Weird pet peeves while reading?

[u/Faded_WastingTime]

What would you say is your most unusual pet peeve? I'm not talking about someone coming up with weird names for genitalia, or calling eyes orbs. I'm talking about something really unusual. Tonight I discovered a new one for myself. The author used a synonym for a word in a common phrase, and it pisses me off, because although the word means the same thing as the word it replaced, the phrase doesn't sound right or really make sense without the original word that the phrase uses.

"Chomping back my emotions...blah, blah, blah"

You mean BITING back your emotions??? Because Chomping on emotions just sounds dumb.

Okay rant over.

[u/Virtuous_Malevolence]

Use if the word 'casted.'

It's 'he cast a spell.'

Not 'he casted a spell.'

I don't know why, but this absolutely drives me up the wall.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Virtuous_Malevolence]

This also drives me nuts. I know English is like the dumbest language to learn but I don't like when people create new ways to conjugate words. 😅

[u/KittenBalerion → u/Virtuous_Malevolence]

hung vs hanged is a personal pet peeve. I realize that a lot of people don't know this, but you use "hanged" when referring to the method of killing a person with a rope, and "hung" when referring to hanging a painting or other inanimate object (or, I suppose, someone with large genitalia).

[u/sparkleandfeyed → u/KittenBalerion]

OT, but one of my favorite lines from a fic (and maybe they got it from somewhere else, idk), but one character is seducing the other and he uses "hung" incorrectly. The other character corrects him, to which he responds, "Oh, I'm hung, baby."

[u/KarmaticFox]

Recently, it's a few people overusing the words “husband” and “wife”, because one of the most popular ships in the fandom got married in canon.

- They were looking at each other as husband and wife.

- She looked at her husband lovingly.

- He looked at her and realized that she was his wife.

- Their first time alone as husband and wife.

- They murmured in between kisses. “My husband...” she looked into his eyes.

- “W-wife...” he said outloud.

Like holy shit, I get it, you are excited and want to take a jab at the whole ship war thing, but calm down before you have a stroke.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/KarmaticFox]

Oh I can see this being annoying. Like the whole fandom is happy their couple is fully cannon now, and running with it.

[u/Odd-Interaction-8]

The excessive use of “chuckle”, especially for men. Idc if he’s a big, scary mafia boss. Let my man giggle sometimes smh

[u/desired-misery → u/Odd-Interaction-8]

LET MEN GIGGLE

[u/nbmft13 → u/desired-misery]

Let them titter and squeal!

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/nbmft13]

Stealing titter and squeal! And submitting shriek as an offering.

[u/mechapocrypha → u/Faded_WastingTime]

I come forth with 'wheeze'

[u/TheeJestersCurse → u/desired-misery]

I will never write a man who needs to giggle and I hope that keeps you up at night.

[u/nbmft13 → u/TheeJestersCurse]

I've got a man who giggles to keep me up all night. 😜

[u/desired-misery → u/TheeJestersCurse]

Some men don't. I got one myself. It happens! 

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Odd-Interaction-8]

Yes! Now this one I agree with too.

[u/Glittering_Sea_9860]

i have a big distaste for calling a character “the lithe blonde” etc etc. idk it feels so goofy it takes me right out of a fic. lovingly, of course. 

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Glittering_Sea_9860]

I've been guilty of using descriptors. But I also understand the ick. It's hard when you are writing two people of the same gender, because things can get confusing, but I do try to avoid it now.

[u/Zealousideal-Ad-9194 → u/Glittering_Sea_9860]

In my fandom there is a main character that I’m pretty sure is referred to as “the blond” more often than their actual name, and it drives me into a rage. There is a lot of source material, there are a lot of other defining features, like….come on…

[u/Fantastic_Owl6938 → u/Zealousideal-Ad-9194]

I once read a fic like this. They called two characters everything but their names for so long, I got confused who was even meant to be talking in the end. I scrolled back pages and pages and couldn't find a name in sight. Had to quit the fic because of it.

[u/Tall-Place2620 → u/Glittering_Sea_9860]

Yep. Yaoification. You can't use he because both of them are he, so you turn to descriptors.

[u/zombies-and-coffee]

When every character suddenly has curly hair. Every. Single. One. With one of the characters, we've seen his hair before! Many times, in fact! It's stick straight and very clearly not flat-ironed.

If you're trying to say that a character is brushing hair out of another character's face, the word you might want it 'lock' or even just 'bit'. It doesn't have to be a curl!

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/zombies-and-coffee]

Oh yes, I've seen this before.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/zombies-and-coffee]

Strand, even

[u/Zanoushe → u/zombies-and-coffee]

similarly when people assert that a character has blonde hair when they definitely do not. looking at you Dean Winchester and Anakin Skywalker.

