#multi-agent systems

[govindhtech]

Introduction to Multi Agent Systems Enhancement in Vertex AI

Multi-agent systems introduction

Vertex AI offers new multi-agent system creation and management methods.

All businesses will need multi-agent systems with AI agents working together, regardless of framework or vendor. Intelligent systems with memory, planning, and reasoning can act for you. They can multi-step plan and complete projects across many platforms with your instruction.

Multi-agent systems require models like Gemini 2.5 with better reasoning. They need corporate data and process integration. Vertex AI, its comprehensive platform for coordinating models, data, and agents, seamlessly integrates these components. It combines an open approach with strong platform capabilities to ensure agents work reliably without disconnected and brittle solutions.

Today, Google Cloud unveils Vertex AI advancements so you can:

Develop open agents and implement corporate controls

The open-source Agent Development Kit (ADK) is based on Google Agentspace and Google Customer Engagement Suite (CES) agents. Agent Garden has several extendable sample agents and good examples.

Vertex AI's Agent Engine is a managed runtime that safely deploys your custom agents to production globally with integrated testing, release, and reliability.

Connect agents throughout your organisation ecosystem

The Agent2Agent protocol gives agents a single, open language to communicate regardless of framework or vendor. This open project is led by us and collaborates with over fifty industry professionals to further our multi-agent system vision.

Give agents your data using open standards like Model Context Protocol (MCP) or Google Cloud APIs and connections. Google Maps, your preferred data sources, or Google Search may power AI responses.

Creation of agents using an open methodology with Agent Garden and Agent Development Kit

Google's new open-source Agent Development Kit (ADK) simplifies agent creation and complicated multi-agent systems while maintaining fine-grained control over agent behaviour. You can construct an AI agent using ADK in under 100 lines of user-friendly code. Look at these examples.

Available currently in Python (other languages will be released later this year), you can:

With orchestration controls and deterministic guardrails, you can accurately govern agent behaviour and decision-making.

ADK's bidirectional audio and video streaming enable human-like agent conversations. Writing a few lines of code to establish genuine interactions with agents may turn text into rich, dynamic discourse.

Agent Garden, a suite of useful tools and samples in ADK, can assist you start developing. Use pre-built agent components and patterns to learn from working examples and expedite development.

Pick the model that fits you. ADK works with all Model Garden models, including Gemini. Anthropic, Meta, Mistral AI, AI21 Labs, CAMB.AI, Qodo, and others provide over 200 models in addition to Google's.

Choose a deployment destination for local debugging or containerised production like Cloud Run, Kubernetes, or Vertex AI. ADK also supports MCP for secure data-agent connections.

Launch production using Vertex AI's direct integration. The reliable, clear path from development to enterprise-grade deployment eliminates the difficulty of transitioning agents to production.

ADK is optimised for Gemini and Vertex AI but works with your chosen tools. Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental's improved reasoning and tool-use capabilities allow ADK-developed AI agents to decompose complex challenges and communicate with your favourite platforms. ADK's direct connection to Vertex AI lets you deploy this agent to a fully controlled runtime and execute it at enterprise scale.

Agent Engine deploys AI agents with enterprise-grade controls

Agent Engine, Google Cloud's controlled runtime, simplifies AI agent building. Agent system rebuilding during prototype-to-production is no longer required. Agent Engine manages security, evaluation, monitoring, scaling complexity, infrastructure, and agent context. Agent Engine integrates with ADK (or your chosen framework) for a smooth develop-to-deploy process. Together, you can:

Use ADK, LangGraph, Crew.ai, or others to deploy agents. Choose any model, such Gemini, Claude from Anthropic, Mistral AI, or others. Flexibility is paired with enterprise-grade control and compliance.

Keep session context: The Agent Engine supports short-term and long-term memory, so you don't have to start over. This lets your agents remember your discussions and preferences as you handle sessions.

Vertex AI has several tools to evaluate and improve agent quality. Improve agent performance by fine-tuning models based on real-world usage or utilising the Example Store.

Linking to Agentspace can boost utilisation. You may register Agent Engine-hosted agents with Google Agentspace. Gemini, Google-quality search, and strong agents are available to employees on this corporate platform, which centralises management and security.

Google Cloud will improve Agent Engine in the next months with cutting-edge testing and tooling. Agents can utilise computers and programs. To ensure production reliability, test agents with many user personas and realistic tools in a specialist simulation environment.

The Agent2Agent protocol connects agents across your enterprise

One of the biggest barriers to corporate AI adoption is getting agents from different frameworks and suppliers to work together. Google Cloud worked with industry leaders that support multi-agent systems to create an open Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol.

Agent2Agent allows agents from different ecosystems to interact, regardless of framework (ADK, LangGraph, Crew.ai, etc.) or vendor. A2A lets agents securely cooperate while publicising their capabilities and choosing how to connect with users (text, forms, bidirectional audio/video).

Your agents must collaborate and access your enterprise truth, the informational environment you developed utilising data sources, APIs, and business capabilities. Instead of beginning from scratch, you may give agents your corporate truth data using any method:

ADK supports Model Context Protocol (MCP), so your agents may connect to the growing ecosystem of MCP-compatible devices to access your numerous data sources and capabilities.

ADK lets you directly connect agents to corporate capabilities and systems. Data from AlloyDB, BigQuery, NetApp, and other systems, as well as more than 100 pre-built interfaces and processes established using Application Integration, are included. Your NetApp data may be used to create AI agents without data duplication.

ADK makes it easy to connect to call tools from MCP, LangChain, CrewAI, Application Integration, OpenAPI endpoints, and your present agents in other frameworks like LangGraph.

We manage over 800K APIs that operate your organisation within and outside Google Cloud. Your agents may utilise ADK to access these API investments from anywhere with the correct permission.

After linking, you may supplement your AI replies using Google Search or Zoominfo, S&P Global, HGInsights, Cotality, and Dun & Bradstreet data. For geospatial agents, we now allow Google Maps grounding. To maintain accuracy, we refresh 100 million Maps data points daily. Grounding with Google Maps lets your agents reply with geographical data from millions of US locales.

Create trustworthy AI agents with enterprise-grade security

Incorrect content creation, unauthorised data access, and prompt injection attacks threaten corporate AI agents' functionality and security. Google Cloud's Gemini and Vertex AI building addresses these difficulties on several levels. You could:

Manage agent output with Gemini's system instructions that limit banned subjects and match your brand voice and configurable content filters.

Identity controls can prevent privilege escalation and inappropriate access by determining whether agents work with dedicated service accounts or for individual users.

Google Cloud's VPC service controls can restrict agent activity inside secure perimeters, block data exfiltration, and decrease the impact radius to protect sensitive data.

Set boundaries around your agents to regulate interactions at every level, from parameter verification before tool execution to input screening before models. Defensive boundaries can limit database queries to certain tables or use lightweight models with safety validators.

Automatically track agent activities with rich tracing features. These traits reveal an agent's execution routes, tool choices, and reasoning.

Build multi-agent systems

Vertex AI's value depends in its whole functionality, not simply its features. Integration of solutions from various sources is now easy on a single platform. This unified strategy eliminates painful model trade-offs, corporate app and data integration, and production readiness.

[bmpmp3]

my inability to play mobile games nowadays is also a source of suffering as a person who loves rhythm games. i miss her (SIF1).....

[parasolemn]

X7 Acts 1-3 Summaries transcription

note: all things i am uncertain about are now in italicised square brackets bc they were bothering me

I encourage everyone to look at the screenshots or video themselves to see if they can read something themselves more accurately than I have. (Video has been removed via copyright strike from ZA/UM, however drive links are available.)

