From 312e123fb774629a0653b3e49a7f98beef27bf2f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Sam <samuv.eth@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2026 18:17:03 +0700
Subject: [PATCH] windows take turns, the gossip page waits, the shot bar
 counts down
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

- the UIPanel registry is re-derived from the reference's bytes: the readable-item page finally registers, so a note or letter closes when a gossip window opens instead of interleaving with it line for line; the character sheet takes its real pushable-2 seat (an NPC window slides it over instead of replacing it), and the spellbook, quest log, talents and character sheet open for dead players again — a refused open now says "You can't do that when you're dead." instead of doing nothing
- the gossip window waits for its greeting: the first packet carries only the options and a text id, and we used to show the frame with a blank page for the round trip the text needed — the menu now exists only once the text has answered, a mid-flight click is refused, and a revisit is instant off the cache
- a bag slot whose stack count changes on the server now fires `ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED` just ahead of its `BAG_UPDATE` — the one signal 1.12 hunter addons use to detect a spent arrow — so Quiver's auto-shot bar drains per shot instead of pinning at 100%; a swap or create deliberately does not fire it, so rearranging bags can't read as a shot
- the outdoor minimap tiles' gamma byte reaches the screen exactly once — the ordinary decode arm learns the same skip the fast path already had

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .../benilla-app/assets/ui/CharacterFrame.xml  |  10 +-
 .../benilla-app/assets/ui/QuestLogFrame.xml   |   3 +-
 crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/UiPanels.xml     | 114 +++++--
 crates/benilla-app/src/minimap/mod.rs         |  17 +-
 crates/benilla-app/src/net/apply/npc.rs       |  38 +--
 crates/benilla-app/src/shaders/ui_quad.wgsl   |  22 +-
 crates/benilla-app/src/ui_gossip.rs           | 248 ++++++++++++++-
 crates/benilla-app/src/ui_items/feed.rs       | 110 +++++++
 crates/benilla-app/src/ui_pass.rs             |  59 ++--
 .../benilla-app/src/ui_script/extract/text.rs |   2 +
 .../benilla-app/src/ui_script/fade_tests.rs   | 119 +++++++
 crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/mod.rs       |   3 +
 .../benilla-app/src/ui_script/panel_tests.rs  | 227 ++++++++-----
 .../benilla-app/src/ui_script/quiver_tests.rs | 298 ++++++++++++++++++
 crates/benilla-app/tests/item_text_frame.rs   |  78 +++++
 crates/benilla-ui/src/script/gossip.rs        |  23 +-
 crates/benilla-ui/src/script/mod.rs           |   2 +
 crates/benilla-ui/src/script/ui_errors.rs     |  35 ++
 18 files changed, 1204 insertions(+), 204 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/fade_tests.rs
 create mode 100644 crates/benilla-ui/src/script/ui_errors.rs

diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/CharacterFrame.xml b/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/CharacterFrame.xml
index 0c7306b5..4e132926 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/CharacterFrame.xml
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/CharacterFrame.xml
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@
         defined in `UiPanels.xml:507-563` (battle-tested by Merchant/QuestLog, 0138) — reused
         here, not redefined.
 
-        Docks the left UIPanel slot exactly like Gossip/Merchant/Quest/QuestLog (`UiPanels.xml`
-        `UIPanelWindows["CharacterFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }`, mirroring the
-        ref's own `CharacterFrame` row, `UIParent.lua` pin cited in `UiPanels.xml`'s header) — so it
-        competes for/replaces those windows, never stacks with them. `ToggleCharacter(tab)` (ref
+        Docks the left UIPanel slot (`UiPanels.xml` `UIPanelWindows["CharacterFrame"] =
+        { area = "left", pushable = 2, whileDead = 1 }`, the ref's own `UIParent.lua l.19` row —
+        decision 1507; pushable was wrongly 0 from 0208 until then). pushable=2 means it does NOT
+        simply replace the NPC-session windows: a pushable-0 window opening under it slides this
+        sheet to the CENTER seat (vendor left, your equipment beside it), and showing this over a
+        pushable-0 occupant parks it at center likewise. `ToggleCharacter(tab)` (ref
         `CharacterFrame.lua:3-23`) is the show/hide/tab-switch entry point;
         the app's 'C' binding calls it (`ui_script/mod.rs`).
 
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/QuestLogFrame.xml b/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/QuestLogFrame.xml
index db53e289..ed9a5c3b 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/QuestLogFrame.xml
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/QuestLogFrame.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@
         construction regardless (`widget/mod.rs`'s ctor comment).
 
         Docks the left UIPanel slot exactly like Gossip/Merchant/Quest (`UiPanels.xml`
-        `UIPanelWindows["QuestLogFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }`, pin §8's
+        `UIPanelWindows["QuestLogFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0, whileDead = 1 }`
+        (whileDead carried since 1507), pin §8's
         `UIParent.lua l.25` quote) — so it competes for/replaces those windows, never stacks with
         them. UNLIKE those windows this is not an NPC session: no `CloseX()` on hide, no range guard;
         it is durable player state the app can push at any time (`benilla-ui`'s `quest_log.rs` module
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/UiPanels.xml b/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/UiPanels.xml
index 9489f19f..d0233f85 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/UiPanels.xml
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/assets/ui/UiPanels.xml
@@ -11,36 +11,51 @@
         reference's window arbitration (a different number is a different window order), and the
         `UISpecialFrames` seeds. The code around that data is ours.
 
-        Scope: `left`, `center` and `full` are all live. `doublewide` and `UIChildWindows` are not
-        — nothing benilla ships wants them — but the registration table keeps their exact shape so
-        a later row drops in unchanged. **`UISpecialFrames` is not ours to write into** (decision
-        1206): it is the table an ADDON puts its own window in, and 34 corpus call sites do.
+        Scope: `left`, `center` and `full` are all live, and so is `UIChildWindows` (decision 1507
+        — all four of the reference's child windows ship now). `doublewide` is not — its one 1.12
+        tenant is the auction house, which benilla doesn't ship — but the registration table keeps
+        its exact shape so a later row drops in unchanged. **`UISpecialFrames` is not ours to write
+        into** (decision 1206): it is the table an ADDON puts its own window in, and 34 corpus call
+        sites do.
 
         Rows are keyed by the frame names we actually ship. Most of those ARE the reference's own
         (`GossipFrame`, `MerchantFrame`, `LootFrame`); where ours differs, the row is `Benilla*` and
         its comment names the reference row it stands in for.
     -->
     <Script><![CDATA[
-        -- UIParent.lua l.14-42: UIPanelWindows["FrameName"] = { area, pushable, whileDead }. Only the
-        -- rows benilla ships/anticipates today (pin §1): Gossip + Merchant are live; Loot registers
-        -- now (pushable=7) so the coming loot window lands on an already-wired system.
+        -- UIParent.lua l.14-42: UIPanelWindows["FrameName"] = { area, pushable, whileDead }. Only
+        -- the rows benilla ships today; the ref rows with no benilla window yet (Tabard, Petition,
+        -- GuildRegistrar, PetStable, Battlefield, Help, Cinematic, WorldStateScore, Minigame — and
+        -- the doublewide AuctionFrame) join as their windows land (audited row-by-row against the
+        -- bytes, decision 1507).
         UIPanelWindows = {}
         UIPanelWindows["GossipFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
         UIPanelWindows["MerchantFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
+        -- The item-text reader (decision 0572, ItemTextFrame.xml): the ref's own l.20 verbatim
+        -- (`UIPanelWindows["ItemTextFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }`). The missing row
+        -- WAS bug B288 (decision 1507): the reader already opened through ShowUIPanel, but
+        -- unregistered that call is a bare Show() in no slot — so a quest giver's gossip seated
+        -- itself at the left slot straight over the open note, page text and greeting interleaved.
+        -- Registered, the two are ordinary left-slot rivals (both pushable 0): one replaces the
+        -- other, and the replaced reader's own OnHide sends its CloseItemText().
+        UIPanelWindows["ItemTextFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
         -- The mail window (decision 0544): the reference UIParent.lua l.37 registers MailFrame
-        -- area="left", pushable=0. The OpenMailFrame is NOT a panel — it is a special-frame toplevel
-        -- (UIParent.lua l.46 UISpecialFrames), closed by ESC in ToggleGameMenu below. Our own
-        -- escapable toplevels stay hard-listed in that chain rather than pushed into
-        -- UISpecialFrames — the table exists now (1206) but it is the ADDONS' list, and mixing our
-        -- windows into it would make an addon's `tremove` able to break the client's own ESC.
+        -- area="left", pushable=0. The OpenMailFrame is NOT a panel — it is a UIChildWindow
+        -- (UIParent.lua l.46; 0544 misread that line as UISpecialFrames, 1507 corrects it): shown
+        -- through ShowUIPanel's bare-Show unregistered branch exactly as the ref shows it
+        -- (MailFrame.lua l.206), hidden by SetCenterFrame's child-window loop when a frame takes
+        -- the center seat, and closed with its parent by MailFrame's own OnHide. ESC still closes
+        -- it on our own hard-listed chain in ToggleGameMenu below — never via UISpecialFrames,
+        -- the ADDONS' list (1206), where an addon's `tremove` could break the client's own ESC.
         UIPanelWindows["MailFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
         -- The script error log (decision 1495) — OURS, with no reference row to transcribe. It is
         -- registered here for exactly one reason: an unregistered frame takes ShowUIPanel's bare
         -- `frame:Show()` branch (no left-slot placement, and `CloseAllWindows` never sees it), so
         -- without this row the window would flip IsShown() without landing on screen and ESC would
         -- not close it. `pushable = 9` puts it behind everything already registered: a diagnostic
-        -- must never shove a player's real window out of the slot it wanted.
-        UIPanelWindows["BenillaScriptLogFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 9 }
+        -- must never shove a player's real window out of the slot it wanted. whileDead is ours by
+        -- the same logic (1507): a Lua error in the death flow is exactly one you need to read.
+        UIPanelWindows["BenillaScriptLogFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 9, whileDead = 1 }
         -- The trade window (decision 0592 P1, TradeFrame.xml): the ref's own UIParent.lua l.27
         -- registration (`UIPanelWindows["TradeFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 1 }`). Without
         -- this row ShowUIPanel takes its unregistered branch — a bare frame:Show() with no left-slot
@@ -65,26 +80,31 @@
         -- what makes "ctrl-click a merchant's item" show both.
         UIPanelWindows["DressUpFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 2 }
         UIPanelWindows["QuestFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
-        UIPanelWindows["QuestLogFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
+        -- The ref's own l.25 verbatim — whileDead carried since 1507: `UnitIsDead` is a live unit
+        -- binding now, so the flag decides, and checking your quest log while dead is 1.12's call.
+        UIPanelWindows["QuestLogFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0, whileDead = 1 }
         UIPanelWindows["LootFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 7 }
-        -- The character window (decision 0208 phase 1a, CharacterFrame.xml): the ref's own
-        -- CharacterFrame row (area "left", pushable 0) — competes for/replaces the other left-slot
-        -- windows exactly like Gossip/Merchant/Quest/QuestLog above.
-        UIPanelWindows["CharacterFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
+        -- The character window (decision 0208 phase 1a, CharacterFrame.xml): the ref's own row is
+        -- `{ area = "left", pushable = 2 , whileDead = 1}` (UIParent.lua l.19, spacing and all) —
+        -- NOT the pushable=0 this line carried from 0208 until 1507 re-read the bytes. The 2 is
+        -- load-bearing arbitration: an NPC session (pushable 0) opening under an open character
+        -- sheet slides it to the center seat — vendor left, your equipment beside it — instead of
+        -- replacing it; and whileDead=1 lets you look your corpse's gear over while dead.
+        UIPanelWindows["CharacterFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 2, whileDead = 1 }
         -- The inspect window (decision 0631, InspectFrame.xml): the ref's own InspectFrame row
         -- (`Blizzard_InspectUI.lua:4` — area "left", pushable 0), so inspecting swaps out whichever
         -- left-slot window was open, exactly as the character window does.
         UIPanelWindows["BenillaInspectFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
         -- The spellbook (decision 0216 §8, SpellBookFrame.xml): the ref's own SpellBookFrame row
-        -- (area "left", pushable 0) — same left-slot competition as every window above.
-        UIPanelWindows["SpellBookFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0 }
-        -- The talent window (decision 0304 §4, TalentFrame.xml): the ref's own TalentFrame row is
-        -- `{ area = "left", pushable = 6, whileDead = 1 }` — pushable 6 kept (one tier above the
-        -- plain NPC-session/player-state windows' 0, matching the ref exactly); `whileDead` is
-        -- OMITTED like every other row here (none of them model it, even though ShowUIPanel's own
-        -- guard already reads `info.whileDead` — ShowUIPanel's own comment: `UnitIsDead` doesn't
-        -- exist yet, so the guard is inert either way today).
-        UIPanelWindows["BenillaTalentFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 6 }
+        -- verbatim (`{ area = "left", pushable = 0, whileDead = 1 }`, UIParent.lua l.21; whileDead
+        -- carried since 1507) — same left-slot competition as every window above.
+        UIPanelWindows["SpellBookFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0, whileDead = 1 }
+        -- The talent window (decision 0304 §4, TalentFrame.xml): the ref's own TalentFrame row
+        -- verbatim (`{ area = "left", pushable = 6, whileDead = 1 }`, Blizzard_TalentUI.lua:71) —
+        -- pushable 6 one tier above the plain NPC-session/player-state windows' 0. whileDead was
+        -- omitted here while `UnitIsDead` didn't exist; it is a live unit binding now, so 1507
+        -- carries the ref's flag on every row that has one.
+        UIPanelWindows["BenillaTalentFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 6, whileDead = 1 }
         -- The social window (decision 0668) — the ref's own registration line verbatim
         -- (`UIPanelWindows["FriendsFrame"] = { area = "left", pushable = 0, whileDead = 1 }`,
         -- UIParent.lua l.29). whileDead: a corpse run is exactly when you want to whisper someone.
@@ -129,6 +149,19 @@
         -- ShowUIPanel is what subjects it to the same rules as everything else.
         UIPanelWindows["WorldMapFrame"] = { area = "full", pushable = 0, whileDead = 1 }
 
