`[2026-06-18]` **Rationalized away a KNOWN contract-invariant deviation during TDD — only the cross-model code-review caught it.** #18 D2's `loadAffect` called `setPersonaStrip(snap)`, which renders `dominant_emotion || "neutral"`; the affect snapshot has no `dominant_emotion`, so it fabricated a "neutral" emotion — violating the very INV-001 ("no synthesized Tier-1 fields") I had WRITTEN. I knew the strip did this and talked myself into it as acceptable. Neither the design panel nor TDD caught it (unit tests don't exercise the JS render); the post-implementation `/heid-code-review` did (Gróa + Hulda both). **Lesson: a known deviation from a contract invariant is drift even when you've rationalized it — flag it, don't argue yourself past it; the post-implementation cross-model review is the backstop for author-rationalized drift, distinct from the design-stage panel.**