# Codex Critique - Chapter Cards Round 1

VERDICT: REVISE BEFORE DRAFTING

## Findings

1. **high - The returned scarf/care object payoff is not seeded concretely.**
   evidence: Ch 18 title/function depends on "returned scarf/care object," but Ch 03/04 only generally introduce cohort warmth and diner commons. No card says who gives June the object or why it matters.
   why it matters: Round 1 architecture specifically preserved "scarves returned by mail" as found-family cost. Without a concrete seed, Ch 18 drafts as symbolic prop insertion.
   revision order: Seed the scarf/object in Ch 03 or Ch 04 as Mara's care move during the first class/diner; Ch 18 returns the same object with a specific consequence.
   acceptance test: Ch 18 card can name the object, owner, and original chapter.

2. **high - Ch 22 uses Asha twice in a way that may confuse the material stakes.**
   evidence: Ch 09 says Asha provides the New York lead; Ch 22 says June accepts Asha's lead and recommends Asha to Nia. If Asha takes the Philadelphia job, the reader may wonder whether the New York lead remains available, whether Asha leaves, and why the source of June's stay path is also taking the leave path.
   why it matters: This is the material earned-stay machinery; ambiguity here damages the "not staying for Theo" safeguard.
   revision order: Split Asha's two functions or clarify them. Best fix: Asha is the local source and the recommended artist, but the Ridgewood studio share belongs to Asha's former studio mate, not Asha; the January install contract is a separate coordinator lead Asha forwards. If that feels too neat, name a second minor contact for the NY logistics.
   acceptance test: Ch 22 can answer where June lives/paints/earns even if Asha accepts the Philadelphia role.

3. **medium - Several cards lack the `flag:new-or-returning-character` trigger despite introducing/returning important secondary players.**
   evidence: Ch 15 brings Nia into the offer scene but has `flag:new-or-returning-character`; Ch 22 brings Asha/Nia back but lacks it; Ch 20 returns Ruth/Sam in a high-leverage care scene but lacks it; Ch 23/24 return the diner/portrait but not character issue. 
   why it matters: The snapshot_conformance audit depends on these flags.
   revision order: Add `flag:new-or-returning-character` to Ch 20 and Ch 22. Consider Ch 26 if Asha/Nia follow-up appears.
   acceptance test: every chapter with a named returning secondary whose arc moves has the flag.

4. **medium - Ch 04 claims Odile arranges seating before the diner but does not define logistics.**
   evidence: Ch 04 function line now says "Odile arranges the first after-class seating before sending them downstairs."
   why it matters: If drafted literally, Odile arranging diner seating may feel forced unless she feeds/organizes the class as part of her teaching practice.
   revision order: Clarify that seating arrangement happens in the studio critique/cleanup, then the cohort carries the arrangement downstairs. Odile need not physically attend the diner.
   acceptance test: Odile's Ch 04 plant is embodied and plausible without making her a group-dinner chaperone.

5. **medium - Ch 13 still risks overload despite guardrails.**
   evidence: Ch 13 carries memory painting, showcase announcement, cover kiss, and offer arrival.
   why it matters: This is the midpoint; if all beats are fully dramatized, the chapter will exceed target and blunt the kiss.
   revision order: Chapter packet must enforce: memory painting and kiss are dramatized; announcement is a compact class turn; offer is a final notification only. Ch 15 opens the offer substance.
   acceptance test: Ch 13 scene list has no more than three scenes and ends on the offer notification.

## Card-Specific Patch List

- Ch 03 or 04: seed Mara's scarf/care object by name and owner.
- Ch 04: define Odile's seating plant as studio cleanup/critique placement, not diner attendance.
- Ch 18: name the returned object and original owner.
- Ch 20: add `flag:new-or-returning-character`.
- Ch 22: clarify Asha/NY lead mechanics and add `flag:new-or-returning-character`.
- Ch 26: if Asha/Nia follow-up appears, add `flag:new-or-returning-character`.

## Do Not Break

- Keep Ch 13 in June POV.
- Keep Ch 17 discovery via catalog acknowledgment.
- Keep Ch 22 refusal before confession.
- Keep the exact minimal showcase label.

