diff --git a/frontend/src/components/dashboard/AgentModal.vue b/frontend/src/components/dashboard/AgentModal.vue
index 8dbf87f..4f551fc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/dashboard/AgentModal.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/dashboard/AgentModal.vue
@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@ defineEmits<{
             <div>
               <h2>{{ agent.name }}</h2>
               <span class="modal-role">{{ agent.role }}</span>
+              <a :href="`/agents/${agent.id}`" class="agent-link-btn" title="Open agent config">
+                <ExternalLink :size="12" />
+              </a>
             </div>
           </div>
-          <a :href="`/agents/${agent.id}`" class="agent-link-btn" title="Open agent config">
-            <ExternalLink :size="14" />
-          </a>
           <button class="modal-close-btn" @click="$emit('close')" aria-label="Close">
             <X :size="16" />
           </button>
@@ -41,7 +41,34 @@ defineEmits<{
         <!-- Current Task -->
         <section class="modal-section">
           <h3 class="section-label">Current Task</h3>
-          <p class="section-value">{{ agent.currentTask }}</p>
+          <p class="section-value">
+            {{ agent.currentTask }}
+            <span class="thinking-dots">
+              <span class="thinking-dot blue"></span>
+              <span class="thinking-dot violet"></span>
+            </span>
+          </p>
+        </section>
+
+        <!-- Live Thinking -->
+        <section class="modal-section">
+          <h3 class="section-label">Live Thinking</h3>
+          <div class="thinking-panel">
+            <div class="thinking-stream" ref="thinkingStreamRef">
+              <div
+                v-for="(msg, idx) in agent.thinkingStream"
+                :key="idx"
+                class="thinking-entry"
+                :style="{ animationDelay: `${idx * 0.05}s` }"
+              >
+                <span class="entry-time">{{ msg.time }}</span>
+                <span class="entry-text">{{ msg.text }}</span>
+              </div>
+              <div v-if="!agent.thinkingStream?.length" class="thinking-placeholder">
+                Waiting for thought stream...
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          </div>
         </section>
 
         <!-- Goal + Progress -->
@@ -69,32 +96,8 @@ defineEmits<{
               class="work-step"
             >
               <span class="step-dot"></span>
-              <span class="step-text">{{ step }}</span>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        </section>
-
-        <!-- Live Thinking -->
-        <section class="modal-section">
-          <h3 class="section-label">Live Thinking</h3>
-          <div class="thinking-panel">
-            <div class="thinking-stream" ref="thinkingStreamRef">
-              <div
-                v-for="(msg, idx) in agent.thinkingStream"
-                :key="idx"
-                class="thinking-entry"
-                :style="{ animationDelay: `${idx * 0.05}s` }"
-              >
-                <span class="entry-time">{{ msg.time }}</span>
-                <span class="entry-text">{{ msg.text }}</span>
-                <span class="thinking-dots" v-if="idx === agent.thinkingStream.length - 1">
-                  <span class="thinking-dot blue"></span>
-                  <span class="thinking-dot violet"></span>
-                </span>
-              </div>
-              <div v-if="!agent.thinkingStream?.length" class="thinking-placeholder">
-                Waiting for thought stream...
-              </div>
+              <span class="step-time">{{ step.time }}</span>
+              <span class="step-text">{{ step.text }}</span>
             </div>
           </div>
         </section>
@@ -102,15 +105,6 @@ defineEmits<{
         <!-- Footer Stats -->
         <div class="modal-footer">
           <span class="footer-badge">Runtime: {{ runtime }}</span>
-          <span
-            class="footer-badge"
-            :style="{
-              color: agent.workload > 65 ? '#eab308' : '#22c55e',
-              borderColor: agent.workload > 65 ? 'rgba(234,179,8,0.2)' : 'rgba(34,197,94,0.2)',
-            }"
-          >
-            Workload: {{ agent.workload }}%
-          </span>
         </div>
       </div>
     </div>
@@ -197,21 +191,25 @@ defineEmits<{
   font-weight: 500;
 }
 .agent-link-btn {
-  display: grid;
-  place-items: center;
-  width: 32px;
-  height: 32px;
-  border: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.08);
-  border-radius: 8px;
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  width: 24px;
+  height: 24px;
+  margin-left: 4px;
+  border: none;
+  border-radius: 6px;
   background: transparent;
   color: #6b7385;
+  opacity: 0.4;
   cursor: pointer;
-  transition: all 0.2s;
+  transition: opacity 0.2s;
   flex-shrink: 0;
   text-decoration: none;
+  vertical-align: middle;
 }
 .agent-link-btn:hover {
-  border-color: var(--agent-color);
+  opacity: 1;
   color: var(--agent-color);
 }
 
@@ -258,6 +256,9 @@ defineEmits<{
   font-size: 12px;
   color: #e8eaf0;
   line-height: 1.4;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 8px;
 }
 
