#christine trent

[cattatonically]

Stolen Remains - Christine Trent (Lady of Ashes series, book 2)

Synopsis

After establishing her reputation as one of London’s most highly regarded undertakers, Violet Harper decided to take her practice to the wilds of the American West. But when her mother falls ill, Violet and her husband Samuel are summoned back to England, where her skills are as sought-after as ever. She’s honored to undertake the funeral of Anthony Fairmont, the Viscount Raybourn, a close friend of Queen Victoria’s who died in suspicious circumstances–but it’s difficult to perform her services when his body disappears. . .

As the viscount’s undertaker, all eyes are on Violet as the Fairmonts and Scotland Yard begin the search for his earthly remains. Forced to exhume her latent talents as a sleuth to preserve her good name, Violet’s own investigation takes her from servants’ quarters, to the halls of Windsor Castle, to the tombs of ancient Egypt–and the Fairmont family’s secrets quickly begin to unravel like a mummy’s wrappings. But the closer Violet gets to the truth, the closer she gets to becoming the next missing body. . .

Wrought with both heartfelt bravery and breathtaking suspense, Stolen Remains is a captivating tale of death and deception set against the indelible backdrop of Victorian London.

My Thoughts

When I first read Lady of Ashes, I fell absolutely in love with Violet. And while I was looking forward to reading about how she was getting on with her family in Colorado, I’m equally as pleased about her new adventure around London.

As always, Violet goes about her profession as undertaker with a level-headed determination that is truly admirable. Even with a history with the family of the departed, she can compartmentalize her professionalism, and her personal attachments to an enviable degree.

And yet, none of that can quash her naturally curious mind. Violent craves answers like my cat craves catnip. And when she can’t find them, she uses her ingrained logic and inquisitive nature seem to take over. (Even if part of it is at the direction of the crown.)

The amount of pure research that went into this book, and the interpretation of the events, is absolutely astounding. I know very little about this era, and even less about Victorian England, but I truly felt like I was there, riding in the carriages with Violet, and walking the cobblestone streets. This, of course, made for a few jarring moments as the twits and turns came into view.

As we go through the mystery with Violet, I couldn’t help but feel like things were sitting just under the surface that I couldn’t yet scratch. And when they emerged, I can truly say that I was shocked. Usually, I like being able to figure out bits and pieces as the story goes on. But this one stumped me from beginning to end. Though I can’t say that all the surprises were unpleasant. It was quite fun to piece things together along with Violet, instead of wanting to rush ahead for her to get to the “Aha!” moment.

I’ve truly become invested in this world, and I’ve truly fallen in love with Violet and Sam Harper (though we didn’t see too much of Sam this time around). I am thoroughly enjoying this series, and I can’t wait to read more!

#Book review #Stolen Remains #Christine Trent #Lady of Ashes series #Catt reads #Catt's life in books

[2-fast-2-curious]

I know you don’t watch football but in honor of The World Cup 😭😭 Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander Arnold or Mason Mount audios by any chance? pretty please?

You definitely brought your best candidates if you wanted me to start watching football...

Trent Alexander Arnold

[M4F] Do me a favour [SI][Gentle Mdom][Sweet][Denial][Tiny bit of edging]

Creator Reddit: u/NorthernThunderstorm

Jude Bellingham

[M4F] Don't Squat. Don't Hover. Park that Pussy.

[Script fill] [Black Listener] [Chubby Girl][British accent] [reassurance to listener][Man handling] [Reluctant (at first) face sitting][cunnilingus][Speaker orgasm][Mating Press][Mutual Orgasm][Creampie][Dirty Talk] [Body Worship]

Creator: u/Mr-Irn

#trent alexander arnold #jude bellingham #christine recommends audios #england national football team #england national team #x reader #smut #soccer audios

[webslingingslasher]

banner made by: @thursdaygxrls

(yes, i reposted this. i needed to edit the dates. thank you to those who will re-reblog and re-like.)

it's finally here. a major quick thank you for all the love and patience everyone has shown me over this series. i hope it's worth the wait.

word count: 11k.

it's getting real now...

CHAPTER TWO: MASTERMIND

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH, SIGMA NU CHAPTER HOUSE

Chistine Kiko just handed you an eighth of mushrooms and you weren’t one to disappoint. Even if it was your first time. “My fucking dad wouldn’t let me do anything in the Hamptons. I literally only had my dab pen and coke. Like, what kind of person does that?” 

They taste like fucking shit, Christine licked her pudgy fingers dry while you were gagging between chews. “He sounds,” baby barf, “like a monster.” She doesn’t pick up on your sarcasm, “thank you! Everyone said I was being dramatic too, glad to know I can rely on you.” 

You cough on the last swallow, Christine patted at your back, a red solo cup pushed in your hand. “Drink. I mean, he bossed me around all summer too. He thinks I wanna be like him, like, try that with your other kids?” You pull the cup down, “you’re an only child?” 

Christine shrugs, “it’s never too late.” You hum while you finish the mixture, it was ultra sweet, you assume it was full of booze. “So, basically, you’re gonna have a super fun time and I will totally be here for you if you need me, but I have friends to see, ya know?” 

It’s a nice way of saying she will absolutely not be around if you need her. You stop her with a hand on her wrist, “wait, how long until this hits? Will I know?” Christine smirks, “about an hour, give or take. Ride the wave and pick a bed to land in.” 

You’re alone for an entire two minutes, just enough time to get your own cup of jungle juice, the same mixture as Christine’s, before an arm drops around your shoulders. The voice alone makes you want to eat sand, you just know he’s about to say something stupid. 

With his girlfriend in tow, blonde hair whips towards you, a snotty smirk, “did you see Harvey yet?” It takes everything in you not to wack his arm. “No, not yet.” 

“Well, I’m sure he’s going to love your top.” You huff at him, “this wasn’t even the shirt Ally wanted me to wear, so, fuck you!” Matt holds a hand to his chest, “I am in a committed relationship, and even if I wasn’t, ew.” 

“Don’t flatter yourself, blondie. I’ve seen cuter rats.” He narrows his eyes, “I will pray for evil to find you.” Ally gasps, “Matty, no.” 

Holding a middle finger up, your eyes wander around the room until you zone in on Harvey resting against the staircase, a gleam of light hits his wrist, silver dances in your eyes. 

Harvey must have felt you, his chin rises in a poor excuse for a nod. You flash a four finger wave, raising your cup to your mouth when he starts laughing with a friend. Matt pokes your elbow at the interaction, “what kind of dress are you wearing to the wedding?” 

You grin, “I’m not sure yet, I don’t wanna clash with Ally.” You turn to her, “we both can’t wear white, right?” 

“Hey, hey, hey, if anyone’s going to marry Ally it’s me, and it’ll be in a church so you’ll either sit it out or burn.” 

Checking your phone you nibble at your lip, thirty eight minutes. Trent’s nowhere to be found, you need to start looking. And subtly. You take a step back, pretending to be interested in a fake text. “Give me five minutes, I need to make a call.” Ally’s quick to give the go ahead, “okay, text me if you can’t find us!”

Thirty seven minutes. Your shoulder hits a freshman’s, jungle juice splashes on the hardwood; spilling out an apology you step over the puddle. A boy you haven’t seen before smiles at you, if you weren’t on a mission, you’d be saying hello. 

You loop by the garage, heart stuttering when you capture Peter and Ethan playing a game of beer pong. Trent wasn’t there, your last hope and prayer was in the backyard. 

Surrounded by rose bushes, the chapter president had his lips wrapped around a cigarette. The red glow lit his cheeks up on the inhale, two girls and another guy with him, you think you shared a class with one of the girls last year. 

Trent catches your eyes, it’s clear you both don’t want anyone to know what’s going on. He directed his gaze towards your phone, a hand moved around in his pocket before he produced his own. 

You stare at your home screen, expecting the message any second. It comes when you move back inside. 

‘Use the backstairs, my room is on the left at the end of the hall.’ 

‘Give me five minutes.’ 

Thirty two minutes, you don’t have any time to waste. Your feet hit the stairs. 

Trent’s room is messy and terribly decorated. Clothes covered the floor, empty bowls and plates scattered across his desk, a still sweating, sealed water bottle makes you smack your lips. How tempting. 

A string of flags, a political one that doesn’t surprise you in the slightest, a ‘Saturdays are for the boys’ one, and a black and white american flag. The trio makes you roll your eyes, it seems very fitting for his personality. No shoe has a matching partner in the entire room, you’re scared to think of what might be under his bed. 

You don’t feel safe or comfortable enough to sit on it either, it’s unmade and with a noticeable and questionable looking stain. He does have a couch though, and it looks very, very comfortable. It feels like you’d sink right in. It’s not enticing enough, you don’t trust it. 

You check your phone again, it’s been five minutes and it could be the liquor, but you feel a slight wobble. Twenty three minutes until blast off Trent slides through a small crack in the door, your arms cross defensively.  “I know you’re not fucking me, but you can at least pretend to care about my time.” 

“Wrong. I wouldn’t care about you, even if you were fucking me.” He proudly takes a seat at his desk, he offers you nothing. A smug look rolls over, “you’ve built it up long enough, what do you need from me?” 

The sooner it’s over, the better. “My friends and I have a bet on your potential new members, if the person I pick makes it through recruitment, I win. I need you to make sure I win.” 

Trent’s facade slips, even just for a millisecond. “One more time, and I need you to be very clear on it, alright?” 

Were you slurring your words? You try to speak clearer. “I know someone who’s going to pledge, and I promise you he has no involvement in this, but I need him to be recruited so I can win some money. All I need is for you to make sure I win and they don’t.” 

A brief pause, Trent looks sympathetic. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with that.” You cut him off, he accepted the terms last Friday, and again when you sent over copies of your- Noa’s hard discoveries. 

“No, no, Trent, you did. You said anything I needed, and I need this.” 

“If you would’ve told me what you needed, you would’ve known I couldn’t help you.” 

“This is bullshit, I’ll start singing from the rooftops about your payoff.” 

“No, you won’t. I’m the president, so I get final say on who we fully recruit-” You roll your eyes, “I know.” 

“- but I don’t get to choose who makes it past rush, you need a member to bid on a pledge. You need someone to big brother him, I can’t do that. If I get involved it becomes dirty rushing, and that is the biggest ‘no no’ to exist.” 

You slump, everything comes crashing down. “So… you can’t even pull rank here?” Trent shakes his head, “absolutely not.” 

“So this was all for nothing?” 

“If you can find a member to bid on him, you have my promise he’ll make it, and I’ll cut whoever you need so you can win. That’s it.” 

You’re at a loss, you have no other member you could ask. Matt could never keep a secret, you didn’t know Ethan well enough and there was no way in hell you’d ask- “Want my advice? Parker is your best bet.” 

You shake your head wildly, it takes a moment for your mind to click back into place. “You really want to involve someone else into this? You know what’s at stake, right?” You’re hinting at his secret, Trent shrugs. 

“If anyone is going to know about it, I’d want it to be Parker. He can keep a secret and has no issue in playing dirty if he’s in on it.” You’re suddenly very thirsty, you keep licking your lips for moisture. 

“He doesn’t know who I am.” Not a total lie. 

“Then introduce yourself.” 

You shouldn’t have to do anything, he’s the one not making good on his promise. You made good on your end and in return he’s barely lifting a finger. Maybe it had something to do with not wanting Peter involved due to fear of judgment. Or, maybe he’d be impressed like Trent. 

If you wanted Peter to be a conquest, it couldn’t start by you asking for a favor. That was friend behavior, and you wanted to be anything but friends. This was Trent’s problem, not yours. He doesn’t understand that you can make things difficult for him if he backs out. 

Your tongue is thick and you need water. You have no time for this. 

“Listen, Trent. This is your problem. I held up my end of the bargain, and you have to do yours. I don’t care how you do it, but you’re going to pledge Isaac Barns. If you don’t, I’ll turn shit around and make this the dirty frat, the frat that cheated for first place.” 

Trent held a clenched jaw, you saw nothing but fury in his eyes. “We’ll figure something out. No need to get mouthy.” If you had more time you’d entertain his comment, but it’s clear he’d figure something out. 

You eye the plastic water bottle next to him, snatching it from the side. “And I’m taking this, talk to me when you have a plan, Simpson!” When his door slams shut, it rings in your ears. 

You feel every muscle in your legs move while you walk, and within minutes it seemed like everything got brighter. A vibration washes down the back of your thigh, you slap around, it’s your phone. A single text. 

‘friend?’ 

You’ve been missing too long, one way to stop the questions. 

‘Finding Harvey…’ the response was a keyboard smash. 

Blinking harsh, the room feels like it’s blending together. You’ve never felt this way, it’s like the entire house is moving underneath your feet. The floor waves you into the crowd, everything feels like it’s slow motion, yet sped up at the same time. 

“Hey!” You don’t know who it is, it’s a stranger, his voice sounds distorted. You shake your head clear, and step right by him. You’re on a mission and can’t be sidetracked, things are hitting quickly and you need to find Harvey to explain plans have taken a very sharp left. 

A spin of bodies, you find one that stands out. You catch her shoulders. 

“Lindsey!” You fight for the words, they’re like butter. “Have you seen Harvey Guyn?” 

She’s fucking plastered, a slur of letters string out. “... hall.. wine… yeah! haha…” A gasp when she sees a friend across the house, you’re forgotten in a second. Putting your faith in her, you take careful steps, slapping your hands on the wine closet and tugging it open.

