diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/coercions/structural-plans.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/coercions/structural-plans.ts
index 721f027c2..6e3f87f0e 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/coercions/structural-plans.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/coercions/structural-plans.ts
@@ -193,6 +193,26 @@ export function widthLiftPlan(lowerer: Lowerer, src: IrType, dst: IrType): Width
       if (exact.length === 1) selected = exact;
       else if (exact.length === 0 && lossless.length === 1) selected = lossless;
     }
+    // An 'unknown' (dyn) source whose union destination has no dyn arm of
+    // its own (`details: any` into `Details | undefined`, a tool result's
+    // `structuredContent: unknown` into the JSON-value union): the checked
+    // extraction, the same dynCheck coerceToExpected performs for a dyn
+    // value in a union slot. A dyn source has no arm family, so every arm
+    // rule above has passed it by, and every plan that exists for a dyn
+    // source is the one above (its own arm) — this is exactly the case
+    // that returned null (SC2002) before, so no convertible value changes
+    // its lowering.
+    if (
+      selected.length !== 1 &&
+      src.kind === "dyn" &&
+      canDynCheckTo(
+        dst,
+        (id) => lowerer.shapes.get(id),
+        (id) => lowerer.unions.get(id),
+      )
+    ) {
+      return { how: "dynOut" };
+    }
     if (selected.length !== 1) return null;
     return { how: "liftWrap", tag: selected[0]!.tag, arm: selected[0]!.arm };
   }
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/containers/array-callbacks.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/containers/array-callbacks.ts
index d4183d5e5..ff4d9efaf 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/containers/array-callbacks.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/containers/array-callbacks.ts
@@ -632,7 +632,14 @@ function arrayHofHelper(
  * original concrete array arm — never a copied `(T | U)[]` — and an
  * arm-specific function adapter wraps the element and receiver arguments
  * into the union-wide callback ABI. That preserves sparse-array reads,
- * callback mutation, and the callback's third-argument identity. */
+ * callback mutation, and the callback's third-argument identity.
+ *
+ * `filter` joins them: the kept elements are the checker's result element
+ * (`(b): b is TextContent` over `(TextContent | ImageContent)[] |
+ * (ThinkingContent | TextContent)[]` answers `TextContent[]`), so each arm
+ * filters its own array and converts its survivors through the checked
+ * narrowing — a predicate that kept an element it does not describe throws
+ * the TypeError. An arm with no such conversion leaves the fence in place. */
 export function lowerArrayUnionHofCall(
   lowerer: Lowerer,
   call: ts.CallExpression,
@@ -640,7 +647,7 @@ export function lowerArrayUnionHofCall(
   receiverT: IrType & { kind: "union" },
 ): IrExpr | null {
   const method = access.name.text;
-  if (method !== "map" && method !== "forEach") return null;
+  if (method !== "map" && method !== "forEach" && method !== "filter") return null;
   if (!lowerer.isStdlibMember(access)) return null;
   const def = lowerer.unions.get(receiverT.unionId);
   if (!def || def.arms.length < 2 || !def.arms.every((arm) => arm.kind === "array")) return null;
@@ -682,8 +689,45 @@ export function lowerArrayUnionHofCall(
     lowerer.badType(call, lowerer.typeOf(call));
   }
   if (method === "map") requireProducedArrayElement(lowerer, call, "'.map()'", fnRet);
-  const outElem = method === "map" ? callbackArrayElement(lowerer, call, fnRet) : VOID;
-  const resultT: IrType = method === "map" ? arrayOf(outElem) : VOID;
+  if (method === "filter" && !filterPredicateOk(lowerer, fnRet)) {
+    if (fnRet.kind === "void") {
+      lowerer.unsupported(
+        "SC1090",
+        call,
+        "'.filter()' with a void-returning predicate (the callback return value is erased before its truthiness can be tested)",
+      );
+    }
+    lowerer.badType(call, lowerer.typeOf(call));
+  }
+  // `map` stores the callback's answer; `filter` keeps the elements its
+  // predicate named. The kept element is the CHECKER's result element, which
+  // for a written type predicate is narrower than every arm's own:
+  // `(b): b is TextContent` over `(TextContent | ImageContent)[] |
+  // (ThinkingContent | TextContent)[]` answers `TextContent[]`. Each arm
+  // filters its own concrete array and converts its survivors to that
+  // element through the checked narrowing — a predicate that kept an element
+  // it does not describe throws instead of misreading it. No conversion the
+  // arms cannot make honestly means the fence stays.
+  let outElem: IrType = VOID;
+  const narrowing: (string | null)[] = [];
+  if (method === "map") {
+    outElem = callbackArrayElement(lowerer, call, fnRet);
+  } else if (method === "filter") {
+    const result = lowerer.mapTypeOf(lowerer.typeOf(call));
+    if (!result || result.kind !== "array") return null;
+    outElem = result.elem;
+    const typeText = filterTypeText(lowerer, call);
+    for (const array of arrays) {
+      if (typeEquals(array.elem, outElem)) {
+        narrowing.push(null);
+        continue;
+      }
+      const helper = checkedFilterNarrowing(lowerer, array.elem, outElem, typeText, locOf(call));
+      if (helper === null) return null;
+      narrowing.push(helper);
+    }
+  }
+  const resultT: IrType = method === "forEach" ? VOID : arrayOf(outElem);
   for (const array of arrays) {
     const armFnT = funcOf(
       [arrayValueType(lowerer, array.elem), F64, array].slice(0, arity),
@@ -700,6 +744,7 @@ export function lowerArrayUnionHofCall(
     arity,
     fnRet,
     outElem,
+    narrowing,
     locOf(call),
   );
   return {
@@ -716,24 +761,31 @@ export function lowerArrayUnionHofCall(
 
 function arrayUnionHofHelper(
   lowerer: Lowerer,
-  method: "map" | "forEach",
+  method: "map" | "forEach" | "filter",
   receiverT: IrType & { kind: "union" },
   arrays: (IrType & { kind: "array" })[],
   callbackT: IrType & { kind: "func" },
   arity: number,
   fnRet: IrType,
   outElem: IrType,
+  narrowing: (string | null)[],
   loc: SrcLoc,
 ): string {
-  const resultT: IrType = method === "map" ? arrayOf(outElem) : VOID;
-  const key = `union:${method}:${receiverT.unionId}:${typeKey(callbackT)}:${typeKey(resultT)}`;
+  const resultT: IrType = method === "forEach" ? VOID : arrayOf(outElem);
+  // A filter's per-arm conversions are part of what the helper does, so two
+  // sites that share receiver, callback and result but convert differently
+  // keep their own helper. `map`/`forEach` never narrow, and leaving their
+  // key untouched keeps the helpers a program already emitted byte-identical.
