#put a price on emotion

[fkinavocado]

put a price on emotion

The Honourable Judge Styles has a dark secret. He prides himself on being notorious for his cutthroat sense of justice. But is he really any better than the ones he imprisons? Or is he a victim much like the ones he acquits?

Put a price on emotion - Masterlist, Author's Notes & Warnings / alternatively, read on wattpad

Prologue (word count: 1.1k)

“All rise. The court is now in session. Honourable Judge Styles presiding. Please be seated.”

The imposing man nodded to the bailiff and the other members of the courtroom as he took his seat at the bench. “Thank you, you may all be seated. Call the case.”

“Your honour, criminal case number 23234- People of Chicago, Illinois versus Grace Gwyneth Cohen for homicide.”

The judge did a quick scan of the courtroom as he opened up his notebook for his case notes, and landed his gaze on the defendant. She’d waived her right to a jury trial, which didn’t make any sense to him. It made much more sense for her to want a jury trial. Her chances of convincing that many more people of her innocence were exponentially higher than persuading the state’s notoriously cutthroat judge. 

The man usually presided over hung jury cases. It was his expertise, mostly because he was known for being just and, yes, cutthroat. In all the cases he’d presided over, not once did he have even a shadow of a doubt over who was in the wrong. He’d always served justice, he was sure of it, and as much as he’d have liked to have his innate judge of character take all the credit for it, he had to admit he’d not been this attuned before. 

It was hard to tell anymore, mainly because, well, it had been such a long time since… before. If anything, he could attest that he’d always had an affinity towards justice, doing the right thing, advocating for the right cause, but now, well, he could read right through the bullshit.

He could read people like open books. 

As could all vampires.

So, really, it was nothing special. What was special, though, was that not all vampires chose to put these sharpened abilities to good use. The fact that he’d chosen to do so was still something mind boggling to his… community. But Harry couldn’t fathom just doing nothing for all eternity, like they did. Sure, after a couple hundred years everyone kinda gets tired of trying to spruce things up. But he’d done it all- tried everything in the book- and at one point, you just need to try and give your existence meaning. And this, judging, was a way he could put his abilities to good use, in a meaningful way, giving him a sense of purpose.

And that was pretty valuable when you were immortal. 

And besides, he couldn’t lie; the added bonus of making humans squirm- particularly those that deserved to be crushed by the law- under his gavel, albeit metaphorically, was quite thrilling. 

But most of all, he enjoyed ensuring a bit of balance in this unfair world- the world that chose this existence for him. He’d not chosen this for himself, after all. He was a victim. He’d suffered a great injustice, maybe the biggest of them all- he’d been robbed of his right of living a normal life. He’d been forced into immortality, and there was nothing he could do about it. No one to turn to, no one to give him justice. There simply wasn’t any. And that had always bothered him deeply.

Sure, they had a system. The vampire that had turned him did suffer some consequences. But, really, there wasn’t much you could do to an immortal being to make them really repent. It wasn’t like they were going to be put away for “life”. You couldn’t exactly incarcerate someone for all eternity. The prospect of a death penalty was more of a treat than a threat to most vampires. And so, outside of being ostracised by their community, which ensured an even lonelier existence, there wasn’t much else a vampire could fear in this afterlife. Most of them stayed within lines and regulations just so they wouldn’t have to face the rest of eternity alone, be it as it may in a state of the art manor and not some dingy prison cell.

So what had made this young woman waive her jury trial? Had she not heard of his reputation? Looking at her, he recognized she was an outspoken person, a very headstrong personality, from the way she didn’t seem to pay any attention to her lawyer.

He recognized the defence attorney. He was someone the state had provided the young woman with, so he wasn’t her own choice. Their body language told him all he needed to know. She was not going to heed her council’s advice. He wondered if the man knew it too, but if he had to guess he’d say he was suspicious of it at the very least.

This was going to be tricky, Harry thought to himself as he narrowed his gaze and decided to proceed.

“Is the accused in court?”

“Yes, your honour,” the bailiff announced.

“Alright, arraign the accused.”

