#rights:

[simmyfrobby]

― The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo

part one I part two I part three I part four

[rastronomicals]

9:41 PM EDT September 30, 2023:

Pussy Galore - "Whitenoise" From the album Right Now! (1987)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

File under: Pigfuck

--

[gravitascivics]

JUDGING LIBERATED FEDERALISM, XVI

This blog, with this posting, continues its presentation of a political model, liberated federalism, by describing and explaining its last component, the studied association.  To date, it has reviewed the other two components, the community and participating entities.  By doing this presentation, the model depicts a liberated federal perspective of an arrangement of parties, be they individuals or collectives.

         Not all arrangements are associations.  The term association, as used in this account and as Philip Selznick[1] uses it, refers to those arrangements that are formal in that they are initiated by a compact or a covenant.  It is an ideal union of entities with federalist characteristics.  

Of course, the national, all-embracing association is the federal union of the people and states of the United States of America as designated by the United States Constitution, its compact.  That association as well as the associations that make up the state governments and the local governments are, in the ideal, communal democracies as defined by Selznick. The liberated federalist perspective views these public or private associations (such as ideal corporations) as serious commitments by the entities that comprise them.

The association has certain attributes:

 One, as stated earlier, is organized under the provisions of a compact or covenant laying out its structure, processes, and to some degree, its functions.  

Two, a qualified majority rule provision that aims at broad range consensus before acting.  

Three, a strong provision for guaranteeing the rights of minorities, be they individuals or groups, within conducting its processes and distribution of material values.

Four, a clear purpose or set of purposes for its existence that is publicly stated.

Five, a fraternal ethos that respects the dignity and integrity of each of the entities that comprise it and a felt commitment of inclusion for those entities.

Six, a covenant of reason upon which its moral standing rests.  The covenant of reason includes agreement over a deliberative process of decision-making, a provision of critical review of its decisions and actions, and a set of collective interests that reflects its purposes as well as its standing as an association.

 In addition, the association has an overarching responsibility to uphold the communal well-being of the community in which it resides.  To review and further explain these attributes, a short elaboration of each one follows.

         The compact or covenant refers to the formal agreement arrived at by the entities involved.  The entities of an association formulate a compact/covenant by the drawing up of such an agreement.  The agreement contains the elements identified by Danial Elazar, identified earlier in this blog as it described the model parochial/traditional federalism. In order to review Elazar’s characterization of a compact/covenant, the following two quotes are offered:

 Covenantal foundings emphasize the deliberate coming together of humans as equals to establish politics in such a way that all reaffirm their fundamental equality and retain the basic rights … Polities whose origins are covenantal reflect the exercise of constitutional choice and broad-based participation in constitutional design.  Polities founded by covenant are essentially federal in character, in the original meaning of the term (from foedus, Latin for covenant).[2]

And:

 [The old covenants followed a recurring format or model which was] … an historical prologue indicating the parties involved, a preamble stating the general purposes of the covenant and the principles behind it, a body of conditions and operative clauses, a stipulation of the agreed-upon sanctions to be applied if the covenant were violated, and an oath to make the covenant morally binding.[3]

 But what about compacts?

Donald Lutz points out that the distinction between a covenant and a compact is that a covenant calls upon God to witness the agreement and a compact does not.  In the current more secular world today, the common form is to utilize a compact.[4]  In either case, the formulation of the compact or covenant calls for a bit of soul searching.  It demands that entities involved seriously consider the consequences of such an act, due to the nature of the commitment involved.

The entities must be fairly certain that they share enough moral understanding, commitment to founding values, and philosophic principles in relation to the purposes of the union so as to handle the inevitable internal disagreements and conflicts.  In addition, there should be at least some minimum level of emotional commitment among the entities since the union will most likely be for a significant amount of time.  

Therefore, compacts and covenants should not be drawn up for frivolous reasons.  As Elazar describes these unions, the commitment is for the duration of the concerns involved.  In terms of a national union and institutional arrangements as marriages, the commitment is perpetual or for a lifetime.

