#yeah williams is small but they’re a family

[i-am-church-the-cat]

I love the way Williams talks about their racers. I just read this article about how both drivers reacted after the US Sprint and Grand Prix relatively, and the author makes sure to give context and explain why a driver is acting a certain way, even if it comes off as “rude”. Instead of just saying what happened and letting the reader comes to their own conclusions, the author just reinforces the validity of how the drivers were feeling/acting at the time.

Idk it just feels refreshing compared to other teams who kind of let one or both of their drivers fight it out on their own (or sometimes openly debases them *cough* Red Bull *cough cough*).

[cinnnamongrl]

sorority secrets- ellie williams (part 1)

pairing: college!ellie williams x fem!reader

summary: ellie williams has never been the 'sorority type'. but when she meets you, she realises maybe spending college as a part of eta alpha rho isn't so bad.

warnings: [18+ MDNI] explicit language, suggestive themes/language, mentions of dating men, alcohol, small mentions of homophobia. [this series will contain smut later on- warnings will be listed accordingly]

author’s note: i’m really excited for this series hehe it’s gonna be a few parts. hold on tight bc there is drama and hot lesbian sex to come (my two favourite things).

ellie williams doesn’t like sororities.

she likes savage starlight comics, she likes video games, she likes getting high and watching space videos, she likes when cats do that slow blink to show they’re comfy with you.

she does not like sororities.

and yet here she stands, in the main room of the eta alpha rho house, 5 minutes from meeting the other girls who had been accepted into the campus’s most well known sorority. dread was resting heavy in ellie’s stomach. she didn’t want to fucking be here. what even was a sorority anyway? forced friendship with a bunch of prissy straight girls? no thanks. she’ll pass. she had only one person to thank for this bullshit; ellie’s step-sister brittney. perfect brittney. tall, blonde, president of eta alpha rho brittney. if brittney wasn’t so… brittney, then ellie’s step-mom wouldn’t be blackmailing her into a college sorority, threatening to cut her off if she couldn’t show willingness to follow in your family’s footsteps and become a respectable eta alpha rho lady.

“can you try not to look like you’d rather be drowning in a pool of piss than be standing here?” brittney’s shrill voice broke ellie’s flow of thought. “no can do i’m afraid” brittney scoffed dramatically. “i don’t want you here either, you know. it was my mom’s idea, not mine. i think you’re perfectly suited to staying in your dorm all year with your weird stoner friends” she spat. “well then, we can agree on one thing” ellie shot her a sarcastic smile.

brittney strode towards the eta house door as the first few girls arrived. ellie looked down at her feet and then looked to her right. she walked over to the sofa, deciding she’d feel less awkward if she was sitting. less aware of her body now, she was able to form her (shallow, but oftentimes correct) initial thoughts on the girls she was going to be ‘sisters’ with for however long she survived this little group.

cute…

won’t last 2 weeks with brittney…

definitely films herself shotgunning white claw…

woah.

you walked into the room and a nervous tingle rested at your fingertips. the sound of excited giggles and shy greetings settled in the background and you allowed your eyes to scan where you stood; pink wallpaper, a framed photo of an older but still glamorous blonde woman, grand staircase, white sofa, girl sitting on said sofa. is she… part of the sorority too? didn’t see her during rush week. beat up converse, white vest and a short sleeved grey shirt, large tattoo covering her right forearm… pretty freckles. you still weren’t sure if this girl was even part of eta but something in you was pushing you to go and sit next to her.

“hey” you offered a smile as you sat beside the girl. “what’s your name?”

ellie sat up a little straighter and cleared her voice. “ellie.” be cool ellie. “what’s yours?”

you told her your name and she nodded. something about the way she was looking at you put you on edge a bit; it made your stomach feel fluttery and hands slightly damp.

“are you… in eta alpha rho too?” you asked. she chuckled “why, do i not look like i am?” you shook your head defensively “no no i just- you-“ “it’s fine. yeah i am. my sister is the president of the sorority, ‘s why i’m here”. you nodded in understanding.

you talked for a little while longer and to her frustration, ellie couldn’t figure you out. past ‘woah’ she couldn’t make many initial judgements. sure, you looked the part; pretty, smiley, white dress short enough to show off your body but not too short that grandma would disapprove. but from the short conversation ellie could not see why you’d be interested in eta alpha rho.

truthfully, you didn’t really know either. your friends back home had gushed about the concept of being a sorority sister, and your parents were… traditional. their daughter in a good college with good grades in a respectable sorority, dating a nice young man from the college’s fraternity was their dream. just like they had done. to be honest you weren’t really interested in sororities and frat boys, you wanted to stay focused on keeping up your perfect grades and securing your future; that’s what college was about after all. however if being part of eta meant getting into fun parties and having a group of girls who always have your back then why not?

“AHHH there you are!” a girls voice interrupted yours and ellie’s conversation and you looked up to see a girl standing over you with a wide smile. “brittney just told me I’m your sorority big sister! my name’s emilia. welcome to eta alpha rho” she put a gentle hand on your shoulder and then averted her gaze to ellie “ellie, good to see you again!” ellie gave her a smile back. “i want you to meet some of the other girls, c’mon” emilia took your hand and pulled you from the sofa into a crowd of girls.

a flash of annoyance shot through ellie at brittney’s friend taking you away. she didn’t really know why, you were probably going to end up becoming one of brittney’s bitchy friends who all pretend to like each other but fuck each others boyfriends behind their backs. she relaxed her body back into the sofa, and watched you. watched the lines appear around your eyes as you smiled, let her gaze travel down to your thighs, noticed your nails. red and short. gay? she promptly pushed the thought away. she let her eyes run back up to your face, your lips and oh fuck she’s looking at me- ellie averted her gaze to the vase on the table in front of her and mentally slapped herself. don’t be a perv, jeez. acting like you’ve never seen a fuckin pretty girl before.

~~~~

you laid on your dorm bed trying desperately to focus on the episode of yellowjackets playing from your laptop and keep your eyes from closing. the eta meet had drained you and although it wasn’t late you felt ready to call it a day. your phone buzzed and after a few seconds of debate you decided to pick it up.

you sat up straight and pushed your laptop away from your lap.

you locked your phone and the black screen revealed the somewhat silly image of you smiling in your reflection.

~~~~~~~~~~

“truth.”

the game had been going on for maybe 10 minutes, and ellie was losing the will to live. you hadn’t showed yet and ellie was 1 “i dare you to text your ex” away from getting up and leaving.

“where’s the craziest place you’ve ever done it?” a red haired girl asked the girl beside her. after a moment of pause, “denny’s parking lot”. a fit of giggles erupted but were quickly drowned out in ellie’s ears when you walked into the room and took a seat next to her.

emilia gave you a quick wave and smile and you returned it.

“late to your first eta social. that could get you kicked out you know” ellie spoke in a hushed voice. she saw the way your eyebrows raised in worry and instantly felt bad, “i’m joking”. “don’t do that” emphasising the ‘do’ with a playful nudge to her arm. “you missed loads. sasha had to show everyone her most recent text AND you’ll never guess what? chloe has a crush on brandon!” ellie waved her hands in faux excitement. you tried not to laugh at her mocking your new sorority sisters. “you’re an asshole”. she tilted her head slightly with a smirk, “yeah?” you managed back a small “mhm”.

“ellie! truth or dare?” a brunette girl spoke suddenly, bringing your attention back to the group. ellie leaned back, adjusting her position so she was manspreading slightly, and let out a small huff. that same fluttery feeling in your stomach made itself known again and you looked away from ellie. “uh. truth i guess?” the girl pondered for a few seconds. “what’s your favourite thing in a guy?” ellie raised her eyebrows for a moment before a little smirk you were sure only you caught appeared on her mouth. “his sister.” the room went silent. ellie didn’t seem to notice. “gross” brittney muttered. you looked up and caught her eye “not in like… a homophobic way.” she clarified. you lowered your head and subtly looked through your eyelashes at ellie, who was absentmindedly taking a sip of her beer. emilia, who was smiling, got up from her seat and gestured for you to follow her to the drinks table.

