Prequel — Tag Meaning
A canonical tag for stories set before an existing work or before canon itself, filling in origins and first meetings. Fandom prequels often dramatize the backstory canon only sketched.
What to Expect From "Prequel" Fics
Earlier-timeline storytelling whose ending you may already know, with the interest in how things came to be. Dramatic irony is the form's engine.
How to find Prequel 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 "Prequel" works on AO3Popular Fics Tagged "Prequel"
Real examples from AO3's most-kudosed works:
The You You Were
by purpleandgreen
you can be my enemy (and you can be my judge)
by MistressSleepless
The Young Deer
by tcm007066
The Son Of Rhea
by Tg_tV_2023
The Night We Met
by DorothyGale123
Stranger Rangers PREQUEL: Nancy
by Scriptica
Related Tags
Sequel
A canonical tag marking a work as a continuation of an earlier story, usually the author's own, linked through AO3's series feature. It tells readers there is required or recommended reading before this one.
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 →
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 →
More Format & Structure Tags
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