diff --git a/docs/contracts/donut_voiced_interview.contract.md b/docs/contracts/donut_voiced_interview.contract.md
index 00220b0..24030cc 100644
--- a/docs/contracts/donut_voiced_interview.contract.md
+++ b/docs/contracts/donut_voiced_interview.contract.md
@@ -62,12 +62,18 @@ each independently shippable. Slice order is chosen for fastest visible result.
   swappable `ext-tts` LiteLLM alias. Rationale: the emotion dials (the whole
   point — affect-driven voice) don't pass through `ext-tts`. Accept the
   Zonos coupling; the `tts.py` client is the single swap seam if we ever move.
-- **DEC-2 — full-synth latency accepted (no true streaming).** The gateway
-  buffers to a complete clip (~1.8s/sentence, scales). "Speak on done" gives the
-  whole clip after a short delay. True first-audio-early is a future gateway
-  enhancement (infra-ops to expose the native PCM stream); not in v1.
-- **DEC-3 — wav only.** `response_format:"wav"` (16-bit RIFF). `mp3`/`opus` are
-  accepted but silently return mislabeled PCM — never request them.
+- **DEC-2 — STREAMING, play-as-it-arrives (amended 2026-08-02, operator-directed).**
+  The gateway ALREADY streams: `POST /v1/audio/speech` relays a chunked int16 WAV
+  (transfer-encoding: chunked, placeholder 0xFFFFFFFF RIFF/data sizes) as it synthesizes
+  — TTFB ~0.44s vs ~7s total (infra-ops verified). So ratatoskr PROXIES THE CHUNKS
+  STRAIGHT THROUGH (`tts_stream`, `GET /api/tts`) and the browser plays a progressive
+  `<audio src>`; NEVER buffer, NEVER rewrite the placeholder header (a rewrite needs the
+  whole clip and defeats streaming — the bug the original buffered `tts_synthesize` +
+  `_finalize_wav_header` hit). The placeholder-size WAV is DESIGNED for `<audio src>`
+  progressive playback (validated in Chromium: plays, currentTime advances, no MSE
+  needed). Supersedes the original "full-synth latency accepted / no streaming."
+- **DEC-3 — wav only.** `response_format:"wav"` (streaming int16 RIFF/WAVE). `mp3`/`opus`
+  are accepted but silently return mislabeled PCM — never request them.
 - **DEC-4 — server-side proxy.** Browser → `/api/tts` (nh3-dev) → gateway. The
   irv-ml1 host/URL never reaches the client (INV-TTS-1). No key exists, so
   INV-003 is trivially satisfied, but the proxy still stands (browser can't
@@ -125,19 +131,17 @@ each independently shippable. Slice order is chosen for fastest visible result.
 
 ## FN blocks
 
-### FN tts_synthesize
+### FN tts_stream  (replaces the buffered tts_synthesize — DEC-2 streaming)
 ```
-tts_synthesize(text: str, *, voice: str, dials: EmotionDials, client: httpx.AsyncClient, url=ZONOS_TTS_URL) -> bytes
-  # POST {input:text, voice, response_format:"wav", **dials} to the Zonos gateway; return wav bytes.
-  # `url` (added — heid-code-review F3) is the swap seam (DEC-1): the endpoint passes app.state.tts_url;
-  # tests pass a respx-mocked URL. Defaults to ZONOS_TTS_URL so the parameter is inert for the common call.
-  precondition: text non-empty. Voice membership in /v1/voices is GATEWAY-enforced, not client-asserted
-                (an unknown voice surfaces as a gateway non-200 -> TtsUnavailable) — the contract + bundle
-                carry no local voice catalog, so a client-side check would fork a source of truth.
-  postcondition: returns a RIFF/WAVE container (magic 0:4 == "RIFF" AND form 8:12 == "WAVE"). The DEC-3
-                 guard is operational ("is this wav, not HTML / mislabeled-PCM"), NOT a full 16-bit-PCM
-                 fmt-chunk parse (heid-code-review: "16-bit" is aspirational; the guard is container-level).
-  error: gateway non-200 / transport failure / non-WAVE body -> TtsUnavailable (caller degrades per INV-TTS-4).
+tts_stream(text, *, voice, dials, client: httpx.AsyncClient, url=ZONOS_TTS_URL) -> AsyncIterator[bytes]
+  # Open the gateway's CHUNKED stream (client.stream("POST", url, json=gateway_body(...))) and YIELD wav
+  # chunks as they synthesize. Pass through verbatim — never buffer, never rewrite the placeholder header.
+  # gateway_body(text, voice, dials) = {input, voice, response_format:"wav", **dials.to_body()}.
+  precondition: text non-empty. Voice membership in /v1/voices is GATEWAY-enforced, not client-asserted.
+  postcondition: yields the gateway's chunked int16 streaming WAV bytes unmodified (0xFFFFFFFF placeholder
+                 sizes intact — the browser <audio src> plays them progressively).
+  error: a non-200 OPEN or connect/transport failure -> TtsUnavailable BEFORE the first chunk (so the
+         endpoint can still return 503); a mid-stream drop just ends the generator.
   invariant: response_format is ALWAYS "wav" (DEC-3); never mp3/opus.
 ```
 
