sid_guardian | RPF Fic Tagging Question

I often write Guardian RPF with realistic elements like closeted relationships or references to a homophobic environment.

I am aware that a lot of people prefer their RPF without these things, but I belatedly realized that I never really plainly tagged my fic to make this aspect clear.

But now I want to remedy this and tag my fic appropriately, both the ones that are set in "realistic China" and those that aren't.

Do clear tags for this exist, or should I (we) make up new ones for our fandom?

I don't want to use generic tags like "Homophobia" or "Fluff", because I'm not sure they're making it much clearer. I'm thinking of something like "set in real China" for the angsty case - in addition to the other warning tags I already use.

The fluffy case is more difficult, because negative tags ("not set in realistic China") are bad, but how do I make it clear that something is *not* in a fic without mentioning it?

"Happy RPF"?

Any ideas?

If we come up with something clear and precise, then I can go and add those tags to my fic.

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"Homophobia" is a great tag - it's one I'm very glad people use so that I can steer clear of it. Same with "fluff". If I see a fic with the fluff tag and without the homophobia tag I take that as an all clear. If you want to make extra clear you could always go "au: lgbtq positive China" or "no societal homophobia" or whatever version of that makes sense? But I don't actually look closer than the mood tag (e.g. angst vs fluff) and if the author warns for any degree of homophobia.

I am okay with Homophobia - the angsty side is much easier to tag for than the non-angsty.

I'm not sure about Fluff, since I feel my stories are more porny than fluffy.

I personally steer away from the Fluff tag, because it makes me think "shallow" and "nice", but my stories usually address relationship issues, even if they don't mention society issues. Maybe I have a different view of Fluff?

I'm not sure why, but I feel happier with "Happy RPF". Would that work, too?

"au: lgbtq positive China" or "no societal homophobia"

The first one sounds good to me, I like that it is a positive-sounding tag. Not sure it works for all my non-angsty fics, but I know at least one where it would fit.

Thank you for these suggestions!

For the fluffy fics, maybe "No Homophobia" and/or "No Angst" or other such tags? They're canonicals on AO3. You might also wish to tag for "Fluff" I guess?

For the "realistic China" fics, if you don't want to tag for just "Homophobia", there are some related tags, like "Background Homophobia" or "Internalized Homophobia" which'll give a better idea on what's going on in the fic.

I don't like the negative tags, but if nobody else minds them, since they're canonical, I guess that's fine then?

I really can't tell what people like to see or not, since it's never been my primary concern.

Hence this insecure post. :D

if you don't want to tag for just "Homophobia", there are some related tags, like "Background Homophobia" or "Internalized Homophobia" which'll give a better idea on what's going on in the fic.

I think the Background Homophobia tag is one I haven't used but which would be good.

the Fluff tag, because it makes me think "shallow" and "nice"
The Fanlore definition of "fluff" begins "Fanfic without angst". Fluff is the opposite of angst. I definitely don't tag stuff fluff because I think I've written something shallow. I tag my stories fluff when I want to indicate that there will be no angst and no hurt, and that the fic will (hopefully) leave the reader feeling happy. (You can of course have both angst and fluff in a piece - it meshes particularly well with "angst with a happy ending"...though something that starts fluffy and ends angsty would also work.)

If you're trying to communicate that the fic doesn't have X, the easiest way is a tag saying "No X" (even if the tag isn't canonical). Same for modified tags à la "Background Homophobia". Their purpose is to label things, as advertising for people who're looking for that thing, and secondarily as warnings for people who absolutely don't want to see it.

(And FWIW, if you write mostly porny stuff, I think a short wordcount + E rating + porny tags should be enough to communicate that this is a PWP where homophobia isn't mentioned, since the wordcount it all taken up by the banging.)

If you're trying to communicate that the fic doesn't have X, the easiest way is a tag saying "No X"

Yeah, ok, you've convinced me.

(And FWIW, if you write mostly porny stuff, I think a short wordcount + E rating + porny tags should be enough to communicate that this is a PWP where homophobia isn't mentioned, since the wordcount is all taken up by the banging.)

This neatly sums up all my fic. :D

Yeah, I think I need to shift my understanding of what Fluff means. I guess adding a Fluff tag to other more detailed/descriptive tags makes sense.

Thank you!

FWIW, fandoms use tags with slightly different nuances of meaning, so it might be worth it to see what sorts of Guardian RPF fics have been tagged with "Fluff". – In some fandoms, it's "this is not an unrelenting angstfest"; in others, it's "there's no conflict and the narrative is made of cotton candy". If you mean the former but I think "Fluff" means the latter, then I'm either not going to click the fic because I'm not in the mood for cotton candy, or click it because I want some cotton candy and be sorely disappointed. AO3's tags are all user-curated, so different fandoms can have different interpretations of tags. (For an extreme example, "Grooming" is used for both the personal hygiene sense and the abuse sense.)

Yeah, my understanding of Fluff is definitely cotton candy, verging on shallow, but naye's (and Fanlore's) is overall happy and non-angsty. Tagging is difficult, yo. :D

But in this specific case, probably not very harmful. I can always mitigate the Fluff-ness with other tags.

"Grooming" is used for both the personal hygiene sense and the abuse sense.

O_O I wouldn't have thought of that - but it makes sense, of course.

Fluff is the opposite of angst.

Agreed on this, but I think that's why it's not really useful for indicating fics without homophobia - after all it could be totally angsty or even dark for other reasons, so it only really helps with a subset ...

Agreed. The absence of any version of the tag "homophobia" is what's helpful there. I'm really impressed with how well people have been tagging Guardian and adjacent fic - I've rarely encountered homophobia that wasn't clearly marked in the tags or author's notes in some ways.

Hmmm. AO3 has common tags like "Period-Typical Homophobia", so for the real-China version, "Setting-Typical Homophobia might work?

For fluffy fics, "Fluff" tends to work well as an indicator. I think the trouble comes when you have something angsty that's nonetheless set in a homophobia-free world. But in that case I'd just go with "No Homophobia", because that's clearest for the reader ...

Yeah, I appreciate that a lot too. ♥

Most of my fics, I wouldn't classify as Fluff. But I also don't want people to have to rely on the *absence* of tags. But it looks like everyone agrees that "No Homophobia" is okay as a tag.

AO3 has common tags like "Period-Typical Homophobia", so for the real-China version, "Setting-Typical Homophobia" might work?

I like those two!

I think the trouble comes when you have something angsty that's nonetheless set in a homophobia-free world.

Yes. I don't think I have any of those, though. Yet. :) But considering how much I like angst, it's bound to happen eventually. :D

As someone who is just now toe-dipping into RPF but whose heart needs AU, non-homophobic, settings, thank you for being sensitive to this.

I just feel like it took me a year too long to clue into that. /o\

RPF Fic Tagging Question

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