#Will Writing Lawyer

[populuslaw]

Make sure your wishes are honored with professional will writing in Singapore. Populus Law is here to help you secure your legacy and protect your loved ones. Visit us today for expert will writing services!

[demonic0angel]

Court Story Idea

TW: the Joker

Where the Joker is being prosecuted for his crimes within the Ghost Zone and each side (defendant and plaintiff) is able to choose the lawyer for the other side. So that means that the Joker is able to choose an attorney for the plaintiffs AKA Jason, along with other victims, both alive and dead. (For drama’s sake, let’s say that the Justice League is there too, along with the younger generation of heroes.)

When everyone hears this, they’re like ??? Because isn’t that just going to help the Joker??

And the Joker, realizing this, is looking for the most weakest, most vulnerable person to exploit within this ghostly court room and he looks at the back of the room…

And finds Jazz, who’s sitting in a corner behind King Phantom, head down, trying her best to be unnoticed, nose in her papers as she’s writing down what’s said as the court reporter.

And the Joker picks her.

Nobody understands why everyone from the Ghost Zone is suddenly either 1) flabbergasted, 2) completely delighted, or 3) laughing so hard that it’s like they’re about to die a 2nd time.

Because the Joker chose the only person in the room with an actual law degree who is not only the big sister of the literal Ghost King, but also loves children, is fiercely protective of them, and most importantly, has never gotten the opportunity to show off her hard earned degrees in criminology, psychiatry, or law until now.

(Inspired by this post where someone says that Jazz would be the court reporter)

[seamistgale]

Of @ghostreblogging, Where Danny has the same tax evasion skills as his parents. Kind of a coffee shop AU, but well, its gotham.

[datcravat]

[deadsetobsessions]

Had an idea, no time to elaborate. Will come back to this later.

Lawyer! Danny. He really thought he’d go into science, follow the family path or whatever. Then, he became King and had to learn the laws, because the living dead isn’t dead enough to avoid paperwork. One thing led to another and Danny found himself years later with a liscence to practice law, a mountain of debt, a well practiced appreciation for law, and the sheer unbridled instincts to rip out the throat of anyone who even dared to argue with him. Verbally, of course. Danny’s damn good at what he does and applies for a spot on Wayne Co.’s team of lawyer.

He eviscerates the owner, Bruce Wayne, in one go and impresses literally everyone because Bruce has that special brand of billionaire bullshit that usually renders logic based arguments ineffective.

Boom, he’s hired.

He’s called in as their personal lawyer because B-man was impressed. Then, he gets a call to arms because of of the kids punched a racist rich kid in defense of their big brother, Dick Grayson. The same person who bought him coffee everytime he saw him in the building (dick has a crush) so Danny’s invested.

Boom, that opens floodgates for even more stuff that’s less lawyer and Danny just verbally defenestrating people in defense of the Waynes.

[lucidfairies]

money [a.a]

pairing: ceo!abby x secretary!reader

synopsis: when you finally land the job of your dreams, you had no idea what your boss would be like. and damn, no idea you conjured could've done her justice.

warnings: top!abby, bottom!reader, age gap (reader is in her 20s, abby is in her early 40s), cunnilingus (r/a receiving), strap (r!receiving), praise + degradation, mommy kink, dirty talk, manhandling, pet names (sweetheart, sweet girl, angel, baby, whore, slut)

word count: 3.3k

it wasn't everyday that you landed a job with one of the most well known law firms in washington. for now you were just a secretary, someone to sit outside of an office and take calls, but your hope was to work your way up to one of their lawyers.

you had little prior experience with being a secretary, but it was just enough to get you this gig. the building was large, and the office you were to assist was on one of the highest floors, naturally where the head of the firm was.

you knew her, abby anderson. incredibly talented lawyer who even won over a supreme court case. though you hadn't met her in person, you were exhilarated to meet her. she was who you dreamed to be, especially by her age.

it wasn't until your third day, when abby was finally in the office, when you got a glimpse of what working here would actually look like. abby showed up in a well pressed black suit, armani logo drilling into your eyes like a laser, making you feel all that underdressed.

"do I know you?" she asked when you knocked gently on her office door and went in. she truly didn't mean to be rude - her son had been sick for three days and she was feeling it now - but you didn't know that. you automatically assumed she was an asshole, and that threw you off.

you cleared your throat, meeting her eyes and immediately shifting them again. she was intimidating, almost scary. "I'm y/n. I'm your new assistant." she looked you up and down, gaze still burning your skin, and the corner of her mouth turned up to a smirk.

"great. I take my coffee black, nothing in it. there will be a card on your desk that you can charge it to every morning. get yourself something. I expect you to leave before I do, as I stay late. by any chance, do you babysit?" your eyes found hers as you finally looked up.

"I mean, I can. I used to when-" she cut you off, uninterested in anything except the yes. you noted that for later.

"I might need you to pick up my son from school every couple weeks. not often, and certainly not until I've run a background check on you." she wasn't hardly looking at you now, eyes flipping between her papers and computer. "did I miss anything?"

"no ma'am," you said, standing up and instinctively wiping off your skirt, though there was nothing there. suddenly you were back at your desk, waiting for calls and bookings to come in while trying to make sense of that interaction.

the next day you arrived late, but in your defense, the line at the coffee place was long and traffic was even longer, and now you weren't even sure that the coffee was hot. abby was there when you gently knocked on her door, allowing your entry with a low 'come in.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, there was really bad traffic and the line-"

"it's okay, sweet girl." your stomach flipped. yesterday, when your eyes knew nothing but the floor, you hadn't exactly taken in her appearance, but today. today.

today she was in a black turtleneck, sleeves right around the muscle in her arms that just made her look so, so good. her black slacks were tight at her hips with a belt, and they were hugging her legs so tight that you were sure the seam would rip.

her hair was pulled into a nice bun and she wore no makeup, not that she ever needed to. she had freckles, beautiful eyes. rings. she had rings, that she could put inside of you any day.

"I'll be on time tomorrow, miss." your gaze dropped again as you turned to leave her office. this was surely going to be nothing but torture for the following months.

two weeks later was the first time she asked you to stay late. you originally had plans, but the way your name dripped off of her tongue like honey made you immediately cancel them. she had asked you politely to pick up her son, and you even acquired her number from the ordeal.

dealing with kids was not your specialty, but abby's son was a delight. he talked all about his mom, some about his dad and it made you wonder if abby was single or not. she never wore a ring to your knowledge, not even on a necklace, and from your speculation she almost looked like a lesbian. maybe you were just dreaming about the end.

if you had taken your apartment and multiplied it by ten, it still wouldn't be half the size of abby's house. she truly did have money, if the armani suits and porsche didn't say that already.

an hour into your babysitting, which almost just felt like hanging out with a kid in a mansion, abby got home. she walked in, greeting you with the first real smile you had ever seen on her face. your brain malfunctioned when you gently placed her hand on your arm and pressed an innocent kiss onto your cheek.

you were blushing profusely, pupils blown, almost dizzy, all she did was kiss your cheek, a very normal way of greeting someone and you were fucked. abby didn't fail to see you run your fingers over the spot and look at them before quickly turning back towards the two of them.

abby lived for it. lived for the you drooled over everything she did, lived for the way that she was sure her fingers would look so, so good in your mouth... and she tried not to think about it. how could she, when her son was standing right next to her, trying to tell her about his day, and you. you just looked so innocent.

you were engulfed in her smell, the perfect balance of pine and amber and erotica. she smelled like five hundred dollar cologne right off the shelf of valentino. you wanted to smell like that, wanted to smell like that, wanted to wear her clothes and have everyone think that you were together.

"thanks for coming, sweetheart. I'll see you on monday." you looked at her with your brows knit, knowing you had work the following day, friday. "take the day off. you did something for me, and I'm repaying you. use my card and get something."

the amount of money she had to just throw around was so attractive to you. she was an independent woman who brought in millions every year and was letting some secretary she had known for three weeks let buy anything on a day off.

monday had arrived, and you had purchased nothing with abby's card, naturally. you weren't one to spend someone's money just because they had a lot of it, or because they told you to. she would've had to buy it for you to accept it, at that.

it was nearing eleven when abby called you into her office by your first name, instead of one of the many nicknames she always seems to use. "sit." she demanded as you stepped in, and you did so.

"is something wrong, ms. anderson?" she wasn't mad, but she was irritated. she told you to do something, told you to put yourself first and you didn't.

"I told you to treat yourself on friday," her gaze left her laptop and met your eyes. "why didn't you?" you blanked for a moment.

"I just.. I didn't feel right spending money that wasn't mine." she gave you a disapproving look, before getting up and coming around her desk to stand in front of you. in a matter of moments, one of her large hands was grabbing your jaw and forcing your head up to look at her.

she bent down slightly, lips grazing over yours, and you were sure she could feel how much your face heated up. "next time I tell you to do something, you're going to do it. understand, sweet girl?"

"I don't-" your pupils were blown and you were so desperate for her to press her lips just a bit closer, fill the gap and just let you have it.

"say 'yes abby'."

"y-yes abby." she let go of your face and went back to her desk, pretending to pay you little attention, but she was acutely aware of the way you pushed your thighs together and squirmed.

"you're dismissed. I expect to see a charge by the morning." you got up and hurried out, going straight to the bathroom. your face was burning up, and you could vaguely see an imprint from her hand.

you were meaninglessly circling the mall, trying to decide what to spend this newfound money on. obviously you wouldn't get something big and glamorous, no matter how much she seemingly wanted you to.

every time you walked, you seemed to pass victoria's secret. It seemed like it was calling you to buy something, and after that interaction with abby earlier, you decided that maybe you should treat yourself and went in.

you looked around for a while before finding a cute blue set, with embroidered, lacy flowers. it was nothing special, just transparent and high waisted, but it was speaking to you. suddenly you knew what you were wearing to work the next day.