+  const narrowingKey =
+    method === "filter" ? `:${narrowing.map((helper) => helper ?? "").join(",")}` : "";
+  const key = `union:${method}:${receiverT.unionId}:${typeKey(callbackT)}:${typeKey(resultT)}${narrowingKey}`;
   const existing = lowerer.arrHofHelpers.get(key);
   if (existing) return existing;
   const name = keyedHelperName(lowerer, "%arr.union", key);
   lowerer.arrHofHelpers.set(key, name);
   const receiver = varRef("a.0", receiverT, loc);
   const callback = varRef("f.0", callbackT, loc);
-  const branch = (array: IrType & { kind: "array" }): IrStmt[] => {
+  const branch = (array: IrType & { kind: "array" }, index: number): IrStmt[] => {
     const tag = lowerer.armTag(receiverT.unionId, array);
     const concrete: IrExpr = {
       kind: "unionNarrow",
@@ -751,16 +803,38 @@ function arrayUnionHofHelper(
     if (!typeEquals(adapted.type, armFnT)) {
       throw new InternalCompilerError("lowerer bug: union-array callback stopped adapting");
     }
-    const callee = arrayHofHelper(lowerer, method, array.elem, fnRet, arity, loc, outElem);
-    const invoke: IrExpr = { kind: "call", callee, args: [concrete, adapted], type: resultT, loc };
+    const callee = arrayHofHelper(
+      lowerer,
+      method,
+      array.elem,
+      fnRet,
+      arity,
+      loc,
+      method === "filter" ? array.elem : outElem,
+    );
+    const invoke: IrExpr = {
+      kind: "call",
+      callee,
+      args: [concrete, adapted],
+      type: method === "filter" ? arrayOf(array.elem) : resultT,
+      loc,
+    };
+    // Survivors of this arm's own array, converted to the checker's result
+    // element. The helper throws for a kept element the predicate does not
+    // describe, so a lying predicate never reinterprets a value.
+    const armNarrow = narrowing[index] ?? null;
+    const answer: IrExpr =
+      armNarrow === null
+        ? invoke
+        : { kind: "call", callee: armNarrow, args: [invoke], type: resultT, loc };
     return resultT.kind === "void"
       ? [
           { kind: "exprStmt", expr: invoke, loc },
           { kind: "return", value: null, loc },
         ]
-      : [{ kind: "return", value: invoke, loc }];
+      : [{ kind: "return", value: answer, loc }];
   };
-  let body = branch(arrays[arrays.length - 1]!);
+  let body = branch(arrays[arrays.length - 1]!, arrays.length - 1);
   for (let i = arrays.length - 2; i >= 0; i--) {
     const array = arrays[i]!;
     body = [
@@ -775,7 +849,7 @@ function arrayUnionHofHelper(
           type: BOOL,
           loc,
         },
-        then: branch(array),
+        then: branch(array, i),
         else_: body,
         loc,
       },
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/array-literals.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/array-literals.ts
index 9545df829..aa23fb0a2 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/array-literals.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/array-literals.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,28 @@ import { arrayValueStore, primitiveElement } from "../array-values.js";
 import { classGeneratorIterable } from "../class-iterables.js";
 import { iteratorCanStep } from "../iterator-consumption.js";
 
+/** The arm an EMPTY `[]` literal builds as: `arms`' first array arm, or
+ * null when the literal is not empty (an element selects the arm) or no
+ * arm is an array.
+ *
+ * An empty literal carries no element of its own — tsc infers `never[]`,
+ * whose f64-element mapping is the uninhabited element's representation,
+ * not one of the destination's arms — and every empty array is the same
+ * value whichever array family stores it, so several array arms raise no
+ * ambiguity. This is the ONE statement of that rule: a union slot, a
+ * contextual union, and the `??` default all ask it. A lone array slot
+ * states the same thing without asking. */
+export function emptyArrayLiteralArm(
+  node: ts.Expression,
+  arms: readonly IrType[],
+): (IrType & { kind: "array" }) | null {
+  let value = node;
+  while (ts.isParenthesizedExpression(value)) value = value.expression;
+  if (!ts.isArrayLiteralExpression(value) || value.elements.nodes.length > 0) return null;
+  const arm = arms.find((candidate) => candidate.kind === "array");
+  return (arm as (IrType & { kind: "array" }) | undefined) ?? null;
+}
+
 /** JavaScript: whether `expr` is or holds an existing checked-dynamic
  * object — a binding stored as a dyn value whose checker type is an
  * object, or an array or object literal with such an element. Building
@@ -206,16 +228,12 @@ export function lowerArrayLiteral(
       mapped = arrayOf(unitOnlyUnion(lowerer.unions));
     // An EMPTY literal in a union slot (`const t: string[] | undefined =
     // []`, the `[]` default argument against `string[] | undefined`) has
-    // no useful own type — tsc infers `never[]`, whose f64-element
-    // mapping is a representation for the uninhabited, not the slot's
-    // arm. When the contextual union has exactly ONE array arm there is
-    // no ambiguity: build the literal as that arm and let the slot's
-    // coercion wrap it. Two array arms would need tsc's own best-fit
-    // choice — none arises in practice; the fence stands.
