#i feel like i'd use ampersand relationship tagging and then make it clear what's going on here in the additional tags/summary

[altschmerzes]

ao3 tagging conundrums they will never end

[olderthannetfic]

The ampersand vs. slash debate reminded me of my conflict over how I should tag a fic that I never ended up finishing and I thought I'd use your ask box as a forum to ask the public their thoughts. (Sorry).

In the fic two siblings were forced to fuck by baddies for reasons and it results in a pregnancy. The sex happened before the fic begins and the fic is about them dealing with that sexual trauma of what happened and trying to renavigate their relationship while also preparing for the child and they'll raise together. In my mind, it's a completely platonic relationship that lacks romantic/sexual feelings despite what they were forced to do but I have no idea how I'd tag such a work since the slash seems like a lie to shippers but the ampersand feels like it would piss a lot of people off.

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I'd go with ampersand but a bunch of other tags that make it clear what the backstory is. But yeah, this is a trickier case than most.