(Updated as at 5/04/2025 at 10AM AEST)

Act 1 - The Murder

Summary

Size: Small Playtime: ~1 hour Energy: High Emotional tone: Panic & Survival 30% Talking; 70% Action 30% Comedy; 70% Darkness

"The first Act introduces Locust City's protagonists, Cuno and Cunoesse. The game starts inside Cuno's subconsciousness, in the special Locust Dream sequence, from which he is violently awakened by his father's abuse. We find Cuno in his living room at the Capeside Apartments, where he must fight to survive Beast de Ruyter's violent rage. Brought to near death by his father's overpowering strength, Cuno is rescued by the [pursuing?] Cunoesse, but their escape attempt is thwarted by the Beast's relentless pursuit. Finally, the children are cornered into brutally murdering Cuno's father on the Capeside boat dock. The act is witnessed by the [urgent?] Call Me Mañana, frightening the children into fleeing Martinaise for good. Cunoesse sets the destination: Hämärä Maa, her ancestral land, thus setting the events of the game in motion. Lastly, before moving on, the player needs to go back and explore Cuno's apartment to collect a few key items before setting off on their journey. (See the Miro board for a detailed overview and storyboard.)"

Player experience

Immediate parallel to Disco with the interior psychological opening of the Locust Dream

The extensive multi-phase animation-driven action sequence between the kids and Cuno's father should give the impression of an ambitious technological upgrade over Disco

Kicking off the game with a refreshingly faster, more higher-stakes pace, establishing the tonal difference of the story

The opening Act is necessarily linear in its major outcomes (Beast is murdered, murder is witnessed, kids flee Martinaise) but on a smaller scale, the Player and the roll of their dice can influence the way in which the Beast dies, as well as the inventory, Health and injuries the kids walk away with.

The more curious Player should understand through environmental storytelling and reading between the lines that the Martinaise strike is still ongoing. Streets are barricaded, and Mañana is still an agent of the Union. The kids might not understand it, but on some level (for any subsequent playthroughs) the Player should understand that Mañana doesn't truly intend to report the children to the cops, he merely wants to get them out of Martinaise because they've witnessed him where he shouldn't be.

The Player will internalise some of the key gameplay mechanics, character [switching], and refreshed Skill, Inventory, Consumable and Thought Cabinet systems.

Act 2 - The Escape

Summary

Size: Medium Playtime: ~2 hours Energy: Medium Emotional tone: Impatience & Paranoia 70% Talking; 30% Action 50% Comedy; 50% Darkness

Themes (top to bottom, left to right): BLUE: Being in transit; Clocks ticking; Neither here nor there; Maps, networks; Wanting to leave, not being able to; Running from your past; People who live in between places [The in-between economy] -> (Yellow) Beggars, homeless PINK: The "strong" vs. the weak; Cushioned childhood vs. street childhood; Loss of childhood naïvete GREEN: Guilt; Paranoia; Looking over your shoulder; Being bound in blood; Depending on each other

"The Second Act finds the children arriving at Jamrock Central station, having walked all the way from Martinaise. It is 07:30 in the morning, and Cunoesse insists they must board the 14:44 train to June Cite. Time at the station is limited, and there are several progression paths through the area. If the kids can obtain two train tickets, they can board legally, or otherwise smuggle one another in a pet carrier, potentially create a diversion (?) or, if all else fails, leap aboard the departing train, likely losing health, inventory supplies, etc. During their time at the Station, the kids notice they are being followed by Petit Hercule, an impressionable little schoolboy whose naïve nature can be put to good use in stealing one ticket. In the process, it becomes clear that the kid is traveling unsupervised and has one ticket already on him, resulting in Cunoesse urging you to lure him into the men's room and try to mug him, testing your conscience and the power balance between Cuno and Cunoesse. Otherwise, the kids can take up the advice of the Beggar King and begin the painstakingly slow process of scraping together barely enough coins to buy one ticket, thereby receiving an introduction into the game economy system."

Player experience

Being thrust into the bustling train station following the gruesome murder should leave the player feeling like a fugitive on the run trapped in limbo, eager to depart but forced to pretend everything is normal.

The indifferent reality of the train station will provide a contrast to the post-murder emptiness, a reminder that the world is still moving in its tracks. The clocks are still chiming. People are drinking coffee. It's almost insulting. Don't they know someone's world has just come crashing down?

Time at the station is limited to mere hours, adding to the sense of impatience and pressure to move on, so that the player would not lose momentum after the high-action opening Act and fall into a slump. They are still not safe -- this is no time to relax.

This Act will challenge the Player's problem-solving abilities, as finding all the ways to gain passage aboard he train will require speaking to a variety of characters and following up on several strategies.

This Act will also put the Player's motivations at odds with their conscience, presenting them with a layered and difficult choice between Little Hercule and Cunoesse. This confrontation sets up Cunoesse's frightening, manipulative nature.

The Player will be introduced to Co-operative Checks, the game economy, the map(s), and receive a greater variety of items and consumables to experiment with.

Act 3 - The Journey

Summary

Size: Large Playtime: ~3 hrs Energy: Low Emotional tone: Mundanity & Temporary Relief 90% Talking; 10% Action 80% Comedy; 20% Darkness

Themes (anything I can read): PINK: Social contrast BLUE: [Deception?] -> Trip as Peter Pan -> Never growing up

"The third Act, entirely aboard the Azure Sans-Détour train line, represents a breather in the tension and a break in the overall darkness. Whether they like it or not, Cuno and Cunoesse have no other option but to stay on this fast-traveling metal tube for three entire days before they've reached their destination, so they might as well make the most of it. The key character of Trip the Train Conductor will serve to induct them into the ephemeral but vibrant social microcosmos of the train, a temporary society on wheels. This is the Act where we have the opportunity to introduce the largest social spectrum of characters, involving the petit bourgeois hops entrepeneurs Vincent & Agnes, wrapped up in a (consensual) love triangle with Trip, as well as other train staff and passengers from social groups Cuno and Cunoesse have never had the chance to interact with before, such as a scientist.(?) This Act will contain another Locust Dream sequence, as well as one-off sequences like the Ghost Station, the Biggest Meal, and Two Kids in a Trenchcoat. The catch of the train journey however, which Cunoesse doesn't tell you until you've already boarded, is that the place where you need to get off the train is actually in between two stations. For this, you're going to have to do Trip's bidding in order to have him pull the emergency brakes on the third day to let you off, or you might have to risk jumping off the moving train to move to the next Act."

Player experience

Here we want the Player to relax a little bit and indulge in Cuno & Cunoesse's mischievous and comedic side. The Train is removed enough from both the immediate stress of the murder and from the impending dread of arriving at Hämärä Maa that it is able to have a more lighthearted tone than the rest of the game.

The Player should feel as though they are really covering ground on their journey, as evidenced by the daily changes to the Train map and the dynamic scrolling background.

The characters the Player gets to interact with on the Train can be very thematically diverse and unconnected by background or life experience, joined only by this shared journey. These characters can deliver all kinds of stories from all corners of the game world, expanding on Elysium worldbuilding and lore.

The Man from Jamrock Station throughline will present the players with a parallel plot which bridges the seemingly unconnected locations of Acts 2, 3 and 4.

The Player should have the freedom to decide how they will navigate the special puzzles of the Train, affecting the fate of Trip and his love affair.

The location itself should provide enough exploration incentives to keep the limited train space feeling fresh, including gaining access to various cars and compartments, new Orbs and situations appearing every day, and people and luggage changing location daily.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 2

Book summaries below:

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

Science fiction, time travel, multiverse, epistolary, adult

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (Teixcalaan series)

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

Science fiction, politics, mystery, political thriller, series, adult

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Soane, Sed Agent

Part 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How dare that pathetic Human and his scrap metal do this to me,” Grite grumbled as Soane doctored the burns on his foot. The droid had burned through his protective exoskeletal armor and seared the flesh black before the human had made their escape from him, but Soane could see that Grite relished the idea of crushing them both under his heel soon enough.

“With this,” Soane handed him a small vial of clear, foul smelling liquid, “your armor should grow back inside the next cycle. Your injury will take longer, inside the next rotation.”

“I’ll be glad when this mission is done and there is Sedician soil beneath me once again,” Grite said, sitting back in his bunk. The Sed aboard the NOAH had been required to petition to all share the same quarters, but things were not equal behind closed doors. The lion’s share of comfort had been handed over to Grite within an hour of launch, pillows, blankets, sheets, all piled onto his bed, leaving bare mattresses for the other three to sleep on. Thankfully the room was temperature controlled, so no one was too uncomfortable, least of all the Borin.

