The Lingo:

Here are some abbreviations and terms you might see in fan fiction and what they mean.

• WIP -- Work in Progress; a story that has not been finished

• TBC -- To Be Continued; there will be another part after this one

• AU -- Alternate Universe; can either means it goes differently than the show did or a completely different Buffy-verse where everyone is human, or vampires, etc.

• Cannon -- Within the continuity of the usual Buffy-verse that we watched every Tuesday night; not AU

• S&M, BDSM -- Warnings that there is a very serious NC-17 rated story

• Slash -- Same sex relationship pairing, like Willow/Tara

• Crossover -- When the characters from another show, or multiple shows, visit the Buffy-verse; Smallville/Buffy Crossover, X-Files/Buffy, etc. Can also be seen as "X-over."

• Conventional 'shipper -- a relationship that has been seen on the show -- Buffy/Angel, Buffy/Spike, Xander/Anya, etc.

• Unconventional 'shipper -- a relationship that only fans have thought of and the show has not created -- Lindsey/Cordelia, Anya/Giles, Dawn/Connor, etc.

• OC -- Original Character; a character that has never appeared in the Buffy-verse before and is created by the author.

• Mary Sue -- A story where the author of the story has placed him or herself within the story and inside the Buffy-verse (Usually, not highly recommended)

Did I miss anything? Want me to add something? Let me know!

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