#Upcoming Technology That May Change The World

[spidergrysn]

Spider!Mark origins: Mark Lee x Reader

cw: part one of many, spider! mark, kinda sorta in the mcu????!? just a bit, haechan and reader are siblings, slight violence, sloww burn, fluffy, silly banter, EVENTUAL SMUT (none in this chapter) dorky mark lee.

wc: 7.7k🕷️

ISSUE #1: MARK’s ORIGINS. 🕷️🕸️

ISSUE #2 : THE MAKING OF HERO 🕷️

Annoyed was an understatement.

All his life, Mark had been constantly on the move. It felt like he was never going to have the chance to settle down and be a semi-normal person. From living in Canada to South Korea and now to the US, it seemed like there was no point in getting attached to anyone or anything because, just like before, he was more than likely going to endure some type of change. Mark for one wasn’t unfamiliar with change.

His youth had been filled with broken promises, loneliness, and distractions. There were three things in this world that Mark Lee loved more than his aunt and uncle Park: quantum physics, engineering, and music.

Despite the constant upheaval in his life, these passions had remained constant, serving as his anchor in the storm of his ever so changing life. Whether he was studying the intricacies of the universe, tinkering with gadgets and gizmos, or losing himself in the melodies of his favorite r&b songs, Mark found solace in the world of science and creativity.

But even with adoration for his interests, Mark couldn't help but long for stability. He yearned for a place to call home, a community where he belonged, and people who understood him. Yet, each time he packed up his bags to go to yet another house in another city in another place he knew this was nothing more than a distant hope.

That being said, these passions were the only things that seemed to get Mark through the days. There was something about listening to R&B music and testing major theories of famous physicists in his ever-changing bedroom that kept him grounded. So that’s what he did. After moving to different cities in Canada, Korea, and finally the US, he decided to start uploading videos to the internet.

Now, he didn’t show his face, but his videos featured him making different technological devices while simultaneously playing old R&B music in the background. It was some weird niche thing that he adored. Sure, Mark had garnered 100 subscribers, and sure, some of them may have been weird YouTube bots. But when you thought about it, if you put that many people in one room, it would be a whole lot. Sure, his account didn’t get much attention, but the few comments he’d get on his videos made his day. It made him feel like he had “friends.

Recently, he had uploaded a video explaining his view of quantum theory while Aaliyah's smooth voice filled the background. After a couple of hours, he received a notification from a subscriber who usually commented a lot. They had chatted a few times in his YouTube comments, and Mark had learned that he was a physics professor at MidTown university a college in New York which just so happened to be not too far from where Mark was currently living.

Today’s comment was a bit different though as he reads it, Mark could feel his eyes widen, absorbing every word the professor had to say. He had told Mark that there was an upcoming science expo happening at the school. It was free for all and would be a good way to learn new things. Reading this excitedly Mark, he immediately liked the comment before going to his Safari to search the event, and sure enough, it was there: "30th Mid-Town Science Union Expo" on September 3rd. Finally, something Mark had to be excited for. For the next week, that’s all Mark could think of, and his mood had noticeably changed, prompting his auntie to take notice, thinking that Mark had finally made some friends or, dare she say it, a girlfriend, which Mark waved off, saying it was nothing.

As the days passed, Mark found himself eagerly counting down to the expo, his mind buzzing with anticipation. It felt like a rare opportunity to immerse himself in a world of science and innovation, surrounded by like-minded individuals who shared his exact same passion. And as he continued to upload videos to his channel, the thought of attending the expo filled him with a renewed sense of purpose and excitement.

Finally, the day had come. Mark wore a corny math t-shirt that said “find x,” some blue jeans, and his annoying circular prescription glasses that his auntie always nagged him about, making sure he was wearing them at all times or his vision would only get worse.

His body bounced with anticipation as, Mark exited their small house and strolled down the street, making his way to the train station. Ear to ear, he stood on the subway train like an absolute loser, feeling his heart beating against his chest as the train made its stop. He slipped through the other passengers before breaking into a small jog up to the campus. Signs pointing to the event adorned the lawn as Mark made his way there.

He took a few turns before coming upon a gym. He opened the door and was met with a sea of people and all kinds of experiments and technologies. He stood in awe, just observing everything around him. For the next couple of hours, he walked up and down the aisles, taking pictures and listening carefully to all the presenters. He was observing a particularly cool machine when he was interrupted by someone on a microphone.

“Hello, I need everyone’s attention right now! Experiment #127 has gone missing, and we need everyone to quickly exit the gym be sure to check your bodies and under your shoes to make sure it didn’t bite you. If you’ve been bitten, please reach out to me. It’s very, ah, fatal,” the man in the lab coat announced urgently.

Mark looked up at the man, his heart pounding in his chest, as he watched all hell break loose. People were running into each other, things were being broken, and it was absolute chaos. Mark felt himself being shoved out of the way as he made his way towards the exit. Finally, after a few minutes of pushing and shoving, he was able to make it out, out of breath but relieved to have escaped the hell inside.

As darkness covered the streets, Mark walked home his shoulders slumped, annoyance bubbling within him as he muttered to himself. Of course, the one time he decided to go out, it would get ruined. As he walked, he couldn't shake the feeling of something on his neck. Out of instinct, thinking it was some type of mosquito, he swatted at his neck, feeling the bug squish under his hand.

“Ew, dude, so gross," he muttered to himself, looking at his hand. Mark's eyes widened as he noticed that the bug had eight crooked legs and big, beady eyes. It was definitely not a mosquito. He swatted, wiping his hand his on pants before , exclaiming how there was no way that could be the spider from earlier.

Trying to brush it off as some kind of coincidence, Mark kept walking only to feel his skin start to tingle, his body goes cold but he simply dismissed it as paranoia. Taking a few more steps, he felt his legs turn to jelly, his eyes getting heavy, and he started to feel disoriented before everything turned black.

•

•

"Is he dead?"

"No, Y/n, he isn’t dead. His leg just twitched."

"I don’t know, Hyuckie, sometimes dead people twitch."

"HOW CAN SOMEONE TWITCH IF THEY'RE DEAD-"

"OH SHOOT, HE'S MOVING! IS HE A ZOMBIE?"

"Y/N, HE'S NOT DEAD, HEADASS."

Mark's head absolutely ached, and the voices he heard were not helping at all. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. By now, it was morning, and the sun was shining onto him. His glasses were somehow still on his face, but his vision was blurred. With ease, Mark took off his glasses and gasped at the sudden clarity. He could see everything, including the two people in front of him.

They both looked about his age. The boy had dark brown hair and an annoyed look plastered on his face, as if passed-out Mark was some kind of inconvenience. Next to him was a girl, a bit shorter than him, with h/c hair, and a surprised yet curious expression on her face.

"Ah, where the hell am I?" Mark hoarsely asks as he looked between the two. The two exchanged a look of concern before carefully helping Mark onto his feet.

"We found you passed out on the side of the street this morning on our way to a friend’s house, so my sister here thought we should check to make sure you weren’t dead," the boy explained.

Mark rubbed his eyes before cursing, pulling out his phone to see numerous frantic texts and missed phone calls from his aunt and uncle.

"SHIT, they're gonna kill me," Mark muttered, running his hand through his hair. "I've got to go," he said, about to leave. The girl protested, "BUT WAIT, DON'T GO! WHAT IF YOU'RE HU--" And before she could finish her sentence, the boy was already sprinting back home.

"This is what you get for trying to help someone," the boy, Haechan, teased his sister as she rolled her eyes, and they headed to their destination.

•

•

Mark ran home as fast as he could, his heart pounding out of his chest. He reached the front door and before he could touch the handle, it flew open, revealing his distressed aunt. Her face went from sadness to relief to anger in a matter of seconds as she opened her mouth to reprimand him.

"Lee Minhyung, where in the hell were you?" his aunt demanded, hitting him on the back of the neck, the exact place where he had gotten bitten. Mark winced, but then a thought struck him. Why wasn't he dead? He had passed out from that spider bite that that one professor said to be fatal.. how was Mark still alive?. His thoughts were interrupted as his auntie embraced him, hugging him tightly.

"Please don't do that again, Mark. You scared me and your uncle half to death. I know we've been moving a lot, but I swear this is the last time. I'm sorry if that was upsetting you," she pleaded.Mark enclosed his arms around his aunt, apologizing for his disappearance. He was relieved that his auntie didn’t question it anymore, just happy for him to be back.

"Oh and, Mark,please shower. I love you, but you stink," his auntie teased. Mark lightly laughed before heading into the house , going straight to his room, grabbing some spare clothes, and going to the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and got in the shower, letting out a sigh of relief at how relaxing it felt. As he scrubbed his shampoo-filled hair, he tried to recall everything that had happened – the science fair, walking home, the spider bite, the two weirdos – but nothing inbetween the bite and waking up came to mind.

He turned off the shower, wrapping his body in a towel before heading to his room. Shutting the door, he sat on his bed and looked in the mirror, noticing something different. His body looked completely transformed. Mark wasn't out of shape before, just a bit skinny, but now he could barely recognize himself. His whole body was toned, his arms looked like he lifted weights every day.

"What the actual fuck is going on?" Mark muttered to himself, completely confused. First, he passed out, then he couldn't see with his glasses, and now he was built like a character from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."Minhyung, I made dinner," his aunt's voice rang from the kitchen, snapping Mark out of his thoughts. He quickly got dressed and joined her at the table.

"I made Jajangmyeon," his aunt said, gesturing to the food.

"Ah, thank you, Auntie, I appreciate it," Mark nodded, smiling as she took a seat and began to pray.

“Hey, Mark, I see you're back from your little adventure. I told you, Jen, the man just needed some time to himself," his uncle said, entering the room. He clasped Mark's shoulder as his aunt rolled her eyes and told him to clean up and join them.

As Mark dug into the delicious meal, he couldn't help but notice his auntie and uncle looking at him in awe as he managed to eat five, going on six bowls.

"Who are you and what did you do with my nephew? his auntie chuckles as mark ravenously ate. Mark pauses his eating laughing quietly and shrugging, but he couldn’t help thinking again… what in the hell was wrong with him.”

•

•

As Mark settled back into his daily routine, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Strange changes were occurring within him. His senses seemed sharper, his reflexes quicker. Initially, he attributed it to the adrenaline rush from the spider venom clearing out of his system, but as more days passed, he began to realize there was something going on with his body he just didn’t know what.

Like a couple days ago he found his phone quite literally sticking to his hand like glue. Another time, as his auntie was about to drop something, and he experienced a weird tingling sensation, and with lightning-fast reflexes, he managed to catch it before it hit the ground. And then there was the odd incident when he dropped something, and as he thrust out his wrists to catch it, he noticed a sticky white fluid oozing from his wrists.

All these thing led Mark to a startling conclusion: either he was going through puberty again, which compared to the things happening to him did not seem highly unlikely, or that spider bite had changed him. It had altered him into some kind of superhuman freak, and Mark struggled to weigh that in his head.

Night after night, Mark found himself hunched over his computer, scouring the web for any clue that could shed light on his newfound abilities. Hours turned into days as he delved into articles and videos, hoping for a breakthrough, only to be met with frustration and defeat. With a heavy sigh, he ran his hands through his hair in frustration before defeatedly turning off his computer and chucking his notebook full of possibilities at the wall. His exhaustion was taking over and he decided to tackle this spider shit tomorrow.

As Saturday morning arrived,Mark found himself awake earlier than usual. The cool breeze whispered through the open window, beckoning him outside. Needing to clear his head a bit , he quietly slipped out of the house, not wanting to disturb his sleeping auntie and uncle. The streets were quiet, the wind was cool, and it was the perfect time for a morning jog.

As Mark pounded the pavement, his thoughts swirled with uncertainty. The rhythmic thud of his footsteps and the steady beat of his music provided a temporary escape, allowing him to clear his mind. He looks at his watch seeing that it was somehow 1 pm… he has been running for a little over 6 hours and hadn’t even worked up much of a sweat.

“What the actual hell is going on.” he groans to himself as he decides to take a break from jogging and try and find something to eat. Weirdly enough , as he was walking down the street a strange sensation washed over him—a familiar tingling that prickled his skin and made the hairs on his arms stand on end. With a frown, he removed his headphones, tuning in to the sounds of the city awakening around him.

