History Main / CharacterTics

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Alastor tilts his head when talking to people -- at one point he turns his head ''180 degrees'' when he's watching Niffty cleaning.

** ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'' supporting character Callie Evans likes to keep her hands busy and is usually chewing on something. She often brings along a yo-yo and gum to keep her from chewing on straws or her fingernails and to keep from fidgeting.

** [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kate Kane]] has a tendency to stare at bodies of water (usually rivers) when she's in a contemplative mood.
* Creator/MarvelComics:
** Superhumanly agile characters like Franchise/SpiderMan and [[ComicBook/XMen Nightcrawler]] will often [[http://www.just-marvel-x-men.com/image-files/uncanny-x-men-411-nightcrawler-teleports-1-50k.jpg crouch]] or even drop to [[http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/spidey_crouch_640w.jpg all-fours]] for no reason other than because it looks [[RuleOfCool dynamic]] and to show off how flexible they are.
** Franchise/XMen:

A subtrope of BodyLanguage and a supertrope to NervousTics. This may be justified if the specific gesture is a MagicalGesture, or otherwise [[FullContactMagic a way to guide/throw out their powers]]. TwitchyEye is a specific type of character tic used to convey anxiety, rage, or impending psychosis, ManiacTongue similarly indicates mental instability, and BadassFingersnap is a yet another type of tic. For specific gestures done while deep in thought, see ThinkingTic. For the verbal version, see VerbalTic.

** Villainous example that also doubles as a FunnyAneurysmMoment; Maleficent from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'' has a noticeable habit of lifting her hand up to her chest when speaking, a habit she shared with her voice actress, Eleanor Audley. A lot of people found this quite charming and dramatic... until Eleanor Audley died of respiratory failure at eighty-six. She was fighting a case of tuberculosis while making the film and almost turned down the role because of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'': Lightning McQueen has quite a handful. For instance, he has a habit of licking his lip or sticking his tongue out, usually when thinking of something. When racing, he smiles usually, but when he begins to struggle or fall behind, he grits his teeth with an angry expression. He also jiggles a tire when lost in thought. He also flashes his lucky stickers or revs up his engine when showing off.

A subtrope of BodyLanguage and a supertrope to NervousTics. This may be justified if the specific gesture is a MagicalGesture, or otherwise [[FullContactMagic a way to guide/throw out their powers]]. TwitchyEye is a specific type of character tic used to convey anxiety, rage, or impending psychosis, and ManiacTongue similarly indicates mental instability. For specific gestures done while deep in thought, see ThinkingTic. For the verbal version, see VerbalTic.

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!!Example subpages:

* [[CharacterTics/LiveActionFilms Film -- Live-Action]]

!!Other examples:

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'': Rapunzel narrowing her eyes. Rapunzel also has a little half-laugh she'll do when she's nervous or excited. She shares this trait with her mother - which, even more than their strong resemblance to each other, really drives home their connection to each other when they reunite and both do the little laugh.

** Astrid has a habit of brushing back her bangs, but only around Hiccup. She also has the habit of deliberately injuring (or sometimes, kissing) Hiccup and saying, "That's for ([[MadLibsCatchphrase blank]]) and that's for everything else!".

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

*** Mr. Johnson also keels over when frustrated, as does Grover.

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Alastor tilts his head when talking to people - at one point he turns his head ''180 degrees'' when he's watching Niffty cleaning.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''LetsPlay/{{Pwnage}}'': Damian has a habit of slapping his desk or whatever’s around him when angry. Apparently it comes from Kyle.
-->'''Kyle''': Nobody-nobody knows that that comes out of us being in college and you saying weird shit and me slamming my hand on the desk to tell you to shut up, cause [[EnragedByIdiocy I was so fucking tired of being in the room]] [[CloudCuckooLander a raving lunatic that babbles like a batshit idiot.]]

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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has Ogiwara Ryusei, who tends to stick his tongue upward. Likely for no particular reason, he does it when he's joking, thinking... [[ForTheLulz or just because]].
* ''Anime/ActionHeroineCheerFruits'' [[DiscussedTrope discusses]] the use of this trope in {{Toku}}, observing that since the principal actors wear face-concealing costumes, body language is their primary form of expression and hero characters are generally given at least one iconic gesture or affectation (the examples given, under heavy {{Pixellation}}, are Series/KamenRiderHibiki's salute and [[Series/KamenRiderRyuki Kamen Rider Ohja]]'s neck-roll).
* Matsuri of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' often puts one or both arms akimbo, most commonly with the back of his wrists on his hips, but also with his hands on the back of his neck. He always carries his book bag slung over his right shoulder with his wrist pointed outward. Matoi, Matsuri's mother, [[SharedFamilyQuirks makes similar gestures with her arms]].
* ''Manga/BattleRoyale'': In the manga version, [[MartialPacifist Hiroki Sugimura]] has a tendency to tap his nose when he doesn't know what to say. Lampshaded by his friend Takako Chigusa.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Grimmjow comments to Orihime that Ulquiorra has a habit of striking his opponents just below the neck, the same location as his own hollow hole. He speculates that Ulquiorra does it subconsciously and may not even be aware of what he's doing.
** [[PantheraAwesome Grimmjow]] has a habit of flexing his fingers like claws whenever he's [[BloodKnight getting excited]] about a fight or challenge.
** Nnoitra had a habit of sticking his tongue out when excited or cocky. His Espada number was also tattooed on his tongue, so his character tic is also what reveals his rank.
** Shinji is introduced to Ichigo's class by writing his name backwards on the blackboard and he tends to do other things [[EdgyBackwardsChairSitting (like sitting)]] backwards too. This relates to his zanpakuto's special ability.
* In ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'', Touko's character in the SchoolPlay has a habit of playing with her hair when she's troubled. Her nurse quickly picks up on that, and realizes that her patient's troubled about something, presumably the identity crisis the girl's suffering after losing her memory.
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** Lelouch is well-known among anime fans for his propensity for dramatic poses, but he seems particularly fond of hand gestures that draw attention to his left eye (the one that holds his MagicalEye powers). A good example of this can be seen in the first opening for the show's second season.
** C. C. can often be found noshing on [[TrademarkFavoriteFood pizza]] or lying down, oftentimes cradling her stuffed Cheese-kun doll.
* ''Manga/DeathNote'': Pretty much anything L does, Near's hair-twirling and playing with toys, and Mello's maniacal chocolate-eating.
* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': Kabru touches his chin or face whenever he gets excited.
* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', Mitsuo Yamaki is constantly seen flicking the lid of his lighter open and shut. He's never actually seen smoking though.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', [[HairTriggerTemper Shizuo]] [[TheBerserker Heiwajima]] tends to take a small object (like a cigarette or lollipop), throw it on the ground and crush it with his foot when a he gets mad - a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown is about to happen.
* In ''Manga/FireForce'', Shinra gives a SlasherSmile whenever he's nervous or stressed. His tendency to do this at bad times -- say, [[DarkAndTroubledPast right after his family died in a fire that he is believed to have started]] -- helps explain why people think of him as a psychopath at best and a "devil" at worst.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. Envy has a very distinctive [[SlasherSmile grin]], which lets us recognize him when he's transformed into someone.
* ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'': The dogs tend to lick their chops whenever they're satisfied or ready for a battle.
* ''Manga/{{Gokusen}}'': The heroine is a [[MafiaPrincess Yakuza Princess]], and thus while she isn't a TattooedCrook herself, has picked up the gesture of raising her sleeve to show (nonexistent in her case) tattoos when aggravated.
* In ''Anime/GreatPretender,'' Abbie responds to most suggestions and friendly words by FlippingTheBird. At one point, when the rest of the crew is peeking around a door in a ScoobyStack, she sticks out her middle finger into her place in the stack instead of actually looking.
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** Haruhi has her famous "hairflick". This is only portrayed in the anime.
** Kyon's "frown and sigh", which he tends to do a lot.
** Don't forget Kyon's infamous FacePalm tendency.
** Itsuki's hand gestures when explaining something, as if he's conducting the listeners' thoughts in concert with his own.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** Kars from [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendancy]] tends to stick his tongue out as a way to intimidate his opponents.
** Jotaro Kujo from [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]] will draw his index finger across the brim of his cap before pummelling someone with [[RapidFireFisticuffs Star Platinum]].
** Noriaki Kakyoin from [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]] has a habit of licking his [[TrademarkFavoriteFood cherries]] while rolling them around on his tongue before eating them. "レロレロレロレロレロレロレロレロ。。。 (Rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero.../Lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick...)"
** ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'':
*** Yukako Yamagishi's [[EyeTwitch left eye twitches]] whenever she's mad or worked up.
*** Terunosuke Miyamoto has the [[FightingSpirit Stand]], Enigma, which can trap and fold anything in paper, but in order to trap a person he first needs to identify their specific "nervous tic". Obviously, he's scarily good at figuring them out.
*** Also a bit of CompressedVice; Josuke's tic, biting his lower lip, was never seen before that fight in the manga. The anime [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this by having him perform this action multiple times in previous fights.
** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'':
*** While much more noticeable in the manga, Giorno Giovanna has a habit of trembling whenever he feels a strong emotion, and it is often the only clue to his emotional state. Giorno trembles most violently in situations involving death, suggesting it may often be a response to TryingNotToCry.
*** Narancia Ghirga will stand with his arms out on either side with his head hunched forward, allowing his Stand, Aerosmith, to use his body as a runway.
** During ''Manga/StoneOcean'', BigBad Enrico Pucci develops the habit of listing off prime numbers when stressed, as their indivisibility gives him security.
* ''Anime/{{K}}'': Fushimi Saruhiko clicks his tongue an awful lot. He does it to his subordinates, his ''superiors'', people that annoy him, things that annoy him, situations that annoy him, to avoid answering...the list is endless. He even does it to Misaki, or at least when he's not in his [[AxCrazy special]] [[StalkerWithACrush mode]].
* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
** Kaguya [[PalmOnCheekPose places her right hand on her left cheek]] when her feelings for Shirogane start acting up. This is actually an invoked example since she conditioned herself -Pavlov style- to calm down whenever she did so. [[spoiler:It's revealed in supplemental material for the anime that she chose this pose because it subconsciously reminds her of her late mother.]]
** Kei starts stretching whenever she's listening in on her brother, in order to hide her interest.
* ''Manga/KOn'': In the anime version, Mio always holds her guitar pick in her mouth and flips her hair back over her shoulder before she starts playing her bass.
* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': Inspector Lunge's most distinguishing feature is his habit of moving his fingers as though he were typing, which (he claims) helps him memorize information [[PhotographicMemory verbatim]].
* ''Anime/MyHeroAcademia'':
** Uraraka tends to curl her fingers into paws in order to avoid putting all her fingers on something and accidentally activating her Quirk.
** Bakugo tends to bare his teeth at his opponents as a sign of aggression. And he never wears his tie properly.
** Aoyama always has a close-lipped smile on his face, even when annoyed or scared.
** Iida does strange, robotic hand motions (mainly chopping furiously) when he's trying to emphasize a point or is scolding someone, which emphasizes his role as TheComicallySerious.
** Jiro tends to twirl her earphone jacks around her finger or touches them together when she's embarrassed.
** Aizawa rubs the back of his neck and Shinsou Hitoshi does the same thing.
** Momo Yaoyorozu occasionally covers her chest with her arm while in her hero costume.
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', we have Guy and Rock Lee's thumbs ups, Manly Poses, and Youthful Grins; Kakashi's happy eye-arch; Iruka's blushing and scar-scratching; Sakura shoving her fist in the air; Ino sticking her tongue out; Shikamaru slumping his shoulders; Tsunade biting her thumb; Kabuto pushing up his glasses; Hinata finger twiddling; Naruto and [[spoiler:Kushina]] scratching the back of their heads; Gaara crossing his arms...
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'':
** Gendo Ikari's so-called "[[FingerTenting Gendo Pose]]": sitting with his elbows on a table, fingers interlaced and hands in front of his mouth (thereby preventing anyone from seeing his expression unless looking from below). Thereby saving the animators from having to draw his lips. Also couples with his shiny glasses hiding his eyes. Hiding the lips hides pretty much all chance of reading his expression. Not that he's particularly expressive under normal circumstances.
** Gendo also pushes up his glasses, as if to add a non-verbal "...dumbass" to the end of his sentence. This also has the side-effect of making him seem more suspect; in a real life example of this trope, many people will cover their mouths somewhat when lying (without knowing it), and many other people will pick up on that (usually subconsciously). Of course, some people just scratch their nose from time to time, unintentionally invoking this.
* Morei Nekomata of ''Manga/OmujoOmutsuJoshi'' has a habit of rolling over from side to side when upset. Chapters from her viewpoint show her doing this when she's discovered some obstacle in her pursuit of Shouta. Alternatively, when she thinks she's pulled off, she shakes her head in a similar manner in her excitement.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Klahadore has a rather distinctive way of adjusting his glasses, using the heel of his hand to push them up. Most characters write it off, but his old crewmate [[spoiler:Jango]] understands exactly why he does this: [[spoiler:his WeaponOfChoice is a pair of clawed gloves, making the normal methods of AdjustingYourGlasses dangerously impractical at best and flat-out dangerous at worst. The fact that he still does this is what alerts Jango to the fact that [[RedBaron “Thousand-Plans”]] Kuro is as dangerous as he ever was even after five years in deep-cover-slash-retirement.]]
** The odd little dance Chopper does whenever he's denying feeling pleased with being praised. The author says it was based on a RealLife comedy routine.
** Camie the mermaid's distinctive face fault. It's... hard to describe. Her eyes bug out, her teeth jut out, her jaw seems to unhinge, and her tongue looks huge and hangs out.
** Bon Clay has a unique facial expression, a wide grin with one eye squinting and the other wide, which gives him away when disguised.
** Zoro usually ties his bandana on his left arm, but when he gets serious in a fight, he'll wear it on his head.
* ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'': Yu has an oddly distinct way of crushing the magical tarot cards used to summon his Personas - he extends his arm out forward, flips his hand so his palm faces upwards, and then crushes the card by making a fist. This is entirely new to the anime, and not present in [[VideoGame/Persona4 the original game]] at all.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Ash in some parts of the series would flip his NiceHat from front to back whenever he gets serious in a battle. He mainly stopped after Johto, but he flipped his hat for the first time in years during the Sinnoh Pokémon League Tournament and later started doing it again frequently in Unova.
** Drew has a very noticeable habit of flicking his bangs out of this face. He probably does this about twice an episode when he appears.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Homura tends to dramatically [[HairFlip flip her hair]], particularly when asserting herself or before entering a confrontation. [[spoiler:Her LettingHerHairDown, in contrast to the GirlishPigtails she had as her ShrinkingViolet past self, symbolizes her resolve to destroy every witch and save Madoka by herself.]]
* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'':
** Miki and his seemingly random stopwatch usage. He did it so often that fans had asked [[WordOfGod Ikuhara]] just why the hell did Miki keep timing things? Naturally, Ikuhara gave one of his infamous [[ShrugOfGod non-answers]].
** Also, the protagonist is an athletic girl who will do random stretches in the middle of conversations.
* ''Manga/{{Sazanka}}'': The protagonist, Tatsuki, often puts a hand on the back of her head while trying to laugh off something. Her doing so helps her best friend, Aoi, see a bruise Tatsuki got from her ex-boyfriend, Keita.
* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'':
** Yamori has a rather unique and disturbing method of cracking his knuckles, a habit he picked up from the human that tortured him. His second-in-command, Naki, does it in imitation of his beloved "Big Bro".
** Kaneki has a tendency to adopt the tics of people that had a strong influence on his life. From his mother, he picked up the habit of touching his chin with his left hand whenever he tells a lie to spare someone's feelings. After being tortured for 10 days by Yamori, he picks up the habit of cracking his knuckles when irritated or about to do something violent. Finally, in the sequel, [[spoiler: he has begun placing his hand against his ear while deep in thought -- a habit borrowed from his best friend, Hide]].
* ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'': Ryuuji tugs at his bangs in a characteristic way whenever he's shy, embarrassed, uncertain, or thinking.
* ''Anime/VioletEvergarden'' has the tendency to nuzzle or even bite objects she's holding, as her [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetic hands]] don't have a proper sense of touch.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/AchillesHeel'': Lusamine has a habit of clicking her tongue when annoyed. The tic brings back bad memories, so she's been trying to stop.
* In ''Fanfic/TheApprenticeTheStudentAndTheCharlatan'', Nova Shine often rubs around his horn whenever he's in deep thought.
* In ''Fanfic/BrokenBow,'' Armani [[spoiler: (and his alternate-universe duplicate)]] tends to incline his head as a gesture of acknowledgment.
* ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'': Jack T. Robot will lean on ''anything'' when standing still. This apparently includes [[MindScrew his own leg]].
* ''Cave Story Versus I M Meen'': Jack has a ''serious'' habit of vomiting, but it is more or less justified by [[NauseaFuel the shit that he goes through.]]
* ''Fanfic/{{Coveralls}}'', a fanfic of ''Series/TheXFiles'' written by an AI, gives Mulder the habit of crawling and nodding and Scully the habit of sighing.
* ''Fanfic/CrossCases'': Sam Winchester's portrayal gives him a habit of scrubbing his hand over his mouth when he's thinking, or sometimes nervous. Harry Dresden also notices other 'tics' of his, such as pressing his nail into his left palm and apparently looking away at nothing, both of which are related to him being Lucifer's [[DemonicPossession vessel]].
* ''Fanfic/DespairsLastResort'':
** Naomi is constantly pushing her glasses up her nose.
** The trope is actually discussed by Kumiko in Chapter 6, mentioning that these could be used to figure out the mastermind's identity. [[spoiler:Which they do. Takara remembers Monokuma's tendency to use theater references and terminology which points her to figuring out it's Saemi.]]
* ''Fanfic/TheDevilsInTheDetails'': Whenever a character starts ranting before they get to the point, expect Peter to remark "deflecting..."
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/17221382 Dreamlike]]'', a Popuri/Karen oneshot, Karen has a character tic of sticking a strand of hair behind her ear.
* In ''Fanfic/AnEnduringSong'', a fanfiction of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Riker stares at the wall a lot.
* In the ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}'' series, many ex-hosts stim to remind themselves that they're still in control of their bodies. For example, Tom clenches his right hand when he's feeling upset, and Eva fiddles with her bracelets.
* ''Fanfic/FireEmblemFatesAftermath'': When Lilith gets nervous, she starts playing with her hair braid.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Let's see... quirking brows, widening eyes, face-palms, suddenly speaking their native languages, [[{{Hammerspace}} pulling objects out of invisible places]]... the author uses ''quite'' a few.
* The ''Frozen'' oneshot ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10629345/1/The-Holding-and-the-Release The Holding and the Release]]'' explores Elsa's tic of wrapping her arms around her. It's both a way of shielding others from her and a way of comforting herself, because she's too afraid to let others hug her.
* ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'': Shinji makes his infamous unclenching-and-unclenching-hand tic when he encourages himself to greet his newborn daughter.
-->Shinji hesitated, then once again clenched his hand in decision. He approached Asuka. She looked up, smiled at him, then back down at the infant in her arms. Shinji followed her lead. "H-" he began. He coughed, then continued.
* ''Fanfic/{{Heirverse}}'': Aizen will run a hand through his hair as a means of self-comfort, Gin later picks up the trait. He also has a tendency to touch the scars he got [[ItMakesSenseInContext from walking into a lamppost]], whenever he's confused or trying to work something out.
* In ''Fanfic/JonathanJoestarTheFirstJoJo,'' Jonathan tends to [[HandBehindHead scratch at the back of his neck]] if he's nervous or embarrassed.
* In the ''Fanfic/MotionPractice'' series, there's a character tic that seems to belong to the author rather than any character in particular: at least once a story, someone will roll their lips together to express (or suppress) an emotion.
* ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'': Asuka sometimes clenches and unclenches her fist, like Shinji did. She mentions it in the "Friends and Rivals" side-story:
-->I didn't really notice it, but I clenched and unclenched my fist, much like Shinji sometimes did.
* ''Fanfic/OurOwnLeague'':
** Wonder Girl presses her fingertips together, either when she's [[ThinkingTic thinking hard]], or stressed and taking deep breaths.
** Kid Flash chews gum so as to keep moving even when he has to sit still. When concentrating, however, he will chew harder and smack his lips ''loudly''.
** When she's startled or having PerformanceAnxiety, [[ShrinkingViolet Miss Martian]] will shriek "Eep!" and turn invisible.
* ''Fanfic/PokemonMysteryDungeonReflectingBalance'': Blitz the Shinx is often seen rubbing the yellow rings on his forelegs together when nervous.
* Sunny Breeze of ''Fanfic/RacerAndTheGeek'' has a habit of using gratuitous foreign languages.
* ''Fanfic/RWBYScars'':
** When Weiss is nervous, she rubs her wrists. This has to do with [[spoiler:her SelfHarm scars]]. Ruby later realizes that [[spoiler:Weiss [[InterruptedSuicide stabbed herself]]]] after she sees Weiss rubbing her stomach in a similar way.
** Blake has a tic of touching her cheek. This stems from [[spoiler:her [[DomesticAbuse abusive ex-boyfriend]] Adam having once slapped her]].
* ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'':
** The nervous tic that Shinji displayed in the series, the clenching/relaxing of his left hand, shows up again just before the battle with [[EldritchAbomination the 12th angel]]. However, in another example of character growth, Shinji actually notices this and makes himself stop (and also mentally lampshades how "old habits are hard to break".)
** In [[Webcomic/AkiChansLife the sequel]], [[spoiler:his daughter]] has developed his same nervous tic: in episode 3, she clenches and relaxes her right hand when she gets nervous.
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/124263/1/songs-uncle-sings/sineva Songs Uncle Sings]]'': The uncle reflexively clenches and unclenches his fist.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Spotless|GoldenEnderHawk}}'', even though she is no longer pursuing Adrien, Marinette still tends to stutter around him.
* In ''Fanfic/TommyPicklesTheTerribleTwos'' which is a fanfic of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Dil develops a habit of walking backwards a lot.
[[/folder]]

