Fandom and Fan Fiction Abbreviations
59 abbreviations · part of Texting & Internet Slang Abbreviations
Abbreviations used by fan communities on Tumblr, X, AO3, Wattpad, Discord and BookTok: shipping terms (OTP), fan fiction tags and warnings (AU, WIP, MCD), reader-insert placeholders (Y/N), romance and book-community shorthand (HEA, TBR, DNF), anime and K-pop terms (OP, ED, CB) and convention and comics jargon. Many began on 1990s mailing lists, LiveJournal and FanFiction.Net. Entries explain how each tag is used, where it appears and how to tell it apart from identical abbreviations in other fields.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A/N | Author's note | Comment from a fan fiction author placed before or after a chapter, giving updates, thanking readers, explaining choices or answering reviews. |
| AMV | Anime music video | Fan-edited video that sets clips from one or more anime to a song, often with effects and careful syncing. |
| AO3 | Archive of Our Own | Nonprofit, fan-run website hosting millions of fan fiction works and other fan creations, known for its detailed tagging system and archive warnings. |
| ARC | Advance reader copy | Prepublication edition of a book, often uncorrected, sent to reviewers, booksellers, librarians and influencers to build buzz before release. |
| AU | Alternate universe | Fan fiction or fan art that places canon characters in a different setting or circumstance, such as a coffee shop, high school or modern city. |
| BL | Boys' love | Genre of romance fiction centered on relationships between male characters, originating in Japanese manga and now including Thai, Chinese and Korean dramas, webtoons… |
| BNF | Big-name fan | Well-known, influential member of a fandom, such as a popular fan fiction author, artist, podcaster or blogger, whose posts shape community opinion. |
| BrOTP | Bro one true pairing | A fan's favorite platonic friendship between two characters, the friendship equivalent of an OTP. |
| CB | Comeback | K-pop term for a group's or soloist's release of new music, along with the promotion cycle of music shows and performances that follows, even if they never went away. |
| CYOA | Choose your own adventure | Interactive story in which the reader makes choices that determine how the plot unfolds, such as turning to different pages or picking options online. |
| DA | DeviantArt | Online art community where artists post fan art, original illustrations, photography and writing, organized into galleries with comments and favorites. |
| DNF | Did not finish | Result code for a competitor who started a race or event but did not complete it, because of injury, mechanical failure, a crash or withdrawal. |
| E/C | Eye color | Placeholder for the reader's eye color in reader-insert fan fiction, letting each reader imagine their own features instead of a description chosen by the author. |
| E2L | Enemies to lovers | Romance trope in which two characters who start as rivals, opponents or outright enemies gradually fall in love. |
| ED | Ending (anime theme song) | Ending theme song and closing animation of an anime episode, played over or with the credits. |
| F2L | Friends to lovers | Romance trope in which longtime friends realize they have feelings for each other and become a couple. |
| FCBD | Free Comic Book Day | Annual event, usually on the first Saturday in May, when participating comic shops give away specially printed comics to attract new readers. |
| FF | Fan fiction | Fiction written by fans using characters and settings from an existing work, such as a book, film, TV series, game or band. |
| FFN | FanFiction.Net | One of the oldest and largest fan fiction websites, launched in 1998, where millions of stories have been posted across book, anime, TV and game fandoms. |
| FL | Female lead | Main female character in a drama, webtoon or novel, especially in East Asian dramas and web novels, where fans discuss her choices and development. |
| FMC | Female main character | The primary female character in a romance novel or romantic storyline, often the narrator. |
| GL | Girls' love | Genre of romance fiction centered on relationships between female characters, also called yuri in Japanese manga and anime fandom. |
| H/C | Hurt/comfort | Fan fiction genre in which one character suffers injury, illness or emotional pain and another cares for them, focusing on vulnerability and tenderness. |
| HC | Headcanon | A fan's personal belief or interpretation about a character or story detail that is not confirmed in canon, such as a character's favorite food or hidden backstory. |
| HEA | Happily ever after | Romance-genre promise that the central couple ends the story together and committed, a requirement for a book to count as romance under common genre definitions. |
| HFN | Happy for now | Romance ending in which the couple is together and happy but without a firm long-term commitment, such as marriage. |
| IC | In character | Role-play and fan fiction term for writing or acting as a character, consistent with their personality and the story world, as opposed to OOC (out of character). |
