PLACE OF THE SKULL

they met in the spring of 1983, just a couple of years after the hunter project initially took off and william was well on his way to becoming one of umbrella's greatest assets. though he didn't think much of annette at first, it was her personality that initially drew him in; a very assertive, straightforward, no-nonsense kind of woman that didn't put up with anyone's mistakes. and of course, she was also strikingly beautiful- something he hadn't quite noticed until he really stopped to take a second glance. 

although he was technically her superior at this point in time, this hardly stopped william from trying to initiate conversation. his infatuation with annette allowed him to begin discovering facets of his personality/sexuality that he hadn't previously been provided with an opportunity to explore, given that he spent most of his time in complete isolation barring albert. william also spent a great deal of time in late puberty grappling with his perceived homosexuality, as he developed a "crush" on albert, born out of the prolonged periods of time they spent in close proximity to each other throughout the duration of william's developmental years. albert was also, very importantly, william's first and only friend at the time. fascination and curiosity gradually progressed into more elaborate sexual fantasies that initially disgusted william- not because he looks down on homosexuality, but because of the current social stigma surrounding it. being a gay man in the 80's was bad enough, but being a gay man at umbrella in the 80's? william did his best to suppress these desires and refused to confront his attraction to men for a very, very long time in an attempt to preserve his "normalcy." 

this, of course, did not stop others from speculating about his sexuality. william is a cis man, and as such he was always taught to live up to certain expectations that of which he never particularly cared to fill out. there are a great deal of aspects about his personality and physical appearance that others, especially other men who worked with him, would deem as "feminine" or not traditionally masculine. this led to workplace rumors about william possibly being gay or a "transvestite." he was not oblivious to this (important to note: even after he was married, these rumors continued though not to any debilitating degree). 

annette presented william with an opportunity he had been searching for for quite some time: be normal. of course, growing up sheltered in the 70's meant he didn't know jack shit about things like bisexuality, so william was more than happy to accept his attraction to annette as more "real" and "genuine" than his attraction to albert because this meant, to him, that he was heterosexual and thus "normal" in the eyes of everyone else. it was also exciting to him in the sense that for a very long time, william had simply resigned himself to the idea that a relationship was just never in the cards for him. he accepted at a young age that for the rest of his life, it would most likely just be him & his research with nothing else between them, but annette changed all of that. she would give him everything he never once imagined he'd actually achieve in life: love, family, and happiness (much as he'd like to pretend he was content to dedicate his life to his work, william's always been cripplingly lonely- but more on that later). the two of them struck up a casual workplace relationship. they gradually got to know each other better over the course of time, with william requesting that annette be assigned to him permanently so that they could continue seeing one another in private. the relationship brought out a great deal of william's personality that had remained hidden beneath the surface until now; a gentle, almost kind facet to his personality... if not horribly awkward. though he and annette were never allotted much time to do things like travel together or even spend all that much time with one another outside of work, it was the closest thing he'd ever felt to real love. it introduced a whole different side of him that he wasn't previously aware even existed. 

william proposed in 1984, only a year after he and annette became official. they were married by 1985, a shocking development for some considering the william birkin they had all come to familiarize themselves with. 

much as they did enjoy one another's company, annette and william's relationship was not given nearly enough time to properly develop. they married, bought a house, and it left them with an overwhelming sense of: "now what?" they'd return to their lives as normal, continuing on with their research without hardly getting any time to themselves. then came the topic of children: something they hadn't previously considered until it was brought up to them by others at their workplace. so when are you two going to have a little one running around? thinking about kids yet, will? it was the next logical step in their relationship, wasn't it? they had hoped, maybe, that having a child together might offer them some form of fulfillment outside of work. sherry birkin was welcomed into the world in 1986, named after a song william had grown fond of in his youth; "sherry" by frankie valli and the four seasons. they loved her. but, as is always the case, william chose to return to his work once more. he found that he couldn't stand to be away from it. it was like an itch, an incessant needling at the back of his mind almost like withdrawal. leaving felt wrong- like he was doing something he shouldn't, something punishable, feelings that were partially exacerbated by untreated mental conditions such as ocd and psychosis. 

