Instantly Clicking Off a Fanfiction...

"What phrase/word made you click off the fanfic you were reading?" Reddit users over at r/FanFiction have shared some of their reading pet peeves that stopped them from finishing a fic. What are some of your own?
Link to the original thread: / what_phraseword_made_y...
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[@ameliasteynberg5841]

"Fuck this shit," said Frodo "Mood," said Gandalf, "Shit happens to us all. But fuck it we ball."

[@euniesthebaws_freepalestine]

Sounds like a crackfic

[@Sapphireskittles]

I love this comment

[@Catpixeled]

I think if Tolkien read that he’d just keel over on the spot.

[@smoldogo2979]

I am wheezing. I have died by those powerful words. I'm going to save them and frame them on my wall for generations to come.

[@ameliasteynberg5841]

@@Catpixeled It would be regarded in medical history as the first recorded case of SHI (Spontaneous Human Implosion)

[@WickedSapphira]

This is my worst one. Years ago, I was reading a smut scene during which the author used the euphemism "dark portal" to describe a butthole. I still think about it years later. It was that bad. Lol

[@Null-value]

I shall now refer to number two as “emptying my dark portal” from here on out

[@WickedSapphira]

@@Null-value Omg!!! 🤣🤣🤣💀

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

HELPP

[@Frostfern94]

I’ve heard worse words being used to describe vaginas. “Rocket wound” “Dark corridor”, etc… like dear god please no

[@floofyp4n]

@@Frostfern94 ROCKET WOUND?!?!? 😭

[@goldenheart__]

most of the time i can stick around unless the pet peeve is happening excessively, but i swear to fucking god if i see ‘bluenette’ ONE more time im going to pull all their hair out and make them a baldette.

[@Null-value]

Baldette made me wheeze

[@notfamedtvpersonalitydrphil]

@@Null-value SAMEEEE

[@platinumg.8614]

What hell is this?

[@Frostfern94]

EXACTLY!! Brunette like okay, but black-haired, blonde, and ginger exist?? Why just tack on “ette” to the end of it?!

[@towelgirl21]

I always wondered why everyone had to be identified by hair color. You could do height, age, job... something else.

[@SirExal]

I once was reading a story that said ""I love you,"" [my sister] said lovingly." I burst into laughter at what was probably the most redundant adverb of all time and clicked away.

[@cameraman01productions]

"Crowley glares at him, glarefully" -Neil Gaiman

[@HiBuddyyyyyy]

Isn’t there a twilight one that’s like ‘he laughed “ha ha ha” he giggled’.

[@popplejam2128]

“he descended upwards” is something i read in a fic a long time ago and i still have a screenshot because it was so funny to me. bro could’ve googled antonyms for descend, but i also find it kind of weird because i feel like ascend is a more common word.

[@mammoneymelon]

that is the ultimate "I'll publish the first draft" sentence

[@jessieterces8575]

@@cameraman01productionshe’s the only one who can make it work fr

[@thebookmaster6593]

“Milky-White” skin is often used for people with really light skin! Peach coloured skin is used a lot. We’ve been using food analogies for skin colours forever.

[@kusuossecretgf5401]

right cuz I'm black and I don't see any problem with being called "chocolate skin", if anything I see it as a compliment. Heck, I even call myself "milky chocolate".

[@silverish9081]

Tbh, I feel like it's fine to describe a skin colour with an analogy and especially a commonly used one like milky white, peach, olive and, yes, chocolate skin. When it stops being fine is when it's no longer an adjective but a weird descriptor for the whole character like the chocolate-skinned man. But then I also have a pet peeve about overused 'brunette', 'blue-eyed one' and stuff like this - like, just say their name or pronoun, don't replace it with some other word every other sentence.

[@deselbypt1]

imo it really just depends on if you're doing it to all characters or just POC. if you describe your white characters as having "milky skin" and black characters as having "chocolate skin" it's not really an issue, but if the white characters are simply described as white (or their skin tone is never mentioned) and every POC mentioned is described with food it's just odd

[@skinlizard2251]

​@@silverish9081I agree with those descriptions being incredibly overused, but the way they arose is, I believe, due to redundancy- Like, if there's more than one character who shares a gender with another, using the pronouns of the characters could get confusing, but if you use their name every sentence, it gets incredibly annoying (and the issue would be especially prominent in fics focusing on characters that use the same pronouns because you basically can't just do their pronouns and using their name becomes incredibly cluttered and a little redundant to read). Like, a lot of people figure out the clunkiness of using the same names over and over AND the confusion in using the same pronoun over and over and so gravitate to using descriptors and don't really see the problem in it because it's a LOT less glaring, especially to beginner writers. Doesn't mean there isn't still an issue, though, just one harder to spot.

[@vitoc8454]

​@@deselbypt1 the other way around: "The woman with milky skin walked up to the black guy."

[@sonicfan42]

“Their tongues danced together” when describing a kiss always gets me

[@samauburn78]

nahh i feel like there was some part of twilight where "their tongues fought for dominance" or some shit ( could have been a fever dream though idk )

[@SM64_Mario]

I can only imagine 2 tongues growing limbs and dancing 😭

[@aspillust]

@@samauburn78"their tongues fought for dominance" haunts my nightmares 💀

[@panadocoughsyrup]

@@aspillustIt makes me think back to being in junior school and playing truth or dare but nobody understands tongue kissing so you just end up licking eachother’s mouths for however long your one friend wants.

[@citriosis]

I don't see anything wrong with two tongues doing the foxtrot 😂😂 but jokes aside, that one gets me too

[@secret..m7237]

I once read a fic where the character was scared of thunder and they put in brackets: “(She’s scared because of something that happened in her past.)”

[@valeriacastro2746]

Lmao

[@REDFRLegend]

I'm currently writing a fanfiction about multiple AUs of the same game like you write notes for a story, but these notes only contain the main events. Each AU has currently its own chapter. In that story I'm using brackets to give background information that is necessary to understand something better, yet wasn't needed for the main story or to mention (because I upload every 3-5 months) if someone or something comes back. The only reason some of them are still vage is because that thing mentioned there is important, but not for the current AU. The AU in that chapter just introduces that thing to prepare the reader for later. If I were to write that one character was scared of of thunder because of something that happened in the past, I would let her be scared of thunder, treat it like a fear everyone has and later use the brackets to explain why she's scared, if it's not needed for the main plot but still interesting to know.

[@maayatheperson9635]

Tony stark image here

[@besitosdefrutilla]

​@@maayatheperson9635HAHAHA!?!????

[@idk-ke3eo]

This is why you SHOW NOT TELL 💀.

[@leeshajoi]

My pet peeve is people using "conscience" when they mean "consciousness." Spellcheck is not always your friend.

[@midnight_blue_moon]

Also the other way around: when a writer describes a character as being "conscience" of something. My god.

[@Acidfrog475]

@@midnight_blue_moonI’m picturing a character who is a symbolic representation of conscience, like Truth in FMA. And then the writer gets confused and calls them Consciousness instead haha

[@towelgirl21]

Then you've got "contentious" (ready to argue) and "conscientious" (thorough and careful). I have to look up the latter every time.

[@Blanch590]

Spellcheck is often objectively wrong in many cases I’ve encountered while writing

[@Acidfrog475]

@@Blanch590 It's "fun" (heavy sarcasm in the quotation marks) fighting against Word's spellcheck when it tries to argue a word you know is correct is somehow incorrect. And then when you click open its alternative spellings it just suggests gibberish.

[@aceanarchy5554]

2:39 oh my god, this! Everytime Harry is genderbent or has a sister in HP fanfiction, the name is so clearly telling of what the character will be like. "Ophelia" "Celeste" "Amethyst", they named their son Harry do you really think they'd give their daughter a unique name? No, she'd be called something like Emily or Hannah or Katie. You could get away with names like Rose, Daisy, or Violet, because yknow Lily and Petunia, but anything too cool is just so telling. Especially when he gets a sister and its like "Harry's finds out he has a sister, Lilith Potter!" I like the names Harriet and Holly for genderbent Harry though.

[@PalisadePeryton]

To be fair, I knew an Artemis whose brother was named Jim.

[@laurarowen6053]

I call genderbent Harry, Jane. I think it suits her.

[@hahahahahahahahaa6580]

​@@PalisadePerytonI'm not sure which child is the favorite in that situation

[@LeslieLorane]

*Laughing quietly in having an incredibly rare name (not my username. I use fake names online because of my rare real being too identifiable 🤷) while my brother's name is Chris.*

[@devilishjester7718]

Tbf it is a common phenomenon for couples that want "younique" names to give boys something normal and girls horrendous tragedeighs

[@stygian6642]

For any writers reading this, remember that these are all individual people with individual preferences. I wouldn't click off for like half of these examples. Plus, it all depends on context--I'd click off 'he growled' if it was in a human romance fic but not when the character is established to have shapeshifting/canine traits already. To the replies: I'm fully aware growling is a valid descriptor, and that's my point. That's a personal pet peeve of mine and it's not universal and it doesn't say anything about the quality of the writing.

