diff --git a/LOTUS_FEATURES.md b/LOTUS_FEATURES.md
index f3c4253e2..6411e424d 100644
--- a/LOTUS_FEATURES.md
+++ b/LOTUS_FEATURES.md
@@ -175,19 +175,19 @@ Decorative CSS-only overlays that activate automatically on holidays and events.
 
 ### Themes
 
-| Theme                | Window        | Effect                                                                                             |
-| -------------------- | ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| 🎆 New Year          | Dec 31–Jan 2  | Radial firework bursts in gold, red, cyan, purple; gold shimmer sweep                              |
-| 🏮 Lunar New Year    | Jan 22–Feb 5  | Floating paper lanterns bobbing; silk texture; gold shimmer accent                                 |
-| 💖 Valentine's Day   | Feb 10–15     | ♥ hearts floating upward; soft pink ambient glow                                                   |
-| 🍀 St. Patrick's Day | Mar 15–18     | ☘ clovers drifting down; gold metallic shimmer top border                                          |
-| 🃏 April Fool's      | Apr 1         | Glitch overlay: RGB channel separation, hue-rotate spikes, scanline sweep, "SIGNAL LOST" watermark |
-| 🌱 Earth Day         | Apr 20–23     | 🌿🍃 leaf emoji drift; sage green ambient tint; vine accent on left edge                           |
-| 🍂 Autumn            | Sep 21–Oct 31 | Warm orange/amber leaf shapes rotating and falling                                                 |
-| 👾 Arcade Day        | Sep 12        | CRT scanlines; blinking pixel corner decorations; "INSERT COIN" prompt                             |
-| 🚀 Deep Space Week   | Oct 4–10      | Warp-speed star streaks radiating from screen centre; nebula purple/blue ambient                   |
-| 🎃 Halloween         | Oct 15–Nov 1  | Purple and orange glowing particles; SVG spider web in top-left corner; dark purple tint           |
-| ❄️ Christmas         | Dec 10–Jan 2  | White dot snowfall in multiple layers at varied speeds                                             |
+| Theme                | Window        | Effect                                                                                                                                                                                  |
+| -------------------- | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| 🎆 New Year          | Dec 31–Jan 2  | Radial firework bursts in gold, red, cyan, purple; gold shimmer sweep                                                                                                                   |
+| 🏮 Lunar New Year    | Jan 22–Feb 5  | Floating paper lanterns bobbing; silk texture; gold shimmer accent                                                                                                                      |
+| 💖 Valentine's Day   | Feb 10–15     | ♥ hearts floating upward; soft pink ambient glow                                                                                                                                        |
+| 🍀 St. Patrick's Day | Mar 15–18     | ☘ clovers drifting down; gold metallic shimmer top border                                                                                                                               |
+| 🃏 April Fool's      | Apr 1         | Glitch overlay: RGB channel separation, hue-rotate spikes, scanline sweep, "SIGNAL LOST" watermark                                                                                      |
+| 🌱 Earth Day         | Apr 20–23     | 🌿🍃 leaf emoji drift; sage green ambient tint; vine accent on left edge                                                                                                                |
+| 🍂 Autumn            | Sep 21–Oct 31 | Warm orange/amber leaf shapes rotating and falling                                                                                                                                      |
+| 👾 Arcade Day        | Sep 12        | Synthwave CRT: neon perspective grid framing the timeline (faded through the chat column), broken horizon line, rolling scanlines, pixel sparkles, bottom-right "1UP / INSERT COIN" HUD |
+| 🚀 Deep Space Week   | Oct 4–10      | Violet void with drifting magenta/cyan nebula clouds, two-depth parallax starfield (~60 twinkling stars + 6 hero gleams), slow galaxy spiral, occasional comet streaks                  |
+| 🎃 Halloween         | Oct 15–Nov 1  | Purple and orange glowing particles; SVG spider web in top-left corner; dark purple tint                                                                                                |
+| ❄️ Christmas         | Dec 10–Jan 2  | White dot snowfall in multiple layers at varied speeds                                                                                                                                  |
 
