Fanfiction Glossary
New to AO3 or fanfiction? This comprehensive glossary explains all the terms, abbreviations, and slang you'll encounter while reading fanfic.
81 terms across 8 categories
Jump to category:
Format
Oneshot
A complete story contained in a single chapter. Popular for shorter narratives or focused character moments.
Multichapter/Longfic
A story spanning multiple chapters, often with complex plots and character development arcs.
Drabble
An extremely short piece of fiction, traditionally exactly 100 words, though often used loosely for any very short fic.
Ficlet
A short story, typically between 100-1000 words. Longer than a drabble but shorter than a standard oneshot.
Series
Multiple related stories that share a universe, characters, or storyline but are published as separate works.
WIP (Work in Progress)
An incomplete story that the author is still actively writing and updating.
Abandoned
A WIP that the author has stopped updating, usually without completing the story.
Hiatus
A temporary pause in updating a story, with the author intending to eventually continue.
Relationships
Ship/Shipping
Supporting or enjoying a romantic relationship between characters. 'Ship' is short for 'relationship.'
OTP (One True Pairing)
A fan's favorite romantic pairing that they feel especially passionate about.
NOTP
A pairing that a fan strongly dislikes or refuses to read.
BroTP
A favorite non-romantic friendship between characters.
Slash
A romantic or sexual relationship between characters of the same gender, typically male/male (M/M).
Femslash
A romantic or sexual relationship between female characters (F/F).
Het
A romantic or sexual relationship between characters of different genders (M/F).
Gen
A story without romantic focus, centered on friendship, family, adventure, or other non-romantic themes.
Poly/Polyamory
Romantic relationships involving more than two people.
Rarepair
A ship with relatively few works on AO3, often considered unusual or unconventional.
Characters
OC (Original Character)
A character created by the fanfic author, not from the original source material.
Self-Insert/SI
A character who represents the author themselves, inserted into the story's universe.
Reader Insert
A story written in second person where 'you' are the main character, often using Y/N (Your Name).
Y/N
Abbreviation for 'Your Name' in reader-insert fics, meant to be replaced with the reader's own name.
Canon Character
A character from the original source material (book, TV show, movie, etc.).
POV (Point of View)
The perspective from which a story is told, often specified as which character's POV.
AU
AU (Alternate Universe)
A story set in a different universe or timeline than the source material, changing major elements of the setting or characters.
Canon Divergence
A story that follows canon up to a certain point, then diverges with different events.
Coffee Shop AU
A popular AU where characters work at or frequent a coffee shop, often used for meet-cute scenarios.
High School AU
Characters are reimagined as high school students, regardless of their ages in canon.
College AU
Similar to High School AU but set in a university/college setting.
Modern AU
Characters from historical, fantasy, or sci-fi settings placed in a contemporary, real-world setting.
Soulmate AU
A universe where soulmates exist, often with markers like matching tattoos, shared first words, or colored vision.
No Powers AU
Superhero or supernatural characters reimagined without their special abilities.
Royalty AU
Characters are reimagined as members of royalty (kings, queens, princes, princesses).
A/B/O (Alpha/Beta/Omega)
An AU with a hierarchical social structure based on secondary genders with different biological traits.
Tropes
Angst
Stories featuring emotional pain, suffering, or turmoil. Often involves hurt/comfort elements.
Fluff
Light, happy, feel-good stories focused on sweet moments and positive emotions.
Hurt/Comfort (H/C)
A story where one character is hurt (physically or emotionally) and another provides comfort and care.
Slow Burn
A romance that develops gradually over the course of a long story, with characters taking time to get together.
Enemies to Lovers
Characters who start as antagonists gradually develop romantic feelings for each other.
Friends to Lovers
Platonic friends who develop romantic feelings and transition to a romantic relationship.
Fake Dating/Pretend Relationship
Characters pretend to be in a relationship for various reasons, often developing real feelings.
Found Family
Non-biological characters forming close bonds that become like family relationships.
Fix-It
A story that 'fixes' events from canon that fans found upsetting, like character deaths or unhappy endings.
