diff --git a/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/css/editor.css b/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/css/editor.css
index f329423..0017e98 100644
--- a/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/css/editor.css
+++ b/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/css/editor.css
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@
  * in tokens.css; this file scopes the editor container's chrome to
  * match the rest of the app. */
 
+/* Pre-hide opt-in textareas to avoid the textarea-visible-then-hidden
+ * flicker on page load. editor.js un-hides them again if the bundle
+ * fails to load or a per-textarea mount throws. The <noscript> rule
+ * in _editor_assets.html un-hides for JS-disabled users. */
+textarea[data-editor-language] { display: none; }
+
 .cm-editor {
   border: var(--line);
   border-radius: var(--radius-s);
diff --git a/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/js/editor.js b/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/js/editor.js
index eb32e2f..d751977 100644
--- a/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/js/editor.js
+++ b/l4d2web/l4d2web/static/js/editor.js
@@ -4,8 +4,23 @@
 // a named alias for the files-editor modal.
 (function () {
   "use strict";
+
+  // editor.css pre-hides every textarea[data-editor-language] so the
+  // page never paints the raw textarea before cm6 takes over. Both
+  // failure paths below restore the textarea by clearing the CSS rule
+  // with an inline display:revert.
+  function unhideTextarea(ta) {
+    ta.style.display = "revert";
+  }
+
   if (!window.__editor || typeof window.__editor.mount !== "function") {
-    return;  // bundle didn't load — graceful no-JS fallback
+    // Bundle didn't load — un-hide every editor textarea so the form
+    // is still usable. Mirrors the <noscript> override for the
+    // JS-disabled case.
+    for (const ta of document.querySelectorAll("textarea[data-editor-language]")) {
+      unhideTextarea(ta);
+    }
+    return;
   }
 
   let vocabPromise = null;
@@ -72,7 +87,10 @@
 
   function init() {
     for (const ta of document.querySelectorAll("textarea[data-editor-language]")) {
-      mountOne(ta).catch(err => console.error("[editor] mount failed", err));
+      mountOne(ta).catch(err => {
+        console.error("[editor] mount failed", err);
+        unhideTextarea(ta);  // restore the form-usable raw textarea
+      });
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/_editor_assets.html b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/_editor_assets.html
index 70fa471..9cda87d 100644
--- a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/_editor_assets.html
+++ b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/_editor_assets.html
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
-{# Editor assets — include on any page that mounts a <textarea data-editor-language>. #}
+{# Editor assets — included from {% block extra_head %} on any page that
+   mounts a <textarea data-editor-language>. Loading from <head> means the
+   CSS pre-hide rule in editor.css applies before first paint (no textarea
+   flicker), and the defer'd scripts download in parallel with HTML parse
+   and execute before DOMContentLoaded. #}
 <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ url_for('static', filename='vendor/editor.bundle.css') }}">
 <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ url_for('static', filename='css/editor.css') }}">
+<noscript><style>textarea[data-editor-language] { display: revert; }</style></noscript>
 <script src="{{ url_for('static', filename='vendor/editor.bundle.js') }}" nonce="{{ g.csp_nonce }}" defer></script>
 <script src="{{ url_for('static', filename='js/editor.js') }}" nonce="{{ g.csp_nonce }}" defer></script>
diff --git a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/base.html b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/base.html
index 1bb21ae..601fdc7 100644
--- a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/base.html
+++ b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/base.html
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ url_for('static', filename='css/layout.css') }}">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ url_for('static', filename='css/components.css') }}">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ url_for('static', filename='css/logs.css') }}">
+    {% block extra_head %}{% endblock %}
   </head>
   <body>
     <header class="site-header">
diff --git a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/blueprint_detail.html b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/blueprint_detail.html
index 47d7df3..0fae77b 100644
--- a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/blueprint_detail.html
+++ b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/blueprint_detail.html
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 {% block title %}Blueprint {{ blueprint.name }} | left4me{% endblock %}
 
+{% block extra_head %}{% include "_editor_assets.html" %}{% endblock %}
+
 {% block content %}
 <section class="panel">
   <div class="page-heading">
@@ -92,5 +94,4 @@
   </div>
 </dialog>
 <script src="{{ url_for('static', filename='js/blueprint-overlay-picker.js') }}" defer></script>
-{% include "_editor_assets.html" %}
 {% endblock %}
diff --git a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/overlay_detail.html b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/overlay_detail.html
index ad768fc..597e11a 100644
--- a/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/overlay_detail.html
+++ b/l4d2web/l4d2web/templates/overlay_detail.html
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 {% block title %}Overlay {{ overlay.name }} | left4me{% endblock %}
 
+{% block extra_head %}{% include "_editor_assets.html" %}{% endblock %}
+
 {% block content %}
 {% set can_edit = g.user.admin or (overlay.type in ['workshop', 'script', 'files'] and overlay.user_id == g.user.id) %}
 {% set is_files_overlay = overlay.type == 'files' %}
@@ -282,5 +284,4 @@
 
 <script src="{{ url_for('static', filename='js/files-overlay.js') }}" defer></script>
 {% endif %}
-{% include "_editor_assets.html" %}
 {% endblock %}
