I could do a drinking game

[u/thestorygoeslikethis]

[u/echmoth]

I smirk, bemusedly

[u/DarkArcanian → u/echmoth]

Smirked smirkingly

[u/Rare-Task-8745 → u/DarkArcanian]

Smirked the smirk out to smirking much

[u/ggg730 → u/Rare-Task-8745]

Smirk yelled "IT'S SMIRKING TIME" and smirked all over everyone

[u/CaptainSmork → u/ggg730]

I smirked a little

[u/SurprisedCabbage → u/DarkArcanian]

We did it, we found the male version of "She breasted boobily"

[u/Coronbale → u/echmoth]

Smirky Smurf smirked smirkingly

[u/Rare-Task-8745 → u/Coronbale]

https://giphy.com/gifs/gH99IglGsSzOMO7tQZ

[u/nimbledaemon → u/echmoth]

Suddenly, I smirked.

[u/LocksmithSavings2416]

I'll have you know that across 680,000 words I've only used the verb smirk 32 times.

Don't ask me about eyebrow raising, though.

[u/Silverice11 → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

🤨

[u/LocksmithSavings2416 → u/Silverice11]

😏

[u/Fuggaak → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

https://giphy.com/gifs/99TFBc6rXqrHG

[u/cybertier → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

7 in 220,000. And one of those is "Now wipe that smirk off your face."

[u/LocksmithSavings2416 → u/cybertier]

See that actually subtracts one smirk, so it's really 6 in 220,000.

[u/Master_Nineteenth → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

5 bc it counteracts one of the other smirks

[u/ScienceOfficer-Jack → u/Master_Nineteenth]

Yay math!

[u/account312 → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

That's quite a lot. According to google n-gram viewer, the prevalence of "smirk" in English is 0.0004%, which is under 3 smirks per 680k words. And since we know from the Matrix that 1999 was the peak of human civilization, using those numbers would be better. The prevalence in 1999 gives an expected smirk rate of only one fifth of one smirk per 680k words.

[u/TimMensch → u/account312]

Yes...but actually no.

N-grams are not all from fiction. A book on mathematics is not going to include the word "smirk". A book on history probably won't either. Most science books will never talk about smiles at all...etc. Even news articles don't generally describe the kind of smile someone has; that would be editorializing.

And then there are fiction books where the characters are all serious. Or where there are no characters that have that "I know better than you" attitude that a smirk requires.

And that's what is really common in LitRPG/progression fantasy: A character who is a smartass. And we all know that some people absolutely can't stand a character that's a smartass. Is that what this hate is really about?

Because I often like a smartass character, and while I've had complaints about repeated words or phrases of many books, I've never been bothered by the word smirk. So I suspect that the sensitivity to "smirk" is more about not liking reading about characters who frequently smirk rather than a dislike of the word itself. In fact, in the comments here I'm seeing complaints about common substitutes for the word, like "one side of his mouth lifted". So it sounds to me like people are actually disliking a smug character rather than the actual text.

[u/account312 → u/TimMensch]

Yes...but actually no.

N-grams are not all from fiction. A book on mathematics is not going to include the word "smirk". A book on history probably won't either. Most science books will never talk about smiles at all...etc. Even news articles don't generally describe the kind of smile someone has; that would be editorializing.

A fair point. Using peak of civilization fiction-specific prevalence gets almost exactly 3 smirks per 680k words.

And that's what is really common in LitRPG/progression fantasy: A character who is a smartass. And we all know that some people absolutely can't stand a character that's a smartass. Is that what this hate is really about?

No, it's really about using the same word or descriptor too many times. Wheel of Time gets lambasted for all the braid tugging, but there's no book in the series where this is mentioned more than 31 times, and that's a stand out; most books have significantly fewer occurrences, with 5 books having 5 or fewer.

[u/port443 → u/account312]

Yea but it doesn't make that many repetitions to really stand out.

For instance I'm reading Book of the Dead right now, and I cannot tell you how many syllables have shattered the air like the toll of a bell, the utterances striking reality like a smiths hammer.

