diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/Localizable.xcstrings b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/Localizable.xcstrings
index 4fc1f5ccde88..335f507a5ba5 100644
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/Localizable.xcstrings
+++ b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/Localizable.xcstrings
@@ -176106,270 +176106,6 @@
         }
       }
     },
-    "steer.waiting": {
-      "comment": "Agent pane: under a prompt sent into a running turn, before the agent read it",
-      "extractionState": "manual",
-      "localizations": {
-        "ar": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "توجيه"
-          }
-        },
-        "bs": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Usmjeravanje"
-          }
-        },
-        "da": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Styrer"
-          }
-        },
-        "de": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Lenkt um"
-          }
-        },
-        "en": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Steering"
-          }
-        },
-        "es": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Redirigiendo"
-          }
-        },
-        "fr": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Réorientation"
-          }
-        },
-        "it": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Reindirizzamento"
-          }
-        },
-        "ja": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "軌道修正中"
-          }
-        },
-        "km": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "កំពុងតម្រង់ទិស"
-          }
-        },
-        "ko": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "방향 전환 중"
-          }
-        },
-        "nb": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Styrer"
-          }
-        },
-        "pl": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Przekierowanie"
-          }
-        },
-        "pt-BR": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Redirecionando"
-          }
-        },
-        "ru": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Корректировка"
-          }
-        },
-        "th": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "กำลังปรับทิศทาง"
-          }
-        },
-        "tr": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Yönlendiriliyor"
-          }
-        },
-        "uk": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Коригування"
-          }
-        },
-        "vi": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Đang điều hướng"
-          }
-        },
-        "zh-Hans": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "正在引导"
-          }
-        },
-        "zh-Hant": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "正在引導"
-          }
-        }
-      }
-    },
-    "steer.waitingDetail": {
-      "comment": "Agent pane: when the agent reads a prompt sent into its running turn",
-      "extractionState": "manual",
-      "localizations": {
-        "ar": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "يقرؤها الوكيل عند انتهاء خطوته الحالية"
-          }
-        },
-        "bs": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Agent ga čita kad završi trenutni korak"
-          }
-        },
-        "da": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Agenten læser den, når det aktuelle trin slutter"
-          }
-        },
-        "de": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Der Agent liest das, wenn sein aktueller Schritt endet"
-          }
-        },
-        "en": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "The agent reads it when its current step ends"
-          }
-        },
-        "es": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "El agente lo lee cuando termina su paso actual"
-          }
-        },
-        "fr": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "L’agent le lit à la fin de son étape en cours"
-          }
-        },
-        "it": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "L’agente lo legge al termine del passaggio corrente"
-          }
-        },
-        "ja": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "エージェントは現在のステップの終了時に読みます"
-          }
-        },
-        "km": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "ភ្នាក់ងារអានវានៅពេលជំហានបច្ចុប្បន្នបញ្ចប់"
-          }
-        },
-        "ko": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "에이전트가 현재 단계를 마치면 읽습니다"
-          }
-        },
-        "nb": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Agenten leser den når det gjeldende trinnet er ferdig"
-          }
-        },
-        "pl": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Agent przeczyta to po zakończeniu bieżącego kroku"
-          }
-        },
-        "pt-BR": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "O agente lê quando a etapa atual terminar"
-          }
-        },
-        "ru": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Агент прочитает это, когда закончит текущий шаг"
-          }
-        },
-        "th": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "เอเจนต์จะอ่านเมื่อขั้นตอนปัจจุบันจบ"
-          }
-        },
-        "tr": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Ajan bunu geçerli adımı bitince okur"
-          }
-        },
-        "uk": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Агент прочитає це, коли завершить поточний крок"
-          }
-        },
-        "vi": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "Tác tử sẽ đọc khi bước hiện tại kết thúc"
-          }
-        },
-        "zh-Hans": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "智能体会在当前步骤结束时读取"
-          }
-        },
-        "zh-Hant": {
-          "stringUnit": {
-            "state": "translated",
-            "value": "代理程式會在目前步驟結束時讀取"
-          }
-        }
-      }
-    },
     "steer.landed": {
       "comment": "Agent pane: under a prompt sent into a running turn, once the agent read it",
       "extractionState": "manual",
diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/ActivityLine.tsx b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/ActivityLine.tsx
index daf680fcd80e..a25cc324f825 100644
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/ActivityLine.tsx
+++ b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/ActivityLine.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // The running turn's activity line under its todo list (Debug Settings `agent.sessionStatus`,
-// cx-ncc.102; Claude Code desktop's `••• Edit ProductGrid.module.css 26s`): what turns.ts names
-// (the running tool call, else the todo in progress) and the turn's time, ticking each second from
-// the prompt like "Working for", whose place it takes.
+// cx-ncc.102; Claude Code desktop's `Edit ProductGrid.module.css 26s`): what turns.ts names (the
+// running tool call, else the todo in progress) and the turn's time, ticking each second from the
+// prompt like "Working for", whose place it takes. No dots blink before it, as on that line.
 import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { useT } from "../i18n";
 import type { AcpmuxRow } from "../model";
@@ -18,11 +18,6 @@ export function ActivityLine({ row, now = Date.now }: { row: AcpmuxRow; now?: ()
   }, [now]);
   return (
     <div className="cv-activity">
-      <span className="cv-activity__dots" aria-hidden="true">
-        <span />
-        <span />
-        <span />
-      </span>
       {row.text ? (
         <>
           <span className="cv-activity__label">{row.text}</span>
diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/PlanList.gallery.ts b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/PlanList.gallery.ts
index 2eb63becad7e..606a3442f8ee 100644
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/PlanList.gallery.ts
+++ b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/PlanList.gallery.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ export default agentPaneEntry({
       ]),
     },
     "activity-line": {
-      note: "Debug Settings agent.sessionStatus on: the list sits under the work, and the line under it names the running edit by its file name and ticks the turn's time, in Working for's place.",
+      note: "Debug Settings agent.sessionStatus on: the list sits under the work, and the line under it names the running edit by its file name and ticks the turn's time, in Working for's place, with no blinking dots before it.",
       sessionStatus: true,
       snapshot: chat(
         [
diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/Thinking.tsx b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/Thinking.tsx
index d404048786c9..c93b93fb778b 100644
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/Thinking.tsx
+++ b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/Thinking.tsx
@@ -1,16 +1,14 @@
-// "Thinking": a running turn before its first output, after the working mark (WorkingMark.tsx).
-// The label stays still; the mark is the only motion. Before the turn, while the prompt waits
+// "Thinking": a running turn before its first output. The line holds still: no mark blinks before
+// it (Leo, 2026-10-20: "wtf have we removed this yet"). Before the turn, while the prompt waits
 // for its agent to start, the same line reads the start status ("Starting Claude Code…") with
 // Cancel, so the line keeps one place from send to the first output (cx-ncc.58). Only the
 // status is the live region.
 import { useT } from "../i18n";
-import { WorkingMark } from "./WorkingMark";
 
