diff --git a/public/css/style.css b/public/css/style.css
index 8842d82..1e54c98 100644
--- a/public/css/style.css
+++ b/public/css/style.css
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ body.switched {
     --panel-border: rgba(62, 42, 24, 0.46);
     --control-radius: 0.22rem;
     --ui-menu-font-size: 0.82rem;
-    --ui-modal-font-size: calc(var(--story-line-height) * 0.68);
+    --ui-modal-font-size: calc(var(--story-line-height) * 0.85);
     font-size: calc(var(--book-height)/(34 * 1.5));
 }
 
@@ -1342,17 +1342,13 @@ html[data-process-state="ready"] .story-choices[data-choice-ready="true"] {
     z-index: 1; /* Ensure cursor appears above text */
 }
 
-html[data-process-state="command-waiting"],
-html[data-process-state="command-waiting"] * {
+html[data-process-state="command-waiting"] body {
     cursor: var(--process-cursor, wait) !important;
 }
 
-html[data-process-state="waiting-generating"],
-html[data-process-state="waiting-generating"] *,
-html[data-process-state="playing-generating"],
-html[data-process-state="playing-generating"] *,
-html[data-process-state="playing-ready"],
-html[data-process-state="playing-ready"] * {
+html[data-process-state="waiting-generating"] body,
+html[data-process-state="playing-generating"] body,
+html[data-process-state="playing-ready"] body {
     cursor: var(--process-cursor, progress) !important;
 }
 
diff --git a/public/js/audio-manager-module.js b/public/js/audio-manager-module.js
index 44fa6b8..56f6957 100644
--- a/public/js/audio-manager-module.js
+++ b/public/js/audio-manager-module.js
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ class AudioManagerModule extends BaseModule {
         super('audio-manager', 'Audio Manager');
         this.sounds = new Map();
         this.sfxCache = new Map();
+        this.musicCache = new Map();
+        this.imageCache = new Map();
         this.currentAudio = null;
         this.currentAudioRole = null;
         this.currentLoop = null;
@@ -486,29 +488,87 @@ class AudioManagerModule extends BaseModule {
 
     async preloadSfx(filename) {
         const url = this.getAssetUrl('sounds', filename);
-        if (this.sfxCache.has(url)) {
-            return this.sfxCache.get(url);
-        }
-
-        const promise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-            const audio = new Audio(url);
-            audio.preload = 'auto';
-            this.setMediaVolume(audio, this.getSfxVolume());
-            audio.addEventListener('canplaythrough', () => resolve(audio), { once: true });
-            audio.addEventListener('error', () => reject(new Error(`Failed to preload sound effect: ${url}`)), { once: true });
-            audio.load();
-        });
-
+        if (this.sfxCache.has(url)) return this.sfxCache.get(url);
+        const promise = this.preloadAudioUrl(url, 'sound effect')
+            .then(audio => {
+                this.setMediaVolume(audio, this.getSfxVolume());
+                return audio;
+            });
         this.sfxCache.set(url, promise);
         return promise;
     }
 
