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bluginkgo · 2 months

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Welp, ep7 didn't kill me! ... the depression post ep might- (Theories/Rambles)

Anyways! Ep7 oh boy, it was full of surprises even for me. The animation, the intense battle scenes, everything about it was AMAZING! Of course, that's just my opinion :3 (feel free to yeet it into the stratosphere)

Get ready for word diarrhea and some shaky and loose thoughts on the ending and what may happen next. Fair warning, my theories are pretty wacky, so somethings may sound way out there. XD

Spoilers duh, oh and gore warning? Kinda?

I mean... that scary *ss mother facking thing towards the end- you know what I'm talking about if you watched the ep 😅

This puzzled me a bit, but the more I thought about it, I suppose the more it makes sense (give me a hot minute, I'm slow ok 😅).

The lockers act as a storage container for the solver drones. But what about the image from ep6? It seemed like they had free reign over the office and could come and go. Even as far as a sentinel cuddling up to Nori. But that's the thing. Later we see that Nori and Yeva were the only ones that have been the MOST successful with the absolute solver experimentation. The others, were either corrupted or were unaffected.

That means, in the time that the patches were given to the drones experimented on, was the time that they were allowed to be in the office. But as the patches and experimentation progressed, they were moved down for more security.

Soooo V. What are my thoughts on her and her whereabouts? The shot of the hall with the sentinels did not make it into the ep. Sure, it is probably fairly easy for them to get that shot. Especially if they kept the rig of the hall, throw around some sentinel bodies, and make the light go out. But this lack of V is what's making me still believe she's out there. Delusional, I know. But we don't get to see her eldrich form. This is the Absolute Solver that has been chilling in the labs, and simply recreates the hologram of all the drones it was ever a part of.

If V does not return by ep8, then I will lay her to rest properly. Until then, I'm marking her as MIA. She may be out there, she may not.

Alright, so the crucifix is also recounted as "failsafe USB (606b)" or at least that's how I see it, given the crucifix is just one fancy usb.

Now, the other time we did see the 606 was in the beginning of ep5.

wdOS_606 is basically the code that kills the drone and its core. So, effectively, that crucifix works as a kill code for the absolute solver. The timeline of events probably happened like this: Nori was showing signs of the Absolute Solver progressing much faster than any other drone the teams have worked with. One time, Nori went Absolute Solver crazy, the placement of the image that is also seen in ep6 suggests that this was the first or one of the first times Nori went rogue. The teams then decided to contain her better and suspended her by the chains, all the while waiting for the failsafe USB to be completed. At least, that was the plan. "Don't all die and almost let it out again lol. We're pretty mad but mostly scared about that." subtitle backs it up.

Now this.

This entire sequence seems rather interesting. Absolute Solver, at its best, understands emotions on logical level. Its more like a math equation for it. As in: Bad things happen = changed and more subdued personalities. But with N, I suppose it found it rather interesting to watch him. Despite all of the bad experiences he may have had, he remained his happy self. The solver even went as far as quoting him.

That type of innocence, despite the horrors he has seen and committed, most likely amused the solver. So it allowed the team to retain those personalities and traits- also knowing that it could easily get rid of them if it really wanted to.

Uzi's administration rights still hold up. It seems that in this moment, the solver attempted to completely corrupt N and have him as a mindless drone that followed orders. Buuuut Uzi's admin rights denied that, saving him from becoming the solver's puppet and being what he was back on Earth during the massacre of humans.

Eating is often referred to in this episode. Seems that I was somewhat right in regards to the Absolute Solver being the core of Copper-9 now. It has grown rather large, and taken possession of the entire planet. To maintain that, it needs sustenance. Be it in form of biological and mechanical life, or the planet itself.

So J destroyed the only means of getting off the planet, and the possibility of saving themselves or the planets for the gang- of course there's still the pod that J is using, but that will not be given up without a fight.

The issue here I have is... to whom did J give her loyalty to? Couple theories:

To Tessa- J has NO idea this is not Tessa, and is following her old boss just like in the days of the manor.

To Absolute Solver- J knows this is not Tessa, but still is loyal to it.

Issue: If number 1 is correct, then why follow through the plan with destroying the pod? It seems that was the case all along when Tessa told J to "mind her ship." Furthermore confusing to me is her comment.

Tessa: Her (Cyn) last known act was siccing you lot on other human exo-planets.

N: But why?

J: That's what we're trying to figure out, bozo.

J's line can be taken both ways. As 1- J is actually trying to figure out why Cyn is acting up. As for 2- this was simply a cover up for the whole plot.

It seems here that the drones that were previously worked on simply stayed in their lockers and their corrupted form. But that was something that made me wonder. The drones were all corrupted with the Absolute Solver to some degree. They were all given patches of the solver- some had effect and others didn't. But that still means that there were a lot of drones that had their cores corrupted and look like Heart. Here's the question.

Why didn't they simply leave? Nori's corrupted core is fully sentient, despite being possessed by the solver the most. Of course, there is the possibility that whatever Nori created in the cathedral simply took those cores and dragged them into the center. Further growing itself. Ah, well I kind of answered my own question there.

So the largest number I could count was 129 on this list. Meaning, there were at least 129 drones experimented on. Seems to follow the crazy theory I had of the Absolute Solver taking control of the core. 129 minus 2 (Nori and Yeva) cores will definitely make a great impact/engrave itself into the planet in such a way and thus manifest the corridors of flesh and hands that go all to the way to Cabin Fevers camp ground.

It also seems that the Absolute Solver, instead of being injected straight into the drones, was done in patches. Now, my knowledge in computer language and science is non-existent, but it does make me wonder. Yeva has 2.1.8 patch, while Nori was still "in progress." This either implies:

Nori had a newer patch and this was the one that caused her to go so berserk they had to restrain her in the cathedral.

Nori did not have a new patch, the one that Yeva has was the latest one and Nori simply was not faring well in the transition.

Something I noticed/finally grasped on my 3rd watch through:

Who the hell is "they?" Well, my tired brain finally decided to kick in and work. "They" were the scientists. So the crucifix was something that the humans only now figured out how to make. The kill code that would put the Absolute Solver down. That was why the Solver was on Copper-9. It needed that crucifix, so it could get rid of it. "They kept cutting my feed." Most likely referred to when the hosts would become possessed by the solver. Just as seen with Nori, the second they went crazy, it was a quick shut down, thus cutting the feed for the Absolute Solver as it tried to figure out what they were doing.

So, just as many have theorized, Nori did cause the core collapse, but not in the way that I expected it. It's rather funny that instead of this being like a full Absolute Solver possession that caused this on purpose, was simply one bad event after another. And I love the show for this. Despite having the route that the Absolute Solver could have just imploded the planet on purpose and on its own (by possessing a host), it was instead a sequence of events that is similar to humans and their downfall. Nothing orchestrated, but just a compiling effect that created one huge problematic black hole.

So this page does give some insight. The Absolute Solver sent DDs to wipe out the other solver hosts. (I'll touch on this in a different post) And the DDs were either referred to as "pets" by the Absolute Solver (which is more likely, as it called Uzi a "puppet") or a term that Nori coined. "Puppet hosts with nerfed ___ the entity-ensures control" The nerfed ___ is most likely their cores/thought process. As in, Administration CYN is what nerfed their abilities to remember anything regarding their past, and used that to control the DDs.

This was something I couldn't kind of settle with. Events wise, it can be assumed this is all happening at the same time. Just as Uzi is getting through the mine shafts and picking up the lantern, Tessa is blowing up the computer and nomming on Doll, and N is being dragged through corpse walls and being saved by Heart.

It was Doll- Although, the more I looked at this thought, the less likely this became. Doll's was intact when she came to warn Uzi, and stayed there until Tessa entity ate it towards the end of the episode. We have yet to see an instance where a core entered the Absolute Solver form and returned back to the core form without taking any damage. Specifically in J's case, the solver form was blown up and only then returned to the core form. Nothing was in the mine shafts that could have possibly injured it enough to go back to the core form and sneak back into Doll's body.

Tessa...uhh whatever the fack she is- Based off of Doll's getting attacked scene, the entity seems to have a rather quick ability in switching forms. So I wouldn't put past it that the entity attacked Doll, saw that another part of the Absolute Solver was trying to chase N down, and just went along with the rest of the solver to hunt him down.

On my first watch through, I was worried that N would go crazy from breaking rule 1 of robotics: Not to injure humans. Granted, in the first watch through, everything went so fast that I barely had any time to grasp anything. After the second watch through, it becomes quite clear and apparent. The Absolute Solver took the rules of robotics out of the DDs. I mean, how else were they supposed to attack and kill the humans back on Earth. Furthermore, Tessa was not a human. So even if N did still have the rules of robotics programmed into him, they might not have set off. Why the "might not?" Because of the sentinel. Perhaps because the sentinels were created by humans, their ai is much simpler, but when that dingo bit Tessa, it had an aneurysm. It detected blood, and thus, the ai deduced that the sentinel just injured a human and decided to alt f4 itself. Would the same happen with N? I'm not quite sure. Given that the solver programmed the DDs, it could be either instance: Take the rules out completely or enhance the rules so that blood isn't what triggers the rule breaking.

