diff --git a/system/netlify/functions/index.mjs b/system/netlify/functions/index.mjs
index ee11702435..397c5a995c 100644
--- a/system/netlify/functions/index.mjs
+++ b/system/netlify/functions/index.mjs
@@ -1360,7 +1360,10 @@ async function fun(event, context) {
           // Also detect based on nolabel/nogap query params which indicate embedded preview mode
           var isL5=false;try{isL5=location.pathname.indexOf('.lua')>=0||(window.self!==window.top&&(document.referrer.indexOf('l5.aesthetic')>=0||document.referrer.indexOf('l5.prompt')>=0));}catch(e){isL5=document.referrer.indexOf('l5.')>=0;}
           var isKidlisp=false;if(!isL5){try{isKidlisp=window.self!==window.top&&(window.parent.location.hostname.indexOf('kidlisp')>=0||document.referrer.indexOf('kidlisp')>=0);}catch(e){isKidlisp=document.referrer.indexOf('kidlisp')>=0;}}
-          if(!isKidlisp&&!isL5&&window.self!==window.top){if(qs.indexOf('nolabel')>=0&&qs.indexOf('nogap')>=0)isKidlisp=true;}
+          // nogap+nolabel reads as "someone else's preview chrome" — kidlisp.com's
+          // embed. An HTML shell (prompt.ac) passes the same pair but says so with
+          // shellhtml, and wants the plain boot log, not the $code preview.
+          if(!isKidlisp&&!isL5&&window.self!==window.top&&qs.indexOf('shellhtml')<0){if(qs.indexOf('nolabel')>=0&&qs.indexOf('nogap')>=0)isKidlisp=true;}
           // Detect $code piece name from URL pathname OR document.referrer (kidlisp.com parent)
           var klPieceName='';(function(){var p=location.pathname;if(p.length>1){var pn=p.slice(1).split('?')[0].split(':')[0];if(pn.startsWith('$'))pn=pn.slice(1);if(pn&&pn!=='prompt'&&pn!=='kidlisp')klPieceName=pn;}if(!klPieceName){try{var ref=document.referrer;if(ref&&(ref.indexOf('kidlisp.com')>=0||ref.indexOf('kidlisp')>=0)){var rp=new URL(ref).pathname.slice(1).split('?')[0].split(':')[0];if(rp.startsWith('$'))rp=rp.slice(1);if(rp&&rp!=='prompt'&&rp!=='kidlisp'&&rp!=='device')klPieceName=rp;}}catch(e){}}})();
           var klSourceLines=[],klSourceReady=false;
diff --git a/system/public/aesthetic.computer/boot.mjs b/system/public/aesthetic.computer/boot.mjs
index 458a9eb2af..a09020a6c6 100644
--- a/system/public/aesthetic.computer/boot.mjs
+++ b/system/public/aesthetic.computer/boot.mjs
@@ -332,6 +332,11 @@ function hideBootLog() {
   if (bc?.hide) {
     bc.hide();
   }
+  // 🐚 The piece is on screen now. `ready` (disk loaded) fires earlier, while
+  // the overlay still stands, so a hosting shell that dresses the runtime —
+  // prompt.ac's corner label — needs this later moment to avoid drawing its
+  // chrome over the boot log.
+  window.parent?.postMessage({ type: "ac:boot-hidden" }, "*");
   // Safety net: if the disk-loaded path somehow never marked success, getting
   // far enough to hide the overlay still counts as a boot.
   markBootSuccess();
diff --git a/system/public/html/lib/moat.mjs b/system/public/html/lib/moat.mjs
index becfe10e2c..74cdb9ea26 100644
--- a/system/public/html/lib/moat.mjs
+++ b/system/public/html/lib/moat.mjs
@@ -114,6 +114,10 @@ export function el(tag, props = {}, ...kids) {
 //   frame.load("clock")      → in-place piece swap (no reload) via `load-piece`
 //   frame.onPiece(cb)        → fires when the runtime reports a new slug
 //   frame.onReady(cb)        → fires once the runtime is booted + interactive
+//   frame.onLive(cb)         → fires once the runtime's boot overlay is down
+//                              and the piece itself is on screen (later than
+//                              onReady — that one lands while the boot log
+//                              still covers the frame)
 // In-place swap depends on boot.mjs's `load-piece` parent handler; if the
 // runtime is older, call frame.load(slug, { reload: true }) to fall back to a
 // full iframe.src navigation.
@@ -123,9 +127,11 @@ export class ACFrame {
     this.origin = origin;
     this.piece = null;
     this.ready = false;
+    this.live = false;
     this.bridgeReady = false;
     this._onPiece = [];
     this._onReady = [];
+    this._onLive = [];
     this._onBridgeReady = [];
     window.addEventListener("message", (e) => {
       if (e.source !== iframe.contentWindow) return;
@@ -145,6 +151,11 @@ export class ACFrame {
           this.ready = true;
           this._onReady.forEach((cb) => cb());
         }
+      } else if (d.type === "ac:boot-hidden") {
+        if (!this.live) {
+          this.live = true;
+          this._onLive.forEach((cb) => cb());
+        }
       } else if (d.type === "ac:bridge-ready") {
         if (!this.bridgeReady) {
           this.bridgeReady = true;
@@ -158,6 +169,7 @@ export class ACFrame {
   // the fresh runtime.
   boot(slug = "prompt", params = "nogap=true&nolabel=true") {
     this.ready = false;
+    this.live = false;
     this.bridgeReady = false;
     this.piece = null;
     this.iframe.src = `${this.origin}/${slug}?${params}`;
@@ -174,6 +186,7 @@ export class ACFrame {
   }
   onPiece(cb) { this._onPiece.push(cb); return this; }
   onReady(cb) { this._onReady.push(cb); return this; }
+  onLive(cb) { this._onLive.push(cb); return this; }
   onBridgeReady(cb) { this._onBridgeReady.push(cb); return this; }
 }
 