“Harvey! You in here? Lindsey said you were-” there was no chance to finish, Harvey was busy doing it for you. His head was thrown back on the wall tiles, a guttural moan ripped from his throat. Wrapped around his fist was a tight hold of black hair, to help Christine Kiko keep his dick swallowed down.

“Oh shit,” you slam the door on them, standing in shock for a few seconds. It wasn’t about him hooking up with her, he could do what he wanted. But it wasn’t everyday you saw something like that in person, and you had to give credit to Christine, she was taking it like a champ. 

It gave you an out for the night, you were too high for anything but breathing. 

Thank god for Christine Kiko. And really bless her for catching up with you in record time spurting apologies while wiping her mouth clean. “I know, I know, you guys were hooking up, but-” 

You stop her sorry, “how’d you know?” She rakes her long nails through her hair to untangle it, it comes out clean instantly. “My dad is super simping for his dad and we vacationed together this year so he had me try and make Harvey happy so he could tell his dad they should do business.” 

Christine has no idea how fucked up that sounds, “what would he have done if you were his son?” She doesn’t miss a beat, “Harvey swings both ways, doesn’t he?” 

Music shakes your feet, Christine’s hair looks soft. It’s black and pin-straight, you reach out, you comb your fingers through without a hint of struggle. “Wow, you take such good care of your hair.” 

“Rice water, you’re welcome.” She looks back at the door, “I need some things to finish up, but um, you feeling alright? It looks like it’s settling in.” It is. You’re busy twisting the cap on your water bottle, the small ridges skate across your thumb to create a soothing repetition. “Yeah.” 

It makes her smile, “yeah? You should go outside, the trees look fucking awesome, even when it’s dark.” You thank her for the idea, and stand still for a little too long after Christine retreats back to the wine closet. You think it’s your brain trying to remember how to walk, you blame the bass reverberating off the flooring. 

The second you’re able to actually pick your feet up, you move three steps before noticing it feels like you have lead boots on. You clomp towards the couches, perched on the side, sitting pretty, was your best friend. 

Making eye contact, you replay what just happened. You can’t stop it, it’s uncontrollable, bubbling from your throat, you laugh. Loudly. The longer you laugh, the more intense it gets. Ally has no idea what’s going on, but you assume the giggle is contagious. 

“What! Tell me!” You’re trying, but you can’t catch your breath. Each time you try to push more than two words out, you’re back to laughing so hard your shoulders shake. There’s only one reason you’re finding this so funny, you try to collect yourself. “I…” Another round, Ally’s right with you; you think she’s just excited to see what’s got you so giddy. 

“Okay, okay. Christine Kiko gave me some shrooms, and they, like, just hit. Also, I just caught her sucking Harvey’s dick.” Ally sputters, “what?!” A hand covers her mouth, the imagery catching up to her. “Oh my god!” You nod, she said it better than you could. “And you saw this?!” It’s like the idea is unbelievable to her. “Uh huh, right in front of me.” 

Ally presses the hand covering her mouth, to her cheek. A moment of silence, until she starts to laugh just like you did. You almost copy, until she stops and gives you an ironclad look, “wait, did you say mushrooms?” 

You pretend your mind is exploding. “I’m experiencing things I couldn’t explain right now.” Ally’s hair looks almost as soft as Christine’s. You grab a thick piece, breaking it into thirds and start to braid. It feels like rope, your fingers turn into a ball of yarn, fumbling into one useless clump.

“Are you okay? Matty and I were about to go upstairs.” Your eyes flash towards the stairs on instinct, then you're back at her. “Coming back down?” Ally grins and sends you a wink, “not if I give him a reason not to.” She drops her grin, “unless you need company, in that case, I’m here for you.” 

Just because you chose to spend your night tripping, it doesn’t mean Ally has to ditch bedtime with her boyfriend. Wouldn’t that be an incredibly selfish thing to do? “I don’t need a trip sitter, I have myself. And Christine. Also, have you seen Prince?” 

“Uh, no. He went off with Rocco the second we got here.” Rocco, the second you hear his name, you think of his hair, how does one achieve an afro? Would it be wrong to ask?

“Cool, cool, no doubt, no doubt.” Ally eyes you, she’s trying to make sure you’re fully okay before she pulls Matt upstairs. You flash a smile, it’s enough to have her drop her shoulders in relief. “You always have me, you know where I’ll be.” 

“And I am so, so grateful for you, Ally Storm.” Because, you are. In your opinion, mushrooms make you emotional. You went from laughing to appreciative in one minute, suddenly you’re hugging your best friend while holding back tears. “You are so kind, and patient, and nice, and, like, so super supportive to me.” 

Ally squeezes you right back, “you should do drugs more often, I’m loving the praise.” You pull back to wink at her, “it’s only cause you’re so great. Go do your boyfriend, since I can’t get any tonight.” 

“You think sex on shrooms would be good?” The idea hadn’t occurred, but thinking about it makes you agree with her. “Sex on hallucinogens? That’s boyfriend behavior.” Ally pats your arm, “next time, invite me. I’ll let you know how it is.” 

A twinkle in her eye appears, you dread what’s about to happen. “Sup, slugger?” The arm around you is entirely too heavy, but oddly comforting. Like a weighted blanket. “She took mushrooms.” You nod, Matt rubs your shoulder, you almost purr. “Having fun?” Normally, you have a love hate relationship with Matt. You both love to hate each other, but not seriously. Not that it’s been said, but you know Matt would protect you with anything in him if needed. 

Tonight, right now, Matt is a solid force. “Permission to hug?” Ally’s eyes widen, she almost doubles down on the sentiment of doing drugs more often. “You wanna full on, front touch me?” Nevermind, Matt just ruined it, like he ruins everything. “Not anymore, you ruined it.” 

“Oh, no, no, no. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Before you can try and dodge it, Matt’s got you in his hold. It’s very obvious he’s doing it for the pure enjoyment of annoying you, it’s almost endearing. Almost. You’d fight better at shoving him away but he’s got a warmth radiating from his chest and into yours. 

Peter watches you bump hips across the room with Paul’s girlfriend, your fingers pull at her hair. A wild look crosses her face, two of you giggling.

“I didn’t know she was Ally’s friend.” Ethan scratches at his arm, Peter’s guard goes up. He knows why he’s surprised to know you were the friend in question, he doesn’t know why Ethan thinks so too. 

Ethan shrugs and asks Peter about something, he can’t focus. “You know her?” 

“Yeah, that’s my bio girl.” 

Peter felt constricted, he doesn’t know why. “Wait, what? That’s my freshman.”

Ethan stares at the side of Peter’s head. “She’s not a freshman.” Peter sneers at his friend, “yeah, no shit.” Ethan kisses his teeth, “I invited her to the party.” He doesn’t know why, but Peter feels slightly challenged. 

“So did I.” His arms cross over his chest, he mumbles the rest. “On the first day.” 

“Funny. When I asked she said she had no plans.” 

Peter can feel his jaw clench, he wants to kind of fucking punch him, if he’s being honest. And that makes him even more upset, because why is he so threatened? Ethan may have an inkling that his best friend wants you more than he does, but he also wants him to know he could have competition. 

“Funny.” It’s clear Peter did not find it funny. 

“She’s cool. You know, witty, kind, pretty…” Peter’s doing what he can to keep himself from walking away, he wants to scream that he had eyes on you first. But that’s an insane thought, only one that could be casted by a witch. 

“She’s difficult and entitled.” 

All Ethan hears is ‘she’s fucking perfect for me.’ And his mind was made up, you were no longer someone he’d pursue. You’re all Parker’s, because he wants you. Even if he won’t admit it, yet.

“So, you have no issue with me moving in on that?” Peter’s a little too quiet, choosing to nurse on his beer in hand. “Do what you want, man.” He finishes his drink, he looks back up at you, sharing a warm embrace with Paul. 

“Cause, I don’t mind leaving it alone, if you want.” It takes a second, but Peter lightly shrugs. No words needed to be said, it told Ethan everything he needed to know. “You saw her first, it’s only fair.” It’s tiny, and it’s a microflash, but Peter grinned. What was understood, didn’t need to be explained. 

Heavy steps found themselves at a familiar face.

“My roommate ditched me and this floor looks like a pirate ship.” You point down for good measure, Ethan’s a good sport and looks with you. “Is it moving?” 

You nod quickly, glad he too can see the shifting boards. Ethan’s sweater catches your attention, it looks soft. By default he looks like a teddy bear, you can’t hold yourself back, latching yourself to the cashmere you run your hands over his back. 

“It’s so soft.” 

Ethan laughs, he has no issue returning the love. You melt under his touch, everything is so warm. “I can feel your hands.” Your lab partner knows exactly what’s going on, “yeah? What’d you take, X?” 

You pull back to spread pixie dust from your fingertips, “magic mushrooms.” Lights flash in cohesion with the music, you’re awe at the sharp beauty. Swirls of color cloud your vision, loud bass rings your ears. Vibrations flow from your toes up to your knees, a circle of laughter around you is contagious. 

You can’t stop the giggles, you weren’t sure who was laughing or why but it seemed so fitting. 

You throw your head back, the room spins and you squeal when your waist is held tight. 

“Ethan!” You hug him again, you can’t stop patting his sweater. “Wanna do some shots?” Ethan shakes his head, “no, you want some water.” You stop, “oh my god, yeah, that sounds so good.” Your lower back is nudged, you’re guided into the kitchen where you see a blur of motion. 

Stumbling, your back collides into another body. You spin quickly, you can’t believe it’s taken this long to see him. 

“Peter, hi!” 

Your arms loop around his back, you pull him tight to you and sigh. He’s broader than Ethan, but his shirt can’t match Ethan’s sweater. Peter feels oddly frozen, you shuffle into him further, an awkward pat is granted to the middle of your back. “Hi.”

“No, no, like this.” You fix the placement, it’s like he’s never given a hug in his entire life. Peter’s offering no warmth, it feels like he’s just allowing you to have this moment. You give him an unsure glance when you pull back, “I’ll make you better, don’t worry.” 

You’re stopped before you could try and teach Peter a proper hug. “Let’s not hug, Parker.” You blink wildly at your lab partner, before looking back at Peter, he has an unimpressed gaze on Ethan. “No hugs? You don’t like hugs?” 

It’s unacceptable, you pull at Ethan’s arm. “Here, show him how it’s done.” Ethan tries to shake his head, you loop around his waist tightly. “See, Peter? This is how you hug.” 

“I know how to hug.” 

You smile and nudge away from the cashmere, your arms open wide. “Okay, show me.” 

“No.” 

A frown takes over, since he’s being mean, you can too. 

“Fine. I don’t like your haircut, how about that?” Peter lacks the reaction you want him to give, “thank you.” You narrow your eyes at him, “Christine should’ve given you the mushrooms instead, you’re kinda grumpy.” 

Ethan pushes you back, “okay, D.A.R.E. Water.” You took the bottle and looked between the two friends. “Be honest, did you guys know they were hooking up?” 

Peter furrowed his eyebrows, you had the urge to rub it out. Ethan slapped your hand down. “Who?” You hold a finger up to pause the conversation, water has never tasted so clear. 

“Mmm…” you blink awake. “Harvey and Christine. Did you think he wasn’t planning on me finding out? Was he fully prepared to try and bang me after he got head from another girl? Cause, I don’t think so.” 

A song you haven’t heard before plays, it sends waves of warmth over your skin. 

Ethan shrugs, “sounds like Harvey, yeah.” 

You jeer around the plastic bottle, “boo.” Peter’s short circuiting in his brain. You were hooking up with Harvey? The pieces were muddling. His Harvey? That guy sucks. Peter reacts subconsciously, grabbing whatever you handed him. An empty water bottle, you smile, “thanks!” He grunts before tossing it in the kitchen sink. 

“This party would be so much better if Taylor Swift was playing.” 

It takes everything in Peter not to roll his eyes, Ethan one ups him in a second. 

“Which album?” 

You gasp, Peter swears he sees a sparkle in your eyes. For a split second he regrets not asking you the same thing. “Any of them! Do you like her too?” 

Peter thought his best friend read between the lines from their earlier conversation. He assumes he didn’t.  

“She’s alright, I have a few of her vinyls.” Record scratch, Peter just lost you. Your hand grabbed Ethan’s shoulder, you leaned in closer and gave him doe eyes. “No way, I don’t believe you. Which ones?” 

Ethan laughs, “I have them in my room, swear to god. I like her sister albums.” 

Peter watches your hand slide down his sleeve until you latch around his wrist, “show me.” Ethan shrugs, “alright, we can-” Peter steps in front of him, the path blocked. 

“Keznek.” As in, you’re not doing what I think you’re doing, right?

“Parker.” As in, do you really think that low of me?

A third name is brought into the mix, Peter looks down, you’re smiling big at him and for a second he feels like he’s smiling back. 

“Who’s that?” 

You point at yourself, “me.” 

He finally has your name, it’s fitting. He doesn’t think he’s ever thought a name could fit a person, until he heard yours. A weird urge to compliment it tugs at him, he buries it down. Witch. 

Attention back on Ethan, “you swear you have them?” He’s almost offended you’d ask, “promise.” You look to Peter, “can you confirm?” Peter sucks in a breath through his teeth, he shakes his head slowly. “I can’t.” 

