diff --git a/SYS/result_table.py b/SYS/result_table.py
index e1c4b48..b758616 100644
--- a/SYS/result_table.py
+++ b/SYS/result_table.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Callable, Set, Tuple
 from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import urlparse
 import json
 import re
 
@@ -2546,6 +2547,44 @@ class ItemDetailView(Table):
                 return any(_has_renderable_value(item) for item in value)
             return True
 
+        def _looks_like_http_url(value: Any) -> bool:
+            text = str(value or "").strip().lower()
+            return text.startswith("http://") or text.startswith("https://")
+
+        def _short_link_label(url_value: str, *, max_len: int = 68) -> str:
+            text = str(url_value or "").strip()
+            if not text:
+                return ""
+
+            parsed = urlparse(text)
+            host = (parsed.netloc or "").strip()
+            path = (parsed.path or "").strip()
+            leaf = path.rstrip("/").split("/")[-1] if path else ""
+
+            if host and leaf:
+                label = f"{host}/.../{leaf}"
+            elif host and path:
+                label = f"{host}{path}"
+            elif host:
+                label = host
+            else:
+                label = text
+
+            if parsed.query:
+                label = f"{label}?..."
+
+            if len(label) > max_len:
+                return f"{label[:max_len - 3]}..."
+            return label
+
+        def _render_detail_value(key: str, value: Any) -> Any:
+            # Keep terminal links compact while preserving full click target.
+            if str(key or "").strip().lower() in {"path", "url"} and _looks_like_http_url(value):
+                full_url = str(value).strip()
+                label = _short_link_label(full_url)
+                return _rich().Text(label, style=f"underline cyan link {full_url}")
+            return str(value)
+
         # Canonical display order for metadata; plugin-specific detail views can
         # prepend a preferred order without needing to reimplement rendering.
         order: List[str] = []
@@ -2580,7 +2619,7 @@ class ItemDetailView(Table):
                     val = "\n".join([f"[dim]→[/dim] {r}" for r in val])
 
             if _has_renderable_value(val):
-                details_table.add_row(f"{key}:", str(val))
+                details_table.add_row(f"{key}:", _render_detail_value(key, val))
                 has_details = True
         
         # Add any remaining metadata not in the canonical list
diff --git a/plugins/mpv/LUA/main.lua b/plugins/mpv/LUA/main.lua
index 0a53b88..03ad71a 100644
--- a/plugins/mpv/LUA/main.lua
+++ b/plugins/mpv/LUA/main.lua
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ local msg = require 'mp.msg'
 
 local M = {}
 
-local MEDEIA_LUA_VERSION = '2026-03-23.1'
+local MEDEIA_LUA_VERSION = '2026-06-25.3'
 
 -- Expose a tiny breadcrumb for debugging which script version is loaded.
 pcall(mp.set_property, 'user-data/medeia-lua-version', MEDEIA_LUA_VERSION)
@@ -4164,6 +4164,10 @@ function M._build_web_ytdl_raw_options()
     if not lower:find('sub%-langs=', 1) then
         extra[#extra + 1] = 'sub-langs=[en.*,en,-live_chat]'
     end
+    if not lower:find('sub%-format=', 1) then
+        -- Prefer chunked subtitle formats over word-by-word JSON tracks.
+        extra[#extra + 1] = 'sub-format=srt/vtt/best'
+    end
 
     if #extra == 0 then
         return raw ~= '' and raw or nil
@@ -4174,15 +4178,43 @@ function M._build_web_ytdl_raw_options()
     return table.concat(extra, ',')
 end
 
-function M._apply_web_subtitle_load_defaults(reason)
-    local target = trim(tostring(mp.get_property('path') or mp.get_property('stream-open-filename') or ''))
-    if target == '' or not _is_http_url(target) then
+function M._prime_web_subtitle_global_defaults(reason)
+    local raw = M._build_web_ytdl_raw_options()
+    if not raw or raw == '' then
         return false
     end
-    if not _is_ytdlp_url(target) then
+    pcall(mp.set_property, 'options/ytdl-raw-options', raw)
+    pcall(mp.set_property, 'ytdl-raw-options', raw)
+    _lua_log('web-subtitles: primed global ytdl defaults reason=' .. tostring(reason or 'startup'))
+    return true
+end
+
+function M._resolve_web_subtitle_target(preferred_target)
+    local explicit = trim(tostring(preferred_target or ''))
+    if explicit ~= '' and _is_http_url(explicit) and _is_ytdlp_url(explicit) then
+        return explicit
+    end
+
+    local path_target = trim(tostring(mp.get_property('path') or mp.get_property('stream-open-filename') or ''))
+    if path_target ~= '' and _is_http_url(path_target) and _is_ytdlp_url(path_target) then
+        return path_target
+    end
+
+    local current = _get_current_web_url()
+    if current and current ~= '' and _is_http_url(current) and _is_ytdlp_url(current) then
+        return current
+    end
+
+    return nil
+end
+
+function M._apply_web_subtitle_load_defaults(reason, preferred_target)
+    local target = M._resolve_web_subtitle_target(preferred_target)
+    if not target then
         return false
     end
 