This is something that made me wonder. Did the DD trio go to any other exo-planets previously? I took this scene in two ways:

This has happened before. The solver knows that N will continue to forgive the Absolute Solver because something similar has happened before. As in, the solver is out to kill a planet, it does that, but in return sacrifices any DDs that might have been there to get rid of the potential solver hosts. The backups are booted and sent to a new planet.

This is the first time this happened, but the solver has previous experiences. Just as the solver had made N forget about his time in the mansion and the bloodbath of killing humans, it can do the same thing. Kill N, and make his backup version forget this ever happened.

This one single frame made me wonder a bit too hard. The little nulls I assumed to be miniature and contained blackholes. But then when N dove under one... there was collision? A black hole, as far as I understand (which isn't very much ;w;), is something that cannot be touched. It warps time and space, so how are you supposed to be able to touch it? But I'm quite sure my tired brain is just thinking too much about simple details.

For some odd reason, I always thought that the solver wings were more flesh, and thus couldn't take too much damage. Proven wrong again! Uzi withstood N's firing and her wings came out undamaged.

Main question for me: Why would the Absolute Solver eat the core? Specifically in drone form/possessing a host. If it was the hole that's in the cathedral, I can understand that somewhat better. But what does a solver drone gain from eating another corrupted core?

Perhaps acts as a power boost? Whatever the corrupted core can do, the powers are transfered uhh... somehow?

Simply sustenance, and a way to get rid of Heart, you're thinking too deep into this Ginkgo (more likely option) Plus, backed up by Tessa entity eating Doll's core and being unaffected. Perhaps it just remains in the body as a source of energy.

IC-0n IS THAT YOU?! XD But in all seriousness, this scene was intense. The animation, the music and sound effects, the lines, everything was executed perfectly and created the monstrosity that may or may not haunt my nightmare tonight :3

My first thought was, "OH YOU! YOU FINALLY SHOWED UP! ...... GO AWAY!" This entity... uh I'm not quite sure what to call it yet, has been teased all the way back to the poster. And I would like to bring back something I said a bit while back. "What if the double x'ed character is someone we already know... but is dead? A character that is confirmed/somewhat confirmed to be dead can return back to life, and their body forced to move by the absolute solver." (I will be delving deeper into debunking this in another post.) Welp, that does it. I had the idea, just didn't know who the fack it was. XD So we get a drone, wearing Tessa's skin.

In hindsight, there was a big fat foreshadowing that I took for granted. This thing.

The drone body is a WD, and clear as day 1001 written on the core. What does it mean? Ah well, I'm actually not too sure. Going with the 002, 048, 029, etc. numbers, I can only assume 1001 is something the Absolute Solver made and gave it that number, possibly suggesting that there is more of these monstrosities out there.

So. Another "sacrifice." Why the quotation marks? Well... the first "sacrifice" was V and I'm still calling her MIA. Ginkgo, its clearly shown Uzi is most likely not gonna make it out of this one- shhhhhhhh, there is no war in Ba Sing Se. I will call Uzi MIA as well.

She's dead. The core was charging up behind her, much like it did when Nori's null hand fell, and when IC-0n- I MEAN- Tessa? The entity, jumped in. Uzi might just be the thing that sets the next core collapse- even the planet collapse- off. What Uzi is seeing, is just something that the Absolute Solver might have conjured up as her last memories before the imminent shut down.

She isn't dead. You see, this entire shot has me puzzled (nothing new lol). Your evidence for this one Ginkgo? Two images.

These scenes might not be much, but I will try to grasp at air here. It's unclear where Heart goes to. I mean there are two routes, one of which sounds more likely. First, she's going into the core because it connects to the entirety of the mine shafts and the core. Second, she's gonna use a door off to the side to go to the mine shafts and the same place that N gets dragged through. Why am I using these as poor evidence? Well, we've had 2 characters enter dark spaces full fo solver flesh and still make it out. Ginkgo, Uzi is literally falling in that scene, there is nothing to stop her fall. Yeah I know, like I said, I'm grasping at air with this one. Buuuut, the mind scape theories sound more fun, promise! ^w^

First off, where the HELL could this possibly be?

A memory/mind scape the Absolute Solver created: This has to be Copper-9, based off of the two iconic moons to the top right. A memory, because this could be either the first core collapse, or Uzi viewing the destruction of Copper-9 from another solver entity's point of view. Mind scape as in this is where the solver drone minds go to. Every solver drone that has been consumed by the large Absolute Solver in the cathedral, had their own personalities and thoughts. To keep them all from clashing and acting out, perhaps the solver takes the hive-mind plane and creates spaces that the solver drones can warp through.

The "ascension" plane: Ginkgo, that's it, to the hospital you go chop chop. /j Anyways, why am I even bringing something like this up? Well, Uzi's mural says this.

There are two routes here: succumb to be the host of eternal entity, or ascend. Ascend to... where? And how? Here is where the more intense crack theories enter (or at least for me). This space is the hive-mind of the solver, yes, but this is where Uzi's internal battle against the Absolute Solver will happen. We all know that the last mural will be of N fighting off the Absolute Solver (most likely). But what if he had outside (inside technically?) help. While N may hold out against the solver, he may need help to finally break through and finish it off. Who would be a better candidate than Uzi? She has now, for better or worse, become part of the large amalgamation that sits in the core. Perhaps with the strongest hosts in the hive-mind: Uzi, Nori, Yeva (maybe, I'm not quite settled on her yet), and Cyn, they will all be able to stop the solver for good on Copper-9. This process is the ascension. Instead of succumbing to the Absolute Solver within the hive-mind scape, she will fight once again. This time around, coming out victorious and ascending to uhh... I'm not quite sure yet? Robo-heaven? Returning back into her corporal body? Becoming the next Absolute Solver but with less need to rule the world? (Ah, well she might still actually rule the world just for the fun of it XD) Honestly, it's far too late for me to be thinking any more. I might add on to this later on.

Is it a rather optimistic take on the ending? Perhaps, but I need a little optimism right about now. ;w;

Want more of my stupid rambles? This has 3 other parts! ;w;

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scalingsvt8thusiast · 2 months

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Skin-Deep Chapter 8

summary: The one where you fall for Seungcheol amongst all the protests and insecurities. The one where you don't know that he's fallen for you too.

A/N: Here's the promised Chapter 8 :D Enjoy!

His mother never called him. The last time he had gotten a call from her was when he was almost expelled from high school.

She had spent the entire phone call screaming at him about how much money they had to donate to the school to make sure he wouldn't get expelled. Honestly, how was he supposed to know that setting off fireworks in the school classroom was against the rules? Maybe there was such a rule now but he swore back then there wasn’t.

So when he got a phone call from his mother crying hysterically for him to go home, he went.

Arriving at his family estate, he was expecting mass hysteria from the way his mother was screaming. He was met with a peaceful and calm house. There was no fire, no blood or dead bodies. Nothing.

Instead of his hysterical parents, he was greeted by his calm house staff. They had informed him that his parents had already retired to bed and wished for him to stay the night, they would meet with him the following day. Much to Seungcheol’s annoyance.

Hence he found himself lying on his bed in his room, waiting for the staff to call him to dinner. He had tried to meet with his parents earlier, but they were no where to be found but had left instructions with the staff not to let Seungcheol leave the house.

While he was a grown man and he could leave the house anytime he wanted, his parents had threatened to fire the entire staff if he left. He stayed put, very unwillingly, not wanting any of the staff members to lose their livelihood because of him.

On top of being house-bound, Seungcheol had no way of contacting his girlfriend. His phone had been confiscated from the moment he entered the house. His parents were relentless on not letting him have any contact with the outside world.

Seungcheol looked around his room, barely familiar to him. He had spent his entire childhood jumping from one boarding school to the next, only settling when he met Jeonghan. Once he was in university, he moved into the penthouse his parents bought for him. The last time he spent any real time in this house was during his childhood, when his parents were actually around.

Seungcheol's early life was spent mostly watching his parents struggle to get the company off the ground. While it was a hard time, his parents always made time for their only child. Then, Seungcheol didn’t mind how busy his parents were, he understood that they were just trying to give him a better life.

Around the time Seungcheol had his 12th birthday, the company started taking off, beginning it’s stratospheric climb in the tech industry. He started seeing a change in his parents, his mother would spend more time with her friends and his father would spend his days in business meetings. His parents started spending less time with him, missing important milestones and previously promised family dinners. They opted to replace time spent with him with material goods, gifting him the latest gadgets or toys.

Slowly, he stopped trying to understand them, his parents were successful, they had money, wasn’t it good enough? Wasn’t he good enough?

When he hit 17, Seungcheol's parents started grooming him to take over the company. By then he had grown to hate the company, blaming it for taking his parents away. He started going to more parties, flunking all his exams, engaging in dangerous hobbies, hoping that his parents would stop trying to mould him into their little successor.

A knock on the door caused Seungcheol snapped him out of his daydream.

“Dinner is ready, sir.”

He found himself being led to an empty dining room, his parents still nowhere to be seen.

He made himself comfortable in the chair adjacent to the head of the table. He shut his eyes, remembering all the times he was in this very position, waiting patiently for his parents to return home, hoping for his parents to show up.

His ears picked up the familiar taps of his father’s oxfords.

