This is not a meme!

[whomps]

BODY LANGUAGE

What sort of body language does your character use? Do they gesture a lot or keep mostly still? Do they have nervous tics or quirks? Do they throw their whole body into every sentence or only when they're super-excited or are they rather subtle?

Answer however you want!

Comments

[bullseye]

Bullseye's default body language is relaxed. Bullseye's default body language is relaxed. He kicks his feet up on tables, crosses his ankles over his knees, throws his hands behind his back, etc. It's lazy, careless, usually disrespectful, and totally belies how fast he can snap into action (and kill with the slightest of movements). This completely changes when he's fighting, however; rarely does he waste a movement, and then they are precise, practiced, and seemingly effortless. There's a certain cat-like litheness to his movements, both when he is at rest and when he is in action.

In conversations, he tends to be handsy. He'll gesture, point, play with objects he's picked up, flick things, etc. The more bored he is, the more movement there will be. He also has an oral fixation, so he'll put things in his mouth (especially toothpicks, lollipops, cigarettes, paperclips...).

[klutziness]

scathach is very careful about her body language; she rarely gives anything away by it. interestingly, almost everything she reads off other people is interpreted as some kind of threat. anyway, she usually stands perfectly still, not breathing, not blinking. she tries to take in as much around her with as little distraction as possible.

gemma is pretty easy to read. she flinches and blushes easily. it's easy to tell when she's mad because her brow will immediately furrow and her lips purse. she has a pretty good poker face when she knows she needs one, but if she's caught off guard she's basically a book. she isn't very good at reading people around her.

rikku is so active with her body language. she waggles her hands when she's excited, she flinches back with her whole body when disgusted, she jumps up and down when she's happy. reading her is the easiest thing. she can read those around her, decently.

molly is decent about body language. she herself is an open book, but she can read people rather well, both physically and emotionally. her power is empathy for a reason. she really has trouble hiding facial expressions, especially.

nill is the master of body language, and nobody can convince me otherwise. she can't talk. she communicates with her body: hear hands, her expressions, her movements. each twitch is indicative of something. she's pretty good at reading others as well.

[deadthenred]

BUCKY —
· military posture
· as many hand gestures as he can get away with
· seriously, talks with his hands as loud as his mouth

NATASHA —
· very still, difficult to read
· deliberate and economic in her movements
· exceedingly graceful

LOKI —
· slightly exagerrated
· not loud with the gestures, just theatrical
· it's a bit creepy

[whomps]

CALENDAR MAN - is a very stiff sort of person, but he tends to:
- pace when he's thinking
- play with his lip
- lean in when he's interested (also touch things, spread out his fingers and hands, try to get closer)
- when he's mad he tends to close up and body language becomes very suble
- when he's in costume it becomes much more expressive! Because supervillainy is three-parts performance, so there

NEGOTIATOR
- is more expressive, but it also depends on his move
- he is still and contained when calm, but will still make calculated gestures to go with his points
- he tries to control his body language!
- when he's mad, frustrated or confused his body language becomes much less controlled and a lot more expressive - face clutching, fist clenching - when he's angry you know he's angry
- when he's pleased he gets smug and a bit snobby - totally looking down his non-nose at you, standing straight. When he's NOT pleased, he tends to curl more inwards or lash out

MONSTER IN THE DARKNESS
- is interesting because canon literally GIVES NOTHING. It kind of comes with being stuck perpetually in darkness
- so with kid!monster I try to keep his movements contained. Not still, but his body language is more involuntary. He doesn't tend to gesture on purpose because for years he's had no point. So nothing that's more communicative - but that doesn't mean he stands there perfectly still either.
- he won't give you a high five or thumbs up or shake his fist at you, but he might absentmindedly scratch his cheek or tilt his head

CAPTAIN COLD
- is pretty normal with his body language. He's not really expressive, but he has the general sort of involuntary and communicative gestures
- a lot of gruff pointing and masculine posturing
- those are so totally things

[whomps]

"depends on his move" on his mood, even.

[bullseye]

SO THERE heh heh

[viced]

MITCHELL WAS MADE FOR THIS. Mitchell practically gestures wildly with how much he talks with his hands. He doesn't move his body much, but his hands are always moving, particularly around his face. It's not uncommon that when he lies, his hand moves to his mouth in some fashion, especially by putting his index finger above his lip.

