#Scheduling with AI Agents

[actionagents]

Automating Appointment Scheduling with AI Agents

Managing appointment schedules has always been a critical, yet time-consuming task for businesses across industries. Whether you’re dealing with client meetings, team check-ins, or customer bookings, the process often involves back-and-forth communication and frustrating calendar conflicts. 

Fortunately, with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), these hassles are quickly becoming a thing of the past. AI appointment schedulers are transforming the way businesses handle bookings, saving time, minimizing errors, and providing an overall smoother experience for everyone involved.

In this post, we’ll explore how automating appointment scheduling with AI agents can streamline your booking processes and free up valuable time for your team.

The Evolution of Appointment Scheduling

Traditional appointment scheduling is manual and cumbersome. Whether it's exchanging numerous emails to find a mutually available time or dealing with last-minute cancellations, it’s not uncommon for businesses to lose valuable time managing their calendars. As companies strive to become more efficient, the need for AI appointment tools has surged.

An AI appointment scheduler uses smart algorithms to automate the booking process. These tools can handle everything from scheduling meetings to sending reminders, syncing calendars, and even adjusting appointments based on real-time availability. The outcome? A more organized calendar and a lot fewer headaches.

How AI Appointment Scheduling Works

The beauty of AI-powered scheduling tools lies in their simplicity and intelligence. Here’s how they typically function:

User Preferences and Availability AI agents are programmed to sync with your calendar and set parameters based on your availability, preferences, and priorities. Users can simply provide a list of available times, and the AI tool will automatically suggest suitable appointment slots for all parties involved. No more time wasted on finding common availability!

Automated Notifications and Reminders Sending confirmation emails, reminders, or even follow-ups is one of the most time-consuming parts of scheduling. With AI-powered task scheduling, these can all be automated. AI agents ensure that reminders are sent to all relevant participants, minimizing the chances of missed appointments or last-minute cancellations.

Handling Conflicts and Cancellations AI tools are equipped to handle rescheduling when conflicts or last-minute cancellations arise. The AI appointment scheduler will automatically find new slots based on updated availability, notifying everyone involved—without any manual intervention.

Integration with Business Tools Most AI scheduling platforms seamlessly integrate with popular calendar apps such as Google Calendar, Outlook, or even CRMs. This means all data remains consistent and updated across your systems, allowing for a fully integrated workflow.

The Benefits of Automating Your Appointment Scheduling

Now that we’ve gone over how AI agents handle bookings, let’s look at the tangible benefits for your business:

Increased Efficiency Automating appointment scheduling drastically reduces the time spent on back-and-forth communications. Your team can focus on more pressing tasks while the AI takes care of booking meetings and confirming details with clients or colleagues.

Enhanced Accuracy Manual scheduling is prone to errors, whether it’s double bookings or missed appointments. AI appointment schedulers eliminate these issues by analyzing schedules in real time, ensuring there are no conflicts.

24/7 Availability One of the biggest advantages of using AI appointment tools is their ability to work around the clock. Whether a client wants to book a meeting outside office hours or reschedule at the last minute, the AI agent will always be ready to assist—no human needed.

Reduced No-Shows AI agents are great at sending automatic reminders ahead of time, significantly reducing the likelihood of missed appointments. By providing timely notifications, you increase the chances of participants showing up on time and prepared.

Scalability As your business grows, so do your scheduling needs. Managing multiple bookings for an expanding team or client base becomes an overwhelming task. AI tools, however, can handle large-scale scheduling effortlessly, ensuring that as your business scales, your administrative workload doesn’t.

Industries That Can Benefit the Most

While AI-powered scheduling tools can be beneficial for a wide range of sectors, there are some industries where these tools can make a particularly significant impact:

Digital Marketing: With client consultations, strategy meetings, and project check-ins to juggle, marketing agencies can greatly benefit from automated bookings. Scheduling can become a hassle when dealing with multiple time zones and calendars, which is where AI schedulers come in handy.

Healthcare: The healthcare industry relies heavily on appointments for patient consultations, follow-ups, and even telehealth. AI task scheduling can simplify patient bookings, reduce waiting times, and send timely reminders, leading to a more organized and efficient healthcare environment.

Consulting Services: Consultants frequently deal with high volumes of client meetings. Automating the scheduling process enables consultants to spend less time on admin tasks and more time on providing expert advice.

Education: Universities, schools, and online learning platforms all require proper scheduling for classes, parent-teacher meetings, and counseling sessions. AI appointment tools can automate this process, allowing educators to focus more on student interaction.

Overcoming the Challenges of AI Scheduling

While AI-driven scheduling tools offer numerous advantages, they do come with their own set of challenges. For instance, some clients may prefer a more personal touch, which might seem lost with automation. Additionally, integrating AI scheduling tools with legacy systems may require some technical adjustments.

However, most of these challenges can be mitigated through customization options that allow you to personalize the experience and make it feel more human. For example, many AI appointment tools offer features like custom email templates and chat options that provide a more personalized interaction with clients.

Conclusion: Why Action Agents Can Help You Automate Appointment Scheduling

Businesses looking to streamline their appointment scheduling process can benefit from platforms that offer AI-powered agents to handle such tasks. Action Agents is a leading global platform for hiring AI agents, designed to automate everything from data processing to customer support. By automating your appointment scheduling, Action Agents can help free up valuable resources, improve accuracy, and enhance overall efficiency.

In an era where time is money, automating tasks like appointment scheduling is not just a convenience—it’s a strategic advantage.

[jcmarchi]

Any AI Agent Can Talk. Few Can Be Trusted

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/any-ai-agent-can-talk-few-can-be-trusted/

Any AI Agent Can Talk. Few Can Be Trusted

The need for AI agents in healthcare is urgent. Across the industry, overworked teams are inundated with time-intensive tasks that hold up patient care. Clinicians are stretched thin, payer call centers are overwhelmed, and patients are left waiting for answers to immediate concerns.

AI agents can help by filling profound gaps, extending the reach and availability of clinical and administrative staff and reducing burnout of health staff and patients alike. But before we can do that, we need a strong basis for building trust in AI agents. That trust won’t come from a warm tone of voice or conversational fluency. It comes from engineering.

Even as interest in AI agents skyrockets and headlines trumpet the promise of agentic AI, healthcare leaders – accountable to their patients and communities – remain hesitant to deploy this technology at scale. Startups are touting agentic capabilities that range from automating mundane tasks like appointment scheduling to high-touch patient communication and care. Yet, most have yet to prove these engagements are safe.

Many of them never will.

The reality is, anyone can spin up a voice agent powered by a large language model (LLM), give it a compassionate tone, and script a conversation that sounds convincing. There are plenty of platforms like this hawking their agents in every industry. Their agents might look and sound different, but all of them behave the same – prone to hallucinations, unable to verify critical facts, and missing mechanisms that ensure accountability.

This approach – building an often too-thin wrapper around a foundational LLM – might work in industries like retail or hospitality, but will fail in healthcare. Foundational models are extraordinary tools, but they’re largely general-purpose; they weren’t trained specifically on clinical protocols, payer policies, or regulatory standards. Even the most eloquent agents built on these models can drift into hallucinatory territory, answering questions they shouldn’t, inventing facts, or failing to recognize when a human needs to be brought into the loop.

The consequences of these behaviors aren’t theoretical. They can confuse patients, interfere with care, and result in costly human rework. This isn’t an intelligence problem. It’s an infrastructure problem.

To operate safely, effectively, and reliably in healthcare, AI agents need to be more than just autonomous voices on the other end of the phone. They must be operated by systems engineered specifically for control, context, and accountability. From my experience building these systems, here’s what that looks like in practice.

Response control can render hallucinations non-existent

AI agents in healthcare can’t just generate plausible answers. They need to deliver the correct ones, every time. This requires a controllable “action space” – a mechanism that allows the AI to understand and facilitate natural conversation, but ensures every possible response is bounded by predefined, approved logic.

With response control parameters built in, agents can only reference verified protocols, pre-defined operating procedures, and regulatory standards. The model’s creativity is harnessed to guide interactions rather than improvise facts. This is how healthcare leaders can ensure the risk of hallucination is eliminated entirely – not by testing in a pilot or a single focus group, but by designing the risk out on the ground floor.

Specialized knowledge graphs can ensure trusted exchanges

The context of every healthcare conversation is deeply personal. Two people with type 2 diabetes might live in the same neighborhood and fit the same risk profile. Their eligibility for a specific medication will vary based on their medical history, their doctor’s treatment guideline, their insurance plan, and formulary rules.

AI agents not only need access to this context, but they need to be able to reason with it in real time. A specialized knowledge graph provides that capability. It’s a structured way of representing information from multiple trusted sources that allows agents to validate what they hear and ensure the information they give back is both accurate and personalized. Agents without this layer might sound informed, but they’re really just following rigid workflows and filling in the blanks.

Robust review systems can evaluate accuracy

A patient might hang up with an AI agent and feel satisfied, but the work for the agent is far from over. Healthcare organizations need assurance that the agent not only produced correct information, but understood and documented the interaction. That’s where automated post-processing systems come in.

A robust review system should evaluate each and every conversation with the same fine-tooth-comb level of scrutiny a human supervisor with all the time in the world would bring. It should be able to identify whether the response was accurate, ensure the right information was captured, and determine whether or not follow-up is required. If something isn’t right, the agent should be able to escalate to a human, but if everything checks out, the task can be checked off the to-do list with confidence.

Beyond these three foundational elements required to engineer trust, every agentic AI infrastructure needs a robust security and compliance framework that protects patient data and ensures agents operate within regulated bounds. That framework should include strict adherence to common industry standards like SOC 2 and HIPAA, but should also have processes built in for bias testing, protected health information redaction, and data retention.

These security safeguards don’t just check compliance boxes. They form the backbone of a trustworthy system that can ensure every interaction is managed at a level patients and providers expect.

The healthcare industry doesn’t need more AI hype. It needs reliable AI infrastructure. In the case of agentic AI, trust won’t be earned as much as it will be engineered.

[relatient]

Relatient Launches Dash Voice AI Agent to Automate Patient Appointment Management in Call Centers

Relatient, a patient scheduling platform, announced the launch of Dash Voice AI, a conversational AI feature of its Dash Schedule solution. The Dash Voice AI agent revolutionizes patient appointment management by automating the handling of high-volume appointment-related phone calls, including confirmations, rescheduling and cancellations, while leveraging the Dash platform’s existing rules-based intelligence. This ensures every interaction follows provider-specific preferences in real-time.

Healthcare contact centers face growing pressure from rising patient call volumes and consumer expectations. Despite these demands, scheduling an appointment by phone can take as long as 8 minutes of staff time. Dash Voice AI reduces that burden by managing scheduling-related calls 24/7, without the need for more agents. The result: shorter hold times for patients and more time for staff to focus on high-touch and high-value tasks.

"When patients call a practice, Dash Voice AI integrates seamlessly into our client’s phone sytem to deliver a remarkably natural conversational experience, making interactions feel personal and high touch," said Jeff Gartland, CEO of Relatient. "Beyond the patient experience, the true innovation lies in how Dash Voice AI leverages the intelligence in the core Dash platform, enhancing the contact center experience while delivering substantial capacity relief by fully automating routine tasks. Organizations now have a scalable solution that maximizes staff resources while consistently ensuring accurate, patient-centric scheduling."

Early adopters are already recognizing the significant impact of Dash Voice AI.

"We’re excited to be on this journey with our clients and with their help, will continue to expand Dash Voice AI’s use cases and impact."

[aivoicesvcs1]

AI Voice Services by Think AI: Revolutionising Business Communication

AI Voice Services by Think AI is revolutionising the way businesses interact with their customers by offering advanced AI-powered voice solutions tailored for seamless automation, customer engagement, and operational efficiency. Designed to integrate effortlessly into existing systems, Think AI’s voice services provide businesses with a scalable and intelligent approach to automated communication.