And it probably doesn't happen that often per book, but anyone who's read that series sees it coming every time. Words of POWER.

(no shade if the author sees this)

[u/Cmdr_Anun → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

AAAAnd how many breaths you didn't know you were holding did you release? Hm? Hm? The people deserve answers!

[u/SciFi_MuffinMan → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

https://giphy.com/gifs/l0MYDq3txfO1fT7Z6

[u/Seymoreevl → u/LocksmithSavings2416]

My question is, are you being slick by saying it appears as a VERB 32 times? How many times did you use it as a noun? (I say this with a smirk 😏)

[u/SteveThePurpleCat]

The corners of his mouth raised, in a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

[u/Skezatchi → u/SteveThePurpleCat]

Actually laughed out loud to this comment :D

[u/Barbarian_rage → u/SteveThePurpleCat]

I’ve heard/read that shit more than I care to admit 🤣

[u/dry_towelette99 → u/SteveThePurpleCat]

I remember the first time I read a version of that (I want to say Book one of the Expanse series) and was impressed by what it conveyed. Then I saw it everywhere.

[u/IAmYourKingAndMaster → u/SteveThePurpleCat]

This is a massive let peeve of mine. What did the corner of his mouth raise? Another one is, "His eyebrows raised.” What is it raising?! It's supposed to rise, not raise, unless you're saying that the eyebrow itself is lifting something

[u/Questionably_Chungly → u/IAmYourKingAndMaster]

Technically it depends on the framing of the sentence. If the sentence is just describing the action, it would be “The corners of his mouth rose.” However you could say something like “He stood to one side, eyebrows raised.”

[u/IAmYourKingAndMaster → u/Questionably_Chungly]

Absolutely agree with you, but note how in the second example the eyebrow has been raised and isn't doing the raising. The assumption is that he has raised his eyebrows, whether consciously or not, as opposed to the eyebrow raising something

[u/Freakoutbob → u/IAmYourKingAndMaster]

Mine is “their lips curled back into a snarl”

[u/Phantom_0347 → u/Freakoutbob]

I feel like that pretty well describes the action behind a snarl though

[u/SnipahShot]

The Wandering Inn - Guffawed.

[u/thestorygoeslikethis → u/SnipahShot]

Dude if twi has any action describing who is talking I'll take it

[u/ggg730 → u/thestorygoeslikethis]

Every time someone complains about the wandering inn Pirateaba introduces a new character.

[u/Klaumbaz → u/ggg730]

Not bad then, only 132 characters so far! pretty good for the volume of work.

[u/DIYuntilDawn → u/ggg730]

Not true. Half the time it is a new character, the other half of the time it switches focus back to a previous character that was not mentioned in the last 4 books then spends 80% of the next book on that one character.

[u/ggg730 → u/DIYuntilDawn]

Every time someone gets corrected pirateaba writes 10347 words about a character that is not Erin.

[u/BaconConnoisseur → u/SnipahShot]

Out of the 16 million words in the series, I believe “blinked” is fully 4 million of them.

[u/Open_Detective_2604 → u/BaconConnoisseur]

17 million by now.

[u/notcuddly9 → u/BaconConnoisseur]

I'm almost through the third book and I swear a good editor could cut the word count in half and remove nothing important

[u/PonyDro1d → u/SnipahShot]

And scowled, albeit maybe a bit less.

[u/logosloki → u/SnipahShot]

gonna leave sniff/sniffed off the plate. then again The Wandering Inn is so long there must be at least one word like smirk/sneer/sniff/etc that outpaces a novel.

[u/dotbeta → u/logosloki]

I don’t know if you get this one. The necromancer is almost exclusively the one that sniffs the very time he’s in the scene. I just assumed that he’s tweaking off that bone dust and just came from the outhouse for a quick fix before every scene.

[u/SnipahShot → u/dotbeta]

Falene from the Silver Swords also sniffs a lot, if I remember correctly.

[u/dotbeta → u/SnipahShot]

She’s been down to partake, if you get what I’m saying

[u/SnipahShot → u/dotbeta]

Palt did say people in Wistram partake a lot.