* In the movie ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' has Kevin do this. Like:

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Abominable}}'': When she's frightened of the monster stalking her group, Michelle touches her engagement ring a few times and twists it back and forth around her finger.
* ''Film/AustinPowers'': Dr. Evil raising his pinky finger to his mouth.
* Shane from ''Film/BackstreetDreams'' repetitively bangs on things or waves his hand in front of his eyes.
* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'':
** Marty [=McFly=] sleeps on either his side or his stomach with an arm behind his back.
** His father George has the habit of shaking his hand in the air.
** Doc Brown often makes grandiose gestures with his arms. WordOfGod says that Creator/ChristopherLloyd had based his portrayal of Doc in part on famed conductor Leopold Stokowski, i.e. Doc is conducting the world.
* In ''Film/TheBigSleep'', Philip Marlowe rubs his earlobe when his concentrating. Carmen also bites her thumb, which irritates Marlowe.
* Po from ''Film/ABoyCalledPo'' flaps his arms when he's excited or upset.
* In ''Film/TheCaineMutiny'' Captain Queeg has a nervous habit of rolling around some glass beads in his hand. When he does this at a court martial hearing, it pretty much guarantees that he'll be released for being mentally unstable.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'':
** The Joker from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' licks his lips while he talks a lot. WordOfGod states that this was a result of Creator/HeathLedger being annoyed by the feeling of the scar prosthetics and unconsciously licking at them because of it and after seeing him do it a few times with the full make-up and finding it seriously creepy, they decided to just make it part of the character.
** In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Bane is constantly grasping the lapels of whatever outfit he's currently wearing. This is seen when Selina looks back at him before deciding to jump into the Bat, and also when he and his mercenaries are holding the Wayne Enterprises board hostage, among others. As with the Joker, this is also a case of ThrowItIn; Tom Hardy does this to let in some air around his collar, as the mask causes his face to heat up.
* ''Film/DawningOfTheDead'': Twice in the movie, Katya can be seen drawing in a square. When asked about it, she states that it helps regulate her breathing.
* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse: [[ComicBook/WonderWoman Diana]] cocks her head and smiles a GrinOfAudacity when facing off against a powerful opponent, showcasing her BloodKnight tendencies.
* Calvin Candie of ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' tends to bang on whatever hard surface is in front of him (or clap if there isn't one) for emphasis when speaking.
* In ''Film/ADogsPurpose'', one of Bailey's most used tricks is spinning around and catching his tail in his mouth. When he does it later as Buddy to show Ethan who he is, Hannah remarks, "Didn't Bailey use to do that?" Along with that, jumping off Ethan's back to catch a deflated football, and barking to the nickname "Boss Dog", it all helps Ethan realize that Bailey's come back.
* Nicky from ''Film/DominickAndEugene'' rubs his fingers together when he's nervous.
* In ''Film/ErnstThaelmann: Sohn Seiner Klasse 1954'' , Fiete Jansen (Thaelmann's main deputy) habitually wipes his nose with his hand. Interestingly, he has abandoned this tic by part II ''Ernst Thaelmann: Fueherer Seiner Klasse'' (which picks up seven years later with Fiete's release from prison) which might suggest an interfilm discretion shot.
* ''Film/FermatsRoom'': Hilbert corrects the other characters' grammar when they write on the chalkboard, adding accent marks (particularly over the letter "o").
* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'': In many of the older movies, Godzilla often slams his fist into his palm as he walks. In ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', he also tends to flap his arms around like a seal.
* The ''Film/HarryPotter'' films:
** The Voldemort neck roll that Harry takes on when their minds are melded.
** Hermione's eyebrows dancing up and down with every syllable, sometimes getting out of sync with each other. Creator/EmmaWatson even does this when she's not acting, making it more of an actor tic, though she has managed to tone it down somewhat in the later films.
** Barty Crouch Junior's lip-licking made his father realize that his son was impersonating Mad-Eye Moody. This trait is shared by [[Series/DoctorWho another]] of the [[Creator/DavidTennant actor's]] characters, but in ''Harry Potter'', it's exaggerated to the point where he looks like Music/MileyCyrus.
* ''Film/InfernalAffairs'' has a couple of trademark tics that are actually plot-relevant: Yan's habit of tapping his fingers on things (which he uses deliberately to camouflage sending text messages) and Ming's of tapping objects he's carrying against his leg (which causes Yan to recognise him from an incident when he didn't see Ming's face).
* Gregory from ''Film/TheInnocent1994'' flaps his arm, rubs his cheek with his fist when he's anxious, and spins around to relieve stress.
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** Bond's infamous hypnobrow of doom.
** Boris Grishenko, EvilGenius for the BigBad of ''Film/GoldenEye'', has a habit of constantly twirling his pens and clicking on them when he's working or nervous. Bond has a pen that operates as a grenade, armed by clicking three times, disarmed by clicking three times. [[ChekhovsGun You do the math]].
** In ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', Le Chiffre tends to place his fingers on his temple when he lies or bluffs, to still his nervous twitch [[spoiler:(a minor plot point).]] Also, when particularly stressed, his medical condition -- leaking blood from his left tear duct -- kicks in.
** Elliot Carver, of ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', tends to outstretch his arms in a "You See" motion when making his grand speeches.
** Film/DrNo walks with his hands behind his back. {{Justified}}, as he doesn't want to use his artificial hands unless he has to.
* Jimmie from ''Film/Jimmie2008'' holds his arms bent like a T-Rex and shakes them while he walks. He also rubs his hand against his face and flicks his fingers.
* David from ''Film/KeepTheChange2017'' snorts and groans loudly when he's upset. He tells people it's allergies.
* David Staebler from ''Film/TheKingOfMarvinGardens'' twitches his upper lip.
* In ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' Jareth frequently contact juggles a crystal ball.
* ''Film/TheLastCommand'': Sergius has a non-stop head twitch. He explains that he "suffered a great shock once." It turns out that the head twitch dates from when he saw a train plunge off a bridge and into a river, with his lover aboard.
* Creator/LaurelAndHardy:
** Oliver Hardy twiddles his tie whenever he is frustrated.
** Stan Laurel fiddles with his hair from the top and whimpers when upset.
* Seymour Krelborn in ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'' would put his hands over where his ears are when overwhelmed.
* Nereus from ''Film/AManCalledNereus'' presses his hands together and flicks his fingers.
* ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015'': Illya has a hand twitch when his BerserkButton is pressed. Not to mention his sharp DeathGlare.
* Cho-won from ''Film/Marathon2005'' flicks his fingers, flaps his arms, and makes trilling noises with his tongue, especially in moments of strong emotion. He speaks mostly in a high-pitched monotone.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: During combat Bucky sometimes swings his artificial arm around 360 degrees vertically at the shoulder. Possibly this has a practical mechanical purpose that helps it function during heavy use.
* In ''Film/Max2002'', Hitler nervously touches and smoothes his hair.
* ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'':
** Robot Maria's jerking her shoulders, whiplashing her neck and squinting her left eye a bit.
** Rotwang has a habit of raising his left eyebrow whilst thinking.
** Freder grabs hold of anybody who happens to be nearby when he rants.
** Joh Fredersen grabs his hair with his hands on the rare occasions that he gets scared.
* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'': Sir Bedivere habitually lifts up the visor of his helmet to look at something or speak.
* In ''Film/{{Morgan}}'', Morgan has a particular gesture in which she puts her hands palm down at the edge of a table, then turns them palm up. People get hurt soon after.
* ''Film/MrPoppersPenguins'': Bitey and Lovey were so named because they peck people a lot and snuggle random people and objects respectively.
* In ''Film/NannyMcPhee'', the eponymous nanny makes a "hm" sound when someone asks her a yes-or-no question as a way of evading the question.
* In the ''Film/OceansEleven'' movies, Rusty is seen eating something in almost every scene. His actor Brad Pitt explains it as stemming from the fact that busy as Rusty is, he never has the chance to sit down for a proper meal.
* ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'': Dreyfus's eye twitches whenever he gets angry or stressed.
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** Captain Jack Sparrow runs with his arms in the air, flailing them as he moves. This has been dubbed "the lizard run" by fans of the series.
** Captain Barbossa widens his eyes and tilts back his head when he emphasizes things in speech.
* ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'': Detective Loki always blinks very slowly and deliberately.
* In ''Film/RoadToPerdition'', psychopathic hitman Harlan Maguire (Jude Law) has a habit of twirling a coin over his fingers in boredom or frustration. Pretty tame when you consider his other hobbies....
* ''Franchise/RoboCop'': Murphy shows several tics that get carried over into [=RoboCop=], revealing the man beneath the machine. They become Robocop's trademarks:
** The gun twirl, trademark of ShowWithinAShow character T.J. Lazer, which is how his partner recognized him after his death and cyborg makeover in ''Film/RoboCop1987''.
** Driving fast down the ramp in the police parking structure, bottoming out his suspension and scraping the bottom of his car against the ground.
* In ''Film/SecretWindow'', Mort's habit of opening his mouth and clicking his jaw, [[spoiler:which occurs more and more often as he becomes more and more unhinged. [[GeniusBonus This is an actual symptom of schizophrenia]].]]
* Pierre from ''Film/TheSenseOfWonder'' rubs his fingers together and runs his hands along objects he passes, especially plants.
* ''Film/{{Splash}}'': Madison tends to bite her lower lip when thinking or embarrassed.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': C-[=3PO=] walks with his legs very straight. He does have knees, but he just doesn't bend them very often.
* In ''Film/TheSting'', Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) has many tics, including the way he holds a cup of coffee and the way he throws one shoulder back.
* ''Film/TheTrip1967'': Before Paul's trip begins, he rubs his fingers together and at one point walks his fingers along a railing.