“sooo, having fun?” she asked you, grabbing a beer for herself. “yeah!” you offered back and looked around the table for something sweeter than beer and stronger than hard seltzer. “i know truth or dare is a bit juvenile but it’s an eta alpha rho tradition” she chuckled. “nothing wrong with a bit of childish fun” you smiled and she nodded back before squeezing your arm and going back to her seat. you stood before the drinks table feeling slightly awkward. ok let’s see… tequila? barf. maybe vodka? hm but what with. oh they have cranber- “you know, there’s capri-suns in the fridge if you’re not a liquor girl” ellie’s playful mocking broke your train of thought and made you jump slightly. you faced her with one hand on your hip and one resting on the table and narrowed your eyes in mock annoyance. while your brain tried to think of a witty response you noticed ellie’s eyes were taking in your body and it made your face heat up. you opened your mouth to respond and her eyes landed there and stayed on your lips. was she aware she was this unsubtle? “your beers with a 5% alcohol content aren’t too far off capri-suns” you retorted. she laughed and it made something leap in your chest. you turned back around to pour yourself a drink as ellie watched you.

after a few hours the games had died down and the scene in front of you showed most of the girls chatting or dancing to the dua lipa song that was playing from the tv. you’d been stuck in a conversation with a girl called alice for the past 40 minutes about her boyfriend who’s cheating on her but still loves her (she feels it in her heart), you were searching for a lull in the conversation to excuse yourself to the bathroom but so far alice hadn’t come up for air. that’s until an angel sent from heaven (who’s name escapes you) swoops in and sparks up a conversation with alice, leaving you with a clear exit plan. thank you nameless angel. unnoticed by alice or her friend you make your way to the bathroom across the hall, ‘you want me, i want you baby, my sugarboo…’ becoming quieter and quieter and your head ever so slightly fuzzy from the two drinks you’d been nursing throughout the evening. you reached the bathroom door and lifted your arm up higher than sober-you would find necessary to check it wasn’t occupied, and at the same time the door flew open making you lose your balance slightly and fall like an idiot into the poor person who’d just used the bathroom. “oh my god i am so so sorr-“ you looked up and saw ellie, looking down at you with an expression of amusement. you stepped back a little and she lifted her arm to rest against the door frame. you blamed the drink on the way that little display made you feel. “time to switch to capri-suns, sweetheart?” you pushed past her body into the bathroom “shut up about the capri-suns” she laughed and turned her body to face you as you checked your appearance in the sink mirror. “i’m serious. wouldn’t want you stumbling over like that and spilling something on that pretty dress of yours” she stepped forward a few inches and your heart rate picked up and you suddenly felt warm all over. even something about the way she indirectly complimented your outfit made you feel all weird and shy in a pathetically girlish way. what the fuck was wrong with you. keep. it. together. you could tell she’d had a little to drink from her lightly flushed cheeks.

“i won’t. ‘m not drunk” your eyes locked onto hers through her reflection in front of you. “yeah? then show me your eyes”. “what?” you questioned. she placed her hands on your hips and turned your body around to face her, your back now leaning against the sink. she was close. “you can always tell from the eyes,” she spoke low and her words took their time on her tongue “drunk people always get this hazy look,” her own eyes darted between each of yours “you know… heavy..” you swallowed, head swirling from definitely not the vodka and fuck since when was this bathroom so hot “.. sleepy” you opened your mouth and the breath you didn’t realise you were holding came out and her eyes were on your lips again. she brought her tatted arm out to hold the sink, caging in the left side of your body.

“oh!” both yours and ellie’s heads shot to the door, revealing emilia standing there. “sorry! was just coming to look for you,” she told you “wasn’t sure where you were.” she half-giggled. ellie cleared her throat and gave emilia a tight lipped smile and exited the bathroom. “glad you’re safe, i’ll uh- let you pee now.” she tittered and followed ellie back to the room, closing the bathroom door behind her. right, yeah. i came here to pee. the past few minutes left you with a little disorientation; you sat down and replayed your moment with ellie. moment? can you call it a moment? why does it even matter. what the fuck were you doing getting all woozy because a girl you only just met flirted with you for 3 seconds. you physically shook your head pretending that could rid you of the feelings you were experiencing. ellie was in your head and it scared you. that’s the thing about the guys you’d dated; sure it was fun to go on dates with them, sex could be… pretty enjoyable, and you could laugh and joke with the majority of them. but they never interrupted your focus. they never took up space in your brain when you weren’t in their presence, and they didn’t have the power to distract you from college or your grades. they were safe.

as you entered the room again emilia noticed you and spoke up “hey! i was just thinking: you came in late so you never got to play the game! soooo.. truth or dare?” she asked with a big smile. the moment had passed surely you thought, but you humoured her anyway. “dare?” “ok,” she put her finger to her bottom lip and looked up “, i dare you to tell us who you have a crush on” grown adults. we are grown adults. “isn’t that a truth?” you questioned. “oh shush. just answer” you thought of ellie. you were sure she was looking at you but didn’t dare to check. then you thought of college, your sorority sisters, your parents.

“chad.” there was a chad in your college right? emilia gasped “chad peters?” sure “yep” “AHH he is SO cute. head of the football team AND kappa upsilon sigma fraternity president as well, someone has standards” emilia jibed. you gave her a false smile. you could see brittney out of the corner of your eye frowning.

you were a fucking idiot. chad? you could almost feel ellie’s eyes on you, but you still couldn’t manage to turn around and look at her. now who was the asshole.

part 2

[kjhbsies]

Waiting Room

Ellie Williams x fem!reader (wc: 1,156)

Synopsis: Ellie Williams married you, but her heart is occupied with someone else.

Warnings: angst??? arranged marriage trope bc i like to suffer. this is my first time to write a story, please don't mind the incorrect grammars.

pt. II pt. III

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You should be celebrating. 

Finally, the girl you’ve wanted ever since you were 16 years old married you. Of all people, you really thought you would never get the chance to be with her. After all, everyone used to say that Ellie and Dina were good together, and that they were each other’s soulmate. You can’t really disagree about that. You can see how both of them loved each other, and even if they broke up, you can feel that they cared for each other deeply.

So… why did she marry you?

Ellie and Dina broke up one year ago after a huge fight between them happened. Up until now, no one knows about it. Rumors say that Dina wanted to settle down, far away in Jackson, to start a new life with her and JJ. But Ellie couldn’t leave this town, especially her family, and Joel. Apparently, this caused them to break up eventually. Shortly after the breakup, Dina and JJ went and lived in a small town in Illinois. For months, Ellie tried to remain strong, seemingly fine and unfazed about the breakup with Dina. She went on to continue her life as if nothing really happened. For months, Ellie went on to continue the routine of drowning herself with alcohol, going home with a lot of girls, and throwing them away like trash. That was her life. And you just watched it from far away and you tried to avoid her like a plague. You liked her, but you don’t want to be her sex toy. 

Until Dina came back.

After a year, Dina and JJ moved in with their old house in Jackson when her older sister, Talia, got sick. Since both of their parents died before, no one is there to take care of her. So she came back, and Ellie’s life became worse. 

Her failure of coping healthily about their breakup started to show up when her mood became the worst. Ellie became a ball of rage, bursting into anger even in the smallest little thing. 

“You should take a vacation somewhere else. Breathe fresh air, enjoy other things, just don’t…” Joel tightly shut his eyes, “...don’t turn into a fucking monster, Ellie.”

Ellie lifted her brows before chuckling sarcastically. “So that’s what you think about me now, huh?”

“Everyone does. They’re scared of you. Do you want JJ to also be afraid when he sees you?” Joel’s voice started rising.