Hi guys! Here we are back on the grind because the cost of living on top of the cost of vet bills are literally completely unmanageable. I have another massive vet bill, $2000+ for one of my dogs. I've only just managed to get the last massive vet bill paid off and needless to say having random dental costs and other living costs on top of everything has stranded us on struggle street. I'm a disabled pensioner, so yeah, $2000 is not something I can just pull out of thin air on even a good day but I'm not just ebegging, I've reopened my commissions blog here so I can try make some money to help pay off the bill and stay alive in the process (rent, electricity, food, etc). My Kofi is here and also linked on my pinned if you can spare anything and if you're interested in any of my blog work you can find it and the insane bill + situation below. Anything helps, even just a reblog to spread this around. Thanks guys. 🧡

@gviral : “Wait— I'd come with you if I could. You know that.”

Somewhere  deep  within  the  old  training  school,  the  chemical  tang  of  evolved  leech  flesh  hangs  in  the  air,  the  bitter  stink  of  Marcus's  vengeance.  Wesker and Birkin  had  watched  him  on  the  surveillance  cameras, before he confronted  them  —  or  at  least  —  they were confonted by  a  creature  who  wore  both  his  skin  and  its  own  estimation  of  his  appearance  as  a  younger  man.

They  had  made  their  way  through  the  underground  administrative  corridor.  Marcus's  viral  temper  tantrum  spelled  the  end  for  Umbrella,  a  grim  fact  they'd  discussed  at  length  over  the  last  several  hours.  Albert  stood  at  the  elevator  platform,  his  S.T.A.R.S.  uniform  immaculate  despite  the  chaos  surrounding  them  —  a  sharp,  almost  deliberate  contrast  to  the  entropy  that  had  consumed  the  training  school.  Albert  Wesker  was  a  creature  of  calculation  even  as  the  world  he  had  helped  build  began  its  death  rattles.

William,  ever  his  opposite,  was  a  complete  mess.  The  darkness  around  his  eyes  polarises  the  bright,  skittish  awareness  within  them,  the  way  they  darted  toward  every  shadow  as  if  expecting  to  see  the  grinning,  leech-ridden  visage  of  James  Marcus  emerging  from  the  darkness  to  claim  his  vengeance. 

William  had  always  been,  what  Wesker often fondly  thought  of  as  scruffy,  but  tonight,  the  dishevelment  was  different.  It  was  not  the  charming,  distracted  chaos  of  a  man  consumed  by  virological  artistry;  it  was  the  frantic,  unspooling  of  a  creature  who  knew  with  startling  clarity  that  the  walls  of  his  world  were  beginning  to  collapse.

His  shirt  was  unbuttoned  at  the  throat  where  the  knot  of  his  tie  sat  askew,  twisted  like  a  noose  that  had  been  hastily  loosened  by  a  man  gasping  for  air.  The  sight  of  it  stirred  something  deep  in his  chest  —  a  peculiar,  uncomfortable  warmth  —  a  sensation  he  had  long  since  learned  to  disguise  as  professional  interest,  lest  the  walls  of  this  midwestern  tomb  bear  witness  to  something  that  could  get  them  both  killed.

❝ I  do. ❞  He  wanted  him  with  him,  he  wanted  him  with  him  now,  tomorrow,  the  day  after.  He  would  have  liked  nothing  more  than  for  William  to  return  home,  bundle  up  his  research  notes,  his  wife,  his  daughter,  and  get  the  hell  out  of  Raccoon  City  —  to  leave Umbrella behind with him post-haste, especially now.

But  they'd  already  been  over  this.  Wesker's  focus  finds  the  sloppy  tie  around  William's  neck and  with  a  gesture  that  felt  just  as  intimate  as  any  kiss  they  had  ever  shared,  he  reached  for  it,  his  fingers  working  carefully  around  the  silk  as  he  spoke. ❝ Once  G  is  finished,  you  will  contact  me.  The  Organisation  has  resources.  We  will  extract  you,  your  wife  and  daughter  as  well, ❞ He  adjusted  the  collar  of  William's  shirt  now,  carefully,  attentively,  his  hands  brushing  over  William's  shoulders  as  he  finished,  his  cool  blue  eyes  clouded  by  both  the  soft  grey  tint  of  his  lenses  and  with  something  like  pride  at  a  job  well  done,  or  perhaps  it  was  just  a quiet affection  for  the  man  before him entirely. 

The  tie  hung  perfectly  now,  a  sharp  arrow  of  crimson  silk  pointing  down  to  William's  belt  buckle.  ❝ Umbrella  is  a  sinking  ship,  William,  but  we- we  are  evolution.  We  will  adapt.  We  will  endure. ❞