 /* Progress */
@@ -306,20 +307,30 @@ defineEmits<{
 .thinking-dots {
   display: inline-flex;
   gap: 6px;
-  margin-left: 8px;
   flex-shrink: 0;
-  animation: spin-dots 2s linear infinite;
 }
 .thinking-dot {
   width: 7px;
   height: 7px;
   border-radius: 50%;
 }
-.thinking-dot.blue { background: #3b82f6; box-shadow: 0 0 8px #3b82f6; }
-.thinking-dot.violet { background: #8b7cf6; box-shadow: 0 0 8px #8b7cf6; }
-@keyframes spin-dots {
-  0% { transform: rotate(0deg); }
-  100% { transform: rotate(360deg); }
+.thinking-dot.blue {
+  background: #3b82f6;
+  box-shadow: 0 0 8px #3b82f6;
+  animation: pulse-dot-blue 1.2s ease-in-out infinite;
+}
+.thinking-dot.violet {
+  background: #8b7cf6;
+  box-shadow: 0 0 8px #8b7cf6;
+  animation: pulse-dot-violet 1.8s ease-in-out infinite 0.3s;
+}
+@keyframes pulse-dot-blue {
+  0%, 100% { opacity: 0.4; transform: scale(0.7); }
+  50% { opacity: 1; transform: scale(1.3); }
+}
+@keyframes pulse-dot-violet {
+  0%, 100% { opacity: 0.3; transform: scale(0.6); }
+  50% { opacity: 1; transform: scale(1.4); }
 }
 
 .thinking-stream {
@@ -383,6 +394,13 @@ defineEmits<{
   color: #7e8799;
   line-height: 1.35;
 }
+.step-time {
+  font-size: 8.5px;
+  color: #6b7385;
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  min-width: 36px;
+}
 
 /* Footer */
 .modal-footer {
diff --git a/frontend/src/composables/useDashboardData.ts b/frontend/src/composables/useDashboardData.ts
index 4a60d58..dc07307 100644
--- a/frontend/src/composables/useDashboardData.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/composables/useDashboardData.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ export interface AgentNodeData {
   workload: number // 0-100
   active: boolean
   runtimeSeconds: number
-  workingFeed: string[]
+  workingFeed: Array<{ time: string; text: string }>
   thinkingStream?: Array<{ time: string; text: string }>
 }
 
@@ -114,10 +114,10 @@ export function useDashboardData() {
       active: true,
       runtimeSeconds: 28800,
       workingFeed: [
-        'Analyzed user feedback on Dashboard',
-        'Delegated card redesign to Developer',
-        'Verifying full-width layout deployment',
-        'Reviewing AgentModal integration',
+        { time: '22:38', text: 'Analyzed user feedback on Dashboard' },
+        { time: '22:36', text: 'Delegated card redesign to Developer' },
+        { time: '22:34', text: 'Verifying full-width layout deployment' },
+        { time: '22:32', text: 'Reviewing AgentModal integration' },
       ],
       thinkingStream: [
         { time: '22:24', text: 'Analysing constraint: full-width layout' },
@@ -139,10 +139,10 @@ export function useDashboardData() {
       active: true,
       runtimeSeconds: 3600,
       workingFeed: [
-        'Created DungeonController',
-        'Defined dungeon schema',
-        'Implementing room generation algorithm',
-        'Writing unit tests for RoomFactory',
+        { time: '22:30', text: 'Created DungeonController' },
+        { time: '22:28', text: 'Defined dungeon schema' },
+        { time: '22:26', text: 'Implementing room generation algorithm' },
+        { time: '22:24', text: 'Writing unit tests for RoomFactory' },
       ],
       thinkingStream: [
         { time: '22:22', text: 'Parsing dungeon spec from Iris' },
@@ -164,10 +164,10 @@ export function useDashboardData() {
       active: false,
       runtimeSeconds: 1800,
       workingFeed: [
-        'Analyzed Docker layer cache',
-        'Optimized COPY order in Dockerfile',
-        'Added .dockerignore for node_modules',
-        'Testing incremental builds',
+        { time: '22:20', text: 'Analyzed Docker layer cache' },
+        { time: '22:18', text: 'Optimized COPY order in Dockerfile' },
+        { time: '22:16', text: 'Added .dockerignore for node_modules' },
+        { time: '22:14', text: 'Testing incremental builds' },
       ],
       thinkingStream: [
         { time: '22:20', text: 'Checking build cache hit rates' },
@@ -189,9 +189,9 @@ export function useDashboardData() {
       active: true,
       runtimeSeconds: 2700,
       workingFeed: [
-        'Evaluated WebSocket vs SSE vs WebRTC',
-        'Documented SignalR limitations',
-        'Prototyping WebSocket fallback',
+        { time: '22:18', text: 'Evaluated WebSocket vs SSE vs WebRTC' },
+        { time: '22:17', text: 'Documented SignalR limitations' },
+        { time: '22:16', text: 'Prototyping WebSocket fallback' },
       ],
       thinkingStream: [
         { time: '22:18', text: 'Cross-referencing WebSocket latency benchmarks' },
@@ -213,10 +213,10 @@ export function useDashboardData() {
       active: false,
       runtimeSeconds: 900,
       workingFeed: [
-        'Reviewed DungeonController.cs',
-        'Found 3 minor style issues',
-        'Approved RoomValidator',
-        'Running integration tests',
+        { time: '22:15', text: 'Reviewed DungeonController.cs' },
+        { time: '22:14', text: 'Found 3 minor style issues' },
+        { time: '22:13', text: 'Approved RoomValidator' },
+        { time: '22:12', text: 'Running integration tests' },
       ],
       thinkingStream: [
         { time: '22:15', text: 'Analyzing DungeonController PR diff' },