+        -- UIChildWindows — the ref's own table verbatim (UIParent.lua l.44-50; its comment:
+        -- windows that "rely on a parent frame to be open. If the parent closes or a pushable
+        -- frame overlaps them they must be hidden."). Dropped as "none exist yet" until 1507 —
+        -- all four ship now: the open letter (MailFrame.xml) and the guild pane's three
+        -- satellites (FriendsFrame.xml). The parent-close half is each parent's own OnHide
+        -- (MailFrame hides the letter, FriendsFrame_OnHide hides the satellites); this table
+        -- serves the OVERLAP half — SetCenterFrame's hide loop below — because the child popups
+        -- sit exactly where the center seat puts a window.
+        UIChildWindows = {
+            "OpenMailFrame", "GuildControlPopupFrame",
+            "GuildMemberDetailFrame", "GuildInfoFrame",
+        }
+
         -- The real client stores `.left`/`.center`/`.doublewide`/`.fullscreen` as fields directly on
         -- the `UIParent` frame table (UIParent.lua l.789-885). benilla has no `UIParent` frame object
         -- yet (a later decision's job) — so the two slots this v1 tracks live in a private chunk-local
@@ -155,8 +188,13 @@
             end
         end
 
-        -- SetCenterFrame(frame, skipSetPoint) — UIParent.lua l.826-850. The `UIChildWindows` hide loop
-        -- (l.840-846) is dropped: no such frames exist in benilla yet (out of v1 scope).
+        -- SetCenterFrame(frame, skipSetPoint) — UIParent.lua l.826-850, the `UIChildWindows` hide
+        -- loop (l.839-846) carried since 1507: a frame ARRIVING at the center seat lands exactly
+        -- where the child popups sit, so they are put away first. Arriving is the ref's exact
+        -- trigger — MovePanelToCenter's slide re-seats by direct assignment after a
+        -- SetCenterFrame(nil), so a PUSHED panel does not run the loop; kept as transcribed.
+        -- (The ref's `for index, value in UIChildWindows do` is Lua 5.0's iterator-less
+        -- generic-for, which our VM cannot run — decision 1202; `ipairs` is the same walk.)
         function SetCenterFrame(frame, skipSetPoint)
             local oldFrame = slots.center
             slots.center = frame
@@ -168,6 +206,10 @@
                 if not skipSetPoint then
                     frame:SetPoint("TOPLEFT", "UIParent", "TOPLEFT", 384, -104)
                 end
+                for _, name in ipairs(UIChildWindows) do
+                    local childWindow = getglobal(name)
+                    if childWindow then childWindow:Hide() end
+                end
             end
         end
 
@@ -254,9 +296,15 @@
         -- is the point: `force` is precisely the right to throw the incumbent out instead of being
         -- turned away, so each refusal and its eviction are one decision and are written as one.
         local function AdmitPanel(info, force)
-            -- A dead player gets only the windows that asked for it. UnitIsDead doesn't exist yet
-            -- (pin §3) — guarded rather than assumed absent-forever.
-            if type(UnitIsDead) == "function" and UnitIsDead("player") and not info.whileDead then
+            -- A dead player gets only the windows that asked for it (l.663-666) — and hears why:
+            -- NotWhileDeadError is the binary's 0x48d340 (wow-re §5 cross-check, 2026-08-21 —
+            -- decision 1507's open item): push id 0x7e into the message catalog, whose row is
+            -- ERR_PLAYER_DEAD → UI_ERROR_MESSAGE, sound "NONE". Our binding (ui_errors.rs)
+            -- pushes the same key onto the engine's client-local error queue, which the app
+            -- resolves against GlobalStrings and fires as the same event. The binding is a pure
+            -- display trigger — this line, like the reference's, decides WHEN.
+            if UnitIsDead("player") and not info.whileDead then
+                NotWhileDeadError()
                 return false
             end
             -- l.668-675: nothing opens behind a full-screen frame. The world map is the only
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/minimap/mod.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/minimap/mod.rs
index b02cee24..99736243 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/minimap/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/minimap/mod.rs
@@ -145,10 +145,14 @@ fn minimap_day_tint(ambient: [f32; 3], diffuse: [f32; 3]) -> [f32; 3] {
 }
 
 /// A `.map()` adaptor over a `md5translate.trs` hit: stream the hashed tile off-thread (like a
-/// terrain tile) but decode it as a UI **sprite** (sRGB, clamp, mip 0). The `WorldArt` default
-/// (gamma-space `Rgba8Unorm`, repeat) would draw the tile ~2× too bright through the UI pass and
-/// bleed tile edges — the invariant `benilla-assets`' `minimap_tile_settings_reach_the_async_loader`
-/// guards. Shared by the terrain and interior tile paths.
+/// terrain tile) but as a **minimap tile** (`BlpVariant::MapTile`: gamma bytes with no sRGB decode
+/// — the reference sampler's `GL_SKIP_DECODE_EXT` — clamp, mip 0, LINEAR). Gamma bytes move the
+/// sRGB decode to AFTER the filter, so every consumer must say so or draw the tile ~2× too bright
+/// through the UI pass: the outdoor quads carry
+/// [`UiQuad::gamma_texel`](crate::ui_pass::UiQuad::gamma_texel), and the interior composite's
+/// alpha-test arm decodes explicitly for its un-encoded target. The invariant `benilla-assets`'
+/// `minimap_tile_settings_reach_the_async_loader` guards these settings reaching the async loader.
+/// Shared by the terrain and interior tile paths.
 fn load_tile(asset_server: &AssetServer) -> impl Fn(&str) -> Handle<Image> + '_ {
     move |hash: &str| {
         asset_server.load_with_settings(
@@ -672,6 +676,11 @@ fn emit_minimap(
                     z_key: slot.z,
                     texture: Some(handle.clone()),
                     color: [tint[0], tint[1], tint[2], slot.alpha],
+                    // The tile is a SKIP_DECODE upload (gamma bytes — [`load_tile`]), so the
+                    // day-night MODULATE above lands on the authored byte, exactly the reference's
+                    // fixed-function stage. Without this the ordinary arm re-encodes an
+                    // already-encoded byte — the outdoor minimap reads visibly too bright.
+                    gamma_texel: true,
                     // No CPU clip (1463): the mask shader already zeroes everything outside
                     // `mask_rect` (`ui_quad.wgsl`'s `inside` test), and clipping a PANNING tile
                     // re-cut its quad every frame — constant positions, churning UVs — which is
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/net/apply/npc.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/net/apply/npc.rs
index f1848f49..5aaa6448 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/net/apply/npc.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/net/apply/npc.rs
@@ -29,9 +29,10 @@ fn npc_gender(guid: u64, index: &GuidIndex, stores: &Query<&mut ObjectStore>) ->
 }
 
 /// A gossip menu opened (`SMSG_GOSSIP_MESSAGE`): fill the [`GossipState`] the gossip feed
-/// (`crate::ui_gossip`) reads. On a menu opening, auto-send the ask-once `CMSG_NPC_TEXT_QUERY`
-/// for its text record (served from the cache on a revisit); the record lands via [`npc_greeting`];
-/// [`gossip_complete`] closes it.
+/// (`crate::ui_gossip`) reads. A first visit to the text id sends the ask-once
+/// `CMSG_NPC_TEXT_QUERY` and the menu **stays closed until [`npc_greeting`] answers it** (B292's
+/// hold — the mechanics and the reference law live on [`GossipState::open_menu`]); a revisit
+/// serves from the cache and opens right away. [`gossip_complete`] closes it.
 ///
 /// The greeting is **drawn here**, not at the packet — this is the reference's own moment for it
 /// (`0x4e2010`), and the draw needs both this NPC's gender ([`npc_gender`]) and a fresh roll.
@@ -52,27 +53,19 @@ pub(super) fn gossip_menu(
         options.len(),
         quests.len()
     );
-    gossip.npc = Some(npc);
-    gossip.text_id = text_id;
-    gossip.options = options;
-    gossip.quests = quests;
-    match gossip.cached_record(text_id).is_some() {
-        true => gossip.greeting = gossip.draw_greeting(text_id, npc_gender),
-        false => {
-            gossip.greeting = None;
-            let _ = net_commands
-                .0
-                .send(ClientCommand::NpcTextQuery { text_id, guid: npc });
-        }
+    if gossip.open_menu(npc, text_id, options, quests, npc_gender) {
+        let _ = net_commands
+            .0
+            .send(ClientCommand::NpcTextQuery { text_id, guid: npc });
     }
 }
 
-/// The NPC-text answer (`SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE`) — seed the cache with the whole record, and draw
-/// the greeting only for the OPEN menu (a late answer for a menu we already closed just seeds the
-/// cache; the next open draws its own line).
+/// The NPC-text answer (`SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE`) — seed the cache with the whole record, and open
+/// the menu still waiting on it (a late answer for a menu we already closed or switched just
+/// seeds the cache; the next open draws its own line).
 ///
-/// The record answers a query we sent for the OPEN menu, so its NPC is the one whose gender picks
-/// the column (decision 0081's ask-once flow).
+/// The record answers a query we sent for the waiting menu, so its NPC is the one whose gender
+/// picks the column (decision 0081's ask-once flow).
 pub(super) fn npc_greeting(
     text_id: u32,
     blocks: Vec<NpcTextBlock>,
@@ -81,10 +74,7 @@ pub(super) fn npc_greeting(
     stores: &Query<&mut ObjectStore>,
 ) {
     let npc_gender = gossip.npc.map_or(0, |npc| npc_gender(npc, index, stores));
-    gossip.remember_record(text_id, blocks);
-    if gossip.npc.is_some() && gossip.text_id == text_id {
-        gossip.greeting = gossip.draw_greeting(text_id, npc_gender);
-    }
+    gossip.text_arrived(text_id, blocks, npc_gender);
 }
 
 /// `SMSG_GOSSIP_COMPLETE` ends the whole interaction (e.g. right after a quest accept), so the
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/shaders/ui_quad.wgsl b/crates/benilla-app/src/shaders/ui_quad.wgsl
index 9629d7c7..e106fc50 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/shaders/ui_quad.wgsl
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/shaders/ui_quad.wgsl
@@ -15,11 +15,13 @@
 //
 // Why the encode below, rather than uploading UI art as raw `Rgba8Unorm`: our BLPs load as
 // `Rgba8UnormSrgb`, so the sampler hands us a LINEARIZED texel. `linear_to_srgb` puts the authored
-// byte back (exact in f32: encode ∘ decode = identity), and it is the one rule that holds for every
-// texture the pass samples — sRGB art, the sRGB glyph atlas, and the portrait booth's `Rgba8Unorm`
-// bake (which stores linear bytes). Uploading everything raw would be cheaper and would also move
-// bilinear filtering into gamma (as the reference filters), but it forces the booth to emit gamma —
-// a contained follow-up, not a look change.
+// byte back (exact in f32: encode ∘ decode = identity), and it is the rule for every texture the
+// pass samples — sRGB art, the sRGB glyph atlas, and the portrait booth's `Rgba8Unorm` bake (which
+// stores linear bytes) — EXCEPT a texture that says otherwise: a SKIP_DECODE upload (`gamma_texel`
+// below — the minimap tiles) already holds the authored byte, and encoding it again is the
+// double-gamma that washed the outdoor minimap bright. Uploading everything raw would be cheaper
+// and would also move bilinear filtering into gamma (as the reference filters), but it forces the
+// booth to emit gamma — a contained follow-up, not a look change.
 
