The humming and singing are the most obvious and important thing (I remember on my first read-through going WAIT, WHAT? when Anaander Mianaai points out that Breq does it without being aware of it, at times has to deliberately stop herself from doing it. That was the point where I first realised just how unreliable a narrator Breq is on some topics) but there are other, smaller things too.
She mentions having involuntary facial expressions sometimes, small ones. And not just physiological things like pain grimace or crying.
And Seivarden can read her, at times when Breq herself wasn't aware she was visibly emoting. (Which makes sense, in a way: the times when Breq is frightened or in pain or exhausted enough that there's something for Seivarden to see would also be the times when Breq is too frightened or in pain or exhausted to self-monitor. But I think Breq's tells are still nonstandard and infrequent enough that you'd have to be very attuned to her and also have known her for a long time to know there was something to see. Seivarden, for Reasons, is paying close attention.)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2014-11-22 08:21 am (UTC)The humming and singing are the most obvious and important thing (I remember on my first read-through going WAIT, WHAT? when Anaander Mianaai points out that Breq does it without being aware of it, at times has to deliberately stop herself from doing it. That was the point where I first realised just how unreliable a narrator Breq is on some topics) but there are other, smaller things too.
She mentions having involuntary facial expressions sometimes, small ones. And not just physiological things like pain grimace or crying.
And Seivarden can read her, at times when Breq herself wasn't aware she was visibly emoting. (Which makes sense, in a way: the times when Breq is frightened or in pain or exhausted enough that there's something for Seivarden to see would also be the times when Breq is too frightened or in pain or exhausted to self-monitor. But I think Breq's tells are still nonstandard and infrequent enough that you'd have to be very attuned to her and also have known her for a long time to know there was something to see. Seivarden, for Reasons, is paying close attention.)