The young woman was brought to the defence panel, the bailiff addressing her “You are the accused in the trial number 23234 entitled People of Chicago, Illinois versus Grace Gwyneth Cohen, and the information charges you of the crime of homicide committed as follows: that on the night of 27 of July, current year, in Chicago, Illinois, the above named accused, with intent to kill, did then and there, wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and employ personal violence upon the person of one Silvian Montgomery, by then and there stabbing him with a sharp silver switchblade on the right portion of his torso, thereby inflicting upon him a serious and mortal wound which was the direct and immediate cause of his untimely death as per the autopsy report conducted by the state appointed pathologist. Contrary to law. What is your plea?”

“Not guilty.”

“You will address the bench in doing so.”

The young woman cleared her throat and turned to face the judge who was watching her intently. She took a quick breath, meeting his icy glaze. “Not guilty, your honour.”

“The accused enters the plea of not guilty, your honour.”

The young woman rolled her eyes ever so slightly, muttering something about how she’d literally just said that. And she’d been subtle about it, but Harry was extremely observant. And his preternatural hearing capabilities didn’t hurt, either.

But he was willing to let it slide, because, well, he had an affinity for innocent people.

It felt a bit like cheating, this whole ordeal, a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to. Because he was about to preside over a case knowing the outcome from head start. He knew what his verdict would be. He knew before he’d even been assigned the trial.

Not guilty.

Chapter 1

A/N: well, well well. the day has finally come. i've been planning on this fic for over a year now! i was going to post the epilogue for halloween, but life got in the way. in a way i'm glad i didn't because, well, this isn't just another vampire fic to me. it's so much more than that. it's smutty (of course), it's angsty (duh, it's me), but honestly... for a guy whose heart stopped beating a long time ago Harry sure doesn't act like it. and as for the original main character this time around, Grace... well, we'll just have to discover her alongside Harry, won't we ❤️

beta'd by the lovely @adorebeaa ❤️

special bday gift for @freedomfireflies ❤️ btw the name i chose for the mc is coincidental 😅

💕 like & reblog if you’re enjoying this, lovelies, and most importantly, please come share your thoughts on it here 💌

🧛follow me on wattpad to get notified whenever i post something new/update!🧑‍⚖️

[sunkissedpixieee]

You sunshine, you temptress,

My hand’s at risk, i fold.

crisp trepidation,

i’ll try to shake this soon.

spreading you open

is the only way of knowing you.

[hillerska-official]

I'm fully obsessed with how willing some people are to take things at face value. I did some reading to find out the best star trek TOS novels and on so many of them (interestingly enough it's usually for the ones written by women, but I digress), people leave bad reviews specifically with the same complaint, time and again. "Spock is too emotional in this. Spock is purely logical you can't write him with emotions like this." And every time i read that complaint i am fully fucking flummoxed, because of COURSE Spock is emotional, what the hell are these people talking about. Spock is shown over and over again in the show to be a deeply emotional person. This is something he vehemently denies, granted, but it is obviously intended to be clear to the viewer that he is LYING when he denies having emotions. Jim and Bones have very specific Looks reserved for when he tells this lie.

There is a very specific reason Spock tells that particular lie, of course. A pretty emotion-based one at that. Spock has a very complicated relationship with his parents and with his human versus his Vulcan culture. Growing up on Vulcan of course Spock wanted to be less human, and be more like his peers. But the fact is that even Vulcans are not naturally emotionless/logical, and they actually have very specific historical reasons for so deeply valuing logic over emotion. So it is absolutely baffling to me to see people just take what Spock tells us about himself entirely as truth. Spock is a bitch and a liar (affectionate) and he is so deeply human in so many ways. That's why people enjoy his character in the first place, imo.

[theoriginalsapphic]

If Mike had the same focus on his mental health as part of his character arc in season 4 like Max did, he wouldn’t be as a disliked character by the general audience as he currently is.

I’m being serious.

Their behaviors throughout season 4 are similar enough to draw parallels between them.

They both treat Lucas like crap in less than ideal terms.

They both get their declining academic performance pointed out by another character.

They are both hiding things from people, and being open and honest about it could help them but they won’t do it.

They both mistreat and push away someone they love.

They both lack self-preservation, which leads them to have suicidal tendencies and put their lives at risk.

The show even makes a point of putting Mike next to Max in two of the symptoms mentioned in the Vecna’s curse.

The only difference is that Max’s character has a huge focus this season, and most of it is centers on her deteriorating mental state. On the other hand, the only time Mike gets a chance to explicitly and verbally acknowledge that he is struggling with something, he admonishes himself for caring about something so irrelevant considering the ongoing situation, and the scene shifts to be about Will and his disguised confession through the painting.