 #import bevy_sprite::mesh2d_vertex_output::VertexOutput
 
@@ -91,6 +93,11 @@
 // so folding the mask ramp into the test would saw the disc's soft rim into a hard, undersized
 // circle.
 @group(2) @binding(9) var<uniform> alpha_ref: f32;
+// The bound texture was uploaded UNDECODED — `BlpVariant::MapTile`'s `GL_SKIP_DECODE_EXT`, the
+// minimap tiles — so the sampler hands back the authored GAMMA byte itself and the ordinary arm's
+// `linear_to_srgb` has no decode to undo: the texel passes through as-is. The alpha-test arm
+// ignores this flag — its target is the un-encoded composite, so it decodes explicitly instead.
+@group(2) @binding(10) var<uniform> gamma_texel: u32;
 
 // ITU-R BT.601 luma — the `PARAM c[0]` of that shader, read as raw f32 words: `0x3E991687`,
 // `0x3F1645A2`, `0x3DE978D5`. Not `(0.3, 0.3, 0.3)`, not `(0.3, 0.59, 0.11)` (this file's own first
@@ -129,8 +136,9 @@ fn fragment(in: VertexOutput) -> @location(0) vec4<f32> {
 #endif
     // Back to the client's byte space, then tint there: `UiQuad.color` is already a client-space
     // sRGB value (FrameXML's `<Color>`, `|cff…`, quality colors), so this multiply IS the FFP's
-    // gamma-space `tint × texel`.
-    let texel = linear_to_srgb(t.rgb);
+    // gamma-space `tint × texel`. A SKIP_DECODE texture (`gamma_texel`) is already IN byte space —
+    // re-encoding it is the double-gamma that washed the outdoor minimap bright.
+    let texel = select(linear_to_srgb(t.rgb), t.rgb, gamma_texel != 0u);
     // The desaturated arm REPLACES the modulate — see the `desaturate` binding above. `c.rgb` is
     // deliberately unread here; only `c.a` carries into the alpha below, as it does on both paths.
     var rgb = texel * c.rgb;
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_gossip.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_gossip.rs
index 6872d9a7..b25146a0 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_gossip.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_gossip.rs
@@ -5,11 +5,19 @@
 //! `CMSG_NPC_TEXT_QUERY` for the greeting; `SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE` → the greeting; `SMSG_GOSSIP_COMPLETE`
 //! → cleared). Each frame [`feed_gossip`] turns that state into a [`GossipMenu`] snapshot, pushes it
 //! into the VM ([`benilla_ui::script::UiScript::set_gossip`]), and fires `GOSSIP_SHOW` on open (or a
-//! content change — the async greeting landing) / `GOSSIP_CLOSED` on clear. [`drain_gossip`] pulls the
-//! Lua intents back out: `SelectGossipOption` → [`ClientCommand::GossipSelectOption`] (mapped through
-//! the wire option `index`; coded options are guarded, never sent — decision 0081), and `CloseGossip`
-//! → a local clear (vanilla's client-side close sends no packet; verified against the 1.12 opcode set
-//! — there is no `CMSG_GOSSIP_CLOSE`).
+//! content change while open — the NPC's name resolving) / `GOSSIP_CLOSED` on clear.
+//! [`drain_gossip`] pulls the Lua intents back out: `SelectGossipOption` →
+//! [`ClientCommand::GossipSelectOption`] (mapped through the wire option `index`; coded options are
+//! guarded, never sent — decision 0081), and `CloseGossip` → a local clear (vanilla's client-side
+//! close sends no packet; verified against the 1.12 opcode set — there is no `CMSG_GOSSIP_CLOSE`).
+//!
+//! **The menu opens only with its greeting resolved** — a first visit to a text id keeps the frame
+//! closed for the query round trip instead of showing options over an empty page (B292). That is
+//! the reference's own law, VERIFIED at the bytes (wow-re `gossip-npctext-law.md` §4): its greeting
+//! write and `GOSSIP_SHOW` are adjacent and unconditional on one success path, every other exit of
+//! `0x4e2010` fires no event, so "gossip frame open with a blank greeting" is not a reachable
+//! state. [`snapshot`] encodes the hold; [`GossipState::open_menu`]/[`GossipState::text_arrived`]
+//! are the two wire edges that resolve it.
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
@@ -40,8 +48,10 @@ pub(crate) struct GossipState {
     pub(crate) npc: Option<u64>,
     /// The open menu's `NpcText` id (drives the text query / cache).
     pub(crate) text_id: u32,
-    /// The greeting drawn for THIS menu-open, or `None` while its query is in flight (or when the
-    /// record names no line for this NPC — the reference's "Missing gossip text!" path).
+    /// The greeting drawn for THIS menu-open, or `None` while its query is in flight — the state
+    /// [`snapshot`] holds the menu closed on (B292; module doc). A record that names no line
+    /// ("Missing gossip text!") never parks here: [`GossipState::resolve_greeting`] ends the
+    /// interaction instead, as the reference does.
     pub(crate) greeting: Option<String>,
     /// The selectable option rows (wire `GossipOption`: `index` echoed on select, `icon`, `coded`,
     /// `message`).
@@ -71,6 +81,67 @@ impl GossipState {
         let blocks = self.cached_record(text_id)?;
         select_greeting(blocks, npc_gender, greeting_roll()).map(str::to_string)
     }
+
+    /// A gossip menu arrived (`SMSG_GOSSIP_MESSAGE`): latch the session. Returns `true` when the
+    /// greeting still needs its `CMSG_NPC_TEXT_QUERY` (first visit to this text id) — the caller
+    /// sends it, and the menu stays closed until [`Self::text_arrived`] resolves it (B292's hold,
+    /// module doc). A cached record opens the menu right here; a `text_id` of 0 never queries and
+    /// never opens — the reference's `DBCache::Get` refuses id 0 before sending anything, so its
+    /// frame stays closed with option selects latched off, which is what our pending state is.
+    pub(crate) fn open_menu(
+        &mut self,
+        npc: u64,
+        text_id: u32,
+        options: Vec<GossipOption>,
+        quests: Vec<(u32, u32, String)>,
+        npc_gender: u8,
+    ) -> bool {
+        self.npc = Some(npc);
+        self.text_id = text_id;
+        self.options = options;
+        self.quests = quests;
+        self.greeting = None;
+        if text_id == 0 {
+            return false;
+        }
+        match self.cached_record(text_id).is_some() {
+            true => {
+                self.resolve_greeting(npc_gender);
+                false
+            }
+            false => true,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The NPC-text answer (`SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE`): seed the ask-once cache, and if it answers
+    /// the menu still waiting on it, open that menu now. A late answer for a menu we already
+    /// closed or switched away from just seeds the cache; an answer for a menu already open does
+    /// not re-roll its greeting (the reference's cache callback only re-enters for the pending
+    /// query it was registered by).
+    pub(crate) fn text_arrived(&mut self, text_id: u32, blocks: Vec<NpcTextBlock>, npc_gender: u8) {
+        self.remember_record(text_id, blocks);
+        if self.npc.is_some() && self.text_id == text_id && self.greeting.is_none() {
+            self.resolve_greeting(npc_gender);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Draw the open menu's greeting from its (present) record — or, when the record names no
+    /// line for this NPC's gender column, end the interaction: the reference's `missing` path
+    /// logs "Missing gossip text!" and fires `GOSSIP_CLOSED` instead of ever opening the frame
+    /// (wow-re `gossip-npctext-law.md` §2). Ours never opened either, so the clear is the whole
+    /// close.
+    fn resolve_greeting(&mut self, npc_gender: u8) {
+        match self.draw_greeting(self.text_id, npc_gender) {
+            Some(line) => self.greeting = Some(line),
+            None => {
+                debug!(
+                    "ui_gossip: missing gossip text (id {}) — ending the interaction",
+                    self.text_id
+                );
+                self.clear();
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /// The reference's uniform float in `[1.0, 2.0)` for the greeting draw: it stuffs PRNG bits straight
@@ -183,11 +254,13 @@ const GOSSIP_ICON_TYPES: [&str; 14] = [
     "gossip",
 ];
 
-/// Build the Lua-facing snapshot from [`GossipState`] — `None` when no menu is open.
+/// Build the Lua-facing snapshot from [`GossipState`] — `None` when no menu is open, **and while
+/// the greeting query is in flight**: the second `?` is B292's hold (module doc). The frame opens
+/// once, complete, when the text answers — never options over an empty page.
 fn snapshot(state: &GossipState) -> Option<GossipMenu> {
     state.npc?;
     Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: state.greeting.clone(),
+        greeting: state.greeting.clone()?,
         // Quest rows riding the gossip packet (decision 0088): split active-vs-available by the same
         // predicate the quest window's greeting panel uses — the WIRE ICON. The reference runs the
         // identical `{3,4}` test here, just lazily (`0x4e2430`/`0x4e2580`, behind
@@ -235,7 +308,7 @@ fn feed_gossip(
     let last_npc = last_npc.get(&script);
     let mut fresh = snapshot(&state);
     // Expand the greeting's chat-text macros ($N/$B/$G/$<n>w) client-side, as the real client does.
-    if let Some(greeting) = fresh.as_mut().and_then(|m| m.greeting.as_mut()) {
+    if let Some(greeting) = fresh.as_mut().map(|m| &mut m.greeting) {
         let player = crate::npc_text::player_identity(&self_q, &mut names, &commands);
         *greeting = crate::npc_text::substitute(
             greeting,
@@ -255,8 +328,12 @@ fn feed_gossip(
     let name_changed = *last_name != npc_name;
     // A different NPC while the menu is already open is a real close+open (decision 0096 /
     // [`crate::ui_session::npc_switched`]); a cross-window switch is handled by OnHide → CloseX on
-    // panel displacement (decision 0095).
-    let switched = npc_switched(*last_npc, state.npc);
+    // panel displacement (decision 0095). Switch is judged on the SHOWN menu's NPC, not the
+    // session's: a switch into a first-visit hold (open A → pending B) is a plain close now and a
+    // plain open when B's text answers — pairing them here would fire `GOSSIP_SHOW` on an empty VM
+    // menu, the blank frame B292 exists to make unreachable.
+    let shown_npc = if fresh.is_some() { state.npc } else { None };
+    let switched = npc_switched(*last_npc, shown_npc);
     if fresh == *last && !name_changed && !switched {
         return;
     }
@@ -274,13 +351,21 @@ fn feed_gossip(
             // Opened, or the greeting/options/name changed while open → (re)paint via GOSSIP_SHOW.
             (_, Some(_)) => script.fire_event("GOSSIP_SHOW", name_arg()),
             // Closed.
-            (Some(_), None) => script.fire_event("GOSSIP_CLOSED", vec![]),
+            (Some(_), None) => {
+                script.fire_event("GOSSIP_CLOSED", vec![]);
+                // When the close is a switch INTO a hold (open A → pending B), OnHide → CloseGossip
+                // queued a close intent for a session that must survive the wait — consume it, as
+                // the switched branch does, so the drain doesn't cancel pending B.
+                if state.npc.is_some() {
+                    let _ = script.take_gossip_close();
+                }
+            }
             (None, None) => {}
         }
     }
     *last = fresh;
     *last_name = npc_name;
-    *last_npc = state.npc;
+    *last_npc = shown_npc;
 }
 
