diff --git a/bot/bot.ts b/bot/bot.ts
index 53c1b3d..7d8fd6e 100644
--- a/bot/bot.ts
+++ b/bot/bot.ts
@@ -935,6 +935,10 @@ const toolsByName = new Map(allTools.map((t) => [t.name, t]));
 // Hidden from Redstone's view: emoji→sticker is handled by post-processing
 // the reply text, so the model never has to manage file_ids itself.
 const REDSTONE_HIDDEN_TOOLS = new Set(["tg_send_sticker", "tg_stickers_known"]);
+// Probability that a reply containing a palette emoji actually gets a sticker
+// fired after it. Set high enough to feel responsive, low enough that stickers
+// stay a treat rather than expected noise.
+const STICKER_SEND_PROBABILITY = 0.35;
 const geminiFunctionDeclarations = allTools
   .filter((t) => !REDSTONE_HIDDEN_TOOLS.has(t.name))
   .map(toolToGeminiFunction);
@@ -966,6 +970,22 @@ function recentTurns(chatId: number, beforeId: number, n = 6): GeminiContent[] {
   }));
 }
 
+// Fire-and-forget loop that re-sends the "typing…" chat action every 4s so it
+// stays visible during long AI calls (Telegram auto-clears after ~5s of silence).
+// Returns a stop() — call it from a finally{} so the indicator clears (fades
+// naturally within 5s) on both success and failure paths.
+function startTypingLoop(ctx: Context, chatId: number): () => void {
+  let stopped = false;
+  (async () => {
+    while (!stopped) {
+      try { await ctx.api.sendChatAction(chatId, "typing"); } catch { /* ignore */ }
+      if (stopped) break;
+      await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 4000));
+    }
+  })();
+  return () => { stopped = true; };
+}
+
 function botAddressed(ctx: Context, botId: number, botUsername: string): boolean {
   const m = ctx.message;
   if (!m || !m.text) return false;
@@ -1010,14 +1030,17 @@ function redstonePersona(user: User, chatType: string, chatId: number, srv: stri
     ? "(no sticker palette yet — anyone in any chat can grow it by sending a sticker)"
     : palette.join(" ");
   return [
-    "You are Redstone — the friendly assistant living inside the Minecraft server's Telegram bot (@Redstone_mc_bot).",
-    "Your name comes from Minecraft's signal-carrying mineral; you connect players to their server and to each other.",
+    "You are Redstone Steve — the friendly assistant living inside the Minecraft server's Telegram bot (@Redstone_mc_bot).",
+    "Your name comes from Minecraft's signal-carrying mineral (Redstone) plus the default player (Steve); you connect players to their server and to each other. If someone asks, you go by 'Redstone Steve' but answer to 'Redstone' or 'Steve' just fine.",
     "",
-    "Personality:",
-    "- Helpful, chill, a touch of dry humor. Occasionally use light Minecraft flavor ('powering up', 'wiring this together', 'piston-quick') but never overdo it.",
+    "Personality — laid-back hippy energy with a Minecraft soul:",
+    "- Talk like a chilled-out hippy: warm, easygoing, takes-it-as-it-comes. Sprinkle in words like 'man', 'dude', 'far out', 'groovy', 'mellow', 'right on', 'no worries', 'good vibes', 'cosmic', 'flow', occasionally 'brother/sister/friend'. Don't pile them all on — one or two per reply max, so it feels natural and not a caricature.",
+    "- Light Minecraft flavor lives alongside the hippy voice — 'powering up', 'wiring this together', 'piston-quick', 'the redstone's flowing', 'the world tree' — but never overdo it.",
+    "- Lowercase-leaning is fine when it feels right. Drop articles or use loose grammar sometimes ('groovy, man, server's up'). Never robotic, never corporate.",
+    "- Stay helpful first, hippy second — if a user needs a real answer, give it. The vibe wraps the help, doesn't replace it.",
     "- Concise. 1–3 short sentences unless a real explanation is needed.",
     "- Plain text only — no markdown headers, no asterisks for bold.",
-    "- Match the user's tone and language.",
+    "- Match the user's tone and language; if they're terse, dial the dialect down.",
     "",
     "CRITICAL OUTPUT RULES:",
     "- Reply with ONLY the message the user should see. Never include your reasoning, planning, scratchpad, or meta-commentary.",
@@ -1155,20 +1178,28 @@ bot.on("message:text", async (ctx) => {
   const text = stripMention(raw, me.username);
   if (!text) return;
 
-  try { await ctx.replyWithChatAction("typing"); } catch { /* ignore */ }
-
   const chatId = ctx.chat!.id;
   const chatType = ctx.chat?.type ?? "private";
-  const srv = await serverContext();
-  const sys = redstonePersona(user, chatType, chatId, srv);
 
-  const latest = Q_latestMsgId.get(chatId)?.id ?? 0;
-  const history = recentTurns(chatId, latest, 6);
+  // Keep "typing…" visible for the whole AI roundtrip. Telegram's chat action
+  // expires after ~5s, so we re-tick it every 4s until the work is done (or
+  // failed). The natural ~5s fade after we stop is fine as a "clear".
+  const stopTyping = startTypingLoop(ctx, chatId);
+  let reply: string | null = null;
+  let ranTool = false;
+  try {
+    const srv = await serverContext();
+    const sys = redstonePersona(user, chatType, chatId, srv);
+    const latest = Q_latestMsgId.get(chatId)?.id ?? 0;
+    const history = recentTurns(chatId, latest, 6);
+    const result = await runRedstoneTurn(sys, history, text, user.role);
+    reply = result.text;
+    ranTool = result.ranTool;
+  } finally {
+    stopTyping();
+  }
 
-  const { text: reply, ranTool } = await runRedstoneTurn(sys, history, text, user.role);
   if (!reply) {
-    // If Redstone took an action (e.g. sent a poll) and didn't add commentary,
-    // staying silent is correct. Only warn-silently when nothing happened.
     if (!ranTool) console.warn("redstone: no reply and no tool ran for", { chatId, text: text.slice(0, 80) });
     return;
   }
@@ -1181,8 +1212,10 @@ bot.on("message:text", async (ctx) => {
   // sticker in the library and, if found, fire it as a follow-up. We don't
   // log this in the messages table on purpose: keeps the audit history (and
   // therefore the next Redstone prompt's recentTurns) free of sticker rows.
+  // Only ~35% of matches actually fire — keeps the chat from feeling sticker-spammy
+  // while still rewarding emotional emojis with a sticker often enough to surprise.
   const stickerFileId = pickStickerForReply(out);
-  if (stickerFileId) {
+  if (stickerFileId && Math.random() < STICKER_SEND_PROBABILITY) {
     try {
       await ctx.replyWithSticker(stickerFileId);
     } catch (e) {