diff --git a/system/public/prompt.ac/index.html b/system/public/prompt.ac/index.html
index a7f667d1f0..0aacc57144 100644
--- a/system/public/prompt.ac/index.html
+++ b/system/public/prompt.ac/index.html
@@ -66,8 +66,16 @@
 
   * { box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; }
   html, body { height: 100%; margin: 0; background: var(--bg); }
-  body { font-family: var(--font); color: var(--text); overflow: hidden; cursor: var(--cursor-precise), auto; }
-  #cmd { cursor: var(--cursor-precise), text; }
+  /* The shell is a screen, not a document: dragging across it paints no blue
+     wash and a long press raises no callout, the way the raster prompt's
+     canvas behaves. The typed line is the one place text is really text. */
+  body {
+    font-family: var(--font); color: var(--text); overflow: hidden;
+    cursor: var(--cursor-precise), auto;
+    -webkit-user-select: none; user-select: none;
+    -webkit-touch-callout: none;
+  }
+  #cmd { cursor: var(--cursor-precise), text; -webkit-user-select: text; user-select: text; }
   button, .corner { cursor: var(--cursor-active), pointer; }
   ::selection { background: var(--highlight); color: var(--bg); }
 
@@ -75,7 +83,12 @@
      stage stays inert underneath the opaque #screen — never visibility:hidden,
      because Chrome throttles rendering for hidden cross-origin iframes and
      the runtime's boot/load loop would stall (same-origin dev masks this). ── */
+  /* The stage's ground is bare for the half-second before the runtime's own
+     first paint lands, so it wears the same paper the boot log will — black
+     under the dark log, white under the light one — and the boot starts
+     without a flash. */
   .stage { position: absolute; inset: 0; background: #000; }
+  @media (prefers-color-scheme: light) { .stage { background: #fff; } }
   iframe { position: absolute; inset: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; display: block; }
   body[data-mode="prompt"] .stage { pointer-events: none; }
 