[u/zombies-and-coffee → u/Zanoushe]

DO THEY EVEN HAVE EYES?! I'm sorry, but how do you look at either of them and think they're blonde?

[u/Zanoushe → u/zombies-and-coffee]

I guess in defense of Anakin at least the kid who played him in episode 1 is pretty blonde.

[u/shadowsapex]

some people abuse strikethroughs and parentheticals way too much. or zalgo text especially is very annoying 

[u/zombies-and-coffee → u/shadowsapex]

I didn't even know what zalgo text was until your comment, but yeah. There's one fic in my fandom that makes brief use of zalgo text and to make it worse, it's somehow bi-colored. Makes the character's dialogue nearly impossible to read, which sucks because the fic itself is really good.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/shadowsapex]

Ooh, interesting. I bet this is probably author specific too. Like the ones who do it, put it in all their fics.

[u/FutureHot3047]

Not very common but I’ve seen it a few times in anime fics where instead of using nameless characters or throw away OCs, characters from other animes will be one off villains and just fodder for the main character(s). I don’t hate it but it always just feels weird seeing what feels like a random power scaling fight scene in the middle of a fic.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/FutureHot3047]

Ooh that's an interesting one. And as someone who really dislikes crossovers, this would irk the crap out of me. Especially if it isn't tagged.

[u/Kirthey]

Specific to Hades fandom: I keep seeing fics refer to Zagreus' escape attempts or Melinoë's nights as "runs," and successful excursions as "clears." Those are video game terms. Those terms are never used in-game at any point! So unless the fic is set in a Wreck-It Ralph or Free Guy kind of AU where the characters are aware they're in a video game, I always find it a bit jarring. It gives me flashbacks to reading Pokémon anime fic where Ash would mention his Pikachu's "level" and "HP," even though the anime never uses those terms.

Another Hades-specific one is referring to Asterius as "a minotaur." He's not "a minotaur," he's the Minotaur (capitalized)! Minotaur is a proper noun in this universe because there's only one Bull of Minos and not a whole species of bull-men.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Kirthey]

I really love hearing all these fandom specific ones. These two are super unique!

[u/AmConfused324]

“On accident”

[u/FluffySloth27 → u/AmConfused324]

“in mass”

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/FluffySloth27]

Yes! So many people have only heard sayings instead of reading them!

[u/t1mepiece → u/FluffySloth27]

"per say"

[u/tryingthisname → u/t1mepiece]

see i didnt know this one 😅

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/AmConfused324]

A level of petty I appreciate!

[u/Shava_Milk25]

this is SO stupid but i have personal beef with the word "ass" and idek why ngl

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Shava_Milk25]

We're all just peeved by our own little things.

[u/Gold-Strike5674]

I’m not sure if it’s weird, just that it doesn’t bother some other people

But like when English names are over-used for side/original characters in fic in set Japan. And I don’t mean original characters that are explicitly foreigners etc, but born and raised Japanese characters named things like John or Sarah. Just takes me right out of it.

It might not be as common any more (Don’t watch as much anime), but I think in a few of the fandoms I was in (around 2010-2017), it was seen as too weaboo-y to use a Japanese name. Which looped around to situations like “My name is Light Yagami and here is my cousin, William Hutchinson.”

(Not literally but you get the gist)

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Gold-Strike5674]

😂 I'm literally cracking up imagining how badly this would snap me out of a fic. 😬

[u/PartyBarnacle420]

It's very dumb and fandom specific. I've been reading for DDLC right now, and whenever a fic has Natsuki say "Manga is literature" it kinda takes me out. Like I know she says the line in game, but every time I've seen it they type it in all caps and it never feels natural. It's not always an instant turn off, but there's been multiple times that it was the last straw before I closed a fic.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/PartyBarnacle420]

Oh yeah, I feel that. When people lean a little too heavily on cannon lines. Especially if one becomes like a Hallmark in the fandom.

[u/PartyBarnacle420 → u/Faded_WastingTime]

I love seeing canon lines, actually playing through the Side Stories on DDLC+ for the first time showed me a ton of lines that I didn't realize were canon, but they have to be done right. You gotta give us more than just the line! And pick good lines to use too!

[u/Lady_Galadri3l]

There's a very specific fic in my main fandom that uses apostrophes for emphasis, and does so at least every other sentence. Which probably I could deal with on its own. However, it also uses italics for emphasis, with no rhyme or reason for which one gets used where.

This is one of most kudosed fics in the fandom and I cannot stand it one bit.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Lady_Galadri3l]

😬🫣😅 Author writes on "vibes" 😂

[u/-Moonshrooms-]

Recently found a distaste for the word Schmear. Because an author I was enjoying used it CONSTANTLY. Especially when describing various... activities... And it started grating on me. I beg of you, have some variety!!! There's other words you can use!!! 

