diff --git a/docs/00-status.md b/docs/00-status.md
index 36d79ad..5e58fbd 100644
--- a/docs/00-status.md
+++ b/docs/00-status.md
@@ -65,10 +65,11 @@ routing/security gaps is **framework v1**, tracked item-by-item in the
 (✅/🔶/⬜/⏸/🔧 per feature — timeouts and Unix sockets need `net` runtime
 seams, crypto hashes need C builtins since the language has no bitwise
 operators, streaming/cancellation park behind 8/11). The memory-rich
-features are **framework v2** = iteration 18 (spec APPROVED 2026-08-20,
-plan next): TTL cache, @table flags, durable job queue with
-drain-on-request, `transaction { }` over the WAL's staged batch. After 18,
-the order resumes at 20/21. Edges: [00-dependency-graph.md](00-dependency-graph.md).
+features are **framework v2** = iteration 18 (⏸ HELD 2026-08-21 with spec
+approved + plan authored intact): TTL cache, @table flags, durable job
+queue with drain-on-request, `transaction { }` over the WAL's staged
+batch. The pending order is now the concurrency chain (see *Pending*
+below). Edges: [00-dependency-graph.md](00-dependency-graph.md).
 
 ---
 
@@ -168,24 +169,26 @@ that sequences its tasks. Read one, approve, then the next starts.
 | 6   | [Program mode + stdlib](stories/language-runtime-database/done/06-program-mode-stdlib.md)         | ✅ (the surface log-watcher uses) |
 | 7   | [log-watcher proof](stories/language-runtime-database/done/07-logwatcher-proof.md)                | ✅ **landed 2026-08-15** — executable, not merely compilable: zero ASan leaks in all three modes, SIGTERM ends parked syscalls, fds flat, `LW_SOAK` gate; `just log-watcher` 7/0 |
 | 7b  | [Inferred GC + mark-sweep](stories/language-runtime-database/done/07b-inferred-gc-mark-sweep.md)  | ✅ **landed 2026-08-18** — `@gc` gone (WO-E104), GC-ness inferred, RC replaced by incremental mark-sweep, `.wob` v4; supersedes iteration 2's RC memory model |
-| 8   | [Shard-actor runtime](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md)           | ⬜                           |
+| 8   | [Shard-actor runtime](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md)           | 🔄 arc stages 1+2 landed 2026-08-20 (branch concurrency-arc); stage 3 (transparent DB actor) = **first in the concurrency chain** |
 | 9   | [Database engine](stories/language-runtime-database/done/09-database-engine.md)                   | 🔄 engine complete (storage/WAL/indexes/insert-update-delete); reads land with 9b |
 | 9b  | [`@table`, relations, query](stories/language-runtime-database/done/09b-table-relations-query.md) | 🔄 query surface + relations + FK done (branch query-surface); group-by parked |
 | 19  | [Float + Bytes](stories/language-runtime-database/done/19-missing-scalar-types.md) | ✅ **landed 2026-08-20** — `.wob` v5: Float constant tag, field kinds 6/7, opcodes 34-41 (IEEE-quiet f64), builtins 70-83. Full stack: literals, arithmetic, `@table` column, WAL bit-exact replay, json fractions in / shortest-round-trip out, `?Float` reserved-NaN nil, total-order index (NaN last, `-0.0` == `+0.0`), Bytes + base64. No implicit Int/Float mixing (WO-E201); `float`/`trunc` are the only bridges. Proof: web-app price is a real Float (`{"price":9.99}`), `just web-app` 23/0; corpus 103/0 |
-| 20  | [Cross-program tables](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/20-cross-program-tables.md)        | 🔄 channel done (branch ipc-attach); manifest+binding pending |
-| 21  | [Keypair attach auth](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/21-keypair-attach-auth.md)          | 🔄 crypto+handshake done (branch keypair-auth); manifest pending |
-| 22  | [Durability, throughput, scale](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md) | ⬜ needs a spec first        |
-| 23  | [io_uring group-commit](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/23-io-uring-commit.md)            | ⬜ after 8 + 22              |
-| 27  | [Query grammar corpus](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/27-query-grammar-corpus.md) | ⬜ needs a spec first        |
-| 10  | [HTTP service layer](stories/language-runtime-database/25-http-service.md)                   | ⬜                           | Hold |
-| 11  | [Fibers](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/11-fibers.md)                                     | ⬜                           | Hold |
-| 12  | [Blue-green deploy](stories/language-runtime-database/26-blue-green-deploy.md)               | ⬜                           | Hold |
-| 13  | [Compile-time metaprogramming](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/29-compile-time-metaprogramming.md) | ⬜ needs a spec first        |
-| 14  | [skillhost host workload](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/28-skillhost-host-workload.md) | ⬜ gaps recorded (branch query-grammar found skillhost needs no new query grammar); each gap a candidate iteration |
+| 11  | [Fibers](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/11-fibers.md)                                     | 🔄 stages 1+2 landed 2026-08-20 with 8 (`just fibers` 8/0); closes with the arc's stage 3 |
+| 22  | [Durability, throughput, scale](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md) | ⬜ needs a spec first — second in chain, after arc stage 3 |
+| 31  | [Actor lifecycle](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md) | ⬜ needs a spec first — third in chain (story written 2026-08-21) |
+| 24  | [chat: WebSocket workload](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/24-chat-websocket-workload.md) | ⬜ fourth in chain — the arc's acceptance; after 31 |
+| 23  | [io_uring group-commit](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/23-io-uring-commit.md)            | ⬜ last in chain, after stage 3 + 22 |
+| 20  | [Cross-program tables](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/20-cross-program-tables.md)        | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21); channel done (branch ipc-attach keeps its manifest) |
+| 21  | [Keypair attach auth](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/21-keypair-attach-auth.md)          | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21); crypto+handshake done (branch keypair-auth keeps its manifest) |
+| 25  | [HTTP service layer](superpowers/plans/2026-08-01-http-service-layer.md)                   | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21) — story file removed; the plan doc remains |
+| 26  | [Blue-green deploy](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/26-blue-green-deploy.md)               | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21)          |
+| 27  | [Query grammar corpus](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/27-query-grammar-corpus.md) | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21)          |
+| 28  | [skillhost host workload](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/28-skillhost-host-workload.md) | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21); gaps recorded (branch query-grammar found skillhost needs no new query grammar) |
+| 29  | [Compile-time metaprogramming](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/29-compile-time-metaprogramming.md) | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21)          |
 | 15  | [deps: `wo.toml [deps]`](stories/language-runtime-database/done/15-deps-package-manager.md) | ✅ **landed 2026-08-18** (branch web-framework): [deps] inline tables, git-binary fetch, wo.lock pinning, offline-when-locked, --update-deps, WO-E106/E107; `just deps-accept` 8/0 |
 | 16  | [web framework](stories/language-runtime-database/done/16-web-framework.md) | ✅ **landed 2026-08-19** — writeonce-framework (HTTP/1.1 + router + Handler/Middleware) consumed by web-app through [deps]; h2c parked (§C) behind 8/23/11. **v1 polish landed 2026-08-20** (branch framework-v1): get/post/put/delete_ helpers, 405+Allow, HEAD, Logging middleware, set_header; `just web-app` 16/0; fixed the interp-borrowed-field emitter crash en route. **Auth-in-core landed 2026-08-20**: http/auth.wo (Bearer/Basic, ct_eq, req.principal), web-app dogfoods BearerAuth, gate 17/0 |
 | 17  | [library projects + `internal/`](stories/language-runtime-database/done/17-library-projects-internal.md) | ✅ **landed 2026-08-20** — `kind = "library"` in `wo.toml` (default `program`, so every existing manifest is byte-identical; unknown value = WO-E109 exit 2); `woc <dir>` on a library runs the FULL pipeline entry-less and writes nothing, retiring iteration 16's `--emit` workaround; the no-entry build error names the kind; lib+bin dual works. Go's `internal/` rule as **WO-E108** at the consumer's own `use`, dep-boundary-only — the library imports its own interior freely. Framework reorganized: `internal/{parse,serve}.wo` behind the line, `http/form.wo` split out to keep `media_type`/`form_values` public. Driver-only change; VM/`.wob`/GC untouched. `just web-app` **26/0** (3 new checks), every standing gate unchanged |
-| 18  | [framework v2: memory-rich features](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/18-memory-db-features.md) | 🔄 **spec APPROVED 2026-08-20, plan next** ([spec](superpowers/specs/2026-08-20-memory-db-features-design.md)): TTL cache + @table flags + durable job queue (drain-on-request) + `transaction { }` over the WAL's staged batch; pub/sub REJECTED until 8/11 |
+| 18  | [framework v2: memory-rich features](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/18-memory-db-features.md) | ⏸ hold (2026-08-21); spec approved + plan authored, both held intact ([spec](superpowers/specs/2026-08-20-memory-db-features-design.md), [plan](superpowers/plans/2026-08-20-framework-v2-memory-features.md)): TTL cache + @table flags + durable job queue (drain-on-request) + `transaction { }` over the WAL's staged batch; pub/sub REJECTED until 8/11 |
 
