They are pairing categories that tell you whose relationship drives a fanfic. Slash is a romance between two male characters, femslash between two women, het between a man and a woman, and gen has no central romance.
A ready-made idea to start: «Slow-burn slash: after the war, Draco and Harry are assigned to share one cramped Auror office and keep pretending they can't stand each other.»
Generate this storyYou'll find these labels in a fic's header next to the fandom, rating and genre. They describe who is in the relationship, not how explicit it gets. Explicitness is what the fanfic rating is for.
Slash is a romantic or sexual relationship between two male characters. The name comes from the forward slash in "Kirk/Spock", the pairing that 1970s Star Trek fanzines made famous.
Well-known slash pairings:
In anime fandoms you'll also see yaoi or BL (boys' love). The terms overlap, and many fics are tagged with both. Browse slash on Fanficia.
Het (from heterosexual) is a romance between a male and a female character. On AO3 the matching category is F/M.
Het can follow canon or ignore it:
Browse het fanfics.
Femslash is a romance between two female characters. On AO3 it's the F/F category, and anime fans often use yuri for the same space.
Most canons have fewer prominent women than men, so there are fewer femslash pairings, and readers seek them out on purpose. Examples:
Browse femslash.
Gen (short for general) is a fic with no romantic relationship at its center. Characters can be friends, rivals, family or partners on a case, but the plot isn't built around a couple.
Typical gen stories:
Gen pairs well with the found family trope. Browse gen fics.
Poly (polyamory) means a relationship with three or more people, where everyone knows and agrees. It's written with multiple slashes: Steve/Tony/Bucky.
OT3 (One True Threesome) is your favorite trio, the three-person version of an OTP. Harry/Ron/Hermione is a classic.
When a fic has several couples of different types, authors tick more than one category, for example slash as the main pairing and het in the background. AO3 calls this Multi.
OTP and NOTP are opinions, not labels: the same couple is someone's OTP and someone else's NOTP. For more abbreviations, see our fanfic slang dictionary.
If a tag uses "&" and you want romance, keep scrolling. Mixing up the two symbols is a common source of disappointed comments.
Want to see a category in action? Pick a fandom and a pairing, and the AI drafts the first chapters for you to continue and edit. Try a slow-burn Drarry slash or an enemies to lovers story in any fandom.
Written by the Fanficia editorial team: drafted with AI assistance, edited and fact-checked by a human. How we write: editorial policy
Describe the idea — the AI drafts a chapter and you stay the editor.
A ready-made idea to start: «Slow-burn slash: after the war, Draco and Harry are assigned to share one cramped Auror office and keep pretending they can't stand each other.»
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The Fanficia blog is written by the Fanficia editorial team. We draft with AI assistance; a human editor checks the facts and fandom terminology, rewrites the text and signs off on every post. Spotted a mistake? Email support@fanficia.com and we will fix it and update the article date.
How we write: editorial policy →