The next identified attribute, qualified majority rule, holds that a raw majority rule arrangement in collective decision-making format should be avoided.  One problem with such an arrangement is that there is a possible, if not probable, danger to minorities.  Majority rule should be limited by constitutional parameters or provisions, as stated earlier in this blog in regard to equality.  Each minority and each individual is entitled to protection from the majority.  

Basic rights, as identified by the Bill of Rights, serve as an appropriate starting point.  Citing Selznick again, the reciprocal advantage characteristic of this model – its reciprocal nature – calls on a meaningful reality that (1) allows an opportunity to improve one’s position significantly, and (2) sets up a cooperative mode of social interaction.[5]

This posting’s review will end here.  Next, this blog will address the purpose or set of purposes a covenant or compact sets out for a people to achieve.  This might, for good reasons, remind readers of the Preamble of the Constitution, the set of purposes the founders identified in the nation’s founding compact.

[1] Philip Selznick, The Moral Commonwealth:  Social Theory and the Promise of Community (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1992).

[2] Daniel J. Elazar, “Federal Models of (Civil) Authority,” Journal of Church and State 33 (Spring 1991):  233-234.

[3] Ibid., 244.

[4] Donald S. Lutz, The Origins of American Constitutionalism (Baton Rouge, LA:  Louisiana State University Press, 1988).

[5] Selznick, The Moral Commonwealth.

[nevver]

Korn, Uli Westphal (because)

[nanaluvbug]

🧀🥪🌶️🥭 The Ravening War portraits  🧀🥪🌶️🥭

patreon * twitch * shop  

[ID: a series of digitally illustrated portraits showing - top left to bottom right - Bishop Raphaniel Charlock (an old radish man with a big red head and large white eyebrows & a scraggly beard. he wears green and gold robes with symbols of the bulb and he smirks at the viewer) Karna Solara (a skinny young chili pepper woman with wavy green hair, freckled light green skin with red blooms on her cheeks. she wears a chili pepper hood lined with small pepper seeds and stares cagily ahead) Thane Delissandro Katzon (a muscular young beef man with bright pinkish skin with small skin variations to resemble pastrami and dark burgundy hair. he wears a bread headress with a swirl of rye covering his ears and he looks ahead, optimistic and determined) Queen Amangeaux Epicée du Peche (a bright mango woman with orange skin, big red hair adorned with a green laurel, and sparkling green/gold makeup. she wears large gold hoop earrings and a high leafy collar) and Colin Provolone (a scraggly cheese man with waxy yellow skin and dark slicked back hair and patchy dark facial hair. he wears a muted, ratty blue bandana around his neck and raises a scarred brow at the viewer with a smirk) End ID.)

[389]

PORTO ROCHA

[70sscifiart]

One of my favorites by Paul Lehr, used as a 1971 cover to "Earth Abides," by George R. Stewart. It's also in my upcoming art book!

[taizooo]

もともとは10年ほど前にTumblrにすごくハマっていて。いろんな人をフォローしたらかっこいい写真や色が洪水のように出てきて、もう自分で絵を描かなくて良いじゃん、ってなったんです。それで何年も画像を集めていって、そこで集まった色のイメージやモチーフ、レンズの距離感など画面構成を抽象化して、いまの感覚にアウトプットしています。画像の持つ情報量というものが作品の影響になっていますね。

映画『きみの色』山田尚子監督×はくいきしろい対談。嫉妬し合うふたりが語る、色と光の表現｜Tokyo Art Beat

[layla-keating]

#thistension

XO, KITTY — 1.09 “SNAFU”

[foodffs]

Noodles with Lamb Sauce (Laghman, 新疆拌面) Xinjiang laghman features chewy noodles served with a bold and rich lamb and tomato sauce that is bursting with flavor.

Recipe: https://omnivorescookbook.com/recipes/uyghur-style-noodles-with-lamb-sauce

[lesserknownbots]

CJ from Hello World (MSPFA) by phasedsun?