 export function Thinking({ status, onCancel }: { status?: string; onCancel?: () => void } = {}) {
   const t = useT();
   return (
     <div className="cv-worked" data-find-skip>
-      <WorkingMark />
       <output className="cv-thinking">{status ?? t("thinking")}</output>
       {status && onCancel && (
         <button type="button" className="cv-thinking__cancel" onClick={onCancel}>
diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingFor.tsx b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingFor.tsx
index 33c63479fc4d..3af89ec6d796 100644
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingFor.tsx
+++ b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingFor.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 // The line over a running turn's work: "Working for 42s", ticking each second from the prompt,
 // or held at `durationMs` while text streams. While a call runs (`row.doing`, turns.ts) it names
-// that call beside the time instead, as Claude desktop's line does, after the same small animated
-// mark as "Thinking". After that it counts the work still going in the background, as Claude's
-// phone app does ("Working… · 5 running tasks"): "· 2 agents · 1 command", only subagents still
+// that call beside the time instead, as Claude desktop's line does. No mark blinks before it; the
+// ticking time says the turn is alive. After that it counts the work still going in the
+// background, as Claude's phone app does ("Working… · 5 running tasks"): "· 2 agents · 1 command", only subagents still
 // running and background shells that have not ended. Each count opens what it counts. The counts
 // follow on the same fixed-height line, so one that comes or goes moves neither the label nor the
 // rows below. Before them, as Claude desktop's line does, it says the turn's tokens so far
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ import { createContext, useContext, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { type PaneLanguage, type Translate, usePaneLanguage, useT } from "../i18n";
 import type { AcpmuxRow } from "../model";
 import { formatDuration } from "./turns";
-import { WorkingMark } from "./WorkingMark";
 
