Record the 0.9.7 release: QA, clean build, v0.9.7 tag

TODO.md

@@ -879,12 +879,14 @@ variants, the four crowd-variety characters and the per-role pools — as a **pa
 - [x] Rig pose harness fixed and the weights/pose evidence captured (see the top track).
 - [x] Character work done: 12-character library, realistic face, crowd variants, per-role pools,
       24-NPC budget 6.94 ms (152,464 tris / 168 meshes).
-- [ ] Run the full QA matrix and a local release build for 0.9.7; bump `config/version`, write the
-      `CHANGELOG.md` entry, tag and publish per the Release Procedure.
+- [x] QA + local build for 0.9.7: Godot 277/277, Python 161/161, audit 49 OK, fit/proportions
+      12/12, release smoke matrix green, gallery 21/0, clean worktree build (Linux 172 MB,
+      Windows 206 MB, macOS 159 MB, Web 111 MB, HQ 266 MB), checksums verified, Linux binary
+      launches headless. Tagged `v0.9.7` (CI build/publish follows).
 
-**Exit:** a 0.9.7 patch ships the 12-character library (face realism + crowd variety) with the
-pose harness fixed; the runtime contract is unchanged. The MakeHuman body and the map rebuild are
-not in this patch.
+**Exit:** met — 0.9.7 ships the 12-character library (face realism + crowd variety) with the pose
+harness fixed; the runtime contract is unchanged. The MakeHuman body and the map rebuild are not
+in this patch (they target 0.10.0).
 
 ## Roadmap dependencies and risks