diff --git a/specs/012-output-converters/checklists/completion.md b/specs/012-output-converters/checklists/completion.md
index 2622ca1d1..d51e6dfae 100644
--- a/specs/012-output-converters/checklists/completion.md
+++ b/specs/012-output-converters/checklists/completion.md
@@ -64,12 +64,12 @@ This checklist maps the approved requirements to implementation and automated ev
 
 ## Verification log
 
-- Core output-converter and serialization tests: 45 passed on `net10.0`.
+- Core output-converter and serialization tests: 47 passed on `net10.0`.
 - Management definition-validation tests: 3 passed on `net10.0`.
 - API endpoint tests: 6 passed on `net10.0`.
 - API-client component tests: 2 passed on `net10.0`.
 - Runtime component tests: 3 passed on `net10.0` (workflow-output scenario plus the corrected variable and missing-registration scenarios).
-- Studio output-converter tests: 8 passed on `net10.0` against this Core worktree.
+- Studio output-converter tests: 9 passed on `net10.0` against this Core worktree.
 - Core project build: passed on `net10.0` with zero warnings and errors.
 - Core, Management, API, and API-client projects built successfully for `net8.0`, `net9.0`, and `net10.0` during the solution build.
 - The complete solution build could not finish with `--no-restore` because unrelated projects had no `project.assets.json` in this worktree (`Elsa.Workflows.IntegrationTests`, `Elsa.Hosting.Management`, and `Elsa.Workflows.Runtime.UnitTests`).
diff --git a/src/clients/Elsa.Api.Client/Resources/WorkflowInstances/Models/ExceptionState.cs b/src/clients/Elsa.Api.Client/Resources/WorkflowInstances/Models/ExceptionState.cs
index ef29bf328..a8ec0b67a 100644
--- a/src/clients/Elsa.Api.Client/Resources/WorkflowInstances/Models/ExceptionState.cs
+++ b/src/clients/Elsa.Api.Client/Resources/WorkflowInstances/Models/ExceptionState.cs
@@ -9,14 +9,18 @@ public record ExceptionState(
     string Type,
     string Message,
     string? StackTrace,
-    ExceptionState? InnerException,
-    IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string>? Metadata = null)
+    ExceptionState? InnerException)
 {
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets privacy-safe structured exception metadata.
+    /// </summary>
+    public IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string>? Metadata { get; init; }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="ExceptionState"/> class.
     /// </summary>
     [JsonConstructor]
-    public ExceptionState() : this(null!, null!, null, null, null)
+    public ExceptionState() : this(null!, null!, null, null)
     {
         
     }
diff --git a/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/Services/OutputBindingDestinationResolver.cs b/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/Services/OutputBindingDestinationResolver.cs
index adcf7187c..c624d5020 100644
--- a/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/Services/OutputBindingDestinationResolver.cs
+++ b/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/Services/OutputBindingDestinationResolver.cs
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ public class OutputBindingDestinationResolver : IOutputBindingDestinationResolve
         if (referenceId == null)
             return null;
 
-        var variable = activityNode
-            .Ancestors()
+        var variable = new[] { activityNode }
+            .Concat(activityNode.Ancestors())
             .Select(x => x.Activity)
             .OfType<IVariableContainer>()
             .SelectMany(x => x.Variables)
diff --git a/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/State/ExceptionState.cs b/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/State/ExceptionState.cs
index d0733db27..20de8fddd 100644
--- a/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/State/ExceptionState.cs
+++ b/src/modules/Elsa.Workflows.Core/State/ExceptionState.cs
@@ -11,14 +11,18 @@ public record ExceptionState(
     Type Type,
     string Message,
     string? StackTrace,
-    ExceptionState? InnerException,
-    IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string>? Metadata = null)
+    ExceptionState? InnerException)
 {
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets privacy-safe structured exception metadata.
+    /// </summary>
+    public IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string>? Metadata { get; init; }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Constructor
     /// </summary>
     [JsonConstructor]
-    public ExceptionState() : this(default!, default!, default, default, default)
+    public ExceptionState() : this(default!, default!, default, default)
     {
         
     }
@@ -35,6 +39,9 @@ public record ExceptionState(
         var metadata = metadataProvider?.GetSafeMetadata();
         var innerException = metadataProvider == null ? FromException(ex.InnerException) : null;
 
-        return new ExceptionState(ex.GetType(), ex.Message, ex.StackTrace, innerException, metadata);
+        return new ExceptionState(ex.GetType(), ex.Message, ex.StackTrace, innerException)
+        {
+            Metadata = metadata
+        };
     }
 }
diff --git a/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputBindingDestinationResolverTests.cs b/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputBindingDestinationResolverTests.cs
index 41cf8f233..6994b58ee 100644
--- a/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputBindingDestinationResolverTests.cs
+++ b/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputBindingDestinationResolverTests.cs
@@ -80,6 +80,29 @@ public class OutputBindingDestinationResolverTests
         Assert.Equal(OutputBindingDestinationKind.Variable, destination.Kind);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void Resolve_StaticVariable_IncludesCurrentVariableContainer()
+    {
+        var referenceId = "local-destination";
+        var activity = new Sequence
+        {
+            Id = "activity",
+            Variables = [new Variable<string>("LocalDestination", "", referenceId)]
+        };
+        var node = new ActivityNode(activity, "Body");
+        var workflow = new Workflow { Root = activity };
+        var graph = new WorkflowGraph(workflow, node, [node]);
+        var output = new Output<int>(new MemoryBlockReference(referenceId));
+
+        var destination = _resolver.Resolve(graph, node, output);
+
+        Assert.NotNull(destination);
+        Assert.Equal(referenceId, destination.Id);
+        Assert.Equal(typeof(string), destination.Type);
+        Assert.True(destination.AllowsNull);
+        Assert.Equal(OutputBindingDestinationKind.Variable, destination.Kind);
+    }
+
     [Theory]
     [InlineData(typeof(string), true)]
     [InlineData(typeof(int?), true)]
diff --git a/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputConversionExceptionStateTests.cs b/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputConversionExceptionStateTests.cs
index f5f2595ab..0aadb559f 100644
--- a/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputConversionExceptionStateTests.cs
+++ b/test/unit/Elsa.Workflows.Core.UnitTests/OutputConverters/OutputConversionExceptionStateTests.cs
@@ -43,4 +43,21 @@ public class OutputConversionExceptionStateTests
         Assert.Null(state.Metadata);
         Assert.DoesNotContain("do not persist", state.Message);
     }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Metadata_PreservesTheOriginalFourPositionRecordContract()
+    {
+        var state = new ExceptionState(typeof(InvalidOperationException), "failure", "stack", null)
+        {
+            Metadata = new Dictionary<string, string> { ["stage"] = "Invocation" }
+        };
+
+        var (type, message, stackTrace, innerException) = state;
+
+        Assert.Equal(typeof(InvalidOperationException), type);
+        Assert.Equal("failure", message);
+        Assert.Equal("stack", stackTrace);
+        Assert.Null(innerException);
+        Assert.Equal("Invocation", state.Metadata!["stage"]);
+    }
 }