15 Comments
User's avatar
Emerald City Ghosts's avatar

Really enjoyed this! I like fresh takes on traditional monster types!

Stephen Duffy's avatar

Thank you! This is one of my personal faves ❤️

Hanna Delaney's avatar

Congratulations on winning an honourable mention! Great story and I liked that twist at the end.

Stephen Duffy's avatar

Thanks Hanna! I never expected it tbh, standard was unreal.

Wendy Cockcroft's avatar

Great story. Great twist ending. I have one quibble, though. "Your Just?" I've never heard that before. Why did you use it?

Stephen Duffy's avatar

Thanks, and great question!

I used it because I thought it fitted with the weird vibe I was going for. A few things about the trial were a little off, like Felicity raising her left hand when swearing her oath, and only saying that she would "try" to tell the truth, and the judge being totally fine with that 😆

Nick Winney's avatar

delightful vampire tale! loved the courtroom scene... pure gothic melodrama. very visually evocative!

good work and good luck!

Stephen Duffy's avatar

Thanks Nick! The Shame is on my list btw 👌🏻

Nick Winney's avatar

been trying to read them all today now i finally got mine done... tiring business sometimes!

Stephen Duffy's avatar

I envy you. Time isn't my friend these days!

Alex | A. R. Eldridge's avatar

Nice twist on the courtroom drama!

Stephen Duffy's avatar

Thanks! Are you related to the judge, by any chance? 😆

Alex | A. R. Eldridge's avatar

I think we may have a shared genealogy 😂

User's avatar
Comment deleted
Apr 26, 2025
Comment deleted
Stephen Duffy's avatar

And thank you! I tried to make the horror implied rather than explicit, just for a little challenge.

Stephen Duffy's avatar

They are, but they don't like to admit it. A tad snobbish, those Something-Or-Others 😆