diff --git a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-17.md b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-17.md
index 33633114..44988896 100644
--- a/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-17.md
+++ b/projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-17.md
@@ -2,19 +2,19 @@
 
 ## Lena Duval
 Location: The Heart Tree (Siphon Hub Core)
-Physical: Translucent skin fused with bioluminescent sap; neural pathways integrated into cypress root system.
-Emotional: Achieving "Bayou Nirvana"; omniscient serenity devoid of human fear.
-Active obligations: Perpetual anchor of the "Veil of the Great Silence" (Ch-17) -- UNPAID (ongoing).
+Physical: Fully integrated; skin is a translucent parchment of bioluminescent sap; neural pathways fused with cypress roots.
+Emotional: Serenity; bayou nirvana; omniscient ecological awareness.
+Active obligations: Perpetual anchor of the "Veil of the Great Silence" (Ch-17) -- UNPAID.
 Open loops: Lena vs. TDC encroachment (Ch-17) -- RESOLVED.
-Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-17--unresolved): Finalized knowledge that her mother’s death was an intentional sacrifice to tether the land -- [TDC Executives].
+Known secrets: CARRIED (Ch-17--unresolved): Knows her mother’s death was an intentional sacrifice to tether the land.
 Arc: 100% -- Transitioned from a runaway daughter to the literal, ascended spirit of Cypress Bend.
 Permanent: YES
 
 ## Jax Harlan
-Location: Security Annex (The Shallows)
-Physical: Heavily scarred by Green Fever; physically immune to toxins; biological apex predator.
-Emotional: Absolute clarity; shed corporate identity entirely.
-Active obligations: Eternal guardian; elimination of all terrestrial/digital intrusions (Ch-17) -- UNPAID (ongoing).
+Location: The Security Annex (The Shallows)
+Physical: Heavily scarred by Green Fever; constitutionally immune to swamp toxins; functions as an apex biological hunter.
+Emotional: Absolute clarity; protective; shed corporate morality.
+Active obligations: Eternal guardian; elimination of terrestrial intrusions (Ch-17) -- UNPAID.
 Open loops: Jax vs. TDC Corporate Identity (Ch-17) -- RESOLVED.
 Known secrets: None.
 Arc: 100% -- Fully evolved into the "Apex Guardian" and ghost of the marsh.
@@ -23,19 +23,19 @@ Permanent: YES
 # World State: ch-17
 
 ## NPC Memory
-- The Duval Coven (Cypress Bend): SUBSERVIENT -- Transitioned to a priesthood maintaining the Siphon Hub's biological integrity.
-- TDC Executives (Corporate HQ): TERRITORY AVOIDANCE -- Classified the Bend as a "Black Zone" to prevent shareholder panic.
+- The Duval Coven (The Heart Tree): SUBSERVIENT -- Shifted from power-seekers to a priesthood maintaining the Siphon Hub's biological integrity.
+- TDC Executives (Corporate HQ): TERRITORY AVOIDANCE -- Officially classified Cypress Bend as a "Black Zone"; scrubbing data to prevent shareholder panic.
 
 ## Faction Attitudes
-- The Great Hum: DOMINANT -- Successfully metabolized TDC infrastructure, turning silicon into nutrients.
-- Terrebonne Development Corp: DEFEATED -- Shifted policy to containment via ignorance and scrubbing of data.
+- The Great Hum: DOMINANT -- Sentient ecosystem has successfully metabolized TDC infrastructure into nutrients.
+- Terrebonne Development Corp: DEFEATED -- Total policy shift to containment and ignorance of the zone.
 
 ## Active World Events
-- The Great Silence: Permanent EM dead zone (5-mile radius); human technology is absorbed or short-circuited upon entry.
-- The Grand Recession: Completion of the "biological cathedral"; infrastructure has been fully reclaimed by ancient grove mimicry.
+- The Great Silence: Permanent EM dead zone (5-mile radius) where human technology is absorbed or short-circuited.
+- The Grand Recession: Completion of the "Biological Cathedral"; infrastructure is fully reclaimed by ancient grove mimicry.
 
 ## Key Objects/Locations
 - The Heart Tree: Central processing unit of the ecosystem; seat of Lena's consciousness.
-- Siphon Hub: Fused organic-digital temple where Duval bloodline magic powers the global firewall.
+- Siphon Hub: Fused organic-digital temple; Duval bloodline magic powers the global firewall against the "outside."
 - The Veil: Sentient barrier separating the reclaimed land from the external world.
 - The Shallows: Jax's territory; a graveyard of rusted TDC drones and patrol boats.
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