Questions Post #1

[lettered]

Usually I don't ask questions in public settings. I'm shy and also very arrogant; I like to think I know stuff or can find out on my own. But these things have been bothering me, and while I think a few things might be answered by digging through people's old entries or some FAQs, I'd love some answers (and opinions. Some are about opinions. Not the one about Buffy's natural tufted treasure, though. That has to be fact).



General

What does RPS stand for?
I'm aware OTP means pairing of choice, but what do the letters stand for?
Where did the term 'squee' originate and how come so many people use it?

LJ

What's a meme? Does it mean memory?
How do you tag someone? What does it mean?
What does the term "gak" mean?

Fanon

-How do people feel about using fanon? For instance, some fic writers use the name "O'Connor" for Liam (mostly in all-human AUs, which I don't really read, but whatever). Do you frown upon writers who use this name? Does it throw you off when writers don't use this name? Do you yourself consciously just avoid ever getting anywhere near the characters' surnames just to avoid the issue?
-From where did O'Connor-as-Liam's-surname originate, anyway?
-Does Spike have a commonly used last name? What about Faith? What about Darla, whose first name we know isn't hers, and Drusilla, whose first name is almost certianly not hers?
-This is a much debated topic, but is there even a marginal consensus regarding the age of Spike?
-Buffy smells like vanilla in a lot of fics. What's up with that?
-Does canon make Buffy out to be a natural blonde? I.e., is her altar of love, her carnal trap, her eye that weeps most when best pleased, her bearded clam, her garden of eden, her nest of curls blonde in most fics? What? Just asking.
-Is there a generally accepted explanation for how vampires get it up?
-Is the idea that vampires "pretend" to breath in order to look natural a fanon thing, or was it on the show?
-Does nobody use the fact that Angelus wears eye-liner in fics?
-Is Andrew ever a heterosexual in fics?

General again

-Whatever happened to Miss Kitty Fantastico? Did Dawn really shoot her with a crossbow?
-Do vampires sweat?
-What're some (slang) words for the dominant partner in a D/s relationship? I.e., some for the sub are: bitch, punk, sister (in prison), et al. I've just been drawing blank on their counterparts for about a week, now.
-Does anyone besides me hate Joyce Summers' guts in a visceral, it's-even-alright-to-character-bash sort of way?
-Have you ever not been able to find relatively common words for weeks at a time? (I once spent a month looking for the word 'conceited')
-Am I the only (character) Angel squeeing fangirl who didn't find David Boreanaz convincing as Angel at times? (don't get me wrong; most of the time he was great.)
-Can David Boreanaz sing better than Angel?
-What is the IQ of David Boreanaz? Is it really as low as it seems sometimes?

Comments

[tkp.livejournal.com]

I think it represents that high pitched squeal that 12 year old girls use as a greeting. Gah. My poor ears.

Out of all the fanon you find in fic, this is my most hated. Well, one of my most hated. What are your other most hateds? Because this one takes the cake for me. I actually really really liked it at first, but so many people use it that now I just want to scream "she can smell like other things!" whenever I read it.

Most fic avoids the issue, but I've seen it both ways. I read a very funny fic in which Willow, Anya, Buffy and Spike all run into each other as they're buying hair dye. And I once wrote a drabble on the subject. Oh, happiness. Do you remember the fic, and what's your drabble called?

Joss once commented that if they couldn't, the show would have ended after two episodes. How they hell do they walk around and talk? I never sweat the magical stuff. I figure the body chemisrty is completely different. (On a related and gross note, I assume that they don't digest at all. If they eat food, it goes out just the way it came in. No wonder Angel avoids food.) Yeah, we had a conversation about vampire digestion at the Blood Roses forum. Your version is distinctly more gross. Anyway, I ask about this in particular because whenever I write about arousal I write about what the blood is doing (and I did so long before I ever met BtVS). It's what makes you feel all hot and tingly and uncomfortable whenever you're around someone you're attracted to. Without being able to describe those things, I feel kind of...lost. Of course, the arousal is still there in the mind, but that's just not quite the same.

Sadly, he gets over the Maybelline fixation in AtS season 4. Bummer! (The thought that Angel is in horrible pain, stumbling out of bed but first applies a little eye product before he leaves cracks me up no end.) Me too, which is why I ask. Some funny stuff could be done with it.

There is a fair amount of Dawn/Andrew out there. No, I don't get it either. Yeah, lemme just say 'huh?' to that.

And DB wasn't much of an actor when he started, but that quickly changed. ("Why you ridin' me." WTF? Has there ever been a more un-Angel utterance?) What episode was that in? And no, there hasn't been. Most people answered with the idea that sometimes Angel-as-Angel was unconvincing, but as you say, that's the writers' fault. To me, however, DB was sometimes just a bad actor. You're right, he did get a lot better after S1, but there were still some lines he delivered that I just couldn't be there with him on.

I think David enjoys messing with people and will say anything that pops into his head. Or, possibly he drops acid. lol

thanks for answering my questions! ;o)

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

Some of my fic hatreds can be found here

My hair dye drabble

Annoyingly, I can not find the story where everyone meets as they sneak out to buy Miss Clairol.

"Why you ridin' me" is from the season 2 opener "When She Was Bad".

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Gah. I hate most of those things too. And then I found myself using one in Best Souvenir (I'm pretty sure I mentioned being intensely unhappy with a particular plot point. It comes up in chapter 8, I think. Still don't know how to fix it. Maybe you can help). Thanks for the link to this!

Loved your drabble.

Darn on the Clairol fic front. Speaking of which, I bet Oz was a known customer on the Clairol hotline (had a friend who was, once).

I seem to recall disliking DB's acting for that entire episode. But that episode made me crazy, anyway. I liked it, actually, but I kinda hated it too.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I actualy like "When She Was Bad". All of the season 6 depression dealt with in one episode. More fun, less angst!

And I liked DB's acting (as well as NB, AH and SMG) during her dance with Xander.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Now I have to watch it again, because though I remember Angel's reaction I can't really recall how DB played it. Or maybe not. I liked the concept of the episode, but I hated watching it because it makes me sad.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

Fear me because I am a god among men! In other words, I found that fic.

Dyeing Young by Mad Poetess

Pure sillyness.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

lol, thanks for this; it was fun to read. (mousse-master! *snorts*)

And sure I fear you; you don't even have to ask. ;o)