diff --git a/backend/static/filter.js b/backend/static/filter.js
index 33bc404..4e27c1e 100644
--- a/backend/static/filter.js
+++ b/backend/static/filter.js
@@ -101,9 +101,26 @@ function toggleChapterForm(key) {
 // cell share it.
 function toggleConfirmRow(key, kind) {
   var cls = { archive: ".box", finish: ".finish", remove: ".remove" }[kind];
-  togglePanel(key, "confirm-" + kind + "-" + key, ".actions " + cls);
+  var row = togglePanel(key, "confirm-" + kind + "-" + key, ".actions " + cls);
+  // Focus the answer rather than trusting aria-live on a container that merely
+  // unhides: it makes the announcement deterministic, keeps tab order inside
+  // the confirm instead of running on into the next card, and means the row
+  // cannot be opened and scrolled past unnoticed.
+  if (row && !row.hidden) row.querySelector("button").focus();
 }
 
+// Esc closes whichever panel this card has open and hands focus back to the
+// cell that owns it — otherwise the only way out is finding that exact cell
+// again.
+document.addEventListener("keydown", function (e) {
+  if (e.key !== "Escape" || !e.target.closest) return;
+  var card = e.target.closest(".card");
+  var owner = card && card.querySelector(".actions .open");
+  if (!owner) return;
+  closeCardPanels(card.id.replace(/^card-/, ""));
+  owner.focus();
+});
+
 // A failed favourite/chapter/delete request leaves the card in place (htmx
 // does not swap on a non-2xx response) but otherwise gives no sign anything
 // went wrong. Surface it inline instead of leaving the tap looking ignored.
@@ -121,12 +138,23 @@ function toggleConfirmRow(key, kind) {
       slot.append(" ", a);
     }
     slot.hidden = false;
-    clearTimeout(slot._hideTimer);
-    slot._hideTimer = setTimeout(function () {
-      slot.hidden = true;
-    }, linkHref ? 30000 : 5000);
+    // No self-destruct timer: this reader gets interrupted mid-tap, and a
+    // notice that expires after 5s leaves a failed write with no trace at all
+    // — the star is back off and nothing says why. The notice stays until the
+    // next request from this card clears it (or a successful one swaps the
+    // whole card away).
+    slot.scrollIntoView({
+      block: "nearest",
+      behavior: matchMedia("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)").matches ? "auto" : "smooth",
+    });
   }
 
+  document.body.addEventListener("htmx:beforeRequest", function (e) {
+    var card = e.detail.elt.closest(".card");
+    var slot = card && card.querySelector(".error-inline");
+    if (slot) slot.hidden = true;
+  });
+
   // The handlers answer a bad value with http.Error, i.e. a short plain-text
   // line — worth showing verbatim. Anything long or HTML-ish is an error page,
   // not a reason, so fall back to the generic copy.
diff --git a/backend/static/style.css b/backend/static/style.css
index e9028d9..ec5b736 100644
--- a/backend/static/style.css
+++ b/backend/static/style.css
@@ -163,7 +163,9 @@ button { cursor: pointer; }
 /* Every hideable thing here is a flex container, and display beats hidden. */
 [hidden] { display: none !important; }
 
-@keyframes barSlide { from { transform: translateX(-100%) } to { transform: translateX(320%) } }
+/* Ends flush with the right edge of the card (30% wide × 233% travel), so the
+   card itself never needs overflow: hidden to contain it. */
+@keyframes barSlide { from { transform: translateX(-100%) } to { transform: translateX(233%) } }
 @keyframes sheetIn { from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(-4px) } to { opacity: 1; transform: none } }
 /* The law: ember means "new chapter", and nothing else on a list screen —
    busy, error and destruction all stay off it, so a tired glance never
@@ -258,7 +260,10 @@ button { cursor: pointer; }
   flex: none;
   display: flex;
   align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
   gap: 7px;
+  /* "All" is two characters in a 17px serif — 15px of target without this. */
+  min-width: 44px;
   padding: 8px 0 12px;
   color: var(--mute);
   font: 400 17px var(--font-display);
@@ -587,7 +592,6 @@ button { cursor: pointer; }
 
 /* Busy: a grey hairline slides across the top of the sheet — deliberately not
    ember, which on a list screen only ever means "new chapter". */
-.card.htmx-request { overflow: hidden; }
 .card.htmx-request .actions { pointer-events: none; opacity: .5; }
 .card.htmx-request::before {
   content: "";
@@ -718,8 +722,8 @@ button { cursor: pointer; }
   .actions { flex: none; gap: 4px; border-top: none; }
   .actions > * {
     flex: none;
-    width: 40px;
-    height: 40px;
+    width: 44px;
+    height: 44px;
     border: 1px solid var(--rule);
   }
   /* Cells are already gapped here, so the clusters separate by space rather
diff --git a/backend/templates/card.html b/backend/templates/card.html
index f67434e..5ef6a3d 100644
--- a/backend/templates/card.html
+++ b/backend/templates/card.html
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@
     <a class="cover" href="{{.ContinueURL}}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"
        tabindex="-1" aria-hidden="true">
       {{if .Cover}}<img src="{{.Cover}}" alt="" loading="lazy">
-      {{else}}<span class="monogram">{{.Initial}}</span>{{end}}
+      {{/* aria-hidden on the cover link is not enough — Chromium still exposes
+           the letter because the link is programmatically focusable — so the
+           monogram carries its own, same as the recent strip's. */}}
+      {{else}}<span class="monogram" aria-hidden="true">{{.Initial}}</span>{{end}}
       {{if and (eq .Status "reading") .HasNewChapter}}<span class="foot-rule"></span>
       {{else if .Favorite}}<span class="foot-rule brass"></span>{{end}}
     </a>
diff --git a/backend/templates/login.html b/backend/templates/login.html
index 0f6fdfe..c6cc228 100644
--- a/backend/templates/login.html
+++ b/backend/templates/login.html
@@ -21,7 +21,9 @@
         <input id="password" name="password" type="password"
                autocomplete="current-password" autofocus required>
       </div>
-      <p class="error">{{.Error}}</p>
+      {{/* The page reloads on a failed sign-in, so the message is present from
+           the start; role=alert is what gets it announced anyway. */}}
+      <p class="error" role="alert">{{.Error}}</p>
       <button type="submit">Sign in</button>
     </form>
   </main>