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/OneQEightyFour'': Aomamae is described as having beautiful facial features that, upon frowning or grimacing, make a "shocking transformation [that] terrified anyone who saw it..." She even uses this as a psychological weapon against men whom she wants to leave her alone.
* {{Inverted}} in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}:'' After so long {{Shapeshifter Mode Lock}}ed in hawk form Tobias no longer emotes much when in human form. This saves his life upon learning that [[spoiler:Elfangor was his father]]--he's freaking out internally, but to the villains he looks like that name doesn't mean anything to him.
* Jason from ''Literature/AnythingButTypical'' blinks his eyes, sometimes one at a time, and flaps his hands.
* Jack from ''Literature/BecauseOfTheRabbit'' flickers his fingers, especially when he's nervous.
* In ''Literature/TheBigSleep'', Carmen sucks her thumb, despite being about 20 years old, showing that she's got some screws loose.
* Joe from ''Literature/BlueIguana'' taps his leg when he's really upset.
* In ''Literature/TheBluestEye'', Pecola has [[HandyFeet a habit of scratching her calf with her toe]], [[SharedFamilyQuirks which she seemingly inherited from her mother]]. [[spoiler:This is what [[PervertDad triggers her father into raping her]].]]
* ''Literature/{{Bounders}}'':
** Mira sometimes twirls when she walks.
** Cole sits ramrod straight, even when he's in a beanbag chair.
* Creator/BrandonSanderson:
** ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'': Sarene taps her cheek with her index finger when she is deep in thought.
** ''Literature/WaxAndWayne'': Marasi has a tendency to blush furiously. She is well aware of it and feels this does not fit her image of a constable. And then there comes a moment when she realises she ''did not'' blush, which she takes as a sign that she's changed.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/CatchThatRabbit": Gregory Powell sometimes pulls at the ends of his mustache when he's nervous. In this story, he tries to do that while wearing a spacesuit.
* ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': Qwill tends to finger his luxuriant mustache when he's thinking. Apparently this can sometimes get a little violent, as he's occasionally described as "pounding" the mustache.
* ''Literature/CharlottesWeb'':
** [[SharedFamilyQuirks The entire goose family]] has a habit of [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment repeating things twice or three times]].
** Wilbur has a tendency towards {{Fainting}} when he's scared.
* ''Literature/ChildrenOfDune'': The late Baron used to tap his fingers in a certain way. This is ''not'' genetic, and when one of his descendants does it, it's significant.
* Yetu from ''Literature/TheDeep2019'' has a distinctive, twisting swimming sytle, leaving a wake that any wajinru who know her can easily identify.
* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'':
** Greg and Rodrick frown a lot.
** Rowley and Fregley have their mouths open a lot.
* In ''Literature/DinosaurVs'', Dinosaur roars a lot.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, Lord Vetinari raises one eyebrow when he's faced with something ''particularly'' stupid, usually in conjunction with a deeply ironic remark. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''Literature/MakingMoney'', where Vetinari-wannabe Cosmo Lavish ''practices'' his eyebrow raising.
* Johnny from ''Literature/DogsDontTalk'' grunts, flaps his arms, rocks back and forth to music, and jumps when he's happy.
* Cotton from ''Literature/TheEasyPartOfImpossible'' flutters his fingers against his leg, and also rubs his chin and works his mouth when he's thinking.
* ''Literature/EveryShinyThing'':
** Ryan rubs his T-shirt and flicks his fingers. When he was in seventh grade, he went to a horrible school that tried to suppress his movements and force him to make eye contact, but Lauren's parents assure her that his new school is more progressive.
** Audrey sticks her chin out when she's angry.
* ''Literature/EvidenceOfThingsNotSeen'': At the end of the class, when the teacher was droning on about due dates and the final, Tommy used to tap his pencil and jerk his legs to try to make time pass faster.
* ''Literature/EyeContact'':
** Adam's hands "dance," as Amelia once put it.
** Chris develops a habit of leaning forward and stepping on his hands when he's sitting down.
* "Literature/FairestOfAll": Siofra likes rolling round things in her hands, like buttons. If she doesn't have one, her arms flap and flail around. Mahon stares into space and repeats what other people say.
* In ''Literature/TheFamousFive'' book ''Five go to Smuggler's Top'', the hot-tempered Mr Lenoir has a unique angry tic: the tip of his nose turns white, which happens many times.
* ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'': Anastasia is prone to flushing and blushing.
* In ''Literature/FirefighterTed'', Principal Bigham blushes whenever he's angry.
* ''Literature/FlightOfTheIntruder'' gives us Lt. [[IronicNickname Cool Hand]] Grafton, who suffers from stress-related palsy when he's not flying.
* ''Literature/GarrettPI'': Garrett does a Spock-like eyebrow trick when interviewing clients.
* Vivy from ''Literature/GetAGripVivyCohen'' flaps her hands when she's excited, despite her mother's and therapist's disapproval.
* ''Literature/GlovesOfVirtue'': Abigail has a habit of scratching her ankle with her toes when she's thinking over something. And that's just a small part of her [[CloudCuckoolander weirdness]].
* In ''Literature/GuardianCatsAndTheLostBooksOfAlexandria'', Professor Chin has a nervous tic massaging his wrists and fingers.
* Tilly from ''Literature/Harmony2016'' taps her cheeks when she's excited or nervous.
* ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'':
** As a young man (from ''Midshipman'' to ''Hotspur'') Hornblower's body language is always described with words like awkward or gangling. At one point Bush recognizes him from the back because of the ungainly way Hornblower is walking into the wind.
** Bush tends to rub his hands together when pleased.
** In ''Commodore Hornblower'', Mound has his hands in his pockets. Rather, he keeps ''starting'' to put his hands in his pockets, remembers he's in the presence of the Commodore, and desists. Hornblower is distracted enough by this that he eventually orders the kid to just do it and quit fidgeting.
* ''Literature/HoshiAndTheRedCityCircuit'':
** Sorreno fiddles with her locket when she's nervous.
** Martin Ho rubs his palms over his pant legs when he broods.
** Ursula, a woman Hoshi interviews, makes complicated gestures to illustrate what she says. Most people find it distracting, but Hoshi appreciates it, because visual processing takes less effort for her than language processing.
* Diane Cardiel from ''Literature/IfIFallIfIDie'' snaps her blue elastic band against the inside of her wrist to distract herself from her anxiety.
* Anthony from ''Literature/InTwoWorlds'' flaps his hands to express emotion. Adults respond by saying "Hands quiet" without trying to understand why he's doing it.
* ''Literature/JackBlank'' tends to run a hand through his hair when nervous or stressed. He's stressed a lot in Book 3.
* Creator/JohnBuchan:
** In the climactic scene of ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', Hannay has to decide whether a man he's watching is the master spy behind the plot (who is also a MasterActor) or just an innocent bystander. He's almost convinced the man is just an innocent bystander when the man makes a finger-tapping gesture that Hannay recognises from when he was a captive of the spy ring earlier in the book.
** Similarly, near the climax of ''Literature/TheIslandOfSheep'', Hannay begins to penetrate the facade of that novel's master of disguise when he recognises the way he's standing.
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Annala tugs on her ear when she's nervous or embarrassed. It's a trait unique to her for more than just her PointyEars. Other elves don't do this.
* Keedie and Addie from ''Literature/AKindOfSpark'' both flap when they're happy or overwhelmed. They go to great effort to suppress it in public.
* ''Literature/LanguageArts'':
** Dana [=McGucken=] has a lot: he sways back and forth, stares at the ceiling or out the window, picks his nose, sticks pencils in his ears, kicks his feet, and gesticulates while grunting. After a traumatic experience when Mrs. Braxton tries to tie a ruler to his arm, he acquires a nervous habit of massaging the area between his thumb and forefinger.
** Emmy yanks her mouth sideways when she thinks.
** Cory's default position involves holding his arms raised and bent at right angles, with his forearms framing his face and his fingers clenched.
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings,'' Frodo tends to fiddle with the things in his pocket when he's nervous. Which probably isn't a great idea when you're carrying a semi-sapient ArtifactOfDoom in there...
* Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's [[Literature/VorkosiganSaga Miles Vorkosigan]] (who's just slightly self-conscious about his height) tends to lift his chin defensively when under stress, especially in the earlier books.
* ''Literature/MaledictionTrilogy'': Cecile has a tendency to bite the inside of her cheeks when she is thinking, especially if she's conflicted about an issue. Lara from ''Literature/TheBridgeKingdomArchives'' by [[Creator/DanielleLJensen the same author]] also does that from time to time.
* In ''Literature/TheOutside'', Elu fidgets with his hair.
* Peta from ''Literature/PetaLyresRatingNormal'' jiggles her leg and shakes her hands. She does her best to suppress these movements.
* ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'' has a lot of these due to the book's quirky sense of humour:
** The Whether Man says things three times.
** The Earl of Essence often acts out the literal meanings of idioms (e.g. literally biting off more than he can chew).
** When the King's Cabinet says their list of synonyms, the Undersecretary of Understanding will be the one to say the simplest synonym.
** The Spelling Bee, as her name suggests, randomly spells out words.
** The Senses Taker likes to polish his glasses, straighten his tie, and blow his nose.
* Dana from ''Literature/PilgrennonsChildren'' walks with a shuffling gait, which her classmates make fun of.
* ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsYouBelieveHer'': Penny's character tic of shrugging becomes plot significant when one of the recurring annoyances of her getting trapped in a robot body is that it cannot shrug.
* In ''Literature/QueensOfGeek'', Taylor pushes up her glasses.
* David from ''Literature/{{Rules}}'' flickers his fingers like he's playing piano, shakes his arms when he's excited, and flaps his hands when he's upset.
* P.F. Greenawalt from ''Literature/SaveTheEnemy'' runs his finger along the outside of his nostril and picks his ears, to Zoey's disgust.
* Jonas from ''Literature/SavingMax'' mutters to himself and twitches like he's doing the flamenco sitting down. Danielle recognizes this as his attempts to communicate.
* In ''Literature/{{Savvy}}'', Lester twitches his shoulders and stammers when he's afraid.
* In ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', Violet always ties back her hair when she's inventing something.
* ''Literature/{{Shtum}}'':
** Jonah loves twiddling things in front of his eyes, like a feather or a blade of grass. He also has a habit of jumping up and down when he's excited.
** Valentine has a habit of kissing his teeth, which he's passed on to his teenage son.
* ''Literature/SisterPelagia'': In ''Pelagia and the Red Rooster'', the [[EccentricMentor eccentric prophet Emmanuel aka Manuila]] probably has a habit of scratching his leg (it is mentioned twice: once he "scratched his calf", and at another time he "was standing on one leg, scratching his ankle with the other foot").
* Charlie and Ludmila from ''Literature/TheSomedayBirds'' both flap their hands when they're upset.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** Arya often chews on her lip, a habit the Faceless Men try to stop her doing, as it's distinctive.
** Stannis Baratheon keeps his jaw clenched and grinds his teeth.
** After an incident in the first book, Jon frequently flexes his wounded hand. This was advised by the maester who treated the injury, to stop his tendons binding up.
* In ''Literature/TheSorcererOfTheWildeeps'', Captain has a tic where he constantly, whenever he thinks that nobody's watching, checks if his head scarf is still in place and as tight fitting as always, showing not one strand of hair. It drives Demane mad, who thinks the scarf sits tighter than a virgin's drawers and besides, the repetition is likely to draw more attention to the gesture than Captain would ever want.
* In ''Literature/TheSpeedOfDark'', everyone in Lou's section is autistic, so all his coworkers have at least one.
** Eric doodles colorful geometric patterns.
** Dale [[TwitchyEye winks his left eye.]]
** Cameron twitches his arm, bounces, and plays with dice in his pocket.
** Linda bounces her fingers in complex mathematical patterns and flaps her hands when she's excited.
** Chuy twists his neck back and forth and grunts when he eats.
** Bailey bites his lip and makes noises with his tongue.
** Lou himself tries to avert this by sitting perfectly still. It doesn't work, as Cameron tells him he looks like a block of wood.
** Lou notes that his neurotypical crush Marjory flaps her hands sometimes, but nobody seems to notice because she's otherwise normal.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': In the first book, both Richard and Darken Rahl have their tics. Richard runs his hands through his hair when gets nervous or exasperated, while Rahl licks his fingers and runs them over his lips and eyebrows habitually. Richard's tic [[spoiler:clues Zedd in that the "Darken Rahl" they see is not, in fact, Darken Rahl, but he realizes it a moment too late.]]
* Jack from ''Literature/TheresMoreThanOneWayHome'' repeats the last word of each sentence in a sing-songy whisper. He also flaps his hands when excited or upset.
* Narrator Literature/HuckleberryFinn remarks that Literature/TomSawyer, in the lesser-known Creator/MarkTwain novel ''Tom Sawyer, Detective'', has a habit of tracing the letter V on his cheek or chin when he's thinking deeply.
* ''Literature/TornadoBrain'': Frankie flaps her hands when she's stressed. Tess constantly bites her nails so there's no white area, and used to have a habit of ripping up things like napkins and movie tickets.
* In ''Literature/TheTrumpetOfTheSwan'', the main human character walks "Indian-style", i.e. very deliberately.
* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Bella Swan often bites her lower lip, a trait she shares with Creator/KristenStewart.
* Jack from ''Literature/{{Underdogs}}'' rubs his thumb and fingers together.
* Aster from ''Literature/AnUnkindnessOfGhosts'' bangs or taps against things as she moves to synchronize herself with the ship's rhythms, which calms her.
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':
** Nynaeve often tugs her braid when she's agitated. And she is often agitated. About halfway through the series she decides this habit isn't dignified enough for someone who is supposed to be [[spoiler:a Yellow Aes Sedai ''and'' Queen of Malkier]]. So now, whenever she's annoyed, she pauses and makes a visible effort to ''not'' tug her braid.
** Most of the female characters smooth their skirts when they're nervous.
** Thom knuckles his mustaches while thinking, Balwer dry washes his hands, Perrin scratches his beard, Julin removes his cap, crumples it, then puts it back on again. The series is rather swamped with character tics.
* Rory from ''Literature/WickedGood'' paces exactly five steps before he turns around. Archer finds herself pacing the same way while she waits to pick him up from the police station.
* In ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'', Pooh puts his head between his paws when he has to mull something over.
* ''Literature/TheWitchlands'':
** Safi: She taps either her fingers or her heels when she's stressed, upset, or just impatient. This might be the tell Caden warned her about.
** Iseult: She stutters when she's nervous and wiggles her nose when she's thinking. Her mother tried to train her out of having any tics, but she didn't have much success. She also picked up a few of Aeduan's mannerisms (such as tapping her fingers on the pommel of her sword) after travelling with him for a while.
** Aeduan: Rolling his wrists, flexing his fingers, and tapping a rhythm with his fingers on his knives and on the pommel of his sword. He can keep an impenetrable pokerface, but he has to fold his hands behind his back when he needs to feign indifference or lie to someone.
* Leo from ''Literature/YouHaveAMatch'' has a habit of tilting his head to one side.

