diff --git a/src/pages/index.astro b/src/pages/index.astro
index 39c0ccf..47cf9ce 100644
--- a/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -536,9 +536,10 @@ const canonical = new URL('/', Astro.site);
      right — the way the sentence reads, the way the verb points — then resting for
      the balance of the cycle. What separates this from a loading shimmer is
      everything quantitative: the light is the gradient's own mint rather than
-     white, the pass takes ~2.4s rather than one, it recurs every 11s rather than
-     immediately, and the band is asymmetric — a long dim tail behind a crisp
-     leading edge — so it reads as something moving through, not a surface effect.
+     white, it happens exactly once — a single ~1.2s pass as the line arrives,
+     never repeating — and the band is asymmetric — a long dim tail behind a
+     crisp leading edge — so it reads as something moving through, not a surface
+     effect.
      Over "that" (flat secondary grey) the glint is faint; over the "runs."
      gradient it lands hardest on the dark tail end, so the pass finishes brightest
      at the period — the light arrives where the sentence does.
@@ -569,8 +570,9 @@ const canonical = new URL('/', Astro.site);
      transparent region (past 71%) can overlap the line — off-glyph by
      construction, which is what reduced-motion needs: the global animation: none
      leaves the pseudo at this specified position and the line renders exactly as
-     it did before this existed. 235% clears the tail past the right edge, and
-     the snap back between iterations connects two invisible states. */
+     it did before this existed. 235% clears the tail past the right edge; when
+     the single run ends, the value reverts to the park — both states are
+     invisible, so there is nothing to fill. */
   .line-runs .word::after {
     content: 'that runs.';
     position: absolute;
@@ -593,12 +595,14 @@ const canonical = new URL('/', Astro.site);
     -webkit-background-clip: text;
     pointer-events: none;
     /* The delay is set against the line's entrance, not the page's. The park
-       sits just off the first glyph, and the sweep segment is linear, so the
-       light enters ~0.06s after the delay ends — the delay IS the arrival
-       time. 0.85s starts the light while the line is still completing its rise
+       sits just off the first glyph, and the sweep is linear, so the light
+       enters almost the moment the delay ends — the delay IS the arrival time.
+       0.85s starts the light while the line is still completing its rise
        (opacity full at ~1.38s), so the two emerge together: the sheen's first
-       moments inherit the line's last moments of fade-in. */
-    animation: sheen-pass 11s 0.85s linear infinite;
+       moments inherit the line's last moments of fade-in. One iteration, by
+       design — the light passes through once as the words land, and the line
+       owns its stillness afterward. */
+    animation: sheen-pass 1.2s 0.85s linear;
   }
 
   .line-runs .that {
@@ -741,17 +745,16 @@ const canonical = new URL('/', Astro.site);
     from { transform: translate3d(0, 0, 0); }
   }
 
-  /* The pass occupies the first 22% of the cycle (~2.4s of 11s) and the rest is
-     dwell — the hold keyframe is constant, so nothing invalidates paint between
-     passes. The sweep is linear on purpose: an eased segment read as the light
+  /* The whole animation is the sweep — one iteration, no dwell keyframe — so
+     the page pays for paint during a single 1.2s window at load and never
+     again. The sweep is linear on purpose: an eased segment read as the light
      accelerating through the middle of the line (it was — ease-in-out is
      fastest at its midpoint, which lands mid-word), and a runner holds a pace.
      The softness at entry and exit comes from the band's own gradient profile,
      not from the curve. */
   @keyframes sheen-pass {
-    0% { background-position: -115% 0; }
-    22% { background-position: 235% 0; }
-    100% { background-position: 235% 0; }
+    from { background-position: -115% 0; }
+    to { background-position: 235% 0; }
   }
 
   @keyframes haze-drift {