 /// Drain the Lua intents: a selected option → `CMSG_GOSSIP_SELECT_OPTION` (mapped to the wire option
@@ -296,6 +381,15 @@ fn drain_gossip(
     };
     for pos in script.take_gossip_selects() {
         let Some(npc) = state.npc else { continue };
+        // While the greeting query is in flight the menu isn't open (B292's hold) — refuse the
+        // select, as the reference does: its `SelectGossipOption` (`0x4e2320`) is silently refused
+        // while the text-pending latch `0xbbb670` is set (wow-re `gossip-npctext-law.md` §1).
+        if state.greeting.is_none() {
+            debug!(
+                "ui_gossip: SelectGossipOption({pos}) while the text query is in flight — refused"
+            );
+            continue;
+        }
         // Lua position is 1-based; resolve it to the option's wire `index`.
         match pos
             .checked_sub(1)
@@ -316,6 +410,14 @@ fn drain_gossip(
     // QUERY_QUEST (available → look at/accept) or COMPLETE_QUEST (active → turn-in progress).
     for pos in script.take_gossip_quest_selects() {
         let Some(npc) = state.npc else { continue };
+        // Same session-pending rule as the option selects above (the latch there is the verified
+        // one; these rows belong to the same not-yet-open menu).
+        if state.greeting.is_none() {
+            debug!(
+                "ui_gossip: SelectGossipQuest({pos}) while the text query is in flight — refused"
+            );
+            continue;
+        }
         match pos
             .checked_sub(1)
             .and_then(|i| state.quests.get(i as usize))
@@ -363,11 +465,127 @@ mod tests {
             message: "Browse".into(),
         }];
         let menu = snapshot(&state).expect("open");
-        assert_eq!(menu.greeting.as_deref(), Some("Hello"));
+        assert_eq!(menu.greeting, "Hello");
         assert_eq!(menu.options.len(), 1);
         assert_eq!(menu.options[0].icon_type, "vendor");
     }
 
+    /// B292's hold: a first visit (record not cached) keeps the menu CLOSED for the query round
+    /// trip — options never render over an empty page — and the text arriving opens it complete.
+    /// The reference's law, from the bytes (wow-re `gossip-npctext-law.md` §4): the greeting write
+    /// and `GOSSIP_SHOW` are adjacent and unconditional on one success path; every other exit
+    /// fires no event.
+    #[test]
+    fn first_visit_holds_the_menu_until_the_text_answers() {
+        let mut state = GossipState::default();
+        let options = vec![GossipOption {
+            index: 0,
+            icon: 9,
+            coded: false,
+            message: "I wish to join the battle!".into(),
+        }];
+        let wants_query = state.open_menu(0x42, 50, options, Vec::new(), 0);
+        assert!(wants_query, "first visit asks for the text");
+        assert!(
+            snapshot(&state).is_none(),
+            "menu held closed while the query is in flight"
+        );
+
+        state.text_arrived(
+            50,
+            vec![NpcTextBlock {
+                probability: 0.0,
+                male: "The Alliance needs you!".into(),
+                female: String::new(),
+            }],
+            0,
+        );
+        let menu = snapshot(&state).expect("text landed — the menu opens now, complete");
+        assert_eq!(menu.greeting, "The Alliance needs you!");
+        assert_eq!(menu.options.len(), 1, "options open WITH the greeting");
+    }
+
+    /// A revisit (record cached) opens immediately with no query — the half of B292 the reporter
+    /// saw as "never seen this before": the empty frame is a first-visit-only state.
+    #[test]
+    fn revisit_opens_immediately_from_the_cache() {
+        let mut state = GossipState::default();
+        state.remember_record(
+            50,
+            vec![NpcTextBlock {
+                probability: 0.0,
+                male: "Back again?".into(),
+                female: String::new(),
+            }],
+        );
+        let wants_query = state.open_menu(0x42, 50, Vec::new(), Vec::new(), 0);
+        assert!(!wants_query, "cached — no re-query");
+        assert_eq!(
+            snapshot(&state).expect("open at once").greeting,
+            "Back again?"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// The reference's `missing` path (`0x4e216e`): a record that names no line for this NPC's
+    /// gender column ends the interaction — the frame never opens with a blank page, and never
+    /// parks half-open either. And `text_id == 0` never queries at all (`DBCache::Get` refuses
+    /// id 0): the menu stays latched closed.
+    #[test]
+    fn missing_text_ends_the_interaction_and_id_zero_never_queries() {
+        // Missing: the record arrives but its male column is empty → no line → session over.
+        let mut state = GossipState::default();
+        assert!(state.open_menu(0x42, 60, Vec::new(), Vec::new(), 0));
+        state.text_arrived(
+            60,
+            vec![NpcTextBlock {
+                probability: 0.0,
+                male: String::new(),
+                female: "Sister.".into(),
+            }],
+            0,
+        );
+        assert_eq!(state.npc, None, "missing gossip text — interaction ended");
+        assert!(snapshot(&state).is_none());
+
+        // Id 0: no query wanted, and the menu never opens.
+        let mut state = GossipState::default();
+        assert!(!state.open_menu(0x42, 0, Vec::new(), Vec::new(), 0));
+        assert!(snapshot(&state).is_none());
+    }
+
+    /// A late answer for a menu we closed or switched away from only seeds the cache; an answer
+    /// for a menu already open does not re-roll its greeting.
+    #[test]
+    fn late_or_duplicate_answers_only_seed_the_cache() {
+        let blocks = || {
+            vec![NpcTextBlock {
+                probability: 0.0,
+                male: "Hail.".into(),
+                female: String::new(),
+            }]
+        };
+        // Switched: the waiting menu is for id 70; id 50's late answer must not open it.
+        let mut state = GossipState::default();
+        assert!(state.open_menu(0x42, 70, Vec::new(), Vec::new(), 0));
+        state.text_arrived(50, blocks(), 0);
+        assert!(snapshot(&state).is_none(), "still waiting on id 70");
+        assert!(
+            state.cached_record(50).is_some(),
+            "the answer seeded the cache"
+        );
+
+        // Already open: a duplicate answer leaves the drawn line alone.
+        state.text_arrived(70, blocks(), 0);
+        assert_eq!(snapshot(&state).expect("open").greeting, "Hail.");
+        state.greeting = Some("The drawn line".into());
+        state.text_arrived(70, blocks(), 0);
+        assert_eq!(
+            state.greeting.as_deref(),
+            Some("The drawn line"),
+            "no re-roll"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn ask_once_text_cache_survives_clear() {
         let mut state = GossipState::default();
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_items/feed.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_items/feed.rs
index e982ba4f..6c055719 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_items/feed.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_items/feed.rs
@@ -1136,9 +1136,45 @@ fn diff_and_push(
         .filter(|b| fresh.get(b) != memory.pushed.get(b))
         .collect();
     if !changed.is_empty() {
+        // **The spent-ammo signal** (decision 1509). The reference registers a field mirror on
+        // `ITEM_FIELD_STACK_COUNT` for TYPEID ITEM (`ClntObjMgrSetTypeMirrorHandler 0x468070` at
+        // `0x5d9360`, handler `0x5d9400`); for any item the active player owns, a stack-count
+        // write fires **ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED first**, ahead of the `BAG_UPDATE` the same handler
+        // emits further down. Nothing else in the image reaches that event from a server update —
+        // its other four fire sites are all local lock/unlock — so it is the ONLY per-shot signal
+        // an addon can detect a spent arrow with, and every auto-shot timer is built on it.
+        //
+        // Computed before `memory.pushed` is replaced at the bottom of this block.
+        let restacked = {
+            let empty = HashMap::new();
+            let mut v: Vec<(i64, u32)> = Vec::new();
+            for &bag in &changed {
+                let now = fresh.get(&bag).map_or(&empty, |c| &c.slots);
+                let was = memory.pushed.get(&bag).map_or(&empty, |c| &c.slots);
+                for (&slot, n) in now {
+                    // The SAME item, restacked. A slot whose entry changed is a create or a swap,
+                    // not a field write on one item, and it does not take this path.
+                    if was.get(&slot).is_some_and(|w| {
+                        w.item_id != 0 && w.item_id == n.item_id && w.count != n.count
+                    }) {
+                        v.push((bag, slot));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            // Map order is not an order, and an event stream has to be reproducible.
+            v.sort_unstable();
+            v
+        };
         for &bag in &changed {
             script.set_container(bag, fresh.get(&bag).cloned());
         }
+        // Ahead of BAG_UPDATE below, which is the reference handler's own order.
+        for (bag, slot) in restacked {
+            script.fire_event(
+                "ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED",
+                vec![ScriptValue::Int(bag), ScriptValue::Int(i64::from(slot))],
+            );
+        }
         // Name the bags, not just the count: "3 changed" can't tell you WHICH container moved, and
         // the negative ids (−1 bank, −2 keyring) are exactly the ones you go looking for.
         debug!(
@@ -1239,6 +1275,80 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(s.eval::<i64>("return BAG_EVENTS").unwrap(), 2);
     }
 