@@ -152,17 +156,19 @@ pad_to_dials(pad: PadState | None) -> EmotionDials
   invariant: total over any PAD input (finite/None/out-of-range) -> valid dials, never raises.
 ```
 
-### FN tts_endpoint  (server.py, /api/tts)
+### FN tts_endpoint  (server.py, GET /api/tts)
 ```
-POST /api/tts  {text, agent_id?, pad?}  -> audio/wav
+GET /api/tts?text=&agent_id=&p=&a=  -> audio/wav (chunked StreamingResponse)
+  # GET (not POST) so a browser <audio src> plays it progressively (DEC-2 streaming). Params ride the query
+  # string; text is capped ~2000 chars and truncated at a word boundary (URL-safe + bounds the shared-3090 hold).
   steps:
-    - resolve voice (per-character map -> "donut"; default Cora; a non-str agent_id coerces to None).
-    - dials = pad_to_dials(PadState.from_obj(pad)) — the PAD is BROWSER-SENT in the request body (per DEC-7:
-      the console already holds live PAD from the affect_update SSE), NOT a server-side PAD lookup. (Clarified
-      per heid-code-review F5 — the original "the agent's current PAD if known" wording read as a server fetch.)
-    - reject text over the max-char budget with 413 (bug-hunt: bound before the lock); missing/non-str text -> 400.
-    - tts_synthesize(...) behind the serialize guard (DEC-5); return wav with Content-Type audio/wav.
-    - on TtsUnavailable -> 503 controlled envelope (client skips playback, INV-TTS-4).
+    - missing text -> 400. resolve voice (per-character map -> "donut"; default Cora).
+    - dials = pad_to_dials(PadState(p, a)) from the p/a query floats (DEC-7, BROWSER-SENT live PAD); malformed
+      p/a -> neutral read, never a 500.
+    - acquire the serialize lock (DEC-5, one stream at a time on the shared 3090); open tts_stream and PEEK the
+      first chunk so a bad gateway OPEN surfaces as 503 (INV-TTS-4) before committing a 200.
+    - return StreamingResponse piping the chunks; the generator's finally releases the lock + closes the client
+      (incl. the browser-abort path: a new turn's <audio> load() drops the GET).
 ```
 
 ### FN pin_kb_context  (kb_bridge.py — RETIRE-READY, INV-KB-1)
@@ -195,14 +201,19 @@ pin_kb_context(question: str, agent_id: str | None, *, client) -> list[dict]   #
               searches in-voice natively.
 ```
 
-### FN client: speakOnDone  (index.html)
+### FN client: speakOnDone  (index.html — STREAMING, DEC-2)
 ```
 on SSE `done`:
   if !ttsEnabled(): return                                  # INV-TTS-2
-  cancelInFlight()                                          # INV-TTS-3
-  const wav = await fetch('/api/tts', {text: assistantText, agent_id})   # non-stream; whole clip
-  if !ok: return                                            # INV-TTS-4 (silent skip)
-  play(wav) in the <audio> sink; a new turn start -> cancelInFlight() + audio.pause()
+  cancelTts()                                               # INV-TTS-3: audio.pause()+removeAttribute(src)+load()
+  audio.src = "/api/tts?text=&agent_id=&p=&a="              # GET streaming URL (text sliced to the 2000 cap)
+  audio.play()  -> ▶ voiced ; .catch -> "playback blocked"  # progressive; failure non-fatal (INV-TTS-4)
+
+AUTOPLAY UNLOCK (the load-bearing fix for "no audio"): speak fires play() in an async callback seconds after
+the keypress, past the browser's transient-activation window, so a bare play() is blocked. _unlockTtsAudio()
+plays a tiny silent WAV inside a REAL gesture (toggle-on + each prompt submit), which grants the <audio>
+element a PERSISTENT "may-play" flag so the later streaming play() isn't refused. Validated in Chromium with
+--autoplay-policy=document-user-activation-required: play succeeds 6.5s after the gesture, currentTime advances.
 ```
 
 ## Slice plan
diff --git a/src/ratatoskr/tts.py b/src/ratatoskr/tts.py
index 6be3030..85c5cd5 100644
--- a/src/ratatoskr/tts.py
+++ b/src/ratatoskr/tts.py
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@ Foot-guns (verified live 2026-08-02):
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-import struct
-from collections.abc import Mapping
+from collections.abc import AsyncIterator, Mapping
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 
 import httpx
@@ -98,27 +97,6 @@ class EmotionDials:
         }
 
 
-def _finalize_wav_header(data: bytes) -> bytes:
-    """Rewrite the RIFF + data chunk sizes with the real byte counts.
-
-    The Zonos gateway emits a STREAMING wav header — the RIFF chunk size (offset 4)
-    and the data chunk size are both 0xFFFFFFFF ("unknown length"), because it can
-    stream. A browser <audio> element playing a fully-downloaded blob needs a finite,
-    correctly-sized WAV to decode it; a 0xFFFFFFFF length reads as raw/streaming PCM
-    and won't play (operator-reported). Now that the whole clip is buffered we know the
-    real sizes, so patch them in. Idempotent — writing an already-correct size is a
-    no-op; safe if the data chunk isn't found (leaves those bytes untouched).
-    """
-    if len(data) < 44:  # shorter than a canonical PCM header — nothing to patch
-        return data
-    buf = bytearray(data)
-    struct.pack_into("<I", buf, 4, len(buf) - 8)  # RIFF chunk size = file len - 8
-    data_pos = buf.find(b"data", 12)  # first "data" after the fmt chunk = the data chunk
-    if data_pos != -1 and data_pos + 8 <= len(buf):
-        struct.pack_into("<I", buf, data_pos + 4, len(buf) - (data_pos + 8))
-    return bytes(buf)
-
-
 def _clamp(x: float, lo: float, hi: float) -> float:
     """Clamp to [lo, hi], NaN-safe: a NaN axis (a dead/malformed signal) → 0.0
     rather than propagating through max/min into the gateway."""
@@ -144,37 +122,39 @@ def pad_to_dials(pad: PadState | None) -> EmotionDials:
     )
 
 
-async def tts_synthesize(
+def gateway_body(text: str, voice: str, dials: EmotionDials) -> dict:
+    """The Zonos gateway POST body — response_format is ALWAYS "wav" (DEC-3)."""
+    return {"input": text, "voice": voice, "response_format": "wav", **dials.to_body()}
+
+
+async def tts_stream(
     text: str,
     *,
     voice: str,
     dials: EmotionDials,
     client: httpx.AsyncClient,
     url: str = ZONOS_TTS_URL,
-) -> bytes:
-    """POST {input, voice, response_format:"wav", **dials} to the Zonos gateway;
-    return 16-bit RIFF/WAVE bytes (FN tts_synthesize).
+) -> AsyncIterator[bytes]:
+    """Open the gateway's CHUNKED stream and yield WAV bytes as they synthesize.
 
