The Rating Check Example Thread!!

[lisianthus]

Hiya hiya, everyone! This thread is meant to be an 'example guide' for those of you who're looking to make a submission to this subforum about your fic!

We have three examples set aside for you, ranging from Mature-rated, to Teen-rated, all the way to Everyone-rated, so feel free to check them out!

Our current moderation team is myself (@lisianthus), @Hydrogenium, @Catz, @guzmania, and @LightningTopaz, so feel free to reach out to any of us individually if you feel the need to, or if you have any questions!

 

[lisianthus]

Everyone-rated Stories

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This is an example thread showcasing what a ratings check would look like for an Everyone-rated story. It seems that the author of this snippet is worried about their fic meriting a Teen rating, when it doesn't need one.

Scenario 1: Overrating
Hi there. I have a little ficlet, and I'm worried about how sexual it is, and what rating it would warrant. Does the snippet below constitute a Teen? Thank you.

(Don't worry it's literally just about snuggling there's no actual sexual content.)

Spoiler

Winona loves snuggling, especially when she's on the receiving end.

It might not be obvious upon first meeting her, but then again, that's part of her facade of "serious and professional head of the Gym Leaders". Most of her friends know her as a bright and cheerful woman, but few know that she's also a lover of snuggles.

Wallace and Steven give different kinds of snuggles, but Winona loves them both equally.

Wallace always likes to face Winona when he's snuggling her. He wraps her up in a blanket or comforter or—Winona's favorite—his cape. With his arms around her waist, Wallace will pepper her neck and collarbone with kisses.

Steven always likes to snuggle Winona from behind. He gives firm hugs. He's traveling around the world, so his touch is scarce. Because of this, he makes every second count with sweet whispers and tracing his calloused fingers on her shoulder.

On some rare, wonderful occasions when Steven is home in Hoenn, Winona has both Steven and Wallace at once. Those are her favorite snuggles: when they're laying in bed, when Steven nestles his head in the nape of her neck as he holds her arms, when Wallace rests against her collarbone with his arms around her waist.

She's warm. She's safe. She's loved. She's blissful.

Hiya, Torchic!

To answer your question — your ficlet would actually get an Everyone rating! Although it depicts characters in a romantic relationship, it doesn't go anywhere near them doing anything sexual with each other — hugs and such, especially when presented in the way you did, are fully fitting of an Everyone rating!

So basically: your fic would be rated Everyone, with no need for warning about sexual content, or anything else for that matter.

As for what would constitute a Teen rating — fics that feature romantic contact, sexual innuedo, or things like sex jokes would all merit that rating. In the event you make a fic that has that rating, it's no big deal at all! You'll just need to make sure to rate it and warn for it as best as you can, and if you're still unsure in the future, feel free to ask us again! o7

Hope this clears things up for you!

✧lisia

 

[lisianthus]

Teen-rated Stories

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This is an example thread showcasing what a ratings check would look like for a Teen-rated story. This snippet contains non-graphic sexual humor and slight implied nudity, so please read at your own risk!

Hello!

I'd like to get the rating and warnings for my fic checked! I think it fits the TEEN rating as it contains humour of a sexual nature, as well as some brief nudity? But I think I might be too used to this kind of humour so I wanted somebody else's perspective as well!

I'm posting it in a thread with multiple fanfics which has the 'EVERYONE' prefix since the majority of the fics there fit the E rating. I'd post it exactly like this, including the spoiler tag:

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Notes: this one is rated TEEN for humour of a sexual nature. More specifically; warning for non-graphic nudity in a dubious context.

This kind of humour is definitely not everyone's thing, so please, avoid reading this if you think it's just something that would leave a bad aftertaste in your mouth.

Oh, me and my teenage humour

Anyway...

Spoiler: rated TEEN

Calendar

The first thing Brendan noticed upon entering Steven's office was a big calendar hanging on the wall.

It was a very normal wall calendar, except that the majority of calendars Brendan had ever seen had a Pokémon or a landscape photo on them. Not a photo of a lady with no clothes.

Like, no clothes at all.

And she was squatting. Oh no...

Luckily, a big crystal, an amethyst or something, in front of her was obscuring everything he, as a twelve year old, was definitely not supposed to see.

But still... Wasn't she a bit too close to that stone...?

Steven noticed what the boy was staring at and swiftly proceeded to explain: "Ehm... It's... It's... That's... an artistic photograph."

Even though hesitation and embarrassment were apparent in the champion's voice, Brendan believed him.

But May didn't; "An artistic photograph. Of course, you pervert."

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So, would it be all right like this?

Thank you!!

Hiya there, Hydro!

