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Love fanfiction but confused by some of the terms and designations? Not sure in which category your fanfic would fall? You've come to the right place! Here you can find
commonly used fanfiction terms and their definitions, plus a little personal
insight from moi
Fanfiction: Also "Fanfic," "Fic, "FF." The name given to stories peopled with characters, places, and situations of a show/movie/book/comic written by a fan of the show/movie/book/comic for no monetary gain. While it does technically violate copyright laws, fans keep doing it, and copyright owners tend to ignore it as long as no money is being exchanged. more...personally, I love fanfiction. Love it! It's a wonderful way to explore things that the canon world hasn't, or to fix something the canon world messed up (in your opinion). Definitely something I would recommend to any fan, shipper or non-shipper alike!
Slash: Fanfiction that focuses on the romantic and sexual pairing of a same sex couple. (see "Slash") "m/m" classifies the coupling as a same sex male pairing, and "f/f" classifies the coupling as a same sex female pairing. "Fem-slash" is also used for same sex female pairings. "Slash" goes by other names in other fandoms as well. "Yaoi" is the name for male/male relationships in Japanese games, novels, and anime. "Yuri" is the name for female/female relationships in Japanese games, novels, and anime. more...I have to admit, I have come to really enjoy slash, although I typically ship heterosexual characters. But as a huge friendshipper (way before I became a romantic shipper), slash makes sense to me, as it often just takes a close friendship between two same sex characters to another level. So if that type of pairing doesn't bother you, then you may enjoy slash too.
Angst: Angst fanfiction are stories that have heavy and sometimes depressing themes, and have the characters suffering emotionally (and sometimes physically) in some way. A story that deals with a character's death would be considered angst. A story that deals with a romantic or friendship break-up would be angst. Any story that has dark themes or issues, is classified as angst. The hurt/comfort formula is a form of angst. So if you prefer to read stories with emotionally lighter themes, stay away from those designated as angst.
Hurt/Comfort: "Hurt/Comfort" is a form of an angst story, albeit in a more straightforward formula. In fact this type of story is exactly as it sounds: a character is hurt in some way, and the other character(s) comfort him/her. The "hurt" can be emotional (death of a loved one, mental problems, memories of past trauma, etc.) or physical (rape, torture, accidental injury, kidnapping, illness, disease), which often leads back to emotional hurt. more...you'll find
hurt/comfort storylines in every kind of fandom, but I've found them fairly
prevalent in the Slash and friendshipper
worlds. I'm not positive where this whole designation came from, but I
remember first seeing it in the height of "Star Trek" fanfiction,
specifically stories that focused on Kirk and Spock, way back when fanfiction
was printed up in 'zines. I
admit to being very partial towards hurt/comfort stories, specifically for my
friendshipper pairings. In a way, if feels kind of strange to enjoy seeing
your favorite character suffer all sorts of pain (although I really am not a fan
of rape/molestation stories) just so another character can comfort
him/her. But I just remind myself that he/she isn't real, and I'm
ok!
Smarm: Smarm is basically sweet, gooey, emotionally happy and plot-lacking fic. If you're in the mood for something with no redeemable value, other then putting a happy smile on your face, this is the fic for you!
Smut:
Smut is fanfic that
basically has no plot or purpose, other then sex for the characters.
There's usually no storyline, other then whatever is necessary to get the
characters into bed, and smut is almost always rated NC17. (the good ones
anyways
Alternative Universe: Also designated as "A/U" or "AU." A story that sharply deviates from the canon of the show (or book, movie, comic). Most fanfics deviate in some way from the canon of a universe, but AU deviates in major ways. Example, a fic in which Robin did not become HIV+ ("General Hospital") or where Donna did not join the President's election campaign ("West Wing") would be considered AU. more...personally, I am not a huge fan of AU stories. I tend to like my stories better if they stick to the major points of canon. But if they're written well and stay faithful to the personalities of the characters, they can be awesome. It just depends on the writer and their AU vision.
Missing Scene: Missing Scenes stories are traditionally used in episodic television when a fanfic writer envisions a scene for an episode that was not presented on screen. A resolution between characters that was not shown, or a conversation that was missing, or even a confrontation or fight. Basically, this type of fic is set in the timeline and universe of a particular episode, using those events as their fodder.
Song Fic: A Song fic is generally set around the words of a particular song. Usually not very long, most of the plot or emotion comes from the words of the songs, and the characters are written to fit around that. Don't look for much plot in the way of these stories, as generally, there isn't much of one.
PWP: aka "plot, what plot?" Usually used in conjunction for stories that are pure smut, aka sex stories without any kind of plot line.
POV: aka "point of view." Used to tell you what "point of view" the story is written from. If a story is written primarily from the point of view of one character, it will be pointed out. Does not necessarily mean the story is told in the 'first person' (meaning the story is written as if one character is telling it, using "I," "me," etc.).
WAFF: aka "warm and fuzzy feelings" fic. Pretty self-explanatory, it's fic that just gives you a nice feeling inside. See smarm.
General: Also known as "Gen." These designated fics are general in nature and tend to not focus on any ship, but rather on the show and the characters as a whole. Generally used for episodic television. If a story centered around a new vampire coming to town and the Scooby Gang et all fighting him off and did not focus on any romantic pairing ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), then this would be a General fic.
Mary Sue: A story in which a new character is so brilliant, witty, amazing, attractive and wonderful that one (or all) of the main canon characters completely falls head over heels for. Basically, this character tends to be a thinly disguised wannabe of the author themselves. This type of fic is usually associated with romantic stories in which the female author lives out her fantasy of being with a particular character through her story. However this designation has come to mean any character that is over-emphasized, whether in the fanon or canon world. When you see or hear something or someone called a "Mary Sue," it tends to be meant as an insult. more...I'm not positive where "Mary Sue" really started, but I do think it began in the "Star Trek" fandom. Specifically with the character of Spock and the female authors who wanted to vicariously be the ones who broke him out of his emotional shell. In my opinion, Mary Sue stories are generally fun only for the author themselves.
NC: aka "non consensual." This designation means that the story contains scenes of "non consensual" sex. Whether this is out and out rape, or some form of sexual harassment, the author will sometimes (though not always) designate this. But if you can't handle rape stuff, stay away from stories that are designated NC.
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