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/CMPunk twisting his wrists as a warmup before his match.
* Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} had a tendency to lean on the ring ropes during promos in the ring.
* Wrestling/JohnCena fidgets with his hat during promos sometimes, usually taking it off and rubbing his head during "Awkward" or "Thinking" moments.
* After he unmasked, Wrestling/{{Kane}} used to constantly touch his hand to his face during matches, as if checking for blood. With the mask on he'll usually throw his head back, to keep the hair out of his face.
* If Wrestling/KevinNash has one free hand (or both), you can bet he'll be flipping his hair back. In real life, people have also noticed his tendency of keeping his hand in his pocket.
* Wrestling/LexLuger had this unhealthy obsession with touching himself. Proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYDehCkc5rI
* Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki often sticks out his tongue for no apparent reason after a promo. Oh, and also beating up some Young Lions at ringside.
* Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin will cock his head left and right while cutting a promo.
* Wrestling/TheUndertaker points to someone or something during promos with the hand holding the mic. Always.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'': Kermit tends to scrunch his face in (by means of his puppeteer clenching the hand operating his head) whenever one of the other Muppets does something particularly nonsensical.
* ''Series/SesameStreet'':
** Don Music bangs his head on the piano when he's frustrated. This caused parents to complain their kids were copying him, so the writers [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome scrapped the character]] as opposed to, y'know, scrapping the tic.
** Bert facepalms and/or keels over when frustrated.
*** Mr. Johnson also keels over when frustrated, as does Grover.
** When Elmo is bemused, his left eye sinks into his face. He and Zoe also walk slowly when sad.
** When Big Bird is frustrated, he [[{{Angrish}} rants made-up words]]. When he's unhappy, he'll often walk slowly and/or do a mournful AsideGlance.
** Natasha "shakes her shoe and says, 'cuckoo'" when she's happy and she also [[BlowingARaspberry blows raspberries]] a lot.
** Julia flaps her arms when she's excited, although that's more supposed to be because she's autistic than because she's Julia.
** Abby levitates when really happy.
** Suzie Kabloozie leans right into the screen a lot.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'':
** Mirielle's habit of offering food to people when she's introduced to them, or when they seem to be in distress, seems at times to be an instinctual tic.
** To help her concentrate when using her superpower, {{telepath|y}} and musician Zia will tap out a beat with her hand or foot.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'': Ashley Robbins tends to lean forward slightly and tilt her head to the right when speaking to people.
* ''Videogame/BlazBlue'': In the story mode, characters only have 3 sprites - neutral, pre-fight and "defeated", and they do something unique in each. Though they also have certain other tics outside those sprites, such as Ragna face-palming, Nine holding a fire on her palm, or Azrael putting his hand on his pockets.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'':
** Magus has a habit of readjusting his gloves. He usually does it when focusing a spell.
** Robo has one too, after doing something that takes a bit of effort, his casing opens up and a hissing sound is heard. This is definitely a JustifiedTrope, as he's venting out heat since he's, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a robot.]] Done to sinister effect when [[spoiler:it's done by his brothers, the rest of the R-Series, after they beat the crap out of him. All six of them do it. Then, one of them picks up his battered body and throws it down a disposal shoot, which is a simple task, but he does it again, showing how trivially they think of disposing one of their own.]]
** Lucca moves her glasses up and down, possibly adjusting them, as a substitute for raising unseen eyebrows. She does it when she takes notice of something, and usually doesn't stop until something else happens.
* ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot'': Starting from the third game, Coco tends to flip her hair every so often.
* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'':
** Cayde-6 twirls his pistol almost every time he pulls it out, [[VideoGame/MetalGear Revolver Ocelot-style]].
** Uldren Sov is very emotive with his arms, gesturing and waving them around a lot when he’s speaking. He also tends to [[PunctuatedForEmphasis punctuate for emphasis]] when sufficiently angry or annoyed.
** The Spider has very fidgety hands and uses a ghost shell as a makeshift fidget toy. Some lore entries indicate that this is a bit of a nervous tic for him; he knows full well that the Guardians could easily kill him and is constantly on edge when they’re around, despite his seemingly calm demeanor.
** Dominus Ghaul has a noticeable tendency to lightly clench his fists when stressed or pensive.
* ''Videogame/DevilMayCry:'' Vergil flips his hair back often. It's also used in his default [[TauntButton taunt]]. As shown in the third game, when he has his hair down (due to the rain), he looks awfully similar to his twin Dante, but one hair flip later and it's back to shape, making the tic a way to separate himself from his brother.
* Gale in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' has a habit of touching the bridge of his nose reminiscent of the way a person might [[AdjustingYourGlasses adjust their glasses.]] Supposedly it's because he is the partial reincarnation of [[spoiler:the scientist David, who was Jenna Angel's lover in the real world.]] The forehead touch is similar to a "phantom limb" effect: [[spoiler:David]] wore glasses, and switching from wearing glasses for years to not wearing glasses still leaves behind the feeling of wearing glasses.
* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'':
** Kim:
*** Always walks with his hands behind his back.
*** When he extinguishes his cigarettes, he puts them out on the sole of his shoe.
*** He will take out his notebook and scribble in it when thinking or tuning out the Detective's annoying behaviour.
*** He has a distinctive way of [[FascinatingEyebrow raising his eyebrow]] in a way that completely overpowers the Detective's free will.
*** Whenever mentally preparing to do something that proves he's NotSoAboveItAll, he pops his collar, as if to get into character. In ''The Final Cut'', he also raises the pitch of his voice in popped-collar mode, sounding more youthful.
** The Detective sometimes uses 'fuck' without a definite article, as if to imply it's an abstract force ("I want to have fuck with you", "I don't give fuck"). He tends to grab his head a lot, on account of his apocalyptic hangover, and rub his chin (clean-shaven between his [[GoodHairEvilHair 70s Cop Muttonchops]]).
* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'':
** Laharl tends to have his arms folded across his chest, no matter what his mood is at the time. This applies both to his in-game sprite and his cutscene portraits.
** Valvatorez from ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'' likes to sweep his cape whenever he is being dramatic. [[LargeHam Which is often]].
* Several of the cast of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' have at least one of these. Josephine frequently punctuates the air with her quill while she's talking. Cullen, when embarrassed or uncomfortable (and particularly during his romance arc), will do the HandBehindHead gesture to rub the back of his neck. Dorian tends to prop one elbow on the opposite arm and touch his chin when thinking or pontificating. Leliana often puts her hands behind her back, which is a bit of FridgeBrilliance considering that she's the spymaster and is ensuring that her hands reveal nothing of her thoughts.
* ''Videogame/{{Elsword}}:'' All characters will do something unique to each character if you activate an emoticon. There are also purchasable idle poses for each characters that'll make them hold their weapons in certain ways. That's on top of their AssKickingPose and VictoryPose, which can be different for their different {{Prestige Class}}es, showing their divergent developments.
* In ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'', Allegretto tends to be very expressive with his hands when talking.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Edgar tends to wag his finger a lot. It's even his spell-casting pose.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' relies on this a lot due to the fact that the stylised look of the game meant [[GoingThroughTheMotions a repertoire of gestures]] was the best way to convey character personality. Many of the little gestures developed this way got carried over to less stylised depictions of the characters in their various sequels and cameos.
*** Cloud's very [[MilkingTheGiantCow posey and theatrical]], but in a consciously cool sort of way. He flips his hair, strikes a particular pose with one hand on his hip and his leg forward, and does a very distinctive over-the-top full-body shrug. He also tends to grab his mouth and tap his foot while thinking, and scratch the back of his head. When freaking out he grabs his head with both hands and shakes.
*** Barret loves pumping his forearm for emphasis.
*** Aerith likes to take the CoyGirlishFlirtPose a lot.
*** Tifa likes to stretch her arms and flaps them up and down when she's irritated.
*** Yuffie shadow-boxes when showing off.
*** Rufus flips his hair a lot.
*** Sephiroth has a distinctive laugh where he will slump his shoulders & laugh with such force that he started to shake, a laugh he shares with his father, Hojo. He would also raise and spread his arms, and look up at the sky while giving speeches.
*** Hojo walks with his hands clasped behind his back.
*** A rather odd example occurs when near the beginning of the game, Cloud has to engage in a contest with body builders, doing the most squats in a time limit without screwing up. He has to practice the motions first, then start the competition (and could possibly lose miserably.) Later, one might notice Cloud loves doing squats effortlessly, usually in flashbacks. [[spoiler:This is an extremely subtle hint that things may not be as they seem. As a result of this,]] Zack has this tic too, it's his preferred workout method but he even does it when he's not working out. [[spoiler:The flashbacks are all about Zack, with Cloud replacing him as he believes he's Zack.]]
*** Kadaj, of ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'', has a tendency to sort of twitch his face if things aren't going his way.
*** While not exactly this trope, Sephiroth never blinks, and has extremely shallow breathing animations, even while tossing buildings at Cloud. He also has a distinctively light, acrobatic way of moving that he didn't in the game. He also never lets go of or sheathes his sword, which is odd, because he was always leaving it behind in the original game.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'':
*** As in most other games, all of the characters have a defined pose they do when initiating/ending a fight which shows of their individuality. Squall will rest his Gunblade on his shoulder and swing it a couple of times and cooly turn his back against the opponent. Zell warms up before a fight and loudly celebrates shaking his fists in the air after winning. Quistis, being the elegant, collected one, lashes with her whip going into a fray and afterwards stretches and relaxes. Selphie, the spirited and spunky girl, throws her arms in the air before resting her Nunchaku on her shoulders and doing a sassy pose. Irvine, in keeping with his cool sniper façade, twirls his rifle around and cockily salutes with his hat, whereas Rinoa, the high-class rebel girl who is new to fighting, seems a bit nervous and sighs in relief then the battle is over. Pretty much every action each character does, like casting a spell or even sitting, will be animated in a particular way to showcase their personality.
*** Squall adjusts his weight. A lot. Standing still on the World Map lets you watch him constantly adjusting his standing position. He also facepalms. A lot. He enters battle with his Gunblade resting over his shoulder and ends it by doing the same. Later on, in Dissidia, this becomes his default stance. As a verbal tic, "Whatever" and "..." comprise a sizable portion of his "dialogue". Finally, when Squall is in a critical situation such as facing a tough decision, he tends to throw his arm horizontally across his face VERY dramatically.
*** Selphie tilts her head to the side several times, tends to dance in place, pumps her fist in the air and will occasionally pull up one leg, then the other, like she's checking the bottom of her shoes. She will also throw her arms down to her sides when arguing, and trust her to immediately lay down on the nearest bed available, spreading her arms wide like she owns the place.
*** Rinoa has her trademark "Point towards the sky" pose. She also will brush her hair off her forehead repeatedly and tends to squat and almost hug her legs when feeling vulnerable. She's prone to "cute" gestures, such as dangling her feet when she sits.
*** Zell shadowboxes. Like, a LOT, whenever he grows bored, which drives Seifer up the wall. He also punches the ground at times (which is actually one of his Limit Break finisher moves) and most of his gestures are very exaggerated to showcase his loud persona.
*** Irvine, who tries hard to look like a cool, detached cowboy-sniper, will typically tend to strike cool poses, touch his hat and take aim at things with an imaginary pistol. He also sways his hands around, similar to Jack Sparrow.
*** Quistis' gestures showcase her smart-elegant characterization. She will only laugh when putting her hand up to her face to cover he mouth, for example, and when she sits, she'll do it like her legs are glued together, the way a "proper lady" in Japanese culture would.
*** Seifer, the cocky jerk anti-villain, will wave his Gunblade around at the first opportunity he gets and is always pointing at people with it. We're talking cutscenes, not battle here, mind you.
*** Even characters who don't get as much screen time have them. Laguna has a limp that manifests itself only when nervous (usually around the object of his affections) and rubs the back of his head a lot, Kiros, a cool, reserved guy will cross his arms over his chest and Ward will wave his hand in front of his face to indicate something it's a bad idea, a character trait he shares with Raijin. His partner, Fujin, only speaks in one-word sentences, despite showing on occasion that she's capable of speaking normally. She'll also throw her hand to the side a lot.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'':
*** Zidane bends over slightly to scratch his butt, which makes him seem very monkey-like when combined with the fact that he also has a tail.
*** It may just be a talking animation that translates poorly, but Quina appears to sniff the air quite often.
*** Vivi will fiddle with his hat when nervous.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', Emet-Selch has two, his tendency to perform potent feats of magic with an audible (through gloves no less) BadassFingerSnap, and a distinctive dismissive wave when leaving the scene. This serves to identify him [[spoiler: when in 5.3 Elidibus banishes your character and their party into the Rift, and they use the crystal of Azem to summon aid , despite a generic Amaurotine model being used, the finger snap when the party is summoned back into battle, and the hand wave as he fades away make it obvious who it is.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': Noctis likes to put his hands on his hips and bend from side to side at the waist while 'listening' to other people talk.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest'': Benjamin has a notable habit of [[AsideGlance shrugging at the screen]] whenever he encounters something -- or someone -- weird, or when the Old Man gives him an instruction with no information. (So basicially the whole game.)
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'':
** Recurring character Anna always, no matter what, will have a finger resting on her cheek or chin.
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Three Houses]]'' has a few of these:
*** Byleth often gestures by holding out their arm, bent at the elbow and palm out, when conversing with someone, since they [[HeroicMime don't talk.]]
*** Claude always twirls an arrow before he fires it.
*** Sylvain tends to hold his hands behind his head.
*** Felix puts a hand on his hip when speaking to people.
*** Marianne is usually clasping her hands together and keeps her head down when she talks to people to convey her crippling shyness.
*** Ferdinand tends to place a palm to one side of his head when talking, [[FacePalm especially if things get dumb.]]
*** Lorenz tends to hold his hand up to his face.
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear''. Sol Badguy popping his neck.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': The G-Man has some very noticeable ones. He straightens his (always perfectly straight) tie, and brushes non-existent dust off his suit. It gives the impression that he knows humans have Character Tics so decided to imitate a few without knowing their actual purpose. That or he's just a NeatFreak. He also [[SmugSmiler smirks]] with only one side of his mouth, occasionally combining this with FascinatingEyebrow.
* ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptunia'': Histoire plays with this trope in the original game, as she likes to use emoticons when she speaks [[spoiler:in her fairy form]]. To name a few in [[VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2 Mk-2]], Nisa tends to strike a heroic pose now and then while speaking, Compa touches her finger to her cheek when thinking, and IF facepalms when distressed.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'': Claude sways and nods almost absent-mindedly when listening to someone, as if in exchange for [[SilentProtagonist being able to talk]].
* ''VideoGame/KillerIsDead'': Mondo Zappa has a habit of slicking his hair back with his left ([[ArtificialLimbs cybernetic]]) hand, usually before starting his missions. [[spoiler: This is what cues the player in that the mysterious figure using Dark Matter to rebuild the mansion on the moon is a post FaceHeelTurn Mondo.]]
* ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters'': Ryuji Yamazaki often puts one of his hands (blame AmbidextrousSprite) in his pocket, a tic he took from his late mentor-in-crime when he was younger, even during fights. He only attacks with his pocket-hand for his stronger attacks, such as pulling a knife from said pocket.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** In the series, there would be at least one scene per-game where Sora would place his hands behind his head. It's quite common in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', where he does this in almost every single world (where his form is unaltered).
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': Ventus is also prone to do this, [[spoiler:which partly justifies this trope for Sora]].
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Each of the [[LegacyCharacter Links]] has their own quirks, to set them apart from one another. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' Link have a habit of brandishing the things he drinks in front of him and cocking a hand on his hip and swaying while listening to someone; ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' Link has his mouth in an O almost constantly; and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' Link twirls his sword when targeting enemies.
** Ghirahim from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' really likes to wiggle his fingers around a lot, even when he's not MilkingTheGiantCow.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** [[WrenchWench Tali'Zorah]] has a habit of wringing her hands when nervous. Also, quarians in general (if Veetor is any indication) seem to have a habit of bouncing on their toes when idle.
** The Council as a whole have a habit where two of them look to the third; if that third person nods, they agree with Shepard's plan, with refusal following from the [[CommanderContrarian vastly more common]] head-shake. Shepard does the same thing with Anderson, and is also prone to doing a ReverseArmFold when receiving orders.
** Shepard [[HandBehindHead rubs the back of his neck or scratch her head]] while looking away whenever they feel nervous or embarrassed. For example, when Niftu Cal claims he has a "biotic god" he states that he "began to smell his greatness". Shepard can only respond with this gesture.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX'': X has a distinctive gesture of crossing his arms in front of his face, then throwing them back. This is usually associated with him switching armors, but he often does this for dramatic effect, notably whenever [[AssKickingPose he appears as a boss.]] In ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' he gains a new tic, reacting to nearly every situation by planting his feet and pointing his ArmCannon.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': Revolver Ocelot has such a distinctive pistol-twirling motion that Creator/HideoKojima once didn't bother to refer to him by name in an interview -- he merely imitated the twirl.
** Also, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' he has a hand gesture similar to Star Trek's Picard.
** Otacon pushing his glasses up at the bridge of his nose as a nervous tic is so persistent that he makes the motion even when he's not wearing glasses for the majority of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''[='=] fourth Act.
* ''VideoGame/MoshiMonsters'':
** Captain Squirk often bobs up and down and moves his arms as though he's dancing.
** Baz Barnacle often scratches his neck and spits out sand.
** Crazy Bill often sidesteps and swivels his eye.
** Zack Binspin plays with his hair.
** Dr. Strangeglove strokes his moustache.
** Frau Nau Brownkau swings her arms when she walks, and folds her arms while standing.
** Lady Goo Goo dances by bobbing up and down with her legs together and/or waving her arms.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Red seems to have a character tic of adjusting his hat to cover his eyes before a battle. He does this many times, including his ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver HGSS]]'' sprite, a ''[[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon Trading Card Game]]'' statue, and the first [[WhatCouldHaveBeen trailer for]] ''Battle Revolution''.
** Hau from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' moves his arms when excited.
** Guzma from the same game crouches during Pokemon battles, whereas most trainers are usually standing. Also, if you examine his chair in the Team Skull hideout, the description box states the arms are worn, as if someone has been pounding their fists on it a lot.
** Several [=NPCs=] in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' have a tic. Hop umps his hands when excited, Sonia twirls a strand of hair when thinking, etc.
* ''VideoGame/Portal2'': Wheatley. The most obvious is his eye sparking after [=GLaDOS=] crushed him, but he also waves his handles around a lot while talking, like a human would with their hands. Oh, and the side-to-side blink whenever he's self conscious, the loopy spin thing he whenever he's happy, relieved, or telling you to turn around, the flaring-out thing [[spoiler: when he's in [=GLaDOS=]'s body]] he'll do when he's angry...
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': Wesker often slicks back his hair with his hands. He also has two different ways of [[AdjustingYourGlasses adjusting his sunglasses]]: sometimes he will push them up by the bridge with two fingers, but other times he has a more unique way of adjusting them where he holds them by one lens with two fingers (one finger on either side of the lens, and sometimes with his thumb on the bottom). The second way is especially noticeable in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', as seen [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/412Yqfyx%2BRL.jpg here]]
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** The protagonist of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' really likes putting his hands in his pockets - it fits the IneffectualLoner[=/=]EmoTeen vibe his design gives off. He's seen walking like this more often than not in cutscenes, he'll walk around like this in gameplay [[IdleAnimation if left idle for a few seconds]], his portrait in the pause menu shows him doing it, and in the post-battle {{Victory Pose}}s, he's almost always seen slipping one hand into his pocket after flourishing his weapon. The full version of the game's theme song, "Burn My Dread" (which seems to be told from his perspective), even points this out:
--->''"Voiceless town, tapping feet,\\
I clench my fist, in pockets tight."''