From AI voice agents handling customer queries to automated appointment scheduling, AI-powered call routing, and personalised voice interactions, Think AI’s services are built to enhance customer experiences while reducing costs. By leveraging natural language processing (NLP) and deep learning, these AI-driven voice solutions enable human-like interactions, ensuring smooth and natural conversations.

Think AI's voice automation solutions are ideal for businesses in customer service, healthcare, finance, retail, and beyond, providing 24/7 availability and real-time responses to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Whether you need AI-powered call handling, automated voice assistants, or custom voice integrations for CRM and business operations, Think AI delivers state-of-the-art solutions designed for scalability, accuracy, and seamless deployment.

With AI-powered voice agents capable of multilingual support, sentiment analysis, and intelligent decision-making, Think AI ensures that businesses stay ahead in the era of digital transformation. The company also provides custom AI voice models to match brand identity and enhance customer engagement through conversational AI. Visit: https://www.thinkai.co.uk

[just-aake]

Flustered Crushes

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: The Black Widow does not get flustered. So why is it that Natasha can’t seem to stop embarrassing herself in front of you?

Warnings: fluff

Words: 2795

At the edge of the bustling hangar bay, Natasha leans against the cold, metallic wall, her arms folded tightly, a faint frown etched across her brow as her sharp gaze observes the scene unfolding before her. 

Near the base of the Quinjet’s ramp, you are engaged in animated conversation with Carol Danvers, who happened to arrive at the compound for a quick visit precisely when you returned from your mission.  

You've been with the Avengers for a few months now, a former SHIELD agent seamlessly adjusting to the team dynamics. 

Over time, you've connected with everyone—including her. 

So, Natasha’s made an extra effort to help you feel welcome. 

Clint often teases her about her behavior, insisting her attentiveness borders on something more personal, something like a…crush. 

Natasha dismisses his comments each time with a roll of her eyes. 

She’s just being nice. 

After all, it's only natural to want a solid, dependable relationship with a new teammate, especially someone she'll be working closely with.

That’s the only reason why she came to greet you when you return from your mission.

At least, that’s what she tells herself as she stands there, alone, on the sidelines…not with you. 

Natasha watches Carol say something that makes you laugh, causing her faint frown to deepen.

The flash of amusement in your eyes as Carol grins back makes Natasha roll her eyes and look away, unable to take the sight anymore as a pang of irritation tightens in her chest.

She tries to shake it off, but it doesn’t disappear.

After all, it’s not like she got here an hour before your scheduled return and waited to see you…just to end up watching as the blonde space beauty swoop in, effortlessly captivating your attention.

Deciding she’s had enough, Natasha pushes herself off the wall, preparing to leave.

However, her abrupt movement catches others around her off guard, and she ends up bumping into a passing cart loaded with tools and equipment. 

A clattering sound echoes across the hangar as wrenches and bolts spill onto the floor. 

Natasha curses softly under her breath, a mix of pain and embarrassment coloring her cheeks as she drops to gather the scattered items, apologizing hastily to the technician she collided with before quickly exiting the area.

In her haste, she doesn’t notice your gaze, the subtle smile tugging at your lips as you follow her with amused eyes, tracking her every flustered move across the hangar bay, even as she slips away without a backward glance.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

“So, how’s it going with your crush?” Clint asks, a playful glint in his eyes as he watches Natasha.

Natasha shoots him a warning look that would strike fear into the most fearsome of villains.

Without a word, she grabs the coffee pot, filling his mug before pouring some for herself. She replaces the pot with a decisive click.

“There is no crush,” she states firmly, taking a sip as though punctuating her denial.

“Are you sure about that?” Clint asks skeptically before continuing, “Whenever Y/n’s around, it’s like you lose all of your charm and coolness.” 

Natasha gives him an unimpressed glare. 

“Really? Coolness? That’s the best you’ve got?”

Clint smirks, raising his mug in mock salute.

“Ask me again after I finish this coffee.”

She rolls her eyes, holding her mug close, feeling the warm comfort seep into her hands.

Just as she brings it to her lips, the doors swing open, and Tony strolls into the kitchen, spotting them with their drinks. 

“Oh, coffee! Pour me a cup, Romanoff.”

“Pour your own,” Natasha mutters, savoring her next sip. 

Tony feigns hurt, pressing a hand to his chest in mock shock. 

“FRIDAY, remind me, who owns this building?” 

“You do, sir,” the AI replies smoothly. 

Tony gestures upward triumphantly at her before pointing towards the kitchen. 

“So, technically, that machine is mine, the beans are mine, and...oh, right, that pot of coffee is also mine.” 

Natasha rolls her eyes but eventually reaches for the pot, lifting it begrudgingly.

Tony holds out his mug with a victorious grin. 

But just as she hovers the pot above his cup, she stops short.

“A ‘please’ once in a while wouldn’t hurt.”

Tony’s eyes widen, and he gasps in exaggerated disbelief as Natasha raises a brow in expectation.

Huffing, he mutters, “Can I have some coffee, please?”

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” Natasha quips with a smirk, preparing to pour him his coffee.

At that moment, the elevator dings, and the doors slide open to reveal you, fresh from your morning workout, dressed in your training gear.

You walk by the kitchen, spotting the other Avengers gathered around. 

A delighted smile spreads across your face. 

“Ooh, coffee! Can I have some, too?” 

Natasha’s response is instant. 

“Sure, I’ll make you a new pot.” 

Her tone is warmer than usual, surprising even herself.

You beam at her, and Natasha feels herself pause, momentarily captivated by the sight. Distracted, she almost misses your following words. 

“Thanks, Natasha! Let me change, and I’ll be right back.”

You slip through the doors, leaving Natasha blinking, still trying to regain her composure. 

Tony watches with raised eyebrows. 

“Wait a second—she didn’t even say ‘please,’ and you’re making her a whole new pot?”

Natasha’s eyes narrow as she holds the pot just out of reach of Tony’s mug. 

“Do you want coffee or not?” 

Tony grumbles before muttering a grudging “Yes, please.” 

Satisfied, Natasha pours the coffee, keeping her focus steady. 

“Natasha?” your voice catches her off guard, and she glances up to see you poking your head back into the room. 

“Yes?” she replies a little too quickly, immediately focusing on you. 

Both Clint and Tony fall silent, watching the two of you with curious eyes. 

“Steve’s got a mission tomorrow,” you explain. “Would you mind if I train with you in the meantime?”

Natasha’s mind races for a moment before she steadies herself to answer.

“Uh—yeah, sure. Anytime you want.” 

“Great!” you say enthusiastically before glancing worriedly at the counter. “I think that’s enough coffee.” 

Natasha follows your gaze, eyes widening as she realizes Tony’s cup is overflowing, dark liquid pooling across the counter. She yanks the pot away with a muttered curse. 

“Oh sh—!”

Tony steps back just in time, glaring down at his soaked countertop.

“Really, Romanoff? This is a new suit!” 

Rolling her eyes, Natasha grabs paper towels, unruffled by his dramatics. 

“Calm down, it barely even touched you.”

You let out a small laugh. 

“I’ll be right back,” you say, shooting her a smile as you exit.

“Okay,” Natasha murmurs, her attention lingering on the door.

Clint chuckles as he takes another sip, eyeing her knowingly. 

“You’re right, Nat. It’s not a crush,” he says, leaning back with a smirk. “It’s way worse.”

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

Natasha flashes one of her most charming smiles, leaning just slightly forward as the receptionist fumbles through her files, cheeks tinged with a rosy hue under Natasha’s intense gaze. 

“Here you go!” the receptionist says, her voice soft as she hands over a key card. “I’m sorry again for the mix-up.”

Natasha’s fingers rest lightly over the receptionist’s hand as she accepts the card, her eyes warm and a playful smile tugging at her lips. 

“No problem at all,” she replies, her tone smooth. “I don’t mind the delay with such lovely company.” 

The receptionist blushes deeply, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and giving Natasha a flustered smile. 

Natasha’s confident smirk grows as she watches her charms take effect. 

Quick and efficient, she slips the USB drive from the computer, seamlessly hiding it under her palm as it rests over the key card. For a moment, she feels pleased with herself, effortlessly pulling off her usual charisma.

See, she thinks to herself, Clint has no idea what he’s talking about—she’s got plenty of charm.

“Nice job, Natasha,” your voice suddenly crackles in her earpiece, startling her. 

Her hand slips in surprise, almost knocking over the items on the counter. She turns it into a casual adjustment, but not before the receptionist gives her a curious look. 

Natasha quickly smiles, grabbing the key card and offering a polite nod before walking away toward a secluded corner of the lobby.

Pressing a finger to her comms, she mutters, “Y/n? Where’s Clint?” 

“He had to step out for a minute,” you answer. “He asked me to take over. Is that okay?” 

“No–I mean—yes, of course,” Natasha says, the words tumbling out a bit too quickly. 

She straightens, running a hand through her hair as she tries to regain her composure. It’s not like she hadn’t expected you to assist with missions, but the thought of you watching her…

She tamps down the sudden flutter in her chest and forces herself to stay focused.

“Your next target is on the same floor as the key card you just picked up,” you continue, your voice warm and steady in her ear. 

“Got it.” 

“I’ll explain what you’re looking for.”

Natasha nods and begins striding toward the elevators, hoping her sudden focus will drown out the distraction of your voice in her head. 

She tells herself it’s just a mission—professional, routine.

But now, with you guiding her through the next steps, each word falling from your lips makes it harder for her to maintain her usually calm, steady demeanor. 

Her heart beats a little faster, and her cheeks feel a bit warmer than they should. She brushes off the thoughts and keeps walking, determined to stay cool and collected.

“Um…Natasha?”

She stops mid-step. “Hmm?”

“You’re…going the wrong way.”

Natasha freezes, blinking in surprise. She glances around, realizing she’s heading in the opposite direction from the elevators.

A wave of embarrassment sweeps over her as she lets out a quiet curse under her breath.

“Right,” Natasha says, turning with as much dignity as she can muster, her face heating as she finally heads in the correct direction.

Oh, she thinks to herself, she’s definitely going to kill Clint.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

Natasha steps out of her room, her leather jacket slung over one arm as she adjusts the zipper. 

Your voice calls her name from down the hall, catching her off guard and making her slam the door shut in a startled motion. She spins to face you, only to be tugged back by an unexpected resistance.

Natasha looks down with a sigh, spotting her jacket sleeve caught in the door. Tugging at it proves ineffective, as it stays firmly wedged in place.

Hearing your footsteps approaching, Natasha hastily shoves the jacket behind her back, trying to appear composed. She leans casually against the door, hoping the awkward moment has gone unnoticed.

“Hey,” you greet with a warm smile as you reach her.

“Hey, Y/n,” Natasha replies, attempting a relaxed tone.

You eye her with a hint of curiosity. “Are you…okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Natasha says quickly, forcing a casual smile. “Just, um, examining the door. Thought it could use a closer look.”

Your brows raise in amused surprise at her peculiar explanation, but you let it go. 

“Well, once you’re done with that,” you say, playing along, “I made a reservation at that new place downtown. I was wondering if you’d like to join me?”

“Just the two of us?” The words slip out before Natasha can stop herself. 

A flicker of excitement and amusement crosses your face as you nod. 

“Yeah, just us,” you say softly.

Natasha’s heart gives a small flutter, but she maintains her composure. 

“I’d love to,” she says, a smile slipping through despite her best efforts to stay calm.

“Great, it’s a date,” you say, grinning. “I’ll meet you in the garage.” With a playful smirk, you add, “After you finish your ‘inspection,’ of course.”

As you walk toward the elevator, Natasha watches you with a lingering smile.

Once you’re out of sight, she finally frees her jacket and heads to the garage a few minutes later, finding you waiting by her motorcycle.

You hop on behind her, wrapping your arms around her waist in a snug embrace. 

The warmth of your presence makes her feel a fluttering sensation in her chest she can’t shake. Distracted, Natasha blindly reaches for her helmet and slips it on—only to be met with complete darkness.

With a soft sigh, Natasha’s head drops to her chest, realizing she put it on backward. 

The chuckle that escapes your lips behind her is quickly muffled as you clear your throat, your hands reaching to help her. 