“Sir, I mean no disrespect, but it bears repeating,” Soane started, eyes avert down submissively. “These humans are not what we planned for, and our reports have not acknowledged that. I truly believe that you should inform the generals of the complications and ask they delay the invasion to accommodate the new details-”

“You want me to go to them and say such things? Absolutely not. These humans are weak, with nothing to show for their miserably faulty evolution. With the right equipment, even someone like you could take them on,” Grite scoffed, flicking his hand like he was shooing away the absurdity she was speaking.

By the mountains I hate you, Soane thought, careful to keep her eyes lowered, else the moron see the rage in them. This imbecile was going to get them all killed, of that she had no doubt.

“Besides,” Grite droned on, “the alliances have already been made, and the trap already set. Soon enough the Galaxy will see that Sed superiority is the only way forward. The humans don’t pose any threat to that.”

“So you claim,” Soane said, teeth grit in her marbled face, “but have you forgotten the human chief’s grid routines? He cleared the most difficult simulations alone when even you could not-”,

“Do not dare to speak of that, quoal! Yes, the human has tricks to play in the grid, nothing more. An outlier. Clearly even weak species have something to show for themselves. They’ll be crushed all the same under the mountain.”

Grite leaned back into his bunk and closed his eyes. Not for the first time, Soane noticed how her people came to be called the Stone Men. Grite, lying perfectly still, resembled a boulder wearing a custodian uniform. She also noticed with macabre humor that he’d gotten blood on his pant leg.

Should have burned longer, she thought smirking.

One hundred and sixty four cycles. That’s how long she’d had to put up with this. Kor and Taren, their other compatriots on board, had thrown themselves at the feet of their Borin leader, much to Grite’s delight. But Soane knew from the jump that this glory hungry buffoon was a waste of Sed stone. She’d been part of a dozen different sorties as the Sed empire conquered their system, planet after planet falling until their rule, even been part of the team responsible for shadowing evidence of their wars from the GAIL investigations force when they’d join the multi species assembly. All to gain access to the rest of the galaxy.

And here she was, so close to the lynchpin of their species next great conquest, but she was forced into subservience to the idiot ‘leader’ the Highest had chosen.

He’d forbade her from giving the reports the full scope of the human male’s grid abilities.

He’d neglected to inform the Highest of his demotion to custodial duties after failing to eliminate the science team.

And now he’d managed to allow his armor to be desecrated by one of those ‘pathetic humans’ he despised so much.

All actionable offenses on his part, more than enough for the Highest to remove him from duty, possibly even from the military altogether.

But he’d given her an order.

If she defied it, even for the sake of their mission, she’d be relieved of duty as well. A Quoal going against a Borin was unthinkable.

Even if the Borin in question was this stupid.

Oh, if only she’d been born higher, like the Firstborn, the legendary Sed son born at the peak of the Mountain, encased in armor. The legend held that high in the mountains, in the darkest days of Sedician history, a child was born in a cave atop the highest peaks of their most sacred mountain range, a child born wearing stone across his skin. The child would grow to be the mightiest warrior the Sed had even produced, a tipping point in their species.

After that, and with many of their people giving themselves over to the Stone Warrior, a new race was born, the Sed the Galaxy knows today. But in Soane’s opinion, some of the new people, these Borin, needed some reeducation. They were lackluster leaders, or outright incompetents. Generations of Sed born in the mountain tops had weakened the foundations of their empire, ending with the sorry excuse for a Sed Warrior she now answered to.

“Is there anything else you require, sir?” she asked stiffly.

“No, you can go,” Grite replied, already ignoring her, eyes focused on a data pad.

Soane walked out of their quarters without looking back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soane had to admit, for a species so weak and underdeveloped, the Humans had managed to put together an impressive ship. True, most of the technology was based on other race’s advancements, but they’d adapted it all quite well. She’d already compiled a list of such things for their own scientists to salvage when they inevitably scuttled the NOAH. Making her way through the ship, heading towards the mess hall, she noticed the other crew members eyeing her, not with the same disgust they directed to Grite, but they still kept a weary eye on her and moved themselves out of her path. Good, she thought, let a Sed do as they please in this galaxy. Even if she wasn’t despised like her so called superior, Soane knew the Sed carried a reputation in the GAIL. Stay out of their way or they’ll crush you. Even a Quoal like herself could get the best of any of these species, she was certain of it. Her training told her as much.

But some did have their uses.

Soane stepped into the communications center and surveyed.

Good, she thought, the usefuls are here.

The Choyme were the first people the Sed encountered in their eternal conquest. A bipedal species, hairless, with long tusks pointing down from an oddly shaped mouth. Their skin was a dirty mud color like the pools they swam in. Their large eyes had watched as the ships came down, raining fire and metal. Their planet was subjugated within a few cycles, and dozens of generations later, the Choyme didn’t even think about serving the Sed.

The autonomy had been bred out of them.

As Soane walked into the room, the two Choyme whose names she hadn’t bothered to remember stood at attention, as they’d been taught to do when no one else was there to wonder why. Soane had thought it was a good system. Herself and most of the rest of the communications team were working in tandem. Should Bridge command question her, or, laughably, catch onto what they were doing, the Choyme were in the perfect position to take the fall for any of the Sed on board.

“You,” Soane pointed to the nearest one, “send a new encrypted. Tell them we’re… ready.” Soane knew they weren’t, the actually useful information was being stifled under incompetent leadership, but she had a plan. She’d gather as much information on the human’s as possible, then the moment she say the Highest, would relay all relevant data to him. She’d obey all these moronic orders, and still come out on top. She was sure of it.

Without a word the creature set to work, the other still waiting for an order quietly. Soane ignored it, and walked out of the room.

She had work to do.

[witchofthesouls]

About the Other/Cybertronian!TFP crew in Jack, Raf and Miko…

What would their alt modes be like, do you think? Would they be more Autobot, Decepticon, or Predacon in nature? Also, what kind of shenanigans would each of them get into?

Personally, I do enjoy the thought that cyberized!humans would have a slant towards 'military' upgrades and beastial traits. Like a tribute to humanity's ties to the animal kingdom and their capacity for arms (tool usage lol). Think of it how a lot of civilian equipment, vehicles, fashion, and architecture, as well as groundbreaking discoveries, had a lot of roots from warfare or military applications.

Shoot, I'm thinking that Aligned verse cyber!humans could be considered throwbacks since the initial generations of early Cybertronians didn't have T-cogs!

I think it would be really fascinating to build on the Cybertronians' form of ableism (as seen with Bumblebee and Starscream with their stolen T-cogs) compared to a cyber!Agent Fowler -who was an Army Ranger-or a cyber!random human that lacks a weapon system and/or conventional armature. Plus, the massive culture clash between American views on social mobility versus Golden Age Functionist-held caste system.

(So much shenanigans there.)

Generally, my thoughts for their Cybertronian forms are consistent across the various Other aus with some tweaking on the plot and the world-building:

Jack has deep ties to blackbirds and corvids, so he's capable of flight. May have multi-forms as an ode to a fae heritage or something strange as a direct descendant to a Prime of Chaos upon a planet caging the Unmaker. Dark frame with a pale face. His (and his mother's) optics would be a grey-blue hue.

Miko is a War-Forged Seeker femme. A lot of is due my headcanons on Seekers (and their kin) and her yōkai roots. War-Forged is what I'm specifically calling Elita One's frame-kith. Cybertronians used to bleed pink, so the bright pink armor is callback their Primal Age and their ancient roots. War-Forged are mecha with extreme combat-related programs that modern science as yet to come close to surpassing them.

As for Raf, he's a dragon. Not quite a Predacon, but it's definitely aligned. Or, weirdly enough, a satellite. I think it would be funny if he's similar to Soundwave in some ways there. The Autobots would need to deal with his data-cables. A dragon shape as it's a call his family's roots to being adventurers to Elsewhere, his dad being a dragon himself, and the old warning: "Here be dragons."

[theresattrpgforthat]

Mint Plays Games: REDACTED MATERIALS (External Containment Bureau & Bump in the Dark)

As I continue to play with the Forged in the Dark toolkit and the different ways you can shift it to fit the genre of choice, I embarked on a small campaign of Bump in the Dark, which I've been itching to play for probably about a year at this point. I managed to pull together a group of 4 friends, and we set up 4-session play-through of a mystery together online.

