Fanish Acronyms and Jargon

Acronyms for Shows

Acronyms for Characters

Just 'The Sentinel'

Just 'Due South'

Just 'Gundam Wing'

Fanfic Writers Information

Ten Commandments Of E-Mail

Ratings

English/American Ratings

Australian Ratings

Sex Story Warnings

Categories

YOAI Labels

Okay, so what is slash? It is any romance/sex story written about two people of the same gender who happen to be fictional characters from an established TV/Movie/Book series. People who write these stories are called slashers.

Couples currently in fashion include : The Sentinel's Jim and Blair = J/B, Starsky and Hutch = S/H, Deep Space Nine's Garak and Bashir = G/B, Due South's Fraser and Ray Veccio/Kowalski = F/V or F/K (or you could go both Ray's! ). There are many more. The convention is to put the person with the highest rank, age or authority before the other in the abbreviation.

The age group of slash fans is varied. It ranges from women in their sixties, to girls in their early teens. As expected, the 30 year olds are the most numerous, but at this time, they are the most likely to be online of all the age groups anyway.

ABH : Anywhere But Here, done from the reader's point of view, like in "choose your own adventure" books, You! are the star of the story.

Actor fic = Same as Real People Slash. Writers use real facts about real celebrities and make up very graphic sex stories about them, along with various self-harming tendencies and drug habits. Possibly some twisted form of Mary Sue-ism going on.

AKA : Also Known As i.e. an alias, a nom de plume, a pen name or chat room/net name.

AN : Authors Notes. Comments and insights from the author, often found at the beginning or end of the story. If they contain spoilers for the story (ie a Death warning) can be a link to a separate page to prevent giving the story away to those who don't wish to know.

Bad Fic - originally just badly written stories, now has it's own following, with stories purposely done to hit all the turn off buttons, like bad spelling, no grammar, superhuman Mary Sue's, incorrect characterisations, painful and unsafe sex acts etc, etc... Often done now for a humour effect. See Here

Beta Reader - A fanfic editor. Someone who reads the story as it is written or before putting up on the net to look for spelling errors, story holes etc

Bondage - restrains used, from handcuffs to full body tape.

B&D, B/D, bd : warnings that the story contains 'Bondage and Domination' - physical and mind control games, often with humiliation involved.

Bdsm : warning that the story contains both b&d (bondage & discipline) and s&m (sadism & masochism).

BNF : Big Name Fan; A writer who is a celebrity in their own right, either as an author or actor.

BYFO : Burn Your Face Off; a category of stories that feature hot and steamy sex scenes.

BOTW : Babe of the Week; a woman put in an episode or story to provide a fleeting 'love interest' for one of the characters.

Canon = story law based on what occurs in the actual TV/film/book series. Canon can often contradict itself, but we love it anyway.

CSI = Crazy Space Incest. A warning about incest in a story.

Dark fic = stories that are dark in tone i.e. contain self harm, rape, torture etc. Unlikely to have a happy ending, or even a decent resolution.

Drabble = A story of exactly 100 words. Usually given as a challenge.

DS9 (ST) : Deep Space Nine. (Star Trek)

EG or <eg> : Evil Grin.

Egoboo = Publicity for yourself or anything that boost your ego. A good LOC or feed back can be an egoboo.

ep = episode (of a series.)

FAFIA : Forced Away From it All, due to pressure beyond your control, i.e. the computer blew up, tornadoes hit town etc....

Fan : shortening of fanatic (It's true!)

Fanart : artwork done by fans of their favourite characters. Can be unbelievably good, but lots is...not so good. Can include wallpapers, icons and other media, like cross stich patterns. No, really.

Fandom = the legions of fans who love a particular show and all things related to it.

Fanfic = fan-written fiction. Stories by the fans, for the fans.

Fanon = story law based on fan agreed ideas. (As apposed to canon which is made by the original show creators.)

Fanac = fan activity i.e. chat online during episode showings, rallies, gatherings, talking endlessly about grammar and punctuation.

Fanwank = to talk about your fandom, to discuss favourite pairings, attributes of favourite characters, why you love it so etc.

Fanzine = magazines written for fans, by fans.

FAQ : Frequently Asked Questions. There usually is a group of regularly asked questions. Like, does Blair have a nipple ring?

Feedback = letters to fan writers saying what the reader liked about the story. Good egoboo!

