diff --git a/the-matrix/js/agents.js b/the-matrix/js/agents.js
index e9f9e2d..5c990a3 100644
--- a/the-matrix/js/agents.js
+++ b/the-matrix/js/agents.js
@@ -20,10 +20,10 @@ let timmy = null;
 // pupilScale:  scale factor applied to pupil meshes (dilation)
 // smileAmount: -1 = frown, 0 = neutral, +1 = big smile
 const FACE_TARGETS = {
-  idle:     { lidScale: 0.44, pupilScale: 0.90, smileAmount:  0.08 }, // contemplative
-  active:   { lidScale: 0.92, pupilScale: 1.25, smileAmount:  0.38 }, // curious — wide + dilated
-  thinking: { lidScale: 0.30, pupilScale: 0.72, smileAmount: -0.06 }, // focused — squint + constrict
-  working:  { lidScale: 0.22, pupilScale: 0.80, smileAmount:  0.18 }, // attentive — very squint, slight grin
+  idle:     { lidScale: 0.44, pupilScale: 0.90, smileAmount: 0.08 }, // contemplative — half-lid, neutral
+  active:   { lidScale: 0.92, pupilScale: 1.25, smileAmount: 0.38 }, // curious — wide open + dilated, smile
+  thinking: { lidScale: 0.30, pupilScale: 0.72, smileAmount: 0.00 }, // focused — narrow squint + constrict, flat mouth
+  working:  { lidScale: 0.75, pupilScale: 1.05, smileAmount: 0.18 }, // attentive — alert/open eyes, slight grin
 };
 
 // Canonical mood aliases so setFaceEmotion() accepts both internal and task-spec names
@@ -213,9 +213,11 @@ function buildTimmy(sc) {
     pulsePhase: Math.random() * Math.PI * 2,
     speechTimer: 0,
     // Current lerped face parameters
-    faceParams:  { lidScale: 0.44, pupilScale: 0.90, smileAmount: 0.08 },
-    // Target face parameters (set by emotion)
-    faceTarget:  { lidScale: 0.44, pupilScale: 0.90, smileAmount: 0.08 },
+    faceParams:   { lidScale: 0.44, pupilScale: 0.90, smileAmount: 0.08 },
+    // Target face parameters (set by emotion or derived state)
+    faceTarget:   { lidScale: 0.44, pupilScale: 0.90, smileAmount: 0.08 },
+    // External override: when non-null, setFaceEmotion() takes precedence over derived state
+    _overrideMood: null,
     // Track last geometry rebuild to throttle TubeGeometry updates
     _lastMouthSmile: 0.08,
   };
@@ -290,7 +292,10 @@ export function updateAgents(time) {
   }
 
   // ── Face expression lerp ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
-  const faceTarget = FACE_TARGETS[vs] ?? FACE_TARGETS.idle;
+  // setFaceEmotion() sets _overrideMood; it takes precedence over derived state.
+  // Falls back to deriveTimmyState() when no external override is active.
+  const effectiveMood = timmy._overrideMood ?? vs;
+  const faceTarget = FACE_TARGETS[effectiveMood] ?? FACE_TARGETS.idle;
   timmy.faceTarget.lidScale    = faceTarget.lidScale;
   timmy.faceTarget.pupilScale  = faceTarget.pupilScale;
   timmy.faceTarget.smileAmount = faceTarget.smileAmount;
@@ -301,10 +306,10 @@ export function updateAgents(time) {
   timmy.faceParams.lidScale    += (timmy.faceTarget.lidScale    - timmy.faceParams.lidScale)    * LERP;
   timmy.faceParams.pupilScale  += (timmy.faceTarget.pupilScale  - timmy.faceParams.pupilScale)  * LERP;
 
-  // Lip-sync: oscillate smile while speaking (~1 Hz); override smileAmount target
+  // Lip-sync: oscillate smile while speaking (~1 Hz, range 0.2–0.6); override smileAmount target
   const speaking = timmy.speechTimer > 0;
   const smileTarget = speaking
-    ? 0.28 + Math.sin(t * 6.283) * 0.22  // 1 Hz oscillation
+    ? 0.40 + Math.sin(t * 6.283) * 0.20  // 1 Hz, range 0.20–0.60
     : timmy.faceTarget.smileAmount;
   timmy.faceParams.smileAmount += (smileTarget - timmy.faceParams.smileAmount) * LERP;
 
@@ -329,15 +334,17 @@ export function updateAgents(time) {
 // ── setFaceEmotion — public API ───────────────────────────────────────────────
 // Accepts both task-spec mood names (contemplative|curious|focused|attentive)
 // and internal state names (idle|active|thinking|working).
-// Immediately updates faceTarget; lerp in updateAgents() does the rest.
+// Sets _overrideMood so it persists across frames, taking precedence over the
+// derived agent state in updateAgents(). Pass null to clear the override and
+// return to automatic state-driven expressions.
 
 export function setFaceEmotion(mood) {
   if (!timmy) return;
-  const key = MOOD_ALIASES[mood] ?? 'idle';
-  const target = FACE_TARGETS[key];
-  timmy.faceTarget.lidScale    = target.lidScale;
-  timmy.faceTarget.pupilScale  = target.pupilScale;
-  timmy.faceTarget.smileAmount = target.smileAmount;
+  if (mood === null || mood === undefined) {
+    timmy._overrideMood = null;
+    return;
+  }
+  timmy._overrideMood = MOOD_ALIASES[mood] ?? 'idle';
 }
 
 export function setAgentState(agentId, state) {