Edits

content/read/010.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Codrin replied, voice equally muffled against the back of Dear's neck, "I don't
 
 Ey laughed against Dear's neck, which got a giggle out of the fox in turn. "I guess. It's hard to hate too much because good things came of it, but also you can't say for sure that the same thing would've happened if she hadn't been there. Her, Jonas, the lot of them, they were all helpful in bringing about Secession and Launch how they happened, but who knows? Maybe they would've happened regardless, just with different people at the helm."
 
-There was a long moment of silence, broken only but the occasional noise of contentment from Dear's partner as the fox continued in its back-rub. Codrin spent the time plastering those thoughts over with better ones. Ey thought about how the fox smelled, how its fur felt against eir face. Ey thought about how, once, ey'd wound up between eir two partners in much the same position and it had led to an overwhelming wave of anxiety, a sense that things were wrong, a feeling that ey needed to escape, and how they'd comforted em and then simply fallen back into the habit of laying like this, instead. Dear seemed to draw a sense of security, sandwiched between them, just as Codrin did by having no one at eir back.
+There was a long moment of silence, broken only by the occasional noise of contentment from Dear's partner as the fox continued in its back-rub. Codrin spent the time plastering those thoughts over with better ones. Ey thought about how the fox smelled, how its fur felt against eir face. Ey thought about how, once, ey'd wound up between eir two partners in much the same position and it had led to an overwhelming wave of anxiety, a sense that things were wrong, a feeling that ey needed to escape, and how they'd comforted em and then simply fallen back into the habit of laying like this, instead. Dear seemed to draw a sense of security, sandwiched between them, just as Codrin did by having no one at eir back.
 
 *"Did you hate her?"* Dear said, breaking the silence and eir rumination. It had stopped in its massage and settled for a simple hug instead. *"Do you still?"*
 
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Ey hooked eir chin over the fox's shoulder, humming thoughtfully. "Maybe, in a w
 
 Both of eir partners laughed.
 
-"Now, though, I think resentment is a more accurate word than hate. I resent the feeling of being controlled with no recourse. She may have the brainpower and manpower and analytical skills to read everyone as thoroughly as she did, but I resent how cold she was in actually doing so; intentionally making me angry to make the result seem sensational? There's a lot of cynicism bound up in that." Ey shrugged. "There's no point in hating her. I don't dislike the System as it stands after her and Jonas's manipulation, but I resent the cynicism it took to get here. I don't resent being here, but I do resent the phys-side manipulations that led to me being here."
+"Now, though, I think resentment is a more accurate word than hate. I resent the feeling of being controlled with no recourse. She may have the brainpower and manpower and analytical skills to read everyone as thoroughly as she did, but I resent how cold she was in actually doing so; intentionally making me angry to make the result seem overly sensational? Not to be taken seriously? There's a lot of cynicism bound up in that." Ey shrugged. "There's no point in hating her. I don't dislike the System as it stands after her and Jonas's manipulation, but I resent the cynicism it took to get here. I don't resent being here, but I do resent the phys-side manipulations that led to me being here."
 
 After yawning, Dear's partner asked, "Think you'll be alright working beside her while you resent her?"
 
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ They smirked, looked up at the ceiling for a minute or two, then nodded. "She's
 
 Codrin had never seen a therapist either before or after uploading. Before, it had been a luxury that eir family couldn't afford, and after, ey had been so busy --- first with getting used to uploaded life, then with study, then with work --- to have considered it much.
 
-Ey had, however, seen a counselor in school as mandated by the school itself. Mr. Nicolescu had been a kindly old gentleman, but one who seemed perpetually on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. It made sense, given the size of the school, the requirement to meet with every student once a year, and the lack of any other counselors. Ey had been a good student and a quiet kid, and seeing him any context other than the required visit was often a sign that something had gone wrong.
+Ey had, however, seen a counselor in school as mandated by the school itself. Mr. Nicolescu had been a kindly old gentleman, but one who seemed perpetually on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. It made sense, given the size of the school, the requirement to meet with every student at least once a year, and the lack of any other counselors. Ey had been a good student and a quiet kid, and seeing him in any context other than the required visit --- as ey had when eir parents had died --- was often a sign that something had gone wrong.
 
 Sarah Genet immediately reminded em of Mr. Nicolescu in many ways. The way she walked, the way she held herself, her smile, the way she listened with her whole attention on whatever someone had to say.
 
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ Dear's partner answered, "Have you read the Bălans' *History,* yet? *An Expande
 
 "The one who tried to guide everything? Yeah, I remember. I didn't miss her name on there, either."
 
-Codrin sighed. "I had the chance to interview her --- me and my root instance both did --- and she's a lot to deal with. I'm sure it's some calculated gesture that she leaves the last choice up to me, but all the same, I wanted to pick someone who was the opposite of her."
+Codrin sighed. "I had the chance to interview her --- me and my root instance both did --- and she's a lot to deal with. I'm sure it's some calculated gesture that she leaves the last choice up to me, but all the same, I wanted to pick someone who could be a foil to her."
 
 "So you figured a therapist would be good? A psychologist?"