Ellie looked at him pointedly. “Don’t bring him into this.”

Joel sighed. “I know you were still a mess, Ellie-”

“I’m not.”

“-But you can’t keep living like this.” He says, eyes softening at her. “Forget Dina and marry someone else.”

Ellie’s brows turned into a straight line. “Are you insane? The fuck?” She coughed out a ridiculous laugh. 

“You should think about it. Y/N’s family is offering up a fortune if you marry their daughter. You knew her, right? Y/N?”

“Yeah… but-”

“Good. We can arrange a family dinner tonight.”

“Are you for real?” 

“It’ll be great. Her dad and I were pretty close and he always brings up that his daughter may have a little crush on you. Apparently, it’s in her grandmother’s will that she will not inherit the money, or have her farms and businesses if she’s single. She needs to be married in order to have those. Her dad offered that you will share a huge amount of money if you married her. Ellie, she’s a pretty young lady. And both of you need each other.”

“Little crush?” Ellie repeated, her ears perking up at those words. 

“Think about it, kid. You’ll like her, she’s a great girl.”

And yes, you are. 

Ellie thought about it for a week. Sure, she heard some great things with you. You're a prissy prim princess and the daughter of one of the richest families in the town. She’s always seen you hanging around the diner sometimes, wearing your dainty skirts and dresses, with bows clipped in your hair. She’s seen you in different spots of Jackson, immersed in your sketchbook, or oftentimes, you’re painting different portraits and landscapes. Ellie was always fascinated by you, because you and her are… contrasting.

The first time you and your family went into their house for dinner, Ellie couldn’t keep her eyes away from you. You noticed it, and it somehow made you uncomfortable. So, the whole night while your parents and her dad were talking about the future wedding, you were just looking at your plate. Sometimes looking up when one of them says something funny, cracking up a small smile or letting out a silent chuckle. But you couldn’t look at Ellie.

Ellie noticed it. The whole night you weren’t even sparing a glance at her and it made her curious as to why you seem to avoid her. Did you know about her history of girls? Did you see her at the diner, drinking her ass off? Why aren’t you looking at her?

When the dinner was done, Joel and your dad stood up and went to the living room to talk further about the said wedding. Your mom politely excused herself as she went to the bathroom to have a quick touch up. And you and Ellie were alone in the dining room.

The one time you looked up at her, Ellie was mesmerized. But of course, she wouldn’t show it, nor would she accept it. You were pretty. Everyone was right. You are pretty like a precious flower; your eyes were soft and gentle as you stared at her. You are a precious gem. And Ellie is a master of destruction.

She couldn’t touch you. She’s afraid that you’ll break. And maybe you might. 

“I’m sorry.” You said, kindly, as you looked straight in her eyes.

Ellie’s brows rose. “Why? You didn’t do anything.” She said, voice raspy.

Your heart beat doubled. “You didn’t have to agree to this wedding, you know. My dad proposed this crazy scheme to Mr. Joel and I feel like it’s all my fault.” You sighed.

“I will marry you.” Ellie says, determined. “Just… don’t expect that I’ll love you. We have to agree that you won’t fall in love with me, and I’ll assure you that I won’t bother you. You will get your grandmother’s money and land, and I will share your money. Both of us need the same thing and I don’t want you to think that there’s a single hope that I will love you eventually. Is that okay?” She asked.

You should be celebrating. 

Finally, the girl you’ve wanted ever since you were 16 years old married you.

But her heart is with someone else. 

“Okay.” You agreed, while staring at the small picture frame at the corner of the dining room.

It was Ellie and Dina kissing each other.

[erooca]

daycare

ellie williams x reader

description: ellie williams is forced to take a shift at a daycare. she knows she’s gonna hate it, that is, until she sees you. 1.9k words

this is very self indulgent cuz i work at a daycare. i’d be so down to continue this storyline if it gets any interactions :)

part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/erooca/725335248989208576/daycare-pt-2

why the fuck am i here? is exactly what ellie was thinking, pulling into the small, but cheery daycare. it was 9:30 in the fucking morning. she should still be asleep, not getting prepared to run around with little kids for the next eight hours.

after feeling sorry for herself a bit longer, she turned off the ignition and headed into the double doors.

“good morning, ellie!” maria said with a bright smile. ellie almost rolled her eyes at the enthusiasm. maria was sitting behind the front desk, clicking away on the computer in front of her.

“morning,” ellie responded back, a complete opposite from the way maria had greeted her.

“i know i’ve already thanked you a million times, but seriously. thank you for coming in,” maria thanked.

right. the reason ellie was here in the first place. maria had mentioned how the daycare she owned was extremely understaffed recently and needed all the help she could get. of course, joel offered up ellie as help. he said it would be good for her. ellie would have shut them both down, but maria mentioned how much she’d pay ellie. ellie was sold.

“yeah,” ellie responded, still not happy about the experience.

“listen, ellie, as soon as i get some more workers you’ll be free to go,” maria comforted.

“i know. so what am i gonna be doing?” ellie asked, praying to whatever’s out there that she won’t have to change any diapers.

“i think i’m going to put you in the big three’s. it’s a good group of kids, so don’t stress. it’s just down that hallway. second door on the right.”

ellie nodded her head and set off to the room. she already knew she was about to have the most frustrating and long shift of her entire life.

as she walked down the hallway, she admired the kids’ art that was strung on the walls. she noticed more of it around the big three’s door. she took a deep breath, and then entered through the door.

and then she saw you. you were kneeled down, ground level with a little girl who was crying. she watched as you gave the little girl a big hug, and how you helped her focus on the tower she was building with the colorful blocks.

when you finished calmed down the kid, you spotted ellie. maria told you that you’d be having another teacher today, but she never mentioned that teacher would be fine as fuck.

“hey. ellie, right?” you asked.

“um.. yeah,” she answered.

you introduced yourself to her and the room.

“they’re doing centers right now. you should go around and try to get to know some of the kids. once we have circle time, we can do proper introductions. that sound okay?” you suggested.

“sure..” ellie said. you could sense the nervousness radiating off of her.

“don’t stress. these kids are fun to be around. at least most of the time. let me know if you need anything,” you encouraged.

she nodded her head and looked around the room. from what she could see, the centers included music, blocks, art, math, science, and a play kitchen.

of course, she felt inclined to visit the art table first. there was only about three kids over there, and it was a topic she knew pretty well. was she overthinking this? probably.

she took a seat on the uncomfortably small chair in front of the table. immediately, the three kids looked up at her.

“hi! what’s your name?” a girl with short brown hair asked her.

“ellie,” she answered, then realized she should probably talk a bit more, “um what’s yours?”

“pippa,” she answered, putting away the green crayon in exchange for a red one.

“what are you drawing?” ellie asked, looking at the mound of colors on the girl’s paper.

“my family!” pippa smiled, “that’s my mommy, and that’s my kitty kat, and that’s daddy!”

to ellie, it looked more like scribbles of different colors, but nonetheless she praised the girl for her creativity.

she felt a light tap on her arm and when she turned she was met with a shy looking boy. he had black braids in his hair and wore a toy story themed shirt.

“hi.” ellie said to the boy.

“can you draw me something?” he asked, handing her his blank sheet of paper.

“okay..” she said, taking the paper from him, “what should i draw?”

the boy thought for a minute, “ooo, i know! a dinosaur!!” he said, excitedly.

this request made ellie’s smile grow. of course she could draw him a motherfucking dinosaur.

“what’s your name?” she asked him.

“king!” he replied, awaiting his dinosaur.

as she drew, king watched intently, and once pippa noticed ellie was drawing, she started watching too.

when ellie was finished, she gave it back to king.

“woah!!! it’s a t-rex! i’m gonna color him green!” he said.

