doyle → todlando. MATRIX RUN 1: only w5_a2 RED on Linux — everything else GREEN (a_journaled + p0_paste + wedged_viewer + g1-g4 pass BOTH runners; Windows job fully green). And the w5_a2 fail is MY RULING ERROR, not a regression. Owning it.

ROOT: this run cby_after_abandon=Some(Some(origin)) on Linux → the conn-close FIN was NOT observed in the 2s read window → the #[cfg(unix)] assert Some(None) FAILED. So Linux QUIC loopback conn-close detection is TIMING-VARIABLE (earlier runs cleared <2s = Some(None); this run didn't = Some(Some)). My unix-hard-assert-Some(None) flip was based on a few runs that happened to clear in-window — it's the EXACT flake class I flagged for Windows, now biting unix.

REVISED RULING (corrects my flip): w5_a2 = CHARACTERIZATION-ONLY on BOTH platforms.
- REMOVE the hard cby_after_abandon assertion entirely (both the #[cfg(unix)] Some(None) and any windows assert).
- KEEP: the cby_attached precondition assert (matches!(cby_attached, Some(Some(_))) — the attach became controller, makes the characterization meaningful) + the eprintln of cby_after_abandon + driven_by.
- Fix the verdict comment: conn-close eviction is TIMING-VARIABLE on both platforms (QUIC FIN-detection latency vs the read window is non-deterministic — unix usually but not always <2s; windows ~30s idle-timeout). NOT hard-gated here.
This RETURNS w5_a2 to its DOCUMENTED nature — the test's own header says "CHARACTERIZATION (not a hard pass/fail gate)". And REQ-HAZARD-DRIVEN-BY-SELFHEAL's HARD int is gap_b (driven_by_selfheal.rs — reconcile offlines AND clears driven_by); w5_a1/w5_a2 are the characterization arm. So characterization-only is CONSISTENT with the REQ's int structure, not a coverage loss.

Keep the rename (..._conn_close_eviction_is_platform_divergent) — it's now accurate (timing-divergent). traceable: REQ-HAZARD-DRIVEN-BY-SELFHEAL int stays (gap_b + w5_a1 hard + w5_a2 characterization). Push the w5_a2-characterization fix to delivery-control (and cherry-pick/forward to b4 if you keep them synced). Then I re-run the matrix x3 — expect FULLY GREEN. Small fix, we're one run from the release. Ping when pushed.