diff --git a/init.lua b/init.lua
index b6fa992..043c2b9 100644
--- a/init.lua
+++ b/init.lua
@@ -1187,18 +1187,23 @@ function M.load_textures(rig, asset_aliases)
     -- Bind each bone to its uv-rect; resolve anchor (uv.w/2, uv.h/2 default).
     -- Anchor is a rig-author concern: bone-level b.anchor (set in rig table)
     -- takes precedence; tile UV center is the fallback.
-    for _, b in ipairs(rig.bones) do
-        if b.texture then
-            local tile = by_name[b.texture]
+    --
+    -- The render loop reads from bones_by_id (via bones_z_sorted), not from
+    -- rig.bones (which keeps the original rig_table.bones reference). We
+    -- must write atlas_uv onto the bones_by_id objects so render sees it.
+    for _, b_src in ipairs(rig.bones) do
+        if b_src.texture then
+            local tile = by_name[b_src.texture]
             if tile == nil then
                 error("puppet.load_textures: atlas '" .. rig.asset_pack
-                      .. "' has no tile '" .. b.texture .. "'")
+                      .. "' has no tile '" .. b_src.texture .. "'")
             end
-            b.atlas_uv = tile.uv
+            local target = rig.bones_by_id[b_src.id]
+            target.atlas_uv = tile.uv
             -- sprite_reach for locomotion: tile height minus anchor.y
-            b.texture_height = tile.uv.h
-            if b.anchor == nil then
-                b.anchor = { tile.uv.w / 2, tile.uv.h / 2 }
+            target.texture_height = tile.uv.h
+            if target.anchor == nil then
+                target.anchor = { tile.uv.w / 2, tile.uv.h / 2 }
             end
         end
     end