This is long but I tried to make it as concise as possible. Scroll to the bottom ("red flags") if you just want the notes.

The short film BOLAVLK/WEREAWOLF and the song Chocolate-Box Girl also talk about this, if you'd prefer something beside text.

TW: discussion of grooming, manipulation, coercion.

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The online art world is super fun and exciting. You will meet people, find new interests, maybe even make friends. I've made many wonderful friends online over the past 5 years.

But just because something is labeled "general" doesn't automatically mean it's for all ages. Just because something is "not explicit" doesn't mean it can't be for sexual purposes. This site in particular has weird filtering. There is a lot of "safe for work" fetish art.

Not everyone who asks you to draw for them (trade, gift, commission, etc) has good intent.

I'm not going to say these topics are all inherently sexual. Context & intent vary. Everyone's relationship with them is different. But you need to be aware there are very large fetish/kink communities surrounding these.

- vore
- inflation, expansion (including muscles)
- weight gain
- paws, feet
- flattening, stretching, rubber/goop
- transformation
- hypnosis
- diapers

(List is not exhaustive. Many of these are picked from the "specialty" section of "theme" upload tagging.)

Fetish/kink spaces should be for adults. If someone says it's "16+" or "minors allowed," question WHY they want minors in that space, when there are MANY adults they can talk to instead.

It's perfectly fine to explore with yourself and peers. Note PEERS, people the SAME AGE as you, and IN PERSON. (NOT random discords.) It's ok to have "unusual" sexual interests. Finding yourself can be disorganized, chaotic, and messy. Denying parts of yourself can lead to feelings of guilt & shame. But you need to be really, really careful online.

I know it's tempting. "Look at all these people I can talk to. They understand me. We have the same interests. Why are you telling me to stay away?"

This post is entirely from personal experience. I've been there.

At age 14 I started exploring online & ended up getting groomed. I joined discord servers, did art trades, and made lots of online "friends." I didn't realize something was wrong until 7 months into it. I didn't even realize it was grooming until 3 years later.

Listen to your gut. Research consent. If someone makes you uncomfortable, IT'S OK TO BLOCK THEM.

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Not everyone is the age they say they are online.

Red flags:
- You do not want to be alone with them. You feel safer in a group chat with other friends, not solo DMs. (You should feel safe with your friends.)
- They ask you to make "questionable" art for them in exchange for things. (Discord nitro, steam games, art trade, etc.) Really trying to justify how it's "not explicit" even if it's a potential kink topic.
- They threaten to leak photos/drawings online if you say no. (That is coercion & not ok in any context.)
- If you express discomfort, they repeatedly try to convince you "it's ok." Ignoring your feelings. Constantly asking until you change your mind. (That is also coercion. Any "yes" you give should come from YOUR feelings.)
- They (especially an adult) are overly enthusiastic about changes to your body. Muscle gain/loss, fat gain/loss, stretch marks, puberty changes, etc.

Things that your health/sex-ed/self defense classes might not mention:
- Not all grooming involves nude photos. Roleplay, art, clothed photos can happen too.
- You can get groomed by other minors. The main person who targeted me was age 16-17. But I interacted with people age 14-35 as well.
- You are going to feel more confident & experienced than you actually are.

I really, really hope there is someone in your life you feel safe talking to if something feels wrong.

If you get burned, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. People older than you should know better. They should know you're inexperienced & it's their responsibility to not take advantage of that.

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I was going to prefer making a short film about this, but that's gonna be a bit, so a text post will have to suffice for now.
I have a diagnosed trauma disorder now. It's taken me like many years to feel comfortable talking openly about getting groomed.