Fan Dictionary

Stratadrake · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:53 pm Post subject:

Lemons are actually stronger / more explicit than limes.

[b]Canon[/b] ("cannon") - Story elements that define and distinguish a given source material (anime, manga, etc.), such as what personalities are assigned to the main characters (and villains), the layout of the plot, place names, and other events.

[b]Fanon[/b] ("fan un") - Short for "fan canon", these are elements that weren't part of the original/official story, which were invented by fans, but have since been generally agreed upon as "true" material for the story.

[b]Anthro[/b] ("ann throw") - A vague and poorly defined term describing a character who is supposed to be partly human and partly animal. The actual description/appearance of an "anthro" varies by artist and author.
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silver_dreams · Elder Than Dirt Joined: 05 Feb 2004 Posts: 5102

[quote="YearOfTheCat ()"] I think it's high time that fanfiction and fanart had a dictionary to themselves. So, as the thread goes, let's define fanmaded terms. Here we go:

[b]lemon[/b] - (lehm uhn) n. a story involving large amounts of nudity and sexual contact; also called a lime

If need be, correct me if I'm wrong. [/quote]
lemon= typically NC-17 rated material dealing with fully detailed sex scenes

lime= typically stays around R, may hint at sexual contact but no actual intercourse goes on. if it does, it's hinted at.

KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

[b]Spooge Fic:[/b] (spoog fik) A story with graphic sex for little or no reason.

[b]Silly Fic:[/b] A story that usually doesn't fall within any time period or plotline, has no real theme except silliness, and whose entire point is plotless humor.

[b]'Ship:[/b] Litterally "relationship". Can refer to a type of fic (ship-fic), or a specific pairing (I'm a ____ & ____ shipper). More often than not used to refer to a known pairing.

[b]OOC:[/b] In a fic, that can mean many, many things. "Out of Canon", "Out of Continuity", "Out of Character"... Depending on how it's used, it can be any of these, or others. Out of Canon means that the specified fic doesn't fall under the current storyline. If there are multiple universes, it can refer to another universe. Out of Continuity means that the story does not belong to, or will not effect, the current storyline. Out of Character means that the character in question will not be acting in his canon way.

-KF

cstdenis · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:08 pm Post subject:

[b]PWP:[/b] Plot? what plot? - a story with absolutely no effort put into the plot. Generally, obsessed fangirl obsessing or a lemon
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Stratadrake · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:22 pm Post subject:

[b]picfic[/b], picture-fic, image-fic (etc.) - Similar to an online manga or doujinshi.
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SilentSoul92 · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:38 pm Post subject:

one-shot: a story with only one chapter. Meant to give and alternate ending or what happens in the future

(not sure if that's quite right)

Stratadrake · Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:11 pm Post subject:

[b]Plot Hole[/b] - An event in a story that occurs contrary to the rules of logic or reality as dictated by the story's universe/canon. Whether a plot hole is "out of canon" or not depends on where it appears, what it involves, and how likely it is that the average reader will notice it. Small plot holes can be excused as artistic license, but larger plot holes, e.g., "large enough to drive a (vehicle) through" indicate a rather serious fault with the author's own understanding of the story they are writing.

[b]deus ex machina[/b] ("day-us ex mockeena") - The use of divine intervention or other unlikely coincidences as a quick and easy means of writing the heroes out of difficult plot situations and/or cliffhangers, usually to create an ending to the story.

[b]Cosmic Reset Button[/b] - A specific type of deus ex machina where near the end of a dark story, after the hero has survived countless trials, sufferings, and ill events, when literally no happy ending seems possible, something happens to render all events up to that point completely moot. In other words, when all is said and done and the story is over, the story itself "never happened". This can happen in many ways, such as:
[u]Nightmare[/u] - Main character wakes up and realizes the whole thing was just a bad dream, that he had a psychic out-of-body experience, or so on. It was all in his head.
[u]Possible/Alternate Future[/u] - Main character somehow goes back through time to the beginning of the story and changes one critical event, which prevents the rest of the story from happening (for the better, of course).
[u]Paralell/Alternate Reality[/u] - More or less the same as above. Main character experiences hardships in a paralell universe, but eventually returns to their "true" universe and does something to prevent those hardships from occuring there as well.
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Rebus · Very bored Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 224

[b]Disclaimer[/b] [diss-claym-er] - properly, a notice informing readers that the author accepts no responsibility for copyright violations or other legal problems (such as libel). In fanficton, usually a method of crediting the original creators of the canon while making it clear that no profit is being made. Increasingly, however, aggressive assertations of copyright are incorrectly called disclaimers by their authors.