[gravitascivics]

JUDGING LIBERATED FEDERALISM, XIV

At present, this blog has been reviewing a model of governance and politics not suitable for political science research, but for guiding curricular efforts in the study of civics and American government.  The model is entitled liberated federalism and is composed of three main components:  the community, participating entities, and the studied association.  The model is ideal – how things should work, and in which societies should strive to achieve its proposed relationships.

         The last posting shared two conditions the model points out that the community should exhibit:  “functioning community” and “cultural commitment to federalist values.” This posting will move on to a third condition; it will describe and explain a “set of functioning and interacting institutions.”

         This condition transcends governmental or formal settings and extends to the social sector of a community.  This has a universal quality as Robert Putnam describes the viable political role the social associations in Italy have played in the northern provinces of that nation.  They have made the social life of those areas enjoy more civic minded communal environments.[1]  This condition, in turn, played a vital role in allowing the regional governmental structures of those provinces to be significantly more successful than those of the southern ones, at least until the last years of the last century.

         Such social arrangements allow and promote the levels of trust and friendliness necessary to encourage social capital:  a community marked by citizens willing, in a spirited fashion, to take an active part in citizenry duties, believe in egalitarian relations, and maintain a trusting and cooperative mode of political intercourse.  Again, this condition is applicable to different levels of society, from small associations to the national community.

         The fourth condition of an ideal community is “community with a moral primacy.”  The inclusion of this condition refers to the reality that societies are made up of kinships, relationships, and historical patterns that define the natures of these communal elements.  Inherent in these conditions are moral attributes that transcend the public and private social context that entangle the individual. The creation of laws, in Lockean terms, is meant to perfect these realities.

         This morality is the basis of the society’s claim to being “civilized” as Philip Selznick would point out.[2]  This moral primacy of a community, at times, enforces its position on the fates of individuals.  As stated earlier in this blog, conscription during war time is such a case.  Most often, there is an on-going tension, especially in environments where the natural rights perspective holds predominant sway between the claims of rights by the individual and the community’s claim to moral primacy.

         While parochial/traditional federalism perspective – an earlier version of federalism that was dominant in the US until the years after World War II – gave theoretical respect to the claim of the individual, the history of the early republic is filled with cases where the majority engaged in tyranny in different forms.  

There was not a more compelling case than the mistreatment of African Americans with the institution of slavery and the highly discriminating practices which are practiced to this day, but there were also the ample examples of the mistreatment of the indigenous population, Jews, Catholics, women, and other minorities being the victims of such tyranny.[3]

         The liberated federalist model differs in that the balancing of individual rights and the concerns of the majority are given high priority.  It favors judicial review, although it questions certain decisions the courts have rendered as being too much in favor of individuals.  The fulcrum for balancing the claims is shifted from the strong individual position, which is currently the case under the natural rights view, to a more communal position in which the individual is expected to play an active role and is central to federalist thinking.

         Under the liberated federalist model, the individual is not left to his or her devices to engender the high levels of cognition necessary to formulate a moral system of thought.  The nation’s recent history under such a regime suggests that the result is an individual bewildered by the moral questions of the time. This federalist perspective, on the other hand, expects individuals to engage in communal moral questions by an active participation in such issues.

         These types of experiences provide the opportunities to develop morally:

 Without appropriate opportunities and supports, the quest for moral well-being may be confused, frustrated, and aborted; the telos [the sought after ends] may be experienced as dim and incoherent rather than clear and compelling.  Therefore, the injunction to follow nature must be sustained by a worked-out theory of what the natural end-state is and why it is worthy of our striving.[4]

Due to the centrality within the liberated federalist perspective of developing a moral person, rights become paramount.  Selznick goes on to point out that morality is a product only within a free person, one who chooses, through rational decision-making, to do moral things.

         And one can add, with the strength of the current natural rights view, it would seem extremely impractical to attempt to retreat to a time when there was callous disregard for individual rights. The lasting contribution of natural rights is the clear foundation it laid down for enduring respect for individuals and their rights.

