The one ‘feral’ sentence that sent women’s vaginas into meltdown

Women have been obsessing over this single sentence (Picture: Getty Images/Westend61) We’ve barely moved on from the release of raunchy folk-horror Wicker, which had women swooning over one simple dirty talk technique. And now, pop culture has blessed us with one single sentence that has yet again sent ladies on the internet into meltdown. Romantasy bestseller Fourth Wing’s adaption into a TV series, with actor Emilio Sakraya cast as the angsty, dark and handsome love interest Xaden Riorson, already has readers hot under the collar. One fan, Emillie Bornelus, said on TikTok: ‘The person they cast as Xaden Riorson is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. I’m shaking with need. I am ravenous… I’m salivating. This is going to be a transcendent, effervescent experience… I’ve never felt so feral.’ But it got juicy when another woman commented under the video: ‘The saddest part is… he doesn’t even know I exist.’ Emilio Sakraya replied to her with one of the most iconic lines in the Fourth Wing franchise: ‘Well, the f aware.’ Cue the meltdown, because his comment quickly amassed more than 111,000 likes. Women were quick to say they were ‘eating out the palm of his hand’ and questioned ‘why wasn’t it me?’. ‘Oh, I’m so cooked’ said one, while another added he ‘ate that up’. Why is this simple sentence turning women on? Sign up to The Hook-Up, Metro's sex and dating newsletter Love reading juicy stories like this? Need some tips for how to spice things up in the bedroom? Sign up to The Hook-Up and we'll slide into your inbox every week with all the latest sex and dating stories from Metro. We can't wait for you to join us! Now, it’s important to understand the context. In the Fourth Wing book, we see the female lead (and Xaden’s future love interest) Violet Sorrengail put herself in serious danger. When she tells Xaden defiantly that she would endanger herself again, he shouts: ‘Well-the-f**k-aware.’ Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. In other words, he’s acutely aware the woman he loves doesn’t have self-preservation instincts, and he’s worried about her. Fans of the book dubbed it their ‘favourite line’, because it’s the first time he reveals that he might have some feelings for Violet. ‘It shows his weakness for her already,’ explains one reader on Reddit. Of course, in reality, being shouted at by a man likely wouldn’t be much of a turn on, but in our minds, psychosexual therapist Becky Crepsley-Fox says it can definitely get us going. Fourth Wing sold two million copies in its first six months of release (Picture: Hachette UK) ‘Some women find it arousing when a partner loses their temper a little, in a safe way, because it shows he cares enough to get angry,’ she tells Metro. ‘That said, a lot depends on how much anger there is, how it’s expressed, and how safe the relationship feels in every other area.’ When it comes to this viral sentence specifically, Becky adds: ‘That line is so alluring because he’s making his feelings known without trying to change her behaviour. ‘The woman hearing it keeps full autonomy over what she does next, but she also gets the sense that her partner really cares.’ Does shouting signal unhealthy relationship dynamics? In her practice, Becky admits that ‘shouting is a very human reaction and can be hard to control’. If it happens occasionally, isn’t aimed at intimidating someone, and is followed by a proper conversation, she believes it doesn’t automatically mean a relationship is unhealthy. Still, it’s something she thinks we should all try to avoid. We shouldn’t hide our feelings or shy away from conflict with a partner. ‘Ideally, though, we’d get there by talking rather than shouting,’ she adds. Emilio Sakraya has sent Booktok women into meltdown with a single comment (Picture: Jumeau Alexis/ABACA/Shutterstock) Fantasy versus reality It’s important to highlight that, in real life, a man shouting at a woman in this manner could be problematic. ‘For a lot of women, a man saying that, or shouting, wouldn’t feel attractive at all in real life,’ Becky explains. ‘Books are different. The story isn’t about us, and we can close it or stop reading whenever we like, so we stay in control. ‘Being in a room with a man who’s shouting feels very different, because there we aren’t in control. Fiction gives us a safe space to play out fantasies and test boundaries in ways many of us wouldn’t feel safe doing in reality.’ In TV and books, the success of the shout-then-kiss trope is proof that a man raising his voice to show he cares can be swoon-worthy when done right. We see it between Allie and Noah in the Notebook, for example. The Emilio factor But, Emilio repeating the ‘well, the f aware’ line to women online is definitely a ‘mic-drop moment’. ‘He’s taken a line so many women have probably fantasised about and brought it into real life,’ Becky says. ‘And it happened publicly, in a comment section full of people, so it becomes a moment of being singled out in front of everyone. It’s no surprise people found that exciting.’ And, who doesn’t want to be made to feel special? The psychosexual therapist reveals that many of the fantasies women find erotic are about exactly that: being chosen, feeling special, being the one. 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