The answer is obvious, “I have to verify, if you’re telling the truth you’ll win cool points forever.” Plan impeded, the chapter president just walked through the kitchen, a gleam in the wolves eye. His hand clapped Peter’s chest, the light abuse caused you to frown. 

“Nice to see you’re making friends with Parker.” 

You flip the script, a fake smile. “I’m sorry, who are you?” Ethan laughed behind you and was immediately silenced with a harsh glare from Trent. “Watch it, Keznek.” Peter’s face hardened at the tone. 

“You’re taking my advice, I love to see it.” 

Peter has his eyes on you, it takes strength to ignore it. “Wanna talk about advice? You should play some Taylor Swift.” Trent scoffs, “get fucked.” Peter speaks up before you have a chance, “hey, woah.” The head of the house wasn’t about to be talked to like he was a chapter officer, even if he was. His response was pushing Peter back and walking away. 

“I understand why he’s the president,” you watch the room swirl together. “He’s super mature.” Smacking your lips, you blindly reach for Ethan. “Do you see these fucking lights right now?” Peter glances around, it’s the same party lighting they use each time. 

“Are they dragging?” You focus in, when you move your head slow trails of light follow. “Yeah, woah.” Peter clears his throat, the sound cupped around your ears. “Your friend here, freshman?” You spin, “who’s friend?” 

Peter looks at Ethan for a second, you’re busy trying to pull at a loose thread on Peter’s sleeve. “How are you getting home tonight?” You twirl the strand around your finger, the tension snaps it. When the blood returns to your fingertip, it warms your entire hand. 

“Dunno yet. I’ll figure it out later.” You look down at your feet, they seem like they’re a million miles away from you. The floor shifts underneath you, it makes your knees shake, you clutch Ethan’s arm to balance yourself. “Pirate ship?” You nod, “ahoy, matey.” 

Peter shifts when you take him in, more or less just focused on his face. He stands a little taller, then questions it, because why would he care about how tall you perceived him to be? “Peter,” he waits. Pointing behind you, “wanna do a shot? Ethan refused, like he hates me or something.” You can’t stop looking at him, the lights dance over his face, casting him in an angelic glow like no other. 

“You think mixing shots with mushrooms is a good idea?” You move around, like your body couldn’t stand holding still. “Just one.” One wouldn’t hurt, and it’s not like he’s doing it for you or anything, he planned on having a shot anyways. You were just another person to pour for. 

“Sure. Pick the poison.” You answer quickly, an honest response. “Rat.” Ethan starts to laugh and it’s contagious, you start giggling too. You don’t know why he’s laughing, but it feels good to have someone to laugh with. Peter tilts his head to the ceiling with a heavy sigh, “no, freshman. I meant booze.” 

“Oh! Not vodka, I hate vodka, I can taste it in anything, even when Ally mixes it with Hawaiian Punch. So, please never give me vodka. I hate it.” 

Peter smirks at Ethan, “so, vodka?” You sputter, you wonder if you confused love and hate in your speech. You shake your head quickly, “no, no, no, Peter. I hate vodka, please don’t give me any.” 

Ethan slides a bottle down to Peter, it’s a party classic. Peter waits on you, “this good enough for you, princess?” It was sarcastic as all hell, but it still made you feel warm and fuzzy. “Yes, prince.” Peter just shook his head while he poured them up. 

Raised glasses, you wait for the toast. “Here’s to A’s, C’s, and double D’s.” The words made you send a glare to Peter, it seemed like he was waiting for it. “You know, like grades?” It’s not what he meant, all three of you knew it, but you couldn’t fight him on it either. It still works, a cheer is a cheer.

Normally, you’d find Fireball warming, tonight, you find it burning. You almost choke on it, holding it in your mouth for longer than you should’ve, the instant sting had caught you off guard. “Jesus Christ, freshy. Swallow.” It’s like you need a reminder, you’re able to take it down; a shutter takes over your body. 

You turn to your lab partner, a sour look on your face. “Why did you let me do that? You’re supposed to be smart.” Ethan holds his hands up, you’re not about to throw him under the bus. “Hey, I tried. You’re the one that only wanted Parker’s opinion.” 

SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 9TH. CATHEDRAL HALL. 

Peter was dragged out of his bed a little too early for a saturday in his opinion. He woke up to Trent hanging over his bed, poking him harshly on his shoulder. “The fuck do you want, Simpson?” If Peter had to guess what time it was by the shadow in his room, it was pushing early morning. 

“Get up. We need to go somewhere.” Peter blinked quickly, dragging a heavy hand up to rub the sleep from his eyes. “Now?” Trent started to stab, Peter slapped his hand away. “The fuck, man?” His president wasn’t playing around. “Get the fuck up, Parker.” 

Only when Peter sat up did Trent back away, “don’t wake anyone up. I need you downstairs in five.” When his door was shut, Peter squeezed his eyes shut and allowed himself to taste the idea of sleep one more time. Then, he got up, tugged on sweatpants and a hoodie, and silently crept downstairs. 

Peter tried to ask what was going on, and where they were going, but Trent just kept saying, ‘you’ll see,’ and ‘shut the fuck up and trust me.’ It wasn’t until he was walking up the steps to Cathedral hall, he had an odd feeling, a slight buzz in his stomach. It heightened when they took a turn for the girls section. 

“Hey, Simpson, if this is a planned parenthood thing-” 

“Shut the fuck up, Parker.” Out of nowhere he stopped, Peter almost ran into him. Trent banged on an decorated door, a whiteboard with Ally’s name, the other one had been swiped, the name unclear. “I thought Ally was at the house?” Trent beat the door harder, “she is.” 

Peter’s eyebrows furrowed, he was about to ask, yet again, why they were there. The answer came when the door flew open, eyes squinting at the hallway lighting, stands you. “You’re not Ally.”

Peter’s slightly surprised you’re home, he had no idea when or how you left last night. He also doesn’t really care. 

“No shit,” you lightly scoffed when Trent shoved his way in, your shoulder hitting the doorframe. “Good morning to you, too, dick.” Peter gently walked in, making sure not to bump against you. It made you smile lightly, “good morning, Peter.” He nodded back, “morning.” Trent bounced on Ally’s bed, it produced a loud creak. “No wonder she’s always at the house.” 

You sat on the edge of your own bed, gesturing to the spot next to you or your desk chair for a seating option for Peter; he chose the chair. Peter looked over your face while you woke up, your eyes puffy from being rubbed at, you stretched with arms over your head, a peek of skin showed your stomach. 

“You look sick.” It snapped you from your daze, you frowned at Trent. “Thanks, it’s my natural beauty.” Trent pulled a sour look, “that’s what girls look like without makeup?” Peter doesn’t really notice a difference, and that’s not a bad thing. “It’s too early for your shit, Simpson.” He looks towards you, you poke your tongue out at Trent, a childish moment to prove you had someone on your side and not his. 

Peter watches you lean back, velvety thighs on display. A hand goes behind your back, a plush resurfaced. Spider-Man sits on your lap, arms wrapped tight around his waist. He thinks it’s a squishmellow of some sort, he remembers he hooked up with a girl last year with at least twenty on her bed. She didn’t have a Spider-Man one though. 

“How are you feeling?” You look tired, maybe a little hungover. Little to no energy. Peter thinks it’s the comedown of your previous night's choices. You grin, holding Spider-Man a little tighter. “Like a champ, you?” 

Trent scoffs, “enough bullshit, wench. You know why we’re here.” Peter feels the hair on his neck stand up, Trent can be a prick, but he really has a vendetta against you. “Jesus Christ, Simpson. She’s a human being.” It’s the bare minimum, but it still makes you feel warm and fuzzy. “It’s okay, Peter. He’s just mad he can’t satisfy women.” 

Trent flies up, “fuck you! I’m doing you a fucking favor and-” Peter stands up just as quick, pushing Trent back down with a hand on his shoulder. “Sit down, Simpson.” With Peter as mediator, you don’t worry about standing up for yourself. 

“You’re not doing me a favor, I’m doing you a favor! You’re the one that couldn’t hold up your end of the bargain, you asshole!” Trent fights against Peter’s hold, “you’re the one that came to me!” You throw your Spider-Man to the side and step up, Peter backs up against your chest, literally using his body as a barrier. “You’re the one that involved Peter!” 

Peter shoves hard on Trent’s chest, it sends him flying back into Ally’s bed. You step back, Peter’s doing his best to look between the two of you. It’s exasperated, “involved me in what?” It goes silent, you weren’t going to say anything, you were the one who told Trent to fix it. Trent’s the one that brought in Peter, Trent’s the one to surprise you with a visit. 

Trent’s breathing is harsh, he’s more worked up than you are. You don’t know if it’s the situation or your comments, but you’re not saying a word until he does. “Look, your friend here, she’s the one that got us the intel on the other frats.” Trent’s a lot more gentle this time around, you think it may have something with the way Peter’s looking at him, daring him to try and make a move. 

Peter glances back at you, you look away, a poster more interesting. “She needs something in return and I can’t help her. I told her to ask you and I’d look the other way, but someone had to be difficult.” 

“I held up my end, Simpson. You do the same.” Trent huffed, “I fucking told you-” he lowered his voice at Peter’s glare, “- that I couldn’t do anything. I told you to ask Parker and you were the one that stormed out all pissed. I brought him here, isn’t that good enough?” 

Your arms cross, no, it wasn’t good enough. “I never wanted to involve Peter, I told you that last night. I just wanted you to figure out a way to fix it.” Trent throws his arm out at Peter, “I did! He’s fucking here! He’s gonna fucking fix it!” 

Peter feels like he’s going crazy, “fix what?” His chapter president rubs at his forehead, a heavy sigh. “You need to pledge… Fuck, what was his name?” You roll your eyes, you have little to no hope. “Isaac Barns.” Trent nods, “yeah, him. Parker, all I need you to do is pledge him and this-” an allover gesture to your body, “-goes away.” 

Peter takes a second to let it sink in, he almost laughs, but it seems a little too real to be a joke. “Dirty rushing, really? You do know what’s at stake if I say yes, right?” Trent’s jaw looks like it’s about to break into a thousand pieces with the tension it’s under. “Yes, Parker, I know what I’m asking.” Peter runs his tongue over his teeth, “right, so you understand why I have to say no.” 

You jump in, your hand on Peter’s arm, pulling him to face you. He’s staring at the placement, it’s sending a burn up and down, radiating heat. You pull away before he can shake your hold off, “please?” Peter steps away from Trent with a final warning glance, “tell me, freshman. Are you in a sorority?” You frown, “no.” He nods, like he already knew the answer. “Right. And are you aware of what could happen to me if I agree?” You have an idea, and it tells you it wouldn’t be good. “That’s if you get caught, you have Trent’s go ahead.” 

Peter laughs, he doesn’t give a shit Trent’s right there. “You think I trust him to have my back? He’d throw me under the bus in a second.” Peter doesn’t know what you know, you look in Trent’s eyes when you respond, making it clear that that would never happen. “Then trust me, and trust me when I say he won’t.” 

Trent looks away from Peter, he makes the connection in a second. 

“What do you have on Simpson?” You sputter, you feel a flush of warmth coat you. “I’m not like… some blackmailer or anything.” Trent shouts out from the bed, “ha!” Your eyes flash to the same poster from before, nothing has changed. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. President. Do you want to share with the peanut gallery?” Peter raises his hands, displeased, “don’t insult me and ask for a favor in the same breath.” 

“Look, Parker, just fucking pledge the kid, alright? It stays between us. Don’t think I don’t have shit to lose by letting this happen. I have the same risk you do.” Peter disagrees, “you’re not the one pledging.” Trent stands up, “but I’m cutting whoever she tells me. We’re both playing dirty.” 

Peter’s trying to think about it logically, he just doesn’t understand why. You have all the answers, they’re only there because of you. “Why?” You pause, “what, this guy your boyfriend or something?” You shake your head quickly, “no, no, no. Not at all. He doesn’t even know I’m doing this. He’s just a person I know who’s rushing, that’s it.” 

Peter kisses his teeth and shakes his head in disbelief, “yeah, I don’t know about that.” Total defeat, you were at a loss. Your answer was Trent, if Peter wouldn’t do it, Trent needed to find someone who would. “Trent,” it comes out as a whine, a defiant toddler pointing at Peter. 

“C’mon, Parker. Think about this. You’re smarter than your own good.” Peter sizes his president up, he really doesn’t like what he’s implying. “And I’m supposed to trust you?” You push on Peter’s arm, “no, you’re supposed to trust me. Trent won’t touch you, no matter your answer. Even though I really wish it was yes.” 

Peter’s doing his best to push down all emotion, because if he wasn’t, he’d find out that he wanted to say yes. Just because you asked him. And that’s not who he is, or what he does. He’s known you for a week and he’s about to put his entire academic career at hand, it’s dehumanizing to himself. Witch. 

“Fine.” You cheer, Peter’s whipped into a side hug. He claws your arms away from him, “I didn’t say yes. I’ll think about it, okay?” You nod, it’s enough for you, “thank you so much, Peter. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

Trent throws his hands up, “hello? You’re welcome.” You sneer at him, “you did nothing but put it all on Peter.” Peter tilts his head, he didn’t think about it like that, but you’re right. “You’re insufferable and will never find a man to put up with that.” That was a blow, a harsh one at that. You’re pretty good at brushing things off, or firing back, but Trent went a little too far. He hit that deep down, hidden, insecurity. 