.

.

.

So, with all being said... what could this possibly mean for Mike in season 5? Well, Ms. Kelly said it best:

[upsidedownsmore]

Styanax Tonatiuh discord emote/sticker for @medusacaptures ! Thank you for commissioning me!! :)

I learned a lot about making emotes from this! Mostly that I'm kinda bad at keeping things small and simple enough lol, things to do better in the future!

No pupils versions cause I'm indecisive lmao:

I kinda like it better from an art perspective but the pupils are funny lol

tbh I spent an extra hour or two than I really should've, but mostly cause I had fun and wanted to learn how to best do this kind of thing going forward. Overall I probably spent a bit more than 4 hours on this, which I think is fair since I'm inexperienced with emote commissions but it's a time I want to try and shrink by a good amount in the future if I want emote prices to be sustainable at all lol

The emote that this drawing was based on as suggested by MedusaCaptures:

I didn't really make the exact same expression but I'm happy with what I drew anyways lol

cursed wips and misc below the cut cause why not lol:

oh right and here's her captura that I based the colors on! (though it ended up way more saturated as usual lmao): https://x.com/MedusaCaptures/status/1773043624483111286

[annikuh]

sometimes Jax and/or Panathir become full imaginary friends and will hang out and walk around with me, and I enjoy it a lot

but I have been so overwhelmed on this visit with my “in-laws” that they have only shown up for like 15 mins total. otherwise they’re deadass sitting at home bc the thought of anyone else being around me—even if I like them—is actually petrifying.

[bonnieisaway]

why did i not think of this before? why did this take me so long to think of? i've been editing this show for well over a year now and it onyl just occured to me to do this?? ive adored this song for ages?? im always looking for excuses to edit this scene and i JUST fucking thought of this?>!?!?!?????????????

anyways. if it cost me my life man i'd save my only friend. that's something i could live with. i could take that to the end. if it cost my my life i'd save my only friend!!!

[ugackminer]

A wild prediction about Unity

So, Unity's just made it so that any install of a Unity game will cost a game publisher $0.20 for every time that a game is installed (past a threshold, of course).

Now, this makes one thing really clear. Piracy now directly hurts the game studios making games. By making it so that the developers have to pay $0.20 for every install of their game, piracy now isn't removing theoretical sales, but instead taking actual money from the developers.

WILD PREDICTIONS WITH NO EVIDENCE BEHIND THEM: With Unity making it so that piracy can theoretically bankrupt a game studio, many developers will be desperately searching for a solution to stop piracy at any means necessary.

And here's where Unity would swoop in with a new free tool, called some form of "Unity DRM". This new program would be sold as a combination anti-cheat and DRM package, making it an obvious choice for developers wanting to stop piracy along with cheating and modding.

However, most client sided anti-cheats and DRM software are very, very invasive. They have more power on your computer than you do. That's not a prediction either, that's just true. An admin level rootkit running on your computer, that Unity would be in charge of.

They could then use this theoretical DRM/anti-cheat in order to collect massive amounts of data on users. People often forget that they run their own ad agency. Unity Ads would get tons upon tons of new amounts of user data, all with a simple new agreement that you would be forced to sign in order to install any game with Unity DRM.

Again, all just predictions. This post is only so I can make the most ridiculous "I told you so" post if it turns out to be true.

Unity was my introduction to actually writing code, and has gotten me super far in my journey as a developer. I'm really sad to see it destroy itself in this way, and the fact that this prediction isn't even all that far-fetched is honestly super scary to me.

[fkinavocado]

put a price on emotion

The Honourable Judge Styles has a dark secret. He prides himself on being notorious for his cutthroat sense of justice. But is he really any better than the ones he imprisons? Or is he a victim much like the ones he acquits?

Put a price on emotion - Masterlist, Author’s Notes & Warnings 

Prologue (important part to the story so please make sure you read the prologue first!) / alternatively, read on wattpad

Chapter 1 (word count: 3.5k)

Harry knew this was one of the last cases he’d be presiding in Chicago. He never stayed in one place for more than 2-3 years at a time. Sure the paperwork was gruelling but he preferred it over having to be stuck in the same place for too long. 