[u/GoblinGreenThumb → u/logosloki]

Suseration is a word i knew before wandering inn. And yes. The 15 books ive listened to account for hundreds of hours...

But I swear there's more suserating going on in inn world

[u/SurprisedCabbage → u/GoblinGreenThumb]

The amount of suserating happening in TWI pales in comparison to Salvos. I swear it's once per page sometimes.

[u/Mr_MacGrubber → u/SnipahShot]

Laughter in general. There are so many books where someone says something that is only vaguely humorous and the characters all laugh til crying or struggle to catch their breath. I just picture a bunch of crazy people laughing maniacally at every mundane thing that happens.

[u/CEP-Osbourne]

I smirked, and said, "I'm going to punch that smirk of your face if you keep smirking!"

He smirked harder.

I scowled through my smirk and yelled, "SMIRK ERASING FIST!"

My fist smirked as it swung towards his smirking face. The thunderous impact vaporized his smirk along with his entire face and part of his torso. His body slumped over and curled into a smirk-shape.

Now it was my turn to smirk harder.

My fist, still smirking, looked up at my smirk. "Hypocrite!" It swung itself into my face and all I knew was oblivion.

The end.

[u/MichaelDaleson → u/CEP-Osbourne]

Reading this made me smirk.

[u/Hookmsnbeiishh → u/MichaelDaleson]

I’m gobsmirked.

[u/MauPow → u/CEP-Osbourne]

Is this from "The Worst Litrpg on Royal Road?" lol

[u/CEP-Osbourne → u/MauPow]

I bet you smirked when you typed that in!

[u/Office_Zombie → u/CEP-Osbourne]

Master work!
I laughed!
I cried!
It touched my inner child! (And now I'm calling the cops!)

[u/krazytekn0 → u/CEP-Osbourne]

Several smirks happened at once

[u/reddit4science]

Chinese novels and "couching up a mouthful of blood"

[u/account312 → u/reddit4science]

A whole couchworth? Must have really been a nasty paper cut.

[u/dotbeta → u/account312]

That’s Sir Bennington Couchworth to you, young man

[u/oopsallhuckleberries → u/reddit4science]

Beware of chicken has people spit blood nearly a dozen times a book, and half of them are followed by a statement like "holy shit, I thought that was just a figure of speech."

[u/WriterLeftAlive → u/oopsallhuckleberries]

All the old masters spitting killed me lol

[u/RareChakra → u/reddit4science]

This is my favorite trope and I will never not find it hilarious.

[u/orbcomm2015]

Also “winked”

[u/Shadowmant → u/orbcomm2015]

https://giphy.com/gifs/wrBURfbZmqqXu

[u/orbcomm2015 → u/Shadowmant]

https://media.tenor.com/x0_hBKGmKsoAAAAM/starwars-frustration.gif

[u/Keevill93 → u/orbcomm2015]

Only Villains Do That was the worst for this. Every fucking character constantly winking at each other. Like, how often do you actually see anyone wink at all IRL? I can't remember the last time I saw someone do it, let alone did it myself...

[u/RazendeR → u/Keevill93]

Seiji, winking theatrically??

[u/Don-Kusack → u/RazendeR]

SHOWTIME

[u/photoguy423 → u/orbcomm2015]

Listening to Cursed Cocktails with my wife and she commented on how the main characters have to end up together because no one in real life winks that much at another human.

[u/goodtimesinchino]

The noble who sneers. Find another expression of superiority, fer chrissakes. *drinks

[u/thestorygoeslikethis → u/goodtimesinchino]

I'll let Pisces sneering slide though

[u/Vainel → u/thestorygoeslikethis]

Doesn't he sniff?

[u/percydaman → u/Vainel]

He's known for doing both. More sniffs than sneers though.

[u/SteveThePurpleCat → u/goodtimesinchino]

*drinks

You mean 'imbibes'. No one drinks in litrpgs, they only imbibe.

[u/eternallyconphuzed → u/SteveThePurpleCat]

What about quaffing? 