+    /// **The spent-ammo signal** (decision 1509, B267's second half). A stack ticking down must
+    /// fire `ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED` for that slot, **before** the `BAG_UPDATE` for its bag — the
+    /// reference's `ITEM_FIELD_STACK_COUNT` mirror handler's own order.
+    ///
+    /// This is not cosmetic ordering. Quiver's auto-shot timer has no other way to learn a shot
+    /// fired: it starts the reload drain from this event, and without it the bar fills once and
+    /// sits at 100% forever (the director's report). Every vanilla shot timer works this way.
+    ///
+    /// The negative half matters as much: a slot whose ENTRY changed is a swap or a create, not a
+    /// field write on one item, and must NOT fire it — over-firing would make the addon count
+    /// shots that never happened.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_stack_ticking_down_fires_item_lock_changed_before_bag_update() {
+        use benilla_ui::script::ContainerSlot;
+
+        let mut s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
+        s.run(
+            "ORDER = {} \
+             local f = CreateFrame('Frame') \
+             f:RegisterEvent('ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED') \
+             f:RegisterEvent('BAG_UPDATE') \
+             f:SetScript('OnEvent', function() \
+                 table.insert(ORDER, event .. ':' .. tostring(arg1) .. ',' .. tostring(arg2)) \
+             end)",
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        let arrows = |count: u32| ContainerSlot {
+            item_id: 2512, // Rough Arrow
+            count,
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        let bag = |s: ContainerSlot| {
+            HashMap::from([(
+                0,
+                ContainerState {
+                    name: Some("Backpack".into()),
+                    num_slots: 16,
+                    slots: HashMap::from([(1, s)]),
+                },
+            )])
+        };
+        let mut memory = FeedMemory::default();
+
+        // The quiver arrives full — a create, not a restack. No lock event.
+        apply_container_source(&mut s, &mut memory, Some(bag(arrows(200))), Vec::new());
+        assert_eq!(
+            s.eval::<String>("return table.concat(ORDER, ' ')").unwrap(),
+            "BAG_UPDATE:0,nil",
+            "a slot appearing is a create, not a stack-count field write"
+        );
+
+        // An arrow leaves the quiver.
+        s.run("ORDER = {}").unwrap();
+        apply_container_source(&mut s, &mut memory, Some(bag(arrows(199))), Vec::new());
+        assert_eq!(
+            s.eval::<String>("return table.concat(ORDER, ' ')").unwrap(),
+            "ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED:0,1 BAG_UPDATE:0,nil",
+            "the shot signal fires for (bag 0, slot 1) and precedes BAG_UPDATE"
+        );
+
+        // A DIFFERENT item in the same slot: a swap. The count differs too, and it must still
+        // not fire — otherwise an addon counts a shot every time you rearrange your bags.
+        s.run("ORDER = {}").unwrap();
+        let mut other = arrows(20);
+        other.item_id = 3033; // Razor Arrow
+        apply_container_source(&mut s, &mut memory, Some(bag(other)), Vec::new());
+        assert_eq!(
+            s.eval::<String>("return table.concat(ORDER, ' ')").unwrap(),
+            "BAG_UPDATE:0,nil",
+            "a changed entry is a swap, not a stack-count write"
+        );
+    }
+
     fn slot(spell_id: u32, charges: i32) -> ItemSpellEntry {
         ItemSpellEntry {
             index: 0,
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_pass.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_pass.rs
index f3860b47..70e0799a 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_pass.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_pass.rs
@@ -183,6 +183,17 @@ pub(crate) struct UiQuad {
     /// Splits the run like `additive`/`circular`; a booth target is its own texture anyway, so no
     /// batching is lost.
     pub premultiplied: bool,
+    /// The sampled texture holds the client's **gamma bytes, undecoded** — a SKIP_DECODE upload
+    /// (`BlpVariant::MapTile`, the minimap tiles: the reference's tile sampler carries
+    /// `GL_TEXTURE_SRGB_DECODE_EXT = GL_SKIP_DECODE_EXT`, so the hardware filters authored bytes).
+    /// The ordinary arm's `linear_to_srgb` exists to undo the sampler's sRGB decode; on a texture
+    /// whose sampler did no decode it ENCODES A SECOND TIME, which is how the outdoor minimap
+    /// washed bright when MapTile moved off `Rgba8UnormSrgb` and only the alpha-test arm learned
+    /// the new contract. With this set the texel passes through as the authored byte and the
+    /// vertex-colour multiply lands on it directly — the fixed-function MODULATE, byte for byte.
+    /// The alpha-test arm ignores the flag: it decodes explicitly for the un-encoded composite
+    /// target. Splits the run like `additive`/`circular`.
+    pub gamma_texel: bool,
     /// **Alpha TEST** instead of alpha blend, at this reference value on the client's
     /// `texel.a × vertexColour.a` — `Some(224.0 / 255.0)` is the WMO-interior minimap tile draw and
     /// nothing else so far. A passing fragment writes FULLY OPAQUE (the screen mask still cuts it);
@@ -242,6 +253,7 @@ impl Default for UiQuad {
             circular: false,
             desaturated: false,
             premultiplied: false,
+            gamma_texel: false,
             alpha_test: None,
             clip: None,
             rotation: 0.0,
@@ -362,6 +374,10 @@ pub(crate) struct UiQuadMaterial {
     /// Alpha-TEST reference on `texel.a × colour.a`; `<= 0` disables — see [`UiQuad::alpha_test`].
     #[uniform(9)]
     alpha_ref: f32,
+    /// The texel is already the client's gamma byte (a SKIP_DECODE upload — the minimap tiles), so
+    /// the ordinary arm skips its `linear_to_srgb` re-encode — see [`UiQuad::gamma_texel`].
+    #[uniform(10)]
+    gamma_texel: u32,
     /// The screen-anchored mask span in **physical framebuffer px** (`min.xy, max.xy` — the
     /// fragment shader compares `@builtin(position)`, which is physical): [`UiQuadMask::rect`]
     /// scaled by the window's scale factor at mesh build. `z <= x` (degenerate) disables masking.
@@ -392,6 +408,9 @@ impl UiQuadMaterial {
             desaturate: 0,
             premultiplied: 0,
             alpha_ref,
+            // The alpha-test arm never reads this: it decodes explicitly (its target is the
+            // un-encoded composite), so the tile's SKIP_DECODE contract is already honoured there.
+            gamma_texel: 0,
             mask_rect: Vec4::new(0.0, 0.0, -1.0, -1.0),
             mask: None,
         }
@@ -634,6 +653,7 @@ struct Run {
     circular: bool,
     desaturated: bool,
     premultiplied: bool,
+    gamma_texel: bool,
     alpha_test: Option<f32>,
     mask: Option<UiQuadMask>,
     positions: Vec<[f32; 3]>,
@@ -643,23 +663,18 @@ struct Run {
 }
 
 impl Run {
-    fn new(
-        texture: Handle<Image>,
-        additive: bool,
-        circular: bool,
-        desaturated: bool,
-        premultiplied: bool,
-        alpha_test: Option<f32>,
-        mask: Option<UiQuadMask>,
-    ) -> Self {
+    /// A fresh run carrying `q`'s material identity (every flag that splits a run) under the
+    /// already-resolved `texture` (the quad's own, or the shared white fallback).
+    fn new(texture: Handle<Image>, q: &UiQuad) -> Self {
         Self {
             texture,
-            additive,
-            circular,
-            desaturated,
-            premultiplied,
-            alpha_test,
-            mask,
+            additive: q.additive,
+            circular: q.circular,
+            desaturated: q.desaturated,
+            premultiplied: q.premultiplied,
+            gamma_texel: q.gamma_texel,
+            alpha_test: q.alpha_test,
+            mask: q.mask.clone(),
             positions: Vec::new(),
             uvs: Vec::new(),
             colors: Vec::new(),
@@ -818,6 +833,7 @@ type MatKey = (
     bool,
     bool,
     bool,
+    bool,
     u32,
     Option<AssetId<Image>>,
     [u32; 4],
@@ -1004,19 +1020,12 @@ fn rebuild_ui_mesh(
                 && r.circular == q.circular
                 && r.desaturated == q.desaturated
                 && r.premultiplied == q.premultiplied
+                && r.gamma_texel == q.gamma_texel
                 && r.alpha_test == q.alpha_test
                 && r.mask == q.mask
         });
         if !same_run {
-            runs.push(Run::new(
-                texture,
-                q.additive,
-                q.circular,
-                q.desaturated,
-                q.premultiplied,
-                q.alpha_test,
-                q.mask.clone(),
-            ));
+            runs.push(Run::new(texture, q));
         }
         let run = runs.last_mut().unwrap();
         match (q.corners, plain) {
@@ -1083,6 +1092,7 @@ fn rebuild_ui_mesh(
             run.circular,
             run.desaturated,
             run.premultiplied,
+            run.gamma_texel,
             alpha_ref.to_bits(),
             mask.as_ref().map(bevy::asset::Handle::id),
             mask_rect.to_array().map(f32::to_bits),
@@ -1204,6 +1214,7 @@ fn rebuild_ui_mesh(
                     desaturate: u32::from(run.desaturated),
                     premultiplied: u32::from(run.premultiplied),
                     alpha_ref,
+                    gamma_texel: u32::from(run.gamma_texel),
                     mask_rect,
                     mask,
                 })
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/extract/text.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/extract/text.rs
index 0132c13a..6caaaf18 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/extract/text.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/extract/text.rs
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ pub(super) fn emit(
                 circular: false,
                 desaturated: false,
                 premultiplied: false,
+                gamma_texel: false,
                 alpha_test: None,
                 clip: text_clip,
                 rotation: 0.0,
@@ -345,6 +346,7 @@ pub(super) fn emit(
                 circular: false,
                 desaturated: false,
                 premultiplied: false,
+                gamma_texel: false,
                 alpha_test: None,
                 clip: text_clip,
                 rotation: 0.0,
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/fade_tests.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/fade_tests.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..68a71ca4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/fade_tests.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+//! The fade kit's driver (`UIFrameFade` / `BenillaFadeDriver`, UiPanels.xml) — the park/wake
+//! lifecycle that keeps the per-frame fade walk off the tick while nothing is fading. Split from
+//! `panel_tests.rs` (1507's round): the slot manager and the fade kit share a source file, not a
+//! concern.
+
+use benilla_ui::script::UiScript;
+
+/// Load one shipped `assets/ui/<file>` into `s`, panicking on any loader error — the same
+/// per-file loader every `ui_script` test file carries (these tests only ever need
+/// `UiPanels.xml`, where the fade kit lives).
+fn load_xml(s: &UiScript, file: &str) {
+    let text = std::fs::read_to_string(
+        std::path::Path::new(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"))
+            .join("assets/ui")
+            .join(file),
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+    let doc = benilla_ui::framexml::parse(&text).unwrap();
+    let report = benilla_ui::loader::load(s, &doc, &|_| None);
+    assert!(
+        report.errors.is_empty(),
+        "{file}: loader errors: {:?}",
+        report.errors
+    );
+}
+
+/// **The idle fade driver parks itself** (decision 1396's class, the audit's driver-hide item):
+/// with `FADEFRAMES` empty there is nothing to walk, so the driver's OnUpdate hides its own frame
+/// — and the engine dispatches OnUpdate only to visible frames (`tick.rs`), which stops the
+/// per-frame walk cold. The probe wraps `UIFrameFadeUpdate` in a counter BEFORE the first tick:
+/// ten idle ticks later it has never run, and the driver is hidden.
+#[test]
+fn an_idle_fade_driver_parks_itself_off_the_tick() {
+    let mut s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
+    s.set_screen_size(1024.0, 768.0);
+    load_xml(&s, "UiPanels.xml");
+    s.resolve();
+    s.run(
+        "BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS = 0\n\
+         local real = UIFrameFadeUpdate\n\
+         function UIFrameFadeUpdate(elapsed)\n\
+             BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS = BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS + 1\n\
+             real(elapsed)\n\
+         end",
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+    for _ in 0..10 {
+        s.tick(0.016);
+        s.resolve();
+    }
+    assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "{:?}", s.errors());
+    assert!(
+        !s.eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "an empty FADEFRAMES parks the driver"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        s.eval::<i64>("return BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS").unwrap(),
+        0,
+        "a parked driver never runs the fade walk"
+    );
+}
+
+/// The control for the guard above: the gate must not cost the fades it gates. `UIFrameFade` (the
+/// kit's single insertion point — `UIFrameFadeIn`/`Out` both land there) wakes the driver beside
+/// its `table.insert`; the fade then ramps on real ticks, completes, and the driver re-parks on
+/// the first empty tick after.
+#[test]
+fn a_started_fade_still_ramps_and_the_driver_reparks_after() {
+    let mut s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
+    s.set_screen_size(1024.0, 768.0);
+    load_xml(&s, "UiPanels.xml");
+    s.resolve();
+    s.run(r#"CreateFrame("Frame", "BenillaFadeProbe")"#)
+        .unwrap();
+    for _ in 0..2 {
+        s.tick(0.016); // settle: the driver parks
+        s.resolve();
+    }
+    assert!(!s
+        .eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
+        .unwrap());
+
+    s.run("UIFrameFadeIn(BenillaFadeProbe, 1.0)").unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "starting a fade wakes the driver"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        s.eval::<f64>("return BenillaFadeProbe:GetAlpha()").unwrap(),
+        0.0,
+        "the fade armed at its IN startAlpha"
+    );
+
+    s.tick(0.5);
+    s.resolve();
+    let mid = s.eval::<f64>("return BenillaFadeProbe:GetAlpha()").unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        (mid - 0.5).abs() < 1e-3,
+        "half the timeToFade in, half the ramp: {mid}"
+    );
+
+    s.tick(0.6); // past timeToFade: the fade completes and leaves the list
+    s.resolve();
+    assert_eq!(
+        s.eval::<f64>("return BenillaFadeProbe:GetAlpha()").unwrap(),
+        1.0,
+        "the fade completes at its endAlpha"
+    );
+    s.tick(0.016); // the first empty tick re-parks the driver
+    s.resolve();
+    assert!(
+        !s.eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "the driver re-parks once the list is empty"
+    );
+    assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "script errors: {:?}", s.errors());
+}
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/mod.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/mod.rs
index ce9b8998..d1b8f2bc 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/mod.rs
@@ -698,6 +698,9 @@ mod perf_bar_tests;
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod panel_tests;
 
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod fade_tests;
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod merchant_tests;
 
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/panel_tests.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/panel_tests.rs
index eb64a80f..e948501b 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/panel_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/panel_tests.rs
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ fn shipped_gossip_frame_drives_end_to_end() {
 
     // The app's feed: a two-option menu (a vendor option + a coded petition option).
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("Greetings, traveler. How may I help you?".into()),
+        greeting: "Greetings, traveler. How may I help you?".into(),
         quests: Vec::new(),
         options: vec![
             GossipOptionView {
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ fn shipped_gossip_frame_renders_quest_rows_above_options() {
     load_xml(&s, "GossipFrame.xml");
 
