diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 5b6742b..431d256 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ jobs:
           bash tests/test_rebase_workflow.sh
           bash tests/test_mixed_workflows.sh
           bash tests/test_conflict_resolution_resume.sh
-          bash tests/test_conflict_absorbed_resolution.sh
+          bash tests/test_conflict_two_step_resolution.sh
           bash tests/test_merge_commit_merge.sh
           bash tests/test_rebase_merge.sh
 
diff --git a/tests/test_conflict_absorbed_resolution.sh b/tests/test_conflict_two_step_resolution.sh
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
similarity index 65%
rename from tests/test_conflict_absorbed_resolution.sh
rename to tests/test_conflict_two_step_resolution.sh
index cc3cc1d..8078ad3
--- a/tests/test_conflict_absorbed_resolution.sh
+++ b/tests/test_conflict_two_step_resolution.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 #
-# Replays the incident that motivated --absorbed (scortexio/gh-stack-mv#36):
+# Replays the incident that stranded a conflicted PR (scortexio/gh-stack-mv#36)
+# and checks the two-step resolution recovers from it:
 #
 #   1. main <- feature1 <- feature2, where feature1 advanced AFTER feature2
 #      forked (in the incident, autorestack itself advanced it when a
@@ -8,12 +9,16 @@
 #      feature2.
 #   2. feature1 is squash-merged; the action's re-parent of feature2 conflicts,
 #      so the action posts the resolution comment and stops.
-#   3. The user resolves by running the posted re-parent with --absorbed.
+#   3. The user resolves with two plain merges: `git merge origin/feature1` to
+#      catch up to the moved base, then `git merge origin/main` to bring in the
+#      target. No git-merge-onto, no --absorbed.
 #
 # The resolution must descend from origin/feature1's tip: feature2's PR is
 # still based on feature1 at that point, and GitHub creates no pull_request
 # runs for a PR that conflicts with its base, so without that ancestry the
-# resume event may never fire and the conflict label stays stuck forever.
+# resume event may never fire and the conflict label stays stuck forever. The
+# first merge is what provides it -- it lands feature1's tip in the head's
+# ancestry, which the second merge keeps, so no re-parent is needed.
 
 set -ueo pipefail
 
@@ -101,18 +106,41 @@ if [[ "$(git rev-parse feature2)" != "$FEATURE2_BEFORE" ]]; then
     echo "❌ feature2 must not move on a conflict"
     exit 1
 fi
-if ! grep -q -- "--absorbed origin/main origin/feature1" "$COMMENT_FILE"; then
-    echo "❌ The posted resolution command must use --absorbed"
+if ! grep -qF "git merge origin/feature1" "$COMMENT_FILE"; then
+    echo "❌ The posted resolution must merge the updated base branch first"
     cat "$COMMENT_FILE"
     exit 1
 fi
-echo "✅ Conflict detected: comment posted with --absorbed, stack left alone"
+if ! grep -qF "git merge origin/main" "$COMMENT_FILE"; then
+    echo "❌ The posted resolution must merge the target branch"
+    cat "$COMMENT_FILE"
+    exit 1
+fi
+if grep -qF "git-merge-onto" "$COMMENT_FILE"; then
+    echo "❌ The posted resolution must be plain git, with no git-merge-onto"
+    cat "$COMMENT_FILE"
+    exit 1
+fi
+echo "✅ Conflict detected: two-step resolution comment posted, stack left alone"
 
