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Child pornography is pornographic material (images, videos etc) of actual children. That is why it is illegal to produce, transmit, or possess. Because it involves the sexual abuse, assault and exploitation of ACTUAL REAL CHILDREN. 

AO3 is a US website that abides by US law. US law prohibits any involvement whatsoever with child porngraphy -  possession, creation, transmission etc. If there was child pornography on AO3 not only would the website be taken down but everyone involved would be in prison. This has not happened because there is no child pornography on the site. 

There are some fictional stories on AO3 that include fictional sex scenes between fictional characters who are underage. But that is not child porgraphy and is legal. Just the way Game of Thrones has sex scenes involving underage characters but that’s legal because in real life the actors and actresses are all legal adults. It is legal because no actual children are harmed. 

Actual children are harmed though when pro censorship people pull stunts like trying to report AO3 to the FBI for child pornography. While these complaints did not result in any actions against AO3 because there was no child pornography it means that time that could have been used to investigate real claims about real child pornography that put real children in harms way was wasted. And that hurts children.

Artwork for my The Coffin of Andy and Leyley song! Coming out sooner than you might think!

On Leyley’s birthday, after she rants about how birthdays are “all nonsense anyway” and ends said rant with “who cares,” Andy responds that he does. In turn, Leyley is shown to have genuinely appreciated his willingness to celebrate it, as she made a drawing of that day and kept it with her until adolescence.

Prior to that, Leyley notably doesn’t make a fuss when she recognizes Andy can’t afford a cake. She also states she went along with Andy choosing the lemon muffins because she thought he wanted them.

In the flashback about Leyley’s suspension from school, she’s displeased that Andy’s cooked her “the same crap” again but quietly eats it anyway. This, in conjunction with the previous point, suggests that as much of a brat as she is, she does (in a way) understand that Andy is trying his best to look after her.

Leyley appears concerned for Andy as he breaks down at the grandparents’ house and asks him if he’s okay. When he asks her if she wants to be friends, she replies “I thought we already were.”

In the abstract segment within Andy’s subconscious at the start of 3A, his family is represented by ghosts. At one point, the player is given a choice - either Andy gets yelled at by his teacher, his mother, or Pink Ghost/Leyley. When he takes away Pink Ghost’s coloring pencils, her reaction is a quiet expression of sadness as opposed to a roar.

The same segment also contains a similarly abstract “family portrait.” Renee’s Lime Ghost is the one depicted as angry - Pink Ghost, contrary to expectation, is depicted as sad.

I find the last two points particularly noteworthy. Leyley’s external belligerence doesn’t seem to leave as visceral of an impression on Andy as the underlying reasons for it.

CW: implied SA

Sometimes, in fandom, we just want to write id-tastic fic that rolls around in tropes that might be viewed as problematic. But we don’t want to address the problematic side of things in this particular fanwork; we just want to roll around and wallow.

It is considered courteous to give readers a heads-up via use of AO3 tags. I propose a tag that signals that a given fanwork is for rolling around, not giving a measured evaluation of anything. The MCU has carved out a space for this sort of fic with the “HYDRA Trash Party” tag, for which I commend them. Trash Party is a bit too specific to cover all of the ground I’m thinking of here, though; I propose “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat.”

For those of you not familiar with Arrested Development, Michael Bluth finds a paper bag in the freezer labeled “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat.” He opens the bag, finds a dead dove, and reacts as follows:

[gif of a white man saying “I don’t know what I expected” in a deadpan manner]

The “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat” tag would essentially be a “what it says on the tin” metatag, indicating “you see the tropes and concepts tagged here? they are going to appear in this fic. exactly as said. there will not necessarily be any subversion, authorial commentary condemning problematic aspects, or meditation on potential harm. this fic contains dead dove. if you proceed, you should expect to encounter it.”