Index: src/views/partials/post-card.ejs
===================================================================
--- src/views/partials/post-card.ejs	(revision 38120c7ecacf8fe6e6b22191e9bbcad5017b94c4)
+++ src/views/partials/post-card.ejs	(revision 2a58d761b4f5175f328218b73895dfbc2210389f)
@@ -53,5 +53,5 @@
            sizes="(min-width: 768px) 120px, 100vw"
            alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async"<% if (post.cover_video_url) { %> data-ios-mp4="<%= post.cover_video_url %>"<% } %>>
-      <% } else if (post.cover_video_url) { %><video src="<%= post.cover_video_url %>" autoplay loop muted playsinline></video><% } %>
+      <% } else if (post.cover_video_url) { %><video src="<%= post.cover_video_url %>" poster="<%= thumb(post.cover_video_url, 480) %>" autoplay loop muted playsinline></video><% } %>
       <% if (post.nsfw) { %><span class="nsfw-veil"><span class="nsfw-veil-label">🔞 <%= post.content_warning || t('post.nsfw_warning') %></span><span class="nsfw-veil-btn"><%= t('post.nsfw_show') %></span></span><% } %>
     </a>
Index: src/views/partials/post-tile.ejs
===================================================================
--- src/views/partials/post-tile.ejs	(revision 38120c7ecacf8fe6e6b22191e9bbcad5017b94c4)
+++ src/views/partials/post-tile.ejs	(revision 2a58d761b4f5175f328218b73895dfbc2210389f)
@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@
    <% if (_ext) { %>target="_blank" rel="noopener"<% } else { %>hx-get="<%= _href %>?partial=1" hx-target="#pcms-main" hx-swap="innerHTML" hx-push-url="<%= _href %>" hx-indicator="#pcms-loading"<% } %>>
 
-  <% if (post.cover_image_url) { %><img class="grid-tile-img" src="<%= thumb(post.cover_image_url, 480) %>" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async"<% if (post.cover_video_url) { %> data-ios-mp4="<%= post.cover_video_url %>"<% } %>><% } else if (post.cover_video_url) { %><video class="grid-tile-img" src="<%= post.cover_video_url %>" autoplay loop muted playsinline></video><% } %>
+  <% if (post.cover_image_url) { %><img class="grid-tile-img" src="<%= thumb(post.cover_image_url, 480) %>" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async"<% if (post.cover_video_url) { %> data-ios-mp4="<%= post.cover_video_url %>"<% } %>><% } else if (post.cover_video_url) { %><video class="grid-tile-img" src="<%= post.cover_video_url %>" poster="<%= thumb(post.cover_video_url, 480) %>" autoplay loop muted playsinline></video><% } %>
 
   <% if (_typeLabel) { %>
Index: src/views/shell.ejs
===================================================================
--- src/views/shell.ejs	(revision 38120c7ecacf8fe6e6b22191e9bbcad5017b94c4)
+++ src/views/shell.ejs	(revision 2a58d761b4f5175f328218b73895dfbc2210389f)
@@ -759,5 +759,5 @@
   if (window.__coverFadeWired) return; window.__coverFadeWired = true;
   function scan(root) {
-    (root || document).querySelectorAll('.grid-tile-img, .post-list-cover img, .tl-media-img img').forEach(function (img) {
+    (root || document).querySelectorAll('img.grid-tile-img, .post-list-cover img, .tl-media-img img').forEach(function (img) {
       if (img.dataset.fade) return; img.dataset.fade = '1';
       if (img.complete && img.naturalWidth > 0) return;   // already loaded → leave visible