 ---
 
@@ -360,53 +363,54 @@ The C proving-ground work (`exploration/c-runtime/`, phases A–F: 859k reads/s,
 
 ## Pending
 
-### Implementation order (re-sequenced 2026-08-20 — code-review pass)
+### Implementation order (re-sequenced 2026-08-21 — concurrency chain)
 
-Replaces the framework-goal ordering. Basis: the verified findings in
-[`00-code-review.md`](00-code-review.md) — measure before optimizing, close
-correctness holes before adding surface, stop stacking features on
-unmeasured ground. IDs below are post-renumber; the authoritative table with
-per-row reasoning is
-[`00-story.md`](stories/language-runtime-database/00-story.md).
+Everything still pending IS the runtime-concurrency chain. Basis: the
+2026-08-20 code-review pass (measure before optimizing, close correctness
+holes before adding surface), amended 2026-08-21 by developer decision:
+**stage 3 before 22** — correctness first, then one benchmark campaign
+covers single- and multi-shard. The authoritative table with per-row
+reasoning is [`00-story.md`](stories/language-runtime-database/00-story.md).
 
-Dependency rules that still force the shape: 23 explicitly after 8 + 22;
-21's plan folds into 20's; 26 only after 9 + 25; 11 rides 8's shard
-scheduler; h2c parked behind 8/23/11.
+Dependency rules that force the shape: 23 after stage 3 + 22 (the ring is
+the arc's, the baseline is 22's); 24 after 31 (chat is dishonest without
+lifecycle); h2c stays parked behind the chain; the held tail keeps its own
+precedence notes for resumption.
 
