Slash

Slash refers to romance and/or sex between two characters of the same gender. Like all kinds of fanfic, it can be very good when it's well written, but very often it is not. Often, at least one of the characters is some kind of Mary Sue, or otherwise very OOC. Bad slash is dealt with by the Department of Bad Slash.

Synonyms
Slash is known by many codenames. In fact, 'slash' is probably the most covert term used, or at least, to non-ficcers, the term 'slash' carries no hint of what it actually means. However, terms such as 'mansex', 'mansexing,' 'gaysex' 'buttsex' 'buttsecks' 'teh gaysecks' and other derivatives are common, and not very subtle.

Slash Conventions
Set-up

There are several different ways slash stories can be set up.

First, and least imaginative is when the author assumes that the relationship is longstanding and thus not needful of justification. This approach effectively cuts out any plot tension or conflict from the potentially fruitful source of family and friends, who depending on continuum may or may not be particularly happy with their relation/friend being in a homosexual relationship.

Another popular scenario is when mutual attraction is discovered accidentally through a set of circumstances including but not limited to - drunkeness, being in a fight (either on the same side or opposing), being forced into an arranged relationship due to hitherto unheard of social customs, being imprisoned together, sex-pollen or aphrodisiac fruit, etc.

Sometimes a slash story can be non-consensual ('non-con'), where one character forces another to engage in actions against their will. Rather improbably, non-con stories occasionally end in the forced party realising they were in love all along.

Generally, the most successful set-up for a slash story is one where the relationship is shown developing, and consequences of actions are explored. i.e., the requirements are the same as for most other kinds of fiction.

Things commonly encountered in bad slashfic


 * Token Homophobic Jerks: Characters who, without any prior form in canon, are violently against homosexual interaction.


 * Dubious lube: Commonly found in fics, even otherwise-good-fics, where the author is personally inexperienced or hasn't really thought through the consequences of putting certain things in certain places.


 * The Pronoun Problem: Difficulty discerning which 'he' is the subject and which is the object of any given sentence. A common method of getting over this is excessive use of the characters' names. In genfic, it is often possible to spot a habitual slash-author by their instinctive avoidance of pronouns, even when they'd be perfectly correct and unambiguous.


 * Unrealistically Tolerant Pillocks: Characters, usually friends-or-relations of one of the characters being slashed, who react to the news of gayness with 'hooray, I'm so pleased for you, I hope your buttsecks is wonderful!' despite living in a time/place where they'd at least be dubious about the whole arrangement.


 * Woobiefication: Where one character is effectively turned into a thirteen year old girl. It should be noted that this definition of woobie is not the same as that espoused by TVTropes.


 * Mpreg: Male pregnancy.

Yaoi
Slash as written by fans of anime and manga. It is nominally targeted towards girls.

Yaoi has slightly different conventions to 'regular' slash, including casting the two main characters into submissive/dominant roles: Uke and Seme.

Nearly nine times out of ten, in a canon that is not conventially the home of yaoi, fanon will tend to push one character or another into these roles.

It is also a given in Lord of the Rings fanfiction that the elf is going to end up the uke much more often than not.