diff --git a/tests/test_init_gitignore_protection.py b/tests/test_init_gitignore_protection.py
index ab22ea3..6fb7499 100644
--- a/tests/test_init_gitignore_protection.py
+++ b/tests/test_init_gitignore_protection.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ the two filenames to `.gitignore` when `<dir>` is a git repository.
 """
 
 from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import mock_open, patch
 
 from mempalace.cli import _ensure_mempalace_files_gitignored
 
@@ -60,3 +61,20 @@ def test_handles_gitignore_without_trailing_newline(tmp_path):
     assert "dist\n" in contents
     assert "mempalace.yaml" in contents
     assert "entities.json" in contents
+
+
+def test_gitignore_io_pins_utf8_and_defensive_decode(tmp_path):
+    """Regression for #1648: never fall back to the Windows locale codec."""
+    _git_init(tmp_path)
+    gitignore = tmp_path / ".gitignore"
+    gitignore.write_text("# café\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    append_handle = mock_open()
+
+    with (
+        patch.object(Path, "read_text", return_value="# café\n") as read_text,
+        patch("builtins.open", append_handle),
+    ):
+        assert _ensure_mempalace_files_gitignored(tmp_path) is True
+
+    read_text.assert_called_once_with(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+    append_handle.assert_called_once_with(gitignore, "a", encoding="utf-8")
diff --git a/tests/test_layers.py b/tests/test_layers.py
index d4c54ce..56263a3 100644
--- a/tests/test_layers.py
+++ b/tests/test_layers.py
@@ -201,6 +201,27 @@ def test_layer1_importance_from_various_keys():
     assert "ESSENTIAL STORY" in result
 
 
+def test_layer1_breaks_importance_ties_by_filed_at_recency():
+    """Equal-importance drawers surface newest-first instead of insertion order."""
+    docs = ["oldest memory", "newest memory", "middle memory"]
+    metas = [
+        {"room": "moments", "importance": 3, "filed_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"},
+        {"room": "moments", "importance": 3, "filed_at": "2026-03-01T00:00:00Z"},
+        {"room": "moments", "importance": 3, "filed_at": "2026-02-01T00:00:00Z"},
+    ]
+    mock_col = _mock_chromadb_for_layer(docs, metas)
+
+    with (
+        patch("mempalace.layers.MempalaceConfig") as mock_cfg,
+        patch("mempalace.layers._get_collection", return_value=mock_col),
+    ):
+        mock_cfg.return_value.palace_path = "/fake"
+        result = Layer1(palace_path="/fake").generate()
+
+    assert result.index("newest memory") < result.index("middle memory")
+    assert result.index("middle memory") < result.index("oldest memory")
+
+
 def test_layer1_batch_exception_breaks():
     """If col.get raises on a batch, loop breaks gracefully."""
     mock_col = MagicMock()