# Esther, Part 1: title, tags and thumbnail (title + thumbnail concept APPROVED by Paul Oct 29, 2026; review cut v02 approved for upload Nov 1, 2026; not yet uploaded)

## Title (LOCKED)
**Esther, Part 1: The Orphan Who Became Queen | Animated Bible Story**
(66 characters; 42 before " | ", so it survives mobile truncation). Series structure `<Story Name>[, Part n]: <Hook> | Animated Bible Story` (plan §7); no banned words.

## Post-premiere title-only A/B test (needs Paul's OK at the time; thumbnail stays the final)
1. T1 (default): Esther, Part 1: The Orphan Who Became Queen | Animated Bible Story
2. T3: Esther, Part 1: The Plot Against Her People | Animated Bible Story
3. T2: The Book of Esther, Part 1: A Queen Is Chosen | Animated Bible Story

## Tags (358 of 500 characters)
Book of Esther, Esther, Queen Esther, story of Esther, Esther bible story, Esther animated, Esther part 1, Esther 1-3, Mordecai, Haman, King Ahasuerus, King Xerxes, Vashti, Hadassah, orphan who became queen, God is never named in Esther, animated bible story, bible story, World English Bible, Old Testament, First Light Bible Stories, First Light with Jesus

## Hashtags (first three show above the title)
#BibleStory #Esther #FirstLightBibleStories

## Thumbnail (FINAL v01: concept A "Crowned. Hidden." + PART 1, Paul Oct 29)
`release/EST1-thumb-v01.jpg` (1280×720 JPEG, 318800 B, md5 aab80f66…), from `thumb_stills/EST1-THUMB-A-T02.png`.
- **ESTHER** (Cormorant Garamond Bold, gold; template 162 px auto-shrunk to 144 px to fit the column) · *Crowned. / Hidden.* (Cormorant SemiBold Italic 112 px, 2 lines, ivory), text column left; gold rule; navy side shade; bottom-left badge "First Light Bible Stories" + **PART 1** pill; bottom-right clear for the duration stamp. No episode number.
- Why A-T02 (not A-T01): Esther looks straight at the viewer and fills more of the frame, so her face reads at phone size (see the 168 px check); Haman's face **and** the raised ring both stay in frame behind her, which carries the "Hidden" threat. A-T01's averted look is lovely but smaller, and keeping its text column clear pushes Haman half out of frame. A-T02 has faint window light in the upper hall (not a "Light of the LORD" glow; Paul kept similar light shafts in SH021/SH057).
- Concept B (king hands Haman the ring) has no Esther and no "Crowned" read, so it wasn't used.
- **Alt (A/B backup):** `release/EST1-thumb-v01-alt.jpg` from `thumb_stills/EST1-THUMB-A-T01.png` (same template; Esther in 3/4 guarded look; 285656 B).
- Build: `python3 release/tools/make_esther_thumb.py --still A-T02 --out EST1-thumb-v01.jpg` and `--still A-T01 --out EST1-thumb-v01-alt.jpg` (Pillow + marketing/thumbs/make_thumbs.py template; no Grok, no paid API).
- Legibility (`release/thumb_checks/*-legibility.json`): both PASS (main: ESTHER cap 11.8 px at 168 wide, gold contrast 9.66:1, hook cap 20.0 px at 360 wide, name-to-Esther gap 91 px, hook bottom y 510 above the badge y 618, badge clear of the duration corner, mean luma 68.4; alt: cap 11.4 px, contrast 9.84:1, gap 64 px). Mobile checks: `release/thumb_checks/*-mobile-check.png`.
- Note: the template's multi-part default pill is "PART n OF N"; Paul's approved concept says **PART 1**, so the pill reads PART 1. Rebuild with `--pill "PART 1 OF 3"` if he prefers.
- Note: darker overall than Ruth (mean luma 68 vs 102) because the palace art is dim; the text is still high-contrast.

## Episode number and playlists
- Release order in metadata only: description line "Episode 3 of First Light Bible Stories" (Jonah 1, Ruth 2).
- **The Bible in Order** (PLMWXuBxvkk8k): Esther goes at its Bible position, **after Ruth and before Jonah** (Ruth book 8, Esther book 17, Jonah book 32). Parts 2–3 go directly after Part 1.
- **New Every Sunday** (PLRdjUzcCYCwk): add at the top (newest first).

### Thumbnail v02 options (Nov 1 2026, per Paul: say it's a Bible book + animated; stronger hook than "Crowned. Hidden.")
Built with `tools/make_esther_thumb.py --still A-T02 --lift 1.45 --shade 0.7` (mean luma ~88 vs v01 68; faces unclipped). All pass the readability check; sheet: `thumb_checks/v02_sheet.jpg`.
- `EST1-thumb-v02-A.jpg`: label "ANIMATED BIBLE STORY" / ESTHER / "The Orphan Who Became Queen" / PART 1
- `EST1-thumb-v02-B.jpg`: label "FROM THE BIBLE · ANIMATED" / ESTHER / "She Kept a Deadly Secret" / PART 1 (`--labelw 600`)
- `EST1-thumb-v02-C.jpg`: label "ANIMATED BIBLE STORY" / ESTHER / "Her People Were Sold" / PART 1
Pending Paul's pick; v01 kept until then.