diff --git a/.serena/memories/render-wasm/ffi-rendering-subtleties.md b/.serena/memories/render-wasm/ffi-rendering-subtleties.md
index aac0201522..d6fcd46720 100644
--- a/.serena/memories/render-wasm/ffi-rendering-subtleties.md
+++ b/.serena/memories/render-wasm/ffi-rendering-subtleties.md
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@
 
 - Raster `Fill::Image`: skip `save_layer` unless the shape has an image filter; plain
   Rect/Frame (no corners) also skip the container clip (`draw_image_fill` in fills.rs).
+- `can_render_directly` paints onto Current (no Fills/Strokes blit) for plain geometry and
+  for stroke-free text (SrcOver, no blur/shadows). Multi-style text is fine: span styles
+  live in Paragraph `TextStyle`s. Text skips the `nested_fills` guard (fills are on spans).
+  `draw_text` only `save_layer`s when stroke-group opacity is set; plain fill paint is direct.
+- Text with strokes / shadows / blur stays on the layered Fills/Strokes path.
 - Zoom settle: visible tiles present via `FrameType::ViewportReady` before interest-ring
   work; crop-cache rebuild is deferred to the later `Full` so the soft→sharp snap is
   compose+present only.
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/render.rs b/render-wasm/src/render.rs
index f435bf6697..43ce836ce7 100644
--- a/render-wasm/src/render.rs
+++ b/render-wasm/src/render.rs
@@ -1430,6 +1430,17 @@ impl RenderState {
         // Stroke-only (fills_none) can go direct: empty fills are a no-op and
         // strokes paint into Current. Large files need mid-walk GPU drains so
         // release builds do not backlog a huge ops buffer in one Partial.
+        //
+        // Plain text (no strokes / effects) also paints into Current: span styles
+        // live in Skia Paragraph TextStyles, so multi-style text is fine.
+        // Text skips the nested_fills guard because fills are on spans, not
+        // shape.fills. Strokes stay layered (masking needs save_layers).
+        let is_direct_geometry = matches!(
+            shape.shape_type,
+            Type::Rect(_) | Type::Circle | Type::Path(_) | Type::Bool(_) | Type::Frame(_)
+        ) && !(shape.fills.is_empty() && has_nested_fills);
+        let is_direct_text =
+            matches!(shape.shape_type, Type::Text(_)) && !shape.has_visible_strokes();
         let can_render_directly = apply_to_current_surface
             && offset.is_none()
             && parent_shadows.is_none()
@@ -1440,11 +1451,7 @@ impl RenderState {
             && shape.background_blur.is_none()
             && !has_inherited_blur
             && !shadows_need_layered
-            && matches!(
-                shape.shape_type,
-                Type::Rect(_) | Type::Circle | Type::Path(_) | Type::Bool(_) | Type::Frame(_)
-            )
-            && !(shape.fills.is_empty() && has_nested_fills)
+            && (is_direct_geometry || is_direct_text)
             && target_surface != SurfaceId::Export;
 
         if can_render_directly {
@@ -1473,21 +1480,49 @@ impl RenderState {
                 });
             }
 
-            fills::render(self, shape, &shape.fills, antialias, target_surface, None)?;
+            if let Type::Text(stored_text_content) = &shape.shape_type {
+                self.tile_atlas_flushed = true;
 
-            // Clipped frames draw strokes in render_shape_exit over children.
-            let skip_strokes = matches!(shape.shape_type, Type::Frame(_)) && shape.clip_content;
-            if !skip_strokes {
-                // Pass strokes in natural order; stroke merging handles top-most ordering internally.
-                let visible_strokes: Vec<&Stroke> = shape.visible_strokes().collect();
-                strokes::render(
-                    self,
+                let selrect = shape.selrect();
+                let stored_bounds = stored_text_content.bounds();
+                let bounds_match = (stored_bounds.width() - selrect.width()).abs() < 0.01
+                    && (stored_bounds.height() - selrect.height()).abs() < 0.01;
+                let rebound_text_content = if bounds_match {
+                    None
+                } else {
+                    Some(stored_text_content.new_bounds(selrect))
+                };
+                let text_content: &TextContent =
+                    rebound_text_content.as_ref().unwrap_or(stored_text_content);
+                let mut paragraph_builders = text_content.paragraph_builder_group_from_text(None);
+                text::render(
+                    Some(self),
+                    None,
                     shape,
-                    &visible_strokes,
+                    &mut paragraph_builders,
                     Some(target_surface),
-                    antialias,
-                    outset,
+                    None,
+                    None,
+                    None,
+                    None,
                 )?;
+            } else {
+                fills::render(self, shape, &shape.fills, antialias, target_surface, None)?;
+
+                // Clipped frames draw strokes in render_shape_exit over children.
+                let skip_strokes = matches!(shape.shape_type, Type::Frame(_)) && shape.clip_content;
+                if !skip_strokes {
+                    // Pass strokes in natural order; stroke merging handles top-most ordering internally.
+                    let visible_strokes: Vec<&Stroke> = shape.visible_strokes().collect();
+                    strokes::render(
+                        self,
+                        shape,
+                        &visible_strokes,
+                        Some(target_surface),
+                        antialias,
+                        outset,
+                    )?;
+                }
             }
 
             self.surfaces.apply_mut(target_surface as u32, |s| {
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs b/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs
index e027aebd21..2b4cd373a9 100644
--- a/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs
+++ b/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs
@@ -331,6 +331,8 @@ fn render_text_on_canvas(
 ) {
     let layer_bounds = shape.layer_bounds();
 
+    // Layer stack is managed here (blur / shadow / inset). `draw_text` is
+    // self-contained and only opens a layer when stroke-group opacity needs it.
     if let Some(blur_filter) = blur {
         let mut blur_paint = Paint::default();
         blur_paint.set_image_filter(blur_filter.clone());
@@ -391,8 +393,6 @@ fn render_text_on_canvas(
     if blur.is_some() {
         canvas.restore();
     }
-
-    canvas.restore();
 }
 
 /// Lays out and paints paragraph builders without any layer management.
@@ -748,20 +748,22 @@ fn draw_text(
     layer_opacity: Option<f32>,
     overlay_emoji: bool,
 ) {
-    let layer_bounds = shape.layer_bounds();
-
+    // Multi-style spans are already encoded in each ParagraphBuilder's
+    // TextStyles; paragraph.paint handles them without an isolation layer.
+    // Only open a save_layer when stroke-group opacity must composite as one.
     if let Some(opacity) = layer_opacity {
+        let layer_bounds = shape.layer_bounds();
         let mut opacity_paint = Paint::default();
         opacity_paint.set_alpha_f(opacity);
         let layer_rec = SaveLayerRec::default()
             .bounds(&layer_bounds)
             .paint(&opacity_paint);
         canvas.save_layer(&layer_rec);
+        paint_text_with_emoji_overlay(canvas, shape, paragraph_builder_groups, overlay_emoji);
+        canvas.restore();
     } else {
-        canvas.save_layer(&SaveLayerRec::default().bounds(&layer_bounds));
+        paint_text_with_emoji_overlay(canvas, shape, paragraph_builder_groups, overlay_emoji);
     }
-
-    paint_text_with_emoji_overlay(canvas, shape, paragraph_builder_groups, overlay_emoji);
 }
 
 /// Renders a text stroke masked to the glyph shape.