We've found your fic to fit our Teen rating, just as you thought! Just add in warnings for mild suggestive humor and non-graphic nudity, and you'll be good to go!

Since you're going to be posting the fic in a collection with other Everyone-rated materials, please make sure to specify that that specific entry is Teen-rated (as you've already done), and remember that if more than 1/3 of your fics in the collection are higher than Everyone-rated, you'll need to change the thread ratings prefix accordingly o7.

Let me know if you have any questions!

✧lisia

 

[lisianthus]

Mature-rated stories

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This is an example thread showcasing what a ratings check would look like for a Mature-rated story. This snipper contains discussions and themes of mental illness, drug abuse and self-harm, sexual themes, and eating disorders, so please tread carefully when reading this!

Spoiler: CW//Drug abuse, self harm, sexual themes, eating disorders

“Are you sure you don’t mind that I never take off my clothes when we have sex?”

Wallace looked up at Lucy when he asked that question. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, and she was standing in front of him. She was dressed in black lingerie, while he was dressed in a long sleeved shirt and long sleeved pants. The dorm room was dark, but Wallace still felt… insecure, almost guilty.

He felt guilty that he couldn’t hold down his sinful urges, guilty that he had given into sex before marriage, guilty that he had given into sex with a man, guilty that he had several romantic and sexual partners. He had to keep his sins a secret. He had to keep his facade perfect.

Lucy smiled and strutted over to the bed. “Why would I care? Besides”—she slid a finger down the buttons of his shirt—“you look sexy in those clothes of yours. Do you take them off for Steven or Winona?”

Wallace's heart started racing even more, partially from lust and partially from anxiety.

“No.” Not even Steven and Winona—who were more than friends with benefits, unlike Lucy—were allowed to see Wallace’s body. He hated his body. Hated it. And what would Lucy or Steven or Winona say if they saw his body? What would they say about his body if he took off the makeup and clothes that hid his imperfections?

“Are you anorexic?” No, Wallace would respond, because he hated how thin he was, and he didn’t want to keep losing weight. Paradoxically, he didn’t want to gain weight either.

"All right then, are you bulimic?" Also a no; Wallace didn't binge before purging, unless eating even just a bit over his strict limits counted as binging, and even then he sometimes purged other times, like when he got stressed before Contests, or when he was having an emotional low, or when he was on the brink of a panic attack, or when he needed to tire himself out because his emotional high was too high for him to sleep.

"Do you have an eating disorder?" If he didn't have anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, and if he didn't want to get thinner, he couldn't possibly have an eating disorder.

“Where did those bruises come from?” He hated those bruises too. They sometimes came from him accidentally falling, or intentionally slapping himself, or intentionally slamming his textbook on his arms just below the point of potentially breaking them.

“You look high.” He wasn’t high, Wallace would insist, just a little tired. Sure, he had tried marijuana and LSD, but that was for art, not for the high. Sure, he occasionally drank a little too much, but only on bad days. Sure, he took sedatives and stimulants, but only to regulate his emotions. He wasn’t high. He wasn’t an addict. He could stop if and when he wanted to—or as long as his emotions weren’t smothering him in exhausting sadness or distracting euphoria.

“Is everything okay?” Yes. Everything was okay. He didn’t have a problem. He didn’t have any problems. He couldn’t have any problems. He was Gym Leader Wallace. Guardian Wallace. Sootopolis Perfect Boy Wallace. He couldn’t let something as small as college or stress taint his perfect image. He was tired, though, and he did sometimes have to call in sick from school or work at the Gym because of a hangover or bad trip, and he could barely focus in class anymore, and he was losing more battles than usual, and he was a failure failure failure.

Hiya there, Torchic!

After some deliberation, we've found your chapter to fit right in with a Mature rating, with content warnings about: eating disorders, self-harm, drug abuse, strong suggestive themes, and general depictions of mental illness.

As for more details:

✧This snippet would be rated Mature for strong suggestive themes because it implicitly depicts the main character and another person possibly preparing to engage in sexual activity; and because it discusses sexual activity through dialogue.

✧This snippet would be rated Teen for depictions of mental illness because it depicts the main character possibly suffering from an eating disorder and experiencing body image issues, and because it implicitly mentions the main character engaging in self-harm. We would also advise you to put in specific content warnings related to self-harm and eating disorders, as readers may be fine with reading stories with one thing but not the other.

✧This snippet would be rated Mature for Substance Usage because it explicitly depicts the main character possibly suffering from substance abuse issues.

Hopefully this clears things up for you — if not, please let me know, or just let our staff know in this thread.

Thanks!

✧lisia