+    _set_current_web_url(target)
     M._prepare_ytdl_format_for_web_load(target, reason or 'on-load')
 
     local raw = M._build_web_ytdl_raw_options()
@@ -4192,6 +4224,8 @@ function M._apply_web_subtitle_load_defaults(reason)
     pcall(mp.set_property, 'file-local-options/sub-visibility', 'yes')
     pcall(mp.set_property, 'file-local-options/sid', 'auto')
     pcall(mp.set_property, 'file-local-options/track-auto-selection', 'yes')
+    -- Strip ASS positioning/styling for web subtitles to keep lines anchored naturally.
+    pcall(mp.set_property, 'file-local-options/sub-ass-override', 'strip')
     _lua_log('web-subtitles: prepared load defaults reason=' .. tostring(reason or 'on-load') .. ' target=' .. tostring(target))
     return true
 end
@@ -5554,6 +5588,10 @@ local function _apply_ytdl_format_and_reload(url, fmt)
     _lua_log('change-format: setting ytdl format=' .. tostring(fmt))
     _skip_next_store_check_url = _normalize_url_for_store_lookup(url)
     _set_current_web_url(url)
+    if _is_ytdlp_url(url) then
+        M._prime_web_subtitle_global_defaults('change-format')
+        M._apply_web_subtitle_load_defaults('change-format', url)
+    end
     M._remember_ytdl_download_format(url, fmt)
     pcall(mp.set_property, 'options/ytdl-format', tostring(fmt))
     pcall(mp.set_property, 'file-local-options/ytdl-format', tostring(fmt))
@@ -6559,6 +6597,10 @@ mp.register_script_message('medios-load-url-event', function(json)
     _log_all('INFO', 'Load URL started: ' .. url)
     _lua_log('[LOAD-URL] Starting to load: ' .. url)
     _set_current_web_url(url)
+    if _is_ytdlp_url(url) then
+        M._prime_web_subtitle_global_defaults('load-url')
+        M._apply_web_subtitle_load_defaults('load-url', url)
+    end
     _pending_format_change = nil
     pcall(mp.set_property, 'options/ytdl-format', '')
     pcall(mp.set_property, 'file-local-options/ytdl-format', '')
@@ -6756,6 +6798,10 @@ end)
 mp.add_timeout(0, function()
     pcall(ensure_mpv_ipc_server)
     pcall(_lua_log, 'medeia-lua loaded version=' .. MEDEIA_LUA_VERSION)
+    local ok_subtitle_defaults, subtitle_defaults_err = pcall(M._prime_web_subtitle_global_defaults, 'startup')
+    if not ok_subtitle_defaults then
+        _lua_log('web-subtitles: startup defaults failed err=' .. tostring(subtitle_defaults_err))
+    end
 
     local ok_helper, helper_err = pcall(function()
         attempt_start_pipeline_helper_async(function(success)
diff --git a/scripts/bootstrap.py b/scripts/bootstrap.py
index 6942cea..54a578d 100644
--- a/scripts/bootstrap.py
+++ b/scripts/bootstrap.py
@@ -1790,8 +1790,10 @@ if (Test-Path (Join-Path $repo ".git")) {
                 $updateText = ($update | Out-String)
                 $repoUpdated = ($updateText -match "Updating|Fast-forward")
                 $repoUpToDate = ($updateText -match "Already up[\s-]+to[\s-]+date")
+                $skipDepUpdate = $false
 
                 if ($gitExit -ne 0) {
+                    $skipDepUpdate = $true
                     Write-Host "[mm] Warning: git update check failed; continuing startup." -ForegroundColor Yellow
                     $gitTail = @($update | Select-Object -Last 3)
                     foreach ($line in $gitTail) {
@@ -1805,7 +1807,9 @@ if (Test-Path (Join-Path $repo ".git")) {
                     Write-Host "[mm] Repository update check completed." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
                 }
 
