literature

Emotions

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Literature Text

Her face was so expressive.

At least, that's what he thought. If he'd been human, he'd have considered her a blank slate, impossible to interpret. It was something that would've puzzled the scientists no end; their little AI being able to read human expression better than they would ever be able to. Better than their more intelligent robots, even.

But then, this wasn't just any human. This was Chell.

Chell, who never expressed emotion if she could help it. Chell, who could keep a straight face even in the face of almost certain, painful death. He'd memorized every muscle twitch, every body movement; originally it'd seemed necessary, to tell when she was angry, or if she was unstable and about to rip him off his rail. But then… a flick of her eyebrow, a relaxed jaw, and a tiny sparkle in her eye had formed a smile. A tilt of her head and an almost imperceptible shrug had been a laugh. A light pat on his shell and twitch at the corner of her mouth were sympathy.

Her mouth, open in a silent cry, eyes wide and watering. That had been terror. And it had been for him.

He sometimes wondered if the reason She had crushed him had been because of that face. She hated her with a cold, violent passion, that much was obvious. And the most open expression on Her enemy's face had never been fear for her life, or anger, or even a return of that hate (though, he was sure Chell's was more of a fiery, incinerator-hot variety) it had been worry for a bumbling little personality core. The offhanded way in which She'd almost killed him had shaken them both more than they'd ever show.

But… man alive, he could live on one of those open expressions for longer than a full-recharge. On the faith plate, when she'd seen he'd survived, and, better yet, come back for her, for a single moment her eyes had widened. Her jaw had dropped, her shoulders slumped, and her lips had curved up.

Relief.

And then she'd fallen away, and there'd been a long pause until the next jump, at which point she was much more composed. But still, a slightly lowered chin and curve to her eyes had reflected the earlier expression. It had sent a stronger signal than anything she could have said, a wonderful feeling of we're both alive, and everything's going to be fine.

The light in his optic opened as wide as it could go, and he'd let his handles slump in a way only she would recognize as a sigh of relief. Everything's going to be fine.

A fine line between her brows was a scowl. A tensed jaw and flat eyes was determination. A raised chin added to that was distain. And they'd all been aimed at Her. Her and Her tests. No matter what She said, never once did he see anything that could be qualified as pain or sorrow.

And he'd raise his lower lid in a way only she would recognize as a smile. Atta girl!

Weight on her toes was ready. A tip to her head was focus. Keeping her eyes on him instead of her feet was trust of the highest form. And slumping in the lift, one arm over her eyes, mouth open, shoulders shaking, that was joy.

Pure, open joy.


He knew the feeling.
So...yeah. Don't normally double-post (as in, on here and fanfic. For anyone who wasn't aware, [link] is where most of my writing goes) but figured I did it for the Fem!LinkXDark thing, and I need more fluffy Chelley to balance out all the angst I've been posting lately...

Basic idea was that, though Chell probably works hard not to show any emotion, Wheatley seems to read her pretty well. Also that that mask has to slip sometimes, when she's shocked or overwhelmed.

I'm trying to decide if I should extend it all the way to the end. That was the original plan, but it would stay true to the game, so it would be a) sad, b) much longer, and I got the feeling that c) my describing of Chell's little ticks (which I planned to have fade into Wheatley's, but still...) would get annoying if I went on much longer.
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hypergirlnirani's avatar
wow, this is really good!