-1. **22** — the measurement backbone, and now first: it has never run, so
-   every performance claim on this project is unsourced. No
-   `bench/baseline.json`, no `just db-bench`; `runtime/bench/` is the
-   retired C prototype's harness.
-2. **8+11 stage 3** — transparent DB RPC, then 22 re-run for the
-   concurrency delta. Reframed as a correctness fix: worker VMs are
-   zero-initialized, so a DB statement off the primary traps `WO_T_DB`.
-   A multi-shard program that touches the database is broken today.
-3. **30** (new) — observability, CI, fuzz: runtime counters + a profiler
-   hook, 22's harness run per change instead of by hand, a fuzz target on
-   the parser and `.wob` loader. No iteration covered any of this.
-4. **19** — Float + Bytes; small, and it gates 24 (WS frames) and the
-   crypto fork (digests).
-5. **31** (new) — actor lifecycle: request/response (`send` is one-way and
-   callers `sleep` to await), bounded mailboxes (the FIFO only grows),
-   actor death/supervision, timers beyond `time.sleep`.
-6. **24** — chat, the arc's acceptance; honest only after 19 + 31.
-7. **23** — io_uring group-commit; explicitly after 8 + 22.
-8. **25** — HTTP service layer; `service` blocks lower onto the framework
-   instead of a parallel stack.
-9. **18** — framework v2 (transaction{} + cache/flags/jobs); spec APPROVED
-   2026-08-20 but **demoted from first**: more surface on a framework with
-   one consumer, and its cache stores `Text` because there are no generics.
-10. **27, then 26** — query grammar from corpora (likely collapses to
-    "confirm `len(query)` + add `exists`"), then blue-green.
-11. **20 then 21** — demoted hard: new distribution surface while there is
-    no TLS, no crypto primitives, and the multi-shard DB still traps. The
-    half-done branches (ipc-attach, keypair-auth) keep their manifests.
-12. **28, then 29 + parked drain** — skillhost is no longer the driving
-    workload; then metaprogramming (spec first), group-by, ADT roster,
-    WO-E225, held by the 2026-08-08 scope directive.
+1. **8+11 stage 3** — transparent DB actor. A correctness fix, not an
+   optimization: worker VMs are zero-initialized, so a DB statement off
+   the primary traps `WO_T_DB` — a multi-shard program touching the
+   database is broken today. Plan of record:
+   [`2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md`](superpowers/plans/2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md)
+   (stages 1+2 landed 2026-08-20, branch `concurrency-arc`).
+2. **22** — the measurement backbone: restart-persistence proof + baseline
+   benchmark (durable + RAM-only), single- AND multi-shard in one
+   campaign, plus the stage-2 mutex-inbox number (rings only if the mutex
+   costs). It has never run — no `bench/baseline.json`, no `just db-bench`;
+   the arc's stages 1+2 delta is recorded retroactively.
+3. **31** — actor lifecycle
+   ([story](stories/language-runtime-database/refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md),
+   written 2026-08-21): request/response (`send` is one-way and callers
+   `sleep` to await), bounded mailboxes (the FIFO only grows), actor
+   death/supervision, timers beyond `time.sleep`.
+4. **24** — chat, the arc's acceptance; honest only after 31 (19 landed
+   2026-08-20 — Bytes carries the frames).
+5. **23** — io_uring group-commit; the WAL's WRITE+FSYNC chains ride the
+   arc's per-shard ring (T4); after 22's baseline — the payoff, measured.
+
+**30** — observability, CI, fuzz: named 2026-08-20, still row-only (no
+story file); slots in when scheduled — nothing in the chain depends on it.
+
+⏸ **Held** (2026-08-21, developer decision): 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28,
+29 — stories in
+[`hold/`](stories/language-runtime-database/hold/) (25's story file
+removed; its [plan doc](superpowers/plans/2026-08-01-http-service-layer.md)
+remains). Half-done branches (ipc-attach, keypair-auth) keep their
+manifests.
 
 ✅ **17** — landed 2026-08-20 (unparked and executed): `kind = "library"`,
 check mode, and the `internal/` dep boundary (WO-E108). Driver-only.
+✅ **19** — landed 2026-08-20: Float + Bytes, `.wob` v5.
 
 ### Language track — sequenced, on the critical path
 
diff --git a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/00-story.md b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/00-story.md
index 2d27a31..d897cb7 100644
--- a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/00-story.md
+++ b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/00-story.md
@@ -71,6 +71,20 @@ adding surface, and stop stacking features on unmeasured ground.
   or timers behind `spawn`/`send`.
 - **18, 20, 21 demoted.** All three add surface; none answer a named gap.
 