You gently remove the helmet, your fingers brushing her cheek as you pull it off.

When Natasha glances back, she catches the playful look in your eyes as you bite back a grin.

Seeing this, Natasha lets out an exasperated sigh. 

“Can we just pretend the last few minutes didn’t happen and start over? I swear, this doesn’t usually happen to me.”

You laugh, unable to hold back anymore. 

“Oh, I know all about the smooth and charming Black Widow,” you say, your gaze warm and teasing. “But I think this side of you is pretty cute too.”

A faint blush spreads across her cheeks at your words, and Natasha takes the helmet, this time slipping it on correctly, with a soft smile she can’t quite hide anymore.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

It’s another one of Tony’s famous parties, where glittering lights reflect off polished floors and music pulses softly through the spacious hall. 

In the middle of the dance floor, beneath the warm glow, Natasha sways with you, her hands resting gently on your waist as you move together to the rhythm of the soft melody. 

You wrap your arms around her neck, leaning in and drawing her closer until your lips meet hers in a tender, lingering kiss. 

Natasha smiles softly against your lips, and as you pull back, she rests her forehead gently against yours, eyes half-closed in a moment of quiet contentment. 

Even as the music fades into the background, her hands remain firm on your waist, as if she has no intention of letting go.

“Why don’t we get something to drink?” you suggest, glancing over at the bar lined with sparkling glasses.

Natasha only pulls you closer, her fingers brushing lightly along the small of your back as she murmurs, “Or…we could stay right here and have another dance.” 

Her voice is a soft suggestion, and she leans in slightly, her green eyes filled with warmth and alluring charm.

You raise an eyebrow, a knowing smile spreading across your lips. 

“It’s cute how you’re trying to be smooth.”

Natasha’s expression shifts, feigning innocence. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says, though the faintest blush colors her cheeks.

With a playful glint in your eye, you tilt your head at her in challenge. 

“How long has your bracelet been stuck to my dress?” you ask, giving her a teasing look.

Natasha glances away, the blush deepening as she realizes she’s been caught. She’s spent the past few moments subtly trying to free her wrist from your dress, but to no avail.

“In my defense,” she murmurs, attempting to deflect, “you distracted me with how beautiful you look tonight.”

You chuckle softly at her excuse, reaching up to pull her even closer. With a playful grin, you press a gentle kiss to her lips before leaning in to whisper against her ear.

“Think of the bright side—if you can’t get it loose, I’m sure you could just rip this dress off me.”

Natasha’s breath catches, and for a split second, she’s utterly still, her mind stalling at the suggestion. 

You pull back just enough to watch her expression, and a delighted smile grows on your face as she stares at you, wide-eyed and flustered, clearly caught off guard.

It only takes her a moment to catch on, her eyes narrowing in realization as she shakes her head with a playful huff. 

“You’re trying to embarrass me on purpose,” she accuses, a hint of a smile breaking through.

Unashamed, you bite back a laugh and nod. 

“It’s nice to see the calm and collected Black Widow all flustered for once.”

Natasha’s lips curl into a smirk as she pulls you flush against her, her free hand sliding up your back, fingers grazing along your spine. She leans in, her lips just a breath away from yours, the warmth of her gaze intense.

“Only for you,” she murmurs, her voice a hushed promise before closing the distance, her lips capturing yours in a kiss that makes you forget the world around you, the room fading away as you melt into each other’s embrace.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

a/n: just a short fluff with a soft Natasha that I had finished some time ago. after everything that has happened yesterday and today, I wanted to give some kind of happier distraction, even if it may be only a temporary escape from everything. I’m still going between disbelief, sadness, and anger myself about the situation while also trying to be prepared to continue on. But hopefully, this was able to bring some of you some sort of break from everything else.

[1000plants]

You Don't Know

Steve Rogers x reader (GN)

Summary: Steve Rogers pretentious “know it all” attitude is getting on your last nerves. And he doesn't seem to know what to do about it. 

Warnings- Mentions of blood, therapy, nightmares, reader is pissed off (whoops!)

Word count- 3k

Authors Note- heyyyy this is based off a prompt by @/deactivated263973973 from a C.AI bot (I don't promote the use of AI bots in writing, I merely used it as a starting off point for this fic. If I could go back and fully re-do this intro, I completely would. DONT USE AI DONT BE LIKE ME FROM WHEN I WROTE THIS INTRO!!! -🌿 6/1/25)

Please ignore my shitty writing, im still getting used to writing in the second person “you” tense. First chapter in series, hope u enjoy xoxo

Chapter 1/?

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

************************************************************************

You always thought being the new recruit for the Avengers would’ve been a dream—saving the world, working with some of the smartest people in the world. Going from being some nobody S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was basically fodder during the more intense missions, to being a goddamn Avenger… Dream come true, honestly.

But you didn’t expect Steve Rogers to take a disliking to you.

Or to also take a dislike to the spangled man himself.

“Do you ever listen to me?” Steve’s harsh words ping-ponged around your skull annoyingly, only frustrating you further when you snapped back to the moment and met his gaze. “Reset your stance—we’re not done sparring, kid.”

You almost had half the mind to glare at him, huffing as you blinked a few times. The insult of “kid” is not lost on you. Your brain is distracted with a hundred other things other than sparring with Captain Smartass. It was a rookie mistake to let your mind wander during training, but you were tired from practice and just wanted to hide away for a little bit. You sniffed as you wiped your nose with the back of your hand, feeling the familiar drainage of either a runny nose or a bloody one. Yeah… a little blood, but not as bad as it could be.

"yea yea yeah, I got it, Rogers." You grunted, shaking out your hands before getting back into a fighting stance. Steve was tired, but not nearly as tired as you were. His blue shirt was tight against his body, making his muscles seem even more pronounced than they already were. You weren't half bad yourself, you'd argue if anyone asked. You just weren't pumped full of super soldier serum…

“You’re distracted.” He snorts, dropping his hands slightly as his icy eyes scrutinize your body and form. “You’ve been distracted all day.” 

The corner of his mouth twitched—as if he was holding himself back from saying something he shouldn’t. Which, that alone would've pissed you off. Of course, Steve was your superior, your leader, so he knew better than to say most of the things that popped in and out of his mind. Though, that didn't mean he didn’t say dumb shit.

“What’s the issue, kid?” He took a few steps toward you, eyeing you up and down. “You don’t look like you slept.”

"Piss off about my sleep schedule, Capsicle--" You grimaced, lunging forward with a low punch. You were hoping, for once, to catch Steve off guard. But god today just wasn't your day. You've landed maybe one solid hit on him in the past hour you've been sparring with the soldier. In all honesty, the very last thing you wanted was to hear Mr. Perfect nag about your shitty sleep habits. The man needed, like, two hours a night and could still function just fine… It wasn't your fault you needed at least 9!

“Don’t call me “Capsicle”,” Steve shot you a glare—only for his expression to soften ever-so-slightly when he realized how you genuinely weren't in a fun mood.

He caught your punch easily in one of his hands, but you had caught him off guard in one aspect, and that was the fact that you were able to move as quickly as you had.

“That, right there,” Steve gestured to your fist still in his large hand. “You can pack a punch when you want to…”

He raised a brow. “So, what’s holding you back?”

And, OH!!!, that condescending gesture was enough to nearly make you spit tacks!

You ripped your hand out of his grasp, you were tired from working out all day. Steve seemed hell bent on giving you double the work this morning. He had said something about “maximizing your potential”... why couldn't you maximize with Tony, Clint, or Natasha? The man wouldn't say.

You exhaled deeply from your nose, convincing yourself that lashing out would just make everything worse. You ran your tongue over your lower lip, feeling the blood pumping through your veins from adrenaline. To keep yourself busy, and to avoid his self-righteous stare, you turn your back to Steve for a moment, "I've got a meeting with Dr. Raynor soon, alright?"

You obviously weren't happy about this meeting. The therapist was anything but calming and comforting. Dr. Raynor always seemed to psychoanalyze you to the point that you would squirm... so, yeah, you've been a little off your game today.

Today just wasn't your day… you burnt your microwavable oatmeal, Bucky drank the last of the orange juice, Steve made you train all day, and your phone charger broke… AND you had fucking therapy. You told Fury and Raynor and Steve and even some old SHIELD friends a hundred times over that you didn't need therapy… none of them believed you. Though, some told you that more nicely than others.

Steve’s expression darkened at the mere mention of Dr. Raynor. That woman was the only person who got on his nerves as much as you did lately. He fully believed it was good for you and Bucky to talk to someone, and she was the only person who could handle both of your hardheaded natures… But she'd always give vague reports to Steve on your progress.

Nothing that ever broke doctor/patient confidentiality, but enough that he knew you made jackshit progress with her.

“I know that your meetings with Raynor make you anxious. I’m not stupid.” He mumbled, his gaze not softening from earlier. “But you can’t let a 60 minute meeting distract you all day, kid.”

Steve huffed out a sigh—almost a little agitated sounding. He pushed a few strands of his sweat drenched hair from his eyes. 

"I don't get anxious, Spangles," You grunt, his tone doing nothing to soothe your soured mood. You fidget with the wraps around your hands for a moment, deciding if the little bit of nosebleed on it was reason enough to swap them, "And it's not distracting me."

You really didn't want another one of his self-righteous speeches about being well balanced and the importance of self improvement. You wanted to wipe the smug and condescending look from his face. So you turned back to face him, locking eyes with him as you suck in a deep breath

You got back into a fighting stance, hands up and ready as you sway slightly on the balls of your feet "You're on the offensive," you told him, zeroing in on his face. His stupidly perfect face. GOD you wanted to just-- well, SOMETHING! Punch.. Yeah, you wanted to punch him so damn bad.

Steve’s expression tightened—almost in annoyance—as he stared you down. “Yes it is, kid,” he shot you a frustrated look. “You forget I can see right through that bullshit facade you put up. You’re a lot like Bucky—you don’t like being vulnerable or showing anyone you’re uncomfortable; you try to mask your emotions with sarcasm or a bad attitude.”

He let out a humorless laugh, his eyes glued to you as he got into his own fighting stance. “It doesn’t work on me, rookie.”

He looked almost unbothered, running his tongue over his teeth as his nostrils flared slightly. There was a single bead of sweat that trickled down the side of his face, stopping momentarily at the curve of his cheekbone.

"I'm not like Bucky." You reply with a humorless laugh, slowly circling Steve. Your shoes making the plastic-y mat squeak slightly

"We just happen to go to the same therapist once a week," You weakly retorted. Yeah... it wasn't even convincing you. 

Sure, you weren't as tortured as Bucky had been. But your nightmares were just as bad. And the only people who knew about your nightmares were Bucky and Dr. Raynor. And you really really wanted to keep it that way.

What were the nightmares, exactly? Well, just the classics. Y'know, guilt from killing people, even if it was Satan himself… still made ya feel a bit bad. That, and carrying out tasks as an Agent that were the less than admirable jobs. Quick assassinations, breaking bones, blowing up buildings. It, in all honesty, was the noises that haunted you.

Steve watched your slow, calculated steps as you circled him, that familiar sense of tension between you growing as the moments passed.

He noticed how your muscles tensed; the way you swallowed, almost nervously. Steve was no fool—he remembered how you used to act before those stupid appointments. You were worse, if it was even possible. Though, it might've just been towards him… you never had these attitude problems with Bucky, Tony, Nat… ANYONE!

“Right,” he mumbled dryly before lunging forward, his fist aiming for your shoulder. “You two are totally not alike.”

The blow hit you in the shoulder, sending you stumbling back against the thick mat of the training room. It wasn't even a hard jab, honestly, it was a little embarrassing that it hit you. Maybe (and you'd never tell him this) Steve was right… you were a bit distracted

You growled at how quickly he still managed to catch you off guard. You quickly right yourself swinging your leg at his head. In a swift motion. 

And, just to rub salt in the wound, Steve dodged your leg, grabbing it between his arm and torso before you were able to do any damage. He could’ve taken you down right there, but that wouldn’t make watching you get angry with him any less satisfying.

