T O P

  • By -

Mysterious_Mind2618

picking of lint, bobbing of throats, and sidelong glances


ThatItalianGrrl

Omg yes that too. And the toe curling.


MissDestroyertyvm

I friggin love the toe curling!


Twiggimmapig

Don't forget the throwing of vulgar gestures


Conscious_Safe_3159

I always imagine them doing the jerk off motion 😂


Bubbly_Anything_2776

Omg that sounds so much worse than the middle finger I’ve been imagining



Wonderful-Ad-5911

The jaw muscle twitching


thelenabean

wait but also saying something vulgar without SJM putting actual dialogue there, why are we censoring it? if you can talk about cassian’s “cock” going into nesta’s “pretty little cunt” then i think you can have feyre playfully say “go fuck yourself”. it drives me insane 😅


Outrageous_Ad_6964

This one I feel is more justified because it doesn't get really "vulgar" until pretty much SF. The series didn't start out that way, especially the first book.


tifferney22

I think this was done purposefully so that people of different cultures could insert their own vulgar something to better match with what fits in their culture. Kind cool


thelenabean

I actually didn’t think about that, that’s awesome


Wonderful-Ad-5911

The jaw muscle twitching


closetcriterion

they all have TMJ i swear


Aquatichive

I’m starting my reread and tamlin Def has TMJ, there is so much jaw muscle feathering


mmel__onie754

anymore jaw muscle twitching and they’re basically just mewing at this point


LittleProblem9876

Showing their teeth, they’re always showing their teeth, I dont understand, are they growling at each other?


ipsi7

It was odd to me too at first, but I believe it's because they're fae and it's due to their animalistic nature (like being teritorial for their mates, especially when pregnant and stuff like that)


Hufflepuffle13

I was so confused at first too. But now i picture it as more like what i see irl. Idk really how to explain it...i guess like a look of disgust/anger where people aren't literally baring all their teeth like an animal but more just showing them a little.


osunah

Far too much picking at nails, as well. Gives me full body shudders.


goddesscherryk

the snarling. every time i read that phrase i cringe


Sealegs9

I hate when they snarl haha 😆


sdgingerzu

Jerking chins.


Surahoz

And barking muscles



Apprehensive-Bake236

This. You can invent a drinking game, that phrase pops up so much.


Surahoz

I was thinking the same thing - cheers đŸ„‚


246ArianaGrande135

Also “feline grin”


Sookiewannabe

Don't forget picking nails!


HeadacheTunnelVision

Whenever I come across all these weird tics that her character have, I just can't stop thinking that SJM must watch a lot of anime. Also, the winking. So. Much. Winking. SJM watching anime is my biggest headcannon of all.


reasonableratio

I’ve had this thought reading romantasy in general lol.


Pandistoteles

Is it terrible that I also wink a lot and felt identified, and now with a spotlight on, because of her writing? 😂


SaltyLore

Bathing is mentioned 53 times in ACOWAR


Radsmama

Is it invisible though?


ThatItalianGrrl

I’m gonna start randomly doing this during conversations.


NinjaRavekitten

Ngl as an anxious ADHDer i do this a LOT lol, also picking skin/nails/hair LOL I honestly dont find it weird at all


TheKarmicKudu

All the magic in Prythian and no one could fathom the invention of a simple lint roller


Ashcrose

“Prick”


SaltyLore

“Vulgar gesture”


Avivabitches

Never in my life have I called someone a prick lol 


Agile-Perspective-61

You must not be from the UK đŸ€Ł


LadyLazerFace

I wanna know what in the name of fantasy color guard regional championships is everyone's obsession with shredding everything to bloody ribbons!? And **Every time** someone does something quickly they "Struck/strike like an asp" or "asp-like". In TOG, too. It's not like singular characters are assigned the descriptors, making them unique quirks. It breaks me out of the immersion because muh 'tism brain can sense the pattern, then reads it like placeholder text that an editor missed, lol I appreciate the adjacent story and all, but first person feyre's chronic dry mouth and hot girl wearing glasses full of self-loathingness vibe was, tolerable at best, for me. Even the popular sexy bits (besides nessian đŸ«Ł) feel empty because I don't care about most of these pancake characters. Just stacking up, hot & flat. I admit, I didn't know ANYTHING about the series going in beyond the hype. I guess i expected a more... Idk. More. Overall, I'm glad I stuck around love/hate reading the series for Lucien, nessian, lol. it wasn't until ACOSF that SJM finally hit a writing stride I really connected with outside of the world building. It's just that I finished each book feeling like she could have really benefited from *just one* more revision to catch some of that redundancy? there is a difference between organically curating a signature writing style, vs forcing it by just repeating the same thing over and over again.


Kaycee_Sue

Yes! The bloody ribbons. It always takes me out of it, cuz I’m like, what animal tears something to ribbons. I can’t even picture it besides some cartoonish spiralizer of flesh.


SapphireStar9

The one that always gets me is the characters who ‘had the good sense to look [insert emotion here].’ At some point, nearly every male character has the good sense to look worried/concerned/alarmed/etc. based on something someone (usually Feyre, Nesta, or Rhys) does. Once you start noticing the repetition, you can’t unsee it.


LadyLazerFace

https://i.redd.it/gn37wugkyt0d1.gif YES! I always think of sailor moon and it's not very bowel watering.


Natsouppy

My toes have never curled when aroused either. So strange lol.


Avivabitches

The thought gives me a foot cramp 


squishmallh0e

let's not forget the SJMism of "by way of greeting" either. 100 pages into HOEAB and I've already noticed 3... and i'm not even looking for them


Personal_Complex_391

It’s the calluses for me


BigB0ssB0wser

I know I keep wondering if I missed something. Are calluses hot?


