diff --git a/.okf/design/site-palette.md b/.okf/design/site-palette.md
index 052b68177..3749bf556 100644
--- a/.okf/design/site-palette.md
+++ b/.okf/design/site-palette.md
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ tags: [design, palette, css, tokens, adr]
 generated:
   by: claude/opus-5
   at: 2026-08-20T00:00:00Z
-timestamp: 2026-08-21T00:44:07Z
+timestamp: 2026-08-21T02:05:49Z
 ---
 
 # Resolved: LIGHT (ADR-0003, 2026-08-20)
@@ -104,21 +104,25 @@ var(--color-primary) */`); a grep that counts them reads as if the token
 survived. Grep for `var(--color-primary` with the opening paren and read the
 hits before concluding a token is still live.
 
-## The `--rr-*` aliases die next, in 1a.4 — verify by grep, never by list
-
-Phase 1a.1 promoted the Rescue Room tokens into
-`foundations/css-variables.css:110-116` as `--rr-*` aliases marked
-DELETE-in-1a.4. They are consumed in three files as of 2026-08-21:
-`pages/blog-list.css`, `single-post.css`, and `pages/blog-single.css`.
-
-**Do not delete the alias block against a written inventory.** A spec's list
-of consumers was wrong twice in one review (2026-08-21): it omitted a live
-line and named a file carrying zero references. `single-post.css` is the one
-that makes this dangerous — its `--rr-*` declarations set CTA and tag colour
-and background, and that file is a member of the COURSE bundle too, so
-deleting the aliases early breaks styling on blog AND course. Re-run
-`grep -rn 'var(--rr-' themes/beaver/assets/css/` at the moment of deletion and
-believe the output, not the doc.
+## The `--rr-*` aliases are GONE (deleted in 1a.4, 2026-08-21)
+
+Phase 1a.1 promoted the Rescue Room tokens as `--rr-*` aliases marked
+DELETE-in-1a.4. All 18 consumer references across `pages/blog-list.css`,
+`single-post.css` and `pages/blog-single.css` were migrated to the canonical
+names and the alias block was removed from `foundations/css-variables.css`.
+Zero visual delta - each alias was `--rr-X: var(--X)`, an exact 1:1
+indirection, so removing the hop cannot change a computed value; the suite
+agreed at 53 screenshots compared, no failures.
+
+**The method is the part worth keeping.** The precondition was re-grepped at
+the moment of deletion rather than read from a doc - `grep -rn 'var(--rr-'
+themes/beaver/assets/css/` returned 18, then 0, and only then was the block
+removed. That mattered: a written inventory of these same consumers was wrong
+TWICE in one review, omitting a live line and naming a file with zero
+references. `single-post.css` belongs to the COURSE bundle as well as the
+blog, so deleting on the strength of that inventory would have broken styling
+on both. **Verify a deletion precondition by running the check, never by
+reading a list of what the check returned last time.**
 
 **It is the logo's colour, and that is the point, not a reason to keep it.**
 `themes/beaver/assets/img/icons/logo-dark.svg` contains exactly one hex value:
diff --git a/.okf/log.md b/.okf/log.md
index aec2533df..b33dc88a4 100644
--- a/.okf/log.md
+++ b/.okf/log.md
@@ -28,6 +28,32 @@ make it green: restructure same-day entries under one heading, and add
 `timestamp` to the 23 concepts missing it (anchored to each file's last commit
 time, which is verifiable - never invented).
 
+## 2026-08-21 - the --rr-* aliases are gone; 1a.4's other half is blocked
+
+**Done:** all 18 `--rr-*` consumer references migrated to canonical names and
+the alias block deleted from `foundations/css-variables.css`. Zero visual delta
+by construction - each alias was `--rr-X: var(--X)`, an exact 1:1 indirection -
+and the suite agreed at 53 screenshots compared, no failures.
+`design/site-palette.md` updated from "die next" to gone.
+
+The method is the durable part: the precondition was re-grepped AT THE MOMENT
+of deletion (18 -> 0), not read from a doc. A written inventory of those same
+consumers had been wrong twice in one review, and `single-post.css` belongs to
+the COURSE bundle as well as the blog, so deleting on the doc's word would have
+broken both. **Verify a deletion precondition by running the check, never by
+reading what the check returned last time.**
+
+**Blocked, and re-scoped:** "footer onto surface-ink" is not a footer change.
+Moving it leaves every adjacent dark surface at pure black - measured seams on
+homepage and services. Migrating the shape-layer dividers closes those and OPENS
+internal ones (`.home-proof` divider vs `.home-services` section). Dividers and
+the dark sections they abut have to move together, across 7+ page bundles -
+Phase 1b in size. All visual changes were reverted rather than shipping a seam.
+
+Still unidentified: a painter on `/services/` that `elementFromPoint` and a
+geometric scan of every element both miss, reporting white against a rendered
+black pixel. See [architecture/css-pipeline.md](architecture/css-pipeline.md).
+
 ## 2026-08-21 - the footer moved and twelve invisible shape layers came with it
 
