Glossary and Acronyms

If there's anything missing from this list, or if any definitions are unclear, please let me know.

Angst
Fic in which much of the story consists of the characters suffering emotionally.

AtS
Angel: The Series (not Angel, the character).

AU
Alternate Universe.

Beta
Verb: To read over, edit, and comment on someone else's story before it's finished.
Noun: A person who beta-reads a story.

Bitca
Bitch. Comes from Xander's mispronunciation in the episode When She Was Bad.

BtVS
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV series, not the character)

Canon
What has actually happened onscreen.

Character death
A warning placed at the beginning of the story to inform readers that a character will die.

CoW
Council of Watchers

Crossover
When characters from two or more shows appear in the same fic.

Darkfic
A story with excessive amounts of pain, suffering, and death inflicted on the characters.

Evilista
Someone who believes that Spike is completely evil and cannot be redeemed.

Fanon
Information that was never stated in the show's canon, but has become accepted as fact by fans.

Feedback
Comments sent by readers to the writer of a fanfic. Feedback is the only way fic writers get paid for their work, so send it!

Femslash
Stories involving romantic relationships between two female characters.

Fic
Short for fanfiction

Fluff
A cute, lighthearted story.

Fundie (fundy)
Short for fundamentalist. Fundies adhere blindly to Season One and Season Two canon and refuse to allow for character growth and change. They have a strictly defined, black vs. white morality which allows no room for any gray areas or morally ambiguous characters.

H/C
Hurt/comfort. Story in which one character is hurt, physically or emotionally, so that another character can comfort him or her.

Jossed
When an author's version of what happened on the series is contradicted by canon.

Mary Sue
An original character who is basically just the author inserting a perfect version of him/herself into the story.

ME
Mutant Enemy. The company that produces Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

OC
Original character.

POV
Point of View.

PWP
Porn Without Plot (or Plot? What Plot?). All sex, no plot.

Redemptionist(a)
One who believes that Spike can be redeemed without a soul.

Retcon
A change in pre-existing canon.

Round robin
A story in which various authors take turns writing each part.

RST
Resolved Sexual Tension.

S/?
An abreviation for what pairing(s) a fic contains. S/B is Spike/Buffy, S/X is Spike/Xander, etc.

Ships ('ships)
Refers to the romantic relationship between characters.

Shipper ('shipper)
Someone who wants to see a particular relationship.

Slash
Refers to a relationship between two characters of the same gender.

Spoiler
Information about an episode or story that gives away part of the plot. Most fics have a "spoiler warning" so that readers can avoid spoilers for episodes that they haven't seen yet.

TBC
To Be Continued.

U/C Ship
Unconventional relationship. A pairing that has not actually occured on the show.

UST
Unresolved Sexual Tension.

Vignette
A very short story, usually involving a character's inner dialogue, dwelling on a particular subject or event.

WIP
Work In Progress. A story that is not yet completed.



See Also:

Tabula Rasa Glossary
The Fanfiction Glossary