At the same time, I also revisited my first experience with the Redacted Materials system, External Containment Bureau, by Mythic Gazetteer. The Redacted Materials system is a method of dropping the mystery mechanic popularized in Brindlewood Bay into Forged-in-the-Dark. I've played ECB a number of times, usually in a one-shot or two-shot. The system involves players gathering clues and crafting a theory using the pieces of information they cobble together to answer some key question.

Redacted Materials / Forged in the Dark

Like a typical Forged in the Dark game, Redacted Materials games both have you cultivate a d6 dice pool. When you roll, you look for the highest number: a 6 is a success, 4/5 is a mixed of success & consequences, and a 1-3 is a failure, typically with an interesting extra. In ECB, you answer a list of standard questions, while Bump has classic Blades-style Action Ratings. In both, you can spend Luck/Resonance to give yourself more dice, which culminates in a long-term consequences clock that allows for some flavorful character moments.

In Bump in the Dark, I made a story inspired by the examples in the book: teen lycanthropes, a church shrouded in mystery, and a giant elk that was menacing the town. In ECB I used a mystery I found for free on Itch: The Sidhe Conservancy of Portland, by VinMakesGames.

One thing I LOVE about these kinds of games is the amount of stuff the mystery does for you as a GM. The mystery clock helps you figure out pacing, and the clues are bite-sized pieces of inspiration that can help set the vibe, act as a life raft for a flailing GM to grasp on to, and propel the players into making interesting decisions. Couching the game into episodic mysteries also gives you an end point to look at. A short mystery makes an excellent one-shot (ECB). A longer mystery makes for a more drawn-out procedural (Bump). But even in multi-session games, the group can see the end point; this can make a game much easier to dedicate yourself to.

The Game Sessions

Our Bump in the Dark series had a number of punchy story beats. The group allowed themselves to work slowly on the mystery, checking in on the teens' families, musing on how the local church might be involved, and finding ways to make the most of their special abilities. I made 3 teen NPCs that could have been a body or a killer; the crew investigated each teen and I had to improvise elements of their home life as we went. I gave one NPC an abusive dad, another a large family with a suspicious shackle by the barn, and a third no visible family at all. One of my players made an observation that all of the teens who seemed to be suffering lycanthropy had shitty home lives: while this was never a direct clue, it became an integral part to the "why" of the mystery. It added a level of depth that I wasn't angling for at the beginning, but I was thrilled that my players decided to go there.

I've had a similar experience in a past session of External Containment Bureau, where I made a choice in one location to have an NPC seem to be unable to recognize the number 4, and while it never became an official clue, the PCs latched onto it. I carried that pattern to the other locations they visited, and part of their solution to fix the problem therefore had to include doing things in four parts.

My most recent ECB session took place on The Open Hearth, and involved the agents investigating a building that no longer appears to be standing, and small forest appearing in its' place. The PCs had to deal with an affliction of flowers growing out of peoples' heads, and a strange coffee shop that appeared to have chased out all surrounding competition. The solution involved offering a group of pixies a job with the Bureau, and trying to hide a portal to the faerie realm under the guise of a new coffee franchise. Because the entire game was a one-shot, we started with partially created characters, and filled in a few details to customize the characters according to the players' preferences.

My Bump in the Dark spreadsheets, available for public use!

The Structure

I really appreciated the clue structure in both of these games, but even when I designed them, I didn't stick by them. I found myself coming up with new ideas as the players started talking theory and making choices. In both instances, I gave myself the liberty to change some of the clues or invent new ones to fit the story that was starting to unveil itself. I think this is something I'm likely to take with me in future games; appreciating the structure a mystery provides, while also giving myself the license to add as I go. The structure breeds improvisation: it gives you the vibes to start presenting clues to the players, but you don't have to stick rigidly to what's already there.

One of the things I find myself sometimes struggling with in other Forged in the Dark games is coming up with consequences for the players in the middle of an action scene: they might overcome an obstacle faster than I thought, and it can be hard to determine when a scene is over. In Protect the Child, I'm playing with faction clocks and a Run track, but so far nothing seems to hit in the same way as a mystery clock. External Containment Bureau and Bump in the Dark add an extra tidbit in their structure as well: consequences that the GM can draw upon when the action slows down and the group needs something interesting to happen to heighten the stakes.

The question is: can you provide the same pacing mechanic for games that aren't a mystery?

In Blades in the Dark, you know you are done when you've finished the score, or when everyone is taken out. Brinkwood does the same thing with a raid; Slugblaster with a run. In each of these games however, there can still be a list of scene pieces that can give the GM something to work with: details that flesh out a location, things a faction might try to do, a list of potential NPCs, and complications sorted by scenario. I'm likely going to have to re-visit these ideas when I flesh out the setting packs for Protect the Child, since it's somewhat setting-agnostic; potentially a list of consequences that might happen depending on what happens with the kid and the factions chasing you.

Another thing I really like in Bump is the character progression that ties story beats (and arcs) to mechanical advancement. You follow the story of your character by spending various kinds of XP in order to describe pieces of your characters' backstories, develop bonds as a group, and manage the various ways the game will try to beat you down. Bump in the Dark has something similar to Slugblaster in that you need to buy one arc before you get to another. (I'm currently playing Slugblaster, and I'll definitely have more thoughts about this when I finish.)

ECB doesn't have an equivalent to this, which means that your characters don't really have a reason to grow as a group. However, the setting kind of doesn't require them to have those connections: they're co-workers, first and foremost. This also makes ECB a great potential game for a one-shot, because there's much less character advancement compared to a stereotypical Forged game. Character advancement exists in the power creep, conspiracy theories, and the potential to transfer across departments, but it doesn't make your character experience a bump in power; it's more of a lateral move. If you DO get enough supernatural powers, your character actually just… ceases to be playable. They transcend mundane existence, and straight-up vanish.

My External Containment Bureau spreadsheets, also free for public use!

Final Thoughts

At the end of four sessions, I'm not entirely sure that I'm fully at home with the rules of Bump; not in a bad way, just that I have a hard time remembering how all the rules work. It's a great reminder of how much simplicity is needed for a first-time GM who's picking up a Forged in the Dark game - and perhaps even a veteran, considering that I run a LOT of FitD.

In Bump in the Dark, I never touched on strings, struggled to figure out arcs, and it felt like there's very few resources to increase your dice pool. I'm fairly certain that if I was to stick with the game a little longer, I'd be able to get more comfortable with these kinds of rules, and the fact that we were able to play most of the game without feeling like we were missing something, even though there were tools we didn't touch, speaks to the power of modularity in a game.

I don't typically run a lot of long-term campaigns, especially not with games like FitD or PbtA. My tastes are too broad, and my schedule too chaotic. That being said, I can see the draw of mastering complex rules, and developing a knowledge base that allows you to pull of some really cool payoff after weeks and weeks of effort. My experience with Bump in the Dark and External Containment Bureau feels like two ends of a spectrum; the same game system used for punchy, one-shot-friendly action as well as a more drawn-out, slow burn style plot. I'm still trying to find the right fit for Protect the Child; thematically, I want to be able to play the game as part of long haul, but I also want a version of the game that can be used to play a one-shot and still feel like the table has managed to engage with the main themes of the game. I definitely think modularity is the way to go.

[myheartismadeofstars]

MXTX DnD

Scum Villain's Self Saving System

Shen Qingqiu:

Class: Fighter (Eldritch Knight)

Background: (the closest to Shen Jiu's past is "Stojanow Prisoner" the closest to Shen Yuan is something between Sage, Hermit and Faceless)

SJ and SY have very different stat spreads. SY has very high charisma, SJ is much less charismatic (though considering the loyalty he inspires in those who truly love him? Maybe his personality just counters it) SY, basically, is the result of a Dark Gift. Specifically Echoed Soul. When be gets "echoes" they come from SJ, who is technically deceased.

Luo Binghe

Class: Sorcerer (Divine Soul. No I do not take criticism) Luo Bingge multi classes with Hexblade Warlock.

LBH is also extremely charismatic, high CON and decent intelligence and wisdom.