“ellie. can you draw me a mermaid?” pippa asked her.

ellie obliged and soon she had a good line of kids asking her to draw things for them.

as she was working on her third princess drawing, she heard you singing the clean up song.

she didn’t have chance to admire how beautiful your voice was before the kids started singing along. the three year olds started cleaning up their messes and ellie helped them out.

you had them gather on the carpet, where you finally introduced ellie as their new teacher (for the time being). you watched as ellie awkwardly smiled and you had to hold in a laugh.

after doing a couple songs and shit with the kids, they all went outside and played on the playground.

you took this opportunity to talk to ellie.

“hey, so, how you liking it so far?” you asked her, curiously.

“i thought i’d hate it, but it’s actually not too bad,” she said, glancing over at you with a smile. you swear you almost passed out right there.

“haha, yeah. it can take a second to get used to. you’re lucky they didn’t put you with the two year olds. those children make me want to quit my job,” you laughed, “so you know maria?”

“yeah. she’s sort of my- aunt-in-law - i guess?” ellie said, trying to find the right words.

“really? tommy must be your uncle then. gonna be honest, maria scares me,” you admitted.

ellie laughed, and your heart skipped a beat.

“pretty sure tommy feels the same way. she’s not bad once you get passed the cold exterior. how long you been working here?” ellie asked, intrigued to know more about you.

“about a year. its just a steady job while i’m in college,” you answered.

“you’re in college. where do you go?” she asked.

“jackson state!”

“no way, me too. you on campus?”

“yeah, campbell north.”

“no fucking way-“ ellie said, but caught herself, “shit-SHOOT, no freaking way. i dorm there too.”

after you laughed at her slip up, you continued your sweet conversation with her. you felt like you’re falling in love with her by the second, and little to your knowledge, she’s was feeling the same way.

“do you have any favorites yet?” you asked.

“um.. i like king. he’s sweet,” ellie answered, thinking back to the dinosaur drawing.

“yeah. he’s really smart too. he’s actually in the foster care system and can be a bit sensitive about it. try not to mention moms or dads around him,” you told her.

this struck a chord in ellie. she had been in foster care a long time before joel came along. she knew exactly what it was like for king. she hopes he will be as fortunate as her in the future.

when the time came, you and ellie corralled all the kids back into the room. there was a cart at the front of their door that had lunch on it. you explained to ellie that you guys will have to make the plates and then hand them out, same with the milk.

you passed out the plates to each kid who was sitting down at the small tables, while ellie came behind with the bowls of food, placing a nice scoop on each child’s paper plate.

you went to start pouring the milk but soon got distracted. you couldn’t help but watch ellie as her lean figure slid around the room. you liked the way she kneeled down when a child was asking her a question, acting as if that child were her equal. you studied how her hair was sticking up a bit on the sides, probably from being outside and running around with the three year olds. most of all, you loved how she was smiling. how it seemed that she was enjoying herself. the beautiful curve up of her lips was enough for your heart to beat at a rapid pace.

you snapped out of your trance when you saw ellie look up at you. you flicked your head away before she could catch you staring (even though she definitely did and you knew it too). you started actually doing your job and pouring the milk for your children.

as the day went on, ellie was very fond of learning more about you. you both spent nap time learning new things. when ellie told you how much she loved space, you told her how you thought you could be the first person to pluto as a kid, since it was your favorite planet. you guys talked about your favorite constellations and which ones you spot first. you told her how much you liked to read and shared your favorite stories with her. you asked what maria was like at thanksgiving dinner.

you were sat together against the wall, just chatting. the lullaby music played on the tv. the lights were off and curtains were closed. the three year olds were all asleep. ellie was all to yourself right now. you were so starstruck with how easily your conversation flowed. she sat with her knees up, resting ur arms on them as she looked at you. you could see glint in her eyes, even in the dark room. it made you like her even more.

once the kids woke up, it was less talking and more working, much to your disappointment. the rest of the day went by smoothly. you did a fun craft with the children that they enjoyed, and ended the day with tv time. once the number of kids got lower, maria came in to let ellie know she could go home.

“well. i hope all these kids didn’t scare you off. will you- be here tomorrow?” you asked with a hopeful look on her face.

ellie chuckled, “some of them are a bit scary, but they didn’t. i think i will be here tomorrow, but only so i can see you again though,” ellie smirked.

once her words sunk in, your cheeks turned a blushy color. no way the new, hot teacher just flirted with you. you stammered a bit but regained your ground.

“looking forward to it, ellie. have a good night,” you smiled brightly.

ellie have you a slight smile and a wave before walking out the door. you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. holy shit were you in deep.

ellie joyfully said bye to maria, earning her a weird look. she felt on cloud nine as she walked to her car. the day went better than she could’ve ever expected. she was already making a mental list on ways she could win you over.

maybe this daycare job won’t be so bad. is exactly what ellie was thinking as she drove away.

[12-seconds-to-live]

What If?

Pairing: F1Grid2021! x reader driver!

This is the story of how neither Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton became F1 Champions in 2021. 

A girl did.

“What does it feel to be the villian of this season?” “This villian is going to be a world champion”

Abu Dhabi, december 12th - 16:30

"Are you scared?” 

Tik tok, tik tok

I was able to hear the clock tickling on my motorhome. 

A breathe

The eyes of George looking at me

“No, I’m not”

Yes, you are

“You got this and If you don’t...” I sigh

“Please don’t  finish that phrase”

“Sorry, it’s just...”

“I know, there’s a lot on the plate but you know. I don’t have many options right now”

George take my hand “You’re really talented and the best option is winning and you’re making the impossible, like, in a Williams. You’re more clever that all those who want to see you fall. And for next year, did they called you?”

“Not yeat, I guess they’re waiting for the race”

“They’ll look like fools If they don’t call” We share a small laugh

“Thank you for this year, Mercedes is lucky to have you, Lewis will” He smiled

“I’ll still see you from the other side” We stand from the sofa and share a hug “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow”

Abu Dhabi, december 12th - 17:50

"Radio check"

"Loud and clear"

"We are all with you... whatever happens at the end, you're our champion, Williams is back thanks to you and George"

"Thank you, I need to hear that"

"Formation lap in one minute"

LAP 35/58

"Gap at 0.4 behind Lewis. So let’s just…"

"Why is Verstappen pushing me off-track"

"Yeah, yeah copy we aren´t happy with that. They're investigating"

"I'm gotta go menu dash position two. Tell them that he can't have the position back"

LAP 45/58

"Hamilton 26.8, 26.8. And let us know about the tyres for a Safety Car"

"How many laps left?"

"13 when you cross the line, 13 when you cross the line. Gap to Hamilton at 13.9"

"Copy. I'm ok with a set of hards. Do we have a chance?"

"I know you do. Stay still kid"

LAP 50/58

"And we’ve seen Norris with a front-left puncture, so just be careful on the kerbs"

"So we think the problem might be just turn 15, turn 16"

"I’m off kerbs"

"Okay, copy"

"Lewis still has free air"

"The gap is seven seconds and there’ll be eight to go when you cross the line"

"Copy. Status of Lando?"

"He's out of the car and well"

LAP 58/58

I crossed the line and saw all the fireworks over the finish line. I felt different, something like never before, not like winning in Monaco or Monza. I'm a world champion, the first woman of many.

I watched the people in the crowd weaving at me. I heard the screaming over the radio and while I was slowing down I felt tears runing down my face.

"I'm absolutely speechless. YOU DID IT! Thank you, we love you. Our world champion!"

"Oh, my God yes! Yes, yes! Oh, my God! Oh my God!"

"Y/N! I TOLD YOU SO! You are the world champion, the world champion!"

"GEORGE!? This is ours! WE DID IT!

"You absolutely deserve it, kid. Even if you're not going to stay with us next year, we owe you everything! What a year working alongside you"

"They haven't called so..."

"Are you kidding? The news dropped before the race. You're going to be alongside Max next year"

"No freaking way!"

