Fanfiction Reference Works
This is a collection of AO3 works and other resources for creating fan works. (See also the Fanwork Research & Reference Guides tag.)
Some fandoms have wonderful on-line communities (e.g. The Harry Potter Lexicon and Marvel wikis) devoted to creating canon references. Many more do not, but fans still have created deeply thought out essays, maps, tables, histories, and other world building. Hopefully, you can find them here.
AO3 allows custom formatting using limited HTML and CSS (workskins). This collection has a number of formatting "how-to's" in addition to the AO3 docs below.
Note: Works added as bookmarks do not add their tags or fandoms to the collection. Please add your own works
(Open, Unmoderated)
Recent works
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Summary
This is a personal experiment with HTML. It is a very limited list with what I find useful.
Update: Somehow I find more and more stuff useful, so this list is not that limited (and not that private) anymore. I'll improve it with time and according to my needs. I just realized, this will never be "complete" and there is no final number of chapters.So far that's posted:
Part One: Basics
Part Two: Lines
Part Three: Footnotes and Links
Part Four: Columns and Skins
Part Five: Pictures
Part Six: Videos (and gifs)
Part Seven: Choose Your Own Adventure
Part Eight: Chapter Title
Part Nine: The Title, the Username, and Links
Part Ten: Kudos Message (NEW)
Part Eleven: Newspaper Article
Part Twelve: Content Notes and Spoiler
Part Thirteen: Playground for Jinx (glitch text, color, table)
Part Fourteen: Text generator
Part Fifteen: Boxes (still in progress)
Part Sixteen: Vertical Text (NEWEST) -
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Summary
There are some great quick-and-dirty guides to HTML on A03. This is not one of them - it is a comprehensive guide
It's now 2025, a decade later. A03 supports some new HTML and and we're all walking around reading fic on supercomputers that fit in a jean pocket. It was time update this and take a crack at finishing it. (Links and Images are in, the new Audio and Video tags are not.)
The previous three chapters have been divided into smaller concepts. Each tag continues to have - at a minimum - a link to the w3schools page about it (so you can learn more), a code example, and the result of the code example. Most tags have their attributes, things like [src] or [title], listed and examples of how using the attributes modify the tags.
There's a chapter on Bad Ideas, including how some of the archive's default CSS is available to you to format your work (users can't turn that off by hiding a workskin!)
Oh. And I added a bunny army. You could learn how to add one too.
/)/) /)/) /)/) (..) (..) (..) *( ) *( ) *( )
Series
- Part 19 of AO3 Work Skins/Tutorials
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Ever want to pop some bubbles? Ever want to use RNG to generate them? Well then, here's your handy, dandy bubble-popping game with Random Number Generator, all rolled into one! (Full code included.)
But wait, there's more! Yes sirree, Bob, this li'l baby comes with colors and patterns on its bubbles, and a little tense background music for ambience (might need a pop first, depending upon browser)... and no, it's not a Rick Roll (TL;DR from testing: audio in desktop Chrome, not desktop Opera, iPhone Safari, or Android Chrome; desktop results vary with settings for Firefox, TOR, and MS Edge — details in head-note). G'head: kick the tires and take her out for a spin! ❤️
And YES, it's PLAYABLE ! Tap / chase to click the bubble, find the next; OCD Heaven/Hell!
Don't panic! 😁
Series
- Part 7 of How to
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Chess puzzle extravaganza by Charles_Rockafellor for Mewsmodeus (Mewzebub)
Fandoms: CSS abuse - Fandom, Chess - Fandom
13 Jul 2025
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But does it play chess? While chess is hardly DOOM, there still are some constraints on actually moving things around without JavaScript (though gifbot has some ideas that might render such possible).
Don't panic! 😉
Time for some in situ RNG aikido.
I can't [yet] offer any definite way to actively play chess on AO3, and so, in lieu of such, I offer you 256 preconfigured static-display chess puzzles, one selected randomly per refresh, with random black or white to move, using only HTML and CSS, no offsite JS.
There are also some secret messages from the BBEG upon
:hoveron desktop Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and TOR [in a WIN 11 environment], or upon:touchon iPhone Safari (Android Chrome... is iffy, because Android : it has both worked and failed for me, so no guarantees). Lemme know how it is on Mac / 'nix!Part CSS extravaganza demo, and part How To for leveraging RNG for stunning results.