-    if (ctxUnion && expr.elements.nodes.length === 0) {
+    // no useful own type: it builds as the union's first array arm (the
+    // emptyArrayLiteralArm rule) and the slot's coercion wraps it.
+    if (ctxUnion) {
       const def = lowerer.unions.get(ctxUnion.unionId);
-      const arrayArms = def?.arms.filter((a) => a.kind === "array") ?? [];
-      if (arrayArms.length === 1) mapped = arrayArms[0]!;
+      const arm = emptyArrayLiteralArm(expr, def?.arms ?? []);
+      if (arm) mapped = arm;
     }
     // A NON-EMPTY literal whose own type has no static home (the JS dyn
     // fallback — a null/dyn mapping, or an inference that degraded to a
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/binary.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/binary.ts
index 48ea9c490..c204b40f4 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/binary.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/binary.ts
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ import { nsWritableTarget } from "../lower-namespaces.js";
 import { arrayValueStore, tryLowerBytesReadNumberEquality } from "../array-values.js";
 import { cjsExportMemberWriteGlobalOf, cjsInFileExportGlobalOf } from "../cjs-exports-object.js";
 import { lowerUnionFieldWrite } from "./union-fields.js";
+import { emptyArrayLiteralArm } from "./array-literals.js";
 import { lowerAbstractEquality } from "../abstract-equality.js";
 import { lowerInExpression } from "./relational.js";
 import { lowerDynTypeofTest, lowerErrorCodeTypeofTest } from "./typeof.js";
@@ -431,6 +432,23 @@ export function lowerNullishPair(
     const right = lowerer.lowerExprExpecting(expr.right, rest[0]!);
     return { kind: "nullish", left, right, type: rest[0]!, loc };
   }
+  // An EMPTY array-literal default (`''.match(re) ?? []`) has no element of
+  // its own, so it builds as the left's array arm (the emptyArrayLiteralArm
+  // rule the union slot and the contextual union share) and the whole
+  // expression answers the left's array type instead of the checker's
+  // `never[]`-flavored second arm. A JavaScript `[]` is `any[]` and keeps
+  // the dynamic path.
+  if (
+    rest.length === 1 &&
+    rest[0]!.kind === "array" &&
+    !isJsSourceFile(ts.getSourceFileOfNode(expr.right))
+  ) {
+    const arm = emptyArrayLiteralArm(expr.right, rest);
+    if (arm) {
+      const right = lowerer.lowerExprExpecting(expr.right, arm);
+      if (typeEquals(right.type, arm)) return { kind: "nullish", left, right, type: arm, loc };
+    }
+  }
   let type = lowerer.irTypeOf(expr);
   // A runtime-optional read can reach the default even when declarations
   // call the left side present. Preserve a differently typed primitive
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/object-literals.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/object-literals.ts
index 2e0bc53d1..9239668d5 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/object-literals.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/object-literals.ts
@@ -1359,20 +1359,38 @@ export function lowerObjectLiteral(
   ) {
     const own = lowerer.shapes.get(type.shapeId)!;
     const target = lowerer.shapes.get(expected.shapeId)!;
-    if (
-      !own.tuple &&
+    // The field set to compare is the LITERAL's: its checker type. The
+    // contextual type a few lines up can be wider than what the literal
+    // writes (an unannotated method checked against a generic slot's
+    // signature: `{ content, details }` under a contextual
+    // `AgentToolResult<unknown>` whose optional members the literal never
+    // mentions), and the destination still names the same fields as the
+    // literal, so the build can construct them directly. Only when the
+    // contextual build has no conversion into the destination at all: a
+    // value that converts today keeps its exact construction.
+    const ownType = lowerer.mapTypeOf(lowerer.typeOf(expr));
+    const ownChecked =
+      ownType?.kind === "record" &&
+      ownType.shapeId !== type.shapeId &&
+      lowerer.widthLiftPlan(type, expected) === null
+        ? lowerer.shapes.get(ownType.shapeId)
+        : undefined;
+    const fits = (from: IrRecordShape): boolean =>
+      !from.tuple &&
       !target.tuple &&
-      !own.indexValue &&
+      !from.indexValue &&
       !target.indexValue &&
-      !shapeHasAccessorSlots(own) &&
+      !shapeHasAccessorSlots(from) &&
       !shapeHasAccessorSlots(target) &&
       target.fields.every(
         (field) =>
-          own.fields.some((candidate) => candidate.name === field.name) ||
+          from.fields.some((candidate) => candidate.name === field.name) ||
           (field.type.kind === "union" && lowerer.armTag(field.type.unionId, UNDEFINED_T) >= 0),
       ) &&
-      own.fields.every((field) => target.fields.some((candidate) => candidate.name === field.name))
-    ) {
+      from.fields.every((field) =>
+        target.fields.some((candidate) => candidate.name === field.name),
+      );
+    if (fits(own) || (ownChecked !== undefined && fits(ownChecked))) {
       type = { kind: "record", shapeId: expected.shapeId };
     }
   }
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lib-boundary.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lib-boundary.ts
index 8a264d346..06213531e 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lib-boundary.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lib-boundary.ts
@@ -122,6 +122,19 @@ function coerceSlot(lowerer: Lowerer, arg: IrExpr, want: IrType, what: string):
     );
   }
   if (arg.type.kind === "union" && want.kind !== "union" && !containsDynOrUnit(want)) {
+    // A stored union at a slot whose signature names one concrete type: the
+    // checker approved the call, so the SITE's type is that slot type and the
+    // stored union is the declaration's wider one — an absence arm the
+    // compiler itself carries (a checked-dynamic JSON stringify's
+    // `string | undefined`), a stale capture, a widened inferred return.