- - -

you felt completely scandalous wearing a short little skirt over the lingerie in the morning, with a button down, where the first few buttons were unbuttoned. it was different from your usual dress pants and blouse, but it definitely did what you needed it to do.

work was as usual for the majority of the morning, and you were suddenly doubting why you wore what you did. there was no point, you were seriously delusional and seriously needed help. what kind of freak where's lingerie and completely inappropriate work clothes to work after one minor interaction with their boss?

that was until you got a simple email from ms. anderson herself, reading nothing but;

my office. now, please.

you cleared your throat, brushed out your hair slightly and adjusted your shirt before nonchalantly entering her office. you sat, observing the way she remained quiet for a moment before clearing her desk and turning her attention towards you.

“did you think I wouldn't realize?” she asked, cooly, with her eyebrows raised slightly. “I mean, props to you, you did as you were told. but I checked the card. I'm not the only one who can see the transactions on that card either, sweetheart.”

you were immediately red. who else could see them? “I didn't r-really think-”

“no, you didn't. I bet the men in my finances would love to see you dancing around in whatever you bought, wouldn't they, baby?” she was standing before you could think, hands resting on the handles of your chair. “why don't you show me, huh? I know you're wearing it.”

“I'm not- we can't do that here.” you looked around, though you knew no one would ever bother her and her office had no cameras. “we're at work, abigail.” there was a fast switch in her eyes, the way they went from cocky to wide, almost needy.

“fuck,” her head dropped into the crook of your neck before she ran her nose along your jaw. “say it again. please, baby.” her tone, the gentle pleading made any rational thoughts disappear from your mind. your hand wrapped around the collar of her button down and pulled her in gently.

“abigail,” you whispered, “I want this,” with that, her hands were everywhere, all at once. she was pulling you up, wrapping her large hands around your hips as she pulled you in for a harsh kiss. she was forcing you onto her desk, keeping her lips to yours as your bodies molded to each other.

she left your lips, finding a perfect spot on your neck and sucking. you gasped when you felt her hand undoing the buttons of your shirt and pulling it out of your skirt. you were grabbing her by her waist trying to pull her closer as she continued to mark up your neck and grab your tits.

when she finally pulled away from your neck, her eyes became wide looking at your lingerie clad tits. you slid your shirt the rest of the way off and tossed it, looking up at her as you began to unbutton hers. she didn't let you get very far before she was gently pushing you back until your back was against the cool wood of the desk.

she unclipped your bra and pulled it off, tongue immediately meeting your nipple. she bit it and you yelped, grabbing her shoulders. her large hand was messing with your other, tugging gently and kneading. "I love your tits so fucking much, baby.” she mumbled into your skin while she kissed down your stomach.

she left more hickies on your ribs, but you desperately needed her in one place. she was pulling your skirt down in seconds, pressing her tongue against you like it was nothing and watching you arch and moan. she was eating you out through your underwear for a minute, before you grabbed her hair and pulled her head up.

"take them off." she smirked, and her head tilted slightly to the side.

"who said you're in charge, sweet angel?" the nickname was new, but you fucking loved that she always called you sweet. you were something sweet to her, and that made your brain lag every time.

"abby please," you bucked into her, chasing friction. that's when you felt it; the large bulge in her slacks that you hadn't noticed earlier.

"feel that, baby? that's all for you." she pulled down your underwear slowly, tossing it in the pile of clothes. she spread your lips, watching slick connect and drip down your thighs. your face burned and you covered it, embarrassed. "uncover your face or I'll stop." you did as told.

she pulled a ponytail off her wrist and pulled her hair into a bun before pressing her tongue into your clit and licking a fat stripe. your head hit the desk with a thud, reveling at the feeling. she worked your clit, sucking it into her mouth and painting patterns with her tongue while she pressed a finger into entrance.

she used her free hand to hold you down by your stomach, since your squirming was messing her up. you whined when she added a second finger, not used to her thick fingers. "if you can't take my fingers, how am I supposed to fuck you with my strap?" you moaned at her words, loving the dirtiness of it.

she returned to your clit and you got loud when she curled her fingers up into the best spot, whimpering and groaning. she remembered the time when you pressed your fingers to your cheek in her house, and brought her unused hand to your mouth, tapping your chin lightly. "open your mouth and suck," she instructed, noticing your confused look.

you took two of her fingers in your mouth and sucked them, which shut you up. your stomach coiled, a warm feeling rushing between your legs before you could even mumble a word. it felt like you just kept coming, until she finally pulled away from your cunt.

"are you gonna give me another one, angel?" she was unclipped her belt while you caught your breath. "wanna fuck you all day." she pulled her pants and boxers down just barely enough to get her strap out. "flip over, ass up." you turned over, fucked out muscles aching.

she ran the tip of her strap between your folds, letting your wetness lube it up, then lined up with your hole. she pushed just the tip in, groaning at the way you took it so well and swallowed her in. "what if I just fucked you like this, huh?" you whined.

"please.. need more," you pushed your hips back slightly, trying to push her in further. she pulled out, simply pushing the tip back in.

"desperate fucking whore," she thrust in on the last word, bottoming out immediately. you whimpered, the strap stretching you far more than her fingers. "aw, baby, does that hurt?" she pulled out far and fucked into you again.

she started fucking you, deep and hard, until you were moaning and grabbing onto the desk, trying to stabilize yourself. one of her hands left your hips and grabbed your hair, wrapping it around her fist and tugging. "fuck.. abby- abs.. mommy,”

your eyes widened at the name, which came out unintentionally. she stopped momentarily before groaning and picking her pace back up rapidly. "call me that again." the tip of her strap kissed your cervix and bumped against your g-spot every time. her arm wrapped around your waist, flicking your clit.

"mommy.. m'gonna cum." you slurred, cock drunk and fucked out. she kept her pace, hardly changing anything except for the fact that she was louder now, finding the perfect angle to get the harness to hit her clit.

"just wait a second, my love,” you held it for as long as you could, but it became too much, and she was hitting just right. your mind went absolutely blank as your vision went white, a wave crashing over you as you came.

you could hear abby moaning, but you were still going, and unable to think of anything. “fuck baby, you make such a mess.” you relaxed your tense body and look over your shoulder at abby's soaked harness, pants, and desk.

“m’sorry.” she slowly pulled her strap out and unclipped it front her hips, letting you lay for another minute before she grabbed your hips and helped you flip over and sit up. “wanna make you cum, mommy.” you looked at her with doe eyes, watching her eyes darken.

“I already came, sweetheart. don't worry about me.” you brought your hand down to cup her cunt and she took in a sharp breath. you ground your palm against her clit and she groaned, shifting her stance from foot to foot.

you slid off the desk with wobbly legs and kneeled in front of her, pupils blown. “please mommy,” you ran your nails over her abs and under her boxer strap lightly, making her muscles tense.

“such a slut, aren't you? want mommy to fuck your face?” you nodded, pulling her boxers down to her ankles. her blonde bush matched her hair, and you noticed her happy trail that you hadn't earlier. “stick out your tongue, baby, be a good girl.”

you stuck your tongue out flat, not even getting a chance to lick before she was pressing her cunt to your mouth. she fucked herself on your face, gripping your hair tight and grinding fast. you gently pushed her against the desk, lifting one of her legs to your shoulder and leaving the other one down.

she must have loved the new angle, because she was moaning and grunting more than you had ever heard her. her clit was twitching and puffy, wet from your spit and her slick. she let out an involuntary whimper, and it was like music to your ears. “gonna c-cum on your f-fucking face, angel.”

her legs shook as she came, ans you spent the following moments licking all of it up. you pulled away and stood up, still shaky. she pulled her boxers and slacks up, moving towards the pile of clothes and handing you what was yours. “do you wanna get dinner tonight?” she stopped what she was doing to button up your shirt and zip your skirt.

“yeah, that's great.” she smiled, kissing you softly.

“you can go home if you want to clean up. I can take my own calls for a few minutes.” it was your turn to smile, grateful to get out of your uncomfortable, wet clothes.

“I'll see you tonight?” you asked, looking over your shoulder once you got to the door.

“pick you up at seven.”

a/n: part two? 🤭

tag list: @shewantstoknow @baumbii @zombholic

[everwalldigan]

The friendliest of reminders that Bruce cried in his room for an hour when Jason was taken away by cps

“Alfred has never known the man to act so helpless… so defeated” if anyone needs me I’ll be crying in the corner

[enviedear]

my modern!jace hcs and thoughts…

request ⊹ jacaerys masterlist

౨ৎ ┄───────╮ got a bit carried away with what was supposed to be hcs... but i can't help it! modern!jace scratches an itch somewhere in my brain—especially lawyer/law student!jace. don't question the family dynamics too much for this au. i don't have the brain capacity to rearrange and fix that mess <3

╰───────┄ ౨ৎ

twenty-two and a recent graduate. he majored in law with a minor in public policy. his younger brother, lucerys, makes frequent comments about how boring it all must be, but jacaerys velaryon loves it. he’s following the family line, after all.

he took office at one of his mother’s law firms, a by-product of having a family in the affairs of state. however, the firm is actually headed by his mother’s aunt, rhaenys. his mother, rhaenyra is in the middle of an election, running opposite otto hightower—a man jacaerys is lax to admit kinship to.

on paper he’s an associate, in practice, he’s whatever his family and their board need him to be. he likes it that way—being dependable.

he has such a large family, even disregarding those somewhat estranged. if you asked him to directly place everyone to their respective titles he couldn’t, so he settles for the ease of endless uncles, aunts, and cousins.

his schedule is usually packed—so when he is free, he likes to spend his time well. his best friend, cregan, gets him out of the house most the time. an easy task since the stark family owns numerous ski resorts. a perfect respite from his life of public service, at least that’s what cregan says.

jace absolutely hates the media, not necessarily social media though. his instagram stories are frequently full of reposts or camera roll dumps, his twitter constantly active but he mourns public likes. he loves to engage with factitious headlines about himself and his family, to his mother’s chagrin. he’s blocked on all social media by the estranged hightower news, headed by his mother’s old friend turned step-mother, alicent. a topic the family attempts to gloss over when in public.