+RE-SEQUENCED 2026-08-21 (third pass — the concurrency chain). Everything
+still pending IS the runtime-concurrency chain; order:
+**stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23**. Changes from the second pass:
+
+- **The arc's stage 3 moves ahead of 22** — correctness before
+  measurement: a multi-shard program touching the database traps
+  `WO_T_DB` today, and fixing that first lets one benchmark campaign
+  cover single- and multi-shard honestly.
+- **31 has its story file** ([refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md](refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md));
+  30 stays a row until it is scheduled.
+- **Holds landed** (developer decision, 2026-08-21): 18, 20, 21, 26, 27,
+  28, 29 moved to `hold/`; 25's story file removed (its plan doc remains
+  in superpowers). 19 landed 2026-08-20.
+
 | Seq | # | Iteration | Delivers |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
 | 1 | 1 | [Principles doc](done/01-principles-doc.md) | `docs/00-principles.md` — the doctrine page every later slice links back to |
@@ -85,21 +99,21 @@ adding surface, and stop stacking features on unmeasured ground.
 | 10 | 9b | [`@table`, relations, query](done/09b-table-relations-query.md) | `@table` real storage; `ref`/`backlink`/`multi`; compiler-checked queries |
 | 11 | 15 | [deps: `wo.toml [deps]`](done/15-deps-package-manager.md) | exact-rev git deps + `wo.lock` + `.wo-deps`; flat-only, offline once locked |
 | 12 | 16 | [web framework](done/16-web-framework.md) | the `.wo` framework v1 (router, middleware, auth, all three body hooks) consumed via `[deps]` |
-| 13 | 22 | [Durability, throughput, scale](refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md) | restart-persistence proof, benchmarks, ~1M rows — the baseline the arc and 23 sign against. **Promoted to first pending (was seq 18)**: it has never run, so every performance claim on this project is currently unsourced. *(was 9e)* |
-| 14 | 8+11 | [Shard-actor runtime](refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md) · [Fibers](refine/11-fibers.md) | THE ARC (stages 1+2 landed 2026-08-20: fibers/budget/actors/io_uring plane; pinned shards, envelope sends, home-routed frees, WO-E222); stage 3 = transparent DB RPC + 22 re-run. **Stage 3 is a correctness hole, not an optimization**: worker shards are zero-initialized, so a DB statement off the primary traps `WO_T_DB`. |
+| 13 | 8+11 | [Shard-actor runtime](refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md) · [Fibers](refine/11-fibers.md) | THE ARC (stages 1+2 landed 2026-08-20: fibers/budget/actors/io_uring plane; pinned shards, envelope sends, home-routed frees, WO-E222); stage 3 = transparent DB RPC. **Promoted above 22 (2026-08-21): stage 3 is a correctness hole, not an optimization** — worker shards are zero-initialized, so a DB statement off the primary traps `WO_T_DB`. |
+| 14 | 22 | [Durability, throughput, scale](refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md) | restart-persistence proof, benchmarks, ~1M rows — the baseline the arc and 23 sign against. It has never run, so every performance claim on this project is currently unsourced; runs after stage 3 so one campaign covers single- and multi-shard, plus the stage-2 mutex-inbox number. *(was 9e)* |
 | 15 | 30 | Observability, CI, fuzz *(no story file yet)* | **NEW** — runtime counters + a profiler hook, 22's harness wired to run per change instead of by hand, and a fuzz target on the parser and `.wob` loader. The whole proof-maturity gap had no iteration to point at. |
 | 16 | 19 | [Float + Bytes](done/19-missing-scalar-types.md) | **LANDED 2026-08-20** — `.wob` v5; the full stack: IEEE-quiet f64 through literals/VM/@table/WAL/json + Bytes as the binary carrier, no implicit mixing, total-order indexes. Unblocks 24 (WS frames) and the crypto fork (digests). *(was 20)* |
-| 17 | 31 | Actor lifecycle *(no story file yet)* | **NEW** — request/response (today `send` is one-way and callers `sleep` to await), bounded mailboxes with backpressure (today the FIFO just grows), actor death/supervision, and timers beyond `time.sleep`. 24 cannot be written honestly without these. |
+| 17 | 31 | [Actor lifecycle](refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md) | request/response (today `send` is one-way and callers `sleep` to await), bounded mailboxes with backpressure (today the FIFO just grows), actor death/supervision, and timers beyond `time.sleep`. 24 cannot be written honestly without these. *(story written 2026-08-21)* |
 | 18 | 24 | [chat: WebSocket workload](refine/24-chat-websocket-workload.md) | the arc's acceptance: WS upgrade + frames (SHA-1 via crypto fork, Bytes via 19), rooms/broadcast, 1k clients, drain-clean. *(was 19)* |
 | 19 | 23 | [io_uring group-commit](refine/23-io-uring-commit.md) | WAL WRITE+FSYNC chains on the arc's per-shard rings; fsync fallback kept (after 22 + the arc). *(was 9f)* |
-| 20 | 25 | [HTTP service layer](25-http-service.md) | `service` blocks lower onto the framework (after 9b + 20 by their own precedence notes). *(was 10)* |
+| 20 | 25 | [HTTP service layer](../../superpowers/plans/2026-08-01-http-service-layer.md) | `service` blocks lower onto the framework (after 9b + 20 by their own precedence notes). **HELD 2026-08-21** — story file removed; the plan doc remains. *(was 10)* |
 | 21 | 18 | [framework v2: memory-rich features](hold/18-memory-db-features.md) | spec+plan approved: TTL cache, @table flags, durable job queue, `transaction { }` over the WAL's staged batch. **Demoted from seq 14**: more surface on a framework with one consumer, and the cache still stores `Text` because there are no generics |
-| 22 | 27 | [Query grammar corpus](refine/27-query-grammar-corpus.md) | grow the query grammar from real corpora; likely collapses to "confirm `len(query)` + add `exists`"; precedes 28. *(was 9g)* |
-| 23 | 26 | [Blue-green deploy](26-blue-green-deploy.md) | two VM slots, in-runtime compile, atomic switch, resident rollback (plan authored after 9 + 25). *(was 12)* |
-| 24 | 20 | [Cross-program tables](refine/20-cross-program-tables.md) | attach to a running program's database over local IPC; owner stays the single writer (channel half-built). **Demoted from seq 16**: new distribution surface while there is no TLS, no crypto, and the multi-shard DB still traps. *(was 9c)* |
-| 25 | 21 | [Keypair attach auth](refine/21-keypair-attach-auth.md) | program identity is a keypair; mutual challenge–response at attach (crypto half-built; plan folds into 20's). **Demoted with 20** — and it needs crypto primitives that do not exist. *(was 9d)* |
-| 26 | 28 | [skillhost host workload](refine/28-skillhost-host-workload.md) | host-shaped driving workload naming runtime gaps — demoted with the framework goal. *(was 14)* |
-| 27 | 29 | [Compile-time metaprogramming](refine/29-compile-time-metaprogramming.md) | `@derive(...)` from class-table metadata; held with the parked drain by the 2026-08-08 scope directive. *(was 13)* |
+| 22 | 27 | [Query grammar corpus](hold/27-query-grammar-corpus.md) | grow the query grammar from real corpora; likely collapses to "confirm `len(query)` + add `exists`"; precedes 28. *(was 9g)* |
+| 23 | 26 | [Blue-green deploy](hold/26-blue-green-deploy.md) | two VM slots, in-runtime compile, atomic switch, resident rollback (plan authored after 9 + 25). *(was 12)* |
+| 24 | 20 | [Cross-program tables](hold/20-cross-program-tables.md) | attach to a running program's database over local IPC; owner stays the single writer (channel half-built). **Demoted from seq 16**: new distribution surface while there is no TLS, no crypto, and the multi-shard DB still traps. *(was 9c)* |
+| 25 | 21 | [Keypair attach auth](hold/21-keypair-attach-auth.md) | program identity is a keypair; mutual challenge–response at attach (crypto half-built; plan folds into 20's). **Demoted with 20** — and it needs crypto primitives that do not exist. *(was 9d)* |
+| 26 | 28 | [skillhost host workload](hold/28-skillhost-host-workload.md) | host-shaped driving workload naming runtime gaps — demoted with the framework goal. *(was 14)* |
+| 27 | 29 | [Compile-time metaprogramming](hold/29-compile-time-metaprogramming.md) | `@derive(...)` from class-table metadata; held with the parked drain by the 2026-08-08 scope directive. *(was 13)* |
 | ✅ | 17 | [library projects + `internal/`](done/17-library-projects-internal.md) | **LANDED 2026-08-20** — `kind = "library"` + entry-less check mode (retires the `--emit` workaround) and Go's `internal/` rule as WO-E108 at the consumer's `use`; driver-only, VM/GC untouched. `just web-app` 26/0 |
 
