What can underage characters see/know?

[SimonDoom]

This issue is less complicated than people often make it out to be. You just have to look at it from the point of view of the site and what it's trying to prevent, rather than from the point of view, "What can I get away with?"

The site, broadly speaking, wants to avoid catering to readers who enjoy stories about young people who are involved in, or even connected with, sexual activity.

It's OK to have a story that has sex in it where children are in the background, are incidental, and have nothing to do with the sex. It's OK to write a story about a horny mom and her affairs where every once in a while she picks up a kid from school. The key is that there's no connection between the kid and the sex.

It's OK for a character in very summary form to recall that he or she lost virginity under age, as long as it's no more detailed than that.

It's not OK to write from the POV of an underage character, or an adult character reminiscing about what it was like to be underage, where that character participates in, observes, or comments on sexual activity. You can't write, "I saw Mom in the shower when I was 15 and it turned me on." That sort of thing. What the OP describes arguably falls within this category, so for that reason the site is likely to reject it.

 

[MrPixel]

In my latest writings I find that I'm stumbling into this issue in a truly odd way. The MMC and FMC are shortly to birth a child; the fetus has supernatural powers making it aware of its parents and their thoughts, and is a little smart-ass making fun of them from the womb. Story ends (spoiler!) at the moment it is born.

I am taking care not to have dialog or action acknowledging that the fetus is aware of any sexual activity, so I hope I'm safe there. It would be fun to have it mock the parents and their other lovers (polyamory) as they pursue their frequent pleasures, but I'll restrain myself.

 

[Senor_Smut]

To clarify, the main reason I'm not going to put this up here isn't for the original reasons I posted; upon reflection, I've seen plenty of stories here that do that much. Heck, I have at least one story here where I have mentioned that this or that character lost their virginity before age 18 and there hasn't been a problem with it because I provided absolutely no details beyond that bare fact; in fact, some of the responses in this thread shocked me by saying such a thing would always be rejected because...well, it wasn't even commented on, IIRC.

Rather, there's another character who's now in her 30s but who had two children at a very young age (she was from a tiny midwestern farming town being ravaged by meth and there was nothing for bored kids to do but drink, get high, and screw, which is a situation I am familiar with from personal experience) and there would be discussions around that. The discussions are a core and completely unavoidable part of the story just like having kids at that very young age is a core part of her character, and would be necessary just to understand who she is, her motivations, and how she found herself in the situation she is currently in. I've been down a similar road before here and had to do great violence to my story to get it to conform to the rules, and I'm just not willing to do even more violence to this one when I can just take it somewhere else and post it the way I want it.

Basically, there are some stories that are suited to Literotica and some that aren't, and it makes sense for everyone if authors understand and respect that.

 

[oggbashan]

My first ever erotic story (now long lost beyond retrieval) was written long before I joined Lit (and even before Lit existed). It could never have been a Lit story. It started with the extensive and detailed child abuse of the main character and was about his successful attempt to be accepted as a significant member of the community, even by those wo had abused him.
But some stories are like that. They would never fit Lit's rules. They can be posted elsewhere, but so many other sites are cess pits...

 

[Senor_Smut]

My first ever erotic story (now long lost beyond retrieval) was written long before I joined Lit (and even before Lit existed). It could never have been a Lit story. It started with the extensive and detailed child abuse of the main character and was about his successful attempt to be accepted as a significant member of the community, even by those wo had abused him.
But some stories are like that. They would never fit Lit's rules. They can be posted elsewhere, but so many other sites are cess pits...

So many are, yeah. But hey, if you want to share your work you have to go where the audience is. What can ya do?

 

[PastMaster]

To clarify, the main reason I'm not going to put this up here isn't for the original reasons I posted; upon reflection, I've seen plenty of stories here that do that much. Heck, I have at least one story here where I have mentioned that this or that character lost their virginity before age 18 and there hasn't been a problem with it because I provided absolutely no details beyond that bare fact; in fact, some of the responses in this thread shocked me by saying such a thing would always be rejected because...well, it wasn't even commented on, IIRC.