has a laundry list of fashion houses at his disposal. he went viral once for “mogging” in armani at his grandfather’s funeral. he drunkenly admitted after the service that he figured viserys would have deemed it a rather lovely suit, despite the occasion. mostly, he shares his uncle laenor’s love for couture, a man who is firm in belief that a bit of pageantry never hurt anyone. almost exclusively wears canali for everyday wear, a luxury his paychecks find no issue with fulfilling.

listens to every single book he 'reads'. his airpods are constantly in his ears but he rarely opts for music. he listens to the greats on repeat, or at least that's what he calls them—near constant loops of orwell and machiavelli. he has a guilty pleasure for brandon sanderson novels though.

jacaerys is embarrassed to have a chauffeur for any and all events with his family, but he does an excellent job at hiding it. he’s is chronically good at masking any signs of disdain. his family would tell you he’s perfectly agreeable— his brothers, lucerys and joffrey, know him better, can spot his muddled ill temper through anything. he can hold his tongue most of the time, far better than the rest of his family, but he’s known to have his moments.

on his own, he drives a aston martin valour. wrapped olive green with burnt orange accents. it was pricey, a fact his uncle corlys never ceases to remind him of, but he loves it. gave it a name and everything—vermax.

the only cousins he talks to regularly are the twins, baela and rhaena. they flock together during board meetings, three ideal images of the pristine image their family attempts to portray. he and baela are most like minded, so much so that the rest of the board jokes they’re reading each others minds.

on the opposite end of the spectrum, alicent’s children— aegon, aemond, and helena, are of much different minds. the eldest of the them is prepped to take over his grandfather’s media empire. a complete disaster waiting to happen given aegon’s incessant and very public bad behavior. jace figures the young man more of a puppet if anything. the second born is somehow an even worse case, behavior less public but far more… sadistic. aemond is known in well to do social circles for his vitriol, mouth constantly fixed to land a cutting blow.

the youngest, helena, is actually quite sweet albeit heavily reclusive. she’s the founder of several successful ventures, thrust into the spotlight at a young age. these days the most the public get from her is a monthly blog update—refined and well crafted—detailing a mix of what she learned that month and a few run-on sentences about insects. but she always finds time for him at their disjointed family events, no matter the animosity in the room. she’s one of his favorite people to talk to. jace swears that somehow, she always knows just what to say.

on sunday’s he winds up at one of his uncle daemon’s golf courses. am agreement he took up after the death of viserys. his uncle is lonely without his brother, and he’s never had to tell jace that for him to know it. jace is rather shit at the sport, but he’s found that as long as daemon has a drink in his hand, nothing will be commented on. sometimes luke will tag along just to gloat, his younger brother has always been at golf.

every christmas he takes his siblings on a hunt. just like their dad, harwin, used to. it’s gotten to be a big deal after so many years. his mother often reminds him, jokingly, that he is the reason their home has become the holiday stomping grounds. he’s replied back many times that at least that saves them from the hightower’s grounds, and their brutish security detail. headed by one criston cole, he’s has never gotten a good feel for the man—or the men under his command.

jace can’t fall asleep without some form of auditory stimulation. he blames laenor, always gifting a young jace pirated lullaby cd’s… for some reason. nowadays, he’s usually a listening to a history podcast before bed. never picky on the topic or timeframe, he could listen to the tales of the past forever.

additionally—jacaerys loves linguistics. if you looked through his search history you’d find the following searches: why do we feel different when speaking in a different language? / are there languages with no numbers? / what happened to the transatlantic accent? / “where did the word ‘cocktail’ come from?

he has successfully created and maintained a masked dj persona after a drunken dare in ibiza from rhaena. he’s booked a handful of gigs, all without his name attached to it. rhaena keeps it a secret, at the promise she gets to accompany him at her own whim.

jace has only ever publicly has had one relationship. he dated cregan’s half-sister for a few years, sara. sure he had to deal with his best friends griping for a few years, but he really did love the girl. they broke up due to their schedules, moreso, his schedule. he promised baela he won’t make the same mistake in his next relationship.

he never has trouble finding people to fawn over him, but he does have a horrible issue with committing. not that he wants to play the field or hurt hearts, but he truly believes no one will ever give him the grace he needs to feel secure in the relationship. he feels like he already has too much baggage, carrying his own and his family’s. at this point, he’d rather have a few hookups as opposed to being let down—jacaerys hates that the most about himself, above all else.

that’s why he so confused as of late. unable to seem get his mind off of someone—something completely unaccustomed to him. you’re fresh at the firm, relegated to coffee runs and still straight to the book but god—jace thinks you're perfect.

he didn't even fully grasp his fixation on you until asking himself why on earth he keeps volunteering you to sit in on his client meetings. he almost shutters everytime he remembers the stupid excuse he forced out after you dared to ask him why—"i just write so slow, and i don't want to miss anything." a lie. jacaerys could tune out a client for an entire session and still win a case, but he determined early he'd rather bask in yout presence instead. however diluted he must keep his feelings...

[buckingham-ashtray]

Not Them still haunting me even on my hike.

More than one hundred miles away from home and I am still unable to escape Them. Not even physically.

I can't anymore. THEY WON’T LEAVE ME ALONE.

(watch me lose my absolute shit in the tags💀

[stervrucht]

Prompt by @sabbathbloodysabbeth for my 200+ followers event. This was really fun, thank you!

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” 

Steve sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration before looking back at the expert witness to his case — a dark-haired mechanic, young by the looks of it, maybe a few years older than Steve himself. The garage had said — no insisted — that Eddie Munson was the best mechanic there is, especially in cases concerning older car models. 

Steve is skeptical.

This Eddie guy hardly looks like a professional. He sits on the other side of Steve’s desk, slouched in the designer leather chair,  distracted by the various items on the walls. His overalls are unzipped to reveal his naked chest and it is covered in tattoos. 

And yes, it’s summer and the garage is probably sweltering where he works, but what about professionalism? Steve is wearing a three-piece suit himself, for God's sake! Not particularly pleasant in the summer heat, but he works through it.

“The car — signs of tampering?” Steve reminds him. Munson’s eyes shoot back to Steve. 

“Oh right, yes, deffo.” Munson clicks his tongue and winks at him.

“You can’t say ‘deffo’ in court.” Steve tries, but he has a feeling it may be a lost cause.

“I’m the expert, right? It’s my expertly opinion that I can say whatever I want.”

Steve stands up and turns to face the wall. This case was a tough one, maybe the worst faced so far. All evidence pointed toward his clients’ guilt. But there is something about those guys — something so sincere that makes Steve believe they’re innocent.

The car is the last essential puzzle piece that can prove their innocence, and Munson confirmed it — the car had been tampered with. Now all that is needed is for Munson to state so in court and his clients will walk free.

“The suit looks good on you,” Steve hears Munson say from behind him. Steve turns around and is about to thank him when Munson continues, “Makes your ass look tight.”

Steve’s mouth is agape, thoughts interrupted by Munson’s statement. He wills it close and stares at Munson who looks back at him, eyes challenging and a sly smile playing on his lips.

Steve swallows thickly, eyes unwittingly drifting down to Munson’s chest again before catching himself.

Munson is a witness.

Steve has worked hard for what he has — his expertise and reputation well above what is expected of someone his age. He can’t ruin it by fucking his witness. Not even when he’s asking for it so blatantly.

Steve clears his throat. “Let’s start from the beginning again.

—

The next day in court, Munson’s testimony goes well. His speech is formal and professional to such a degree that Steve suspects he may have faked his incompetence the other day. Still, it does not escape him the way Munson’s eyes drift downward whenever he slightly turns his back, nor the way he smiles whenever Steve catches him after.

Once the hearing is over and Steve’s clients are acquitted, Munson seeks him out in the hallway and slips a note into Steve’s back pocket.

“Maybe we should go for another round of practice after some beers,” he says in Steve’s ear, tapping the pocket once before leaving.

When Munson is out of sight, Steve fishes the note from his pocket. 

It’s a phone number.

Steve smiles to himself. He may just take Munson up on his offer. 

After all, he isn’t a witness anymore.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How plausible sentence generators are changing the bullshit wars

This Friday (September 8) at 10hPT/17hUK, I'm livestreaming "How To Dismantle the Internet" with Intelligence Squared.

On September 12 at 7pm, I'll be at Toronto's Another Story Bookshop with my new book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

In my latest Locus Magazine column, "Plausible Sentence Generators," I describe how I unwittingly came to use – and even be impressed by – an AI chatbot – and what this means for a specialized, highly salient form of writing, namely, "bullshit":

https://locusmag.com/2023/09/commentary-by-cory-doctorow-plausible-sentence-generators/

Here's what happened: I got stranded at JFK due to heavy weather and an air-traffic control tower fire that locked down every westbound flight on the east coast. The American Airlines agent told me to try going standby the next morning, and advised that if I booked a hotel and saved my taxi receipts, I would get reimbursed when I got home to LA.

But when I got home, the airline's reps told me they would absolutely not reimburse me, that this was their policy, and they didn't care that their representative had promised they'd make me whole. This was so frustrating that I decided to take the airline to small claims court: I'm no lawyer, but I know that a contract takes place when an offer is made and accepted, and so I had a contract, and AA was violating it, and stiffing me for over $400.

The problem was that I didn't know anything about filing a small claim. I've been ripped off by lots of large American businesses, but none had pissed me off enough to sue – until American broke its contract with me.

So I googled it. I found a website that gave step-by-step instructions, starting with sending a "final demand" letter to the airline's business office. They offered to help me write the letter, and so I clicked and I typed and I wrote a pretty stern legal letter.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I have worked for a campaigning law-firm for over 20 years, and I've spent the same amount of time writing about the sins of the rich and powerful. I've seen a lot of threats, both those received by our clients and sent to me.

I've been threatened by everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Ralph Lauren to the Sacklers. I've been threatened by lawyers representing the billionaire who owned NSOG roup, the notoroious cyber arms-dealer. I even got a series of vicious, baseless threats from lawyers representing LAX's private terminal.