You just really wanted to go back to sleep, the thought of Peter in your room no longer slightly excited you. You just wanted to be alone. “Jesus fucking Christ, Trent. Who the fuck says shit like that?” You shrug, “it’s obvious he was just giving me constructive criticism.” You try to joke, it doesn’t really work. 

Peter looks down at you, it’s like you sunk down into the floor. Trent made you feel small. “It’s not funny, nothing about that was funny. That was fucked up, Simpson, the fuck is wrong with you?” There’s not an ounce of remorse on his face either, “sorry.” Peter wants to break his arm, instead he shoves him towards the door, nothing near gentle. “You’re a fucking dick.” 

“Yeah, and you just wanna stick yours in her.” If he wouldn’t be at grounds of expulsion from the frat, Peter would’ve laid him the fuck out right then and there. “Shut the fuck up, Simpson. Just leave it alone.” He does, and throws the door open before parting you with a middle finger. 

Peter pauses at the door, his eyes on your figure. It’s not like he cares about you or anything, Trent was a dick, an uncalled for amount of mean. “Don’t listen to him, he’s still reeling from that ‘can’t please a woman,’ comment.” You give a small smile, “thanks, Peter.” 

Peter’s hand holds the door handle, a tight lipped grin. He doesn’t know why, but he feels like he just has to tell you. Clearing his throat, “hey, freshman?” You perk up, he finds himself looking down at your mouth, eyes trailing towards your collarbone. Peter stops himself, it’s not about that right now. 

“You’re not… you’re not totally insufferable.” 

Something about it makes you explode, you can’t stop the cheek hurting grin. For a second, Peter matches it. “Are you saying I’ll find a man to put up with me?” Peter shrugs a shoulder, “the world is pretty big, freshman. There’s gotta be at least one.” 

At least Peter won’t think you’ll die alone, he might even be at your side. “Thanks, Peter. For everything. And for thinking about it, it means a lot to me.” Peter closing the door on himself, he briefly pauses, “just because I said I’d think about it, doesn’t mean I’ll do it.” You nod, “I know.” 

“Good. I just didn’t want you to get disappointed.” Your eyes brighten, “you care about disappointing me?” 

It goes unanswered, instead, Peter takes a deep inhale. “I’ll see you around.” With that, you were alone with Spider-Man once more. 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH, ESU DINING HALL.

The plastic chair next to Peter slides out, nickel legs scratch the tile underneath them. 

“So, how are we feeling about a verdict?” 

Peter doesn’t even flinch, he takes a bite of his sandwich. It was better before it was ruined by the presence of a demonic presence. Your hands drum on the table like you’re building yourself up for a yes, Peter thinks it’s funny you find him so easy. 

“It’s been two days, freshman.” You huff dramatically, “not a freshman.” 

“You act like one.” 

This is the part where you question your attraction towards him, it’s proof to the saying ‘you can’t pick who you love.’  You lean closer, it’s not about semantics. Peter pulls back when you get too close, he must be scared of another hug. 

“It’s a pretty easy answer, Peter. If you won’t do it, fine. But your president better figure out another way and quickly. We already have the PNM list, you make the choice sunday.” 

It isn’t his problem but the more he knows about it, the more it becomes his. Peter can’t deny the curiosity, for a witch you have no real magic, beyond what you’ve casted on him. 

Peter sighs, “alright, explain it to me. Sell it to me.” You sit straighter and fix your hair, clearing your throat you interlock your fingers on the table and begin to pitch. “I’m going on the ski trip this year, yay you.” You pout dramatically, “I needed money because my boyfriend isn’t a member of the frat and I wasn’t budgeted in.” Your words were a nod towards Ally, as if she couldn’t pay for it herself if she needed to. 

Peter wants to bang his head against the table, there’s no fucking way he had to spend a week with you in a house. That’s constant communication. That’s hell. 

“We bet every year on a member that makes it in, if we win, we get the money. I upped the stakes this year, and I know someone who signed up to rush.” You smile and poke at his arm, it’s solid. Peter looks down at your finger, you pull back and finish. 

“That’s where you come in. You pick him.” 

Peter crosses his arms over his chest while he tilts his chair back, he’s mulling it over in his mind. He looks over your face while he pokes at his cheek with his tongue, if that’s his concentration face, you hope to make him think a lot more. 

“What do I get out of it?” In Peter’s mind, it’s a bit unfair. He’s putting his reputation, spot in the frat and possibly academic probation on the line. And he gets nothing out of it. He doesn’t even want anything in return, or nothing he can think of at the moment at least. It still feels like he has to bargain for something, he’d regret it later. 

You try to hide the shock, you didn’t think Peter was that kind of guy. You didn’t know him, but you didn’t take him for a sexual favors type of person. You wanted to hook up with him, sure. But when he felt like it was owed to him, it felt icky. 

“Oh,” you look around the room, your voice lowers. The deal took a dirty turn. “What, um…” You look back at him before escaping eye contact, you don’t feel as bold. “What did you have in mind?” 

You didn’t hide the shock well, Peter’s chair is back on four legs with a slam. “No, god no.” Okay, he wasn’t asking for sex, but god no? Peter worded it wrong, you took it as a personal offense. “Not…” He’s not even going to try and explain that one out, he ditches the part where he would try to say ‘not that I wouldn’t have sex with you, because I would, but…’

“I’m not asking for you to fuck me, I just meant I’m putting a lot on the line for a girl who assaulted me and a guy I barley like.” Assault is a harsh word, you’d fight him on it but the last part mattered more. You could give him the dirt on Trent, he said if anyone knew he would prefer it to be Peter. 

“Wanna know what I have on Trent?” You have his attention, suddenly Peter looks very interested in what you have to say. He nibbles on his bottom lip for a second before nodding, for this part, you really lean in. 

“He failed out. The school sent him a letter saying he was dismissed, he had a fourteen average.” Peter’s trying to connect the dots, for once, he truly had no idea what was going on in the frat house. “His dad donated eighty-six grand, anonymously, and the next day? Bam. Reenlisted and all roles reinstated, like nothing ever happened.” Peter’s not surprised one bit, it’s very on brand for the Simpson family, to pay their way out of trouble. At least he can say you didn’t leave him empty handed, it’s good ammo to have in the back of his pocket. 

“I’ll consider your request more seriously.” It’s something, and you’ll celebrate it, you pull him into a hug, just for a quick second to squeal in his ear. You’re shrugged off in a second, you don’t care. “Thank you! See, I just knew I picked the good one!” 

The good one? 

You’re up and pushing the seat in, your bag hung over a shoulder. “I’ll see you friday?” In relation to the weekly party, he nods slowly, like you’re an idiot. “I do live there, yes.” You’re unfazed, you’ve come to realize he’s just a mildly grumpy person. It’s mostly cute. 

“Will you let me know then, is that enough time?” Peter will do anything to have you leave, he wants five minutes of peace with his lunch before he has thermodynamics. “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Your eyes sparkle, he has to look back at his plate. “Thank you, Peter. You’re the bestest.” 

You really, truly are a witch. Because his sandwich tasted a whole lot sweeter when you walked away. It turned into sog the second you placed yourself at Ally and Paul’s table. Ally’s eyes flashing over to his, a grin when he was caught looking your way. He finished in record time, he needed to get out of the room, it was starting to get a little too warm for his comfort. 

Ally started in the second you placed yourself across from her, eyes flashing to where you previously were. “Hanging out with Parker?” You shrug, if it helps getting her off your back, it helps. “He’s cute.” A squeal, she pulls at her boyfriend's arm. “Did you hear that? Matty, ask Parker if he’s into her.” 

Matt crushes a coke can, a burp follows. “No.” Ally’s face scrunches up, “why not?” Matt’s swiping at his phone, you can’t tell what game he’s playing, the glare from the lights are too bad. “Cause it’s not my business, or yours.” Ally pulls away from him entirely, her arms crossed over her chest in a huff. Uh oh, she’s mad. 

“Babe, can you get me a water? My wallet is in my backpack.” When she makes no move, he peeks over, “please? I can’t pause this level.” It’s a huff from his girlfriend, “what? You’re mad at me now? Look, I can’t even ask him if I wanted to, he’s leaving.” You look over your shoulder, Peter’s walking out with headphones stuffed in his ears, blind to the outside noise. How lucky. 

“Yeah, good thing you don’t live together or anything, Matt.” It has his total attention, “no need for that hostility, honey. If you want me to ask, I’ll ask.” It’s the right move, and he played right into Ally’s hand. A cluster of kisses to his cheek, “thank you, Matty. Love you.” A smile’s back on his face, his reward was his request being honored. 

The second Ally’s out of earshot you laugh at her boyfriend. “She plays you like a fool.” 

Matt doesn’t care one bit. “Yeah, love makes you do that. You’ll find out, she-devil.” 

You just hope you’re not the fool.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH, QUEENS, NEW YORK.

A six car pileup on the bridge caught Spider-Man’s attention, adrenalin courses his veins, any traces of that six egg omelet from Linda weighing him down vanishes. A screech of his name, he clocks it instantly. A woman, barely fourty. Spider-Man knows who it is, it’s the reporter that called him a Spider-Menace last week. Oh, how the mighty fall. 

A head tilt at the woman, she’s panicking. Thrashing in her seat, crumpled between glass and leather. She’s begging him for help, he watches for a moment before speaking over the screams. “Calm down, I’m gonna help you. Just felt like being a menace.” Tears, she speed runs apologies, tells him it’s just a job and her son loves him. 

“Alright, alright, come here.’ A grown woman, clinging to his hip is almost comedic. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…” Spider-Man doesn’t need to hear it a million times, it doesn’t mean much to him after the first one. “You’re alright, just wait over here for the fire department, okay?” 

There’s countless other shouts, he’s already running back up the freeway. Spider-Man has no plans to stay in the city after this, no, instead Peter is going to take the long train back and listen to a podcast. But right now, Spider-Man has a job to do. 

CATHEDRAL HALL. 

Three copies of the same page, everyone calls a name.

Ally starts, “I call Conner Frise.”

 Prince next, “Sam Mason.”  

Ally pokes your shoulder, “c’mon, what’s your pick?” 

You pretend to think about it, two pairs of eyes waiting expectantly. You grin, “Isaac Barns.” Confidence spills, “and I’m gonna win.” 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH, SIGMA NU CHAPTER HOUSE

Peter’s clouded in infatuation. If he was animated, he’d have hearts and stars swirling around his head. Maybe it was the booze that had him feeling so loose, for once dropping the urge to push you away, and to pull you closer. Or maybe it was you. All he could smell was your perfume, it choked him in the right ways. Something he’d be smelling long after you were gone, something that made him want to breathe in against your neck. 

You haven’t left him alone all night, circling back over and over until all he could think about was you, you, you. 

He didn’t know a neck could be so pretty, how he’d kiss over your pulse and hope it would race as much as his. And he never really noticed hair, until it framed your face. Peter was never much on picking up sounds, but now he’s heard your laugh, the one he pulled from you, he’d never be able to unhear it. 

And your voice. It whispered a song into his ears, it sent him leaning in, begging for more of the inflections. Peter didn’t care what you were talking about, as long as you were speaking to him, he’d listen. He wasn’t one to notice clothes, only when they fit just right or left little to the imagination. But on you, everything was your color. 

Peter can’t think of anything else but your lips, they’re puffed while you spin words. Velvet tumbles produced, hints of a smile around your ‘S’s. It’s like you don’t notice him getting closer, as he steps forward, you step back. You weren’t trying to escape, it was subconscious, you were making more room for him, you don't realize he doesn't want space. 

“It was really kind of sad, because the whole time you were rooting for the main character,” he’d asked you about a book he saw in your room. He doesn’t really care about it. 

“Right,” one step closer. 

“But then it all comes down at the end and you realize he really wasn’t a good guy,” Peter takes another step, your back brushes the brick wall. Little pricks dig into your shirt, it doesn’t stop you. 

“And then?” 

You smile, “this is where it gets good,” Peter leans his hand on the wall next to your head, you make no notice. “It is.” It’s more of a statement than a question, he’s relaying it to his own situation. 

“You find out he set up his friend,” it was the twist, you’d been setting it up, but Peter has no reaction. You wonder if he was even listening to you, maybe it would’ve been better if he had read it himself. 

“Are you listening to me? Cause I just kind of just spoiled the whole thing.” 

Peter can’t stop himself, he leans in. His head hangs low, you raise your chin to look in his eyes. How have you still not picked up on his hints? “Why’d he set him up?” You hum, a sparkle forms in your eyes, he was listening. 

“Well, if we're talking about my personal analysis, I think it’s cause-” 

Your lips are pillowy, puffed under his mouth as they’re wrapped around your words. Your skin is warm under his hands, he can feel your hips burning his palms over your clothes. Peter tugs you closer while simultaneously pushing you further into the brick, when you hum into his kiss, he licks your bottom lip. 

Open mouth kisses, your hands tug at the curls on the back of his neck, he’s not one for girls playing with his hair. But you, he wants you to touch wherever you want. He can’t fucking breathe, but he doesn’t care, you’re enough of a breath of fresh air. Peter feels more alive in this moment than he has in a long time. 

You pull from him, puffs of air tumble. Peter’s desperate for more, you’re just so sweet. Wet marks dot from your jaw to your neck, your hands tug at the lapels of his flannel. “Peter,” it’s breathless, he wonders if it’s the kiss or him. 

