What’s unfiction?
Just in the very slim case you hadn’t already figured it out, Avery isn’t a real person! Obviously, since this page exists, I want everyone to know that Avery’s not a real person. Absolutely none of the events described on this site ever happened. This is a work of serial fiction. I decided to share it in the form of a neocities website because of Avery’s age, existential dread, and nostalgic interests.
This site is unfiction. In case you’ve never heard that term, it’s a word for storytelling formats designed to (just slightly) blur the line between fiction and reality. It describes scenarios where fiction is given as much of a veneer of reality as possible. The story, while clearly fictional, is presented as if it were actually happening. This genre, while small, has grown in popularity on neocities in particular. Typical unfiction usually involves a bit more interactivity than poor Avery’s adventures, but this site still fits within the genre.
Either way, this means that, aside from this section, the rest of the site belongs to Avery Gates, not me. I’m just the author. I’m Claire. I’ll write almost everything (aside from brief notes) in character as him. This site is meant to appear as though it were made by Avery himself (with Dwayne’s unwitting help). In other words, I’m using neocities and the small web as a medium for telling a fictional story about a millennial mage who just can’t seem to get it together.
If you plan on interacting with Avery via the cbox or something like that (or even his neocities wall, I suppose), please address Avery, not me. Messages outside the bounds of Avery’s world will likely be removed and ignored. Besides that, visitors are overtly encouraged to provide Avery with any emotional or intellectual support during his strange journey.
This story:
- Starts with autumn of 2021. The date listed in the sidebar will handily inform you of Avery’s timescale.
- Takes place in an unnamed, nonexistent small town called Wilkerson, possibly in the midwest.
- Features references to some trends that don’t quite match with IRL and might be a bit uncanny.
In most areas of the site, I will be, essentially, acting as Avery, though. This includes within all public contact areas, ie, the cbox. I will not be interacting with anyone privately as Avery. If you wish to contact me privately outside of the pretense of being Avery, though, please use the form below, or message me on Discord (username @Clarityanne). I am also accessible via email as clarity at the domain name fabled.day.