I’ve included a very comprehensive list, organized by the type of body movement, hand and arm movements, facial expressions etc. In some cases, a phrase fits more than one heading, so it may appear twice. Possible emotions are given after each BL phrase unless the emotion is indicated within the phrase. (They are underlined for emphasis, not due to a hyperlink.)
Note: I’ve included a few body postures and body conditions as they are non-verbal testimony to the character’s physical condition.
Have fun and generate your own ideas.:-)
Eyes, Brows and Forehead
arched a sly brow: Â sly, haughty
blinked owlishly: Â just waking, focusing, needs glasses
brows bumped together in a scowl: Â worried, disapproving, irritated
brows knitted in a frown: worried, disapproval, thoughtful
bug-eyed: Â surprised, fear, horror
cocky wink and confident smile: Â over confidence, arrogant, good humor, sexy humor
eyes burned with hatred: besides hatred this might suggest maniacal feelings
kept eye contact but her gaze became glazed: pretending interest where there is none/bordom
narrowed to crinkled slits: Â angry, distrust
nystagmic eyes missed nothing (constantly shifting eyes): Â Shifty
pupils dilated: Â interested, attraction to opposite sex, fear
raked her with freezing contempt
slammed his eyes shut: Â stunned, furious, pain
squinted in a furtive manner: Â fearful, sneaky
stared with cow eyes: Â surprised, disbelief, hopeful, lovestruck
subtle wink: Â sexy, humor/sharing a joke, sarcasm
unrelenting stare: distrust, demanding, high interest, unyielding
Place To Place, Stationary Or Posture
ambled away: Â relaxed, lazy
barged ahead: Â rude, hurried
battled his way through the melee: Â desperate, anger, alarm
cruised into the diner: Â easy-going, feeling dapper, confident
dawdled alongside the road: Â lazy, deliberate delay for motives, unhurried, relaxed
dragged his blanket in the dirt: Â sadness/depressed, weary
edged closer to him: Â sneaky, seeking comfort, seeking protection, seeking an audience
he stood straighter and straightened his tie: Â sudden interest, sexual attraction
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig: demonstrates physical condition – he has to pee
hips rolled and undulated: Â sexy walk, exaggerating for sex appeal
hovered over them with malice/like a threatening storm: here it’s malice, but one may hover for many reasons.
hunched over to look shorter: Â appear inconspicuous, ashamed of actions, ashamed of height
leaped into action feet hammering the marbled floor: Â eager, fear, joyous
long-legged strides: Â hurried, impatient
lumbered across: Â heavy steps of a big man in a hurry
minced her way up to him: timid, sneaky, insecure, dainty or pretense at dainty
paced/prowled the halls: Â worried, worried impatience, impatient, diligently seeking pivoted on his heel and took off: Â mistaken and changes direction, following orders, hurried, abrupt change of mind, angry retreat
plodded down the road: Â unhurried, burdened, reluctant
practiced sensual stroll: Â sexy, showing off
rammed her bare foot into her jeans: angry, rushed
rocked back and forth on his heels: thoughtful, impatiently waiting
sagged against the wall: Â exhausted, disappointment
sallied forth: Â confident, determined
sashayed her cute little fanny: Â confident, determined, angered and determined
shrank into the angry crowd: Â fear, insecure, seeking to elude
sketched a brief bow and assumed a regal pose: confident, mocking, snooty, arrogant skidded to an abrupt halt: change of heart, fear, surprise, shock
skulked on the edges of the crowd: sneaky, ashamed, timid
slithered through the door: Â sneaky, evil, bad intentions
stormed toward her, pulling up short when: anger with a sudden surprise
swaggered into the class room: Â over confident, proud, arrogant, conceited
tall erect posture: Â confidence, military bearing
toe tapped a staccato rhythm: Â impatience, irritation
tottered/staggered unsteadily then keeled over: Â drunk, drugged, aged, ill
waltzed across the floor: Â happy, blissful, exuberant, conceited, arrogant
Head Movement
cocked his head: Â curiosity, smart-alecky, wondering, thoughtful
cocked his head left and rolled his eyes to right corner of the ceiling: Â introspection
