Fluff
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | WAFF (Warm and Fuzzy/Fluffy Feelings), HHJJ (Happy Happy Joy Joy), happyfic |
| Related tropes/genres | PWP, schmoop, TAFF, sillyfic, Tissue Warning, Curtainfic |
| See also | angst, comfortfic, Fairytale Romance |
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| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Fluff is often used in fandom to characterize any pleasant, feel-good work. It is sometimes described as the opposite of angst. Fluff may lack plot; however, unlike a PWP the focus is not sex, but displays of affection between two or more characters, whether their relationship is romantic or not. A fluff story may be gen and focused on family (or found family) interactions. It may also indicate a mood piece with warm, uplifting descriptions, such as this narrative about the music of the TARDIS from Doctor Who.
There is also the adjective, Fluffy, which can be used to modify another genre to indicate a sweet and happy story, e.g. "a fluffy PWP" for a sweet or mushy PWP, or even to qualify darker genres, e.g. TAFF or "fluffy angst" (sometimes combined into "flangst").[1]
Some fans describe their own fluff as "so sweet it'll give you cavities."
From a fan in 2002:
Fluffy fan fiction depends on one key component: bringing happiness to the reader. Fluffy stories are the ones that leave you all warm and fuzzy without having to jump through the hoops of angst or having to crawl under the barbed wire of doom. You rarely cry over fluffy fan fiction, instead preferring to laugh and smile. Whilst fluffy is probably considered the direct opposite of angst fiction, the term ‘fluffy’ does not automatically belong to any story without angst. There are a number of angst-free romances, comedies and adventure stories that are not considered fluffy, instead falling into the wide middle ground between the two terms. [2]
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanart
See the following artist pages:
Fanfiction
- The Curse of Saturdays
- don't leave me tongue-tied
- heads or tails
- on my lips (your laughter is the sweetest)
Meta
- Bringing the Happy: My Guide to Understanding Fluffy Fan Fiction by Melina (2002)
References
- ^ Ashera. Glossary and fan fiction introduction. Last updated: March 13th, 2001
- ^ from Bringing the Happy: My Guide to Understanding Fluffy Fan Fiction by Melina (2002)