Rather, there's another character who's now in her 30s but who had two children at a very young age (she was from a tiny midwestern farming town being ravaged by meth and there was nothing for bored kids to do but drink, get high, and screw, which is a situation I am familiar with from personal experience) and there would be discussions around that. The discussions are a core and completely unavoidable part of the story just like having kids at that very young age is a core part of her character, and would be necessary just to understand who she is, her motivations, and how she found herself in the situation she is currently in. I've been down a similar road before here and had to do great violence to my story to get it to conform to the rules, and I'm just not willing to do even more violence to this one when I can just take it somewhere else and post it the way I want it.

Basically, there are some stories that are suited to Literotica and some that aren't, and it makes sense for everyone if authors understand and respect that.

I have to agree with this sentiment. I had a story rejected from Literotica - because i mentioned that an arranged marriage - which never actually took place, would have included someone under 18 - the character actually left to avoid said marriage and joined a convent. So given that they are that sensitive, it makes sense to post such stories elsewhere.

 

[PastMaster]

On the face of it? No.

If she is 18 or over? Probably OK. At 16? No.

Pretty nonsensical answer - if she was over 18 then there would be no question of underage. That's like saying Beastiality is ok as long as there's no animals involved.

 

[Senor_Smut]

Pretty nonsensical answer - if she was over 18 then there would be no question of underage. That's like saying Beastiality is ok as long as there's no animals involved.

That would be furry porn, which is A-OK.

 

[onehitwanda]

It's OK for a character in very summary form to recall that he or she lost virginity under age, as long as it's no more detailed than that.

This one appears to not be the case; one of my stories was bounced for an underage kiss that was only referred to in passing and not described in any meaningful detail.

As in all things here, caveat scriptor.

 

[PastMaster]

This one appears to not be the case; one of my stories was bounced for an underage kiss that was only referred to in passing and not described in any meaningful detail.

As in all things here, caveat scriptor.

As i have said before - rules are not applied uniformly - apparently some can get away with snuff while others get bounced for admitting that a child actually has a gender in the first place

 

[Saphhia]

In my experience, at least in this forum, I never include underage characters in my writing. It always get's sent back, even if it's an adult character remembering their youth. I just don't do it.
Saphhia

 

[Euphony]

As in all things here, caveat scriptor.

Feels this goes lost in so many of these threads.

 

[oggbashan]

Pretty nonsensical answer - if she was over 18 then there would be no question of underage. That's like saying Beastiality is ok as long as there's no animals involved.

That's your view. If the character was 18 there would be no conflict with the rule. What is the point of making a story unaccepatble when a minor change would make it feasible? Unless the object was to push the boundaries?

 

[Senor_Smut]

That's your view. If the character was 18 there would be no conflict with the rule. What is the point of making a story unaccepatble when a minor change would make it feasible? Unless the object was to push the boundaries?

Except it wouldn't be a minor change. It would require a complete modification of the premise of the story and all major characters just to make sure a secondary, non-POV character that does not appear in sex scenes was several years older. That's ludicrous when I can go somewhere else and write the story I want, instead of contorting everything to conform to this site's rules.

Again, I was not trying to push the boundaries. I was specifically asking the question so I didn't push the boundaries. If I had submitted the story anyway after receiving feedback, that would be pushing the boundaries.

 

[PastMaster]

That's your view. If the character was 18 there would be no conflict with the rule. What is the point of making a story unaccepatble when a minor change would make it feasible? Unless the object was to push the boundaries?

Because the minor change makes the story nonsensical. I would much rather not post the story than turn it into some sanitized disney facsimile. THe object isnt to push the boundaries. the object is to make the story believable.

 

[Senor_Smut]

Because the minor change makes the story nonsensical. I would much rather not post the story than turn it into some sanitized disney facsimile. THe object isnt to push the boundaries. the object is to make the story believable.

Exactly. My objective is never "Get this story posted on Literotica." My objective is always "Write the story I want to write, and if I can find someplace where other people can read it that's fine; if not, that's fine too." I'm writing for me, not for appreciation from someone else. I enjoy prasie as much as the next guy, but if you get praise for something you aren't proud of it takes all the pleasure out of it.

 

[oggbashan]

Because the minor change makes the story nonsensical. I would much rather not post the story than turn it into some sanitized disney facsimile. THe object isnt to push the boundaries. the object is to make the story believable.

Bullshit. If the change from age 16 to aage 18 is so critical, the story is rtubbish!