He also couldn’t stay, even if he wanted to. It was only that long until people started figuring out that this judge wasn’t exactly… ageing.

So every decade or so, Harry had to not only switch states/ countries (that he did every few years), but take up a whole new identity, from scratch. He’d build a stellar career from scratch. He’d done it, time and again. Luckily, he knew how to work the ropes to make it seamless. But it was tiresome, for sure. He’d always kept his given name, switching up his surname. The bar exam was child’s play at this point.

He wondered how long till he’d grow tired of this, too. Before being a judge, he’d been a crime investigator. That had lasted for well over 50 years. He was getting close to that number again, presiding over cases. 

He didn’t know if he’d pick it up again after Chicago, or if it was time to switch it up again. He’d decided to take a bit of time off to see where “life” took him next.

He mulled over all of this back in his chambers, after he’d removed his cloak and lit up a cigarette. Nasty habit, to be sure, but since he couldn’t exactly develop lung cancer he figured, what’s the harm?

He’d taken a lover once that really didn’t like the smell- but she found it incredibly hot when he smoked, and with her out of the picture there really wasn’t any reason not to indulge from time to time. He of course couldn’t develop an addiction to nicotine, either.

What he did have an addiction for, to his dismay, was blood. He could go for a long time without it nowadays, but still he needed to get his fill soon, he could feel it. 

Usually, if he was really busy, he’d resort to blood bags. Ever the walking cliche, he had a friend working in a hospital that provided him with the necessary amount should he need it. 

But that was a last resort kind of situation. Because as much as Harry disliked most of what being a vampire entailed, he did enjoy the thrill, the chase, the very laborious ritual of preying on his next victim, seducing them and then having them succumb to his charm.

Because, yes, Harry seduced his victims. He didn’t like calling them that, but he supposed it was a morally grey area that he’d needed to make amends with early on in his “existence”. He’d battled with feelings of guilt for the longest time, but he came to realize that the only person he was hurting in doing so was himself.

His victims were never aware of what he was using them for. He’d feed from them without them ever knowing. Sometimes these victims were one night stands, sometimes they were lovers like the woman who lowkey liked his smoking. 

But he never got serious with anyone, for obvious reasons. Just because his heart wasn’t beating anymore didn’t mean he didn’t have one still.

And if he was being honest with himself, nobody really did it for him anymore. He could see things much more clearly as a vampire, could see things for what they were, and most of the time, things just weren’t that great up close as they appeared to be from a distance. He grew tired of his lovers, bored even, and he knew it was unfair to them, but he had so much more life experience, so much more wisdom and emotional maturity that it made it hard finding someone that would intrigue him anymore. How could he ever expect someone with a few decades under their belt to ever match up to his centuries?

Thankfully, that didn’t really get in the way of his sex life. Because that, he could never tire of. Centuries of experience didn’t dampen his libido, if anything, it kept fueling it. 

Harry enjoyed being good at what he did. Be it in the courtroom, or the bedroom. He also enjoyed being in charge. Notice a pattern, there? 

He didn’t feed from all his sexual partners. He always saved it for particularly enticing lovers, nowadays. Because he always drank from them in the throes of climax, after he’d made them come over and over again, he’d finally give in and absolutely loved combining his delayed release with the sweet nectar his partners provided him, particularly after flooding their bloodline with endorphins. It was the biggest high.

He sighed, returning to his notes he’d taken that afternoon, thinking to himself he’d probably have to resort to his friend at the hospital this time around. He just hadn’t found anyone… biteable, as of late. 

He wasn’t the kind of vampire to just feed off of anyone, he wasn’t a brute, after all. He had his standards.

But his ability to stay focused was starting to decline. He knew the telltale signs all too well by now. He needed to feed in order to operate at a functional level, ideally at an efficient level.

The way he had to make a conscious effort to focus on the notes and not let his mind wander off was quite telling. He kept thinking about the young woman, and how he was worried she’d sabotage her own case with her apparent dismissal of her attorney’s advice. 

It was a simple case of self defence. If she played her cards right, she’d make it easy for him to issue the verdict in her favour. 

But why did he have a feeling it wasn’t going to be that easy?

Even if he was planning on going under the radar soon, he still couldn’t issue a verdict that would be, at least apparently, unjust. And if she didn’t heed her attorney’s advice, it just might be the case.