| L/N | Last name | Placeholder for the reader's last name in reader-insert fan fiction, used alongside Y/N (your name). |
| LARP | Live-action role-playing | Form of role-playing in which participants physically act out their characters in costume, often with foam weapons, at events lasting hours or whole weekends. |
| LCS | Local comic shop | Neighborhood store that sells comic books, graphic novels and related merchandise, where fans pick up weekly releases and reserve titles in a "pull list." |
| LI | Love interest | Character the protagonist pursues or is pursued by in a romance, dating sim, otome game or novel. |
| LN | Light novel | Japanese illustrated novel aimed at teens and young adults, often serialized and adapted into manga and anime. |
| MAL | MyAnimeList | Popular website and database for tracking, rating and reviewing anime and manga. |
| MC | Main character | Protagonist of a story, game, webnovel or anime, often the character the player or reader controls or follows, as in "the MC of this manga." Also used in "main… |
| MCD | Major character death | AO3 archive warning indicating that a major character dies during the story. |
| ML | Male lead | Main male character in a drama, webtoon or novel, especially in Chinese, Korean and Thai dramas and web novels, as in "the ML is so devoted." |
| MMC | Male main character | The primary male character in a romance novel or romantic storyline, usually the hero the heroine falls for. |
| MTL | Machine translation | Automated translation of a novel, often Chinese, Korean or Japanese web fiction, produced by software rather than a human. |
| NA | New adult | Fiction category featuring protagonists roughly 18 to 30 years old, often dealing with college, first jobs and independence. |
| NM | Near mint | Comic book and collectibles grading term meaning nearly perfect condition, with only tiny flaws visible on close inspection. |
| OC | Original character | Character created by a fan rather than taken from the source material, appearing in fan fiction, fan art and role-play, as in "my OC in the Pokémon universe." |
| OFC | Original female character | AO3 and fan fiction tag for a female character invented by the fan author rather than drawn from canon. |
| OMC | Original male character | AO3 and fan fiction tag for a male character invented by the fan author rather than taken from canon. |
| OOC | Out of character | Describes a character in fan fiction behaving unlike their canon personality, or marks a role-player speaking as themselves rather than as their character, as in "OOC… |
| OP | Opening (anime theme song) | Opening theme song and title sequence of an anime episode, typically about 90 seconds long. |
| OTP | One true pairing | A fan's favorite romantic pairing of two characters, the "ship" they support above all others, as in "these two are my OTP." Used across TV, anime, book and game fandoms. |
| OVA | Original video animation | Anime produced for direct release on home video, DVD or Blu-ray rather than for TV broadcast or theaters. |
| RP | Role-play | Collaborative storytelling in which participants write or act as characters, used on forums, Tumblr, Discord and in multiplayer game servers such as GTA RP and Minecraft. |
| RPF | Real person fiction | Fan fiction about real people, such as actors, musicians, athletes or streamers, rather than fictional characters. |
| SDCC | San Diego Comic-Con | Annual fan convention in San Diego, California, devoted to comics, film, TV, games and pop culture, famous for studio panels, celebrity appearances and exclusive… |
| SI | Self-insert | Character based on the author, or the author themselves, placed into a fictional world; also a whole genre of fics built on that premise, such as waking up inside a… |
| TBC | To be continued | Note at the end of a fan fiction chapter, comic or post indicating that the story continues in a future installment, often after a cliffhanger. |
| TBR | To be read | A reader's list or pile of books they plan to read, as in "my TBR is out of control." Central to BookTok, Bookstagram and Goodreads culture. |
| TL | Translation (or translator) | In scanlation and fan translation communities, the translation of a manga, webnovel or anime, or the person doing it. |
| TPB | Trade paperback | Collected edition that reprints several issues of a comic series, usually one complete story arc, in a single paperback volume sold in bookstores and comic shops. |
| TPTB | The powers that be | Fandom term for the people who control a show, film or franchise, such as writers, producers, networks and studios, especially when they make unpopular decisions. |
| VA | Voice actor | Performer who provides the voice of a character in anime, animation, dubbing or video games. |
| WIP | Work in progress | Partly finished goods in a manufacturing process, recorded as inventory and valued at the materials, labor and overhead costs incurred so far. |
| Y/N | Your name | Placeholder in reader-insert fan fiction, where the reader imagines themselves as the protagonist, as in "Y/N walked into the room." Common on Wattpad, Tumblr and AO3… |