         Of particular concern is the treatment of ethnic minorities.  The argument is made in this account that federalist arrangements are a viable and promising way of handling significant ethnic diversity.  These arrangements allow heterogeneous populations to work out functional and viable interactions by allowing each group to maintain its purposes, that its members acquiesce, through respect and appropriate behavior, those values that legitimize the union of a community and define its basic procedures – or what one can call the US’ Constitutional formula.

         In terms of an arrangement that encompasses the union of a nation, such an acquiescence entails seriously felt value issues, but this is judged a matter of national cohesion on which the system of toleration depends.  For example, immigrants who come to this nation from non-modern, traditional societies will most likely bring with them values that are antithetical to values central in a modern industrial economy.[5]

         Alex Inkles writes on this point:

 One fact seems unmistakable; indeed it seems to come as close to being a law as anything to be observed in social science.  As individuals move up the scale of individual modernity, whether judged by objective status characteristics or by psychological attributes, they regularly become more informed, active, participant citizens.  With exceptional regularity, increasing individual modernity is associated with voting, joining public organizations and participating in public actions, interacting with politicians and public figures, taking an interest in political news, and keeping up with political events … [S]tudies in the United States … found modernity to be strongly associated with lack of alienation and non-anomic feelings.[6]

 Inkles, though, goes on to point out that while an individual’s behavior in an industrial-bureaucratic system might be somewhat affected by a participatory environment in the political realm, it does not necessarily have implications in other social realms.  In most cultural concerns, there is no legitimate reason to sacrifice cherished beliefs, customs, or norms.

         The point is that under a federalist arrangement that heavily encourages individual participation in political processes, it would not interfere with the individual in his or her dealings in other realms of his or her living arrangements and, therefore, other connections as ethnic affiliations can be (even encouraged) to be maintained.

         As a matter of fact, the alliance to subcultural groups could promote associational memberships that are seen as desirable in a federalist atmosphere.  When those groupings, in turn, see the advantages of the entailed equality inherent in federalist arrangements, they might more readily favor the political values upon which such arrangements are founded or at least give them lip service as they provide the basis for their legitimate participation in the communal democracy.

         These activities are seen under the liberated federalism model as meaningful, as they are described in transcending language. That meaningfulness is enhanced as real political gains are experienced, and demands are satisfied.  And with that, this account completes its review of the component, community.  It will next address participating entities.

[1] Robert D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work:  Civic Tradition in Modern Italy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993). While this citation is dated, this recent quotation from a travel site indicates the differences between north and south Italy are pretty much still the case:  “They’re so different that you might as well be comparing two entirely different countries!”  See “North Italy vs. South Italy:  A Complete Comparison (n.d.), accessed July 22, 2023, https://travelsnippet.com/europe/italy/north-italy-vs-south-italy/.

[2] Philip Selznick, The Moral Commonwealth:  Social Theory and the Promise of Community (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1992).

[3] For example, see Isabel Wilkerson, Caste:  The Origin of Our Discontent (New York, NY:  Random House, 2023).

[4] Selznick, The Moral Commonwealth, 151.

[5] Dinesh Bhugra and Matthew A. Becker, “Migration, Cultural Bereavement and Cultural Identity, World Psychiatry, 4, 1 (February, 2005), accessed July 22, 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1414713/.

[6] Alex Inkles, Exploring Individual Modernity (New York, NY:  Columbia University Press, 1983), 21-22.

[kithtaehyung]

AGUST D : DAECHWITA (大吹打) & HAEGEUM (解禁)  ⤷ movie posters | ig ; twt (click for hi-res)

[nevver]

Arts & Architecture, Sander Patelski

[agustdakasuga]

The Way Of A Criminal: Chapter 4

Genre: Mafia!AU, Criminal!AU, Angst, Romance

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Characters: Normal!Reader, Gangster!Namjoon, Gangster!Seokjin, Gangster!Yoongi, Gangster!Hoseok, Gangster!Jimin, Gangster!Taehyung, Gangster!Jungkook

Summary: Your father was a stranger, you never knew who he was and what he did. But one day, someone knocks on your door, informing you of his passing. Now, you learn more about him, his life and the legacy you are expected to continue with the help of his 7 executives.