He decided to call it a day and head home. He’d see what he could make of it all after the next hearing, when the young woman would testify and also some eye witnesses would take the stand.

He did stop by a bar he frequented on the way. Just on the off chance someone caught his eye. No luck, though.

He decided to give it a few more days before he called his friend at the hospital. He could muster through, he knew he could.

Or was it that he tricked himself into thinking he could? Was it maybe that he’d had his eye on someone all along, and therefore automatically excluded all the other possibilities? 

And maybe it was deeper than that? Maybe he should’ve paid more heed to what others have always warned him of? Sometimes it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. 

Sometimes bonds were formed. 

*

“Defense counsel, you may present your case.” 

The young woman’s attorney nodded to the judge. “I call Grace Gwyneth Cohen to the stand.”

Grace walked to the witness stand and the bailiff approached her as she was about to be seated. “Raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do.”

“State your name.”

“Grace Gwyneth Cohen.”

“Miss Cohen, let’s go way back,” her lawyer approached the bench and the young woman listened intently. Harry noted she seemed a bit more likely to cooperate with her attorney today, which pleased him. It would make his job infinitely easier. “First, let’s get an idea about why you were at this bar to begin with. A lovely young woman such as yourself, surely you don’t find yourself in such dingy places normally…”

“Objection! Irrelevant.”

Harry raised an eyebrow to the plaintiff. The defence hadn’t even started yet and already this guy was breathing down his neck. “Sustained.”

Grace’s attorney turned his attention back to his client, continuing “And even if you did frequent this sort of establishments, that doesn’t have to mean anything, of course. I’m just saying, it’s not your usual scene, is it?”

“I guess not.”

“You only went that night because you were meeting up with someone you’d met online, is that correct?”

“Yes. A client.”

Harry didn’t miss the attorney’s deadpan. This was surely not the way he had intended it to go. “A client. Let’s go over what you do for a living, then, shall we, Miss Cohen?”

“Sure.”

“You’re a sex worker. Is that correct?”

“No.”

Harry took note of the attorney’s clenched jaw once more. 

“What would you call what you do, then?”

“I’m not really sure, but I’m no prostitute.”

“Sex workers aren’t prostitutes. There’s a wide foray of services that fall under that category but don’t include an actual sexual act. Let’s see if what you do falls under this category. I believe the proper term would be that you’re a “cam girl”, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Which basically means, you record yourself for a paying audience, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you undress for your audience?”

“Depends.”

“How so?”

“Well if you’re asking if I’m ever in the nude, then the answer is no. I don’t ever take off all my clothes. I tease them a little, but there’s never been any nudity.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. How she ever got people to actually watch without her ever fully undressing was intriguing. Not to mention earn a living out of this.

“Do you only get undressed with clients you meet up with?”

“No.”

“Wasn’t this why you were meeting up with this client at the bar that night?”

“That’s what he thought was going to happen. In reality, I was planning to string him along for a bit, hopefully get him to give me some money in the hopes that I would give him more than he saw of me online.”

“Is this your only source of income?”

“At the moment, yes, because I’m a student. My curriculum doesn’t leave me with enough time even for a part time job with a fixed schedule. So I have to… freelance. I tried a number of remote jobs before I opened my onlyfans. I get to keep my anonymity, I never show my facial characteristics online, I get to make up my own schedule depending on what little free time I have and so I thought… it wouldn’t hurt to at least give it a try. I didn’t expect for anyone to chip in considering I don’t even fully undress, but surprisingly, I do have people stream my live shows. I haven’t really had time this month to stream, because I’ve had exams to study for. So money was tight. This guy was in my inbox begging for me to meet up with him. Again… I had no intention of actually going all the way with him, at most I thought maybe I’d earn a free meal out of it. I didn’t want to offer a private show for him instead either, didn’t want to risk leaving any digital footprints… I deliberately chose that pub, it’s a crowded place on a Saturday night. Figured it would be… safe.”

“But it wasn’t safe, was it, Miss Cohen? Going back to the night in question. You had set up a meeting with one of your online clients. Had any promises been made beforehand as to what would happen during this meeting?”

“I’d vaguely alluded to the possibility of more happening, but no promises had been made, no.”

“Would you mind giving us a rundown of what happened, exactly, at the bar?”