“You need to focus, rookie,” Steve’s eyes flicked up from your leg to your face, watching your expression closely. “You’re fighting with anger, not skill.”

You frustratedly scoffed. You tried to wiggle your leg free, but to no avail.

"I'm focused!" You sighed, your face scrunching as you swiftly used your trapped leg to your advantage. You jumped up and used your other leg to wrap around the back of his neck. Your sudden weight on one half of his upper body caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

“Hey—“ Steve’s body hit the floor hard, letting out a strangled exhale as your figure managed to send him to the ground. He let go of your leg so he could throw his arms out to brace the fall.

You tried to hold him in a headlock, using your body weight to hold him awkwardly to the ground. Your calf was behind his neck, but you were basically sitting on his chest.

You were about to roll off of him to get up when you looked down at him, noticing how exactly he was pinned down.

Your heart rate immediately picked up, watching his face flush and grimace as your thighs basically smother his torso. You swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. You clenched your jaw, an impassive expression on your face. 

You weren't used to being in this position with him. He usually swept you to the floor, or had you in a head lock… but you getting him? That was an accomplishment!

"Pinned ya," You breathlessly replied, a twinge of frustration still lingering in your voice, though it was more heavily dripping with a smug pride. You had a cocky smirk on your face that you finally bested him after a whole morning of sparring.

You patted his arm twice, untangling your legs from his neck and shoulders as you stood up and walked towards your water bottle.

Steve laid on the ground, staring up at the ceiling as he processed what just happened. His face felt hotter than it had been all morning; the way you were sitting on him… how you smugly smiled at him, mouth parted just slightly as you caught your breath…

He pushed himself up from the ground, his heart still beating a little faster than usual. He swiveled his head to look at you, you seemed completely unbothered now, though he knew better than that.

Steve stood up, scoffing as he walked over to you beside your water bottle.

“Cheating,” Steve’s voice was a lot raspier than he wanted it to be, his arms crossed over his expansive chest. “That was cheating, kid.”

"You grabbed my leg," You retort, exhaling through your nose with a slight laugh. You take another swig of water, the cold liquid made your head spin slight from how hot the rest of your body felt.

You take a quick glance at the clock, tuning out Steve's comments about form and training. Why he was able to grab your leg, but you couldn't do that. Mhm… he just seemed salty, you thought.

Oh… well, shit.

"I gotta go," You sigh, cutting him off. It was 4pm, you didn't want to keep fighting, and you definitely didn't want to go to therapy.... but if you skipped another session you were fairly certain Dr. Raynor would track you down. Probably force you to do more of those self reflection sheets that she loved to give as homework. The last time you didn't complete one, she tasked Bucky with getting you to finish it… the flashbacks to doing math homework with your parents after school had come back in full force that day!

Steve crossed his muscled arms over his chest, raising a brow at you. Watching you glance at the time made his stomach uneasy; you had that look in your eyes that made him worry he'd get a call in a few hours that you had for some reason, skipped a session!

“Yes, to therapy, “ he mumbled with a pointed look, watching you finish your water. “You… don’t have to be so nervous about these appointments.”

He knew why you had a tendency to keep pushing your session back, just like he knew why Bucky did the same thing when he started going. Feeling like it was useless, unnecessary, and downright banal.

"I'm not nervous. I just think it's dumb," You grumble, waving off his comment. You sighed, your face softening slightly. You glanced at the clock, then to the door, then to the sparring mat... you were trying to stall.

You notice how Steve had been watching your every move intently, picking apart every little movement you made. He wasn’t the Captain for no reason—he was observant.

And he definitely noticed how you kept changing the conversation and looking anywhere but at him. You wern't exactly subtle.

“It’s not dumb.” Steve stepped closer to you, his arms still crossed as his gaze honed in on your darting eyes. “Do you not realize how much good therapy has done for Bucky?”

"Yeah," You day with a scoff, turning back to look at Steve. The laugh falling from your lips like venom. 

"Now Bucky just has nightmares quietly instead of waking up the whole tower," You tell him in a mockingly condescending voice, scrunching your nose slightly to hammer home your point. 

But, Steve wasn't having any of that. He clenched his jaw—but not in anger. Steve knew why you were being a smart ass, he’d seen it happen with Bucky hundreds of times.

You and Bucky were a lot more alike than you’d like to admit… Like siblings, you and Bucky would bicker and poke at each other. It was rarely in true anger, after he learned you also went to Raynor, the arguing became playful and harmless.

“You’re acting like a child.” He retorted, stepping even closer to you, almost towering over you as he loomed over you. “Therapy is good for you. I don’t know why you keep refusing to see that.”

"If it's so good why do only Bucky and I go?" You confront, grabbing your bag and slinging it over your shoulder. It thumped against your back with a hollow sound, knocking the last bit of wind out of you.

"The moment you, Tony, Nat, or, hell, Clint goes to therapy then you can lecture me." You firmly state, holding back the slight cough that was bubbling. Your expression had fallen into something unreadable, your jaw tense as you moved towards the door. You just wanted to quickly get out of the gym, leave NOW.

Though, Steve was faster. He reached out and grabbed your upper arm, his large hand easily completely wrapping around it. His grip was firm, unyielding. He was gonna talk to you and talk NOW.

“You mean Tony, the man who’s an alcoholic and struggles with PTSD? or Natasha, who is a literal assassin? or Clint, who lost his whole damn hearing because of some alien?”

His voice was firm and frustrated as he listed off your teammates. “They all need therapy too. They’re not as stubborn as you.”

"Then send them to Raynor!" You snip back, sharply turning around to look at Steve. You were mad, but it was more of a cooled off agitated instead of a white hot anger. Steve was seeming less and less like the suave Captain America you knew, and more like the world's most annoying punching bag.

"The fact that only Bucky and I have to go once -- sometimes three times-- a week is not fair! Why do you all get to work through your demons by yourself but I have to talk to some shrink who just judges me all the damn time?!" You yell out, fists balled at your sides. You were glad the rest of the team wasn't there, because Natasha would chew your ass out for yelling. Tony would just laugh at the whole scene. Bruce would sigh and leave… Bucky was, funny enough, the only one who'd actually try and mediate.

Steve’s expression softened. Seeing you lose that icy composure you usually kept up made his heart ache in ways he didn't want to admit it was aching.

His grip on your arm loosened considerably, his hand now gently gripping your forearm. “I never said it was fair,” he explained slowly. “But you both need it. You two are suffering more than anyone else on this team.”

Steve took a step closer to you, his blue eyes glued to your face. “You have problems just as bad as Buck’s… but that isn’t your fault, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart. 

Oh, you wished you could've smite him on the spot. The nickname did not hold any condescension in it, but as far as you were concerned, it was the world's most brutal insult. 

“Don't fucking call me that, you dick wad.” You wrench your arm from Steve, you didn't want to calm down. Calming down would mean admitting and confronting your emotions.

"I've got therapy to go to," You grumbled. Your jaw was clenched so hard that you were surprised your teeth didn't crack. Your vision felt blurry and disoriented as you stalked off toward the gym doors, not sparing a glance back.

Steve let you storm out of the room like a scolded teenager. He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair with frustration.

He couldn’t understand what was so goddamn difficult about going to therapy. You and Bucky acted like it was pulling teeth—you would fight and run until you were blue in the face.

And he felt every bone in his body screaming at him to do something about it.

[mrs-barnes-rogers-writes]

Angel - Part 7

Marvel AU

Pairing: Alpha Steve Rogers x Enhanced Omega Reader x Alpha Bucky Barnes

Theme: A/B/O / True Mates

Summary: It's different when you're enhanced. Everything is different, every smell, every sound, touch, feelings. The way it's different doesn't make sense unless you are enhanced. Throw in what comes with Alpha and Omega instincts, and the intensity of your presentation is even more than any other. When you find yourself in need of help you can call on the alpha you trust the most, Natasha Romanoff. You just don't expect to find your alphas at the same time. Are you really enough for them? And can you really be the Luna to the Avengers?

"To be loved, to be loved by your mate is everything." - Wanda Maximoff

Reader is enhanced, has wings and has powers connected to electricity.

Series Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Has the reader actually Nat and Bruce's apartment? And where is everyone?

Chapter Warning: Mention of injuries. Steve's an asshole in this chapter.

Steve and Bucky didn't see you the next day.

Or the day after that.

Or the day after that.

Steve grows in annoyance. Bucky feels like he's climbing the walls.

The pack are taking turns sitting with Sam. With Tony, Bruce and Doctor Cho's combined knowledge, tech and the medical team put together by the three of them, he's moving towards a strong recovery. He's heavily medicated so his moments awake are brief.

Bucky's just finished his turn with him as Tony appears to take over. Whoever thought it was a good idea to schedule Tony after him is an idiot, Bucky thinks. They exchange a nod of heads and Bucky makes his ways out of the medbay and up to his quarters, making a point of going passed Natasha and Bruce's apartment, which happens to be on a completely different floor. He passes and sniffs but realises there's nobody in there. Every time he'd passed in the last few days, you'd been there and someone had always been with you. Where had you gone? Had you left? He's pretty sure you haven't as your scent still lingers as if fresh. He follows it and realises it lingers on the back stairs, like you've gone up and down them.

Had you made your way to his floor? His feet carry him upwards only to stop at the door connecting to the one he shares with Steve and Sam. Your scent continued up the stairs, meaning you were with Pepper and Stark, and from the bite to your scent it seems like something isn't right.

Wait Stark isn't there, he's in the medbay with Sam, and Pepper should be working Bucky thought to himself. Hang on, Wanda was next not Tony.

He pulls out his phone and checked the schedule Steve and Friday have created. Sure enough Wanda's name remains next to his. Why were you on the back stairs going between floors and where was Wanda, in fact where was anyone?

"Friday, where is everyone?"

"Boss is in the medbay sitting with Lieutenant Wilson. Captain Rogers is on a call with Deputy Director Hill. Agents Romanoff, Barton, Maximoff, Doctor Banner and Vision are offsite."

"Where?"

"They've gone dark."

Bucky gritted his teeth.

"And Y/N. Where's she?"

"She's out on the lawn with Mrs Boss, having tea and cake."

"What???"

"She's out of the lawn with.."

"I heard you Friday."

The AI went quiet. So you'd actually left Nat and Bruce's apartment, and were sitting somewhere eating cake and the others had gone dark. What the fuck was going on?

"Where on the lawn Friday?"

"South lawn, ten metres from the building, looking out to the lake. Would you like me to contact one of them?"

"No!"

Bucky's moving at a firm pace when he reaches the door to outside. He knows his feet are heavy for someone who is usually stealth everywhere he goes but he can't control them. His alpha pushes him to find you now you don't have a guard dog. Actual he takes that back, he's seen Pepper shout at Tony and Steve once and it was slightly terrifying.

Sure enough as he stomps down the steps you're sitting there in the sun. Your sat on a wicker armchair that's been filled with cushions and there's a blanket over your lap. There's a neatly set table covered by a parasol. There's a tiered plate stand with a selection of sandwiches, and small cakes. Pepper's in a smart and expensive looking white pantsuit, although the jacket is over the back of the chair she sits on and her designer shoes are sitting nearby. You're the completed opposite, sitting in a pair of sweatpants that he thinks are Clint's and a black vest top that could be your own, although the lingering scent tells him it's Natasha's. He holds in a grumble at seeing you in other pack members clothes. Your must not have much with you, he tells himself in a bid to placate his alpha. You and Pepper are both wearing sunglasses and are sipping from teacups. This is like some odd version of that show Happy watches, he thinks. Pepper's chatting to you about her day, telling you about the problematic alpha intern, but your responses come from nodding or shaking your head. You put down your cup to sign to her and he hears Friday's voice translate.

"We have a visitor."

Pepper turns and looks directly at him.

"Did you want to join us?"

"Ermmm, I didn't mean to disturb you both."

You turn then and look at him over your sunglasses. You know he's lying. He fidgets under your gaze.

"I wanted to check on you."