 
@@ -131,11 +145,9 @@ list, and a pointer to the plan document that already sequences its tasks.
   nothing MVC-scale — and iteration 17 (library kind + `internal/`) is
   **parked** with spec + plan ready on branch `library-internal`. The
   v1 slices landed 2026-08-20 (`just web-app` 21/0 after polish, auth,
-  form, multipart). Implementation order for everything still pending:
-  **18 (spec approved)** → 20/21 → 22 → 8 → 23 → 11 (+ h2c unparks) →
-  10 → 12 → 27 → 14 → 13 + parked drain; 17 parked, slots anywhere after
-  16 on directive. The iterations table above carries this order
-  row-by-row; edges live in
+  form, multipart). The implementation-order list this note once carried
+  is superseded — the iterations table above is the authority
+  (re-sequenced 2026-08-20 twice, then 2026-08-21); edges live in
   [`docs/00-dependency-graph.md`](../../00-dependency-graph.md).
 - **Iteration 7b (inserted 2026-08-11)** sits after the critical path
   deliberately: it delays nothing on the log-watcher line, and it must precede
diff --git a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md
index 89309e0..58ff6e8 100644
--- a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md
+++ b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/08-shard-actor-runtime.md
@@ -10,8 +10,18 @@
 > workload is **iteration 24 (chat: WebSocket pub/sub)**. The pre-existing
 > plan (`docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-01-shard-actor-vm-runtime.md`)
 > predates inferred GC (7b), the unified surface, and the DB decision —
-> it is a source of ideas, NOT the plan of record; the arc starts with a
-> fresh brainstorm → spec → plan.
+> it is a source of ideas, NOT the plan of record.
+>
+> **RE-SEQUENCED 2026-08-21** (developer decision): the brainstorm →
+> spec → plan happened. The arc's plan of record is
+> [`2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md`](../../../superpowers/plans/2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md)
+> (spec: [`2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc-design.md`](../../../superpowers/specs/2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc-design.md)),
+> and **stages 1+2 LANDED 2026-08-20** on branch `concurrency-arc`
+> (T1–T6, seven disclosed deviations recorded in the plan). Remaining
+> scope: **stage 3, the transparent DB actor** — a correctness fix, not
+> an optimization: worker VMs are zero-initialized, so a DB statement
+> off the primary shard traps `WO_T_DB`. Concurrency-chain order:
+> **stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23**.
 
 ## Settled decisions (2026-08-20)
 
@@ -33,8 +43,11 @@
 3. **Driving workload: chat** (iteration 24) — rooms, broadcast, N
    concurrent WebSocket clients, one binary. The arc's acceptance is the
    chat sample's, not only synthetic corpora.
-4. **Order: 22 → the 8+11 arc → 23.** The io_uring write path waits for
-   the arc (its batch boundary is the shard tick) and for 22's baseline.
+4. **Order — SUPERSEDED 2026-08-21.** Originally 22 → the 8+11 arc → 23;
+   in fact the arc's stages 1+2 landed before 22 ever ran (accepted
+   deviation — the before/after delta is owed and lands as 22's
+   multi-shard pass). Current order: **stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23**.
+   23 still waits for the arc's tick boundary and 22's baseline.
 