Hands tuck under your thighs, you gasp as you’re pulled up to equal height on the wall. Your legs loosely straddle his waist, nails digging into his shoulder when he hums over the middle of your throat between gentle bites and smoothing his tongue over the attack. “Fuck,” it’s a whimper, you don’t mean to, but fuck. 

Maybe he shouldn’t have cornered you like this, but what’d you expect looking at him like that? 

Peter retraces his steps, all you can think is that he tastes as sweet as he feels. It was everything you’d been pining for, and more. You were screaming in color, each grip of his hands felt like water paint, soaking deep and spreading. 

Would it be selfish if you wished he felt the same? 

“Parker, you out here?” 

You squeak, your feet hit the ground. Peter’s head is spinning, his instinct to get as far away as possible. “Yeah,” it’s airy. He clears his throat, you look over his face, he’s avoiding eye contact. “Peter,” you feel a jolt when he backs away. A stab when he steps around the corner, you try to follow, he’s quicker. 

You feel everything crumble when you realize he doesn’t want anyone to know he was with you. 

“Where you at? We’re mixing everclear for the PNM’s.” 

“Peter,” it’s on deaf ears. He doesn’t even look at you, how could he kiss you like that and then act like it was nothing? Why would he kiss you like that if it meant nothing? 

“Right here,” you watch his back disappear. “Tequila if we’re evil, beer to make them puke.” His frat brother laughs, “you’re a sick man, Parker.” 

It really, really doesn’t feel nice to be left behind in the cold. Especially when he just made you feel so warm. And it really doesn’t feel right when you want to cry, and it feels humiliating when you give him a grace period, just so you didn’t follow him from the back of the house. Just so no one would see you, just so no one would know what just happened. 

Just so you could keep it to yourself. 

You feel nothing when a shoulder hits yours, your fingers feel hot from the contrast of the breezy outdoors to the crowded, humid room of bodies. Ally’s arm hangs over your neck, you want to scream. 

Peter’s eyes catch your frown, he should’ve done more. But if he doesn’t understand anything, how would his frat brothers? He feels bad, and a little more sober than he should be, a little too sober to have done what he just did. A line of shots, Peter adds an two extra, but he doesn’t add everclear, he chooses Fireball. 

A pink, plastic shot glass slid in front of you. You look up, Peter’s waiting and watching, he raises his own. “Cheers, freshman.” It’s something, he’s waiting on your call, you’re so close and you can’t blow it now. You plaster on a smile and shake Ally’s arm off, you raise it up. 

“Cheers, Parker.” 

Peter must’ve had more than he thinks, because wow, what a gross feeling. 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH, SIGMA NU CHAPTER HOUSE

Peter does his best to be a good person, part of that is knowing when you fuck up. And what he did at his party on friday, was a fuck up. It wasn’t that he particularly cared about you, or your feelings, but he could admit that he pulled a shitty move. So shitty he dodged you the rest of the night and left you high and dry with his answer about your favor. 

You didn’t even have a way to try and contact him, other than beating down his door but even you knew that would be a bad idea. Which leads him to now, standing on the front lawn, with thirty two potential pledges. 

Peter’s turn to bid. A terrible idea. But all he could think about was getting back in your good graces and how much it fucking annoyed him to want that. Peter can feel Trent’s eyes burning into him, he takes a step forward, boldness in his chest. 

“I bid Isaac Barns.” 

It would either be the worst or best decision of his life and for whatever reason, you’re worth the gamble.

CATHEDRAL HALL

its.parker requested to follow you.

Your eyes widened, suddenly you’re very awake. Peter’s the one that kissed you, Peter’s the one that walked away, Peter’s the one that ignored you. Peter’s the one that followed you. Mixed messages, but it proved something. It wasn’t his main with ten pictures, it was his personal, his finsta, the one full of his personality. 

You nibble on your bottom lip, it shouldn’t be that easy for him. Tapping on his account you hit the request button, just because you follow him doesn’t mean he gets to follow you. Mind spinning, you replay friday night again. 

The tension eased and multiplied in one action. Peter had made you feel butterflies in the deepest pits of your stomach, when he kissed down your neck, when he wrapped your legs around his waist, when he went in for more, when he kissed you first. 

Even thinking about it makes your cheeks hurt from a grin, you squeal out and kick your feet in your bed. Peter Parker kissed you, and it meant something. It had to, something tells you that Peter doesn’t jump without thinking. 

Peter’s holding his breath while refreshing his page, still no notifications. He’s worried he blew it that night, not that it matters, it was just a kiss. Everyone kisses, if you really think about it, kisses don’t mean much. At least that’s what he tells himself. 

spider.luvr66 requested to follow you. 

If he acts now, he’d be a bit crazy. You hadn’t responded to him, but he doesn’t care. He’ll wait a couple minutes, then respond. It feels like his brain is melting, he’s not supposed to, and doesn’t feel like this. It’s against who he is now. 

But, fuck, you make it difficult for him to not think about you. Peter swears you’re a witch. 

Accept. spider.luvr66 is now following you. 

Follow request accepted, you are now following its.parker.

You sit up, it was quick, you wonder if he was waiting for the notification. It doesn’t matter, you have the Peter Parker bible in your hands, and you were about to do some research. 

You finally had access to his posts, and you were about to scroll through every single one. But the most recent one was the most important of all. A picture of Peter, crossed arms back to back with a slightly familiar face. The caption told you everything you needed to know about Peter. 

‘big brother season.’ 

You had your bid and he posted the proof.

Whatever he did friday was forgiven. That wasn’t who he was, but this, putting himself on the line for you, this was his true character and whether he wanted you to notice that or not, you did.

And it was a bold act for a guy who pretended he didn’t kiss you breathless. 

#peter parker x reader #tasm!peter x reader #peter parker blurb #tasm!peter x you #frat!peter parker #frat!peter #uni #my writing

[zimulacrum]

Total Drama Camp Island au

Fuck it. Au where Camp Wawanakwa is a Theatre camp. Chris is the director, Chef is the technical director. Mixing Gen 1 and Gen 2, the cast and crew splits up like this:

(PS, if two people have the same role, it’s just double cast.)

CAST

Alejandro - Joined because he enjoyed theatre as a class. He easily gets roles, though his charm is sometimes seen as an unfair advantage to others so he doesn’t audition much.

NOTABLE ROLES

the Phantom

the SQUIP

Emmett Forrest

Rocky

Kenickie Murdoch

Sierra - Joined because OBVIOUSLY she wants a place to nerd out! She gets good roles because she’s one of the only people who put all her emotions and being into her lines AND songs.

NOTABLE ROLES

Sandy Cheeks

Jenna Rolland

Columbia

Ronette

Delia Deetz

Duncan - I can’t decide whether he joined as a joke, or if his parents forced him to hang out with other teens. Maybe both. But surprisingly, he’s a good actor—AND can, surprisingly, do an incredible Mr. Krabs impression. He also constantly fights with crew to not wear a wig, keeping his mohawk onstage.

NOTABLE ROLES

Mr. Krabs

Jake Dillinger

Eddie

Orin Scrivello

Beetlejuice???

Tyler - Joined because he thought it would be like High School Musical. His roles are never big, but he has fun with them and always treats them like they’re the lead.

NOTABLE ROLES

Patchy the Pirate

one of the businessmen that purchases an Audrey II

Harold - He WOULD be a threatre kid if he could. He auditions with rapping EVERY TIME. And it works for him.

NOTABLE ROLES

Sheldon J. Plankton

Kevin G

Riff Raff

Geoff - Joined as a dare, and ended up loving it. He’s super chill about cast lists, and whatever he ends up with, he makes sure it’s including Bridgette.

NOTABLE ROLES

Patrick Star/Larry the Lobster/Gary the Snail

Damien Hubbard

Heather - She likes being in the spotlight. She expects roles, and she gets roles. .. not always. She’s typecast as the mean girl.

NOTABLE ROLES

Chloe Valentine

Regina George

Magenta

Vivian Kensington

Betty Rizzo

Lindsay - Loves movies and musicals and wants to be like that!! But she usually forgets her lines… and when she does, they’re all from Mean Girls. Even if she’s doing Rocky Horror, she’ll say her Karen Smith lines. Oh well.

NOTABLE ROLES

Karen Smith

Paulette Bonafonté

Frenchy Facciano

Leshawna - She has a big voice, so she’ll join to get big roles. Although, she’s never really cast in dance heavy roles…

NOTABLE ROLES

Pearl Krabs

Janice Ian

Audrey II/Chiffon

Elle Woods

Owen - He thought theatre camp could be fun! He has a surprisingly nice voice, and is just really good at embodying characters.

NOTABLE ROLES

SpongeBob SquarePants/Patrick Star

Michael Mell

Noah - “Joined as a joke”. He secretly really wanted to. He has the gay theatre kid energy here… his voice is also quite pleasant.

NOTABLE ROLES

Squidward Tentacles

Adam Maitland

Brad Majors

Warner Huntington III

Trent - Joined for fun since he had a free summer. He always brings his guitar, and sometimes plays it for script read throughs.

NOTABLE ROLES

an Electric Skate

Aaron Samuels

Cody - Family got him to join. They hoped he could get really cute roles, and he acts like he doesn’t care. He does.

NOTABLE ROLES

SpongeBob SquarePants/Old Man Jenkins

Seymour Krelborn

Bridgette - A friend suggested she signed up, so she did—tries to get a couples role with Geoff ever since they got together.

NOTABLE ROLES

Mayor of Bikini Bottom

Brooke Lohst

Janice Ian

Brooke Wyndham

Courtney - She’s done every subject and activity, of COURSE she’ll try theatre! She’s destined to be a star! She takes everything extremely seriously. And if she doesn’t get the role she wants… it’s scary.

NOTABLE ROLES

Christine Daae

Jenna Rolland

Gretchen Weiners

Vivian Kensington

Barbara Maitland

Crystal

Katie and Sadie - They picked a summer camp they wanted to do together, chose this, and auditioned for EVERYTHING together. They don’t really do roles that aren’t a duo.

NOTABLE ROLES

the Delta Nu girls

Justin - Decided to join because he assumed he’d get roles IMMEDIATELY for how he looked. He did not.

NOTABLE ROLES

an Electric Skate

Kyle the delivery man

Cameron - His mom suggested he joined a theatre camp because it felt “safe”—plus, he can actually sing and dance pretty well, since he grew up with his mom’s disco music.

NOTABLE ROLES

Seymour Krelborn

Anne Maria - She REALLY wants a shot at being a lead in a musical, but is painfully… tone deaf. But she’s pretty good at dancing, actually!

NOTABLE ROLES

Cha-Cha DiGregorio

Mike - His psychiatrist suggested he take a theatre camp, since his excuse for his switches is that he just “likes to act”. In reality, Mike… doesn’t really like acting. He’ll take one role, but all his others are usually done by… not. Him.

NOTABLE ROLES

Jeremy Heere

Beetlejuice (Mal)

Danny Zuko (Vito)

Zoey - She actually loves musicals! Big theatre kid! She can make her own costumes and knows way too much about the shows she’s in, but barely says anything about it because she’s nervous about appearing as weird.

NOTABLE ROLES

Karen

Christine Canigula

Cady Heron

Chutney Wyndham

Janet Weiss

Lydia Deetz

Sandy Olsson

Lightning - Joined by accident. He doesn’t know where he is. He likes the attention, though.

NOTABLE ROLES

an Electric Skate

Brick - He was too nervous to join theatre at school, so he tried a summer camp no one had ever heard of… and it was perfect!

NOTABLE ROLES

Perch Perkins

Dr. Scott

Scott - Joined as a joke. Auditions as a joke. Usually tries to get someone to mess up a line or say the M word onstage…

NOTABLE ROLES

Rich Goranski

Dakota - OOOFF COOUURRSEEE she has to be center stage! Of COURSE! It’s not Broadway, but this’ll do!

NOTABLE ROLES

Brooke Wyndham

Miss Argentina

Dawn - (is usually crew)

NOTABLE ROLES

Audrey

CREW

DJ - paints sets!

Eva - helps with exercises and choreography!

Gwen - head of makeup!

Izzy - she does the practical effects/special effects/visuals!

Courtney - she has FOUGHT with Chris and Chef to be allowed to act and do crew at the same time. she does lights. do NOT let her be stage manager.

Ezekiel - also pants sets!

Beth - assists in costuming!

Cameron - prop master!

Mike - when he can avoid acting, he helps Cam!

Dawn - she’s an assistant stage manager, and always knows who’s playing what before the cast list gets written somehow…

B - to save money on hiring various companies for flying or using other big machinery, he handles that himself.

Sam - sound master!

Brick - when he’s not acting, he works on being head of costumes!

Jo - stage manager!

PPS. I know most of these are adult shows, but do you think Chris gives a shit

#total drama island #tdi #tdroti #total drama revenge of the island #revenge of the island #td #total drama #tdi au #td au #total drama au #musical theatre #theatre kid #musicals #total drama camp island

[real-total-drama-takes]

https://www.tumblr.com/real-total-drama-takes/733329994142679040/be-more-chill-au-lets-fucking-go-okay-so-cody-as

Idk what’s going on but I say Trent as Christine for Trody nation (they would get together at the end) and NOAH IS SO THE SQUIP 100%

~🌈

.

#trody #total drama #pridenon

[totaldramacruisecontrol]

Last time on Total Drama Cruise Control: The teams were revealed! It’s the Bawling Beavers VS the Terrible Tapirs!