[@solaris9426]

humans can growl. It's basically a very rough voice when speaking to express excessive emotion, usually anger or hatred.

[@nixxdra]

Growling isn’t meant to be taken literally tho? When characters are described as growling, hissing, or barking in dialogue tags, those are just descriptions of what they sounded like. Low, quiet, tension filled words can be compared to growling, sharp or strangled words can be described as hissing, loud and sudden words or demanding words like orders can be described as barking. Writing means playing with language.

[@darkstarr984]

Yeah, I like describing a deep-voiced character who is any degree of inhuman growling, and mewling is a pathetic sounding word for a pathetic sound… but the story had better be really good for me to tolerate “defiantly” instead of “definitely” because that one makes me want to go through the whole story with a red pen and send it back with every obvious error marked (obviously leaving anything that looks purposeful). Sometimes if any character is angry enough they’ll be growling their words though

[@paigemosher8697]

​@nixxdra This is something that a shocking amount of fanfic readers seem wholly incapable of grasping, and it's honestly exasperating. This is why it's just as important to have smart readers as it is to have smart writers in fan spaces.

[@Tyxaar]

Yeah it kinda took me back that someone would really hate that, cause in my dialect of English "growling" is a term used to refer to being cranky or abrasive at someone. "My sister growled at me" means she's on my case about something or we had an argument.

[@Cameron-fh3iv]

For me it’s always the “popped past the cervix” with smut fics, because that just…. Isn’t a thing.

[@crabsnake4556]

Well, It *Could* Be, Depending On What You Use And If You Like Sadism

[@venus4724]

​@@crabsnake4556NO. Penetration of the cervix is not possible. The most you can do is touch the tip. Look it up.

[@kupotenshi]

​@@crabsnake4556stop watching p*rn, you can't pop past the cervix with a d, ever

[@lealiaja]

@@crabsnake4556 This made me feel physically weak

[@crabsnake4556]

@@lealiaja ;]

[@olivia8243]

My pet peeve is when characters communicate _too_ well, if that makes sense. Idk if this is a recent thing, but I've noticed a lot of authors have their characters describe their feelings so clearly and accurately, in a way that feels like it's a PSA rather than how a human being would actually talk. Especially when it's a character who's on the more emotionally immature side in canon. Like, no, they don't have that much self-awareness 😂

[@AnnekeOosterink]

Yeah, like, some characters are actually like that, and that's cool, and healthy communication is important, but half the time it's a gay, 18th century, repressed, English gentleman who would not even be able to think the words, or understand the concept of a mental illness. Like, I will expect some anachronisms, people who write for fun won't be held to the same standards of research a publisher should do (not that they always do that), but at some point it's just not fun anymore.

[@keythealien]

That's really not it. This is just the classic "telling rather than showing" problem a lot of unrealized writers have, but everyone is starting to understand how to communicate properly and healthily so (usually young or new) writers are persuaded that every mature adult talks this way/should sound like this. They'll get there; give them a few years. You could always point that out to the writers when you see it, so they CAN learn and get better at identifying different characterizations. Otherwise, your point is kinda worthless sitting out here in the void. But I've also noticed no one wants to communicate at all anymore, so people just keep bitching into space and writers are getting more and more sensitive until you can only ever praise someone like a god lest you become a pariah. I've also noticed people who complain don't actually understand what they're complaining about, like with this :) so I guess that would make communicating pretty hard.

[@olivia8243]

​@@keythealien Oh yeah, I agree. The issue is almost always coming from a young or inexperienced writer who doesn't yet know how to communicate emotions subtly, so they fall back on having their characters state what they're thinking and feeling directly rather than showing it in a more natural way. I also think a lot of writers are afraid of their writing being seen as "problematic," so they use their characters as a way to speak directly to the audience and give an explanation for anything that could be perceived as an issue (which is also a sign of immature or inexperienced writing). That being said, nothing you said contradicts my comment at all. Why are you saying I don't understand what I'm complaining about?

[@kaydwessie296]

I love fics like this, because I've barely seen any examples of actual communication in my life, and I'm an adult. These fics had to be what taught me what relationships could look like

[@olivia8243]

@@kaydwessie296 nice! it's not my cup of tea, but im really glad it helped you out!

[@sammyuel7329]

I was reading a fic that had the phrase “DNA rifle” and I it took me awhile to process because it was my first time reading fan fiction

[@tonkajoey08]

Ohh that's absolutely criminal lol

[@PalisadePeryton]

Baby batter bazooka

[@HiBuddyyyyyy]

What fandom was it?

[@sammyuel7329]

It was bandom, can’t 100% remember which band it was but I think fall out boy

[@foxglove-woods]

that took me a second, but now I'm imagining a gun that just fires alpha radiation

[@towelgirl21]

One story I read had characters go to a fair and they misspelled "booths" as "boofs" half the time. I laughed for hours and put it in my favorites.

[@ViaIfile]

I need the link to this

[@Jupiter-T]

Sounds like the type of person to spell "gothic" like "goffik".

[@sistersamich2075]

“We sat down at the restyouwant boof”

[@tramya183]

@@Jupiter-Tmy immortal’s author..

[@Jupiter-T]

@@tramya183 Precisely XD

[@koopicaca7882]

Saw someone use “flesh mushroom” to describe a certain body part. Clicked off of that fanfic so fast lol.

[@avacadotoast5571]

Oh my god 💀

[@PercydeRoloFangirl]

Oh (would like but it's 69)

[@dreamystone]

Honestly... I'm caught between horrified fascination and disappointment over the lack of perseverance over your (metaphorical or otherwise) boner's behalf.

[@helenaborgespeixoto7598]

Bruh this reminds me of people using "starfish" 😭

[@vearninaphim754]

Lmaoooooo

[@Halloweenish]

0:25 “Her skin was like a cup of coffee that was mostly creamer because she was white.”

[@osheridan]

well acshually the quote is milk, not creamer 🤓

[@Quesoquantum]

Stanzii

[@Sly-Moose]

A fellow Stanzii fan I see

[@s4ltenj0y3r]

Her name was aurora borealis, but everyone called her abs for short

[@destiny_moon115]

w h a t 💀

[@chespin9078]

Once read a pirates of the carribbean fic where James Norrington was referred to, almost exclusively, as “Lil Jimmy”. It’s been six months and I still have no idea what the fuck was going on.

[@PalisadePeryton]

Are you entirely sure that wasn't a crackfic?

[@chespin9078]

@@PalisadePeryton i dont think it was

[@VibingMeike]

Lil Jimmy?! I'm dead 😭

[@deen7530]

Oh my god do you have a link? I'm cackling right now

[@dazesanddoodles]

any fic involving james that calls him a variation of jim has me cackling tbh 😭

[@Emma_The_H0ppin_H00ligan]

For me, an instant "click off" is when i'm reading a crackfic and every single word is misspelled. As someone who writes a LOT of crackfics, it just comes off as the author trying WAY TOO HARD to be funny; in my opinion, a good crackfic is when the author writes it EXACTLY like how they would a more serious story except they're a lot more loose with it and just let the jokes come naturally if that makes sense. You don't need your readers to feel like they're having an aneurysm to make them laugh!

[@localsatanist]

Ikr? I started a serious fic that derailed fast into the ot5 talking about their fursonas but it was written the same way i write seriously

[@loganthebookdragon]

Agreed!

[@kupotenshi]

The word "bussy" was said in a completely serious smut scene. That was the end for me.

[@user-bn4cs6zu6r]

*Bussy.*

[@s4ltenj0y3r]

*Bussy.*

[@NullAmbition]

*Bussy.*

[@commercialairliner]

*Bussy.*

[@survivalisttt1566]

BUSSY.

[@TCGrey]

Let me start this way: I am German and love to read certain (English) fanfics with a German character. And badly translated pet names are my kryptonite. Well, badly translated from English to German. No, you cannot call someone "Liebe" (love) as a pet name. It’s either "Liebling", or "meine Liebe"/"mein Lieber". And even than are the last two not "nice" pet names, but rather a "scolding" ones. But even worse was the time I had to read "Honig" (honey) as a pet name. No, just no.

[@silverish9081]

Out of curiosity, what are some actual German pet names (and their rough translation)?

[@delusion5867]

"liebling" just sounds so funny, it's like a bad name for an alien species

[@abigailc8829]

Would you happen to be in the Ace Attorney fandom? Because I swear I've seen this exact same comment on half the Klapollo fics I've read (I'm not German nor fluent in the language but I speak enough of it to get annoyed by its incorrect use)

[@GenderfluidRoyalty]

@@abigailc8829SO GLAD IT WASNT JUST ME WHO THOUGHT THIS INSTANTLY

[@Jray608]

I'm guessing "honig" only refers to the food and isn't used in any other way, right?

[@PowerSpirit50]

One thing that is way too common is 'quite' instead of 'quiet.' I feel like I'm the insane one!

[@Stratelier]

I try to ignore line-editing level mistakes, myself, but commonly mistyped/mistaken words are definitely on the list of almost-red-flags. There is ultimately no substitution for proofreading your writing back to yourself later, you WILL find errors you didn't catch at time of writing.

