diff --git a/crates/pstr-app/Cargo.toml b/crates/pstr-app/Cargo.toml
index 63e7597..22b3eb9 100644
--- a/crates/pstr-app/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/pstr-app/Cargo.toml
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ tracing-subscriber.workspace = true
 eframe.workspace = true
 egui.workspace = true
 egui-phosphor.workspace = true
+# The parser egui reads fonts with, to check a system font before handing it over.
+skrifa.workspace = true
 image.workspace = true
 sha2.workspace = true
 parking_lot.workspace = true
@@ -39,8 +41,6 @@ tao.workspace = true
 [build-dependencies]
 embed-resource.workspace = true
 
-[dev-dependencies]
-skrifa.workspace = true
 
 [target.'cfg(target_os = "linux")'.dependencies]
 dbus.workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/pstr-app/src/theme.rs b/crates/pstr-app/src/theme.rs
index ca4e779..a595d94 100644
--- a/crates/pstr-app/src/theme.rs
+++ b/crates/pstr-app/src/theme.rs
@@ -248,15 +248,39 @@ fn install_cjk_fallback(ctx: &egui::Context) {
     let Some((path, index)) = system_cjk_font() else {
         return;
     };
-    let Ok(bytes) = std::fs::read(path) else {
+    let Ok(bytes) = std::fs::read(&path) else {
+        return;
+    };
+    let Some(data) = cjk_font_data(bytes, index) else {
+        tracing::debug!("CJK fallback {}#{index} does not parse", path.display());
         return;
     };
-    let mut data = egui::FontData::from_owned(bytes);
-    data.index = index;
     ctx.set_fonts(font_definitions(Some(data)));
     ctx.request_repaint();
 }
 
+/// The fallback font, if egui can read it.
+///
+/// egui panics on a font it cannot parse, and this one comes from whatever the
+/// system has installed. So it is parsed here first, the same way egui does,
+/// and a font that fails is left out rather than taking the app down.
+fn cjk_font_data(bytes: Vec<u8>, index: u32) -> Option<egui::FontData> {
+    skrifa::FontRef::from_index(&bytes, index).ok()?;
+    let mut data = egui::FontData::from_owned(bytes);
+    data.index = index;
+    Some(data)
+}
+
+/// The face within a font collection that fontconfig's `%{index}` names.
+///
+/// Fontconfig packs a variable font's named instance into the high 16 bits —
+/// Fedora's variable Noto Sans CJK answers 262144, instance 4 of face 0. The
+/// instance is not a face, and passing it to egui as one stopped the app at
+/// start.
+fn fontconfig_face(index: u32) -> u32 {
+    index & 0xFFFF
+}
+
 #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
 fn system_cjk_font() -> Option<(std::path::PathBuf, u32)> {
     let output = std::process::Command::new("fc-match")
@@ -269,6 +293,7 @@ fn system_cjk_font() -> Option<(std::path::PathBuf, u32)> {
     let index = lines
         .next()
         .and_then(|value| value.parse().ok())
+        .map(fontconfig_face)
         .unwrap_or(0);
     path.is_file().then_some((path, index))
 }
@@ -855,6 +880,20 @@ const RAMP_STOPS: usize = 64;
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn a_variable_fonts_named_instance_is_not_taken_for_a_face() {
+        assert_eq!(fontconfig_face(262_144), 0);
+        assert_eq!(fontconfig_face(0x0002_0001), 1);
+        assert_eq!(fontconfig_face(2), 2);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_fallback_font_egui_cannot_read_is_left_out() {
+        assert!(cjk_font_data(INTER.to_vec(), 0).is_some());
+        assert!(cjk_font_data(INTER.to_vec(), 4).is_none());
+        assert!(cjk_font_data(b"not a font".to_vec(), 0).is_none());
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn the_bundled_inter_leaves_the_icon_codepoints_to_phosphor() {
         use skrifa::MetadataProvider as _;
diff --git a/docs/BUGS.md b/docs/BUGS.md
index 2347860..8f7607d 100644
--- a/docs/BUGS.md
+++ b/docs/BUGS.md
@@ -145,6 +145,27 @@ and [B44](#b44--r8-broke-the-app-under-instrumentation-in-five-places).
 
 ## Fixed
 
+### B65 — the desktop app quit at start on a variable CJK font
+
+**Symptom.** On Secureblue (Fedora Atomic) the window showed for a moment and
+the process panicked: `Error parsing "system-cjk-fallback" TTF/OTF font file:
+Invalid index 262144 for font collection`
+([#1](https://github.com/narrrl/proton-stream/issues/1)).
+
+**Cause.** The CJK fallback is whatever `fc-match "Noto Sans CJK JP"` names,
+with the face taken from `%{index}`. For a variable font fontconfig packs the
+named instance into that number's high 16 bits; Fedora ships Noto Sans CJK as a
+variable font, so it answered 262144 — instance 4 of face 0. egui took it as a
+face index, found no such face, and panics on a font it cannot parse.
+
+**Fix.** `theme.rs` keeps only the low 16 bits, the face. And the fallback is
+parsed with skrifa, as egui parses it, before it is handed over; one that fails
+is logged and left out, so no installed font can stop the app again.
+
+**Verified.** Workspace gate, with
+`a_variable_fonts_named_instance_is_not_taken_for_a_face` and
+`a_fallback_font_egui_cannot_read_is_left_out`. Not yet run on Secureblue.
+
 ### B64 — Android offline downloads looked stuck
 
 **Symptom.** A queued episode, and more so a queued season, sat at a progress