Time Loop
A character repeats the same day, battle, or death over and over until they figure out how to break the cycle. Loops can be comedic, romantic — infinite chances to perfect a confession — or quietly horrifying as the repetitions grind a character down.
What is Time Loop in fanfiction?
A character repeats the same day, battle, or death over and over until they figure out how to break the cycle. Loops can be comedic, romantic — infinite chances to perfect a confession — or quietly horrifying as the repetitions grind a character down. With over 30,000 works on Archive of Our Own, Time Loop is one of the most beloved tropes in fanfiction.
Why readers love Time Loop
The loop is a pressure cooker for character study: infinite retries strip away pretense, and readers love tracking what changes and what the looper finally understands.
Examples of Time Loop
A hero reliving the day their friend dies until they find the version where everyone lives, or two characters stuck in the same loop discovering it only on iteration forty.
Best Time Loop Fanfics
The highest-rated Time Loop stories across all fandoms on AO3.
Tea and No Sympathy
Completeby who_la_hoop
It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter step
Love was the Law
Completeby ruinthatboy
“This is wrong,” Jayce rasped, his voice strained with torment, so unlike the Jayce that had left mere hours ago to dance and drink and make merry and maybe even make love to the beautiful Mel Medarda. “This is too far back, I shouldn’t be here—” This Jayce was like a wild animal, bearded and shag
Looping Back to the Beginning
Completeby Feneris
Where Class 1-A finds itself in a time loop centered around their first year at UA. After getting over the usual angst, they decide that the best way to grow as heroes is by antagonizing dangerous villains for fun and amusement.
The One in Which a Time Loop is Fucking Exhausting.
Completeby badpancake
It’s the first time in a while that he doesn’t know what comes next. He’s dove into the water hundreds of times. Screamed as his flesh was torn apart, heard Master of Puppets in the distance and held back tears. Felt Max’s cold, small hand in his as she laid in the hospital bed. There are things tha
better luck next time
by nauticalwarrior
As he falls, he lets himself think about it. He lets himself think that if he wakes up, if things go back again, it means that he does have a quirk. It means he really can take a swan dive off a roof and hope for better luck in his next life. It means that all along, he’s been useless and worthless
Do it Again
Completeby thisgirlsays22
By the twentieth time Geralt has gone through the loop, he decides to just throw himself off the cliff’s edge after Borch. He wakes up to his twenty-first attempt. “Fuck.”
to memory now I can't recall
Completeby Etharei
While on a mission storming a HYDRA facility, James Buchanan Barnes touches one of the many strange alien devices collected by the Red Skull. He does this, in fact, twice— in the past, and in the future. Next thing he knows, Bucky Barnes is opening his eyes in the 21st century, which is full of grea
Game On, Your Move
Completeby Ailora
Be on guard, my Lord, writes Abraxas Malfoy, the new transfer student intends to kill you.Except Abraxas has terrible penmanship, and kill and kiss look awfully similar in shoddy cursive.Naturally, things escalate. A lot.
on temporizing
by LuckyMagicBelle
Tommy and Dream are trapped in a time loop.What do they do? Mess with everyone else, of course. русский translation by kuwwizz here!
the lathe
Completeby palmviolet
"This time, do it right. This time Eddie won’t bleed out in his arms, in anyone’s arms. This time, Steve will do it right."— or, steve relives the day they try to kill vecna over and over, and eddie just can't seem to stop dying. steve finds this totally unacceptable.
a lesson you should heed (try, try again)
Completeby aloneintherain
Izuku doesn't know why the day keeps resetting. He doesn't know why he's trapped on campus, or why there's no phone reception, or why Aizawa and Shinsou keep losing their memories of the Saturdays they've already lived, while Izuku remains constantly, painfully aware. But he does know this: Aizawa a
(honey) there is no right way
Completeby sincere_lies
‘Have you tried everything?’ Hermione asked insistently.‘Yes! Every time I get to the cup and Cedric doesn’t take it with me I go immediately back to my bed in the morning. But all the times he is with me, he dies and after I fall asleep I return too.’‘I guess it is obvious then, isn’t it?’ Both Har
next time, next time
Completeby aworus
Over and over again, Aizawa Shouta is woken by the same alarm, at the same time, on the same day. The roof access door alarm is triggered. It is 7:56am. It is Saturday. And over and over again, Aizawa Shouta is just barely too late to stop Midoriya Izuku from stepping off of the ledge and splatterin
Shadow Plays
Completeby dreamlittleyo
In which Thor lives a single day more times than he can count, and Loki doesn't know how to fix it.
Oh Alice, There's no Reflection in the Looking Glass.
Completeby intothefrisson
What do you mean?” Ryuji tilted his head.“It’s called Just Die. It reduces the SP needed for Insta kill skills like Mudoon or 'Please Die for Me' to zero.”Ryuji and Ann blinked and blinked again trying to figure out what Morgana is trying to say. He watched as the gears churn in their head and they
fruit loops in time (circle around me)
by justprompts
"This is Crabbe, and Goyle," the blonde boy says, pointing at the two boys next to him. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Ma - "Ron laughs, and Malfoy immediately bristles."Think my name's funny, do you?" Malfoy says, angrily. "No need to ask yours - ""You're honestly so cute," Ron interrupts, yet again, shaki
All Mimsy Were the Borogroves
by MoonWitch96
Melara Hetherspoon, or well, Melara Lannister, is Mad. But well, you would be too if you had the power of time-loops and memories of another life kicking it in your head.
turn back the clock (and I'll try again in the morning)
Completeby madasthesea
Peter gets stuck in a time loop. In it, he lives through some of his worst nightmares, only to wake up that morning and have no one remember. He needs Tony to help him get through. And if that isn't bad enough, his identity is revealed over and over, every day.
Maelstrom
Completeby feelslikefire
Victor Nikiforov is poised to win gold in his fifth consecutive Grand Prix Final. He has the world at his feet, is unparalleled in the sport--right up until a snowstorm blows into Sochi, and he finds himself repeating the same day over and over and over. He stumbles over Yuuri Katsuki, and everythin
hit me baby one more time
Completeby theappleppielifestyle
Richie reaches up a shaking hand and puts it on Eddie’s stomach.“Uhhh,” Eddie says. “Is this a bit? Is this a really inopportune bit? ‘Cause I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Richie, but this is kind of an important moment-”“What the fuck,” Richie says, not for the first or last time, and lurches forw
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many Time Loop fics are on AO3?
There are over 30,000 works tagged with Time Loop on Archive of Our Own.
What fandoms have the most Time Loop stories?
Popular fandoms for Time Loop include Supernatural, Doctor Who, Undertale.
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