“Of course. I met up with him at the Silver Church, on the evening of the 27th of July, at 8. He said his name was Dave, and that he’d be waiting for me at the bar. When I greeted him, I immediately had an unsettling feeling about him, but I still tried to play the “date” to my advantage somehow and try and see if I could milk some money off of him. I flirted with him but never agreed to go back to his place like he kept insisting. Eventually, I asked him for some money and told him I’d be buying a lingerie set to wear on my next live stream, just for him, and consider going out with him again. He didn’t seem to like that very much, but he did give me the money, eventually. He kept insisting he’d take me back to his place even though I’d made it clear I wouldn’t be doing that, yet. I wasn’t ever planning on going through with it, of course, but I was leading him on. I don’t know if he figured out I was playing him, but he then insisted he’d walk me home. Which of course, was out of the question. I realized he wasn’t going to take no for an answer and I excused myself to use the lady’s room, but in reality, I was looking for a backdoor exit. I figured I’d already gotten my money, and that if I wanted to get rid of him now would be the time to try and make a run for it.

“I made a beeline for an exit I’d spotted at the other side of the bar when I thought he wasn’t looking, and I thought I’d been pretty stealthy and quick, but somehow he caught up to me. Before I knew it, he was right there behind me in that back alley, no one else in sight. I was expecting him to ask where I was going, something of that nature, but instead he outright attacked me!”

“What did you do then?”

“I, well– I don’t remember.”

“Would you say the assault made you lose conscience?”

“Yes, he pounced on me, and bit me –”

“And would you say you hit your head when he jumped you?”

“Yes, but–”

“So you don’t remember defending yourself?”

“Well, no. No, I don’t.”

“That's all. I have no further questions.”

Harry sensed the attorney’s irritation, and how the defendant clearly wanted to say more. He hoped, again, that for her sake she’d not walk right into the trap the plaintiff was no doubt setting up for her. “Plaintiff's counsel, do you have any cross-examination of this witness?”

“Yes, your honour. Miss Cohen, I couldn’t help but notice how you wanted to say something when your attorney so rudely interrupted.”

“Objection!”

“Sustained. Your point, plaintiff?”

“Just trying to get the full picture, here, your honour. Going back to the night of the murder, Miss Cohen. You mentioned Mr. Montgomery attacked you. Bit you, I believe is the term you used. Why would a grown man bite you? Wouldn’t there be other alternative ways, more effective ways of stopping you from leaving the club?”

“That’s what I thought as well. I was shocked by his action, I was expecting him to force himself on me but he went straight for my neck and bit… hard.”

“Why do you suppose he’d do such a thing”

“Objection!”

Harry sighed, knowing he had no choice but to let her get to her point. He already knew what she was going to say, by the look in her eyes. 

The same terror he’d seen in them that fateful night.

“Overruled.”

Grace had gone pale, her gaze had zoned out. Eventually she spoke out, her voice shaking, not at all similar to the tone she’d accustomed the court thus far. “It’s because… because he was… a vampire.”

The court gasped in unison in shock, and Harry had to exercise his gavel for the first time that evening. “Order! Order in the court!”

The judge had to insist on reinstating decorum and then the plaintiff resumed. “A… vampire. Just for the record, Miss Cohen. Your statement is that Mr. Montgomery was a vampire?”

She nodded reluctantly. “I know how this sounds. I know! But he didn’t just bite me… no, he… his eyes, his clear blue eyes turned pitch black. In the blink of an eye. When he lunged at me, his fangs were… on full display. It was only a fraction of a second before he lunged at me, but there was no mistaking what I saw. Trust me, his canines were perfectly normal over at the bar. So were his eyes. And the pain… the piercing pain he inflicted when his fangs tore the skin on my neck… I can still feel it sometimes. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”

Harry watched as she instinctively brought her nimble fingers to the side of her neck, tracing the skin there. 

The plaintiff cleared his throat, barely masking his amusement. “What happened then, Miss Cohen? Did he drink your blood?”

“Objection! Leading question!”

“I… like I said, I don’t remember. He tackled me to the ground. I must’ve either hurt my head or just passed out from the… assault.”

“So… you don’t remember fighting back.”

“No.”

“How do you explain the state in which the two of you were found then?”