Story warning(s): This story will contain depictions of violence, blood shed/gore, death, mentions of abuse, smoking, alcohol drinking and gambling. This story is fictional and has nothing to do with real life events or the actual members of BTS. Please read at your own discretion.

Instead of dealing with all this head on, you avoided it. You put everything aside and went on with life, spending all your time doing work, studying and doing your university projects.

Wonwoo noticed this and decided to invite you for a night out. Just a chill night with some drinks. Usually, you would decline, which is why Wonwoo has never invited you out. But you could use the distraction. Maybe being out of the house was good.

DING DONG

“Coming!” You ran down, fixing your earring. You didn’t really know how to dress for a night out like this so you picked a random dress. It was a dark blue, crushed velvet cocktail dress.

“Come on in.” You opened the door for him. Wonwoo smiled, bowing before removing his shoes to come in.

“This dress isn’t really motorcycle friendly, is it?” You let out an awkward laugh, going into the kitchen to get your phone that you left there to charge.

“I didn’t ride my bike since we might drink. I’ll call a cab.” Wonwoo said. He just stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do since it was the first time he was in your house.

“(y/n)?” Wonwoo suddenly called your name, stopping you in your tracks.

“You look great.” He smiled softly.

“Oh... Thank you.” You felt your cheeks heat up at his sudden compliment. He held out a hand to support you as you wore your shoes. After locking up the house, he escorted you to the cab that was waiting for you. And of course, Wonwoo opened the door for you to get in first, being the gentleman that he is. The car ride was silent.

“C-Can I ask you something?” Wonwoo threaded lightly. You hummed, nodding your head.

“I know you like your privacy and I shouldn’t pry but there were this rumours and pictures floating around about some expensive sports car and handsome guy picking you up. Is he one of them?” He asked nervously.

“If by ‘one of them’, you mean my father’s... employees. Yes, he is... or was. There are 7 of them.” You rubbed the back of your neck.

“Are they bothering you?”

“Can we not talk about this anymore? I just don’t want to have to think about it for a few minutes.” That came out a lot harsher and colder than you expected. But Wonwoo didn’t react.

“Sorry. I’m...” You sighed, not really knowing how to piece your words together anymore.

“I understand. Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mean to pry.” Wonwoo smiled comfortingly. Thankfully for you, the cab stopped outside the club. You looked at the long line outside that didn’t seem to be moving,

“Don’t look so worried. My friend put our name on the list so we can just walk in.” Wonwoo laughed. You both got out and he grasped your hand, giving your names to the bouncer. You were so stunned by his action that you just followed him without a word, letting him lead you.

“There’s a table there.” Wonwoo said in your ear on top of the loud music. You were still shocked that he was holding your hand that you just followed him.

“Phew, it’s crowded.” You said, casually pulling your hand away to check if you dropped anything from your bag.

“Yeah, that’s what you get for being here on a Friday night.” He chuckled. You stood at the table while Wonwoo went to get drinks at the bar. The standing table was thankfully at the side of the bar, which meant less people.

“Relax, you’re here to have fun.” You told yourself.

“Here.” Wonwoo got himself a beer and got you a cocktail. It was a nice refreshing drink with flavoured soju as the alcohol.

“Let me know how much everything is tonight and we’ll split the cost.” You told him as you took a sip.

“It’s okay, (y/n). It’s my treat, just enjoy yourself.” Wonwoo smiled. He clinked his glass with yours. Although this wasn’t your exact idea of relaxing, you were glad that the noise and the crowd made the place too loud that you didn’t need to start sharing your feelings. Wonwoo was a good friend but you just weren’t used to sharing so much about yourself with others.

After some drinks, you excused yourself to go to the toilet. But of course, there was a line. About 15 minutes went by without the line moving. You were about to give up when someone grabbed your wrist.

“(y/n) sshi?” You looked at the familiar face.

“Oh... Uh...”

“Yoongi.” He said, letting you go. You nodded your head. Other people in the line now had their attention on you and Yoongi.

