Attempted Murder — Tag Meaning
A canonical tag for killings that fail: assassination attempts, ambushes survived, poison administered but not fatal. The attempt typically launches the plot, whether toward investigation, protection arcs, or revenge.
What to Expect From "Attempted Murder" Fics
Life-threatening violence against a character who lives, usually with injury and fear in the aftermath. The perpetrator hunt often structures the story.
How to find Attempted Murder fics on AO3
On AO3, click any tag to see every work that uses it, then refine with the "Filters" sidebar — combine it with your fandom or ship, set a rating, or exclude tags you don't want. See our AO3 filtering guide for the full walkthrough.
Browse "Attempted Murder" works on AO3Popular Fics Tagged "Attempted Murder"
Real examples from AO3's most-kudosed works:
The President's Son
by AmeliaBedelia
They Wanted Fun and Games
by Ideality
In This World of Infinite Choices
by Lireyy
What Has Been
by ToryoKoneko23
The Night Witch
by DarkElements10
open wound
by loznowhere
Related Tags
Murder
A canonical tag for unlawful killing within the work, whether the fic follows the killer, the investigators, or the bereaved. Crime fandoms use it descriptively; others use it to warn that a death is violent and intentional.
Tag guide →
Serious Injuries
A canonical tag escalating from the base Injury tag: wounds that are life-threatening, permanently altering, or require extended recovery. It tells whump readers the stakes are real and tells sensitive readers to steer away.
Tag guide →
Violence
A general-purpose flag for violent content that exceeds the incidental but may not warrant the archive's Graphic Depictions warning. Authors use it to cover fights, assaults, and brutality, trusting readers to combine it with the fic's rating to judge intensity.
Tag guide →
Near Death Experiences
Flags a brush with death — a character flatlines, nearly drowns, or survives something that should have killed them. Writers love the tag for the emotional fallout it licenses: confessions at the bedside, survivors' guilt, and relationships jolted forward by almost losing someone.
Tag guide →
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