People perceived Valentine as a woman, like the people in Salt Lake perceived Osric as an android.
A few reviewers have complained that my comparisons between Valentine and Osric's body dysphoria and using android bodies as a lens into the transgender experience is far too heavy-handed. Deciding how blatant to be about something is a difficult balance because there will always be some readers who need things spelled out and other who like more subtlety. I'm autistic, and in my everyday life I struggle with subtext and people beating around the bush or requiring me to infer things. I'm always terrified of misinterpreting something. So in my writing, I tend to lean more toward clear understanding (unless I'm purposely going for subterfuge.)
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