+    // That is coerceToExpected's checked ARM rule, not a refusal to lay the
+    // union out: the proven arm's payload comes out, every other arm throws
+    // the existing catchable TypeError (divergence 38 — sound narrowing
+    // never reaches them). A union with no such arm keeps the refusal.
+    if (lowerer.armTag(arg.type.unionId, want) >= 0) {
+      const narrowed = lowerer.coerceToExpected(arg, want);
+      if (typeEquals(narrowed.type, want)) return narrowed;
+    }
     lowerer.pushDiag(unionMismatchDiag(lowerer.fmt(want), lowerer.fmt(arg.type), arg.loc));
     throw new PoisonError();
   }
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
index 57f9c92fe..0fb5f9d8d 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
@@ -782,6 +782,7 @@ import { lowerRecordFieldCall, lowerObjectMethodCall } from "./lower-calls.js";
 import { fenceCrossBlockNsRef, nsPathPrefix } from "./lower-namespaces.js";
 import { isSafeToRepeat } from "./expressions/evaluation-safety.js";
 import { partialAssertionFields } from "./partial-assertions.js";
+import { emptyArrayLiteralArm } from "./expressions/array-literals.js";
 import { lowerTernary } from "./lower-exprs.js";
 import {
   maybePromiseReturnStmt,
@@ -14069,6 +14070,10 @@ export class Lowerer {
             );
           }
         }
+        // An EMPTY literal carries no element to select an arm by: it
+        // builds as the union's first array arm (the emptyArrayLiteralArm
+        // rule the contextual union and the `?? []` default share).
+        if (!arm) arm = emptyArrayLiteralArm(x, arms) ?? undefined;
         if (arm) {
           const built = this.lowerArrayLiteral(
             x,
@@ -14229,9 +14234,49 @@ export class Lowerer {
     if (this.returnsLiteralIntoDyn(node, expected)) return this.lowerExprExpecting(node, expected);
     if (this.returnsFreshCollection(node) && expected.kind !== "void")
       return this.lowerExprExpecting(node, expected);
+    // A fresh object literal into a record result: the same
+    // destination-directed construction. An unannotated method inside a
+    // contextually typed literal is checked against the CONTEXTUAL
+    // signature's result while its own return type stays the literal's
+    // inferred (narrower) record — `ToolDefinition<Schema, Details>`
+    // methods returning `{ content, details }`. Building at the
+    // contextual type would then coerce that wider record into the
+    // declared result and refuse; the result slot is the layout.
+    if (this.returnsFreshRecord(node, expected)) return this.lowerExprExpecting(node, expected);
     return this.asyncReturnValueOf(node, this.lowerExpr(node), expected);
   }
 
+  /** A fresh object literal returned into a RECORD result whose ordinary
+   * construction cannot reach that result: not a thenable, so it is built
+   * at the result type like a synchronous return. An unannotated method
+   * inside a contextually typed literal is checked against the CONTEXTUAL
+   * signature's result while its own return type stays the literal's
+   * inferred (narrower) record — `ToolDefinition<Schema, Details>` methods
+   * returning `{ content, details }`. Building at the contextual type
+   * would then coerce that wider record into the declared result and
+   * refuse; the result slot is the layout. A literal that declares `then`
+   * is awaited instead, and a literal whose contextual build does convert
+   * keeps the ordinary lowering, so no convertible value changes. */
+  private returnsFreshRecord(node: ts.Expression, expected: IrType): boolean {
+    if (expected.kind !== "record") return false;
+    let e = node;
+    while (ts.isParenthesizedExpression(e)) e = e.expression;
+    if (!ts.isObjectLiteralExpression(e)) return false;
+    if (this.checker.getPropertyOfType(this.typeOf(e), "then") !== undefined) return false;
+    // The record the ordinary path builds: the literal's context, with an
+    // async return's `T | PromiseLike<T>` stripped to the awaited record
+    // (object-literals.ts does the same before mapping).
+    let context = this.checker.getContextualType(e) ?? this.typeOf(e);
+    if (
+      context.isUnionType() &&
+      ts.constituentTypes(context).some((t) => ts.symbolNameOf(t.getSymbol()) === "PromiseLike")
+    )
+      context = this.checker.getAwaitedType(context) ?? context;
+    const built = this.mapTypeOf(context);
+    if (!built || built.kind !== "record") return false;
+    return this.widthLiftPlan(built, expected) === null;
+  }
+
   /** An array literal or a `new Map(...)`, `new Set(...)` or `new
    * Array(...)` of the builtins: a fresh collection, never a thenable, so
    * an async return takes the declared result type as its construction
@@ -14406,7 +14451,8 @@ export class Lowerer {
     if (
       this.adoptsReturnedPromise() &&
       !this.returnsLiteralIntoDyn(node, expected) &&
-      !this.returnsFreshCollection(node)
+      !this.returnsFreshCollection(node) &&
+      !this.returnsFreshRecord(node, expected)
     ) {
       // The async return lowers its operand untyped first (a promise
       // adopts before its payload converts); a maybe-promise union needs
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts.json b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..54a7a2931
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+ "order": [
+  "<repo>/tests/corpus/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts"
+ ],
+ "diags": []
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts.json b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..11487dedc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+ "order": [
+  "<repo>/tests/corpus/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts"
+ ],
+ "diags": []
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/8530-union-array-filter.ts.json b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/8530-union-array-filter.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3ebcb0e28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/8530-union-array-filter.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+ "order": [
+  "<repo>/tests/corpus/8530-union-array-filter.ts"
+ ],
+ "diags": []
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/empty-array-union-slot.ts.json b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/empty-array-union-slot.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1e26cfe54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/empty-array-union-slot.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+ "order": [
+  "<repo>/tests/corpus/empty-array-union-slot.ts"
+ ],
+ "diags": []
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts.json b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..be3905a1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+ "order": [
+  "<repo>/tests/corpus/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts"
+ ],
+ "diags": []
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/nullish-empty-array-default.ts.json b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/nullish-empty-array-default.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c3bb5cdf7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/nullish-empty-array-default.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+ "order": [
+  "<repo>/tests/corpus/nullish-empty-array-default.ts"
+ ],
+ "diags": []
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/union-array-filter-emission.test.ts b/packages/compiler/test/union-array-filter-emission.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0ff81a032
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/union-array-filter-emission.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+// `.filter` on a union of arrays (`A[] | B[]`): the predicate runs over
+// `A | B`, and the checker's result element is the arm the predicate names.