“His royal majesty has finally decided to grace us with his presence.” The tone of his father's voice was laced with sarcasm as he took his seat at the head of the table. His mother followed suit, sitting across from Seungcheol.

“Oh my goodness Cheol, you look so thin!” His mother screeched.

Seungcheol’s eyebrows knitted together, his parents didn’t look like they have anything urgent to say to him. They seemed relatively calm and happy, so why on earth was he here?

“Why did you call me last night, mom?” He said, trying his best to remain respectful. “You made it sound like the world was ending.”

“Oh Cheol, that was the only way to get you to come home for dinner.” Mrs Choi said, motioning for the servants to begin serving dinner. “We knew you wouldn’t come if we asked you nicely.”

“You’ve been avoiding our calls, son.” Mr Choi said, giving him a disapproving stare.

Seungcheol felt sick looking at the food in front of him. “If this conversation’s just going to be about the company again, I’m leaving right now.”

He got up, roughly pushing his chair away.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Mr Choi said, not a hint of care in his voice. “Sit down.”

“We’ve heard reports that you have a girlfriend.” His mother quickly added.

Seungcheol froze.

“We want to meet her.” His father said matter-of-factly as he put food into his mouth.

“What?” Seungcheol said, confused. “Why?”

“Well, from the reports, it seems that you two are quite serious.” His mother said excitedly. “We really just want to meet the girl who stole our son’s heart!”

“I think we, as your parents, are entitled to that.” His father said, in between mouths of rice.

“Alright.” Seungcheol sat back down, not really convinced. “I’ll think about it.”

You were still checking your phone when you reached your room. Occasionally swiping to news websites, praying that nothing about Seungcheol appeared. Jeonghan and Joshua had no idea where he was but they told you not to worry, claiming that Seungcheol often disappeared for days on end. Obviously that didn’t calm you down at all. What on earth could your boyfriend be doing that not even his closest friends knew?

Just as you were about to retire for the night, a knock came from your front door.

You swung the door open, half-expecting it to be the police, coming to question you on Seungcheol’s disappearance. Instead you came face to face with your messy-haired boyfriend, sporting a lop-sided grin.

“Hey, princess-oof”

Not even processing what you were doing, you pushed yourself into his chest with so much force effectively knocking the air out of your stupid boyfriend. You buried your head into his chest, taking in the smell of his cologne that you loved so much.

Seungcheol wrapped his arms around you, sighing in content. When you looked like you weren’t about to let go anytime soon, he slowly moved you into your room, waddling as he guided you onto your bed. He sat the both of you down as he continued to rub the back of your head, keeping his lips on your forehead giving you small kisses.

“Sorry baby,” He said when you finally removed yourself from his embrace, “I was kidnapped by my parents.”

You gave him a blank stare. Seungcheol took it as a sign to explain or risk facing your wrath and launched into the story of his alleged kidnapping.

By the end of it, you were dumbfounded. You were vaguely familiar with the sour relationship your boyfriend had with his parents. He never spoke much about them and even when he did, it wasn’t anything positive. That didn’t prepare you for half the things he told you.

“So, basically, your parents want to meet me?” You said, slowly.

“Yup.” He chirped, popping the ‘p’ at the end.

“I’m sorry but I found it rather cruel how they used your house staff against you.” You snorted. Seungcheol shrugged, used to his parent’s tactics.

“Do you want to meet them? If you don’t want to that’s fine, we don’t have'ta have dinner with them.” Seungcheol explained, trying to read your thoughts on the situation.

You paused, debating with yourself.

“Well, we’ve only just started dating, don’t you think we’re going too fast?” You said, trying to organise your thoughts, “Not that I don’t want to meet them, I mean obviously I would have to meet them when we get married anyway so- “

“We’re getting married now, baby?” Seungcheol grinned, amused.

You felt your face heating up, pretty sure you resembled a tomato right now.

“I mean- well- I- CHEOL!” You stuttered as your boyfriend doubled over in laughter. You gave him a few playful smacks on his arm, he continued laughing as pulled you into a tight embrace.

“Stoooop!” You whined. Clearly embarrassed from your confession.

“I want to marry you too, baby.” He said unabashedly. His laughter was replaced with the widest, gummiest smile you had ever seen.

“You’re lucky I love you.” You grumbled with your arms crossed.

“The luckiest.” Seungcheol said, looking at his girlfriend with unbridled adoration.

a/n2: thanks for reading! if there's anything you want to say or have any ways for me to improve lmk! :D

#scoups x reader #seungcheol x reader #scoups fic #seungcheol fic #scoups #choi seungcheol #seungcheol fluff #scoups fluff #seventeen seungcheol #seventeen scoups #seventeen #svt #seventeen x y/n #seventeen x reader #svt fanfic #svt fic #svt x reader #svt fluff

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akookminsupporter · 1 year

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Namjoon gave an interview to El Pais in Spain and I wanted to share the translation of the interview for those who may not understand Spanish.

Question. The track opens with the lines: "Fuck the trendsetter / I'm going back to the age of 9 / when I was more human". Does the stratospheric success of K-pop dehumanise the artist? Answer. You start your career very early and as part of a group. There's not a lot of time to be an individual, but that's what makes K-pop shine: very young people, trying very hard at the same time…. You generate energy that you only have in your twenties. You fight day and night to perfect the choreography, the videos, the music, and there's an explosion, a big bang. From 20 to 30, we put all the energy and time we had into BTS. You get success, love, influence, power, and after that? The root of it all remains: the music… What was the question?

Q. Does the system dehumanise? A. My company doesn't like the way I answer this question, because I partly admit it and then the journalists throw their hands on their heads, "it's a horrible system, it destroys the young people! But it's partly what makes this such a special industry. And things have improved a lot, in terms of contracts, money, education, there are now teachers, psychologists...

Q. Korean record companies train their artists for years, you lived with your peers from 16 to 19 before your debut as BTS in 2013. What did your parents say? A. My mother spent two years, "Go back to school, you were so good at it, go your way, go to university, make music a hobby!"…. But there was no going back.

Q. The biggest lesson from your time as an apprentice? A. Dancing. I was incapable.

Q. And what did you miss out on by being one? A. College life.

Q. The cult of youth, the cult of perfection, the cult of K-pop overexertion? Are these Korean cultural traits? A. In the West, people just don't get it. Korea is a country that has been invaded, razed to the ground, torn in two. Just seventy years ago there was nothing. We were getting aid from the IMF and the UN. But now, the whole world is looking at Korea. How is that possible, how did that happen? Because people are working fucking hard to improve themselves. You're in France or the UK, countries that have been colonising other countries for centuries, and you come to me and say "oh God, you put so much pressure on yourselves, life in Korea is so stressful". well, yes. That's how you get things done. And it's part of what makes K-pop so appealing. Of course, there are shadows, everything that happens too fast and too intensely has side effects.

Q. What is the biggest prejudice about K-pop? A. That it's prefabricated.

Q. What would your career have been like if you had developed it on the alternative circuit or in another country? A. I think about the multiverse a lot, and the lesson of Doctor Strange is always the same: your version of the universe is the best possible one, don't think of others. There is nothing better than being a member of BTS.

Q. Did you imagine this version? A. Not at all. My dream was not to be a K-pop idol. I wanted to be a rapper, and before that, a poet.

Q. Your influences include rappers like Nas and Eminem, groups like Radiohead and Portishead, but you never mention boy bands. A. The Beatles were also called boy band... I'm not comparing us, they were the creators of everything. But I guess you mean NSYNC or New Kids on the Block: bands whose pop music I actually liked, although I wasn't a super fan… What got me was rap: rhythm plus poetry.

Q. You say you get jealous of who you admire, for example? A. Kendrick Lamar, always. And Pharrell Williams. He's living history, I'd like to be one too, maybe in the future. That's why I don't paint, to be jealous of Picasso or Monet would be too much.

Q. You do collect, how do you choose the pieces? A. I've only been collecting for four years and I've been changing. My focus is 20th-century Korean art. But I'm not Getty or Rockefeller…

Q. You don't do it to invest. A. I guarantee it. If I wanted to invest, I would buy black artists, women artists, emerging Indonesian artists… My goal is to open a small exhibition space in about 10 years because I think Seoul needs a place with a young taste, but respectful of the Korean legacy, to which I would also like to bring artists like Roni Horn, Antony Gormley or Morandi.

Q. Have you always had the collector's bug? A. I've collected toys, little cars or Takashi Murakami figures, then vintage clothes, then furniture, I love Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret [both collaborators with Le Corbusier], but my favourite is George Nakashima.

Q. On your album there are songs from very different genres, some critics say it's inconsistency, others say versatility… A. I think the word genre will disappear in a few decades. R&B, Hyperpop, Jersey Club, UK Drill, Chicago Drill, K-pop! They don't mean anything. Music is an accumulation of frequencies that makes people get into a certain mood.

Q. Are you fed up with the "K-" label? A. You could get sick of Spotify calling us all K-pop, but it works. It's a premium label. The guarantee of quality that our grandparents fought for.

Q. Your album features Anderson Paak, Youjeen and the elusive Erykah Badu, how did he convince you? A. She knew BTS because her daughter is a fan, but that's not enough. I had to persuade her, I sent her a text with Yun's story explaining why I needed her wise queen voice for those verses.