 export const workingLabel = (t: Translate, at: number, now: number) =>
   t("turn.working", { time: formatDuration(Math.max(0, now - at)) });
@@ -68,7 +67,6 @@ export function WorkingFor({ row, now = Date.now }: { row: AcpmuxRow; now?: () =
   // line is not painted either: the call it names is matched on its own tool row.
   return (
     <div className="cv-worked has-divider" data-find-skip>
-      <WorkingMark />
       {row.doing ? (
         <>
           <span className="cv-worked__label cv-worked__doing">{row.doing}</span>
diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingMark.tsx b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingMark.tsx
deleted file mode 100644
index 2b250854b718..000000000000
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingMark.tsx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-// The small animated mark at the start of a running turn's line ("Thinking", "Working for", the
-// call in flight), as Claude desktop draws one: three dots that pulse in turn in the accent color.
-// Drawn only; with Reduce Motion on they hold still (conversation.css).
-export function WorkingMark() {
-  return (
-    <span className="cv-working-mark" aria-hidden="true">
-      <span />
-      <span />
-      <span />
-    </span>
-  );
-}
diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/conversation.css b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/conversation.css
index f559ae249fbd..29637c89430a 100644
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/conversation.css
+++ b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/conversation.css
@@ -1281,51 +1281,10 @@ pre.cv-math-source {
   flex: none;
   margin-inline-start: 6px;
 }
-/* The working mark (WorkingMark.tsx): the pane's one running motion, three accent dots that pulse
-   in turn on a slow 2s cycle, centred on the 20px line. */
-.cv-working-mark {
-  flex: none;
-  display: inline-flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 2px;
-  height: 20px;
-  margin-inline-end: 6px;
-}
-.cv-working-mark > span {
-  width: 3px;
-  height: 3px;
-  border-radius: 50%;
-  background: var(--agent-accent, currentColor);
-}
-@media (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference) {
-  .cv-working-mark > span {
-    animation: cv-working-dot 2s ease-in-out infinite;
-  }
-  .cv-working-mark > span:nth-child(2) {
-    animation-delay: 0.25s;
-  }
-  .cv-working-mark > span:nth-child(3) {
-    animation-delay: 0.5s;
-  }
-}
-@keyframes cv-working-dot {
-  0%,
-  60%,
-  100% {
-    opacity: 0.35;
-  }
-  30% {
-    opacity: 1;
-  }
-}
-/* "Thinking" stays still in the muted color; the working dots carry the motion. */
+/* "Thinking" stays still in the muted color. No mark blinks before it or before "Working for". */
 .cv-thinking {
   color: var(--cv-text-muted);
 }
-/* Static status indicators (cx-sya4n), or Reduce Motion above: the dots hold at full strength. */
-:root[data-status-indicators="static"] .cv-working-mark > span {
-  animation: none;
-}
 