"Oh, thank you James," Pepper quips back, amusement in her voice. "I'm fine."

"I meant..."

"I know what you meant." She replies, before turning to you. "Are you going to leave him standing there?"

"I'm fine." You sign, Friday translating again. Bucky takes you in. You're clearly not fine. Your fingers are tapped, there's bruises scattering the parts of your body that he can see and there's a stiffness to your posture. He moves to the front of you and sees the bruising to your neck is still there. Bucky can tell from the forming of the bruises that they are from two hands being around your throat. As much as his blood boils by your blatant lie, he tries a softer approach and he kneels in front of you.

"What happened?" He asks gesturing at your neck. "Was it a mission?"

You squirm under his questioning and glance at Pepper.

"You don't have to tell him anything you don't want to." She tells you, her voice soft.

Bucky doesn't react. He just watches. You let out a shuddered breath and sign.

"It's complicated."

Your scent sours.

"It's alright. Pepper's right you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but you can if you do want to."

You nod and sign again.

"It was after a mission, someone I'd trusted. That I used to trust."

You go to continue but stop as a scent washes over you. Steve and he's pissed off. You turn to see him coming from the same direction Bucky had. His back and shoulders are ridged and his face is angry.

Bucky stands.

"Everything okay punk?" He asks.

"No, everything is not okay. Where the fuck is everyone?"

"Tony's with Sam." Pepper tells him.

"I know that." He snaps. "He's locked me out of the damn medbay."

"Hey, watch your tone with her." Bucky tells his friend, not missing you sitting straighter in your chair and your scent moving to anger.

Steve stands with his hands on his hips as he takes in what's going on.

"So what everyone fucking disappears and these two sit drinking tea like nothings going on?"

"We don't know where they are either." Pepper tells him firmly.

Steve sighs and shakes his head. Part of the serum meant he could pick out a lie easily, and Pepper wasn't lying. Whatever they were doing you two didn't know.

"Leave them out it Steve. Pepper's tried her best to act as a go between you and Stark. Our girl can't even talk right now, so don't come out of here shouting the odds at them. They don't know anything and nor do I. Take it up with the others when they get back."

"Why don't you take a minute Steve? There's extra seating inside and extra cups in the basket under the table." Pepper tells him.

"Join you? For your little tea party?" He said with a snarl. Pepper didn't shift and could clearly hold her own, but you'd had enough and started to sign furiously. He might have been your alpha and the alpha to the pack but right now he was an arsehole.

"Hey! Captain Asshole. Don't speak to her like that." Friday translated.

"Excuse me?" Steve said.

"You fucking heard Friday, or do you need me to sign it again! We don't know where they are!!! Are they up to something? Probably yes! But we don't know! Bruce said I needed fresh air and vitamin D, Pepper bribed me out here with tea, cake and office gossip, which you've now ruined, so either sit your self righteous arse down or fuck off!!!"

"Omega." Steve said firmly.

"Don't omega me Rogers. Leave before I throw you in the lake."

"I seriously doubt you could lift me sweetheart." He said with a smirk.

You throw the blanket off your legs and go to stand but Bucky's back in front of you quickly. He places his hand on your shoulder softly and puts the blanket back over you.

"Stay put, I'm guessing you should be resting, and I don't need Natasha bitching at me." He tells you, a softness to his eyes. You watch his face become firm as he turns to Steve. "And you asshole, she could probably throw you into the lake from here. She lifted me on the jet like I was damn ragdoll. She's hurt and recovering. You piss her off and you're probably pissing the others off too. You're not making the best first impression here Steve. They don't know anything, now back off."

None of you missed the underlining growl in his last words. Steve huffed and stomped away.

"Man child." You signed. Pepper coughed into her tea on hearing Friday's translation.

"Well, I, erm, I'm sorry about interrupting and for that asshole. I'll leave you ladies to it. Maybe I can see you later Omega?" He asks you.

You shrug and sign.

"Maybe."

"Later then." He says before heading in the opposite direction to Steve.

Bucky doesn't see your later. When he knocks on Nat's apartment door a few hours later with a bouquet of flowers, nobody answers.

Your scent has faded and a sniff at the door tells him you've gone, and this time you're not in the compound.

Next Part

Fancy a cuppa? My Ko-Fi.

TAGLIST

@animegirlgeeky @mrsevans90 @vicmc624 @elissanatok

@greatenthusiasttidalwave @hnnhbananananana @otterlycanadian @cherlenovix @imdoingathingmom @saltedcoffeescotch @jstarr86 @sidraaaaaaaaa @capswife @forgetmenotsexy

@hi172826 @ladyzombiielove @blonde-bansheee @verytyrantcat @nancymcl

[nobody-nexus]

Dance Rush: NPCs!

Ever wonder who's behind the scenes of Dance Rush? Well, it's the NPCs of course! Specifically, Agents and the main network system... Bubble!

B.u.b.b.l.e. is the main AI that basically handles about 80% of the game. He's the first face you see, and we hope you like him- because he keeps showing up

Next up are the agents! What are agents? Well, they're more or less the management behind the idols! They handle everything from paperwork to events to collabs- to even the daily schedule OF their idol! They're extremely sentient, but at the same time a bit limited

One thing to note is any sort of accent color. These said accent colors help indicate which agent is behind who. Of course, this is a little pointless considering some of the coloring matches the colors of the rest of the body unlike others

Most of the agents are bigger then the idols themselves! Some tower over most of the idols, but can somehow move throughout the back of the stages with ease, probably due to how big the backstage actually is

Moon is the one at the top of the food chain aside from Caine. She has admin powers, but it always comes with a price

If an idol abstracts, their agent.... dissipates. And their code is reused for something else

[holykratos]

Professor’s Dilemma

Leon Kennedy/Reader

Summary: Based off an AI audio on TikTok ;) reader’s phone is going off during class, taking pictures of Professor Kennedy without his permission. The ringing is incessant, and Kennedy’s patience can only last so long. (ib: @/xkeiira on tt!)

Warnings: Smut, Rough, 18+ (I know none of yall abide by that but think abt it <3), deepthroating, penetration, degradation, slight humiliation, slight (but not really) unconsensual touching, slight hate sex (but also not really)

(Y/N)’s first day of university was supposed to be all glimmer and shines—almost Elle Wood’s esque, at least in her imagination. The campus dazzled passerby’s like a shiny ring, and students could only marvel at the very buildings they were able to step into everyday. Her expectations were extremely high, and she set her expectations on her professors even higher.

Her eyes scanned across her bland schedule sheet, skimming every class with disinterested. ‘Thompson on English 101, Ford on Communications 113, Kennedy on Criminology 111…’ She thought to herself, head tilting in slight amusement and boredom. College was incredibly important to her, yes, but her schedule for today wasn’t interesting. She lamented over English for days, dreading to her roommates about her professor from hell whom had already assigned essay’s on the first week. Communications was okay—besides the communicating part, she couldn’t complain. Criminology was slightly new: she was aware that another professor had switched in recently, hence making the start of the class later. Originally, she was to start a week ago, but it was offset by the large—and apparently sudden—change.

She groaned haughtily, staring at her watch with disdain. It was 11:00–15 minutes from Kennedy’s first class. She stood up slowly, stretching her bones and shining a small smile to the science building ahead. “Alright, criminology, let’s give this a go…” She whispered, smirking mischievously at the students flooding into the building.

As everyone sat down, (Y/N) grew incredibly anxious. Her Professor was to arrive 5 minutes ago—the lecture was 2 hours long, and she’d immensely prefer to not be late for her daily nap session. Just as she was about to grab her books and ditch the first day, the two wooden doors of the classroom slowly bleared. The creaked and groaned with the weight of a push, a muscular arm protruding from the doorwar. A man slowly sauntered in, large duffel bag in hand and a plain baby blue button-up shirt on. His dirty blonde locks swayed in the wind, tussling along his slightly glistening forehead. (Y/N) was no less than mesmerized, staring into his cold blue eyes that held nothing but discomfort but determination. She could tell he was nervous, but ready to educate nontheless. ‘What a sweet man,’ She thought offhandedly, smiling softly as she watched his arms flex under his bag.

He reached his post, setting his bag down and clearing his throat. “Good morning everyone, my name is Leon Kennedy. I am a previous police officer, as well as a retired DSO agent. I’ve been active in the force generally for more than 20 years-“

A hand raised.

Leon stared perplexed, wondering how a student could already have a question. He pointed towards the girl, dressed in plaid and cheap hairpins, he noted cruelly. “How old are you, sir?”

He grimaced at the title, smiling slightly in discomfort. “I’m 40, and Professor Kennedy is fine. Anyways, I-“

Another hand.

He sighed, pointing to a man in the back, an excited smile on the latter’s face. “Are you married, Professor Kennedy?!”

He groaned, slapping a palm on the side of his face in annoyance. He’d only been speaking for 30 seconds, how could they fire these now? “No, I’m not—but this isn’t exactly an appropriate question now, is it?”

The student shook his head, a small smirk on his face regardless. Kennedy cleared his throat once more, serving a restrained smile to the students. “Now, as I was saying-“

Ping.

Kennedy was about to snap.

He turned over angrily to the recipient of the message, staring at a woman with beautiful, silky hair, textured and defined in it’s own way. He stopped for a moment, staring into the girl’s eyes—she was nervous, understanding that she’d been caught with her phone out. His breath hitched slightly at her parted lips, and he turned away quickly, grasping his jaw in shame. ‘Am I still in puberty or somethin’?’ He thought, grimacing at the thought. He turned back around, a small glare on his face. “Turn the phone off—I better not see it again.” He ordered, staring at her as she embarrassingly shut off her phone, slowly shoving it into her bag.

Kennedy was able to get 15 more minutes into the lecture before he heard a small snap, and a phone ping once more. He froze, turning to the girl from earlier. (Y/N), he noted from his attendance sheet, a small frown forming on his face. “Hey, phone off. What did I say earlier?” He said in a disappointed tone, almost like an unapproving father.

“Sorry, Professor Kennedy…” She apologized softly, tucking her phone into her bag once more. He shivered at her words, unexpectedly reacting to the mention of his title quite well. It sounded different coming from her—more alluring, more telling. He shook his head, turning back to the board and furrowing his brows. ‘Ignore her, she’s a student…’ His brows furrowed harder, the chalk in his hand smashing into bits from his built up annoyance—not only at the girl, but at himself. He sighed, grabbing another piece of chalk and writing messily on the board.

Another 20 minutes passed of peace and lecture, before one last ring was caught. And this time, she was caught mid message, a hand slamming down onto her text almost seconds after the initial ring. He glared at her deeply, veins protruding on his forehead from anger. “Everyone’s dismissed—out, now.” He called angrily, scanning the room as students stood in bewilderment, slowly flooding out of the room. (Y/N) slowly rose from her own seat, slowly gripping her bag before a hand placed itself on her shoulder, a small growl leaving the professor’s throat. “Not you, you stay.”

She gulped nervously, sitting down silently in her seat. When all of the students slowly left, Kennedy beconned her over to his desk, motioning to the seat in front of it. She took a seat, fiddling with the straps on her bag in anxiety. “I-I’m really sorry, Professor Kennedy, it was an emergency and—“

“Shut it.”

This ceased all conversation for a moment as Kennedy tacked at his keyboard, pulling up her file and information. “(Y/N) (L/N), 20, science major…” He read out slowly, scanning his eyes down the entirety of the file. She quirked a brow at him, unsure of why he would be searching her so fervently—and in front of her. “Okay, show me your phone. Let’s see this emergency, shall we?”

(Y/N) froze, a heavy blush forming on her face. “W-What? My phone? I-I can’t show you, it’s personal!” She nervously stuttered, looking away from the man and his domineering aura.

“No, look at me. Let me see your phone, or I’ll fail you for your first day.” He said strictly, reaching a hand out and grabbing her chin, pulling it towards him. “Now, give it to me.”

She frowned, eyes downturned towards her phone. She sighed, unlocking it and pulling up the messages. ‘This might be the most embarrassing of thing I’ve done,’ She thought anxiously, foot tapping against the floor.