Q. You mix English and Korean sometimes in the middle of a line, how do you decide? A. Words in different languages have different textures; the same message, with a different brushstroke. It comes naturally to me. I don't play instruments, I compose and create melodies with my voice, which is my instrument and most of my songs start with words.

Q. You have also gone through several identities, as a teenage rapper you were Runch Randa, then in BTS Rap Monster and then RM (for Real Me). Have you thought about using your real name? A. [laughs] We all have a past, a dark history, we say in Korea. Runch Randa was my nickname in a role-playing game, then I wanted to be, you know, "a rap monster!″, then I matured… I prefer my name to be known by as few people as possible, I'm not John Lennon, Paul McCartney, I can check into a hotel quietly and I like that.

Q. You've also changed a lot in the way you dress. A. I went through XXL T-shirts and baseball caps. Then I got into high-end brands… Like Rap Monster, I started wearing only black and white [rolls his eyes and shrugs]. Now I'm interested in timelessness, I don't go for trends, I look for vintage jeans, cotton t-shirts, natural things, that don't scream "hey, I'm here".

Q. Rumour has it that you are going to collaborate with Bottega Veneta, whose fashion show you have just been invited to in Milan. A. I would love to. Although I've lost interest in brands, in fashion weeks and that constant change of Pantone… Bottega is different, they don't use logos, they have a history with fabrics and leather, they don't even have Instagram, they are beyond fads and fashions.

Q. How heavy is it to have an army of fans? A. You can't walk around in the middle of nowhere without being recognised and the standards to which you are subject weigh heavily. But you have to grow up and deal with it, not be pitiful like "oh, I just want to be normal". Look, if you want to think fame is a rock, it's a fucking rock, but for me, it's given me what I was looking for: to get influence and financial freedom as quickly as possible to make the music I want to make without worrying about the charts… I'm not there 100%, but I try to focus on the noise inside, not the noise outside.

Q. And how are you facing your thirties? A. I've never experienced such a confusing time. For a decade I was the leader of BTS, and it was very stable and fun, always going up. In 2023 a lot of things have changed, professionally and personally, although I can't tell. As I'm about to turn 30, I like myself more than I did when I was 20. Now I will spend a year and a half in military service, which is very important in every Korean man's life. And after that, I am sure I will be a different human being, hopefully, a better and wiser one.

#Namjoon #RM #bts #bts solo careers

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robertreich · 1 year

Video

youtube

How the Corporate Takeover of American Politics Began

The corporate takeover of American politics started with a man and a memo you've probably never heard of.

In 1971, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked Lewis Powell, a corporate attorney who would go on to become a Supreme Court justice, to draft a memo on the state of the country.

Powell’s memo argued that the American economic system was “under broad attack” from consumer, labor, and environmental groups.

In reality, these groups were doing nothing more than enforcing the implicit social contract that had emerged at the end of the Second World War. They wanted to ensure corporations were responsive to all their stakeholders — workers, consumers, and the environment — not just their shareholders.

But Powell and the Chamber saw it differently. In his memo, Powell urged businesses to mobilize for political combat, and stressed that the critical ingredients for success were joint organizing and funding.

The Chamber distributed the memo to leading CEOs, large businesses, and trade associations — hoping to persuade them that Big Business could dominate American politics in ways not seen since the Gilded Age.

It worked.

The Chamber’s call for a business crusade birthed a new corporate-political industry practically overnight. Tens of thousands of corporate lobbyists and political operatives descended on Washington and state capitals across the country.

I should know — I saw it happen with my own eyes.

In 1976, I worked at the Federal Trade Commission. Jimmy Carter had appointed consumer advocates to battle big corporations that for years had been deluding or injuring consumers.

Yet almost everything we initiated at the FTC was met by unexpectedly fierce political resistance from Congress. At one point, when we began examining advertising directed at children, Congress stopped funding the agency altogether, shutting it down for weeks.

I was dumbfounded. What had happened?

In three words, The Powell Memo.

Lobbyists and their allies in Congress, and eventually the Reagan administration, worked to defang agencies like the FTC — and to staff them with officials who would overlook corporate misbehavior.

Their influence led the FTC to stop seriously enforcing antitrust laws — among other things — allowing massive corporations to merge and concentrate their power even further.

Washington was transformed from a sleepy government town into a glittering center of corporate America — replete with elegant office buildings, fancy restaurants, and five-star hotels.

Meanwhile, Justice Lewis Powell used the Court to chip away at restrictions on corporate power in politics. His opinions in the 1970s and 80s laid the foundation for corporations to claim free speech rights in the form of financial contributions to political campaigns.

Put another way — without Lewis Powell, there would probably be no Citizens United — the case that threw out limits on corporate campaign spending as a violation of the “free speech” of corporations.

These actions have transformed our political system. Corporate money supports platoons of lawyers, often outgunning any state or federal attorneys who dare to stand in their way. Lobbying has become a $3.7 billion dollar industry.

Corporations regularly outspend labor unions and public interest groups during election years. And too many politicians in Washington represent the interests of corporations — not their constituents. As a result, corporate taxes have been cut, loopholes widened, and regulations gutted.

Corporate consolidation has also given companies unprecedented market power, allowing them to raise prices on everything from baby formula to gasoline. Their profits have jumped into the stratosphere — the highest in 70 years.

But despite the success of the Powell Memo, Big Business has not yet won. The people are beginning to fight back.

First, antitrust is making a comeback. Both at the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department we’re seeing a new willingness to take on corporate power.

Second, working people are standing up. Across the country workers are unionizing at a faster rate than we’ve seen in decades — including at some of the biggest corporations in the world — and they’re winning.

Third, campaign finance reform is within reach. Millions of Americans are intent on limiting corporate money in politics – and politicians are starting to listen.

All of these tell me that now is our best opportunity in decades to take on corporate power — at the ballot box, in the workplace, and in Washington.

Let’s get it done.

#youtube #videos #video #powell memo #corporations #wall street #finance #corruption #politics #lobbying #government

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afeelgoodblog · 1 year

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1. Girl with incurable cancer recovers after pioneering treatment

A girl’s incurable cancer has been cleared from her body after what scientists have described as the most sophisticated cell engineering to date. Alyssa, whose family do not wish to give their surname, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May 2021.

Scientists at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London gave her pre-manufactured cells edited using new technology to allow them to hunt down and destroy cancerous T-cells without attacking each other. Less than a month after being given the treatment, she was in remission, and was able to have a second bone marrow transplant.

Can I get a fuck cancer?

2. The UK has made gigabit internet a legal requirement for new homes

Updated regulations require new properties to be built with gigabit broadband connections and make it easier to install into existing blocks of flats across the UK. Connection costs will be capped at £2,000 per home, and developers must still install gigabit-ready infrastructure (including ducts, chambers, and termination points) and the fastest-available connection if they’re unable to secure a gigabit connection within the cost cap

3. US cancer death rate falls 33% since 1991

The rate of people dying from cancer in the United States has continuously declined over the past three decades, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.

The US cancer death rate has fallen 33% since 1991, which corresponds to an estimated 3.8 million deaths averted, according to the report, published Thursday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Partly due to advances in treatment, early detection and less smoking, report says

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4. Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness

Retinal cells grown from stem cells can reach out and connect with neighbors, according to a new study, completing a “handshake” that may show the cells are ready for trials in humans with degenerative eye disorders.

Over a decade ago, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison developed a way to grow organized clusters of cells, called organoids, that resemble the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. They coaxed human skin cells reprogrammed to act as stem cells to develop into layers of several types of retinal cells that sense light and ultimately transmit what we see to the brain.

5. The ozone layer is on track to recover in the next 40 years, the United Nations says

The Earth's ozone layer is on its way to recovering, thanks to decades of work to get rid of ozone-damaging chemicals, a panel of international experts backed by the United Nations has found.

The ozone layer serves an important function for living things on Earth. This shield in the stratosphere protects humans and the environment from harmful levels of the sun's ultraviolet radiation. In the latest report on the progress of the Montreal Protocol, the U.N.-backed panel confirmed that nearly 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances have been phased out.

6. Uganda declares an end to Ebola outbreak

The Ugandan government has declared an end to its Ebola outbreak, less than four months after cases were first reported. Since 20 September, 56 people have died from the virus, which is spread through body fluids, and there have been 142 confirmed infections.

The country has reported no new infections in more than 42 days – twice the maximum incubation period of the virus, a World Health Organization benchmark for a country to be declared Ebola-free.