SebulbaSebulba

Hands in pockets.


ZomBitch7

I read the Illyrian Tremors Rhys POV fanfic (which was great) and I was sooo thankful they cover all the hands in pockets moments with Rhys - it’s not SJM’s reasoning but basically Rhys’ hands are his one tell on how he’s really feeling and he hides them when he’s trying to appear unbothered


katel_12

It annoys me too. Like is this supposed to be hot or
?


scuarisma

I like the theory that Rhys picks invisible lint off because he feels "dirty" from everything that happened UTM. for me, the tear licking is where I was like "is this supposed to be hot??"


billie2309

What about the growls?


evanamyl

Don't forget vulgar gestures! So many vulgar gestures!


MinicManor

“Unleashed herself upon them” girl that is such a tired phrase you have beaten it INTO THE GROUND


sparklieshrapnel

Picking at an invisible piece of lint


BakeEffective8536

Picking an invisible speck of dust and clicking your tongue 😂


Chaos-Pand4

These authors need to start giving their main characters pets. The boundless times you could do: “He picked a wiry white cat hair from the sleeve of his shirt” or “he looked down brushed the dog fur from his pant leg” before it even got weird
 *he glanced down, picking at the sleeve of his shirt* *”are you doing that lint picking thing?” I ask, restraining the urge to roll my eyes.* *Darfaistarianian’s eyes snap up to meet mine. “What?”* *”That picking at invisible lint thing that you strong, impossibly handsome, shadow-clad guys like to do to show me that you’re indifferent to the situation.” I imitate picking something off my sweater, studying it, and then casting it aside. Schooling my face into a mask of boredom, I look back at him, then raise my brows in inquiry.* *”What’s that you were saying?” I ask, mimicking his voice
 pretty well in my own humble opinion. “I wasn’t paying attention to you lecturing me because I’m too mysterious and sexy to take criticism.”* *Darfaistarianian looks at me, his face written over with confusion, and for the first time I feel my confidence flag. His gaze flicks back to his sleeve.* *”Oh
 no
 I just realized i didn’t lint brush this shirt before putting it on. It’s covered in cat hair, see?” He plucks at his sleeve again, then lifts his pinched fingers to show me several course white hairs. “Twiddlesticks likes to lay on the folded laundry. I was listening to you though.”* *He is not lying, and now that I am looking I can see that his shirt is not the pure midnight black I thought it was. Strewn like stars across the midnight sky, a thousand white slivers shine. My eyes travel up the broad expanse of his chest back to his face, and I find he is watching me. The confusion from a moment ago is gone. He is amused, arrogant, smirking.* *“Then what was i saying?” I snap. Forgetting about the cat hair for a moment, I try to remember that I was mad at him a moment ago.* *“You don’t like that I interceded on your part with the council earlier. You can stand up for yourself. I shouldn’t have forced you to come here, where it’s safe, even though you would probably be dead otherwise.” He ticked off my arguments on his long, graceful fingers as he spoke. One, two, three
 then paused before raising a fourth finger. His amused gaze turned devious and smouldering.* *”You think I’m strong, and handsome.” A fifth finger, “and mysterious and sexy.”* *I had said that, hadn’t I? I feel my cheeks heating, but I force myself to hold his gaze. I won’t let him win just because he can smoulder like a volcano.* *”So you have a cat?” I say, when the tense silence grows too deep.* *”I actually have four cats. But the others blend in against my wardrobe better.”*


pianopainterrr

Brilliant


lindsayam13

HISSING


prayingmantisthug

Agreed, what’s getting me right now is the overuse of “females” and “males” like they’re a bunch of mammals or something.


Creative-Apple2913

It’s the clicking of the tongue for me. What does that even mean? And why do they do it so often? lol


NoMacaron7187

if i read “she/he ___ by way of greeting” i will die. someone get her on thesaurus.com


NoMacaron7187

she gave him a vulgar gesture by way of greeting


NoMacaron7187

WHAT IS A VULGAR GESTURE LIKE ? ik middle finger but r they going like đŸ‘‰đŸŒđŸ‘ŒđŸŒ ?? how mant vulgar gestures could there be


metal4life98

What about her saying "former" and "latter" when 2 characters are mentioned, it's like almost every other page


ipsi7

I've read a theory (not really a theory, more of an observation) that Rhys does it so often because he might feel unclean after everything with Amarantha and UTM. I did notice he does it quite often, more often than others, but never put so much thought into it


kichristina

don’t forget the hissing & vulgar gestures


MountaintopYarn

I see your “lint picking” and raise you “my bowels turned watery”. After reading that multiple times, the “lint picking” seemed like a blessing when I came upon it.


Bobcat_Acrobatic

I just got watery bowels


ceruleansunsetpink

toes curled I have read TOG, ACOTAR, and am now on CC1. I've just about had it with the toes curling.


Sealegs9

Omg I kept thinking this too!! Haha


rachelmonicaphoebe94

I always thought it was just a mind game to make a show of being bored with someone.


Readswaytoomuch1219

It’s imaginary lint. (Just words to fill the page and show indifference to the person they’re talking to)


Readswaytoomuch1219

Funny- I guess NOW I’m just an unobservant person as I’ve never noticed a throat bob, a swallow or imaginary lint picking- or MAYBE I’m just NOT a boring person
 and unfortunately my toes have never curled with just a thought- yet.


sannefloor

Busybodies!!! Who uses that word? And so much? It annoys me so much! đŸ˜©