diff --git a/stage23/lib/term.s2.c b/stage23/lib/term.s2.c
index 2a235191..fc87bbeb 100644
--- a/stage23/lib/term.s2.c
+++ b/stage23/lib/term.s2.c
@@ -823,7 +823,7 @@ static uint8_t dec_special_to_cp437(uint8_t c) {
 }
 
 void term_putchar(uint8_t c) {
-    if (discard_next || c == 0x18 || c == 0x1a) {
+    if (discard_next || (term_runtime == true && (c == 0x18 || c == 0x1a))) {
         discard_next = false;
         escape = false;
         csi = false;