diff --git a/fd.c b/fd.c
index a8a48915..252610f3 100644
--- a/fd.c
+++ b/fd.c
@@ -668,17 +668,21 @@ JSC_CCALL(fd_realpath,
 #ifdef _WIN32
     char resolved[PATH_MAX];
     DWORD len = GetFullPathNameA(path, PATH_MAX, resolved, NULL);
-    JS_FreeCString(js, path);
     if (len == 0 || len >= PATH_MAX) {
-        return JS_ThrowInternalError(js, "realpath failed for %s: %s", path, strerror(errno));
+        JSValue err = JS_ThrowInternalError(js, "realpath failed for %s: %s", path, strerror(errno));
+        JS_FreeCString(js, path);
+        return err;
     }
+    JS_FreeCString(js, path);
     return JS_NewString(js, resolved);
 #else
     char *resolved = realpath(path, NULL);
-    JS_FreeCString(js, path);
     if (!resolved) {
-        return JS_ThrowInternalError(js, "realpath failed for %s: %s", path, strerror(errno));
+        JSValue err = JS_ThrowInternalError(js, "realpath failed for %s: %s", path, strerror(errno));
+        JS_FreeCString(js, path);
+        return err;
     }
+    JS_FreeCString(js, path);
     JSValue result = JS_NewString(js, resolved);
     free(resolved);
     return result;
diff --git a/internal/engine.cm b/internal/engine.cm
index 0c6fd3b1..011fdbbc 100644
--- a/internal/engine.cm
+++ b/internal/engine.cm
@@ -818,6 +818,7 @@ function enet_check()
 actor_mod.setname(_cell.args.program)
 
 var prog = _cell.args.program
+if (ends_with(prog, '.ce')) prog = text(prog, 0, -3)
 
 var package = use_core('package')
 
diff --git a/internal/engine.mach b/internal/engine.mach
index 774ef07b..3ec759ec 100644
Binary files a/internal/engine.mach and b/internal/engine.mach differ
diff --git a/source/runtime.c b/source/runtime.c
index 708bcf0f..efca93e0 100644
--- a/source/runtime.c
+++ b/source/runtime.c
@@ -8255,12 +8255,17 @@ static JSValue js_cell_text_format (JSContext *ctx, JSValue this_val, int argc,
       if (!result) { FMT_CLEANUP(); return JS_EXCEPTION; }
       res_ref.val = JS_MKPTR (result);
     } else {
-      JSValue orig = js_sub_string_val (ctx, text_ref.val, brace_start, brace_end + 1);
-      if (JS_IsException (orig)) { FMT_CLEANUP(); return JS_EXCEPTION; }
+      /* No substitution — treat the '{' as a literal character and rescan
+         from brace_start + 1 so that real placeholders like {0} inside
+         the skipped range are still found. */
+      JSValue ch = js_sub_string_val (ctx, text_ref.val, brace_start, brace_start + 1);
+      if (JS_IsException (ch)) { FMT_CLEANUP(); return JS_EXCEPTION; }
       result = (JSText *)chase (res_ref.val);
-      result = pretext_concat_value (ctx, result, orig);
+      result = pretext_concat_value (ctx, result, ch);
       if (!result) { FMT_CLEANUP(); return JS_EXCEPTION; }
       res_ref.val = JS_MKPTR (result);
+      pos = brace_start + 1;
+      continue;
     }
 
     pos = brace_end + 1;
diff --git a/vm_suite.ce b/vm_suite.ce
index 9a9a2eeb..09a42edf 100644
--- a/vm_suite.ce
+++ b/vm_suite.ce
@@ -738,6 +738,95 @@ run("disruption re-raise", function() {
   if (!outer_caught) fail("disruption re-raise failed")
 })
 
+run("disruption handler reads outer vars", function() {
+  var msg = "hello"
+  var result = null
+  var fn = function() {
+    disrupt
+  } disruption {
+    result = msg
+  }
+  fn()
+  if (result != "hello") fail("handler could not read outer var")
+})
+
+run("disruption handler modifies outer vars", function() {
+  var count = 0
+  var name = "before"
+  var fn = function() {
+    count = count + 1
+    disrupt
+  } disruption {
+    count = count + 10
+    name = "after"
+  }
+  fn()
+  if (count != 11) fail("expected 11 got " + text(count))
+  if (name != "after") fail("expected 'after' got " + name)
+})
+
+run("disruption handler reads function locals", function() {
+  var result = null
+  var fn = function() {
+    var local_val = 42
+    var inner = function() {
+      disrupt
+    } disruption {
+      result = local_val
+    }
+    inner()
+  }
+  fn()
+  if (result != 42) fail("handler could not read local, got " + text(result))
+})
+
+run("disruption handler with closure", function() {
+  var results = []
+  var make_fn = function(tag) {
+    return function() {
+      disrupt
+    } disruption {
+      results[] = tag
+    }
+  }
+  var fn_a = make_fn("a")
+  var fn_b = make_fn("b")
+  fn_a()
+  fn_b()
+  if (length(results) != 2) fail("expected 2 results")
+  if (results[0] != "a") fail("first closure tag wrong")
+  if (results[1] != "b") fail("second closure tag wrong")
+})
+
+run("disruption handler modifies loop state", function() {
+  var total = 0
+  var i = 0
+  var fn = null
+  while (i < 3) {
+    fn = function() {
+      disrupt
+    } disruption {
+      total = total + i
+    }
+    fn()
+    i = i + 1
+  }
+  if (total != 3) fail("expected 3 got " + text(total))
+})
+
+run("disruption handler accesses object from outer scope", function() {
+  var obj = {x: 1, y: 2}
+  var fn = function() {
+    obj.x = 10
+    disrupt
+  } disruption {
+    obj.y = 20
+  }
+  fn()
+  if (obj.x != 10) fail("body mutation lost, x=" + text(obj.x))
+  if (obj.y != 20) fail("handler mutation lost, y=" + text(obj.y))
+})
+
 // ============================================================================
 // TYPE CHECKING WITH is_* FUNCTIONS
 // ============================================================================