Series
- Part 6 of How to
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Zenless Zone Zero Inter-Knot (AO3 Work Skin) by Pent
Fandoms: Zenless Zone Zero (Video Game)
28 Apr 2025
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Have you ever wanted to add canon compliant Inter-Knot posts to your Zenless Zone Zero works? Now you can! This is an accessible, readable, and mobile-friendly AO3 work skin that imitates the look of in-game Inter-Knot posts.
Series
- Part 4 of Pent's Fandom-Specific AO3 Work Skins
Recent bookmarks
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Harry Potter Fanfiction Resources by Callmesalticidae
Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
28 Jun 2025
- Words:
- 106,643
- Works:
- 4
- Bookmarks:
- 128
Bookmarked by Nightcandle
21 Nov 2024
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Collections:
Bookmarker's Notes
Harry Potter Fanfiction Resources by Callmesalticidae
Series Begun: 2020-11-10
Series Updated: 2025-15-28
------------------I only have read the first Work so far, but it provides good information and many great sources for world building and background information. (e.g. a List of Terms Served of all Heads of Hogwarts or all British Ministers for Magic (incl. terms served) or links to break downs of the speech patterns of characters with dialect or accent or to an "English to Hagrid translator")
Fic 1: Reference Guide to Writing Harry Potter Fanfiction - 2024-01-30: 12/15 - 32,137 - G
Contents currently include general writing tips; a style guide for correct capitalization, hyphenation, and so on for Harry Potter terms; speech patterns for various characters; tips for writing a magical duel; how to turn the "stations of canon" to your advantage; support for commenting on other people's fics and formatting and posting your own on AO3; class schedules, curricula, and maps for Hogwarts; speculation on the wizarding economy; a guide to French names; and much, much more.
This is a continuous work-in-progress. Future chapters will cover common misconceptions (canonical, historical, American/Britpicking), character meta, and suggestions and resources for further worldbuilding (other countries, other schools).
Suggestions and other recommendations are always welcome.Fic 2: The Nonstandard Book of Spells - 2021-10-24: 24/? - 17,372 - G
Forever incomplete, this is a catalog of spells, both canonical and fanonical: spells of my own invention, spells from other fan works, and (for the sake of thoroughness) spells from the book series.
All spells are properly sourced, and (hopefully) organized well enough that it will be easy for other authors to pilfer as desired.Fic 3: Salt's Onomastikon - 2025-06-27: 12/13 - 38,047 - G
Etymologies for canonical families (including the "Sacred Twenty-eight"), guidelines and sample names for British characters (with reference to Medieval and more modern names), guidelines and sample names for French characters, and guidelines and sample names for Non-human and Part-human characters.Fic 4: Adventures in Fannish Archaeology - 2022-09-33: 3/6 - 19,087 - G
Essays on the history of popular fanon elements like the "Tempus" spell, the concept of wizardspace, and basically everything we know about Daphne Greengrass. -
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A Discord workskin that supports most Discord-style markup. Includes layouts for channels, DMs, and Group Chats. Darkmode only.
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Bookmarked by EMERALD_CRINGE
15 Mar 2023
Bookmarker's Collections:
Bookmarker's Notes
reference sthingiies :)
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How to set up a bookmarklet that applies a saved set of filters to any works or bookmarks listing page on AO3
(Bookmarklets are a bit fiddly on mobile, but very much doable—and functional. Since I've done all the coding already, you can just follow the instructions without worrying about that. ;D)
GitHub version (more technical) || Tumblr version (with screenshots for Chrome on Android)
Bookmarked by Nightcandle
10 Feb 2023
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Collections:
Bookmarker's Notes
Saved Filters on AO3 by reisling
-----------------very useful and well explained. 😊
It's quite simple and easy to implement.
I tried it out with just a few filters (English, no Crossovers and no WIPs) and it works like a charm! 😀 -
Permablocking Specific Tags - Site Skin by Eli0t
Fandoms: Fandom - Fandom, AO3, No Fandom
10 Aug 2023
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It finally exists. You can block any tag you want forever! You no longer need 3rd party extensions for this!
Series
- Part 1 of AO3 Skins
- Part 1 of :has() selector
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 2,232
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 321
- Kudos:
- 518
- Bookmarks:
- 544
- Hits:
- 24,009
Bookmarked by Nightcandle
09 Feb 2023
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Collections:
Bookmarker's Notes
Permablocking Specific Tags - Site Skin by Eli0t
-----------------The code used here can also be used to highlight (by different text color) Works with specific tags.
It also has several useful "inspired by" Works that explain further useful possibilities of this code and its siblings.This Work is part of a Series that also has turorials for other useful Site Skins.