-    response_format is ALWAYS "wav" (DEC-3). Any non-200, transport failure, or
-    non-wav body → TtsUnavailable — the caller degrades (INV-TTS-4).
+    The gateway emits a streaming int16 WAV (RIFF/data sizes = 0xFFFFFFFF placeholders)
+    over `transfer-encoding: chunked`, TTFB ~0.44s vs ~7s total (infra-ops verified) —
+    designed to be played progressively by a browser <audio>. So we PROXY THE CHUNKS
+    STRAIGHT THROUGH: never buffer, never rewrite the header (that would force us to wait
+    for the whole clip and defeat the streaming — the bug this replaces).
+
+    Raises TtsUnavailable if the gateway open is a non-200 or the connect/transport
+    fails — BEFORE the first chunk, so the endpoint can still return a 503 (INV-TTS-4).
+    A drop mid-stream just ends the generator (the browser has already played the head).
     """
-    assert text, "tts_synthesize: text must be non-empty (the endpoint guards this)"
-    body = {"input": text, "voice": voice, "response_format": "wav", **dials.to_body()}
+    assert text, "tts_stream: text must be non-empty (the endpoint guards this)"
     try:
-        resp = await client.post(url, json=body)
+        async with client.stream("POST", url, json=gateway_body(text, voice, dials)) as resp:
+            if resp.status_code != 200:
+                raise TtsUnavailable(
+                    f"gateway status {resp.status_code}", status=resp.status_code
+                )
+            async for chunk in resp.aiter_bytes():
+                yield chunk
     except httpx.RequestError as exc:
         raise TtsUnavailable(f"gateway transport failure: {exc}") from exc
-    if resp.status_code != 200:
-        raise TtsUnavailable(
-            f"gateway status {resp.status_code}", status=resp.status_code
-        )
-    data = resp.content
-    # DEC-3 guard: the gateway MUST return a RIFF/WAVE container. A non-wav 200 (an
-    # error page, or the mislabeled-PCM mp3/opus trap) is treated as unavailable —
-    # played garbage is worse than silence. Check BOTH the RIFF magic (0:4) and the
-    # WAVE form tag (8:12); a `b"RIFF..."` body that isn't WAVE would still fail decode.
-    if data[:4] != b"RIFF" or data[8:12] != b"WAVE":
-        raise TtsUnavailable("gateway returned a non-wav body")
-    # The gateway's streaming header carries 0xFFFFFFFF sizes; rewrite them with the
-    # real byte counts so a browser <audio> element can decode the finite clip.
-    return _finalize_wav_header(data)
diff --git a/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py b/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py
index 661294c..72fee00 100644
--- a/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py
+++ b/src/ratatoskr/web/server.py
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ from ratatoskr.tts import (
     PadState,
     TtsUnavailable,
     pad_to_dials,
-    tts_synthesize,
+    tts_stream,
 )
 
 
@@ -542,55 +542,82 @@ async def _memory_chunks_endpoint(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
 # Zonos voice; everything else falls to the gateway default. Case-folded gateway-side.
 _TTS_VOICE_MAP = {"ratatoskr:donut": "donut"}
 _TTS_DEFAULT_VOICE = "Cora"
-# Cap the synth input before taking the process-global lock. An interview clip is a
-# few sentences; a huge/hostile body would otherwise hold the shared 3090 for the full
-# gateway timeout, starving every other turn's audio (heid bug-hunt: text-size DoS).
-_TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS = 8000
+# The streamed text rides the GET query string, so keep it URL-safe-short — a few
+# sentences is plenty for a voiced turn, and a very long response is truncated at a word
+# boundary (the full text still shows in the transcript). Also bounds the shared-3090 hold.
+_TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS = 2000
+
+
+def _truncate_at_boundary(text: str, limit: int) -> str:
+    """Trim to <= limit chars, preferring the last space so we don't cut mid-word."""
+    if len(text) <= limit:
+        return text
+    head = text[:limit]
+    cut = head.rfind(" ")
+    return head[:cut] if cut > limit // 2 else head
 
 
 async def _tts_endpoint(request: Request) -> Response:
-    """POST /api/tts {text, agent_id?, pad?} → audio/wav (FN tts_endpoint, slice 2).
+    """GET /api/tts?text=&agent_id=&p=&a= → audio/wav, STREAMED chunked from the Zonos
+    gateway (FN tts_endpoint). GET so a browser <audio src> plays it progressively; the
+    gateway already streams (TTFB ~0.44s vs ~7s total), so we pipe the chunks straight
+    through — never buffer, never rewrite the placeholder-size WAV header (that would
+    force buffering the whole clip and defeat the streaming).
 
-    Server-side proxy to the Zonos gateway (DEC-4 / INV-TTS-1: the gateway host
-    never reaches the browser). Voice resolves per-character (DEC-8); emotion dials
-    map the browser-sent live PAD (DEC-7 — the affect the persona pane already shows).
-    Serialized one-synth-at-a-time (DEC-5 / INV-TTS-3 — the gateway shares one 3090).
-    A gateway failure / non-wav body degrades to 503 (INV-TTS-4: the client skips
-    playback; the turn/transcript is unaffected)."""
-    try:
-        body = await request.json()
-    except (json.JSONDecodeError, ValueError, TypeError):
-        body = None
-    text = body.get("text") if isinstance(body, dict) else None
-    if not text or not isinstance(text, str):
+    Server-side proxy (DEC-4 / INV-TTS-1: the gateway host never reaches the browser).
+    Voice per-character (DEC-8); emotion dials from the browser-sent live PAD (DEC-7,
+    passed as p/a query floats). Serialized one-stream-at-a-time (DEC-5); a new turn
+    aborts the prior <audio> load → the GET drops → the generator's finally releases the
+    lock. A gateway open-failure → 503 (INV-TTS-4: the client skips playback)."""
+    q = request.query_params
+    text = q.get("text")
+    if not text:
         return JSONResponse({"error_code": "missing_text"}, status_code=400)
-    if len(text) > _TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS:  # bound before the lock (bug-hunt: text-size DoS)
-        return JSONResponse({"error_code": "text_too_large"}, status_code=413)
-    agent_id = body.get("agent_id") if isinstance(body, dict) else None
-    if not isinstance(agent_id, str):
-        # Coerce a non-str (incl. an unhashable list/dict) to None BEFORE the map lookup:
-        # `_TTS_VOICE_MAP.get([])` would TypeError → uncaught 500, diverging from the
-        # submit path's identical guard (heid bug-hunt: open-world agent_id).
-        agent_id = None
+    text = _truncate_at_boundary(text, _TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS)
+    agent_id = q.get("agent_id")
     voice = _TTS_VOICE_MAP.get(agent_id, _TTS_DEFAULT_VOICE)
-    pad_obj = body.get("pad") if isinstance(body, dict) else None
-    dials = pad_to_dials(PadState.from_obj(pad_obj))
+    pad: PadState | None = None
+    try:
+        if q.get("p") is not None and q.get("a") is not None:
+            pad = PadState(pleasure=float(q["p"]), arousal=float(q["a"]))
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        pad = None  # malformed p/a → neutral read, never a 500
+    dials = pad_to_dials(pad)
 
