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The Fanfictionary - A
A
Adultfic - A fanfiction that has overly sexual or violent material. Usually rated NC-17. Most of the fanfictions on AdultFanfiction.net are Adultfics.
Age of Consent - This is not a fanfiction term, but I figured that I had better add it to clarify something so authors of Chan fanfics know what they may be getting into. The Age of Consent is the age as which one is considered an adult and able to give knowing consent to sex. Having characters below this age having sex, especially if it's a teenager or child with an adult, can get you in a world of hurt, even if the child is willing. In the United States, the Age of Consent is 18 years of age.
Alternate Universe (or AU for short) - A fanfiction that occurs outside the canon's established universe. It has to be something quite major to be considered AU, and it sometimes, but not always, completely disregards anything canon that takes place afterward, changing the story so much that the story can no longer follow it's original path. For example, Aeris does not die in Final Fantasy VII, or Richard Hellsing gets control of the Hellsing Organization instead of Integra in Hellsing. Very common and one of my favorites types of fanfiction. There are a few other variations of the Alternate Universe, which are listed below.
Alternate Ending (or AE for short) - A small variation of the Alternate Universe where everything is the same as the canon but the ending.
Alternate Reality (or AR for short (A. K. A. Parallel Universe, Alternate History, Elseworld, Unusual Situation)) - The most extreme version of Alternate Universe, Alternate Reality is when an author takes the canon setting and characters and changes major things about them, while still leaving the personality and appearance the same. And I should note that Unusual Situation is the Anime and Manga fanfiction term. The most common example I have seen of Alternate Reality is in the Harry Potter fandom, where all the characters and settings are still there, but no magic is involved, or even exists.
Alternate Timeline (or AT for short) - A fanfiction in which the characters, situations, and ideas are the same, but the order in which they take place is different.
Americanisms - American terms and phrases, usually seen as glaring errors in fics that take place in British settings with British characters.
A/N - Short for Author's Notes. Use sparingly, as it's irritating as hell when a reader sees a chapter that is all notes and nothing else, or they see that a new chapter has been added to your fic and it turns out to be an Author's Note. And if you have to add an Author's Note to explain something in your story (Unless you were asked to by a reader.) then you either haven't written your story well enough, or you need an Egoboo or two.
Angstfic - A fic with loads of Angst.
Angst Mallet - A phrase that is used mostly in summaries and conversations about fanfics, a fanficer is said to have been hit by the Angst Mallet whenever they write a fanfic (or more commonly a group of fanfics one right after the other) that are just loaded full of Angst. A character is said to have been hit with the Angst Mallet when they are the subject of heavily angsty fanfics.
Antific - A fanfiction where the author kills off virtually the entire cast of a fandom that they despise. A variation of the Hate Fic .
Annoying New Character (or ANC for short) - An Original Character , not necessarily a Mary Sue, who just irritates the Hell out of fanfiction readers.
Anti-Climax - A literary term, this is a scene or story Climax that is the opposite of what the readers were anticipating. Anti-Climatic scenes are slow, boring, and sometimes a major letdown instead of exciting. They can also be a scene that appears to be the Climax but isn't, instead being a red herring to fool the reader.
Any Two Guys (or ATG for short) - A poorly written Yaoi story that is so generic that all you would have to do is switch the names around, and it could include just about anyone.
Anywhere But Here (or ABH for short) - A fanfiction, usually a Mary Sue one, written in second person and heavy on the sex.
Asylumfic - A fanfiction that revolves around the canon character either believing that they are, or actually being, in an insane asylum. Usually Alternate Universe or Alternate Reality. There are a few of them out there - I ran across one in the Devil May Cry section of Fanfiction.net - but they aren't very common.
Aura of Smooth - Seriously, I am not making this up. This was made up by a few folks on a website who have a Mary Sue Dictionary going. It describes the aura of energy that surrounds Mary Sues, sucking all sense of logic, intelligence, and common sense out of the canon characters around them.
Author Character - Another phrase for a Mary Sue and a Self Insertion.
Author's Pet - An Author's Pet is, most commonly, a canon character who is heavily favored by the fanfiction writer, no matter how small a role they have in the canon, and they are often Sued to suit the writer's preferences.
Author Surrogate (A. K. A. Self Insertion) - More commonly used as another phrase for a Mary Sue, Author Surrogate can also mean when a fanfiction author insets themselves, as themselves, into a story. Most common in Smut and Sexfics , and is another phrase for GFIME fics. Be careful around these; they bite.
Intro -- Part B