diff --git a/src/app/api/freshness/route.ts b/src/app/api/freshness/route.ts
index b9cd4c4f..5c0c5603 100644
--- a/src/app/api/freshness/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/freshness/route.ts
@@ -64,9 +64,29 @@ const computeFreshness = unstable_cache(
     for (const [slug, asOf] of entries) {
       if (asOf != null) freshness[slug] = asOf;
     }
+    // Store fallback: the Vercel site has no PROMETHEUS_URL (Prom lives
+    // on a private VPS), so on prod every probe above fails and this
+    // map came back EMPTY since launch, blanking the LiveIndicator.
+    // The materialized blobs carry the worker's lastRunAt per bench,
+    // minute-grained instead of scrape-grained, which is honest and far
+    // better than nothing. Prom keeps priority when reachable (local
+    // dev, worker context).
+    if (Object.keys(freshness).length === 0) {
+      try {
+        const { loadAllBenchmarks } = await import("@/lib/spec");
+        const all = await loadAllBenchmarks();
+        for (const b of all) {
+          if (!liveSlugSet.has(b.slug)) continue;
+          const t = Date.parse(b.lastRunAt ?? "");
+          if (Number.isFinite(t)) freshness[b.slug] = t;
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // leave empty; the indicator degrades exactly as before
+      }
+    }
     return { now: Date.now(), freshness };
   },
-  ["freshness-v2"],
+  ["freshness-v3"],
   { revalidate: 30, tags: ["benchmarks", "freshness"] },
 );
 
diff --git a/src/app/compare/[slug]/page.tsx b/src/app/compare/[slug]/page.tsx
index a74c8b1d..3626b64f 100644
--- a/src/app/compare/[slug]/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/compare/[slug]/page.tsx
@@ -224,12 +224,15 @@ export async function generateMetadata({
   const liveSharedCount = sharedSlugsForMeta.filter(
     (s) => !excluded.has(s) && aLive.has(s) && bLive.has(s),
   ).length;
-  // Curated pairs (explicit benchmarks list in COMPARE_PAIRS) are
-  // hand-picked head-term targets like usdc-vs-usdt and carry editorial
-  // framing beyond the ledger, so they stay indexable even with a
-  // single live shared bench. The gate only applies to combinatorial
-  // ad hoc pairs.
-  const isCurated = !!pair.benchmarks;
+  // Curated pairs are hand-picked head-term targets like usdc-vs-usdt
+  // and carry editorial framing beyond the ledger, so they stay
+  // indexable even with a single live shared bench. Membership in
+  // COMPARE_PAIRS is the curation signal; `pair.benchmarks` is only an
+  // optional editorial override most curated entries do not set (the
+  // previous check on it noindexed usdc-vs-usdt and
+  // dydx-vs-hyperliquid in prod). The gate only applies to
+  // combinatorial ad hoc pairs.
+  const isCurated = getComparePair(pair.slug) !== undefined;
   const thin = !isCurated && liveSharedCount < 2;
 
   // Meta description: unique per pair via the shared-count + provider