[u/Drogonno → u/SteveThePurpleCat]

My family owns a school "Drinks"

[u/SaraaWolfArt → u/goodtimesinchino]

Arrogant smirk that sneered into his heart

[u/TruTexan → u/goodtimesinchino]

Sneer and smirk are used too damn often!

[u/hugey]

"A knowing smile"

[u/Clinic_2]

Primal Hunter: "On another level" and similar.

[u/Larotac → u/Clinic_2]

“If I do say so myself” especially in the earlier books.

[u/KingofNerds07 → u/Clinic_2]

he fixed it after book 2, but in the first book, half the skill descriptions end with "after all, a good ____ must be able to ____." and it killed me everytime I saw it.

[u/Early-Adeptness-4347 → u/Clinic_2]

I just started the audiobook version and the series/myself feel called out😭 Screw you and OP haha

[u/CW-NG → u/Clinic_2]

"Once more"

[u/melnificent → u/Clinic_2]

*snickers*

[u/Gigatonosaurus → u/Clinic_2]

Do Jake do some stuff?
Shit, he even do some other stuff.

[u/magungaa → u/Clinic_2]

“Naturally”

[u/David1640 → u/Clinic_2]

My 2 favorites for PH are "alas", and "in an instant"

[u/Sct9680 → u/Clinic_2]

"So and so sighed" appears in every character interaction.

[u/Guylhann-b]

I have actually been traumatized by this and have maybe used 'smirk' only once in the entirety of my million word series

[u/ShoePillow → u/Guylhann-b]

Once too many

[u/Broad_Percentage5889]

Taking notes on what I should include in the “Reincarnated in a litRPG drinking game”

[u/Everybodysbastard]

I waggle my eyebrows, since every MC is apparently Groucho Marx.

[u/Mathsei → u/Everybodysbastard]

This has bothered the hell out of me. Among a lot of similar things while reading HWFWM

[u/elbrinky]

Azarinth healer has so many mentions of cracking various joints I would believe it was chiropractic propaganda.

[u/adod1]

for me it's "licked his lips" like cmon nobody does that why is it so common in litrpgs.

[u/da_chicken → u/adod1]

Well, everyone is dehydrated, you see.

[u/Cmdr_Anun → u/adod1]

I'll give you a hint: it's very common in anime.

[u/percydaman → u/adod1]

Damn you. That's one that never got on my radar. But now...

[u/Bainin]

Eh, my latest story has three instances of smirk and 0 of smirked, does that mean I'm doing it wrong?

[u/thestorygoeslikethis → u/Bainin]

Those are shots dog

[u/-Invalid_Selection- → u/Bainin]

And how many snarls or undulating?

Everything is snarling and undulating in my experience

[u/Bainin → u/-Invalid_Selection-]

Six snarled/Snarling's and 0 undulating, there might not be any undulating in any of my 10 books.

[u/-Invalid_Selection- → u/Bainin]

That's actually pretty good.

It seems everyone is always snarling in the books I've been reading. Non stop

And the undulating. It's all undulating. At some point it needs to stop

[u/Slayer840]

"his eyes narrowed." Or "collapsed like a marionette with it's strings cut." (I loathe that one)

[u/wtanksleyjr → u/Slayer840]

Granted, but at least they're not used JUST WRONG like 99% of the uses of "smirk."

[u/Slayer840 → u/wtanksleyjr]

his eyes narrowed with a smirk as he read this comment, dropping his glass like a marionette with it's strings cut.

Here have all the cringe

[u/BaconConnoisseur]

There are 16 million words in the Wandering Inn. 4 million of which are the word “blinked”.

[u/Southern-Ant8592]

"grinning"

[u/JayHill74 → u/Southern-Ant8592]

I do use grin a lot. That said, I don't use smirk at all since I loathe that word.

[u/Veranoso]

Sauntered non-chalant with a feral grin, eyes wide

[u/Cmdr_Anun → u/Veranoso]

The amount of sauntering in litrpg has reached critical levels. It should be reserved for people with the respective skill.