droop of his head: depressed, downcast, hiding true feelings
nodded vigorously: eager
tilted her head to one side while listening: Â extreme interest, possibly sexual interest
Mouth And Jaw
a lackluster smile: Â feigning cheerfulness
cigarette hung immobile in mouth: shock, lazy, uncaring, relaxed casualness
clinched his jaw at the sight: Â angered, worried, surprised
curled her lips with icy contempt
expelled her breath in a whose: Â relief, disappointment
gagged at the smell: disgust, distaste
gapped mouth stare: Â surprised, shock, disbelief
gritted his teeth: Â anger, irritation, holding back opinion
inhaled a sharp breath: Â surprise, shock, fear, horror
licked her lips: Â nervous, sexual attraction
lips primed: affronted, upset, insulted
lips pursed for a juicy kiss
lips pursed like she’d been chewing a lemon rind: dislike, angry, irritated, sarcasm
lips set in a grim line: sorrow, worried, fear of the worst
pursed her lips: Â perturbed, waiting for a kiss
scarfed down the last biscuit: Â physical hunger, greed
slack-mouthed: Â total shock, disbelief
slow and sexy smile: Â attraction, seductive, coy
smacked his lips: anticipation
smile congealed then melted into horror
smile dangled on the corner of his lips: cocky, sexy
smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder: Â conceit, sarcasm, over confident
sneered and flicked lint off his suit: sarcasm, conceit
spewed water and spit: shock
stuck out her tongue: humor, sarcasm, teasing, childish
toothy smile: Â eagerness, hopeful
wary smile surfaced on her lips
Nose
nose wrinkled in distaste/at the aroma
nostrils flared: Â anger, sexual attraction
nose in the air: Â snooty, haughty
Face in General
crimson with fury
handed it over shame-faced
jutted his chin: confident, anger, forceful
managed a deadpan expression: Â expressionless
muscles in her face tightened: Â unsmiling, concealing emotions, anger, worried
rested his chin in his palm and looked thoughtful
rubbed a hand over his dark stubble: Â thoughtful, ashamed of his appearance
screwed up her face: Â anger, smiling, ready to cry, could almost be any emotion
sneered and flicked lint off his suit: conceit, derision, scorn
Arm and Hand
a vicious yank
arm curled around her waist, tugging her next to him: Â possessive, pride, protective
bit her lip and glanced away: Â shy, ashamed, insecure
brandished his fist: Â anger, threatening, ready to fight, confident, show of pride
clamped his fingers into tender flesh: Â anger, protective, wants to inflict pain
clenched his dirty little fists: stubborn, angry
clapped her hands on her hips, arms crooked like sugar bowel handles: Â anger, demanding, disbelief
constantly twirled her hair and tucked it behind her ear: Â attracted to the opposite sex, shy crossed his arms over his chest: waiting, impatient, putting a barrier
crushed the paper in his fist: Â anger, surrender, discard
dived into the food: hunger, eager, greedy
doffed his hat: Â polite gesture, mocking, teasing
doodled on the phone pad and tapped the air with her foot: Â bored, inattention, introspection
drummed her fingers on the desk: Â impatient, frustrated, bored
fanned her heated face with her hands: physically hot, embarrassed, indicating attraction
fiddled with his keys: nervous, bored
firm, palm to palm hand shake: Â confident, honest
flipped him the bird: sarcastic discard
forked his fingers through his hair for the third time: Â disquiet/consternation, worry, thoughtful
handed it over shame-faced: Â guilt, shame
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig: Â physical need to relieve himself
limp hand shake: Â lack of confidence, lack of enthusiasm
propped his elbow on his knee: relaxed, thoughtful
punched her pillow:  restless, can’t sleep, angry
rested his chin in his palm: Â thoughful, worried
scratched his hairy belly and yawned: Â indolent, bored, lazy, relaxed, just waking
shoulders lifted in a shrug: Â doubtful, careless discard
slapped his face in front of God and country: Â enraged, affronted/insulted
snapped a sharp salute: Â respect, sarcastic gesture meaning the opposite of respect
snapped his fingers, expecting service: Â arrogant, lack of respect, self-centered