+    async preloadMusic(filename) {
+        const url = this.getAssetUrl('music', filename);
+        if (this.musicCache.has(url)) return this.musicCache.get(url);
+        const promise = this.preloadAudioUrl(url, 'music track')
+            .then(audio => {
+                this.setMediaVolume(audio, this.getMusicVolume());
+                return audio;
+            });
+        this.musicCache.set(url, promise);
+        return promise;
+    }
+
+    preloadAudioUrl(url, label = 'audio') {
+        return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+            const audio = new Audio(url);
+            let settled = false;
+            const finish = (result, error = null) => {
+                if (settled) return;
+                settled = true;
+                audio.removeEventListener('canplaythrough', onReady);
+                audio.removeEventListener('loadeddata', onReady);
+                audio.removeEventListener('error', onError);
+                if (error) reject(error);
+                else resolve(result);
+            };
+            const onReady = () => finish(audio);
+            const onError = () => finish(null, new Error(`Failed to preload ${label}: ${url}`));
+            audio.preload = 'auto';
+            audio.addEventListener('canplaythrough', onReady, { once: true });
+            audio.addEventListener('loadeddata', onReady, { once: true });
+            audio.addEventListener('error', onError, { once: true });
+            audio.load();
+        });
+    }
+
+    async preloadImage(filename) {
+        const url = this.getAssetUrl('images', filename);
+        if (this.imageCache.has(url)) return this.imageCache.get(url);
+        const promise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+            const image = new Image();
+            image.decoding = 'async';
+            image.onload = () => {
+                if (typeof image.decode === 'function') {
+                    image.decode().catch(() => null).then(() => resolve(image));
+                } else {
+                    resolve(image);
+                }
+            };
+            image.onerror = () => reject(new Error(`Failed to preload image: ${url}`));
+            image.src = url;
+        });
+        this.imageCache.set(url, promise);
+        return promise;
+    }
+
+    async preloadStructuredBlock(block = {}) {
+        const type = String(block.type || block.kind || '').toLowerCase();
+        const filename = block.filename || block.metadata?.filename;
+        if (!filename) return null;
+        if (type === 'image') return this.preloadImage(filename);
+        if (type === 'music') return this.preloadMusic(filename);
+        if (type === 'sfx' || type === 'sound') return this.preloadSfx(filename);
+        return null;
+    }
+
     async preloadMediaCues(cues = []) {
         const tasks = cues
-            .filter(cue => cue && cue.type === 'sfx' && cue.filename)
-            .map(cue => this.preloadSfx(cue.filename).catch(error => {
-                console.warn('AudioManager: SFX preload failed:', error);
-                return null;
+            .filter(cue => cue && cue.filename)
+            .map(cue => this.preloadStructuredBlock(cue).catch(error => {
+                console.warn('AudioManager: Media cue preload failed:', error);
+                throw error;
             }));
 
         await Promise.all(tasks);
diff --git a/public/js/sentence-queue-module.js b/public/js/sentence-queue-module.js
index ab611f3..d1b39ab 100644
--- a/public/js/sentence-queue-module.js
+++ b/public/js/sentence-queue-module.js
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ class SentenceQueueModule extends BaseModule {
             'getPreparedSentence',
             'prefetchAhead',
             'prepareSpeechMetadata',
+            'preloadAssetsForItem',
             'normalizeTtsText',
             'runTtsPreloadWithTimeout',
             'cancelBlockingGeneration',
@@ -400,12 +401,7 @@ class SentenceQueueModule extends BaseModule {
 
         try {
             if (metadata.type && !['paragraph', 'heading'].includes(metadata.type)) {
-                if (metadata.type === 'music') {
-                    const audioManager = this.getModule('audio-manager');
-                    if (audioManager && typeof audioManager.playMusic === 'function') {
-                        audioManager.getAssetUrl('music', metadata.filename);
-                    }
-                }
+                await this.preloadAssetsForItem(metadata, { blocking: true, sentenceId: id });
 
                 return {
                     id,
@@ -425,7 +421,10 @@ class SentenceQueueModule extends BaseModule {
 
             const audioManager = this.getModule('audio-manager');
             if (audioManager && typeof audioManager.preloadMediaCues === 'function') {
-                await audioManager.preloadMediaCues(metadata.cueMarkers || []);
+                await this.preloadAssetsForItem({
+                    type: 'paragraph',
+                    cueMarkers: metadata.cueMarkers || []
+                }, { blocking: true, sentenceId: id });
             }
 
             const ttsData = await this.prepareSpeechMetadata(text, {
@@ -597,6 +596,44 @@ class SentenceQueueModule extends BaseModule {
         }
     }
 
+    async preloadAssetsForItem(item = {}, context = {}) {
+        const audioManager = this.getModule('audio-manager');
+        if (!audioManager) return;
+
+        const tasks = [];
+        const type = String(item.type || item.kind || '').toLowerCase();
+        if (['image', 'music', 'sfx', 'sound'].includes(type) && typeof audioManager.preloadStructuredBlock === 'function') {
+            tasks.push(audioManager.preloadStructuredBlock(item));
+        }
+        if (Array.isArray(item.cueMarkers) && item.cueMarkers.length > 0 && typeof audioManager.preloadMediaCues === 'function') {
+            tasks.push(audioManager.preloadMediaCues(item.cueMarkers));
+        }
+
+        const pending = tasks.filter(Boolean);
+        if (pending.length === 0) return;
+
+        const state = context.blocking ? 'waiting-generating' : 'playing-generating';
+        document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('story:process-state', {
+            detail: {
+                state,
+                reason: 'asset-preload-start',
+                sentenceId: context.sentenceId || item.id || null,
+                assetType: type || 'cue'
+            }
+        }));
+
+        await Promise.all(pending);
+
+        document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('story:process-state', {
+            detail: {
+                state: 'playing-ready',
+                reason: 'asset-preload-complete',
+                sentenceId: context.sentenceId || item.id || null,
+                assetType: type || 'cue'
+            }
+        }));
+    }
+
     shouldPauseAfterSentence(sentence) {
         if (sentence.kind !== 'paragraph' || this.shouldAutoplay()) {
             return false;
@@ -684,16 +721,26 @@ class SentenceQueueModule extends BaseModule {
             }));
             console.log(`Process state: ${state}`, { reason: 'prefetch-start', sentenceId: nextItem.id, queueIndex: index });
 