7. Doggy ‘daycare’ bus in Alaska goes viral on TikTok

Check them out here:

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#best news of last week

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reesieroo-spark · 2 months

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Taiyokami was a huge star in her home country of Japan, but she never saw success internationally. Her videos would air on MTV at 2AM back in the 80s; the only exposure the West got during her prime (as well as her marriage to Bodashi, who was touring the world with his band, Stratosphere)

Taiyokami retired in 1997, but she’s remains an icon of Japanese pop culture to this day. In the West, she gained a small, but dedicated fanbase thanks to the advent of the internet, and general interest in 80s aesthetics

her backup dancers have names btw :p

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frownyalfred · 6 months

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i feel like jason's revival + arrival of soon to be genetic babies will create such a scene in the rich elites of gotham (as well as across the usa bc the waynes arent just gotham rich). like succession type deals, sabotage, and social intrigues will be happening in that stratosphere. meanwhile the wayne pack are living in a completely different genre from whats going on around their social circles.

rich snobby families on the asoh universe talking about how theyre glad bruce's GENETIC CHILDREN are young and therefore their kids have a chance marrying into the wayne family

families with younger pups making fun of families with already presented alphas who will have to "make do" with an impure bloodline (jason). However theyre also super jealous because OBVIOUSLY the alpha that marries in the wayne family now will get more than a decades head start in consolidating capital and power in the wayne fortune

people trying to get in the good graces of clark because he's the pack alpha so obviously hes in charge

people sabotaging each other's chances to look good in front of bruce and jason. casual "oh i donated $50k to a crime alley charity, no big deal. love giving back to the community" in front of jason

lex is Hyper aware of it all happening and is enjoying it. Bruce knows about it but he's too busy getting back into Batmanning to care enough to find out the specifics. Jason died too early to see much of high society and so doesnt really get it until Lex points it out. Clark doesnt understand at all and when Lex tries to teach him about it, derails the conversation by asking questions about the labor and environmental violations of the companies of those families instead.

I love this anon! You’ve really identified some interesting in universe character motivations and potential conflicts.

#asks #anon #myfic #theresurrectionist #a sky of honey #a/b/o mention #a/b/o tw #mpreg mention #mpreg tw

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qqueenofhades · 2 years

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How accurate is the ‘medieval peasants worked less then we do today’ statement? I looked it up because I find it very hard to believe, but had trouble making sense of it since history is not my strong point.

The answer to this is complicated, and represents a lot of (indeed, often erroneous) assumptions about past and present alike. Either the past is presented as a terrible place where everyone was miserable and dirty and assaulted all the time, or as an essentially more idyllic and pastoral place where people didn't have to contend with capitalism, credit scores, minimum wages, underpaid work, and all the other onerous apparatus of the modern economic system. Of course, neither the excessively bad or the excessively good version is true, and usually reveals more about the point that the modern debate wants to make, rather than anything to do with history itself.

First, I would like to note that the whole "all non-king medieval people were peasants" stereotype likewise really grinds my gears, and it is often presented uncritically in claims of this type, clearly intended to draw a parallel between overworked medieval people and overworked modern people. Which is fine, but again, not entirely accurate. As should be obvious to anyone who thinks about it for two seconds, medieval society consisted of all kinds of people and all kinds of occupations, both skilled and unskilled. Like, who do y'all think built the cathedrals? A bunch of random grain harvesters from nearby Podunkville? There were brute laborers who pushed wheelbarrows and hauled stones and etc, but there were also highly educated architects and engineers, who knew how to do things like make sure Durham Cathedral would minutely adjust over hundreds of years to the boggy ground it was built on, and not just fall down. There were master artisans, masons, glassworkers, sculptors, carpenters, etc etc. (See the creator of a recent "medieval" Netflix show claiming that medieval people had no use for art and me wanting to kick him like a football into the stratosphere). In towns, there were merchants, brewers, embroiderers, greengrocers, butchers, bakers, everything else you need to run a basic local economy. There were soldiers and mercenaries and other military occupations, which became increasingly professionalized throughout the medieval era and not just a matter of recruiting the local guys from down the road. There were priests and clerics and an extensive church bureaucracy. There were academics and professors and scholars and writers. Etc etc etc.

Anyway, the point is that when you're talking about medieval peasants, you're probably referring to the people who lived in largely rural or agrarian environments and made their living primarily from subsistence farming and animal husbandry for a landlord. Obviously, they did work hard in physically grueling occupations (though they were generally not malnourished and starving, as I have written about before, except in years of bad famine or crop failure, and then their wealthier employers would suffer too, because they all existed in the same material goods universe, whereas the rich and poor are millions of miles apart today). Their wages were often low, and even in the absolute worst of the Black Death’s first wave in 1349, King Edward III of England issued the Statute of Pleading that attempted to keep wages down and prevent peasants from negotiating for higher rates, even in the middle of a literal fucking apocalyptic plague and crushing labor shortage. (He was ultimately not successful). Widespread discontent with the exploitation of the peasantry, the crushing tax rates to fund pointless foreign wars, and other oh-hey-that-sounds-familiar problems led to the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, and the widespread popularity of the Lollards, a social and religious reform movement who criticised the static hierarchy and endemic inequality of medieval European society. So there were obviously some of the same problems as there are today, especially in regard to economic inequality and systemic oppression, and medieval peasants, far from being stupid sheep who just put their heads down and took it, were just as involved in trying to organise movements and protests to change it.

However, medieval peasants did not exist in global capitalism (obviously) and thus both their work and the reason for it was different. This was before the Protestant Ethic of the late 19th/early 20th century, that explicitly linked religious salvation with hard work in the capitalist system. Martin Luther bitched about indulgences so much because it was an accepted system to just pay the church something and be like "okay I'm good, I can kick back and not worry about it." (The medieval Catholic church had many, MANY problems, but the fact that Luther is so often presented as the "good guy" heroically saving these lazy dissolute people tells you all you need to know about how Protestant triumphalism informs Western historiography). In 1215, at the Fourth Lateran Council, Pope Innocent III had to issue an explicit degree to order people to go to church or take communion more than once a year, which he would not have had to do if they were all mindlessly devoted zealots who spent every waking moment there. Medieval people liked to sleep late and chill out on Sunday, just like modern people do now.

Obviously, religion was a more explicit and structured part of their lives than it generally is now, but sometimes the "medieval people worked less" argument is presented as the all-powerful and Machiavellian church craftily providing the people with a lot of public holidays so they didn't revolt against them. As noted, medieval people complained about and ignored and rebelled against the church anyway, and anyone who ever tells me that they were all uniform and brainwashed and always accepted the Catholic church's view on things needs to read one (1) book on the 13th century. Besides, the church just never had that level of total control over society anyway, and this presumes that everything they did was in deliberate bad faith solely to preserve their secular/social power -- which, while secular/social power was also often at stake, is likewise a wildly simplistic misreading of how things actually worked, and what the church actually wanted to do.

There were indeed a lot of public holidays, both religious (i.e. saints' days) and folk (Lammastide, the harvest, Celtic festivals, etc), where people weren't expected to work, and/or to go to church instead. As noted re: Pope Innocent and his struggles in this department, this was often not necessarily the case. There were also ordinary community holidays like house-raisings, weddings, christenings, Christmas, etc etc., where people could (and did) often have a good time for days. There were fairs, tournaments, carnivals, markets, and other opportunities for leisure or to attend entertainment events. So it certainly wasn't the case that peasants were always slaving away with no respite, and that if they weren't working, they were in church. They also didn't have to work for their entire lives; elderly peasants could retire and be supported on a portion of the overall estate yield, in medieval social security, and if this wasn't given to them, they could and did sue their landlords to get it. So yet again, medieval life was NOT just nothing but filth and misery and being worked until you dropped. People are people. They have lived as people in all ages and eras of the world. They have enjoyed themselves and worked and lived and died. We do need to examine the very real problems of the modern world, but I continue to hope, however vainly, that we don't need to keep relying on excessively distorted versions of the medieval world to do it.

#anonymous #ask #history #medieval history #history of religion #people have always been people

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wumblr · 4 months

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All the horror and violence going on in the world right now…the continued slaughter in Gaza and the seeming numbness to it that most Americans display—what do we truly need to fully exacerbate the miserable situation into the stratosphere? Who can we turn to for continued disinformation, callous disregard for life and the always successful liberal ideological weaponization of feminism? Of course, you know who I’m speaking of. Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Amber Ruffin — Carpool Karaoke: The Series — Apple TV+ Preview (youtube.com) No, it ain’t over till that fascist lady sings. Recently, Hillary Clinton (you might recognize her name; she’s the fail-wife who managed to lose a presidential election to a venom-spewing, bloated, sex-offending huckster–almost enough to make one think that the practice of fixing Democratic party primaries might be bad practice if you want to win). Anyway, like the proverbial groundhog emerging to see or not see its shadow, Hillary emerges periodically to announce if current events are anti-woman or not. You see, she’s the self-appointed expert to let us know these things, but weirdly enough her decrees always fall on the side of oppressors and apologists. It’s just coincidence, of course, that all things in the world that harm women are done by those in the way of hegemony. This Goldwater Girl knows oppression when she sees it and oh how she fucking loves it.

GOOD LORD

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daceydeath · 2 years

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Hierarchy

Heirachy: a system, especially in a society or organization, in which people are organized into different levels of importance from highest to lowest.

Parings: Mafia Changbin x Female Reader, Mafia Felix x Female Reader Word Count: 6.5k (give or take) Genre: Mafia au, friends to lovers, angst Warnings: So much swearing, violence, blood, mentions of kidnapping, drinking

You have always been utterly uninteresting, safely boring as close . You had a normal job, normal friends and the sweetest bestie on the planet but now everything is upside down and that best friend of yours is far more dangerous than you could have ever imagined.

Everyone knew that your city was held by the SKZ Syndicate, a street gang turned successful crime family, they were widely feared but the criminal underworld all over the country but in everyday life you barely every gave them a second thought. Working as a secretary at a corporate design firm was hardly a hub for criminal activity, you lived a normal life by just about anyone's standards.