 .cv-tools {
   margin: 2px 0 0;
@@ -2917,7 +2876,7 @@ button.cv-received__name:focus-visible {
 }
 
 /* The running turn's activity line under its todo list (ActivityLine.tsx, agent.sessionStatus,
-   cx-ncc.102): three dots, what the agent is doing now and the turn's time. */
+   cx-ncc.102): what the agent is doing now and the turn's time. */
 .cv-activity {
   display: flex;
   align-items: center;
@@ -2938,42 +2897,6 @@ button.cv-received__name:focus-visible {
   flex: none;
   font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
 }
-.cv-activity__dots {
-  flex: none;
-  display: inline-flex;
-  gap: 2px;
-}
-.cv-activity__dots > span {
-  width: 3px;
-  height: 3px;
-  border-radius: 50%;
-  background: var(--agent-accent, currentColor);
-}
-@media (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference) {
-  .cv-activity__dots > span {
-    animation: cv-activity-dot 1.2s ease-in-out infinite;
-  }
-  .cv-activity__dots > span:nth-child(2) {
-    animation-delay: 0.15s;
-  }
-  .cv-activity__dots > span:nth-child(3) {
-    animation-delay: 0.3s;
-  }
-}
-/* Static status indicators (or Reduce Motion, above): the dots hold still. */
-:root[data-status-indicators="static"] .cv-activity__dots > span {
-  animation: none;
-}
-@keyframes cv-activity-dot {
-  0%,
-  60%,
-  100% {
-    opacity: 0.35;
-  }
-  30% {
-    opacity: 1;
-  }
-}
 
 /* ---------- A background shell's end (BackgroundTaskNote.tsx, cx-ncc.84) ---------- */
 .cv-bgtask[data-state="failed"] .cv-tool__icon {
diff --git a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/transcript.gallery.ts b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/transcript.gallery.ts
index 838ffca865a1..b2c44ce9c005 100644
--- a/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/transcript.gallery.ts
+++ b/webviews/src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/transcript.gallery.ts
@@ -368,6 +368,20 @@ const footerActionsPlacement = (placement: "left" | "right") => async (ctx: Play
     throw new Error(`turn footer actions are not ${placement}-aligned`);
 };
 