“Come.” He nodded over to follow him. You didn’t know why you just went along, not even asking why he wanted you to go with him. You came before a staircase with two guards. But they parted ways upon seeing Yoongi.

“Sir.” They bowed respectfully as Yoongi cooly walked up, hands tucked into his pockets. You quickly bowed your heads back to the guards and caught up to Yoongi.

“You can use this bathroom instead. It’s cleaner and safer.” Yoongi stopped before a door.

“A-Are you sure?”

“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have went down to fish you out of the crowd. Take all the time you need. This is our own private bathroom so no one else is allowed to use it.” He explained. You nodded, bowing gratefully to him before entering the restroom.

The bathroom was a lot more opulent and grand, with black granite and gold trims. Like Yoongi said, it was very clean, unlike a usual club bathroom. It was definitely a boys bathroom with urinals but you just used one of the stalls.

“Hyung, why can’t I use the bathroom? I really need to go!” You heard voices outside as you were washing your hands.

“Only the 7 of us use it anyway. Unless... Do you have a secret guest in there?!” The person talking to Yoongi gasped as if he just uncovered something scandalous.

“Watch your mouth.” You heard Yoongi threaten.

“Sorry, I’m done.” You opened the door. But you didn’t expect Yoongi to be standing so close that you ended up bumping into his back.

“Oh, no wonder hyung was guarding the bathroom.” The male said. He didn’t mind you and just brushed past to use the bathroom. Yoongi moved you away from the bathroom door, not wanting you to accidentally get hit.

“Thank you. Is it okay if I just stay here for a few more minutes? You can go back to what you were doing before.” You asked timidly. Yoongi took one look at you and nodded. You didn’t need to tell him anything for him to know what you were thinking. The club was getting overwhelming. Yoongi never really liked coming too unless his brothers make him.

“Why did you come if you don’t like it?”

“A friend brought me here as a distraction. Plus, I’ve never really come to a club before.” You replied. Yoongi nodded his head.

“You don’t need to stay and accompany me. I’ll go back down in a bit.” You said.

“It’s okay.” He leaned against the opposite wall. You took your phone out to send Wonwoo a text, assuring him that you were safe and that he could go home first. But you didn’t tell him where you were and who you were with.

“Actually... I wanted to apologise. My brothers told me I shouldn’t have offered you a smoke the other time. I just thought it would help.” Yoongi looked at you.

“It’s fine. I honestly didn’t think too much about it. There were other things to think about.” You shook your head.

“Understandable. I’m sure you have your fair share of confusion and questions that come along with it. This is just the start.” Yoongi said. You didn’t let his straightforward tone faze you, nodding your head glumly.

“Well, I should go. Thanks for letting me hang here.” You straightened up.

“No worries. I’ll walk you down.” Yoongi followed suit. You walked behind him, not sure of the way to the exit. With your insistence, Wonwoo had gone home on his own. You did feel bad for abandoning him when he was the one that invited you out but you also didn’t want him to wait.

“Do you have a ride home?” Yoongi asked.

“I told my friend to go home first so I guess I can get a cab home.” You waved him off, getting your phone out. But Yoongi stopped you, his hand grasping your phone and covering the screen.

“It’s not safe and cheap to get a cab from here at this time. I drank a little so I shouldn’t drive. Hang on.” Yoongi waved over one of the bouncers.

“Use the company car and send her home then report back.” Yoongi ordered.

“Yoongi sshi, it’s really okay.”

“Get the address from her and make sure you see her entering the house before coming back.” Yoongi ignored you. The bouncer nodded and bowed, running off the get the car.

“(y/n) sshi, hyung.” You both turned to see Taehyung jogging over. He had a big, square-ish grin as he waved.

“Jimin said you were here and that Yoongi hyung was with you. Are you driving her home, hyung?” Taehyung tilted his head.

“I drank. So was gonna get one of the workers to drive her back.” Yoongi explained, standing back as he lit a cigarette to smoke. Taehyung nodded his head.

