diff --git a/apps/sim/app/_styles/globals.css b/apps/sim/app/_styles/globals.css
index 2048673ec50..0baeb6d70a1 100644
--- a/apps/sim/app/_styles/globals.css
+++ b/apps/sim/app/_styles/globals.css
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
   --auth-primary-btn-hover-border: #e0e0e0;
   --auth-primary-btn-hover-text: #000000;
 
-  /* z-index scale for layered UI
-     Popover must be above modal so dropdowns inside modals render correctly */
+  /* z-index scale. Transient poppers (menus, selects, popovers, tooltips, toasts)
+     sit above --z-modal so they stay clickable over the semi-transparent overlay. */
   --z-dropdown: 100;
   --z-modal: 200;
   --z-popover: 300;
diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/message-content/components/chat-content/chat-content.tsx b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/message-content/components/chat-content/chat-content.tsx
index 679c9a0c9c2..75a323d04b1 100644
--- a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/message-content/components/chat-content/chat-content.tsx
+++ b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/message-content/components/chat-content/chat-content.tsx
@@ -292,6 +292,11 @@ function ChatContentInner({
 
   const displayContent = useMemo(() => sanitizeChatDisplayContent(content), [content])
   const streamedContent = useSmoothText(displayContent, isStreaming)
+  const isRevealing = isStreaming || streamedContent.length < displayContent.length
+
+  const streamedThisSession = useRef(false)
+  if (isStreaming) streamedThisSession.current = true
+  const keepStreamingTree = isRevealing || streamedThisSession.current
 
   useEffect(() => {
     const handler = (e: Event) => {
@@ -308,8 +313,8 @@ function ChatContentInner({
   }, [])
 
   const parsed = useMemo(
-    () => parseSpecialTags(streamedContent, isStreaming),
-    [streamedContent, isStreaming]
+    () => parseSpecialTags(streamedContent, isRevealing),
+    [streamedContent, isRevealing]
   )
   const hasSpecialContent = parsed.hasPendingTag || parsed.segments.some((s) => s.type !== 'text')
 
@@ -365,9 +370,9 @@ function ChatContentInner({
                 className={cn(PROSE_CLASSES, '[&>:first-child]:mt-0 [&>:last-child]:mb-0')}
               >
                 <Streamdown
-                  mode={isStreaming ? undefined : 'static'}
-                  animated={isStreaming ? STREAM_ANIMATION : false}
-                  isAnimating={isStreaming}
+                  mode={keepStreamingTree ? undefined : 'static'}
+                  animated={keepStreamingTree ? STREAM_ANIMATION : false}
+                  isAnimating={isRevealing}
                   components={MARKDOWN_COMPONENTS}
                 >
                   {group.markdown}
@@ -383,7 +388,7 @@ function ChatContentInner({
             />
           )
         })}
-        {parsed.hasPendingTag && isStreaming && <PendingTagIndicator />}
+        {parsed.hasPendingTag && isRevealing && <PendingTagIndicator />}
       </div>
     )
   }
@@ -391,9 +396,9 @@ function ChatContentInner({
   return (
     <div className={cn(PROSE_CLASSES, '[&>:first-child]:mt-0 [&>:last-child]:mb-0')}>
       <Streamdown
-        mode={isStreaming ? undefined : 'static'}
-        animated={isStreaming ? STREAM_ANIMATION : false}
-        isAnimating={isStreaming}
+        mode={keepStreamingTree ? undefined : 'static'}
+        animated={keepStreamingTree ? STREAM_ANIMATION : false}
+        isAnimating={isRevealing}
         components={MARKDOWN_COMPONENTS}
       >
         {streamedContent}
diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-chat/mothership-chat.tsx b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-chat/mothership-chat.tsx
index 89bea30c4af..a605459da3f 100644
--- a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-chat/mothership-chat.tsx
+++ b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/mothership-chat/mothership-chat.tsx
@@ -223,6 +223,20 @@ export function MothershipChat({
     }
     return out
   }, [messages])
+  const assistantTurnKeyByIndex = useMemo(() => {
+    const out: string[] = []
+    let lastUserId: string | undefined
+    let ordinal = 0
+    for (const [index, message] of messages.entries()) {
+      if (message.role === 'user') {
+        lastUserId = message.id
+        ordinal = 0
+      } else {
+        out[index] = lastUserId ? `assistant:${lastUserId}:${ordinal++}` : message.id
+      }
+    }
+    return out
+  }, [messages])
   const initialScrollDoneRef = useRef(false)
   const userInputRef = useRef<UserInputHandle>(null)
 