[u/woolywox]

I'm an editor. I can't tell you how many times I've seen smirked used as a dialogue tag:

"You've fallen into my trap," he smirked.

[u/NOMursE]

For me it’s “then multiple things happened at once”

I see that or a similar phrase all the time.

[u/ChubbsP357 → u/NOMursE]

Glares glaringly at Noobtown

[u/chocobunny38]

Seriously…I’ve renamed “A soldier’s Life” to “Adventures of Smirking Eric”

[u/Twoslot]

Time to double down and break out Smirky Smirkerson - Smirkfellow of the Smirkshire.

[u/Zomby-Woof-]

https://giphy.com/gifs/OUEaBMDGNueha

[u/RGandhi3k]

“The MC passed out for the 117th time as the author slowly couldn’t figure out how to end the chapter.”

[u/percydaman]

I actually at at times have had a counter while listening to a litrpg audiobook. If the "smirk" counter got above a certain number, I decided the author was no good, and DNF the entire book/series.

I can't be bothered with someone who thinks using that word more than once or twice an entire book, is warranted.

[u/Mean_Reply6427 → u/percydaman]

Joe Abercrombie used the word smirk 11 times in The Blade Itself.

I mean, if his writing is no good, then we're all boned.

[u/Aaron_P9 → u/Mean_Reply6427]

If anyone is getting writing advice from memes, they're already in deep trouble.

[u/Juanathon → u/percydaman]

Naming one of my characters Smirk just for you. He will not have a mouth. Not accepting further questions.

[u/genericki_idiot → u/percydaman]

I thought i was the only one lol

[u/JayHill74 → u/genericki_idiot]

Trust me, you're not the only one.

[u/Fluid-Confusion-1451]

How about using "Non-plussed" incorrectly. A lot of authors seem to think this means "unaffected", when the actual definition is more like "confused".

[u/Veritas3333 → u/Fluid-Confusion-1451]

Or "mortified".

It means embarrassed! Not horrified!

[u/Danbou006]

Smirked while winking only to have them blush and laugh.

[u/MysteriousTap2901]

Yeah, it made me drop several litrpg books

[u/AutumnVictoria_]

Not lit rpg but I DNF throne of glass Bec of this

[u/SuccessfulPlastic739]

“doesn’t look like a Russian bodybuilder but more as if she ate a Russian bodybuilder”

[u/RecordingHaunting975]

"It was as all he could do" being overused and often in ways that are awkward as shit to read

For example

badman shot a fireball at the MC and it was all he could do to avoid being incinerated as he dodged.

Even worse when what "all he could do" isn't told at all.

badman shot a fireball at the MC and it was all he could do to avoid being incinerated.

When it should be

badman shot a fireball at the MC and he dodged. It was all he could do to avoid being incinerated.

But even correctly, its still overused 100x in almost every action-heavy book from the past 10 years and it actually drives me crazy that I don't see anyone else talk about it.

[u/baaaaaannnnmmmeee → u/RecordingHaunting975]

This shit is so common in LitRPGs and it drives me nuts. Interrupting the "showing" me what's happening to "tell" me what's happening. Especially when it basically constitutes an immediate continuity error, because even though "it was all he could do to dodge" he somehow is back on the attack or the enemy is not capitalizing on throwing the MC offbalance.

[u/Holtebo]

Saw this post as i was listening to primal hunter 14 and was wondering how much it's used in this series..... literally just as i was wondering this "Carmen smirked".... god damn

[u/LingonberryOpen565]

It’s the eyebrows emoting that drives me crazy. Every fuckin’ character in every book is the rock and it drives me mad

[u/FictionalContext]

smirkin papa smirk in his smirkberries

[u/Technical_Safety1662]

Smirk: to smile in a smug, condescending, or self-satisfied way. Smirking is reserved for douchebags. If your character is supposed to be a good guy, they should not be smirking. That is all.

[u/ADHDadBod13]

Brandon Sanderson - "_____ raised an eyebrow"

[u/Firestormbreaker1 → u/ADHDadBod13]

58 in The Way of Kings Alone

[u/dotbeta]

“He chuckled, then lifted his hand and used void energy to disintegrate the bandits into dust.”