[@GibusWearingMann]

A lot of these sound like they're from authors trying not to sound repetitive. The lesson: there are worse ways to sound that you should be worrying about instead.

[@AnnekeOosterink]

Most of the time, like 98%, it's best to just use names or pronouns, or nothing at all. People can understand who is speaking just fine, so long as you start with names once, and maybe put one in the middle if it's a very long conversation. Also, err on the side of no descriptors, I see way too many whispered/uttered/exclaimed/mentioned/etc etc when said, or just nothing will not only do just fine, it will be better.

[@kanrafingerguns]

​@@AnnekeOosterinkAgreed. Action beats are another good way of breaking up repetition. Or sometimes it's obvious from context who is speaking. Honestly, I almost never use anything other than "said" or "asked." 99% of the time, they're either crutches or redundant. For example: "Go away," she snaps. Vs. "Get out of the car, or I swear to God, I will steer us into oncoming traffic," she says. The former tells us this character is upset. But if you took away "she snaps," how aggressive she's being would be unclear. The latter example is far more impactful. Adding "she snaps" would be redundant-we already read the aggressiveness from the dialogue itself. Dialogue tags other than "said" or "asked" have their uses, but I more often than not have found it's much better to not use them because it forces me as a writer to strengthen the dialogue.

[@Fighting.Flower]

Someone stole and threw away the protagonist's salad that they were going to eat for lunch because "men don't eat salad, they eat meat". I stopped reading after that, i don't like fanfictions where everybody is just really sexist for absolutely no reason.

[@bipinnambiar]

Wait I think you mean misandrist

[@Fighting.Flower]

@@bipinnambiar I'll just change it to sexism and made it easier for everyone, but thanks for correcting me!

[@FallenLittleAngel-ec9oo]

​@@bipinnambiar "sexist" would be a better wording, misandry is not actually real

[@justanotherguy1122]

​@@FallenLittleAngel-ec9ooHuh?

[@basilbat273]

Fanfiction where everyone is sexist and has values that could only be gained while living in an evangelical cult is my favorite thing 🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@KittyKatKandi]

will never forget a fic i read approximately a decade ago where a character with blue eyes looking at someone was described as ‘she turned her bluebells to gaze at him’ - i’d honestly prefer it atp if they just used ‘orbs’ like they did for every other character

[@Jupiter-T]

At first I read "blueballs" and I'm not sure if I'm disappointed I was wrong.

[@keythealien]

Sounds like a color word. Bluebell is a color. It's called romantic; it's a style of writing. Not that any of you uneducated baffoons know anything about literature. I hear a bunch of 15 year olds these days aren't even literate, so I'm not surprised. The opinions of the uncultured matter not.

[@dx.feelgood5825]

That’s so weird. Like they could have just said “baby blues,” that’s a genuine phrase used for blue eyes. Siiiiiiigh

[@Marvelouse]

@@Jupiter-T Ah what the heck me too, I was laughing my butt off because I thought it was blue balls, And I am very dissapointed that I was laughing at a joke that my brain played on me. 5 minutes straight until i read your comment

[@BlindStarLily]

My favorite part of this is that bluebell flowers aren’t even blue, they’re violet-

[@giselle9230]

Smut will often get a laugh out of me for anatomical inaccuracies alone, but sometimes I’ll find a killer phrase that makes me instantly realize this was written by a child. My favorite opening line I’ve come across is “My name’s ____ and this is a story about how I put my you-know-what in ____’s you-know-where. It all started when….”

[@zackOOO-nz9rh]

Now, you may be wondering how I ended up in this situation...

[@alejandromonteroborbon5696]

You see… *CupcakKe song starts playing*

[@fbrown9861]

and then he put his thingy in my you-know-what and we did it for the first time

[@ruinparadox4812]

The third chapter, following an intense opening of two swordsman duking it out in a duel to the death, was titled, "Your Harem."

[@PalisadePeryton]

Sounds like a good time to me

[@laayiv9449]

Was it supposed to mean something else?

[@devilishjester7718]

Peak comedy genius if you ask me

[@cloudyskykid]

1: “you dare test your blade against me?!” 2: “how about i test my d*** agaist your-” 1: “wait, *what*??” 2: “damnit, this worked with the last 7 boys i did”

[@yaoidyne]

this is basically 90% of isekai anime

[@millies2788]

'the younger man laughed' Similar to 'bluenette', when the author panics that they're using the characters names too much and tries to differentiate by referring to the characters as the older one and the younger one. Most of the time they're like a year apart in age! It makes it feel like an age gap romance when it's really not.

[@LindyLime]

Someone needs to tell people it's really ok to just use the characters' names.

[@bluebrightstar1117]

Yes !! Especially when the age difference is literally a few months 💀 or " the taller" in a random setting that has nothing to do with height 💀

[@francescamoran7503]

THIS ONEEE

[@hannah-wj9ot]

This and the taller one /smaller one .

[@neoqwerty]

@@LindyLime Someone needs to tell them the rule is "use the names every 2, SOMETIMES 3 times, or whenever you're mentioning another character". So far (going on 10 years since I was imparted that rule), I haven't had complaints about repetitions OR about abuse of descriptions.

[@jessical4866]

1:54 I don’t click off immediately, but I give a bombastic side eye to writing that takes Asian names and applies English nicknaming conventions to them. I’m sorry, but Japanese people would not shorten Izuku to Izzy. Also pretty sure ‘Zuku would be more a childish mispronunciation, because Kanji read as chunks of the word and not individual sounds like in English. So Izu would at least make sense as a shortening of Izuku because that’s one character of Kanji. (Meanwhile Zuzu is a good nickname for Zuko because for one that’s a character in his name, and for two the repetition of the sound indicates cuteness which makes sense because it’s a childhood nickname.)

[@stackingspaghettisauce4271]

The amount of people who write anime fanfics without having the smallest amount of understanding about Japanese culture is insane. It doesn’t make me click off but it does bother me when a character is shown living in a traditional home in canon and then the fanfic is nonstop beds, doorknobs, and pancakes for breakfast. Like did you not watch the show?

[@irishmanfromengland25]

I was gonna bring up Zuzu, and then I realised I hadn't read the whole comment! love that you used what I thought of as an example. zwei idioten, ein gedanke!

[@user-vq3te9rv6f]

oh mygod same lmao. i saw someone call a character named jing yuan as "jiyu" and i was soooo confused until i realized they mashed together the first 2 letters of his name 😭 i lost my shit like omfg jing and yuan are both already one syllable ????

[@lileenleen]

This only gets a pass if the Asian charcater is in a mostly English-speaking setting. I see Chinese cultivation/based fandoms are pretty good with correct pet/little names.

[@Homodemon]

God, I once read in like, I think it was a Naruto fanfic about the characters having bacon, scrambled eggs and cereal for breakfast which in a fantastic but super traditionalist japanese setting it just felt incredibly hilarious

[@Lavlikessquids]

Saucy warning If I read “Womb” in an erotic moment will make me make me pack up an leave It’s either horrible anatomy or unsolicited kink stuff. Same with using breed in a non-breeding kink fic

[@6Shots_ofEspresso]

worst thing ive ever seen is untagged cloaca sex… ✨traumatized✨

[@basilbat273]

"He exposed the skin of her bloated puffy womb ready to-" bitch tf are you yapping about? (I'm still currently traumatized by that fic)

[@damien678]

I want to include it in a fic because some people experience pain from their uterus cramping during/after sex, and I think it'd be cathartic and interesting to write about it happening in a ship were both characters struggle with sex (for multiple reasons) and are trying to learn to enjoy it together 😅

[@fredhasopinions]

@@6Shots_ofEspressowhat the FUCK is cloaca sex? Anthropomorphised birds?

[@user-bn4cs6zu6r]

@@6Shots_ofEspresso That's a thing...? In actual fanfics...? You're sure you just didn't make that up while high, right?

[@yeetthecheat]

2:40 Read a hitchhiker's guide kidfic recently and Ford and Arthur's child was named "Prius", it was like the opposite of this person's experience it was so funny

[@wrightcember]

thats fucking hilarious omg

[@bogwife7942]

I nose exhaled so loud I startled my cat

[@alluminium9656]

How in the world would they have a child in the first place

[@faveless]

​@@alluminium9656 testubes

[@lillianf281]

Do you have a link because that sounds amazing

[@blaineash]

A fanfic where the story derailed from the main plot and started describing what the characters ate for EVERY SINGLE MEAL. I think op was just hungry while writing it. 😂

[@paigeepler]

redwall be like

[@charleston1789]

Was the author CS Lewis?

[@wjx5081]

this. exactly this. and it was so long too! i think for me it was an hp fix it fic where voldemort and harry were soulmates and they lived multiple lifetimes and they went back to their first life which was the canon universe

[@LACHRYMA]

"his manhood/her womanhood" and any other euphemism or word authors use refer to genitalia without explicitly saying the name is like the easiest way to get me to click off

[@Jupiter-T]

Her "lady garden" sdfljaksdlkfj

[@artgoing]

Eh, that doesn't bother me too much if it's set in the 1800s and said once/twice, but if it's repeated like 5x then I get annoyed.

