diff --git a/PROJECT.md b/PROJECT.md
index a57631f..2ae3a8b 100644
--- a/PROJECT.md
+++ b/PROJECT.md
@@ -491,6 +491,16 @@ zombie (now an occasional opponent, `TUNE.racketEvery`, not the every-game fixtu
   `RETURNED`, `DOUBLE KILL`) is a footnote to something you already watched happen. Sharing the loud
   FACE with the milestone cards is right; sharing their SIZE made every footnote read as a milestone.
 
+## Session log: the boot gate learns about the profile (2026-08-29, same day, STAGING ONLY)
+
+Oliver: on a fresh load the player/build requests are still in flight while the splash is already
+interactive. The existing `#splash.busy` gate (sprites + fonts) now ALSO waits for the profile
+mirror's pull — capped at 4 s, because a dead network must never park the player on the title
+(the sprite loader's own rule). While busy the PLAQUE is a skeleton: ghost crest, blank pills
+where the words go, empty bar, no chevron, `pointer-events: none` — and the splash keyboard
+shortcuts respect the gate too (they didn't). Half-true numbers neither show nor navigate; the
+pull's `refreshSplash` repaints the real values the moment the gate lifts.
+
 ## Session log: THE CUP CLIMBS — the shuffle retires too (2026-08-29, same day, STAGING ONLY)
 
 Oliver, straight after the draw screen went: "warum sollten wir noch mischen? wäre es nicht gut
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 1b3f8e6..54a1faa 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -483,6 +483,16 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
             font: 400 9px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--dim); letter-spacing: 2px; }
   #splash.busy #boot { display: block; }
   #splash.busy .btn, #splash.busy .two, #splash.busy #build { display: none; }
+  /* ...and the PLAQUE boots as a SKELETON: no tap, ghost crest, blank pills where the words go.
+     The profile mirror may still be in flight, and half-true numbers must neither show nor
+     navigate (main.js holds .busy until the pull settles or its 4 s cap fires). */
+  #splash.busy #plaque { pointer-events: none; }
+  #splash.busy #plaque em { visibility: hidden; }
+  #splash.busy #plBadge { opacity: 0.14; filter: grayscale(1); }
+  #splash.busy #plName, #splash.busy #plLv, #splash.busy #plGoal {
+    color: transparent; text-shadow: none; background: rgba(255,255,255,0.08);
+    border-radius: 4px; }
+  #splash.busy #plRow s i { width: 0% !important; }
   #sSum, #brSum { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; gap: 8px; margin: 0 0 8px;
           font: 400 9px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--dim); letter-spacing: 1px; }
   .tabs { display: flex; gap: 6px; margin: 12px 0 14px; }
@@ -854,6 +864,6 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
     </div>
   </div>
 </div>
-<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=331"></script>
+<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=332"></script>
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/src/main.js b/src/main.js
index a48c1ec..e0528c8 100644
--- a/src/main.js
+++ b/src/main.js
@@ -906,8 +906,12 @@ document.getElementById('stModes').addEventListener('click', e => {
 });
 refreshSplash();
 // the profile mirror: adopt a server copy that is ahead (a wiped phone, a second device), then
-// let the strip show whatever came back. Fire-and-forget — the menu never waits on the network.
-profile.pull().then(refreshSplash);
+// let the plaque show whatever came back. The BOOT GATE holds the splash locked (skeleton
+// plaque, no buttons, no keys) until this settles — capped at 4 s, because a dead network must
+// never park the player on the title (the sprite loader's own rule).
+let profileDone = false;
+profile.pull().then(() => { profileDone = true; refreshSplash(); });
+setTimeout(() => { profileDone = true; }, 4000);
 
 // THE BOOT GATE. render.js fires all ~230 sprite requests at import; this only watches them and
 // keeps the splash's buttons out of reach until the last one has landed and both faces are ready.
@@ -925,7 +929,7 @@ const loaded = () => !splash.classList.contains('busy');
 const tick = setInterval(function watchLoad() {
   const frac = LOAD.total ? LOAD.done / LOAD.total : 1;
   bootFill.style.width = (frac * 100).toFixed(1) + '%';
-  if (frac < 1) return;
+  if (frac < 1 || !profileDone) return; // sprites AND the profile mirror (or its 4 s cap)
   clearInterval(tick);
   // fonts.ready resolves once nothing is pending — including the three faces warmed above — so the
   // first canvas frame is never the system serif.
@@ -950,6 +954,7 @@ addEventListener('keydown', e => {
   if (!menuUp()) return;
   menuMusic(); // a key is a gesture too — unlock the theme on a desktop that never taps
   const stage = intro.dataset.stage;
+  if (stage === 'splash' && !loaded()) return; // the boot gate holds the keys too
   if (e.key === 'Escape') return go('splash');
   if (stage === 'splash') {
     if (!loaded()) return;               // the boot bar hides the buttons; a key must not walk past it