Maybe I'm just being too sensitive about it.
In any case, this topic made me think, and I realized how many people there are out there who don't know what a lot of the basic fanfic terms are. So I wrote a little guide.
One-shot A one-chapter fanfiction. Don't request for the reviewer to continue it, because they won't.
This is also used in manga, apparently... it would refer to a manga that is not in a series, like most are.
PWP Stands for "Plot? What Plot?" Fics that are created soley for the purpose of being erotic are like this... there's no plot, the characters are often very much out of character, and it doesn't really go anywhere other than the characters getting it on.
AU "Alternate Universe." When a fanfic uses the characters but are in a different setting, the fic is "AU." For example, if someone wrote a CL fanfic about the characters when they're older and no longer together at Kadic, it would probably be AU.
UST "Unresolved Sexual Tension." Though more sensitive people around here are going to kick me for this, UST is all over Code Lyoko... when Ulrich and Yumi really *want* to be affectionate but don't out of embarrassment/etc, that's UST.
RST "Resolved Sexual Tension." Meaning... well, yeah. *cough*
OTP "One True Pairing." People who love one certain couple in a fandom, say... Ulrich and Sissi, they will say that this couple is an OTP. (As opposed to, for example, Ulrich and Yumi.)
Shippers Shippers, aka relationshippers, are people who like the romantic aspect of a fandom.
Flames Nasty, rude feedback on a fanfiction. Do not get this mixed up with constructive criticism; while CC is intended to help the author improve their writing, the only purpose of a flame is to hurt the author and make them feel bad.
Slash Homosexual relationships in fanfiction. This particular term dates back to when fanfiction was first being written, and in the description of a fic, a pairing would be shown as (for example) "Spock/Kirk..." the name came from the slash between the names.
Yuri/Yaoi Homosexual relationships in anime. This term is not always used in fanfiction.
Het Heterosexual relationships in fanfiction.
Gen "General" A fanfic that does not belong in any of the categories listed above.
Troll In fanfiction, this refers to an obnoxious reviewer that spams/flames/etc an author or group of authors. However, this term is not limited to fanfic reviewers; trolls can be anywhere... Forums, chatrooms, newsgroups, web communities... Essentially they are people who join just to make fun of whatever the community is about.
Spoilers Information that gives away details from a specific episode/etc in a fandom. It is considered common curtesy to warn people ahead of time when posting spoilers so that they don't ruin the episode/etc for people who haven't seen it yet.
OC "Original Character." Any character created by the author and not by the writers of the fandom.
Mary Sue/Gary Stu/AOC (AOC= Annoying Original Character.) This refers to an author-created character that is irritatingly flawless. When a character is perfect, the reader can't identify with them, and they become useless. You see a lot of these in the CL fandom. (So remember... when designing OCs, give them as many flaws as strengths!)
MS This can mean a lot of things, but generally it stands for "Missing Scene," meaning that the fanfic supposedly tells us about what happened in a scene that the writers missed in an episode. For example, if you wrote a fanfic about something else that could have happened at the pool in "Marabounta," that would be an MS.
WAFF/Fluff (WAFF= "Warm And Fuzzy Feelings") Romantic fanfiction that is specifically designed to make the readers go all gooey inside because it's so cute. Good fluff does this perfectly; bad fluff just makes you laugh.
NC "Non Consentual." This can mean rape/sexual harrassment/whatever.
Canon Referring to something that has already happened on the actual show. This often has to do with pairings; a canon pairing is one that is in the show. (Like Jeremie and Aelita, for example.)
Non-Canon Something that hasn't been on the show. In referrance to pairings, a non-canon pairing would be one that hasn't been dealt with at all on the show. For example, Aelita and Odd.
Lemon/Lime Erotic fanfic or fanart. The difference between lemon and lime is that lemon is at least mildly romantic; lime doesn't have to be.
OOC "Out Of Character." Don't make fics like this.... people will yell at you unless you can pull it off cleanly.
Self-Insert Meaning that the author has placed themself in the fanfic; this is often in CL fics, but the characters are often disguised as OCs.
Enjoy! *BTW, please don't plagarize this and use it on your own websites!*
Ray