One of the motions he makes that doesn't involve his face, is that he puts his hands on his hips often enough. A lot of his body language, however, is all with his hands, he speaks with them a lot for a calculated and careful politician, but since bumping up in his canon, he's done it a hell of a lot less.

Tony does a little bit. Some of his more common gestures are pinching the bridge of his nose or running his hands through his hair. Since the Extremis, though, Tony has calmed a lot in terms of body language, since a lot of his processes have moved to taking up more energy, and he doesn't really feel as much of a need to move and speak with his body as much. When in the armor, it's pure badass, and not so much the movement at all, since Iron Man has a certain 'air' to keep up.

Oswald oh, Oswald. A lot of his bodylanguage can be linked to his cigarette holder, and even (yes) an umbrella. He's kind of a 'prop guy' in a way, in that he's most comfortable with his signature assets, and the way he moves with them can be very telling in how he's feeling. Less ashing on the cigarette means he's more agitated than if he's very lose with it, and when he gestures. However, for being such a stout guy, he can be very expressive with body language!

Jack definitely does! He moves a lot, and is very comfortable with the way he moves, and a lot of his motion can be determined as to whether he's in a city, or in the carrier. Since he's in the city completely here, he moves a lot more comfortably. He almost looks natural in the way he moves, but if things get bad, he moves slower, a bit weighed down, just depending on the "mood" of the city, in a way, especially because it's the primary way of sustaining himself.

He's also very fluid with the way he moves, his legs and arms move freely!

[trickshot]

CLINT
↺ Very expressive and decidedly unsubtle. He makes big grand gestures, and is very emotive. If he's angry, he'll get up in your face; when he's being affectionate, he'll grab your hand or stroke your hair. He can translate almost anything he says into a physical gesture.
↺ Presence, more than anything, is important to him. His stance is probably the biggest indicator of his mood, whether he's standing tall and trying to look in-charge or sprawled across a couch when he's relaxed.
↺ He either is really horrible at reading other people's moods and gestures, or he consciously chooses to ignore them unless it suits him.

DONNA
↺ Subtle, but not restrained. There's something very dignified about the way she conducts herself, and usually she stands tall and uses elegant, controlled gestures. If she's with very close friends, she lets go of this a bit more, and can be more relaxed and excitedly emotive.
↺ Physical contact and comfort are exceedingly important to her. She holds hands, she hugs, she grabs people and imposes comfort on them even if they claim they don't want it. However, she is very good at reading people, and usually knows how to curb her responses for different situations.
↺ She can fly in a way that isn't physically taxing, so she does have a tendency to float around. When she enters a room, it's often just as she's touching back down. She also has a few quirks, like twirling a lock of hair around her finger or pursing her lips when in thought.

DAMIAN
↺ Restrained to the point of stiffness. When he's Robin, everything is about precision, and though he often leaps into fights head-first, everything he does from there is carefully thought-out and controlled. As Damian, he has a tendency to slouch and hunch his shoulders, but other than giving people glares his body has very little emotive movement. He seems tense, all the time.
↺ He hates physical contact with others. He's always been taught that to touch is to hurt, so he hates hugs, shoulder pats, handshakes. The latter is probably the one he engages in the most frequently, however, just because it reflects formality and business.
↺ He has been taught to read others' body language as a skill set, and is very good at doing so when he chooses to, but often ignores it when it means trying to decipher emotions on anything other than a surface level.

[culver]

pets damian's hair alaways :c

[haikus]

Eridan is constantly in motion whenever he speaks, though usually he restricts himself (badly) to controlled, dignified movements in casual conversation. When sufficiently wound up, though, the amount of gestures and the passion in them can get pretty ridiculous! It also depends on what kind of emotions they're associated with; if he's angry, he'll stomp around and point fingers and slam his hands on tables and spit in faces and all that good stuff. Being the primarily lone wolf jerkass sea troll, though, he has some difficulty in gauging how to show affection - it, along with the whole fuckin trashbloods thing, is primarily the reason he doesn't show much physical affection outside of quadrants. He's not uncomfortable with it, since Feferi was probably pretty handsy, he's just not prone to it himself. A pat on the shoulder is about as far as he'll go with casual friends and acquaintances.