     tts_url = request.app.state.tts_url
     lock = request.app.state.tts_lock
+
+    # DEC-5: one stream at a time on the shared 3090. Held for the stream's duration and
+    # released in the generator's finally — including the browser-abort/cancel path.
+    await lock.acquire()
+    client = httpx.AsyncClient(
+        timeout=httpx.Timeout(connect=10.0, read=30.0, write=10.0, pool=10.0)
+    )
+    gen = tts_stream(text, voice=voice, dials=dials, client=client, url=tts_url)
     try:
-        # DEC-5: serialize — a new turn's synth waits on any in-flight one (the
-        # client also aborts the prior request, cancelling the server task). 60s ceiling:
-        # generous for a multi-sentence clip, bounded so a stalled gateway can't pin the
-        # shared lock for two minutes (bug-hunt: lock-hold starvation).
-        async with lock:
-            async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=httpx.Timeout(60.0)) as client:
-                wav = await tts_synthesize(
-                    text, voice=voice, dials=dials, client=client, url=tts_url
-                )
+        # Peek the first chunk so a bad gateway OPEN (non-200 / transport) surfaces as a
+        # 503 BEFORE we commit a 200 StreamingResponse. TTFB ~0.44s, so this is cheap.
+        first = await gen.__anext__()
     except TtsUnavailable:
+        await gen.aclose()
+        await client.aclose()
+        lock.release()
         return JSONResponse({"error_code": "tts_unavailable"}, status_code=503)
-    return Response(wav, media_type="audio/wav")
+    except StopAsyncIteration:
+        first = None
+
+    async def piped() -> AsyncIterator[bytes]:
+        try:
+            if first:
+                yield first
+            async for chunk in gen:
+                yield chunk
+        finally:
+            await gen.aclose()      # unwinds tts_stream's `async with` → closes the gateway resp
+            await client.aclose()
+            lock.release()
+
+    return StreamingResponse(piped(), media_type="audio/wav")
 
 
 async def _session_tools_endpoint(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
@@ -804,7 +831,7 @@ def create_app(
         Route("/api/sessions/{session_id}/messages", _session_messages_endpoint),
         Route("/api/sessions/{session_id}/bifrost", _session_bifrost_endpoint),
         Route("/api/admin/events", _admin_events_endpoint),
-        Route("/api/tts", _tts_endpoint, methods=["POST"]),
+        Route("/api/tts", _tts_endpoint, methods=["GET"]),
         Route("/api/turns/{session_id}", _submit_turn_endpoint, methods=["POST"]),
         Route("/api/turns/{session_id}/stream", _stream_turn_endpoint),
         Route("/api/turns/{session_id}/cancel", _cancel_turn_endpoint, methods=["POST"]),
diff --git a/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html b/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html
index 788e2a9..292170d 100644
--- a/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html
+++ b/src/ratatoskr/web/static/index.html
@@ -1709,6 +1709,7 @@ async function submitPrompt() {
   const content = input.value.trim();
   if (!content || !state.sessionId || state.turnId) return;
   cancelTts();                                   // INV-TTS-3: a new turn cancels prior voice
+  if (ttsEnabled()) _unlockTtsAudio();           // this keypress is a gesture — grant autoplay
   input.value = ""; input.style.height = "20px";
 
   let r;
@@ -1993,56 +1994,66 @@ async function cancelTurn() {
   });
 })();
 
