diff --git a/tractor/_runtime.py b/tractor/_runtime.py
index abdaf91a..81bab1d5 100644
--- a/tractor/_runtime.py
+++ b/tractor/_runtime.py
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ async def _errors_relayed_via_ipc(
                     )
                 )
             ):
-                # await pause()
+                # await _debug.pause()
                 # XXX QUESTION XXX: is there any case where we'll
                 # want to debug IPC disconnects as a default?
                 # => I can't think of a reason that inspecting this
@@ -319,6 +319,12 @@ async def _errors_relayed_via_ipc(
             cid=ctx.cid,
         )
 
+        # NOTE: the src actor should always be packed into the
+        # error.. but how should we verify this?
+        # assert err_msg['src_actor_uid']
+        # if not err_msg['error'].get('src_actor_uid'):
+        #     import pdbp; pdbp.set_trace()
+
         if is_rpc:
             try:
                 await chan.send(err_msg)
@@ -559,6 +565,7 @@ async def _invoke(
             #   inside ._context._drain_to_final_msg()`..
             #   # TODO: remove this ^ right?
             if ctx._scope.cancelled_caught:
+                our_uid: tuple = actor.uid
 
                 # first check for and raise any remote error
                 # before raising any context cancelled case
@@ -568,8 +575,9 @@ async def _invoke(
                     ctx._maybe_raise_remote_err(re)
 
                 cs: CancelScope = ctx._scope
+
                 if cs.cancel_called:
-                    our_uid: tuple = actor.uid
+
                     canceller: tuple = ctx.canceller
                     msg: str = (
                         'actor was cancelled by '
@@ -625,15 +633,6 @@ async def _invoke(
                         # f'  |_{ctx}'
                     )
 
-                    # TODO: does this ever get set any more or can
-                    # we remove it?
-                    if ctx._cancel_msg:
-                        msg += (
-                            # '------ - ------\n'
-                            # 'IPC msg:\n'
-                            f'\n\n{ctx._cancel_msg}'
-                        )
-
                     # task-contex was either cancelled by request using
                     # ``Portal.cancel_actor()`` or ``Context.cancel()``
                     # on the far end, or it was cancelled by the local
@@ -1677,7 +1676,9 @@ class Actor:
         self,
         cid: str,
         parent_chan: Channel,
-        requesting_uid: tuple[str, str] | None = None,
+
+        requesting_uid: tuple[str, str]|None = None,
+        ipc_msg: dict|None|bool = False,
 
     ) -> bool:
         '''
@@ -1688,16 +1689,13 @@ class Actor:
         in the signature (for now).
 
         '''
-        # this ctx based lookup ensures the requested task to
-        # be cancelled was indeed spawned by a request from
-        # this channel
+
+        # this ctx based lookup ensures the requested task to be
+        # cancelled was indeed spawned by a request from its
+        # parent (or some grandparent's) channel
         ctx: Context
         func: Callable
         is_complete: trio.Event
-
-        # NOTE: right now this is only implicitly called by
-        # streaming IPC but it should be called
-        # to cancel any remotely spawned task
         try:
             (
                 ctx,
@@ -1725,20 +1723,23 @@ class Actor:
 
         log.cancel(
             'Cancel request for RPC task\n\n'
-            f'<= ._cancel_task(): {requesting_uid}\n'
-            f'  |_ @{ctx.dmaddr}\n\n'
+            f'<= Actor.cancel_task(): {requesting_uid}\n\n'
+            f'=> {ctx._task}\n'
+            f'  |_ >> {ctx.repr_rpc}\n'
+            # f'  >> Actor._cancel_task() => {ctx._task}\n'
+            # f'  |_ {ctx._task}\n\n'
 
             # TODO: better ascii repr for "supervisor" like
             # a nursery or context scope?
             # f'=> {parent_chan}\n'
-            f'=> {ctx._task}\n'
+            # f'   |_{ctx._task}\n'
             # TODO: simplified `Context.__repr__()` fields output
             # shows only application state-related stuff like,
             # - ._stream
             # - .closed
             # - .started_called
             # - .. etc.
-            f'  >> {ctx.repr_rpc}\n'
+            # f'     >> {ctx.repr_rpc}\n'
             # f'  |_ctx: {cid}\n'
             # f'    >> {ctx._nsf}()\n'
         )
@@ -1748,6 +1749,16 @@ class Actor:
         ):
             ctx._canceller: tuple = requesting_uid
 
+        # TODO: pack the RPC `{'cmd': <blah>}` msg into a ctxc and
+        # then raise and pack it here?
+        if (
+            ipc_msg
+            and ctx._cancel_msg is None
+        ):
+            # assign RPC msg directly from the loop which usually
+            # the case with `ctx.cancel()` on the other side.
+            ctx._cancel_msg = ipc_msg
+
         # don't allow cancelling this function mid-execution
         # (is this necessary?)
         if func is self._cancel_task:
@@ -1828,10 +1839,15 @@ class Actor:
             else
             "IPC channel's "
         )
-
+        rent_chan_repr: str = (
+            f'|_{parent_chan}'
+            if parent_chan
+            else ''
+        )
         log.cancel(
             f'Cancelling {descr} {len(tasks)} rpc tasks\n\n'
-            f'<= .cancel_rpc_tasks(): {req_uid}\n'
+            f'<= `Actor.cancel_rpc_tasks()`: {req_uid}\n'
+            f'    {rent_chan_repr}\n'
             # f'{self}\n'
             # f'{tasks_str}'
         )
@@ -1851,9 +1867,6 @@ class Actor:
             ):
                 continue
 
-            # if func == self._cancel_task:
-            #     continue
-
             # TODO: this maybe block on the task cancellation
             # and so should really done in a nursery batch?
             await self._cancel_task(
@@ -2198,6 +2211,8 @@ async def process_messages(
                             await actor._cancel_task(
                                 cid,
                                 channel,
+
+                                ipc_msg=msg,
                             )
                     break
 
@@ -2308,6 +2323,7 @@ async def process_messages(
                             # cancel it!
                             'parent_chan': chan,
                             'requesting_uid': chan.uid,
+                            'ipc_msg': msg,
                         }
                         # TODO: remove? already have emit in meth.
                         # log.runtime(
@@ -2575,7 +2591,7 @@ class Arbiter(Actor):
         sockaddr: tuple[str, int]
 
         for (aname, _), sockaddr in self._registry.items():
-            log.info(
+            log.runtime(
                 f'Actor mailbox info:\n'
                 f'aname: {aname}\n'
                 f'sockaddr: {sockaddr}\n'