sneered and flicked lint off his suit
spread her arms wide: welcoming, Â joy, love
stabbed at the food: anger, hunger, determined
stood straighter and smoothed his tie: Â sudden interest, possible sexual interest
stuffed his hands in his pockets: self-conscious, throwing up a barrier
sweaty handshake: Â nervous, fearful
touched his arm several times while explaining: Â sign of attraction, flattery, possessive
wide sweep of his arms: Â welcoming, all inclusive gesture, horror
Sitting or Rising
collapsed in a stupor: Â exhausted, drunk, drugged, disbelief
enthroned himself at the desk: Â conceit, pronouncing or taking ownership
exploded out of the chair: Â shock, eager, anger, supreme joy
roosted on the porch rail like a cock on a hen house roof: Â claiming ownership, conceit, content
sat, squaring an ankle over one knee: Â relaxed and open
slouched/wilted in a chair and paid languid attention to: Â drowsy, lazy, depressed, disinterest, sad, totally relaxed, disrespectful
squirmed in his chair: ill at ease, nervous, needs the bathroom
Recline
flung himself into the bed: sad, depressed, exhausted, happy
some writer snob somewhere: Do not start sentences with But or And because doing so is grammatically incorrect.
me, writing my fic: But I don’t care. And you can’t stop me.
Sometimes…..the flow of your creative prose…..is more important….than grammatical guidelines,,,,,,
im taking syntax. that rule is old, outdated, and frankly perscripitivist. it is perfectly acceptable to start sentences with but or and, so long as it makes sense, and doesnt break any grammatical rules. which you will know when you read the sentence and it doesnt sound write. you intuitively know your own languages grammar, your English teacher was a prescriptivest, a perscriptivests can fuck off.
If you find that your proofreading improves immensely AFTER you have submitted your work, it may not entirely be your fault. This is because you have written in a particular font, size, and frame (for example: on Tumblr, AO3, Fanfiction.net, etc.) and it is so familiar to you that your brain skips past the errors. So, next time, try to change the environment by shifting the font and size and perhaps even putting it in a different document altogether. This way, you will catch more of those faults.
I don’t really know what people generally call this method of sigil making, so I’m just calling it “Letter Shaping” because you’re using the basic shapes from certain letters. This is the most common form of sigil making, and it allows the most creative influence. As you see above the sigils are for nearly the same thing, yet the sigils came out completely different. Not because the purpose was different, but because I approached them both a different creative way, and that’s what I like so much about this method. There’s a lot of freedom and personalization involved.
Honestly, with an ask that general, the most excellent @howtofightwrite blog is what you’re looking for! Or maybe something on this post here.Â
Hint: It’s not easy. Plan to rewrite. Learn how to block your scene (as in the theater/film term). Make sure the scene works as a scene: It advances the plot or characterization and has a beginning, middle and end.Â
Spend time learning about the fighting style, weapons (if there are any), potential wounds that can be inflicted, etc… I also suggest the voluminous @scriptmedic blog for understanding wounds and injuries. (The blog is being discontinued, but the many, many posts will be kept as a resource and the blogmom has written several useful books for writers needing medical information specifically for writers.)
I will also pass along one tip our own Graphei gave me that came in hella handy (even though my two fighters were Force users because I’m SW trash through and through): When two characters are fighting, they aren’t going to be physically able to hold full conversations. If you need to have things said, there will need to be breaks in the action, or you’ll have to move to internal monologue or have your omniscient narrator say the things. Your participants will be too busy getting winded.Â
🔥 There is beauty in destruction🔥 