Ahead, in a dimly lit alley, Mark heard voices—a commotion that was almost inviting him to come in. Peering around the corner, he spotted a group of men surrounding a lone girl backpack. Their menacing words echoed off the walls as they demanded her belongings."Come on, Stark, no one is here to save you. Hand over your stuff, and nobody gets hurt," one of the men taunted, his voice dripping with malice.

Mark's heart raced as he watched the scene unfold, his mind racing to place where he had seen the girl before. There was something familiar about her, something that tugged at the edges of his memory, but he couldn't quite grasp it. With a surge of adrenaline, Mark knew he couldn't stand idly by. He put his hoodie over his head concealing his face and took a big deep breath. This was his moment to step into the unknown, to test the limits of his newfound powers, and to help someone out.

"And why should I? If you want money so bad, get a JOB... J-O-B. Do you need me to spell 'application' out for you too?" The girl retorted, a hint of amusement in her voice, before one of the guys grabbed her collar.

Without a second thought, Mark sprang into action. With newfound agility and strength, he swiftly removed the robber from the girl's grasp and stood between them, a dorky determined expression on his face as he kept his face down not wanting his identity to be seen by robbers.

"Uh, I wouldn't be doing that if I were you," Mark said, attempting to deepen his voice, though he couldn't help but cringe inwardly at how it came out.

"Oh my God, who is this loser?" the man scoffed, joined by his two lackeys in mocking laughter.

Mark's heart sank at their taunts, but he steadied himself. "Alright, captain save-a-hoe over here. What exactly will you do to me, loser?" the man sneered, before Mark's fist connected with his jaw, sending him crashing into a pile of trash cans.

"Holy shit, that kid is strong," the other two men exclaimed, abandoning their unconscious companion and fleeing the scene.

Rubbing his barely aching hand, Mark turned to the girl. "Oh, hey... you're welcome for saving you," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," she replied awkwardly, eyeing him with a mixture of surprise and skepticism. "I totally was handling it on my own, but, uh, yeah, sure, thanks."

Mark felt a pang of disappointment. He had hoped to be hailed as a hero, not dismissed like he some kind of nuisance. "Sorry, it just looked like you needed help—"

"I didn't. I could've handled it on my own," the girl interjected firmly, before turning to walk away.

Mark sighed, preparing to leave, when he heard her voice again. "Wait, I know you... you're the boy from a few weeks ago, I found passed out." She comes up to him taking his hoodie off, she had gotten a small glance at him when he had bolted in the alley.

And then it clicked—Mark remembered her. "Yeah, that was me. Uh, thank you for helping me that day. I was in such a rush, I wasn't thinking," he admitted sheepishly.

"No worries, consider us even," she said with a soft giggle, extending her hand. "I'm Stark, Y/n Stark."

Mark's eyes widened in surprise. "L-like Stark Industries?" he stammered. Although He had just moved to the US, he would be a fool to not know who Tony Stark was, the billionaire superhero with a niche for technology. The name was practically synonymous with heroism and technological advancements.

Y/n rolled her eyes, clearly used to this reaction. "Yes, like Stark Industries. Usually people say their name when they introduce themselves, but yeah," she replied sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm Mark, Mark Lee," he replied, feeling a bit flustered as he shook her hand.

"Jesus, your grip is strong as hell. Do you lift or something?" Y/n remarked, her eyebrows raised in surprise as she looks from Mark to her attacker that laid knocked out on top of some trashcans.

Mark chuckled nervously, his heart racing as he hesitantly agreed, earning a laugh from the girl beside him. "So, uh, why were those guys giving you a hard time?" he asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.

The girl rolled her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Hmm, let me guess. Maybe the fact that my father is a billionaire and one of America's most annoying men on the planet, who knows," she replied sarcastically, her tone laced with slight annoyance.

Mark sheepishly scratched his neck, nodding in understanding. "Uh Can I walk you home or something?" he blurted out, surprising himself with his boldness.

The girl giggled, giving him a small nod. As they walked side by side, Mark listened intently as Y/n told him about her life—her school, her dad, her step-brother Haechan. She spoke with pride about the things in her life, and Mark couldn't help but admire her confidence.

"What about you? I've talked so much about myself, I forgot to even ask you anything," Y/n said, her voice light with laughter.

Mark stumbled over a few awkward "ums" before launching into a tangent about his own life—constantly moving, living with his overprotective auntie and careless uncle, and the fact that he had never had any close friends.

Y/n listened attentively, offering encouraging nods and murmurs of understanding. "Well, you know what, Mark? Consider us friends," she declared, extending her hand in a gesture of truce.

Mark hesitantly shook her hand, feeling a rush of warmth at the simple gesture. She squeezed his hand before announcing that they had arrived at her home.

"Wow, it's really—" Mark began, but Y/n cut him off with a knowing smirk.

"Big, huge, expensive, amazing, and awesome. Thank you. It was a high school graduation gift. This is what happens when you graduate top of your class and your dad is loaded," she finished, her laughter filling the air.

As they reached a gate, Mark watched intently as Y/n tentatively punched in a number. "So, I'll see you around," he trailed off, feeling a sense of reluctance to leave.

"That you will," Y/n replied, her smile radiant. Mark swore her eyes sparkled a bit in the light.

"Thank you, Mark," she said, hurrying through the gate and waving goodbye. Mark waved before walking back home a bit awe struck at the encounter.

•

•

"Hey, Hyuck," the girl greeted, her hand pushing open the huge door to the sprawling mansion. "And Jeno... and Jaemin and Renjun," she added, spotting her brother's best friends lounging on the plush couch, engrossed in some sort of fighting video game.

"Hey, Y/N," they chorused in unison, their attention briefly diverted before returning back to their game.

"Hate to ruin the fun and all, but Hyuck, can I talk to you?" Y/N asked, her smile carrying a hint of suspicion.

"Yeah, sure," Haechan replied, casting a curious glance at his sister, waiting for her to speak.

"Ahem, ALONEEEE," Y/N insisted, emphasizing the word.

"Ugh, fine," he grumbled, rising from the couch and following Y/N into an empty room. Y/n closes the door behind him as he urges her to speak.

"Okay, well, I almost got mugged today," Y/N confessed weirdly calm.

"AGAIN??? What have I told you about leaving the house without keeping a communicational tracking device? Also Haechan scolded, his irritation all over his face.

“Also you know how to fight i don’t know why you never use that.”

"Ugh that’s so annoying and heavy plus Find my iPhone works just as well, and my dear brother violence is never the answer ," Y/N replied, scratching her neck.

Haechan rolls his eyes at her reply knowing she was full of shit.

"Aht anyways , key word though: ALMOST... I got saved," she continued, a spark of excitement in her eyes.

"Okay, so what's so crazy about that?" Haechan sighed, already bracing himself for another wild story from his sister.

"You know the really cute weird guy we found tweaking on the sidewalk one morning on our way to class?" Y/N asked, her voice laced with even more excitement.

"Yes..." Haechan replied cautiously, raising an eyebrow in anticipation.

"Get this: he's the one that saved me," Y/N revealed, her words hanging in the air, begging for a reaction.

Haechan's eyebrow shot up even higher, his interest piqued. "Okay, but this time he was strong as hell, some kind of superhuman strength, I swear to God. And he dropped in at the perfect time, it was crazy."

"I know exactly where this is going, Y/N," Haechan interrupted.

"Just hear me out, Hyuck," Y/N pleaded, her excitement bubbling over once again.

"I think we should tell Dad about this. It was a bit strange, and I don't know, I think he's some kind of mutant or superhuman guy thingy for sure," Y/N suggested, her mind racing with possibilities.

"Don't you think before you tell Tony, you should get, like, some proof? He could just be really strong, and you know, we did find him on the side of the road. It could be Crack. I heard Crack make people hella strong at times," Haechan reasoned, his tone tinged with skepticism.

Y/N shot her brother a withering glare as her eye twitched in annoyance. "We live in a world full of actual superheroes. Our uncle is a big radioactive green man, and you think this boy is on CRACK ," she said, her frustration evident.

Haechan shrugged indifferently before turning to walk off. "You know how Tony is. Get proof that this guy is some sort of superhuman, and then you can tell them."

"So you're saying I should pull a Joe Goldberg and follow him around," Y/N muttered sarcastically under her breath as Haechan walked away to join his friends.

“Not exactly what I meant, but if that gets you your info, then be my guest," Haechan called back over his shoulder before disappearing into the living room area.

"Asshole, so much for his help," Y/N muttered to herself, shaking her head in disbelief as she retreated to her room to devise a plan. She was determined to uncover the truth about the mysterious boy who had come to her rescue.

•

•

As the middle of September came, Mark finally felt like he had some peace in his life. Despite that spider bite giving him these wacky powers, things were good. He was starting up at a private college soon meaning, he finally had a chance to make friends and enjoy being in school for a longer period of time. Although he moved a lot, Mark always made sure to stay on top of his grades and work, and he was so smart that when moving down to New York, he was offered a scholarship at one of the top high-class private colleges. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't slightly excited. His auntie and uncle were doing well and were in good health, and things actually felt normal.

Or at least, normalish. His days were fine, but his nights were filled with endless research. "Radioactive spiders," "superhuman," "mutants" were all over his Google search history. His notebook was filled with pages upon pages of his abilities and his discoveries. Mark would be lying if he said he didn't sneak out his window a few times to stop some petty crimes, dressed in all black and a raggedy Halloween mask to conceal his face.

But despite his newfound abilities and the excitement of starting college, Mark couldn't shake the feeling of something missing. He missed the chance encounter with Y/n, the girl who had saved him and intrigued him all at once. He found himself thinking about her more often than he cared to admit, wondering where she was and if he would ever see her again. But for now, he had to focus on not embarrassing himself on this first day of school keep his nighttime escapades under wraps. After all, being a superhero wasn't exactly part of his college plans.

•

•

The sun crept through the curtains, casting a soft glow into Mark's room as his Auntie Park flicked on the light switch, breaking the peaceful morning silence. "Why is it that you’re finally an adult, and I still have to wake you up early for school like you’re 8?" she chided, her voice warm yet tinged with annoyance, before kissing Mark on his head and leaving his room.

Mark groaned, his eyes still heavy with sleep as he rubbed them, reluctantly pulling himself out of bed to start his day. The cozy warmth of his blankets calling for him to stay in bed as he stretched, his muscles protesting the early hour. With a seep sigh, he shuffled over to his closet, grabbing his school uniform he received at his orientation. He was slightly confused that at his big age he’d be wearing a uniform to college, but he wrote it off as something that rich people probably did. He shrugged the thought off as he hastily got dressed, adjusting his tie carefully.

Rushing to the bathroom, Mark brushed his teeth and splashed his face with water aka his sorry excuse of a skin care routine. Drying his face he scurries to put on his shoes-all the while Grabbing a piece of toast from the kitchen, Mark quickly pecked his auntie on the cheek, telling her he’ll see her later before dashing out the door to catch his train to school.

The train ride calming, soft murmurs and the rhythmic hum of the engine, punctuated by the occasional screech of brakes as it slowed to a stop caused Mark to relax a bit. He closed his eyes, his mind drifting with the music pouring through his headphones.

Stepping off the train, Mark found himself immersed in the early morning bustle of the city streets, the cool morning air hit him as he made his way towards the big gates of his prestigious private school. Cobblestones lined the walkway, while vibrant flowers danced in the gentle breeze,

The stained-glass windows of the school caught the early sunlight, casting a kaleidoscope of colors onto the ground below. Each pane was a reminded Mark of attending church early in the morning with his Auntie and Uncle as a Kid. Mark paused, momentarily lost in the thought , before finally tearing his gaze away to enter the new school .

Inside, the air was alive with the energy of rowdy students and bustling footsteps, students mingling in clusters as they navigated the long hallway. With a deep breath, he pushed forward, his footsteps echoing against the polished floors as he walked to his first class of the day.

Opening the door, Mark was greeted by the warm smile of his teacher as the bell chimed signaling everyone to get to their classes. The teacher greets the class before asking Mark to stay in front of the class to introduce himself.

Mark swayed a bit clenching his jaw as he stood in front of a sea of people wearing red and blue.

his eyes were glued straight ahead as he introduced himself, he adjusts his uniform cuffs as he nervously speaks up.

