diff --git a/Graph-Agents.md b/Graph-Agents.md
index 5fb4df6..7a40346 100644
--- a/Graph-Agents.md
+++ b/Graph-Agents.md
@@ -1141,15 +1141,35 @@ validator does not model. The most important of these is the implicit
 
 ### The implicit `output` key (gotcha)
 
-Every LLM (and agent) node stores its raw completion in the `output` state
-key. That is what `{{output}}` in `state_updates` templates against. In a
-parallel super-step this counts as a write from every LLM/agent branch, so
-a fan-out of **two or more LLM/agent nodes always contends on `output`**,
-even when every declared `state_updates` key is distinct.
+`{{output}}` in a `state_updates` template refers to the node's completion
+(the raw text, or the extracted object when `output_schema` is set). The
+binding is **transient**: the executor sets `output` to the completion,
+renders every `state_updates` template, then puts `output` back to whatever
+it was before the node ran — or to `null` if the key did not exist. An
+LLM/agent/rag node therefore **never persists its completion under
+`output`** on its own. If you want the completion to survive, name a key:
 
-Because the load-time validator only computes declared write sets
-(`state_updates` ∪ `output_schema`), this conflict surfaces at **runtime,
-at the join**, after the branches have already executed:
+```yaml
+state_updates:
+  finding: "{{output}}"
+```
+
+Writing `output` explicitly also works — `state_updates: { output:
+"{{output}}" }` leaves `output` equal to the completion — but a named key
+is the recommended pattern, especially for map branches (pair it with the
+map's `output_key`, see [`map` nodes](#map)).
+
+Two consequences of the restore step that bite in parallel super-steps:
+
+- A node with **no `state_updates`** writes nothing at all. A map branch
+  that omits `state_updates` produces whatever `output` the fork inherited
+  (usually `null`), not the completion. Always declare what the branch
+  writes.
+- When `output` was **absent** from state before the super-step, every
+  LLM/agent/rag branch that has `state_updates` leaves `output: null`
+  behind (the restore falls back to `null`). Two or more such branches
+  then contend on `output` at the join, even though every declared key is
+  distinct:
 
 ```
 Key 'output' was written by 5 parallel branches but has no reducer
@@ -1157,22 +1177,27 @@ declared. Add a reducer for 'output' to the graph's `reducers:` block, or
 rename one writer.
 ```
 
-The fix is one declaration at the graph root. When (as is typical) each
-branch captures its real result into its own key via `state_updates` and
-nothing reads `output` after the join, `overwrite` is the idiomatic
+When `output` already existed before the super-step, every branch restores
+the same prior value, the state diff sees no write, and there is no
+contention. The load-time validator only models declared write sets
+(`state_updates` ∪ `output_schema`), so the `null` case surfaces at
+**runtime, at the join**. The fix is one declaration at the graph root;
+since the value being reduced is always `null`, `overwrite` is the right
 choice:
 
 ```yaml
 reducers:
-  output: overwrite   # implicit LLM completion key; unused after the join
+  output: overwrite   # transient completion binding; always null after the join
 ```
 
 Merge order is deterministic (branches sorted by
-`(node_id, invocation_index)`), so even `overwrite` reproducibly keeps the
-last-sorted branch's completion across runs.
+`(node_id, invocation_index)`), so `overwrite` is reproducible across runs.
 
-Rule of thumb: **any parallel super-step containing 2+ LLM/agent nodes
-needs a reducer for `output`.**
+Rule of thumb: **a parallel super-step containing 2+ LLM/agent/rag nodes
+with `state_updates` needs a reducer for `output` only if `output` may be
+absent from state when the super-step starts.** Seeding `output` in
+`initial_state` (or having any earlier node with `state_updates` run
+first, which leaves `output: null` behind) makes the reducer unnecessary.
 
 ## Branch isolation
 
@@ -1186,7 +1211,8 @@ This means:
 
 - Branches can freely mutate state **during** the super-step without
   stepping on siblings — but every key a branch wrote participates in the
-  join, including the implicit `output` key every LLM/agent node sets, so
+  join, including the `output: null` residual an LLM/agent/rag node with
+  `state_updates` leaves behind when `output` was previously absent, so
   any key written by 2+ branches needs a declared reducer (see
   [the implicit `output` key](#the-implicit-output-key-gotcha))
 - Race conditions are impossible since there is no shared mutable state during