Femslash = stories depicting an all female (f/f) relationship.

Fen = plural of fan. As a fan I must beware the frenzy of the swarming fen as they await their next fanzine!

Fic = story i.e. I loved your latest HP fic.

Ficlet = short fan based story.

FIAWOL : Fandom is a Way of Life. Fan rallying cry!

FIJAGH : Fandom is Just a Goddamn Hobby.

Filk = songs based on a fandom. Like a folk song, but fan related.

Flame = personal attack, can be masked as a LOC or feedback.

Fluff = cute, light romance fics written for the feel-good moment.

Furries = anthropomorphic animals, people/animal cartoon blends (Fox-boy etc). Both a slash category and a kink in it's own right.

GAFIA : Getting Away From It All.

g or *G* or <g> = Grin.

Geek!Grissom = instead of saying 'I am a lover of Grissom (from CSI) acting all geeky' or 'oooh, this story has a sex starved Danny Messer (from CSI NY) in it', you say 'I © Geek!Grissom' or 'this story has Slut!Danny in it!'

Gen = general fan fiction, not slash.

Hat stand = code word for slash ie "Wanna go and chat about hatstands?" Why is it the code? Because hat stands all have bent hooks on them.

Het = heterosexual fanfic, where relationships between men and women are portrayed. (Boring, in other words).

HoYay = Homoeroticism, Yay! Term originated on Television Without Pity, in the Angel forums. Same meaning as slash.

HHJJ : Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

IMHO : In My Humble Opinion.

JMHO : Just My Humble Opinion.

LOC (sometimes LoC): Letter of Comment. Fan mail of sorts for slash writers. It is generally written to express a comment, make a suggestion, voice an opinion, correct a mistake in canon etc. A LOC is a letter designed to convey some kind of information, rather than just feel-good feedback.

LOL : Laugh Out Loud.

LP : Long Post.

Manips = photo manipulations. Where real pictures of the characters are played with i.e. put a characters head on a posing naked body, turn two characters leaning in to two characters kissing etc.

Mirror site = a site which carries an exact copy of another. Done to make easier access for those overseas or to overcome firewalls etc.

MS : Mary Sue. Story character transparently based on the author of a story (or who the author would like to be). Once thought a bit of an embarrassment, now has a following of readers who like that particular style.

Mundane = real life, not fan related.

Mundanes = people not in a fandom.

Muse = one who gives inspiration for stories. Can be a character/actor, a friend who sparks ideas, or just your own imagination. Fire Frog is my Muse, he rides a racing snail and delivers Plot Bunnies to my doorstep all the time. Darn that fairy frog 'o' mine!

NCR : Not Chat (or Cat) Related.

Neofan = A newbie or person new to fandom.

OC : Original Character. A character created by the fan writer, one that does not appear in the original (canon).

OOC : Out Of Character. Bad characterisation, not maintaining the voice and characteristics of the original fiction.

OFC : Original Female Character. Any 'writer created' woman written into a fanfic to be the love interest/knock-upside the head of our love birds.

OMC : Original Male Character. Any 'writer created' man written into a fanfic to be the love interest/knock-upside the head of our love birds.

OT : Off Topic. A post that discusses something other than the famdom i.e. a list sibs ill health, a get together 'What do you want to eat?' query or discussion of the weather, pets, elections, latest movie release etc.

OTP : One True Pairing. The slash couple that you think is the best match up, and nobody better say otherwise!

OTT : Over The Top. i.e. OTT angst = exceeds the necessary conditions of the story, angst that's thrown in not because it's needed to make the story work, but as a way to torque up the reader's emotional response.

POV : Point Of View. When reading a story the point of view can be that of one of the main characters (first person), or of a villain (second person), or a third person (omnipotent 'watcher') or even point of view of the reader (you! are the pirate king).

Pre-slash = Prelude to a slash story. Stories where the characters are still discovering or accepting their feelings for each other. Sometimes written to set the scene for the next story, which will be slash.

Plot Bunny = ideas for a story often seems to spark other ideas, multiplying rapidly just like rabbits do! Plot Bunnies have taken on a life of their own, they can breed, be adopted out to others, invade & gang up on an author, cross breed with dust bunnies, mutate and generally cause havoc. Build yourself a hutch and catch a Plot Bunny today!