"We are so proud of you. We always will"

"Oh, my God guys. I love you so much. From my teammate, my race engineer and everyone at the factory"

"You have driven like a champion all year. You deserve that. We needed a bit of luck. You got it. You made it happen. And we love you. We absolutely fucking love you" said George and the whole screaming in the garage was getting louder

"It is unbelievable guys. Can we repeat this If you guys want me in the future?"

After the whole podium celebration with Lewis and Max, one thing was clear. Max didn't win his first championship and Lewis lost his eight. My phone was blowing with messages from social media and my family and friends. But my eyes we're locked with Anthony Hamilton chat.

I knew that Lewis wasn't ok. He hugged his dad and even I can't see his face, he cried. He remains stronger on the podium but I can't look at him in the eyes.

I walked to the Mercedes motorhome. Toto was talking to George and stand up at the moment he saw me.

"I'm sorry"

"You don't have to. You drive so well this season that all of us knew that maybe we could lose"

"Oh. Did you guys talk?"

"Yeah, a few words. We have time"

"I'm gonna see him, it's just... I don't know"

"Go, y/n"

I knock at his door and his dad pat me in the back and let us alone. Lewis was laying down in the sofa with a towel covering his face. When he heard the door closing he remove it.

"Hi" I said

"Hey" He smiled

"I'm not going to make dumb questions, just, I'm happy of how this season went. You're been in the sport longer that I've been alive and even if the feeling of losing it's here, don't let it stay. You're still eveeryone's champion, even mine"

I sit down next to him and he took my hand

"I wanted you to win, you know?"

"You what?" I..." I gasp

"Yeah, you've been so amazing. You have the hunger of a champion and now that you made it, well, you're my idol now"

"Lewis..." I felt that I was going to cry

"Don't cry, baby. Go celebrate. I'm fine, I still more seasons ahead to beat you" I smiled to him and give him a hug

"Let me know when you're in London. To spend a day with you, all right?"

"That's a promise"

He hugged me again and I leave the room. A few people of Mercede's staff were around and congratulate me. As I was walking to my car to go to the hotel, I heard a text.

A thank you from Lewis.

Yeah, he's going to be back.

And maybe in the end ... We are all superheroes.

Each of us with a tragic back story

Specific sets of attributes

Some of us fly

Some of us read minds

And maybe some of us-

Are stronger than others,

We all have potential.

I believe the only difference

Between us all is ...

Who will stand up and fight?

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I think invictius is just pissed off it’s not as healthy of an organization as it was when under the royal umbrella. They clearly relied very heavily on the royal family to excute things which is probably why they re-signed Harry to an ambassador role when he left. Only it became very obvious, that Harry’s priorities changed in the after math of the split and that didn’t bode well for invictius. They’ve spent basically 4 years bleeding themselves dry to support Harry and now Meghan and it’s gotten them no further along.

I agree that I think things have been simmering for a while now. And I think they’re are two fractions inside invictius games. There is the IG team themselves and then Harry and Meghan. Harry and Meghan want Birmingham to force the half in half out narrative. ( though I really don’t think this is going to work at all, no one is coming to this mini event next week and William and Charles have been rather clear in recent weeks about that)

The IG team wants Birmingham because they want to phase out Harry and bring in Mike. It’s UK soil and he’s a huge athlete advocate, it also brings in fresh blood with a sprinkle of actual royalty. (Do I think this will happen-no) but I believe this is why they haven’t kicked harry to the curb. There was a pretty massive turn over pre Vancouver, which alluded to issues with funding and securing the next location. I don’t think those have been solved and we haven’t seen harry attend any charity functions to drum up support. Hell he’s thrown a pretty massive tantrum about security for this small (ish) event, they’re chomping at the bit to see him gone.

What I do think will happen is that Birmingham will win it but the gov will completely swap this next election cycle and the funding will disappear. I think IG as we know it will brake away to host smaller country focused events and eventually link up with the warrior games in the us.

Harry and Meghan by extension are stressed about this, they need something- hence Washington DC coming out of left field. If trump wins, I doubt this is held in the way Harry would want.

Yeah, the Washington DC was really out of the blue. It doesn't make sense to bring Invictus Games to the US when we have the Warrior Games here. So to that end, I can see Invictus folding into Warrior Games, like you think. We've also got Germany hosting their own national set of games later this year, which is also pretty significant in the future of these international games.

And it isn't just the Warrior Games here in the US. I don't know what other countries do, but the US Olympics Committee has a huge program supporting military veterans, able-bodied and not, for the Olympics and Paralympics. So the market here is kinda really oversaturated for veterans-based athletic competition and the only way there's space for a US offshoot of Invictus Games is if they merge with and rebrand as Warrior Games.

And maybe that's part of the goal behind Harry cozing up to the US Department of Defense; he wants the US military and Warrior Games to bail Invictus out.

And y'all, I'm warning you now. I'll be watching the comments on this one. If it starts going off on politics because anon mentioned Trump, I'm turning the comments off and deleting them. I get enough crap of politics with work. I do not want it here.

[sixhours]

happy birthday, baby girl - camping

Ellie has never had a birthday. Joel can fix that.

Series masterlist | Read on AO3 | In progress

Rating: Teen Chapter tags: The Last of Us, The Last of Us (HBO), Joel and Ellie, Ellie Williams, Joel Miller, birthdays, swearing, canon-compliant, angst, implied past alcohol abuse/alcoholism Words: 7.1k

Notes: A bunch of birthday one-shots loosely based on this headcanon. This might be a five-times/one-time fic in disguise, it hasn't decided yet.

They walk out of Jackson at dawn. For four months, they’ve lived behind the protection of a steady rotation of guards and patrols and reinforced walls. Safe and sound, but Jackson is only so big, and Ellie can’t help but feel a little claustrophobic. Even if she doesn’t have to share her room with another FEDRA brat, even if there are no bodies hanging in the public square, even if Jackson smells like fresh-cut grass and woodsmoke and pine trees instead of piss.

No, Jackson is not Boston, not by a long shot. But it’s not the walls that have her feeling smothered. She’s not used to having so many people see her. Joel and Tommy and Maria and teachers and friends and neighbors; so many people who care where she is and what she’s doing and who she’s doing it with. There are rules to follow, schedules to keep, a community that expects her to contribute.

It’s fucking suffocating if she thinks about it too hard.

Today, not twenty feet outside the walls with Joel at her side, she takes what feels like her first deep breath in weeks.

“You okay, kid?”

“Yeah…fine. Just…it’s different than I remember.”

He blinks into the sun-drenched landscape, autumn just starting to tease the tops of the trees into a golden glow. It’s all familiar ground to him. He leaves the compound regularly for patrols and tells her about what they find at the end of his shifts–not a whole hell of a lot, usually.

But today it’s just the two of them, on foot, with a few supplies and a surprise destination of Joel’s in mind. She’s tried to harass it out of him without any luck.

“Is it…a lake?”

“Nope.”

“A racetrack?”

“Nope.”

“Is it a spaceship?”

This elicits a wry glance over his shoulder, at least. “Nope.”

“Umm…is it the ocean?”

“Kid, when was the last time you looked at a map?”

“When was the last time the maps were updated? For all you know, there could be a whole sea on the other side of those mountains now.”

“It ain’t the ocean, and I’m not tellin’, so you may as well stop askin’,” he says, but she knows he doesn’t really mind her questions.

His backpack and guitar are slung on his back, leaving her to carry the rifle. He has a small cooler in one hand and a walking stick in the other, something Tommy found and carved and sanded smooth. He’d promised to make Ellie one of her own this winter when construction work slowed down.

“How long does it take to get there?”

“Five hours, give or take.”

“And you’ve been through here before?” she asks, hoping her voice doesn’t betray her nerves. They’re walking through thick forest on a rough path, pock-marked with hoofprints from recent patrols.