You had your family who still lived in the home you grew up in a few hours outside of the city, you had your friends that you went to school with and the ones you had met through work and you had Changbin your best friend. He had been in your life as a friend for so long you almost couldn't remember your life without him in it, he was sweet and gentle with you and was always a shoulder for you to cry on if thing had gotten hard at work or if your boyfriend of the time had caused you hurt due to a painful breakup. You had never taken that step across the line of friendship you treasured him too much for that, and besides he seemed to have a pretty constant flow of girlfriends, even though you had more than a few romantic thoughts about him over the years you had been friends.

Living in the neighborhood you did had always been a slight concern for Changbin though he was constantly worried about gang activity or crime in your area but you had never had any problems, most people were quite happy to just mind their own business, you knew that the area was part of the half of the city that was connected to the SKZ Syndicate, but you never really ever gave that a second thought. Criminals dealt with criminals you were a secretary you were stratospheres apart as far as you were concerned.

You had agreed to meet Changbin and a few other mutual friends at a club a fifteen minutes from your place, you had told him you were going to take an Uber but you were actually going to walk it wasn't even that late when you were leaving home so it would be fine. No one ever took any notice of you, this time was different though as you walked between people you could feel someone watching you following you but every time you checked in a store window you couldn't tell who it was. Feeling a little more nervous you changed you route making sure to not go down any empty streets, you tried to stand close to groups of people any time you had to stop to cross roads or wait for cars. The feeling continued until you reached the street the club was located on, walking quickly to the door you entered the club to find Changbin.

"Hey doll, you made it" Changbin grinned drink already in hand.

"Yeah, here I am" you smiled in return but you could tell Changbin was already suspicious as he raised his eyebrows at you in an unasked question. Shaking you head to signal him you would tell him later, you took a seat at the booth and began chatting to your other friends. The club was packed, bodies squeezed together on the dance floor and at least five deep at the bar below you on the first floor but somehow, once again, Changbin had managed to secure you a private booth on the upper floor which meant table service and much less having your toes stepped on. It hadn't taken long for you to get ditched by the three girls you were chatting with in favor of dancing and finding a hook up but you didn't mind really, casual hook ups weren't really your thing and Changbin's friends were still there.

Tonight you could feel that it was different to usual more staff were on the upper floor and more of Changbin's friends who you knew as acquaintances joined you, not that it mattered some of them were incredibly handsome and all of them were friendly smiling easily as they spoke to you and always maintaining a respectful eye level and distance from all the girls in the group, which you had to admit was an attractive trait you had always hated being leered at like you were some kind of prize. Felix then came to sit with you, you had known him for quite sometime meeting him through Changbin a year or so earlier and you had quickly formed a fairly strong friendship, after all he was sweet and adorable it was hard to not get attached to him.

"You need another drink bubs?" Felix grinned gesturing to your now empty glass

"Just water thanks Lixie I need to not have a hangover tomorrow" You smiled sweetly noticing Changbin seemed to be in a deep conversation with Chan.

"Water it is then. Do you want something to eat I think Binnie will be busy for a while" Felix chuckled following you line of sight.

"Oh..um no I'm good, I'm just wondering why he still invited us all out if he's so stressed we would've understood" you met Felix's eyes and shrugged. "I never really thought that the music industry would be as stressful as it is"

"Well you know how it is, every job is stressful at points" Felix nodded as though he agreed with you before waving down a staff member to bring you water and him a beer. You sat with Felix chatting and laughing for another hour until all your other friends had quickly come back to tell you they were either going home or to someone else's and it was just you and Changbin's friends who all seemed to be more relaxed than he was.

Sliding out of the booth to go to the bathroom you found yourself almost the center of attention as each of the guys turned to follow you movements, Changbin opened his mouth and you knew he was about to ask where you were going.

"Bathroom" you called back waving to him before walking towards the restrooms that were on the other side of the upper floor noticing them all go back to their conversations and drinks as you weaved your way between the tables. The thump of the bass was much softer once you made your way through the two doors that separated you from the club making you take a deep breath as you washed your hands and placed your now cool fingers on your face. Changbin had been acting strange all night and it was starting to trouble you, maybe if he was free on Sunday night you would ask him over for a movie and feed him so comfort food to see if he would open up about his problems, you hated seeing him stressed it always made his sweet face seem harder more menacing even though he was the exact opposite. You sighed walking back out into the entrance hall of the bathrooms but before you opened the door you could hear someone talking loudly on the phone, knowing you shouldn't eavesdrop you went to push open the door until you heard Changbin's name being used.

"Boss, I'm sure Changbin suspects something" "Yeah I know that but he wont leave the girl alone she has been with one of them the whole time" "Yeah him or the kid Felix" "Should have grabbed her before she got here but she was around too many people" "Gotta go and get back on the floor"

You stood totally still not wanting even your breathing to give away that you were there and could here everything that was said. You heard the bass get louder again as the door opened to the club again and you waited another two minutes before you scurried back down the hallway quickly and straight back into the club. Changbin must have been watching the door leading to the restrooms because he stood as soon as he noticed your wide eyes and pale face. You rushed through the tables almost tripping and you tried to reach him as fast as possible.

"Doll, did you see a ghost or something?" he grinned squeezing you hand as you almost threw yourself into his arms. Him, Felix and Chan were all sitting in the booth you had been occupying with Minho and Han sitting on chairs they had pulled up all of them looking at you in amusement.

"There was a guy in the hallway, he was on the phone he said you suspected something, that that you weren't leaving me alone, that they were supposed to grab me, he knew your names" You babbled quickly looking at him as he almost snarled and pulled you into his lap and over him to slide you between him and Felix keeping you sandwiched between them.

"So am I still being paranoid Chan" He almost spat as he put his large arm around your shoulders to stop you from shaking as Chan looked genuinely angry as he waved Seungmin over to the booth.

"Minnie, quietly look at the CCTV to find out who came out of that door before she came back into the room" Chan's voice sounded so much colder than you had ever heard making you shrink back into the chair to make yourself smaller "Now sweetheart, tell me everything that happened and everything you heard, you don't have to rush and no one is going to be mad about anything are they Changbin?" You looked to Changbin who nodded once before taking his arm from around your shoulders and instead held your hand, while Felix took your other hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I was leaving the bathroom and I heard a guy on the phone in the hallway, he was talking really loud and normally I would just walk past but when I went to pull the door open he said Binnie's name in a really nasty tone so I just stayed where I was. I couldn't see him but I heard him say that Binnie suspected something, that he won't leave the girl alone, that she is with him or Felix and that they should have grabbed her earlier but there were too many people around. Then he hung up and I waited until I heard him leave the hallway, waited two minutes then came back out here" You took a deep breathe to steady your voice as you finished causing Binnie to smirk at you.

"How did you know he left the hallway?" Minho asked watching you closely.

"When the hallway door opens to the club the music is much louder when it shuts is get quieter again" you explained watching him now smirk at Changbin.

"How do you know it was about you?" Chan asked softly his eyes remained gentle as he spoke to you.

"I felt someone watching me most of the way here tonight, Changbin made me promise to take an Uber but I wanted to walk, I took a longer route with more people I thought maybe I was imagining it but it felt like I lost them once I got near here" your voice shook a little as you told Chan what you hadn't yet had the chance to Changbin.

"So you stayed still and kept out of sight and also went somewhere where there were more people when you thought you were being followed?" Minho asked again this time looking vaguely surprised as Seungmin returned to Chan and Hyunjin joined the table "that's clever I'll give you that"

"Binnie has told me to do that if I don't feel safe" you nodded "He is a bit overprotective at times" the guys all burst out into laughter as you added the last sentence except Changbin who just squeezed your hand and rubbed his thumb across your knuckles to calm you. Minho smiled at you genuinely after your explanation seeming pleased that you had followed Changbin's instructions.

"You still feeling scared?" Felix whispered as Seungmin leaned into Chan's ear to tell him what he found and to keep your attention away from it.

"Yes but I'm safe with Binnie, I'm safe with you" you whispered back causing Felix to grin his dazzling smile at you and Binnie to grumble pulling you away from his pretty friend.

"Lix isn't going to steal her away man" Han chuckled punching Changbin in the shoulder and confusing you slightly since both men were dear friends to you. But you didn't say anything instead you picked up your bag and looked through your notifications to make sure your friends had all got home safely.

"I told you to stop walking everywhere" Changbin almost growled at you causing Chan to raise his eyebrows and Felix to pull you slightly away from him even though you remained un-phased by his tone.

"I know Binnie, but I just never thought I actually needed to worry about all the stuff you worry about" You explained softly placing you hand on his bicep and giving it a gentle squeeze making him soften instantly.

"Normally I would say lets not talk work in front of friends but maybe we should head back to the company and go from there?" Chan announced flicking his eyes to you momentarily.

"Can you guys not go until I had got a cab home though? I don't want to wait by myself" you muttered shyly not wanting to be alone until you were home again.

"Doll, Chan means you are coming too. You can't be on your own until we find out who that guy was, I need you to be safe is that ok?" Changbin's voice was apologetic but urgent as he explained what Chan meant.