THE BAWLING BEAVERS Millie Ripper MK Harold Sammy Heather Amy Julia Chase Alejandro THE TERRIBLE TAPIRS Scott Wayne Raj Lightning Brick Sam Trent Jo Sadie Topher Courtney CHALLENGE 1: VANCOUVER, CA "The challenge is simple: before you there are 2 sleighs. Large enough to carry your luggage, and you. Pack it tightly and jump on! Because 2 teams will be sleighing down the mountain, whoever is first wins not only access to the luxury resort inside the Christine, but they are also safe from elimination!"

Though the Terrible Tapirs had a huge lead in the challenge, The Bawling Beavers stole the win. It is later discovered that Wayne smuggled Raj onto the ship, which leaves the teams uneven! ELIMINATION: Chris invited every to the stern, only to reveal it was a non-elimination challenge! Meanwhile, Brick finds himself crushing on multiple members of his team! Maybe it wasn't the best idea to ask Ripper for advice, especially when he doesn't know the advice he's giving is about relationships! With the Tapirs squabbling with each other over a web of misunderstandings, will they be able to secure the next win? Find out next time on TOTAL! DRAMA! CRUUUIISE CONTROL!

#td:cc #recap #mod ripper

[wutheringdevotion]

i have been trying to get my muse back but it's been harder than i thought. i usually don't drop threads but it's been so long that i have lost muse for some characters altogether. so under the cut there is a list of the threads i'm dropping. if you would like to do something new, either with the same ship or other, let me know! if not i totally understand, it's been a long time!

@stormbrews - huxley and cece

@scftdevil - aberdeen and vincent, tobert and coen

@melancholystories - monique and azar

@somethingscft - nia and eoghan

@champagns - ethan and carina

@lilacwiine - oliver and molly

@bloodrodeo - tobert and trent

@seolinah - phoebe and danielle, mateo and christine

@finclgicls - ginny and juniper, simone and min jun, adrita, noelle and elliot

@ofginjxints - graham and rachel

@writtenwillow - josephine and evan

@silvrmoon -ethan and blair

@proverbialsaints - gabriel x serena

@camilish - evan x mirela

@persephonyed - evan x malia

#ooc* #//incredibly sorry but i wouldn't be able to provide even a decen enough reply and you deserve better!

[akallabeth-joie]

The Blue Castle, chapter 4

It's May, and Valancy's 29. She can tell if she needs rubber boots and warm undergarments, ffs.

I'm going to assume that Valancy's seen Jennie Lloyd's housewares because she's been attending bridal showers and/or they're getting shown off during Deerwood's social calls.

I was going to take points off for both Mrs. Stirling & Cousin Stickles, but screw it. We're scoring this for real. For the rest of the book, every Stirling who does something specific to belittle or discomfort Valancy loses a point; flashbacks are included, as are hypotheticals—on the grounds that Valancy has probably experienced something similar to imagine a specific response—but activities attributed to the group as a whole will not, nor will people being annoying in general. Points are awarded for doing Valancy a good turn or reducing her suffering in any way, even unintentionally.

Scoring Recap:

Chapter 1:

Mrs. Frederick (Amelia) Stirling: -5 for needling Valancy for crying, controlling her thoughts, not letting her redecorate her room, sulking if Valancy has an opinion, forbidding privacy

Cousin Christine Stickles: -2, for the room decorating nonsense and not letting Valancy be alone

Uncle Wellington Stirling: -4 for holding a picnic on all of Valancy's birthdays and making her clean up, teasing her about being unmarried, and for making Valancy's health problems all about him

Aunt (Mary) Wellington Stirling: -3 f or holding a picnic on all of Valancy's birthdays and making her clean up, and for not tolerating different opinions

Uncle James: -1 teasing about marriage

Uncle Herbert: -1 joking about Valancy's weight

Uncle Benjamin: -1 (and immediate execution) for stupid, targeted riddles

Aunt Isabel: -1 for cruel criticism

Cousin Gladys: -1 for making Valancy's health problems all about her

[I'm giving Olive a pass, since she's mostly just existing at Valancy so far. Be assured, her time will come.]

Dr. Trent gets an honorary +1 in my heart for telling off Cousin Gladys.

Chapter 2:

Mrs. Frederick: -2 for the strict meal times, fire schedule

Cousin Stickles: -1 for scaring little Valancy with the bear story

Aunt Wellington: -1 for controlling Valancy's hairstyle

Chapter 3:

Mrs. Frederick: -11 for the marmalade policing, crust, NOT WISHING HER DAUGHTER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sulking, blaming Valancy for her colds, the name business, age-shaming, prohibiting reading, prohibiting contradiction, gaslighting, and arguing for 10 minutes over Valancy leaving the house

Cousin Stickles: +2 for being the only person in the book to acknowledge Valancy's birthday outside of an insult and for finding a reason to let her out of the house, but -1 for the 'no idleness/reading' rule

Chapter 4:

Mrs. Frederick: -1 for the petticoat

Cousin Stickles: -1 for the rubbers

So after four chapters, our score stands at:

Mrs. Frederick, in last place with -19 points

Cousin Stickles, in second to last with -5 points

Aunt and Uncle Wellington tied in third to last with -4 points.

Aunt Isabel, Cousin Gladys, Uncles James, Uncle Benjamin, and Uncle Herbert are presently tied in second place at -1.

The leaders in our “least pointedly awful to Valancy” contest for named Stirling relatives are Olive, Aunt Mildred, and Cousin Georgiana, tied with 0 points. For now.

#the blue castle #blue castle book club #I'm just not happy if I'm not counting things

[damien-mlm]

Chris Alba's Backstory

a little something so that y'all get to know him better

Tw for suicide, various forms of child abuse and SH

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; October 31st, 1990. Born first, right before his twin sister, making him the older one. Their parents, Gustavo Alba and Harriet Trent, decided to give the twins their father’s last name, while their mother chose their first names: Cassandra and Christine Alba. After their birth, the family lived in the city for about 8 years, their mother decided it would be a nice gift for the twins to get to know some of the American scenery, so the whole family flew to Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon. 

Ever the mischievous ones, the twins separated from their parents and crossed the safety line, trying to get a better view of the bottom. Some loose dirt that Christine was laying on broke off the edge, sending her down into the pit, but right before she fell, Cassandra grabbed her arm, “MA! PA!” Christine yelled from the top of her lungs, asking for help, while Cassie did her best to try and pull the other twin up from the ledge, though both of their grips were slipping.

Their parents were not fast enough, Cassie’s strength finally gave out and had to watch as Christine fell down, her screams and sounds of her bones cracking loud as she tumbled to the bottom of the Canyon. All of this, just as their parents arrived. Gustavo never recovered, he was devastated, and ended up committing suicide from being unable to cope with the immense grief that was losing one of his daughters, especially when the other one was a constant reminder of how she would look like if she was still here. 

After Gustavo died, Harriet took Cassie with her, and moved to Huston, Texas, her hometown. Harriet blamed Cassandra for it all from the very beginning. To Harriet, Cassandra was a murderer, responsible for her husband’s and daughter’s death, Cassandra was nothing but a monster, and so, she treated her like one.

Cassie also blamed herself, always. From the moment she saw the look of sheer terror in Christine’s eyes as she fell down, Cassandra has done nothing but blame herself for it all, she killed her baby sister, daddy died because he was so sad, so sad because she killed her sister. Cassie also believes herself to be a monster, so not only she accepts her mother’s abuse as well deserved punishment for her actions, she also punishes herself through SH. Cassandra struggles with deep self loathing and depression for the rest of her life, her mother being neglectful and abusive, to the point where she would not care what her boyfriends would do to her child.

After a particular incident, Cassie fled at the age of 13. During this time, he also realized he might not be a girl after all. He was homeless for a couple of months, surviving on his own, wandering around the outskirts of the city. Mom never bothered to go looking for him, but locals notified the authorities of a homeless teen, and so, he was approached by the cops, and taken to an orphanage. “What’s your name?” the desk attendant asked him, to get him enlisted in the files of the establishment. He thought for a second, looking down at his hands. He closed them, clenching his fists, before looking up and answering: “Chris. My name is Chris Alba…” 

Chris had told the social workers what his mother had done and allowed it to be done to him, so he was taken to foster care.

His foster parents lived in California, and they were as loving and as patient as could be, but Chris attempted suicide the night he turned 15. After coming out of the hospital and under close watch of his foster parents and doctors, Chris was able to somewhat recover. He found peace and coped through singing, and even though he took an extra few years to finish highschool, he was always thankful to his music teacher. 

He became a senior in highschool at age 19, graduating at 20 years old. After graduating he disappeared from his foster parents' home, he didn't want to be a bother to anybody anymore, so he went through the country, singing on the streets and offering sexual favors for money. He wandered through the country aimlessly, drowning his sorrows in drunken casual sex in cheap motels. Until he decided he had enough, enough of life, enough of existing, so he made a plan.

His first goal was the home of his father and baby sister's graves, Huston, Texas.

He arrived on a rainy day, and spent most of his pocket money on a bouquet of red roses. He let rain pour down on him as he looked at the two graves, one next to the other, divided the bouquet in two. He sat in the middle, facing both graves and placed the flowers.

"I'll see you again soon, I promise"

He was certain he would, he was seeing them soon, he had to, he needed to.

Arrival to Ambrose

Imma add @rottent33th @slaasherslut @the-pinstriped-hood @moon-of-desire @allthingsblood @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better and @texaschainsawslvt to my taglist, if u want to ask Chris something you are 100% welcome to do so!

Also if u want me to remove/add u to my tag list just lemme know ✨

#oc #transmasc oc #transmasc reader #slasher x s/o #slasher x reader #slasher fandom #slasher community #house of wax au #house of wax #house of wax 2005 #grand trine au #chris alba #bo sincair #bo sinclair x reader #bo sinclair x male reader #bo sinclair x chris alba #sinalba #for short

[wheeler-beretta-harwood]

Today I am doing nothing but watching tv and ordering Chinese food because I have the worst sunburn. I know your not a beach girl, so let’s pretend you and your date were invited to Trent’s and mine tropical beach wedding. 😂 The two of you decide to make a mini vacation out of the trip and day 1 you are covered in sunburn. How are they taking care of you and what are they doing so the vacation is not totally ruined?

Best girl, I hope you didn't expect this to be short, like you did with the period one. Cause 'Oops, I did it again', I went over the top with my sweet boy. No regrets.

"Ouch!" I whine, sprawled out on the bed in our hotel room. From the bathroom, I hear a muffled laugh...He tries his best to hide his amusement. Yesterday we, well he, decided we spent the whole day at the beach. And while Cash seemingly had the time of his life, I worked on my skin cancer. Today, I am all around red. My skin burns, and I can't fucking move without being in pain.

It will forever be a mystery how he had talked me into extending Trent's and Christine's wedding into a weekend vacation for the two of us. I don't like going to the beach. The few times we spent at the beach in Florida, I always got a sunburn. I hate sand. It gets fucking everywhere. Cash always laughs when I tell him I hate it when my ladyparts get all dusty. Have I mentioned I ALWAYS get a sunburn?!

After a few minutes, Cash returns from the bathroom, and looks all over my body. The grin plastered on his face pisses me off beyond measure. I scowl and turn my head away from him...it's the only movement I can do that doesn't hurt.

"Oh come on, Buttercup. It can't be that bad!" He moves around the bed to come back into my vision and smiles down at me before sitting at the edge of the bed. I watch in horror as he moves his hand up to run along my thigh. As soon as his fingertips touch my skin, I wince. He still hasn't understood that I'm not being dramatic, and squeezes my thigh. I yelp before I try to move my body away from him, to no avail.

"What the fuck, Cash? Is this a joke to you?! I didn't know you were a sadistic little fucker."

Finally, it dawns on him that I am not messing around. And although he usually is a tease and loves pushing all my buttons, he feels bad now. "I'm sorry, Babygirl. I didn't mean to cause you any pain." He looks at the floor and fumbles with his fingers.

"It's okay, Love. Why don't you go down to the pool and have some fun? It'll definitely be more entertaining than staying here with me."

I can see he's trying to suppress a grin, and I just KNOW there's a smart remark spinning in his head. He keeps it to himself, though. Good for him.

"Okay, maybe I'll go down for a drink and swim a bit. I'll try not to flirt too much with all the ladies..." He says as he raises an eyebrow.

I can't help but find his teasing adorable. If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that Cash would never do anything that could slightly be considered cheating. And I also know for a fact that ever since he's gotten his mullet, his confidence rose to a new level. My shy boy is finally comfortable in his own skin, and it's only good when people other than me show him he's an attractive man.

"Flirt all you want, Baby. Let the ladies pay for your drinks. No holds barred. You know the rules." He's a bit disappointed I didn't fall for his trap and gets up from the bed now hovering over my face.

"Yeah, yeah. No touchy, no kissy, no fucky. I know."

I smile up at him as he moves his face closer and closer to mine, mindful not to touch any of my skin. Then he lightly pecks my lips. "I love you, Buttercup."

"I love you too, Baby." With that, he turns to leave. When he is through the door, I let out the sigh I've been holding in.

This is not how I wanted this vacation to go down...

After about 20 minutes, the door to our room opens again and Cash returns, a huge bag in hand. He finds me just the way he left me; I haven't moved an inch.

"Cash? I thought you wanted to go swimming and flirt the life out of the thirsty bitches at the pool...?"