So I know a thing or two about writing a legal threat! I gave it a good effort and then submitted the form, and got a message asking me to wait for a minute or two. A couple minutes later, the form returned a new version of my letter, expanded and augmented. Now, my letter was a little scary – but this version was bowel-looseningly terrifying.

I had unwittingly used a chatbot. The website had fed my letter to a Large Language Model, likely ChatGPT, with a prompt like, "Make this into an aggressive, bullying legal threat." The chatbot obliged.

I don't think much of LLMs. After you get past the initial party trick of getting something like, "instructions for removing a grilled-cheese sandwich from a VCR in the style of the King James Bible," the novelty wears thin:

https://www.emergentmind.com/posts/write-a-biblical-verse-in-the-style-of-the-king-james

Yes, science fiction magazines are inundated with LLM-written short stories, but the problem there isn't merely the overwhelming quantity of machine-generated stories – it's also that they suck. They're bad stories:

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/24/1159286436/ai-chatbot-chatgpt-magazine-clarkesworld-artificial-intelligence

LLMs generate naturalistic prose. This is an impressive technical feat, and the details are genuinely fascinating. This series by Ben Levinstein is a must-read peek under the hood:

https://benlevinstein.substack.com/p/how-to-think-about-large-language

But "naturalistic prose" isn't necessarily good prose. A lot of naturalistic language is awful. In particular, legal documents are fucking terrible. Lawyers affect a stilted, stylized language that is both officious and obfuscated.

The LLM I accidentally used to rewrite my legal threat transmuted my own prose into something that reads like it was written by a $600/hour paralegal working for a $1500/hour partner at a white-show law-firm. As such, it sends a signal: "The person who commissioned this letter is so angry at you that they are willing to spend $600 to get you to cough up the $400 you owe them. Moreover, they are so well-resourced that they can afford to pursue this claim beyond any rational economic basis."

Let's be clear here: these kinds of lawyer letters aren't good writing; they're a highly specific form of bad writing. The point of this letter isn't to parse the text, it's to send a signal. If the letter was well-written, it wouldn't send the right signal. For the letter to work, it has to read like it was written by someone whose prose-sense was irreparably damaged by a legal education.

Here's the thing: the fact that an LLM can manufacture this once-expensive signal for free means that the signal's meaning will shortly change, forever. Once companies realize that this kind of letter can be generated on demand, it will cease to mean, "You are dealing with a furious, vindictive rich person." It will come to mean, "You are dealing with someone who knows how to type 'generate legal threat' into a search box."

Legal threat letters are in a class of language formally called "bullshit":

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691122946/on-bullshit

LLMs may not be good at generating science fiction short stories, but they're excellent at generating bullshit. For example, a university prof friend of mine admits that they and all their colleagues are now writing grad student recommendation letters by feeding a few bullet points to an LLM, which inflates them with bullshit, adding puffery to swell those bullet points into lengthy paragraphs.

Naturally, the next stage is that profs on the receiving end of these recommendation letters will ask another LLM to summarize them by reducing them to a few bullet points. This is next-level bullshit: a few easily-grasped points are turned into a florid sheet of nonsense, which is then reconverted into a few bullet-points again, though these may only be tangentially related to the original.

What comes next? The reference letter becomes a useless signal. It goes from being a thing that a prof has to really believe in you to produce, whose mere existence is thus significant, to a thing that can be produced with the click of a button, and then it signifies nothing.

We've been through this before. It used to be that sending a letter to your legislative representative meant a lot. Then, automated internet forms produced by activists like me made it far easier to send those letters and lawmakers stopped taking them so seriously. So we created automatic dialers to let you phone your lawmakers, this being another once-powerful signal. Lowering the cost of making the phone call inevitably made the phone call mean less.

Today, we are in a war over signals. The actors and writers who've trudged through the heat-dome up and down the sidewalks in front of the studios in my neighborhood are sending a very powerful signal. The fact that they're fighting to prevent their industry from being enshittified by plausible sentence generators that can produce bullshit on demand makes their fight especially important.

Chatbots are the nuclear weapons of the bullshit wars. Want to generate 2,000 words of nonsense about "the first time I ate an egg," to run overtop of an omelet recipe you're hoping to make the number one Google result? ChatGPT has you covered. Want to generate fake complaints or fake positive reviews? The Stochastic Parrot will produce 'em all day long.

As I wrote for Locus: "None of this prose is good, none of it is really socially useful, but there’s demand for it. Ironically, the more bullshit there is, the more bullshit filters there are, and this requires still more bullshit to overcome it."

Meanwhile, AA still hasn't answered my letter, and to be honest, I'm so sick of bullshit I can't be bothered to sue them anymore. I suppose that's what they were counting on.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/07/govern-yourself-accordingly/#robolawyers

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[zepskies]

Series Masterlist - Smoke Eater

Pairing: Firefighter!Dean Winchester x F. Reader 

Summary: Dean Winchester is the cocky, but well-respected Lieutenant at Firehouse 25. He leads by example, but he’s also known to break a few hearts. He’s starting to crave something he’s never had, though. Something stable. Something real. 

That’s when he meets you, on a truly terrible day, trapped in a rickety old elevator.   

AN: "Smoke eater": a self-appointed slang term for a firefighter.

Get ready for an AU! Several SPN characters will make their appearances: Sam and John Winchester, Castiel as "Cas Novak," Ellen and Jo Harvelle, Jack Kline, Benny Lafitte, Gordon Walker, Meg Masters, Chuck Shurley, Nick (yes, even him), and more!

Series Tags/Warnings: (**18+ only!) There will be a lot of heart, a lot of fun, drama, heartbreak, protective Dean, and even a murder mystery. Rating for eventual smut, perilous situations, and other chapter-specific tags.

🎵 Listen While You Read:

The Smoke Eater Playlist: YouTube || Spotify

Chapters:

Part 1 - Class and Style - Podcast Version!

Part 2 - Lieutenant Winchester

Part 3 - Got a Hold on Me

Part 4 - Rocky Road

Part 5 - Twitterpated

Part 6 - Just Casual

Part 7 - Cherry Pie & Lemon Drizzle

Part 8 - Likewise, Baby

Part 9 - Do Not Disturb

Part 10 - Toil and Trouble

Part 11 - Heart of the Home

Part 12 - All in the Family

Part 13 - Boiling Point

Part 14 - Message in a Bottle

Part 15 - The Good Part

Part 16 - Break Down the Gates

Part 17 - The Real Deal

Part 18 - V for Vendetta

Part 19 - Sacrifice

Epilogue - Easy as Pie

Series Complete!

Bonus One-Shots:

Something Real** Now that you and Dean are officially engaged, you take some much needed time off together for a family vacation. But even with the wedding set for next year, the two of you are still at odds when it comes to one key part of your future together…

(Want to listen to the podcast version? Keep scrolling below!)

🎙️ Podcast Fics:

Listen to Part 1 in podfic form!

(A "podfic" is where you can listen to the story narrated.)

(Cover image and narration by @talltalesandbedtimestories)

Or listen to the official Idling in the Impala episode of Smoke Eater Part 1 on YouTube:

Or listen on Spotify.

Listen to the Idling in the Impala podfic episode of the sequel story, Something Real below:

Ko-Fi Me ☕

Join My Patreon 🌟

Dean Winchester Series List

Dean Winchester Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Series Tag List:

Comment below if you'd like to be tagged in this series!

@hobby27 @kazsrm67 @letheatheodore @agothwithheavysetmakeup @jacklesbrainworms @foxyjwls007 @wincastifer @iamsapphine @simpforbuckyb @vanillawhiskeyflavoredkisses @roseblue373 @this-is-me19 @emily-winchester @spnexploration @deans-spinster-witch @deans-baby-momma @iprobablyshipit91

@melancholictearz @nic-kolas @sleepyqueerenergy @wayward-lost-and-never-found @thewritersaddictions @just-levyy @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @deanwanddamons @antisocialcorrupt @lacilou @adoringanakin @theonlymaninthesky @teehxk @midnightmadwoman @brianochka @branj19

@agalliasi @venicesem @chriszgirl92 @lyarr24 @ladysparkles78 @solariklees @xsophianicolex @deansbbyx @candy-coated-misery0731 @curlycarley @sarahgracej @bagpussjocken @ultrahviolentart @chernayawidow @beskarfilms @mimaria420

[calumfmu]

i could send you a million requests!

having an affair with your divorce lawyer steve 😏

HIII HUNNNN. Thank you for your patience love <3 Here it is in all its glory, smut, smut, smut oooo Divorce Lawyer!Steve x Reader (2.3k+ words of pure smut) cw: 18+, mdni, smut, riding, unprotected sex, p in v, cream pie, dirty talk, ugh, all Steve goodness, set in NY, famous!reader,

Three drinks down, adrenaline pumping through your veins, you only had one thing on your mind. Freedom. It was seven months into this divorce--if you could even call it that. A messy separation, public legal dispute that was plaguing the city's newspapers, headlines screaming about the famous ex-ball player's divorce with New York's once most eligible bachelorette.

Hitting the town three days in a row seemed like a good idea in retrospect, but it was really starting to get to you and your reputation. But as you chased that sixth tequila shot with lime, it was the last thing on your mind.

"Hey, isn't that..." your friend's voice trailed off as she pointed her beer towards someone across the bar. You followed the point of the bottle, gaze focusing on a tall man--Steve.

A Cheshire grin spread across your face, eyes widening as you recognized him, his mole dotted face, thin wire glasses framing his face as he laughed with a group of other suits, those you knew as his colleagues.

"Oh my God," you whined, immediately downing the shot that was supposed to be for her. She protested, hands throwing up around her as she watched you finish it with a grimace. "What is he doing here?"

She shrugged, swigging out of the glass as she eyed him down. Her bobbed hair swung in the air as she tilted her head down to fully drink him in.

"You know if I was straight I'd be all over that," she replied, turning around to face the bar. Your eyes remained on the older guy, tongue darting out to lick at the corner of your mouth.

"Robin!" You squealed, swatting at her arm. She giggled in response, arm waving to capture the attention of the bartender.

"I'm just saying," her tone was suggestive, eyebrows wiggling with her words. "You should just get after it, I mean... see what Harrington & Partner really has to offer."