 ### Implementation
 
diff --git a/src/app/components/seasonal/SeasonalEffect.tsx b/src/app/components/seasonal/SeasonalEffect.tsx
index 82b4f2e34..caf40d9ff 100644
--- a/src/app/components/seasonal/SeasonalEffect.tsx
+++ b/src/app/components/seasonal/SeasonalEffect.tsx
@@ -84,7 +84,15 @@ export function SeasonalPreview({ theme }: { theme: SeasonTheme }) {
   return (
     <div
       aria-hidden="true"
-      style={{ position: 'absolute', inset: 0, overflow: 'hidden', pointerEvents: 'none' }}
+      style={{
+        position: 'absolute',
+        inset: 0,
+        overflow: 'hidden',
+        pointerEvents: 'none',
+        // Size container so overlays can scale/hide fixed-size details (e.g.
+        // Arcade's HUD text) with `cqw` instead of rendering clipped in a swatch.
+        containerType: 'inline-size',
+      }}
     >
       {buildOverlayContent(theme, true)}
     </div>
diff --git a/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.css.ts b/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.css.ts
index 83f77a572..570cdd5e1 100644
--- a/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.css.ts
+++ b/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.css.ts
@@ -102,12 +102,12 @@ export const animSparkleTwinkle = keyframes({
  * Opacity + a hair of scale for a CRT bloom feel.
  */
 export const animCoinBlink = keyframes({
-  '0%': { opacity: '0.85', transform: 'translateX(-50%) scale(1)' },
-  '6%': { opacity: '1', transform: 'translateX(-50%) scale(1.015)' },
-  '12%': { opacity: '0.85', transform: 'translateX(-50%) scale(1)' },
-  '49%': { opacity: '0.85', transform: 'translateX(-50%) scale(1)' },
-  '50%': { opacity: '0', transform: 'translateX(-50%) scale(1)' },
-  '100%': { opacity: '0', transform: 'translateX(-50%) scale(1)' },
+  '0%': { opacity: '0.85', transform: 'scale(1)' },
+  '6%': { opacity: '1', transform: 'scale(1.015)' },
+  '12%': { opacity: '0.85', transform: 'scale(1)' },
+  '49%': { opacity: '0.85', transform: 'scale(1)' },
+  '50%': { opacity: '0', transform: 'scale(1)' },
+  '100%': { opacity: '0', transform: 'scale(1)' },
 });
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.tsx b/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.tsx
index 95f4471dc..c5c1d0652 100644
--- a/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.tsx
+++ b/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/Arcade.tsx
@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@ const NEON_CYAN = 'oklch(0.80 0.15 200)';
 const GRID_PURPLE = 'oklch(0.45 0.18 300)';
 
 // The receding grid as an inline SVG data-URI (CSP-safe, no external assets).
+// Strokes use vector-effect=non-scaling-stroke so a line is ~1px whether the
+// tile is stretched across a 2000px plane (preserveAspectRatio=none would
+// otherwise fatten the verticals ~4x) or squeezed into the 76px settings
+// swatch (where scaled strokes disappeared entirely).
 // It is a 1x2 vertical tile of horizontal rule lines + a single set of vertical
 // lines fanning toward a top-center vanishing point. The plane is then placed
 // under a CSS `perspective` rotateX so the lines genuinely recede. Scrolling the
@@ -58,7 +62,7 @@ function gridDataUri(): string {
   rows.forEach((y) => {
     lines.push(
       `<line x1='0' y1='${y}' x2='600' y2='${y}' stroke='${GRID_PURPLE}' ` +
-        `stroke-width='1.4' stroke-opacity='0.9'/>`,
+        `stroke-width='1.2' stroke-opacity='0.9' vector-effect='non-scaling-stroke'/>`,
     );
   });
   // Vertical lines fanning out from the top-center vanishing point.
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ function gridDataUri(): string {
     const botX = 300 + i * 95; // wide at the foreground
     lines.push(
       `<line x1='${topX}' y1='0' x2='${botX}' y2='600' stroke='${GRID_PURPLE}' ` +
-        `stroke-width='1.4' stroke-opacity='0.8'/>`,
+        `stroke-width='1.2' stroke-opacity='0.8' vector-effect='non-scaling-stroke'/>`,
     );
   }
   const svg =
@@ -105,6 +109,13 @@ const RESTING_SPARKLES: ReadonlyArray<{
 
 const GRID_URI = gridDataUri();
 
