diff --git a/src/arbiter-context.ts b/src/arbiter-context.ts
index 7a7bea2..653427b 100644
--- a/src/arbiter-context.ts
+++ b/src/arbiter-context.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { getRecentChatMessages } from './db.js';
 import { formatMessages } from './router.js';
+import type { NewMessage } from './types.js';
 
 export function buildArbiterContextPrompt(args: {
   chatJid: string;
@@ -7,10 +8,19 @@ export function buildArbiterContextPrompt(args: {
   roundTripCount: number;
   timezone: string;
   recentTurnLimit?: number;
+  /** Pre-labeled messages. If provided, skips DB fetch. */
+  messages?: NewMessage[];
 }): string {
-  const { chatJid, taskId, roundTripCount, timezone, recentTurnLimit = 20 } = args;
+  const {
+    chatJid,
+    taskId,
+    roundTripCount,
+    timezone,
+    recentTurnLimit = 20,
+  } = args;
 
-  const recentMessages = getRecentChatMessages(chatJid, recentTurnLimit);
+  const recentMessages =
+    args.messages ?? getRecentChatMessages(chatJid, recentTurnLimit);
   const conversationContext = formatMessages(recentMessages, timezone);
 
   return [
diff --git a/src/message-runtime.ts b/src/message-runtime.ts
index 8de8e1a..42279bf 100644
--- a/src/message-runtime.ts
+++ b/src/message-runtime.ts
@@ -668,11 +668,16 @@ export function createMessageRuntime(deps: MessageRuntimeDeps): {
             );
           }
 
+          const arbiterMessages = labelPairedSenders(
+            chatJid,
+            getRecentChatMessages(chatJid, 20),
+          );
           const arbiterPrompt = buildArbiterContextPrompt({
             chatJid,
             taskId: pendingReviewTask.id,
             roundTripCount: pendingReviewTask.round_trip_count,
             timezone: deps.timezone,
+            messages: arbiterMessages,
           });
 
           const { deliverySucceeded } = await executeTurn({
@@ -840,11 +845,16 @@ export function createMessageRuntime(deps: MessageRuntimeDeps): {
       // Arbiter turns use a dedicated context prompt; regular turns use formatted messages.
       let prompt: string;
       if (useArbiterChannel && pendingTaskForChannel) {
+        const arbiterMsgs = labelPairedSenders(
+          chatJid,
+          getRecentChatMessages(chatJid, 20),
+        );
         prompt = buildArbiterContextPrompt({
           chatJid,
           taskId: pendingTaskForChannel.id,
           roundTripCount: pendingTaskForChannel.round_trip_count,
           timezone: deps.timezone,
+          messages: arbiterMsgs,
         });
       } else {
         prompt = formatMessages(