What Does Timestamp Mean?
Fic TypeA short companion piece set at a specific point before, after, or during an existing fic's timeline — 'five years after the epilogue,' 'the morning before chapter three.' Fic's own deleted scenes and epilogues.
Timestamp in Practice
The timestamp emerged from a journal-fandom meme in which authors invited readers to request a moment from any of their stories' timelines — 'give me a timestamp: this fic, six months later' — and would write the scene. The form institutionalized something readers always wanted: more of a finished story's universe without a full sequel's commitment, in snapshots that check on the characters at chosen coordinates in time. Timestamps typically post as separate works collected in a series with the parent fic, and the term survives in author's notes and series descriptions even where the original meme has faded. For beloved long fics, accumulated timestamps can eventually rival the original's word count — an epilogue that never stops.
Example usage
"The main fic ended in 2021, but she still posts timestamps every anniversary — last year's was their kid's first day of school."
Related Terms
Series (AO3)
AO3's feature for linking related works into an ordered sequence — sequels, side stories, or installments in a shared continuity. Distinct from a multichapter work and from collections.
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One-Shot
A complete story published as a single chapter. One-shots are fanfiction's short-story form, ranging from a few hundred words to surprisingly hefty single posts.
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Post-Canon
Fic set after the source material ends — the wedding after the finale, the rebuilding after the war, the quiet years canon never showed. The story continues where the credits rolled.
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Prompt
A story seed offered to writers — a scenario, a phrase, an AU premise, a kink, an image. Prompts power exchanges, memes, fests, and a huge share of fic that gets written at all.
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