Every time I see the phrase the Big Kendar in place of Marc's name in God Stalk I think of you people.
It could work if you'd been using "the shorter man" and "the taller man" exclusively for a long exchange, but just randomly when you have their names is. Weird, yes.
Yeah, if it's a situation where for whatever reason names aren't being used, I'm willing to cut the fic a lot more slack (especially because I've written stuff like that and it's tricky as heck)…but in this case it was a PWP with an established relationship and just kinda sounded like that was a title or perhaps royal nickname. King Whatever the Taller.
And conversely, stuff like *"Here is yet more dialogue," the character performed an unrelated action. where the following bit isn't a dialogue tag, so there should be a period and the next word should be capitalized: "Here is yet more dialogue." The character performed an unrelated action.
sometimes i really want to read a fic even though it has those mistakes, because it might be good! but i Can't. i just Cannot.
A friend was quoting some badfic at me over Steam chat earlier and: words either being used in ways that are slightly off from the correct meaning or in odd grammatical structures that make it clear the author doesn't really know how to use them.
I once read a fic in which the author kept using the word "memoirs" in a way where…either they kept mistyping "memories" or they genuinely thought the two words were synonymous. Given that they occasionally also actually used the word "memories" I think it was the second one.
Acceptable when it's Invader Zim fic and the height descriptors are being used as relative rank description between Irkens.
But how do people with minor height differences tell? I slouch a lot and generally look down more than up, and assume people are my height or slightly taller... when it turns out they're an inch or three shorter than me.
The best thing is when characters who are literally the same height get constantly slotted into "the shorter/taller one". It's like a lottery with every new fic for which will be which! (The close second-best is when the character who is canonically shorter gets regularly described as taller...)
..........i is this more top/bottom stuff where tall people are tops and tops are tall people even if they're not
But of course. Wondering who tops in this fic? Well, the kid who canonically gets called stuff like "pipsqueak" is looking down at the other guy, so there's a good bet. :P
Use of "the former" and "the latter" when you could easily just say the thing again or in a different way Especially when referring to a list of people
gripe: MARRIAGE DOES NOT NECESSARILY LEAD TO CHILDREN ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TELLING ME PEPPER POTTS AND NATASHA ROMANOV WOULD HAVE KIDS I THINK NOT