"Oh… sure" you nodded obviously unsure as they all began getting up to leave. Changbin pulled you close to his side with one large arm around your waist, Felix stayed close behind you with Minho in front of you and the others forming a loose ring around you. You found yourself being helped into one of three black cars with blacked out windows that were waiting curbside by Felix while Changbin stood at you back.

"Doll, you are going to have to keep your head lower than the seat line just to be safe. Chan is going to ride with you and so will Minho, I'll be in one of the other cars" He explained quickly and softly so as not to frighten you "So you will need to lean into one of them so no one can tell your are in the car, it's just to keep you safe so don't worry ok?" You nodded mutely and fearfully as Minho took Changbin's place in the door opening and gracefully slid in next to you as Chan did the same on the other side.

Watching through the windshield you watched Felix getting in the first car and you assumed Changbin must have been getting in the third since you lost sight of him. Chan was texting someone so you decided it was best to just bow you head and look at your hands clasped tightly in your lap trying to zone out as best you could so as to not panic as to what on Earth was happening. Not paying attention to much else, except the thoughts and fear swimming in your head, you gasped as the car started moving causing Minho's arm to shoot out behind you and pull you under his arm into his chest, keeping you lower than the seat level.

"Is this alright or would you prefer Chan?" Minho murmured gently prizing your white knuckled grip on your fingers apart as you again nodded in response "Bin won't let anything happen to you, we won't either, your safe with us I promise" His voice was soft and gentle which soothed you and confused you since you had only had a handful of conversations with him since you had met him.

"Why is this even happening?" you whispered not looking up at Minho but desperately wanting to.

"Bin will explain everything when we get to the company" Chan smiled taking one of you hands and rubbing circles into the back of it with his thumb. "Just breathe we will be there soon and it will be over" you sighed softly the stress in your body making in hard for you to do much else, everyone in the car stayed silent for the longest time until it pulled into a tree lined street that looked out of place for a business.

"Was anyone tailing?" Chan asked eyes looking towards the driver

"No Sir" he answered quickly "If someone was tailing it was on one of the other cars"

"Good" Chan sighed as the car pulled up to a large gated wall pausing only as the gate opened before quickly driving on until it reached an underground parking garage.

"See everything is fine now" Minho smiled "We're home now no one can hurt you here" you blinked several times before Chan softly pulled you step out of the car.

You stepped into the chilly air of the garage letting go of Chan's hand to pull your bag out behind you as you looked around for anything recognizable. Only finding the other two black cars parked with the 6 other guys standing by the cars talking. Hearing the doors of the final car they all made their way towards you Changbin looking furious and the others in various states of annoyance which triggered something visceral inside you to flip from scared witless to fuming, dropping your bag to the ground suddenly caused all of them to turn their eyes onto you as you stalked forward to Changbin and hit him as hard as you could across the face.

"What the actual fuck Seo Changbin!" you practically screamed at him as his eyes widened almost comically making you hit him again but this time across his chest "come out for the night you said, it would be fucking fun you said. What the fucking hell going on?" Your breathing was ragged from yelling at him and now your hand hurt but he at least had the respect to look sheepish. It was silent for all of two seconds before Felix snorted and all of them devolved into barks of laughter and Changbin looked from you to your now reddening hand that you had tried to bitch slap him with suspicion while rubbing his cheek. Felix was almost on the floor gasping while Han and Chan looked like they might have tears in their eyes. Hyunjin and Jeongin did have tears leaking from their eyes and Seungmin was quickly taking photos of the reddening hand print on the side of Changbin's face before he bent do to grab your bag to hand it back to you.

"Thank you Seungmin" you smiled at him looking every bit the innocent sweetheart they had always thought you to be, causing another round of chuckles to erupt.

"C'mon inside" Changbin groaned wrapping his fingers around your wrist and tugging you behind him toward the doors into the building "I can't believe you just hit me" he grumbled as the others followed along behind the pair of you still trying to get over their amusement.

"I can't believe I overheard someone trying to kidnap me but here we fucking are" you grumbled right back causing Changbin to loosen his grip on your wrist and let his hand lower to grab your hand in his.

"Well if I knew you were going to turn into a psycho I might have let them" he continued but in a teasing tone which you instantly felt a tiny spark of relief over.

"If I knew my best friend was a shady dipshit I might have gone with them voluntarily" you teased right back feeling him squeeze you hand "But you are going to explain what is going on, right? I mean why does anyone want to take me? I'm no one" you almost sobbed still only seeing his back as he led you through the corridor and up a flight of stairs until you finally come out into a very luxurious looking large entryway.

"This is the company, I'll take you upstairs we just need to talk first then I'll come get you ok?" Changbin finally turned to you the red mark on his cheek was already fading slowly and he looked apologetic as each of the others passed by the pair of you towards a large set of dark wood doors. You nodded feeling to overwhelmed to do much else it had been a very intense few hours and you were now starting to feel the strain of it all.

Changbin led you to what you had assumed would be some kind of guest room where he said you could either just rest or get cleaned up but turned out to be his. As soon as he opened the door to the dark navy painted room you could smell his cologne still hanging in the air.

"I'm sorry that this happened Doll, I really am, but make yourself comfy and I'll come back soon" He murmured before closing the door behind him leaving you alone. The emotions of the past few hours finally came out as the door clicked shut as you covered your mouth to muffle the first of what would be many sobs. Tears tracked down your cheeks quickly dripping salty makeup tinged drips onto your top you didn't hear the door open or someone enter the room until a soft cough and a small hand full of tissues came into your blurry line of sight making you almost shriek.

"Mr Seo asked that I check on you, maybe we should get you into the bathroom a nice hot shower will make you feel better I'm sure" she soothed helping you so stand "they will be in a meeting for quite some time so you have time to relax and sleep if you wish I can get you some food if you like" she guided you gently towards the bathroom turning on the light for you and pulling some plush looking towels from the cabinet and placed them on the counter for you.

"thank you" you croaked your throat sore from crying taking in her appearance she mast have been at least in her late 40s but she was being very kind so you instinctively remained polite.

"I will get you some food while you shower dear" She smile once more before disappearing as silently as she arrived.

You took her advice and had a very long hot shower washing your hair, with what you knew instantly was Changbin's shampoo having grown so used to the scent over the years, and washing away any steric of grime that may have remained on your skin from your time at the club. You must have been in the shower for a long time because by the time you had towel dried your hair and wrapped yourself in a fluffy robe, there was already a tray of food waiting for you. You went into the large closet that was next to the bathroom and pulled out one of Binnie's shirts, hoodie and some sweats you found and dressed yourself to make sure you were decent incase Binne or Felix came back for you.

Sitting on the bed you picked up a strawberry and started to nibble on it not feeling hungry enough to actually eat, when you really couldn't force yourself to eat any more fruit you moved the tray from the bed and laid down hoping against the odds that you would wake up to find it all a crazy dream that you could tell Changbin about and you could laugh about.

"Wakey, wakey doll" Changbin whispered lowly as he shook you awake gently, your eyes opened slowly taking in his tired face and sad eyes.

"What's happening?" you groaned slightly groggy from sleep.

"We need to talk about things" he sighed sitting next to you on the bed as you sat up bringing your knees to you chest to lean on as he watched you carefully. You nodded waiting for him to start as you blinked yourself more awake. "I guess we start on the first lie, I don't work in music production I work for Chan, or more so with Chan, and we are more like..."

"Mafia? murderers? drug lords?" you interrupted sarcastically, your fear at all of the nights events still sitting in your gut like lead, watching his face fall slightly.

"The group of us, we're the SKZ Syndicate so you have every right to call us any of those things" he trailed off looking down from your face to the bed "I'm sorry I've lied to you, I never wanted to, but I had to" his voice sounded sadder with each word he uttered making you feel bad for being annoyed about things that weren't your secrets to keep in the first place "Lix feels terrible too but we understand that you are probably going to never want us around you again"

"Why?" you whispered lowering you knees so you could reach out to him and get him to look at you again. "Do you not trust me?" you nearly felt sick thinking that maybe he never cared about you the way you did him.

"With my life doll, I just never wanted you dragged into this. It isn't a safe life, I'm selfish because I still wanted you in my life and I always hoped that you wouldn't find out which is stupid but still" Changbin sounded almost broken as he explained his fears to you and as he did you realized you didn't actually care as long as he was still Binnie you didn't care what he did, not really.

"How long?" you whispered again still not trusting you voice to work properly

"Years a lot of years, the things you read about in the papers, the bloodshed and stuff. I was part of that and before you ask so was Felix we have been in this life for longer than you have known him" Each word was piercing your heart not because you were scared of him or Felix, or even because you were repulsed by it in truth you didn't actually care, but because they both thought you would hate them for it.

"Binnie, I don't care if your a criminal, I only care that you are still my Binnie. Is it selfish I don't want to lose you?" you smiled cupping his cheek as he smiled at you again. "same goes for Lixie I only care about my friends who I have known for so long"

"You won't lose me doll or Felix, promise, now lets go downstairs the boys want to talk to you a little bit more" You nodded sliding out of his bed and following him down the stairs to the large double doors you had seen earlier opening them for you to step into.

You weren't sure what to expect really, some dark wood board room with guns all over the walls? some kind of high tech room filled with spy gear like a James Bond film? To your surprise it turned out to be a very large room filled with couches, televisions playing video games and a pool table. Skateboards, posters and large works of art littered the walls and a fridge behind one of the couches was filled with soda and beer.

