Thinking about upping the rating to Princess Luna's Academy. · 4:42pm Sep 11th, 2014
So, some of you might've noticed the fact that romance is starting to play an important part in our little story. I feel this is a natural development as this is a story about Sweetie's transition from being a filly to an adult. That's a lot of time to cover, and as she grows up, dating is going to be a big thing for her. While I'm all for developing the story, I also don't want to improperly advertise the story if it becomes something more than what it currently is. To give an idea of what we might have coming, there's:
Early dating (and considering the fact that I might make this story cover a time span of several years, there's a good chance we'll see relationships develop, change, and possibly break apart).
Female/Female relationships (to me this is no more risque than male/female relationships, but there are some people who are particular about these things, and I don't want to offend them).
Rarity giving Sweetie Belle "the Talk" (Heavily edited so as not to be explicit, but some things are touched upon).
Some other things that are supposed to be a surprise (Again, nothing too terrible, but I highly doubt we'll be seeing it touched upon in the next Disney movie).
So there it is, do you think frank depictions of a relationships are enough to merit a "teen" rating? I feel I should probably add the romance tag as I enjoy shipping Sweetie Belle far too much, but again, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on how I should change my tags and ratings to reflect developments in the story. I don't want anyone to feel like I pulled a bait and switch on them by luring them in with a rather cutesy story about Sweetie Belle and then turned it into a romance, this story was always intended to be a story about Sweetie growing up, and as I write, I'm beginning to suspect that this might mean I need to give the story a teen rating. That's the status update, hope to hear what you all think and I also hope you enjoyed the 40,000+ words added to the story this week.
Also, if anyone wants to help me come up with better cover art, I would still really appreciate it.
I think that sounds fair. Maybe the themes portrayed are not the most risqué, but there's something there that warrants labeling, so it sounds alright.
Well, it depends on how much detail is going to be put into the relationships. Like if you're going to go into great detail on their time alone and their feelings between the two (not incredibly far), then yeah, it should deserve a teen rating, but if it's going to be a "on the side to the actual plot line" thing, then it should be kept Everyone... but hey, that's coming from a guy who can barely write xD
2446433 Oh! Good to see you again Slumber, how've things been going? And yeah, I am agreeing with your rational.
2446436 Well, I don't want to say it's going to be a side plot, and indeed, Sweetie having a special somepony is going to inform her treatment of her friends and vice-versa. She's going to be balancing a lot of plates, and that makes it easy for things to go wrong.
Pretty much the only time I read a fic that doesn't have a romance tag is if it's somehow related to a fic that does. So I can say for sure that If I hadn't read The Royal Ponyville Orchestra I wouldn't be reading Princess Luna's Academy of the Arts and Sciences, and I know I'm not the only one who does this, so yeah if it's going to have romance tag it as such. More people will be able to enjoy this gem.
On another note there is no need for a teen tag until characters start thinking about sex. For instance once the teens start making innuendos or one of the characters gets 'The Talk' that is the time for a teen rating.
2447113 What would you call a highly edited talk? I suppose I should since the word sex is in fact mentioned in the current draft. Oh well.
2447370 Yeah that sounds like a teen rating to me.