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("A word, traveler.".into()),
+        greeting: "A word, traveler.".into(),
         quests: vec![
             GossipQuestRow {
                 title: "Report to Goldshire".into(),
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@ fn shipped_gossip_rows_grow_to_their_wrapped_labels() {
         coded: false,
     };
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("Make your choice!".into()),
+        greeting: "Make your choice!".into(),
         quests: Vec::new(),
         options: vec![
             long(
@@ -461,7 +461,7 @@ fn gossip_show_hide_plays_open_and_close_kits() {
     );
 
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("Well met.".into()),
+        greeting: "Well met.".into(),
         quests: Vec::new(),
         options: Vec::new(),
     }));
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ fn shipped_panel_slot_replaces_gossip_with_merchant() {
     load_xml(&s, "MerchantFrame.xml");
 
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("Well met.".into()),
+        greeting: "Well met.".into(),
         quests: Vec::new(),
         options: vec![GossipOptionView {
             label: "Let me browse your goods.".into(),
@@ -581,7 +581,7 @@ fn displacing_an_npc_window_ends_the_displaced_session() {
 
     // Gossip opens over it → SetLeftFrame hides the merchant → merchant OnHide → CloseMerchant().
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("Well met.".into()),
+        greeting: "Well met.".into(),
         quests: Vec::new(),
         options: Vec::new(),
     }));
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ fn gossip_bank_option_hands_the_left_slot_to_the_bank() {
 
         // The gossip menu is open on the banker (its bank option showing).
         s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-            greeting: Some("Welcome to the bank of Ironforge!".into()),
+            greeting: "Welcome to the bank of Ironforge!".into(),
             quests: Vec::new(),
             options: vec![GossipOptionView {
                 label: "I would like to check my deposit box.".into(),
@@ -789,7 +789,7 @@ fn an_overflowing_gossip_menu_scrolls_instead_of_spilling() {
         coded: false,
     };
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("Make your choice!".into()),
+        greeting: "Make your choice!".into(),
         quests: Vec::new(),
         options: (1..=8).map(long).collect(),
     }));
@@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ fn an_addons_own_frame_registered_in_uipanelwindows_takes_the_left_slot() {
     // when BOTH are pushable=0 (l.728-731). Getting this wrong for an addon means either losing
     // its window or leaving two panels on top of each other.
     s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
-        greeting: Some("Well met.".into()),
+        greeting: "Well met.".into(),
         quests: Vec::new(),
         options: Vec::new(),
     }));
@@ -980,98 +980,159 @@ fn an_addons_own_frame_registered_in_uipanelwindows_takes_the_left_slot() {
     assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "script errors: {:?}", s.errors());
 }
 
-// ── The fade kit's driver (UIFrameFade / BenillaFadeDriver) ──────────────────────────────────
+// ── the registry pinned to the bytes (decision 1507) ──────────────────────────────────────────
 
-/// **The idle fade driver parks itself** (decision 1396's class, the audit's driver-hide item):
-/// with `FADEFRAMES` empty there is nothing to walk, so the driver's OnUpdate hides its own frame
-/// — and the engine dispatches OnUpdate only to visible frames (`tick.rs`), which stops the
-/// per-frame walk cold. The probe wraps `UIFrameFadeUpdate` in a counter BEFORE the first tick:
-/// ten idle ticks later it has never run, and the driver is hidden.
+/// **The 1507 rows read exactly as the reference wrote them.** The registry is DATA — a different
+/// number is a different window order — and 1507 exists because one row drifted unnoticed for
+/// months (CharacterFrame carried pushable=0 labelled as "the ref's own row"; the bytes say
+/// `pushable = 2, whileDead = 1`, UIParent.lua l.19) while another was simply missing
+/// (ItemTextFrame, l.20 — bug B288: the reader opened through ShowUIPanel's unregistered bare-Show
+/// branch, so gossip seated itself straight over the open note). A drive-by edit re-introducing
+/// either now fails a named test instead of waiting for a player with a Verdant Note.
 #[test]
-fn an_idle_fade_driver_parks_itself_off_the_tick() {
+fn the_1507_registry_rows_match_the_reference_bytes() {
+    let s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
+    load_xml(&s, "UiPanels.xml");
+    for probe in [
+        // ItemTextFrame — UIParent.lua l.20 (the B288 row).
+        "UIPanelWindows['ItemTextFrame'].area == 'left'",
+        "UIPanelWindows['ItemTextFrame'].pushable == 0",
+        "UIPanelWindows['ItemTextFrame'].whileDead == nil",
+        // CharacterFrame — UIParent.lua l.19: pushable 2 (slides beside an NPC session), not 0.
+        "UIPanelWindows['CharacterFrame'].pushable == 2",
+        "UIPanelWindows['CharacterFrame'].whileDead == 1",
+        // The whileDead flags the ref authors and 1507 carried (l.21, l.25, Blizzard_TalentUI:71).
+        "UIPanelWindows['SpellBookFrame'].whileDead == 1",
+        "UIPanelWindows['QuestLogFrame'].whileDead == 1",
+        "UIPanelWindows['BenillaTalentFrame'].whileDead == 1",
+        // UIChildWindows — UIParent.lua l.44-50 verbatim, all four shipped.
+        "table.getn(UIChildWindows) == 4",
+        "UIChildWindows[1] == 'OpenMailFrame'",
+        "UIChildWindows[2] == 'GuildControlPopupFrame'",
+        "UIChildWindows[3] == 'GuildMemberDetailFrame'",
+        "UIChildWindows[4] == 'GuildInfoFrame'",
+    ] {
+        assert!(
+            s.eval::<bool>(&format!("return {probe}")).unwrap(),
+            "registry drifted from the bytes: {probe}"
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+/// **A dead player opens only the windows whose row asked for it** — ShowUIPanel's own guard
+/// (UIParent.lua l.663-666: `UnitIsDead("player") and not info.whileDead` refuses the open),
+/// live now that `UnitIsDead` is a real unit binding. The refused window must not show AND must
+/// not take a slot; a `whileDead = 1` row (the quest log, l.25) opens exactly as alive.
+#[test]
+fn a_dead_player_opens_only_whiledead_windows() {
     let mut s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
     s.set_screen_size(1024.0, 768.0);
     load_xml(&s, "UiPanels.xml");
-    s.resolve();
+    s.set_unit(
+        "player",
+        Some(benilla_ui::script::UnitState {
+            exists: true,
+            max_health: 100,
+            health: 0,
+            dead: true,
+            ..Default::default()
+        }),
+    );
+
+    // Stand-ins for two shipped rows: GossipFrame (no whileDead) and QuestLogFrame (whileDead=1).
+    // Bare frames are enough — the guard runs before any seat is chosen.
     s.run(
-        "BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS = 0\n\
-         local real = UIFrameFadeUpdate\n\
-         function UIFrameFadeUpdate(elapsed)\n\
-             BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS = BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS + 1\n\
-             real(elapsed)\n\
-         end",
+        r#"local g = CreateFrame("Frame", "GossipFrame") g:SetSize(50, 50) g:Hide()
+           local q = CreateFrame("Frame", "QuestLogFrame") q:SetSize(50, 50) q:Hide()
+           ShowUIPanel(GossipFrame)"#,
     )
     .unwrap();
-    for _ in 0..10 {
-        s.tick(0.016);
-        s.resolve();
-    }
-    assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "{:?}", s.errors());
+    assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "script errors: {:?}", s.errors());
     assert!(
-        !s.eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
-            .unwrap(),
-        "an empty FADEFRAMES parks the driver"
+        !s.eval::<bool>("return GossipFrame:IsShown()").unwrap(),
+        "a row without whileDead is refused while dead"
     );
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return GetLeftFrame() == nil").unwrap(),
+        "the refused window took no slot"
+    );
+    // ...and the refusal is heard: NotWhileDeadError (the binary's 0x48d340 — push 0x7e, wow-re
+    // cross-checked) queued the catalog row's key for the app to resolve and toast.
     assert_eq!(
-        s.eval::<i64>("return BENILLA_TEST_FADE_TICKS").unwrap(),
-        0,
-        "a parked driver never runs the fade walk"
+        s.take_ui_errors(),
+        vec!["ERR_PLAYER_DEAD"],
+        "the dead refusal queued its error key"
+    );
+
+    s.run("ShowUIPanel(QuestLogFrame)").unwrap();
+    assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "script errors: {:?}", s.errors());
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return QuestLogFrame:IsShown()").unwrap(),
+        "a whileDead = 1 row opens exactly as alive"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return GetLeftFrame():GetName() == 'QuestLogFrame'")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "and it seats normally at the left slot"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        s.take_ui_errors().is_empty(),
+        "an admitted open raises no error"
     );
 }
 
-/// The control for the guard above: the gate must not cost the fades it gates. `UIFrameFade` (the
-/// kit's single insertion point — `UIFrameFadeIn`/`Out` both land there) wakes the driver beside
-/// its `table.insert`; the fade then ramps on real ticks, completes, and the driver re-parks on
-/// the first empty tick after.
+/// **A frame ARRIVING at the center seat puts the child windows away; a frame PUSHED there does
+/// not** — SetCenterFrame's `UIChildWindows` hide loop (UIParent.lua l.839-846), carried since
+/// 1507, and the ref's exact asymmetry: MovePanelToCenter re-seats by direct assignment after a
+/// `SetCenterFrame(nil)`, so the slide never runs the loop. The open letter (OpenMailFrame) is
+/// the shipped tenant; a bare stand-in proves the slot math without the mail window's whole
+/// dependency chain.
 #[test]
-fn a_started_fade_still_ramps_and_the_driver_reparks_after() {
+fn a_frame_arriving_at_center_puts_the_child_windows_away() {
     let mut s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
     s.set_screen_size(1024.0, 768.0);
     load_xml(&s, "UiPanels.xml");
-    s.resolve();
-    s.run(r#"CreateFrame("Frame", "BenillaFadeProbe")"#)
-        .unwrap();
-    for _ in 0..2 {
-        s.tick(0.016); // settle: the driver parks
-        s.resolve();
-    }
-    assert!(!s
-        .eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
-        .unwrap());
 
