diff --git a/.github/workflows/cla.yml b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
index 8f839bb..9ea5867 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cla.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ on:
 # branch-protection required check (cla/cla-assistant.yml) reports against.
 permissions:
   contents: read
-  pull-requests: read
+  pull-requests: write
   issues: write
   statuses: write
 
diff --git a/app/[locale]/play/page.tsx b/app/[locale]/play/page.tsx
index 9f047ab..0604cd8 100644
--- a/app/[locale]/play/page.tsx
+++ b/app/[locale]/play/page.tsx
@@ -902,10 +902,11 @@ function PlayInner() {
           lastSavedFingerprintRef.current = "";
         }
       })
-      // Defensive: saveStory is contracted never to throw, but if a future edit
-      // to this callback ever does, an unhandled rejection here would poison the
-      // chain and freeze ALL subsequent saves. Swallow to keep the chain alive.
-      .catch(() => {});
+      .catch(() => {
+        if (lastSavedFingerprintRef.current === fingerprint) {
+          lastSavedFingerprintRef.current = "";
+        }
+      });
   }, [session]);
   useEffect(() => {
     currentSceneRef.current = currentScene;
diff --git a/lib/persistence/types.ts b/lib/persistence/types.ts
index 240d945..010ea4e 100644
--- a/lib/persistence/types.ts
+++ b/lib/persistence/types.ts
@@ -19,12 +19,13 @@ export const STORY_SCHEMA_VERSION = 1;
  *  crosses a storage/serialization boundary and could arrive as a non-number,
  *  guarding against the historical `t.getTime is not a function` white-screen. */
 export function coerceEpoch(value: unknown, fallback: number): number {
+  if (value == null) return fallback;
   // Number.isFinite (not just !isNaN) so ±Infinity also falls through to the
   // fallback — new Date(Infinity).getTime() is NaN, not a usable epoch.
   if (typeof value === "number" && Number.isFinite(value)) return value;
   const d = value instanceof Date ? value : new Date(value as string | number);
   const t = d.getTime();
-  return Number.isNaN(t) ? fallback : t;
+  return Number.isFinite(t) ? t : fallback;
 }
 
 /** local-first sync state of a record.