"Hi bubs, can I still call you bubs or do you not want me to anymore?" Felix asked sadness in his eyes as he watched you walk further into the room.

"It's still fine Lixie, as long as you promise you are still Lixie" you whispered as he grinned back at you brightly moving around the others to hug you.

"I see you didn't bother finding her actual spare clothes" Jeongin giggled looking over the very baggy shirt that adorned your top half.

"He's not marking his territory at all" Hyunjin hummed teasingly winking dramatically at Changbin making him roll him eyes and curse under his breath.

"You are feeling better? Did Mrs Choi get you anything to eat?" Minho asked softly looking closely at your face "Why are your eyes so red? Did Bin upset you? We can beat him up for you if you want"

"I feel kind of the same, I ate some fruit, I was sleeping that is why my eyes are red, please don't be mean to Binnie" You smiled at Minho watching him smirk in return.

"How about we all take a seat and talk about a few things" Chan sighed trying to diffuse the teasing before it really started up "Seungmin is going to show you a few photos and I would like you to look at them and tell us if any of them are familiar to you" you nodded as Seungmin began taking a small pile of photos out of a black folder and laid them on the coffee table for you to see.

Your eyes widened as you saw that they were all young looking and standing in front of places you knew like your office building, a café near your apartment, the mall you went to. Staring at them you began to think about anyone you had seen in the last week while you were out on errands or going to work, picking up one of a guy in a black backwards cap you looked at it carefully placing it back down again and picking up another of a guy with a cigarette hanging from his fingers sitting at a table you weren't sure if it was the location that was familiar or the man frowning you put it down too.

"It is completely fine if you don't recognize any of them" Chan prompted kindly trying to make you less nervous.

Your frown only intensified as you picked up another photo this guy was standing outside a convenience store that was a few blocks from your apartment he looked like he was checking his phone but it wasn't him that caught your attention it was you inside the convenience store, standing by the counter, probably chatting the cashier that you saw every few days. You remembered that day you had rushed down there when Changbin called to tell you he and Felix were going to come round to watch movies with you after cancelling so many times and you wanted to make sure you had their favorite snacks. It had been a pain too because there had been moving trucks outside the building since lunchtime that day a new tenant was moving in down the hall from you and his stuff had been everywhere almost making you trip on your way out. The new tenant that you met on your way back out of the store as he bumped into you and you nearly dropped your bag of snacks.

"Him" you blurted out handing the photo to Chan "he moved down the hall from me and he knocked into me not too long after this was taken. I nearly dropped all the snacks I bought for Binnie and Lix, we had a movie night"

"This was last week then?" Felix asked coldly looking to Seungmin for confirmation who just nodded in return.

"He touched you?" Changbin snapped he eyes getting darker quickly.

"He bumped into me and apologized Binnie" you explained simply patting his leg to calm him down more so for you than him, because you felt like you were going to need him for what Chan looked like he was about to tell you.

"Well done sweetheart" Chan smiled at you proudly giving the photo to Han "I am going to assume you have some questions" his voice trailed off as you met his eyes and half smiled nervously taking a deep breath.

"Why is this happening?" you asked in a small voice not wanting to seem demanding.

"Well how much did Bin tell you already?" he prompted as the others all watched Changbin

"That you are the SKZ Syndicate and that he has been part of it for a long time, that he didn't want to lie to me but had to" you answered nervously Chan nodded as Felix grabbed on of your hands instinctively squeezing it like he always did when you were feeling nervous or sad.

"That's true, we are the SKZ Syndicate, and Bin and Minho are my seconds in charge, Bin has been with me for a decade now since we were still kids and none of us ever wanted to lie to our families but we need to to keep them safe otherwise we need to keep them as close as possible to ensure they are safe at all times" Chan's voice was soft trying to keep to keep you as comfortable as possible you guessed as you felt yourself relax slightly now that your hand was in Felix's and Binnie's arm was over your shoulders.

"We think this is happening because either some little fucking upstarts want to make a name for themselves or a deal is about to go sideways and they need a bargaining chip" Han answered easily still seeming too sweet natured for the words to be leaving his mouth "Not that you are a bargaining chip, your important to Bin and Lix so your important to all of us, we look after our own"

"What is it you do?" you asked tilting your head "How does this work?" Chan chuckled watching your expression slowly turn from scared to confused as you comprehended that you were safe from any of them.

"Minho and Changbin look after our entertainment businesses, Felix handles our digital businesses, Seungmin and Jeonjin are our eyes and ears and Han and Hyunjin are our arms in the outside world" Chan began again carefully watching his words.

"Basically, Felix is a hacker, Seungmin does our spy and undercover stuff, Jeongin covers surveillance, Minho runs our gambling ring, Changbin runs our clubs and Han and I eliminate threats while Chan keeps everything all lined up and running" Hyunjin grinned at you as Chan cursed under his breath and Minho cackled with laughter.

"Yeah tell her everything Hyunjin, that's going to go well" Seungmin rolled his eyes "If you freak her out Bin will probably punch you"

"Not to mention the liability factor" Jeongin sighed looking at the ceiling.

"Hey she is not a liability Jeongin" Felix growled in a voice so much deeper that you had ever heard causing the air to turn thick in the room.

"Innie didn't mean it like that Lix" Chan groaned rubbing his eyes tiredly. Jeongin sat wide eyed staring at Felix while the others had all either arched their eyebrows or openly gaped at the boy next to you.

"What happens now?" you interrupted hoping to cut the tension that was not forming again in the room

"Well that is complicated we need to figure out what exactly their motivations are then we will deal with it however we need to" Han answered watching you again.

"So what do I do until then?" you whispered sadly and almost inaudibly but they all still managed to hear you.

"You stay here with us, you will have to call in sick to work until this is done, but I can guarantee you are safe here" Chan shrugged like it was nothing.

"Will this happen again with someone else?" you knew you sounded emotional and tired but you didn't care if they were happy to indulge your questions you were going to ask them

"Honestly" Jeongin looked at you sympathetically "It might never be an issue again but it also could happen very easily as soon as someone tweaks to the idea that you know Bin and Lix in a more than casual sort of way"

"Jeongin" Binnie almost snarled at the younger man "Don't start"

"Stop it Binnie" you snapped finally "It is confusing enough trying to follow the cryptic shit without you adding to it, I know you can't tell me things and that's fine, I know you are trying really hard to make me feel like I'm safe but really your just giving me a massive headache and making me miserable so just fucking stop it" you seethed at him again in all your years of friendship you had never snapped at him as many times as you had in the last 24 hours but you couldn't help it you were just emotionally drained and exhausted.

"Shh bubs, its alright" Felix pulled you out from under Changbin's arms and wrapped you up in a cuddle like he always did when you were upset "Binnie and I are just protective of you, we don't mean to make this harder for you, it's just that we would never want to lose you and it's hard for us to talk about it in case you want out afterwards" he continued rocking you as you hid your face in his neck to hide how difficult this was for you.

"Fine, you want to know the how's, why's and who's" Changbin seethed at you "Some little piece of shit thinks that the best way to get back at me is through you and now we have to figure out exactly what deal has gone wrong or if they are trying to rival us and then I have to go kill him! Happy now? I have to go kill yet another man because he's threatening you and I'll fucking die before I let some motherfucker come anywhere near you" His breathing was ragged by the time he finished and you could feel the anger rolling off of him, swallowing loudly you stood slowly trying to steady yourself from how truly frightening he looked in this state. You looked at Felix who was looking murderously at Changbin .

"I'll take you back upstairs bubs, you definitely need some rest" His voice was still far too deep for what you were useful but he intertwined his fingers with yours so gently making you feel slightly better "We can talk more in the morning when no one is emotional" his last sentence was obviously and pointedly directed at Changbin as the rest of the room was silent.

You followed Felix all the way upstairs without really registering anything until you reached the door to Changbin's room but Felix kept leading you further down the hallway and into the next one. Opening the door for you he ushered you into a different bedroom which you realized must have been his room, following you in he quickly turned on his wall lamps and turned off the main light leaving the room bathed in a soft golden glow which went perfectly with the soft blue walls and white furnishings.

"You can stay in here tonight bubs and I'll go stay with one of the others if you like, so you aren't with Changbin until he calms down" he soothed his voice now back to normal and his eyes shining sweetly, he sat you on the end of the bed as he began rummaging through his things to find his sleep stuff.

"Can you stay with me? you don't have to Lix..." you murmured shakily looking at him with doe eyes.

"Of course bubs. I'll just get washed up and I'll be back did you want me to find you something to sleep in?" he interrupted reaching out to pet your hair. You nodded as he started pulling out clothes for you and handing them to you before disappearing into the bathroom, you changed quickly and slipped yourself into Felix's bed sinking into the soft mattress. You must have started drifting off because when the bed dipped under Felix's weight you jumped making him chuckle as he turned off the lights and got in next to you, rolling over you burrowed yourself into his side and drifted off quickly nestled in blankets and Felix's arms.

a/n: This is the first mafia au I have attempted so I'm sorry if it isn't as good as it could be I wanted to challenge myself. Thanks for reading it reblogs are always appreciated and if you have any comments or criticisms let me know.

Taglist (open): @christopher-bangnaldoskzz

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