“I… don’t know…”

“For the record, a member of the club’s staff was taking out the trash in the back alley when he stumbled upon what appeared to be two people lying on the ground. One of them severely injured. And that person wasn’t you. No, Miss Cohen, when the ambulance arrived they performed a thorough physical examination both on site and later at the hospital, and concluded you weren’t injured. In fact they couldn’t find so much as a scar on you.”

The court gasped in unison again and the judge gave them a warning look without having to use the gavel.

“Mr. Montgomery, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. He was declared dead, killed by a puncture to his heart inflicted by a switchblade.”

“Order!”

Grace watched as if in slow motion how the people in the court switched from looking at her with curiosity to giving her accusatory glances, and she couldn’t help but let tears well up in her eyes. She faintly heard the judge’s gavel but not even that could steady her beating heart. She had pleaded not guilty at the counsel of her attorney, but the truth was… she didn’t know what the truth was.

She must’ve been in shock, her memory of the incident completely blocked as a defence mechanism or something. The last thing she remembered was hitting the ground, the vampire hovering over her. She definitely did not remember stabbing him, hell, she’d never even seen that switchblade before. She’d have recognized it if it was hers. She did carry a pepper spray but she of course had no chance to retrieve it, the guy had been on her within the blink of an eye, his morphed features shocking her into a frozen stupor. 

Initially she thought she might have done it in self defence, and the shock was just blocking her memory of it. But then the lab concluded that her fingerprints weren’t on the switchblade. In fact, it had been wiped clean. 

She couldn’t fathom ever going through the trouble of doing all that, and not flee the scene of the crime at least if she was trying to conceal her actions.

Nothing added up. The rest of the interrogation was a blur. She was taken back into custody until the next hearing. Back in her cell, but somewhere nicer than where she was headed- she was always reminded by whomever escorted her there.

She was left alone with her thoughts yet again, back to staring at those barren walls and trying to make sense of all that was happening to her, trying to make peace with the fact that this was probably what the rest of her life would be like.

Harry was staring at a much different wall, a wall decorated in all his accolades and honorary achievements back in his chambers. But he had the same thing on his mind.

This was unjust, and the feeling made his skin crawl. He wasn’t used to such a feeling. The only time he’d felt that before was when he’d been robbed of his own life, just like Grace was getting robbed of hers. 

He kicked his feet off his desk and grabbed his briefcase, deciding to head home. His hand hovered over the light switch, pausing before he finally left.

He’d find a way, but it just might be that it would have her live in limbo for the rest of her life, not unlike himself.

A/N: hints and smoke and mirrors, aka a slow burn cuz y'all know me 😅

beta’d by the lovely @adorebeaa ❤️

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[asgoresboyf]

it makes me ill that my cat will die before i do. if there is any proof that god hates us, it's that

[theiris1002]

A new picture of snoots take because I think it's been awhile since I posted one. He loves going under his water dish (it used to be snakeys but I rehomed him)

((I ended up venting in the tags about why I rahomed snakey))

[shadow0-1]

🌋⚾🔫

🌋 VOLCANO - how bad is their temper? is it a slow boil, or a instant explosion?

Typically a slow boil, it takes quite a bit to get Jax to the point where he'll actually lash out

⚾ BASEBALL - can they play sports? what is their best position if they play a team sport? what's their strong suit (speed, power etc.)?

Yes other than snowboarding, he played baseball in high school! He was the main pitcher and had a mean fastball and then he broke his arm

🔫 PISTOL - do they trust people easily? how easily will they turn their back to someone? have they been backstabbed before? will they betray someone if given an ultimatum?

Jax can be friendly with almost everyone, but it'll take a little bit for him to fully trust them, but once he does, he's with you for life. Graves technically backstabs Jax by choosing to trust Shepard over him but still, Jax wouldn't give up on him :)

[heartofanenigma]

Parijat was right Aashiqui 2 was peak Arijit and I FUCKING WANT HIM BACK

[soleilapproves]

Older boyfriend Price who is absolutely DISTRAUGHT over the fact that you don’t care about marriage because you think he’s over it.

Note: this one has no smut but it has mentions of sex and sexual relations so interact at your own discretion. Reader is in mid twenties.

Masterlist

“What the fuck do you mean by you don’t want to?” If Price had been any louder, anyone outside his car would’ve been able to hear him.

