diff --git a/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
index a29eb49..368200a 100644
--- a/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
@@ -414,6 +414,13 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
         {
             var msg = messages[i];
             var before = ImGui.GetCursorPosY();
+
+            // The cached height is not an estimate here: a chat message does not
+            // change height after its first measurement, so last frame's value is
+            // this frame's value. That is what lets the surface go down before
+            // the text instead of needing a draw-channel detour.
+            DrawRowSurface(heights[i]);
+
             drawRow(msg);
             if (frozen)
                 continue;
@@ -432,6 +439,63 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
             );
     }
 
+    // Hover fill plus a 2px accent bar on the left edge. The gradient runs from
+    // the accent at a tenth opacity into nothing about seventy percent across,
+    // which is why it takes two rectangles: AddRectFilledMultiColor has no
+    // rounding parameter, so the rounded base goes down first and the gradient
+    // sits inside it.
+    private void DrawRowSurface(float height)
+    {
+        if (height <= 0f)
+            return;
+
+        var top = ImGui.GetCursorScreenPos();
+        PaintRowSurface(ImGui.GetWindowDrawList(), top, height, direct: true);
+    }
+
+    private void FillRowSurface(Vector2 top, float height)
+    {
+        if (height <= 0f)
+            return;
+
+        PaintRowSurface(ImGui.GetWindowDrawList(), top, height, direct: false);
+    }
+
+    private void PaintRowSurface(ImDrawListPtr dl, Vector2 top, float height, bool direct)
+    {
+        var scale = StyleEngine.Metrics.Scale;
+        var width = ImGui.GetContentRegionAvail().X;
+        if (width <= 0f)
+            return;
+
+        var min = top;
+        var max = top + new Vector2(width, height);
+
+        var hovered = ImGui.IsWindowHovered() && ImGui.IsMouseHoveringRect(min, max);
+        var key = (uint)HashCode.Combine(top.Y, height);
+        var amount = StyleEngine.HoverState.Query(key, hovered);
+        if (amount <= 0.01f)
+            return;
+
+        var theme = Plugin.Instance.ThemeRegistry.Active;
+        var accent = theme.Colors.Accent;
+        var rounding = 2f * scale;
+
+        var wash = ColourUtil.ApplyAlpha(ColourUtil.RgbaToAbgr(accent), 0.07f * amount);
+        if (direct)
+            dl.AddRectFilled(min, max, wash, rounding);
+        else
+            StyleEngine.RowSurfaceScope.Fill(min, max, wash, rounding);
+
+        // The bar is two pixels wide, so it has no visible corners to round.
+        var bar = ColourUtil.ApplyAlpha(ColourUtil.RgbaToAbgr(accent), amount);
+        var barMax = new Vector2(min.X + 2f * scale, max.Y);
+        if (direct)
+            dl.AddRectFilled(min, barMax, bar, 0f);
+        else
+            StyleEngine.RowSurfaceScope.Fill(min, barMax, bar, 0f);
+    }
+
     // First-frame / post-invalidation fallback: draw + measure every row into the
     // cache so the next frame can take the planned path. The settle gate on the
     // layout fingerprint is what keeps a resize drag from landing here every frame.
@@ -441,12 +505,24 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
         Action<Message> drawRow
     )
     {
+        // No row has a cached height on this frame, so the surface cannot be
+        // drawn ahead of the text. Channels let it go down afterwards and still
+        // land underneath. Without this the whole list would flash bare for one
+        // frame after every resize.
+        using var surfaces = StyleEngine.RowSurfaceScope.Push();
+
         foreach (var msg in messages)
         {
             var before = ImGui.GetCursorPosY();
+            var top = ImGui.GetCursorScreenPos();
+
             drawRow(msg);
+
             var after = ImGui.GetCursorPosY();
-            msg.Height[tabId] = after - before;
+            var height = after - before;
+            FillRowSurface(top, height);
+
+            msg.Height[tabId] = height;
             msg.IsVisible[tabId] = ImGui.IsItemVisible();
         }
     }