I agree that a note is probably a good call, mentioning both that this chapter is fully consensual (so your old readers aren't taken aback or surprised) and that the previous chapters are non-con (for any new readers who might be sensitive to topics around non-con).

 

[yano2mch]

Hmmm... i'd say you have it in the category it most makes sense to be in. I'd say change the category but leave a early note before the story justifying the change and why.

Though it is possible the story series won't be read if it's in a category overall they don't like. But it's also possible to hit several categories at once, but you can only select one.

 

[hephaestu5]

Thank you, everyone, for your advice. I’m going to leave it in the NC/R category, as it wouldn’t be fair to, say EC, readers who aren’t looking for a dynamic that originated from nonconsensual sex. But I will put a note at the beginning for people clicking on the story expecting NC/R, explaining that the story won’t explicitly feature it, even though the control aspect still implicitly exists in their relationship.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Thank you, everyone, for your advice. I’m going to leave it in the NC/R category, as it wouldn’t be fair to, say EC, readers who aren’t looking for a dynamic that originated from nonconsensual sex. But I will put a note at the beginning for people clicking on the story expecting NC/R, explaining that the story won’t explicitly feature it, even though the control aspect still implicitly exists in their relationship.

I agree with you that it’s best to keep all of a series focusing on SA safely in NC/R, even if you write a chapter without any SA (or where SA somehow magically morphs into sweet love).

It’s better to surprise NC/R types with consensual sex than the other way around, which could be triggering for the traumatized.

 

[liliput1]

I agree with you that it’s best to keep all of a series focusing on SA safely in NC/R, even if you write a chapter without any SA (or where SA somehow magically morphs into sweet love).

It’s better to surprise NC/R types with consensual sexual than the other way around, which could be triggering for the traumatized.

I have complained about this concept in some conventional film and TV situations, and generally it's been received as an unpopular opinion but then the world is full of people who think 'fuck you I got mine', so I'm happy being 'wrong'.

I think it's kinda shitty to do a long story arc and then 3/4 of the way through the plot introduce an episode that contains both plot development and also things like rather substantial TWs or even strobing lights (I don't even know anyone with epilepsy and this one makes me fucking furious). If you can't just not watch the episode and skip forward, then that's a giant middle finger to all of those viewers who have to stop in the middle. Summaries can help but you have to have a fairly large fandom for those to be done well.

So I would agree with putting a TW or a category choice on chapter 1 saying that NC/R is coming later on is the nice thing to do.