-            const promise = (this.isSpeechItem(nextItem)
-                ? this.prepareSpeechMetadata(nextItem.text || '', {
+            const promise = (async () => {
+                await this.preloadAssetsForItem(nextItem, {
+                    sentenceId: nextItem.id,
+                    blocking: false,
+                    prefetch: true
+                });
+
+                if (!this.isSpeechItem(nextItem)) {
+                    return null;
+                }
+
+                return this.prepareSpeechMetadata(nextItem.text || '', {
                     sentenceId: nextItem.id,
                     blockId: nextItem.blockId ?? null,
                     turnId: nextItem.turnId ?? null,
                     queueIndex: index,
                     prefetch: true,
                     blocking: false
-                })
-                : Promise.resolve(null))
+                });
+            })()
                 .then(() => {
                     console.log('SentenceQueue: Prefetched queued speech/media', { sentenceId: nextItem.id, queueIndex: index });
                     document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('story:process-state', {
diff --git a/public/js/ui-input-handler-module.js b/public/js/ui-input-handler-module.js
index 17210a8..676d411 100644
--- a/public/js/ui-input-handler-module.js
+++ b/public/js/ui-input-handler-module.js
@@ -362,8 +362,9 @@ class UIInputHandlerModule extends BaseModule {
             return '';
         }
 
-        const fallback = state === 'command-waiting' ? 'wait' : 'progress';
-        return this.buildMouseCursor(state, fallback, 12, 12, this.cursorAnimationFrame);
+        const fallback = state === 'command-waiting' || state === 'waiting-generating' ? 'progress' : 'default';
+        const usesArrowBase = state === 'command-waiting' || state === 'waiting-generating';
+        return this.buildMouseCursor(state, fallback, usesArrowBase ? 4 : 5, usesArrowBase ? 3 : 24, this.cursorAnimationFrame);
     }
 
     buildMouseCursor(state, fallback = 'default', hotspotX = 12, hotspotY = 12, frame = 0) {
@@ -398,25 +399,31 @@ class UIInputHandlerModule extends BaseModule {
     }
 
