diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 07d9c25d..4ee0bddf 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- A native welcome image (Kitty, Ghostty) stays a native image after the first key press, scroll or resize instead of turning into character art. A logo animation still stops at once and its frames are deleted; only the still remains.
 - With the Portable cursor renderer, NMSh's Kitty cursor setup no longer leaves Kitty's own `cursor_trail` on, which drew two trails.
 
 ## [0.23.0] - 2026-10-21 — Vespyr Arcade
diff --git a/src/welcome/startup.ts b/src/welcome/startup.ts
index f7fa6cf5..2be1c9e0 100644
--- a/src/welcome/startup.ts
+++ b/src/welcome/startup.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ export class NativeWelcomePresentation {
   private started: number;
   private finalKey?: string;
   private still = false;
+  /** The last paint showed playback frames (generated or decoded), not the admitted still. */
+  private paintedMotion = false;
   private waitingForAsset: boolean;
   constructor(readonly snapshot: WelcomeSnapshot, private service: GraphicsService, private caps: () => WelcomeCapabilities,
     private background: () => {red: number; green: number; blue: number}, private repaint: () => void = () => {},
@@ -59,8 +61,12 @@ export class NativeWelcomePresentation {
     }
     // At most ~30 repaints a second: very short GIF delays play slightly slower rather than driving 60 fps app renders.
     this.sequence.sync(!this.still && frame.active, this.repaint, frame.nextFrameMs === undefined ? undefined : Math.max(33, frame.nextFrameMs));
-    const painted = paintWelcome(frame, frame.active ? live : this.asset, this.service, this.owner, 'inline', this.background(), this.still);
-    return {...frame, active: !this.still && frame.active, rows: painted.rows.map(ansi => ({ansi, plain: stripAnsi(ansi)}))};
+    // A stopped animation shows the still the way the terminal draws it (a native image where supported), exactly like Off.
+    const moving = !this.still && frame.active;
+    const painted = paintWelcome(frame, moving ? live : this.asset, this.service, this.owner, 'inline', this.background());
+    // Still-image effects reuse the still's upload; only generated or decoded frames are separate uploads.
+    this.paintedMotion = moving && (live !== this.asset || (this.asset?.kind === 'image' && (this.asset.animation?.frames.length ?? 0) > 1));
+    return {...frame, active: moving, rows: painted.rows.map(ansi => ({ansi, plain: stripAnsi(ansi)}))};
   }
   rows(snapshot: WelcomeSnapshot, columns: number, reason?: string) {
     if (snapshot.studio !== this.snapshot.studio) return renderWelcome(snapshot, columns);
@@ -68,6 +74,13 @@ export class NativeWelcomePresentation {
     snapshot.still = this.snapshot.still?.slice();
     return frame.rows;
   }
-  cancelMotion(): void { this.still = true; this.sequence.stop(); this.service.releaseOwner(this.owner); }
-  dispose(): void { this.cancelMotion(); this.closed = true; this.asset = undefined; }
+  /**
+   * Stops playback for good. Uploaded playback frames are deleted now; a still already on screen stays, so a key press
+   * never turns the picture into character art.
+   */
+  cancelMotion(): void {
+    this.still = true; this.sequence.stop();
+    if (this.paintedMotion) { this.service.releaseOwner(this.owner); this.paintedMotion = false; }
+  }
+  dispose(): void { this.cancelMotion(); this.service.releaseOwner(this.owner); this.closed = true; this.asset = undefined; }
 }
diff --git a/tests/welcomeLogoAnimation.test.ts b/tests/welcomeLogoAnimation.test.ts
index f65a5b86..0c56bcb8 100644
--- a/tests/welcomeLogoAnimation.test.ts
+++ b/tests/welcomeLogoAnimation.test.ts
@@ -204,3 +204,33 @@ test('Welcome Studio shows Logo animation and Play in the Animation section at 1
     if (height >= 40) assert.match(rows.join('\n'), /Gentle loop repeats softly/);
   }
 });
+
+test('a key press keeps the native still: Off stays put and a cancelled animation frees only its frames', () => {
+  const PLACEHOLDER = String.fromCodePoint(0x10eeee);
+  const deletes = (sent: string[]) => sent.filter(d => d.includes('a=d')).length;
+  const still = asset(logo()), bg = () => ({red: 0, green: 0, blue: 0});
+  const sentOff: string[] = [], offService = service(sentOff, true);
+  const off = new NativeWelcomePresentation(snapshot(model()), offService, () => ({color: true}), bg, () => {}, still);
+  const before = off.frame(80, 40, 0);
+  assert.ok(before.rows.some(r => r.plain.includes(PLACEHOLDER)), 'Off draws a native placement');
+  const uploads = offService.stats().uploads, removed = deletes(sentOff);
+  off.cancelMotion();
+  const after = off.frame(80, 40, 10);
+  assert.deepEqual(after.rows, before.rows, 'a key press never turns the still into character art');
+  assert.equal(offService.stats().uploads, uploads); assert.equal(deletes(sentOff), removed, 'the still is not deleted and re-sent');
+  off.dispose();
+  assert.equal(offService.stats().uploads, 0, 'dispose still releases everything');
+
+  const count = presentationClock.subscriberCount;
+  const playing = service([], true);
+  const native = new NativeWelcomePresentation(snapshot(model({logoAnimation: 'assemble'})), playing, () => ({color: true}), bg, () => {}, still);
+  assert.equal(native.frame(80, 40, 300).active, true);
+  native.cancelMotion();
+  assert.equal(playing.stats().uploads, 0, 'playback frames are deleted at once');
+  assert.equal(presentationClock.subscriberCount, count, 'no frame timer remains');
+  const settled = native.frame(80, 40, 320);
+  assert.equal(settled.active, false);
+  assert.ok(settled.rows.some(r => r.plain.includes(PLACEHOLDER)), 'the cancelled animation shows the native still');
+  assert.equal(playing.stats().uploads, 1, 'only the still is uploaded');
+  native.dispose();
+});
diff --git a/tests/welcomePlayback.test.ts b/tests/welcomePlayback.test.ts
index 8955cce6..db4821c3 100644
--- a/tests/welcomePlayback.test.ts
+++ b/tests/welcomePlayback.test.ts
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ test('Reduced Motion, Effects Off and no color hold decoded frame zero without a
   } finally { await rm(dir, {recursive: true, force: true}); }
 });
 