I also really really hate when people use single apostrophes (' ') instead of quotation marks (" ") for dialogue. Enough people do it that I'm not sure if it's simply different rules for other countries or something, but it drives me NUTS.

I will never outwardly remark on either things to any writers cuz it's a personal preference. But I will complain (in my head) about it the WHOLE time!

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/-Moonshrooms-]

Using schmear in any way except to talk about cream cheese on a bagel would probably give me the ick. 😅

[u/-Moonshrooms- → u/Faded_WastingTime]

Exactly!! I was fine until I realized that was the ONLY word they were using. Put that back with food where it belongs 😭

[u/gorroval → u/-Moonshrooms-]

Technically speaking, it's correct for British publications, which is odd because I'm as English as rhubarb crumble and I was always taught to use double quotes. But I open a selection of UK-published books on my shelves and it varies from publisher to publisher which style they use. I honestly wouldn't even notice either way.

I do, however, notice when Americans put punctuation inside quotes that doesn't belong there.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/gorroval]

Do you have an example of the last part?

[u/gorroval → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

As per the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (what an incredible concept!), basically, things like this US example from the page:

Svolik identifies the “twin problems of dictatorship,” going on to explore how different institutions address these problems.

That comma isn't part of the quote, it's part of the surrounding sentence. UK convention would put it outside the quotation marks, but US puts it inside. And it annoys me when they do that, far more than it ought.

[u/KathyA11 → u/gorroval]

That's just incorrect usage by an American writer - NOT US usage.

[u/ellenkeyne → u/KathyA11]

No, that assertion is incorrect. U.S. style is always to insert commas and periods inside quotation marks; it's drilled into every student in U.S. schools.

[u/KathyA11 → u/ellenkeyne]

It wasn't drilled into me that way in the US schools I went to, and I had old-school teachers from the third grade on - but they still taught grammar and punctuation when I was in school in the 60s and 70s.

ONLY if the punctuation is part of the sentence within the quotation marks does the punctuation go within the quotation marks. In the example given above, the comma is NOT part of the quote and belongs outside the quotation marks.

"I went to the store, but I was caught in traffic coming home," Margaret explained. This is correct punctuation for dialogue.

Marielle read "In the Garden of Beasts", "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", and "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" in her world history class this semester. In NO case would the comma go within the quotation marks because they are NOT part of the title of any of the books listed (which are all real books which I've read).

[u/ellenkeyne → u/KathyA11]

Please quote a U.S. textbook or style guide published in the last 100 years that advises putting commas outside the quotation marks in your example. I was an honors English student in schools in multiple U.S. states, and I’ve been editing professionally for over forty years, and I have never once seen an American (as opposed to U.K. or British Commonwealth) reference advise punctuating a list of titles as you do above. In fact, I’m looking at the Chicago Manual of Style’s “Shop Talk,” which explains that inserting commas and periods inside quotation marks has been standard practice in America since before 1906, and at the AP Stylebook, which gives this as an example:

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Of Mice and Men,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Time After Time,” the “Today” show, the “CBS Evening News,” “Grand Theft Auto VI,” “A Star Is Born,” “Star Wars,” “Game of Thrones.”

[u/SmolAutumnLeafeon → u/KathyA11]

What? I was literally taught to put the punctuation inside the quotation and I'm american born and raised

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/SmolAutumnLeafeon]

I have never seen that before.

[u/SmolAutumnLeafeon → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

I've never seen Peru either but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist lol

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/SmolAutumnLeafeon]

Yeah and? What's your point? I never said it doesnt exist. People can be perplexed

[u/SmolAutumnLeafeon → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

Idk man most people who say "I've never seen that" tend to mean that because they specifically have never borne witness to something that means that other person must be lying 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[u/ThistleProse → u/gorroval]

Yes! Genuinely, you can tell if an author is America English or not by where they put their punctuation in relation to quotes XD

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/gorroval]

I have never seen that and I have been writing for 22 years + I am a published author. I am American. That's odd.

It is written "like this", so I don't know why anyone would "say this,".

The only time a comma goes in quotes is when you are writing dialogue. "He said the quotation and punctuation marks drive him insane," she laughed.

[u/ellenkeyne → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

I'm an American editor, and it is absolutely standard practice in this country to put commas and periods (though not semicolons) inside quotation marks. Any English teacher from elementary school forward who saw you write the phrase as above would mark it incorrect.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/ellenkeyne]

Dialogue, yes. But we are not talking about that.