 ## Goals
 
@@ -102,9 +115,12 @@
 
 ## Proposed Solution
 
-Fresh brainstorm → spec → plan for the WHOLE arc (8+11), staged: the
-pinned-worker scheduler + shard-stamped heaps + MPSC mailboxes + the
-unified spawn/send surface and the traced-send rejection; fibers on that
-scheduler (part 2's document); the DB-actor migration; then iteration 24
-proves it. The 2026-08-01 plan is reference material for the mailbox and
-heap-stamping shapes only.
+Execute stage 3 of the plan of record
+([`2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md`](../../../superpowers/plans/2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md)):
+the DB-actor migration — engine calls off the owner shard become message
+sends with parked replies, closing the `WO_T_DB` hole. Stages 1+2
+(scheduler, fibers, unified spawn/send, WO-E222 traced-send rejection,
+cross-shard envelopes with home-routed frees) landed 2026-08-20. After
+stage 3: 22 measures, then iteration 24 proves the arc. Actor lifecycle
+(request/response, backpressure, supervision, timers) is deliberately
+NOT the arc's scope — it is [iteration 31](31-actor-lifecycle.md).
diff --git a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/11-fibers.md b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/11-fibers.md
index 3984fa9..13ab2b3 100644
--- a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/11-fibers.md
+++ b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/11-fibers.md
@@ -20,9 +20,21 @@
 > time delivery, main-return reap, fiber-trap isolation, and parked
 > `net`/`time` builtins on the io_uring-first per-shard I/O plane
 > (`WO_IO=uring|epoll`, epoll fallback proven). Demonstrated by
-> `docs/examples/fibers` (`just fibers` 8/0). The shard-context criteria
-> (TID assertions, cross-shard sends, blue-green drain reuse) close with
-> the arc's stage 2.
+> `docs/examples/fibers` (`just fibers` 8/0).
+>
+> **STAGE-2 SUBSTANCE LANDED 2026-08-20** (branch `concurrency-arc`,
+> T5–T6): pinned thread-per-core shards, envelope sends with ownership
+> move, round-robin placement, home-routed frees, WO-E222 on EVERY
+> spawn/send (placement makes any actor potentially remote), TID-verified
+> shard context. Deviations disclosed in the plan of record
+> ([`2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md`](../../../superpowers/plans/2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md)):
+> the inbox is a mutex-guarded list + eventfd (rings arrive only if
+> iteration 22 measures the mutex as a cost), the deterministic corpus
+> pins `WO_SHARDS=1`, two TSan races and one teardown SEGV fixed.
+>
+> **RE-SEQUENCED 2026-08-21**: what remains for the chain is the arc's
+> stage 3 (transparent DB actor — [iteration 8](08-shard-actor-runtime.md)),
+> then measurement. Order: **stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23**.
 
 ## Goals
 
@@ -90,15 +102,20 @@
   matches the stdlib posture).
 - Vision origin: [blue-green vision §3](../../../plan/exploration/blue-green-vm/00-vision.md);
   iteration 8's scheduler is the substrate this extends.
-- Open questions to settle in the spec — REDUCED 2026-08-20: the spawn
-  surface is settled (the unified actor address, iteration 8 decision 2).
-  Still open for the arc's spec: budget size and check granularity,
-  parked-fiber drop semantics, run-queue fairness (FIFO v1), and how a
-  parked fiber's borrow state interacts with the shard's GC safepoints.
+- Open questions — REDUCED AGAIN 2026-08-21: the spawn surface, budget
+  size/granularity (back-edge accounting — see the plan's livelock
+  deviation), run-queue fairness (FIFO), and parked-fiber drop semantics
+  (fiber-trap isolation + main-return reap) are all settled by the landed
+  implementation. Still open: how a parked fiber's borrow state interacts
+  with the shard's GC safepoints — tracked for stage 3 / the collector's
+  next pass. Lifecycle surface (request/response, backpressure,
+  supervision, timers) is [iteration 31](31-actor-lifecycle.md)'s, not
+  this story's.
 
 ## Proposed Solution
 
-- No implementation plan exists yet — this iteration starts with the
-  brainstorming → spec → writing-plans chain (the superpowers path every
-  prior iteration followed), then executes that plan. The research note
-  above is the brainstorm's entry material.
+- The plan exists and its fiber stages are landed:
+  [`2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md`](../../../superpowers/plans/2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md)
+  (stages 1+2 complete 2026-08-20). This story closes when the arc's
+  stage 3 lands and iteration 22 records the delta; the chat workload
+  ([iteration 24](24-chat-websocket-workload.md)) is the proof.
diff --git a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md
index 3c433e2..861486d 100644
--- a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md
+++ b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/22-durability-throughput-scale.md
@@ -11,6 +11,17 @@
 > iteration's benchmark and showing the number moved the right way.
 >
 > **No spec exists yet.** The forks in *Info* are genuine decisions.
+>
+> **RE-SEQUENCED 2026-08-21** (developer decision): runs AFTER the arc's
+> stage 3 — the transparent DB actor is a correctness hole (a multi-shard
+> program touching the database traps `WO_T_DB` today), and fixing it
+> first lets ONE benchmark campaign cover single- and multi-shard
+> honestly. The arc's stages 1+2 landed 2026-08-20 unmeasured; their
+> delta is recorded retroactively against this iteration's first
+> baseline. New measurement target since stage 2: the mutex-guarded
+> inbox + eventfd (the plan's deviation — lock-free rings arrive only if
+> this number says the mutex costs). Chain order:
+> **stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23**.
 