-# Resolve as the comment instructs, with the vendored copy standing in for
-# `uvx git-merge-onto` (unit tests have no network).
+# Resolve as the comment instructs, with two plain merges. Step 1: merge the
+# moved base branch. Both sides rewrote line 2, so this conflicts; resolve to
+# feature2's content.
 log_cmd git checkout feature2
-if python3 "$SCRIPT_DIR/../git-merge-onto" --absorbed origin/main origin/feature1; then
-    echo "❌ The re-parent should conflict (both sides rewrote line 2)"
+if log_cmd git merge --no-edit origin/feature1; then
+    echo "❌ The base merge should conflict (both sides rewrote line 2)"
+    exit 1
+fi
+sed -i '/^<<<<<<</,/^>>>>>>>/c\Feature 2 version' file.txt
+log_cmd git add file.txt
+log_cmd git commit --no-edit
+
+# Step 2: merge the target branch. feature2 rewrote the same line 2 that the
+# squash reshaped, so with the plain merge's true base (before feature1 existed)
+# this raises the conflict a second time -- the price of a re-parent-free recipe
+# when the child edits its parent's lines. Resolve it again.
+if log_cmd git merge --no-edit origin/main; then
+    echo "❌ The target merge should conflict (feature2 vs main both rewrote line 2)"
     exit 1
 fi
 sed -i '/^<<<<<<</,/^>>>>>>>/c\Feature 2 version' file.txt
@@ -120,9 +148,10 @@ log_cmd git add file.txt
 log_cmd git commit --no-edit
 simulate_push feature2
 
-# The regression assertion: the resolution descends from the old base's tip.
+# The regression assertion: the resolution still descends from the old base's
+# tip, provided by step 1's merge (no --absorbed, no re-parent).
 if log_cmd git merge-base --is-ancestor "$FEATURE1_TIP" feature2; then
-    echo "✅ Resolution descends from origin/feature1's tip (--absorbed recorded it)"
+    echo "✅ Resolution descends from origin/feature1's tip (step-1 merge recorded it)"
 else
     echo "❌ Resolution does not descend from origin/feature1's tip"
     log_cmd git log --graph --oneline feature2 feature1
@@ -142,5 +171,5 @@ else
 fi
 
 echo ""
-echo "All absorbed-resolution tests passed! 🎉"
+echo "All two-step resolution tests passed! 🎉"
 echo "Test repository remains at: $TEST_REPO for inspection"
diff --git a/tests/test_e2e.sh b/tests/test_e2e.sh
index 332d0e5..f86383b 100755
--- a/tests/test_e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/test_e2e.sh
@@ -275,21 +275,33 @@ get_conflict_comment() {
     printf '%s\n' "$comment"
 }
 
-# The conflict comment must tell the user to run the re-parent the action tried:
-# a single `uvx git-merge-onto --absorbed origin/<target> origin/<merged branch>`.
+# The conflict comment must tell the user to resolve with two plain merges:
+# first `git merge origin/<merged branch>` to catch up to the moved base, then
+# `git merge origin/<target>` to bring in the target. No git-merge-onto.
 assert_conflict_comment_reparent() {
     local comment=$1
     local target=$2
     local merged=$3
 
-    if echo "$comment" | grep -qxF "uvx 'git-merge-onto>=0.2' --absorbed origin/$target origin/$merged"; then
-        echo >&2 "✅ Verification Passed: conflict comment re-parents origin/$merged onto origin/$target."
-    else
-        echo >&2 "❌ Verification Failed: conflict comment lacks 'uvx 'git-merge-onto>=0.2' --absorbed origin/$target origin/$merged'."
+    if ! echo "$comment" | grep -qxF "git merge origin/$merged"; then
+        echo >&2 "❌ Verification Failed: conflict comment lacks 'git merge origin/$merged'."
+        echo >&2 "--- Full comment ---"
+        echo >&2 "$comment"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if ! echo "$comment" | grep -qxF "git merge origin/$target"; then
+        echo >&2 "❌ Verification Failed: conflict comment lacks 'git merge origin/$target'."
+        echo >&2 "--- Full comment ---"
+        echo >&2 "$comment"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if echo "$comment" | grep -qF "git-merge-onto"; then
+        echo >&2 "❌ Verification Failed: conflict comment must be plain git, with no git-merge-onto."
         echo >&2 "--- Full comment ---"
         echo >&2 "$comment"
         exit 1
     fi
+    echo >&2 "✅ Verification Passed: conflict comment merges origin/$merged then origin/$target."
 }
 