@@ -194,6 +207,7 @@
      login curtain (showLoginCurtain in prompt.mjs): it stands only while
      the line is deactivated, empty, and quiet (no reply). ─────────────── */
   .auth { display: flex; gap: 14px; transition: opacity .35s; }
+  .auth[hidden] { display: none; } /* `display: flex` above outranks the UA rule */
   body.active .auth, body.typing .auth,
   body.replying .auth, body.submitting .auth { opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; }
   .auth button {
@@ -220,23 +234,32 @@
     font-size: clamp(20px, 2.6vw, 30px); line-height: 1.3;
     text-shadow: 1px 1px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, .75);
   }
-  body[data-mode="piece"] .corner { display: block; }
+  body[data-mode="piece"].live .corner { display: block; }
   body[data-mode="piece"] #screen.overlay ~ .corner { display: none; }
   .corner:hover { color: var(--highlight); }
 
-  /* ── Boot loader — only when deep-linking straight into a piece. ────── */
-  .loading {
-    position: absolute; inset: 0; z-index: 5; display: none;
-    align-items: center; justify-content: center;
-    color: var(--dim); font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: .5px; pointer-events: none;
-    transition: opacity .4s; background: var(--bg);
-  }
-  .loading.on { display: flex; }
-  .loading.gone { opacity: 0; }
   .sr-only { position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; padding: 0; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0); white-space: nowrap; border: 0; }
 </style>
 </head>
-<body data-mode="prompt">
+<body>
+  <script>
+    // 🎬 First paint. A deep link is on its way into a piece, so the prompt
+    // screen must never flash its login curtain on the way there — the mode is
+    // settled here, before anything is drawn, and the module below reads these
+    // back rather than deriving the route a second time.
+    // Deep links ride real paths like the raster site (prompt.ac/line): lith's
+    // resolver serves this shell for every piece-like prompt.ac path, and
+    // replaceState keeps the bar in sync without a request. A nested dev mount
+    // (localhost:8888/prompt.ac/) owns no paths, so it stays on hashes; old
+    // #piece links still resolve everywhere.
+    window.acNestedMount = location.pathname.startsWith("/prompt.ac");
+    window.acInitialPiece = decodeURIComponent(
+      (!window.acNestedMount && location.pathname !== "/" ? location.pathname.slice(1) : "") ||
+      location.hash.slice(1),
+    ) || "prompt";
+    document.body.dataset.mode =
+      window.acInitialPiece === "prompt" ? "prompt" : "booting";
+  </script>
   <div class="stage">
     <iframe id="ac" title="Aesthetic Computer" allow="microphone; camera; midi; autoplay; clipboard-read; clipboard-write; fullscreen; xr-spatial-tracking"></iframe>
   </div>
@@ -263,7 +286,6 @@
   </div>
 
   <div class="corner" id="corner" title="back to prompt"><span id="cornerName"></span></div>
-  <div class="loading" id="loading">booting aesthetic computer&hellip;</div>
   <span class="sr-only" id="dot" role="status">runtime booting</span>
 
 <script type="module">
@@ -282,7 +304,7 @@ const $ghost = $("ghost"), $results = $("results"), $lisp = $("lisp");
 const $screen = $("screen"), $corner = $("corner"), $cornerName = $("cornerName");
 const $auth = $("auth"), $login = $("login"), $signup = $("signup"), $profile = $("profile");
 const $reply = $("reply"), $replyText = $("replyText"), $notice = $("notice");
-const $loading = $("loading"), $dot = $("dot");
+const $dot = $("dot");
 const $ac = $("ac");
 const frame = new ACFrame($ac, { origin: runtimeOrigin });
 let pendingJump = null;
@@ -393,16 +415,10 @@ function deactivate({ silent = false } = {}) {
   refreshCompletions(); // ghost + rows stand down with the line
 }
 
