diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/VideoController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/VideoController.php
index 0b1efd5..18b7545 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/VideoController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/VideoController.php
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class VideoController extends Controller
 {
     public function __construct()
     {
-        $this->middleware('auth')->except(['index', 'show', 'search', 'stream', 'hls', 'trending', 'shorts', 'download', 'downloadMp3', 'recordShare', 'ogImage', 'vsPreview', 'accessShare', 'showByToken', 'recommendations', 'slideshowProgress', 'playerData', 'streamAudioTrack', 'lyricsProgress', 'translateDescription', 'feedMore']);
+        $this->middleware('auth')->except(['index', 'show', 'search', 'stream', 'hls', 'trending', 'shorts', 'shortsFocused', 'download', 'downloadMp3', 'recordShare', 'ogImage', 'vsPreview', 'accessShare', 'showByToken', 'recommendations', 'slideshowProgress', 'playerData', 'streamAudioTrack', 'lyricsProgress', 'translateDescription', 'feedMore']);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -2190,7 +2190,7 @@ class VideoController extends Controller
         ]);
     }
 
-    public function shorts(Request $request)
+    public function shorts(Request $request, ?int $startId = null)
     {
         $videos = Video::public()
             ->where('is_shorts', true)
@@ -2199,7 +2199,23 @@ class VideoController extends Controller
             ->latest()
             ->get();
 
-        return view('videos.shorts', compact('videos'));
+        return view('videos.shorts', [
+            'videos'  => $videos,
+            'startId' => $startId, // the id to auto-scroll to, if any
+        ]);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * /shorts/{video}: deep-link to a specific short in the vertical feed.
+     * The feed itself is the same ordered list; the view uses ?start= / the
+     * $startId prop to scroll into position on load.
+     */
+    public function shortsFocused(Video $video)
+    {
+        if (! $video->is_shorts || ! $video->canView(Auth::user())) {
+            abort(404);
+        }
+        return $this->shorts(request(), $video->id);
     }
 
     public function stream(Video $video)
diff --git a/resources/views/videos/shorts.blade.php b/resources/views/videos/shorts.blade.php
index 6a26b88..3bcccaf 100644
--- a/resources/views/videos/shorts.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/videos/shorts.blade.php
@@ -432,9 +432,22 @@
 <script>
 (function () {
     const main   = document.getElementById('main');
-    let muted    = false;
+    // Persist the mute state across sessions. Default to muted so autoplay
+    // policies don't silently fail on first load; the user can unmute once
+    // and we remember it from then on.
+    let muted    = (localStorage.getItem('shortsMuted') ?? '1') === '1';
     let current  = -1;
 
+    // ── Deep-link to /shorts/{id} — scroll the matching item into view
+    //    before the observer starts, so autoplay fires on the target short
+    //    rather than the first in document order. ────────────────────
+    @if($startId)
+    (function () {
+        const target = document.querySelector('.short-item[data-id="{{ (int) $startId }}"]');
+        if (target) target.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'instant' in window ? 'instant' : 'auto', block: 'start' });
+    })();
+    @endif
+
     // ── IntersectionObserver — auto-play visible short ─────────
     const observer = new IntersectionObserver(entries => {
         entries.forEach(entry => {
@@ -446,12 +459,23 @@
             if (entry.isIntersecting && entry.intersectionRatio >= 0.6) {
                 if (current !== -1 && current !== idx) pauseShort(current);
                 current = idx;
-                video.muted = muted;
+
+                // ── Reflect the active short in the URL (no history entry) ──
+                // Users can copy-paste the address bar and get back here; the
+                // back button still exits the feed instead of walking through
+                // every short they viewed.
+                try {
+                    const vid = item.dataset.id;
+                    if (vid) history.replaceState(null, '', '/shorts/' + vid);
+                } catch (_) {}
+
+                video.muted  = muted;
                 video.volume = 1;
                 video.play().catch(() => {
-                    // autoplay blocked — start muted then unmute
+                    // autoplay blocked — fall back to muted
                     video.muted = true;
                     muted = true;
+                    localStorage.setItem('shortsMuted', '1');
                     updateMuteIcon(idx);
                     video.play().catch(() => {});
                 });
@@ -500,6 +524,7 @@
     // ── Mute toggle ────────────────────────────────────────────
     window.toggleMute = function(idx) {
         muted = !muted;
+        localStorage.setItem('shortsMuted', muted ? '1' : '0');
         const video = document.getElementById('sv-' + idx);
         if (video) video.muted = muted;
         updateMuteIcon(idx);
@@ -528,6 +553,22 @@
         }
     });
 
+    // ── Mouse wheel nav (desktop) ──────────────────────────────
+    // One wheel event = one short, debounced so a trackpad flick doesn't
+    // skip five shorts at once. The main scroll container's own snap would
+    // nearly handle this, but a slow scroll leaves the feed mid-snap on
+    // some browsers — this makes the step explicit and symmetrical.
+    let wheelLock = false;
+    main?.addEventListener('wheel', (e) => {
+        if (wheelLock) { e.preventDefault(); return; }
+        if (Math.abs(e.deltaY) < 10) return; // ignore tiny jogs
+        wheelLock = true;
+        setTimeout(() => { wheelLock = false; }, 450);
+        e.preventDefault();
+        const dir = e.deltaY > 0 ? 1 : -1;
+        if (current !== -1) navigateShort(dir, current);
+    }, { passive: false });
+
     // ── Like ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
     window.shortLike = function(videoId) {
         @auth
diff --git a/routes/web.php b/routes/web.php
index 09f363d..c786a8f 100644
--- a/routes/web.php
+++ b/routes/web.php
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ Route::get('/videos/search', function (\Illuminate\Http\Request $request) {
 })->name('videos.search');
 Route::get('/trending', [VideoController::class, 'trending'])->name('videos.trending');
 Route::get('/shorts', [VideoController::class, 'shorts'])->name('videos.shorts');
+// Deep-link form: /shorts/{encoded-id} loads the feed scrolled to that short.
+// The resolveRouteBinding on Video decodes the id; if it's gone, 404 lands
+// on the branded errors/404 page.
+Route::get('/shorts/{video}', [VideoController::class, 'shortsFocused'])->name('videos.shorts.focused');
 Route::get('/videos/create', [VideoController::class, 'create'])->name('videos.create');
 // Redirect legacy numeric video IDs to encoded URLs (backward compatibility)
 Route::get('/videos/{numericId}', function ($numericId) {