use the & to denote a ship is platonic
use / to denote a ship is romantic/sexual
[I remember this because that’s where “slash fic” gets its name]
If you’re worried, I’d make it clear in the summary as well. A lot of people don’t know about the difference in the two ship tags. But for the record? There are a lot of people out there who love fic without smut 🙂
I’d like to respectfully disagree with this! Or, sort of.
A relationship that is romantic but not sexual should still be tagged with the / —as anon said ace “pairings” this is what I assume they’re referring to! I would also tag the fic with “asexual character” or something similar to make it clear for readers—this is a tag I often search by because it’s one I often see used. Overall, if it’s romantic, regardless of whether it’s a sexual relationship, it’s still a pairing. (For example, you can still have a fic with a “/“ romantic pairing that’s rated G.)
Honestly, I think that’s clear enough to make it clear to those expecting smut that smut isn’t there, and if not, the lower rating should do the job. Those searching for smut can always search by rating too! And there is so much smut out there and so comparatively few fics with ace relationships, and I know a lot of people (myself included!) are desperate to find them. I would focus more on making fic searchable for the audience who really wants to read what you’re writing and worry less about those who don’t 🙂
As for queerplatonic relationships or other relationships between characters that are both ace and aro, I have no idea, but would love to hear what others think!
Question of Smoke 