-    s.run("UIFrameFadeIn(BenillaFadeProbe, 1.0)").unwrap();
-    assert!(
-        s.eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
-            .unwrap(),
-        "starting a fade wakes the driver"
-    );
-    assert_eq!(
-        s.eval::<f64>("return BenillaFadeProbe:GetAlpha()").unwrap(),
-        0.0,
-        "the fade armed at its IN startAlpha"
-    );
-
-    s.tick(0.5);
-    s.resolve();
-    let mid = s.eval::<f64>("return BenillaFadeProbe:GetAlpha()").unwrap();
-    assert!(
-        (mid - 0.5).abs() < 1e-3,
-        "half the timeToFade in, half the ramp: {mid}"
-    );
-
-    s.tick(0.6); // past timeToFade: the fade completes and leaves the list
-    s.resolve();
-    assert_eq!(
-        s.eval::<f64>("return BenillaFadeProbe:GetAlpha()").unwrap(),
-        1.0,
-        "the fade completes at its endAlpha"
-    );
-    s.tick(0.016); // the first empty tick re-parks the driver
-    s.resolve();
-    assert!(
-        !s.eval::<bool>("return BenillaFadeDriver:IsShown()")
-            .unwrap(),
-        "the driver re-parks once the list is empty"
-    );
+    // The letter is open; two shipped-row stand-ins take the seats: MerchantFrame (pushable 0)
+    // holds left, TradeFrame (pushable 1) then ARRIVES at center (UIParent.lua l.734-741's
+    // else-arm: the incumbent outranks nobody, the newcomer settles at center).
+    s.run(
+        r#"local m = CreateFrame("Frame", "OpenMailFrame") m:SetSize(50, 50)
+           local a = CreateFrame("Frame", "MerchantFrame") a:SetSize(50, 50) a:Hide()
+           local b = CreateFrame("Frame", "TradeFrame") b:SetSize(50, 50) b:Hide()
+           ShowUIPanel(MerchantFrame)
+           ShowUIPanel(TradeFrame)"#,
+    )
+    .unwrap();
     assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "script errors: {:?}", s.errors());
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return GetCenterFrame():GetName() == 'TradeFrame'")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "the pushable=1 newcomer arrived at the center seat"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        !s.eval::<bool>("return OpenMailFrame:IsShown()").unwrap(),
+        "the arriving center frame hid the open letter (the UIChildWindows loop)"
+    );
+
+    // The asymmetry: seats cleared, letter re-shown, LootFrame (pushable 7) holds left and a
+    // pushable=0 window shoves it — MovePanelToCenter SLIDES loot across, and the letter stays.
+    s.run(
+        r#"HideUIPanel(TradeFrame) HideUIPanel(MerchantFrame)
+           OpenMailFrame:Show()
+           local l = CreateFrame("Frame", "LootFrame") l:SetSize(50, 50) l:Hide()
+           ShowUIPanel(LootFrame)
+           ShowUIPanel(MerchantFrame)"#,
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+    assert!(s.errors().is_empty(), "script errors: {:?}", s.errors());
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return GetCenterFrame():GetName() == 'LootFrame'")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "loot slid to center (MovePanelToCenter), merchant took left"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return OpenMailFrame:IsShown()").unwrap(),
+        "a PUSHED frame does not run the child-window loop — the ref's exact trigger"
+    );
 }
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/quiver_tests.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/quiver_tests.rs
index cc978dc5..a32922c4 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/quiver_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_script/quiver_tests.rs
@@ -270,3 +270,301 @@ fn quiver_survives_a_hunter_session_start_without_raising() {
         "Quiver raised at session start: {raised:#?}"
     );
 }
+
+// ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// The Auto Shot Timer's state machine — why the bar "just stays full".
+// ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/// A ranged weapon on the character sheet, so `UnitRangedDamage("player")` answers a real speed.
+///
+/// 2.8s is a vanilla hunter bow. The addon computes `reloadTime = speed - 0.5`, so this is what
+/// makes the reload phase measurable rather than a divide by zero.
+fn seat_a_bow(s: &mut UiScript) {
+    use benilla_ui::script::UnitCombatStats;
+    s.set_player_combat_stats(Some(UnitCombatStats {
+        ranged_attack_time_ms: 2800,
+        ranged_min_damage: 31.0,
+        ranged_max_damage: 47.0,
+        damage_percent: 1.0,
+        ..Default::default()
+    }));
+}
+
+/// The event burst a real session start fires, in order.
+fn start_session(s: &mut UiScript) {
+    s.fire_event("ADDON_LOADED", vec![ScriptValue::Str("Quiver".into())]);
+    for e in ["VARIABLES_LOADED", "PLAYER_LOGIN", "PLAYER_ENTERING_WORLD"] {
+        s.fire_event(e, Vec::new());
+    }
+}
+
+/// The addon's own state machine, read through the three globals it publishes for macros.
+/// Reading these beats measuring the bar's pixels: they ARE what the bar draws from.
+fn shot_state(s: &mut UiScript) -> (bool, bool, f64, f64) {
+    let mid = s.eval::<bool>("return Quiver.PredMidShot()").unwrap();
+    let (reloading, reload_left) = s
+        .eval::<(bool, f64)>("return Quiver.GetSecondsRemainingReload()")
+        .unwrap();
+    let (_, shoot_left) = s
+        .eval::<(bool, f64)>("return Quiver.GetSecondsRemainingShoot()")
+        .unwrap();
+    (mid, reloading, reload_left, shoot_left)
+}
+
+/// **The reported symptom, reproduced.** *"the shot timer doesn't seem to work properly when
+/// standing still and shooting, it just stays full."*
+///
+/// Quiver's ONLY detector for "an auto shot actually fired" is `ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED` — in the real
+/// client, spending an arrow toggles the ammo slot's lock, and the addon's own comment says so:
+/// *"Inventory event, such as using ammo or drinking a potion. This is how we detect auto shots."*
+///
+/// benilla fires `ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED` only from bag / cursor / mail / loot paths. Nothing fires it
+/// for ammo spent on a ranged attack. So the addon starts its 0.5s aim, saturates it, and waits
+/// forever for a shot it is never told about — which is a bar pinned at 100%.
+#[test]
+fn auto_shot_bar_saturates_when_no_ammo_lock_event_ever_arrives() {
+    let root = quiver_or_skip!();
+    let mut s = seat_a_hunter(&root);
+    seat_a_bow(&mut s);
+    assert!(load_addon_files(&s, &root, "Quiver").is_empty());
+    start_session(&mut s);
+
+    // The player presses the ranged-attack key, then stands still and shoots for two seconds.
+    s.fire_event("START_AUTOREPEAT_SPELL", Vec::new());
+    for _ in 0..20 {
+        s.tick(0.1);
+    }
+
+    let (mid, reloading, _, shoot_left) = shot_state(&mut s);
+    assert!(mid, "the addon does believe it is shooting");
+    assert!(
+        !reloading,
+        "THE BUG: two seconds into a 2.8s weapon cycle and the reload phase never began, \
+         because nothing told the addon a shot went off"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        shoot_left <= 0.0,
+        "THE SYMPTOM: the 0.5s aim bar saturated {shoot_left:.2}s ago and has nowhere to go — \
+         this is 'it just stays full'"
+    );
+}
+
+/// **The mechanism, proven.** The same session, plus the one event benilla never sends: the bar
+/// immediately behaves. This is what pins the diagnosis on the missing ammo lock rather than on
+/// the addon, on `SetWidth`, or on the standing-still check.
+#[test]
+fn auto_shot_bar_drains_the_moment_an_ammo_lock_event_arrives() {
+    let root = quiver_or_skip!();
+    let mut s = seat_a_hunter(&root);
+    seat_a_bow(&mut s);
+    assert!(load_addon_files(&s, &root, "Quiver").is_empty());
+    start_session(&mut s);
+
+    s.fire_event("START_AUTOREPEAT_SPELL", Vec::new());
+    s.tick(0.1);
+    // The arrow leaves the quiver. This is the event the real client fires and we do not.
+    s.fire_event("ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED", Vec::new());
+    s.tick(0.1);
+
+    let (_, reloading, reload_left, _) = shot_state(&mut s);
+    assert!(
+        reloading,
+        "one ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED is the whole difference between a dead bar and a live one"
+    );
+    // reloadTime = UnitRangedDamage speed (2.8) - the addon's 0.5s aiming constant, less the tick.
+    assert!(
+        (2.0..=2.3).contains(&reload_left),
+        "the reload should be draining from ~2.3s, got {reload_left:.2}"
+    );
+}
+
+// ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// The Aspect Tracker — what it actually draws, and the one aspect it deliberately does not.
+// ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/// Seat one active player buff by name and announce it the way the app's aura feed does.
+fn seat_a_buff(s: &mut UiScript, spell_id: u32, name: &str, icon: &str) {
+    use benilla_ui::script::AuraState;
+    s.set_auras(
+        "player",
+        Some(vec![AuraState {
+            spell_id,
+            name: Some(name.into()),
+            icon: Some(icon.into()),
+            count: 0,
+            debuff_type: None,
+            duration: 0.0,
+            expiration_time: 0.0,
+            helpful: true,
+            cancelable: true,
+            until_cancelled: true,
+            channeled: false,
+        }]),
+    );
+    s.fire_event("PLAYER_AURAS_CHANGED", vec![]);
+}
+
+/// Is any quad drawing this art, visibly?
+///
+/// **The buff bar is hidden first, and that is load-bearing.** An active aura paints its own icon
+/// through `BuffButton*`, so while Aspect of the Hawk is up TWO quads carry
+/// `Spell_Nature_RavenForm` — the tracker's, and the player's buff bar. An earlier cut of this
+/// helper counted both and reported the tracker as drawing when it had correctly hidden itself.
+fn draws(s: &mut UiScript, leaf: &str) -> bool {
+    use benilla_ui::script::QuadContent;
+    s.eval::<()>("if BuffFrame then BuffFrame:Hide() end")
+        .unwrap();
+    for i in 1..=24 {
+        let _ = s.eval::<()>(&format!("if BuffButton{i} then BuffButton{i}:Hide() end"));
+    }
+    s.tick(0.1);
+    s.resolve();
+    s.extract().iter().any(|q| {
+        q.alpha > 0.0
+            && q.rect.is_some()
+            && matches!(&q.content,
+                QuadContent::Texture { path: Some(p), .. }
+                    if p.to_ascii_lowercase().ends_with(&leaf.to_ascii_lowercase()))
+    })
+}
+
+/// **The Aspect Tracker draws.** Cheetah up ⇒ the Cheetah icon is on screen.
+///
+/// This is the module end to end on our stack: the scanning tooltip
+/// (`CreateFrame("GameTooltip", …, "GameTooltipTemplate")` → `SetPlayerBuff` → the *named*
+/// `…TextLeft1` font string → a string compare against the localized spell name), then
+/// `Texture:SetTexture` and the backdrop frame it lives in. Every one of those is a real
+/// dependency of ours, and a break in any of them shows up here as a missing quad.
+#[test]
+fn aspect_tracker_draws_the_icon_for_an_active_aspect() {
+    let root = quiver_or_skip!();
+    let mut s = seat_a_hunter(&root);
+    assert!(load_addon_files(&s, &root, "Quiver").is_empty());
+    start_session(&mut s);
+
+    seat_a_buff(
+        &mut s,
+        5118,
+        "Aspect of the Cheetah",
+        "Interface\\Icons\\Ability_Mount_JungleTiger",
+    );
+    assert!(
+        draws(&mut s, "Ability_Mount_JungleTiger"),
+        "the aspect tracker drew nothing for an active Aspect of the Cheetah — \
+         errors: {:#?}",
+        s.errors()
+    );
+}
+
+/// **The Hawk arm is gated on the frame LOCK, and getting that wrong looks exactly like a bug.**
+///
+/// `chooseIconTexture` tests seven aspects by name (Beast, Cheetah, Fox, Monkey, Viper, Wild,
+/// Wolf) and then handles Hawk differently:
+///
+/// ```lua
+/// elseif Api.Spell.PredSpellLearned(Hawk) and not Api.Aura.PredBuffActive(Hawk)
+///     or not Quiver_Store.IsLockedFrames
+/// ```
+///
+/// `and` binds tighter than `or`, so this is `(learned and NOT active) or (UNLOCKED)`. Two
+/// clauses, and the second is the one that catches you out:
+///
+/// - the Hawk icon is a **missing-aspect reminder**, not a status light — with Hawk up it is
+///   suppressed by the first clause;
+/// - but **unlocked frames force it on regardless**, so you can see the frame you are dragging.
+///
+/// A fresh profile starts UNLOCKED, so the honest default is *the reminder shows even with Hawk
+/// up*. This test asserts both halves, because an earlier cut of it asserted only "blank while
+/// Hawk is up" and failed — the addon was right and the test was wrong.
+#[test]
+fn the_hawk_reminder_is_suppressed_only_once_frames_are_locked() {
+    let root = quiver_or_skip!();
+    let mut s = seat_a_hunter(&root);
+    assert!(load_addon_files(&s, &root, "Quiver").is_empty());
+    start_session(&mut s);
+
+    seat_a_buff(
+        &mut s,
+        13165,
+        "Aspect of the Hawk",
+        "Interface\\Icons\\Spell_Nature_RavenForm",
+    );
+
+    // Unlocked (the fresh-profile default): the reminder shows even though Hawk IS up.
+    s.eval::<()>("Quiver_Store.IsLockedFrames = false").unwrap();
+    s.fire_event("PLAYER_AURAS_CHANGED", vec![]);
+    assert!(
+        draws(&mut s, "Spell_Nature_RavenForm"),
+        "unlocked frames force the icon on so it can be dragged — errors: {:#?}",
+        s.errors()
+    );
+
+    // Locked: the first clause governs, and Hawk being up suppresses its own reminder.
+    s.eval::<()>("Quiver_Store.IsLockedFrames = true").unwrap();
+    s.fire_event("PLAYER_AURAS_CHANGED", vec![]);
+    assert!(
+        !draws(&mut s, "Spell_Nature_RavenForm"),
+        "locked + Hawk up must be blank: the reminder has nothing to remind you of"
+    );
+}
+
+/// **B267's second half, end to end through the real feed.** Not a hand-fired event this time:
+/// a container snapshot whose arrow stack ticks down by one, pushed through
+/// [`crate::ui_items::feed::apply_container_source`] exactly as a server object update does.
+///
+/// This is the test that would have caught the bug in the first place. The A/B above proves the
+/// addon reacts to `ITEM_LOCK_CHANGED`; this proves **we actually send one when an arrow is
+/// spent**, which is the half that was missing (decision 1509).
+#[test]
+fn spending_an_arrow_starts_quivers_reload_through_the_real_item_feed() {
+    use crate::ui_items::feed::{apply_container_source, FeedMemory};
+    use benilla_ui::script::{ContainerSlot, ContainerState};
+    use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+    let root = quiver_or_skip!();
+    let mut s = seat_a_hunter(&root);
+    seat_a_bow(&mut s);
+    assert!(load_addon_files(&s, &root, "Quiver").is_empty());
+    start_session(&mut s);
+
+    let quiver = |count: u32| {
+        Some(HashMap::from([(
+            0i64,
+            ContainerState {
+                name: Some("Backpack".into()),
+                num_slots: 16,
+                slots: HashMap::from([(
+                    1u32,
+                    ContainerSlot {
+                        item_id: 2512, // Rough Arrow
+                        count,
+                        ..Default::default()
+                    },
+                )]),
+            },
+        )]))
+    };
+    let mut memory = FeedMemory::default();
+    apply_container_source(&mut s, &mut memory, quiver(200), Vec::new());
+
+    s.fire_event("START_AUTOREPEAT_SPELL", Vec::new());
+    s.tick(0.1);
+    let (_, reloading_before, _, _) = shot_state(&mut s);
+    assert!(!reloading_before, "no shot has landed yet");
+
+    // The server tells us the stack is one lighter. That is a fired shot, and the only way the
+    // addon can ever know it.
+    apply_container_source(&mut s, &mut memory, quiver(199), Vec::new());
+    s.tick(0.1);
+
+    let (_, reloading, reload_left, _) = shot_state(&mut s);
+    assert!(
+        reloading,
+        "spending an arrow must start the reload drain — errors: {:#?}",
+        s.errors()
+    );
+    assert!(
+        (2.0..=2.3).contains(&reload_left),
+        "draining from ~2.3s (2.8s bow - 0.5s aim), got {reload_left:.2}"
+    );
+}
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/tests/item_text_frame.rs b/crates/benilla-app/tests/item_text_frame.rs
index 1107beba..8840c11b 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/tests/item_text_frame.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/tests/item_text_frame.rs
@@ -266,3 +266,81 @@ fn the_reported_html_page_draws_as_blocks_not_as_its_own_markup() {
         "a block was truncated — the page is height-pinned again: {drawn:?}"
     );
 }
+
+/// **B288, closed at the reported symptom** (CarlG, decision 1507): the Verdant Note open from
+/// the bag, then a quest giver's gossip — both frames drew at the same TOPLEFT 0,-104 anchor,
+/// page text and greeting interleaved. The cause was the reader's missing `UIPanelWindows` row:
+/// registered (the ref's own `{ area = "left", pushable = 0 }`, UIParent.lua l.20), the two are
+/// left-slot rivals and showing one replaces the other — in BOTH orders, each displaced window's
+/// OnHide ending its own session exactly as the merchant/gossip pair already does.
+#[test]
+fn a_quest_givers_gossip_displaces_the_open_reader() {
+    use benilla_ui::script::GossipMenu;
+
+    let mut s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
+    load_ui(&s);
+    // The other rival, loaded exactly as the app's manifest does (after the reader's prefix).
+    {
+        let dir = std::path::Path::new(UI_DIR);
+        let text = std::fs::read_to_string(dir.join("GossipFrame.xml")).unwrap();
+        let doc = benilla_ui::framexml::parse(&text).unwrap();
+        let report = benilla_ui::loader::load(&s, &doc, &|_| None);
+        assert!(
+            report.errors.is_empty(),
+            "GossipFrame.xml: {:?}",
+            report.errors
+        );
+    }
+
+    // The note is open and holding the left slot.
+    s.set_item_text(Some(letter()));
+    s.fire_event("ITEM_TEXT_BEGIN", vec![]);
+    s.fire_event("ITEM_TEXT_READY", vec![]);
+    assert!(s.eval::<bool>("return ItemTextFrame:IsShown()").unwrap());
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return GetLeftFrame():GetName() == 'ItemTextFrame'")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "the registered reader seats at the left slot, not a bare Show"
+    );
+    let _ = s.take_item_text_close();
+
+    // The quest giver's gossip opens: one window, not two — the reported stack cannot form.
+    s.set_gossip(Some(GossipMenu {
+        greeting: "What can I do for you?".into(),
+        quests: Vec::new(),
+        options: Vec::new(),
+    }));
+    s.fire_event("GOSSIP_SHOW", vec![]);
+    assert!(s.take_errors().is_empty());
+    assert!(
+        !s.eval::<bool>("return ItemTextFrame:IsShown()").unwrap(),
+        "gossip replaced the note — the B288 stack (both drawn at 0,-104) cannot form"
+    );
+    assert!(s
+        .eval::<bool>("return GossipFrame:IsShown() and GetLeftFrame():GetName() == 'GossipFrame'")
+        .unwrap());
+    assert!(
+        s.take_item_text_close(),
+        "the displaced reader's OnHide ended the read session (CloseItemText)"
+    );
+    // The app's answer to that close must not disturb the gossip that displaced it.
+    s.set_item_text(None);
+    s.fire_event("ITEM_TEXT_CLOSED", vec![]);
+    assert!(s.eval::<bool>("return GossipFrame:IsShown()").unwrap());
+
+    // The reverse order: reading the note over an open gossip ends the gossip session.
+    let _ = s.take_gossip_close();
+    s.set_item_text(Some(letter()));
+    s.fire_event("ITEM_TEXT_BEGIN", vec![]);
+    s.fire_event("ITEM_TEXT_READY", vec![]);
+    assert!(s.take_errors().is_empty());
+    assert!(
+        s.eval::<bool>("return ItemTextFrame:IsShown() and not GossipFrame:IsShown()")
+            .unwrap(),
+        "the reader replaces gossip the same way"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        s.take_gossip_close(),
+        "the displaced gossip's OnHide ended the gossip session (CloseGossip)"
+    );
+}
diff --git a/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/gossip.rs b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/gossip.rs
index 8df134b1..4045b291 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/gossip.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/gossip.rs
@@ -15,8 +15,11 @@
 //! wire `GOSSIP_ICON` byte. The one addition is `IsGossipOptionCoded(i)` — a benilla-local
 //! predicate the XML uses to grey password-gated options (decision 0081 v1: coded options are
 //! parsed and greyed, never selected; the real client pops a password box, out of scope here).
-//! `GetGossipText()` returns the greeting body (`SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE`), `nil` while its ask-once
-//! query is still in flight.
+//! `GetGossipText()` returns the greeting body (`SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE`), `nil` when no menu is
+//! open. There is no "menu open, text pending" state: the app holds the menu closed until the
+//! greeting resolves, as the reference does (its greeting write and `GOSSIP_SHOW` are adjacent and
+//! unconditional on one success path — wow-re `gossip-npctext-law.md` §4; B292), which is why
+//! [`GossipMenu::greeting`] is a plain `String`.
 