-// ---- auto-TTS (slice 2): voiced, affect-modulated playback on turn `done` -----
-// Server-proxied to the Zonos gateway (/api/tts). Opt-in (INV-TTS-2), one clip at a
-// time (INV-TTS-3: a new turn or a superseding synth cancels the prior fetch + audio),
-// and non-blocking (INV-TTS-4: any failure logs to the ticker + skips — never the turn).
-let _ttsAbort = null;
-let _ttsUrl = null;   // active blob object URL, tracked so cancel can revoke it
+// ---- auto-TTS: voiced, affect-modulated STREAMING playback on turn `done` -----
+// The <audio> element streams the chunked GET /api/tts response and plays as it arrives
+// (TTFA ~0.5s), never waiting for the whole clip. Opt-in (INV-TTS-2), one stream at a
+// time (INV-TTS-3: a new turn / toggle-off aborts the prior <audio> load, dropping the
+// server stream), non-blocking (INV-TTS-4: any failure logs to the ticker, never the turn).
 function ttsEnabled() {
   try { return localStorage.getItem("ratatoskr-tts") === "1"; } catch (_) { return false; }
 }
-function _revokeTtsUrl() {
-  if (_ttsUrl) { try { URL.revokeObjectURL(_ttsUrl); } catch (_) {} _ttsUrl = null; }
+// A short silent WAV (PCM/mono/44.1k/16-bit) used only to UNLOCK the <audio> element.
+// speak-on-done fires play() in an async callback seconds after the user's keypress, by
+// which point the browser's autoplay policy has revoked the activation and blocks it.
+// Playing this once inside a real gesture (toggle-on, each prompt submit) grants the
+// element a persistent "may play" flag so the later real playback isn't blocked.
+const _TTS_SILENT = (() => {
+  const N = 256, data = 2 * N, buf = new Uint8Array(44 + data), dv = new DataView(buf.buffer);
+  buf.set([0x52, 0x49, 0x46, 0x46], 0); dv.setUint32(4, 36 + data, true);
+  buf.set([0x57, 0x41, 0x56, 0x45], 8); buf.set([0x66, 0x6d, 0x74, 0x20], 12);
+  dv.setUint32(16, 16, true); dv.setUint16(20, 1, true); dv.setUint16(22, 1, true);
+  dv.setUint32(24, 44100, true); dv.setUint32(28, 88200, true);
+  dv.setUint16(32, 2, true); dv.setUint16(34, 16, true);
+  buf.set([0x64, 0x61, 0x74, 0x61], 36); dv.setUint32(40, data, true);
+  let s = ""; for (const x of buf) s += String.fromCharCode(x);
+  return "data:audio/wav;base64," + btoa(s);
+})();
+let _ttsUnlocked = false;
+function _unlockTtsAudio() {
+  if (_ttsUnlocked) return;                        // once per page is enough
+  const a = $("tts-audio"); if (!a) return;
+  try {
+    a.src = _TTS_SILENT;
+    const p = a.play();
+    if (p && p.then) p.then(() => {
+      _ttsUnlocked = true;
+      try { a.pause(); a.removeAttribute("src"); a.load(); } catch (_) {}
+    }).catch(() => {});
+  } catch (_) {}
 }
 function cancelTts() {
-  if (_ttsAbort) { try { _ttsAbort.abort(); } catch (_) {} _ttsAbort = null; }
+  // Stop + drop the current <audio> src; load() aborts the in-flight GET stream, which
+  // drops the server proxy (releasing its synth lock). No object URLs to revoke — the
+  // src is a streaming /api/tts URL, not a blob.
   const a = $("tts-audio");
   if (a) { try { a.pause(); a.removeAttribute("src"); a.load(); } catch (_) {} }
-  // removeAttribute("src")+load() fires NEITHER ended nor error, so the src's own
-  // revoke handler never runs — revoke the tracked URL here or the blob leaks per
-  // interrupted turn (heid bug-hunt).
-  _revokeTtsUrl();
 }
-async function speakOnDone(text, agentId, pad) {
+function speakOnDone(text, agentId, pad) {
   const clip = (text || "").trim();
   if (!clip) return;
-  cancelTts();                                    // INV-TTS-3: stop any prior synth/playback
-  const ctrl = new AbortController();
-  _ttsAbort = ctrl;
-  let resp;
-  try {
-    resp = await fetch("/api/tts", {
-      method: "POST",
-      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
-      body: JSON.stringify({ text: clip, agent_id: agentId || null, pad: pad || null }),
-      signal: ctrl.signal,
-    });
-  } catch (_) { return; }                         // aborted / network → silent skip (INV-TTS-4)
-  if (!resp.ok) { tickerAdd("err", "tts", "unavailable " + resp.status); return; }
-  let url;
-  try { url = URL.createObjectURL(await resp.blob()); } catch (_) { return; }
-  if (_ttsAbort !== ctrl) { URL.revokeObjectURL(url); return; }  // superseded mid-fetch
-  const a = $("tts-audio");
-  if (!a) { URL.revokeObjectURL(url); return; }
-  a.src = url;
-  _ttsUrl = url;   // track for revoke on natural end OR cancel
-  a.onended = a.onerror = () => { _revokeTtsUrl(); };
-  // Playback can be refused by the browser autoplay policy until the page has an
-  // activation; the operator's toggle+prompt gesture generally satisfies it, and the
-  // catch keeps a refusal non-fatal (INV-TTS-4).
-  try { await a.play(); tickerAdd("ok", "tts", "▶ voiced"); }
-  catch (_) { _revokeTtsUrl(); tickerAdd("err", "tts", "playback blocked"); }
+  cancelTts();                                    // INV-TTS-3: stop any prior stream
+  const a = $("tts-audio"); if (!a) return;
+  const params = new URLSearchParams({ text: clip.slice(0, 2000) });   // matches the server cap
+  if (agentId) params.set("agent_id", agentId);
+  if (pad && typeof pad.pleasure === "number" && typeof pad.arousal === "number") {
+    params.set("p", pad.pleasure); params.set("a", pad.arousal);       // affect dials (DEC-7)
+  }
+  // Progressive playback: point <audio> at the chunked stream; it plays as bytes arrive.
+  a.src = "/api/tts?" + params.toString();
+  // play() may be refused by the autoplay policy in this async callback; the prompt/toggle
+  // gesture unlock (_unlockTtsAudio) satisfies it, and the catch keeps a refusal non-fatal.
+  a.play().then(() => tickerAdd("ok", "tts", "▶ voiced"))
+          .catch(() => tickerAdd("err", "tts", "playback blocked"));
 }
 // ---- 🔊 toggle (mirrors theme / cot-toggle; default OFF, persisted) ----
 (function () {
@@ -2057,7 +2068,8 @@ async function speakOnDone(text, agentId, pad) {
     btn.classList.toggle("on", next);
     btn.title = label(next);
     try { localStorage.setItem("ratatoskr-tts", next ? "1" : "0"); } catch (_) {}
-    if (!next) cancelTts();                        // turning off stops in-flight playback
+    if (next) _unlockTtsAudio();                   // grant autoplay within this gesture
+    else cancelTts();                              // turning off stops in-flight playback
   });
 })();
 
diff --git a/tests/test_tts.py b/tests/test_tts.py
index b6cdd5d..3769441 100644
--- a/tests/test_tts.py
+++ b/tests/test_tts.py
@@ -1,17 +1,11 @@
-"""Tests for ratatoskr.tts per docs/contracts/donut_voiced_interview.contract.md
-(slice 2 — auto-TTS). Two units:
+"""Tests for ratatoskr.tts — the STREAMING Zonos-gateway client + PAD→dial mapping.
 