+/// The running line ("Thinking", "Working for") holds still: no mark blinks before its words and
+/// nothing on it loops (Leo, 2026-10-20, "the blinking ascii").
+const runningLineStill = (label: RegExp) => async (ctx: PlayContext) => {
+  await ctx.waitFor(() => label.test(ctx.document.querySelector(".cv-worked")?.textContent ?? ""));
+  const line = ctx.document.querySelector<HTMLElement>(".cv-worked")!;
+  if (line.querySelector(".cv-working-mark, .cv-activity__dots")) throw new Error("a working mark draws on the line");
+  const first = line.firstElementChild?.textContent?.trim() ?? "";
+  if (!label.test(first)) throw new Error(`the line starts with ${JSON.stringify(first)}, not its words`);
+  const loops = line
+    .getAnimations({ subtree: true })
+    .filter((animation) => animation.effect?.getTiming().iterations === Infinity);
+  if (loops.length > 0) throw new Error(`${loops.length} animations loop on the running line`);
+};
+
 /// A run of commands longer than a group shows at once (ToolGroupRow.tsx GROUP_TAIL).
 const DENSE_COMMANDS = [
   "cd ~/Projects/cmux && git log --oneline -5 -- Sources/Sidebar",
@@ -440,7 +454,6 @@ export default agentPaneEntry({
     "agent-session/acpmux/conversation/ChatFindScope.tsx#ChatFindScope",
     "agent-session/acpmux/conversation/MessageCard.tsx",
     "agent-session/acpmux/conversation/ThoughtRow.tsx#ThoughtRow",
-    "agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingMark.tsx#WorkingMark",
     "agent-session/acpmux/conversation/Markdown.tsx",
     "agent-session/acpmux/conversation/RevealedMarkdown.tsx",
     "agent-session/acpmux/conversation/CodeBlock.tsx",
@@ -507,8 +520,9 @@ export default agentPaneEntry({
       snapshot: chat([user("Review the release checklist", 4), assistant(TASKS_REPLY, 3)]),
     },
     thinking: {
-      note: "A turn that started and has no output yet.",
+      note: "A turn that started and has no output yet: Thinking alone, with no blinking dots before it. Play: the line holds still.",
       snapshot: chat([user(prompt, 0.2)], { isWorking: true }),
+      play: runningLineStill(/^Thinking/),
     },
     streaming: {
       note: "A reply still streaming (its last block still open).",
@@ -818,7 +832,7 @@ export default agentPaneEntry({
       ),
     },
     "working-tokens": {
-      note: "A live Claude turn says its tokens so far after its time, as Claude desktop does: the working dots, then Working for 5m 54s · 2.1M tokens. A harness that does not report each call shows the time alone.",
+      note: "A live Claude turn says its tokens so far after its time, as Claude desktop does: Working for 5m 54s · 2.1M tokens, with no blinking dots before it. A harness that does not report each call shows the time alone. Play: the line holds still.",
       snapshot: chat(
         [
           user(prompt, 5.9),
@@ -836,6 +850,7 @@ export default agentPaneEntry({
         ],
         { isWorking: true, turnTokens: 2_140_000 },
       ),
+      play: runningLineStill(/^Working for/),
     },
     "working-counts": {
       note: "A live turn with background work: the line counts the two agents still running and the dev server still up, not the agent that finished. A count opens what it counts.",
diff --git a/webviews/test/agent-pane-turn-tokens.test.tsx b/webviews/test/agent-pane-turn-tokens.test.tsx
index d80dfa557f18..d071045acd1c 100644
--- a/webviews/test/agent-pane-turn-tokens.test.tsx
+++ b/webviews/test/agent-pane-turn-tokens.test.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // l10n-allow-file: test fixture prompts and tool titles, not shipped UI.
 // The running turn's line says what the turn has spent so far, as Claude desktop's does: the
-// working dots, the time, then this turn's tokens ("Working for 5m 54s · 2.1M tokens"). Claude Code
+// time, then this turn's tokens ("Working for 5m 54s · 2.1M tokens"). Claude Code
 // reports each model call's usage as it lands, and acpmux marks those records as one call's
 // (`usage_update` with `_meta.acpmux.call`, claude_stdio/inbound.rs), so the turn's tokens are the
 // sum of the marked calls since its `turn_started`. Every other usage record is the context a
diff --git a/webviews/test/static-status-loops.test.ts b/webviews/test/static-status-loops.test.ts
index f8a61ccdec80..e866989d9b2d 100644
--- a/webviews/test/static-status-loops.test.ts
+++ b/webviews/test/static-status-loops.test.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 // `data-status-indicators="static"` on the root: the app's WebTheme bootstrap sets it from the theme
 // payload (`statusIndicators`), which this test runs as the app does, and under it, or under Reduce
 // Motion, no web loop may run: the mic's wait pulse, the model picker and harness spinners, the
-// floating chat's breathing dot, the Thinking sweep, the running line's working dots, the todo
-// list's spinner, the activity line's dots, the Jump to Latest dots and Home's "writing" pulse.
+// floating chat's breathing dot, the Thinking sweep, the todo list's spinner, the Jump to Latest
+// dots and Home's "writing" pulse.
 // The diff viewer does not get the pane's theme, so its spinners stop under Reduce Motion alone.
 // Static also gives the color-only marks a shape each.
 // This loads the real stylesheets in Chromium and lists the animations that never end.
@@ -52,12 +52,10 @@ await requireBrowserLane("static-status-loops.test.ts", async () => {
     `<span class="acpmux-mp-refresh-spinner"></span><span class="acpmux-harness-spinner"></span>` +
     `<span class="acpmux-floating-status" data-status="streaming"></span>` +
     `<div class="cv-md"><span class="cv-thinking">Thinking</span></div>` +
-    `<div class="cv-worked"><span class="cv-working-mark"><span></span><span></span><span></span></span></div>` +
     `<button class="acpmux-jump-latest" data-shown data-working><span class="acpmux-jump-latest__dots"><i></i><i></i><i></i></span></button>` +
     `<ul class="cv-plan"><li class="cv-plan__item" data-status="in_progress"><span class="cv-plan__mark"></span></li></ul>` +
     `<span class="cv-spinner"></span>` +
     working +
-    `<div class="cv-activity"><span class="cv-activity__dots"><span></span><span></span><span></span></span></div>` +
     `<span class="hc-writing">writing</span>`;
   const diffLoops = `<span class="base-picker-spinner"></span><div id="status" data-pending="true">Loading</div>`;
 