-                if (-not $env:MM_NO_DEP_UPDATE -and (Test-Path $py) -and (Test-Path $requirements)) {
+                if ($skipDepUpdate) {
+                    Write-Host "[mm] Python module update skipped (network/update check unavailable)." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+                } elseif (-not $env:MM_NO_DEP_UPDATE -and (Test-Path $py) -and (Test-Path $requirements)) {
                     Write-Host "[mm] Checking Python module updates..." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
                     $depOutput = & $py -m pip install --disable-pip-version-check --upgrade -r $requirements 2>&1
                     $depExit = $LASTEXITCODE
@@ -1905,6 +1909,7 @@ if (Test-Path (Join-Path $repo 'CLI.py')) {
                         "        git -C \"!REPO!\" pull --ff-only >\"!GIT_OUT!\" 2>&1\n"
                         "        set \"GIT_EXIT=!errorlevel!\"\n"
                         "        set \"REPO_UPDATED=false\"\n"
+                        "        set \"SKIP_DEP_UPDATE=false\"\n"
                         "        if \"!GIT_EXIT!\" == \"0\" (\n"
                         "            findstr /i /c:\"Updating\" /c:\"Fast-forward\" \"!GIT_OUT!\" >nul 2>&1\n"
                         "            if !errorlevel! == 0 (\n"
@@ -1914,11 +1919,14 @@ if (Test-Path (Join-Path $repo 'CLI.py')) {
                         "                echo [mm] Repository already up to date.\n"
                         "            )\n"
                         "        ) else (\n"
+                        "            set \"SKIP_DEP_UPDATE=true\"\n"
                         "            echo [mm] Warning: git update check failed; continuing startup.\n"
                         "            type \"!GIT_OUT!\"\n"
                         "        )\n"
                         "        del /q \"!GIT_OUT!\" >nul 2>&1\n"
-                        "        if not defined MM_NO_DEP_UPDATE (\n"
+                        "        if \"!SKIP_DEP_UPDATE!\" == \"true\" (\n"
+                        "            echo [mm] Python module update skipped (network/update check unavailable).\n"
+                        "        ) else if not defined MM_NO_DEP_UPDATE (\n"
                         "            if exist \"!PY!\" if exist \"!REQ!\" (\n"
                         "                echo [mm] Checking Python module updates...\n"
                         "                set \"PIP_OUT=%TEMP%\\mm_pip_update_!RANDOM!_!RANDOM!.log\"\n"
@@ -2127,7 +2135,9 @@ if (Test-Path (Join-Path $repo 'CLI.py')) {
                         '    UPDATE_OUT=$(git -C "$REPO" pull --ff-only 2>&1)\n'
                         '    UPDATE_EXIT=$?\n'
                         '    REPO_UPDATED="false"\n'
+                        '    SKIP_DEP_UPDATE="false"\n'
                         '    if [ $UPDATE_EXIT -ne 0 ]; then\n'
+                        '      SKIP_DEP_UPDATE="true"\n'
                         '      echo "[mm] Warning: git update check failed; continuing startup."\n'
                         '      printf "%s\n" "$UPDATE_OUT" | tail -n 3\n'
                         '    elif echo "$UPDATE_OUT" | grep -qiE \'Updating|Fast-forward\'; then\n'
@@ -2144,7 +2154,9 @@ if (Test-Path (Join-Path $repo 'CLI.py')) {
                         '    elif [ -x "$VENV/bin/python" ]; then\n'
                         '      MM_PY="$VENV/bin/python"\n'
                         '    fi\n'
-                        '    if [ -z "${MM_NO_DEP_UPDATE:-}" ] && [ -n "$MM_PY" ] && [ -f "$REPO/scripts/requirements.txt" ]; then\n'
+                        '    if [ "$SKIP_DEP_UPDATE" = "true" ]; then\n'
+                        '      echo "[mm] Python module update skipped (network/update check unavailable)."\n'
+                        '    elif [ -z "${MM_NO_DEP_UPDATE:-}" ] && [ -n "$MM_PY" ] && [ -f "$REPO/scripts/requirements.txt" ]; then\n'
                         '      echo "[mm] Checking Python module updates..."\n'
                         '      DEP_OUT=$("$MM_PY" -m pip install --disable-pip-version-check --upgrade -r "$REPO/scripts/requirements.txt" 2>&1)\n'
                         '      DEP_EXIT=$?\n'