[@straawberryfieldsforever]

It doesnt bother me if it works with the character. But if its supposed to be some p*rnographic erotica, just why?? C*ck and p*ssy are right there my guy

[@oceansolstice608]

It’s also transphobic to basically imply that your genitals defines your man/womanhood :/

[@Jupiter-T]

@@oceansolstice608 lol

[@lorien_braga]

I clicked of one recently because the character said "sounds fake but ok". not only it didn't match the character, they said that when their romantic pairing explained his best friend was aroace. I couldn't finish

[@ariannay766]

oh god

[@aspillust]

i was smiling before i read this and i literally felt my face drop 💀

[@TabithaCharleston-cd8qo]

For me, its inaccurate birth scenes, if you're gonna have one and you don't really understand how it works, try avoiding technical terms or just have it offscreen. It pisses me off SO MUCH when I character gives birth in a matter of minutes, like EXCUSE ME, SIR, SHE IS NOT DIALTED. This might be an issue to me because my aunt is an ob/gyn, but it isn't very hard to so research or just avoid the scene all together.

[@nyxthefox2348]

My mum works with babies, and was a nurse, and I'm at uni studying medicine. It's awful, I hate reading them...

[@spookyplaguedoctor5714]

This! The amount of fics I read that involve the water breaking piss me off so much.

[@renoirrr]

one of the first fics i read had the mc go and deliver a baby in the middle of a mall. taking away how scarring that must’ve been for some people (despite the “and everyone clapped” moment), i was pleasantly surprised to see people in the comments pointing out that after all that there was no umbilical cord. baby just popped out like it was nothing.

[@basilbat273]

"My waters breaking! Mc, we need to go to the hospital now!!" No tf you dont??

[@gothgrape]

I read a fanfiction that describe perfectly fine it was good it feels real tho it was sad

[@finpin2622]

I feel like I’m one of the few readers/writers that is actually perfectly fine using “growled” or “hissed” to describe dialogue. I’m sure it’s been overused in some YA book, but for me I’ve always just imagined “growled” dialogue as saying something in a deep, gravelly voice, and “hissed” dialogue said in a low sharp whisper. It communicates both the way someone is saying something AND gives some personality to it, and I honestly enjoy characters being given slight animalistic descriptions when they’re angry. A person who is hissing their words and slithering around corners? Love it. Snake-coded. Someone who growls and bares their teeth? Dog-coded. I associate most people irl with some random animal so it helps me envision the characters even better. Honestly it kind of is my personal pet peeve when I see TikToks like “erm how do you curl your lip? How do you look THROUGH your eyelashes? How do you ___?”. Girl we are reading. Give them some creative space. Do you REALLY want you books to be written completely literally with no fun interpretive language? Maybe you do but I do not. Sorry for that rant, but am I alone here? Idk it just seems like such a popular bookish opinion nowadays.

[@moseyonover733]

I genuinely think most people who "hate" it when authors use "hissed" as a dialogue tag don't do so organically. It became a meme at some point and now it's a social faux pas to react to it with anything besides a pre-programmed, "Haha, but you can't hiss unless there's an "S" in the sentence!" But... you definitely can. "H", "Sh", "Ch", "Ck" and arguably hard "Th" and "T" are all "hissing" phonemes, for one, and as you pointed out, it's also a word for a harsh whisper, which doesn't require any particular phonemes at all. So many "pet peeves" and their amusingly badly thought out justifications honestly just read as the person uncritically aping some stand-up comedy routine they saw.

[@chillycoldchomper9389]

I'm thankful for these two comments here. I use "growl" sparingly, but the word "hissed" is a dialogue tag that I adore using. I was confused about people disliking them.

[@arcanine_enjoyer]

This! As well as in... well, asterisks. I hate when content creators make fun of figures of speech by taking them literally, they must be super fun at parties. Not saying that you should be creepy and roleplay to random strangers who didn't ask, but the way they make fun of things like "growls" as if it's that's the only funny joke they can milk out of an image

[@citriosis]

Hissed is a good way to avoid using those adverbs everyone hates so much. Whispered sharply works fine, but hissed is more concise, lol.

[@shayshay8650]

​@@citriosis Exactly, especially if the character is in pain and are trying to talk.

[@whisperva8235]

I usually avoid Y/N stories at all costs because, instead of the authors keeping Y/N gender neutral (because Y/N is supposed to be a self-insert for everyone reading the fic), They make Y/N a pre established character with a full backstory! If you wanna make a self-insert story, then make a self-insert character! Don't take a character who's supposed to be a self-insert for everyone and slap those characteristics onto them!

[@Frostfern94]

I know wtf! I absolutely HATE Y/N’s and would never read them for a handful of reasons but this is one of them

[@human-tk2fo]

Y/N fics be like "You think (thought I would never have)" no, I don't

[@basicallyblobbity4226]

I actually prefer these types of y/n fics over the "My name is y/n l/n. I have e/c eyes and my favorite color is f/c. idk maybe that's just me

[@GMoneythefirst]

I have such a love hate relationship with them, like i appreciate the author for making stuff up for me cause then if i actually self insert then the whole story falls apart but then it can get too detailed and specific and then its just a oc insert story 😭😭

[@diesdas5851]

Recently I had this happen in reverse kind of. It was a story written in 2nd perspective but with the “you” being their own full character. So they obviously had a lot of (interesting) backstory and characterisation. And then suddenly in the last chapter BAM the author dropped a y/n and it turned out to have been a y/n all along! I felt so betrayed

[@audre_saurus]

in all the fanfics i've ever read as a 13-14 year old, ESPECIALLY in anime fics, they'd say "Pinkette", "Ravenette", "Bluette", BASICALLY any color with "ette" in the end. I would cry if I ever see one again

[@Jupiter-T]

Oh gosh you're 14? Not trying to sound parental, but be careful out there, fanfic is a weird world.

[@audre_saurus]

@@Jupiter-Tlol i'm actually 16 now. and yeah, the fanfic world is WEIRD

[@hellgazer8370]

i'm kinda desensitized to "ravenette" just because i see it so much in the fanfics i read, but if i see any other "ette" descriptors i'm going to virtually punch the author.

[@yourlocalmoron4832]

​@@hellgazer8370pfp fits lol

[@irishuisman1450]

I read a fic a couple weeks ago that had these masterpieces: - "his throat throbbed,as did all his other limbs" - "He felt a hand petting his head gently,it was gloves from what he could feel,seeming to be a work glove of some kind. He sighed leaning into the touch,it felt like cold metal underneath the glove." (this was all one paragraph, with that exact punctuation) - misspelling the word 'gestures' as 'gesters' - "he questioned the question" right after a dialogue line Add on to that a near-complete lack of capitalization, run-on sentences, missing commas, and some weird pacing, and I cringed myself out of reading it before I even reached the end of chapter 3 ^^' Edit: a lot of people seem to be concerned about the throbbing limb that is the throat, so a quick clarification: the character was in pain, not aroused

[@molasses3850]

I'm fine with 100% no capitalization, but when it's half-assed, "sometimes I'll capitalize, sometimes I won't," that bothers more than I would have thought.

[@clyde-or-monty]

DOTPPP “he questioned the question” HAD ME WAILINFFF

[@silverish9081]

Besides the imagery that the first point conjures, it also somehow implies a throat is a limb. What kind of monster have they created??

[@irishuisman1450]

@@silverish9081 I thought the same thing when I read it xD

[@Gloomdrake]

Is a gester when a jester gestures?

[@A_Sterling_Rose]

Oh my God, I just got a memory back about this video game called Angels of Death. There's this doctor character who was obsessed over how dead the main girl's eyes were. This isn’t too bad considering how all of the characters are mentally unwell and are very over the top, but the doctor always refers to eyes as 'peepers'. No matter how obsessed little 14 year old me liked edgy stories like this, I could never get over how dumb that was 😂😂😂 Edit: Hey, I looked up the game and saw that it got an anime adaptation. A part of me wants to watch and see if they kept that 'peepers' description.

[@cantarellarose1991]

They do! Only in the dub because "peepers" exists solely in the English localization of the game. Even the Eng subs don't use peepers, of which I am still disappointed by as a Danny liker. The dub of the anime does kinda blow though, not because of the peepers but because of a bunch of other things like some charas just being badly cast.

[@tiktokcompilation1568]

I whatched the anime and i dknt remember any particular "peepers" but maybe it's because the last episode made me cry and that wiped away all of the other memories lol

[@laayiv9449]

From a certain point of view, that actually makes it spookier. Something about a totally deranged character who insists on using slightly childish language.

[@A_Sterling_Rose]

​​@@laayiv9449It's just how often the doctor said 'peepers' that kept throwing me off. His whole character was focused around eyes, so he mentions 'peepers' a lot when he was on screen. Edit: The anime makes it feel like a horror parody 😂

[@A_Sterling_Rose]

​​@@cantarellarose1991Dear God, you weren't lying 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Edit: I see how you could find the dub disappointing, but I personally didn't have an issue with it. It's too hilarious for me to take it too serious like I tried to when i was younger.

