diff --git a/public/locales/en.json b/public/locales/en.json
index c8945835..fcc4d62e 100644
--- a/public/locales/en.json
+++ b/public/locales/en.json
@@ -505,12 +505,13 @@
     "send_message_alt_3": "Don't keep me waiting, type...",
     "send_message_alt_4": "This line won't fill itself...",
     "send_message_alt_5": "So... what's it gonna be?..",
-    "send_message_alt_6": "Nobody reads placeholders. But you did...",
+    "send_message_alt_6": "Nobody reads placeholders...",
     "send_message_alt_7": "Letters here, please...",
-    "send_message_alt_8": "You stare at the placeholder. The placeholder stares back...",
-    "send_message_alt_9": "Congrats, you're in the 3% who read placeholders...",
+    "send_message_alt_8": "You stare at the placeholder...",
+    "send_message_alt_9": "You're in the 3% who read these...",
     "send_message_alt_10": "Fine, I'll wait... and wait...",
     "send_message_alt_11": "After you...",
+    "send_message_alt_12": "The placeholder stares back...",
     "drop_files": "Drop Files in \"{{name}}\"",
     "drag_drop_desc": "Drag and drop files here or click for selection dialog",
     "pinned_messages": "Pinned Messages",
diff --git a/public/locales/ru.json b/public/locales/ru.json
index e86c9deb..7786c726 100644
--- a/public/locales/ru.json
+++ b/public/locales/ru.json
@@ -513,14 +513,15 @@
     "send_message_alt_1": "В одну строку или несколько...",
     "send_message_alt_2": "Написать в эту минуту...",
     "send_message_alt_3": "Не томи, пиши...",
-    "send_message_alt_4": "Эта строка сама себя не заполнит...",
+    "send_message_alt_4": "Строка сама себя не заполнит...",
     "send_message_alt_5": "Ну так что?..",
-    "send_message_alt_6": "Никто не читает плейсхолдеры. Но вы прочитали...",
+    "send_message_alt_6": "Никто не читает плейсхолдеры...",
     "send_message_alt_7": "Сюда буквы, пожалуйста...",
-    "send_message_alt_8": "Вы смотрите на плейсхолдер. Плейсхолдер смотрит на вас...",
-    "send_message_alt_9": "Поздравляю, вы в 3% людей, читающих плейсхолдеры...",
+    "send_message_alt_8": "Вы смотрите на плейсхолдер...",
+    "send_message_alt_9": "Вы в 3% читающих плейсхолдеры...",
     "send_message_alt_10": "Ну я подожду, подожду...",
     "send_message_alt_11": "Только после вас...",
+    "send_message_alt_12": "Плейсхолдер смотрит на вас...",
     "drop_files": "Перетащите файлы в \"{{name}}\"",
     "drag_drop_desc": "Перетащите файлы сюда или нажмите для выбора",
     "pinned_messages": "Закреплённые сообщения",
diff --git a/src/app/features/room/RoomInput.tsx b/src/app/features/room/RoomInput.tsx
index 4c3aeabf..6edabe15 100644
--- a/src/app/features/room/RoomInput.tsx
+++ b/src/app/features/room/RoomInput.tsx
@@ -121,12 +121,16 @@ import { usePowerLevelTags } from '../../hooks/usePowerLevelTags';
 import { useComposingCheck } from '../../hooks/useComposingCheck';
 import { pendingShareAtom } from '../../state/pendingShare';
 
-// Placeholder rotation set — 12 i18n keys (1 default + 11 alternates) under
-// the `Room` namespace; the hour-of-day slot picks one. With 12 variants
-// over 24 hours each variant occupies two specific hour slots per day, so
-// the placeholder is stable within an hour and a user is most likely to
-// notice the change when they navigate to another room across an hour
-// boundary. Keep this list in sync with `public/locales/{en,ru}.json`
+// Placeholder rotation set — 13 i18n keys (1 default + 12 alternates) under
+// the `Room` namespace; the hour-of-day slot picks one. The two-beat joke is
+// split across two entries on purpose (alt_8 "Вы смотрите на плейсхолдер…" /
+// alt_12 "Плейсхолдер смотрит на вас…"): rotation surfaces one half at one
+// hour and the other half at another, so the gag plays out across the day
+// instead of overflowing one line. Every entry is kept short enough to fit
+// the composer on narrow screens without truncation. With the variants
+// spread over 24 hours each is stable within an hour and a user is most
+// likely to notice the change when they navigate to another room across an
+// hour boundary. Keep this list in sync with `public/locales/{en,ru}.json`
 // `Room.send_message*` entries.
 const COMPOSER_PLACEHOLDER_KEYS = [
   'Room.send_message',
@@ -141,6 +145,7 @@ const COMPOSER_PLACEHOLDER_KEYS = [
   'Room.send_message_alt_9',
   'Room.send_message_alt_10',
   'Room.send_message_alt_11',
+  'Room.send_message_alt_12',
 ] as const;
 
 // Composer action-row icons — stroke-based outline style from the Dawn