“I’ll drive you home. I didn’t drink since I am the designated driver tonight. Bring my car instead.” Taehyung called out. The worker bowed and ran back into the club. Yoongi decided to go in first after his cigarette was done, not liking being out in the cold. He shot you a nod while you bowed gratefully to him. While waiting, Taehyung put his jacket over your shoulders.

“Did you come alone?” Taehyung asked.

“No... I came with a friend but I abandoned him. Yoongi sshi was kind enough to let me hang out in the quiet area. So I told my friend to go home first.” You said. You didn’t know why you were explaining so much to him.

“This isn’t you scene, is it?” He teased. You pursed your lips and shook your head. The noise and the crowd just wasn’t comfortable.

“Sir.” The car stopped right in front of you. The worker came out, bowing and passing Taehyung’s keys to him.

“Here you go. Watch your head.” Taehyung opened the car door for you to enter. You sat inside, keeping the sides of his jacket close to you so it wouldn’t get caught in the door.

Taehyung confirmed your address before starting to drive. One hand held his head, elbow resting on the door next to him while the other hand was on the steering wheel. During the quiet ride, you fiddled with the hem of the dress, pulling it down every now and then.

“Are you cold?” He asked.

“No, I’m good. Thank you.” You replied softly. With your head leaning against the headrest, you looked out the window. The only reason you would be out this late usually was because you were working.

“Thanks for dropping me off again.” You said as Taehyung pulled up outside of your house.

“Any time.” Taehyung smiled. You unbluckled your seatbelt and got out of the car. But before you could walk further, Taehyung rolled down the window.

“Goodnight, (y/n)!”

“G-Goodnight, Taehyung sshi.” A small smile formed on your lips as you bowed your head and entered the house. Like the other day, Taehyung only drove off after he was sure you had entered the house.

Only after you entered the house and you heard Taehyung drive off, that you realised you had forgotten the return him his jacket. You removed it carefully, as if any movement would cause it to tear like tissue. You inspected it, trying to figure out if you should wash it on your own, and risk ruining the expensive material, or just send it for dry cleaning.

“Hi, Wonwoo. Did you make it home safe?”

“Oh, (y/n). Yes, I am home. I went home after you sent me that text. Are you alright? You scared me.”

“Yes, I am alright. I just found a quiet space to chill for a while so I didn’t want you to wait for me. I just got home. Sorry for ruining the night. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” You said, putting your shoes away.

“Don’t say that, (y/n). I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy yourself.”

“I did enjoy myself, Wonwoo. Thank you for bringing me out to feel better.” You laughed. After wishing each other good night, you hung up.

You took a shower and was feeling peckish so you made yourself some ramyeon. There was always ramyeon in the kitchen for when you or your mother needed a late night snack after working.

“I’ll have to drop the jacket off at the dry cleaners tomorrow.” You groaned tiredly, looking at the blazer that rested over the back of the chair.

-

Hoseok was one of the first ones to wake up. After a day of working and a night of drinking, the boys all usually slept in during the weekends. The moment his foot touched the bottom of the stairs, a maid ran over to him, bowing her head in fear.

“What is it?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Your workers are here, sir. They said that it is important for you to see them immediately.” She relayed timidly, afraid of making him angry.

“Send them in. And get my breakfast.” Hoseok shooed her away before shuffling to the dining room. Like any other normal person, he didn’t like having to work on the weekends.

“Good morning, Boss.” The 3 men put the crate that they were carrying down and bowed to Hoseok.

“This better be important for you to be here on a Saturday morning.” Hoseok said, not even looking up at them. He was more focused on the tray of food that the butler had placed down in front of him.

“The shipment is here early. We thought you would want to check it right away.” One of the men informed. Hoseok put his napkin on the table and stood up.

“Show me.” He commanded as he walked over. The men opened the box, revealing the contents inside.

“Very nice...” He picked up one of the items.

“Business on a Saturday morning, Hobah?” Yoongi came in. Hoseok’s workers bowed upon seeing the pale man enter the dining room. But of course, he didn’t even spare them a glance. He sat down in his allocated seat, waiting for the staff to serve him his breakfast. His breakfast was usually an iced coffee then his food 20 minutes later.