You considered her point, your own head tilting down to observe him as his head tilted back with laughter. From across the bar, you could see the stretch of his neck, the expanse of skin being exposed to show more moles, disappearing behind the fitted collar of his dress shirt. The dark bar lighting did wonders for him, highlighting the amber high lights of his hair, showing off the small gray wisps that poked out at his hairline, a testament to how men age like fine wine.

"I've already seen what it has to offer," you said under your breath, grabbing her beer out of her hand. She whined again as you finished it off, slamming it on the counter behind you. "And I want more."

Her jaw dropped, eyes widening as she took in your words.

"What do you mean you've already seen it?"

Laughing, you took a step away from her, bag fitted over your shoulder as you adjusted the dress you wore. "Long story. Late night. Tedious divorce papers. Did I say that out loud?"

She reached a hand out to you, but you dodged it, backing away from her as you made your way over to his group. Her eye roll was enough for you to know you were making a bad decision, but you couldn't care. Your mind was set on one thing only.

"Steve!" You cheered, waving at him as he looked at you confused. Immediately, his gaze dipped across your figure, dress hugging your curves in all the right places.

He covered it up with a cough, eyes widening as he suddenly realized he was in the presence of those he worked with. The sound of your name rolled off of his lips, a surprised cackle of speech.

"What are you doing here?" It was less of a question and more accusatory.

Your mouth dropped open in a wide smile as you held your arms out. "Celebrating my separation, freedom."

Realization crossed his features as your words slurred, the intoxication becoming clear as you lingered a little too close for comfort. The men he surrounded himself with eyed you as well, eyes flickering over you as you teetered on the heels in your feet.

"Ah," he muttered, tongue smacking against his teeth as he took a step back. His hand came up to adjust the tie that was fitted around his neck. "I see. Just a few months away from that."

The suits laughed, deep chuckles of laughter that screamed money. Old money, New York money, jurisprudence, whatever you wanted to call it. Rolling your eyes, you felt all the confidence of the tequila shots you took, pressing a hand to his arm. His eyes dropped to it, slowly dragging away to peer down at you over his wire frames.

"Excuse me," he said to the group, placing a hand to your lower back to drag you away from them. He lead you through the crowd, pressing you into a dark corner of the swanky bar. On the way, you had seen Robin, her thumbs up thrown in your direction.

"What are you doing?" He whispered again, backing you into a wall. He towered over you, immediately, you were weak in the knees, this interaction normally being behind the closed doors of his 30th story office.

Your hand found his arm again, trailing up the expanse of it as you craned your head back, a soft bump against the wall.

"Having fun," you sighed, biting your lip as he took a step closer to you. His scent overwhelmed you, warmth beginning to pool into the pit of your stomach as you rested a foot up against the wall.

"This is a bad look," he suddenly grew professional, straightening up as your hand left his arm and began to trail down his abdomen.

You rolled your eyes, dragging out a groan that bordered childish.

"You're a bad look," you retorted, reaching up to grab the lapels of his suit. Tugging him closer to you, you pressed your lips to the side of his neck. "You're wearing too many clothes."

He pulled away from you again, clearing his throat as he urged you from the wall. Fast in his movements, his hand was at the small of your back, pulling you towards a back exit, one you were unaware that was even there.

A black Lincoln sat in an alleyway, the door opening as he threw you in the backseat. You rolled your eyes as you sat up, pulling down your skirt as he slid in behind you. He muttered something to a driver, the car already moving as the world began to spin around you.

"You can't have people seeing you like this," he muttered, shaking his head as he pressed the back of his hand to your forehead. Leaning into his touch, your eyes fluttered shut.

"Relax, nobody saw."

"Hmm," he was annoyed, the tone of his voice short. "You don't know that for sure. There's too much at stake right now, especially with the way his side is going."

You groaned, leaning fully into him as you began to trail a hand over his body. Touching any skin you could get was the only thing you were focused on, hastily unbuttoning his shirt as the car began to make turns throughout the city. He didn't oppose, only settled into the back seat of the vehicle even further.

"I don't want to talk about him."

You climbed into his lap, squeezing in the small space as you pressed your lips to his. His hands found your ass, squeezing as he ground you down into him. The stubble on his face scratched at yours, your jaw rubbed raw as the two of you made out, tongues fighting against each other.

"I think you're," he muttered in between kisses, his hands beginning to lift your skirt as your hands found his belt buckle. "The worst client I've ever had."

"Mmmm," you groaned, pulling his belt buckle loose. It clanked in the air, followed by the sound of the driver sliding the separation window closed. "Talk dirty to me, Harrington."

He laughed into the kiss, lips slotting into yours perfectly as you freed him from his pants. His cock was angry red, swollen through its length as you briefly looked down to grip at him. The girth of it alone had you watering at the mouth, wishing you had the freedom to sink to your knees.

You pulled away from him, pressing him back down into the cushion of the seat as he chased your mouth, leaning up as he wanted more. He groaned at your touch, his head leaning back against the headrests.

"Need you to fuck me," you whispered, adjusting so the cave of your pussy sat right over him. A pant escaped him as he felt your wetness, encasing him as you grinded down on him.

"You're gonna get me fired, hun," he moaned, teeth digging into his lip as you lifted off of him, angling him so his head pressed at your entrance. The small stretch of his tip had you mewling, the intoxication of the alcohol leaving your body as you got drunk off of a new feeling.

"We've barely left Manhattan," the grunt of words only worsened as you pressed lower, his length stretching you wide. His hands found your hips, guiding you lower.

Your knees sat on the sides of his hips, locking him in as you stopped half way, hovering above him. With your head tilted back, staring up at the ceiling of the car, your eyes watered, the heat of the moment making you so caught up that you cursed at your previous idea of skipping the foreplay.

"You talk too much," you whispered, pressing all the way down. Stretched down to the hilt, the both of you sat in silent groans, his hand finding the back of your neck to press his forehead into yours.

From this angle, you could see the chocolate brown of his eyes, sunken with desire, his lids hooded in pleasure.

"fuck." The hand that never left your hip raised you, a soft squelch filling the back seat as your wetness dripped around him.

As you began to bounce on his cock, his moans began to grow louder, fingers digging marks into your hip. The press of his cock deep inside made you feel weak, that spongy spot not being granted mercy as he drove into you.

"Steve," you groaned, swirling your hips as he mouthed at your neck, deep colored marks being left in his wake. The heat of his touch added to the fire pooling in your belly, eyes squeezed shut in pleasure.

Look at my dirty girl.

His words could've gotten you right then and there, if it were not for the alcohol in your system prolonging your orgasm. You loved it when he called you names like that, claiming you as his even when you both knew you weren't.

Such a bad girl.

That one had you squeezing your eyes even tighter, your hands resting on the tops of his shoulders as you rode him, bouncing in a frenzy that he had yet to see. The scratch of his suit pants against your ass was oddly soothing, distracting you from the white hot feeling building faster and faster.

"Need you to fuck me harder," you whimpered, reaching a hand up to tug at his hair. The sounds he made to the yank on his scalp had you pulling closer to your orgasm, legs shaking as he began to match you half way, hips lifting off of the seat.

A ring of white began to form at the base of his cock, wetness from your pussy building into a thick cream, your release teetering on the edge. He was close to his own release, his breath coming short as he fucked you, hips moving into an uneven pattern.

"Gonna cum all in you i-if you keep talking like that," he tried being strong in his words, but his voice failed him, cracking in the middle.

A small smile ghosted your lips, knowing exactly what it would take to get him to paint you white, release deep inside of you.

"Cum inside me," you whined, sinking lower as you pressed your lips to the shell of his ear. Your voice was low, scratchy from the frequent moans, borderline shouts he drew out of you.

"Make me yours, Steve."

He groaned, hands locking behind your hips as he began to drive into you, slapping sounds filling the air. Your hand snaked down to circle at your clit, tight circles around the nub that had your eyes rolling back.

"Show everyone who's pussy this really is."

With a low groan, he came inside you, fucking you through it as you found your release quickly after. It was the loudest one you had experienced, legs shaking as explosions tingled up your spine. His hips never slowed, riding out both of your highs.

You pushed off of him, collapsing into the empty leather next to him, legs sprawled wide open. Your chest heaved with exhaustion, yet adrenaline still coursed through you, tequila urging another round already.

"How soon do you think is too soon for me to marry my divorce lawyer?"

He laughed at your words, tucking himself away as he peered out the window. The city lights were far in the background, familiar streets nearing his home coming up in the distance.

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, dear," he shook his head, leaning down onto you to press a kiss to your forehead anyways. You beamed at the press of his lips, tilting your head closer to him.

The look in his eyes that he gave you was sweet, something that you had once yearned for from your now-ex. You knew it was wrong, to be this smitten over your divorce lawyer, but God, was he beautiful.

Masterlist. Inbox and requests are open! <3

also--not proofread, but should be in the next week or so :)

[bratzkoo]

meddle about | hansol/vernon

Author: bratzkoo Pairing:  Lawyer! Vernon x Lawyer! reader Genre: fluff, semi-angst, smut Rating: NC-17 Word count: 3.6k~ Warnings/note: ...not detailed sex but you know minors pls don't read. Also, Jackson Wang party.

summary: choi hansol met what he said is "the love of his life" at a jackson wang party and figures out how to get her home and to make the feeling mutual.

taglist (hit me up if you wanna be added): @escoupseu , @yanabaaaaaaarysheva , @spnyin , @sousydive , @gyuguys , @gyubakeries

requests are close, but you can just say hi! | masterlist

Hansol adjusted his leather jacket in the elevator mirror, a far cry from the pristine suits he wore in court. The fact that he was even at Jackson Wang's party was a miracle - he'd spent the last three months drowning in case files and court appearances. But Mingyu had practically dragged him here, insisting that Seoul's most promising young defense attorney needed to "remember how to have fun."

