diff --git a/cook/ingredients/packages/core-explicit.ks b/cook/ingredients/packages/core-explicit.ks
index 7e5c7b3..5b951c6 100644
--- a/cook/ingredients/packages/core-explicit.ks
+++ b/cook/ingredients/packages/core-explicit.ks
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
 # Package list mirrors the Fedora 44 `core` comps group (mandatory +
 # default packages), plus `basesystem`, `kernel` and `dhcp-client` from
 # the hidden core group, plus `fedora-repos` (usually pulled in via
-# fedora-release-common, which is deselected here).
+# fedora-release-common, which is deselected here), plus session-system
+# essentials (`dbus-daemon`, `systemd-pam`) that would otherwise be
+# dropped by --exclude-weakdeps.
 
 %packages --exclude-weakdeps # Beginning of the packages section. Package description courtesy of the Fedora project
 
@@ -71,6 +73,15 @@ zram-generator-defaults # Default configuration for zram-generator
 ## Repository definitions, pulled explicitly since fedora-release is deselected
 fedora-repos # Fedora package repositories
 
+## Session-system essentials that nothing else hard-requires: with
+## --exclude-weakdeps they would be dropped (systemd merely recommends
+## systemd-pam; only anaconda requires dbus-daemon during installation).
+## Without them, login sessions never register with logind (no
+## pam_systemd.so) and display managers cannot spawn the session bus
+## (no /usr/bin/dbus-run-session), which yields a silent black screen.
+dbus-daemon # D-BUS message bus (provides /usr/bin/dbus-run-session, used by gdm-wayland-session et al.)
+systemd-pam # systemd PAM module (pam_systemd.so — registers login sessions with logind, starts user@.service)
+
 ## Deselect Fedora release/branding packages — the remix packages below
 ## provide system-release, system-release(44), fedora-release-identity and
 ## system-logos instead