diff --git a/webviews/test/steer-no-caption.test.tsx b/webviews/test/steer-no-caption.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..fe475b6ef0a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/webviews/test/steer-no-caption.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// A steered message looks like any other sent message: no "Steering · The agent reads it when its
+// current step ends" sentence under it (Leo, 2026-10-20: "wtf have we removed this yet"). While the
+// agent has not read it, only a quiet clock and Send now show (PendingSteer.tsx); the words that
+// caption used are gone from the catalog, so no row can draw them again.
+import { expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+import { PendingSteer } from "../src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/PendingSteer";
+import type { AcpmuxRow } from "../src/agent-session/acpmux/model";
+
+const steer = (extra: Partial<AcpmuxRow>): AcpmuxRow => ({
+  id: "u1",
+  kind: "user",
+  version: 1,
+  at: 1_000,
+  text: "it's literally right there dont duplicate work",
+  ...extra,
+});
+const text = (html: string) =>
+  html
+    .replace(/<[^>]+>/g, " ")
+    .replace(/\s+/g, " ")
+    .trim();
+const send = async () => true;
+
+test("a waiting steer shows Send now and no sentence", () => {
+  const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+    <PendingSteer row={steer({ steer: "waiting", steerPromptId: "p1" })} send={send} />,
+  );
+  expect(text(html)).toBe("Send now");
+  expect(html).not.toMatch(/Steering|reads it when|current step ends/);
+});
+
+test("a waiting steer without a prompt id shows the clock alone", () => {
+  const html = renderToStaticMarkup(<PendingSteer row={steer({ steer: "waiting" })} send={send} />);
+  expect(text(html)).toBe("");
+});
+
+test("the Steering caption's words are gone from the catalog", async () => {
+  const catalog = await Bun.file(new URL("../src/agent-session/acpmux/Localizable.xcstrings", import.meta.url)).json();
+  expect(catalog.strings["steer.waiting"]).toBeUndefined();
+  expect(catalog.strings["steer.waitingDetail"]).toBeUndefined();
+  const english = Object.values(
+    catalog.strings as Record<string, { localizations?: { en?: { stringUnit?: { value?: string } } } }>,
+  )
+    .map((entry) => entry.localizations?.en?.stringUnit?.value ?? "")
+    .filter((value) => /reads it when its current step ends/.test(value));
+  expect(english).toEqual([]);
+});
diff --git a/webviews/test/transcript-working-line.test.tsx b/webviews/test/transcript-working-line.test.tsx
index 021708d2eb2a..070ed94eacc2 100644
--- a/webviews/test/transcript-working-line.test.tsx
+++ b/webviews/test/transcript-working-line.test.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 // l10n-allow-file: test fixture tool titles, not shipped UI.
 // The running turn's status line, as Claude desktop draws it (#21604 row 2,
-// transcript-task-list-in-progress.png): a small animated mark, then what the agent is doing now.
-// While a tool call runs the line names it and keeps the turn's time beside it; between calls it
-// reads "Working for 42s" as before, and before any work "Thinking" carries the same mark.
+// transcript-task-list-in-progress.png): what the agent is doing now. While a tool call runs the
+// line names it and keeps the turn's time beside it; between calls it reads "Working for 42s" as
+// before, and before any work "Thinking". No mark blinks before any of them (Leo, 2026-10-20: the
+// three pulsing dots were "the blinking ascii"; the ticking time says the turn is alive).
 import { expect, test } from "bun:test";
 import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
 import type { AcpmuxRow } from "../src/agent-session/acpmux/model";
+import { ActivityLine } from "../src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/ActivityLine";
 import { Thinking } from "../src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/Thinking";
 import { WorkingFor } from "../src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/WorkingFor";
 import { turnView, WORKING } from "../src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/turns";
@@ -32,6 +34,11 @@ function statusLine(calls: ReturnType<typeof call>[]): AcpmuxRow {
 }
 