“Can’t help it, hyung. You want the best, you’ve got to work when others aren’t.” Hoseok laughed while Yoongi snorted at his comment. He placed the items back into the crate.

“Leave this here. I’ll show the others to see what they think. Good work. We’ll discuss the rest on Monday.” Hoseok said.

“Of course, boss. Have a nice weekend.” The 3 bowed, moving the crate to the side of the room before leaving the mansion. Hoseok took his seat across Yoongi.

“So hyung, I heard you had a little moment with the girl.” Hoseok asked.

“What moment?” Yoongi asked back, no emotion on his face as he sipped the last bit of his coffee.

“Jimin said you loyally guarded the door for her as she used our toilet. Even stayed with her in the hallway after to comfort her.” He explained. Yoongi rolled his eyes, his brothers really needed better things to talk about.

“I saw her the moment she entered, I’m surprised you guys didn’t considering how high our booth is. She needed to use a toilet and the queue was insane so I offered her to use ours. And I wasn’t comforting her, she needed a quiet place and I stayed with her. That’s all.” Yoongi explained.

“Well, that’s a lot more interaction than what the rest have got. Looks like she’ll warm up to you first.” Hoseok said.

“No, she’ll warm up to Taehyung first. He was the one that sent her home.” Yoongi dug into his food on the tray that the butler brought him. Hoseok hummed but couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him.

“What’s Hobi laughing about?” Namjoon came in. He had been awake for a while, opting to sit in his room to read the newspaper rather than come downstairs right away.

“No idea.” Yoongi replied, putting a chopstick of rice into his mouth.

“Ah, seriously, Hobi. I thought we established that we are not going to bring work into the dining room?” Namjoon tsked at the crate in the room.

“It’s fine, Namjoon ah. I’ll move it after breakfast. The boys needed me to inspect the goods, that’s all. Even risked bothering me on a Saturday to do it.” Hoseok waved the leader off. Namjoon shook his head with a sigh.

“Bring my breakfast.” He ordered as he took his seat at the head of the table. The butler bowed and left.

“I’m done. Going back to sleep.” Yoongi stood up and shuffled out of the room. The weekend was for Yoongi to catch up on sleep, it was normal to not see him for the entirety of the two days because he was just sleeping or resting in bed. Jin and Taehyung were the last ones that had breakfast. Jungkook and Jimin would sleep in until dinner time.

“Here. Take what is yours and leave the rest. I told you I would get things done.” Jin dropped the stack of files on the table. Namjoon, Hoseok and Taehyung shrugged, going through the pile to retrieve their things.

“So, hyung, did you find out anymore information about (y/n) when you did your stalking?” Taehyung asked.

“Yah, Taehyung! That was supposed to be confidential.” Jin hissed at the younger exposing him to the rest. However, the younger just shrugged.

“You’re running a check on her?” Namjoon raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not running a check on her... Well, at least not the background checks I usually do. I just wanted to find out about her to maybe try to connect with her in some way. She is a closed book.” Jin explained.

“So what if she is a closed book, I’m sure you can still find whatever you need on her.” Hosoek laughed.

“That’s the thing... She does not have much of a record except for her birth certificate and basic school details. Everything else either doesn’t exist or has been wiped.” Jin informed.

“Wait, you’re telling me there is actually information that you can’t find?”

“How do you know information has been wiped? She could have just not had that much of an eventful life so far. I doubt she can wipe her own records and she doesn’t seem to have a reason to do that.” Namjoon said. He didn’t know you but you didn’t seem like a skillful hacker that could wipe records.

“I know information has been wiped because I am the one who wiped them...” Jin admitted with his head slightly hung.

“What?”

“Boss wanted me to wipe them. He was paranoid, especially when it came to her. So my task was to regularly wipe her records that were 'not relevant’. Hospital visits, stuff like that...” Jin gulped.

~~

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The video released by @KensingtonRoyal is like nothing we have seen from them before. It includes William and Kate hugging on the beach, the 3 children talking down the lens of the camera, and the family playing games with Grandma and Grandad Middleton. --