DragonWriter

Because ao3’s tagging system explicitly allows romantic pairings in Gen fics as long as the relationship is not the focus of the fic.

(But real talk: this comes up a lot on Tumblr and on r/ao3 and while most people know the Gen fic rules, there’s always a portion of people who don’t and get extremely frustrated when they can’t find a fic devoid of romantic relationships. Which is valid! But definitely not a reason to blame authors or their fics.

What concerns me is the growing amount of people who acknowledge ao3’s correct tagging rules and then say “well I don’t like/believe in it” and proceed to ignore the rules and continue to be upset because they don’t want it to be a rule and they think they can apply their own “beliefs” to the system and others should too.

That’s not how rules work.

If you want to change ao3, join the OTW. Run for one of their elected seats. Petition for a rule change, etc. Help wrangle the “no relationships” tags and encourage use of one others might want too.

But stop treating every relationship like it’s icky and that others are morally inferior because they’re okay with the Gen rules. You don’t make the rules, and that’s a good thing!

hey so. don’t do this.

“coming from a place of respect” there is nothing respectful about a comment like this. this is exactly why I say witch hunt, speculations and accusations harm the writing community as much as ai does, if not more.

I am not saying “you’re an asshole if you think a fic is ai”. I have come across fics that I believe were ai-generated. but instead of asking (accusing) the authors, I make my own decisions whether I’ll continue reading for the benefit of the doubt or quietly exit the fics and look for something else to read.

because with every accusation like this, there’s always a chance of a genuine, innocent writer getting wrongly accused.

last but not least, fanfic writers do NOT owe you anything. they write for themselves and their own enjoyment. their ao3 accounts are their houses and they were kind enough to let you in their houses. for free. (you get to read things for free.) you don’t go into other people’s houses and tell them “actually I think the way you decorate your room is sus. did you actually do it yourself or did you ask a robot to do it for you?”. THEY 👏🏻 DON’T 👏🏻 OWE 👏🏻 YOU 👏🏻 ANYTHING. and I say this as someone who is not a fan of ai fics. if you don’t like what you’re seeing, quietly leave.

So Creek used the apology song to trick Branch into accepting his courtship.

Then eventually the favorite guy song into solidifying they’re a couple. Because it’s a duet.

Branch none the wiser and everyone else is just as clueless.

Then the second they are alone alone creek starts making out with him (eventually getting a punch to the face).

“What was that!?”

“What?”

“You- You! Why did you kiss me?!”

“Because you’re my mate, mate.”

“What!? No- I never!”

“I sang a courtship song to you, you responded, then we sang a duet in front of witnesses. Pretty cut and dry to me.”

Branch expresses he doesn’t know what any of that is. Creek realized Branch wasn’t taught how proper courtship works. He shrugs and leaves to give Branch space.

The next time they interact, it feels like a bickering and competing couple. Creek keeps giving Branch love tokens or gifts.

Creek figured if it works don’t fix it and continues to plan ways to get Branch to go on dates with him.

After all, he did manage to get him to respond to kisses better and cuddling. Affection over all. He calls that a success.

If only he could get him to come to his house. Though he knows branch will never move out of that bunker of his. He’d only tolerate living separately if he could just get Branch to come to him often.

Something along those lines!!

Fun idea right?

Of course I do wonder how his brothers would react to their little brother being tricked into getting married? Or if Creek failed all this because Poppy stopped him from completing his plans, how would they respond to the fact that their little brother was almost tricked into getting married and still didn’t know?

I’d imagine Branch complaining about Creek and the stuff he did, unaware of what Creek tried to do but his brother’s catching on right a way.

Produce = Fresh. Tasty. Nutritious. Contains some ppm of Love.

Fic Commenters: If you ever want to make a comment going on depth about a part of a fic that stood out to you, but think “does the author really want to read all this?” The answer is YES! YES WE DO WANT TO READ ALL THAT!!!!