 follow_conflict_comment() {
@@ -1036,9 +1048,10 @@ fi
 
 # The re-parent is one atomic merge, so on a conflict the action commits and
 # pushes nothing: origin/feature3 must still sit at its pre-conflict head. The
-# resume is guaranteed by the resolution itself: its --absorbed re-parent records
-# origin/feature2's tip as a parent, so the pushed head descends from its base
-# and GitHub creates the synchronize run (it creates none for a PR that
+# resume is guaranteed by the resolution itself: its first merge,
+# `git merge origin/feature2`, lands origin/feature2's tip in the head's
+# ancestry (the second merge keeps it), so the pushed head descends from
+# its base and GitHub creates the synchronize run (it creates none for a PR that
 # conflicts with its base). Asserted after the resolution below.
 REMOTE_FEATURE3_SHA_BEFORE_RESOLVE=$(log_cmd git rev-parse "refs/remotes/origin/feature3")
 if [[ "$REMOTE_FEATURE3_SHA_BEFORE_RESOLVE" == "$FEATURE3_CONFLICT_COMMIT_SHA" ]]; then
@@ -1056,11 +1069,10 @@ echo >&2 "12. Resolving conflict on feature3 by following the posted comment..."
 # asserts the resolution descends from this tip.
 log_cmd git fetch origin
 FEATURE2_TIP_AT_RESOLUTION=$(log_cmd git rev-parse "refs/remotes/origin/feature2")
-# Follow the comment exactly: fetch, fast-forward to origin/feature3, run the
-# re-parent (uvx git-merge-onto), resolve the conflict, and push. Following it
-# must leave feature3 cleanly mergeable into its new base, or the
-# synchronize-triggered continuation can never make progress and the conflict
-# label stays stuck.
+# Follow the comment exactly: fetch, fast-forward to origin/feature3, merge the
+# moved base, merge main, resolve the conflict, and push. Following it must leave
+# feature3 cleanly mergeable into its new base, or the synchronize-triggered
+# continuation can never make progress and the conflict label stays stuck.
 follow_conflict_comment "$CONFLICT_COMMENT" file.txt "feature3" 1
 echo >&2 "Resolved file.txt content:"
 cat file.txt
@@ -1125,11 +1137,12 @@ else
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Verify the --absorbed re-parent recorded the old base's tip as a parent. This
-# is the structural guarantee that PR3, still based on feature2 when the
-# resolution was pushed, read as mergeable so GitHub created the resume run.
+# Verify the resolution's first step (git merge origin/feature2) left the old
+# base's tip in feature3's ancestry. This is the structural guarantee that PR3,
+# still based on feature2 when the resolution was pushed, read as mergeable so
+# GitHub created the resume run.
 if log_cmd git merge-base --is-ancestor "$FEATURE2_TIP_AT_RESOLUTION" feature3; then
-    echo >&2 "✅ Verification Passed: Resolved feature3 descends from feature2's tip (--absorbed)."
+    echo >&2 "✅ Verification Passed: Resolved feature3 descends from feature2's tip (step-1 merge)."
 else
     echo >&2 "❌ Verification Failed: Resolved feature3 does not descend from feature2's tip ($FEATURE2_TIP_AT_RESOLUTION)."
     log_cmd git log --graph --oneline feature3
diff --git a/update-pr-stack.sh b/update-pr-stack.sh
index 1fb9410..d95a80f 100755
--- a/update-pr-stack.sh
+++ b/update-pr-stack.sh
@@ -167,31 +167,47 @@ See $GITHUB_SERVER_URL/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/actions/runs/$GITHUB_RUN_ID"
     # state so the next push can resume. The label comes last: it is what
     # re-triggers us.
     #
+    # The resolution is two plain merges: the updated base branch, then the
+    # target. The target already carries the merged branch's content (the squash
+    # commit, or the rebase copies), so once the head contains the target the
+    # retargeted diff shows only the child's own changes -- no re-parent needed
+    # to drop the base. Both commands name branch tips, never the squash commit
+    # or its parent, so nothing here depends on whether the branch was squash- or
+    # rebase-merged.
+    #
     # The resume rides on a synchronize event, and GitHub creates no pull_request
     # runs for a PR that conflicts with its base. This PR's base is the merged
     # branch (kept until the resume retargets it), and the head does not always
     # descend from its tip: when an earlier run updated that branch after this
     # head forked (an ancestor PR merged first), GitHub falls back to a textual
     # merge to decide mergeability, which fails exactly when the resolution
-    # rewrote the same lines. That would strand the PR: no run, label stuck.
-    # --absorbed in the posted command is what prevents this: it records the
-    # merged branch's tip as a parent of the resolution, so the pushed head
-    # descends from its base again and the resume event is guaranteed to fire.
+    # rewrote the same lines. That would strand the PR: no run, label stuck. The
+    # first merge, `git merge origin/$MERGED_BRANCH`, is what prevents this: it
+    # lands the merged branch's tip in the resolved head's ancestry, so the
+    # pushed head descends from its base again and the resume event is
+    # guaranteed to fire.
     abort_merge_if_in_progress
     local SQUASH_HASH_FOR_MARKER
     SQUASH_HASH_FOR_MARKER=$(git rev-parse SQUASH_COMMIT) || die "cannot resolve SQUASH_COMMIT"
     {
         echo "### ⚠️ Automatic update blocked by a merge conflict"
         echo
-        echo "Resolve it like this:"
+        echo "Resolve it in two steps. First merge the updated base branch:"
         echo '```bash'
         echo "git fetch origin"
         echo "git switch $BRANCH"
         echo "git merge --ff-only origin/$BRANCH"
-        echo "uvx 'git-merge-onto>=0.2' --absorbed origin/$BASE_BRANCH origin/$MERGED_BRANCH"
+        echo "git merge origin/$MERGED_BRANCH"
+        echo '```'
+        echo
+        echo 'Fix any conflicts (for instance with `git mergetool`), then run `git add -A && git commit` to finish the merge.'
+        echo
+        echo "Then merge the target branch \`$BASE_BRANCH\`:"
+        echo '```bash'
+        echo "git merge origin/$BASE_BRANCH"
         echo '```'
         echo
-        echo 'Fix the conflicts (for instance with `git mergetool`), then run `git add -A && git commit` to finish the merge.'
+        echo 'Fix any conflicts, then run `git add -A && git commit` to finish the merge.'
         echo
         echo '```bash'
         echo "git push origin $BRANCH"
@@ -306,8 +322,8 @@ continue_after_resolution() {
         return
     fi
 