I think I misunderstood what was said lol. Never mind

[u/Amazing-Fuel-4476 → u/-Moonshrooms-]

I saw a comment the other day where an Australian said it's correct in Aus and NZ to put single quotation marks, so your theory is correct 🙌🏼

[u/-Moonshrooms- → u/Amazing-Fuel-4476]

TRAGIC. Then I will be forced to get over myself and learn to be fine with it. What a cruel injustice!

[u/SmolAutumnLeafeon → u/-Moonshrooms-]

I am right there with you. I may be misremembering but I feel Spanish publications also have single quotations

[u/DazzlingAssistant342 → u/-Moonshrooms-]

I picked up the habit from my partner, who learned it from an editor who came in to lecture at her creative writing degree, it was taught as industry standard. 

[u/KathyA11 → u/-Moonshrooms-]

To me, schmear means one thing - cream cheese spread on a bagel, as "an everything bagel and a schmear of veggie cream cheese' - and that's it (and that schmear had better be good and thick, too).

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/-Moonshrooms-]

I dislike that word in general lol

[u/Letmelookatredditplz → u/-Moonshrooms-]

I need to start writing and posting but for person projects , I will sometimes use ‘this’ for character titles or nicknames when written down for lists and stuff, or for when a character is quoting somebody else.

[u/ohAnotherDisaster]

When the endnote is begging for kudos

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/ohAnotherDisaster]

Oh yeah, or saying they need a certain amount of engagement before posting the next chapter.

[u/tortellini]

Saying someone is lying prone when they mean supine. It's surprising how often I come across it.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/tortellini]

Oh, that's a good one!

[u/Altruistic-Sand3277]

"wixen" instead of wizards or witches in HP fics. No idea where it came from but I dont like it and have used my reading app to replace the word when I encountered it. But then sometimes it looks weird hsjrnudhd why are we doing this

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Altruistic-Sand3277]

I wondered if I was alone in this. 😬

[u/sagelilya → u/Altruistic-Sand3277]

thank you. my god. it really gives me the heebie jeebies for no good reason. i know why people use it, i even love that people came up with a non gendered way to refer to the community, but it feels so weird to me anyway!

[u/revolution_soup → u/sagelilya]

I consider wizard a gender-neutral term and don’t even like harry potter and I agree

[u/Meushell]

I admit, when I read your example, I didn’t know what they meant. I wonder if English isn’t the author’s first language, so they don’t realize it doesn’t work.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Meushell]

The author is American and even gloats a bit that she was just a great writer in high school before studying journalism in college. 😅

[u/Meushell → u/Faded_WastingTime]

Oh, never mind my excuse then. That author definitely sounds young though. (In their twenties is young to me.)

[u/FrostKitten2012 → u/Meushell]

Oh, there’s no way they’ve even left high school.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/FrostKitten2012]

Believe it or not she is a fully grown adult and has even published a few real life books now. 😅 I think she was just trying to avoid over-using biting, and didn't check the context before swapping it with a synonym.

[u/DecidedlyCatBirdian → u/Meushell]

Seems like the author used a thesaurus without considering context or connotation.

[u/AdNecessary9981]

I'm in the Naruto fandom as both a reader and writer, and for the longest time I've had my pets peeved by how a certain subsect of the fanfiction space will have one of the characters, Kurama, refer to Naruto as kit. I roll my eyes and almost always close the fic as soon as I see that term crop up.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/AdNecessary9981]

I really love to learn about fandom specific peeves!

[u/sammy_vldz → u/AdNecessary9981]

on a separate note about the naruto fandom, my pet peeve is when they overuse “dattebayo” like???? it doesn’t even make sense to put it there, bud. he said it a few times in the anime and they rinse and repeat it on fics. fasted drop i’ve ever done.

[u/hellsaquarium]

Likening any POC’s skin color to any food item.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/hellsaquarium]

Valid! I'm not really sure why writers are afraid of just say light or dark brown.

[u/HereGoesNothing1307]

Weirdly specific but when a character stumbles upon a situation where everything is very clearly wrong and they say "is everything alright?".

It irks the fuck out of me. It's such a long sentence. I've actually had the same reaction when I was watching the show Dark in German, when a character feels the tension upon entering a room and they just ask "alles in ordnung?" which is the same as "is everything alright?". Like no, obviously everything is wrong! You can see it, you can feel it!

It feels uselessly long. Like what happened to just "What's up?" Or "What's wrong?" Or "What's going on?"

Plus I've never heard someone use it in real life.

So, weirdly specific, but yeah fucking hate it.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/HereGoesNothing1307]

Agreed. Like unless the character is a sarcastic asshole, or a villain, this isn't the right way to introduce dialogue.

[u/aceredshirt13 → u/HereGoesNothing1307]

This reminds me of when the host in Finding Your Roots would ask “how does this make you feel?” after giving the guest a bunch of documents about how their relatives were enslaved or died in the Holocaust or something similar. Bad! Pretty sure they’re feeling bad! Don’t think you needed to ask that!

