Fannish Vocabulary Meme

[rj_anderson]

Recently I found myself reminded of how many amusing new words I've learned from fandom, and how useful some of them are. So it's time to share the textual wealth.

Here are three of my favorite fannish terms, with definitions and the fandom I first learned them from:

zapruder (v.) To watch a taped or downloaded video multiple times, especially in slow motion or even frame-by-frame. Discovered on the American Idol forums, i.e. "I've been zaprudering Clay's performance of "Grease" all week. Because I am twelve, and Clay makes you lose brain cells, y'all." Derived from Zapruder film, the home video of John F. Kennedy's assassination that launched a thousand conspiracy theories.

drabble (n.) A short fiction piece of precisely one hundred words, often with a humorous, ironic, or surprising twist. Discovered on rec.arts.drwho.creative. Apparently the term actually originated in Doctor Who fandom, as well.

bunching (n.) The phenomenon that occurs when people who started out on a journey at separate times end up all in the same place at the same time, due to flight and train schedules, limited hours of operation at tourist attractions, etc. Originated on the Amazing Race forums, i.e. "So after spending the whole night on a park bench in an effort to get the lead, Russell and Cindy ended up having to wait in line for the bus with everybody else. I love me some bunching."

So what are your favorites?

Comments

[hedda62.livejournal.com]

drabble (n.) A short fiction piece of precisely one hundred words

And obviously nothing to do with Margaret Drabble. And her sister ain't no sound byatt either.

I am not hip to these things *creaks in approved geezer-like fashion* but if I may pick well-out-of-date examples, I have to admit (shamefacedly) that I use "squicky" way too frequently now. And "snarky." I think portmanteau words are a common gift of fandoms, though not of course their exclusive province.

One of the more useful analytical tools I've come across is the Watsonian vs. Doylist comparison, which I encountered for the first time in Lois Bujold fandom, though it's used all over.

Actually, btw, both "zaprudering" and "bunching" would technically be nouns...

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Oops. *blushes* I've fixed it now.

Can you elaborate on the Watsonian vs. Doylist thing? I mean, I think I have a general idea of what it's about, but I can't see how it would apply to non-Sherlockian fandoms, so obviously my understanding of the concept isn't complete.

[hedda62.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think you wouldn't even use the terms when discussing the Sherlockian canon, because the distinction would be so obvious there, though I suppose you could.

Someone out there has a better definition than me, but... my understanding is that a Watsonian perspective is that of the characters and treats the fictional world as real, and a Doylist perspective is that of the author, or rather that of a reader trying to figure out what the author had in mind or might have meant. Stemming, I think, from things like Watson's traveling wound: the Doylists would say "oops, Conan Doyle made a little mistake there" and the Watsonians would write entries for the Holmes Encyclopedia explaining how Watson ended up with two wounds or one that managed to move.

But it's easy to apply to other fictional worlds as well, and to things other than authors' mistakes (though it's enormous fun to use Watsonian analysis that way). Fanfic is almost entirely a Watsonian enterprise. Doylist fanfic would be interesting, but I think it would come out something like Jasper Fforde on depressants.

[shellebelle93.livejournal.com]

Personally, I love the term "plot bunnies", though in my case, they're usually "character bunnies," since the character is what usually shows up first.

"Plot bunnies" is eerily accurate...all my fic ideas seems to interlock, and you know what happens when bunnies interlock...

...More bunnies!

If I get half of what's in my head on the page, I'll be a happy woman.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

OK... what I was trying to say before I was rudely interrupted by technology was:

Isn't 'wibble' a fannish term? It's almost onomotapœia.

And I can be forever grateful to Xena fandom for 'alt' (as it gets me in heated arguments and garners me glares or confused looks constantly); and X-files fandom for clarifying ''ship'.

[(Anonymous)]

Squick: to cavil at something. "That pairing really squicks me."

I love that word. It's made it into my conversation.

Kim

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

Unsurprisingly, I have a soft spot for "wibble". But I've now introduced "squick", "squee" and "the Bad Place" into my mother's vocabulary...

[ase.livejournal.com]

Firefly fandom introduced the phrase "going to the special hell" into local parlance. I always associate "snark" (adj. and occasional verb) with livejournal, rather than any specific fandom, but I think I originally heard it in conjunction with Harry Potter fandom.

My roommate miriel and I are both overenthusiastic fangirls, and living together is probably going to warp us for live. If the various more unfortunate corners of our fandoms haven't done the job already.