diff --git a/home-manager/fred.nix b/home-manager/fred.nix
index f446c22..0688adc 100644
--- a/home-manager/fred.nix
+++ b/home-manager/fred.nix
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ in
       confirm-close-surface = false;
       gtk-titlebar = false;
       gtk-single-instance = true;
+      # keeps the warm instance alive with zero windows
+      quit-after-last-window-closed = false;
       cursor-style = "bar";
       cursor-style-blink = true;
     };
diff --git a/settings/quickshell.nix b/settings/quickshell.nix
index c9da2c5..51e429e 100644
--- a/settings/quickshell.nix
+++ b/settings/quickshell.nix
@@ -1997,11 +1997,12 @@ in
 
                         property int vol: sink && sink.audio ? Math.round(sink.audio.volume * 100) : 0
                         property bool muted: sink && sink.audio ? sink.audio.muted : false
-                        property string volIcon: muted ? "volume_off"
-                            : vol > 66 ? "volume_up"
-                            : vol > 33 ? "volume_down"
-                            : vol > 0  ? "volume_mute"
-                            : "volume_off"
+                        // caelestia's getVolumeIcon: one threshold at 50%, and
+                        // "no_sound" (not volume_off) for the muted state.
+                        property string volIcon: muted ? "no_sound"
+                            : vol >= 50 ? "volume_up"
+                            : vol > 0 ? "volume_down"
+                            : "volume_mute"
 
                         function openVolDropdown() {
                             bar.toggleDropdown(volDropdown, function() {
@@ -2253,13 +2254,18 @@ in
                             PowerProfiles.profile === PowerProfile.PowerSaver ? "power-saver"
                             : PowerProfiles.profile === PowerProfile.Performance ? "performance"
                             : "balanced"
-                        property string batteryIcon: charging ? "battery_charging_full"
-                            : batteryLevel >= 90 ? "battery_full"
-                            : batteryLevel >= 70 ? "battery_6_bar"
-                            : batteryLevel >= 50 ? "battery_5_bar"
-                            : batteryLevel >= 30 ? "battery_3_bar"
-                            : batteryLevel >= 15 ? "battery_2_bar"
-                            : "battery_alert"
+                        // caelestia's getBatteryIcon: a 7-step bar scale rather
+                        // than one flat charging glyph. The level-- skips the
+                        // charging variants Material Symbols doesn't ship (40,
+                        // 70). Low-battery warning is carried by colour below.
+                        function battIconFor(pct, chg) {
+                            if (pct === 1) return chg ? "battery_charging_full" : "battery_full";
+                            let level = Math.floor(pct * 7);
+                            if (chg && (level === 4 || level === 1)) level--;
+                            return chg ? "battery_charging_" + ((level + 3) * 10)
+                                       : "battery_" + level + "_bar";
+                        }
+                        property string batteryIcon: battIconFor(batteryLevel / 100, charging)
 
                         // Stacked: icon over percentage. Side by side no longer
                         // fits, but the level is worth keeping on a laptop.