diff --git a/img/char-akua.jpg b/img/char-akua.jpg
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diff --git a/img/char-eman.jpg b/img/char-eman.jpg
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diff --git a/img/char-grandma-bea.jpg b/img/char-grandma-bea.jpg
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diff --git a/img/char-joanna.jpg b/img/char-joanna.jpg
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diff --git a/img/char-missy.jpg b/img/char-missy.jpg
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diff --git a/img/char-rebecca.jpg b/img/char-rebecca.jpg
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diff --git a/img/char-sarah.jpg b/img/char-sarah.jpg
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diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 2bb0b04..b824729 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -531,12 +531,23 @@
         .character-card {
             background: var(--card-bg);
             border: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.06);
-            padding: 2rem;
+            padding: 0;
             position: relative;
             overflow: hidden;
             transition: border-color 0.3s, transform 0.3s;
         }
 
+        .character-card .character-name,
+        .character-card .character-age,
+        .character-card .character-desc {
+            padding-left: 1.5rem;
+            padding-right: 1.5rem;
+        }
+
+        .character-card .character-desc {
+            padding-bottom: 2rem;
+        }
+
         .character-card:hover {
             border-color: rgba(252, 209, 22, 0.2);
             transform: translateY(-4px);
@@ -651,24 +662,14 @@
             color: var(--text-muted);
         }
 
-        /* ═══════ CHARACTER REFERENCE ═══════ */
-        .character-ref-gallery {
-            display: grid;
-            grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
-            gap: 1.5rem;
-            margin-top: 3rem;
-        }
-
-        .character-ref-gallery img {
+        /* ═══════ CHARACTER PHOTOS ═══════ */
+        .character-photo {
             width: 100%;
-            height: auto;
-            border: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.08);
-        }
-
-        @media (max-width: 768px) {
-            .character-ref-gallery {
-                grid-template-columns: 1fr;
-            }
+            height: 260px;
+            object-fit: cover;
+            object-position: top;
+            margin-bottom: 1.5rem;
+            border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.08);
         }
 
         /* ═══════ CREATOR ═══════ */
@@ -1064,45 +1065,48 @@
         </div>
         <div class="character-grid">
             <div class="character-card akua reveal">
+                <img src="img/char-akua.jpg" alt="Akua — reference photo" class="character-photo" loading="lazy">
                 <h3 class="character-name">Akua</h3>
                 <p class="character-age">50s &middot; The Matriarch</p>
                 <p class="character-desc">A scientist, mother, intelligent, obsessive, clings to routines. Denial as a shield. Overburdened optimist. She secretly worked on the algorithm and believed she had secured their family's safety, only to be wrong. Shattered when her belief in reason and meritocracy fails.</p>
             </div>
             <div class="character-card eman reveal">
+                <img src="img/char-eman.jpg" alt="Eman — reference photo" class="character-photo" loading="lazy">
                 <h3 class="character-name">Eman</h3>
                 <p class="character-age">Late 50s &middot; The Patriarch</p>
                 <p class="character-desc">Former revolutionary or intellectual who sold out for stability. Father, believes in meritocracy... barely. Charismatic and insecure about relevance. Tries to "logic" his way through the crisis. Represents broken systems&mdash;education, patriarchy, ideology&mdash;all cracking under pressure.</p>
             </div>
             <div class="character-card sarah reveal">
+                <img src="img/char-sarah.jpg" alt="Sarah — reference photo" class="character-photo" loading="lazy">
                 <h3 class="character-name">Sarah</h3>
                 <p class="character-age">Late 30s &middot; The Eldest</p>
                 <p class="character-desc">Eldest daughter, golden child, feels entitled to be chosen due to sacrifice and perfectionism, overachiever, emotionally detached, the one who "escaped", but is spiritually lost. Plans to "buy" survival. Represents the myth of success under late capitalism.</p>
             </div>
             <div class="character-card rebecca reveal">
+                <img src="img/char-rebecca.jpg" alt="Rebecca — reference photo" class="character-photo" loading="lazy">
                 <h3 class="character-name">Rebecca</h3>
                 <p class="character-age">Mid 20s &middot; The Middle Child</p>
                 <p class="character-desc">Still believes in love, justice, and signs from the universe. Wears her heart on her sleeve, believes the lottery is a test of the soul. Works in mutual aid, volunteers at anonymous lottery grief circles. Considers herself spiritual&mdash;but when she meets a terminally ill "chosen one," she secretly forms plans to convince the stranger to let her assume her identity.</p>
             </div>
             <div class="character-card grandma-bea reveal">
+                <img src="img/char-grandma-bea.jpg" alt="Grandma Bea — reference photo" class="character-photo" loading="lazy">
                 <h3 class="character-name">Grandma Bea</h3>
                 <p class="character-age">70s &middot; The Elder</p>
                 <p class="character-desc">Sharp-witted, her body is aging, but her spirit is still fiery. Deeply religious, hilarious without trying, emotionally sharp under her exterior. A self-declared "prayer warrior" who hosts late-night intercessions via WhatsApp. Struggles with the conflict between divine fate and algorithmic control.</p>
             </div>
             <div class="character-card joanna reveal">
+                <img src="img/char-joanna.jpg" alt="Joanna — reference photo" class="character-photo" loading="lazy">
                 <h3 class="character-name">Joanna</h3>
                 <p class="character-age">15&ndash;17 &middot; The Youngest</p>
                 <p class="character-desc">Youngest daughter, quiet, artistic, tech savvy, neurodivergent, and emotionally attuned. Not taken seriously, but sees everything. Speaks blunt truths that make everyone uncomfortable. She unfolds into quiet leadership. Cracks the "code" of the algorithm and its reasoning.</p>
             </div>
             <div class="character-card missy reveal">
+                <img src="img/char-missy.jpg" alt="Missy — reference photo" class="character-photo" loading="lazy">
                 <h3 class="character-name">Missy</h3>
                 <p class="character-age">30s &middot; The Black Sheep</p>
                 <p class="character-desc">Younger aunt, slightly unhinged unrecognized artist, bitingly funny, seen as "wasting potential." Deeply intuitive, emotionally messy, but honest. She spits in the face of the lottery. She never asked to be saved. But her unwavering integrity, her refusal to "perform" worthiness&mdash;that's exactly what makes her worthy.</p>
             </div>
         </div>
-        <div class="character-ref-gallery reveal">
-            <img src="img/characters-page1.jpg" alt="Character reference board — Akua, Eman, Sarah, Rebecca" loading="lazy">
-            <img src="img/characters-page2.jpg" alt="Character reference board — Grandma Bea, Joanna, Missy" loading="lazy">
-        </div>
     </div>
 </div>