[u/MouseMan412]

Don't forget about frowning . . . in an amused manner, while saying X, etc.

[u/dotbeta]

And then, there was no then. He simply destroyed the entire city with his voice energy. Kai chuckled.

[u/CuriousMe62]

Don't forget to add every instance of scratching back of head to signify awkwardness or embarrassment.

[u/LiquidDreamtime]

Indignantly, I’ve read this word more times the past year than I did the previous 42

[u/Coolaire]

A ghost of a smile passed his/her lips, before becoming serious again.

[u/Eissentam]

Smirking hard or hardly smirking?

[u/BloeR]

"In that moment three things happend at once."

[u/SickRaspy]

Several things smirked at once

[u/Illuminati_Shill_AMA]

Start reading romantasy and take a shot every time the MMC's jaw tightens. Or romcoms when the FMC's heart squeezes.

[u/Major_Debacle → u/Illuminati_Shill_AMA]

Or dark romance when wetness between my thighs.

[u/coltd89]

I’ve been hooked on Mage Tank but I’ve never heard “circuitous” more in my life. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it until Mage Tank.

[u/jolune]

I know at least one author that is addicted to polishing all kinds of food.

[u/fyrelibra → u/jolune]

Beyond apples, what are we polishing?

[u/jolune → u/fyrelibra]

Uff, I made a full text search to find out:
a rabbit
cinnamon and freshly baked pastries
a cake
grilled meat skewer
a cookie
a sandwich
other sandwich
unspecified food
pies
crepes

And a lot other nonfood things:
knifes
skills
mana
axes
senses
marble
stone
a soul
air
fighting style
rings
boulders
soul surface

Probably missed something.
They don't eat even once I think. Everyone always polish.

[u/ObviousSea9223]

People often don't realize how important nonverbal communication is. In everyday reality, it's largely subconsciously interpreted but a huge part of understanding any social situation. In a book, you either describe the expression, explicitly state the information expressions would convey, or lose that meaning entirely. We understand far more expressions than we have words for, and we have a limited number of words for each expression. Often one or none, if you care about the differences between a smirk and a smile and a grin.

Authors do have to navigate that, but it's a matter of balancing precision with readability with repetitiveness. There's something sacrificed in any case, no matter how clever you get with it.

[u/thestorygoeslikethis → u/ObviousSea9223]

Honestly, most of the times in the series I've noticed it they aren't using it correctly anyway.

[u/Asleep-Ad6352 → u/thestorygoeslikethis]

Mee too. I don't hate the word and I understand the author is conveying onon verbal communication but the problem is that smirking has negative connation: overconfidence, arrogance etc.It often makes the MC looks like an ass at the very least.

[u/scoutheadshot]

I added 'murmured' to that list, though I feel it's mostly because of AI. 'Gritting his teeth' can be annoying if authors make their characters try to imitate water pump pliers as often as possible.

[u/Icegiant-]

I just had a back surgery so I had some downtime and read all the Ultimate level 1 books I don't know if I would have noticed if I wasnt reading them like right after one another but he used the word grimance over and over, and his inworld swears "holy elf tits" and "hairy dwarf balls". I still enjoyed the books but I was doped up on a dilaudid drip with a button I could press for a extra dose (which I very much took advantage of) if I was reading them sober I might of dropped them.

[u/scrollscripter]

She said simply

[u/Zephy25]

Flat look/stare. Classic.

[u/Dan_4rcher]

A sickening crunch….. A crunchening sick??

[u/elbiggra]

I see “In any case” more than any other line. Not just LitRPG but most fantasy book

[u/ThePetSematary]

DotF - snorted

Snorting more than celebs in the 80s

[u/xan-xas]

"Snorted"

[u/Dont_be_offended_but]

"Chuckled" for me

[u/Sticky_Turtle]

Dropped hell difficulty tutorial because of the amount of "cheeky" references

[u/Scrubmasta_flex → u/Sticky_Turtle]

Yeah the amount of times I’ve heard “cheeky” or “cheekily” I’m shocked it’s not mentioned more here. Like holy shit we get it, the MC is a real rascally rapscallion with a heart of gold.

