by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: May 03, 2010   Last Updated: September 03, 2011

If you have read much fanfiction, you may have come across the term WAFF. This abbreviation stands for Warm And Fuzzy Feelings.

This genre of fanfiction is written with the intent to give the reader an emotionally nice, sweet feeling. During the course of the story, or at the end of it, a story like this is supposed to have you saying, "Aww, that's so sweet!"

Because of the sweet and, oftentimes, romantic overtones of WAFF fanfiction, the majority of those who read these stories are teenaged girls and young women. There are men who read them as well, of course, but they might do so only when they are certain no one else is around to catch them in the act.

WAFF fanfiction tends to be entirely free of any angst or dark subject matter. They are "feel good" stories. Some fanfiction glossaries go so far as to call them pointless due to their sometimes idealistic tones and the lack of plot some exhibit.

It is from the acronym WAFF that the adjective form WAFFy has been created; it is used in phrasings such as, "That story had some WAFFy moments, and I liked it!"

This genre of fanfiction can often serve to tie up loose ends that were left by a series' abrupt end. They could also simply be continuations of stories a writer felt were not adequately resolved in one episode.

As such, they tend to take romantic turns. These usually aren't graphic or explicit and are usually suitable for general audiences.

There are, however, WAFFy Lemons, a crossbreed of fanfiction which do have graphic depictions of sexual encounters.

A writer can, of course, compose a WAFF for just about any purpose.

They can easily be stand-alone stories that take place at no specific time relative to the source material. They could also be interstitial stories that serve as a bridge between chapters or episodes. They can be a way to see characters be happy, for however brief a time, especially when the source material is of a darker or more cynical bent.

Similarly, overly happy series, like comedies, can inspire darkfic, which place characters in situations that deal with somewhat depressing subject matter such as death or serious illness.

Related genres of fanfiction are fluff pieces and smarm, which are very sweet, "gooey" fics that lack plot. There is also PWP, or Plot? What plot?, which is a general term for stories with no plot that may or may not have descriptions of sex.

But the goal of a WAFF is to leave its readers with a generally happy feeling. While they might not necessarily have a deep plotline, they can be fun, both to write and to read, just as much fanfiction is meant to be.

References:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WAFF

http://web.archive.org/web/20080822041856/http://www .subreality.com/glossary/terms.htm#W

http://web.archive.org/web/20080610144428/http://www .romanticsgarden.com/shippers/shippers_fanfiction.ht m

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