 use mlua::{Lua, MultiValue, Value};
 
@@ -47,12 +50,13 @@ pub struct GossipQuestRow {
     pub active: bool,
 }
 
-/// One open gossip menu: the greeting body (once its query lands), the quest rows, and the option
-/// rows. Pushed whole by the app; `None` means no menu is open.
+/// One open gossip menu: the greeting body, the quest rows, and the option rows. Pushed whole by
+/// the app; `None` means no menu is open.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Default, PartialEq)]
 pub struct GossipMenu {
-    /// The NPC greeting (`SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE`); `None` while the ask-once query is in flight.
-    pub greeting: Option<String>,
+    /// The NPC greeting, always resolved: a menu is only pushed once its `SMSG_NPC_TEXT_UPDATE`
+    /// answered — an open gossip frame with a blank page is not a reachable state (module doc).
+    pub greeting: String,
     /// Quest rows the NPC offers/has active, riding the same packet (decision 0088).
     pub quests: Vec<GossipQuestRow>,
     pub options: Vec<GossipOptionView>,
@@ -86,13 +90,14 @@ impl super::UiScript {
 pub(super) fn install(lua: &Lua) -> mlua::Result<()> {
     let g = lua.globals();
 
-    // → the greeting body, or nil while its query is in flight / there is no menu.
+    // → the greeting body, or nil while there is no menu (an open menu always has one — the
+    // app-side hold, module doc).
     g.set(
         "GetGossipText",
         lua.create_function(|lua, ()| {
             let text = {
                 let model = lua.app_data_ref::<Model>().expect("model app_data");
-                model.gossip.as_ref().and_then(|m| m.greeting.clone())
+                model.gossip.as_ref().map(|m| m.greeting.clone())
             };
             match text {
                 Some(t) => Ok(Value::String(lua.create_string(&t)?)),
@@ -212,7 +217,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     fn menu() -> GossipMenu {
         GossipMenu {
-            greeting: Some("Greetings, traveler.".into()),
+            greeting: "Greetings, traveler.".into(),
             quests: Vec::new(),
             options: vec![
                 GossipOptionView {
diff --git a/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/mod.rs b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/mod.rs
index 5d1efe42..444988b5 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/mod.rs
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ mod tooltip;
 mod tooltip_item;
 mod tooltip_spell;
 mod tooltip_unit;
+mod ui_errors;
 pub use tooltip_unit::TooltipTint;
 mod trade;
 mod tradeskill;
@@ -534,6 +535,7 @@ impl UiScript {
         saved::install(&lua)?;
         keybind::install(&lua)?;
         sound::install(&lua)?;
+        ui_errors::install(&lua)?;
         pointer::install(&lua)?;
         action::install(&lua)?;
         action_bar_toggles::install(&lua)?;
diff --git a/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/ui_errors.rs b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/ui_errors.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d8ac6453
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/ui_errors.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+//! **The Lua-callable half of the client-local error-display family** — FrameXML-facing globals
+//! whose whole body, in the reference binary, is "push one catalog id at
+//! `CGGameUI::DisplayError`'s dispatcher". The engine-side half (a Rust system raising a key
+//! directly, e.g. the passive-on-bar refusal) pushes onto the same [`Model::ui_errors`] queue;
+//! the app drains it, resolves each key against the VM's own GlobalStrings and fires
+//! `UI_ERROR_MESSAGE` (`ui_action/feed.rs`) — which is byte-for-byte the reference route: catalog
+//! row → GlobalStrings text → FrameScript event `0xe0`, rendered by UIErrorsFrame.
+//!
+//! First tenant: `NotWhileDeadError` (decision 1507's open item, closed by the wow-re §5
+//! cross-check of 2026-08-21, recorded in wow-re `system/ui`): registration pair `0x83e398`,
+//! C body `0x48d340` = `push 0x7e; call 0x496720; xor eax,eax; ret` — no argument read, no
+//! dead-check of its own, 0 return values, and its catalog row (`0xb4be70`, key
+//! `ERR_PLAYER_DEAD`) names sound `"NONE"`, so the toast is silent. FrameXML decides *when* to
+//! call it (ShowUIPanel's `whileDead` refusal, UIParent.lua l.663-666; ContainerFrame.lua l.147
+//! and l.190); the binding only displays.
+
+use mlua::Lua;
+
+use super::model::Model;
+
+/// The GlobalStrings key of catalog id `0x7e` — the row `NotWhileDeadError`'s pushed id resolves
+/// to ("You can't do that when you're dead.").
+const NOT_WHILE_DEAD_KEY: &str = "ERR_PLAYER_DEAD";
+
+/// Register the error-display globals.
+pub(super) fn install(lua: &Lua) -> mlua::Result<()> {
+    lua.globals().set(
+        "NotWhileDeadError",
+        lua.create_function(|lua, ()| {
+            let mut model = lua.app_data_mut::<Model>().expect("model app_data");
+            model.ui_errors.push(NOT_WHILE_DEAD_KEY);
+            Ok(())
+        })?,
+    )
+}