-  - pad_to_dials / PadState / EmotionDials — pure, total, degrade-not-crash.
-  - tts_synthesize — the Zonos-gateway client (respx-mocked; no live network).
-
-DEC-3: response_format is ALWAYS "wav". DEC-7: live PAD → emotion dials.
-INV-TTS-4: a gateway failure / non-wav body → TtsUnavailable (caller degrades).
+tts_stream proxies the gateway's chunked response verbatim (no buffering, no header
+rewrite — the placeholder-size streaming WAV is meant to be played progressively).
+pad_to_dials / PadState / EmotionDials are pure + total.
 """
 
-import io
 import math
-import struct
-import wave
 
 import httpx
 import pytest
@@ -21,24 +15,25 @@ from ratatoskr.tts import (
     EmotionDials,
     PadState,
     TtsUnavailable,
+    gateway_body,
     pad_to_dials,
-    tts_synthesize,
+    tts_stream,
+)
+
+_URL = "http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech"
+# The gateway's streaming WAV bytes (placeholder 0xFFFFFFFF sizes). We pass them through
+# untouched, so the content only has to round-trip.
+_WAV = (
+    b"RIFF\xff\xff\xff\xffWAVEfmt \x10\x00\x00\x00" + b"\x00" * 20
+    + b"data\xff\xff\xff\xff" + b"\x11\x22" * 64
 )
 
 
-def _wav(*, streaming: bool = False, nsamples: int = 8) -> bytes:
-    """A canonical PCM mono/44.1k/16-bit WAV. `streaming=True` mimics the Zonos
-    gateway's placeholder header (RIFF + data sizes = 0xFFFFFFFF)."""
-    samples = b"\x11\x22" * nsamples
-    fmt = struct.pack("<HHIIHH", 1, 1, 44100, 88200, 2, 16)
-    body = b"WAVE" + b"fmt " + struct.pack("<I", 16) + fmt + b"data"
-    data_size = 0xFFFFFFFF if streaming else len(samples)
-    riff_size = 0xFFFFFFFF if streaming else (len(body) + 4 + len(samples))
-    return b"RIFF" + struct.pack("<I", riff_size) + body + struct.pack("<I", data_size) + samples
-
-
-# A proper finite WAV — the header-finalize step is idempotent on it (sizes already real).
-_WAV = _wav()
+async def _drain(gen) -> bytes:
+    out = b""
+    async for chunk in gen:
+        out += chunk
+    return out
 
 
 class TestPadState:
@@ -64,8 +59,6 @@ class TestPadState:
         assert PadState.from_obj({"pleasure": "hot", "arousal": 0.1}) is None
 
     def test_from_obj_huge_int_overflow_is_none(self) -> None:
-        # float() of a 400-digit JSON integer raises OverflowError (an ArithmeticError,
-        # not a ValueError); from_obj must still degrade to None, not propagate a 500.
         huge = int("9" * 400)
         assert PadState.from_obj({"pleasure": huge, "arousal": 0}) is None
 
@@ -74,7 +67,7 @@ class TestPadToDials:
     def test_none_pad_is_neutral_disabled(self) -> None:
         d = pad_to_dials(None)
         assert d.emotion_enabled is False
-        assert d.to_body() == {}  # a neutral read sends no emotion params
+        assert d.to_body() == {}
 
     def test_maps_pleasure_and_arousal(self) -> None:
         d = pad_to_dials(PadState(pleasure=0.4, arousal=0.6))
@@ -88,19 +81,14 @@ class TestPadToDials:
         assert d.emotion_arousal == -1.0
 
     def test_nan_degrades_to_zero_never_raises(self) -> None:
-        # INV FN pad_to_dials: total over ANY input (incl. NaN) → valid dials.
         d = pad_to_dials(PadState(pleasure=math.nan, arousal=math.inf))
         assert d.emotion_valence == 0.0
-        assert d.emotion_arousal == 1.0  # +inf clamps to the ceiling
-        assert not math.isnan(d.emotion_valence)
+        assert d.emotion_arousal == 1.0
 
     def test_non_padstate_input_degrades_to_neutral(self) -> None:
-        # The declared surface is PadState | None, but the function must be total over
-        # ANY object (a raw dict / str / arbitrary object) → neutral, never raise.
         for bad in ({}, "bad", [0.1, 0.2], object(), 42):
             d = pad_to_dials(bad)
-            assert d.emotion_enabled is False
-            assert d.to_body() == {}
+            assert d.emotion_enabled is False and d.to_body() == {}
 
 
 class TestEmotionDialsToBody:
@@ -117,118 +105,51 @@ class TestEmotionDialsToBody:
         assert "emotion_strength" in body
 
 
-class TestTtsSynthesize:
+class TestGatewayBody:
+    def test_always_wav_with_dials(self) -> None:
+        b = gateway_body("hi", "donut", pad_to_dials(PadState(pleasure=0.5, arousal=0.2)))
+        assert b["input"] == "hi" and b["voice"] == "donut"
+        assert b["response_format"] == "wav"  # DEC-3 — ALWAYS wav
+        assert b["emotion_valence"] == pytest.approx(0.5)
+
+    def test_neutral_omits_emotion(self) -> None:
+        b = gateway_body("hi", "Cora", pad_to_dials(None))
+        assert "emotion_valence" not in b and b["response_format"] == "wav"
+
+
+class TestTtsStream:
     @respx.mock
-    async def test_happy_posts_wav_request_and_returns_bytes(self) -> None:
-        route = respx.post("http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech").mock(
-            return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=_WAV)
-        )
+    async def test_streams_chunks_and_posts_wav_body(self) -> None:
+        route = respx.post(_URL).mock(return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=_WAV))
         async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
-            out = await tts_synthesize(
-                "hello there",
-                voice="donut",
+            out = await _drain(tts_stream(
+                "hello there", voice="donut",
                 dials=pad_to_dials(PadState(pleasure=0.5, arousal=0.2)),
-                client=client,
-                url="http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech",
-            )
-        assert out == _WAV
-        sent = route.calls.last.request
-        import json as _json
-
-        body = _json.loads(sent.content)
-        assert body["input"] == "hello there"
-        assert body["voice"] == "donut"
-        assert body["response_format"] == "wav"  # DEC-3 — ALWAYS wav
-        assert body["emotion_valence"] == pytest.approx(0.5)
-
-    @respx.mock
-    async def test_neutral_dials_send_no_emotion_params(self) -> None:
-        route = respx.post("http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech").mock(
-            return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=_WAV)
-        )
-        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
-            await tts_synthesize(
-                "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client,
-                url="http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech",
-            )
+                client=client, url=_URL,
+            ))
+        assert out == _WAV  # passed through verbatim — no header rewrite
         import json as _json
 
         body = _json.loads(route.calls.last.request.content)
-        assert "emotion_valence" not in body
+        assert body["voice"] == "donut"
         assert body["response_format"] == "wav"
+        assert body["emotion_valence"] == pytest.approx(0.5)
 
