#unfortunately it is only bc we are PICKY in the most well-intentioned way

[aftgtandn]

Curious about why your prompt isn't showing up?

Canon divergence straddles canon & AU in an irritatingly specific way, and fest veterans know that we here at T&N are sticklers about our theme. Here's some of the reasons we might hide a prompt from our gallery:

The prompt is a duplicate of another we've already approved

The universe is inherently changed (an AU)

The prompt is canon compliant

There is no clear source of canon divergence

Still a bit confused? That's fair. Sometimes we also have to really sit and think about this theme too -- but we think it's worthwhile to be thoughtful so that this fest properly celebrates a really specific genre of fanfic! See under the cut for more explanation/examples about canon divergence.

We mods are busy people, and sometimes we do get it wrong. If you notice your prompt never makes the gallery & you want to argue its case, feel free to send us an ask or an email at aftgthenandnow@gmail.com.

Prompting is open until September 14! Submit a prompt, or view our prompt gallery.

If you're having trouble conceptualizing canon divergence, think about our logo! The split arrows represent two paths: canon (ie, Neil comes home from the Nest in TRK) and your idea for a DIVERGENCE from the canon/pre-canon timeline (ie, Neil signs Riko's contract and becomes a Raven). Your prompt, and the submissions to this fest, will explore those alternate paths.

Different prompts will impact the severity of the divergence, so we get why the line between an AU and really drastic divergence could be confusing. For example: If Mary lives and prevents Neil from ever even becomes a Fox, this totally dismisses his entire on-the-page journey. But you're still exploring the ramifications of this one different choice on the canon universe: Does Neil ever play Exy again? Does he ever get caught? Does he ever reconnect with Kevin? This is the kind of juicy, dense possibility that make for a great canon divergent fic.

Here's some more information about our thought process behind hiding prompts. All of these examples are made up; they are not prompts we've hidden!

The universe is inherently changed (an AU): In a prompt like "Neil has a twin", the universe is fundamentally changed, so we can't diverge from the original timeline.

The prompt is canon compliant: Things like missing scenes, swapped perspectives of canon events, and post-canon are all compliant to the original timeline.

There is no clear source of canon divergence: A prompt like "Everything is the same, but Neil is obsessed with watching hockey" doesn't necessarily prompt a creator to figure out what would push Neil to develop that obsession & diverge from his canon disinterest in non-Exy sports, which is the meat of the genre.

Remember that just because we hide a prompt doesn't mean it's a bad idea! The end result of this fest & last year's Then & Now result in really carefully curated collections that scratch a particular itch, and we want to preserve that starting at the beginning. But even if a prompt doesn't end up in our gallery, we'd probably still love to see it on AO3 one day in general!