# Malin FC — Vetted Emotion Reference Library

**Purpose:** a trustworthy facial-cue BENCHMARK for Malin's FC emotion renders. For each emotion, the canonical facial signature (FACS action units where defined) + a render checklist. Hermes (and the overnight render queue) check each render against these so an emotion *reads* as itself, not a generic face. Built from authoritative sources, not vibes.

## Vetted sources (the trustworthy anchors)
- **Ekman & Friesen — FACS / EMFACS** (Facial Action Coding System): the canonical muscle-level description of expression. 46 Action Units (AUs); emotions = specific AU combinations. The gold standard for the 6 basics. https://www.morphcast.com/blog/paul-ekman-6-basic-emotions/ , https://www.realeye.io/blog/post/seven-universal-facial-expressions
- **Cowen & Keltner 2017** — *Self-report captures 27 distinct categories of emotion bridged by continuous gradients*, PNAS 114(38):E7900-E7909. (Jun's 27-emotion taxonomy source — built from 2,185 evocative videos.) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1702247114
- **Cowen & Keltner 2019** — *What the face displays: Mapping 28 emotions conveyed by naturalistic expression*, American Psychologist. THE vetted reference for the broader/extended emotions beyond Ekman's 6 (awe, excitement, etc.). https://www.alancowen.com/press

## AU legend (the muscles)
AU1 inner-brow raise · AU2 outer-brow raise · AU4 brow lower/draw-together · AU5 upper-lid raise (eyes wide) · AU6 cheek raise (Duchenne) · AU7 lid tighten · AU9 nose wrinkle · AU10 upper-lip raise · AU12 lip-corner pull (smile) · AU15 lip-corner depress · AU20 lip stretch · AU23/24 lip tighten/press · AU25 lips part · AU26 jaw drop.

---

## EKMAN-6 (precise AU signatures — highest confidence)

**happy** — AU6 + AU12 (+AU25). Cheeks raise, lip corners pull up, eyes crinkle. *Checklist: smile reaches the EYES (cheek raise + crow's feet), not just mouth — that's genuine vs polite.*

**sad** — AU1 + AU4 + AU15. Inner brows up AND drawn together, lip corners pulled down. *Checklist: the inner-brow pull-up is the tell; without it, it reads neutral.*

**surprised** — AU1 + AU2 + AU5 + AU26. Brows high + curved, eyes wide, jaw drops. *Checklist: briefest emotion — high open everything; if it lingers it becomes awe/horror.*

(extended, share the FACS components below)

**anger** — AU4 + AU5 + AU7 + AU23. Brows down + drawn together, hard stare (raised upper lid + tight lower lid), lips pressed/tight. *Checklist: brow-lower + lip-press together; either alone is ambiguous.*

**fear** — AU1 + AU2 + AU4 + AU5 + AU20. Brows raised AND drawn together (vs surprise's relaxed raise), eyes wide, lips stretched back horizontally. *Checklist: brows up-AND-together is what separates fear from surprise.*

**disgust** — AU9 + AU10 (+AU16). Nose wrinkles, upper lip raises. *Checklist: the nose-wrinkle is the signature; centered on the nose/upper lip, not the brow.*

---

## EXTENDED (Cowen-Keltner 2019 set — the 15 overnight keepers). FACS components + cue.

**horror** — fear escalated: AU1+2+4 (brows up+together), AU5 extreme (eyes very wide), AU20+26 (mouth stretched/open), often a recoil/freeze. *Stronger + more open than fear.*

**excitement** — joy + surprise + energy: raised brows, wide bright eyes, big open smile (AU6+12+25), often open mouth. *Brighter, more "up" than plain happy.*

**awe** — surprise softened + sustained: AU1+2 (brows raised), widened eyes, slight jaw part (AU26 mild), often head back / upward gaze. *Held and reverent, not startled.*

**anxiety** — restrained fear: AU1 (inner brow), mild AU4, lip press/tension (AU24), tense or darting eyes. *Subtle, contained — tension without the full fear blast.*

**confusion** — brows knit or one raised (AU4 + asymmetric AU1/2), slight squint, lip purse / asymmetric mouth, optional head tilt. *Asymmetry is the tell.*

**satisfaction** — gentle CLOSED-mouth smile (AU12, mild AU6), relaxed eyes, settled. *Contentment, not big joy — softer than happy.*

**relief** — the release: brows DROP from prior tension, exhale, soft smile, eyes soften/briefly close. *Reads as tension leaving.*

**adoration** — tender warmth: soft smile (AU6+12), relaxed softened eyes, slight head tilt, warm steady gaze. *Gentler + warmer than happy; aimed AT him.*

**romance** — soft often half-lidded gaze, gentle smile, relaxed face, warm direct eye contact, slight lip part. *Intimacy in the eyes.*

**sexual desire** — intense half-lidded gaze, parted lips, slightly lowered brows, focused directed look; optional lip bite/touch. *Distinguish from romance by intensity + the lidded, fixed gaze.*

**calmness** — relaxed everywhere: brows, eyes, mouth all soft, zero tension, faint ease. *Neutral-plus-ease, not blank.*

**awkwardness** — uncomfortable tense smile (AU12 + lip press AU24), averted/darting gaze, slight wince or asymmetry. *A smile that doesn't reach the eyes + the look-away.*

---

## Current library extras
**neutral** — relaxed baseline; for idle, add micro-motion (blink, slight breath) so it's not a dead stare.
**amused_flirty** — knowing half-smile / smirk (asymmetric AU12), one brow slightly up (AU2), bright/sparkling eyes, a touch of mischief. *Playful, in on the joke.*

## How to use (Hermes / render QA)
For each rendered emotion, verify the LISTED AUs are present and the "checklist tell" reads. The most common failure: a render that's generically pleasant/neutral and misses the signature AU (e.g., sad without the inner-brow pull, fear that's just surprise, disgust without the nose wrinkle). If the tell isn't there, it's not that emotion yet.