The classroom hummed with the anticipation as Mark nervously stood before his classmates, his heart pounding in his chest like a drumbeat. "Yo.. uh hi, my name is Mark," he began, his voice betraying him as he cleared his throat. "I'm from Canada, and then I moved to Korea for a bit, and they're both a bit different from New York." His words spilled out in a rush, the syllables tumbling over one another as he struggled to find his footing in this unfamiliar environment. "Uh, I live with my aunt and uncle, and, uhm, yeah, that's about it," he concluded with a nervous laugh, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head.

The teacher nodded encouragingly, gesturing for Mark to take a seat as the other students shifted in their chairs, their curious gazes following his every move. Mark offered a quick bow in gratitude before hurrying to his desk, his mind focused on how he just embarrassed himself. "Way to go, Mark," he chided himself, rubbing his temples wishing he could get rid of the awkwardness in the air from his introduction. With a deep breath, he forced himself to focus as the teacher launched into a lesson on chemical matter, the words washing over him in a blur of scientific nonsense .

Mark began to take notes on the board, plugging his earbuds in as he begins his assignment. Everyone else’s focus is interrupted by the entrance of a late classmate.

The door swung open as a girl stood in the doorway, her uniform askew and her hair gathered into some weird crossover of a ponytail and a bun, she gives the teacher a toothy smile and a sorry as she tries to catch her breath.

The teacher's annoyed sigh filled the room as He sternly gaze at the girl. "Miss Y/n, this is the third time you've been late this week… and it’s only Wednesday,"He said, his tone full of annoyance.

Y/n's eyes widened with remorse as she profusely apologized , her words tumbling out scattered . "I know, I've just been getting caught up with other things," she explained, her voice trailing off as she met the teacher's unwavering gaze. With a weary sigh, the teacher issued a final warning, threatening to involve Y/n's father if her punctuality did not improve. Defeated, Y/n slunk to the back of the classroom, sinking into an empty desk next to the new boy, her expression a mixture of annoyance and frustration .

As Mark’s head nodded to the beat of his headphones, he felt a subtle shift in the air beside him. Sensing someone's presence, he instinctively unplugged his headphones, his gaze locking with y/n's, whose eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected encounter.

"Mark?" she exclaimed, a hint of disbelief painting her voice as she struggled to contain her excitement at the random meeting.

"Oh, Wow yo y/n, hey," Mark replied, equally taken aback by their chance encounter. The coincidence of the girl that’s he’s been thinking about going to the same school as him made his heart pitter-patter.

"You're stalking me or something, tiger?" y/n teased, a playful smirk gracing her lips as she watched Mark's face flush with embarrassment at the nickname.

"N-no, no, no, it's just—" Mark stuttered, his words faltering as y/n interrupted him with a soft laugh, her amusement evident in the twinkle of her eyes.

"I'm just messing with you, but seriously, what brings you here—to a small private college in New York?" y/n inquired, her curiosity piqued as she observed Mark with a raised eyebrow, her gaze sweeping over him inquisitively.

"Last time I checked, you aren't a spoiled rich kid whose family buys everything for them. You also just look really out of place," she added, a playful grin dancing on her lips as Mark chuckled nervously and explained the circumstances of his scholarship.

"Wow, so you're much smarter than you look. Good to know," y/n remarked teasingly, the corners of her mouth quirking up in a mischievous smile as they shared a lighthearted moment.

As the lesson resumed, Mark and y/n launched into small talk, their conversation flowing effortlessly, their laughter mingling with the hum of the classroom. Despite their initial awkwardness at their first meeting , Mark couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort and familiarity in y/n's presence, as if they were old friends catching up after a long absence. And as they went deeper in conversation, the world outside faded into the background, leaving only the two of them, lost in their convo.

•

As the teacher's lesson drew to a close, the classroom gradually began to stir signaling the end of the class. Mark watched as his classmates gathered their belongings, their movements synchronized as the excited the class. The teacher's voice rose above the all the movement , emphasizing the importance of an upcoming assignment deadline.

Mark didn’t even hear a word he said his attention was suddenly diverted by the presence of y/n, standing just a few steps behind him. Surprise flickered across his features as he turned to face her, his curiosity piqued by what she’s about to ask him.

"What class do you have next?" she asks, her voice cheery as ever.

Mark blinked in surprise, momentarily taken aback by the question. "Uh, this is my lunch period," he replied, trying to remember .

A smile tugged at the corners of y/n's lips as she met his gaze. "It's mine too," she revealed, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Mark nodded in acknowledgment, a sense of relief washing over him at the fact that he didnt have to sit by himself at lunch. "Uhh maybe, we can go together then," he suggested, his words punctuated by a slight stutter.

Y/n's smile widened at his response, her excitement contagious as she grabs his wrist. “Uh isn’t the lunch room, this way?” Mark asks gesturing down a hallway as y/n looks at him like he’s crazy.

“Absolutely not," she declared, her tone laced with determination. "Let's take my car and go off campus."

Mark's brow furrowed in confusion, no way he goes to a school like this and the food is bad.

"Is the food bad or something?" he asked curious fabout how quickly she’s ready to leave

Y/n shook her head, a playful glint in her eye. "No, the food is fine," she reassured him. "It's just... it's loud and there are too many people. I prefer to eat out."

Mark nodded in understanding, his curiosity giving way to intrigue as he followed y/n's lead, allowing her to guide him out of the classroom and into the bustling parking lot beyond.

As they made their way across the asphalt parking lot, y/n's steps quickened with purpose, leading them to a vibrant red 1990 Acura parked nearby. Mark's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the vintage vehicle, its classic design standing in stark contrast to the sleek sports cars that dotted the parking lot.

"Nice ride, huh?" y/n remarked, her gaze seeking Mark's approval.

Mark nodded in agreement, his admiration evident as he took in the car's well-maintained exterior. "Yeah, it's pretty cool," he conceded, a smile gracing his lips as y/n unlocked the car, signaling him to get in the passenger seat.

As y/n settled into the driver's seat, she reached over to fasten her seatbelt, adjusting her mirrors as the car roared to life. Mark watched her with interest, noting the way her delicate fingers navigated the controls of her phone, he quickly looks away when he thinks he might be staring too hard.

"Do you like SZA?" she asks, her eyes flicking to meet his as she pulled out of the parking lot, the slow beat of the music filling the car with its infectious rhythm.

Mark's face lit up with excitement at the mention of the artist. "I do, I really love music in general," he replied, his voice oozing with enthusiasm as he settled into his seat. As the melody enveloped them, he found himself humming along, his voice blending seamlessly with the rich tones of the song.

Y/n's smile widened at his response, "Oh really now, that's super cool," she remarked, her gaze softening as she focused on the road ahead. "I love music as well. I'm not a singer—I can't hold a single note—but I appreciate the beauty of it."

The next twenty minutes passed in a blur of laughter and song recommendations, the car filled with the sounds of their shared enthusiasm. As y/n drove through the busy winding roads, , their conversation flowed effortlessly as they delved deeper into each other's lives.

Eventually, y/n pulled up to a gate, her hand entering a code before the gate swung open, granting them access to the sprawling estate Mark had seen before.

Y/n parks the car, and motions Mark to follow her as she stepped out of the car, her footsteps echoing against the polished marble of the driveway. As they made their way towards the entrance.

As they reached the door, y/n fumbled a bit with the buttons, her fingers tapping eagerly against the keypad until the lock clicked open, revealing the warm glow of the entrance, only to be met with the sight of her brother and his friends sprawled out on the couch, their attention fixed on the tv and a greasy pizza box balanced on the coffee table.

"Why are you guys skipping class?" y/n demanded, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she looked the scene before her. Her brother and his friends exchanged sheepish grins, their laughter echoing through the room.

"Free period," Jeno replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, his gaze meeting y/n's with a hint of mischief.

"We can ask you the same thing, missy," Jaemin chimed in, a sassy smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Aht, it's my lunch period," y/n retorted, her tone laced with playful defiance as she stepped further into the room, her eyes scanning the faces of her brother's friends. Spotting Mark hovering awkwardly by the doorway, she motioned for him to join her.

"This is Mark," she introduced, her voice warm as she gestured towards him. "Mark, this is Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun. You've met Haechan."

Mark nodded politely, a small smile playing at his lips as he exchanged greetings with y/n's brother and his friends.

"Anyways, I'm gonna warm us up some food, and we can sit in my room," y/n announced, her trying to contain her excitement as she moved towards the kitchen. But before she could finish her sentence, Haechan interjected with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Not so fast, someone is in the office right now, and if he realizes you're home without saying anything to him, he's gonna be pissed," he teased, a grin spreading across his face as y/n groaned in frustration.

But before y/n could protest, Haechan's expression shifted, his eyes lighting up with mischief as he turned to Mark with a devilish grin.

"Come here, Mark. Have you ever wanted to meet Tony Stark?" he asked, his voice tinged with excitement as he beckoned Mark closer.

•

•

"Are you serious? Really?" Mark asked, his eyes widening in surprise at Haechan's revelation.

"No, sorry, I was kidding. You should've seen the look on y'alls faces! I couldn't resist," Haechan chuckled mischievously, dodging a playful swipe from y/n as she scolded him.

"You're so annoying, Hyuck," she groaned in mock exasperation before turning to Mark with an apologetic smile. "Come on, Mark, let's go."

Mark followed y/n down a hallway, the sounds of laughter and chatter fading behind them as they ascended a staircase. They made a few turns before arriving at a door, y/n swinging it open arms wide.

"Welcome to my humble abode," she announced, gesturing grandly at the cozy space beyond.

"Humble, really? Your room is as big as my whole house," Mark chuckled, his eyes roaming over the aesthetically pleasing decor that adorned the walls and windowsills. Lush green plants added a touch of nature to the space, while a plush rug sprawled across the floor invited relaxation. Bean bag chairs beckoned from one corner, while a large bed occupied another, and y/n's impressive PC setup commanded all of Mark’s attention.

"Take off your shoes and make yourself at home," y/n insisted, gesturing for Mark to get comfortable.

"I'm gonna go warm us up some leftover pasta from this really good place down the street," she continued, flashing Mark a bright smile before darting downstairs. Moments later, she returned, balancing two steaming plates of pasta in her hands.

•

The two of them sat comfortably on y/n's floor, plates of pasta in hand, both glued to some random video that y/n had put on.

"You know, Mark, I have a question," y/n began, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"What's up?" Mark replied, a mouthful of food momentarily slowing his response.

"You know a few weeks ago when you saved me?" y/n asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Mark's hesitation was evident as he replied, "Uh-huh..."

"Did that have anything to do with you passing out on the sidewalk and having that big-ass spider bite on you?" y/n pressed, her gaze fixed intently on him.

Mark's attempt at denial was feeble. "Uhhh, no, what? Why? Nooo," he stammered, his words failing to convince her.

"Uhh, what spider? How do you know it's a spider? It could be a totally different bite, like mosquitoes," Mark blurted out, his voice laced with nervousness.

y/n looked at him deadpan before bursting into laughter. "Oh, Mark, I'm not stupid! You got bitten by something, and it gave you powers. AKA, that spider that got loose at that science expo."

Mark's eyes widened in disbelief. "Uhhh, how did you know that?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

y/n simply shrugged. "I did a little research," she replied casually. "You were found a few blocks from a college that later announced to, uhh, let's say 'higher ups' that a dangerous spider got loose. And then you just so happened to step in and beat those assholes up when I was in trouble."

Mark's shock was evident as y/n continued. "Oh, and let's not forget your nightly crusades," she added, watching as different emotions flitted across Mark's face.

"You wanna know how I know, Mark?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.Mark nodded, eager to hear her explanation.

"Okay, well, the news has been saying lately that petty crime rates have been down, and those assailants all end up somehow wrapped in webs? Crazy, right?" y/n chuckled, observing Mark's reaction.

"Also, I didn't know if that was exactly you, but your face confirms my suspicions," she said, giggling.

"I... I don't know what to say," Mark admitted, feeling a bit unnerved by y/n's deduction.

"The only thing I want you to say is yes," y/n said, her eyes locking onto his.

"Yes?" Mark asked, confusion evident in his tone.

"Yes," y/n affirmed. "Mark, let me train you. Let me be your brains of operation. Let me turn you into a real superhero."

