Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls

Glossary

glossary . . . . . au: acronym for “Alternate Universe” or fanfiction that places characters from the original show/book/film into non-canon scenarios. For example , Dean and Sam are doctor and patient (or werewolf and vampire) instead of demon-hunting brothers. bnf: acronym for Big Name Fans or fans that have attained a certain prominence within the fandom. BNFs are not always looked on kindly by other fans. canon: the world according to the creator/writers of the original show/ book/film. Canon “errors” (anything that fans don’t particularly like) are fixed by rewriting them in fanfiction. crack fic: a story so bizarre or implausible that it is said the writer must have been on crack when she wrote it. This is not a bad thing. destiel: slash pairing of the Supernatural characters of Dean Winchester and the angel Castiel. The pairing gives rise to, among other things, wing fic. emo: from “emotional,” a person who experiences extreme emotions or feels things deeply. Often applied to certain genres of music, to fanfiction which is intensely emotional and thus intensely satisfying (“emoporn”), and to Sam Winchester. fanfiction: stories written by fans featuring the characters from the fanned book/film/series. These stories often reinterpret the characters (understatement), fill in gaps in the story line, or focus on less prominent characters. fanfiction.net: one of the first online fanfiction sites, hosting fiction from hundreds of fandoms. fanon: interpretations of the original text/actors by fans that become part of the fandom history and eventually become as widely accepted as the actual facts. fanzines: a pre-Internet method of distributing fanfiction. Fanzines (or 242 glossary “zines”) were often mailed or passed around at fan conventions, often literally under the table. first rule of fandom: to tell no one about fandom. This is a comment on the widely held belief that fan activities should not be shared with anyone outside fandom, especially the people on the other side, such as actors and writers. The rule is enforced much like the first rule of the movie Fight Club on which it is patterned. flame war: a heated online argument between two individuals that results in those involved posting personal attacks on each other. Sometimes started purposely by users (known as trolls) who want to cause trouble. Common fandom advice: Don’t feed the trolls! friends list: the other members who “friend” you on Live Journal. Your friends list or f-list will see (and perhaps comment on) your posts, and you will see theirs. gen: fanfiction that does not involve characters in a romantic relationship. Supernatural has lots of gen fanfic. No really, it does! genderswap: fanfiction in which male characters are suddenly (usually magically) turned into women, or vice versa, with resultant body part confusion. het: fanfiction in which the romantic pairings are heterosexual. Supernatural does not lend itself to het, since most of the recurring female characters are swiftly killed off. hurt/comfort: fanfiction in which one character is injured or otherwise rendered vulnerable, giving another character the opportunity to care for him. Very popular in all fandoms. icons: avatars that fans use to accompany online posts, often reflecting whatever is going on in fandom at that time, whether wanky or humorous. j2 or jsquared: fanfiction romantically pairing actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. Mathematically incorrect. live journal (lj): social networking site used by fan communities to post fanworks and discuss fans’ favorite series/book/film. Thought of (perhaps erroneously) as a “safe place,” more anonymous and less visible than Facebook or Twitter. lurker: someone who reads or watches what goes on in online fandom but doesn’t actively participate. glossary 243 manip: short for “photo manipulation.” Photos are usually altered to place two characters or actors into erotic positions. When done well? Hot. Not so well? Hilarious. meme: a concept or pattern that spreads from person to person via Internet sites such as blogs, journals, social networking sites, and YouTube. There are hate memes, love memes, and everything in between. meta: metacommentary or intellectual discussion centering on larger ideas and issues raised by the fanned series/book/film. Also known as “thinky thoughts.” mpreg: fanfiction in which a male character finds himself pregnant. What? newbie: someone new to fandom, who does not yet understand the culture and norms. nsfw: acronym for “Not Safe for Work,” a...