Photo Credit: Gurupop.com
Like any other subculture, fangirls (and boys!) have their own language. Where sports has their own shorthand – TD, RBI, Triple Double – we have created our own sort of code. Fandoms have names for themselves (Whovians, Fannibals), acronyms, and made up words to express themselves.
So we are all on the same page going forward (I know writer Jason Jones has expressed some displeasure with having to explain things), here is an overview of some common fangirl terminology and phrases.
• OTP – One true pairing. This is a couple that you want to see together so bad, it physically hurts. A good deal of OTP’s are taken from homosexual subtext (Dean and Castiel, John Watson and Sherlock Holmes), but can be a male/female paring (Tenth Doctor and Rose, Fitz and Simmons). OTP names are created by smashing the names of the characters together. Examples: Destiel, Johnlock, Fitzsimmons.
• Feels – Refers to someone or something making you feel feelings, usually sad, but can make you very happy. Example: When Simmons is about to jump out of the Bus in season one of Agents of SHIELD, Fitz cannot get to her, and is screaming her name. Right in the feels.
• BrOTP – Two people who you love seeing together as friends (i.e. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner).
• NOTP – A couple that you absolutely DO NOT want to see together.
• Shipping – This has nothing to do with the postal service. A shortened form of “relationship”, a ship is two people who you think should be together. All OTP’s are ships, but not all ships are OTP’s.
• Shipper – One who ships a ship. “I ship it!”
• Ship it like FedEx – “This is one of my favorite ships. I ship this pretty hard.”
• Ship it overnight first class – An escalated version of “ship it like FedEx”
• Canon – This actually happened. Actually in the script.
• Headcanon – Something that you have imagined for the characters. “I have a headcanon that Castiel is a really fabulous singer.”
• Headcanon accepted – “I like your idea, and I accept it as truth.”
• AU – Alternate universe. (i.e. high school AU, gender swap AU)
• Fan fiction or “fanfic” – Taking characters from a book, movie or tv show, and writing your own stories about them.
• Slash fiction – Sexually explicit fan fiction involving two characters.
• One shot – A short fan fiction, usually just one scene.
• Imagine – Similar to a headcanon, but closer to a fan fiction. Usually inserts the reader into the story.
• Fluff – Fan fiction that is meant to just give you the warm and fuzzies and has no sexual content.
• BAMF – Bad ass mother f*cker – Someone cool and sexy.
• UNF – The noise you make when someone is so sexy, you feel like you’ve been punched in the stomach.
• Ugh – This one has a bevy of different meanings, depending on the context. 1 – So sexy, it makes me make disgusted noises. 2 – I am frustrated. 3 – So sexy, I am frustrated. 4 – Why won’t my post upload? 5 – I hate school/work/people in general. 6 – I love you/it/him/her/them/that. The list goes on basically forever.
• IG – Instagram
• FB – Facebook
• MCM – Man crush Monday
• WCW – Not World Championship Wrestling. Woman crush Wednesday.
• SPN – Supernatural
• SuperWhoLocked – To be a fan of Supernatural, Doctor Who and BBC’s Sherlock
• OUAT – Once Upon A Time
• Con – Any Comic Con. “I got my tickets for con.”
• Cosplay – Dressing up as your favorite character. Cosplays can get really involved and elaborate. The closer you look to the character, the better the cosplay. Cosplayers really make me jealous with their sewing, makeup, and fabrication skills.
• Benedict Cumberbatch – His name is a very special name. There are entire websites dedicated to making up versions of it. Some personal favorites – Benadryl Cabbagepatch, Ballyhoo Scruffyswatch, and Britishguy Sillyname
• We have a gif for that – The Supernatural fandom is well-known for taking over tumblr posts with gifs from the show. We have proven on many, many occasions that we have a gif for literally anything you throw at us. Now, thanks to Misha Collins at a recent con, we now have a gif for having a gif for that.
• ASDFGHJKL; – I am so excited that all I can do is mash my keyboard.
• Squee – The squeally noise that comes out of you when something is beyond adorable.
• Not dead – Originally from Sherlock, when Sherlock comes back from faking his death. Can be applied to anyone on any show, because let’s face it – no one ever really dies.
• (Insert person, place, or thing) > life – That thing is better than life itself.
• Bae – Before all else. Shorthand for “babe” (why do we need shorthand for that? Because reasons). Also, the Dutch word for “poop”, so I tend to use it as a way to say that someone/something is the sh*t.
• Fetus – A photo of an actor or actress when they were young or at the beginning of their career.
• I can’t/I can’t even/I have lost my ability to can/I just (and other variations) – This thing is too much for me to function as a human being.
So there you have it. Go forth and use wisely.
*If I have missed any that you have questions about, or if you have one of your own you would like to submit, just leave a comment.
Photo Credit: Pinterest