 ## Goals
 
@@ -122,15 +133,18 @@ exists to close.
 - **Brainstorm the spec**, settling the four forks; then a plan whose first
   task is the harness and the baseline file, because nothing downstream means
   anything without them.
-- **Sequence the whole performance arc around this iteration:**
-  1. 9b lands → employee compiles and runs → **22 restart-persistence** and
-     **22 baseline benchmark** (single-thread, both durable and RAM-only).
-  2. **7b** (inferred GC + mark-sweep) → re-run 22, record the delta (does
-     tracing change the write path's tail latency?).
-  3. **8** (shard-actor, thread-per-core) → re-run 22 at the connection/
-     concurrency scale it unlocks, record the delta.
-  4. **23** (io_uring group-commit) → re-run 22's durable write number, record
-     the delta against the fsync-per-commit baseline — the payoff.
+- **Sequence the performance chain around this iteration** (rewritten
+  2026-08-21 — the first version predated 7b and the arc landing first):
+  1. Already landed unmeasured: 9b, **7b** (inferred GC + mark-sweep,
+     2026-08-18), the arc's **stages 1+2** (fibers + shards, 2026-08-20).
+     Their deltas are owed retroactively against the first baseline.
+  2. Arc **stage 3** (transparent DB actor) lands → **22 runs**:
+     restart-persistence proof + baseline benchmark, durable and
+     RAM-only, single- AND multi-shard, plus the mutex-inbox number.
+  3. **31** (actor lifecycle), then **24** (chat) → re-run the
+     concurrency-facing numbers at the connection scale chat unlocks.
+  4. **23** (io_uring group-commit) → re-run 22's durable write number,
+     record the delta against the fsync-per-commit baseline — the payoff.
 - The benchmark harness and its baseline live under `bench/` (or the existing
   `runtime/bench/`), and `just` gets a `db-bench` recipe kept off the fast
   path, exactly like `log-watcher::soak`.
diff --git a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/23-io-uring-commit.md b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/23-io-uring-commit.md
index 53ba52f..5cfcf43 100644
--- a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/23-io-uring-commit.md
+++ b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/23-io-uring-commit.md
@@ -22,8 +22,12 @@
 > accumulated; (4) startup auto-probe + an env override so CI proves both
 > paths on one kernel — AMENDED: the override is the arc-wide
 > `WO_IO=uring|epoll` (the arc's T4 owns the probe and the per-shard
-> ring; `WO_WAL_MODE` is subsumed). Position: AFTER the 8+11 arc (order
-> settled 2026-08-20: 9e → 8+11 → 9f). AMENDED 2026-08-20 (io_uring-first
+> ring; `WO_WAL_MODE` is subsumed). Position — RE-SEQUENCED 2026-08-21:
+> LAST in the concurrency chain, **stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23**
+> (supersedes the 2026-08-20 old-id ordering "9e → 8+11 → 9f"); the
+> per-shard ring already exists (arc T4 landed 2026-08-20,
+> `WO_IO=uring|epoll`) — this iteration adds the WAL's WRITE+FSYNC
+> chains to it. AMENDED 2026-08-20 (io_uring-first
 > directive): the WAL's WRITE+FSYNC chains ride the SAME per-shard ring
 > T4 creates for fiber parking — one event loop per shard, readiness ops
 > and durability ops together, exactly the linux reference project's
diff --git a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/24-chat-websocket-workload.md b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/24-chat-websocket-workload.md
index aa0cdbc..5a75d5c 100644
--- a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/24-chat-websocket-workload.md
+++ b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/24-chat-websocket-workload.md
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@
 > **Inserted 2026-08-20** (concurrency-chain refinement): the 8+11 arc's
 > driving workload, the role log-watcher played for iterations 3–7. Needs
 > its spec AFTER the arc's — it lands at the arc's end and proves it.
+>
+> **RE-SEQUENCED 2026-08-21**: fourth in the chain,
+> **stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23** — chat cannot be written honestly
+> before [iteration 31](31-actor-lifecycle.md) (request/response,
+> bounded mailboxes, actor death, timers). Iteration 19 LANDED
+> 2026-08-20, so Bytes is available for frame parse/serialize.
 
 ## Why this iteration exists
 
@@ -54,11 +60,15 @@ proxy — the proxy story extends to WS pass-through, documented).
 
 ## Info
 
-- Dependencies: the 8+11 arc (fibers + cross-shard send), the crypto
-  builtins fork (SHA-1 for the upgrade handshake — note: the ledger's
-  crypto slice lists SHA-256/512; the WS handshake specifically needs
-  SHA-1, so the builtin set must include it), and the framework's parse
-  seam (upgrade is an HTTP request until it isn't).
+- Dependencies: the 8+11 arc (fibers + cross-shard send — stages 1+2
+  landed 2026-08-20, stage 3 pending), [iteration 31](31-actor-lifecycle.md)
+  (request/response, backpressure, death, timers — the mechanisms rooms
+  and presence are made of), iteration 19 (LANDED 2026-08-20 — Bytes
+  carries the frames), the crypto builtins fork (SHA-1 for the upgrade
+  handshake — note: the ledger's crypto slice lists SHA-256/512; the WS
+  handshake specifically needs SHA-1, so the builtin set must include
+  it), and the framework's parse seam (upgrade is an HTTP request until
+  it isn't).
 - Unparks on landing: the framework ledger's WebSocket/pub-sub rows and
   the iteration-18 rejection note ("pub/sub REJECTED until 8/11").
 