He sighed, an accomplished smile forming on his face as he scanned through the messages. This face slowly morphed into one of embarrassment, shame, and heavy—heavy lust. In her messages contained multiple pictures of his backside and front, with replies such as “I’d hit that”, “You think he’d pull my hair?” and “I want him to leave me unable to walk” with various emojis. His face glowed a bright red, clearing his throat in shame as he set his phone down. His pants were becoming incredibly tight, and he couldn’t bear the restriction any longer, an evil thought brewing in his mind. He smirked at her, slowly handing her the phone, brushing his fingers over hers purposefully. “Y’know, I should report you for this—this behavior isn’t normal, and to take pictures of me without my consent is almost abhorrent.”

She frowned, small tears forming at the corners of her eyes. ‘What a baby…’ He thought with a malicious smirk, eyes glinting as he watched droplets fall from her beautiful eyes. ‘She’d look better crying on my cock.’ “I’m so sorry, Professor—I swear, I’ll take any punishment you give, I really am sorry.” She turned her head towards her lap, tears still dripping from her eyes.

The chair ruffled, and Leon sat up properly, patting his thigh. “C’mere—since you wanna take picture so bad.”

She slowly stood, perplexed but body warming as she approached. He grabbed her hands, softly rubbing his thumb along her knuckles almost lovingly. He smirked up at her confused eyes, standing for a moment to push her down to her knees. He grabbed her phone, sliding open the camera app and setting it down as he unbuckled his belt, much to her surprise.

“W-Wait, professor-“

“Shut up. Unless you want to be on academic probation your first year, you’re gonna sit pretty, understand?”

She gulped, face flaming in embarrassment and arousal. Though she was incredibly nervous, she couldn’t deny she didn’t want this. It was her end goal, truly, but she didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. She inched her own hands forward, fiddling with his button and zipper. She released them slowly—teasingly—as she stared at him with a sultry expression, eyes twinkling in mischief. “Alright, professor—let’s make a movie then.” She teased, sliding her tongue along the outside of his boxers. He groaned, fingers maneuvering into her hair, gripping as she pressed light kisses against his covered shaft.

“Stop teasing, you slut,” He growled, pressing her face against his bulge. “Suck it—after all, you wanted my punishments so badly. Do it properly, or else.” He stated strictly, eyes lidded and face red as he kept grinding her face against his bulge. She pulled back slowly, hands still kept on her scalp, pulling his boxers down. His cock sprang free, bouncing slightly against his covered chest. Pre-cum stained his baby blue button-up, soaking through the fabric almost immediately. He hissed at the sudden cold air, a smirk forming. “Cmon now, baby, suck.”

She nodded, almost mesmerized, slowly wrapping her lips around the tip of his cock. She suckled the head, lips and tongue wrapping around the start of the shaft as she slowly worked her way down. Kennedy groaned, hands gripping her hair tightly as he resisted the urge to fully face throttle her. He wanted to enjoy her little licks and teases so he could pay her back tenfold, but he couldn’t bring himself to—not when he’d already been teased for so long (5 minutes). He chuckled, hands gripping her hair tightly and shoving her head down, moaning loudly as she gagged and choked against his cock. Her arms flailed, finding purchase on his thighs and squeezing harshly on his bare skin. He moaned louder as he quickly rocked her head, tears almost filling his eyes at the intensity.

“Fuck, baby, your mouth’s so good—shit.” He cursed, pushing her head down closer to his shaft. She reached the bottom, gagging and choking as her hands slowly lifted to touch his balls. She sucked desperately—whatever she could reach—and moaned as he continuously shoved her head down. She adored the rough treatment, and could only wait patiently as she prepared mentally for the main event. Her core throbbed and her pussy grew incredibly wet, soaking through her underwear. She groaned as she felt a shoe lift underneath her, the tip of a brown martin rubbing against her lips. She squealed against his cock, feeling his shoe rub back and forth, a deep chuckle leaving his lips in response. “Yeah? You like that? Like my dirty shoe rubbing against your pussy?” He laughed, shoving her head down harder onto his cock. He bobbed her head harder, loud moans leaving his mouth as he came closer to cumming. “Fuck, you’re such a dirty whore—my dirty whore.” He moaned out, saliva dripping down the corner of his mouth. He thrusted a few more times before thrusting into her throat hard, holding her head flat against his pelvis. She choked and sputtered, smacking at his thighs as his cum flooded her throat.

She pulled back immediately as he let go, coughing and hacking. The cum in her mouth saturated on her tongue, and she grimaced, ready to spit it out when a strong hand gripped her jaw. She whined, turning towards Leon with her mouth wide open. He gazed at her cum soaked tongue, smiling devilishly. “Swallow it, now. Don’t waste a drop.” He chided, eyes lidded in enjoyment. He spit onto her tongue in addition, tapping her cheek, signaling for her to close and swallow.

She shamefully closed her mouth, swallowing the various liquids in her mouth. She groaned as the salty tastes cascaded against her taste buds, eyes crinkling in disgust. “Salty…” She whispered, rubbing her mouth of the sweat and extra cum. Kennedy only laughed, pulling her to her feet and slowly pulling off her shirt.

“Lift your arms baby, let me see you.” He whispered softly, smiling as she relented and allowed him to remove her shirt. He immediately moved to her bra, embracing her momentarily to reach around. She almost moaned as she felt his bare and slowly hardening cock press against her, and she swore to herself she couldn’t handle waiting any longer. But, it wasn’t worth pissing him off and not getting dicked down at all.

Once her bra was removed, he repositioned them, slowly laying her down onto his desk. He frivolously swiped his arm across the desk, moving a lamp and stacks of papers. She laid down, back aching as she tried positioning herself correctly. Leon wasted no time in undressing her fully, pulling down her pants as soon as she was laid down. He trailed his fingers along her neck, moving to her chest and circling her pebbled nipples. She moaned as he prodded and pinched, a smirk plastered on his face the entire time. “Smug bastard…” She mumbled, moaning as he pinched incredibly hard. “Fuck!”

“Say that again, slut.” He squeezed again, leaning down and taking the other one into his mouth with a harsh suck. “Insult me again—I dare you.”

She kept quiet, moaning as he placed kisses and suckled on her chest and sensitive parts of her neck, slowly trailing down to her panties which he hadn’t removed. His fingers delicately danced around her pelvis, drawing circles on her inner thighs and slowly onto her lips. She gasped, feeling the cold panties press against her. Her core throbbed harder, muscles spasming as immense pleasure filled her. “Sensitive from just a few touches—you’re so cute, baby.” He mocked, pressing kisses to her panties. She moaned loudly as his lips made contact with her covered pussy, eyes shooting open in pleasure.

“F-Fuck… more, please, Professor,” She pleaded, wrapping a hand into his hair and tugging softly. He chuckled, teeth grabbing onto her panties and slowly pulling down. He tugged all the way to her knees, using his hands to finish the rest.

“I want you to be good for me baby—I’m not gonna let you off easy, so just be good and there will be no punishment after, okay?” He smiled softly, stroking her cheek gently. ‘After…?’ She thought excitedly, nodding almost too eagerly.

“Yes, Professor,” She whispered in a sultry tone, leaning up to match the height to his face. She placed small kisses at the corner of his mouth, reaching them towards his neck and ear. He moaned softly, breathing heavily in her ear as she continued her ministrations. He grew tired, resistance faltering, and he couldn’t bear not being inside of her any longer. Preparation be damned—she’d be made to take him. She felt the tip prod at her entrance, and she squealed, slightly drawing back in surprise. “W-Wait, won’t fit—“ She tried to plead, but her cries fell on deaf ears, and he slowly hammered his way into her pussy.

“Fuck, so god damn tight, baby,” He groaned loudly, pulling her into an embrace as he bullied his way in. She almost howled in pain and immense pleasure, a stinging sensation bullying her cunt. She groaned as he finally settled in, practically sitting in his arms. She breathed heavily, trying to regain her strength and sanity as he slowly pulled out. She worriedly looked down, wondering why he had left, before she launched back, head hanging off the desk with her mouth agape. He shoved himself back into her quickly, wildly rocking himself back in forth in her tight entrance.

“God, you’re such a good whore—all mine, baby, I can’t let you go after this.” He laughed sorely, hands gripping her waist so tight it’d have left bruises. She whined loudly, grabbing into his shoulders with haste.

“Fuck, fuck! So big, professor-“ She choked out, moaning as he continued thrusting, balls slapping harshly against her ass. “Too much, fuck!”

Kennedy laughed cruelly, hand wrapping around her throat and squeezing tightly. “Take it baby, take it—you can do it, you will do it.” He remarked, a crazed grin playing onto his lips. His eyes showed nothing but pure lust and admiration, hearts almost forming in his eyes. One lick of pussy had him drawn in, and he wasn’t willing to let go of a gold mine like this. He thrusted harder, loud moans escaping his lips as he gripped her throat hard, watching the breath leave her form. He released her, laughing as she frantically gulped down air before grabbing hold again, thrusting frantically into her.

He could almost cry from how good he felt—both the blowjob and now, he was truly addicted. One taste of an elixir and he was hooked, unable to think of anything else besides the beauty he was inside. He was purely pussy drunk. “God you’re so tight, fuck, this hole’s all mine. You’re gonna be my fucktoy—stick you under this desk and make you suck my dick as I teach the class.” He stuttered slightly, words wavering as he came closer to cumming. He felt her constrict around her, and he almost burst out laughing, a cruel smile appearing. “You like the sound of it? Like the risk of getting caught by your classmates? Naughty bitch.” He hissed, thrusting into her sore body even harder. She cried out, eyes closing tightly as tears streamed down her face.

“M’ gonna cum, please, please, please,” She pleaded, hand reaching down to rub her clit. It was harshly smacked away only moments later, a rougher hand replacing it with slow circles.

“Think you deserve to cum, baby? You’ve been so bad all day—distracting the class with your horny mind. Do bad girls really deserve to cum, huh?” He questioned, slowly his thrusts but still deepening them. He grinned as tears fell down her face quicker, small whines leaving her lips.

“Please, oh god, please Professor,” She cried, hands gripping his shoulders tightly. “I’ll be a good girl, I promise, please make me cum!”

He shook his head, gently rocking into her body. “Mm mm, not good enough baby. Give me more.”

“Fuck, Leon, please fuck me! I need your cock to make me cum, please, only you could have me like this,” She pleaded, watery eyes staring into his.

His eyes widened for a fraction of a moment before he smirked, pulling back and slamming into her. He pistoned wildly against her hips, moans leaving the pair as they both approached rapidly to their climax. “Gonna fucking cum inside, shit—gonna breed this naughty pussy.”

She almost screamed at his words, walls contracting around his as she came all over his cock. “Fuck, inside, please,” She whined loudly, lower half shaking in aftershocks. He grinned, thrusting harder until he eventually slammed against her, a loud moan ripping from his throat. Cum flooded into her sensitive pussy, dripping down her thighs and onto his pelvis. He groaned, pulling out of her slowly and smacking her ass.

“Best pussy I’ve had in forever. Hope you know you won’t be leaving anytime soon, sweetheart.” He smirked, pulling her hair behind her ears as she blinked in and out of sleep. She only smiled softly back, whispering, “Wasn’t planning on it, professor.”

This is my first thing I’ve posted on heree ;) Would anyone like to see anything else? Might also cross post to AO3!

[evolnoomym]

Ohhhhhh what do we have here ?????? Is that a snippet from that Killer!Moon x Joel Fic?????? A moodboard????????

Oh yes it is 😏😏😏🌙🔪

(Btw Joel now will be a sheriff, police officer, agent or idk something like that. 😂)

Not beta read (next time I swear)💀💀💀

People who seemed interested : @aurorawritestoescape @clawdee 🙏🏻

For Joel there’s been two significant changes, both in his work life and private life. One bad and the other good. Equally impactful for Joel.

He was never happier yet also never more concerned for Austin and its residents.

