Content Warnings For THE OUTSIDE

By popular demand, here is a list of content warnings for THE OUTSIDE.

By their very nature, lists of content warnings are not exhaustive; the nature of what’s potentially upsetting about a story will be different for every reader. My list is based on checking THE OUTSIDE’s plot against the lists of warnable items used on The StoryGraph (as of January 2021). In some cases I’ve changed the phrasing of an item from the list to make it more specific to what happens in the book, and in some cases I’ve added an item that occurred to me. However, if you need warnings for a plot element that isn’t related to anything from The StoryGraph’s list, it may not appear here.

This list comes in two variants: brief and detailed. The brief version of the list has only the names of the warnable story elements (e.g. “Mental illness”), sometimes with a one- or two-word note about the intensity of these elements (e.g. “Mental illness (major theme)”). The detailed list has longer verbal notes about the role of these elements in the story; this list may contain spoilers.

Scroll down to get the brief version, followed by the detailed version.

 

 

 

 

Content Warnings: Brief Version

Ableism
Autistic meltdowns
Blood
Body modification
Bullying (minor)
Child abuse (offscreen)
Child harm/peril (minor)
Confinement
Cursing
Death
Disordered eating (minor)
Genocide
Gun violence
Infidelity (minor)
Kidnapping
Medical content (minor)
Mental illness (major theme)
Murder
Police brutality
Religious bigotry (major theme)
Self harm
Suicide attempt
Torture
Violence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Content Warnings: Detailed Version

Ableism
An autistic character experiences microaggressions from the community around her. A character frequently calls herself “stupid.” A minor character is a psychologist who is shown being inept and dismissive when dealing with autistic patients. A character is revealed to have experienced coercive, ABA-like therapy in early childhood. There are journal entries by a therapist who is disturbed by this therapy but attempts to justify it to themselves; the therapy itself is not directly shown. A group of characters are spoken of in dehumanizing terms after having lost various abilities including speech; this dehumanization is questioned in the narrative.

Autistic meltdowns
The main character is autistic and melts down under stress more than once, in one case becoming catatonic and nonverbal from sensory overload. Another autistic character has a meltdown involving onscreen violence (throwing objects). In one case, a character is forcibly sedated to stop a meltdown.

Blood
Some characters in several scenes are injured due to violence and bleed. Several characters injure themselves by drawing blood for ritual or other spiritual purposes.

Body modification
The “angel” characters are cyborgs who have computer circuitry implanted into their brains. This results in visible signs, such as metal plates at their temples. One angel character has elaborate, multipurpose prosthetic limbs in place of arms. The prosthetics do not resemble “normal” arms. The prosthetics are shown being inspected and being repaired after an injury.

Bullying (minor)
A character is described having experienced bullying as part of their backstory. Another character’s toxic behavior on the page is compared to bullying.

Child abuse (offscreen)
A character is revealed to have experienced coercive, ABA-like therapy in early childhood. There are journal entries by a therapist who is disturbed by this therapy but attempts to justify it to themselves; the therapy itself is not directly shown.

Child harm/peril (minor)
A child is briefly in peril while chased by a monster. The child is not physically harmed, but shows signs of lasting mental distress. (See also “child abuse”)

Confinement
The protagonist spends most of the book either imprisoned by angels or being led through an adventure under their direct supervision. At least one other character is revealed to have been imprisoned for longer and under even more restrictive control.

Cursing
There is frequent cursing in the narration and occasionally out loud.

Death
Several minor characters die. Disasters and atrocities occur which lead to the deaths of large numbers of people.

Disordered eating (minor)
A character has difficulty eating under stress and has to be coaxed to eat.

Genocide
Disasters and atrocities occur which lead to the deaths of large numbers of people, including the whole population of a city being deliberately killed.

Grief
A character survives a disaster in which large numbers of people die; she feels responsibility and survivor guilt. A character wrongly believes that her girlfriend is dead.

Gun violence
A minor character is shot and dies. A major character is shot with intent to kill them. Another major character is threatened with a gun. An angel uses guns to engage in battle against a large monster. An angel threatens a non-human creature with a gun and injures it slightly.

Infidelity (minor)
A character wrongly believes that her girlfriend is dead. She begins a new relationship. When she discovers that her old girlfriend is alive, she feels torn. She has a conversation with the old girlfriend without the new girlfriend’s knowledge, offering to leave the new girlfriend and rekindle the relationship.

Kidnapping
Several major characters are kidnapped and imprisoned by angels.

Medical content (minor)
A character is injected with a knockout drug to facilitate kidnapping and given minor medical attention upon waking up. In at least two scenes, characters are injured due to violence and subsequently given medical care. A character is given medical attention after being tortured. A character is forcibly sedated to stop an autistic meltdown. (See also “body modification”)

Mental illness (major theme)
The main character of this book is autistic. At least two other major characters are not neurotypical. Characters worry that they will be driven mad through exposure to cosmic horror elements of the story. At least one major character progressively acquires symptoms of depression and psychological trauma. At least one other character has pre-existing significant mental illness. A disaster occurs which, among other effects, causes a large number of people throughout an area to become mentally ill. Relationships between mental illness, non-neurotypicality, trauma, spirituality, and social control are explored.

Murder
A minor character is intentionally killed in order to manipulate another character. A major character is shot with the intent to kill them.

Police brutality
The angels (not exactly police but filling an analogous role) are known for brutal tactics including torture. There is an onscreen torture scene and a scene in which a character’s loved one is threatened. An angel intentionally kills a civilian onscreen.

Religious bigotry (major theme)
The setting of the book is a theocracy in which only a certain set of artificially intelligent Gods can be worshipped. Any other form of worship is considered heresy, punishable by death and damnation. A good deal of the book’s plot is shaped by conflict between the angels and a heretic.

Self harm
Several characters injure themselves for ritual or other spiritual purposes. (See also “suicide attempt”)

Suicide attempt
A godlike being offers to destroy a character’s soul. The character consents, but changes their mind. The attempt is not completed.

Torture
There is an onscreen torture scene. The fact that angels use torture is frequently mentioned. One of the Gods is known to torture souls in the afterlife.

Violence
There are scenes of violence periodically throughout the story. (See also “blood,” “genocide,” “gun violence,” “murder,” “police brutality,” “torture”)