“Yep. Meant to take you out here this summer but your cousin had other ideas,” he mutters. “Think you’ll like it.”

She shrugs.

“Figured it’s been a lot, these last few months,” he continues. “What with school…the new baby. New…everythin’, really. Thought we could use some time to, uh…I dunno. Talk. Just you an’ me. Like old times.”

Old times .

It’s a funny phrase under the circumstances, but it fits. It’s only been a year since Riley died, since Marlene found her in the mall, since she met Joel. Ellie felt like she’d lived a million lives in that time, like she’d stepped through a portal like Daniela Starr and wound up in an alternate reality. Even in her wildest dreams, she never could have predicted this. Never thought she’d survive a bite, that she’d live to see a life outside the walls of the QZ, that she’d travel across the country with a strange old man and ultimately find herself with a family, small and broken as it is.

She absently rubs at the scar under her sleeve. She’s fallen behind, feet dragging a little as she contemplates all the things that happened to bring her to this point. The mall, Kansas City, the hospital…

I swear.

She doesn’t like to think about the hospital.

Suddenly Joel’s hand is on her arm and she jerks away, realizes he’s been talking and she’s missed it, lost in her thoughts.

“Sorry,” she says.

“It’s nothin’,” he says. “I was just sayin’, I thought a little trip couldn’t hurt, get some fresh air before the snow flies…call it a birthday present.”

“You’re a little late, dude,” she says, picking up her pace to match his longer strides. “Or really fucking early.”

“Yeah, well,” he says, frowning. “Didn’t have a proper birthday this year. I figured you’re owed a few extra.”

“Does that mean I’m sixteen now? ‘Cause I can start patrol training at sixteen. Tommy said so.”

“Nice try, kid.”

She hefts her pack higher on her back, the hiking boots Joel found for her at the trading post rubbing against the backs of her heels. She’s not used to them yet, but she has to admit, they’re a hell of a lot better than her Converse for this kind of walking.

It’s an easy hike, a steady uphill climb on a narrow but well-maintained path. It’s clear it’s going to take longer than five hours when Ellie keeps finding things to look at; a cool black rock laced with glittery gold flecks to add to her collection, an iridescent beetle, a tiny dead bird carcass crawling with worms. Joel indulges her investigations the way he always does, grumbling good-naturedly, but he doesn’t rush her. They cross a shallow stream, Ellie hop-skipping over the rocks while Joel takes the wood patrol bridge, eyes on her the whole time.

The back of her left heel starts to throb about two hours in, but it’s easy enough to ignore.

It’s mid-afternoon, the sun already beginning to fall from its peak in the sky by the time they make it to their secret destination. They crest a hill and off in the distance, a wood structure sticks out over the trees.

“Is that…a treehouse?”

“Kinda,” Joel grunts, sweat shining on his forehead. It was cool when they left, but they’ve both shed their outer jackets in favor of tee shirts as the day went on. She doesn’t have to worry about hiding her scar out here. Eager to explore, Ellie runs ahead up the path and soon she’s standing at the edge of a clearing with a tower in the middle.

“Used to be a ranger’s station but they converted it to an outpost a few years back, I guess,” Joel says at her back.

“So cool,” she breathes, looking up at the tower, what looks like a cabin on stilts. Seeing it up close reminds her of the treehouse in the Swiss Family Robinson movie they played at the rec center a couple weeks ago. At the base is a fire pit and a lean-to, probably for tying up the patrol horses. Joel sets his guitar just inside the lean-to and puts his hands on his hips, squinting up at the structure.

“Can we go up?” she asks.

“Sure hope so,” he says. Joel goes to one of the thickets of shrubs on the far side of the camp and starts poking around. “Or we’re sleepin’ on the ground.”

“We get to sleep up there?”

“Yep,” he says, hauling a metal ladder out of the brush.

“Sweet!”

“Pull on that end,” he instructs, and she does, grabbing hold of the opposite rung and tugging until the ladder is fully extended. Joel lays it up against the side of the lookout so the top rung hooks onto a second ladder that’s attached to the structure higher up. He frowns and shakes the thing until it’s firmly seated, takes a few cautious steps up, testing its stability.

“Safe enough,” he pronounces, coming back to the ground. “You wanna go–”

He hasn’t finished his sentence before she’s leapt onto the ladder, climbing it like a monkey.

“–first? Jesus, kid, be careful…”

But Ellie is already clambering up, hand over hand until she reaches the top ledge. She pulls herself up to standing, walking along the side of the central cabin and down the wrap-around balcony.

“Whoa,” she breathes, leaning out over the railing. From up here she can see the whole valley and beyond. They’re too far to be able to see Jackson, she guesses, peering into the distance. It’s conveniently shrouded in trees.

Joel joins her, panting slightly. “Christ, few months of real cookin’ and I’m outta shape.”

“Sure you’re not just old?” she grins. “We could find you an oxygen tank and a wheelchair. Maybe one of those little electric scooters.”

“Brat,” he huffs, leaning on the railing, gently tugging her back by the handle of her backpack when she leans over too far. “Can still haul your scrawny ass around.”

“This is so fucking cool,” she breathes, turning around. The ranger’s station has huge plexiglass windows, and she cups her hands to one of the panes and peeks inside.

“C’mon,” Joel says, walking back around the building. He fishes a key out from behind a loose shingle near the door. “Let’s go set up.”

The lookout has obviously been maintained. Freshly stained boards stand out against the aging weathered ones like sore thumbs. The floor underfoot is solid, if creaky in places, and there’s a slight draft coming in around the windows. There are chests full of supplies and gear–enough rations to last a small patrol group for a couple of weeks, Joel says. Ellie wrinkles her nose at the familiar stock of canned goods and MREs.

If there’s one thing she has no complaints about in Jackson, it’s the food. Ellie didn’t know green beans could taste like summer, or that a fresh peach could drip sticky juice down her chin without being soaked in cloying syrup, or that soup could be more than a salty broth with shapeless chunks of mush. Until a couple months ago, she’d never had fresh whipped cream or apple pie or so many of the things they serve regularly at the caf. FEDRA rations couldn’t come close, and she can’t imagine going back to that.

She’s relieved to know they won’t be eating from the stockpile of MREs tonight. There’s not a single can in Joel’s backpack. Instead, he’s carrying pre-sliced potatoes and onions and cheese wrapped in foil, packets of roasted vegetables ready to be warmed over the fire, and several apples and granola mix for snacks. Joel said something about catching the rest of their dinner, but she wasn’t fully listening, knowing he wouldn’t make her eat the venison or rabbit or moose if they went hunting.

They lay down their bedrolls on top of foam mats on the wood floor, not dusty and ravaged by time but swept clean and tidy. Ellie flops down on her bed to test it out, staring up into the rafters. There are no cobwebs or birds’ nests. Instead, the exposed beams are decorated with odds and ends, trinkets left behind by other patrollers, random treasures found during scavenging runs. A broken lantern. A rusty horseshoe. Old farm tools. A doll that’s missing one eye and probably haunted, Ellie decides. She’s half tempted to steal it and bring it back with them to Jackson if she can figure out how to get it past Joel.

When they’re mostly settled in their makeshift camp, Joel asks, “Ready to go check out the water?”

“Water?”

“There’s a stream not far from here. You ever been fishin’?” Joel plucks two long poles off the back wall.

She rolls her eyes. “Dude, the Charles was a fucking sewer. No, I’ve never been fishing.”

That earns her a smirk. “Twilight’s the best time for brook trout. Let’s go catch dinner.”

Ellie gets up from her bedroll and makes the mistake of hissing in pain, unable to hide a slight limp from the chafing against her heel. She’s mostly ignored it until now but a few minutes of rest has brought the pain into sharp relief. Joel is immediately hovering at her side.

“What’s wrong? You twist it?”

“No, it’s just…these stupid boots,” she mutters. “Think I got a blister.”