+// The runtime value is one concrete arm's array, so the lowering must
+// dispatch on that arm (unionIsTag), filter the arm's own array, and convert
+// the survivors to the named element through the checked narrowing — never
+// hand a union receiver to a static array intrinsic.
+import { mkdtemp, readFile, rm, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { expect, test } from "vitest";
+import { compile, deserializeModule, validateModule } from "../src/index.js";
+
+const PRELUDE = [
+  "interface TextContent { type: 'text'; text: string }",
+  "interface ImageContent { type: 'image'; data: string }",
+  "interface ThinkingContent { type: 'thinking'; thinking: string }",
+  "type MessageContent =",
+  "  | TextContent[]",
+  "  | (ImageContent | TextContent)[]",
+  "  | (ThinkingContent | TextContent)[];",
+];
+
+type IrModule = {
+  entry: string;
+  functions: { name: string; body: unknown }[];
+};
+
+async function compileToIr(
+  body: string[],
+): Promise<{ ok: boolean; module: IrModule | null; diagnostics: string }> {
+  const dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "scriptc-union-array-filter-"));
+  try {
+    const entry = join(dir, "main.ts");
+    const outPath = join(dir, "main.ir.json");
+    await writeFile(entry, [...PRELUDE, ...body].join("\n"));
+    const result = await compile(entry, { outDir: dir, outPath, outputKind: "ir" });
+    if (!result.ok)
+      return {
+        ok: false,
+        module: null,
+        diagnostics: result.diagnostics.map((d) => `${d.code}: ${d.message}`).join("\n"),
+      };
+    const module = deserializeModule(await readFile(outPath, "utf8")) as unknown as IrModule;
+    expect(validateModule(module as never)).toEqual([]);
+    return { ok: true, module, diagnostics: "" };
+  } finally {
+    await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+function named(module: IrModule, part: string): string {
+  return JSON.stringify(module.functions.filter((fn) => fn.name.includes(part)));
+}
+
+test("filter on a union of arrays dispatches on the arm", async () => {
+  const compiled = await compileToIr([
+    "function texts(content: MessageContent): string {",
+    "  return content",
+    "    .filter((block): block is TextContent => block.type === 'text')",
+    "    .map((block) => block.text)",
+    "    .join(' ');",
+    "}",
+    "const blocks: MessageContent = [{ type: 'text', text: 'a' }];",
+    "console.log(texts(blocks));",
+  ]);
+  expect(compiled.diagnostics).toBe("");
+  expect(compiled.ok).toBe(true);
+  const module = compiled.module!;
+  // The tag dispatch that reads the runtime arm…
+  const union = named(module, "%arr.union");
+  expect(union).toContain("unionIsTag");
+  // …and the checked narrowing each arm's survivors pass through, so a
+  // predicate that kept an element it does not describe throws.
+  expect(named(module, "%arr.narrow")).toContain("%narrow.checked");
+});
+
+test("filter on a union of arrays keeps the fence without a narrowing", async () => {
+  // A predicate that names no narrower element answers the union-wide
+  // element; converting an arm's array to that element is a widening this
+  // lowering does not build, so the call stays a refusal instead of
+  // compiling to a different array layout.
+  const compiled = await compileToIr([
+    "function counts(content: MessageContent): number {",
+    "  return content.filter((block): boolean => block.type !== 'image').length;",
+    "}",
+    "console.log(counts([]));",
+  ]);
+  expect(compiled.ok).toBe(false);
+  expect(compiled.diagnostics).toContain("SC2020");
+});
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/union-array-lowering.test.ts b/packages/compiler/test/union-array-lowering.test.ts
index 2830c6fdf..09ef0993d 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/test/union-array-lowering.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/union-array-lowering.test.ts
@@ -139,3 +139,25 @@ export {};
   if (!result.ok) return;
   expect(helpers(result.ir, "%union.arr").length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
 });
+
+test("an empty array literal takes the union's first array arm instead of trapping", async () => {
+  const result = await lower(`
+type TextContent = { type: "text"; text: string };
+type ImageContent = { type: "image"; url: string };
+interface Message {
+  content: TextContent[] | ImageContent[];
+}
+const message: Message = { content: [] };
+function lists(): string[] | number[] {
+  return [];
+}
+console.log(JSON.stringify(message.content), JSON.stringify(lists()));
+export {};
+`);
+  expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+  if (!result.ok) return;
+  // An empty literal carries no element of its own, so it is built as the
+  // union's first array arm: no stranded-source trap and no element rebuild.
+  expect(helpers(result.ir, "%union.strand")).toEqual([]);
+  expect(helpers(result.ir, "%union.arr")).toEqual([]);
+});
diff --git a/tests/corpus/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts b/tests/corpus/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b273a89ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+// A record field the checker types `any`/`unknown` flowing into a slot whose
+// declared type is a UNION: the checked extraction (dynCheck) is the
+// conversion, exactly as for a dyn value in a top-level union slot. Before
+// this, such a field only lifted into a NON-union destination, so a tool
+// result's `details: unknown` could not reach `Details | undefined`, a
+// `structuredContent: unknown` could not reach a JSON-value union, and a
+// spread's dynamic key could not reach an index-signature member.