PWP : Plot, What Plot? An all sex story! 

RL : Real Life. Life outside of the net and fandom.

Round robin = A story written by a group of authors, the first writing the beginning and then passing it on to another author, etc. until it is finished.

RPS : Real People Slash. Writers use real facts about real celebrities and make up very graphic sex stories about them, along with various self-harming tendencies and drug habits. Possibly some twisted form of Mary Sue-ism going on.

NoRomo = No Romance. Opposite to a Shipper, a NoRomo does not value the romance between the (most often het) couple in a series.

SASE : Self Addressed, Stamped Envelope. Often asked to be included in a letter so the recipient can send you a reply.

Screen Caps = Pictures captured strait from a TV/computer link.

Shipper = Relationshipper. Someone who supports a relationship (canon or non-canon, often het) in a series.

SO : Significant Other. The ball and chain. Love of your life. The One. Your life partner. Other half of your soul. Your Mate. Your Chosen One. Your Destiny.

SOC : Successful Original Character. A character the writer has included in a fanfic that fits so nicely, they could have been part of the original show!

Spoilers = A warning that what follows contains information about a show/movie/book etc that not everyone will have seen yet, and that will 'spoil' the joy for them of finding out for themselves.

ST : Star Trek.

Squick = something in a story that turns you off, made you squirm or feel sick. It squicked you.

Slash = stories featuring two (or more) people of the same gender romantically and/or sexually involved.

Smarm = fan stories that don't involve romance or sex, but show demonstrations of deep, abiding, platonic affection, most
frequently within a hurt/comfort scenario.

Subtext = any element in canon dialogue or actions that could be interpreted as slashy.

Sugar warning = or diabetic warning. This story is sweet and sugary with plenty of sap, snuggles and family melt your heart goodness.

Summery = A fic's description, the bait that gets readers to click a story link.

TBC : To Be Continued. Indicating the end of part one etc. If combined with a WIP warning at the beginning, then it means that part two has not been written yet.

Tissue/hanky warning = warning that the story may induce the reader to cry, thus needing a tissue to sniffle in. Sometimes rated a two or three tissue box weepy.

TS = The Sentinel. (TV show.) Police/civilian liaison series with science/supernatural overtones. Lots of subtext.

Trekies = Star Trek fans. Also known as Trekers. The fandom that first started slashing characters.

UST : Unresolved Sexual Tension. Sexual tension between a couple that has yet to be fulfilled ie by lots of sex.

VBG : Very Big Grin.

WIP : Writing In Progress. Indicates that the story has not been finished yet, it is in the process of being written.

Voyeurism = A kink where the voyeur likes to watch and the exhibitionist likes to be watched. If the person being watched is not aware of it, the voyeur is a peeping tom.

Zine = Short for fanzine.

B7 - Blakes Seven.

Bab5 - Babylon 5.

BtVS - Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

DS - Due South.

DS9 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

HL:TR - Highlander: The Raven.

HL or HL:TS - Highlander: The Series.

HP - Harry Potter.

LotR - Lord of the Rings.

PotC - Pirates of the Caribbean.

RGB - Real Ghostbusters.

TOS - Star Trek: The Original Series

TS - The Sentinel.

TNG - Star Trek: The Next Generation.

VOY - Star Trek: Voyager.

XF - X-Files.

BtVS - Buffy = B. Cordellia = C. Tara = T. Willow = W. Anya = Ay. Faith = F. Giles = G. Spike = S. Ethan = E. Angel = A. Xander = X. Wesley = Wes. Oz = Oz.

DS - Benton Fraser = F. Ray Vecchio = V or R1. Ray Kowalski = K or R2. Renfield Turnbull = RT. Buck Frobisher = BuF. Robert Fraser Sr = RF.

HL - Duncan MacLeod = DM or D. Joe Dawson = J. Methos = M.

HP - Albus Dumbledoor = AD. Severus Snape = SS. Hagrid = H. Remus Lupin/Mooney = RL. Serius Black/Padfoot = SB. James Potter = JP. Peter Petigrew = PP. Voldimort = V.

LotR - Frodo = F. Sam = S. Legolas = L. Gimli = Gi. Aragorn = Ag. Gandalf = G. Merry Brandybuck = MB. Pipin = P. Boromir = B. Elrond = E. Faramir =Fa. Haldir = H. Sauron = Su. Gollum = Go.

