A type of fanfiction focusing on same-sex relationships which aren't part of the canon of the particular work being slashed. Often, slash draws heavily on the homoerotic subtext between two characters in the canon work.
The term comes from the symbol (a slash: "/") used to indicate relationships between two characters, e.g. Ron/Harry, Simon/Mal, Buffy/Faith, Legolas/Boromir.
Slash involving female characters is usually referred to as "femmeslash" or "femslash" to distinguish it from the predominantly male characterisation in most slash fanfiction.
See also: Fanfiction