Mark tilted his head at her, a bit hesitant. After a moment of contemplation, he uttered a confident, "Yes!"

•

•

WOAHH i am so tired LOL!!! hope you guys enjoyed i love me someee spider man mark lee!!! idk mark and peter parker just have so many cute dorky similarities i love it. a few things im gonna say

-Mark is spider-man in this Au there is no peter parker

-His Aunt and Uncles last names are Park a little reference to Peter’s Aunt May and Ben Parker

-reader & haechan are half siblings that grew up together aka tony stark is a man whore!

anyways second part will be up soon :)!! i’m turning 20 in a few days so it may not update for a minute!!!! also thank you guys for really loving challengers 🤗💞💞

[chocosourlemon]

*drops this* Brainrot.

I wanted to have a proper visual of Lou's physical appearance, and I ended up making this.

The 1st appearance is a small headcannon of mine when Lou was first created. I had a thought, since he was the first doll in the institute of perfection (in my own knowledge), the factory's original design of Lou was him in an old version of the perfect doll's uniform. Like the 90s kinda vibe uniform. But as the years passed, the Factory decided to update the uniform to the current modern style and give that design to the upcoming dolls, and change Lou into a high class suit since he's supposed to be the teacher or leader. His features were more robotic when he was first created. Believe me or not, I kinda liked the fact Lou was supposed to be an animatronic. But the design just gave me an off feeling(it's cool though, see look)

so i did some headcannons of my own. Like i do agree with a certain someone (Kudos to them) that he may have been made in the 1970s-80s, the factory didn't have the technology they had today, and so Lou was more of uh-old? Idk-

The second one shows his final design of where he is more sharp and aware of what he is and what he's supposed to be. His robotic features are now covered in felt and fabric to seem like the other dolls and hide who he really is. (Cue the- "I've dedicated my entire life to make sure you go to the big world"-) and with the Factory evolved in years time, Lou looks more modern and like a "real doll" kinda thing??

And the third one, I think you all know. My man's clothes shrunk and dirty, and a mop with a bucket of dirty water as an accessory.

(I threw the comic as a WIP for a while. I wanna draw Lou in different clothes now.💗)

For example, the concept art of him in that white sweater with a capital "L" in the middle. And some 90s clothes. And maybe what he would wear in his free time? Idk.

Also, I've been dying to see what the other dolls would say when they see Lou come out of the washer, and his skin looks like a robot's. Some may not be surprised since he did publicly explain he's a prototype. But he is yk, genuine metal in the inside with only small layers of stuffing. Not fully stuffed like the rest of them. Or maybe I'm just genuinely desperate to see someone help Lou feel the love and compassion they feel. I can see Moxy actually feeling bad and trying to take Lou's hand and comfort my boy. Telling him that no matter what he's made of, he's a doll like the rest of them. Mandy would hesitate, but she's a sweetheart and tries to see good in those who wronged her or if she gave Lou a second chance.

And Nolan, is..Nolan.

[your-astro-mami]

Pluto in Aquarius: My list of predictions I

As an Astrologer of 9 years, I decided to make a list of my predictions about the Pluto in Aquarius era (2023-2043).

Children born during this period will be the ones to bring the change into the world we have been waiting for (In both positive and negative ways). I believe this will be the generation no one will have control over. The unbiased generation that could be focused on their own world and approach to it. They will be united and fight for greater causes. Compared to the Pluto in Sagitarius (a very free approach to life, no sense of union but a strong desire for independence), Pluto in Scorpio (carries the weight of the previous generations on their shoulders, possibly the generation that is most affected by their trauma), Pluto in Libra (better sense of union than the generations after them, but more focus on the surface), I believe that the Pluto in Aquarius generation will be one that is truly connected to each other.

If we thought that there was growth in technology up to now, the upcoming 20 years will be something even greater. Possible digitalization of everything. This is an assumption of most people, even those without interest in Astrology. Regardless, I find correlation between Astrology and all Pluto "eras" up to now. Pluto in Leo (pride, nationalism, theme of the era and qualities of the people born in that era). Pluto in Scorpio (the 80s and 90s grunge era, major focus on sexuality and sexual openness compared to before). Even as a person without a deep interest (or knowledge) in history, I find major similarities in the period of history and the astrology during it.

AI and anything like ChatGPT will be used in day to day life. I find it easy to believe that many jobs could be replaced with AI (for better or for worse). Would this mean more leisure for humans or more difficulty? No one knows yet.

Until the Pluto in Aquarius babies grow, I believe we will go through a comeback of tradition, conservative values due to Pluto in Capricorn and the upcoming generation, which are heavily influenced by pseudo-conservative or conservative figures. I have observed than more and more people seek to come back to traditional gender roles (femininity gurus, men who influence men to be traditional, etc.).

There will be major clashes between the previous generations and the Pluto in Aquarius generation and the world may get into a total chaos. Is this a prediction? Not really.

Apart from the science, technology assumptions, I believe the Pluto in Aquarius era will inspire a newfound desire for freedom in people. At the same time I believe there will be unity, desire to help, focus on humanitarinism and social issues. People will fight for the causes they are passionate about and will seek to help others. This will bring back the community, desire for social interaction, closeness between people. Although Aquarius is connected to detachment, it is the sign that represent social union, uniting for the best of everyone, fighting for our mutual desires.

Will this be the true Age of Aquarius? I guess time will tell.

I can make a part two of this when I think of more predictions. Please don't take my opinions seriously.

*Photo used above is from the cover of the book Stranger in a Strange Land which I have always thought to be very Aquarian in a way.

[elminx]

An Example of How to Read Transits: New Moon in Virgo (September 2023)

Since there tends to be a lot of confusion about how to determine the best magic to cast for a given astrological transit, I wanted to use our upcoming Virgo new moon as an example.

The Basics - New Moon, New You?!?

A new moon happens every month which means that every month, we all get the chance to start over again. Many sorcerers use the phases of the moon as a framework for magical casting using a basic wax on/wane off method.

This means that the waxing phase (from the new moon to the full moon) is the phase where you start new things and do magic to increase things. If we consider the waxing phase the inhalation part of the month, our new moon - especially the precise moment when the Sun and Moon meet up in conjunction - is the first breath of new air. The new moon is always a good time to set intentions and do magic toward starting something new that you want to bring into your life.

That said, every new moon carries specific energy based upon the sign that it falls in and the transits active in the skies during the lunation.

Some Details - A Virgo New Moon

Virgo is the 6th sign in the zodiac and our mutable earth sign. It is ruled by the planet Mercury and resides naturally in the 6th house of Service.

Let's break each of these traits down.

Earth - Earth signs are dependable, practical, and concerned with the physical world as opposed to ideas or daydreams. Mutable - Mutable signs are moveable and flexible. Each mutable sign occupies the last month of a season and their flexibility is needed to adapt to what is coming to an end and prepare for what is coming next.

Mercury - Mercury is our "yes, and" planet. They hold communication, technology, and travel under their domain. They are also fast-moving and retrograde frequently (3-4x a year) creating the framework for times that appear more internal/personal during retrogrades and times that are more external while they are stationed direct.

Number 6/6th House - It is wise to remember that in numerology, the numbers 1-9 are telling a story and each number plays a part in the number that comes before it and the number that follows. Six is a very calming and collected number, it is the calm after the conflict that often arises from "5" energy. 6 carries a nurturing presence and as a life-path number, symbolizes somebody who is likely to be a caretaker. Likewise, the 6th house is the house of Service. In the 6th house, you may find your calling or your vocation - not necessarily where you will make the most money (career is found in the 10th house) but where you will find fulfillment through service to the greater good in some way.

Putting this all together, we can see that a Virgo new moon is a great time to set intentions or start work on projects that involve Mercurial pursuits and, most especially, those that involve a greater service in some fashion. It is worth keeping in mind here that Virgo is very rooted in the real so the more grounded and planned out your courses of action now, the better. Additionally, given Virgo's placement as the last sign of the summer season, its new moon can be used to clean up after the summer to make way for the new energy of the Autumn ahead.

Now let's take a look at this upcoming new moon in particular.

New Moon 21° Virgo, 9/14 9:40pm EDT

As a third quadrant new moon (between 20-29°), we can see that we are nearing the end of Virgo season and the end of Summer. This heightens the natural mutable energy of Virgo to adapt to change.

Mercury, the ruling planet of Virgo, is retrograde at 08° Virgo and will station direct the next day on 9/15. This shows that the energy of this new moon will be pointed internally and the energy of the day will be slow and liminal.

Additionally, our conjunction between the Sun and Moon will be in a tight trine with retrograde Uranus in Taurus. Uranus is the great earth shaker and change-making of our universe. It is also, as one of the outer planets, completely outside of our sphere of control. Many liken Uranus's influence on our lives to the lightning bolt on the Tower card in the tarot - sudden and revolutionary but seldom fun.

There are a couple of more details about Uranus that are especially relevant here. The first is that Uranus is said to be the higher intelligence of Mercury: where Mercury is rational thought, Uranus is the inspiration or insight that comes from the beyond. The second is that Uranus transits can feel akin to eclipse season and this is the last new moon that we will experience before our solar eclipse in Libra during October.

Finally, the other major transit of the week involves Venus's third and final square to retrograde Jupiter in Taurus in her three-month-long retrograde cycle. Venus in Leo (ESPECIALLY recently reinvigorated and now stationed direct Venus in Leo) wants to go big, but she needs Jupiter's help (Jupiter is the planet of enbiggening, after all). Recent retrograde Jupiter in Taurus just wants to go home. There is a conflict here of excess in some fashion, perhaps the upkeep of excesses to maintain appearance to appease the ego in some fashion. Both Venus and Jupiter co-rule over money and finances which is worth noting here.

Putting it All Together

The Virgo new moon is always a major demarcation of the changing of the seasons, and this new moon will accentuate this energy for two reasons: firstly because it falls in the third quadrant of Virgo, and secondly, because it is the last new moon before the onset of eclipse season next month. Any magic done to clean up after the past or to get ready for the future will be augmented by these energies.

Mercury is retrograde and standing still in the sky in anticipation of its station direct on Thursday. This may make their energy hard to access so it will be more challenging to do work around communication, travel, and technology during this lunation. The liminality on the other hand will lend itself to divination, spirit work, death work, and other magic that is often cast under the energy of the dark moon. One might say that the energy of the dark moon will stretch past our lunar conjunction and into the next day or two.

If you want to be a purest and set intentions once energy is moving forward again, I suggest waiting until Mercury enters 09° Virgo on 9/20. During he time in between (from 9/13-9/19), Mercury will hold the same degree which is creating the liminality that I was speaking about above. That said, from 9/13-9/19 is sort of time out of time as far as our Messenger God is concerned, and great magic can be worked in energies such as that.

With Uranus so heavily in play, there will be a lot of moving pieces outside of our control so it is best to do magic and set open-ended intentions that are concrete but not overly specific. This is wild card energy, but I don't think luck magic will go well during this time.

Likewise, money magic is ill-advised as Venus has it out with retrograde Jupiter. Virgo is not as concerned with the bankroll anyway as much as they are with being helpful. Cast magic to find your perfect calling but avoid naming dollar amounts during this time.

All in all, this lunar energy best supports preparation. What is your goal for the coming Autumn season? How do you intend to get there? Have you made a list and checked in twice? Have you cleaned your house lately?

This will be a great lunation to do a general upkeep house cleanse to ensure the energy in your space is aligned with where you want to be going. This is a great lunation to scry for the months ahead and begin to plan the magic that you will enact to keep yourself on target. This is a great lunation for protection magic designed to keep out chaos or other things that will blow you off your course. It is a great lunation for anything that must be hidden or obscured in some fashion.

The major energies that will be flowing for this lunation will be Solar, Lunar, and Uranian. The energies that will be blocked up will be Mercurial, Venusian, and Jovial.

Do you like my work? You can support me by tipping me on Kofi or by purchasing an astrological report written just for you.

[caitlynnrosespn]

So... Why Are There So Many JD 2024 Leaks Online Right Now?

Before we start, I WILL NOT BE DISCLOSING ANY LEAKS!!! THIS POST IS 100% LEAK FREE!!!! I will, on the other hand, be discussing why there are so many leaks online as compared to other games, so let's get into it.