[@alexander_markovski]

As a reader of mostly SPOP fanfic, mewled is forgiven in most cases because Catra is... literally a catgirl. And in defence of growled: it's more common than you might think IRL, just take my word for it. I do wish writers would stop being afraid of calling a pussy a pussy, though. If I had all the time in the world, I would gladly edit every fic on AO3 to deal with the grammar and spelling mistakes because they are the *bane* of my reader experience. Loose/lose, there/their/they're, ball/bawl, would of/would've; the list is endless and my pain, immeasurable.

[@StarrySkyyyy]

god "would of" drives me CRAZY

[@shrimpdan2557]

There's literally plenty of good/acceptable synonyms for "pussy" out there that there's no excuse to use weird flowery language, imo. I mean, if that's your thing, go nuts I guess. I'm talking more about people who are afraid of being repetitive when writing about an action (sex) that is inherently repetitive. Say pussy, cunt, snatch, twat (I may not like it but some do), slit, hole-- you can even use vulva or vagina every now and then! But if I have to hear yet another fic that says something along the lines of "his love rod spelunked into her warm, wet cavern" I think I'm going to develop a complex

[@reiniar]

BALLING USED INSTEAD OF BAWLING DRIVES ME MAD

[@6Shots_ofEspresso]

STOP 👏🏾 CALLING 👏🏾 PUSSIES👏🏾 SLITS 👏🏾 it makes me think of a gaping wound on my crotch 🤢

[@aj-uu7ic]

She was bawling hard vs She was balling hard

[@Chordata7]

whenever a character gives a mental health is important speech despite the culture they're from not caring nor does the canon writing imply the chacter having that kind of knowledge. if it's an au sure but so many anime canon compliant fics that have hurt comfort or angst just kill the immersion. the mp100 fandom was notorious for this.

[@kasper9716]

THIS IS SO REAL. It really gets me when it’s in a fic where the source material is fantasy/a historical setting also. Like, they’re from an 1800s-esque fantasy world, they would absolutely *never* know what PTSD is.

[@wrightcember]

At least call it shell shock, since it shows you at least TRIED 😭

[@lemonmoonlavender]

​@@kasper9716there are totally certain fantasy settings that are modernized, and therefore would have this knowledge, tangled the series uses a lot of modern terminology, but there are a lot that dont and seeing fanfic writers give them that hurts my soul as an over-researcher

[@qstionblomens6138]

MP100 shipping fics get fucking unreadable when they do that and they do it a lot

[@Chordata7]

@@qstionblomens6138 the general fics were even worse. One fic i read where mob told reigen about mogamis past. Lead to reigen instantly going on a speial about suicide not being the answer??? Just like bro reigen would not fucking say that in the middle of mob processing his feels.

[@mx.confused]

I think what's ironic is that a lot of what we consider "cringy" in fanfic, pops up in actual books, some by amazing authors. I think it's wrong to criticize a lot of these as bad writing. I mean it can be done wrong, but it's not inherently a writing sin. I get it, but I've been reading fanfic for so long and I feel like sometime people are just pretentious about it. Don't let arbitrary rules stop you from writing things the way you want to. There are certainly take aways from some of these, and writing lessons to be learned, but don't limit yourself. Writing is not that rigid. It shouldn't be. If you have a reason to do something, if it serves you're story, do it. The way you write something can add dept to what you are writing. And even if it is "bad" or "cringy", who cares! We're doing this for free, out of joy and appreciation for something we love. It's for us, not other people.

[@catbatrat1760]

THIS

[@venus4724]

Some of these, yes. But also, you make the implication that all published/well known books are good writing. I've certainly seen some elements in some that are straight up laughable

[@miraculous_lady_noir2179]

@@venus4724 I once read a self-published book series. It had spelling and grammar errors and some very confusing bits in the story, but it was the best thing I've ever read.

[@xiphia-YT]

Yeah, except the grammar mistakes. Just try not to make those.

[@maddieb.4282]

It’s okay to provide constructive criticism. The whole “let people enjoy things” idea can also be taken too far and it can be the enemy of improvement. And no I’ve never seen a high quality published work by an established author use the word “bluenette,” use ample grammar and spelling errors, or use “turgid” instead of erect

[@Bea-zn8vr]

read a harry potter fic once where they were sending tiktoks on their phones, exchanging text messages with professors and listening to hozier , like, girl we are in 1998 lmao?

[@kaydwessie296]

This can be solved with a "Modern Day AU" tag, but nah they just had to make everyone suffer

[@rubolph1954]

and like even if they werent, wizards prob wouldnt be doing any of that anyway cause like thats muggle stuff??

[@Bismuguy]

This video is good but don't let it distract you from the fact that gru is the most powerful person in the world First according to the height of a Minion (which is 3.5 feet on average) Gru is 4 minions tall, which means he is a godly size of 14 feet tall. Second if any of you remember the original Despicable Me, you Know there is a scene when Vector kidnaps the three girls and shoots a series of heat-seeking misses at Gru, he then dodge them all. According to the speed of an average ballistic missile (1900 mph) and the size of the missile according to his ankle size, Gru can perceive and move at such a speed that the missiles only move 9.5 miles per hour, 0.5% of their original speed. Plus after this Gru punches a shark and it is paralyzed meaning its spine is probably shattered, to remind you it would require a force greater than 3,000 newtons to fracture the spine. That’s equal to the impact created by a 500-pound car crashing into a wall at 30 miles per hour. I rest my case.

[@cinderelenn]

Imagine fighting gru

[@cerpiper]

I wouldn't want to make him my enemy

[@ranting2daMAX]

That’s cool and all but could he solo Goku?

[@cinderelenn]

@@ranting2daMAX I-I think we actually have a opponent strong enough to beat goku

[@TheSecondVersion]

He can beat monsters with his bare hands and jump over missiles. He's Raiden.

[@avacadotoast5571]

Once read some smut in which a character's breasts were described to, I kid you not, "stand at attention". I almost died laughing because I kept picturing their partner as a drill sergeant ordering them around 😂

[@bumbabees]

what the hell does that even mean 😭

[@nohotdog463]

I was reading a really well written fic and then the author used the word rizz out of nowhere and I immediately closed it and died laughing 💀😭

[@opiedopie]

For me it's when they use "loose" instead of "lose" completely takes away the seriousness in a fic when you read "i don't want to loose you" lmao

[@rammgrrrl666]

Two things stand out in particular: 1. A tangent about abortion laws 2. Calling a German character "mein Führer" Both of these things occured in fanfiction that was supposed to be erotic and it totally killed the mood.

[@nyanko318]

Not really click off but a pet peeve of mine is people using 'bemused' as a synonym for 'amused' Heads up to all the writers out there, 'bemused' is a synonym for 'confused'

[@charleston1789]

A kind of benign bafflement, if you will

[@lemonmoonlavender]

about the thesaurus pet peeve: if you dont want to be overly repetitive when you have to write about the same thing over and over, and you struggle to remember synonyms, go ahead and use the thesaurus! my advice is to check the thesaurus and choose a word you _already know_ so it doesnt sound too crazy, and your writing will end up less repetitive but still readable :)) if you do it right, no one will even be able to tell!

[@CursedCatTruffa]

I literally write with a thesaurus open in the browser tabs, it's God sent, specially as my first language isn't english

[@minteraysolo8509]

There's this crossover fanfiction I read once that had a character that is canonly always cursing be cursed. In short, he was cursed to constantly have his insults replaced with colours names. So he started screaming "Fuchsia! Magenta! Blue!" etc and it was hilarious in the context. Then this other character went "You certainly... Have a very colorful language, sir." I still remember how I wheezed in laughter. It's not a pet peeve of mine as I kept reading, it was too funny not to. The author had made it clear from the beginning that it was a crack fic.

[@Rowan_nawoR]

In high school fics with male main characters who get forced to wear girl’s uniform. It’s even worse if the mc is the reader too. It’s just kind of gross because it isn’t coming from a place of empowerment I guess. It’s more coming from fetishisation and ‘a man wearing a skirt is funny’. It happens far too much for my liking

[@slytherinlady3907]

this pissed me off SO MUCH when it’s the opposite, when there’s a girl who’s a tomboy and suddenly she’s exempt from the dress code??? she wears a damn skirt in the source material she can wear a damn skirt in your fanfic she can wear masculine clothes literally anywhere else and she actually does in canon but like she wears the damn uniform man come on ive seen the opposite like… once?? except it wasn’t really in a school setting it was at a party this guy showed up in a dress and like its a character that likes to make bold stylistic choices and all, he’s confident he would rock a dress and i feel like that’s what the author meant but it still kinda rubbed me the wrong way with how tropey this kinda stuff can get yk

[@Dressup_Doll]

@@slytherinlady3907I know the dress thing happened in RWBY because Jaune (the guy wearing the dress) kinda lost a bet/did what he said he’d do. It was actually a sweet scene, and he did not care what other people thought.

