# Codex Critique - Skeleton Round 2 - State Consistency Check

VERDICT: PASS TO CHAPTER CARDS AFTER ONE MEDIUM LEDGER TIGHTENING

## Round 1 Fix Verification

- Voice-card quip density: FIXED ENOUGH FOR CHAPTER CARDS
  evidence: `style_and_voice.md` now has a global plain-dialogue rule and replaces the most polished examples for June, Theo, Mara, Luis, Priya, Ben, Ruth, and Sam. Odile remains the highest-density sharp speaker.
  remaining order: Chapter cards must still carry "plain dialogue allowed" into scene packets, especially cohort scenes.

- Employee vs nephew rupture logic: FIXED
  evidence: `skeleton.md` now includes "June's Knowledge of Theo Before Ch 17" and Ch 17 says the wound is the hidden nephew safety net/family theater, not merely gallery employment.
  remaining order: Copy this paragraph into Ch 02 and Ch 17 chapter cards.

- June's Philadelphia refusal timing: FIXED
  evidence: Ch 18 now recognizes the trap but does not decline; Ch 22 handles the actual refusal/recommendation before confession.
  remaining order: Ch 22 must be an actual scene, not summary.

- Material New York scaffolding: FIXED AT ARCHITECTURE LEVEL
  evidence: Ch 09 seeds install contract / studio-sublet lead; Ch 22 accepts; Ch 26 confirms. `thread_ledger.md` has S-NY-01.
  remaining order: chapter cards need concrete source/person for the lead before drafting.

- June POV on intimate assignment: FIXED
  evidence: Ch 13 is now Week 5 in June POV, with Theo's childhood drawing memory and her painting him.
  remaining order: Ch 13 must not be overloaded by memory assignment + showcase announcement + kiss + offer; scene design will need clean sequencing.

- Lie jeopardy / fake-dating pleasure: PARTIAL BUT ACCEPTABLE FOR CHAPTER CARDS
  evidence: Ch 04 has Mara cover-story questions; Ch 06 has Ruth's misread surfacing to Theo; Ch 12 says performing couplehood gets harder because feelings are real.
  remaining order: chapter cards must make these actual jeopardy beats, not one-line mentions.

- Kiss aftermath / real kiss: FIXED
  evidence: Ch 14 opens in kiss aftermath; Ch 24 includes first real kiss.

- Cohort care differentiation: FIXED ENOUGH
  evidence: Luis/Mara moved from repair/extras to social memory and sightlines; Ruth/Sam remain privacy/space; Ben keeps planning; Priya stays body/fatigue care with a warning not to become another logistics mirror.

- Theo painting answering wrong wound: FIXED AT MAP LEVEL
  evidence: Ch 08 seeds the sketch; Ch 21 resumes it; Ch 23 says painting is offered after the apology; Ch 24 says asymmetry answered first.

- Minimal wall label / showcase disclosure: FIXED
  evidence: exact label appears in `skeleton.md`: "After Class. Two underpaintings of one room, finished together."

## New or Remaining Findings

1. **medium - Ch 21 information ledger could accidentally spoil Odile's final reveal if the chapter card lets Theo confess the fake-couple truth to her.**
   evidence: Ch 21 ledger currently says "disclosed - June knows he is nephew and left"; this is good, but the scene purpose "Theo confronts Odile's manipulation" can tempt a drafter to have Theo explain the whole fake relationship to Odile. If he does, Odile's Ch 28 reveal becomes less clean because Theo will think she learned the truth in Ch 21.
   revision order: In `skeleton.md`, make Ch 21 ledger explicit: Theo does not disclose the fake-couple origin to Odile; he discloses only that June found out he is family and left, and he accuses Odile of using him/June to pry him loose. Odile's response is true-but-partial.
   acceptance test: After drafting Ch 21, Theo still believes Odile may not know they began as fake partners; Ch 28 can reveal she knew from night one.

2. **medium - The New York scaffolding needs a named source before chapter cards.**
   evidence: Ch 09/22 refer to "install network" and a "shared-studio/sublet lead" without naming who provides it.
   revision order: Before chapter cards, either name a minor work contact or assign the lead to an existing non-romantic character. Keep it outside Theo/Odile. This can be a minor single-scene contact, but should be seeded enough to pay off.
   acceptance test: Ch 09 card names the source; Ch 22 card names what June accepts.

## Do Not Break

- Keep the Ch 17-18 consecutive June rupture flex.
- Keep final Philadelphia refusal in Ch 22 before confession.
- Keep Ch 13 as June-focalized Week 5.
- Keep the exact minimal showcase label unless a later critique improves it without adding explanation.
- Keep Odile's pre-Ch 28 knowledge unstated.