The elevator doors opened to controlled chaos. Jackson's penthouse parties were legendary for a reason - the perfect mix of luxury and wildness, where idols mingled with actors, and the city's elite let loose away from prying eyes. The bass thrummed through Hansol's chest as he made his way to the bar, already spotting some familiar faces from the legal circle looking delightfully scandalous outside their courtroom attire.

"Look who finally escaped the office!" Jackson appeared, slinging an arm around Hansol's shoulders. "I was starting to think you'd turned into a legal textbook."

Hansol laughed, accepting the shot Jackson pressed into his hand. "Some of us actually have to work for a living."

"All you do is work. That's the problem." Jackson's eyes twinkled mischievously. "But I have a feeling tonight's going to change that."

Before Hansol could question that cryptic statement, Jackson was gone, disappearing into the crowd like the social butterfly he was. Hansol knocked back his shot, the expensive liquor warming his throat. He let his eyes wander over the crowd, the alcohol already softening the edges of his usually sharp attorney mindset.

That's when he saw her.

She moved through the crowd like she owned it, confidence radiating from every step. Their eyes met across the room, and Hansol felt something he hadn't experienced in years - pure, unfiltered attraction that made his breath catch. The way she looked at him sent heat coursing through his veins, a silent challenge in her smile.

The lawyer in him analyzed the situation and he who'd been buried under case files for too long decided to take action.

- Hansol made his way through the crowd, never breaking eye contact. Up close, she was even more captivating - the kind of beauty that made him forget about tomorrow's court appearance and the stack of briefs waiting on his desk.

"You look like trouble," she said, her voice carrying easily over the music.

Hansol's lips curved into his signature smirk, the one that had charmed judges and juries but felt more dangerous now. "I could say the same about you."

They fell into an easy rhythm, bodies moving closer as they danced. Hansol's hands found her waist, and the touch sent electricity through his fingertips. The music pulsed around them, but all he could focus on was the way she felt against him, the scent of her perfume making his head spin more than the alcohol.

"You're different from the usual crowd here," she observed, her fingers playing with the collar of his leather jacket.

"Let me guess - I look too uptight?" His hands slid lower on her hips, contradicting his words.

She laughed, the sound making his pulse race. "Actually, I was thinking you look like you're really good at keeping secrets."

The implication in her words made his blood run hot. Hansol pulled her closer, his lips brushing her ear. "Want to find out?"

She responded by grinding against him in a way that made him forget they were in public. The party faded to background noise as they created their own world of tension and desire. When she kissed him, it felt like a match striking gasoline.

They ended up in one of the penthouse's dark corners, her back against the wall, his hands everywhere. Each kiss was more intoxicating than the last, a desperate need building between them. Hansol couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted someone this badly.

- Morning came too soon, sunlight streaming through the windows of Hansol's corner office. He straightened his tie, trying to focus on the upcoming meeting with opposing counsel on the Kim merger case. His mind kept drifting to last night - to her taste, her touch, the way she'd whispered her number in his ear before disappearing into the crowd.

"Hansol, they're ready for us in the conference room," Mingyu announced, poking his head in. "You look surprisingly alive for someone who was at Jackson's last night."

Hansol smirked, grabbing his case files. "I'm a professional, aren't I?"

The smirk died on his lips the moment he walked into the conference room. There she was - looking devastating in a pencil skirt and blazer, her hair pulled back professionally. Their eyes met, and he saw the same shock register on her face.

"Mr. Choi, meet the opposition's lead counsel," his senior partner announced.

Hansol's perfectly crafted lawyer mask slipped for just a second. Images from last night flashed through his mind - her lipstick smeared from his kisses, her hands in his hair, the sounds she'd made when he'd...

"Pleasure to meet you," she said smoothly, extending her hand. Her touch sent the same electricity through him as it had last night, but now it was complicated by about a dozen ethical guidelines.

"Likewise," he managed, his voice steady despite the chaos in his head. Their hands lingered a moment too long.

As they took their seats across the conference table, Hansol caught the ghost of a smirk on her lips. This case had just become a lot more interesting than your average merger. He loosened his tie slightly, already knowing the next few months would test every ounce of his professional control.

The real question was: did he want to resist, or did he want to find out just how good they could be at keeping secrets?

- Hansol prided himself on his focus. It was what made him one of Seoul's most promising young attorneys. But right now, watching Y/N deliver her opening arguments to their firms' senior partners, focus was the last thing on his mind. All he could think about was how those lips had felt against his neck at Jackson's party last week.

"Mr. Choi, your thoughts on the proposed terms?" The senior partner's voice snapped him back to reality.

Hansol straightened in his chair, sliding seamlessly into lawyer mode. "The terms are aggressive. They're asking for concessions that would effectively gut our client's intellectual property rights." His eyes met Y/N's across the conference table. "I think opposing counsel knows exactly what they're doing."

She matched his professional tone, but there was heat in her gaze. "We're simply protecting our client's interests, Mr. Choi. Though I'm open to... negotiation."

The way she said 'negotiation' made his collar feel too tight. Two could play at this game.

"Perhaps we should schedule a private meeting to discuss these terms in detail?" Hansol suggested, maintaining his composed expression even as he watched her bite her lip.

Their senior partners agreed, completely oblivious to the undercurrent of tension between their young attorneys. As the meeting concluded, Hansol gathered his files slowly, waiting until they were the last two in the room.

"My office, 8 PM," he said quietly as he passed her. "To discuss the terms, of course."

Her smile was downright wicked. "Of course. I'll bring my... briefs."

The rest of the day was torture. Hansol tried to focus on other cases, but his mind kept wandering to what might happen that evening. Every time his phone buzzed, he hoped it was her. By 7:30, he was straightening his tie for the tenth time and pretending he wasn't counting the minutes.

At exactly 8 PM, she walked into his office and locked the door behind her.

- "You know," Y/N said, walking slowly toward his desk, "I've been thinking about these terms all day." She perched on the edge of his desk, her skirt riding up just enough to make his mouth go dry. "I have some... counterproposals."

Hansol leaned back in his chair, loosening his tie. "I'm all ears, counselor."

She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. "First, I propose we forget about work for the next hour." Her fingers traced along his tie. "Second, I suggest you put this desk to better use than paperwork."

All of Hansol's careful control snapped. He stood up, pulling her into a kiss that had been building since that morning's meeting. She tasted like expensive coffee and desire, her hands already working on his tie as he pressed her against his desk.

"You've been driving me crazy all week," he growled against her neck, pushing case files aside to lift her onto the desk. "Every meeting, every deposition..."

"Good," she breathed, wrapping her legs around him. "Do you know how hard it is to focus when you do that thing with your voice in court? All authoritative and commanding..."

Their professional attire quickly became disheveled, his perfectly pressed shirt wrinkled under her grabbing hands, her pencil skirt pushed up her thighs. The desk that usually held crucial case documents now supported something far more interesting.

A noise in the hallway made them freeze. Footsteps approached, then passed. Hansol caught her laughing silently against his shoulder.

"Mingyu's still here," he whispered, even as his hands continued their exploration. "We should be careful."

"Careful isn't as fun," she replied, pulling him back into a searing kiss.

They lost track of time, discovering new uses for Hansol's office furniture. His carefully organized desk was a mess by the time they finished, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not when she looked so perfectly disheveled, sitting in his chair wearing his wrinkled suit jacket.

"We should probably actually discuss the case," she said eventually, trying to fix her hair.

Hansol watched her with a satisfied smirk. "Tomorrow. Right now, I'm thinking about taking this meeting back to my place."

Her answering smile was all the response he needed.

- The next few weeks became a dangerous dance of professional appearances and private encounters. They found every possible excuse for "private meetings" - case discussions that turned into makeout sessions in the courthouse library, depositions that led to hotel room rendezvous, late-night research that inevitably ended with them tangled together in one of their apartments.

But keeping secrets in a law firm was like trying to hide evidence from a skilled prosecutor - eventually, something would slip.

The first close call came when Mingyu walked into Hansol's office without knocking, forcing Y/N to hide behind the door while Hansol distracted him with questions about another case. The second was when Joshua almost caught them in the courthouse library, their quick separation leaving Hansol with obvious lipstick on his collar.

"You're playing with fire," Mingyu warned him one day at lunch, after noticing Hansol's unusually messed up hair post-"meeting." "Office romance is complicated enough without it being opposing counsel."

"It's not romance," Hansol insisted, straightening his tie. "It's just..."

"Just what? Opposing counsel happens to leave hickeys on your neck during case discussions?"

Hansol's hand flew to his collar, making Mingyu laugh.

"I'm not judging," Mingyu continued, "but be careful. The senior partners won't be happy if they find out their star attorney is sleeping with the opposition."

The warning should have made Hansol more cautious. Instead, it just added to the thrill. Every stolen moment felt more exciting with the risk of discovery. Every professional interaction became charged with secret meaning.

During a particularly heated negotiation session, Y/N deliberately dropped her pen just to brush against him while picking it up. Hansol retaliated by speaking in that low, authoritative court voice she'd admitted drove her crazy. By the time the meeting ended, they barely made it to the empty conference room down the hall before their professional facades crumbled.

"We're going to get caught," she gasped against his lips, even as she pulled him closer.

"Worth it," he responded, lifting her onto the conference table.

They were so lost in each other, they didn't hear the door open.

"Oh my god!" Seungkwan's voice made them jump apart. "I knew it!"

Hansol had never straightened his clothes so fast in his life. "Seungkwan, wait—"

But Seungkwan was already backing out of the room, a huge grin on his face. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. But you owe me one, Hansol!"

They stared at each other after he left, clothes disheveled and breathing heavy.

"That could have been worse," Y/N said finally. "It could have been one of the partners."

Hansol pulled her back against him. "We should probably be more careful."

"Probably," she agreed, already working on his tie again. "Starting tomorrow."

- The case was reaching its critical phase, and their professional lives were becoming increasingly complicated by their personal entanglement. During court appearances, Hansol found himself distracted by memories of the night before - Y/N in his bed, her professional demeanor completely undone. In negotiations, she'd give him looks that made him forget legal strategy entirely.

