zero bug fix and cleanup

I want to put this up for PR despite having collab status because it makes some stylistic changes, and i don't want to step on your toes. :)

If i keep working on this I'm going to factor things around a bit (starting with trying to fix the characters+1 thing) so I want to set expectations before i mess with the master branch of *your* project!

i hope it's alright. lmk.