update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/mitzvot/007.md

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Whenever ey walked out there without her, as ey did today, ey'd think on this. M
 
 Ey'd long wrestled with whether or not they were just normal people. Perhaps Michelle had been --- ey'd not spent enough time around her to know, and what time ey had managed had been mostly silence. Toward the end, her conversations were more interruptions than not, although the impression ey'd gotten was that she'd been kind and gentle, while still being the type to care passionately about things or, more often, people. The impression just hadn't been a strong one. Not enough time to for it to solidify.
 
-Ey'd eventually come to the conclusion, confirmed through discussions with several of the clade, that each of them had begun as a distillation of a singular aspect of Michelle than the whole of her. That wasn't to say that they weren't complete in their own right, simply that each was singularly focused on their interests and skills, a perpetual hyperfixation. What was it Codrin and Dear had said? Even True Name was a fully realized person.
+Ey'd eventually come to the conclusion, confirmed through discussions with several of the clade, that each of them had begun more as a distillation of a singular aspect of Michelle than the whole of her. That wasn't to say that they weren't complete in their own right, simply that each was singularly focused on their interests and skills, a perpetual hyperfixation. What was it Codrin and Dear had said? Even True Name was a fully realized person.
 
 Normal, though? Could one be both a singular facet and normal?
 
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ She leaned down to rest her elbows on the back of the couch beside em. "I am not
 
 She swatted at the back of eir head and laughed. "Jerk."
 
-"Ow!" Ey laughed as well, rubbing at eir head. "Domestic abuse. Want to go out for dinner?"
+"Ow! Domestic abuse!" Ey laughed as well, rubbing at eir head. "Want to go out for dinner?"
 
 At that, May perked up, grinning. "I take back the slap. Yes please! Can we get sushi?"
 
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ She bounced on the balls of her feet and nodded. "Yes! You, my dear, know just h
 
 One of the things that Ioan appreciated most about J2 over all of the other sushi places May had dragged em to is that it was the most amenable to em eating with eir hands. May was quite nimble with chopsticks --- no mean feat with paws and claws --- but ey'd never quite picked it up, so being able to eat those little bullets of rice and fish with eir hands suited em quite well.
 
-It had a channel of water floating along between the booths, small dishes drifting by lazily for the diners to pluck from the water. It obviated the need for any staff, real or constructed, as each dish would be replaced from behind a bend in the river. With no need to pay beyond a token amount of reputation, it simply became a pleasant evening out, plates stacking up at the edge of their table, a tacit contest with other diners.
+It had a channel of water floating along between the booths, small dishes drifting by lazily for the diners to pluck from the water. This obviated the need for any staff, real or simulated, as each dish would be replaced from behind a bend in the river. With no need to pay beyond a token amount of reputation, it simply became a pleasant evening out, plates stacking up at the edge of their table, a tacit contest with other diners.
 
 "Did you get what you needed out of your walk earlier, my dear?" May asked before popping a bit of fish into her muzzle.
 

writing/post-self/mitzvot/008.md

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ They fell into work after that. True Name focused on her messages or dealt with
 
 Add in the twenty-fifth anniversary since Launch and certainly there would be an added note of joy for many across all three Systems. Ioan was particularly looking forward to the letters from Castor and Pollux in a month and change to hear how things had gone on each of the LVs. Perhaps ey'd even hear from Sorina from Artemis.
 
-Still, True Name's mussed look and anxious expression seemed to go beyond that. Ey couldn't think of a reason related to the day that would have her in such a state. Things would be intense, but no so much so as to force her to drop her carefully constructed veneer of confidence.
+Still, True Name's mussed appearance and anxious expression seemed to go beyond that. Ey couldn't think of a reason related to the day that would have her in such a state. Things would be intense, but not so much so as to force her to drop her carefully constructed veneer of confidence.
 
 *Ah well, at least she got some time off,* ey thought. This was followed by a gentle chiding which ey heard in May's voice. *And you are not supposed to be fixing things, remember?*
 
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ She held up a paw, beckoning em to silence, and, despite the way she kept search
 
 Ey closed eir notebook, figuring ey was pretty well ruined for work at this point, and watched her carefully.
 
-When nothing of interest appeared on the street, the skunk slowly turned to scan the room. Her eyes shot wide open, and ey followed her gaze out into the scant crowd of patrons. Everything was much as it had been: folks sitting and chatting, drinking their coffee, reading or doing work. She, however, seemed to be focused in particular on a middle-aged man walking from the back of the shop where a door opened onto patio seating.
+When nothing of interest appeared on the street, the skunk turned slowly to scan the room. Her eyes shot wide open, and ey followed her gaze out into the scant crowd of patrons. Everything was much as it had been: folks sitting and chatting, drinking their coffee, reading or doing work. She, however, seemed to be focused in particular on a middle-aged man walking from the back of the shop where a door opened onto patio seating.
 
 "Fuck," she said, then shouted, "*Fuck!*"