-// Deep links ride real paths like the raster site (prompt.ac/line): lith's
-// resolver serves this shell for every piece-like prompt.ac path, and
-// replaceState keeps the bar in sync without a request. A nested dev mount
-// (localhost:8888/prompt.ac/) owns no paths, so it stays on hashes; old
-// #piece links still resolve everywhere.
-const nestedMount = location.pathname.startsWith("/prompt.ac");
-const initial = decodeURIComponent(
-  (!nestedMount && location.pathname !== "/" ? location.pathname.slice(1) : "") ||
-  location.hash.slice(1),
-) || "prompt";
+// The route was settled by the first-paint script at the top of <body>, so
+// the mode was right before anything was drawn; read it back here.
+const nestedMount = window.acNestedMount;
+const initial = window.acInitialPiece;
 let currentPiece = initial;
 const frameParams = "nogap=true&nolabel=true&shellhtml=true";
 
@@ -435,17 +451,18 @@ function setMode(piece) {
   else syncCaret();
 }
 setMode(initial);
-if (initial !== "prompt") $loading.classList.add("on");
 
 // shellhtml keeps disk.mjs's composited prompt and corner HUD off for the
 // iframe's entire lifetime; the DOM above is the visible prompt.
 $dot.textContent = "runtime booting";
 frame.boot(initial, frameParams);
 
-frame.onReady(() => {
-  $dot.textContent = "runtime live";
-  $loading.classList.add("gone");
-});
+// The runtime's own boot log is the only thing on screen while it boots — the
+// same plain text a bare aesthetic.computer load shows. The shell's corner
+// label is the piece's label, so it waits for the piece: onReady lands while
+// that log still stands, onLive when it comes down.
+frame.onReady(() => { $dot.textContent = "runtime live"; });
+frame.onLive(() => document.body.classList.add("live"));
 frame.onBridgeReady(() => {
   askUser();
   if (pendingJump) {
@@ -739,6 +756,7 @@ function beginLogin(mode) {
 function rebootRuntime() {
   userKnown = false;
   promptLive = false;
+  document.body.classList.remove("live"); // a fresh boot log, uncovered again
   frame.boot("prompt", frameParams);
 }
 $login.onclick = () => beginLogin("login");
@@ -885,7 +903,7 @@ function renderCompletions() {
       const row = document.createElement("div");
       row.className = "row" + (i === completionAt ? " sel" : "") + (c.wg ? " wg" : "");
       row.setAttribute("role", "option");
-      row.textContent = (i === completionAt ? "> " : "  ") + c.name;
+      row.textContent = c.name;
       if (c.desc) {
         const desc = document.createElement("span");
         desc.className = "desc";
@@ -901,7 +919,7 @@ function renderCompletions() {
     hist.slice(-5).reverse().forEach((h) => {
       const row = document.createElement("div");
       row.className = "row hist";
-      row.textContent = "  " + h;
+      row.textContent = h;
       row.onpointerdown = (e) => e.stopPropagation();
       row.onpointerup = (e) => e.stopPropagation();
       row.onclick = () => { setTyped(h); $cmd.focus(); };
@@ -1057,9 +1075,14 @@ function recall(dir) {
   setTyped(hist[hi] ?? "");
 }
 
-// Fallback: if the runtime never signals ready (old build / slow boot), lift
-// the piece loader anyway so a deep-link is never stuck on it.
-setTimeout(() => { if (!frame.ready) { $loading.classList.add("gone"); $dot.textContent = "runtime slow to respond"; } }, 12000);
+// Fallback: a runtime older than `ac:boot-hidden` never reports its boot log
+// coming down, and `ready` is no substitute — it lands while that log still
+// stands, and the motd reveal can hold it there for seconds afterward. So wait
+// past any boot, then wear the label rather than leave the piece unlabeled.
+setTimeout(() => {
+  if (!frame.ready) $dot.textContent = "runtime slow to respond";
+  document.body.classList.add("live");
+}, 12000);
 </script>
 </body>
 </html>