[b]Plagiarism[/b] [play - jerr - isem, play - gee - arr - isem] - the act of claiming authorship of a piece of work (usually writing) you did not create, either specifically or by implication (ie posting it on your fanfiction site while not actually saying who wrote it) . While most fanfiction involves a degree of copyright violation authors are expected to produce their own content, and plagiarism is as unacceptable within fanfiction as it is within other field of literature - indeed, fanfiction authors are often more aggressive towards suspected plagiarism because if their own work is a copyright violation they have little legal protection.

Stratadrake · Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:19 pm Post subject:

Hey, look! Wikipedia entries for most of the terms we've done so far:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_(anime)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_(anime)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue_fanfiction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_character
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_Hole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reset_button_technique
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipping_(fandom)
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SilentSoul92 · Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 6:20 pm Post subject:

wow...lot's of terms I didn't know. And I consider myself to be mildly educated in fanfic language. Guess you learn something new everyday. Cool links Strata. Cool

KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

[b]Plot Bunnies:[/b] When used in reference to an author's whims, a plot bunny is an idea that appears quickly or without cause. They are interchangable with muses, and indeed, some muses ARE plot bunnies in the form of small, pink rabbits. When used to refer to instances in the story, a plot bunny is one of many small plots within a story. Not nessessarily needed in the story, but there none-the-less.

[b]Fluff:[/b] As the name suggests, soft, sweet, and usually (thankfully) short. Fluff usually lacks a definate plot, but of those that do, it's rarely too in-depth. Depending on the author, a fluff peice can be safe and harmless (G) or raunchy and not suitable for younger kids (R-NC17).

-KF

SilentSoul92 · Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:37 pm Post subject:

plot bunnies? Never heard of them, and I'm not sure I quite understand. So, are they like events that happen for no reason just because the author wants it too happen? :huh:

Rebus · Very bored Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 224

Hmm. Didn't mean to click on 'post' then.

KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

Sometimes plot bunnies have a reason, but more often than not they're space fillers. Oh, how to explain...

A plot bunny can be as pointless as needing something to fill the "last 15 minutes" of a fic, or it can be used to further the story. Such as, a straightfoward story is fine, but a plot bunny inserted in at the right spot can lead to some good human interaction via giving them a new underlying plotline.

Plot bunnies, as stated before, are also semi-phyical. A plot bunny can leap out of the pages and "interact" with the author by breaking the fourth wall. Kind of like a muse, but not so demanding.

To be "Visited by the Plot Bunnies" is to have an idea. "Waiting for the Plot Bunnies" is to have writer's block.

-KF

SilentSoul92 · Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:05 pm Post subject:

ooh, I see. Thanks, I think I get it.

Stratadrake · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 11:47 am Post subject:

[b]Glomp[/b] - [i]n., vt.[/i] - A clingy, overadoring hug-like gesture as exemplified by the young child who wraps themselves around their parent's leg and refuses to let go. Glomps come in as many shapes and varieties as there are named martial arts fighting moves, some of which have disturbingly similar names and effects (e.g., "Flying Ninja Death Glomp")
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SilentSoul92 · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 11:50 pm Post subject:

lol, for some reasoned I burt out laughing at yours Strata

Fangirl/boy: The name says it all. Ranging from fans who just want an autograph from the author/illistrater to truly obssesed and crazed girls and boys who live in a fantasy world of live fictional characters.

Stratadrake · Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 10:09 am Post subject:

[b]reboot[/b] (v) -- To deliberately throw out all previous continuity, characters, and plot and begin writing a sequel/spinoff from the ground up.
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gothic_ginny · Still very bored Joined: 21 Aug 2004 Posts: 272

Wow, very helpful terms. ^_^

A question though, what is AU? I see it often on different fanfictions, and I have no idea what it is Uneasy

...
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Stratadrake · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:55 pm Post subject:

[b]Alternate universe[/b] (AU) - adj. A fanfiction that re-tells the story of its source material while disregarding various points, plot twists, etc., that are canon to the material. In short, a fanfiction that tells the story as it might have taken place in a paralell reality (hence the name).

AU is sometimes as an excuse to justify being OOC with a particular character or plot event, but AU is not inherently a bad thing.
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