"Yeah, well, I thought about the rules...and to be honest, I was hoping for lots of touchy, kissy, and fucky." He states as he sets down the bag and starts rummaging. When he finds what he's been looking for, he smiles down at me.

"What's that?" I ask looking at the plastic bottle in his hands.

"Sunburn lotion. It's with hydrocortisone, vitamin e, and zinc. Helps the healing process and reduces pain." He reads the label, then looks down at me while opening the bottle and pouring a small amount into his hand. "Pharmacist said if we apply this every hour, you're gonna be all good tomorrow...still red, but not in pain anymore." He explains further while covering my shin with the fluid. It immediately makes my skin feel cooler. And the way he so tenderly touches me, as if I'm made of glass, makes me moan. As he continues to take care of me, I think about what he just said.

"Wait, so instead of enjoying one of your rare vacations, you decided to go to the pharmacy to buy this for me?" He doesn't react, but continues spreading the lotion on my skin.

"Cash."

He sighs, and finally looks at me. "Yeah, I went to the pharmacy. Blame it on the wedding, but I got a little emotional and wanted this to be a romantic getaway for us. Fancy dinners, walking on the beach, watching the sunset. Romantic stuff, ya know. This was supposed to be about us."

How the hell did I end up with this man? He's too precious.

"Come here, Baby." I say as I wrap my arm around his neck and pull him down for a passionate kiss. My skin still hurts, but I couldn't care less. He deserves all the love I can give right now.

He, however, is well aware that I am still in pain and pulls away from me way sooner than I would've thought. "Easy now, Babygirl." He snickers when he sees me pouting.

He finishes the first of the hourly lotion sessions and gets up to wash his hands in the bathroom. My eyes follow him until he is out of sight, and then fall on the HUGE bag sitting next to the bed. "What else did you buy?"

"Don't laugh, I may have gone over the top. But I bought a fan to keep you cool, some painkillers if you need 'em, and apparently there are blankets that cool down your skin. Got you one of these too. Oh, and a new sunscreen because the one we used yesterday obviously wasn't strong enough for your delicate skin." He yells from the bathroom.

"Yeah, you may have gone over the top JUST A TAD." I retort while giggling.

"Just promise me one thing, Cash."

"What's that, Buttercup?" He questions, still out of my sight.

"We are NOT getting married at the beach." I let out a nervous breath, knowing I might have opened Pandora's box. We have NEVER talked about marriage before.

His head pokes back inside from the bathroom, his eyes bigger than I've ever seen them. Yeah, I probably went too far.

"What did you just say?" I can't reply, I feel like a complete idiot, and the fucking sunburn makes it impossible to run away from the situation right now.

"Are you serious? You want to marry me?" He starts again, and a cheeky grin spreads across his face.

"No. Yeah. Maybe. Hypothetically." I ramble, closing my eyes because I'm too afraid to look at him now.

I feel the bed dip and soon, his breath is hitting my neck. "Babygirl."

A soft sigh leaves my mouth before I finally admit it. "Yes, I want to marry you, Cash." I turn to look at him, and he smiles brightly at me.

"Good. Because I'm so gonna make you my wife." He replies before pressing his lips on mine.

#the best girl asks i answer #aew imagine #cash wheeler #cash wheeler imagine #all elite wrestling imagine #sunburn

[longlistshort]

Mark Georgiades, “Ghost of the Abandoned Bride”, Metal Steel and copper

Shelly Steck Reale, “The Fate You Choose”, Ceramic, wood, moss

Spooky season has begun and Florida CraftArt’s current exhibition Ghost Stories, curated by Catherine Bergmann (Curatorial Director of Dunedin Fine Art Center), is a perfect way to start celebrating.

The following artists are featured in the exhibition: Alegrobot, Demeree Barth, Karen Brown, Wendy Bruce, Joyce Curvin, Creative Clay, Coralette Damme, Katie Deits, Ed Derkevics, LA Finfinger, Eric Folsom, Janet Folsom, Mark Georgiades, Kristina Gintautiene, Erin Griffin, Cort Hartle, Judy Heady, Emma Hobbs, Pam Jones, Polly Johnson, Tyler Jones, Janna Kennedy, Traci Kegerreis, Betsy Lester, Cindy Linville, Richard Logan, Trent Manning, Francine Michel, Elizabeth Neily, Jacqueline Philip, Nick Reale, Shelly Steck Reale, Christine Renc-Carter, Jennifer Rosseter, Addie Rodriguez, Cooky Schock, Donna Slawsky, and Brandy Stark.

On Thursday, 10/5/23, in partnership with Keep St. Pete Lit, a group of local writers will be telling ghost stories at the gallery inspired by pieces from the exhibition. The reading will take place at 6pm.

Below are a few more selections-

Work by Alegrobot, Hand sculpted paper clay, acrylic paint

Janet Folsom, “Apparitions”, Mixed media (top left); Eric Folsom, Gravestone, bronze on marble; Donna Slawsky, (top right) “The Devil’s Work”, Stained glass, beads, and Creative Clay, Stephanie,(bottom right) “Monkey Dreams”, Mixed Media

About Creative Clay, who contributed several works to the exhibition-

“Creative Clay achieves its mission by providing ongoing studio arts workshops for individuals with disabilities five days per week. Creative Clay teaching artists provide students with education and experience in artistic techniques, as well as vocational skills related to the display, promotion, and sale or their expressive work.”

Katie Deits, “Haunted by the Past”, Ceramic, cotton, pencil, acrylic paint (left) and Nick Reale, “Out of the Wood” wood sculpture

Francine Michel “Mysteries of Urraca Mesa”, Water mixable oil, collage

Ed Derkevics, “Burnt Offerings”- “3 Potions” and “Jagged”- Mixed Media, recycled found objects

Janna Kennedy, “Souls and Pharmaseuticles”, 1800s Cabinet Cards, 1902 Pharmacy Ledger & Medical Ads, 19th Century Medicine Bottles

Kristina Gintautiene, “Slava”, Birch cradle board, Tissue paper, wax, oil pigments

LA Finfinger, Ghost Ceramic work (bottom left); Alegrobot, “(For the Record) he ordered the special”, Vinyl record, paper clay; Traci Kegerreis, “The Lost Lenore”, Mixed media (center top); Demeree Barth, “Remembering Sedlec Ossuary”, Clay, bullet casings, wood display stand, found objects (bottom right)

#Florida CraftArt #Keep St. Pete Lit #Ghost Stories #Alegrobot #Creative Clay #Art #St. Pete Art Shows #Catherine Bergmann #Ceramic Art #Ceramics #Clay #Demeree Barth #Spooky Season #Donna Slawsky #Katie Deits #Dunedin Fine Art Center #Ed Derkevics #Eric Folsom #Janet Folsom #Traci Kegerreis #Florida Art Shows #Florida Artist #Florida Artists #Janna Kennedy #Kristina Gintautiene #LA Finfinger #Mark Georgiades #Mixed Media #MIxed Media Art #Nick Reale

[cattatonically]

Lady of Ashes - Christine Trent (Lady of Ashes, book 1)

My Thoughts

I was a little hesitant to start this series. I'm fairly sporadic in my reading of historical fiction, and it takes me a while to get into it. As this series came recommended to me by a dear friend, I wanted to give it a fair shot.

As I expected, it took me a fair while to really get into the book. But once it had its hooks in me, I couldn't let go. I found myself incredibly enamoured with Violet, and her brilliant mind.

Violet is a very intelligent, dedicated, and professional woman who prides herself in her craft. While I wasn't too invested in the minutiae of the practices of undertaking itself, but I could appreciate how passionate Violet was about it.

Another thing I truly admired about her was her strength and resilience. Blow after blow after blow, she picked herself right back up, and did what needed doing in order to carry on. Violet wasn't alone, though. She built herself a wonderful support network to rely on - even if at first I was skeptical of her budding friendship with one Samuel Harper.

Sam turned out to be her best ally, and he truly won me over by the middle of the book. It wasn't just how respectful he was of Violet, and how he recognized her intelligence and talents, it was that he also respected Susanna coming into the Morgan home in the most strenuous of circumstances when Violet's own husband seemed to disdain of everything surrounding him other than his pursuit of wealth.

Violet persisted, unraveled mystery after mystery, and continued on, carrying herself with dignity and poise.

I am truly pleased with how this book ended, and I could leave this series here fully satisfied. I'm not sure if I want to pursue the rest of the series, but it will certainly remain part of my far-too-large TBR list in case I decide to see what new adventures await Violet, Sam, and Susanna in Colorado.

#Book review #Lady of Ashes #Christine Trent #Lady of Ashes series #Catt reads #Catt's life in books

[2-fast-2-curious]

Soccer Audios

Trent Alexander Arnold

[M4F] Do me a favour [SI][Gentle Mdom][Sweet][Denial][Tiny bit of edging]

Jude Bellingham

[M4F] Don't Squat. Don't Hover. Park that Pussy.

Grind Your Pussy Into My Thigh

[M4F] I need you. Every inch of you.

[M4F] Work husband comforts and doms you after a rude customer makes you cry

Cho Gue-Sung

[M4F] A Little Help For Recording

Ruben Dias

[M4F] I Wish I Could Drive You Crazy With The Sound Of My Voice

Pablo Gavi

[M4F] I come home after a stressful exam and I cum for you.

Jack Grealish

[M4F] [Improv] Massaging Your Clit With My Tongue

Erling Haaland

[M4F] [Request Fill] Professional athlete celebrating a win

Jordan Henderson

[M4F] The Hotel

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

M4F] [Script Fill] Insomnia

Kylian M'bappe

[M4F] We'll always have Paris

Lionel Messi

[M4F] Rainy Days are Made for Cuddling

Luka Modric

[M4F] Pavlov's Pussy

Mason Mount

[M4F] Blowing off Steam

[M4F] Good Morning Babygirl

Neymar Jr

[M4F]Getting off and talking about fucking you in the couch

Christian Pulisic

[M4F] You're Not Going To Work Today, Because Your Boyfriend Said So

Sergio Ramos

[M4F] [Script Fill] Morning Fun With Your Study Abroad Fling

[M4A] Sitting on Your BF Lap While He's Gaming

[M4A] ¿Que si te Quiero? No te Quiero, Te Adoro

Marcus Rashford

[M4F] Pull Over, I'm Not Pulling Out!

Andy Robertson

[M4F] Your best friend wants to empty your brain

Gareth Southgate

[M4M] Fucking my man

Virgil Van Dijk

[M4F] I know. You're scared. Don't worry; Daddy's going to treat you nice.

relax EN [creampie] [fingering] [cullignus]

relax nl [DUTCH] [creampie][fingering] [cullignus]

#soccer audios #christine recommends audios #trent alexander arnold #jude bellingham #neymar junior #lionel messi #virgil van dijk #cho gue sung #pablo gavi #jordan henderson #kylian mbappe #christian pulisic #sergio ramos #andy robertson #ruben dias #erling haaland #mason mount #zlatan ibrahimovic #marcus rashford #jack grealish

[webslingingslasher]

hiiii - 🤍 here

I LOVE YOUR NEW THEME!

but you know what i love more than the theme? CHAPTER 2!!!

I SCREAMED. I DIED. I NEEDED A DAY TO RECOVER. i was SO EXCITED AHDSJKAKJ

first of all, christine. i liked her at first, then she annoyed me bc why is she fucking the guy trouble wanted to fuck. especially KNOWING they were hooking up? fuck off. even tho trouble didnt care it pissed me off djfjkdjkd

THE BEGINNING MENTION OF TRENT MADE ME SO EXCITED bc i read the prologue and had NO idea what was going on. like? are trouble and trent secretly hit men? what is going on. I WAS SO EXCITED AND YOU DELIVEREEDDDDDDDDD. peter RISKING IT ALL FOR TROUBLE ON LIKE, DAY 2 OF KNOWING HER is so real. and he acts like he doesn't care. puh-LEASE!

NFDJKHDSHFJKSHJ NO J IM SO FUCKING EXCITED ADHJSAHDFDKSHKJFSDH IT WAS SO GOOD!!!! THE KISS? ARE YOU INSANE? IT LEFT *ME* BREATHLESS. I WAS SCREAMING. I STILL AM FDHJKFHSJDKHFJDS AHHH BABY TROUBLE AND PETER🥹🥹🥹 im crying. reading this knowing how far theyve come makes me cry bv its fr BABY TROUBLE AND PETER. i love that shes always been delusional. she's just like me <3

ALSO OH MY GOD. PETER PROTECTING HER????? BEING THE HUMAN SHIELD IN BETWEEN TRENT? J I CRIED. I SCREAMED. DFUIDSHJKHJFKGSDHKJ IM SO FUCKING EXCITED. hes so mmmm so sexy! i love (1) one man. only one. maybe two if we count ethan.

SPEAKING OF ETHAN - peter wanting trouble so much he fr gets annoyed at ethan for thinking hes trying to get with her??? ARE U INSANE. I KVDJSKLFJKS. thats his brother for life but he wants trouble so bad, suddenly he cant think straight and is like puffing out his chest when ethans there. i giggled at the taylor swift mention. djsjkfksl

THE WHOLE THING WAS SO GOOD STIOFGJFDIOGD

trouble high is my fav thing. its also making me think ab intox kink with peter but i wont go there rn

her not needing a trip sitter is so iconic but peter was def watching her every move incase she needed one and would pretend he wouldn't.