+interface Details {
+  limit: number;
+  flag?: boolean;
+}
+
+interface Wide {
+  label: string;
+  details: any;
+}
+interface Narrow {
+  label: string;
+  details: Details | undefined;
+}
+
+function narrow(w: Wide): Narrow {
+  return w;
+}
+
+type Json = string | number | boolean | null | { [key: string]: Json } | Json[];
+interface Payload {
+  text: string;
+  structuredContent: any;
+}
+interface JsonPayload {
+  text: string;
+  structuredContent: Json | undefined;
+}
+
+function widen(p: Payload): JsonPayload {
+  return p;
+}
+
+// A spread whose source carries the dynamic field: the same field lift.
+interface Built {
+  content: string;
+  sections: any;
+}
+interface Message {
+  role: string;
+  content: string;
+  sections: { [key: string]: string | null } | undefined;
+  timestamp: number;
+}
+function fromState(flag: boolean): Built {
+  return { content: flag ? "on" : "off", sections: { preamble: "p" } };
+}
+function message(flag: boolean): Message {
+  return { role: "system", ...fromState(flag), timestamp: 0 };
+}
+
+// A callback whose result parameter narrows the dynamic field back to a
+// record type adapts into the slot's dynamic-details signature.
+interface SlotResult {
+  content: { type: string; text: string }[];
+  details: any;
+}
+interface ToolResult {
+  content: { type: string; text: string }[];
+  details: { limit: number } | undefined;
+}
+type Renderer = (result: SlotResult, expanded: boolean) => string;
+function format(result: ToolResult, expanded: boolean): string {
+  return `${result.content.length}:${result.details?.limit ?? "none"}:${expanded}`;
+}
+const render: Renderer = (result, expanded) => format(result, expanded);
+
+const wide: Wide = { label: "a", details: { limit: 3 } };
+const n = narrow(wide);
+console.log(n.label, n.details === undefined ? "none" : n.details.limit);
+
+const p = widen({ text: "t", structuredContent: { nested: [1, true, null] } });
+console.log(p.text, JSON.stringify(p.structuredContent ?? null));
+
+const m = message(true);
+console.log(m.role, m.content, m.timestamp, m.sections?.["preamble"] ?? "-");
+
+console.log(render({ content: [{ type: "text", text: "abc" }], details: { limit: 7 } }, true));
+console.log(render({ content: [], details: undefined }, false));
diff --git a/tests/corpus/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts b/tests/corpus/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fa5824046
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+// A tool definition whose `execute` is an unannotated async method inside a
+// contextually typed object literal. tsc checks the method against the
+// contextual signature's result (`AgentToolResult<Loaded>`) but INFERS its
+// own return type from the returned literal (`{ content: { type, text }[];
+// details: { loaded } }`). The fresh literal must construct at the declared
+// result slot, not at the contextual type it was checked against: the
+// contextual type's `content` is the wider content-part union array, which
+// no copy narrows back into the inferred element record.
+interface TextContent {
+  type: string;
+  text: string;
+  textSignature?: string;
+}
+interface ImageContent {
+  type: string;
+  data: string;
+  mimeType: string;
+}
+interface Candidate {
+  name: string;
+  score: number;
+}
+interface Definition<D> {
+  name: string;
+  search(query: string): Promise<D>;
+  execute(id: string, query: string): Promise<Result<D>>;
+}
+interface Result<D> {
+  content: (TextContent | ImageContent)[];
+  details: D;
+  structuredContent?: unknown;
+  isError?: boolean;
+}
+interface Loaded {
+  loaded: string[];
+}
+
+function rank(query: string, names: string[]): Candidate[] {
+  return names.filter((name) => name.includes(query)).map((name) => ({ name, score: name.length }));
+}
+
+function makeDefinition(names: string[]): Definition<Loaded> {
+  return {
+    name: "search",
+    async search(query: string) {
+      return { loaded: rank(query, names).map((candidate) => candidate.name) };
+    },
+    async execute(_id: string, query: string) {
+      return {
+        content: [{ type: "text", text: rank(query, names).map((c) => c.name).join(",") }],
+        details: { loaded: rank(query, names).map((c) => c.name) },
+      };
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+// The same shape through a record of definitions, each with its own details.
+type AnyDefinition = Definition<any>;
+function makeNamed(names: string[]): Record<"search", AnyDefinition> {
+  return { search: makeDefinition(names) };
+}
+
+const definition = makeDefinition(["find-file", "grep-tree", "read-file"]);
+definition
+  .search("file")
+  .then((loaded) => {
+    console.log("search:", loaded.loaded.join(","));
+    return definition.execute("call-1", "file");
+  })
+  .then((result) => {
+    console.log("execute:", result.content.length, result.content[0]!.type, result.details.loaded.join(","));
+    return makeNamed(["read-file"]).search.execute("call-2", "file");
+  })
+  .then((second) => {
+    console.log("second:", second.content.length, second.details.loaded.join(","));
+  });
diff --git a/tests/corpus/8530-union-array-filter.ts b/tests/corpus/8530-union-array-filter.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0c1f74f93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/8530-union-array-filter.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+// `.filter` on a UNION OF ARRAYS (`A[] | B[]`, TS 5.2's callable-union
+// rule): the predicate runs over `A | B`, and the checker's result element
+// is the one the predicate names — not any arm's own element. The runtime
+// value is one concrete arm's array, so the filter dispatches on that arm,
+// keeps the arm's survivors in order, and converts each survivor to the
+// named element.