PotC - Jack Sparrow = J. William Turner = WT. Commodore Norrington = N. Barbossa = B.

RGB - Egon = E. Peter = P. Ray = R. Winston = W. Janine = J. Tully = T.

TOS - James T Kirk = K. Leonard McCoy = Mc or M. Spock = S.

TNG - Jean-Luc Picard = P. Q = Q. Data = D. Jordy = J.

TS - Blair Sandburg = B or BS. James Ellison = J. Simon Banks = S. Rafe = R.

VOY - Chakotay = C. Harry Kim =K. Tom Paris = P.

XF - Fox Mulder = M. Walter Skinner = Sk. Alex Krycek = K. Dana Scully = S or Sc.

m = any non major character male in the series. Can be an original character.

f = any non major character female in the series. Can be an original character.

Angel Shot = A screen capture which makes Blair look better than the BOTW. There are quite a few of them, he's a lovely guy.

DeoBs : Dead End on Blank Street (ep)

M101 : Murder 101 (ep)

NFWTG : Nobody Fucks With the Guide; a rallying cry for SenFen.

NFWTGBM : Nobody Fucks With The Guide But Me; Jim's version.

Obsenad = Obligatory story written to a list for making an OT post. Story must be about the show, involve it's characters etc.

OWW : One West Waikiki, the show the actor who plays Jim Ellison was in before starting The Sentinel.

Owwies = means a story has one of the characters being hurt, normally resulting in them receiving 'comfort'. <smerk>

SenFen = The Sentinel fans. Those crazy girls and guys that support, love and lavish time on Our Show.

Senner = As above.

S2 : Sentinel, Too; A cliff hanger. (S2P1& S2P2 is part one & two of the episodes)

SOS : Save Our Sentinel; SenFen rally cry. Also a group dedicated to bringing back more episodes of the show.

TSbBS : The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg (ep)

Zine Farr = From Trekkie pon farr (Vulcan mate or die ordeal) When a publisher is about to publish and goes story crazy!

DueSies = favourite quotes from the series.

DueSers = Due South fans.

OFC : Our Favourite Cop.

OFCC : Our Favourite Chicago Cop.

OFDM : Our Favourite Dead Mounty (Frasers dad - Robert).

OFM : Our Favourite Mountie. (Fraser!)

OFW : Our Favourite Wolf -
Diefenbaker.

RCMP : Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

TDL : The Dragon Lady, Inspector Thatcher.

V V : Vile Victoria, villainess who broke OFM's heart.

I Go Both Rays = an indication that someone is open to pairing either Ray from the series with the mountie. There are 2 Ray's, both cops, one is pretending to be the other one, although they look nothing alike. It's TV, folks, it doesn't have to make sense!

Pairings are represented by numbers ie 1x2. Dominant partner is shown first ie 6x2 or equal pairing by x1 ie 4x5x1.

1 - Heero Yui.

2 - Duo Maxwell.

3 - Trowa Barton.

4 - Quatre Raberba Winner.

5 - Chang Wufei

6 - Zechs Merquise

9 - Lucretzia Noin

11 - Lady Une

13 - Treize Kushrenada

OZ - 'Order of the Zodiac'

Beta Reader = someone who checks an authors story for continuity, spelling and grammar errors before they post it to the web. There are lists on the web of people who are willing to do this.

Disclaimer = a short blurb at the top of a story (or web page) declaring that the author does not own the characters and has no intention of violating copy write by making money from their stories.

Spelling Nazi's = people who get a lot of pleasure from finding spelling mistakes in online stories and pointing them out to the authors.

Summery = A short description of your fic, the bait that gets readers to click on your story. Please - take time on this, it is important. Stay to the point, don't beg people to read your stuff, or say 'just read it to find out what happens!' It's kinda lame when folks do that.

Short Story : (5-39 pages) 75k or less

Long Story : (40-100 pages) 75k - 165k

Novella : (100-174 pages) 165k - 265k

Novel : (175+ pages) 265k+

They are very important, if the right rating isn't given to a story, readers might be squicked, and stop reading. Many people see ratings as a form of censorship. I think of them as a general warning and as advertisement! (hey, it's a hair fetish story!!! I've looked everywhere for one of those!)

As you will see, some ratings you wonder why people bother putting them up, and others you will be jolly glad to learn about before it's to late, and you start to get involved with the story.