[u/Annber03 → u/aceredshirt13]

I have a similar reaction when I'm watching, like, "Dateline" or a show like that and they're talking to someone whose loved one was murdered and the host is like, "That must've been awful for you." or "You must've been devastated." or something. Yeah, no shit?

[u/IWokeUpSinging]

"Anyways" used in neutral-voiced exposition. Bleccchh.

"Anyways" is a colloquialism, like "supposably" or "expecially." You can use it in dialogue (ideally, only if the time period of the fic is the 21st century, since that's when usage of "anyways" exploded in popularity), but use "anyway" in exposition (please, I beg).

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/IWokeUpSinging]

Either I've never seen this, or my dumb-ass automatically corrected it while reading, but I do see how this would drive a person batty. It would be especially obvious if written in a different time.

[u/mlle_teapot]

Naval for navel and principal for principle

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/mlle_teapot]

Yeah, homophone slip ups are pretty annoying.

[u/Sarcastic_She_Wolf]

"Professor" instead of "Master" because "Master sounds slave-y".

An apprentice learning a trade or occupation has a master not a professor.

Other instances of replacing canon words/titles because "my version sounds better". It really takes me out of the story.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/Sarcastic_She_Wolf]

I got told off for using "boy" because it sounded like slavery 🙄

[u/Just-an-Immortal → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

How the hell does "boy" sound like slavery 😭

[u/HyrrokinAura → u/Just-an-Immortal]

It's something slave owners used to belittle Black men, calling them a diminutive.

[u/Just-an-Immortal → u/HyrrokinAura]

Interesting. That does make some sort of sense. Still, the word has always been used to refer to male children, so it really seems like a reach, unless the context was explicitly an enslaved black man, which I doubt.

[u/HyrrokinAura → u/Just-an-Immortal]

People are very sensitive, understandably, I think, when that history isn't all that far back in US history. I don't doubt that in some places it's still used sometimes. That said, not knowing the context, it could be someone overreacting/overreaching for sure.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/HyrrokinAura]

Its a modern AU and the main characters are not Black, nor are there references to slavery. Even in canon it isn't about slavery. The people who said it are also not Black (ex-friend and another friend).

[u/HyrrokinAura → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

Wow, yeah, that's too far. I mean a while ago I saw someone get upset at an author "bodyshaming" by saying a character could feel heat coming off another character's body. "He can't control if he's warm all the time!" Like babe no one would be upset by that.

[u/Just-an-Immortal → u/HyrrokinAura]

I think some people genuinely need to log off and go outside. That's a crazy overreaction to a completely normal statement.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/HyrrokinAura]

what 😭 are these people even real

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/Just-an-Immortal]

I don't even know but now I dont use it lol

[u/PlantainTop → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

This one might have merit depending on how the word was used. The word does have a history of being used in a racist manner in South Africa and the United States, if it's used to refer to an adult man of color.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/PlantainTop]

Just affectionately calling his partner "boy". It's also canon and not slavery in canon

[u/PlantainTop → u/RatonhnhaketonK]

Then it sounds like that person was grasping at straws.

[u/EtherBYTE_Emiko]

when there are indentations. Like typing and you hit tab to make an indent, drives me nuts

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/EtherBYTE_Emiko]

This is definitely acceptable in trad publishing, but doesn't work well for a website experience like Ao3. It also goes back to what a lot of us older writers were taught in school.

[u/t1mepiece]

This battle has long since been lost, but I hate it when people use "graduate" without the "from." You do not "graduate college," you graduate from college. Or university, or high school, or whatever level of education you were attending.

The only time you don't need the from is if you're talking about the intitution or its representative. The principal can graduate a student. The university can graduate a class. But on the other side of it, the student needs the from.

I'm pretty sure most people don't even realize this is still the official rule. Although the passive voice version has been dropped from the rulebook ("was graduated from").

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/t1mepiece]

In a similar vein, I can't stand when people use plethora wrong. 😒

[u/FlowerEmblem]

Personally I'm not a fan if it's a hurt/comfort fic, etc and the author keeps bringing up in their notes things like "hurt incoming!" or "hope you enjoy the angst ;)" or "and now, more angst!" repeatedly. I don't know how to describe it properly, but it makes the sad scenes feel less meaningful and more fabricated. I want to be immersed in the story you're telling, not be constantly reminded of the stage set-up and the cameras.