[@SkellSeer]

Yeah he absolutely rocked that dress

[@sansclone1874]

The one with good execution and plot is apparently going for Trails in The Sky (Kiseki No Sora, is an actual source anyway) for me. Like here, to emphasize the "gender equality" on the school festival, all the role that just, how I call it as "reserved" for one gender are switched for this drama. Now you will see the Princess played by a man, A dad by a lady, etc. So since the protagonist and her boy-partner are tasked to aid the festival, they must partake in this drama. And to be frank here, Joshua's looking good there....

[@darkvioletcloud]

@@Dressup_Doll Jaune also ROCKED that dress. That scene was so sweet and so fun! I think guys, especially big beefy guys, look really good in dresses. They're a great way to show off muscles.

[@mOonLight12whiSpeRs]

Okay but have you ever seen the phrase "he sauced on my pink taco" in a fanfic because LET ME TELL YOU

[@Zitronen_]

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

[@mOonLight12whiSpeRs]

I'd say God knows but I'm not sure even God wants to know @@Zitronen_

[@emmamakescake]

I was once reading something that supposedly took place in 2010, but everyone had walkmans, flip phones, and gameboys, and all I could think was “how young does this writer have to be to not know what 2010 was actually like?” It immediately took me out of the story and I couldn’t read anymore.

[@Eat_shit--die_mad]

To be fair I have amnesia, so despite being 20 years old I literally have no idea what 2010 was like

[@milicadiy]

"I release a breath I didn't even know I was holding"

[@sabinemajed8675]

Honestly this is a normal phrase. I don't really see the problem with it.

[@milicadiy]

​@@sabinemajed8675I respect your opinion. It's not too annoying, it's just the first one that came to mind.

[@fetchgutz]

honestly worse when used in actual published literature imo, that should have been my first warning sign with Scythe (I ended up getting super annoyed with the romance that came out of nowhere, and yes they actually use that phrase in the book)

[@gabieldenstierna]

I've seen this one so much in fanfic it's basically a staple at this point. But I have like three consecutive strokes whenever I find the phrase in a published book. Always makes me pause and think "Ah, so you're a fanfic author as well"

[@milicadiy]

@@gabieldenstierna 😅

[@denjidenji9162]

6:59 god this reminds me. One thing I've encountered over and over, as someone who reads fic from anime fandoms, is how... American a lot of them are. It's usually the small details, like the characters using inches instead of cm, but sometimes it's super blatant. Like the characters talking about where to go to eat, and they mention american chains that are not popular in Japan (like idk Five Guys, instead of something like McDonald's or KFC) or are talking about music and all the artists they name are American. Like, it really makes me pause and go "Is this an AU that's meant to take place in America? Because I really doubt this one random japanese person that has never showed interest in American culture suddenly knows this." I get that they're an American, and writing from experience, but come on people! Oh, and it's *specially* bad with chatfics (I know a lot of people don't like them, but I personally enjoy one when it's well written and in character) - no, I don't think Josuke Higashikata the japanese teenager from the 90s particularly cares about American politics.

[@kusuossecretgf5401]

SAIKI PFP HELLO

[@batatasabia]

THIS!! I've read fics with JAPANESE characters that act like they are a born and raised american. Some i can kinda ignore even if it breaks my immersion a bit, like using the whole american school system (to the point if details so specific that, as a non american, I never even heard of) cause i don't really expect every writer to do reseacrh on like, japanese or english school systems. But the amount of time I've seen thing like, american only holidays, american fast food chains, american food and eating habits on characters that not only live on other countries but have zero contact with actual amercans and would at best only know the basic USA stuff is crazy.

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

reverse "eat your hamburgers Apollo"

[@kirby1781]

I've tried to avoid this and do research or just avoid that sort of thing. It is difficult sometimes (varying information or can be as simple as just a simple inches to centimeters conversion), but at least I can feel like the characters are actually where they are meant to live.

[@ariartsy9220]

God, I used to do that all the time when I wrote fanfics for a show that took place in London. Everything was just American because I, an eleven year old, didn't think to even try researching. Now, I'm writing a story that takes place in what is essentially a fantasy medieval England, and I'm going out of my way to use English terms and _spellings_ just to keep it making sense.

[@thursdayeveryday3711]

8:56 every time I read “tummy” in a sex scene, I lose an entire year from my lifespan. Just say stomach, even if it’s not anatomically correct, no one older than six says “tummy”

[@Jupiter-T]

At least go a step up and say "belly"

[@kaydwessie296]

I FEEL THIS I follow some kinky blogs on tumblr too and (first off I don't even like men sexually so it makes this worse, but) if I read any phrase like "boy tummies" in a horny post ever again I'm gonna commit a hate crime.

[@yourshoulderdevil5229]

To me, using "tummy" seriously is like when a grown adult asks anyone above the age of 5 if they need to use the "potty" it's annoying and awkward, and there are already better words to use. I stopped using the word tummy when I was four because of how cringy it was.

[@jm4954]

I do agree with the colloquial thing. I once read a fic where adult characters all talked like gen z middle schoolers. Kept reading because I wanted to see where the plot went, but I could not take a 40+ year old traumatized military man going “yikes. that sucks, my dude.” seriously AT ALL.

[@RaysArtCorner]

The main reason I click off a fic is because the rating is misleading/wrong. Like I would click on a fic labeled for general audience (It’s like E for everyone in AO3 terms) and the fic is is just filled to the brim with adult content. Just label your fic with the right labels ffs.

[@nyxthefox2348]

Also, the other way around. I usually sort out the Explicit fic using the filter, so sometimes I miss amazing fics because they either only have one skippable scene or even none at all.

[@YoCelKreSunt]

That's a valid point, unlike uGh I hAte GroWl

[@6Shots_ofEspresso]

⁠@@YoCelKreSunt whats invalid is saying that other peoples pet peeves arent valid, like no ones forcing you to dislike it 😒

[@lemonmoonlavender]

this isnt an INSTANT click off, as my favourite fanfic ever does this as well, but the confusion between "unconscious" and "subconscious" hurts me physically, and if a fic has that on top of other crimes against literature i will delete the fic from my library and cleanse my eyes with salt and vinegar.

[@Morhan_Jehnez]

Got into an argument about this very topic with my dad about this years ago, please expand on it tell me the correct use of each cause he got me all spun on my head and I have been too scared to use either words since.

[@lemonmoonlavender]

@@Morhan_Jehnez of course!! unconscious is when someone is not awake, asleep or knocked out or otherwise subconscious is someone doing something without being aware theyre doing it, but they are awake, like picking at your clothes or making little mouth sounds without noticing :)

[@Morhan_Jehnez]

@@lemonmoonlavender This makes a lot more sense, I'd better commit it to memory, thanks so much!

[@keythealien]

how spoiled you are to have such a reaction lmao don't be so annoying. just tell them they're using words wrong and don't be such a dramatic twerp.

[@chocobear4078]

​​@@lemonmoonlavenderyou actually do use unconscious to describe unintended behaviors Subconscious is the part of your brain you're not fully aware of

[@avamin0s]

When a character calls their love interest "daddy" or "mommy", immediately I'm out. 😶

[@SirK.2530]

I read gay smut sometimes and every time when there is no prep I take a deep breath and keep on reading (when the story is otherwise well written) or click off as fast as possible. And just today I've clicked off a fanfic because the words that were used to refer to the characters genitals were written in cursive.

[@phamdung3884]

No, not the cursive! 😂

[@user-bn4cs6zu6r]

𝓟𝓮𝓷𝓲𝓼.

[@charleston1789]

That literally has me seeeeething - obviously ppl who have no idea how it actually happens. Like, just spit, no lube?! Saliva dries quickly friends. And yeah just so much inaccuracy >.

[@user-bn4cs6zu6r]

@@charleston1789 Also, if you don't wash your insides you are going to shit on your partner's genitalia

[@user-bn4cs6zu6r]

@@charleston1789 Also, one can't start having anal sex out of nowhere. If you try doing so without cleaning your insides first you will just shit on your partner's genitalia

[@trumpeterjen]

I read one years ago that unironically used the phrase "tonsil hockey." It was supposed to be hot. It will never leave my brain.

[@hhpscreeper6459]

I saw a Hannibal fanfic once. They shortened Hannibal into Nibal, even remembering about it hurt so much.

[@gegnabean]

I remember once, the very first line of the fic I was reading described the romantic interest as a “discord moderator” I was about this close to clicking off the fic, but there was so little fanfic for this character i soldiered on. It actually ended up being a really good fic which is really funny to me.

[@YoCelKreSunt]

Just wanted to leave this comment here to remind fanfic writers that no one is perfect and everyone's learning, so don't let these pet peeves around here in which you might find yourself discourage you🥰

[@KoenDraws]

Thank you, I'm currently writing a fanfiction on Wattpad and a lot of these comments are making me feel kinda bad about my own writing. I don't know why I watch these, this always happens XD

[@osiris676]

Plus a lot of fanfic writers write in english to reach a broader audience but are not native english speakers.