+// HUD text size: 11px on any real viewport, 0px (invisible) inside anything
+// narrower than ~330px. `cqw` resolves against the nearest size container —
+// the settings swatch (`SeasonalPreview` sets container-type) — and falls back
+// to the viewport width when there is no container, i.e. the full-screen
+// overlay. clamp(0, 100cqw - 320px, 11px) → 76px swatch: 0px; 1440px app: 11px.
+const HUD_FONT_SIZE = 'clamp(0px, calc(100cqw - 320px), 11px)';
+
 export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
   // Deterministic sparkle field, computed ONCE. No per-frame state.
   const sparkles = useMemo<Sparkle[]>(() => {
@@ -134,9 +145,9 @@ export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
           position: 'absolute',
           inset: 0,
           backgroundImage: [
-            'radial-gradient(140% 80% at 50% -8%, oklch(0.65 0.25 350 / 0.16) 0%, transparent 55%)',
-            'radial-gradient(120% 70% at 50% 112%, oklch(0.45 0.18 300 / 0.20) 0%, transparent 60%)',
-            'linear-gradient(180deg, oklch(0.12 0.05 300 / 0.10) 0%, transparent 38%, oklch(0.10 0.06 310 / 0.16) 100%)',
+            'radial-gradient(140% 80% at 50% -8%, oklch(0.65 0.25 350 / 0.12) 0%, transparent 55%)',
+            'radial-gradient(120% 70% at 50% 112%, oklch(0.45 0.18 300 / 0.16) 0%, transparent 60%)',
+            'linear-gradient(180deg, oklch(0.12 0.05 300 / 0.08) 0%, transparent 38%, oklch(0.10 0.06 310 / 0.12) 100%)',
           ].join(','),
           contain: 'layout paint style',
         }}
@@ -147,41 +158,59 @@ export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
             a vanishing point at the top (the horizon). It lives in the lower
             half of the screen — the "floor". The inner plane scrolls upward by
             one tile via transform translateY, which reads as the grid flowing
-            toward the viewer. Pure transform; never background-position. */}
+            toward the viewer. Pure transform; never background-position.
+
+            Two masks are nested (multiple mask-images on one element union by
+            default, and `mask-composite: intersect` isn't universal yet): the
+            outer wrapper fades the lattice through the central column where the
+            message timeline lives, so it frames the chat instead of striping
+            the text; the inner box fades it in from the horizon. */}
       <div
         aria-hidden="true"
         style={{
           position: 'absolute',
-          left: '-25%',
-          right: '-25%',
-          bottom: 0,
-          height: '62%',
-          overflow: 'hidden',
-          perspective: '280px',
-          perspectiveOrigin: '50% 0%',
-          maskImage: 'linear-gradient(180deg, transparent 0%, #000 26%, #000 100%)',
-          WebkitMaskImage: 'linear-gradient(180deg, transparent 0%, #000 26%, #000 100%)',
-          opacity: reduced ? 0.5 : 0.62,
+          inset: 0,
+          maskImage:
+            'linear-gradient(90deg, #000 0%, #000 12%, rgba(0,0,0,0.3) 34%, rgba(0,0,0,0.3) 66%, #000 88%, #000 100%)',
+          WebkitMaskImage:
+            'linear-gradient(90deg, #000 0%, #000 12%, rgba(0,0,0,0.3) 34%, rgba(0,0,0,0.3) 66%, #000 88%, #000 100%)',
+          opacity: reduced ? 0.4 : 0.46,
           contain: 'layout paint style',
         }}
       >
         <div
           style={{
             position: 'absolute',
-            left: 0,
-            right: 0,
-            top: 0,
-            height: '200%',
-            transformOrigin: 'top center',
-            transform: 'rotateX(74deg)',
-            backgroundImage: GRID_URI,
-            backgroundRepeat: 'repeat-y',
-            backgroundSize: '100% 50%',
-            filter: 'drop-shadow(0 0 3px oklch(0.55 0.22 320 / 0.6))',
-            willChange: reduced ? undefined : 'transform',
-            animation: reduced ? 'none' : `${animGridScroll} 7s linear infinite`,
+            left: '-25%',
+            right: '-25%',
+            bottom: 0,
+            height: '62%',
+            overflow: 'hidden',
+            perspective: '280px',
+            perspectiveOrigin: '50% 0%',
+            maskImage: 'linear-gradient(180deg, transparent 0%, #000 26%, #000 100%)',
+            WebkitMaskImage: 'linear-gradient(180deg, transparent 0%, #000 26%, #000 100%)',
+            contain: 'layout paint style',
           }}
-        />
+        >
+          <div
+            style={{
+              position: 'absolute',
+              left: 0,
+              right: 0,
+              top: 0,
+              height: '200%',
+              transformOrigin: 'top center',
+              transform: 'rotateX(74deg)',
+              backgroundImage: GRID_URI,
+              backgroundRepeat: 'repeat-y',
+              backgroundSize: '100% 50%',
+              filter: 'drop-shadow(0 0 2px oklch(0.55 0.22 320 / 0.55))',
+              willChange: reduced ? undefined : 'transform',
+              animation: reduced ? 'none' : `${animGridScroll} 7s linear infinite`,
+            }}
+          />
+        </div>
       </div>
 