     getMouseCursorSvg(state, frame = 0) {
-        const stroke = '#222222';
-        const common = `xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="32" height="32" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="${stroke}" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"`;
+        const stroke = '#2a1b10';
+        const common = `xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="32" height="32" viewBox="0 0 32 32" fill="none" stroke="${stroke}" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"`;
         const spinnerSpokes = Array.from({ length: 8 }, (_, index) => {
             const opacity = 0.25 + (((index + frame) % 8) / 7) * 0.75;
             const angle = (index * 45) * Math.PI / 180;
-            const x1 = 12 + Math.cos(angle) * 6;
-            const y1 = 12 + Math.sin(angle) * 6;
-            const x2 = 12 + Math.cos(angle) * 9;
-            const y2 = 12 + Math.sin(angle) * 9;
+            const x1 = 24 + Math.cos(angle) * 3;
+            const y1 = 24 + Math.sin(angle) * 3;
+            const x2 = 24 + Math.cos(angle) * 5;
+            const y2 = 24 + Math.sin(angle) * 5;
             return `<path opacity="${opacity.toFixed(2)}" d="M${x1.toFixed(2)} ${y1.toFixed(2)} ${x2.toFixed(2)} ${y2.toFixed(2)}"/>`;
         }).join('');
-        const sandTop = frame % 4 < 2 ? '<path d="M9 5h6"/><path d="M10 8h4"/>' : '<path d="M10 16h4"/><path d="M9 19h6"/>';
+        const arrow = '<path fill="#f6efe2" d="M4 3l9 21 2.4-8.5L24 13z"/><path d="M15.4 15.5 21 21"/>';
+        const pointer = '<path fill="#f6efe2" d="M9 14V5a2.2 2.2 0 0 1 4.4 0v7.5"/><path d="M13.4 12V8.5a2.1 2.1 0 0 1 4.2 0v5"/><path d="M17.6 14v-1.7a2.1 2.1 0 0 1 4.2 0v4.2A8.1 8.1 0 0 1 13.7 24h-1.2a6.8 6.8 0 0 1-5.5-3L3.6 15a2.1 2.1 0 0 1 3.4-2.4l2 2.5"/>';
+        const feather = '<path fill="#f6efe2" d="M5 26c5.8-1.7 12.5-7.9 18.4-20.7 2.3 7.6-.2 16.1-11.8 19.9"/><path d="M5 26c4.8-4.5 8.7-9.2 13-15"/><path d="M12 25.2 5 26"/>';
+        const speaker = '<g transform="translate(20 2) scale(.48)"><path fill="#f6efe2" d="M11 5 6 9H2v6h4l5 4z"/><path d="M15.5 8.5a5 5 0 0 1 0 7"/><path d="M19 5a10 10 0 0 1 0 14"/></g>';
+        const spinner = `<g>${spinnerSpokes}</g>`;
+        const hourglassSand = frame % 4 < 2 ? '<path d="M5.7 4.7h4.6"/><path d="M6.7 7h2.6"/>' : '<path d="M6.7 12h2.6"/><path d="M5.7 14.3h4.6"/>';
+        const hourglass = `<g transform="translate(1 17) scale(.82)"><path fill="#f6efe2" d="M4 2h8M4 16h8M10.8 2v3.1a2 2 0 0 1-.6 1.4L8 8.5l-2.2-2A2 2 0 0 1 5.2 5.1V2M5.2 16v-3.1a2 2 0 0 1 .6-1.4L8 9.5l2.2 2a2 2 0 0 1 .6 1.4V16"/>${hourglassSand}</g>`;
         const icons = {
-            'default': `<svg ${common}><path d="M4 3l7.5 18 2.1-7.4L21 11z"/><path d="M13.6 13.6 18 18"/></svg>`,
-            'pointer': `<svg ${common}><path d="M8 11V4a2 2 0 1 1 4 0v6"/><path d="M12 10V7a2 2 0 1 1 4 0v5"/><path d="M16 12v-1a2 2 0 1 1 4 0v3a7 7 0 0 1-7 7h-1a6 6 0 0 1-5-2.7L3 13a2 2 0 0 1 3-2.6l2 2.1"/></svg>`,
-            'command-waiting': `<svg ${common}><path d="M5 22h14"/><path d="M5 2h14"/><path d="M17 22v-4.172a2 2 0 0 0-.586-1.414L12 12l-4.414 4.414A2 2 0 0 0 7 17.828V22"/><path d="M7 2v4.172a2 2 0 0 0 .586 1.414L12 12l4.414-4.414A2 2 0 0 0 17 6.172V2"/>${sandTop}</svg>`,
-            'waiting-generating': `<svg ${common}>${spinnerSpokes}</svg>`,
-            'playing-generating': `<svg ${common}><path d="M11 5 6 9H2v6h4l5 4z"/><path d="M15.54 8.46a5 5 0 0 1 0 7.07"/><path d="M19.07 4.93a10 10 0 0 1 0 14.14"/>${spinnerSpokes}</svg>`,
-            'playing-ready': `<svg ${common}><path d="M11 5 6 9H2v6h4l5 4z"/><path d="M15.54 8.46a5 5 0 0 1 0 7.07"/><path d="M19.07 4.93a10 10 0 0 1 0 14.14"/></svg>`
+            'default': `<svg ${common}>${arrow}</svg>`,
+            'pointer': `<svg ${common}>${pointer}</svg>`,
+            'command-waiting': `<svg ${common}>${arrow}${hourglass}</svg>`,
+            'waiting-generating': `<svg ${common}>${arrow}${spinner}</svg>`,
+            'playing-generating': `<svg ${common}>${feather}${speaker}${spinner}</svg>`,
+            'playing-ready': `<svg ${common}>${feather}${speaker}</svg>`
         };
 
         return icons[state] || icons['waiting-generating'];