diff --git a/frontend/web/src/App.tsx b/frontend/web/src/App.tsx
index ae3ef03..a0f35e9 100644
--- a/frontend/web/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/web/src/App.tsx
@@ -26,24 +26,38 @@ export default function App(): React.ReactNode {
     };
   }, []);
 
-  // Load personas once on mount and pick the default one as the web main-session
-  // persona. On failure currentPersona stays null and components fall back to the
-  // neutral default placeholder (never another role's avatar).
+  // Load personas and pick the default one as the web main-session persona. This
+  // must not hinge on a single mount-time fetch: a token may appear (login) after
+  // mount, or the fetch may transiently fail — in which case currentPersona would
+  // stay null and the UI would show a neutral placeholder (or worse, silently
+  // persist a null). We re-run whenever the token appears, and retry on failure.
+  // The resolved persona is also persisted by useAppStore so a refresh keeps the
+  // correct avatar/background.
+  const token = getAuthToken();
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!getAuthToken()) return;
+    if (!token) return;
     let cancelled = false;
-    fetchPersonas()
-      .then((list) => {
-        if (cancelled) return;
-        setCurrentPersona(list.find((p) => p.isDefault) ?? list[0] ?? null);
-      })
-      .catch(() => {
-        // Keep currentPersona null → neutral default placeholder.
-      });
+    let retry: number | null = null;
+
+    const load = () => {
+      if (cancelled) return;
+      fetchPersonas()
+        .then((list) => {
+          if (cancelled) return;
+          setCurrentPersona(list.find((p) => p.isDefault) ?? list[0] ?? null);
+        })
+        .catch(() => {
+          // Transient failure — retry rather than leaving the placeholder forever.
+          if (!cancelled) retry = window.setTimeout(load, 3000);
+        });
+    };
+    load();
+
     return () => {
       cancelled = true;
+      if (retry !== null) window.clearTimeout(retry);
     };
-  }, [setCurrentPersona]);
+  }, [token, setCurrentPersona]);
 
   // The M9 modal UI and the admin subsystem (design/10) are two separate shells.
   // `/admin` is reached via `#/admin`; every admin module is a hash segment.
diff --git a/frontend/web/src/store/useAppStore.ts b/frontend/web/src/store/useAppStore.ts
index 7a0aace..3515953 100644
--- a/frontend/web/src/store/useAppStore.ts
+++ b/frontend/web/src/store/useAppStore.ts
@@ -256,6 +256,10 @@ export const useAppStore = create<AppStore>()(
         mood: s.mood,
         context: s.context,
         backthink: s.backthink,
+        // Persist the resolved persona so a refresh keeps showing THIS persona's
+        // own avatar/background — never falling back to a neutral placeholder or
+        // (worse) another role's image because the mount-time fetch missed.
+        currentPersona: s.currentPersona,
       }),
     }
   )