[@YoCelKreSunt]

@osiris676 this is one of my biggest insecurities as well.

[@damien678]

​@@KoenDraws Write what you personally like to see in stories. Don't include your own pet peeves. Have fun ♥️ that's what I do

[@KoenDraws]

@@damien678 Thanks!

[@whiteraven562]

This was in a published book, not fanfiction, but at one point during a sex scene, the male lead declared "Copulation is imminent!" why. why this

[@euniesthebaws_freepalestine]

🤣

[@roisinwolfibou9646]

Read a line where the protagonist called a dude’s accent “yummy” and I never jumped ship so fast in my life

[@basilbat273]

This ie pretty much exactly the first one but i was like 200+ plus chapter's in when i saw the phrase "his big black hands" and clicked off immediately and gagged 😭😭 its just feels so fetishy and redundant because we already know the characters race + its just icky

[@ace_of_crows8041]

As a native french speaker my english sounded like I had thesauseritis because I was bsing my way through vocab. It works but made little me sound oddly pompous for someone who doesn't know how rto grammar😂😂

[@silverish9081]

Haha, that's really is a problem with the English language which just likes to steal words from other languages despite already having like 3 terms for the same thing

[@Quesoquantum]

Hey, native English speaker here. I tried to learn French and because of how jarringly different it was from English grammar I sounded so dumb. Having English as my first language makes it so hard to learn other languages, as most other major languages are Latin derived, but English is Germanic.

[@wildtamer4461]

As a writer, i must mention 'they growled' does not mean they literally growled, it just means a low, usually angry voice. It feels obvious, but i'm not sure if everyone's aware of that

[@rockstarwithoutastar]

Read my first fanfic around the age of 13 and I remember being so confused when I read “he growled lowly”. All I could picture was a wolf looking like type of person

[@agathaperson8]

This is the only one I didn't think was bad. It's only an issue if overused. Same for any other replacement for "said". Sometimes, you just gotta say "said".

[@prageruwu69]

bruh then just say they said it in a low voice, all i can think of when they say "growled" is that they're doing some weird tik tok alpha male roleplay

[@Sapphireskittles]

​​@@Portrait-lp3hsNAH CAUSE I IMAGINE A SENTENCE LIKE "He vocalized, tipping the prodigious hat he wore on his miniscule head."

[@Sapphireskittles]

@@Portrait-lp3hs LMAAAAOOOO

[@AlastorAlice]

Reading a huntlow sickfic (a ship between two minors) that wasn't tagged as underage and Hunter called Willow "Mommy." Instant click off.

[@Crispydogs101]

I don't know why but I grossed out on the mommy part.

[@Xaphannnn]

I once read a fic that _constantly_ referred to the two main characters as "the older/younger boy"...the characters don't even have a whole year between them. Overusing that with characters that do have a considerable age difference would be weird, but when you're describing literal classmates...stop it.

[@KateJn]

Oops I have made that mistake before 😂

[@IDontReallyWantAYoutubeHandle]

Never actually read the fic, but came across one that had tags that I think tell a story within itself. I took a screenshot, and word for word, it was: "Character Death, Horror, Graphic Description of Corpses, Blood and Gore, Tentacles, Breeding, Eggs, Oviposition, Mindbreak, Human/Monster Romance, Alternate Universe - Among Us" I am used to weird NSFW kinks/tags, but nothing could've prepared me for that Among Us tag at the end. I still wonder about it sometimes

[@coralxrune]

among us is not something i expected to see in that comment

[@Cdefgahc2]

I don't think anything could've prepared me for that

[@Jupiter-T]

: 0

[@rockstarwithoutastar]

“Blue was the impostor” a dark voice ringed from the speakers, as blue’s body lingered on the floor, floating in its own blood. Pink ushered itself next to their beloved. Its hands trembling, removing blue’s mask in horror. Blue was a human. Sorry i don’t know what went through my head but yeah

[@Cdefgahc2]

@@rockstarwithoutastar are you okay ?

[@Rachel-Pham]

Bluenette is reserved for a name of a Smurf OC.

[@desil30stm]

Not necessarily in fanfics, but in the same idea of the ''rogue vs rouge'', I HATE seeing ''tounge'' instead of ''tongue''

[@KateJn]

I sometimes make that mistake with tounge and tongue but what annoys me more is when I make the mistake between quitely and quietly. It's so difficult to get it right 😂. Especially with their, there and they're which is also difficult sometimes. I try to avoid mistakes as much as possible

[@euniesthebaws_freepalestine]

Wait, don't forget tights instead of thighs 😭

[@freshcupofangst]

The word "baby" as a petname. I don't know why but it is just a massive squick for me in fics.

[@midnight_blue_moon]

Couples actually call each other that though. Like my parents are in their 50s and I hear them call each other that. It's one of the most normal pet names you can use.

[@freshcupofangst]

@@midnight_blue_moon I know, weirdly enough I don't mind hearing it between couples IRL, but there's something about reading it...

[@StrangerInTheSnow]

@@freshcupofangstAnd that’s why ‘Bubba’ exists. (Slang for baby in some countries.)

[@prospitdreamer]

Same

[@zhenia2511]

I generally think most pet names aren't that cute and are extremely overused in fanfiction. It just sounds patronising, for a lack of a better word. You are equals in this relationship. Address each other by your names.

[@hollykuma]

In smut, when they describe a character doing something followed by "to increase the pleasure" or "upping the pleasure". Thank you, this moment of passion now sounds robotic/clinical AND juvenile at the same time! Also, the anachronistic language thing goes the other way, too. I've been reading a lot of Silmarillion fics recently and it's like okay, I get it you don't want to use modern language for the fantasy novel equivalent of the Bible or a history textbook. But PLEASE! PLEASE learn how middle English grammar works, I have had to click off so many fics because the author couldn't be bothered to learn how to use thee/thou/thine correctly.

[@Jupiter-T]

Less "ye" and more "yee yee"

[@fredhasopinions]

Also using thou/thee/thy for people you would be polite towards. From a modern standpoint it might sound polite due to its outdatedness, but “you” was really the more polite version, you’d only really use “thou” with someone you knew to an extent Edit: at least if the text is set in the 1600s or later, it would be quite impolite to address a noblewoman you just met as “thou”.

[@puertoricanbelle1334]

This is very specific, but for Moana fanfiction, I often see the misspellings of the names of various characters, and even Moana's home island; Motunui. And as well as the lack of in-depth research on various Polynesian cultures. I also once came across a Moana fic where the plot was literally colonization. the phrase "Much needed colonization" was in the description and I had to click out of the website 😫 shit was too much.

[@dontmindmeimjustcommenting3056]

I remember reading a fic that use "okey" instead of "okay". It would have been fine if the character using them was the playful ones or this was set in a funny context. BUT this fic was set in the hospital with very formal talking between the characters. Also the focused character (since this is third preson) was not an expressive person and often act polite and mature most of the time.

[@sabinemajed8675]

Maybe they had an accent? Though, I doubt it from the way you're describing it.

[@dontmindmeimjustcommenting3056]

@@sabinemajed8675 That could be the case but still, it just rubs me in the wrong way.

[@saturnas]

It was a reference to that one Hetalia-mochi comic where the USA mochi says "okey" (Probably wasn’t but I can't help thinking about this comic while reading "okey")

[@TheSundaeGirl]

I've always read "Okey" as "Oh keh" so it being in a hospital setting would just kill me😂😂 "Doctor, the patient doesn't have much longer!" "Okey, get the scalpel!"

[@molasses3850]

Brunette for a dude. I don't know how many times I've clicked off and screamed "It's not the same thing" at a wall. Brunet and brunette are two different things. Same with blonde and blond but it doesn't affect me quite as much.

[@Null-value]

I genuinely didn’t know that there was a distinct masculine form of brunette.

[@rainingwhenidie]

Tbh I use brunette and blonde for a lot of my guy characters bc men with feminine features are hot

[@molasses3850]

@@rainingwhenidie this is true, you have a point

[@lilyhawthorne1196]

Huh, I didn't know that. I thought blond and blonde was just kinda like a gray vs. grey thing

[@Frostfern94]

@@lilyhawthorne1196Nah, it’s masculine vs Feminine. I’m British, blonde, and learned French in school so I had to learn.

[@rightsock_asock5574]

Highly specific gripe, but I hate it when a character with a nick-namable name that doesn’t go by a nickname is referred to by the nickname outside of dialogue. I get another character calling them that, especially if it’s to show them growing close, but if the author is referring to them like that I hate it

[@ninacohen1132]

I once read a long star wars fic. It had more than 100 chapters and it was great. In the last chapters Anakin and Padme had a 3rd child and called him Anakin jr. They would not do that !