LBH is hilariously OP and has a bunch of different Feats

Shang Qinghua:

Class: Bard (College of Lore)

Background: Double Agent (with the caveat that he is genuinely loyal to both groups)

Mobei-Jun

Class: Barbarian (Storm Herald. Tundra) though, because he's God's Favouritest Little Princess (even more than LBH is, who is canonly overpowered) he can also cast spells (mostly used for teleportation spells)

Yue Qingyuan

Class: Paladin (Redemption)

Liu Qingge

Class: Barbarian (Zealot)

[yellowraincoat]

I wonder sometimes what the L&Co crew did after they aged out of having the sight. Obviously Lucy makes some mention of them helping DEPRAC clear the other side and you can help with that even w/o sight thanks to the Orpheus society, but I don’t imagine they did that forever or even full time.

I’ve actually thought a LOT about what I think they end up doing as adults so… here’s an extremely long post about it:

George’s path is obvious to me. He becomes a foremost voice on the nature of the problem, and he’s able to go to Oxford for university (or the most prestigious UK university still running) on this basis. He gets a degree in history and goes on to a PHD. He then dedicates several years to writing a complete, multi-volume, history of the problem/agencies/corruption/visitors (which will go down in history as THE TEXT about the problem)

… I’ll put the rest under the cut bc this is fr going to be lonnnng

We also know from the existence of Lockwood and Co the books that Lucy at some point metatextually writes a memoir detailing the antics of Lockwood and co. (Which, go off girlboss, she did a great job.) For Lucy’s career path, I imagine that she is a formal DEPRAC partner for a time goes to the other side more than any of her other L&Co colleagues to help out.

This may be a weird take, but I also think that Lucy’s relationship with the Skull and all the weird experiments on ghosts she witnesses lead her to go all GHOST RIGHTS. She campaigns for seeing ghosts differently and repsecting the dead and works to get DEPRAC to create better regulations for how sources are treated when contained and advocates for figuring out how to release them to the other side rather than destroying sources as a first move. Idk I think it suits her relationship to ghosts; she’s definitely more invested in their humanity than other agents.

I don’t think Lockwood would try to hire young agents as a supervisor to keep the agency going after losing his sight. Especially since he’s aware that the problem is fading and considering he’d still have work available through DEPRAC. I think Lockwood spends his first few post-sight years in lots of therapy and takes time off from working since he’s been running a very intense business since he was like 14. I also think he foots the bill for Flo to get a therapist as well.

They’re both able to work through their grief and trauma from the people they’ve lost, Lockwood works through his habit of repressing his feelings, and Flo works through her feelings of being cornered while in doors. Flo eventually moves into Portland Row, and she and George and Lucy and Lockwood spend most of their young adult lives (whole lives if you ask me) living in the same house or living right next door to each other.

As for Lockwood’s actual career path I think Lockwood’s would make it his life’s work to share his parents findings. He spreads the traditional burial practices and ways to ward off ghosts like that Lockwood’s parent’s researched to help people protect themselves from ghosts around the UK as the problem fades.

I don’t know that I see Flo having a real job. I could see her in advocacy for housing insecure youth (we know London has MANY due to the Problem) but I’d also like to see her have a relaxing-ass life. Enjoy therapy and her friends, date George, plant a vegetable garden. Flo’s never cared much about material goods so I could see her working odd jobs here and there to help contribute to Portland Row Expenses, but mostly focus on nonprofit work and political activism while enjoying her life.

I think both Kipps and Holly stay on at Lockwood and co until it permanently disbands, then I imagine they both work to advocate for the rights of former agents in some capacity. If Holly could further her eduction I think she’d work in the legal system, maybe working in administration/research on cases that are attempting to hold leaders of the Orpheus society and high up Fittes and Rottweil people accountable for compensating traumatized former agents. Oh and she asks out that girl from DEPRAC she was living with (and they were roommates oh my god they were roommates)

I think Kipps might (after he’s matured a bit) get involved with a young adult professional development program trying to address all of the former agents and nightwatch kids who forwent education at a young age to hunt ghosts and help them access free education and classes to gain new marketable skills as the ghost hunting industry declines and kids age out of the sight. He also stops beefing with teenagers (so much) and lives out his destiny as surrogate brother/20 year old adopted father to Lucy George and the rest. And he gets himself a husband bc he deserves it 😤

As for the Skull… I’m in the camp that he does return and he occasionally stops by Portland Row to chat with Lucy and pull poltergeists type pranks on the other residents. When Lucy can no longer hear him 🥲 I still think he sticks around for a while, making his presence known by moving objects and helping keep the house cool in the summer (yayyy ghost chill), he also still speaks to Lucy when she does work on the other side with DEPRAC. But eventually, maybe when Lucy’s in her late twenties, the skull feels ready to move on, and Lucy visits to the other side to say good by and help him pass on.

[bongwaterbirdbath]

Got this Bernie Sanders email. Thought I’d share:

Dear Reader,

I do not often find myself in the habit of thanking Elon Musk, but he has done an exceptional job of demonstrating a point that we have made for years — and that is the fact we live in an oligarchic society in which billionaires dominate not only our politics and the information we consume, but our government and economic lives as well.

That has never been more clear than it is today.

But given the news and attention Mr. Musk has been getting over the last few weeks as he illegally and unconstitutionally dismantles government agencies, I thought it was an appropriate time to ask the question that the media and most politicians don't seem to be asking: What do he and other multi-billionaires really want? What is their endgame?

In my opinion, what Musk and those around him are aggressively striving for is not novel, it is not complicated and it is not new. It is what ruling classes throughout history have always wanted and have believed is theirs by right: more power, more control, more wealth. And they don’t want ordinary people and democracy getting in their way.

Elon Musk and his fellow oligarchs believe government and laws are simply an impediment to their interests and what they are entitled to.

In pre-revolutionary America, the ruling class governed through the “divine right of kings,” the belief that the King of England was an agent of God, not to be questioned. In modern times, the oligarchs believe that as the masters of technology and as "high-IQ individuals,” it is their absolute right to rule. In other words, they are our modern-day kings.

And it is not just power. It’s incredible wealth. Today, Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg have a combined worth of $903 billion, more than the bottom half of American society — 170 million people. Since Trump was elected, unbelievably, their wealth has soared. Elon Musk has become $138 billion richer, Zuckerberg has become $49 billion richer and Bezos has become $28 billion richer. Add it all up and the three wealthiest men in America have become $215 billion richer since Election Day.

Meanwhile, while the very rich become much richer, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 85 million are uninsured or under-insured, 25% of seniors are trying to survive on $15,000 or less, 800,000 are homeless and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth.

Do you think the oligarchs give a damn about these people? Trust me, they don’t. Musk’s decision to dismember U.S. AID means that thousands of the poorest people around the world will go hungry or die of preventable diseases.

But it’s not just abroad. Here in the United States they’ll soon be going after the healthcare, nutrition, housing, and educational programs that protect the most vulnerable people in our country - so that Congress can provide huge tax breaks for them and their fellow billionaires. As modern-day kings, who believe they have the absolute right to rule, they will sacrifice, without hesitation, the well-being of working people to protect their privilege.

Further, they will use the enormous media operations they own to deflect attention away from the impact of their policies while they “entertain us to death.” They will lie, lie and lie. They will continue to spend huge amounts of money to buy politicians in both major political parties.

They are waging a war on the working class of this country, and it is a war they are intent on winning.

I am not going to kid you — the problems this country faces right now are serious and they are not easy to solve. The economy is rigged, our campaign finance system is corrupt and we are struggling to control climate change — among other issues.

But this is what I do know:

The worst fear of the ruling class in this country is that Americans — Black, White, Latino, urban and rural, gay and straight — come together to demand a government that represents all of us, not just the wealthy few.

Their nightmare is that we will not allow ourselves to be divided up by race, religion, sexual orientation or country of origin and will, together, have the courage to take them on.

Will it be easy? Of course not.

The ruling class of this country will constantly remind you that they have all the power. They control the government, they own the media. “You want to take us on? Good luck,” they will say. “There's nothing you can do about it.”

But our job today is to not forget the great struggles and sacrifices that millions of people have waged over the centuries to create a more democratic, just and humane society:

* Overthrowing the King of England to create a new nation and self-rule. Impossible.

* Establishing universal suffrage. Impossible.

* Ending slavery and segregation. Impossible.