On the other hand, Kasumi is very purposeful and controlled in her movements. She doesn't gesture particularly often, and when she does, they're usually unobtrusive hand motions or slight shrugs - things that won't grab much attention in a crowd, for obvious reasons. As a whole, everything she does is very graceful and incredibly aware of her body in relation to objects/other people, mostly due to the fact that she's cloaked and slipping around them a good deal of the time.

[dreamself]

pat

[crab]

once upon a time

karkat could have had a shoulder pat

once

upon

a

time

[backatthehotel]

Usually, Pink is pretty awkward. Jerky and hesitant. He's tall, and tends to try and downplay that, slouching when he stands and sitting in weird curled-up positions. His attention tends to stray, and he'll occasionally get distracted by outside goings-on, or even just... nothing at all. Eye contact doesn't happen a lot.

He smokes heavily, has a tendency to light up a cigarette if a conversation looks like it's going to take a while or if he just wants to pause for a moment. Even when and where he can't smoke, he will hold his hand in the same position, all invisible cigarette. Sometimes he tries to take a drag off the invisible cigarette, and that's kind of embarrassing.

He'll run his hands through his hair to try and manage it, since it's such a mess. And when he's agitated, or feels like he's losing control, sometimes he'll touch his eyebrows too, or rub them the opposite way and make the hairs stand up. An unconscious trying to reach back to that time he lost his marbles and shaved them off, and how good and in control that act made him feel, at the time.


When he's edging toward off his rocker, he bears himself far more confidently, standing tall and sitting straight, and using sharp, sweeping gestures when he gets worked up. A lot more eye contact. Still smokes like a chimney, though.

[goodburger]

WELL anyone who's ever seen any log she's ever been in ever knows that Lust does a lot of gestures with her hands, mostly dismissive or illustrative, and she adjusts her hair a lot. This is more a thing when she's having casual conversation or trying to make herself look more relateable or engaging, or even distracted! But it's also kind of an engrained habit by now. In general she has a solid and less demonstrative posture, and she carries herself with a lot of ~*~dignity~*~, always standing at her full height. With the exception of her arms and neck and general upper torso/shoulder area, she tends to stand still, though if she's sitting down she'll usually be more relaxed. Her gestures are very fluid, partially a result of how premeditated most of them are, and she very deliberately tries to be hard to read.

When she's messing with someone or plans on killing them, she lets herself act much more a.) intimate and b.) casual, even mocking with them, though the majority of her body is still way more stationary than her arms and face! And when she's formal she's even stiffer and stiller than usual. None of this comment is even remotely legible.

[futurebatwoman]

Rachel
- pretty controlled movements
- she's got a gymnast's grace and sense of balance
- sometimes she accidentally slips into animal-type movements when she's really angry or under a lot of stress? she might almost snarl or move like she thinks she's a lot bigger than she actually is
- her facial expressions are mostly pretty easy to read, but she does have a fantastic poker face when she wants to

Max
- as herself, she's enthusiastically very present - arm gestures, moving into other people's personal space, very open. she seems to take up a lot of space.
- she almost never slouches unless genuinely unhappy
- she has no poker face. none. without a mask her face is an open book. she's only slowly learning how to not telegraph her every move in a fight by her face.
- when she's Batwoman, she moves in a very precise, controlled manner, pitch-perfect. her movement is mostly down to the bare necessity.
- obviously the cowl keeps her expressions hidden, which is really good for her.