       {/* 3. Horizon glow + neon horizon line. A soft synthwave sun-bloom sits
@@ -197,7 +226,7 @@ export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
           height: '34%',
           transform: 'translate(-50%, -50%)',
           backgroundImage:
-            'radial-gradient(60% 100% at 50% 100%, oklch(0.70 0.22 350 / 0.22) 0%, oklch(0.65 0.18 330 / 0.10) 40%, transparent 72%)',
+            'radial-gradient(60% 100% at 50% 100%, oklch(0.70 0.22 350 / 0.16) 0%, oklch(0.65 0.18 330 / 0.08) 40%, transparent 72%)',
           contain: 'layout paint style',
         }}
       />
@@ -209,8 +238,10 @@ export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
           right: '12%',
           top: '38%',
           height: '1.5px',
-          background: `linear-gradient(90deg, transparent 0%, ${NEON_CYAN} 25%, oklch(0.92 0.10 320 / 0.95) 50%, ${NEON_CYAN} 75%, transparent 100%)`,
-          opacity: 0.55,
+          // Bright at the flanks, dropped out through the centre column so the
+          // rule frames the timeline rather than underlining a message.
+          background: `linear-gradient(90deg, transparent 0%, ${NEON_CYAN} 14%, oklch(0.92 0.10 320 / 0.95) 22%, transparent 34%, transparent 66%, oklch(0.92 0.10 320 / 0.95) 78%, ${NEON_CYAN} 86%, transparent 100%)`,
+          opacity: 0.4,
           filter: 'blur(0.4px) drop-shadow(0 0 4px oklch(0.78 0.16 200 / 0.7))',
         }}
       />
@@ -273,7 +304,7 @@ export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
           inset: 0,
           overflow: 'hidden',
           mixBlendMode: 'multiply',
-          opacity: 0.5,
+          opacity: 0.32,
           contain: 'layout paint style',
         }}
       >
@@ -285,7 +316,7 @@ export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
             top: '-8px',
             bottom: '-8px',
             backgroundImage:
-              'repeating-linear-gradient(0deg, oklch(0.10 0.04 300 / 0.55) 0px, oklch(0.10 0.04 300 / 0.55) 1px, transparent 1px, transparent 3px)',
+              'repeating-linear-gradient(0deg, oklch(0.10 0.04 300 / 0.45) 0px, oklch(0.10 0.04 300 / 0.45) 1px, transparent 1px, transparent 4px)',
             willChange: reduced ? undefined : 'transform',
             animation: reduced ? 'none' : `${animScanRoll} 6s linear infinite`,
           }}
@@ -309,51 +340,54 @@ export function ArcadeOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
         }}
       />
 