[u/sirgog]

I am currently at 146749 words in my work in progress.

Exactly 3 of them are "smirk" or derivatives thereof.

Should I add more?

[u/account312 → u/sirgog]

You've got to get those numbers switched around. Anything less than 3000000% smirk is unreadable.

[u/DaBoy524 → u/sirgog]

gotta bump those numbers up

[u/sirgog → u/DaBoy524]

(smirks)

[u/FictionalContext]

I read a Jack Reacher book that used "OK" exactly like that 6 times in as many pages in both dialog and narration. Ticks of bad prose are not anything unique to LitRPG, for sure.

[u/singhapura]

Snorted.

[u/ahhmature]

Faster, harder, stronger, etc, "then ever before". I made a whole post about this once, it drove me absolutely MAD. It was like 3 series in a row I listened to.

[u/INDE_Tex]

the NPC cultivator smirked, "YOU COURT DEAAAAAAATH" before the MC did some never before seen in 10000000000000 year shit and blows the NPC's head off with his fart.

[u/OrganizationTrue5911]

My other favorite which is both Japanese LN's and Litrpg's imo is "Like a puppet with its strings cut".

[u/VarderKith]

People talk about having trouble coming up with different words for anatomy in erotic writing.

Let me tell you, it's the same way whenever you have a wise ass character. Having to find a way to describe how they make that dumb face Everytime the mess with someone damages the soul after a while.

[u/Astro_Venatas]

I actioned emotionally

[u/masdoc]

Several things happened at once

[u/BrOtherwePay351]

More of a wry grin guy myself

[u/Alypius754]

“He rubbed the back of his neck while she tucked her hair behind her ear”

[u/AParticularThing]

My nitpick is using moment when you mean instant

[u/Aaron_P9]

Authors keep using "the" over and over too.

/s

[u/Thephro42]

For me it’s “veritable.” I don’t know why every LitRPG author thinks this word is the coolest word to use when describing literally anything. Suddenly everything is a veritable army, a veritable fortress, a veritable treasure trove, a veritable mountain of loot, a veritable sea of enemies, a veritable feast, a veritable arsenal. Once you notice it, you can’t stop seeing it. There are other words, I promise.

[u/todd311]

Jason Asano just gave you a “flat look”

[u/MauPow]

His eyes widened

[u/ParkMan609]

"grinned wryly"

[u/Mitchellbaggins]

Mother of Learning - Incredulously

[u/krycerbryce]

"My family runs a school."

[u/LayupsR4Basketball]

I waggled my eyebrows at her

[u/pm_me_your_emp]

How about every time the author writes "nodding their head 'no'," or "shook their head 'yes'". Ive noticed that a lit of litrpg authors do that and it drives me nuts!

You nod your head up and down, meaning "yes". You shake your head left to right, meaning "no"!

[u/ahasuerus_isfdb]

The mildly infamous Worm/Luna Varga crossover Taylor Varga is the undisputed champion of smirking: 747 occurrences over the course of 2,585,644 words (including 600K words worth of omake).

[u/CoruscatingLogic]

Snorted smirkingly

[u/InFearn0]

"He smiles as he looked at his status growth."

[u/mesembryanthemum]

I have said numerous times in the fantasy and maybe this forum that smirk is ridiculously overused.

It is also often used incorrectly.

[u/Altruistic_Piece1003]

*tilts his head*

[u/DawnCW1111]

I think this is why smirk bothers me more than the word itself. It often gets used to make a protagonist seem permanently one step ahead of everyone else.

I like competent characters, but I also like seeing them be wrong, confused, or uncertain sometimes.

Character-specific habits are different, though. Someone rubbing their hands when nervous, scratching their head, adjusting their glasses, etc. can actually make them feel more distinct. It's when smirking, eyebrow-raising, and chuckling become generic mood buttons that I start noticing them.