[dreamself]

uhh

JESSICA DREW;
- hand gestures a lot
- while her posture is generally relaxed, some would notice that shes a bit stiffer than other teens, as if shes had some sort of training
- her movements are always very fluid and smooth
- her body language tends to give away exactly how shes feeling though, even if shes not aware of it
- when she gets very excited, her gesturing goes crazy. shell pull at her hair or twirl her hands or flail everywhere and they just go about everywhere
- but otherwise her body language comes off as a bit guarded
- but seriously
- those hand gestures

ROSE LALONDE;
- her posture is very straight-back and almost stiff, except theres a sort of elegance and confidence to it
- her gestures are restrained and she rarely does anything with her hands unless shes making a point. each movement is chosen particularly and purposefully
- unless shes in extreme emotional duress, she makes an effort to be sure that her body language doesnt give away her emotional situation

JENNIFER WALTERS;
- shes actually not as gesturey as one might think!
- in general conversation, she does do the casual handwave or the like to emphasize certain things or to express herself, but overall, shes not completely obnoxious about it
- when shes upset is when her hand gestures come through and its obvious, often with facepalming or burying her face in her hands
- however, when shes fighting is when her body language is completely obvious and its all swagger
- otherwise she carries herself confidently and almost always appears relaxed unless shes in court
- but theres an obvious strength behind everything she does
(this relatively applies to her human self too)

NAMORA;
- holy shit can anyone be more stiff
- shes never seen relaxed. her body is never relaxed. its almost military in that shes completely straight-backed, stiff shoulders and she almost always carries herself with her hands at her side
- she doesnt hand gesture. she just doesnt. she makes an effort that she doesnt and because of this, her arms are always crossed
- when shes in the water, shes a lot more relaxed though

TOBIAS;
-is a fucking bird

- though no seriously, as a human, hes completely stiff, but more because he doesnt remember how to make facial expressions or body gestures and just overall isnt used to being human
- because of this, he tends to not move anything at all and when he does, theyre always stiff jerky gestures
- so when hes freaked out, he often flaps his arms and will try to fly away despite not having wings
- otherwise he just generally makes an awkward fool of himself

MINDY MACREADY;
- as mindy shes very casual and gestures easily and whenever. theres no thought put into what she does
- she comes off as very relaxed as well, and appears more or less like a little kid
- but as hit girl, she barely gestures unless she has to and theyre always movements with a purpose in fights

[futureleader]

QUENTIN... makes a lot of wild hand gestures when he's talking. Okay, maybe not wild, but he sure loves to point and thrust his jacket out. But yeah, he frequently use his hands for "aha!" and exasperation or to throw his hands up at other people's dumbness. Quentin has a tendency to exaggerate his expressions. Since it's actually, somewhat canonically established that he was a theater/drama student prior to joining Xavier's school, this could be the reason why he's such a little Drama Queen. That being said, he's quick to express his opinion if he cannot verbally voice it right away with sighs, eye rolling or just 'ugh' and 'whatever' hand gestures.

The easiest expression to pick out from Quentin, aside from annoyance, is anger. He almost always glares, frowns or gives dirty disgusted looks in general. However, Quentin is slowly learning to hon his expressions of his body language thanks to his telepathy. His stomping around is something he's slowly trying to curb. BUT the most distinguishing part of his aggression is he clenches his right fist tightly. Another more notable gesture Quentin does frequently is holding his chin or face in his hand(s). He definitely has one of those 'lost in thought' looks to him.

...I'm not even going to explain his variety of smiles. God damn, Quentin. On the other hand, his composure could be described as relaxed, prideful, and a little bit unstable? Like you never know what this kid is going to do next.

I could go on for ages, really.

[unetrustworthy]

Midii is actually fluent in Body Language, and usually well aware of her own habits; because of this, you will often find her purposely trying to downplay all her expressions and control the tone of her voice. She is very reserved, with a posture that stands straight and tall while somehow still emphasizing just how tiny she is. Playing to her strengths, basically.

The only exceptions are when she speaks to people who either (a) she trusts (b) annoy/irritate her. Then, she will develop the most subtle of ticks, like play with her hair or furrow her brows or scrunch her nose. If she gets really frustrated, she might slip back into French. Usually to insult or reprimand.

[gofortheoptics]

Tali moves a lot differently depending on whether she's human or not! Her quarian form leans forward quite a bit when she's running or even when she's standing, and she's comfortable enough with her body to duck/roll/dive in it without thinking about it!

She's fidgety when she's nervous -- she'll pull on her hood and shift her body weight from side to side, keeping her arms crossed over her chest when she's irritated or worried. Because she relies more heavily on her body language than her facial expressions (having the helmet in the way and all), she tends to gesture and motion more often than not. She does make facial expressions, though, since it's an involuntary muscle movement -- possibly more than other people do since she's used to them being invisible.