It had been a few months into your relationship with Price after almost a year of being friends with benefits. You weren’t sure how your arrangement changed over time but you were glad to be with him as he valued you a lot.

“I mean, think about it. You’re like, what? 40-“

“I’m 37, love”

“Right, yeah, I just think that it doesn’t really matter as long as we’re having fun together. Honestly, I thought you’d agree.” You said before taking a bite out of your burger.

Price could only watch you in shock. Sure, your relationship started on the basis of sexual benefits but when he did think of the future all he thought of was you. Even if you were a generation younger than him, he had never felt such synergy with anyone before. It was a connection of a lifetime - emotional and sexual.

“So you don’t give a shit about marriage because you think I don’t care about it.”

“Kind of. If I’m gonna get married I need my partner to be on board too, don’t you think?” He sighed at your reply. You looked up at him, confused and cheeks full with your dinner as you grabbed the plastic cup of coke.

His heart swelled at the sight. It was like looking at an innocent chipmunk. To think that the same face looked fucked out an hour ago awed him but he couldn’t let himself get distracted by your unintentional seduction.

He grabbed your drink and put it back in the cupholder. You were about to whine but he grabbed your face and pulled you close, noses almost touching.

“You-“ peck “-are the most wonderful thing to happen to me and I’ll be damned if I don’t tie you down with me in the future.”

Your face heated up. You had swallowed your food not too long ago but your mouth felt like it had gone dry.

With your face in his hands he continued. “I’ll have a rock on your pretty little finger before you know it.” He left a longer peck on your lips this time and pulled away.

What you didn’t know was that he already had a ring for you. It was stored away in a hidden drawer in his desk, waiting to be worn by you.

In fact, he had brought it just a month into your relationship. He wasn’t religious but he knew that a person like you was the blessing of a lifetime.

[lilirot]

The Mobage (and GaaS) industry in general is fucked. All mobage have this insane breakneck pace it feels like. They do it because they want you keep playing forever and constantly bombarding you with things to do (+ making sure progression is as SLOW AS POSSIBLE eat my whole ass genshin impact) to keep you playing and hopefully paying. Basically there was a study that showed players who played games longer were more likely to spend money on MTX and that's absolutely rotted the mobage/GaaS games. It's a nightmare honestly. If not for the fact that Otome games don't really have a super long daily gameplay loop I'd probably have completely washed my hands of mobage at this point. It's just not worth the energy.

[window-view-orion]

FYI: MATTEL CREATIONS HAS NO CANCELLATION POLICY

I was already aware of how painfully consumer-unfriendly Mattel Creations is, how broken the site is, how difficult and cumbersome it is for anyone unfamiliar or inexperienced with it to navigate releases and place orders, but this situation I'm dealing with has just put me over the edge of my patience.

They don't allow order cancellations. Not even on pre-orders. Not even on pre-orders that don't ship for another month and a half. Yes, I understand not being to cancel if the item has already shipped. Yes, I understand smaller companies having the burden of making manufacturing orders then having to refund that price to consumers that change their mind and being stuck with product. Neither of those is what's happening here.

Mattel is a 6-billion dollar corporation that seems to go out of its way to make things frustrating for their customers. They know they have a monopoly of certain doll releases through Mattel Creations, so they have no incentive to change their policies to be more reasonable. They've decided it looks good for the books when a release sells out in literal seconds, so they keep the stock low to make that happen, even when it means floods of bots snatching up stock instead of consumers. They have outdated, unfriendly policies that they bury in obscure FAQs. They don't respond to emails.

Have I mentioned the site is broken?

I placed the EE Rapunzel in my cart to double check that they didn't clarify ANYWHERE their return/cancellation policy, and now I get an error when I try to empty the cart. So she's just sitting there. Hopefully they don't decide to glitch and complete the order without my input, or I'll just be stuck with ANOTHER one of her! Oops, your fault, print out this third-party return label and ship her back to us at your own cost, then in 3-4 weeks MAYBE we'll process a refund for you.

And yeah, I'm part of the problem because I can't even say that I'm never ordering from Mattel Creations again. I already had the Jinafire fan vote doll on preorder, whenever the hell that comes out. I can't promise that there will never be a Creations exclusive doll that I want. I don't know how the hell to fix this, and would my boycott do anything anyway? No! They don't give a shit about their customers' opinions, clearly!

Thank you for listening to me complain! God dammit!