** Artwork for ''VideoGame/Persona4'' frequently shows the protagonist pushing his glasses up from the bridge of his nose, but in the game proper, he only does it as a victory pose. [[Anime/Persona4TheAnimation The anime adaptation]] gave him a new one - see that folder for details.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Like the ''Persona 3'' protagonist, the ''P5'' hero almost constantly has his hands in his pockets when standing around and walking outside of dungeons (though unlike the ''P3'' protagonist, he takes them out whenever he starts running). He'll also regularly push up his glasses or play with a lock of his hair during his IdleAnimation or in cutscenes. While in dungeons in his PhantomThief garb, he also habitually tightens his gloves to the point it's part of his VictoryPose, idle animation, and running animation.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'': Sonic has a couple of tics: his smirk with accompanying finger-wag, his cocky nose-rubbing, and placing his hands at his sides while impatiently tapping his foot, all of which established his "[[MascotWithAttitude Dude with the 'Tude]]" persona. Metal Sonic has a tendency to mimic these, being his EvilDoppelganger.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSizedFamily'': Virginia always holds her hands to her sides when she's standing up, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness unless she's sick]].
* ''VideoGame/SurvivorFire'': The little girl (the protagonist's sister) walks with a skip.
* Both protagonists from ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' have a habit of touching their hair; Rhys runs his fingers through it, and Fiona brushes her side bang out of her eyes.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'': [[TheHero Asbel]] tends to do a quick HandBehindHead where he quickly ruffles his hair, [[TheIngenue Sophie]] tends to cock her head to the side, [[TeamMom Cheria]] angrily leans forward when scolding someone and has a habit of placing her hands placed in front of her when walking. [[GenkiGirl Pascal]] does this... rather weird gesture where she raises her hand looking like she's falling sideways before she catches herself and stands like normal and tends to answer with "Y'okay".
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
** Lloyd often stands with a hand resting on the pommel of his sword when relaxed.
** Raine will often cross her arms when she's about to deliver a lecture - especially if it's about history or ruins.
** Sheena puts a hand on her hip when speaking a lot and she's also fond of GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger.
* Sagume Kishin, from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', is a Goddess[=/=]Amanojaku hybrid. Amanojaku are beings that exemplify BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad, they live to be hated by the entire world and are {{Consummate Liar}}s. Sagume, being a Goddess, do not quite share these traits, but is instead ''literally'' [[CosmicPlaything hated by the entire world itself]] and reality warps itself in order to turn everything she says into lies. Consequently, Sagume is TheQuietOne and is seldom, even in fanart, seen without a hand covering her mouth or fingers touching her lips.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'': [[PlayerCharacter The Fatebinder]] can make [[DeathGlare [=[Glare silently.]=]]] their tic; the more often they do it, the more often others will comment. Tunon in particular finds trying to silently out-glare his WhiteMaskOfDoom an [[BerserkButton infuriating insult]].
* ''VideoGame/TheUrinalGame'': The guy in the green shirt always has one hand on his hip and the old guy somehow pees with ''both'' hands on his hips.
* VideoGame/TheWalkingDead:
** Clementine develops a habit of hugging AJ whenever they're given a calm moment or after a tense situation.
** AJ rubs his knuckles/fingers (knuckles-side) together at times when he's nervous or inquiring about something. One of the earliest examples can be seen when he and Clem are inspecting the tire swing at the abandoned rail yard at the beginning of Season 4, Episode 1.
** Louis has a habit of pulling at the collar of his coat, usually after telling a joke or otherwise when he's in a good mood.
** Tenn can very frequently be seen to fidget with his fingers, particularly when he's nervous.
* Due to limited animations, certain side characters in ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza 0}}'' have very distinctive poses that they strike frequently, such as the Mr. Shakedowns leaning in and bobbing their head in a [[HairTriggerTemper "What did you just say to me!?"]] fashion, or the Mr. Libido pelvic thrusting dance. Awano also has a very distinctive facial tic in cutscenes where the left side of his mouth turns up into a condescending sneer.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': All characters have their own poses and gestures, and Phoenix's dramatic finger point is among the most distinctive. The new prosecutor from ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Klavier Gavin, even ''air guitars'' when things are going particularly well for him.
** This is actually a key gameplay mechanic in ''Apollo Justice''; if you have no evidence to refute a testimony that is obviously false, chances are the witness is playing with her ring, or he's sweating profusely, or something similar; Apollo can "Perceive" these and call out these nervous twitches by way of an incredible talent to read people.
** Phoenix's most famous tic is his GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger pose, but one of other poses is also very noticeable: his nervous one, where he's hunched over, eyes are half closed, teeth gritted and sweat going down the side of his face like a waterfall. He does it so much, it's even used more than his standard standing pose. The main reason this is notable is that in the sequel, Apollo Justice has his own versions of all of Phoenix' tics, including the nervous pose, but he doesn't do it nearly as much.
** Athena also has her fair share of tics, but one actually stands out as the developers have ShownTheirWork: whenever she enters a HeroicBSOD, she ''[[http://aceattorney.fandom.com/wiki/File:Athena_Cykes_-_breakdown.gif covers her ears]]''. This is actually a known habit of patients with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperacusis hyperacousis]], AKA overly sensitive hearing, which they do to block out overbearing sounds. Her other tics include her playing with her earring when she's thinking, and rubbing her ponytail whenever she's embarrassed.
** Klavier Gavin, as mentioned above, air guitars. But much more present is his finger snapping. He nearly constantly does this, as if listening to an invisible beat.
** Kristoph Gavin, when contradicted or feeling aggressive, tilts his head forward so that [[ScaryShinyGlasses light flashes across his spectacles]]. Apollo finds out when perceiving him at the end of the game that it's actually a cover for a DeathGlare.
** Manfred Von Karma from the first game folds his arms a lot, eyes closed and squeezing his sleeves while doing so. The first thing we see of his daughter Franziska in the sequel is the same exact pose, causing the first impression to be that of uncanny resemblance from her father. Phoenix also notices something else
---> "Of all the things to inherit from her father, why did it have to be that smarmy smile?"
*** Also used to great effect in the third game. In the first, Manfred Von Karma had another particular trait of sticking his arm out and wagging his finger obnoxiously. The third game has a case that [[spoiler:takes place in the past, with Phoenix' mentor Mia being the Defense. The opposition is a younger Edgeworth, who has all his familiar poses and tics, and... his mentor's obnoxious finger wag, showing the great influence he had on him.]]
** Von Karma also has one more significant tic: putting his hand on his shoulder when nervous. It seems like just another nervous pose until you learn that [[spoiler:he got shot in the shoulder from a gun that accidentally fired. He used the same gun to kill Edgeworth's father, but just so the evidence that he's the killer isn't found, he didn't remove it surgically and it remained lodged in his shoulder for fifteen years.]]
*** When von Karma appears as the rival for the flashback segment of case 3 of ''[[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Gyakuten Kenji 2]]'', all of his animations are the same as game 1, with the exception of one: [[spoiler:his nervous sprite. It's the same as his original game 1 sprite, but he doesn't clutch his shoulder. The case is ''before'' the DL-6 Incident, when he got shot in the shoulder.]]
*** Franziska has a very similar nervous sprite. Though it's not as obvious at first glance since she grabs ''both'' shoulders.
** Taken UpToEleven with the Phantom, a MasterOfDisguise who can flawlessly impersonate anyone in the setting, right down their tics. It turns out that he does have one unique to himself, [[spoiler: which is reaching for his gun holster. This clues Apollo in that he was the shooter at the Cosmos Space Center]].
* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' has several:
** Shuichi touches his finger to his chin when thinking.
** Miu twiddles with her hair when flustered or nervous. She's also fond of GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger.
** Himiko pulls the brim of her hat over her eyes when she's uncomfortable.
** Maki bites her thumb when thinking. She also plays with her twin-tails when embarrassed.
** Kaito likes to give a thumbs-up when he agrees with someone (usually Shuichi) or punching both fists together when feeling pumped up.
** Kokichi holds his index finger to his lips when he's toying with someone.
** Tenko often gestures with her hands held flat and fingers straight together, since she's a martial artist.
* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'': The girls in the club have their own tics.
** Sayori leans forward slightly and [[ShyFingerTwiddling pokes her forefingers together]], especially when she is embarrassed or pouts about something (such as when she calls the player character a "meanie").
** Natsuki turns her head to the side, especially whenever she cries.
** Yuri holds her hands behind her back (possibly in a subconscious attempt to hide that she cuts herself) or places her hands, usually her left, protectively over her chest (emphasising her shyness). She also tends to nervously look to the side while fiddling with her hair.
** Monika occasionally [[CoyGirlishFlirtPose leans forward and holds her hands behind her back]]. She also [[DeclarativeFinger raises her finger]], especially when she says her catchphrase: "Okay, everyone!"
* ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'':
** [[VoiceForTheVoiceless Misha]] often translates what she says into sign language. This would normally not be out of the ordinary, as she usually does it for the benefit of her deaf-mute best friend, but she often does it even when the only one nearby who understands it is Misha herself.
** [[ShrinkingViolet Hanako]] often covers the scarred side of her face during conversations.
* When taking or making phone calls, Seiji from ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'' has a noted habit of stepping away from others, since said calls are usually of a morally dubious nature that he doesn't want to be overheard.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Alastor tilts his head when talking to people - at one point he turns his head ''180 degrees'' when he's watching Niffty cleaning.
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': The titular character has a tendency to twitch his head back and forth whenever he's speaking.
* ''WebAnimation/NoEvil'': If Kitty/Kajortoq is angry or frustrated, one of her ears will twitch.
* ''WebAnimation/SimonsCat'':
** Both the cat and the kitten will point to their open mouths when hungry.
** [[SitcomArchNemesis Jazz]], due to being grumpy, scowls a lot.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'':
** Grace has a habit of holding her hands in front of her, a bit like a squirrel. Grace's squirrel hands make her recognisable even when she's transformed into a duplicate of someone else.
** Also, several characters will touch their index fingers together when nervous or embarrassed.
* ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName'': Lamont giggles nervously when he's nervous.
* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'': The PhonyPsychic Arataka Reigen is shown in the anime to wave his hands around wildly before making a gesture, possibly to play himself as more mysterious or powerful than he actually is.
* ''Webcomic/MurphysLaw'': Radic has a habit of holding her chin when in thought.
* ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'': Tempo tends to place her right hand palm-first over her chest when talking, and to stand with her arms crossed and her left foot placed in front of and angled with respect to her right.
* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'': Most characters will raise an index to their faces when thinking aloud.
* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': Zoe the resident ShrinkingViolet will often hold her hands together in front of her body, particularly when she feels anxious. Fans have compared her stance to that of a [[https://i.redd.it/e1e9hld45t821.jpg baby pangolin]].
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': Bunbun has a habit of cleaning himself during conversations, particularly ones he's apathetic to.
* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Emil has a habit of ruffling his hair whenever he's insecure about his situation.
* ''Webcomic/{{Sunstone}}'':
** Lisa from this BDSM webcomic has a habit of biting her lip when she's turned on (or if she [[PottyEmergency badly needs to pee]]). Ally, her friend and mistress, ''loves'' it.
** Occasionally we see Ally rubbing her wrists when she's anxious, [[MyGreatestFailure there's a reason for this.]]
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Novik chewing his thumbnails.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* ''LetsPlay/{{Pwnage}}'': Damian has a habit of slapping his desk or whatever’s around him when angry. Apparently it comes from Kyle.
-->'''Kyle''': Nobody-nobody knows that that comes out of us being in college and you saying weird shit and me slamming my hand on the desk to tell you to shut up, cause [[EnragedByIdiocy I was so fucking tired of being in the room]] [[CloudCuckooLander a raving lunatic that babbles like a batshit idiot.]]
* ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'': The protagonist has a pronounced [[TwitchyEye eye tic]]. It occurs so often, it becomes [[HollywoodTourettes a Tourette-like tic]].
* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick'': When she's annoyed and is trying to find the right words to say, the titular Chick talks with her hands a lot more.
* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'': The Critic has a tendency to pucker his mouth when he's thinking something over.
* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': Spoony, thanks to his LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/Phantasmagoria2'', now involuntarily slaps himself whenever he makes a terrible pun.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'':
** One of the things that carry over from [[MeaningfulRename Powder to Jinx]] is a habit of biting her lips.
** Her sister [[BoxingBattler Vi]] has a habit of rolling her left shoulder before or during a fight.
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' has a couple:
** Bob tends to talk to inanimate objects, especially if drunk or tired.
** Linda's eye twitches when she's boiling over with anger, a trait passed on to her daughter Louise.
** Tina has a distinctive run in that she never moves her arms.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'', Season 1 "[[Recap/CentralParkS1E5DogSprayAfternoon Dog Spray Afternoon]]", Owen has a habit of rubbing his hands on his shorts when he's anxious, and, coincidentally, the tagger has a habit of doing the exact same thing, too, which is how Molly is able to identify the tagger.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CharlieAndLola'', Lola walks hunched over when she's sad.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'': Kiwi, the GreekChorus of the show, will typically punctuate a sentence by flapping his arms.
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
** Whenever Eddy is annoyed, disgusted, or just plain bored, his eyebrows would be shown connected.
** The trio also has distinct ways of running; Ed sort of losing control of his upper body (causing it to hang backwards as he runs with his arms extended), Edd knitting his arms and back straight, and Eddy doubled over with his arms extended (and more often than not, his big discolored tongue sticking out).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
** [[Creator/CarlosAlazraqui Mr. Crocker]] goes into violent spasms whenever he says '''"FAIRY GODPARENTS!!!"''' He'll also sometimes spasm whenever he says other things as well. For example, in the episode ''Mr. Right'', he has a spasm while saying "HAVE A NICE DAY!"
** Poof either waves his arms or bounces when he's super happy or excited.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Glenn Quagmire usually bobs his head when he's aroused by something.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
** The Author/[[spoiler:Ford Pines]] likes to keep his hands folded behind his back. This is because [[spoiler:[[AllOfTheOtherReindeer he was frequently bullied as a child because of his polydactyly]], and is used to hiding them]].
** Shown in 'Sock Opera', Dipper chews pens when he is frustrated, and eventually starts chewing his own shirt.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': Arnold's cousin Arnie after he's done talking, will snort and then blink one eye at a time.
* In ''WesternAnimation/HorridHenry'', Henry's cousin Vera [[ProneToVomiting throws up a lot]], so much that he calls her "Vomiting Vera".
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'':
** Whenever Stumpy gets annoyed or confused, his neck starts spasming while he yells random gibberish in a Tourette's-style tic.
** A RunningGag in the show is that whenever Stumpy gets stressed out, he bites something (or someone) near him.
** On some occasions where someone else around him does something even dumber or weirder than usual, [[SurroundedByIdiots Mr. Cat]]'s eye usually [[TwitchyEye twitches]] while he stares slight open-mouthed.
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' has a few: Kim's "puppy-dog pout", Rufus's "groggy blink", and a couple others.
* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': Hank Hill rubs the back of his neck when he's nervous or embarrassed. His older Japanese half-brother Junichiro shares this tic.
* ''WesternAnimation/LittlePrincess'':
** Princess circles her feet when she lies. She also skips when she's happy.
** The Chef sings and hums while busy.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'':
** Leni walks with her hands in front of her.
** Lucy [[StealthHiBye often appears out of nowhere]]. She also frowns a lot.
** Clyde [[HyperventilationBag breathes into a bag]] when he's nervous. He also used to act like a robot, get a {{Nosebleed}}, and occasionally pass out when he saw Lori due to having a crush on her.
** Lynn Sr. pumps his fist sideways when he's excited, [[FaintInShock passes out when very nervous]], and sings while doing chores.
** Lisa also frowns a lot, though not as often as Lucy.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'': Melissa, Dr. Zone, and Agent Cavendish are prone to raising one eyebrow.
* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'': For Moral, one word sums it up: ''[[LoudGulp Gulp]]''
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** The nerdy obsessive-compulsive Twilight Sparkle has a few, slightly bigger ones when she's panicking. She'll pace around, and sometimes TeleportSpam around the room (usually at least once she'll appear right in the face of whoever she's talking to/at).
** Rainbow Dash's tic is being in the air at all times. She's rarely seen with all fours on the ground.
** Pinkie Pie bounces around when she walks (it's called "pronking" or "stotting" when actual animals such as horses do it).
** Apple Bloom's cousin Babs frequently blows her bangs out of her eyes. Initially, because she had been bullied for her lack of a cutie mark, she would nervously cover her blank flank with her tail at the mere mention of marks.
** [[AllThereInTheScript Ms. Peachbottom]], from "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E12GamesPoniesPlay Games Ponies Play]]", is extremely claustrophobic, and whenever her phobia kicks in starts stretching and "limbering up" in an attempt to distract herself.
** Doctor Hooves, as revealed in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife Slice of Life]]", will violently shake his head back and forth for a second or so whenever he needs to focus.
** Starlight Glimmer's frequent bouts of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pqsjp-omM0 nervous, forced laughter]] have become noticeable. She also tends to emit a sarcastic "yay" when she's not overly enthusiastic about something.
* ''WesternAnimation/PegPlusCat'':
** When Peg is very excited or scared, she waves her arms and legs about. Also, whenever she announces the "big problem", she will stare right at the screen and hold her arms to her sides.
** When Cat wants Peg to snap out of her "totally freaking out" scenes, he will hold his paws up in a similar way to someone saying, "Do not enter".
** Baby Fox likes to blow raspberries.
* ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'':
** Whenever George or Richard cries, [[OcularGushers their tears squirt out like a sprinkler]] and they always make the same noise.
** Rebecca and her mother blush whenever they mention or do things related to carrots, since carrots are a huge GuiltyPleasure for both of them.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Blink and you'll miss it, but Candace blinks erratically when excited (to the point of being seen as a psycho) when she believes the boys are about to get busted.
* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': When Jet walks, he does so with his elbows out, as if he's marching.
* From ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', Gretchen has a habit of adjusting her glasses during a few scenes.
* ''WesternAnimation/RoswellConspiracies'': General Rinaker has a set of keys that he constantly twirls.
* ALL of the characters in any of Creator/SethMacFarlane's shows, including [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed celebrities]], often raise their hand(s) at chest level. Possibly homage to the same tic that is used in several Creator/HannaBarbera shows that Seth grew up watching.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Mr. Burns has one of the most obvious ones: his tendency to hold his hands in front of him like a praying mantis [[FingerTenting with his fingers steepled]] (often as he says his {{catchphrase}}, "Eexxxxcellent...").
** Homer waves his fingers back and forth when he's excited or worried.
** Lisa stands with her hands on her hips and her legs apart a lot.
** Ned Flanders often holds one hand behind his back. He also tends to do this gesture similar to punching the air, but sideways.
** Marge has a specific frustrated growl.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** Stan pinches his nose (or, rather, [[TheNoseless where his nose]] ''[[TheNoseless should]]'' [[TheNoseless be]]) when he's irritated.
** Cartman tends to point with both hands, especially when [[ScrewYouGuysImGoingHome leaving]].
** Kenny would often tug on the strings of his hood when he's scared.
** Butters tends to wring his hands or rub his knuckles together when worried.
** Timmy [[ContemplatingYourHands contemplates his hands]].
** The red-haired goth kid [[spoiler: Pete]] is often seen jerking his head sideways to flip his bangs out of his face.
** [[NervousWreck Tweek]] has a whole host of them- constant twitching, tugging at his shirt, biting his lip, pulling his hair out, and [[VerbalTic screaming in the middle of his own sentences.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Star Butterfly's tic is to put her own MagicWand to her mouth, as if about to chew on it. Though she does it less often in season 2, and no longer by season 3.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** Pearl tends to be very expressive with her hands, especially when she's excited.
*** Whenever Steven is confronted with shocking information about Homeworld or the Diamonds, Pearl covers her mouth as if she wants to tell him something, but is trying to prevent herself. This is because [[spoiler:she was obeying Rose Quartz's final order as Pink Diamond to never speak about her faking her death]].
** Ruby throws her hands in the air and holds her head when she's angry or frustrated.
** Amethyst sometimes picks her nose when she's bored.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':
** Robin's habit of punching his palm whenever he gets angry happens so often that if he took his glove off, viewers might see permanent knuckle prints there. Amusingly, this trait of his is [[MythologyGag carried over from the]] original ''Series/Batman1966'' series.
** Raven tends to pull up her hood when she's nervous or uncomfortable.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': One of the many tricks used to help characters stand out is to give them unique talking styles or quirks. For example:
** The Insecticon Shrapnel repeats the last word of a sentence, sentence.
** The Autobot Warpath has a Tourette's Syndrome-like tendency to intersperce what he's saying with onomatopaeia like "Kablam!", "Zowee!" or "Pow!"
** Powerglide usually yells, "And awaaaaaaay we go!" as he takes to the sky.
** The Constructicon Mixmaster originally didn't have a tic in their introductory episode, but when they next appear he sometimes repeats parts of words. "Right, right, right, Meg-Meg-Megatron!"
* ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'': Wallace often waves his fists when he's excited.
* ''WesternAnimation/WhatsWithAndy'': When [[BigSisterBully Jen]] is angry (which is a lot), she makes her hands into fists, tenses up her shoulders, and does a high-pitched growl.
[[/folder]]