* Granting workers the right to form unions and ending child labor. Impossible.

* Giving women control over their own bodies. Impossible.

* Passing legislation to establish Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, a minimum wage, clean air and water standards. Impossible.

In these difficult times despair is not an option. We’ve got to fight back in every way we can.

We have to get involved in the political process — run for office, connect with our local, state and federal legislators, donate to candidates who will fight for the working class of this country. We have to create new channels for communication and information sharing. We have to volunteer not just politically, but to build community locally.

Whatever we can do is what we must do.

Needless to say, I intend to do my part — both inside the beltway and traveling throughout the country — to stand up for the working class of this country. In the days, weeks, and months ahead I hope you will join me in that struggle.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Harry Litman at Talking Feds:

On May 29, 2010, Hungary was a liberal democracy with a free press, robust civil liberties, judicial independence, and a multi-party political system. That day, Viktor Orbán, who previously had been Prime Minister, returned to power after a free and fair election driven by voter discontent over the incumbent government’s handling of the 2008 financial crisis. In his years out of power, Orbán had established an iron grip on the Fidesz party, and had remade it in his image into a right-wing populist body. In short order, Orbán’s government, having commandeered the legal and political system, eviscerated judicial independence, installed a loyalist judiciary, attacked and undermined the free press, enacted election laws that hugely advantaged Fidesz and put an end to free and fair elections, labeled dissenters foreign agents and restricted their activities, and overhauled the constitution to centralize and consolidate power. Propped up by these perversions of democratic rule, Orbán remains in power 15 years later. The international community and European Union have relatedly condemned Hungary’s democratic decline, but to no avail. Orbán’s moves have sufficiently weakened opposition parties that they lack the means to topple him within the new ground rules he has established, even though his popular support now sits under 30%. Large scale demonstrations in October called for an end to elements of Orbán’s oppressive rule. But, of course, there’s an immense difference between protesting from the outside for a restoration of democracy and using the tools of a vibrant democracy to change the party in power. Donald Trump, who returns to official power at noon today, has consistently expressed admiration for Orbán as a “tough” and “smart” leader and a “strongman.” In his debate with Kamala Harris, he rebuffed Harris’s assertion that world leaders didn’t respect him by citing Orbán, “one of the most respected men.” After his election victory, Orbán and Trump had a phone call, after which Orbán announced “big plans for the future.” Then last month Orbán came to Mar-A-Lago to visit with Trump and Elon Musk.

Trump will take his oath of office as President today, and if past is prologue, he will be lying. In the last few months, even before taking office, Trump has used strongarm tactics to bring both houses of Congress to heel. He has laid plans to reconstruct the government under the dominant principle of loyalty to his personal interests, and to punish any official who defies him. He has attacked the free press and seduced and intimidated their owners to grovel. As of this very day, America is a backsliding democracy.

The overriding question becomes whether different forms of resistance can limit the backsliding and preserve a core of constitutional rule to nurture back to full health after Trump leaves the scene. Even though it seems to wash over in the majority of citizens, it is no exaggeration to say that the future of American democracy is on the line. A bitter lesson of the Trump age is that the constitutional rule that we had taken to be iron law, molded in the very words of the constitution, in fact is underpinned by softer cultural norms that Trump has been able to shred. Only 10 years ago, the prospect of a Hungary-like devolution of the world’s strongest and most enduring democracy would have been laughable. Now we can actually see the descending path to authoritarianism and the benchmarks along the way. Because they depend ultimately on norms and the shared dedication of the people, democracies are fragile. When a constellation of weaknesses combines with the ascent of power of a vicious strongman, they can be gutted. It happened in Hungary, and it can happen here.

Agree 100% with Harry Litman here: What remains of a democracy in the USA is now officially resembling Orbán-era Hungary.

[ahamkara-apologist]

people gotta start thinking critically about destiny's conflicts. of course the vanguard is on the side of the 'good guys' a lot of the time due to the witness going "its shaping time" and witnessing all over the place but there's been a good many times it's just been a war. a bloody, painful war where two sides fought only for survival. both sides did pretty horrible things, because both sides believed the other had to be driven away or killed if there was any hope of survival. I wonder what things would have been like if the factions had come across golden age earth, though- maybe there would have been next to no fighting at all, and the eliksni would have been allies way earlier

no fr, people need to understand that the issue with the Eliksni-Human wars is that they were both about survival, rather than how the rest of the conflicts we experienced worked. With Ghaul, it was about conquest. With the Witness, it was about preventing the total extinction of the known universe. But with the Eliksni, it was always about survival. Raiding gangs hit human civilizations not because of pure malice, but because the Eliksni were just as starved for resources as we were after the collapse. This isn't to say that they didn't also kill out of cruelty, because of course many of them did, but killing human children because the alternative is starvation for your own hatchlings is not some great transgression like people paint it as. It's just life in a time of great scarcity. It's only a step above simple predation, and that does not account for the massive scope of retaliation that humankind did in return. As far as I'm concerned, we're equally matched in terms of awful shit being done to each other

I was just reading the Stolen Intelligence and it starts off with the account of a Hidden agent who was speaking about the need to prevent Eliksni unification, how the near-complete collapse of their society was a good thing for the goal of eradicating them from Sol, and which Eliksni in particular needed to be destroyed to prevent Eliksni reunification. Granted, this was from Season of the Drifter, so it's outdated, but even accounting for human-Eliksni aggression, its fucking horrifying to hear about a people who only came to Sol because of the near-complete annihilation of their home planet. Here are the excerpts.

The recent trending emergence of so-called "crime syndicates" (cf. report #004-FALLEN-SIV) is emblematic of the continuing destructuralization of Fallen society. Likely an artifact of multi-generational colonization of human strongholds, this agent believes that because these syndicates have no relation to indigenous Fallen culture, young Fallen are appropriating and imitating human mythology in absence of a strong cultural heritage of their own. Much like the dissolution of the Kell/Archon theology, this is positive news for those interested in the complete extirpation of invasive Fallen from the system.

This isn't about settling a war, this is about extermination of a species through cultural genocide. But wait, let's hear what this agent has to say about Misraaks. You know, our buddy Misraaks? Our best dude that we're working our asses off trying to save?

VIP #3987, another former confederate of the Awoken, is a lesser-known personality known as Mithrax. Scattered field reports suggest that like #1121, #3987 styles himself a Kell of the so-called "House Light," an otherwise unknown House apparently founded by #3987 himself. We have secondhand accounts that Mithrax has engaged in allied operations with Guardians in the field, though we have not as yet been able to corroborate these accounts with any degree of veracity. This agent is inclined to treat these reports with a healthy degree of skepticism until otherwise confirmed, as they may be propaganda from Fallen sympathizers in the Old Russian and Red War Guardian cohorts. We have requested intelligence records from the Awoken which may further clarify the matter. In addition, whatever the findings of said intelligence records may be, it should be stressed that one or two sympathetic outliers cannot be relied upon to erase the wrongs of past centuries, nor should their good-faith efforts to correct the sins of their forebears be taken as sufficient symbolic reparation.

Charming. This is bad enough, but listen to what they had to say about Eramis. Now try to tell me again that she's being a bitch for not trusting us, when this was how they were speaking about her barely a few years before she was captured by us in Revenant.

VIP #2029, a once-known personality known as Eramis, or Eramis, the Shipstealer. A House Devils Baroness incarcerated during the Wolf Wars, #2029 successfully fled the Prison of Elders during the mass escape orchestrated by #1121. #2029 is a classical Fallen pirate of the old ways: vicious, uncompromising, and possessing cunning of the highest degree. Field reports indicate that she is rallying violent dissidents to reconstruct House Devils from the ground up. This agent believes her to be the most viable candidate for universal Fallen reunification, and would urge the Vanguard and other interested leadership to aggressively prioritize her destruction. We have come too far to pull our punches now.

This goes beyond simple warfare. The Eliksni did not hold any sufficient power to actually destroy the Last City since the Final Attempt. This Hidden agent wanted complete annihilation. This is talking about going around a beaten-down people that barely holds any more legitimate threats to the Last City and systematically wiping out any attempt for them to even reform their society on the minute basis that they might be able to mount an attack. This is calling for the utter annihilation of a society that suffered an apocalypse that was quite possibly worse than what we suffered in the Collapse, after they were already beaten.