 const drawn = (status: AcpmuxRow) => renderToStaticMarkup(<WorkingFor row={status} now={() => status.at + 26_000} />);
+// The line draws nothing before its words: no working mark, no activity dots, and its first child
+// is the label itself.
+const stillMarkup = (html: string) =>
+  /^<div[^>]*><(?:span|output) class="cv-(?:worked__label|thinking|activity__label)/.test(html) &&
+  !/cv-working-mark|cv-activity__dots/.test(html);
 const text = (html: string) =>
   html
     .replace(/<[^>]+>/g, " ")
@@ -43,19 +50,29 @@ test("while a call runs, the status line names it beside the turn's time", () =>
   expect(status.doing).toBe("bun test");
   const html = drawn(status);
   expect(text(html)).toBe("bun test 26s");
-  expect(html).toContain("cv-working-mark");
+  expect(stillMarkup(html)).toBe(true);
 });
 
-test("between calls, the line reads Working for, with the same mark", () => {
+test("between calls, the line reads Working for, with no mark before it", () => {
   const status = statusLine([call("git log", "completed")]);
   expect(status.doing).toBeUndefined();
   const html = drawn(status);
   expect(text(html)).toBe("Working for 26s");
-  expect(html).toContain("cv-working-mark");
+  expect(stillMarkup(html)).toBe(true);
 });
 
-test("Thinking carries the mark too", () => {
-  expect(renderToStaticMarkup(<Thinking />)).toContain("cv-working-mark");
+test("Thinking is the word alone, with no mark before it", () => {
+  const html = renderToStaticMarkup(<Thinking />);
+  expect(text(html)).toBe("Thinking");
+  expect(stillMarkup(html)).toBe(true);
+});
+
+test("the activity line names the work with no dots before it", () => {
+  const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+    <ActivityLine row={row("act", "activity-line", { text: "Edit grid.css" })} now={() => at + 26_000} />,
+  );
+  expect(text(html)).toMatch(/^Edit grid\.css \d+s$/);
+  expect(stillMarkup(html)).toBe(true);
 });
 
 test("a call whose title is its raw input reads as a label, not JSON", () => {
@@ -75,12 +92,12 @@ test("a call whose title is its raw input reads as a label, not JSON", () => {
   expect(status.doing).not.toContain("{");
 });
 
-test("the working dots are the only running motion: Thinking has no shimmer", async () => {
+test("nothing on the running line loops: no working dots, no activity dots, no Thinking shimmer", async () => {
   const css = await Bun.file(
     new URL("../src/agent-session/acpmux/conversation/conversation.css", import.meta.url),
   ).text();
   expect(css).not.toContain("cv-thinking-sweep");
-  expect(css).toMatch(/animation: cv-working-dot 2s /);
+  expect(css).not.toMatch(/cv-working-mark|cv-working-dot|cv-activity__dots|cv-activity-dot/);
 });
 
 // Find counts and visits only transcript rows (findMatches skips the working row), so the status