     @respx.mock
-    async def test_non_200_raises_tts_unavailable(self) -> None:
-        respx.post("http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech").mock(
-            return_value=httpx.Response(500, content=b"boom")
-        )
+    async def test_non_200_open_raises_before_any_chunk(self) -> None:
+        respx.post(_URL).mock(return_value=httpx.Response(500, content=b"boom"))
         async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
             with pytest.raises(TtsUnavailable) as exc:
-                await tts_synthesize(
-                    "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client,
-                    url="http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech",
-                )
+                await _drain(tts_stream(
+                    "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client, url=_URL
+                ))
         assert exc.value.status == 500
 
     @respx.mock
-    async def test_transport_error_raises_tts_unavailable(self) -> None:
-        respx.post("http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech").mock(
-            side_effect=httpx.ConnectError("refused")
-        )
+    async def test_transport_error_raises(self) -> None:
+        respx.post(_URL).mock(side_effect=httpx.ConnectError("refused"))
         async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
             with pytest.raises(TtsUnavailable):
-                await tts_synthesize(
-                    "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client,
-                    url="http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech",
-                )
-
-    @respx.mock
-    async def test_non_wav_body_raises_tts_unavailable(self) -> None:
-        # DEC-3 guard: a 200 with a non-RIFF body (an error page, or the
-        # mislabeled-PCM mp3/opus trap) is unavailable, not played.
-        respx.post("http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech").mock(
-            return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=b"<html>error</html>")
-        )
-        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
-            with pytest.raises(TtsUnavailable):
-                await tts_synthesize(
-                    "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client,
-                    url="http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech",
-                )
-
-    @respx.mock
-    async def test_finalizes_streaming_wav_header_to_real_sizes(self) -> None:
-        # The Zonos gateway returns a streaming header (RIFF + data sizes = 0xFFFFFFFF);
-        # the browser <audio> element can't play that. tts_synthesize must rewrite both
-        # to the real byte counts so the result is a decodable finite WAV.
-        streaming = _wav(streaming=True)
-        assert struct.unpack("<I", streaming[4:8])[0] == 0xFFFFFFFF  # precondition
-        respx.post("http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech").mock(
-            return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=streaming)
-        )
-        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
-            out = await tts_synthesize(
-                "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client,
-                url="http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech",
-            )
-        # RIFF size + data size are now real, not 0xFFFFFFFF.
-        assert struct.unpack("<I", out[4:8])[0] == len(out) - 8
-        dpos = out.find(b"data", 12)
-        assert struct.unpack("<I", out[dpos + 4:dpos + 8])[0] == len(out) - (dpos + 8)
-        # …and Python's wave module (a real decoder) can now open it as a finite clip.
-        with wave.open(io.BytesIO(out)) as w:
-            assert w.getnchannels() == 1 and w.getsampwidth() == 2 and w.getframerate() == 44100
-
-    @respx.mock
-    async def test_riff_but_not_wave_raises_tts_unavailable(self) -> None:
-        # A body with the RIFF magic but a non-WAVE form tag (e.g. RIFF/AVI, or a
-        # truncated/garbage container) is not playable audio — reject it too.
-        respx.post("http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech").mock(
-            return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=b"RIFF\x00\x00\x00\x00AVI LIST")
-        )
-        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
-            with pytest.raises(TtsUnavailable):
-                await tts_synthesize(
-                    "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client,
-                    url="http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech",
-                )
+                await _drain(tts_stream(
+                    "hi", voice="Cora", dials=pad_to_dials(None), client=client, url=_URL
+                ))
diff --git a/tests/test_web_server.py b/tests/test_web_server.py
index 88aa551..fbab010 100644
--- a/tests/test_web_server.py
+++ b/tests/test_web_server.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ AsyncClient.
 """
 
 import json
-import struct
 
 import httpx
 import pytest
@@ -1459,68 +1458,55 @@ class TestMemoryChunksEndpoint:
 
 
 class TestTtsEndpoint:
-    """tts_endpoint FN — POST /api/tts → audio/wav via the Zonos gateway proxy
-    (slice 2, docs/contracts/donut_voiced_interview.contract.md). The gateway host
-    never reaches the browser (INV-TTS-1/DEC-4); voice resolves per-character
-    (DEC-8); emotion dials map the browser-sent live PAD (DEC-7); a gateway failure
-    degrades to 503 (INV-TTS-4)."""
+    """tts_endpoint FN — GET /api/tts → audio/wav STREAMED (chunked) from the Zonos
+    gateway. Voice per-character (DEC-8), emotion dials from p/a query floats (DEC-7),
+    the gateway host never reaches the browser (INV-TTS-1), gateway open-failure → 503
+    (INV-TTS-4). GET so a browser <audio src> plays it progressively."""
 