+interface TextContent {
+  type: "text";
+  text: string;
+}
+interface ImageContent {
+  type: "image";
+  data: string;
+}
+interface ThinkingContent {
+  type: "thinking";
+  thinking: string;
+}
+interface ToolCall {
+  type: "tool";
+  name: string;
+}
+type MessageContent =
+  | TextContent[]
+  | (ImageContent | TextContent)[]
+  | (ThinkingContent | ToolCall | TextContent)[];
+
+function textOf(content: MessageContent): string {
+  return content
+    .filter((block): block is TextContent => block.type === "text")
+    .map((block) => block.text)
+    .join(" ");
+}
+
+const contents: MessageContent[] = [
+  [{ type: "text", text: "a" }, { type: "text", text: "b" }],
+  [
+    { type: "image", data: "AA" },
+    { type: "text", text: "c" },
+  ],
+  [
+    { type: "thinking", thinking: "t" },
+    { type: "tool", name: "n" },
+    { type: "text", text: "d" },
+  ],
+];
+for (const content of contents) console.log("text", textOf(content));
+
+// A predicate written as a function EXPRESSION rather than an arrow: the
+// same receiver, the same per-arm dispatch.
+function expressions(content: MessageContent): string {
+  return content
+    .filter(function (block): block is TextContent {
+      return block.type === "text";
+    })
+    .map((block) => block.text)
+    .join(" ");
+}
+console.log("expr", expressions(contents[1]!), expressions(contents[2]!));
+
+// The predicate sees the union-wide element, so an arm-specific test is
+// legal; the survivors still convert per arm.
+function longTexts(content: MessageContent): string[] {
+  return content
+    .filter((block): block is TextContent => block.type === "text" && block.text !== "c")
+    .map((block) => block.text);
+}
+console.log("long", longTexts(contents[1]!).join("+"), longTexts(contents[2]!).join("+"));
+
+// Node's `filter` reads the length once and visits elements in order; the
+// arm dispatch must not change either, and the result is a fresh array.
+let seen = 0;
+function counted(content: MessageContent): number {
+  const kept = content.filter((block): block is TextContent => {
+    seen++;
+    return block.type === "text";
+  });
+  return kept.length;
+}
+console.log("counted", counted(contents[2]!), "seen", seen);
+// The empty array is spelled with its arm's type: a bare `[]` literal
+// assigned to this three-arm array union is a separate, unrelated gap (the
+// literal's `number[]` element has no arm conversion), so it would obscure
+// what this program pins.
+const empty: MessageContent = [] as TextContent[];
+console.log("empty", textOf(empty), counted(empty), "seen", seen);
diff --git a/tests/corpus/empty-array-union-slot.ts b/tests/corpus/empty-array-union-slot.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ee6809498
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/empty-array-union-slot.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+// An EMPTY array literal in a union of array slots (`content: TextContent[] |
+// ImageContent[]`, `string[] | number[]`). tsc types the literal `never[]`, an
+// element with no representation of its own: the literal used to lower as
+// never's f64-element array (`number[]`) and the slot's retag threw
+// "a 'number[]' value is not representable in the target union". An empty
+// array is the same value whichever array family stores it, so the literal is
+// built as the union's first array arm — the rule a lone array slot states —
+// and every shape below reaches Node's answer.
+type TextContent = { type: "text"; text: string };
+type ImageContent = { type: "image"; url: string };
+interface Message {
+  role: string;
+  content: TextContent[] | ImageContent[];
+}
+
+// A nested record field: the reported shape.
+const empty: Message = { role: "user", content: [] };
+console.log(JSON.stringify(empty));
+
+// A declaration, its initialization and a later reassignment.
+let wide: string[] | number[] = [];
+console.log(JSON.stringify(wide));
+wide = [1, 2];
+console.log(JSON.stringify(wide));
+wide = [];
+console.log(JSON.stringify(wide));
+
+// A declared return, a ternary arm, and an async promise's payload.
+function none(): string[] | number[] {
+  return [];
+}
+console.log(JSON.stringify(none()), none() !== none());
+
+function either(take: boolean): string[] | number[] {
+  return take ? [] : [1, 2];
+}
+console.log(JSON.stringify(either(true)), JSON.stringify(either(false)));
+
+function bothWays(): string[] | number[] {
+  return false ? [] : [];
+}
+console.log(JSON.stringify(bothWays()));
+
+async function settled(): Promise<string[] | number[]> {
+  return [];
+}
+void settled().then((value) => console.log("settled", JSON.stringify(value)));
+
+// An argument slot, and a default parameter that is itself the slot.
+function report(label: string, value: string[] | number[]): void {
+  console.log(label, JSON.stringify(value));
+}
+report("argument", []);
+report("argument-filled", ["x"]);
+
+function withDefault(value: string[] | number[] = []): void {
+  console.log("default", JSON.stringify(value));
+}
+withDefault();
+withDefault([3]);
+
+// Deeper nesting, a class field, and a discriminated record's field.
+interface Nested {
+  inner: { list: readonly string[] | readonly number[]; tag: string };
+}
+const nested: Nested = { inner: { list: [], tag: "t" } };
+console.log(JSON.stringify(nested));
+
+class Store {
+  lists: string[] | number[] = [];
+}
+const store = new Store();
+console.log("class", JSON.stringify(store.lists), store.lists !== undefined);
+
+// An optional arm (`| undefined`) keeps the empty literal on its array arm.
+const maybe: string[] | number[] | undefined = [];
+console.log("maybe", maybe !== undefined, JSON.stringify(maybe));
+
+// The empty literal as an element of an array, and through collections whose
+// element slot is the union.
+const rows: (string[] | number[])[] = [[], [1, 2], []];
+console.log("rows", JSON.stringify(rows));
+const grouped = new Set<string[] | number[]>();
+grouped.add([]);
+grouped.add(["s"]);
+console.log("set", JSON.stringify([...grouped]));
+const byKey = new Map<string, string[] | number[]>();
+byKey.set("a", []);
+byKey.set("b", [7]);
+console.log("map", JSON.stringify([...byKey.entries()]));
+
+// A callback argument, and the assertion form of the same value.