In her human body, she's comfortable enough by now - but she doesn't like to exert it too much, and ducking and acrobatics aren't something she likes to attempt in it. Her facial expressions might even come off as slightly exaggerated since she is used to hiding them.

Andromeda is quite expressive when it comes to her face, but tries to keep her body language a little more toned-down. When she's working she definitely puts on a 'professional' face and tries not to be too emotional, but it's difficult for her. Because she was raised as a pureblood, she has a hard time relaxing her posture unless she's at home, and is tense more often than not, physically. When it comes to actual fist fighting she's utterly useless once she throws her first good punch, but when it comes to dueling she isn't half-bad as long as she isn't ambushed. She favors defensive positions rather than offensive ones.

[liebe_krieg]

THE MAJOR
-Has a generally relaxed air about him, usually moving slowly, smoothly, casually, giving off the impression of being completely in control and not giving a crap.
-His face on the other hand is constantly filled with energy, especially around his mouth and eyes. He almost never stops smiling, and his mouth has a wide range of expressions from maniacal grin to smug smirk.
-The Major gestures a lot with his hands, keeping his main body still whether sitting or standing. Whether making a big speech or in casual conversation (the two bleed into each other a lot with him) expect waves, clenched fists, dramatic sweeps, salutes, arms thrown in the air, upraised palms, and other forms of visual punctuation. When not gesturing he keeps his hands folded in front of him or behind his back, or on the arms of a chair.

CALVIN
-Energy! Calvin is hyperactive and highly expressive in almost everything he does. Subtlety and restraint are things he would have little talent for even if he was old enough to be good at them. When he's happy he grins big, when he's angry he yells big, when he's sad he cries like, well, a child.
-This even carries over to Calvin at rest. An exhausted or slothful Calvin doesn't just lie down, he sprawls and slouches cartoonishly, making a production of it. He's actually made an art of his posture for TV watching, optimizing it for maximum vegetation.
-His gestures continue the theme. Puzzled, Calvin's hand goes to his chin, explaining, his hands go outward, complaining, they go high into the air. It's generally pretty hard to have doubts about what Calvin's thinking or feeling.

JACK
-For someone who gets angry so often, Jack has masterful emotional control. His face can be deeply emotive or an icy mask depending on the needs of the situation. Most of the time, when he loses his cool he's deliberately cutting loose as a tactic. He gets up close and personal for important conversations, whether out of anger or intimacy.
-His body is perpetually tense and his movements rapid, but controlled. Jack looks around, moves from monitor to monitor, leans forward. He does not fidget, but if there's an action to be taken that has a practical purpose, Jack takes it immediately, even if it's just moving up to a screen to get a closer look at a bit of data. He's always intense and poised to move.
-He almost never makes hand gestures. His hands stay down until he needs them. A lot of communication happens through his face and his eyes. He is very good at Meaningful Eye Contact.

[glowsferatu]

hank loves to move. when he's at rest, he prefers it be without his feet on the ground. this isn't to say he never stops, the man is a teacher, but he also has a very boisterous personality and a flair for the dramatic. so, he tends to be very expressive in the way he communicates. he's free and fluid in his movements, and cat-like more in his sense of grace than in subtlety.

vic is understated. his movements rarely come off awkward and usually meaningful. he is subtle and stylish and confident and deliberate in the way he carries himself.

kanaya tends to keep very close to herself, like she's dreadfully aware of the space she takes up and doesn't want to go beyond some very restrictive allotment. shoulders hunched, fingers knit together, folded in front. legs always crossed when she sits. she will make some hand movements as she talks, but the degree can depend on her mood. she opens up more around certain people, and she gets far more expressive when she's feeling fussy or angry.

[solar_absorber]

Apollo tends to use his expressions to get his point across. He's got about a million different smiles that all mean different things. They seriously need to be cataloged. On the gestures front he's usually very relaxed, with mild hand gestures that usually involve brushing his face out of his face. He's a bit of a sloucher during his downtime. Otherwise he's pretty alert. As expressive as he comes off, his usual charming grin is like his poker face which he'll use to keep people at ease around him. But he hides a lot of his thoughts and impressions away from people. Around strangers he's a bit stiff and lukewarm. Around friends and family he's very affectionate, bordering on touchy-feely.