If you read a story with one of these labels on, and don't like the sex acts depicted there-in, please don't write to the author and complain, as you were warned. Read warnings carefully, and if you are a story writer, put clear warnings on your stuff.

D - death, often clarified as : death of a minor character, death of an original character, or death of a main character.

DD - domestic discipline, where one partner controls the other by bashing them for transgressions such as looking at another person, putting their life at risk during the fulfilment of their work (cops especially) and failing to have dinner cooked and on the table in time. Not a sexual quirk - a dangerous lifestyle.

S&M, S/M, sm - sadist/masochist or slave/master.
Story involves actual pain and humiliation. Always consensual.
If non-consensual, it's plain sadism.

Sadism = story involves actual pain and humiliation. P
hysical violence and injury may be graphically depicted.

Note: Fire Frog suggests that you read stories with the above warnings only if, A) you already know you like that kind of story, and B) you are not easily depressed.

Any kink out of the ordinary (golden showers, toe fetish etc) should be listed, if you want to avoid squicking a reader.

Songfic = story based on the lyrics of a song (which is quoted in the story.)

Filk = Actual songs/limericks/poems based on and about a fandom. Like a folk song, but fan related.

Historical = time travel or stories set in another era.

WIP = Writing In Progress. A story being published as it is written, chapter by chapter. Good in that you get the story now. Bad in that real life sometimes strikes and you don't get to find out what happens until the RL problem is solved - can be months/years later! Authors have even died, leaving unfinished stories behind them. Aaargh!

Cross over = Also x-over. Story using characters/scenarios from two or more different fandoms i.e. The Sentinel and The X-Files/Highlander/Due South/Deep Space Nine.

PWP = Plot, What Plot? Plotless sex. Yay!

Vignette = short snapshot story. Paints a picture with words.

AU = 'Alternate Universe' or 'Another Universe', stories not based on canon i.e. where the characters are all turned into the opposite sex, or live on Mars, or the cute one never died in the final episode as he did in the show. Basically a cover all for stories that wander away from canon.

Betrayal = (of slashed partners) one sleeps round on the other etc.

Continuation = Stories that tell what happens after the series has finished up, like Starsky and Hutch; the tale begins either directly after the final episode, or years later.

Hurt/Comfort (H/C) = Where one person is injured, and the other comforts them; often leading to intimate dealings. Beware, sometimes torture fic can be placed under this heading, get to know your authors and who is likely to miss-label their stories so.

Angst = As above, but mental pain, not physical. Fanfic in which a character's emotional pain is a central plot element. Prized by readers for the intensity which it adds to a story. Even more likely to turn out to be unremitting character bashing with little or no 'comfort' to be had.

Mpreg = male pregnancy.

Established Relationship = The main story pairing are already an item.

First Times = the 'getting together' of the main pairing. Usually, but not always about the first sexual encounter as well.

Pre-Slash = the story just prior to the main couple becoming an item. They are in love, they just don't know it yet!

Romance = A love story.

Humour = meant to be funny, possibly a satire. Warning, humour is in the eye of the beholder. Americans don't like or 'get' sarcasm, Aussie larrikinism is sometimes seen as disrespectful and English surrealism and toilet humour is not for everyone either!

Jammies = sleep over stories in which the characters get to romp around in their pj's. Yes, really.

Holiday = fics that happen on a holiday festival, like Easter, Xmas, Halloween etc. Often family related.

MS: Mary Sue = contains a character transparently based on the author of a story (or who the author would like to be).

Virtual Season = written as a continuation, often involving several writers. Seeks to create the further exploits of the characters from the series as if each story were another episode.

Missing scene = ever wondered what happens in that missing screen time where we cut from the guys standing in the lab to the guys making a drug bust? Wonder no more, the fan fiction has been written to fill in these blank spots.

Episode based = a story based on what those looks 'really' meant in your favourite episode - often includes missing scenes and continuations.

Challenge = a dare, for instance someone will challenge the rest of the fans to write a story about the main couple, sled dogs, cream cheese and a hand gun.

Fix-it = where the author changes the canon story line to prevent circumstances that would lead to insurmountable obstacles in the characters relationship i.e. one kills the other, or sells them out to their enemy etc.

Cartoon me.

A chibbi is shorter with less detailed features.