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

[alixtii.livejournal.com]

-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.

In canon, young Buffy is brunette in "Killed by Death" and blonde in "Weight of the World." In fic, most fics which bother to make a point of the issue have her die her hair, which makes sense because why would the ones in which she's a natural blonde even think to bring up the issue?

-Is there a generally accepted explanation for how vampires get it up?

It's magic.

-Is the idea that vampires "pretend" to breath in order to look natural a fanon thing, or was it on the show?

Well, yes and no. We have a show in which the actors obviously breathe, and the writers of fic have to deal with the fact by creating some type of personal fanon. I've found it tends to vary from writer to writer, though.

-Is Andrew ever a heterosexual in fics?

He's a heterosexual with homoerotic subtext in my fics, just as he was in canon. I don't want to fall into the trap of assuming that just because he acts a certain way we can make assumptions about his sexuality. That's why a lot of assumptions about Andrew tend to bother me.

-Whatever happened to Miss Kitty Fantastico? Did Dawn really shoot her with a crossbow?

There's a canonical conversation which suggests this is the case, when Dawn is talking to Xander: "Xander, my crossbow is not out here. I told you, I don't leave crossbows around all willy-nilly. Not since that time with Miss Kitty Fantastico." But that's all the canon we have on the matter. Nothing "really" happened, of course--it's just a text, so you can retrocon it however you want as long as you don't just ignore it.

-Do vampires sweat?

I don't know.

[tkp.livejournal.com]

He's a heterosexual with homoerotic subtext in my fics, just as he was in canon. I don't want to fall into the trap of assuming that just because he acts a certain way we can make assumptions about his sexuality. That's why a lot of assumptions about Andrew tend to bother me.

Actually, the reason I asked was because, judging from all the fics I'd read, fans saw Andrew as completely homosexual without even an inkling of an attraction for the opposite sex. Since, if he was completely gay on the show, he wasn't even out of the closet yet, this confused me. Anyway, I always just assumed he was bi and hadn't admitted it to himself yet.

Thanks for your answers; you cleared a lot of things up ;o)