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I don't know if I'm the only one who gets driven nuts by this, but I find that a lot of times when I'm rping, I am having my character make the same emotes, using the same words, over and over again. Maybe even every other line. And as someone who enjoys good writing, this drives me insane, but I feel like I hardly know of any other words that fit the action I'd like to convey.

So I'm making this post.

Pretty much, I'm looking for anyone who knows some fancy diction to go ahead and post it here, if they know any other words for ones that are overused. I'm also going to be shameless and request a few words of my own, because I think I've run the well of words dry that I think are fitting already. (Anyone who's seen my character Myst probably knows exactly what I mean; he 'grins' like 8000 times in any given conversation, and 'snickers' or 'laughs' just as much. There must be some other words out there that mean the same thing, and would be more interesting to read. 8| )

So here it is. (note, that these are ones for me personally; When I say 'overused words', that means words that I've been using way too much, not words I'm complaining about seeing too much. XD)

Overused words

* Grins
* Smirks
* Snickers
* Snirks (this is like, a snort + a smirk happening at the same time)
* Laughs
* Smiles
(pff, these are already synonyms of each other.)

Known Synonyms

* Sneers (this is usually a bit too 'mocking / insulting' or malicious for what I'm after, so I don't tend to use this one)
* Beams (typically too 'happy', but I use it on occasion)
* Chuckles (this kind of laugh seems more 'contained' and 'I find this sort of funny, but I'm being reserved about it', which isn't usually what I'm going for.)
* Chortles (roflmao this word is just ridiculous)
* Cackles (a bit too obnoxious and insane there... for now.)
* Snorts (I use this one relatively often, but I don't think quite as much as the others.)
* Cracks up (I use this fairly often too, but also not quite as much as the others.)
* Giggle (roflmao Myst giggling would be really creepy.)
* Scoffs (I rarely use this one, just because he doesn't do this much, but it works sometimes.)
* Guffaw (dkfjngd this word.)

New Synonyms!

* Jeers (gods, why didn't I think of this one sooner? dkjfngj)
* Gibes (I could totally use this randomly.)
* Jives (I could totally use this too.)
* Simper (I never even knew this one existed, I have such a terrible vocabulary)

I'd really appreciate if anyone knows any other snazzy words that relate to the overused ones up there, and I'll update this with anything anyone else has. Also, feel free to request synonyms for your own emotes as well, if you'd like! I just get so frustrated with myself for using the same words over and over again, and I'd definitely like to switch it up a bit.

Small confession: I used to read a LOT more than I do now, so my once-great vocabulary has diminished a bit. My brain will often suggest I use a word, then after I've typed it I stare at it and I'm not sure if it's spelled right, let alone whether or not I'm using it correctly. I make extensive use of Google's define feature (just type define:butts into the search field) and thesaurus.com while I'm playing. Especially if my character is a pretentious wordy jerkface like Andy.

Failing that, I try not to just spam *grin* *grin* *grin* *grin* because it gives the other person literally nothing to reply to. Even changing it a little bit (*tries to suppress a grin* *grins slyly at bob* *grins slightly from beneath his hood*) will help other RPers out, so I always try to type something descriptive of the situation, even if I use a lot of the same words.

Then there's been a few awkward situations where someone uses a word either incorrectly in a way that it becomes confusing ("nonplussed" is a good example, it doesn't mean what you think it means) or where other RPers have no freaking clue what you're talking about, and suddenly it's an OOC grammar lesson. GOOD TIMES.

Occasionaly one of my characters will 'giggle-snort'. Generaly though I will choose a word like grin or smile for speed.

Rofl Lumi.

YEAH. I try to do more than just one word emotes, unless my character really is just being that dry. (which he does, on occasion. He's all 'I'm not really wanting to take part in this any other way than by observation~' a lot of times where he's just emoting forever without saying words.)

He also talks a ton, and is smarter than me (I hate that, when a character is beyond your own experience LOL, but what can you do?), and I imagine a lot better with words. Usually /his/ diction is ok. It's just the emoting that I have a problem with. I also don't want to like, take up lines prosing out something dumb like a smile, because that's not even necessary. But I'll totally try to be more descriptive when I run out of words if he just keeps smiling at the world.

Andy's the best pretentious wordy jerkface.

*also occasionally uses google at 90 mph* It's just harder for me, cause I can't window mode without minimizing the entire game, so it slows me down a lot if it's mid conversation or something. 8| *kicks the technicalities*

@ Kali: Giggle-snorts are cute. XD I know for my male character, that might be a little bit weird. I am always cautious about using 'giggle' for guy characters unless they're like.. really off the deep end or something, just because I barely hear that. BUT. I will totally keep this in mind.

And yeah, speed is another factor, which is why I think short, one or two word synonyms sometimes work better than longer descriptions, depending on the context and how much is going on.

One of my characters has a few favourite emotes quick slotted.
Something else I have seen done is having some longer emotes saved in a text editor and using alt-tab and copy paste. It is quite impressive when you see it.

I gave it ago for a little while. Things like:

Brynja ducks and spins through the melee, coming up behind her opponent to deliver a surprise strike.

Delivers a series of quick feints to work her kamas into a favourable position before finishing with a quick blow to a vital spot.

Too long to type in combat, but fine for copy paste when you can find time. Having two monitors helps

Oh man, that's a good idea.

I haven't done much with macro-ing text yet, but I should try doing that, especially since that's another thing I have problems with: rping in combat. roflmao I'm slow enough with all the spells and whatnot, but whenever there's like, large events, or a lot of fighting going on, all my characters get inexplicably quiet because 1) I'm slow, and 2) the lag. So by the time I type anything, if I even bother, everyone's already gone, or something else has already happened. XD

TLDR: I like this idea! :> I'll try messing around with it a bit to see if I can get it to work for me. Thanks Zombie!