-    # Same check for the old base: the resolution command we posted re-parents
-    # against origin/$OLD_BASE, so if that branch is gone (auto-delete head branches
+    # Same check for the old base: both resolution commands we posted reference
+    # origin/$OLD_BASE, so if that branch is gone (auto-delete head branches
     # left enabled, or deleted manually) the user cannot resolve and the label would
     # re-trigger a failing run on every push. Give up cleanly instead.
     if ! git rev-parse --verify --quiet "origin/$OLD_BASE" >/dev/null; then
@@ -316,18 +332,18 @@ continue_after_resolution() {
         return
     fi
 
-    # The user resolved by re-parenting (the comment's `git-merge-onto`), so the
-    # head now contains the squash commit. Verify that and finalize -- do NOT re-run
-    # the merge. Its forced base is the old parent, where the lines the user just
-    # resolved still differ from the trunk, so a re-merge would re-raise the very
-    # conflict they fixed. A plain ancestry check is all the resume needs.
+    # The user resolved by merging the target branch (the comment's second step),
+    # so the head now contains the squash commit. Verify that and finalize -- do
+    # NOT re-run the merge. The lines the user just resolved would conflict again
+    # against the same refs, so a re-merge would re-raise the very conflict they
+    # fixed. A plain ancestry check is all the resume needs.
     run git update-ref SQUASH_COMMIT "$SQUASH_HASH"
     run git checkout "$PR_BRANCH"
     if ! git merge-base --is-ancestor SQUASH_COMMIT "$PR_BRANCH"; then
         # Fail loudly rather than silently: the user pushed without finishing the
         # re-parent, so a red run is the signal they need to look again.
         echo "❌ '$PR_BRANCH' does not contain the squash commit; the conflict is not resolved." >&2
-        echo "   Follow the conflict comment on this PR (run its git-merge-onto command), then push again." >&2
+        echo "   Follow the conflict comment on this PR (run its two resolution steps), then push again." >&2
         return 1
     fi