Pre-Canon — Tag Meaning
Takes place before the source material begins: backstories, first meetings canon only alluded to, villains before the fall, mentors in their prime. Writers work in the shadow of known outcomes, and that dramatic irony is the genre's power — readers know exactly what's coming for these characters, which makes their happiness ache.
What to Expect From "Pre-Canon" Fics
Origin material and younger selves, written with the weight of everything the reader knows happens next.
How to find Pre-Canon fics on AO3
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Browse "Pre-Canon" works on AO3Popular Fics Tagged "Pre-Canon"
Real examples from AO3's most-kudosed works:
Young and Hopelessly Smitten
by jukoist
and, so on
by vanillarchive
i blinked (and there you were)
by Della19
Sunshowers
by IzzyMRDB
Way Down We Go
by nekojita
from admiration to love, from love to matrimony
by moongallery
Related Tags
Post-Canon
Sets the fic after the source material ends, answering fandom's eternal 'and then what?' Whether it's healing after the final battle, relationships canon teased but never delivered, or simply ordinary life resuming, post-canon is where fandom writes the epilogues it wanted — or repairs the ones it got.
Tag guide →
Canon Compliant
Promises that nothing in the fic contradicts the source material — events slot into gaps, expansions, or aftermath without breaking anything canon established. It's a precision tool for readers who want their fanfic to coexist peacefully with the original story, and authors wear it as a constraint badge: all of this could have happened.
Tag guide →
Missing Scene
Fills a specific gap in canon: what happened in the elevator between floors, during the off-screen carriage ride, in the three days the episode skipped. It's archaeology as fanfic — authors excavate moments the camera abandoned, and the best ones make you believe the scene was always there, just unfilmed.
Tag guide →
More Settings & Events Tags
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