@@ -297,7 +311,7 @@ export function MothershipChat({
               const isLast = index === messages.length - 1
               return (
                 <AssistantMessageRow
-                  key={msg.id}
+                  key={assistantTurnKeyByIndex[index] ?? msg.id}
                   message={msg}
                   isStreaming={isStreamActive && isLast}
                   precedingUserContent={precedingUserContentByIndex[index]}
diff --git a/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-dropdown/chip-dropdown.tsx b/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-dropdown/chip-dropdown.tsx
index 25ee72e8097..fe73ee4c779 100644
--- a/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-dropdown/chip-dropdown.tsx
+++ b/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-dropdown/chip-dropdown.tsx
@@ -291,7 +291,6 @@ const ChipDropdown = forwardRef<HTMLButtonElement, ChipDropdownProps>(
           align={align}
           onOpenAutoFocus={searchable ? (event) => event.preventDefault() : undefined}
           className={cn(
-            'z-[var(--z-popover)]',
             matchTriggerWidth && 'w-[var(--radix-dropdown-menu-trigger-width)] max-w-none',
             contentClassName
           )}
diff --git a/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-select/chip-select.tsx b/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-select/chip-select.tsx
index 370326361ff..e30a40165c4 100644
--- a/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-select/chip-select.tsx
+++ b/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/chip-select/chip-select.tsx
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ export function ChipSelect({
         align={align}
         onOpenAutoFocus={searchable ? (e) => e.preventDefault() : undefined}
         style={contentStyle}
-        className={cn('z-[var(--z-popover)] min-w-[160px]', contentClassName)}
+        className={cn('min-w-[160px]', contentClassName)}
       >
         {searchable ? (
           <DropdownMenuSearchInput
diff --git a/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/dropdown-menu/dropdown-menu.tsx b/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/dropdown-menu/dropdown-menu.tsx
index b1a37fb400e..1be372635a3 100644
--- a/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/dropdown-menu/dropdown-menu.tsx
+++ b/apps/sim/components/emcn/components/dropdown-menu/dropdown-menu.tsx
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const ANIMATION_CLASSES =
   'data-[state=closed]:fade-out-0 data-[state=open]:fade-in-0 data-[state=closed]:zoom-out-95 data-[state=open]:zoom-in-95 data-[side=bottom]:slide-in-from-top-2 data-[side=left]:slide-in-from-right-2 data-[side=right]:slide-in-from-left-2 data-[side=top]:slide-in-from-bottom-2 data-[state=closed]:animate-out data-[state=open]:animate-in motion-reduce:animate-none'
 
 const CONTENT_BASE_CLASSES =
-  'z-[var(--z-dropdown)] max-h-[240px] min-w-[8rem] origin-[--radix-dropdown-menu-content-transform-origin] overflow-y-auto overflow-x-hidden overscroll-none border border-[var(--border)] bg-[var(--bg)] p-1.5 text-[var(--text-body)] shadow-sm'
+  'z-[var(--z-popover)] max-h-[240px] min-w-[8rem] origin-[--radix-dropdown-menu-content-transform-origin] overflow-y-auto overflow-x-hidden overscroll-none border border-[var(--border)] bg-[var(--bg)] p-1.5 text-[var(--text-body)] shadow-sm'
 