-      {/* 7a. Glowing "INSERT COIN" attract-mode blip, low-opacity, bottom-center.
-             Static scene shows it steady (no blink). */}
+      {/* 7. Attract-mode HUD: a tiny SCORE readout over a glowing "INSERT COIN"
+            blip, stacked bottom-right. That corner is the one spot that is
+            clear in every layout (below the members list, or the empty right
+            end of the read-receipt strip) — top-left collided with the space
+            bar and bottom-centre sat on the composer. Static scene shows both
+            steady (no blink). The font-size clamp collapses the text to nothing
+            when the host is narrower than ~330px, so the 76px settings swatch
+            never shows clipped glyphs. */}
       <div
         aria-hidden="true"
         style={{
           position: 'absolute',
-          bottom: '5%',
-          left: '50%',
-          transform: 'translateX(-50%)',
+          right: '14px',
+          bottom: '8px',
+          display: 'flex',
+          flexDirection: 'column',
+          alignItems: 'flex-end',
+          gap: '3px',
           fontFamily: '"Courier New", monospace',
-          fontSize: '12px',
+          fontSize: HUD_FONT_SIZE,
           fontWeight: 700,
-          letterSpacing: '0.32em',
-          color: NEON_CYAN,
-          textShadow: '0 0 6px oklch(0.80 0.15 200 / 0.9), 0 0 14px oklch(0.65 0.25 350 / 0.5)',
+          lineHeight: 1,
           userSelect: 'none',
           whiteSpace: 'nowrap',
-          opacity: reduced ? 0.6 : undefined,
-          animation: reduced ? 'none' : `${animCoinBlink} 1.6s step-end infinite`,
         }}
       >
-        INSERT COIN
-      </div>
-
-      {/* 7b. Corner SCORE HUD glyph — a tiny pixel score that blips, top-left,
-             very low opacity so it reads as ambient chrome, not UI. */}
-      <div
-        aria-hidden="true"
-        style={{
-          position: 'absolute',
-          top: '2.5%',
-          left: '2%',
-          fontFamily: '"Courier New", monospace',
-          fontSize: '10px',
-          fontWeight: 700,
-          letterSpacing: '0.18em',
-          color: NEON_MAGENTA,
-          textShadow: '0 0 6px oklch(0.65 0.25 350 / 0.8)',
-          userSelect: 'none',
-          whiteSpace: 'nowrap',
-          opacity: reduced ? 0.5 : undefined,
-          animation: reduced ? 'none' : `${animScoreBlip} 2.4s ease-in-out infinite`,
-        }}
-      >
-        1UP 00<span style={{ color: NEON_CYAN }}>0000</span>
+        <div
+          style={{
+            letterSpacing: '0.18em',
+            color: NEON_MAGENTA,
+            textShadow: '0 0 6px oklch(0.65 0.25 350 / 0.8)',
+            opacity: reduced ? 0.5 : undefined,
+            animation: reduced ? 'none' : `${animScoreBlip} 2.4s ease-in-out infinite`,
+          }}
+        >
+          1UP 00<span style={{ color: NEON_CYAN }}>0000</span>
+        </div>
+        <div
+          style={{
+            letterSpacing: '0.32em',
+            color: NEON_CYAN,
+            textShadow: '0 0 6px oklch(0.80 0.15 200 / 0.9), 0 0 14px oklch(0.65 0.25 350 / 0.5)',
+            opacity: reduced ? 0.6 : undefined,
+            animation: reduced ? 'none' : `${animCoinBlink} 1.6s step-end infinite`,
+          }}
+        >
+          INSERT COIN
+        </div>
       </div>
 
       {/* 8. CRT vignette + screen-glow. A radial darkening frames the corners,
diff --git a/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/DeepSpace.tsx b/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/DeepSpace.tsx
index e4d2d0212..653072e76 100644
--- a/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/DeepSpace.tsx
+++ b/src/app/components/seasonal/themes/DeepSpace.tsx
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ function makeStars(count: number, seedBase: number): Star[] {
 
 export function DeepSpaceOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
   // Two parallax depths. Far = dense + faint, Near = sparser + slightly larger.
-  const farStars = useMemo<Star[]>(() => makeStars(16, 1000), []);
-  const nearStars = useMemo<Star[]>(() => makeStars(12, 2000), []);
+  const farStars = useMemo<Star[]>(() => makeStars(40, 1000), []);
+  const nearStars = useMemo<Star[]>(() => makeStars(22, 2000), []);
 
   const heroStars = useMemo<HeroStar[]>(
     () =>
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ export function DeepSpaceOverlay({ reduced }: SeasonalOverlayProps) {
           position: 'absolute',
           inset: '-6%',
           contain: 'layout paint style',
-          backgroundColor: 'oklch(0.2 0.12 300 / 0.16)',
+          backgroundColor: 'oklch(0.2 0.12 300 / 0.12)',
           backgroundImage: [
             'radial-gradient(120% 90% at 50% -8%, oklch(0.28 0.13 295 / 0.2) 0%, transparent 60%)',
             'radial-gradient(100% 80% at 12% 18%, oklch(0.55 0.2 330 / 0.1) 0%, transparent 55%)',