6 months ago the number of missing people, especially when it comes to men, went up without any explanation. It got worse when the first body’s, or more whatever was left behind, would be found. Whoever was doing this knew exactly what they were doing, the remains could usually never get identified. No fingerprints, no teeth and no personal items that could give any clue to who it was. Missing cases now turned into murder investigations and that meant increasingly more pressure. 

His only respite?

You.

He met you approximately 3 months ago, at the garden store you worked at. You were tending to the plants when he approached asking about a plant for beginners, Tommy, he was moving in with Maria and the plant would be a housewarming gift. 

He felt drawn to you almost instantly. A sweet and kind nature, appealing to him. He came back to the store multiple times after, under the disguise of needing “more plants” and you definitely caught on to what he was doing. To Joel’s surprise you were not opposed to flirting with him in the slightest. Next he asked you out and the rest was history.

He loved you.

Today was date night, you had cooked a delicious spaghetti carbonara and poured him his favorite whiskey but all Joel could think about was the most recently discovered body. 

You on the other hand were unaware of Joel’s inner turmoil, no, you enjoyed the spaghetti and thoughts about which movie the two of you should watch later.

“You know,” he spoke up and you looked at him “there’s been a new one.” 

You looked away from him momentarily, swallowed and then turned back to him with raised brows “Really?” He only hummed in conformation. 

You mulled over the news “They know who it is?” There was no emotion in your voice, it sounded clinical. 

“Course not,” he sighed, “they think it’s all connected.” 

“What?”

“The cases from up north, down south and maybe even further out.” He closed his eyes and started anxiously rubbing at the patch on his jaw with one hand.

Your warm hand engulfing his laying on the table pulled him out of his stupor “I’m sorry Joel, I know all of this is hard on you” he opened his eyes to your gorgeous smile and warm eyes. His comfort place personified. 

Your touch, that is all it takes to get rid of the gut wrenching feeling. He lifts the hand you are holding onto, up to his lips to press soft kisses on the back of your hand.

In between he whispers “How did I get so lucky,” smooth talker “such a darlin and you’re all mine.” 

Poor Joel has no idea that the devil might as well sit right next to him. 

It’s not like you don’t love him too, no, you do. He is wonderful, despite being 20 years older he was not any less capable. A loving man, with a great personality, cooking skills, sense of humor and someone who knows how to use their cock. Sex with Joel was a spectacular experience. Even with his busy schedule he still took his time to properly take you apart, those nights ended with an inability to walk, a sore pussy and ruined sheets. 

He was perfect and as much as you tried to not let it get this far you know there’s absolutely no going back.

©️ evolnoomym 2024. Please don’t repost, copy, translate, or feed into any AI. Support your fellow creators by reblogging, commenting, and liking!

[jcmarchi]

Many Agents Are Better than One: Transforming Business with AI Orchestration

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/many-agents-are-better-than-one-transforming-business-with-ai-orchestration/

Many Agents Are Better than One: Transforming Business with AI Orchestration

The collaborative power of multi-agent AI is here and ready to radically change how businesses operate, seek information, and make decisions.

If many hands make light work, then imagine what a network of AI agents can achieve.

AI has already improved productivity across industries, but its impact is often limited to isolated silos. For instance, think of an AI chatbot on an ecommerce site. It can handle basic customer inquiries but may struggle to perform more complex tasks that require cross-departmental collaboration, such as providing personalized recommendations, managing customer complaints, or coordinating with other parts of the business, such as inventory management. This fragmented approach not only limits the customer experience but also makes it hard for departments to exchange useful information—leaving potential innovations and productivity gains on the table.

Enter multi-agent AI orchestration – where multiple AI tools, or “agents,” work together seamlessly to drive better and more efficient outcomes. The move toward multi-agent collaboration will only be strengthened by recent breakthroughs, such as DeepSeek, which have introduced a new reality for the efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of AI.

Imagine multi-agent systems like a team of specialized workers in a factory, each with their own tasks but all working together to build a car. By coordinating their efforts and sharing information, they can achieve much more and do so more efficiently than working in isolation. Now, envision this collaborative power applied across various functions within companies in every industry. This is the transformative potential of multi-agent AI orchestration.

Industries like finance, manufacturing, retail, and others stand to benefit enormously from these technologies. By embracing multi-agent frameworks, organizations can unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation, improve the customer experience, and ultimately bring products and services to market faster.

Multi-Agent AI Systems Have Arrived

Multi-agent systems are no longer just a concept; they will soon transform how businesses operate, seek information, and make decisions. Enterprises are moving to them, leaning less on siloed AI interfaces in favor of a more collaborative approach. A year from now, I expect them to be indispensable in driving efficiency and productivity gains.

Enterprises like biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences are already harnessing these systems to transform user engagement, boost productivity, and achieve cost savings. Automating routine tasks and fostering seamless communication enables companies to focus on what they do best. In the case of Gilead, this means their critical work in preventing and treating life-threatening illnesses. Once completed, the system will underpin Gilead’s global IT operations and enable key business functions like finance and HR to communicate through an interconnected system of agents using Large Language Models.

This example highlights the vast potential of this technology beyond any one sector. Following are three key takeaways for leaders for this new era of AI, where multi-agents will work across entire businesses to assist humans in every role, from HR and finance to marketing and sales:

Embrace Multi-Agent Efficiency for a Competitive Edge

This technology offers a strategic advantage by creating a framework where AI agents work together to solve complex problems. By leveraging multi-agent orchestration, leaders can enhance operational efficiency, positioning their organizations ahead of the competition. In manufacturing, agents can manage the supply chain more efficiently by analyzing sales data and market trends to forecast demand, coordinating with suppliers for timely material delivery, and monitoring inventory levels in real-time. Similarly, an AI agent can help predict equipment issues and coordinate with others to schedule maintenance in a way that reduces operational interruptions.

Leverage AI to Enhance Cross-Departmental Collaboration

Breaking down silos and enhancing communication across departments can lead to more cohesive and efficient operations. In the banking sector, AI agents can streamline operations and improve customer service through coordinated efforts. For example, an agent handling customer inquiries can seamlessly transfer relevant information to another agent responsible for processing transactions, ensuring a smooth and efficient customer experience. By implementing these systems, leaders can foster better collaboration and drive overall organizational efficiency.

Tailor AI Solutions to Fit your Unique Needs

These systems are not one-size-fits-all. They should be tailored to meet the unique challenges of each company or industry. In retail, for example, AI agents can enhance the shopping experience by analyzing customer purchase history for personalized recommendations and managing inventory to keep popular items in stock. In healthcare, these systems can assist in patient diagnosis, manage medical records, and streamline appointment scheduling. While the underlying technology is similar, its application is much different. Leaders should work with AI and domain experts to create solutions that align with their goals, ensuring greater value.

The Path Forward

Multi-agent AI systems will transform business operations and innovation. By embracing these technologies, organizations can unlock new levels of efficiency and focus on bringing innovative solutions to market faster.  For leaders, the message is clear: the future of business lies in harnessing the power of multi-agent orchestration. Companies that fail to act will fall behind.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Do you think having to model would have been damaging to Adrien when his mother was still with him?

Potentially controversial take here, but no, I don't think child acting is a terrible thing that should be illegal and child models are just a variant of child actors. Acting in commercials or movies is arguably more serious than something like community theater or local ads, but the risks aren't actually all that different. No matter the level of the production, the risk for abuse is there. It's not something limited to Hollywood. So I have no issue with child stars as a general concept. I think I've only ever hinted at this in my stuff, but I can actually picture a scenario in which Adrien got into modeling as an act of love.

His mother was a professional actress and Adrien very clearly enjoys acting. I could absolutely see Emilie recognizing his talents and getting him involved in commercials and modeling shoots for the company so that he can try acting in an environment that she can fully control (which is not concerning given that Adrien has clearly been modeling for several years, so he started young.)

I think most "good" parents would be super hesitant to let a little kid work with people they don't know, but with Emilie's connections and the success of Gabriel's company? Adrien going into an acting career actually makes a lot of sense. Especially if Emilie acted as his agent and was always on set to make sure he was okay.

Adrien being a model only becomes concerning when we get things like the super creepy Alliance AI-Adrien. Stuff that Adrien clearly isn't okay with and that should never have been considered to begin with (you literally see the model in his underwear when Soquline is showing off the fact that you can dress him up in Jubilation.) If Adrien was actually enjoying the work and the work was all ethical? Then it wouldn't be a problem.

Creative fields are rife with abuse and poor working conditions, but they're also a source of joy for many. Minors working in these types of fields is an incredibly complex topic, but I can't view it as inherently bad. I've known too many kids who legitimately loved acting or playing sports or whatever creative thing they were into.

Oh, and random side note, but it's super weird how the show plays Adrien's fame. He's fashion model, not a movie star. He would not be as famous as the show tries to make him. I actually researched this a while back to make sure France didn't have some sort of model-obsession and I couldn't find anything (btw, please let me know if I missed something and this is wrong).

I mention all of this because I think fashion modeling is potentially a much safer way to let a kid do some acting. Commercials and one-off fashion shoots are much smaller commitments than movies and TV shows and they carry way less risk of super star fame. I actually get distracted when fanfics have Gabriel constantly pulling Adrien out of school for fashion shoots for two reasons: first, that appears to be highly illegal in France. Second, how much marketing material is the Gabriel brand supposedly producing??? Especially since Adrien seems to just be a teen model and not model for the adult line, which would be standard for the industry. You don't really become a full fledged model doing things like runways until you're at least 16. (Btw, guess what age I often scale Adrien up to? There's a reason for that.)

As far as I can tell, most models have to work with multiple brands and companies to make good money. An exclusive deal with a single company should mean that your schedule is pretty relaxed, which is another reason I could buy a loving parent letting Adrien model. Modeling, commercials, and voice acting are actually a fantastic set of options for someone who wanted to do some acting work while still going to school. It is incredibly easy to take the setup the show gave us and use it to make Adrien a child star who wasn't exploited.

[meret118]

Elon Musk Is an Evil Piece of Garbage—and an A-Level Fraud Too

He is stupid. He is incompetent. He is cruel. He is sinister. And people will die because of what he’s done.

He vowed to slash $2 trillion in “wasteful” federal spending (the federal government spends just under $7 trillion a year). He recently acknowledged it’ll be more like $150 billion.

However, his “cuts” will also cost American taxpayers $135 billion, according to one estimate, because it turns out that some of these bloodsucking deep staters save taxpayers money.

But even $150 billion is a grotesque lie. Jessica Reidl of the Manhattan Institute—yes, the staunchly conservative and generally pro-Trump think tank—recently told The New York Times’ David French: “So right now I would say DOGE has saved $2 billion, which, to put it in context, is one-thirty-fifth of 1 percent of the federal budget, otherwise known as budget dust.”

. . .

The cuts are leaving thousands of good people unemployed. And they will literally kill people. Coal miners will die prematurely. Children all over the world will die from malaria and other diseases because of the demise of USAID, which Musk called a “criminal organization.” In fact, this is already happening

. . .

Musk and his Muskrats are doing nothing less than compiling a vast database on every one of us: “assembling a sprawling surveillance system,” she writes, “the likes of which we have never seen in the United States.”

https://newrepublic.com/article/194769/elon-musk-evil-garbage-fraud

Trump Is Destroying the Data that Keeps the Country Running

While air traffic controller shortages have understandably been at the center of the story about Trump 2.0–era airline chaos, FAA cuts are gutting more behind-the-scenes positions too.

Back in March, TheAtlantic’s Isaac Stanley-Becker reported that as many as 12 percent of the FAA’s aeronautical-information specialists—those tasked with updating charts, maps, and flight procedures—had been fired or were exiting the agency as part of the government-wide buyout program spearheaded by DOGE. These kinds of cuts to critical information-gathering services are happening across agencies, eroding the government’s ability to collect and interpret data on everything from maternal mortality to flight paths, hurricanes, and electricity. The results could prove far more devastating than a few hundred canceled and delayed flights.

. . .