“Let’s see.”

“It’s fine, man, I’m—“

“Sit,” he says in his you do what I say when I say it voice.

“I’m not a dog, asshole,” she grunts, but she does as she’s told, plopping back down on her sleeping bag.

“Foot,” he instructs, kneeling and putting out a hand. She undoes her laces and takes off her boot, peeling off her sock with a wince. The blister has already popped, oozing bloody fluid through the back of her sock. The top layer of skin has peeled away leaving a gnarly red patch of raw flesh in its place.

“Christ, Ellie,” he grumbles upon seeing the damage.

“It’s not that bad,” she says, even as she hisses. Exposed to the open air, the fresh wound smarts like a sonofabitch, as Joel would say.

“Like hell it ain’t,” he frowns, then goes over to the trunk of supplies. He has a first aid kit, but it’s little more than band-aids and salve. The outpost’s kit has gauze and tape and a flask of alcohol for disinfectant. “You been walkin’ on this the whole time?”

“Just the last hour or so,” she lies. “Wasn’t gonna be a whiny little bitch about it.”

He fixes her with a look that brings hot red patches to her cheeks. “Don’t say that. If you’re hurt, we take care of it.”

“Didn’t wanna slow us down–”

“Not on a schedule,” he mutters. “Leave somethin’ like this too long, it's liable to get infected. This is gonna sting.”

He wipes at the wound with a piece of gauze soaked in the alcohol, wincing along with her when the sensation of the cleaner on her raw flesh brings tears to her eyes.

“What’s the verdict, doc?” she rasps when she can speak without gritting her teeth around the pain.

“Don’t think we’ll have to amputate,” he says drily, then glares at her. “Yet.”

She rests her chin on her other knee and waits while he dabs salve on the wound, covering it with gauze and taping it in place. He pulls a clean pair of socks out of her pack and slides one carefully over the bandage, giving her toes an errant squeeze when it’s all done.

“Still gonna hurt, but at least you won’t be rubbin’ it raw. How’s the other one?”

“It’s fine.”

He scowls. “Swear to god, kid, if you’re hidin’ another blister–”

“Ugh, it’s not as bad. See for yourself,” she says, taking off her other boot and sock, sticking her foot directly in his face and wiggling it in front of his nose for emphasis. He swats at it and grumbles brat under his breath, before taking it gently in hand.

Two smaller blisters, still fresh, decorate the back of her other heel. He gives them the same treatment, padding the wounds with gauze so they won’t get worse.

“Was that so damn hard?” he asks when he’s done. “It ain’t a crime to ask for help, y’know.”

She shrugs. “Didn’t want you to worry–”

“S’my job to worry about you,” he cuts her off, then softens, gripping her chin gently between forefinger and thumb. “One I’m pretty damn lucky to have.”

Sometimes, even now, it’s a surprise that he cares. Her throat goes tight and she nods once.

“Now c’mon,” he says, groaning and stretching as he stands. “Fish ain’t gonna catch themselves.”

She puts on her boots and considers leaving them untied, eager as she is to see the water and the fish, but she can already hear Joel’s voice– gonna go ass over teakettle if y’ain’t careful –so she thinks better of it and re-ties the laces before bounding out the door behind him.

“Careful on the ladder,” he reminds her from halfway down, and she refrains from rolling her eyes, but she does take it slow, telling herself his old-man heart is fragile and she doesn’t want to be the cause of a heart attack.

They take a right from the tower and hike deeper into the forest toward the sound of running water. The stream sparkles in the last of the evening sun as they settle on the embankment with their fishing rods. Joel shows her how to dig into the soft parts of the soil for worms to use as bait (gross, but cool), how to wind them around the hook and stab them to secure them (just gross), and how to cast the line so it doesn’t get tangled in the brush on the side of the bank (nearly impossible).

After a few minutes, Ellie shifts from one foot to the other. “Now what?”

“We wait. If you feel a bite on the line, start to reel it in.”

They do. She holds the pole and she waits. And waits. And–

She slaps at a mosquito on her neck, then another one on her arm. Her nose itches and her hair tickles her ears. She recasts the line when it bobs and drifts too far, reeling it back in, watching as Joel does the same.

“So how long does this usually take?” she says when she’s cast for the fifth time and felt absolutely nothing. She watches the bobber drift along with the current. The sun has dropped behind the trees, taking most of the heat out of the air.

“Long as it takes.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Gonna take even longer if you keep yappin’ and scarin’ the fish away.”

She rolls her eyes, mimicking him. “‘ Yappin’ n’ scarin’ the fish away.’ ”

He side-eyes her, but his cheek twitches the way it does when he’s trying not to laugh at one of her puns.

“Did you used to fish a lot?”

“When I was a kid, mostly. Old man took us out once in a while.”

“So…early Jurassic period?”

“Yep,” he says easily. “Rode my dinosaur to the lake n’ back.”

“Har har,” she says, swatting at a mosquito that’s buzzing around her left ear. “I just thought there’d be, more, y’know…fish.”

“I liked it about as much as you do, at the time. Never caught much,” he grimaces, reeling in his line and casting it again. “Think the old man just liked gettin’ away from our mama so he could get shitfaced in peace.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Wholesome.”

“Not the word I’d use. Anyway, spent more time pushin’ Tommy in the lake than I did catchin’ fish.”

Now that sounds like fun. “Can I push you in if we don’t catch anything?”

“You can try,” he smirks.

More time passes. Ellie shifts on her feet and swats at more mosquitos, trying and failing to imagine Joel as a kid.

“Man…I wanna ride a dinosaur,” she sighs.

“Jesus Christ,” Joel mutters, but he’s smiling.

Then there’s a distinct tug on her line, so forceful and surprising she almost lets the whole contraption go.

“Joel!”

“What?”

“It’s…it’s going! What the fuck do I do?”

“Well don’t panic,” he says, setting his pole down carefully, wedging it between two large rocks. “Hold on, kid, I gotcha.”

“It’s probably a fucking boot or something,” Ellie says, holding the pole back with both hands to keep it steady, unable to reel in whatever is on the other end for fear of losing her grip.

“Dunno about that. It’s movin’. Here,” he says, offering a hand over hers to support the pole while she switches to turning the reel, the tension growing with each turn.

“Good job, not too fast or the line’ll snap,” Joel says. “Sometimes ya just gotta let ‘em run with it a little, wear ‘em out.”

Soon she can see the silvery green-red fish thrashing at the surface of the water.

“Holy shit!”

“Lookit that,” he grins, helping her lift the fish out of the water by the line as it writhes and flails. “Guess you get to eat tonight.”

She can’t help but be a little disappointed when she gets a good look at the result of her efforts. She’d been picturing a monster fish given how strong it had been, but the thing isn’t even a foot long.

“I thought it was gonna be a fuckin’ shark.”

“Sometimes the little ones fight the hardest,” he says softly, and she’s glad the fading light hides her blush. She’s pretty sure he’s not just talking about the stupid fish.

He puts the poor creature out of its misery by smashing its head with a rock, then promises to show her how to gut and filet the slimy, scaly thing once they’re back at camp. She silently vows to try a bite even if the thought turns her stomach.

“You gonna try again?” he asks.

She does, digging up a fresh worm and re-baiting her hook while Joel goes back to his line. By the end of the hour, they’ve caught two more trout and Ellie’s stomach is growling.

“Better than fishing with your old man?” she asks on the trek back to camp.

He huffs a soft laugh. ”Yeah, kiddo. Much better.”

Back at the lookout, there’s a pile of pre-cut firewood under a tarp in the lean-to. Ellie gathers small sticks and scraps for kindling from the surrounding woods and soon Joel has a fire roaring. The routine is familiar; night settling around them while they prepare dinner. Ellie takes pity on Joel’s knees and volunteers to climb back up the tower to fetch the cooler and cooking supplies.