diff --git a/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a8fd15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/stories/language-runtime-database/refine/31-actor-lifecycle.md
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+# Iteration 31 — actor lifecycle: request/response, backpressure, death, timers
+
+> Format: fiberloom `product/story-iteration-template`. Part of
+> [Story — one language, one runtime, one database, one binary](../00-story.md).
+>
+> **Inserted 2026-08-21** (concurrency-chain re-sequence; the iteration
+> was named as "new 31" in the 2026-08-20 code-review re-sequence — this
+> is its story file). Third in the chain,
+> **stage 3 → 22 → 31 → 24 → 23**: chat
+> ([iteration 24](24-chat-websocket-workload.md)) cannot be written
+> honestly without these four mechanisms.
+
+## Why this iteration exists
+
+The arc's stages 1+2 shipped `spawn`/`send` mechanism without lifecycle:
+`send` is one-way and callers `sleep`-poll to await an answer; the
+mailbox FIFO grows without bound (a hot sender can exhaust a shard's
+memory); an actor that traps dies silently (nobody learns, nothing
+restarts, its mailbox rots); and there is no timer surface beyond a
+fiber blocking in `time.sleep`. Every real serving program — chat first —
+is made of request/response turns, bounded queues, death notices, and
+deadlines. Without this iteration the arc is a demo, not a runtime.
+
+## Goals
+
+- **Request/response over one-way sends.** A caller can send and park
+  until the reply arrives — one surface, no `sleep`-polling, no second
+  concurrency vocabulary. Ownership rules unchanged: the request moves,
+  the reply moves back.
+- **Bounded mailboxes with a stated backpressure policy.** A mailbox has
+  a cap; what happens at the cap (park the sender vs error) is decided by
+  the spec, one policy, doctrine-pure — no silent unbounded growth
+  anywhere in the runtime.
+- **Actor death is observable.** A trap or normal exit produces a signal
+  another actor can receive; a fiber-trap already isolates (stage 1) —
+  this makes the fact of death deliverable, so a supervisor CAN be
+  written in `.wo`.
+- **Timers as messages.** A deadline or interval delivers to a mailbox
+  like any other send, riding the shard's existing io_uring/epoll
+  timeout plumbing (arc T4) — no new event loop.
+
+## Acceptance Criteria (draft — the spec refines)
+
+- What to achieve?
+    - **Given** an actor that answers requests,
+    - **when** a caller awaits the reply,
+    - **then** the caller's fiber parks (the shard serves other fibers,
+      TID-verified), resumes with the moved reply, and never busy-waits.
+- What to achieve?
+    - **Given** a mailbox at its cap,
+    - **when** another send arrives,
+    - **then** the stated backpressure policy fires deterministically,
+      memory stays bounded (RSS flat under a hot-sender soak), and no
+      message is silently dropped.
+- What to achieve?
+    - **Given** an actor that traps mid-message,
+    - **when** it dies,
+    - **then** its drop maps run (ASan zero leaks), a death signal
+      reaches the observer that asked for one, and a supervisor written
+      in `.wo` can respawn it.
+- What to achieve?
+    - **Given** a timer armed by an actor,
+    - **when** it fires,
+    - **then** the actor receives it as an ordinary message on its own
+      shard, and cancelling before expiry means it never delivers.
+
+## Out Of Scope
+
+- Supervision TREES / OTP-scale restart policy — a `.wo` library once
+  death signals exist, not runtime policy.
+- Priorities and custom scheduling — the reduction budget stays the only
+  fairness mechanism.
+- Distributed (cross-process) supervision — no network layer exists.
+- Changing the ownership-move rule or the unified address surface —
+  iteration 8's decisions stand.
+
+## Info
+
+Forks the spec must settle:
+
+1. **The request/response surface.** A reply-address baked into the
+   message shape vs a runtime-level call that parks — and what the
+   compiler checks (does a request type name its reply type?).
+2. **The backpressure policy at the cap.** Park the sender (natural with
+   fibers, risks deadlock cycles) vs fail the send (explicit, pushes
+   handling to the program). One policy, stated; not configurable per
+   mailbox in v1.
+3. **The death-signal shape.** Erlang's link (bidirectional, dies
+   together) vs monitor (one-way notice) — likely monitor-only v1.
+4. **The timer surface.** Builtin (`time.after` delivering a message) vs
+   actor-spawned sleeper fiber — and cancellation semantics.
+
+Sources: the 2026-08-20 code-review findings (the gaps this iteration
+answers), the arc plan's stage-2 deviations
+([`2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md`](../../../superpowers/plans/2026-08-20-shard-fiber-arc.md)
+— the unbounded FIFO is deviation 4's mutex inbox), and BEAM precedent
+already surveyed in
+[`docs/plan/exploration/fibers/00-fibers.md`](../../../plan/exploration/fibers/00-fibers.md).
+
+## Proposed Solution
+
+Brainstorm → spec → plan after the arc's stage 3 lands and iteration 22
+has its baseline (the mailbox-cap and inbox-ring decisions want 22's
+mutex number). The spec is written against iteration 24's needs — chat
+names the lifecycle mechanisms it consumes, this iteration names chat as
+its first honest consumer.