[@joypink5599]

Noooo 😭 that’s abysmal

[@ninacohen1132]

@@joypink5599Like the fics was great for 100 chapters and then that ? I almost abandonned 2 chapters before the end

[@Fighting.Flower]

One time i read "He groped her breasts" (or some variation of the phrase, all i can tell you is that boobs were indeed grabbed) and physically recoiled 1 second later after i processed what i just read in what i assumed was a SWF tickle fic about two 12 years olds going to a (i think it was a spa) for a bonding experience. It wasn't warned, and it CERTAINLY wasn't tagged either! Like i was expecting something *bad* to happen, since it was a Trivia Murder Party fanfic and that game's premise is overall very messed up, but i was expecting at most *murder* bad, i was NOT expecting to read a presumed 30-40 year old man restraining and sexually assaulting a 12 year old girl and forcing her childhood best friend who he also restrained to watch. I don't know if it makes it better or worse that the author was underage, that it came out of left field and left just as quickly without it ever being brought up or drawn attention to, or the fact that the two ended up feeling satisfied(???) by the end, but that was the first time i felt genuinely revolted and physically had to do a double take by something i read.

[@midnight_blue_moon]

And this, friends, is why you *always* tag your fics extensively. Most people would rather see a wall of tags on a fic than only find out halfway in that it's going to have something like this. Or, at least, for the love of god, use warnings.

[@Fighting.Flower]

@@midnight_blue_moon The thing about that one is that the grope thing just...happened randomly and that was that. It was not mentioned, nor did anything of that level happen afterwards. But i do absolutely agree with your sentiment, got a massive paranoia about suddenly loosing limbs without a trace thanks to one (different) untagged fic...people really gotta be more considerate about this sort of thing.

[@midnight_blue_moon]

@@Fighting.Flower I get what you're saying but even when it's just one line that kind of stuff still needs to be tagged. Just say "it's only one line though" and your readers will know, "Hey there's gonna be a mention of this, but it's only one line." Let them decide whether they're okay with it if it's one line or if they'd rather not read. (Not criticizing you here, just saying my piece.)

[@Fighting.Flower]

@@midnight_blue_moon Cool, i wasn't arguing with you that it shouldn't have been tagged, i do believe it should've been, at the very least, warned. But with some of the other things the author has said: i do not doubt that they might not have realized that it could've been taken in a sexual way. Still shocked me to my fucking core though when i read it, regardless of the intention behind it! An axe wound is still an axe wound even if you were aiming for the trees.

[@midnight_blue_moon]

@@Fighting.Flower Sorry, guess I misunderstood the tone of your first reply.

[@dreamystone]

Oh gods, the bluenette is real over at the miraculous fandom. But see, that I can tune out. "Defiantly" instead of "definitely" however, will slowly drive me insane, even if it's the one singular flaw in otherwise beautifully crafted prose. I don't know why I'm like this, it is genuinely distressing.

[@martina6700]

8:20 it's probable that the author is a Spanish speaking person, because it's WAY too similar to the Spanish equivalent to whisper (susurrar)

[@mastertofu]

My newest pet peeve is "the (hair colour)-haired male". Please. There must be some other descriptor. It was a Jujutsu Kaisen fanfic and, please, you don't have to keep calling Itadori "the pink-haired male" and Fushiguro "the black-haired male". Even some variations like calling Gojo "the man with white hair" would be better. There are more iconic details than their hair, for gods' sakes. Call Gojo "the blindfolded guy" or, better yet, JUST USE THEIR NAMES. :/

[@Acidfrog475]

“The brown-haired male said hello to the other brown-haired male. The third brown-haired male chimed in, coffee in hand, complaining about the brown-haired male boss.”

[@mastertofu]

@@Acidfrog475 please, no-

[@vitoc8454]

I agree with The Peeved Commenter

[@SAGENT2]

I definitely agree with that one about characters speaking too colloquially, but I’ve also seen the opposite where character dialogue is way too flowery and archaic for a story set in the modern day. There’s definitely an appeal to spicing up your dialogue a bit more, god knows I do it all the time, but I think it’s still very important to make sure the characters still sound like themselves. On another note, characters casually swearing when they don’t do it in canon. I’m a bit guilty of this as well since I cuss a lot in my day to day, but I walk it back a lot in my writing and it’s really jarring to see unfailingly polite characters like Chiaki Nanami or Yukiko Amagi casually drop swears in a regular conversation

[@kaydwessie296]

SO MANY ENA fics with her swearing. Y'all the "worst" thing she says in canon is "Cheese-and-rice" Some fics I do like have her swear in thoughts but never out loud and like sure that's fine, but still.

[@leofrun]

8:26 i may have never made _this_ mistake specifically but it sounds like something i'd do since i'm brazilian, and while i consider that i know english pretty well since half of my family's american, i sometimes translate words too literally. they're technically correct but very jarring for english-speakers. sussurate/whisper would be "susurrar" in portuguese, which is by far the main word for whisper. one that i think i unfortunately commonly do is "conversate". "conversar" is the main word for that in portuguese, as common as "talk" is in english. there are so many more of these that i'm just not remembering rn lmao

[@YoCelKreSunt]

Same. As a Romanian some words like that sound so natural in my language and easier to use that I would have never guessed people consider me emphatic for that 🤷 hard to please as non-native ig

[@kusuossecretgf5401]

Same as a french speaking person

[@a99les]

Same for Spanish lol (now we need one italian in the replies and we have all the major romance lenguajes covered.)

[@-o8358]

same for Spanish 😅😅 i was a bit worry when i saw that part, it just seemed like something i would do

[@cozmocidepawz]

Im brazilian too and i end up making the same mistakes, which is why i was confused for half of this video

[@ellieofthebeast7952]

0:50 "She is spherical, like a globe; I could find countries in her.” -William Shakespeare

[@LoveSylveon]

"Metal fetish cuffs" For chains.... there was no smut. It was just angst. A lot of angst. And it was said.... MANY TIMES EDIT: I did actually finish the fanfic, I can never nope outta a fanfic unless the grammar and/or is plot SO BAD. I just wasn't ever expecting the phrase tho-

[@Anastas1786]

You mean someone used "fetish cuffs" to refer to... honest-to-God _prison manacles?!_ Like, _actual_ law-and-order hardware, designed for the express purpose of involuntarily restraining potentially dangerous prisoners?

[@jamiebrooks457]

I think the word is "shackles"

[@miraculous_lady_noir2179]

Oh my god, I love and hate that at the same time. It's fucking hilarious, but the fact they don't know the difference between a kink and a fetish is making my eye twitch-

[@pocky-raisin]

5:49 Imagine a novel where there are two time travellers, and they to go to the Victorian Era to fix something, but because of the strict classes they need to pretend to be a married couple to reach the people they need to. These people may or may not already be in a relationship, either works I would definitely read that

[@tati4453]

Oh me too, I love time travel fics with my life

[@TheSundaeGirl]

OMG I'LL START WRITING THAT!! (It'll be done around the heat death of the universe)

[@AVGgrendelmain]

Again, not a word, but I become slightly more prone to violence than usual if a “real life expression” is used in sci-fi or fantasy. Like say, a character uses “it’s raining cats and dogs” in a setting where cats and dogs don’t exist. (This also goes for every other type of media.)

[@LightFrogs]

8:40 Since my first language is not English, "susurrate" sounds closer to the Portuguese word "sussurrar" then "whisper" does. So I often forget the word whisper exists and end up using susurrate in normal everyday conversations lol

[@aeroxoxo]

Maybe I'm insane but I don't really mind the word "Growled"

[@PalisadePeryton]

To be fair, you do have a furry pfp... (friendly fire I guess)

[@aeroxoxo]

@@PalisadePeryton LMAO TRUE

[@justyouraveragemartian783]

right? its not a bad word whatsoever, who cares??

[@kusuossecretgf5401]

For me it's kitten. I like it :(

[@aeroxoxo]

@@kusuossecretgf5401 I dont hate it or like it I think it's kinda funny when I come across it 😭

[@pajamaramayt]

As a casual AO3 reader, the tag “dead dove” terrifies me to my core

[@Cdefgahc2]

Do I even wanna know ?

[@Agent-John]

@@Cdefgahc2 it’s effectively “don’t be surprised that it’s fucked up.”

[@annapotat0987]

the word babygirl unironically is gonna kill me

[@Rae0814]

Terms and sayings that don’t fit the universe. Also, untagged creepy relationships.

[@WorldThatNeverWas08]

I once clicked off a smut fic when the author unironically used the term 'schlong' during a scene description.

[@aceofspades8474]

6:47 I’m honestly embarrassed because this video is the thing teaching me that those two words are spelt differently. I knew they were distinct words with different pronunciations but I thought it was like lead (the action of leading) and lead (the element) where they’re different words that sound different but have the exact same spelling, I thought both were spelt rogue. I genuinely think I’m dyslexic, it takes seeing rogue and rouge being spelt out side by side to see the different and my brain is still struggling not to see them as the same thing and now my eyes are starting to hurt from looking at either word.

[@sparklingsora]

same, im not dyslexic but for the longest time i didnt realize they were spelled differently 😭 i thought rouge the bat's name was spelled rogue but just pronounced fancy, like don karnage from talespin (his last name is pronounced in the french way, like garage)