 Phase 1a.4 step 1 was a 5-line footer change. It exposed a black band above the
diff --git a/themes/beaver/assets/css/foundations/css-variables.css b/themes/beaver/assets/css/foundations/css-variables.css
index c8d20aa51..abe916d7f 100644
--- a/themes/beaver/assets/css/foundations/css-variables.css
+++ b/themes/beaver/assets/css/foundations/css-variables.css
@@ -105,13 +105,4 @@
   --link-hover:   var(--ruby-700);
   --link-visited: var(--ink-700);
   --link-underline: var(--color-ruby);
-
-  /* Aliases: the blog shipped against these names. Kept so 1a.1 renders
-     identically; DELETE in 1a.4 once the three page files consume the
-     canonical names. */
-  --rr-ink-900: var(--ink-900);
-  --rr-ink-700: var(--ink-700);
-  --rr-ink-500: var(--ink-500);
-  --rr-line: var(--line);
-  --rr-surface-raised: var(--surface-raised);
 }
diff --git a/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-list.css b/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-list.css
index 36be2b88e..0acc0fc5c 100644
--- a/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-list.css
+++ b/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-list.css
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 
 .blog-index .blog-lead {
   max-width: 62ch;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
 }
 
 /* Pagination: the bare "Next" rendered orphaned bottom-left under a
@@ -74,8 +74,8 @@
   letter-spacing: 0.08em;
   text-transform: uppercase;
   text-decoration: none;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
-  background: var(--rr-surface-raised);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
+  background: var(--surface-raised);
   border-radius: 999px;
   padding: 5px 12px;
 }
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@
   grid-template-columns: 1.1fr 0.9fr;
   gap: 40px;
   align-items: center;
-  background: var(--rr-surface-raised);
+  background: var(--surface-raised);
   border-radius: 16px;
   padding: 36px;
   margin-bottom: 40px;
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@
 
 .post-feature .post-description {
   font-size: 1em;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-700);
+  color: var(--ink-700);
 }
 
 .post-feature .post-image {
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@
   align-items: flex-start;
   padding: 28px 0;
   margin-bottom: 0;
-  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--rr-line);
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--line);
 }
 
 .post-image {
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@
 .post-meta {
   margin-top: 10px;
   font-size: 0.9em;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
 }
 
 .post-meta .post-tags,
@@ -193,14 +193,14 @@
 .post-description {
   font-size: 0.85em;
   line-height: 1.5;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
   margin-top: 6px;
   max-width: 68ch;
 }
 
 /* Card tags: ink, ruby on hover (see the !important note above) */
 .blog .post-tags-card a {
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
 }
 
 .blog .post-tags-card a:hover {
diff --git a/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-single.css b/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-single.css
index b332d11df..b40f48438 100644
--- a/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-single.css
+++ b/themes/beaver/assets/css/pages/blog-single.css
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
   font-weight: 600;
   letter-spacing: 0.08em;
   text-transform: uppercase;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
   margin-bottom: 10px;
 }
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
 .post-article .post-lead {
   font-size: 1.15rem;
   line-height: 1.6;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
   margin: 0.25rem auto 0.75rem;
 }
 
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@
    !important beats the inline background Chroma emits with noClasses. */
 .post-article .highlight pre,
 .post-article .post-prose > pre {
-  background-color: var(--rr-ink-900) !important;
+  background-color: var(--ink-900) !important;
 }
 
 .post-article .highlight {
diff --git a/themes/beaver/assets/css/single-post.css b/themes/beaver/assets/css/single-post.css
index 1df388d7d..38effee7b 100644
--- a/themes/beaver/assets/css/single-post.css
+++ b/themes/beaver/assets/css/single-post.css
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@
    (after tags). Rendered by partials/blog/cta-band.html. */
 .blog-cta {
   text-align: center;
-  background: var(--rr-surface-raised);
+  background: var(--surface-raised);
   border-radius: 16px;
   padding: 40px 24px;
   margin: 48px 0 8px;
@@ -445,12 +445,12 @@
   line-height: 1.3;
   letter-spacing: normal;
   margin: 0 0 8px !important;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-900);
+  color: var(--ink-900);
 }
 
 .blog-cta p {
   font-size: 0.9em;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
   max-width: 46ch;
   margin: 0 auto 20px;
 }
@@ -471,12 +471,12 @@
 
 .blog-cta .blog-cta-note {
   font-size: 0.8em;
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
   margin: 14px auto 0;
 }
 
 .blog-cta .blog-cta-note a {
-  color: var(--rr-ink-900);
+  color: var(--ink-900);
 }
 
 
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@
    used to be needed here died with the a:not(...)x8 anchor rule in 2608
    Phase 1a.3. */
 .blog .post-tags a {
-  color: var(--rr-ink-500);
+  color: var(--ink-500);
 }
 
 .blog .post-tags a:hover {