“Want my advice? Parker is your best bet.”  why was this so hot. im so down bad. like. its shocking. im obsessed

also using rice water bc of christine now.

ally is the cutest bestie.

“Funny. When I asked she said she had no plans.” 🤭 if you saw my face when i read thidshsjkshdjf

“She’s cool. You know, witty, kind, pretty…”

“She’s difficult and entitled.”  I SCREAMED J. I SCREAMED. i wanna film live reactions to me reading the next chapter bc i swear i screamed and giggled and threw my phone across the wall twice (the screen cracked but there's a screen protector so its okay)

“You saw her first, it’s only fair.” It’s tiny, and it’s a microflash, but Peter grinned. HAJGHJGFDKSHSAJKHJSKAHGJ

JSDJ HDJSFKHSD J I WANNA KEEP GOUNG BUT THIS IS GONNA BE SO LONG IM SORRY. IM OBSESSED WITH EVERYTHING U WRITE ADHJSAHJSA.

ethan saying she wants water and her being like omg i do! SO CUTE.

I could write a thesis statement on peter doing that shot with trouble vs ethan saying no. and i think i will. he's SOOOOOOO- DHJFSJKSHDS

him calling her princess🤭🤭 changing my name to princess brb. he was actually talking to me, j. you got it confused. he wasn't talking to trouble <3. me <3.

i hope trent dies. can we kill him later? just a lil poisoning in the cathedral hall, nothing major <3

him saying she isn't totally insufferable🥹🥹 bare minimum i know but from peter thats basically an "i love you"

“You’re a fucking dick.” 

“Yeah, and you just wanna stick yours in her.” If he wouldn’t be at grounds of expulsion from the frat, Peter would’ve laid him the fuck out right then and there. “Shut the fuck up, Simpson. Just leave it alone.” He does, and throws the door open before parting you with a middle finger.  I CRIEDDDDDD

him calling her freshman after ignoring her after kissing her hurt my feelings but then he breathed or smth the next line and i was like ahh <3 forgiven.

i could go on and on and on but '‘big brother season.’  made me dfjkksd

I LOVE IT SO MUHCSJHDSJ

- 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

THE THESIS YOU JUST WROTE ME IM-???? LET ME SEND YOU A DOLLAR FOR THIS OR SOMETHING??

this actually makes my heart SWELL UP cause like... wow. this means the world. im over here giggling and throwing my laptop at the wall w this!!!

#🤍 anon

[oneshortlady]

mof fan comic character heights

emily: 4ft9

conor: 5ft5

Patrick:5ft5

trent:5ft9

jon:6ft4(because haha I'm messed up)

Christine(ems and conors mother): -6ft, (4ft 10 when she was alive)

sheery: 5ft7

bo:5ft 11

(the graces family being short is mainly inspired by how no one on my birth dads side was taller than 5ft6 since the fucking 1920s...I'm not even joking)

#batman #jonathan crane #masters of fear jonathan crane #original character #mof jonathan crane #emily grace #m.o.f fan comic #conor grace #patrick grace #trent stone #sherry squires #bo griggs

[dwellordream]

The King’s Orphan and the Latimers

“The king started to distribute Lucy’s lands on 27 June 1285. As rewards for service on the recent campaign in Wales, he granted £100 a year from Danby to Robert FitzWalter; custody of Brotton, Skinningrove, Yarm and the remainder of Danby to William Latimer; and custody of Kirkburn to William de Leyburn. On 15 October 1285, custody of Bozeat was granted to the king’s yeoman, Roger de Fricourt. These were temporary rewards that would last only as long as Lucy was a minor. 

The more important question was who would benefit from her lands more permanently through her marriage. This was granted on 17 December 1285 to Pierre de Estaveyer, alias Peter de Stanye. He was a Savoyard and a nephew of the king’s great friend Otto de Grandison. Stanye was a king’s yeoman in October 1283 but rose to become a royal household knight between 1284 and 1286, and by 1290 he was a member of the queen’s household. In this year, Otto granted him part of his Irish lands and he obtained a protection to go to the Holy Land with Otto. 

He is not heard of in England again and by 1303 he was living overseas and nominated attorneys to act for him in England and Ireland. Peter did not marry Lucy himself and transferred her marriage, in unknown circumstances and at an unknown date, to his household colleague, William Latimer. The Latimers were not quite a ‘new family’ but had recently risen to prominence. 

The principal Latimer property was the manor of Scampston (Yorks E.R.), which they had held since the mid-twelfth century, and by 1202 they were also holding the manor of Terrington, but the first important member of the family was William (d.1268) who was active during the 1250s and 1260s and rose to prominence in the service of Henry III. His son William II (d.1304) and grandson William III (d.1327) followed in his footsteps, with William II serving Henry’s son Edward I, and William III serving Edward I and his son Edward II. 

It was a common pattern for generation to follow generation in royal service and it created ‘curialist’ families. William I served as sheriff of Yorkshire between July 1254 and May 1260, and also as escheator north of the Trent from November 1258. By 1260 he was one of the king’s knights and in October 1263 he was appointed, with another, to negotiate in the king’s name with Louis IX of France, being present when Louis made his ‘award’, the Mise of Amiens, on 23 January 1264. He was reappointed as sheriff of Yorkshire in May 1266, but his son, William II, acted as his deputy at the Michaelmas 1267 audit, and he died in November 1268.

He had enlarged the patrimony and provided for a younger son by acquiring the marriages of the sisters Alice and Christine, heirs of the Ledet inheritance in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Bedfordshire, who were married to his sons, William II and John. Much of the estate was still held by the girls’ great-grandmother, Christine Ledet, who died some time between 1266 and 1270, and another portion by their mother Ermentrude, widow of Walter Ledet (d.1256), who died between 1282 and 1292.

Ermentrude had her dower third and also had custody of the rest of her late husband’s lands during the minority of her daughters. William II was married to the elder daughter, Alice, by June 1268, when she was of full age, and he had seized some or all of the lands. Ermentrude forced him to restore the lands to her and pay her a fine of twenty-five marks before she would make over to him formally the lands that would make up Alice’s portion.

On 8 November 1268 an order was given to provide a valuation of the lands in Northamptonshire so that Alice and William could have livery. William II Latimer was distinguished as ‘a long-serving and talented household knight’ of Edward I. In May 1271 he was preparing to join Edward on crusade and he was a member of Edward’s royal household throughout his reign, as a knight in 1278 and 1279, and as a banneret from 1284 until his death in 1304.

It was because of his services on the Welsh campaign of 1282–83, during which he had a lucky escape from drowning at the Menai Straits, that he was granted custody of part of Lucy’s lands in 1285, and this may have prompted him to acquire Lucy’s marriage from Stanye. She may have been transferred in 1290, when Stanye was preparing to leave the country and she was eleven, but this was certainly done by 9 November 1293 and, by 19 August 1294, if not sooner, Lucy was married to Latimer’s eldest son, William III. 

According to an enquiry held in July 1328, they were married by words of present consent, and this was later ‘solemnised’ in church. There is no evidence of Lucy’s whereabouts from the time of her birth at Kilton in 1279 until 1294, but it can be assumed that, after the death of her grandfather, she was kept securely in the custody of Stanye and then the Latimers. Lucy reached her fourteenth birthday in March 1293 and her husband was then entitled to take possession of her inheritance, but the Latimers again failed to observe the formalities and tried to take possession of the lands they did not already hold before proving her age.

These were the manors of Bozeat, still held by Roger de Fricourt, and the more valuable Kirkburn, custody of which William de Leyburn had given to Walter de Rokesley. The writ for Lucy’s proof of age was not sued out until 28 October 1294 and the return eventually included a woeful tale by Rokesley’s attorney, Walter de Throcking. According to this, control of Kirkburn had been wrested from Rokesley on 9 November 1293 by Lucy, Thomas Latimer and others.

On 16 February it was restored to Rokesley, but on 22 February, presumably at the Latimers’ instigation, the escheator was ordered to go to Kirkburn and Bozeat to investigate reports that the custodians had been committing waste. Rokesley was again ousted on 19 August (1294) by Lucy and William Latimer, now identified as being married, and others. He was restored on 6 October but ejected again on the following day. 

The Latimers obtained their writ on 28 October but Rokesley was restored on 11 November. On 3 December, he was ejected again by men from Kirkburn and Scampston, acting on behalf of William and Lucy, who had broken the doors of the hall and grange, taken Rokesley’s corn and goods, and beaten and ill-treated Throcking. An inquisition for the proof of age was not taken until 7 January 1295 but this proved to be inadequate. 

It did not specify Lucy’s age, nor that Leyburn and Rokesley had been warned to be present, saying only that Latimer had sent his bailiff in his place but Leyburn and Rokesley had not come because they did not hold any of Lucy’s lands in the county. Two weeks later, on 22 January, another writ was issued and another inquisition was held on 17 March at Kirkburn. This time it was attended by Throcking, who gave an angry and detailed account of how he and Rokesley had been treated by the Latimers.

According to this, Lucy had been present during the ejections, but it is likely that she was there simply in a passive role as the person in whose name title was being claimed. Equally, it was because the lands were her inheritance that Throcking concluded by saying that she should not be allowed to have possession of them until she had been punished for her contempt of the king in her repeated violations of the orders for Rokesley to have possession, and had compensated Rokesley for his losses. 

On 20 April 1295, when Lucy was already sixteen, William and Lucy officially and formally took possession of her lands. William was at that time in Wales in the midst of the campaign against the Welsh revolt and he did fealty to the king while they were both at Llanfaes on Anglesey. On the same day, William promised in the presence of the king himself that, within forty days of leaving Wales from the king’s service, he would compensate Rokesley for having ejected him from Kirkburn without having proved Lucy’s age.

Lucy and Latimer’s marriage had begun in disturbed circumstances. It is curious that the same problem should have occurred in succeeding generations but it would be facile to assume that a disregard for legal niceties was a family failing, or that such an attitude, if it existed, might be symptomatic of a wider attitude that would affect their marriage. There is next to nothing to indicate the nature of the marriage between Lucy and Latimer, which lasted until 1303. 

She occurs once directly and once indirectly during this period. The direct reference comes from early 1302 when she and Latimer confirmed a grant made by a burgess of Yarm to the Dominican Friars there at what was evidently a gathering of local notables. Both the grant and the confirmation were witnessed by Nicholas Lord Meinill, his kinsman Sir John de Meinill of Middleton, Sir Arnold de Percy of Kildale, Sir Robert Gower and various others. 

The other reference, equally conventional, was the birth of a son to them, another William. The date of his birth is unknown, the only evidence being the statements in his father’s inquisition post mortem that he was aged twenty-five or twenty-six in March 1327. While the ages given in the inquisitions are known to be unreliable, they become more so the younger the heir, so it is possible that these were reasonably accurate and that the boy was born in 1300 or 1301, or a year or so either side. 

There is no evidence that any other children were born and, while this does not necessarily mean that there were none, circumstantial evidence suggests that none survived to adulthood. There is inevitably a great deal more information about Latimer’s activities during this period. Possession of Lucy’s lands gave him a landed position of consequence, entirely independent of his father who lived until 1304. 

He was knighted by the king in 1294–95, probably while he was serving in Wales. Later in 1295 he was summoned to serve in Gascony and in October obtained a protection. He received the usual military summonses from 1297 onwards, in February 1299 he received his first individual summons to parliament, and in 1300 he was a banneret of the royal household like his father.

Both Latimers were among the twenty-one knights who represented Yorkshire in January 1300, the father representing the East Riding and the son the North Riding, and the younger William invested further in the North Riding by acquiring the manor of Sinnington, at some date between 1300 and 1303. This was later held jointly with Lucy, and his acquisition was enhanced on 12 December 1303 when he was granted free warren and a market and fair there.

He was serving in Scotland with the king in May 1298, obtained a protection in November 1299 when planning to go again with the king, and in the autumn of 1300 was serving in the Berwick garrison led by his father. He was setting out again in June 1301, and he received wages as a banneret, and for another knight and six esquires with him for the period 20 July to 22 September.

In early 1302 he was evidently in Yorkshire when he and Lucy confirmed the grant to the friars of Yarm, but he was back in Scotland by September 1302 when he was instructed to stay where he was, despite the recent summons to attend parliament. In October, he obtained a protection because he was staying in Scotland, although at the end of November he led a murderous attack on Nicholas Lord Meinill’s manor and chase at Ingleby Greenhow.

A constant stream of letters of protection and of respite of debts suggests that he remained in Scotland between June 1303 and the summer of 1304 during the long over-winter campaign. He was almost certainly with the king at Dunfermline on 12 December 1303, and he may also have been there on 12 February 1304. Before leaving for this campaign he had left Lucy to reside at Kirkburn. 

While little is known of their marital life together, for Lucy, at least, the marriage had become intolerable and she had decided it should be terminated. On Monday 16 December 1303 she fled from Kirkburn, and by 22 September 1304 she had begun a suit at the court of Archbishop Thomas Corbridge for her marriage to be annulled. There is no surviving direct record of the case but, according to later references, the grounds were consanguinity, but it was established that neither had known of the impediment when they were married so their son remained legitimate.”

-  Bridget Wells-Furby, Aristocratic Marriage, Adultery and Divorce in the Fourteenth Century: The Life of Lucy de Thweng (1279-1347)

#bridget wells-furby #lucy de thweng #late middle ages #medieval #history