diff --git a/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/screen/SettingsScreen.kt b/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/screen/SettingsScreen.kt
index ebe444d..ff1babf 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/screen/SettingsScreen.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/screen/SettingsScreen.kt
@@ -67,15 +67,6 @@ fun SettingsScreen(onOpenStats: () -> Unit = {}) {
         )
     }
 
-    // Wait for the persisted settings before drawing the form — otherwise the default state
-    // (e.g. theme = Dark Ocean) flashes for a frame and then jumps to the real values.
-    if (!state.loaded) {
-        Box(Modifier.fillMaxSize(), contentAlignment = Alignment.Center) {
-            CircularProgressIndicator(color = NsAccent)
-        }
-        return
-    }
-
     Column(
         verticalArrangement = Arrangement.spacedBy(12.dp),
         modifier = Modifier
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/theme/Color.kt b/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/theme/Color.kt
index e48dd27..8c5c624 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/theme/Color.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/ui/theme/Color.kt
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
 
 // ── Dynamic theme state — Compose tracks reads automatically ─────────────────
 object NsColors {
+    var themeId    by mutableStateOf("dark-ocean")   // currently applied theme id (readable)
     var accent     by mutableStateOf(Color(0xFF4F8EF7))
     var accentDim  by mutableStateOf(Color(0xFF2A6CD6))
     var bg         by mutableStateOf(Color(0xFF070D14))
@@ -88,6 +89,7 @@ val NS_THEMES = listOf(
 
 fun applyNsTheme(themeId: String) {
     val t = NS_THEMES.find { it.id == themeId } ?: NS_THEMES.first()
+    NsColors.themeId   = t.id
     NsColors.accent    = t.accent
     NsColors.accentDim = t.accentDim
     NsColors.bg        = t.bg
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/viewmodel/SettingsViewModel.kt b/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/viewmodel/SettingsViewModel.kt
index d0df2a8..71fb74c 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/viewmodel/SettingsViewModel.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/kotlin/com/novasonic/app/viewmodel/SettingsViewModel.kt
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import androidx.lifecycle.viewModelScope
 import com.novasonic.app.api.AbsClient
 import com.novasonic.app.app
 import com.novasonic.app.data.PrefsStore
+import com.novasonic.app.ui.theme.NsColors
 import io.ktor.client.HttpClient
 import io.ktor.client.engine.android.Android
 import io.ktor.client.plugins.HttpTimeout
@@ -35,7 +36,6 @@ data class SettingsUiState(
     val absUrl: String              = "",
     val absApiKey: String           = "",
     val absChapterTrackMode: Boolean = false,
-    val loaded: Boolean             = false,
     val isSaving: Boolean           = false,
     val savedOk: Boolean      = false,
     val error: String?        = null,
@@ -48,7 +48,8 @@ class SettingsViewModel(app: Application) : AndroidViewModel(app) {
 
     private val repo = app.app.repository
 
-    private val _state = MutableStateFlow(SettingsUiState())
+    // Seed the theme with the already-applied one so the picker doesn't jump before DataStore emits.
+    private val _state = MutableStateFlow(SettingsUiState(theme = NsColors.themeId))
     val state: StateFlow<SettingsUiState> = _state
 
     init {
@@ -67,7 +68,6 @@ class SettingsViewModel(app: Application) : AndroidViewModel(app) {
                     absUrl              = s.absUrl,
                     absApiKey           = s.absApiKey,
                     absChapterTrackMode = s.absChapterTrackMode,
-                    loaded              = true,
                 )
             }
         }