+function apply(fn: (value: string[] | number[]) => string): string {
+  return fn([]);
+}
+console.log("callback", apply((value) => JSON.stringify(value)));
+const asserted = { role: "tool", content: [] } as Message;
+console.log("asserted", JSON.stringify(asserted));
+
+// Every evaluation builds a fresh empty array, as Node does.
+function fresh(): string[] | number[] {
+  return [];
+}
+const first = fresh();
+const second = fresh();
+console.log("fresh", first !== second, JSON.stringify(first), JSON.stringify(second));
diff --git a/tests/corpus/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts b/tests/corpus/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9e4960fc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+// A checked-dynamic JSON stringify — a record or array carrying an `unknown`
+// field — answers `string | undefined` in the IR (the runtime walker can
+// return undefined for a dyn root) while the checker types the call `string`.
+// Reading a string member of that result is the checked ARM extraction at the
+// stdlib slot: the proven arm's payload comes out, and the absent arm would
+// throw the catchable TypeError instead of the call being refused.
+
+interface Tool {
+  name: string;
+  parameters: unknown;
+}
+
+function sizes(tools: Tool[], extra: { note: string; value: unknown }): string {
+  const text = JSON.stringify(tools);
+  let chars = 0;
+  chars += text.length;
+  if (tools.length > 0) chars += JSON.stringify(tools[0]).length;
+  chars += JSON.stringify(extra).slice(0, 24).length;
+  chars += JSON.stringify({ tools }).toUpperCase().slice(0, 12).length;
+  chars += JSON.stringify(tools).indexOf('"name"');
+  chars += `raw:${JSON.stringify(extra)}`.length > 0 ? 1 : 0;
+  return `${chars} ${text.length} ${JSON.stringify({ tools }).slice(0, 12)}`;
+}
+
+console.log(sizes([{ name: "alpha", parameters: { a: 1 } }], { note: "n", value: null }));
+console.log(sizes([{ name: "beta", parameters: undefined }], { note: "empty", value: [1, 2] }));
+console.log(sizes([], { note: "none", value: { nested: { deep: true } } }));
+console.log(sizes([{ name: "gamma", parameters: "s" }], { note: "deep", value: { a: [1, { b: 2 }] } }));
+
+// The same string result feeding a comparison and a concatenation.
+const one = JSON.stringify({ name: "x", parameters: 1 });
+const two = JSON.stringify({ parameters: 1, name: "x" });
+console.log(one === two, one < two, ("p" + one).length);
diff --git a/tests/corpus/nullish-empty-array-default.ts b/tests/corpus/nullish-empty-array-default.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..49595a1f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/nullish-empty-array-default.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+// `''.match(re) ?? []`: the empty array-literal default of a `??` adopts the
+// left's present array arm. tsc gives the literal the uninhabited `never[]`
+// element, which the compiler maps through never's f64 value representation
+// (`number[]`), so the whole expression used to be `RegExpMatchArray |
+// number[]` — a result no single array slot can receive.
+
+// A union return (`"all" | readonly string[]`) whose array arm is the
+// `?? []` result.
+function reach(code: unknown): "all" | readonly string[] {
+  if (typeof code !== "string") return [];
+  return /\bALL\b/.test(code) ? "all" : (code.match(/\w+/g) ?? []);
+}
+console.log(JSON.stringify(reach(7)));
+console.log(JSON.stringify(reach("ALL")));
+console.log(JSON.stringify(reach("a.b c")));
+console.log(JSON.stringify(reach("")));
+
+// The default's element type is the left's: string element reads and a
+// map callback over the value compile as strings, and an absent match
+// answers the empty array Node does.
+const names = "a-b c".match(/[a-z]+/g) ?? [];
+console.log(names.map((name) => name.toUpperCase()).join("+"));
+const none = "123".match(/[a-z]+/g) ?? [];
+console.log(none.length, JSON.stringify(none), names.length);
+
+// A declared optional array keeps its own type through the same default,
+// and the fresh empty array is a value of its own (mutation, identity).
+function fill(source: number[] | undefined, with_: number): number[] {
+  const list = source ?? [];
+  list.push(with_);
+  return list;
+}
+console.log(JSON.stringify(fill(undefined, 1)), JSON.stringify(fill([7, 8], 9)));
+const first = fill(undefined, 2);
+const second = fill(undefined, 3);
+console.log(first !== second, JSON.stringify(first), JSON.stringify(second));
+
+// A parenthesized default and one inside a longer expression.
+const longest = ("abbbc".match(/b+/g) ?? []).length;
+console.log(longest, `${JSON.stringify("xyz".match(/q/g) ?? [])}!`);
diff --git a/tests/harness/corpus-costs/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts.json b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4203ad979
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/5798-record-field-dyn-into-union.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "plain": 1800, "san": 1900 }
diff --git a/tests/harness/corpus-costs/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts.json b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4203ad979
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/5799-async-return-record-literal-slot.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "plain": 1800, "san": 1900 }
diff --git a/tests/harness/corpus-costs/8530-union-array-filter.ts.json b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/8530-union-array-filter.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b563858c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/8530-union-array-filter.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "plain": 1900, "san": 2200 }
diff --git a/tests/harness/corpus-costs/empty-array-union-slot.ts.json b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/empty-array-union-slot.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b7f02e592
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/empty-array-union-slot.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "plain": 2700, "san": 3400 }
diff --git a/tests/harness/corpus-costs/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts.json b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9316b6552
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/lib-slot-union-arm-extraction.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "plain": 1517, "san": 2343 }
diff --git a/tests/harness/corpus-costs/nullish-empty-array-default.ts.json b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/nullish-empty-array-default.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b1c421307
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/harness/corpus-costs/nullish-empty-array-default.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "plain": 922, "san": 1502 }