You may have noticed that when you start up the Just Dance 2023 edition, there is a screen that says Unity. This is the current engine for Just Dance, which in the history of all Just Dances has never happened. Just Dance has always run on an engine called UbiArt, but, in order to be able to add new features such as progressions and to present the game as a streaming service model, they had to switch over to new engine, hence Unity. Interestingly enough, this is also the reason why Kinect was removed, because Unity does not support it. No you may ask why the sudden change in engine, but I'll get to that don't worry.

In the past Just Dance games, while in development, assets for the games were put into the disk format, so it was impossible for new songs on the upcoming games to be leaked unless things were leaked by employees whether on accident/on purpose, or promotion material was released too early. Some songs, such as follow the white rabbit, run the world, and dancing queen were leaked only because they were betas and assets were left over in the files of the games they were intended to originally come out in. Other than that, maps wouldn't be straight up leaked online unless they were betas, which were already completely removed from the games and weren't returning again. So what's so different about this year?

Well, it's all in the fact that Just Dance is completely moved on to a digital, DLC kind of release now. Just Dance 2023 Edition was the game that would become the foundation for all future JD games. When you purchase JD 2024 Edition and go into it, it will be through the same game as JD 2023 Edition. It will be the same technical game, but will have all the new features added on. So instead of transferring the new maps onto a separate disk, the JD team right now is currently transporting all JD 2024 files into the current H+JD 2023 Edition servers. And since this is the JD's team's first time dealing with this engine and this kind of gaming service, their files are not quite as protected as they should be. So leakers are hacking into JD 2023 Edition, finding the new game files, and getting the game while the JD team is still working on transferring it.

So, why didn't the JD team just wait until they were familiar with this technology before releasing two entire games out on it? Well, they wanted to. Ubi presented this idea in hopes of earning the company more money and really launching this series to new heights. The JD team really did love the idea, but said it was going to be a couple years to completely switch over to this model. But, according to employees, Ubi pressed for them to do it all in one year, causing overloads of work for all employees and for the final product to be buggy and unstable, and for the files to be unprotected and relatively easy to hack into (I refuse to believe these hackers have more then one braincell between all of them).

So remember, the JD team is trying their best. These leaks may end up being a good thing, because it might actually light a fire under Ubi's ass to produce well functioning and stable games rather than cash grab, glitchy games.

[mariacallous]

The latest in a series of duels announced by the European Commission is with Bing, Microsoft’s search engine. Brussels suspects that the giant based in Redmond, Washington, has failed to properly moderate content produced by the generative AI systems on Bing, Copilot, and Image Creator, and that as a result, it may have violated the Digital Services Act (DSA), one of Europe’s latest digital regulations.

On May 17, the EU summit requested company documents to understand how Microsoft handled the spread of hallucinations (inaccurate or nonsensical answers produced by AI), deepfakes, and attempts to improperly influence the upcoming European Parliament elections. At the beginning of June, voters in the 27 states of the European Union will choose their representatives to the European Parliament, in a campaign over which looms the ominous shadow of technology with its potential to manipulate the outcome. The commission has given Microsoft until May 27 to respond, only days before voters go to the polls. If there is a need to correct course, it may likely be too late.

Europe’s Strategy

Over the past few months, the European Commission has started to bang its fists on the table when dealing with the big digital giants, almost all of them based in the US or China. This isn’t the first time. In 2022, the European Union hit Google with a fine of €4.1 billion because of its market dominance thanks to its Android system, marking the end of an investigation that started in 2015. In 2023, it sanctioned Meta with a fine of €1.2 billion for violating the GDPR, the EU’s data protection regulations. And in March it presented Apple with a sanction of €1.8 billion.

Recently, however, there appears to have been a change in strategy. Sanctions continue to be available as a last resort when Big Tech companies don’t bend to the wishes of Brussels, but now the European Commission is aiming to take a closer look at Big Tech, find out how it operates, and modify it as needed, before imposing fines. Take, for example, Europe’s Digital Services Act, which attempts to impose transparency in areas like algorithms and advertising, fight online harassment and disinformation, protect minors, stop user profiling, and eliminate dark patterns (design features intended to manipulate our choices on the web).

In 2023, Brussels identified 22 multinationals that, due to their size, would be the focus of its initial efforts: Google with its four major services (search, shopping, maps, and play), YouTube, Meta with Instagram and Facebook, Bing, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Amazon, Booking, Wikipedia, Apple’s App Store, TikTok, Alibaba, Zalando, and the porn sites Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat. Since then, it has been putting the pressure on these companies to cooperate with its regulatory regime.

The day before the Bing investigation was announced, the commission also opened one into Meta to determine what the multinational is doing to protect minors on Facebook and Instagram and counter the “rabbit hole” effect—that is, the seamless flood of content that demands users’ attention, and which can be especially appealing to younger people. That same concern led it to block the launch of TikTok Lite in Europe, deeming its system for rewarding social engagement dangerous and a means of encouraging addictive behavior. It has asked X to increase its content moderation, LinkedIn to explain how its ad system works, and AliExpress to defend its refund and complaint processes.

A Mountain of Laws …

On one hand, the message appears to be that no one will escape the reach of Brussels. On the other, the European Commission, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, has to demonstrate that the many digital laws and regulations that are in place actually produce positive results. In addition to the DSA, there is the Digital Markets Act (DMA), intended to counterbalance the dominance of Big Tech in online markets; the AI Act, Europe’s flagship legislation on artificial intelligence; and the Data Governance Act (DGA) and the Data Act, which address data protection and the use of data in the public and private sectors. Also to be added to the list are the updated cybersecurity package, NIS2 (Network and Information Security); the Digital Operational Resilience Act, focused on finance and insurance; and the digital identity package within eIDAS 2. Still in the draft stage are regulations on health data spaces and much-debated chat measures which would authorize law enforcement agencies and platforms to scan citizens’ private messages, looking for child pornography.

Brussels has deployed its heavy artillery against the digital flagships of the United States and China, and a few successful blows have landed, such as ByteDance’s suspension of the gamification feature on TikTok Lite following its release in France and Spain. But the future is uncertain and complicated. While investigations attract media interest, the EU’s digital bureaucracy is a large and complex machine to run.

On February 17, the DSA became law for all online service operators (cloud and hosting providers, search engines, e-commerce, and online services) but the European Commission doesn’t and can’t control everything. That is why it asked states to appoint a local authority to serve as a coordinator of digital services. Five months later, Brussels had to send a formal notice to six states (Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia) to urge them to designate and fully empower their digital services coordinators. Those countries now have two months to comply before Brussels will intervene. But there are others who are also not in the clear. For example, Italy’s digital services coordinator, the Communications Regulatory Authority (abbreviated AGCOM, for Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni, in Italian), needs to recruit 23 new employees to replenish its staff. The department told WIRED Italy that it expects to have filled all of its appointments by mid-June.

The DSA also introduced “trusted flaggers.” These are individuals or entities, such as universities, associations, and fact-checkers, committed to combating online hatred, internet harassment, illegal content, and the spread of scams and fake news. Their reports are, one hopes, trustworthy. The selection of trusted flaggers is up to local authorities but, to date, only Finland has formalized the appointment of one, specifically Tekijänoikeuden tiedotus- ja valvontakeskus ry (in English, the Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Center). Its executive director, Jaana Pihkala, explained to WIRED Italy that their task is “to produce reports on copyright infringements,” a subject on which the association has 40 years of experience. Since its appointment as a trusted flagger, the center’s two lawyers, who perform all of its functions, have sent 816 alerts to protect films, TV series, and books on behalf of Finnish copyright holders.

… and a Mountain of Data

To assure that the new commission is respected by the 27 states, the commission set up the DSA surveillance system as quickly as possible, but the bureaucrats in Brussels still have a formidable amount of research to do. On the one hand, there is the anonymous reporting platform with which the commission hopes to build dossiers on the operations of different platforms directly from internal sources. The biggest scandals that have shaken Meta have been thanks to former employees, like Christopher Wylie, the analyst who revealed how Cambridge Analytica attempted to influence the US elections, and Frances Haugen, who shared documents about the impacts of Instagram and Facebook on children’s health. The DSA, however, intends to empower and fund the commission so that it can have its own people capable of sifting through documents and data, analyzing the content, and deciding whether to act.

The commission boasts that the DSA will force platforms to be transparent. And indeed it can point to some successes already, for example, by revealing the absurdly inadequate numbers of moderators employed by platforms. According to the latest data released last November, they don’t even cover all the languages spoken in the European Union. X reported that it had only two people to check content in Italian, the language of 9.1 million users. There were no moderators for Greek, Finnish, or Romanian even though each language has more than 2 million subscribers. AliExpress moderates everything in English while, for other languages, it makes do with automatic translators. LinkedIn moderates content in 12 languages of the European bloc—that is, just half of the official languages.

At the same time, the commission has forced large platforms to standardize their reports of moderation interventions to feed a large database, which, at the time of writing this article, contains more than 18.2 billion records. Of these cases, 69 percent were handled automatically. But, perhaps surprisingly, 92 percent concerned Google Shopping. This is because the platform uses various parameters to determine whether a product can be featured: the risk that it is counterfeited, possible violations of site standards, prohibited goods, dangerous materials, and others. It can thus be the case that several alerts are triggered for the same product and the DSA database counts each one separately, multiplying the shopping numbers exponentially. So now the EU has a mass of data that further complicates its goal of being fully transparent.

Zalando’s Numbers

And then there’s the Big Tech companies’ legal battle against the fee they have to pay to the commission to help underwrite its supervisory bodies. Meta, TikTok, and Zalando have challenged the fee (though paid it). Zalando is also the only European company on the commission’s list of large platforms, a designation Zalando has always contested because it does not believe it meets the criteria used by Brussels. One example: The platforms on the list must have at least 45 million monthly users in Europe. The commission argues that Zalando has 83 million users, though that number, for example, includes visits from Portugal, where the platform is not marketed, and Zalando argues those users should be deducted from its total count. According to its calculations, the activities subject to the DSA reach only 31 million users, under the threshold. When Zalando was assessed its fee, it discovered that the commission had based it on a figure of 47.5 million users, far below the initial 83 million. The company has now taken the commission to court in an attempt to assure a transparent process.

And this is just one piece of legislation, the DSA. The commission has also deployed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a package of regulations to counterbalance Big Tech’s market dominance, requiring that certain services be interoperable with those of other companies, that apps that come loaded on a device by default can be uninstalled, and that data collected on large platforms be shared with small- and medium-size companies. Again, the push to impose these mandates starts with the giants: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, ByteDance, and Microsoft. In May, Booking was added to the list.

Big Tech Responds

Platforms have started to respond to EU requests, with lukewarm results. WhatsApp, for instance, has been redesigned to allow chatting with other apps without compromising its end-to-end encryption that protects the privacy and security of users, but it is still unclear who will agree to connect to it. WIRED US reached out to 10 messaging companies, including Google, Telegram, Viber, and Signal, to ask whether they intend to look at interoperability and whether they had worked with WhatsApp on its plans. The majority didn’t respond to the request for comment. Those that did, Snap and Discord, said they had nothing to add. Apple had to accept sideloading—i.e., the possibility of installing and updating iPhone or iPad applications from stores outside the official one. However, the first alternative that emerged, AltStore, offers very few apps at this time. And it has suffered some negative publicity after refusing to accept the latest version of its archenemy Spotify’s app, despite the fact that the audio platform had removed the link to its website for subscriptions.

The DMA is a regulation that has the potential to break the dominant positions of Big Tech companies, but that outcome is not a given. Take the issue of surveillance: The commission has funds to pay the salaries of 80 employees, compared to the 120 requested by Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton and the 220 requested by the European Parliament, as summarized by Bruegel in 2022. And on the website of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a politically left-wing tech industry coalition (all of the digital giants, which also fund CEPA, are members), stated that the DMA, “instead of helping consumers, aims to help competitors. The DMA is making large tech firms’ services less useful, less secure, and less family-friendly. Europeans’ experience of large tech firms’ services is about to get worse compared to the experience of Americans and other non-Europeans.”

Kovacevich represents an association financed by some of those same companies that the DMA is focused on, and there is a shared fear that the DMA will complicate the market and, in the end, benefit only a few companies—not necessarily those most at risk because of the dominance of Silicon Valley. It is not only lawsuits and fines, but also the perceptions of citizens and businesses that will help to determine whether EU regulations are successful. The results may come more slowly than desired by Brussels as new legislation is rarely positively received at first.