 

[RoperTrace]

I can't age her up (she's the little sister of an 18-year-old), and she's so intimately woven into the story that cutting the discussion scenes would necessitate cutting the character. And I could theoretically do that, but the more I think about it, the more roadblocks I see to posting this particular one on Literotica. It fits better on other sites.

So, just age-up the MC to 20 years old, and the little sister to 18. Maybe say that she looked younger, or was immature for her age. I had to do it, after sending my original story to another site. After I bit the bullet and added a few years, it was well received here. I originally didn't want to do that, but it worked out. Lit.com drew 10 times the reads that the other popular site gets.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

This one appears to not be the case; one of my stories was bounced for an underage kiss that was only referred to in passing and not described in any meaningful detail.

As in all things here, caveat scriptor.

I question this as the reason for rejection.

There are just far too many stories on this site where what you describe is accepted in within the plot without rejection. I, myself, have a couple and never had an issue with rejection. Context, word choices, proximity to other questionable content... this is where you will likely find the true issue(s).

Write what you want. I'm sticking with my proven statement that with care, expertise, and compliance, a lot of what people struggle with getting published here would sail through just fine.

 

[PastMaster]

Bullshit. If the change from age 16 to aage 18 is so critical, the story is rtubbish!

You haven't read the story - so you can't comment on its quality from that mere fact alone - the fact that you do shows your narrow minded attitude. All you have done here is show your ignorance There are a million reasons why artificially aging a character to fit in with a sites rules might completely destroy the characters credibility within the story and thus affect the story itself.

 

[PastMaster]

I question this as the reason for rejection.

There are just far too many stories on this site where what you describe is accepted in within the plot without rejection. I, myself, have a couple and never had an issue with rejection. Context, word choices, proximity to other questionable content... this is where you will likely find the true issue(s).

Write what you want. I'm sticking with my proven statement that with care, expertise, and compliance, a lot of what people struggle with getting published here would sail through just fine.

Amazing - I love the way that some posters just ignore or deny others posts because they dont fit with their idea of the world. I certainly do not question that as the reason for the story to be rejected as I have had a story rejected for a very similar reason. Your statement is not at all proven - all you have proven is that you got lucky with your posts.

 

[Senor_Smut]

Bullshit. If the change from age 16 to aage 18 is so critical, the story is rtubbish!

That is a stunningly belligerent attitude from someone who knows literally nothing about the story. It lowers my opinion of you and your so-called advice. You seem to be taking it peculiarly personally whether or not I make the changes you want, which is an attitude I can't account for. I suggest you should take a deep breath, count to 10, and consider dropping out of this discussion if you can't be more rational.

 

[Senor_Smut]

So, just age-up the MC to 20 years old, and the little sister to 18. Maybe say that she looked younger, or was immature for her age. I had to do it, after sending my original story to another site. After I bit the bullet and added a few years, it was well received here. I originally didn't want to do that, but it worked out. Lit.com drew 10 times the reads that the other popular site gets.

I couldn't care less about number of reads. I'm not in this to get pats on the back. I'm in it to write stories that I want to write, the way I want to write them. If everyone reads them and loves them, great. If three people read them and hate them, also great. As long as I'm satisfied with what I write, I call it a success.

 

[Euphony]

I love the way that some posters just ignore or deny others posts because they dont fit with their idea of the world.

 

[Senor_Smut]

I question this as the reason for rejection.

There are just far too many stories on this site where what you describe is accepted in within the plot without rejection. I, myself, have a couple and never had an issue with rejection. Context, word choices, proximity to other questionable content... this is where you will likely find the true issue(s).

Write what you want. I'm sticking with my proven statement that with care, expertise, and compliance, a lot of what people struggle with getting published here would sail through just fine.

Literotica has rules. Unfortunately the rules are enforced in...an idiosyncratic fashion. It depends on who reviews your story and what kind of mood they're in. I once had a story repeatedly rejected because a character endorsed liking Coca-Cola over other brands of soda -- this was construed as a commercial endorsement. And the reviewer didn't even inform me that was the reason the story was rejected, so I kept making other changes and getting it sent back time and again before I begged the reviewer to tell me what was wrong. And yet in other stories I have had characters express preferences for brands and not had it kicked back at all. So there are some pretty wild inconsistencies in how rules are enforced.