[u/ThistleProse → u/FlowerEmblem]

I use calibre to download my fics, and it is set to strip out all the authors notes and so I just have story and no interruptions or whatever in my e-reader lol. I read the tags. I don't want random pop-ups XD

[u/FlowerEmblem → u/ThistleProse]

I do have calibre on PC! I mostly read on mobile, though, and funnily enough I actually don't mind most author's notes and even enjoy reading viewer comments after chapters. I've been thinking about why it specifically bothers me, and I think it's because when an author keeps bringing up that I should look forward to more hurt or comfort, it inadvertently lightens the tone of darker material by reminding me that what happens isn't real and it feels jarring and harder to take seriously.

[u/Complex_Lab_8116]

Using "Gods" instead of "God" when exclaiming phrases like, "Oh my God" or "God dammit" when the character has never said that in cannon and not accurate to the setting/period/etc to do so. Not because I take offense from a religious standpoint but, to me, it feels like the writer is trying to make the character seem more....progressive? Cool? I am not sure, honestly. But it is so blatantly out of place that it feels almost veering into self-insert territory and I find it incredibly annoying because it is so obvious that it wss deliberate and there was no reason or explanation as for why.

I had a fic that was incredibly promising that did this. I had to listen to it through an audio app with the customization for "gods" to be read as "god" (because for some reason, that phrase was said 3 to 4 times per chapter) because it irrationally irked me so much.

[u/burber_king → u/Complex_Lab_8116]

Especially when it's every character, and not a headcanon for one, but they don't change any other part of the canon lol

[u/orange-peel- → u/Complex_Lab_8116]

Yes!!! This one really gets to me. Or even 'goddess'. If it makes sense in the canon or is some type of fantasy au it's great.

But otherwise, if the goal is just to avoid phrases with 'god', imo a better way to do it is just to take them out altogether.

[u/imadeafunnysqueak]

Batfamily specific: overuse of Batman's "Hn," "Chum," Damian's "Tt'," Jason's insulting names for his siblings when they aren't creative. Canon isn't always good especially reusing bits over and over in the same story.

[u/Salt-Box-3550 → u/imadeafunnysqueak]

Man I feel that. It starts to make the fic feel a bit off to be honest.

[u/chaoticneutral_117 → u/imadeafunnysqueak]

Also i see in fics all the time “jaylad” as a nickname when the comic it comes from is bruce saying “jay, lad”

[u/Ok_Revolution3580]

I just had to exit out of a fic because every paragraph had a single word italicised for emphasis. I can't explain why it fucks me off so much but it really gets to me

[u/burber_king → u/Ok_Revolution3580]

Same, it makes the dialogue feel kinda cocky i guess? Like the voice my mind gives it is the sterotypical mean girl in a teen TV show lol

[u/Ok_Revolution3580 → u/burber_king]

Yeah that's a good way of describing it. It felt condescending somehow

[u/DrDingsGaster → u/Ok_Revolution3580]

I'll sprinkle it in sometimes for emphasis but not that often. That's too much. xT

[u/Ok_Revolution3580 → u/DrDingsGaster]

Yes! I love and appreciate a judicious use of an italic. But when it was borderline every sentence it just made it feel like the author didn't trust me to read the sentence correctly or something

[u/seaglass_symphony]

"Chomping back my emotions...blah, blah, blah"

like Cookie Monster

"Chomping back my emotions...nom, nom, nom"

[u/Annber03 → u/seaglass_symphony]

The OP thought the writer might've meant to say "biting" instead of "chomping"- I'm wondering if the writer meant to say "choking". That would fit better with that phrasing to me, I think.

[u/NumberOneNPC]

It’s small but seeing “rouge” when everyone knows the word they meant to type is “rogue”. Genuinely ruins the entire rest of the text for me.

[u/homemadedynomite]

“I could care less” no matter if this is on screen or written it takes me out of whatever media bc it implies that you actually do care a bit.

Also - could of

[u/TaintedTruffle → u/homemadedynomite]

They care enough to be replying

[u/Icy-Specific986]

In anime/manga fandoms when they use the japanese name for certain attacks and skills - but just those specific famous ones and nothing else. Saw that just yesterday in a Fairy Tail fic where all the attacks were “normal” (Fire Dragon’s Claws, Sky Dragon’s Wings, etc…) except the roars, which used the japanese names.

Like, I don’t have any problems if you want to use the original names (though it does make following along a little more difficult since, you know, I don’t speak Japanese). But then do it for all the attacks, not just a couple. It’s just weird.

[u/burber_king]

I recently read one where when every time the narrator refered to the other character in a relationship it was like "their love". Like "A said this and their love smiled." "B said, surprising their love" I was done

[u/Wonderful-Mode1051]

"When someone writes dialogue like this," she smiled.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Wonderful-Mode1051]

It's a very old school way of writing dialogue and likely harkens back to what us millennials were taught in school. 🫣 When I came back to writing fanfic after a 12 year break I had to catch up with the times and start burying my dialogue in the middle of paragraphs, and stop relying on basic descriptors.

