Some Fanfic Terms

Because I’ve run into problems, and I can’t find one easy place to get the info, I’ll give this a shot.

There are two things you must remember when exploring fanfic. First, for your own good, be wary of fanfic by authors you don’t know. If you love the characters (and that’s why you’d be reading fanfic) there are things out there you don’t want to read. Wandering an author’s site before diving in may be a good idea. I know one Weiss site that has a Kudou Yohji torture page. I am not kidding. (And I’m grateful it’s all gathered on that page, because other stories on that site are wonderful. I like knowing I’m safe, ne?)

Second do not ignore the warnings. Please. I swear to you, you will regret it.

The problem is, that as a wonderfully out-of-control, completely meaningless (as in you can’t get paid) art form, the content and quality of fanfics varies wildly. That’s why warnings are necessary. Maybe I don’t have enough Internet experience (read: I have a life 😉 ) but I want to be warned of squick factor (things that make you go “Ew!”) and um, maturity ratings, and if someone I love is going to get tortured and/or killed.

Which leads me to the reason for my rant. I was enjoying a well-written fanfic of Weiss Kreuz last night. I was laughing my butt off; it was a terrific account of what happens when you put four guys in a house together. Not the florist part, not the assassin part, just four guys trying to share a home. Yoji, Ken and Omi were going round, and Aya was just staying out of it, enjoying the show though he wouldn’t admit it, eating all the jelly donuts while the others were arguing (I can totally see Aya doing that!). But then, in the end Aggh!!!

I’m not going there. Least said, soonest mended, as far as those damn pictures in my head. But well, here’s the maybe-useful part of this post. Terms and warnings, including some that should have been on that fic and weren’t:

Canon is what is actually stated in the original. If you want to write Fred and Velma having a wild affair they’re trying to keep secret, fine, it’s never denied in any of the shows. But Scooby is a Great Dane; you can’t make him a poodle without going AU. (Umm AU is alternate universe. This is the way around canon. Like what if Shaggy and Scooby were born in 14th century Italy?)

NC non-consensual sex. Rape, in other words. (That’s why the warnings, folks. And don’t tell me this stuff is worse than Dean Koontz or Stephen King or lots of other popular writers.)

PWP Plot? What plot? This means it’s all sex. Pass on if you’re looking for a real story.

Yaoi this means it’s written by girls, for girls, but it’s about male/male relationships. As in romantic, people. Other terms include shounen-ai and BL, for Boys’ Love. In Japan, it’s a genre to itself. And it’s spreading. Go Google “yaoi,” or search it on E-Bay if you don’t believe me. (whoa, I did it just to see what I’d get–1028 listings!)

Ahem. Lemon means there’s actual sex, explicitly described. Lime is a little tougher, I think it means they want to, but for story reasons or whatever don’t manage to do the deed. Other designations being hard and soft yaoi.

Doujinshi this is a comic. I think an unauthorized one, or maybe just something outside the canon timeline, but I am sure it is drawings. Not necessarily sex, but hey, drawings are a lot of work, and it takes someone really devoted to draw an entire comic for the joy of sharing, and who is going to be more obsessed than a yaoi fangirl? (go surf a bit, I am not kidding. Yaoi fangirls make basement-living Trekkies look normal. The really scary thing is they’d laugh to hear me say that. Laugh and agree and go back to writing exactly how and why a particular assassin would let himself be tied up by another particular assassin…)

Forgive me if I forget something, I’m going from memory here. OOC is out of character which Aya definitely was, in the end of that dang fic I can’t get out of my head! Crossover would be if someone wrote Scooby and Shaggy meeting Aya and Yoji in a dark alley (and you think those two are scared of monsters, wait till they meet Aya in full ‘shi-ne’ mode!). OC is, I think, Outside Characters. If somebody wrote Aya an actual compatible girl (or guy. Weiss seems to attract yaoi fangirls like you wouldn’t believe, take a look at the show and you’ll see why…) There’s also Self-Insertion, which isn’t nearly as scary as it sounds after all those other warnings. It simply means the author wrote herself into the fandom–that’s an easy one, isn’t it?–universe. Yikes, as far as Weiss. Might be fun to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there… Pairings obviously, who ends up with who–pay attention here! There are some things you just don’t want to see, especially ‘only’ in your imagination!

I can’t remember any more. The standard ones, of course, easily understood violence, (in the case of Weiss–duh! They’re assassins!) profanity, incest, torture, S&M–hey, we are on the Internet!–adult situations (see above)…

I think there’s an acronym for underage sex, but I can’t remember it. If you’re wandering Japanese-inspired stuff, shota-kon means something close to that. Hentai just seems to mean obscene, not necessarily anything all that ‘bad.’

Oh songfic, based on or written around or some such, the lyrics of a song. There are some FANTASTIC songfics out there. Deathfic, probably obviously, means one of the main characters, the show characters, will die in it. Angst means, well, angst. In the case of Weiss they are assassins, did you expect them to feel good about it?

There is some awesome stuff out there, in every area, in every rating. One of my favorites is a G (movie ratings, on a par with Disney) though it might go up depending on the violence that ensues if Omi gets stuck with the ‘cute’ gift again…ahem. Discord in the House of Assassins, it’s on Mediaminer, written by gifted but not prolific enough ‘the butler.’ If you don’t know the characters, though, it won’t leave you gasping on the floor trying to breathe past the giggles. Also warning, it says it’s complete, but it’s not. Damn it. Oh, on second thought there is talk, however silly, of assassin techniques, so make it PG. And there might be profanity, though most of that was me when I realized it wasn’t finished… And once I’ve got you dying for more from the butler, read Crazy Sunday Mornings. PG-13 at least, for violence, profanity and horror. Probably squick factor too, come to think of it, can’t remember how clearly the murders were described… Also not completed, damn it! No yaoi in either of those, just pure murderous fun.

Ignore ratings and warnings, and one of the best out there, if we’re talking Weiss, is Cages. Even if we’re not talking Weiss, it’s simply awesome. Book-length, beautifully written, deeply depressing in places, and definitely more gay sex than most people are prepared to handle. But it’s an incredible story I’ll never be sorry I read. Had the writer created her own characters rather than borrowing those she loves (this is, after all, why fanfics are written) I have no doubt she would be making some serious money. (It’s not like the butler’s stuff, you don’t need to know the guys. The author is Nekojita. Search it exactly like this, with quotes. “cages : first impressions” Warning it really is book-length! And if you’re as impressed as I was, you won’t be able to STOP! Oh, and since there aren’t any warnings once you find the actual story um, let me think yaoi, prostitution, violence, AU, lemon, probably profanity though I think it’s in Japanese I think that’s it. Read it anyway!)

There’s good stuff in every area, I was saying. Or at least I assume. There are places I don’t go (torture Yohji? But I LOVE Yohji!!) But that’s just me. Don’t get judgmental on those who do, or who write it, unless you’ve never read any of the above-mentioned popular authors and you’re perfect besides. Oh, and add John Saul to that list. The book I was handed didn’t have a single warning on it, but mention the author’s name and I still see horrid images from it, and it’s probably twenty years since I read it. (meaning I was handed that sick *stuff* at about fifteen, with the recommendation of “you’ll like this…” Ewww!) Had there been one word on the cover about NC, incest, necrophilia, bestiality, WAY underage sex, squick factor…ick!

I say again, ICK!!!!! And people think my entertainment choices are strange…