Now Playing: fix squashed stop button + queue persistence + crafted entrance

- Stop button fix: my round .np-btn { width/height 46px; border-radius:50% }
  override was also hitting .np-btn-stop (it carries both classes), squashing
  the 'Stop' text pill into a tiny circle. Exempted .np-btn.np-btn-stop back to
  an auto-width pill.
- Queue persistence: npPersistQueue() (called from renderNpQueue, the single
  mutation hook) saves the queue to localStorage; npRestoreQueue() on init
  repopulates the panel on reload WITHOUT auto-playing (index reset to -1).
  Queue no longer vanishes on refresh.
- Crafted entrance: controls stagger-fade/rise in when the modal opens
  (npRiseIn keyframe, delays cascading util->progress->controls->volume->
  upnext). Art container excluded so its transform stays free for the
  play-scale.

Frontend-only; Boulder verifying live.

webui/static/media-player.js

@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ function initializeMediaPlayer() {
     const miniNextBtn = document.getElementById('mini-next-btn');
     if (miniPrevBtn) miniPrevBtn.addEventListener('click', (e) => { e.stopPropagation(); playPreviousInQueue(); });
     if (miniNextBtn) miniNextBtn.addEventListener('click', (e) => { e.stopPropagation(); playNextInQueue(); });
+
+    // Restore a previously-saved queue (does not auto-play)
+    npRestoreQueue();
 }
 
 function toggleMediaPlayerExpansion() {
@@ -2283,6 +2286,38 @@ function renderNpQueue() {
     });
 
     npUpdateUpNext();
+    npPersistQueue();
+}
+
+// ── Queue persistence across page reloads (localStorage) ──
+const NP_QUEUE_STORAGE_KEY = 'soulsync-np-queue';
+
+function npPersistQueue() {
+    try {
+        if (!npQueue.length) { localStorage.removeItem(NP_QUEUE_STORAGE_KEY); return; }
+        localStorage.setItem(NP_QUEUE_STORAGE_KEY, JSON.stringify({
+            queue: npQueue,
+            index: npQueueIndex,
+            savedAt: Date.now(),
+        }));
+    } catch (e) { /* quota / disabled storage — non-fatal */ }
+}
+
+// Restore the saved queue into the panel WITHOUT auto-playing (the user
+// reloaded; resume playback is their choice via clicking a row).
+function npRestoreQueue() {
+    try {
+        const raw = localStorage.getItem(NP_QUEUE_STORAGE_KEY);
+        if (!raw) return;
+        const data = JSON.parse(raw);
+        if (data && Array.isArray(data.queue) && data.queue.length) {
+            npQueue = data.queue;
+            // Don't claim a track is "playing" on a fresh load — nothing is.
+            npQueueIndex = -1;
+            renderNpQueue();
+            updateNpPrevNextButtons();
+        }
+    } catch (e) { /* corrupt entry — ignore */ }
 }
 
 // ── Queue drag-to-reorder ──

webui/static/style.css

@@ -48673,6 +48673,22 @@ textarea.enhanced-meta-field-input {
 .np-btn-shuffle.active, .np-btn-repeat.active { color: rgb(var(--accent-light-rgb)) !important; }
 .np-btn-shuffle.active::after, .np-btn-repeat.active::after { background: rgb(var(--accent-light-rgb)) !important; }
 
+/* Stop is a text pill, NOT a circular transport button — exempt it from the
+   round .np-btn sizing above (which was squashing "Stop" into a tiny circle). */
+.np-btn.np-btn-stop {
+    width: auto !important; height: auto !important;
+    border-radius: 999px !important;
+    padding: 8px 20px !important;
+    background: rgba(255,255,255,0.04) !important;
+    border: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.08) !important;
+}
+.np-btn.np-btn-stop:hover {
+    background: rgba(255,60,60,0.1) !important;
+    border-color: rgba(255,60,60,0.25) !important;
+    color: rgba(255,90,90,0.9) !important;
+    transform: none !important;
+}
+
 /* ── Visualizer bars: accent gradient ── */
 .np-viz-bar {
     background: linear-gradient(180deg, rgb(var(--accent-light-rgb)), rgba(var(--accent-rgb),0.35)) !important;
@@ -48690,6 +48706,18 @@ textarea.enhanced-meta-field-input {
 .np-close-btn:hover { color: #fff !important; background: rgba(255,255,255,0.1) !important; }
 .np-lyrics-line.active { color: rgb(var(--accent-light-rgb)) !important; font-weight: 700 !important; }
 
+/* ── Crafted entrance: controls stagger-fade in when modal opens ──
+   (Art container is intentionally excluded — its transform is reserved for the
+   play-scale; it gets its own scale-in via the box transition.) */
+.np-modal-overlay:not(.hidden) .np-track-info { animation: npRiseIn 0.55s cubic-bezier(0.16,1,0.3,1) 0.06s both; }
+.np-modal-overlay:not(.hidden) .np-right > * { animation: npRiseIn 0.5s cubic-bezier(0.16,1,0.3,1) both; }
+.np-modal-overlay:not(.hidden) .np-util-row { animation-delay: 0.08s; }
+.np-modal-overlay:not(.hidden) .np-progress-section { animation-delay: 0.12s; }
+.np-modal-overlay:not(.hidden) .np-controls-row { animation-delay: 0.16s; }
+.np-modal-overlay:not(.hidden) .np-volume-row { animation-delay: 0.20s; }
+.np-modal-overlay:not(.hidden) .np-upnext { animation-delay: 0.24s; }
+@keyframes npRiseIn { from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(14px); } to { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); } }
+
 /* ── Click-art → music-synced visualizer takeover (Plexamp-style) ── */
 .np-album-art-container { cursor: pointer; }
 .np-art-hint {