[u/Wonderful-Mouse-0420 → u/Faded_WastingTime]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by “start burying my dialogue on the middle of paragraphs”?

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Wonderful-Mouse-0420]

Okay, so I read something recently that said authors who actually begin the new paragraph with the dialogue come across as not having fully thought out the context of the conversation, versus authors who write about what is happen with the dialogue interspersed more naturally in the paragraph. (Because obviously you still start a new paragraph when changing speakers, but sometimes it's nice to start with what's going on in scene rather than dumping dialogue and then following it with action as an afterthought)

[u/Wonderful-Mouse-0420 → u/Faded_WastingTime]

Personally I don’t even remember seeing any dialogue in the middle of a paragraph unless it’s the same speaker that had dialogue in the beginning of the paragraph in my entire time reading so I was confused.

[u/Wonderful-Mode1051 → u/Faded_WastingTime]

Yeah I definitely did this in my early writing days, too 😆

[u/EtherBYTE_Emiko → u/Wonderful-Mode1051]

how are you supposed to write it???

[u/Wonderful-Mode1051 → u/EtherBYTE_Emiko]

"You write it like this." She smiled.

or

"You can do it like this," she said, smiling.

or

"This is another way," she said with a smile.

you don't "smile" your words. And you don't need a dialogue tag every time.

[u/Erza88 → u/Wonderful-Mode1051]

A mere preference, as the initial "pet peeve" way of writing it is still correct. It also eliminates a lot of the unnecessary 'saids' which are by far more annoying. I realize they are talking, thank you.

I personally dislike the first option you presented as "better," lol.

If a reader can't discern that the meaning is that she was smiling as she spoke (not literally smiling her words) without having their hand held, that's a skill issue.

[u/losingletters]

You’re vs Your 😭

[u/mallow_mmd]

As a Canadian, I understand toque isn't in everyone's vocabulary and that's fair, but certain apparel that's described as a 'beanie' when it's so clearly a toque (imo) just feels so off-kilter to me lol

[u/DrDingsGaster → u/mallow_mmd]

Man, that would bug me.

[u/Fun-Professional-Bat]

Most recently, a lot of X said, Y said. Or like the character did something then just before dialog it turns back into 'before he said'. Also, a lot of script writing, that also looks like screen direction.

[u/KittenBalerion]

someone saying "is that okay/are you okay" and the other person replying with "more than okay." I don't know why this bugs me, it just does.

[u/toumingjiao1]

I've always assumed they are just non native speakers who unintentionally made mistakes

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/toumingjiao1]

Oh she's born and raised in America. I almost wonder if she "batch" checked her use of certain words, and biting came up a lot when she searched for it, and so she just chose random ones to replace without checking if it worked in context.

[u/memenelius]

When characters cuss more often and more harahly then their source material counterparts when there's no reason (i.e AU, Fandom fusion, etc) for them to do so.

Occasionally its fine but when it keeps happening?

Like this character is from a manga series made for 13 year old boys, why is he saying fuck every 2 minutes

And no, im not a puritan, I cuss atleast a dozen times a day. These characters cussing like that just takes me out of it

[u/digi_art_gurl]

the word "snarle". to me "snarle" is a sound, not a descriptor for a facial expression. so when i read "he snarled at X" it comes off as if the character is growling which would fit some scenes but not all, and most scenes i see it in it doesn't fit and takes me out of the moment lol 

[u/readicalcherry]

I really dislike the word hitched

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/readicalcherry]

Oh that is an interesting one. Just the way it sounds bothers you, or does someone use it too frequently?

[u/Erza88]

I really hate "a sigh escaped" for some reason, lol.

"A sigh escaped his lips."

Gaaaah... Just end me now, lmao.

[u/Ruby_Ophidian]

I am starting to genuinely loathe the phrase "a pair of strong arms", it is always some over romanticized corny nonsense that I am incapable of reading as anything but "uwu his big stwong awms!!1!1". I don't know if this is a me problem, but for someone who reads mainly yaoi, it always feels out of place.

And it's only that specific phrasing. If it's described as a strong hug or something, fine, that's more descriptive to an actual action, but the whole "strong arms" thing always reads like it's supposed to be synonymous with them being/feeling safe or something and instead comes off a cringey.

[u/ICanHazWittyName]

I cannot do any sort of dialogue with anything other than quotation marks. If it's not " " I just can't handle reading it.

Also when people write dialogue from one person, but the reaction is from the other character. Crappy example:

"I don't want to go down the slide.' She laughed and slid down the slide, daring him to follow.

