Words to Know

AU - “Alternate Universe.” Used to describe written or artistic works that take place outside of an original work’s canon.

Beta Reader - An editor of fanfiction.

Big Bang - A term used to describe a competition wherein fan writers and artists team up to produce work within a given time frame.

Canon - Anything that happens within a given original work. For example, all seven of the Harry Potter books are considered “canon” for members of the fandom.

Con - Slang for “convention.”

Crossover: fanfiction that combines two or more original works. For example, a fanfiction might include Sherlock Holmes and Darth Vader working together to solve a heinous crime.

Disclaimer: a header often included before fanfiction or fan art which states that the creator of said fan works does not own the original work or the characters belonging to said original work.

Drabble: A brief (usually 100 words or less) work of fan fiction.

Ep: Abbreviation meaning “episode.”

Fandom: Short for “fanatic dominion” or "fan kingdom." Delineates a network of individuals who create for or discuss one or more original works.

Fanon: Canon, but for fans rather than the original work itself. Often used to describe widely accepted beliefs about an original work held by fans.

Femslash: Used to describe works that contain sexual relationships between women.

F/F: Indicates that a lesbian relationship will appear in a work.

F/M: Indicates that a heterosexual relationship will appear in a work.

Fluff: A work that is considered to be low-stress upon the reader. Often slice-of-life, cute, or humorous.

Hurt/Comfort: a work in which a character is injured physically or emotionally, and then cared for by another character.

Lemon: An outdated term used to indicate that a work will contain explicit sexual scenes.

Mary-Sue: A term used to describe an original female character inserted into a fan work, who is considered to be too powerful, extreme, or similar to a self-insert.

M/M: Indicates that a gay relationship will appear in a work.

OC: Short for “original character.” Indicates any character who does not appear in the canon of an original work.

OFC: Original female character.

OMC: Original male character.

OOC: “Out of character.” Used to indicate a fan work that shows a character acting in a way that they would not in a canon work. Often used in a derogatory or insulting manner.

OS: Original series.

Pairing: Two character in a romantic or sexual relationship within a work.

Pre-slash: A term used to indicate a work that, while it does not contain an explicit homosexual relationship between characters, does introduce the potential for one to occur.

PWP: “Porn Without Plot” or “Plot, What Plot.” Used to indicate a work that focuses primarily on the sexual relationship between two or more characters.

RL: Real Life.

RP: Role Play.

RPF: Real Person Fiction. Used to denote works written about actual people, usually celebrities of some kind. Many fans object to RPF because they feel that it is a violation of the person's privacy. Others argue that RPF is totally all right because they're writing about a public persona - a character in and of itself - rather than the celebrity in their entirety.

Ship: Another term used to describe a romantic or sexual relationship supported by fans.

Songfic: A fanwork based on a song or featuring a song prominently.

Spoiler: Anything within a work that may give away what happens in canon.

UST: “Unresolved Sexual Tension.

#vocabulary #fandom #wordstoknow