Like, idk, maybe I'm just being extra sensitive bc I live in America, but family is Iranian, so I've been hearing our government talk about how they need to eradicate Middle Eastern threats before they ever come to fruition. But like. Holy fucking shit. We were not the good guys in this scenario. This doesn't make the Eliksni the saints, either, but it's very, very fucking clear that we weren't fighting for the greater good, either. There is no reason that military operations should ever go this far when the enemy is already as good as defeated. It's frankly a fuckin' miracle that any Eliksni are putting any faith in us at all, and it's really only because there's no other option at this point than to try to cozy up to our good side to avoid annihilation.

[drurrito]

Welcome Aboard

A/N: Cranked out my first fic for Carol. All mistakes are mine.

Pairings: Carol Danvers x Reader

Warnings: A little bit of angst and alcohol use

----------------

Carol never has visitors.

When the boarding request pops up on her communications system, she almost blows it to bits, it's a sound she hasn't heard in years. It takes her a few seconds to finally press the button to speak to whoever is waiting on the other side.

"Who's there?" she finally asks.

"Captain Marvel?" a voice responds, "I'm agent y/n, I'm here from S.A.B.E.R. Our comms are down indefinitely, so Fury sent me over to do a briefing."

Carol looks over at Goose, who's stretched out across the navigation station, unbothered by the news of an unexpected guest. Carol tries to emulate the same attitude, striding over to the door to greet you like she's done this plenty of times. She used to at some point, that has to count for something, right?

She loses her bravado as soon as she finds you standing in the entryway.

"Captain Marvel, it's a pleasure to meet you," you stick your hand out and Carol takes it after a beat too long. You don't take offense, Fury gave you the rundown on how long Carol has been isolated. It only took a few minutes to conclude that being a multi-galactic hero is a lonely job.

Carol doesn't stand around for too long, she hurries into the ship after inviting you in.

"Excuse the mess, been a while since someone's been aboard," she apologizes, tossing a single loose shirt into a hamper in the corner and tidying a pillow that was definitely knocked over by Goose.

"It's no problem, are you ready to start the briefing?"

"Sure, you want a drink or anything? Besides water, I think there's a few bottles of brew from Aladna hiding in the back of the fridge," Carol is already halfway to the kitchen, oblivious to the quizzical look on your face.

"I'm okay, Captain, honest," you flash her a friendly smile, and she feels the air escape her lungs. Her shoulders descend from her ears as she walks over to the chair across from you. You're too busy pulling up the agenda to notice.

Carol gingerly takes a seat, her hands rubbing vigorously against her thighs. She might be the first person to grate their hands on denim jeans at this rate. You're still looking for the agenda when Carol springs up from her seat, "are you sure you're not hungry? I'm so sorry, I should have offered before-"

"Captain?"

"Yes?" Her eyebrows were about to launch into orbit, she was already a few paces away from the kitchen, scraping the farthest corners of her mind for that recipe she learned from a family she helped a few galaxies ago.

"I'm okay, really."

"Right," she hurries over to the chair again and lets her body unceremoniously drop into it, vowing to herself she'll never get up from this spot unless she absolutely needs to. She looks up to see you waiting patiently for her go-ahead. Despite traveling to the furthest edges of the universe, she's never seen anything like the color of your eyes.

She collects herself quickly before saying, "let's get started."

---------------

The briefing was mostly successful. Turns out your agenda was outdated, the correct one must have been wiped out from the surge that knocked out the comms. You had to ad-lib everything that was left out and corrected anything that was no longer relevant. Carol watched you intently the whole time, like the fate of the universe depended on scheduled ship maintenances and admin tasks.

"There's still one thing, it was from a meeting last week," you stand, pacing back and forth trying to jog your memory.

"I'm sure it's in there somewhere, maybe we can take a look with these?" Carol is holding two memory dive devices. You've never had to use them before, but you know everything there is to know about how they work.

"Good idea Captain."

"You can call me Carol, agent, it's alright," she hands you one of the devices.

"Thank you," you just nod and take the device, Carol pretends the way your fingers brushed against hers for a fleeting second didn't just make her spine tingle. She lets you take her bed while she sits in the tattered recliner she's been meaning to get rid of.

----------------

It all happens so fast.

One second you're watching the memory of you sitting in a briefing room with Fury and your colleagues, the next, you're watching Carol's memory of Maria telling her to take Goose.

"The cancer came back."

You can only watch a few more blurs of Carol's memory before you jolt upright. Your body is so tense, all you can do is let out a shuddering breath and a few tears.

"Y/n?" Carol is already by your side, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen."

Her voice is distant, like she's calling to you from the other end of the galaxy in the deepest cave. You're still trying to get your bearings, that was far too much pain packed into what was only seconds with the mind dive.

"Can you look at me? Please?"

She sounds much closer now, you turn to look at her and suddenly remember where you are. Your breath is still unsteady as you wipe the half-dried tears on your cheeks, embarrassed over being reduced to tears.

"That...those were your memories," you finally speak, Carol sighs in relief. Her hands have been hovering between your shoulders and face this whole time, unsure if touching you was the best idea.

"Yeah, they were," she straightens up, taking the device from your hands and tossing both aside.

"I've been trying to remember everything...before, well, everything," Carol starts again, looking at anything but you, "I'm so sorry, if I knew that was going to happen I wouldn't have-"

She's cut off by the feeling of your arms pulling her against you. She almost forgot how much she loves hugs, almost.

Carol returns the favor and wraps her arms around you. You both stay like that for a while. Loss is one of the first lessons a hero learns, but it doesn't mean they're impervious to its effects, especially with how often it happens. Carol is trying to convey how sorry she is with every circle she rubs into your back. You only part when it seems like the dust has finally settled.

"I think I'll take that beer now," you say after heavy sigh. Carol gives you a sympathetic smile before heading to the fridge.

----------------

Carol explains everything that you saw.

She also tells you stories about her life before this one, and her adventures from roaming the galaxies. You did a poor job of trying to stifle your giggling when she mentioned being married to Aladna's prince to resolve a "legal issue." That earned you some side eye and an eventual smirk.

Carol swears she's mostly made peace with everything that happened, but you both know it weighs heavy on her from time to time.

Especially during long stretches of solitude like this one.

Goose saunters over to you and spills over your feet belly-up with a lazy "meow," a prime position for scratches.

"Goose is probably stoked to get scritches from someone other than me," Carol quips into the mouth of her beer.

"I could do this all day," you say without a second thought and Carol's smile reaches her eyes.

"Carol, I want my agent back," Fury chimes in over comms.

"I'll think about it," Carol says coolly as she takes a swig from her beer, you stand up out of habit from hearing Fury's voice.

"He's right, I should probably go, there's going to be million things to do now that comms are back up."

"Of course, let me walk you out," Carol sets her bottle down and leads you to the doorway. Seems like you only walked through there a few minutes ago. Time is playing tricks on you, it seems.

"Stay safe out there," Carol says.

"You too, Carol," you trade smiles, committing hers to memory by the time she pulls you in for a hug.

"Thank you," she whispers, hugging you tighter for a few seconds before finally letting you go.

----------------

"So?" Fury is the first to greet you when you arrive at the station.

"Pretending comms is down just to give her human interaction is kind of evil...yet genius," you shake your head with a smile.

"I know she gets lonely out there, she'll never admit it. This is the least I can do," he shrugs before turning on his heel. He walks a few steps before turning to you again.

"Same time next month, agent y/n?"

"Of course sir."

He gives you a curt nod with a knowing smirk before finally leaving.

[wolfie-wolfgang]

An update from Bernie Sanders…

I do not often find myself in the habit of thanking Elon Musk, but he has done an exceptional job of demonstrating a point that we have made for years — and that is the fact we live in an oligarchic society in which billionaires dominate not only our politics and the information we consume, but our government and economic lives as well.

That has never been more clear than it is today.

But given the news and attention Mr. Musk has been getting over the last few weeks as he illegally and unconstitutionally dismantles government agencies, I thought it was an appropriate time to ask the question that the media and most politicians don't seem to be asking: What do he and other multi-billionaires really want? What is their endgame?