[notadartboard]

OOO I MISSED THIS ONE yay not!memes are my favorites.

Sanji can be subtle with his body language, at times, and then others holy shit watch out. When he's serious or thinking, he goes real rigid, back straight, and doesn't betray much. On the other hand, when he's around women, particularly when trying to charm them, he really will wibble, wiggle around, throw out his arms, etc. It goes with the volatility of his mood swings. He has a habit of tucking his hands in his trouser pockets, usually when chatting or just being normal, serious, what have you. He walks and even occasionally fights with his hands in his pockets - partly because it protects them, and partly as a show of how serious he's taking the fight. If he is able to still fight with his hands in his pockets, it means it's too easy, he's not even breaking a sweat. The way he holds a cigarette can be a subtle language in itself as well. He keeps a hand near his mouth, holding the cigarette, when he's hiding something or trying to encourage the other person to do the talking (such as, when employing a strategy he doesn't want to reveal openly). He doesn't touch the cigarette and leaves it dangling from his lips when everything is cool and calm - he's more likely to use his hands and take longer drags, take away the cigarette from his mouth, when he's serious or down. He generally has very good posture and stands straight with his shoulders squared, rarely (if ever) stands with one hip cocked. He does occasionally point, but not with any unusual frequency. And yes, as the icon shows, he knows a few rude gestures and uses them!

Man I could probably tl;dr even more but I have two other characters and my ice cream is coming soon.

Alastair refrains from ever using any flamboyant, stereotypical body language, he's no queen. But he does stand hips-cocked when feeling confident and/or flirting. He tends to gesture a little more when really excited, but only with close friends. Around strangers, particularly those he's wary of, he closes off. When really nervous he'll stick his hands in his pants pockets. Hands in coat pockets is also a gesture of aloofness. Much of his easily-readable body language happens when dueling - he totally gestures with his cards and moves his whole body depending on whether he's in control of the duel or losing. Maybe it's an offshoot of the use of his body to control his motorcycle, idk.

Geddoe is remarkable in that he doesn't telegraph with his body language. He is as tight and closed-off in his stance as he is with his words. He almost always stands straight with hands at his sides, weight on both feet equally - it's a mercenary captain's guarded stance, from which he can change in any direction as necessary. Keeping his hands at his sides is a means of showing he is no threat, but if he places a hand on Wild Geese (his sword, at his left hip), it's a subtle gesture of warning that he's ready to use it. Using his dominant hand to cross his body and grab the hilt means he's going to draw it and kick your ass. Despite being blind on the right side, Geddoe can hear very well and will glance to that side if he hears something or wants to acknowledge someone behind him. His blind side is not the handicap most take it for, very few can sneak up on him even (he is dominant in the right hand). The only real gesture of note is the way he will occasionally glance at his right hand - it means he's thinking about the Rune, or something has reminded him of something related to the Rune. He can't prevent himself from reflexively calling attention to the Rune's presence in his right hand. Oh, and he's also good about basic gestures for parley, surrender, and threat. He's good at reading people's body language while silencing his own, all part of being a good mercenary.

[ziggy_stardust]

Ziggy's body language is very consistent: No matter what his mouth is saying, his body is talking about sex. This is the main reason he sits down while performing particularly somber songs, otherwise the meaning might get a bit muddied by his hips.

- He makes eye contact a lot and with pretty much everyone. It puts some people off and others are led to believe he's more taken with them than he is.
- He sands with hands on hips a lot
- He touches his hair a lot, it seems very soft. If it was yours, you'd touch it a lot too
- Tends to stand and lean in close to those he's speaking with
- If he's particularly interested either intellectually or sexually, his top teeth tend to rest on or tug at his lower lip like he's fighting not to interrupt or gush openly
- His movements are all generally fluid, sweeping and seductive.
- The confidence he carries himself with and the space he takes up make him seem taller than he is
- He's very touchy with those he knows and he's close to (every level of friend) and does a lot of hugging and cheek kissing

[dazzlingyou]

sparkling is his body language