** Grimmjow comments to Orihime that Ulquiorra has a habit of striking "prey" in the same location as his own hollow hole. He speculates that Ulquiorra does it subconsciously and may not even be aware of what he's doing.

* In ''Fanfic/SafeAnchorage'' Jeyne Poole smooths or fiddles with her skirt when she's nervous. Given her [[RapeAsBackstory canon past]] this is most of the time.

** Stan pinches his nose (or, rather, where his nose ''should'' be) when he's irritated.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** The trio also has distinct ways of running, Double D knitting his arms and back straight, Eddy doubled over with his arms extended (and more often than not, his big discolored tongue sticking out), and Ed sort of loses control of his upper body, causing it to hang backwards as he runs, his arms extended.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'':
** Lurch speaks... very... slowly. He also groans a lot, whether he's annoyed, [[LamePunReaction doesn't like a pun]], ''does'' like a pun, or sometimes for no reason at all.
** Morticia takes very small steps (though that may simply be due to her tight dress). She also tends to stand with her arms bent and at the sides.
** Uncle Fester has a crooked smile.
** Morticia's sister Ophelia lifts a leg whenever someone pulls out one of the flowers that grow on her head.
* ''Series/AllyMcBeal'': John Cage, a brilliant but weird lawyer, had lots of tics, along with strange personal habits. The ones that were mentioned and exhibited most often were his whistling nose (he could whistle it when he wanted but at times he couldn't stop it whistling) and preparing his closing arguments barefoot.
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'': Buster has a tendency to rub his hands over his ears, usually when he is nervous. So he essentially [[ShrinkingViolet perpetually rubs at his ears]].
* ''Series/AustinAndAlly'': Ally chews her hair when she gets nervous.
* On ''Series/BabylonFive'', both Londo and G'Kar had a tendency to tug on their lapels when giving speeches or when generally being pompous. Possibly a coincidence, but it also served as a subliminal reminder that the characters are more alike than they'd like to admit.
* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' has Bill Adama's habit, when making speeches to the whole crew, of holding a telephone handset upside down like a one-way microphone with his hand gripping the ear end. Later on in the show other characters started copying it.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Leonard has a habit of wringing his hands when he's nervous, usually when he's talking to women.
* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'':
** As well as his TwitchyEye, Captain Darling off ''Blackadder Goes Fourth'' also has a habit of squinting his left eye. Not to mention Blackadder's overpronunciation of his B's (due to Creator/RowanAtkinson's stammer) and Melchett's bleating.
** In ''Blackadder II'', Queenie has a habit of shrieking like a little girl either when delighted or angry to fit in with her spoiled-brat character type.
* British educational documentaries presented for the BBC by Dr Jonathan Miller, such as ''The Body in Question'' and ''Your Life in Their Hands'' were made compulsive viewing by Miller's vastly exaggerated hand movements when speaking. So much so that radio comedy show ''Radio/TheBurkissWay'' opened their sound parody with
--> We now present ''Their Hands in Your Life'', presented by Doctor Jonathan Miller, the only man whose hands are too loud for the deaf.
* ''Series/BostonLegal'': Jerry stomps, purrs, hops, and makes popping noises when he gets upset; in later episodes he pulls out a wooden cigarette as a crutch. This is, of course, ignoring his characteristic hands-on-your-knees style of walking and general social awkwardness.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Giles had a tic related to his glasses. He would [[TheGlassesComeOff take them off or put them on]] with essentially ''every'' emotional "beat" (eventually, this was {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when Buffy worked out he did this to avoid having to see whatever was going on).
** Warren has a distinctive downward chopping gesture that he makes with both hands when he's annoyed. [[spoiler:This is used for a meaningful moment when Willow is being taken over by him in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E13TheKillerInsideMe The Killer Inside Me]]".]]
** The Buffy eye-roll, given whenever someone (usually Xander or Spike) does something comically annoying.
* ''Series/ChanceInAMillion'': The titular Tom Chance would have a tendency to pause in conversation to drink an entire glass of beer in one gulp.
* ''Series/CSIMiami'' must be eligible for Horatio Caine's habit of putting his hands on his hips while wearing sunglasses. And his habit of [[GlassesPull putting on sunglasses for dramatic pronouncements]]. Or, if he's already wearing them, adjusting them. Or ''taking them off, and putting them on again a moment later''. And let's not forget that he never kneels like a normal person; he always gets down on one knee, as if to propose. (Granted, it's an easier position to get up from when you're only going to be kneeling for about five seconds, but Horatio kneels a ''lot''.)
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Wilson Fisk tends to awkwardly rub the fingers of each hand together when talking, emphasizing his AmbiguousDisorder in social situations.
* ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'' did it with Dick's famous "now I'm drunk, now I'm sober" schtick.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The First Doctor would often gesture with his hands close to his face. Creator/PeterPurves, who played his companion Steven Taylor, said that this was Creator/WilliamHartnell's response to not being able to gesture broadly in the same way as you could on stage, because TV was "small" (i.e., it didn't capture all the action across the whole set all the time). He would also flutter his hands when trying to decide something. He also tended to [[http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/The-first-doctor-timelords-270820_395_597.jpg clutch]] at his [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101211235108/tardis/images/f/f1/William_hartnell_farewell.jpg jacket lapels.]] He often ends sentences with a distinctive 'hmm?' and ful-fblu-I mean-flubs his lines (although never breaking character), even becoming TheUnintelligible at times, and tends to deliberately forget people's names as a form of MaliciousMisnaming, particularly with Chesterton (stemming from a ThrowItIn of the actor's tendency to forget the character's name in the first few serials). His movements tend to be quite jerky, almost to the point of trembling, and his facial expressions tend towards the [[SmugSmiler smirky]].
** The Second Doctor (Creator/PatrickTroughton) had a habit of [[http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa323/ticktoast/TeamTwohastoomuchsexy_zps5120743c.png wringing]] [[http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa323/ticktoast/TwoandtheIceWarriors_zpse64a3692.png his]] [[http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa323/ticktoast/teamtwohitsanuh-oh_zps37a4245a.png hands]] constantly. The Eleventh Doctor imitated this. If he couldn't wring his hands, he'd twiddle his fingers and drum them on things, such as his other hand. Also lots and lots of eyebrow quirking.
** The Third Doctor (Creator/JonPertwee):
*** He had a habit of saying, "Yes, well" to start his sentences, answering "Yes, of course", humming a ditty when tinkering on things, displaying a half-interested attitude when people try talking to him while he's working with lab equipment, and touting a very cheeky grin when he makes a clever joke.
*** John Levene, who played Benton, pointed out in a DVD commentary that once Pertwee realized he had a habit of rubbing his neck, his conscious attempts to stop resulted in a habit of touching his mouth, and his conscious attempts to stop that resulted in a habit of rubbing his neck again. Occasionally he touches his ear, just to mix it up.
*** He tends to speak with his hands on his hips or leaning up against things if he's in a happy mood, and has very dramatic, sharp movements.
** The Fourth Doctor (Creator/TomBaker) is ''made'' of these. [[MyRealDaddy He even invented a lot of standard tics used by many later Doctors]]:
*** He almost constantly [[EyePop boggles his eyes out]] and [[CreepyBlueEyes stares at things unsettlingly]]. You will rarely see him blink on screen, even if you're looking for it. His eyes [[MadEye don't quite point in the same direction]], especially when he's panicking, surprised or in a loopy mood.
*** His distinctive [[CheshireCatGrin grin]] is a thing of pure horror and deployed generously. (Creator/ChristopherEccleston borrowed a dead-eyed, HurtingHero version of it for his Doctor.)
*** He tends to run his hand through his hair when he's about to concentrate on something. (Creator/DavidTennant borrowed this for his Doctor too.) Occasionally fiddles with it if he's in a happy mood - see Peter Davison's impression of this, then being shocked at his new hair, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E1Castrovalva Castrovalva]]" for a really funny moment.
*** He generally has the opposite energy level of everything around him. If people around him are stern and serious, he'll be in a wild, hyperactive hurry; if people around him are panicking, he'll be motionless and even somewhat bored.
*** When really angry, he will snap in a surprisingly high-pitched voice compared to his usual tone.
*** Saying "What!" whenever he heard something he didn't like.
*** Cocking his head and going "Ah, ''well''..." whenever he was about to deliver {{technobabble}}. (David Tennant deliberately invoked that last one with his Doctor too.)
*** Cheeky little hand-waves.
*** A lot of his gestures call attention to his unusually big and awkward-looking nose - tapping or pushing on the side for 'on the nose' or 'it's a secret', prodding it, pinching the bridge or the tip in frustration, stroking it in thought.... even the very few times he's being flirty he tends to do so by delicately touching his nose.
*** He would often step on his scarf [[ThrowItIn by accident]], which always makes him cross.
*** When entering a corridor or entering a room, he always [[BigEntrance strikes a pose, rushes in flapping all over the place or enters in some other weird way]], with Tom Baker's aim being to 'never enter a room the same way twice'. This supposedly started from frustration with the lack of camera angle and lighting variation possible in most of the cheap sets Creator/TheBBC used and the stereotypical ''Doctor Who'' fascination with [[{{Padding}} substituting action]] with running down [[RecycledSet identical corridors]], and so becomes very obvious in the more claustrophobic and corridor-based serials, like "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]". Since the Fourth Doctor is a massive AttentionWhore and [[LargeHam a ham to end all hams]], it works really well.
*** He ''never'' looks at his hands when going for his pockets, so whenever he does he flails his hands around in a rather comical fashion before finding them.
*** He [[OralFixation really likes having things in his mouth]]. Whenever he's fixing, making or sabotaging some sort of device, he will inevitably put one of the tools or parts into his mouth to hold it while he works on it with his hands, even if it'd make more sense for him to just put the item down. If nothing's available he tends to chew on his thumbnail. (This is deliberately alluded to in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath Deep Breath]]" when the post-regenerative-traumatised Twelve bites his thumb while contemplating how much he needs a really long scarf.) He also has a habit of licking his lips whenever he's excited. (David Tennant borrowed this one, too!)
*** If there is a chair he has a standard routine where he will begin to sit on it, and then has a sudden flash of insight just before touching the seat and stands back up again. Particularly hilarious in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]" where he actually brings a chair over from another room just to do this to it.
*** If he's sitting down he tends to put his legs up on anything he can - other people's desks, and so on. Note particularly when he props his legs up on the top of Bessie's windscreen in his first story - something the Third Doctor would find unthinkable.
*** Remember Sarah Jane's line in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]" about the Doctor 'stroking' the TARDIS? This is the Doctor she was talking about. Note particularly the funny way the Sutekh-Doctor caresses the door switch open in the last part of "Pyramids of Mars".
** Like with the First Doctor, the Sixth Doctor had a tendency to clutch his jacket lapels.
** The Seventh Doctor (Creator/SylvesterMcCoy) had his rrrolling Rrrs. He also flapped and fluttered his hands around ebulliently. He likes to twitch his eyebrows up and down rapidly when being deliberately funny.
** The Eighth Doctor (in the [[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures novels]], anyway) had a habit of repeating words five or six times whenever he was excited or upset. He would also [[NoSenseOfPersonalSpace stand right in people's faces]], totally oblivious to how uncomfortable they might be. And of course, he also had a tendency to kiss people without warning...
** The Ninth Doctor tended to do a big, toothy grin often accompanied with cute little hand gestures, directly lifted from the Fourth Doctor; the key difference being that Four looked [[WhenSheSmiles genuinely happy and adorable when he did it]], even if he was being alien and terrifying, and the Ninth manages to [[TechnicallyASmile just look alien and terrifying]]. His genuine smiles are simultaneously both more toned down, and bigger and goofier. He seems to attempt to make his eyes bulge out Four-style too, but the actor just can't do it, instead compensating by raising his eyebrows up really, really high. When being serious, he tends to punctuate his speech with sharp little head-nods to draw emphasis to certain words. He was also found of doing the BadassArmFold.
** The Tenth Doctor:
*** He runs his hands through his hair when he's frustrated.
*** He dramatically [[PurelyAestheticGlasses dons his glasses when it's time to look clever]] (borrowed from the Fifth Doctor).
*** He presses his tongue to the roof of his mouth when he's thinking or working on something.
*** "...and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted, I still do that! I got that from you." ("You" being the Fifth Doctor.)
*** Shoving his hands in his pockets when confronting enemies or antagonistic characters.
*** Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet while talking, especially to aforementioned enemies and antagonists.
*** Pulling on his earlobe or rubbing the back of his neck when uncomfortable or embarrassed (usually brought on by Donna).
*** [[http://s3.vidimg.popscreen.com/original/15/RkJnbjRQSUZ6eHcx_o_a-tribute-to-david-tennants-left-eyebrow.jpg The Left Eyebrow.]] It has its own Tumblr page.
*** The long, drawn-out "[[https://youtu.be/RssnpE9U6IU Well...]]" when he's about to explain something (borrowed from the Fourth Doctor).
** The Eleventh Doctor:
*** Drawing things in the air to arrive at epiphanies.
*** [[http://cdn1.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Neil-Gaiman-The-Doctors-wife.jpg Wringing his hands]] when nervous or when musing things over (See also; The Second Doctor down)
*** Flapping his hands in a "what the heck do I do with ''these?!"''-manner when kissed.
*** Turning 270 degrees to the right to turn left (and the other way around). (This is why he's walking with a cane in 'The Time Of The Doctor'. Creator/MattSmith tore the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meniscus_(anatomy) meniscus]] in his knee doing this.)
*** Randomly spinning in a full circle.
*** Fiddling with his bowtie before embarking on a course of action and/or after arguing with someone.
*** Repeating words over and over when flustered, often changing their tone each time "Yes yes yes of course yes of course!" etc.
*** Snapping his fingers before pointing at someone or something, which he does before explaining something about said person or thing.
** The Thirteenth Doctor:
*** Scrunching her face up when she's confused or frustrated.
*** Bending her entire torso backwards when she's voicing said frustration.
*** Pressing her lips tightly together in stressful or serious moments. (Fans have dubbed this the "Polite Thirteen"-face due to its resemblance to the [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/polite-cat Polite Cat meme]].)
*** She has two tics in correspondence to anger: the aforementioned face scrunching, and [[TranquilFury an emotionless stare combined with very quiet and flat speech]], though the last is also used for moments of helplessness.
** The tics of the first four Doctors are imitated by the Fifth Doctor in his state of confusion after having regenerated. Particularly amusing is when he goes to bury his hand into his curls Four-style, realises he has shorter, straight hair now, and [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1kottwTaq1qfigugo1_250.gif has a puzzled, disappointed reaction]].
** The impressionist Jon Culshaw is a big ''Doctor Who'' fanboy (admitting his taste for velvet jackets is stolen from the Third Doctor) and discusses these endlessly. There's a video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MifZSkGWfvc here]] of him discussing the main, defining Character Tic of each Doctor for the amusement of David Tennant. (In his words, and in order starting with the Second Doctor and skipping the Eighth: "a scowl", "very sharp" mannerisms, "eyes and teeth and the alien-ness", "hands in his pockets, must dash!!", "tends to enunciate... Hmm! Howveryinteresting!! Mmm!", "fingers and thumbs", "with his swagger and the jacket on", "another kind of eyes and teeth".)
** During Series 5, Amy would occasionally bulge her eyes and pucker her mouth -- known to fans as the :I face. Creator/KarenGillan seemed to be making a conscious effort to stop this, as Amy didn't do this tic during the entirety of Series 6. She also has a habit of crying silently.
** All Doctors tend to speak quickly when inspired.
* ''Series/DueSouth'': Benton Fraser has at least two. When he's nervous he'll either rub his eyebrow with his thumbnail or tug gently at his left ear.
* ''Series/{{Dune}}'': Baron Vladimir Harkonnen has a distinctive habit of rubbing his right temple when he's frustrated. Later on, Paul Atreides does this himself, demonstrating the family connection between the two. In ''Series/ChildrenOfDune'', we see Alia performing the gesture when she hears the Baron's voice in her head.
* ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'': Robert Barone always touches food to his chin before eating it. According to Ray Romano, his RealLife brother (who Robert is based on) also does this.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': Chiana often [[QuizzicalTilt tilts her head]] from side to side while looking at someone. This started out as Gigi Edgley's way of trying to see through the restrictive black contact lenses she had to wear but eventually became a character trademark.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
** Simon is good at this. One of the best was when River told Jubal, "I don't think your intentions are honorable" and Simon squinted (saying "Oh, really?")
** Also, Jayne is frequently seen curiously touching things, such as Simon's birthday cake and the hologram in the hospital.
* ''Series/TheFlash2014'''s Dr Harrison Wells has quite a few tics, including gesturing with his hands, keeping a hand near his chin when thinking and shifting his jaw and lower lip. Most noticeable is his habit of taking his glasses off when prodding Barry about his past or giving him tips on how best to use his speed. He also takes his glasses off whenever he's [[spoiler: no longer pretending to be Wells.]] Additionally, he rubs the back of his neck a lot, especially [[spoiler: when he has stood up out of his wheelchair.]]
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Niles and Frasier Crane have a habit of mouthing wordlessly whenever they're surprised, confused, or offended. They also adopt a near-identical raised-eyebrow sideways glare whenever they're suspicious, among other tics. Given that they're brothers, this is almost certainly an intentionally communicated agreement between Creator/KelseyGrammer and Creator/DavidHydePierce. Kelsey Grammer has also openly stated that he swiped several of Frasier's tics from Creator/JackBenny, Creator/JackieGleason, and Creator/BetteDavis.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Chandler flails his hands when he's nervous or excited.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Osha has a tendency to cock her head to the side when she's speaking. Tormund also does the same thing.