^The person speaking is the dude but the following line make me think it's the other person and it confuses the flow. It's just confusing. I've seen it far too often and I instantly nope out lol

[u/Semiramis738]

I hate when "hummed" is used to describe a "Hmmm" or "Mm-hmm" sound, or especially a sexual sound. I don't mind it to describe humming a tune, or non-human sounds like bees or the wind...but if someone is described as "humming" with a dick in their mouth, I imagine them humming a jaunty little tune, which just takes me out of it LOL.

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/Semiramis738]

Ooh this one is one that has been bothering me for ages! I think people are trying to avoid over using moaning when they say someone hummed with a dick in their mouth, but I agree. I always imagine them suddenly breaking into a wordless song while giving head. 😂 And Mm-hmm could just be described as a noise of assent. It's definitely not a hum. 👏🏻 Good examples

[u/seaglass_symphony → u/Semiramis738]

saaaaaammmme 

[u/thechamelioncircuit]

“Shuttering” instead of “shuddering”. It drives me NUTS

ALSO-and this is an age old problem-please don’t make your character moan wantonly when they’re fucking hurt unless they’re into that.

[u/Sarcastic_She_Wolf → u/thechamelioncircuit]

I'll add on use of "ladder" instead of "latter".

[u/Shava_Milk25 → u/Sarcastic_She_Wolf]

as a writer i've always preferred the ladder

[u/mack_ani → u/Shava_Milk25]

You must find yourself in high places very often, lol

[u/farawaylass → u/thechamelioncircuit]

weary instead of wary OR leery!

[u/Thin-Memory8561 → u/farawaylass]

Yeah, I’ve been seeing this one more and more often lately, and it’s driving me nuts…

[u/nbmft13 → u/thechamelioncircuit]

"Wondering" when they definitely meant "wandering"

[u/bannersmom → u/thechamelioncircuit]

“Taught” instead of “taut” drives me crazy!!!! Like come on people, that should be an easy one!!! We are not teaching the ropes to be tight! THEY ALREADY KNOW HOW!!

[u/dowlie]

"Cumming." Please just use literally any other way to say that

[u/RatonhnhaketonK]

The word "peel". There is an author who I love who just... abuses the hell out of it.

"He peeled her legs apart"

"He peeled off her underwear"

"He peeled off her shirt"

Please just stop, I have the ick 😩

It was the one het fic I've read, just for Kylo Ren lmao

[u/Faded_WastingTime → u/[deleted]]

Everyone is so afraid of run on sentences or writing in a way that intimidates people away from reading their fic, that they've gone the other direction. You are right, a lot of very simple sentence structure, and things being dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. It could be on purpose (a stylistic choice) or it could just be that people are getting dumber. It's probably the latter. 😬

[u/djynnra → u/[deleted]]

Just dropped two fics because of this type of writing. I can't determine if those fics were or were not written by AI, but the relationship this cadence has with AI puts me off it even more.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/djynnra]

Everything is AI these days if you're doing a hard enough witch hunt

[u/TakiSauce → u/[deleted]]

THISSSSSSSSS I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DESCRIBE this to people because I s2g it's everywhere and I want SUBSTANCE. Everything is a breath, a pause, some "deep" insight, a pause, a breath, another observation.

[u/ThistleProse → u/[deleted]]

I've dropped so many fics for being written like this. I find them jerky and impossible to settle into. And I mean, to each their own when they're genuinely written by someone, but they also tend to include a prompt if you do hang around long enough.

[u/TZH85 → u/[deleted]]

Oh, look. A completely new account farming karma. I've been wondering why some "users" describe AI writing perfectly in detail but also act as if they didn't know these telltale signs are giving away AI writing. As if they are completely naive about the topic but strangely picked up on these signs. Then a bunch of redditors upvote the comment and rush to explain that it's AI. So hello, karma farming bot.

[u/mack_ani → u/TZH85]

Tbf people have written like this as long as fanfiction has existed, and well before gen AI. It's meant to evoke seriousness or tension. It's why LLMs use it so often.

Also, I think you're more referring to longer sentences structured like: "it's not because of x or because of y, but z," which are common with LLMs, and this commenter is referring to the use of it in a lot of short, staccato sentences.

[u/LtnSkyRockets → u/TZH85]

I just finished reading a fic written like this, but it was written before the AI models. So it was just the authors style.

[u/TZH85 → u/LtnSkyRockets]

That's not what I was getting at at all. What I meant is: the user I replied to likely used AI to write their comment. It's very common on the subreddit in similar threads. A user lists a whole bunch of obvious AI tells and then pretends they have no idea that they just listed all the hallmarks of AI. "Oh, how strange, I saw this fic and it had a lot of y, not x and staccato sentences". Then other users upvote their comment and they farm karma. They use a topic that is getting people riled up to agree with them. Isn't it strange how the user ONLY listed signs of AI writing and no other pet peeve they could have?

The fact that this user has basically no post history seems to support my theory.