The breaking point came at another one of Jackson's parties. They'd agreed to maintain their distance in public, but after a few drinks and watching her dance with someone else, Hansol's careful control started to slip.

"Jealous?" she whispered when he finally cornered her in a quiet hallway.

"You know exactly what you're doing," he accused, backing her against the wall.

"Maybe I like making you jealous." Her fingers played with his collar. "You get that look in your eyes... the same one you get in court when you're about to win."

Hansol kissed her hard, all their pent-up professional tension exploding into passion. They were so caught up in each other, they didn't notice the flash of a phone camera from around the corner.

The next morning, Hansol walked into chaos at the office. Mingyu intercepted him before he could reach his office.

"Someone saw you at Jackson's party," Mingyu said quickly. "With her. The rumors are everywhere."

Hansol's stomach dropped. "How bad?"

"Bad enough that the senior partners want to see both of you. Separately."

The meeting was exactly as uncomfortable as expected. Questions about professional ethics, concerns about conflict of interest, discussions about transferring the case to other attorneys. Hansol sat through it all with his best courtroom poker face.

"We've invested too much time in this case to transfer it now," he argued. "I can maintain professional objectivity."

The senior partner looked skeptical. "Can you? Because that's not what I heard about your behavior at Jackson Wang's party."

Hansol's phone buzzed with a text as he left the meeting. It was from Y/N: "My office. Now."

He found her pacing, looking as rattled as he felt. "They're talking about taking us off the case," she said without preamble.

"I know." He closed the door behind him. "What do you want to do?"

She stopped pacing and looked at him. Really looked at him. "I want to win this case," she said finally. "And then I want to take you to dinner. Properly. No sneaking around."

Hansol felt something shift in his chest. This wasn't just about attraction anymore. This was about something more.

"Dinner sounds good," he said, stepping closer. "But first, we have a case to win."

She smiled, that same challenging smile that had caught his attention at the first party. "May the best lawyer win."

"Oh, I intend to," he smirked, already planning how to celebrate their eventual victory - preferably somewhere far from the office and any prying eyes.

The case had just gotten a lot more interesting, and for once in his career, Hansol wasn't entirely focused on winning. Sometimes, he was learning, there were more important things than legal victory.

- The courtroom fell silent as Hansol stood for his closing arguments. The past month had been a delicate balance - proving himself to the senior partners while dealing with the aftermath of his relationship with Y/N becoming public knowledge. Office gossip had reached fever pitch, but he'd channeled all that attention into preparing for this moment.

"Your Honor," he began, his voice carrying that authoritative tone that still made Y/N shift in her seat at the opposition table. "Over the course of this trial, we've demonstrated clear evidence that my client's intellectual property rights were not only valid but deliberately infringed upon."

He moved from behind his table, commanding the room's attention. The silver hair that had caught Y/N's eye at Jackson's party was now perfectly styled, his suit impeccable. This was Hansol in his element - the bad boy completely transformed into a legal shark.

"The opposition would have you believe this is a simple misunderstanding between companies. But the evidence tells a different story." His eyes briefly met Y/N's, and he saw that familiar fire in them - half pride, half challenge.

From the gallery, he could sense Mingyu and Seungkwan watching intently. They'd been insufferable since the news broke, alternating between teasing him and offering surprisingly good advice about office relationships.

"The documentation presented clearly shows a pattern of deliberate infringement," Hansol continued, turning to the jury. "My client spent years developing this technology. Years of research, millions in investment, countless hours of innovation - all of which the defendant attempted to appropriate for their own profit."

He proceeded to break down the evidence piece by piece, his argument as precisely constructed as one of his perfectly knotted ties. The jury was hanging on every word, and even the judge seemed impressed. This was why he'd become a lawyer - these moments where everything came down to the power of words and truth.

Y/N watched him with a mix of professional respect and personal desire that made his blood heat despite the serious moment. She'd be up next with her own closing argument, and he knew she'd be equally brilliant. Their relationship had only made them both better lawyers - each pushing the other to new heights of excellence.

As he concluded his argument, Hansol returned to his seat, catching the small proud smile Y/N tried to hide behind her professional mask. They'd agreed to give this case everything they had - to prove to everyone that they could maintain their professional integrity despite their personal involvement.

When Y/N stood for her closing argument, Hansol felt that familiar surge of attraction. She commanded the courtroom just as effectively as he had, her arguments sharp and compelling. He found himself admiring her legal prowess even as he mentally prepared counterpoints.

"While opposing counsel presents an emotional appeal," she said, giving Hansol a look that was pure professional challenge, "the facts of this case tell a different story. My client developed their technology independently, as evidenced by the extensive documentation we've provided."

The rest of her argument was brilliant - of course it was. He'd expect nothing less from the woman who could match him point for point in both legal battles and private moments. As she spoke, Hansol remembered all their late-night discussions of the case, how they'd challenged each other's arguments even as they fell deeper into whatever this thing between them was becoming.

The jury filed out for deliberation, and the tension in the courtroom was palpable. Hansol caught Y/N's eye across the room and gave her a subtle nod. Win or lose, they both knew this case had changed everything - for their careers, for their relationship, for their future.

As they waited for the verdict, Hansol reflected on how much had changed since that first night at Jackson's party. He'd walked in as a workaholic lawyer looking for one night of escape. He'd found something far more complicated - and far more rewarding.

The verdict came back in Hansol's favor, but it felt like everyone had won somehow. Y/N handled the loss gracefully, her client had already authorized an appeal, and most importantly - they were finally free from the immediate professional conflict that had forced them to sneak around.

That evening, Hansol waited in the lobby of an upscale restaurant, nervously adjusting his tie. This would be their first proper date - no hiding, no pretense of work meetings, no quick encounters in empty offices. Just dinner, like normal people who weren't trying to hide from an entire law firm.

She arrived wearing a dress that made him forget about the case entirely. "Congratulations on your win, counselor," she said, her smile teasing. "Though I should warn you - the appeal will be brutal."

Hansol pulled her close, not caring who saw them. "I look forward to it. But tonight, no shop talk. Tonight's about us."

The dinner was perfect - filled with conversation that had nothing to do with legal briefs or court appearances. They talked about everything they hadn't had time for during their rushed encounters - their dreams, their fears, their lives outside the courtroom. Hansol found himself falling harder with every laugh, every shared story, every moment where she was just herself rather than opposing counsel.

"I have a confession," she said over dessert. "That night at Jackson's party? I already knew who you were. Your reputation in legal circles... I was curious about the hot shot lawyer everyone talked about."

Hansol raised an eyebrow. "So you planned our meeting?"

"Not exactly. I just made sure I was there. Everything else..." she smiled, "that was all real."

After dinner, they ended up back at his apartment. But this time was different - no rushing, no fear of discovery, no early morning escapes before anyone could notice. They had all the time in the world.

Later, tangled in his sheets, Hansol traced patterns on her bare shoulder. "Move in with me," he said suddenly.

She propped herself up on an elbow, looking at him with surprise. "That's a bold motion, counselor."

"I'm good at those." He pulled her closer. "The sneaking around was hot, but I want more. I want lazy Sunday mornings and arguing about whose turn it is to do laundry. I want to come home to you after winning a case - or losing one. I want..."

She silenced him with a kiss. "Motion granted," she whispered against his lips.

[uiuishii]

So I'm thinking about the debate "Agatha did it on purpose" vs "Agatha can't control herself" debate.

If you think about it, Agatha is cursed with a power of absorbing all form of magic until the death of the host. When she was young she probably killed someone because of that and her mother discovered the body. Meanwhile she took interest in the darkhold, maybe to control or to fix things. She probably killed her own son without even realizing it. I mean it does make sense that Nicolas told her to stop when she killed Alice. That is why she was so shocked, realizing she did it again. It was never about her staying with her mother to be punished, but about her curse being exposed to the coven in the most horrible way. Her true punishment is her lack of control. She brings death everywhere she goes.

Thus, it explains why Death is in love with her. They met countless time, Agatha trying to resist her curse, eventually accepting her fate and power. Death knows her struggle, her power and her pain. Agatha, the witch everbody hates, and Death, the ultimate source of fear, sorrow, hatred. Rejected by everyone but themselves.

Agatha embraces the villain everybody saw in her. She accepted this role. Because it is easier and nobody believes her anyway. She can be good. But it will never be enough. So she decided to stop.

When nobody loves you, the only thing left is power. Power to feel alive and complete while you are in fact attracted by Death herself, wanting to let go.

In the end, no one will mourn Agatha except Death.

[littleplantfreak]

Happy 100 followers!! For the request event, can I request the prompt "Bringing their bento to them at work when they forgot it at home?" As for the characters, I'll make that a dealer's choice! Pick between any 4-5 characters you like!

Hi foxx!!!! I kinda mixed it up a bit so they didn't sound to repetitive, but I hope you like them :D

I chose Sako, Hiragi, Suo, and Choji since I don't give them enough love.

Sako Kota

"Fujiwara, I need at least a draft of the contract by 2:00PM today or we'll have to cancel the meeting at 4:00PM." Sako sighs, his arms crossed as he looks at the paralegal, pushing down his irritation enough that he won't snap, although Sako's icy expression is more than enough to send the other man on his way in a frantic attempt to correct his mistake.

Sitting down at his desk, he checks the clock and sees it's about lunchtime. It gives the paralegal time to get the appropriate documents together, and he would never fess up to it, but he does tend to get prickly if he hasn't eaten in a while. He never fails to perk up when you make him food, and today is no different. You both usually make your lunches together, but work ran late for him yesterday, and he never got the chance. The guilt he felt was quickly wiped away when he came home to your sleepy face waiting up for him on the couch.

"Welcome home," You'd said sweetly before shuffling towards him in your slippers and pressing a kiss to his lips. "I already made us lunch, so don't worry about it and come cuddle with me, please?" The way you helped him with his coat and tugged the wrist of his shirt, leading him to your bedroom, had his shoulders relaxing and the stress bleeding out of him slow but steady. He didn't even think to check the fridge the morning after, having slept past his first alarm due to his fatigue.