** When Tywin is nervous or enraged, he may keep a straight face, but watch as his hands squeeze and flex around a small object.
** Cersei is constantly smirking when she's too pleased with herself, which happens all the time when nobody puts her in her place. Her brows usually go in sync too.
** Tyrion has a penchant for whistling when he's happy, and gets happier if this sign of his incoming presence is annoying somebody else. His reliance on alcohol also increases over time, to the degree that his reaching for a decanter of wine in virtually every scene becomes a tic.
** Jaime slowly tilts his head when he talks to people.
** Stannis grinds his teeth and scowls a lot. In the books, it's said that if you listen closely at night in Dragonstone you can hear Stannis grinding his teeth from anywhere in the castle.
** Littlefinger only smiles with one side of his mouth, usually when being smug about something, so it naturally happens a lot.
** Varys usually hides his hands in his robes.
** Ever since her training in Braavos, Arya develops a tic of standing with her hands behind her back.
** As a result of his indoctrination into Reek, Theon has great difficulty making eye contact; also, perhaps as a physical side-effect of all the torture, he's also prone to twitching during times of stress.
* ''Series/GetShorty'': Miles hides his religious pendant under his shirt collar whenever he's about to do something he'll feel guilty about.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'''s Kurt Hummel almost always fixes his hair while singing a high note, and always sits with his legs crossed.
* In ''Series/HappyDays'', Fonzie tends to sit in strange places like on the kitchen bench and on the sink.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** Hiro certainly pushes his glasses further up his face a lot. He also tends to fling his arms in the air, usually while shouting "[[CatchPhrase Yatta!]]" (but sometimes other things, like "[[JapaneseRanguage Frying]] [[TheNicknamer Man!]]" or "Vote Petrelli!"), and scrunches up his face especially tight while using his powers[[note]]The fandom even has emoticons for these last two. [=\(^_^)/ or \(^o^)/=] is often seen outside the ''Heroes'' fandom as a general arms-in-air emote, but {{{(>_<)}}} has only been seen as "Hiro is concentrating so hard his face is shaking"[[/note]].
** Like Magneto, Sylar often points with two fingers held together whenever he's using telekinesis and does so while flicking his wrist to throw people across a room, despite the fact that we see that on numerous occasions gesturing is not required. This is gesturing is later explained as him fine-tuning his ability to a precision point, which fits with how it's often used to cut open people's heads to steal their powers.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'': Pretty much every modern Rider has one, but it's actually plot-relevant in ''Series/KamenRider555''. Since the Rider Gears change hands a lot, Character Tics are usually the only way to know who's using one; TheHero Takumi's tic is flicking his wrist, while TheRival Kusaka's is adjusting his collar.
** ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' also has particularly visible examples of this trope, since a character [[PowersViaPossession possessed by an Imajin]] takes on their mannerisms. This reaches its peak with [[AllYourPowersCombined (Super) Climax Form]], which has 4-5 entities possessing Den-O at the same time and switching constantly.
** ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'' has an amusing ThrowItIn version: Since the show has an overarching VideoGames theme, the {{Transformation Trinket}}s are made to look like video game cartridges. While filming the first episode, Ex-Aid's suit actor Seiji Takaiwa decided to pantomime "blowing" into the device when he performed Ex-Aid's FinishingMove. The staff felt that it suited the feel of the series so well that they told him he could keep doing it.
* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'': Characters have a tendency to repeat phrases over and over. In fact, all of Roy Clarke's characters tend to repeat phrases over and over. They do. They repeat things. Over and over.
* ''Series/LieToMe'': Dr. Lightman licks his front teeth when he's figuring something out, usually when a lie has made him particularly angry or was particularly hard to catch. Torres has done the same thing once or twice. He also has a habit of hunching over, tilting his head, peering intently at someone and getting really uncomfortably close to them when he's being scrutinizing or irritable. It's implied he does this on purpose to psych them out and make them easier to read. His head is tilted a lot, even when he's not doing this, which distracts from the fact that his right eye is slightly higher than his left.
* ''Series/{{Maniac}}'': Dr. Fujita often pushes her NerdGlasses up her nose and has a habit of hunching forward with her hands in her jacket pockets. Dr. Mantleray often tosses the bangs of his wig out of his eyes.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'':
** Al Bundy slips his hand into the waistband of his trousers when he's relaxing in front of the TV. His daughter Kelly temporarily adopts this along with her father's personality in the episode "The Good-Bye Girl" after a rough day at her new job at a TV-based tourist attraction. Al also puts his hands in his pockets and smirks in a sanctimonious fashion when he feels someone else is about to get their comeuppance.
** Marcy had a tendency to shake her finger when admonishing someone, especially Al.
* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'': Whenever something unexpected, terrible, idiotic, annoying, or incomprehensible happens, Malcolm will [[http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2001/03/07/2AMALCOLM__t640.jpg scrunch up his nose and forehead to display prominent wrinkles.]] Very often, he follows this by [[NoFourthWall sharing a pointed glance with the audience]] (in fact, one of the earliest instances of this expression is prominently featured in the TitleMontage.)
* ''Series/MondayMornings'': Dr Buck Tierney has a habit of pulling himself up and down and making a squeaky sound with his shoes.
* ''Series/ModernFamily'':
** Mitchell's fondness for rolling his eyes is well-documented. He and Claire also share a tendency to wordlessly mouth mocking and/or disapproving remarks.
** Cam's swishy hand gestures. They're almost their own character.
** Claire's various character tics get brutally [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when she's practicing for a political debate, and her family keeps docking her for said tics (judgemental finger pointing, angry hands on hips, sour facial expressions, etc). HilarityEnsues when she tries -- and fails -- to repress these tics during the actual debate.
* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' has a lot of these: neck-crinking, fingers steepled, hands in front when examining crime scenes... it's compounded by his obsessive-compulsive tendencies. It's eventually revealed that the finger-steepling is something he got from his father. That is what appears in the page image.
* ''Series/MorkAndMindy'': Mork "sits" upside down. This is probably something his species does, as he notes that it's odd the way humans sit, and the Orkan Elder is also seen sitting upside down.
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': Detective William Murdoch, a devout Catholic, will make the sign of the cross whenever he's first confronted to the dead body of the VictimOfTheWeek. As such, it happens about OncePerEpisode.
* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''' has Chris Traeger, who always points emphatically at other characters and says their name when they encounter each other.
* ''Series/PeakyBlinders'':
** Tommy always rubs the tip of his cigarette against his lip before he lights it. He also tends to wag his finger at people when he's telling them off, usually his brothers.
** John almost always has a toothpick or a cigar in his mouth.
** Alfie Solomons strokes his beard when he's thinking.
* ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'': Andros, the Red Space Ranger, keeps his hair untied and often unknowingly tucks a strand behind ear.
** [[Series/PowerRangersSPD SPD Green Ranger]] Bridge Carson, and apparently the [[Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive Overdrive team's]] butler, Spencer, are physically incapable of saying the word "buttery" without wiggling their fingers.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'':
** Dr Cox's habit of touching his nose. According to actor John C. [=McGinley,=] this is an homage to Paul Newman's character in ''Film/TheSting''. Also how he puts his hands behind his head when he's upset -- this was {{lampshade|Hanging}}d at some point in Season 7. Also, whenever he takes off a pair of medical gloves, he always uses the elastic to ping them away. That last one is actually the way you're supposed to take off gloves to minimize exposure.
** ''Scrubs'' also features [[SpellMyNameWithAThe The Todd]], whose signature high-fives are always followed by him snapping his fingers and pointing at the recipient.
** Elliot blowing hair out of her face, which emphasizes her neuroticism.
** Deconstructed with Dr. Casey, who has many tics because they are a result of his OCD.
** J.D. cocks his head when he's about to fly off into a daydream.
* In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', Cosmo Kramer is very expressive with his hands, tends to wobble his head in all directions when worked up, often slides across the floor when entering rooms, and is prone to exaggerated pratfalls.
* ''Series/{{Shoestring}}'': Eddie doodles when he's nervous or concentrating. He also rubs his fingers together, wrings his hands, and plays with anything he happens to be holding, including his tie.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "The Man Trap," Nancy Crater the salt vampire has a habit of putting the knuckle of her index finger in her mouth. Then we see [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Dr. McCoy doing the same gesture]]...
*** Speaking of [=McCoy=], he tends to hold his hands behind his back.
** Sulu had a habit of calling out countdowns in stressful situations. While it's possible that this is a part of his job as a bridge officer, other characters' frequent annoyance at this tendency suggests that it probably isn't.
** Uhura sits sideways on her chair when she wants to look out the window. This may be for {{fanservice}} reasons [[ShesGotLegs given her Starfleet miniskirt]], but it may also be for practical reasons since the only ''other'' way of looking out the window from her chair is to sit on her knees, which would be impractical on a swivel chair.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
*** Picard's habit of straightening his uniform whenever he stands up. Nicknamed "the Picard Maneuver" by the production staff, it was given a ShoutOut on the show as a battle tactic the character invents also called the Picard Maneuver. He also often made a little flicking motion with his hand when he said, "Engage," which is something Kirk used to do. Pulaski and Riker also play with their uniforms a lot.
*** Then there's Lore's facial tic, which comes in handy when you [[EvilTwin need to distinguish him from Data]]. In addition, he smirks a lot.
*** Data has a few of his own, such as tilting his head to one side or the other when he is confused. It's apparently the body language equivalent of a hard drive clicking. This is lampshaded in "Hero Worship" where Data is tending to a human boy who is trying to act just like Data [[note]]The boy was suffering from severe trauma and latched onto Data[[/note]] and Data cannot get him to hold still to brush the boy's hair. Data realizes this tic could be distracting to others.
*** Characters in this and later series tend to touch their communicator badge when making or receiving a call. It isn't strictly necessary, as saying "[X] to [Y]" or "[Y] here" would open the channel. It is probably force of habit on the part of the characters ("picking up the phone", as it were).
*** Q snaps his fingers to invoke his powers. Another Q, named Quinn, had a two fingered swirl-and-raise thing that served the same function.
*** Riker has three notable tics: [[CaptainMorganPose leaning on top of different objects (e.g. tables and consoles)]], sitting down by throwing his leg over the back of the chair (much like mounting a horse), and gripping the front of his chair when the ship is shaking. The first two were both due to Creator/JonathanFrakes' height and problems with back pain.
*** Troi has a habit of randomly changing her expression, possibly related to [[TheEmpath her ability to sense emotions]]. Her voice also cracks when she's very unhappy.
*** Geordi chuckles a lot, often appears to be holding hands with himself, and rubs his visor when he has a headache.
*** Reg Barclay stammers when he's nervous. (Which, in his earlier appearances, is most of the time.)
*** The Klingon Chancellor Gowron is known for [[DeathGlare glaring at everything and everyone with wide eyes]].
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
*** Odo's businesslike nod, which is usually a kind of nonverbal shorthand for "consider it done." He also often stands up with his arms folded or puts his hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner.
*** Garak widens his eyes in a distinctive fashion when he's being [[SincerityMode very sincere,]] [[SarcasmMode very sarcastic,]] or attempting to disguise one as the other. He also often looks in random directions when speaking.
*** Sisko steeples his fingers when he's thinking. He also has a habit of patting his fist into his other palm whenever he's working over a problem as though he's wearing a baseball glove.
*** Dax walks with her hands behind her back, which she picked up from one of TheSymbiote's previous hosts.
*** O'Brien often has his mouth slightly open and his eyes slightly squinted, especially when he's confused or thinking.
*** Kira's voice goes higher when she cries. She also smiles widely when amused and attacks by hitting someone on the neck with her clasped hands.
*** Leeta has this high-pitched whine she makes when she's sad.
*** Quark and Nog both rub their ears when they're deep in thought. Nog also hisses like a cat when he's angry, and Quark and Rom both kneel down with their wrists together but hands apart when begging.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
*** In "Dark Frontier", Chakotay notes that Captain Janeway always fiddles with her comm badge when she's plotting something, a character tic that [[InformedAttribute had never been seen before or since in the series]]. More accurately, Janeway has a tendency to [[DynamicAkimbo place her hands on her hips]], which unfortunately turns out to be the worst insult imaginable for one alien species that communicates through body language. She also whispers when she's being very serious.
*** Kes [[InelegantBlubbering tends to sob more than the others]] when she cries.
*** Seven of Nine has a particular way of looking around and she strides when she walks (striding is common for Star Trek characters, but especially Seven of Nine). She also uses the FascinatingEyebrow, as does Tuvok (being the [[TheSpock resident Vulcan]]).
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'':
*** Phlox often smiles widely (sometimes [[BizarreAlienBiology excessively so!]]) and says, "Hmm!". He also talks in a singsong voice a lot.
*** Malcolm Reed is often squinting.
** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'':
*** Saru waves his arms from side to side while walking. He also clasps his hands together to show approval and rubs the back of his neck when he's nervous.
*** Tilly pauses a lot when she speaks.
*** Stamets squints a lot.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Daniel Jackson tends to subtly furrow his eyebrows and lips when frustrated (although that's probably more Michael Shanks). Although this lessened later in the series, for at least the first two seasons, Daniel had a habit of [[OralFixation licking his lips]] or biting them when he was thinking or was interrupted. Late in the show, he also has the tendency to let his head drop forward whenever he's frustrated or bemused.
** Teal'c falls victim quite frequently to the [[FascinatingEyebrow Spock Eyebrows]] -- so frequently that it's been {{lampshade|Hanging}}d on multiple occasions. Once, Teal'c interrogated a prisoner simply by raising his eyebrows. He also clenches his jaw when he's irked.
** Col. Carter's momentary grimace anytime she either does something wrong, or bad things are about to happen.
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': Rodney [=McKay=] snaps his fingers when he's trying to remember something, and shakes his finger (like he's scolding you) when he's thinking really hard. The actor once snapped his fingers at his girlfriend by mistake when he'd been playing [=McKay=] all day. As [=McKay=] is an asshole, this didn't go down too well. According to David Hewlett, his then-girlfriend/now-wife gives him a 10-minute grace period after he comes home to shed his [=McKay=]-isms. After that...
* Stefan Salvatore from ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' frequently points (with his hand in what could be considered a relaxed version of the American Sign Language sign for "I love you") while working out logical puzzles or trying to determine someone's motives. Also, when attempting to appear more menacing--or flirtatious--his brother Damon does what is [[FanNickname sometimes referred to]] as "[[BuffySpeak the eye thing]]" where he alternately bulges and squints his eyes for emphasis.
* Castiel from ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' [[QuizzicalTilt tilts his head to the side when he's confused.]] It seems to be a [[OurAngelsAreDifferent species-wide trait,]] but he [[LiteralMinded displays it]] [[SarcasmBlind the most.]]
* ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' has a really [[CringeComedy cringeworthy]] one with "blinky dork" Ben Swain. Jamie calls his nervous blinking "epilepsy of the eyes."
* ''Series/TooOldToDieYoung'':
** Martin often spits on the ground, seemingly to show derision.
** Theo snorts constantly in some scenes. It's never made clear whether this is due to some mundane sinus issue or a hint that he's a coke fiend.
* From ''Series/VerboteneLiebe'' we have [[http://vl-discuss.livejournal.com/430157.html Christian fingerpointing]].
* ''Series/{{Vikings}}'' has [[BunnyEarsLawyer Floki]] who is constantly doing weird movements with his hands and has a distinctive laugh.
* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'':
** Daryl will bite his thumb whenever he's apprehensive.
** Shane tends to rub his head whenever he's stressed.
** Tara will perform a fist bump with people to show her respect for them.
** Negan tends to lean back in order to show confidence. He stops doing it in Season 9, in order to show how broken he's become, [[spoiler:only for it to make a grand return in the Season 10 episode, "What It Always Is"]].
** Dante has a tendency to click his tongue, [[spoiler:which is what allows Siddiq to realize that he's TheMole for The Whisperers]].
* ''Series/TheWire'': Bodie spits through his teeth, usually when annoyed.
* In ''Series/WorzelGummidge'', when Worzel sulks, he pulls this exaggerated frowny face.
* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', Agent Mulder is always putting things in his mouth -- usually [[TrademarkFavoriteFood sunflower seeds]], but in the first season especially, he can also be caught munching on paper clips.
* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'': The various Ultras similarly have fighting stances that help differentiate them. The original Ultraman, for example, hunches his body with his hands up and slightly open while Ultraseven takes more of a boxer's pose, with both hands balled up into fists at about chest height.
* In ''Series/TheWorstWitch'', Miss Hardbroom teleports a lot more than other witches.
* ''Series/TheYoungOnes'':
** Vyvyan scrunches his face a lot.
** Rik sits with his legs crossed and snorts when he laughs.
** Neil plays with his hair a lot, usually brushing it out of the way.
* ''Series/YoungRoyals2021'': Wilhelm chews gum, bites his nails, rubs his chest, and messes with his hair. Many of these also double as indicators of his anxiety flaring up.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]