In my opinion, what Musk and those around him are aggressively striving for is not novel, it is not complicated and it is not new. It is what ruling classes throughout history have always wanted and have believed is theirs by right: more power, more control, more wealth. And they don’t want ordinary people and democracy getting in their way.

Elon Musk and his fellow oligarchs believe government and laws are simply an impediment to their interests and what they are entitled to.

In pre-revolutionary America, the ruling class governed through the “divine right of kings,” the belief that the King of England was an agent of God, not to be questioned. In modern times, the oligarchs believe that as the masters of technology and as "high-IQ individuals,” it is their absolute right to rule. In other words, they are our modern-day kings.

And it is not just power. It’s incredible wealth. Today, Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg have a combined worth of $903 billion, more than the bottom half of American society — 170 million people. Since Trump was elected, unbelievably, their wealth has soared. Elon Musk has become $138 billion richer, Zuckerberg has become $49 billion richer and Bezos has become $28 billion richer. Add it all up and the three wealthiest men in America have become $215 billion richer since Election Day.

Meanwhile, while the very rich become much richer, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 85 million are uninsured or under-insured, 25% of seniors are trying to survive on $15,000 or less, 800,000 are homeless and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth.

Do you think the oligarchs give a damn about these people? Trust me, they don’t. Musk’s decision to dismember U.S. AID means that thousands of the poorest people around the world will go hungry or die of preventable diseases.

But it’s not just abroad. Here in the United States they’ll soon be going after the healthcare, nutrition, housing, and educational programs that protect the most vulnerable people in our country - so that Congress can provide huge tax breaks for them and their fellow billionaires. As modern-day kings, who believe they have the absolute right to rule, they will sacrifice, without hesitation, the well-being of working people to protect their privilege.

Further, they will use the enormous media operations they own to deflect attention away from the impact of their policies while they “entertain us to death.” They will lie, lie and lie. They will continue to spend huge amounts of money to buy politicians in both major political parties.

They are waging a war on the working class of this country, and it is a war they are intent on winning.

I am not going to kid you — the problems this country faces right now are serious and they are not easy to solve. The economy is rigged, our campaign finance system is corrupt and we are struggling to control climate change — among other issues.

But this is what I do know:

The worst fear of the ruling class in this country is that Americans — Black, White, Latino, urban and rural, gay and straight — come together to demand a government that represents all of us, not just the wealthy few.

Their nightmare is that we will not allow ourselves to be divided up by race, religion, sexual orientation or country of origin and will, together, have the courage to take them on.

Will it be easy? Of course not.

The ruling class of this country will constantly remind you that they have all the power. They control the government, they own the media. “You want to take us on? Good luck,” they will say. “There's nothing you can do about it.”

But our job today is to not forget the great struggles and sacrifices that millions of people have waged over the centuries to create a more democratic, just and humane society:

* Overthrowing the King of England to create a new nation and self-rule. Impossible.

* Establishing universal suffrage. Impossible.

* Ending slavery and segregation. Impossible.

* Granting workers the right to form unions and ending child labor. Impossible.

* Giving women control over their own bodies. Impossible.

* Passing legislation to establish Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, a minimum wage, clean air and water standards. Impossible.

In these difficult times despair is not an option. We’ve got to fight back in every way we can.

We have to get involved in the political process — run for office, connect with our local, state and federal legislators, donate to candidates who will fight for the working class of this country. We have to create new channels for communication and information sharing. We have to volunteer not just politically, but to build community locally.

Whatever we can do is what we must do.

Needless to say, I intend to do my part — both inside the beltway and traveling throughout the country — to stand up for the working class of this country. In the days, weeks, and months ahead I hope you will join me in that struggle.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

[lady-bess]

LadyBess' Masterlist 📖

Hello, and welcome to my Masterlist! Grab a snack, two fingers of whiskey, and take a look at what I've got to offer! 🥃

I write predominantly for Pedro Pascal characters at the moment, but this is a multi-fandom blog, so characters in and out of the 'Pedro-verse' are featured here too!

My works are often 18+ and each fic comes with its own content tags and warning. Minors, please DNI ✨

For ease of navigation, I have used a Traffic Light System to rate these works 🚦

💚 Green is for General/Teen rated content 🧡 Orange is for more Mature works 💋 Red is for anything rated Explicit

My writing is mainly reader-insert content, but I have a mix of Female, AFAB, and Gender Neutral (GN) reader inserts 💜

Not all of these works are on Tumblr yet, but feel free to check out my A03 profile for all works!

Please enjoy, and come back regularly to see what's new!

Current Series: Fallout (Jack Daniels x F!Reader) Most Recent One-Shot Release: "Lost In The Darkness" - (Joel Miller x F!Reader)

One-Shots

"Petals" - Jack Daniels x F!OC (Tumblr Ask/Prompt) "Something Sweet" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "Departure" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader "After Hours" - Jack Daniels x GN!Reader (A03) "Fright" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "Swing" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "The Perfect Fit" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "A Preposterous Thing" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader "Homeward Bound" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader "Restless" - young! Jack Daniels x F!Reader "The Lodger" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader "Dessert" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "Chasing The Sun" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "Afternoon Intrusions" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "A Lesson Learned" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "Closing Time" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "Bound" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03) "Disciplinary" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader (A03)

Multi-Chapter/ Series'

"Jack-mas Christmas Drabbles" - Jack Daniels x AFAB/ F!Reader (A03) "Fallout" - Jack Daniels x F!Reader

One-Shots

"Birthday Wishes" - Joel Miller x F!Reader "The Headache" - Joel Miller x GN!Reader (A03) "Foolish" - Joel Miller x F!Reader "Lost In The Darkness" - Joel Miller x F!Reader

One-Shots

"Getting In A Pickle" - Javier Peña x F!Reader "Take A Seat" - Javier Peña x F!Reader "Hot Nights in Colombia" - Javier Peña x F!Reader (A03) "My, Oh My" - Javier Peña x F!Reader

Multi-Chapter/ Series'

"Monday Morning" - Javier Peña x F!Reader (A03) - collaboration with @joels-darlin 💕

One-Shots

"Drive Me Wild" - Frankie Morales x F!Reader (A03) "Return To Me" - Frankie Morales x F!Reader (A03) "Longing" - Frankie Morales x F!Reader (A03) "Sundress" - Frankie Morales x F!Reader (A03)

One-Shots

"Birthday Boy" - Javi G x F!Reader (A03) "Behave Yourself" - Javi G x AFAB!Reader (No pronouns used)

Multi-Chapter/ Series'

"Heist" - Javi G x F!Reader - COMING SOON

One-Shots

"Three's A Crowd" - Jack Daniels x Joel Miller x F!Reader "Breaking the Barrier" - Jack Daniels x Joel Miller x F!Reader "Watch & Learn" - Dave York x Javi Gutierrez x AFAB!Reader

Multi-Chapter/ Series'

"Just A Date" - Multiple Pedro Character fic x GN!Reader "Mutually Beneficial" - Javier Peña x Frankie Morales x F!Reader (A03)

Much loved characters, but so far only 1-2 fics to their name 💜

One-Shots

"Understanding" - Marcus Pike x F!Reader (A03) "Now You See Me" - Marcus Pike x F!Reader (A03) "Clean Up" - Max Phillips x F!Reader (A03) "Hypercharged In Hyperspace" - Din Djarin x F!Reader (A03) "Trust" - Din Djarin x F!Reader "On The Nature of Daylight" - Din Djarin x F!Reader "Rookie Mistake" - Tim Rockford x F!Reader

Multi-Chapter/ Series'

"A Brand New Start" - Agent Ortega x F!Reader (A03)

One-Shots

"Salvation" - 11th Doctor (Doctor Who) x Clara Oswald (A03) "Run" - 11th Doctor (Doctor Who) x F!Reader (A03) "Rose Petals Blossom" - 11th Doctor (Doctor Who) x Rose Tyler (A03) "Precious Moments With You" - 11th Doctor (Doctor Who) x F!Reader (A03)

Multi-Chapter/ Series'

"Paint The Town Red" - Ginger Ale (Kingsman) x F!Reader Seasons Of Life Writing Challenge - for @fanfictionoverload