Whump
Stories focused heavily on characters experiencing physical or emotional suffering. Similar to angst but often more intense.
Crack
Intentionally absurd, ridiculous, or nonsensical stories written for humor.
PWP (Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot)
Stories that are primarily focused on explicit sexual content without significant plot.
UST (Unresolved Sexual Tension)
Sexual attraction between characters that hasn't been acted upon, creating tension in the narrative.
Pining
A character experiencing longing and yearning for someone they love, often unrequited or unconfessed.
Mutual Pining
Both characters in a ship are pining for each other but neither knows their feelings are reciprocated.
Bed Sharing
Characters must share a bed, often leading to romantic tension or realization of feelings.
Only One Bed
A popular scenario where circumstances force characters to share a single bed.
AO3
Kudos
AO3's version of a 'like' button. Readers can leave one kudos per work to show appreciation.
Bookmark
Saving a work to your AO3 profile for later reading. Can be public or private.
Tags
Labels attached to works to describe content, relationships, warnings, and other elements.
Archive Warnings
Mandatory tags for major content warnings: death, violence, underage, non-con, or 'Choose Not to Warn.'
CNTW (Choose Not to Warn)
An archive warning indicating the author has chosen not to specify which major warnings apply.
Additional Tags
Freeform tags authors add to describe tropes, content, and other story elements.
Fandom Blind
A fic that can be enjoyed without knowledge of the source material, often marked as such.
Gift Fic
A work created as a gift for another user, often for exchanges or personal gifts.
Remix
A new work based on someone else's fanfic, reimagining or retelling their story.
Beta Reader
Someone who proofreads and provides feedback on a fic before publication.
Unbeta'd
A fic published without a beta reader, acknowledging it may contain errors.
Ratings
Rating: General Audiences (G)
Content suitable for all ages with no mature themes.
Rating: Teen (T)
May contain mild violence, some profanity, and implied sexual content.
Rating: Mature (M)
Contains mature themes like explicit violence or sexual content but not extremely explicit.
Rating: Explicit (E)
Contains graphic sexual content and/or extreme violence.
NSFW (Not Safe For Work)
Content with explicit sexual or violent material not appropriate for public viewing.
SFW (Safe For Work)
Content without explicit material, appropriate for public viewing.
Dead Dove: Do Not Eat
A warning that the content is exactly what the tags describe—dark or disturbing content that readers should heed warnings about.
Trigger Warning (TW)
A warning about content that could trigger traumatic memories or emotional distress.
Content Warning (CW)
Similar to trigger warnings, alerting readers to potentially sensitive content.
Fandom
Canon
The official source material (original story, show, movie, etc.) that fanfiction is based on.
Fanon
Ideas or interpretations created by fans that become widely accepted but aren't in official canon.
Headcanon
A personal theory or interpretation about characters or events that a fan believes to be true.
Word of God
Information about canon provided by the creator outside the work itself (interviews, social media, etc.).
Meta
Analysis and discussion about the source material or fandom, rather than fiction.
Prompt
A story idea or scenario given to inspire fanfic writers.
Kink Meme
A forum where users post prompts (often but not always explicit) for others to fill.
Big Bang
A fandom challenge where writers create long fics and artists create accompanying artwork.
Zine
A fan-published collection of art and writing, often with a specific theme.
Exchange
A fandom event where participants create works as gifts for assigned recipients.
Full A–Z Fanfic Dictionary
Every term gets its own page with origin, usage notes, and examples — 527 entries and counting.
Related Resources
AO3 Filtering Guide
Learn how to use AO3's powerful search and filter features to find exactly what you want.
Ratings & Warnings Explained
Understand AO3's rating system and archive warnings to find content that's right for you.
Browse Popular Tropes
Explore the most popular fanfiction tropes and find your next favorite story.
Browse Fandoms
Discover fanfiction from your favorite TV shows, movies, books, and more.
Read fanfiction on the go
Fanfict Reader is the best way to browse, search, and read AO3 fanfiction on your iPhone. Download for free and start reading your favorite stories today.