Well, oof. I really don't want to jump into this fray and I know I have friends on the other side of this debate; no disrespect is intended toward them or anyone else. But I finally feel like I need to speak up as someone who appreciates and supports these items, and would really like to continue to see a wide variety of items introduced to the site even if they may only appeal to a minority, and even if they may be controversial (hey, Pride items are "controversial" and people here have been offended over them - one of my friends even quit the site over them, ouch! - but as a rather queer person myself, I sure am glad to have them despite the controversy). articulated my opinions quite well above. I truly don't want anyone to be hurt, but the way I see it, the existence of these items themselves is not hurtful. Someone's past experiences may be, and these might serve as an unintentional reminder of those experiences, but as has already been stated, pretty much anything could be a trigger for anyone. The whole ordeal with Gunter going vegan (nice!) then turning out to be an alleged murderer, and then going to "prison" indefinitely without due process kind of "triggers" me a bit, but oh well. I'm not looking to be coddled over it...I didn't like it, and I gave feedback at the time saying so, but I also recognize that I'm not going to like everything I encounter in the world (including the internet world) and it's up to me to process my feelings and reactions to these things and then curate my experiences. I don't need any reparations. Neither that fictional story nor these kinky items were intended to offend anyone...I think intent matters a lot here. These things are just offered to us for our entertainment and if we don't like them, we can easily find something else more to our liking on this site to appreciate instead. As said, one of the great things about this site is that it tries to offer something for everyone. I would absolutely loathe to see Subeta turn into the sanitized, overmoderated hell that Neopets is. I left Neopets to come here for a damn reason!

I also feel a need to mention something else. I'm like, 96% ace and I'm still a fan of the kinky stuff. Kink doesn't have to equate to sex and asexual people aren't all averse to kink (we're also not all sex-repulsed; I just find it terribly boring for the most part). If you're ace (or any other orientation) and averse to kink, that's perfectly valid, but I want to point out that it's not the only perspective, although it's pretty much the only perspective I've seen mentioned so far.

To reiterate, I don't actually want to see people made uncomfortable. Y'all, I do think your feelings matter. So if there is some way to implement a trigger warning system that doesn't involve simply sanitizing the site, that is fine with me. I don't know how feasible that is because like I said, literally anything could be a trigger for someone and it wouldn't be possible to predict what would be problematic for everyone. But if staff can figure that out and do it, that's fantastic. I just hope this kerfuffle doesn't stifle the bold creativity of our wonderful art staff. If a TW system enables them to keep creating things that maybe aren't everyone's cup of tea, so much the better, because no matter what it is, someone will surely appreciate it.

Disclaimer - this is an edit as of 3/7 so may not reflect the views of everyone who "liked" this post: I just want to say one more thing. L'Amour Parlor is absolutely the first and only place I'd expect to see this stuff. As someone who is already completely jaded and done with "romantic love", this shop is the least interesting place to me on the whole site (and the BDSM stuff is the first addition there that actually piqued my interest). Where else would these items belong? People are acting like this is some innocent little pink frilly shop but it was already the home of all sorts of intimate lingerie, books on dating advice, and, um, fine butts (that's a 2016 item btw). This is like walking into Lovers Package and getting mad that they have vibrators. Or even Spencer's, a fixture in literally every mall I've ever been to, which does an admirable job of mixing the most immature silly shit I've ever seen with adult products. I support them all. You do you. Have a good, safe, consensual time. As for the ones who cry "think of the children": here is the definition of PG-13: "Parental Guidance: some material may be inappropriate for children 13 and under." So do your parental diligence. Either educate about safe sex (recommended) or block it, whatever floats your boat, but you have actually been properly warned. I'm a parent myself so I have practiced what I preach and I think my kid turned out fine.

Well said.

As for your Gunter story statement, yeah I agree that was a bit of a cliffhanger.

Thank you, I appreciate that!