 const DropdownMenu = DropdownMenuPrimitive.Root
 
diff --git a/apps/sim/hooks/use-smooth-text.ts b/apps/sim/hooks/use-smooth-text.ts
index 5ad10a63421..3fb5d31aa76 100644
--- a/apps/sim/hooks/use-smooth-text.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/hooks/use-smooth-text.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,42 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 
 /**
- * Per-frame reveal speed is proportional to how far behind the display is, so a
- * large burst drains quickly while a trickle reveals gently. `target / DIVISOR`
- * gives an ease-out feel; the clamps keep it from stalling or jumping.
+ * Paced reveal of a growing string, ported from opencode's `createPacedValue`
+ * (`packages/ui/src/components/message-part.tsx`). Instead of revealing a fixed
+ * number of characters per animation frame, it advances on a steady ~24ms timer
+ * in small tiered steps that SNAP to the next word/punctuation boundary — so
+ * text appears word-by-word at a calm, even cadence regardless of how bursty the
+ * upstream model deltas are. The boundary snapping is what keeps it from reading
+ * as "blocky": a reveal never stops mid-word.
  */
-const REVEAL_DIVISOR = 6
-const MIN_STEP = 1
-const MAX_STEP = 400
+const PACE_MS = 24
+const SNAP = /[\s.,!?;:)\]]/
+
+/**
+ * Characters to advance per tick as a function of how far the reveal is behind.
+ * Small backlogs trickle (2–8 chars); large backlogs accelerate but stay capped
+ * so a burst is spread over several ticks rather than dumped at once.
+ */
+function step(remaining: number): number {
+  if (remaining <= 12) return 2
+  if (remaining <= 48) return 4
+  if (remaining <= 96) return 8
+  return Math.min(24, Math.ceil(remaining / 8))
+}
+
+/**
+ * Advance from `start` by `step(...)`, then extend up to 8 more characters to
+ * land just past the next word/punctuation boundary so the reveal lands on a
+ * whole word rather than mid-token.
+ */
+function nextIndex(text: string, start: number): number {
+  const end = Math.min(text.length, start + step(text.length - start))
+  const max = Math.min(text.length, end + 8)
+  for (let i = end; i < max; i++) {
+    if (SNAP.test(text[i] ?? '')) return i + 1
+  }
+  return end
+}
 
 /**
  * Content already longer than this at mount is assumed to be an in-progress
@@ -29,13 +58,25 @@ interface SmoothTextOptions {
 }
 
 /**
- * Paces a growing string so it reveals at a steady cadence regardless of how
- * bursty the upstream stream is — the client-side analogue of the AI SDK's
- * `smoothStream`. Returns the portion of `content` that should be displayed now.
+ * Paces a growing string so it reveals word-by-word at a steady cadence
+ * regardless of how bursty the upstream stream is — a React port of opencode's
+ * paced text rendering. Returns the portion of `content` that should be
+ * displayed now.
+ *
+ * Content that is already complete at mount (history, or a resume past
+ * {@link RESUME_SKIP_THRESHOLD}) is returned in full and never animates. When a
+ * live stream ends mid-reveal the remaining tail keeps draining at the paced
+ * cadence rather than snapping — so the reveal stays smooth right to the end and
+ * the caller can hold its streaming render until `useSmoothText` reports the
+ * full string, avoiding a flash on the streaming→static handoff.
  *
- * While `isStreaming` is false the full string is returned unchanged (history
- * and completed turns never animate). When streaming ends mid-reveal the
- * remaining tail is shown immediately so nothing is left hidden.
+ * @remarks
+ * The reveal loop keys on `hasBacklog` rather than `content` so a new chunk on
+ * every render does not re-subscribe the timer (and trip React's
+ * max-update-depth guard); the running tick reads the latest value from a ref.
+ * If upstream sanitization rewrites earlier text and shrinks the string, the
+ * cursor is pulled back to the new end so regrowth stays paced instead of
+ * jumping past it.
  */
 export function useSmoothText(
   content: string,
@@ -49,15 +90,10 @@ export function useSmoothText(
   )
 
   const contentRef = useRef(content)
-  const streamingRef = useRef(isStreaming)
   const revealedRef = useRef(revealed)
-  const frameRef = useRef<number | null>(null)
+  const timeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null)
   const prevContentRef = useRef(content)
 
