An Official Fanfiction University or OFU is a type of fanfiction in which the fangirls and fanboys who write badfic for that particular fandom are rounded up to be taught better writing. This is usually done with the aid of Learning Through Pain. Fanfiction Universities are usually run by at least one coordinator, alongside the canon characters and whatever minis that belong to that fandom. The coordinator is frequently not the headmaster; the headmaster is usually implied to be the official author for that series (e.g. J.R.R. Tolkien for the Official Fanfiction University of Middle-earth, Brian Jacques for the Official Fanfiction University of Redwall, etc.)
The creator of the first OFU is Miss Cam, who is responsible for the Official Fanfiction University of Middle-earth. Since OFUM was launched in 2002, around a hundred spin-offs have been written. Many are linked here; however, that list is somewhat outdated. Others can be found here on this wiki.
Initially, all OFUs had to be authorised by Miss Cam. This is no longer the case, as she has granted a blanket approval on them as long as credit is given. OFUs are generally limited to one per fandom.
Completed OFUs[]
As OFU stories are usually very long, only a few have ever run to completion (in fact, most never make it past Chapter One). The only finished OFUs known to the PPC are:
- The Official Fanfiction University of Middle-earth (Link)
- The Hogwarts Fanfiction Academy (Link)
- The International Academy of Hetalia Fanfiction (Link)
- The Official Fanfiction University of Discworld (Link)
- The Official Fanfiction University of Dragonball Z (Link)
- The Official Fanfiction University of the Caribbean (Link)
To the best of our knowledge, there has never been a completed OFU sequel, though all of the above stories except OFUDisc and OFUD have partial sequels.
Rules of OFUs, Written and Unwritten[]
It is traditional for an OFU to be headed by a coordinator who is an incarnation of the author of the OFU. Assisting that character are a number of canon characters who are made into staff members for the duration of the university. The OFU usually follows one original character who, caught at bad writing, is forced to attend the school. In order for other students to attend, readers submit applications to the OFU head, whereupon they are fictionalized and rendered as whatever species they wrote down. (Be careful what you wish for, new applicants! Very, very careful!)
OFUs are infamous for their exacting standards of behavior, and fans who treat canon or grammar poorly are soundly admonished, usually with the help of the university minis. The key features which define an OFU are, therefore:
- Lessons given by canon characters
- Learning Through Pain
- Fandom-specific minis created from misspellings of canon names, who act as security for the OFU