-test('only a portable final still is serialized; input releases uploads/timers and cannot restart them', async () => {
+test('only a portable final still is serialized; input frees playback uploads/timers, cannot restart them and keeps the native still', async () => {
   const dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'welcome-still-'));
   const count = presentationClock.subscriberCount;
   try {
@@ -152,8 +152,9 @@ test('only a portable final still is serialized; input releases uploads/timers a
       assert.deepEqual(output.transcript(), before, 'runtime animation never mutates transcript frames');
       assert.doesNotMatch(JSON.stringify(before), /assetPath|a.gif|frameIndex|iVBOR|\\u001b_G/);
       assert.ok(before.welcome?.still?.length);
-      native.cancelMotion(); native.frame(80, 40, 200);
-      assert.equal(h.graphics().stats().uploads, 0); assert.equal(presentationClock.subscriberCount, count);
+      native.cancelMotion(); assert.equal(h.graphics().stats().uploads, 0, 'playback frames are deleted at once');
+      native.frame(80, 40, 200);
+      assert.equal(h.graphics().stats().uploads, 1, 'the still stays a native image'); assert.equal(presentationClock.subscriberCount, count);
     } finally { native.dispose(); }
   } finally { await rm(dir, {recursive: true, force: true}); }
 });
@@ -262,7 +263,7 @@ test('the shared sequencer requests decoded boundaries and removes its last subs
   } finally { presentationClock.subscribe = original; await rm(dir, {recursive: true, force: true}); }
 });
 
-test('startup releases uploads and timers on input, Esc, resize, history detach, handover, frontend detach and shutdown', async () => {
+test('startup frees playback uploads and timers on input, Esc, resize, history detach, handover, frontend detach and shutdown', async () => {
   const dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'welcome-startup-exits-'));
   const previous = process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME; process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = dir;
   try {
@@ -283,10 +284,12 @@ test('startup releases uploads and timers on input, Esc, resize, history detach,
         else if (exit === 'handover') app['handOverTerminal']();
         else if (exit === 'detach') app['onTerminate']();
         else app['stop'](0);
-        assert.equal(h.graphics().stats().uploads, 0); assert.equal(presentationClock.subscriberCount, count);
+        // Scrolling repaints at once: the still is back as one native upload; every other exit repaints later.
+        assert.equal(h.graphics().stats().uploads, exit === 'history' ? 1 : 0, exit); assert.equal(presentationClock.subscriberCount, count);
         if (!app['stopped']) {
           app['output'].wrapped(80);
-          assert.equal(h.graphics().stats().uploads, 0); assert.equal(presentationClock.subscriberCount, count);
+          // Playback cannot restart; the repaint shows the still as a native image (one upload), never character art.
+          assert.equal(h.graphics().stats().uploads, 1, exit); assert.equal(presentationClock.subscriberCount, count);
         }
       } finally { app['stop'](0); app['session'].kill(); }
     }