-    # A proper finite PCM WAV (correct RIFF + data sizes) so the header-finalize step is
-    # idempotent — the endpoint returns these bytes unchanged.
-    _WAV = (
-        b"RIFF" + (36 + 16).to_bytes(4, "little") + b"WAVE"
-        + b"fmt " + (16).to_bytes(4, "little")
-        + struct.pack("<HHIIHH", 1, 1, 44100, 88200, 2, 16)
-        + b"data" + (16).to_bytes(4, "little") + b"\x11\x22" * 8
-    )
+    # Streaming WAV bytes (placeholder 0xFFFFFFFF sizes) — proxied through verbatim.
+    _WAV = b"RIFF\xff\xff\xff\xffWAVEdata\xff\xff\xff\xff" + b"\x11\x22" * 64
     _TTS = "http://tts.example/v1/audio/speech"
 
     @respx.mock
-    def test_happy_returns_wav_and_resolves_donut_voice_and_pad(self) -> None:
+    def test_happy_streams_wav_resolves_donut_voice_and_pad(self) -> None:
         from ratatoskr.web.server import create_app
 
         route = respx.post(self._TTS).mock(
             return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=self._WAV)
         )
         app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post(
+        resp = TestClient(app).get(
             "/api/tts",
-            json={
-                "text": "Carl looks intimidating, but he's a softie.",
-                "agent_id": "ratatoskr:donut",
-                "pad": {"pleasure": 0.6, "arousal": 0.3, "dominance": 0.1},
-            },
+            params={"text": "Carl is a softie.", "agent_id": "ratatoskr:donut",
+                    "p": "0.6", "a": "0.3"},
         )
         assert resp.status_code == 200
-        assert resp.headers["content-type"] == "audio/wav"
-        assert resp.content == self._WAV
-        # DEC-8 voice map + DEC-7 affect dials rode the gateway request.
+        assert resp.headers["content-type"].startswith("audio/wav")
+        assert resp.content == self._WAV  # streamed through verbatim, no header rewrite
         body = json.loads(route.calls.last.request.content)
         assert body["voice"] == "donut"
         assert body["response_format"] == "wav"
         assert body["emotion_valence"] == pytest.approx(0.6)
 
     @respx.mock
-    def test_unmapped_agent_uses_default_voice_and_no_pad_no_emotion(self) -> None:
+    def test_unmapped_agent_default_voice_no_pad_no_emotion(self) -> None:
         from ratatoskr.web.server import create_app
 
         route = respx.post(self._TTS).mock(
             return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=self._WAV)
         )
         app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post(
-            "/api/tts", json={"text": "hello", "agent_id": "mimir"}
-        )
+        resp = TestClient(app).get("/api/tts", params={"text": "hello", "agent_id": "mimir"})
         assert resp.status_code == 200
         body = json.loads(route.calls.last.request.content)
-        assert body["voice"] == "Cora"  # gateway default (DEC-8)
-        assert "emotion_valence" not in body  # no PAD → neutral read (DEC-7)
+        assert body["voice"] == "Cora"          # gateway default (DEC-8)
+        assert "emotion_valence" not in body    # no p/a → neutral read (DEC-7)
 
     def test_missing_text_returns_400(self) -> None:
         from ratatoskr.web.server import create_app
 
         app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post("/api/tts", json={"agent_id": "ratatoskr:donut"})
+        resp = TestClient(app).get("/api/tts", params={"agent_id": "ratatoskr:donut"})
         assert resp.status_code == 400
         assert resp.json()["error_code"] == "missing_text"
 
@@ -1530,56 +1516,32 @@ class TestTtsEndpoint:
 
         respx.post(self._TTS).mock(return_value=httpx.Response(500, content=b"boom"))
         app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post("/api/tts", json={"text": "hi"})
+        resp = TestClient(app).get("/api/tts", params={"text": "hi"})
         assert resp.status_code == 503
         assert resp.json()["error_code"] == "tts_unavailable"
 
     @respx.mock
-    def test_non_wav_body_degrades_to_503(self) -> None:
-        from ratatoskr.web.server import create_app
+    def test_long_text_truncated_at_cap(self) -> None:
+        from ratatoskr.web.server import _TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS, create_app
 
-        respx.post(self._TTS).mock(
-            return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=b"<html>nope</html>")
+        route = respx.post(self._TTS).mock(
+            return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=self._WAV)
         )
         app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post("/api/tts", json={"text": "hi"})
-        assert resp.status_code == 503
+        resp = TestClient(app).get("/api/tts", params={"text": "word " * 1000})
+        assert resp.status_code == 200
+        body = json.loads(route.calls.last.request.content)
+        assert len(body["input"]) <= _TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS  # truncated for the URL / lock
 
     @respx.mock
-    def test_unhashable_agent_id_does_not_500(self) -> None:
-        # An unhashable agent_id ([] / {}) must not TypeError the voice-map lookup into
-        # a 500 — it coerces to None (default voice), matching the submit path's guard.
+    def test_malformed_pad_query_degrades_no_500(self) -> None:
         from ratatoskr.web.server import create_app
 
         route = respx.post(self._TTS).mock(
             return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=self._WAV)
         )
         app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post("/api/tts", json={"text": "hi", "agent_id": []})
+        resp = TestClient(app).get("/api/tts", params={"text": "hi", "p": "notafloat", "a": "0.1"})
         assert resp.status_code == 200
-        assert json.loads(route.calls.last.request.content)["voice"] == "Cora"
-
-    def test_text_too_large_returns_413(self) -> None:
-        from ratatoskr.web.server import _TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS, create_app
-
-        app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post(
-            "/api/tts", json={"text": "x" * (_TTS_MAX_TEXT_CHARS + 1)}
-        )
-        assert resp.status_code == 413
-        assert resp.json()["error_code"] == "text_too_large"
-
-    @respx.mock
-    def test_huge_int_pad_does_not_500(self) -> None:
-        # A malformed pad (huge-int → float() OverflowError in from_obj) must degrade to
-        # a neutral read, not 500 the endpoint.
-        from ratatoskr.web.server import create_app
-
-        respx.post(self._TTS).mock(return_value=httpx.Response(200, content=self._WAV))
-        app = create_app(_mock_client_factory(), tts_url=self._TTS)
-        resp = TestClient(app).post(
-            "/api/tts",
-            json={"text": "hi", "pad": {"pleasure": int("9" * 400), "arousal": 0}},
-        )
-        assert resp.status_code == 200
-
+        body = json.loads(route.calls.last.request.content)
+        assert "emotion_valence" not in body  # malformed p → neutral read, not a 500