Glossary

Contents

Official Terminology

BotS: Abbreviation of Battle of the Smithsonian. Also sometimes typed as NATM 2, NATM2, or "the second film/movie".
KRA: Abbreviation of Kahmunrah Rises Again. Also sometimes typed as NATM 4, NATM4, or "the fourth film/movie".
NatM: Abbreviation of Night at the Museum. Also sometimes typed as "the first film/movie", and refers to the franchise as a whole.
SotT: Abbreviation of Secret of the Tomb. Also sometimes typed as NATM 3, NATM3, or "the third film/movie".
Rare Pair: A ship that's not often seen portrayed in art or writing. In our Fanfic Library, the Search counts a Rare Pair as any ship with 15 fics or less.
Canon Pair: A ship that's seen on screen or in writing. In most cases, they're a background detail in fanfiction. Unless a fic is about the canon ship, they are not counted in the tags in the Fanfic Library.

Era 1: The "Active Period" of the franchise, when the live-action films were being produced. This era is a snapshot of the time period, filled with a writing style of unabridged wish fulfillment and slang we no longer use, like "plot bunnies". Years range from 2006 to 2014.
Era 2: The "Hibernation Period" of the franchise, or the first half of the nearly eight-year gap between films. In 2015, international releases of the final movie were made available. During this time, a metamorphosis happened: Stories were mostly oneshots at the beginning; but towards 2020 the stories began to become longer-form tales, likely as a result of Lightning in a Bottle and other long-form stories. This is not to disregard the long-form fics posted during Era 1. Years range from 2015 to 2020.
Era 3: The "Revival Period" of the franchise, spurned on by the 2020 lockdown. During this time, people retreated into nostalgia and rediscovered the series. A revival of the fandom came with it, with new art and fics being published. Years range from 2021 to the present.
Era 4: The "Musical Period" of the franchise, which will begin when the NatMusical is released.

Disambiguation: Bootlegs, References, and Fan Merchandise
- Bootleg: A piece of merchandise that is automatically generated by a shop, blatant copies of genuine merchandise, cynical uses of the series for unrelated theses, and content farm slop. Uses of the franchise by entities such as pyramid schemes, content farms, and churches will go here.
- References: Mentioning, parodying, or acknowledging the series in a piece of media or advertising.
- Fan Merchandise: Items made by members of the public, usually hosted on Redbubble or Etsy. Usually includes hand-drawn fan art, but can also include crafts and accessories. The key here is originality.
Disambiguation: Newsreels
- Includes TV segments, podcasts, reaction videos, reviews, podcasts, and audio-only interviews. Does not include video interviews (Interviews page), social media posts (Promotions or Interviews, depending on their purpose).