Learning From GDPR and Gaia-X

Another regulatory act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), has become the global industry standard, forcing online operators to change the way they handle our data. But if you ask the typical person on the street, they’ll likely tell you it’s just a simple cookie wall that you have to approve before continuing on to a webpage. Or it’s viewed as a law that has required the retention of dedicated external consultants on the part of companies. It is rarely described as the ultimate online privacy law, which is exactly what it is. That said, while the act has reshaped the privacy landscape, there have been challenges, as the digital rights association Noyb has explained. The privacy commissioners of Ireland and Luxembourg, where many web giants are based for tax purposes, have had bottlenecks in investigating violations. According to the latest figures from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), 19,581 complaints have been submitted in the past five years, but the body has made only 37 formal decisions and only eight of those began with complaints. Noyb recently conducted a survey of 1,000 data protection officers; 74 percent were convinced that if privacy officers investigated the typical European company, they would find at least one GDPR violation.

The GDPR was also the impetus for another unsuccessful operation: separating the European cloud from the US cloud in order to shelter the data of EU citizens from Washington’s Cloud Act. In 2019, France and Germany announced with great fanfare a federation, Gaia-X, that would defend the continent and provide a response to the cloud market, which has been split between the United States and China. Five years later, the project has become bogged down in the process of establishing standards, after the entry of the giants it was supposed to counter, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Huawei, and Alibaba, as well as the controversial American company Palantir (which analyses data for defense purposes). This led some of the founders, such as the French cloud operator Scaleway, to flee, and that then turned the spotlight on the European Parliament, which led the commission to launch an alternative, the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud, which counts among its 49 members 26 participants from Gaia-X (everyone except for the non-EU giants) and enjoys EU financial support.

In the meantime, the Big Tech giants have found a solution that satisfies European wishes, investing en masse to establish data centers on EU soil. According to a study by consultancy firm Roland Berger, 34 data center transactions were finalized in 2023, growing at an average annual rate of 29.7 percent since 2019. According to Mordor Intelligence, another market analysis company, the sector in Europe will grow from €35.4 billion in 2024 to an estimated €57.7 billion in 2029. In recent weeks, Amazon web services announced €7.8 billion in investments in Germany. WIRED Italy has reported on Amazon’s interest in joining the list of accredited operators to host critical public administration data in Italy, which already includes Microsoft, Google, and Oracle. Notwithstanding its proclamations about sovereignty, Brussels has had to capitulate: The cloud is in the hands of the giants from the United States who have found themselves way ahead of their Chinese competitors after diplomatic relations between Beijing and Brussels cooled.

The AI Challenge

The newest front in this digital battle is artificial intelligence. Here, too, the European Union has been the first to come up with some rules under its AI Act, the first legislation to address the different applications of this technology and establish permitted and prohibited uses based on risk assessments. The commission does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. Mindful of the launch of the GDPR, which in 2018 caused companies to scramble to assure they were compliant, it wants to lead organizations through a period of voluntary adjustment. Already 400 companies have declared their interest in joining the effort, including IBM.

In the meantime, Brussels must build a number of structures to make the AI Act work. First is the AI Council. It will have one representative from each country and will be divided into two subgroups, one dedicated to market development and the other to public sector uses of AI. In addition, it will be joined by a committee of technical advisers and an independent committee of scientists and experts, along the lines of the UN Climate Committee. Secondly, the AI Office, which sits within Directorate-General Connect (the department in charge of digital technology), will take care of administrative aspects of the AI Act. The office will assure that the act is applied uniformly, investigate alleged violations, establish codes of conduct, and classify artificial intelligence models that pose a systemic risk. Once the rules are established, research on new technologies can proceed. After it is fully operational, the office will employ 100 people, some of them redeployed from General Connect while others will be new hires. At the moment, the office is looking to hire six administrative staff and an unknown number of tech experts.

On May 29, the first round of bids in support of the regulation expired. These included the AI Innovation Accelerator, a center that provides training, technical standards, and software and tools to promote research, support startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises, and assist public authorities that have to supervise AI. A total of €6 million is on the table. Another €2 million will finance management and €1.5 million will go to the EU’s AI testing facilities, which will, on behalf of countries’ antitrust authorities, analyze artificial intelligence models and products on the market to assure that they comply with EU rules.

Follow the Money

Finally, a total of €54 million is designated for a number of business initiatives. The EU knows it is lagging behind. According to an April report by the European Parliament’s research service, which provides data and intelligence to support legislative activities, the global AI market, which in 2023 was estimated at €130 billion, will reach close to €1.9 trillion in 2030. The lion’s share is in the United States, with €44 billion of private investment in 2022, followed by China with €12 billion. Overall, the European Union and the United Kingdom attracted €10.2 billion in the same year. According to Eurochamber researchers, between 2018 and the third quarter of 2023, US AI companies received €120 billion in investment, compared to €32.5 billion for European ones.

Europe wants to counter the advance of the new AI giants with an open source model, and it has also made its network of supercomputers available to startups and universities to train algorithms. First, however, it had to adapt to the needs of the sector, investing almost €400 million in graphics cards, which, given the current boom in demand, will not arrive anytime soon.

Among other projects to support the European AI market, the commission wants to use €24 million to launch a Language Technology Alliance that would bring together companies from different states to develop a generative AI to compete with ChatGPT and similar tools. It’s an initiative that closely resembles Gaia-X. Another €25 million is earmarked for the creation of a large open source language model, available to European companies to develop new services and research projects. The commission intends to fund several models and ultimately choose the one best suited to Europe’s needs. Overall, during the period from 2021 to 2027, the Digital Europe Program plans to spend €2.1 billion on AI. That figure may sound impressive, but it pales in comparison to the €10 billion that a single company, Microsoft, invested in OpenAI.

The €25 million being spent on the European large language model effort, if distributed to many smaller projects, risks not even counterbalancing the €15 million that Microsoft has spent bringing France’s Mistral, Europe’s most talked-about AI startup, into its orbit. The big AI models will become presences in Brussels as soon as the AI Act, now finally approved, comes into full force. In short, the commission is making it clear in every way it can that a new sheriff is in town. But will the bureaucrats of Brussels be adequately armed to take on Big Tech? Only one thing is certain—it’s not going to be an easy task.

[themusecoterie]

demystifying the met gala 2024 theme

‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’, the theme announced by the Mets Museum of Art’s Costume Institute for the 2024’s Met Gala, invites attendees to embark on a journey through fashion history – an odyssey to its timeless beauty.

Unlike previous themes, this year's concept isn't to be taken literally, though hints of fantasy, magic mirrors, and princesses may grace the red carpet. In contrast to past galas, such as 2019’s ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ which called for theatrical and playful attire, as defined in Susan Sontag’s essay, or 2017’s ‘Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between’, summoning unconventional silhouettes and unexpected elements inspired by the Japanese designer, this upcoming gala beckons guests to indulge in fashions intricate past.

Around 250 items carefully curated from the Institutes collection, including rare archival pieces, will be on display. The heart of the ‘Sleeping Beauties’ exhibition refers to the 400 years of fashion craftsmanship, structured around 50 intricately created pieces, each holding commemorative significance, too fragile to ever be worn again. Work by icons such as Yves Saint Laurent, Elsa Schiaparelli, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen contribute to this showcase.

This exhibition gives a more contemplative experience. Innovative technology and sensory stimulation will be employed, allowing guests to be emotionally immersed in this exclusive journey. The 3 main zones, Land, Sea and Sky, will structure the exhibition, exploring changing attitudes to the natural world through creative use of natural materials in design.

As we anticipate the looks on the red carpet of fashions biggest night out, designers are encouraged to peruse the work of their predecessors, reimagining historical masterpieces in a contemporary light. This not only showcases their talent but pays homage to the art that has paved the way for creatives of this age.

#themusecoterie wonders how designers and celebrities will collaborate and interpret this ingenious theme. We expect to see meticulous looks from designers’ archives, aligning into the fast-growing trend of sustainability and pre-loved fashion. Garments as enriched and redefined with technology are also anticipated, creating a synergy of heritage and innovation.

Perhaps the misinterpretation of the title will inspire magical creativity, with reference to the zones adorned with flora, fauna and weather.

[aromancy]

You know, a lot of companies have made HUGE changes lately; foolish changes, leading to long-term damage to their brands for short-term financial gains. Just this year, Warner Bros canceled multiple upcoming films already mostly finished just for tax breaks; Unity tried to take a cut of the profits from every person who downloaded their games; the Escapist fired the head of their video team; Wizards of the Coast had the Pinkertons scandal, the 5e OGL scandal, the controversies around One D&D...

This is unusual, right? For one company to shoot themselves in the foot is an accident; for several to do so in rapid succession seems to me like a strange new pattern.

But why? Why prioritize a short-term paycheck over long-term profits? The people in charge of these companies may be stupid, but they're not that stupid; they've been in charge of these companies for years (well, most of them; the Escapist was bought out by Gamurz last year, but Gamurz hasn't stepped it's foot in it this bad before, so my point still stands) and not done stupid shit on this level before.

I've seen others who recognize this pattern postulate that it's for investment purposes. Investors dom't care about what's best for the long-term survivability of a company; they care only for the signs of quarter-to quarter growth, and will pull their investments if they don't see a quarterly return. This does make some measure of sense, but I don't understand how it's only recently gotten this bad if this was always standard operating procedure? Have these businesses always been doing this, and only recently has it been noticed?

I have another potential explanation. In 2017, Douglas Rushkoff was invited to deliver a keynote speech to a huge group of exhorbitantly wealthy individuals. The purpose? To explore the future of technology. While he thought it would be a lighthearted exploration of exciting new technologies and what they could mean for society going forward, it quickly became clear that most of the attendees were more concerned with the threats technology posed.

Several of them referenced "The Event," a nonspecific apocalypse that might occur as a result of societal unrest, environmental destruction, nuclear war, et cetera. This seemed to be quite a pressing issue; the attendees grilled Rushkoff for over an hour on how one might thrive in a post-apocalyptic setting.

I think the wealthy elite of this world expect The Event to come soon. And I think that several wealthy people are trying to make a whole lot of money right now so that they'll be ready when The Event arrives.

[cupidastrology]

𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐲 ☿ 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 ༺

please do not repost or copy.

this post is for those whom have mercury in the 6th house. associate your placement below.

you may book a reading through my pinned post or through messages.

– ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ –

mercury in aries in the 6th - you may do well in areas where there is constant new starts and beginnings; construction or involvement of the army or going into a physical career like wrestling or boxing.

mercury in taurus in the 6th - career or work is around money, financial understanding, accounting, or business direction. guidance around fashion or physical related aspects with beauty is common here.

mercury in gemini in the 6th - work or business has to do with constantly staying on the move; car salesman or getting in touch as a flight attendant or taxi driver. you can do well in numbers; involvement with bitcoin or as a numbers' analysts. writer or poet.

mercury in cancer in the 6th - baby sitting or a career around producing product or information for children and families. social worker or going into charity work. volunteer or event organizer for saving families and homelessness.

mercury in leo in the 6th - involvement in beauty or showing off stage persona; communications have to do with hair styling or becoming a fashion buyer or stylist. work in the world of makeup or music.

mercury in virgo in the 6th - herbalist or gardener, someone who is involved in creating new formulas in math (a career that mainly involves mathematics), mortician or a doctor that specializes in physical therapy or emergencies.

mercury in libra in the 6th - production assistant or a window designer, involvement with graphic design or editor of movies or photography. stylist or a sculptor, a person that assists with adding design or a producer.

mercury in scorpio in the 6th - handler of money, sex work or getting in touch with deep conversations with others through therapy, psychology therapist or a person involved with the deeply disturbed.

mercury in sagittarius in the 6th - work or job has to do with planning vacations for others, hotel attendant, working for the airport, a professor for a high college or a scientist. developer of text books and a writer for non-fictional topics.

mercury in capricorn in the 6th - lecturer in business and higher knowledge, learning how to defend yourself so a job that has to do with taekwondo or learning self control like yoga instructor. negotiator of stocks or the one to make the big choices.

mercury in aquarius in the 6th - the astrologer, the gossip, the one who gives news to the public or the online media. the job is always centered around the youth and also the future; the planner of new technology, toys, and designs for the upcoming generations.

mercury in pisces in the 6th - work in mediumship or aura reading, career will span across man different subjects that have to do with the system of the person's intention and personality. getting in touch with mental health and understanding the changes that are happening in the environment. spiritual and devotional work.