Which leaves him here now, sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, wondering if he's got enough time to order from one of the food places on his block and get back in time to read what will hopefully be a wonderful contract that he has to do very little editing on.

His text tone goes off, the little chime specifically chosen by you when you two first started dating.

[Look out your window, please owo)/*!]

A quick spin of his office chair has him looking down at you from the second floor. Not even bothering with his phone, he's walking down to meet you. Before he can even open his mouth, you blurt out something first.  

"I didn't wanna bother you, but I realized I forgot to put it on the counter this morning," A bashful smile playing on your lips, as you try to collect yourself a bit. Sako's oncoming headache that was building up suddenly stopped like a TV being flipped off by a remote. The bento wrapped neatly in your outstretched hand felt more like treasure than lunch as he takes on the weight of it, two of his fingers slipping through the tied fabric before he settles his other hand under it for stability.  

"It's not a bother; you know you can come visit whenever you want." He says, but seeing your eyebrows knit together, he's sure you're still worried about it. He places a swift kiss right where the wrinkle's formed, and he brushes it smooth with a soft swipe of his thumb before stepping back a bit, cheeks starting to heat a bit. "If you have time...we can share it in my office before lunch ends?" He says, though the end sounds more question than statement.

"I'd like that a lot," you laugh, showing him your matching box, nestled in your backpack. He doesn't spare a glance at Fujiwara, but as he walks by with you, he tells him to take his time with the draft and go for lunch. His own is going to be a little longer today.

Hiragi Toma

The hours the boxing gym Hiragi owns are later than normal. He likes being able to run his errands in the morning, and then get to the gym by 11:00 where someone will always be waiting to come in regardless of the weather. Unlocking the door, he's greeted with the sight of his lunch on the counter, and he wonders briefly if he forgot to bring it home yesterday to be cleaned, settling the keys on the ring behind his desk and walking over to it.

"Did you miss me?" You ask, poking your fingers in each side of his waist, laughing as he jerks away with a jesus christ and a groan. His arms crossed around his torso, still hiding where you've stabbed at him just in case you try for a second attack. His eyes full of betrayal at you have you gasping for breath. He forgot he gave you the spare key in case he ever needed you to open for him, which he guesses is his own fault for not considering you might use it for evil.

"You're a menace," He's grumbling, straightening up to full height.

"Yeah, but you love this menace," Your voice singsongs before adding, "this menace also brought the bento you forgot this morning, so don't you think I deserve a reward?" The cheshire grin on your face has him shuddering at what you might want your reward to be.

He's heaving out a sigh, and before he knows it, "What do you want?" comes out a bit harsher than he meant it to.

"Rude way to ask, but Ume and his girlfriend are planning a camping trip..." You trail off, already batting your lashes at him, knowing he's getting the best angle for your puppy dog eyes, though he's pretty much used to them by now. You can see the gears shifting as he thinks while he cups the back of your head and just...takes you in. Either the eyes worked wonders or he's feeling needy today, because you usually only get those eyes when you're at home.

"'s been a while since we've taken a trip, huh?" He asks, smoothing your hair down, waiting on your answer.

"Yeah...I guess it has." You say, seriously now that you're matching his energy. The last trip you both took together was months ago; both of you just got busier with work, and never planned another one. Hiragi thinks it's about time to rectify that.

"I heard one of our bands is playing in the town over next month. I'll grab tickets for it later, and," He pauses for a second to hang his head, "you can tell Umemiya's girlfriend we'll go on the camping trip too." The look lighting up on your face has him almost feeling okay, though the thought of spending a trip with Ume has his stomach tying little knots.

"Oh my god I love you so much! Enjoy your lunch. I'd eat with you, but I've got a camping brunch to attend." Tiptoeing up to kiss him proves quite easy when he's actually leaning down for you instead of teasing and saying you've gotta work harder for it. The way his hand grabs at your hip, thumb digging in slightly, tells you how appreciative he'll be for you bringing him food later tonight.

Parting from you takes more willpower than he'd thought, but he catches the mailman coming through the door in his peripheral and knows he'll only stand there gawking if Hiragi doesn't grab the mail from him. He notes how you've waited till the day of this so-called camping brunch to attack him and nearly huffs a laugh at your strategy, knowing he would've bent either way. He watches you practically skip out, turning back to wave, before walking out the door. Mail thrown on the counter, he decides his best bet is to eat while it's still quiet, knowing later in the day he'll be too busy. Maybe he'll shoot a text to Umemiya thanking him for the invite, too. Maybe.

Suo Hayato

Your phone rings as you're on the train, and you look around you before answering it, making sure to speak softly so as not to bother anyone.

"Did you forget something this morning?" Suo's voice asks coolly from the other line. You tilt your head a bit confused at the question, and he laughs. "You look like a puppy when you do that head tilt," and you huff, looking around to make sure he's not actually on the train with you.

"I hate when you do that," you pout, leaning into the speaker to hear him better. "I have my purse. My keys...I kissed you twice before I left...can I have a hint?" The hand that runs through your hair pushes it back in exasperation.

"Last time you forgot this at home, you cried in the bathroom at work." A jolt goes through you, followed by a sheepish chuckle on your end. He knows just how much you value the lunches he makes you every day, and that day had been especially stressful, building up until your forgotten lunch was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. "Your train arrives in about...8 minutes right?" he hums as if to check the clock. "I'll be at the station when you get there."

"Hayato darling...it's snowing," It's not enough to delay the trains, but it certainly isn't warm out either. The concern in your voice is apparent, and that warms him more than anything else.

"I'll make sure to warm myself up when you get here," he teases, knowing you'll understand just how he intends to warm himself up.

"Wha- fine! If you get sick, I'm calling off to take care of you this time, though." You grumble before saying your goodbyes and hanging up. He's not particularly delicate, but the last time he was sick, he insisted he was fine until you found him face first on the living room floor with an insanely high fever.

The way the cold causes his cheeks to bleed rose-red is the exact same as that time, though you can see the clarity in his eye where there hadn't been when he was swaddled up to his chin being fed soup for three days. He's holding an umbrella, his long scarf wrapped stylishly around his neck.

"Can't have you going hungry, love." Smiling, he passes your lunch over to you before stepping closer into your space, bringing you undercover of his umbrella. "Mind if I escort you to work? I have a few errands to run, so I'll take my leave from there," he says, allowing you to wrap your arm around his own. It looks like a formal way to walk with a lover, but it gives you both enough flexibility to shift here and there, looking at storefronts or the snowflakes feathering down to the ground.

You grab his hand and kiss it before he does it to you, catching him off guard for a moment before his sly smile mirrors your own. "Pretty bold of you. Is this my thanks for bringing lunch?"

"Part of it, but really I just wanted to try it. You're always doing it to me, so I wanted to see if it made your heart flutter like it does mine." Oh, there's that blatant honesty he loves so much that he'd kiss you breathless right now if he could. He's a gentleman, though, so he opts to mimic your earlier move, watching your expression change to the sweet little fluster he's used to, even though you knew he'd do it. He knows when you dig in later, you'll also make that cute face that comes every time you eat his cooking, and he can't wait to be able to see it later tonight during dinner.

Choji Tomiyama

Choji's sleep schedule is screwed. Bar tending most nights would normally be rough on a person, but he can sleep pretty much anywhere and everywhere. Your sleep schedule is only screwed every so often when you get the urge to wait up for him. His meals are kind of everywhere too, since he wants breakfast when he wakes up in the afternoon, and then has his 'lunch' right before work.

Dinner comes around 8:00 or 9:00PM, and usually he'll just order something from the kitchen before it closes, but Togame brought over leftovers earlier that you knew Choji would love. Togame would've taken it himself, had he not had a women's self defense class to teach around the time Choji would normally eat.

So here you are, wading through people laughing and pool bets being made to your left. The bar is full of people, and it's not even a weekend. You never have trouble finding your boyfriend, though, because he's always got a crowd around him. When he first started, it was a part-time thing. Something to try while he figured out what he wanted to do as a real job. But once he got the drinks down, he started making his own, and with that came a trick or two. Leading up to the present, he's doing one of his easier tricks, flipping and spinning his tumbler with a shot or two of vodka in it around his back as the crowd of already tipsy people cheer. He makes excellent tips, and is content doing this full time for the foreseeable future. You figure you can always leave his dinner to one of his less busy coworkers, but a flash of blonde in the corner of your eye darting towards you has you bracing your leg behind you waiting for impact.

Impact is quite the word for the way his body veers towards you latching on with a big oof coming from your chest as your arms wrap around him. His pretty eyes lock on to you, and he's never been happier. Usually you don't come visit because of how loud and chaotic it can get, but when you do, his energy doesn't wane for the rest of the night. The containers you're carrying in your hand register to him immediately.

"Did you eat yet?" you half-yell over the music and laughter, and he shakes his head.

"There was a bachelor party who took up most of the bar until about half an hour ago, so I didn't get to put an order in."

"Good thing Togame made extra, huh?" you grin, seeing that he knows it's his favorite dish. You've tried replicating it, and while it tastes great when you make it, Togame must have a secret to making it just that much better. You agree wholeheartedly, not competitive in the slightest when he's been nothing but wonderful to both you and Choji. Handing it over, he gives you a big wet kiss on the cheek and then goes back for the other one, longer than the first.

"I'm glad you came, even if it's just to bring me food. I missed you yesterday when you went shopping, and I couldn't see you before work," and the little hold he's got at the bottom of your shirt, rubbing the fabric between his fingers, has your heart doing loops in your throat.

"I guess I can stay for a few, if there's an empty stool somewhere near you..." you say trailing off when a quick peek shows every seat taken.

"Not a problem," He grins, grabbing a chair from the back and putting it close behind the bar where he works. You think you'll be in his way, but he actually works around you just fine, asking if you'll feed him whenever he makes a drink for someone. A mouthful of food and a swipe of a wet cloth across his face keeps his hands free enough to keep working while also getting his dinner in.

By the end of the night, he's actually allowed to leave early, and you walk home swinging your entwined hands as he's telling you about all the interesting patrons he's met before you showed up earlier. There's no better way you'd want to spend your night.