-  // A non-append rewrite (e.g. a patch replacing earlier text) must be shown in
-  // full at once — re-revealing a prefix of rewritten content would look like
-  // the document is retyping itself. Adjust during render so the slice below
-  // never flashes a stale prefix.
   let effectiveRevealed = revealed
   if (
     snapOnNonAppend &&
@@ -72,72 +108,42 @@ export function useSmoothText(
   prevContentRef.current = content
 
   contentRef.current = content
-  streamingRef.current = isStreaming
-
-  // Key the reveal loop to streaming + remaining backlog, NOT to `content`:
-  // `content` changes on every streamed chunk, and re-subscribing an rAF + setState
-  // loop on each change is the "a dependency changes on every render" pattern that
-  // trips React's max-update-depth guard. The running tick reads the latest content
-  // from `contentRef`, so new chunks are absorbed without per-chunk teardown;
-  // `hasBacklog` only flips when the reveal falls behind or catches up.
-  if (!isStreaming && effectiveRevealed !== content.length) {
-    effectiveRevealed = content.length
-    revealedRef.current = content.length
-  }
 
   const hasBacklog = effectiveRevealed < content.length
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!isStreaming) {
-      revealedRef.current = contentRef.current.length
-      setRevealed(contentRef.current.length)
-      return
-    }
+    const run = () => {
+      timeoutRef.current = null
+      const text = contentRef.current
+      const target = text.length
 
-    const tick = () => {
-      const target = contentRef.current.length
-      // Upstream sanitization can rewrite earlier text and shrink the string;
-      // pull the cursor back to the new end so regrowth stays paced rather than
-      // jumping past it.
       if (revealedRef.current > target) {
         revealedRef.current = target
         setRevealed(target)
       }
       const current = revealedRef.current
+      if (current >= target) return
 
-      if (!streamingRef.current) {
-        revealedRef.current = target
-        setRevealed(target)
-        frameRef.current = null
-        return
-      }
-      if (current >= target) {
-        frameRef.current = null
-        return
-      }
-
-      const backlog = target - current
-      const step = Math.min(MAX_STEP, Math.max(MIN_STEP, Math.ceil(backlog / REVEAL_DIVISOR)))
-      const next = current + step
+      const next = nextIndex(text, current)
       revealedRef.current = next
       setRevealed(next)
-      frameRef.current = window.requestAnimationFrame(tick)
+      if (next < target) {
+        timeoutRef.current = setTimeout(run, PACE_MS)
+      }
     }
 
-    if (hasBacklog && frameRef.current === null) {
-      frameRef.current = window.requestAnimationFrame(tick)
+    if (hasBacklog && timeoutRef.current === null) {
+      timeoutRef.current = setTimeout(run, PACE_MS)
     }
 
     return () => {
-      if (frameRef.current !== null) {
-        window.cancelAnimationFrame(frameRef.current)
-        frameRef.current = null
+      if (timeoutRef.current !== null) {
+        clearTimeout(timeoutRef.current)
+        timeoutRef.current = null
       }
     }
-  }, [isStreaming, hasBacklog])
+  }, [hasBacklog])
 
-  // Content can shrink when upstream sanitization rewrites earlier text; never
-  // hand back a slice index past the current end.
   if (effectiveRevealed >= content.length) return content
   return content.slice(0, effectiveRevealed)
 }