** Shigaraki tends to scratch his neck when he's irritated. He uses both hands if he's close to freaking out. He even did this as a child before his Quirk manifested due to constantly having an "itch" [[spoiler:that And All For One indicates was his body instinctively trying to "destroy" things.]]

** Also, Shinji has a habit of clenching and unclenching his hand when anxious. It's possibly a tic in the actual psychological sense, due to [[spoiler:the very real pain and trauma caused to him when his HumongousMecha had its arm ripped off]].

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Tony Stark is sometimes massaging/holding his left arm, since it has a tendency to get repeatedly injured over the movies, ever since the first ''Iron Man''. He usually does this when stressed and it can occasionally be seen trembling, making it likely that it's a nervous tic and probably linked to PTSD.
** Loki is fidgeting with his hands when nervous, a [[SharedFamilyQuirks trait he shares]] with his adoptive mother. He also assumes [[https://twitter.com/MarvelUK/status/1089583817764016128 a pose]] with wide open arms whenever he tries to assert himself or talk his way out of an unpleasant situation.
** During combat Bucky sometimes swings his artificial arm around 360 degrees vertically at the shoulder. Possibly this has a practical mechanical purpose that helps it function during heavy use.

A subtrope of BodyLanguage. This may be justified if the specific gesture is a MagicalGesture, or otherwise [[FullContactMagic a way to guide/throw out their powers]]. TwitchyEye is a specific type of character tic used to convey anxiety, rage, or impending psychosis, and ManiacTongue similarly indicates mental instability. For specific gestures done while deep in thought, see ThinkingTic. For the verbal version, see VerbalTic.

* Dana from ''Literature/PilgrennonsBeacon'' walks with a shuffling gait, which her classmates make fun of.

*** Reg Barclay stammers when he's nervous.

** Ryan rubs his T-shirt and flicks his fingers. When he was in seventh grade, he went to a horrible school that tried to suppress his movements and force him to make eye contact, but Lauren's parents assure her that his new schoo is more progressive.