[retrogradepermaculture]

Ceres Retrograde in Capricorn | Just Sayin'

This is quite an interesting retrograde to have in this sign Because Ceres is quite opposite the wintry and earthy energy of capricorn. We're also at an in between or 'threshold' time when things can be very changeable and mutable as spring turns to summer.

So how is this going to affect you based on what placements you have in capricorn? First up -

Solar flare activity and increased aurora borealis can also indicate changes in the cosmos as a whole. I think. Ancient astrologers would probably know better than me if they has access to our technology :)

☆ scroll for your placements :) :) :)

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Ok, a lil' backstory here...

Capricorn is a dark and earthy sign, it can be very serious, and at the worst times all about restriction. But looking at the planets you have in capricorn can allow you to see what you are restricting and what you may need to let out.

Asteroid Ceres is named after the Roman goddess of crops and harvests. Meanwhile Saturnian Capricorn can bring energies of tradition and 'reaping what you sow'

SEASONALLY RELEVANT ASTROLOGY... my first shot at it

Depending on where you are in the world, you may be emjoying the lush colors of spring. However, we are in the sense reaching the death or end of the spring season and moving into summer. Energy changes from growth and new life to heat, stillness, and ripening. However, in the modern world we are disconnected from these kinds of seasonal shifts.

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Depending on what's in Capricorn, it can be a great time to reconnect not just with the natural world but with your internal nature, dreams, shadow, and unconscious desires by focussing on what is ripening or preparing for harvest over the upcoming summer months for you. Ceres retrograde amplifies these energies. Plus the liminal time period we are in... kind of makes us all more sensitive to this kinda stuff

Sun - capricorn sun signs need no introduction, but at this time of year, with ceres retrograde in your sun sign, you may find yourself challenged by new ideas and having to overcome emotional blocks to do with what you are and aren't open to. Ceres in this sign can challenge your view of what is and isn't possible. However, this also makes it a great time to learn new things.

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Moon - those with the moon in capricorn may struggle with the constraints of tradition on their emotions. This may take multiple forms depending on the rest of their chart and how able they are to rebel against the society around them. This can also be an emotionally limiting position, restricting the range of feelings that people can access. If you have been struggling with shadow work or emotional blockages and you have a moon in capricorn, it may be that your emotions have been fixed into place or limited by early childhood influences and the traditions around you. Ceres retrograde is conventionally a time for embarking on new ventures to strengthen your professional life but the themes of fertility that come up now - especially as we are experiencing the retrograde as spring gives way to summer - and there may also be more emotional fertility to look at the world from new angles, views, and perspectives.

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Ascendant - ascendent in capricorn can have a complicated relationship with tradition as it can sometimes be a position that indicated subterfuge. As the ascendent governs public image, those with this placement may feel that image is everything and that they must adhere to the conventions around them in order to maintain the image they desire. Ceres in capricorn at this time going retrograde can indicate he fertility of new ground opening up and new social and public opportunities for those with this placement that may allow them to break free of some of the self imposed constraints that hold them back.

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Mars - mars in capricorn can sometimes feel torn between the drive to embark own headstrong and personal ventures, and the need to be part of a group or organisation, although this often tends to be in a leadership role. Mars here can be great at business and entrepreneaurship, ceres, with it's mythological connections to venus, planet of the economy, can indicate the start of a new bysiness venture, a windfall, strong leadership skills, or new opportunities that mars in this placement may be perfectly poised to catch.

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Venus - venus in capricorn tends to be very sophisticated and have an abundance of ideas and creativity, but often directs this aý an official as opposed to underground level. You may clash often with those who have uranus or neptune in capricorn as their underground nature and lack of orthodoxy come into conflict with your plans. Ceres in capricorn going retrograde makes for a good business venture but for you to have the most success, it's best to work with your natural energy and direct this towards a structure, group, or organisstion of people who are familiar with your ideas and can help you refine them. Otherwise you may struggle with whether opportunities do or don't open up, although check your natal uranus and neptune to see how taking the path less travelled may serve you this time around.

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Jupiter - Jupiter in Capricorn tend to struggle with moderation and conflict between novelty and tradition, giving and taking, harvesting and sowing. For example if you have this placement you may have the issue of having lots of different projects but not knowing how to finish or even start them. This time around, Ceres retrograde may be able to help you, but only if you are able to harness it's energy correctly. The ample amount of new opportunities and positive, directed, nd organised energy that it brings can help you see ways to tie up loose ends and finish what you started. However, it could also make you overwhelmed with the amount of new possibilities that there are. Look for positive aspects with planets in your 9th and 10th houses for more info on this, as well as check your third house for any transits at this time that can help you.

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Saturn - saturn in capricorn can bring about pragmatism, at it's best, you can be disciplined, wise, organised, and capable, at your worst, overly strict, hasty or hurried, nd you find it hard to stop and smell the flowers. This retrograde offers you a choice - you can either take advantage of the bounteous opportunities which it offers to their fully extent, doing shadow work to try and leave behind the emotional blockages which may cause your characteristic caution and conservativism to go into overdrive sometimes. Or you can follow the same path as akways but risk opportunities at a deeper level by being unable to go with the flow. Check transits for your moon placement and neptune placement to see what emotional or creative energies can help you free these blockages.

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Uranus - Uranus in capricorn may have an inner longing to overhteow traditions but sometimes may not have the full capacity to do so and may feel torn between different factions of their life. Uranus may try to change the systems and society around them but may end up becoming the thing the swore to fight in the process. However, the more grounding earthy energy of ceres in this position can help uranus see the lie of the land before making any moves, meaning that their revolutionary spirit is tamed and counterbalanced, leading tı better than usual decision making around this time. If you are planning to do something big and you have this placement, now is the time to do it, while ceres is in retrograde, you may have a clearer head and make more confident and judicious choices.

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Neptune - neptune in capricorn can be a complex and difficult to understand placement, sometimes it can be an oxymoron. You can be deeply intuitive and drawn to mysticism yet need structure and authority to see this to it's full potential. You're most likely to join a secret society, study something like tarot or astrology in a structured official way, or lean back on ancient books and writings. Ceres retrograde in this sign can amplify the potential of opportunities available to you so that you may find yourself drawn to new ventures and schools of learning whether a new philosophy, an ancient language, or even training your brain to do something like lucid dreaming.

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

Pluto - pluto in capricorn can be summed up in the themes of reawakening. This placement is often associated with the depths of winter, it brings themes of winter melting into spring and the thresholds of the world bringinf energy from eksewhere into this existence. It's all about unconscious upwellings and old information sich as lost or buried ideas coming to light - for example, a great placement for retuening to the wisdom of the past or for archaeologists and those who work in forensics. If you have this placement you can live quite an unconventional life that could be described as having lots of 'jump scares'. But at this time of yesr, with ceres retrograde indicating the fertility of new opportunities, this indicates a BIG MASSIVE CURVEBALL coming into your life if you have this placement.

🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱

Lilith - lastly Lilith, or the black moon, provides a counterpart to pluto influenced by more lunar rnergies. Expect amotional and intuitive stuff coming to the forefront at this time. However, as much as this is also a time for unearthing stuff, ceres retrograde also makes it a time for receptivity and making space for new emotions. This is one of the times that you can clear genuine emotional blockages at a deep, rooted level. Check transits with venus, the moon, and check what is in cancer for you too and how it may interact with your lilith (if at all)

🌸 Thank you!

[stankrhodes]

Secret Invasion Ep. 4 Spoilers

As a Rhodey stan... i have a couple words and no words at the same time.

I think a lot of people online and in online MCU communities were mystified by the idea of someone [and that someone being Rhodey] being a Skrull that they failed to consider the implications of such a decision? and that generalization is itself one i'm not too confident in making but i find it to be the case nonetheless.

still, with so many communities talking about it... the actual reveal just felt so lackluster. Rhodey is a character, however you may see him, that has already shown so much heart, love, care, soul, realness, and groundedness that in revealing that he's a Skrull just doesn't... do the phase 1-3 versions of him justice at all.

And while I could go on a million rants about why I hate this decision (most of which involving my relationship with the phase 1-3 version of him that is being disregarded for the sake of moving phase 5 forward...), the main thing i wanted to rant about right here is the when.

When did Rhodey become a skrull?

I fear that neither of the two theories I have in mind means anything good for the Rhodey fans that value his relationship with Tony.

He's been a Skrull since Iron Man 3 (or somewhere around that time give or take a few years). (This one i'm not sure they would actually follow through with just because as much as the MCU says they're forward-thinking, some of their decisions lead me to believe the contrary.) This is rooted in the use of extremis, a project that was experiencing issues in the film and Tony figured out how to stabilize for the sake of saving Pepper Potts's life. While SHIELD would have had this technological information as a result, there is a strong possibility that the events of Iron Man 2 may have convinced some people that Rhodey would be willing to even give up that information which was personal to Tony for a greater gain (or even something not in his control if he were coerced into such an action).

He, as a very popular theory suggests (one that i also take issue with), became a Skrull following the events of Captain America: Civil War. In this film, he was critically injured during the battle in the Leipzig-Halle Airport where Vision shot a blast through the War Machine suit, leaving Rhodey paralyzed from the waist down. My personal issue with this theory is that I've always had an issue with the way Rhodey's tone toward the Sokovia Accords shifted between CA:CW and Avengers: Infinity War (where initially expressed full support for them in CA:CW but was then extremely lax [admittedly the circumstances were what they were] during IW). However, logistically speaking, when could there have been a better time for a Skrull to take on his likeness? After Thanos' snap? After Tony's snap? Before Falcon and the Winter Soldier? It seems like the most seamless transition had to have occurred during the time that Rhodey was seriously injured in CA:CW.

All of this is merely speculation. However, one of the biggest plotholes of the entire Secret Invasion series so far has been the lack of clarity on when these prominent figures became Skrulls. Hopefully, I'm wrong with all of this. Still, this won't change the impact of the one character from the earlier phases of the MCU that actually recalls the events of IM1,2,3, A1,2 CACW, etc. being a Skrull. It won't take back the pain that comes with the knowledge that to some degree or another, the face of a close friend of Tony Stark was involved in such heinous acts (almost directly paralleling the relationship between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes in the mcu as well) and I fear the implications for the upcoming Armor Wars film won't be kind for the version of Rhodey that will awaken in a world where everything has changed.

[gailynovelry]

Gail's Masterpost

Hi there, and welcome to the blog! We're Gaily Novelry, a little self-pub author with something of a fixation on pretty, brain-bending stories. You can also find us on Neocities, and on our art & cover critique side blogs (@gaildoesdraws & @gailycovercrit).

When we write, we like to work on colorful, intricate genre fiction stories with an emphasis on characters. WIPs below;

Published Stories

Heralds of Rhimn — A queer dark fantasy series set in a universe where most of the old gods are dead, and the ones left behind have a death grip on their devoted societies . . .

“In the world of Rhimn, a Herald is a god’s highest servant, expected to carry out their god’s will until the day of their death. Navaeli of Nowhere knows this all too well. Bound in service of Silamir, a resurrected goddess of death and rebirth, her life has been one of constant cowering. Irongardhe knights hunt her down on the orders of Gardhe, the sun god who killed Silamir so long ago. Unfortunately, Silamir is eager to fight these battles herself, even if that means taking Navaeli’s body for her own. For the longest time, Navaeli has been resigned to her fate as either a corpse or a vessel for her vengeful goddess. Fate has other plans. An ugly encounter with a knight’s patrol puts her at the mercy of Crislie Crimsworth — a handsome, headstrong girl who solves her problems with her fists, and is dying to escape the disapproval of her mother. When Navaeli’s goddess forces her to move on before she’s fully healed, Crislie seizes the chance to follow her out into the world. But what starts off as an exciting opportunity becomes a desperate flight as the budding attraction between her and Navaeli forces Crislie to confront the crimes of her country. As if Crislie wasn’t enough trouble on her own, a chance meeting makes the two of them responsible for Meparik, a young feyrie thief with more trust in glamour than kindness. Together, the three will contend with the machinations of Rhimn’s pantheon, the cruelties of the Irongardhe, and the ugliness within themselves. There might be people worth surviving for after all! But is it possible to free Navaeli from her divine yoke, or will she be the first casualty in the oncoming war between the gods?