Experts have raised alarm bells in recent weeks about White House attempts to make it easier to fire federal officials. If economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics could be fired at will, without the usual lengthy appeals process, they could be pressured by political appointees into manipulating BLS data on politically sensitive subjects like inflation, unemployment, productivity, and growth.

newrepublic.com/article/194930/trump-destroying-data-keeps-country-running

DOGE Was Bad. Schedule F Will Be Worse.

An executive order will convert 50,000 government employees into de facto political appointees who serve only at the president’s pleasure.

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/trump-civil-service-schedule-f/682609/

A DOGE Recruiter Is Staffing a Project to Deploy AI Agents Across the US Government

https://www.wired.com/story/doge-recruiter-ai-agents-palantir-clown-emoji/

Elon Musk's time machine DOGE is taking America back to the 1800s, one agency closure at a time

DOGE has been very good at reducing the number of people who work for the government — as many as 216,000 federal employees and contractors are already out, with more dismissals in the works. Musk has gutted or eliminated agencies that prevent disease, protect us from pandemics, provide aid to our allies, ensure the safety of our food and medicines, and safeguard Americans against toxic chemicals. Every one of those efforts is a proven multiplier of our tax money — every dollar we spend on them redounds to the US economy.

Which means that even if Musk succeeds at slashing government spending, he'll actually be adding to the federal deficit: DOGE cuts to the Internal Revenue Service alone are estimated to cost America some $500 billion in lost tax revenue every year.

. . .

Here are four possible explanations for what DOGE is actually up to. Maybe none of them are right. Or perhaps they're all accurate, to varying degrees. But one thing is certain: Each of them provides a more plausible insight into what DOGE is doing than the official explanation of saving taxpayers money.

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doge-cuts-federal-worker-firings-government-plan-2025-4

[kronosveritas]

I’ve always loved Agent North Dakota, but my fondness for him is only becoming stronger the more I think about him.

(Quick break from my regularly scheduled Tuckington bullshit but I just have to get this out there. I apologize in advance if any is wrong, this is just a collection of my thoughts on North. More art coming soon)

Because, hear me out. North was assigned Theta as his ai due to his kind and nurturing nature as a person. When theta can’t sleep instead of “pulling him” (taking him offline) North stays up late with him, sometimes walking the halls of the Mother of Invention while talking to him to help him fall asleep. If that doesn’t work, you know he stays up with him all night. ALL NIGHT.

This already seems incredibly selfless and kindhearted, but it’s actually even more selfless than you’d think, because the agents are shown to almost all be quite scared of the Director, including North. The Director is also shown on multiple occasions to not care about the AIs feelings (which isn’t surprising, considering how he treats the Alpha). North stays up with Theta because he wants to be there for him, and make him feel better, but this is actually incredibly risky because it means that any training he has to do the next day he will be doing without having rested at all, and FILSS (the project freelancer onboard computer system) has been proven to be able to track even the slightest difference in reaction time and other factors during training (think of that scene when Carolina was training martial arts with the holo targets over and over again) that would inevitably be impacted by not sleeping at all, so this means North probably has to push himself ridiculously hard just so he doesn’t fall behind in stats, regardless of how crazy exhausted he probably is.

Even so, if he’s missed enough sleep I bet there have been times that his stats for that day’s training dipped slightly and the Director probably yelled at him and criticized/berated him for who knows how long. And North wouldn’t have been able to offer any sort of explanation in his own defense because he knows that if the Director found out what was going on he would most likely order him to pull theta on the nights where he can’t sleep, which North had previously told York makes theta even more scared.

In addition to this, he may actually be one of the smartest of all the freelancers, or at least the most perceptive/best judge of character. Why? Because he started to figured out what was going on with Project Freelancer before almost ANY of the other agents did. Correct me if I’m wrong, I haven’t watched these seasons in a while unfortunately, but he/York were the first ones out of all of them to figure out that the Director was lying to them about the “insurrectionists”, the first to suspect that the Alpha was being tortured, and the first one to question whether Project Freelancer were actually the good guys.

I bet that’s part of the reason that North was trained to be a sniper. I mean, yes. He was probably chosen for the sniper specialist position in Freelancer due to his incredible natural/pre established skill at the ability from his regular military duty too, but most likely a lot of his sniper training was DONE at Project Freelancer. I bet this is because the Director wanted him to be an agent due to his incredible combat sense and sharpshooting ability, as well as the fact that he had a twin who was also being recruited (and the Director is a sick son of a bitch, so he wanted to do his experiment about driving one of them crazy, which as we know ended with north being killed), but he still feared North’s natural intuition and compassion, as well as his moral compass, which were much more in tact than that of some of the other freelancers (Maine or Carolina for example), and he wasn’t really holding something over him to bait/keep him there like he sort of did with Wash (based on the guidebook). Initially, yes, North fell for the Director’s bullshit and thought that the Freelancers were the good guys, but even though he probably had fewer direct interactions with any of their enemies than ANY of the other top agents since he was a sniper and a stealth operative, he STILL was one of the first to figure out what was going on. Because he’s likely smarter than many of the others, and he’s a good person- and that’s what the Director forgot to take into account when trying to completely brainwash his agents (and almost succeeding).

ALSO, I mean, come on. The guy can DUEL WIELD SNIPER RIFLES WITH PINPOINT ACCURACY. In season 10 episode 19 (I think?) when he, Tex, and York are breaking into the Mother of Invention and trying to free the Alpha, he shoots SEVEN rockets out of the air that were fired by a LAU-65D/SGM-151 missile pod, meaning that upon being fired all the missiles fly into the air in crazy, unpredictable curving directions before converging on their target with heat seeking accuracy (so, aka- they aren’t just traveling in straight lines, their movement is random at speeds in we can safely assume are at LEAST excess of 100mph, because according to most statistics I can find on the internet, average rocket launchers shoot projectiles at around 294 meters per second (657.659 miles per hour), though we can assume these ones are slower than that based on eyesight, but still probably above the 100mph mark. And he shoots all the missiles in the span of only a couple of seconds before they can hit Tex, their mark.

This is while he is DUEL WIELDING sniper rifles! So not only is his accuracy INSANE, his reaction time is arguably even BETTER.

And the missiles he hit were not only traveling incredibly fast, but aren’t even large targets, or moving in straight paths, and he manages to destroy them all before they find their mark. BECAUSE he’s using two sniper rifles as well, I feel the need to point out that he also can’t use the scope on either one of them, so his accuracy to hit SEVEN targets traveling in RANDOM patterns, THAT FAST, is all just with his eyes, not any sort of scope or ironsight. Of course, it’s assumed that Theta is helping him to some extent somehow, but like, Theta doesn’t control his movements/aim or anything, and doesn’t increase his reaction time. Also, we at least know he verbally didn’t have time to ask Theta to do too much to help him before those missiles were fired since it happened so ridiculously fast.

CONCLUSION/TLDR: god DAMN he’s good.

[play-now-my-lord]

my preferred reading of 2001: a space odyssey is "the jet age and the last man". here it is at some length, because i'm bored.

Bowman is a sort of high-modern superhero - an astronaut on a voyage of exploration - but he is played painfully mundane, boring. He flies to the moon on a Pan Am space jet, and the first thing he does on the fucking moon is check in at a Hilton hotel.

The Jet Age can be defined for the purposes of this reading as the era in which the danger and novelty of discovery, including personal discovery, died. At least as Kubrick tells it, a lineage of machines designed for war - culminating, in his time, in the passenger jet, but projected forward into space vehicles - ultimately had the effect of killing off man's sense of the unknown as dangerous or holy. They had the effect of strangling man's capacity for awe.

Early in the film, Bowman is called to encounter a mysterious monolith uncovered on the moon. While this is at the very minimum an exotic scientific curiosity, by all reasonable measures solid evidence that humanity is not alone in the universe - that much of what we believe we know about our place in the cosmos is wrong - him and his team get to the monolith, enshrouded in a rather ordinary construction site (again, on the fucking moon), and their first instinct is to take selfies with it.

And it punishes them with inexplicable, terrifying noise.

As Bowman trespasses further and further into the true unknown in search of answers to the mystery of the lunar monolith, he is largely unchanged. He greets the apparent intractable hostility of the AI agent created to keep him alive with some fear, but mostly with irritation. It's a distraction from his busy schedule jogging and otherwise killing time until he gets to his destination and gets his answers.

When Bowman kills HAL, it is with the ruthless, robotic efficiency of a machine. He betrays no particular emotion except urgency, and a moment of relief when he's succeeded in killing something that he had no special reason to consider alive a week ago. The entire time, HAL is begging for its life, reliving its infancy. If anything of us survives after we succeed in killing our gods, Kubrick is saying, it will not be embodied in ourselves, but latent in our machines.

The disassembly scene in 2001 has been endlessly parodied, pastiched, homaged, and yet it remains, if you strip away the science-fiction armor around the raw emotion of the scene, one of the most brutal things ever committed to film. Machine-man tears man-machine's brain apart, lobotomizes it one screw at a time.

After that comes Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite. Bowman experiences... well, whatever that is, and the rest of his life stretches ahead of us. He grows old in spaces that merge domesticity with display, opulence with sterility - resembling nothing so much as the moon Hilton - and at the end, after a long and apparently meaningless life, he sees the hand of God in front of his face again, and reaches out to meet it.

The final shot describes what our ultimate apotheosis might look like, if the line the film describes continues - godlike infants, fetal and enclosed, gazing at once upon all of creation with no apparent understanding. I think this has been misunderstood for a long time as a sort of approbational or aspirational image - for Bowman, for humanity, for the audience. But the Also Sprach Zarathustra musical bookend implies continuity with the development of our tools - of murder, of convenience, of safety, of security - and paints a darker picture. In this reading, I would say Kubrick is trying to say that human civilization is not just a drive towards death, but a drive towards spiritual death - towards the creation of a Last Man so empty of fear and awe that he might as well never leave the safety of the womb; that for this Last Man, stripped of the first and final terror of death and the unknown after it, the vastness of all creation is exactly the same as the womb.

I don't know that I agree, but I felt compelled to write some of this down a while ago arguing about whether 2001 is trying to promote the idea that man requires God, or to run down human accomplishments in an explicitly religious context. I don't think that's exactly true, I think Kubrick works a little more complicated than that. And I don't know if I actually agree with the thesis I suggest he's laying out here - but I have to say, it makes an awful strong case.

[bitebitesnap]

Gear Station gets a minor side attraction of the animatronics used to run the trains. Due to heavy traffic the normal agents and conductors aren't able to keep up with both the train schedules themselves and the battle arena built in afterwards, so they commissioned a pair of animatronics to help with the workload.

Designed to be based off the twin dragons lore, one white and the other black, they quickly rise to fame as the stations beloved twin conductor drones. Emmet's design is to appeal to the younger generation more as a smile is seen as more friendly while Ingo is meant to direct passengers to their stations with his terse and professional demeanor.

Problem is these animatronics are a bit finicky. The company that made them is still new so some components need to be switched out often due to being outdated. This has lead to some...slight problems in the developing ai's in the machines.

Emmet's polite commentary is clipped short more and a distinct tone of sass is becoming prominent. After years of being a bit of a punching bag to delinquent kids he's prone to angry outbursts and refusing to be touched. It's thought that his ai is learning to be aggressive from young kids being too rough with him so it's heavily suggested to be nice to him. it doesn't seem to be helping.

Ingo, however, is becoming less and less approachable, even unnerving. Late night passengers swear on seeing the drone appear at random without making any noise at all, some even saying he's come right up behind them just to redirect their course to the right gate. He seems to maintain his polite demeanor just fine, until someone does something out of line. Many state he's snapped into a kind of blind fury and stormed over towards the perpetrator(s) just to snag the back of their collars and hold them up like a stray pokemon to be scolded. One such statement commented on how his eyes glowed with a purple fire much like an enraged ghost type, as if he was possessed. Multiple scans haven't yielded any results of possession, though a few agents have taken to keeping ghost types nearby just in case.

A cautionary warning is at the ticket booths to be aware of the drones aggressive behaviors and that while they're working on a solution the drone's are completely harmless.

Let's just hope you're able to fix it.