Shadow Herald, Winter Herald, and Ember Warrior are right here on Itch.io. There's also a Neocities page just for this project, with links to fun worldbuilding and soon some short stories.

Works In Progress

Mindhive — Queer dystopian fiction.

“Dead-broke and dead-set on paying off his student loans before he’s forty, Nathaniel Emersin signed up as a paid test subject for ReGene, a genetics company with a mysterious new invention that they promise will change the world; the Worker Bee Implant. But Nathaniel has one little secret that didn’t make it onto paper . . . He’s also been hired by a rival company to sabotage the trial and steal the mysterious new technology that ReGene’s been working on.”

Contains one overthinking trans man, a polycule, some very embarrassing telepathy, an AI you may want to steal from out of his research facility, capitalism being very, very capitalism, and some blood and needles that you should be aware of on the off-chance that you’re afraid of that.

Mindhive also has a Neocities page! It contains teaser chapters and a bit of (lightly spoilery) in-universe documentation of the trial.

The full novel is to be made available whenever we complete this one between Heralds of Rhimn books, or when the bleak state of the world drives us into finishing it out of fury. Whichever comes first!

Toybox — Eight upcoming episodes of queer psychological horror time loop tragicomedy. Say that five times fast! Or if you want a shorter genre category, it’s a weird fiction visual novel. A mysterious feyrie figure ushers you into a “play” for their own amusement . . . and all-too-quickly, you learn that not only is the cast trapped in a timeloop, but the “curtaincall” condition for the play involve a fair amount of murder in order for each loop to reset. Can you help the cast escape their story, or is the playwright always destined to win in the end?

Less Developed WIPs — Some of the other ideas simmering on my backburner are The Ghosts of Grimmigkeit Manor, paranormal novel (or visual novel?) of familial secrets and sibling bonds, Galactic Empress, a space opera dating sim, Solar Boys, a hopepunk post-apocalypse romance, and a side-story series to Heralds of Rhimn called Tales of Rhimn.

You probably won't see much of these until I finish Heralds of Rhimn and Mindhive, but occasionally we are hit with inspiration, so a post or two out of the blue happens sometimes!

[gentle-author]

WORDS

Words.

Those little noises that human beings have managed to bring to life for everyone to understand their weird surroundings...

Words.

Τhose tiny mumbles that push people to the edge of their success, dig them into daydream beliefs and spontaneously lead them to the cliff of their ends...

Words.

Those trivial grins our mouth makes and suddenly changes the whole world...

-Our whole world.

Every meaning we thought our vocabulary had found out. Every reason why overthinking has taken over us.

Every... -"us"...

Words.

Sometimes words are just not enough.

Sometimes words mean nothing.

Sometimes our most important skill

-speech-

...is the most insignificant of all the reasons why someone would undoubtedly call our species "special"

-by, in the end, calling our echoes "special"...

-what an irony, huh...?

Words.

The way us

-uncontrollably mysterious type of writers- bleed on soft, dangerous paper every night, trying to figure out our triggering, yet excitingly curious minds...

Words...

Words...

Words.

Who doesn't love words?

Who doesn't adore these little, unbearable noises that we make up every single day since the day we were born...?

Words.

Words speak louder than everything.

..right?

Words are able to save people, devastate buildings, press unreliable buttons, speak the truth, change reasons and confuse seasons. ..right?

"Right..."

Yet... wrong.

Sometimes feelings perhaps speak louder.

Louder than the storms passing by every upcoming winter.

Louder than the earthquakes deserting the whole city.

Louder than all types of sirens.

Louder than you...

Louder than me...

Louder than every possible insomniac, single or taken existence.

Sometimes feelings cannot compare to words. Words can lie.

Easily...

With no sense of guilt.

Words can hurt.

Cut.

Deeper than a sharpened scary knife.

Words can freeze your bones and lead you to death.

Mentally... at least.

As far as I'm concerned they can't cause strokes... can they?

The "genious" technology may show us someday... but till proven otherwise, I can confirm that words are as dreadful as decent liars are. That's why they get along so easily. Liars lie.

Words also seem to lie...

But feelings?

They could never hide the truth.

Never.

And that's what makes them so special if you still think this "word"

-if not a sense-

exists.

The idea of love captured by a slightly green forest in your face, leaves blown away softly by the drizzling rain somewhere mid- July. Countryside.

Sweet loneliness.

It's just so tempting to go inside that awe-inspiring, endless forest.

Tempting to finally run along with the colourful, pale leaves and face up the true feeling of pure and utter happiness.

With what kind of words could you possibly describe that feeling, if not with the words of the soul, initially represented in your plain look ?

The idea of success captured in a tremendous amount of dark, furious waves coming all to drag you in the depths of your only ally, who's apparently not the ocean, but yourself...

That self that you let drown in anxiety and caused its only harm

-its self-harm-

leading you to the void, making you wonder what's like actually feeling something, while whipping away those little, careless but shivering rivers in your cheeks.

With what kind of words could you possibly describe that feeling, if not with the words of your inner surface, initially represented in your rosy cuticle?

The idea of running away captured in a sloppy hairstyle that's ready to come for you, anytime..., any day...

Maybe when the sun sets for good or the birds go to sleep after their daily... lovely

-if not annoying yet-

concert.

That ripped, black t-shirt covering your chest-bones and those highly appreciated black jeans of yours which have suffered every kind of isolation and fear or abandonment, but still, headed-up, are waiting patiently for yourself to order them to run, to ease, to pass away... violently...

With what kind of words could you possibly describe that feeling, if not with the words of the barely breathing material you hold onto, initially represented in your powerless strength of your casual existence?

The idea of pushing yourself to the limits in order to find the real reality of your unreal fairytale, trying to escape the meaningless and staring aimlessly towards the plane that finally crashes in front of what... you can't really tell is you, but in the end, it has always been you... waving and nodding positively at the eternal gates of heaven, living through hallucinations so as to stick to your relatable feeling of feeling nothing, that feeling that is not quite as empty as you would admit touching the sky is... which seems to be faker than yourself, or maybe... your hidden one...

With what kind of words could you possibly describe that feeling, if not with the words of the faded brownish moon you're looking up to or the illusions of your unfortunate, abused reflect of it, initially represented in your innocent soul?

The idea of living a whole life in a cage, full of naughtious flowers and scented candles, believing in stolen ideas and lost opportunities, waiting patiently for yourself to accept its indifferent difference between you and the monstrous world...

Trying to escape the reddish cage in order to heal...

Lying in a pink or purple leather landscape that lights up every time you touch it... Feeling its presence every millisecond that passes by your white silk hair....

With what kind of words could you possibly describe that feeling, if not with the words of your laddish actions against a gloomy instrument, initially represented in your pure feelings?

...

Words.

Five letters that someone, somehow, stuck together someday, somewhere... in the middle of exploring

-the unknown-

you could hesitatingly guess- and identified them as some kind of "special", without really trying to deepen in the deepest meaning of this insignificantly deep word...

...

Words.

Hesitated letters that stuck together and follow us around

-everywhere-

trying to convince us that we need something, everytime...

-not exactly telling us what that is-

when in reality, we only need to find ourselves, giving up every once in a

while, struggling to push the words

-and failing miserably for once again-

away...

...

After all, is there any doubt that words are the exact synonym of pointless?

[willcodehtmlforfood]

"The UK government has set in train plans to introduce legislation requiring tech companies to let it know when they plan to introduce new security technologies and could potentially force them to disable when required.

The measures were announced just minutes ago in the King's Speech – when the country's monarch reads out a declaration that is written by the ruling political party, marking the start of the parliamentary year. The proposed changes could give the Home Office advance access to technical details of security measures employed by popular big tech platforms so it can access user data and monitor nefarious activity."

[hausofneptune]

[the astrology of pedro pascal] - hard uranus aspects (major) | uranus opposite chiron

hey y’all! in this series we’ll be covering major hard/challenging aspects (squares and oppositions) to pedro’s uranus. he doesn’t have any minor soft aspects to his uranus, but the rest of the major and minor aspects to the rest of his planets and asteroids in his chart will be covered in an upcoming series! i also want to note that when it comes to these aspects, they have to be examined through the lens of the entire chart, as they’re influenced by a myriad of factors within it.

disclaimers | masterlist | ask

uranus opposite chiron (within 8.0°) 

(this is a 40-year generational aspect, everyone born from the 1950s to late 1980s will have it in their chart)

in this aspect, there is a polarity between the planetary bodies and they are at odds with one another. uranus signifies sudden and unexpected events. it’s the co-ruler of aquarius in modern astrology, and represents innovation, eccentricity, rebellion, and unpredictability. it’s also a generational planet, and it stays in the same sign for 7 years, meaning everyone born in that time frame will share the same placement. chiron is notably referred to as the “wounded healer.” it is representative of the strength we find through our pain and vulnerabilities, and our ability to empathize and pass on wisdom through our suffering. 

with uranus opposite chiron, there can be wounding surrounding one’s individuality and the things that make them unique. this aspect can make for someone who’s extremely innovative, and would excel in fields related to science or technology, as well as more creative, art-focused careers as well. they may also enjoy work related to these topics that grant them the ability to positively impact the lives of others as well. these natives may actually struggle to recognize their creativity, and may deal with feelings of imposter syndrome in relation to how impactful their work and presence within their field of expertise actually is. 

these natives might have grown up with an aversion to sudden change, or found themselves hesitant to embrace certain ideas or embark on new journeys as a result of this wound. this could’ve been a result of experiencing sudden upheaval in their youth, and in turn, they may find themselves in adulthood resisting change and progression that would otherwise help them, and others, evolve and expand in life. this may also manifest as changeability in their self-expression or outlooks as a means of self-preservation at times, which can alienate them from those around them that they wish to advocate for and help. 

when they operate from this wound from a healed, progressed perspective, they’ll often find that they can propel a large amount of change to the lives of those around them, and to society as a whole. their unconventional nature can influence others to feel comfortable enough to accept the more unique sides of themselves and express ideas that will bring progression. they’re typically very social, witty people who enjoy good conversation. albeit, they may have a tendency to come off “erratic” in their communication and hop from topic to topic often. 

this aspect can also be indicative of having an aversion to “authority”, or being bound to the social expectations imposed upon them (this is an energy that comes up in pedro’s chart a lot), they tend to prioritize their freedom and sense of independence. they may seek out a life/career that doesn’t constrain them, that grants them the space to explore the world around them and transform both themselves and others through this process. they may also find themselves in positions to heal others, or to mentor others who seek similar things out of life. 

ultimately, they should recognize the true source of their motivations, as to ensure they’re not navigating life through their desire for validation and acceptance. they should seek to utilize their resentments or frustrations in a constructive way, and as a means to express themselves and their ideas in a positive, healthy way. 

as always, if anyone has any of the placements or aspects mentioned in this post i’d love to hear how it personally manifests in your own life and how it impacts your personality, or if anyone has anything to add in general feel free to reach out and let me know!

[knownhag]

my job is so chill... look at what my boss emailed us for may day

“Throughout the pandemic, I have been thinking a lot about labor and its relationship to time and time and its relationship to the quality of our lives. Throughout pandemic times, quite a bit of energy has been spent on considerations of where we work and less on how the pandemic changes (and opens possibilities for changing) the how, what, and the when of work.  We are in the midst of the most widespread change to labor since World War II. Our work has changed significantly throughout the pandemic. During our upcoming building closure, we are going to undertake a deep review and update of our work systems, flows, and loads: what is working for us, what is no longer working, what is missing.  Within this project, I would like to have a conversation with the full team about work time. The eight hour work day/40 hour work week was won by the labor movement and the fight for a shorter work day was at the center of the US labor movement that climaxed with the Haymarket Affair on May 1, 1886.  In the fields of education and in labor (and so many others!) we continue to operate within frameworks that were developed in the late 19th or early 20th centuries, yet society has changed, and our technologies have evolved dramatically since then. The movement for the eight-hour workday mobilized in the aftermath of the Civil War! Does the eight-hour workday still serve us? Does the five-day work week still serve us?”

like slayyyyy