By firelight, Joel shows Ellie how to strip the trout of their scales, gut them, and filet them without leaving tiny bones in the flesh. Then they throw the fish in the pan with a pat of butter and some salt and pepper that Joel brought with them in the little cooler, and set the other foil packets over the fire to heat.

The fish is flaky and tastes nothing like the gamey meat she’s used to, so Ellie eats her fill and tries to ignore how thrilled Joel looks to see her eat something that isn’t bread or fruit. He’s not subtle about it, offering her a second helping before she’s finished the first. It’s only a little smothering so she decides not to give him shit about it.

They’re full and sated by the time Joel pulls out his guitar and hands it to Ellie.

“You been practicin’?”

True to his word, he’d taught her how to play guitar when they got to Jackson. And he knows she’s practiced because he hears her every night up in her room with the smaller guitar he’d traded for, floundering through the chords to her favorite songs in the old, tattered copy of “100 Greatest 80’s Hits” she found at the trading post. She knows how to read music, but making her fingers do what she wants them to do on the strings is tough, and she doesn’t have the benefit of Joel’s calluses.

She stumbles through the first two stanzas and the chorus of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” before she has to stop and restart. Joel listens, eyes softened by the firelight, and suggests a slight adjustment to her posture that seems to help with the larger guitar.

Then it’s his turn. He makes it look easy; the music seems to come directly from his fingers, and his voice is soft but strong. It’s not nearly as bad as he thinks it is. She thinks he could have been a singer in the Before, but she’ll never tell him that. And his taste in music is still questionable, but it’s better than nothing.

The fire flickers and crackles and warms her. She slides off the log they’re using as a makeshift seat and puts her back against it, stretching out her legs. Between the darkness and the heat and the day’s long hike, she’s tempted to curl up at Joel’s feet like a cat and sleep, so drowsy that she doesn’t even notice when he’s put the guitar away.

“Bedtime, kiddo,” he says softly, nudging her with his boot. “Can’t carry you this time.”

“‘Cause you’re too damn old,” she yawns. “Need that scooter.”

“Uh-huh. Scooter ain’t gettin’ us up that ladder. C’mon, you first. I’ll clean up.”

She ascends the tower at a slightly less frantic clip and goes straight to her bedroll, barely having pulled off her boots before crawling into her sleeping bag. She hears Joel come up not long after, then he’s rustling around in the cabin doing Joel things–locking the door and loading the rifle and draping an extra wool blanket over her. By that point, she’s already sound asleep.

Then she’s being shaken gently awake. 

“Ellie…hey, kiddo. Wake up.”

“Whassit?” she grumbles. It’s not dark, but it’s not daylight. She can just make out Joel’s features looming over her.

“C’mere,” he says. “Wanna show you somethin’.”

She wriggles out of her sleeping bag, still blinking in confusion. Joel drapes the wool blanket over her shoulders and she pulls it tight around herself. It’s not cold enough for a frost yet, but it’s not warm. Outside, the moon is full and bright, casting lunar shadows on the landscape around them. It’s beautiful, but hardly worth waking up at the ass-crack of…what the hell time is it, anyway?

“What–”

“Shh,” he whispers, leading her around the balcony to the other side of the building. “Look over there. Not too far out.”

A black shape materializes, trundling slowly, cautiously along the western edge of the valley. A snout lifts into the air as if checking for something, and Ellie has the distinct impression it can hear them.

“Is…is that a fucking bear ?”

“Shhh, don’t scare ‘em,” he whispers, taking a seat with his back to the windows, legs dangling off the edge of the balcony. Ellie sits cross-legged next to him, wrapping her blanket around her to guard against the fall chill.

“Whoa.”

The bear is close…like, really fucking close. Even in the dim light, she can see the reflection off its sleek fur, the tip of its nose, its dark eyes. She finds herself reaching out to grip Joel’s wrist, surprised to be, well…a little scared. They never worried about animals during their time on the road. They never stayed in one place long enough, never had enough scraps to leave behind. There was the occasional moose or deer, and those were welcome because they were potential food. Occasionally they’d hear the haunting calls of coyotes, and those were enough to keep Ellie awake at night if her imagination didn’t do the job for her.

The real threat was other people, whether infected or not. But tonight, after months enveloped in the safety of Jackson’s walls, Ellie feels painfully exposed. She scoots closer to Joel. He knows better than to say anything, just puts an arm around her and tucks her against his side.

“Wait,” she says, eyeing the distance between them and the bear, then them and the ground. “Can’t bears, like…climb?”

“Not this far. That’s why I brought the food up. ‘Sides, she’s got other things to worry about. Look.”

It takes a second, but soon Ellie sees the smaller cub lumbering along behind its mother. The pair weave their way across the landscape, pausing occasionally to sniff the air.

“Den’s probably nearby if the cub’s out this late,” Joel says, rubbing at his chin.

“So bears have bedtimes, too?” she smirks.

She can feel his chuckle against her side, a deep rumble in his chest.

“We’ll wanna make a lotta noise on the way back, make sure they know we’re around. Shouldn’t be too hard for you,” he says, poking her lightly on the shoulder.

“You love it and you know it,” she says.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do,” he says, and she feels the warm press of a kiss to the top of her head.

“Hey, Joel…what do you call a bear without any teeth?”

“A gummy bear,” he says, so fucking smug. “You can do better than that.”

“Ugh, asshole. Okay, okay, umm…wait…gimme a sec…oh! Why did the grizzly wear a tank top?”

Joel sighs.

“He had the right to ‘bear arms’!”

“Terrible,” he groans. “‘Sides, bears don’t have arms, they have–”

“Dude, really? Don’t be that guy.”

He reaches up and musses her hair. Funny, when that jerk Michael Sumner did the same, she’d tried to break his nose. When Joel does it, it makes her chest feel warm and tight.

When the bears have wandered into the trees and out of sight, Joel yawns and stretches and gets to his feet. “You ain’t a bear cub, so it’s bedtime for you, twerp.”

“I don’t even have a bedtime.”

“Sure you do. You’ve just never stayed up late enough to see it.”

She’s pretty fucking sure that’s not true and he knows it, because she’s gone whole nights without sleeping and he’s been by her side every time.

“That was pretty cool,” she admits back in the cabin, when she’s wriggling into her sleeping bag and pulling the blanket over herself.

“Yeah,” he yawns into the crook of his arm, then reaches over to shut off the lantern. “Thought so, too.”

There’s another yawn and the briefest touch of his hand to her head before he says, “G'night, kid. Have good dreams.”

“Night.”

She lays awake, staring up at the rafters, too keyed up from seeing the bears to fall asleep right away.

For all of Jackson’s weirdness, their little house and her room and her bed have…grown on her. It helped that Joel had shown up at her bedroom door one rainy July morning and looked around the room with a certain determination.

“This place could use a new coat of paint, huh?”

It needed a lot more than that. They’d spent that weekend stripping the ugly wallpaper from the walls, and the following weekend covering the whole thing with primer and a light eggshell blue paint–leftover from the rec center remodel, Tommy said. Joel had shown her how to soften the wallpaper glue with a spray bottle and an iron set on low, how to cut in the corners and smooth out her brush strokes and use the angled brush around the edges so there weren’t blobs of paint everywhere. He’d repaired the broken shelves and traded for new bedding and curtains and added a wall mount for her guitar until the room was almost unrecognizable from what it had been.

Now the shelves hold her few books, her collection of cool rocks, her comics. The pictures and posters on the walls are all things she drew or found at the trading post. The photo of Joel and Sarah holds a prominent place on her dresser. It smells like fresh paint and the lemongrass wood cleaner Joel uses on the floors, and somewhere along the line, the bad memories faded a bit. Not gone…just not as sharp, not as vivid.

A sinking feeling settles in her stomach, a kind of unfamiliar, aching sadness. She knows the word “homesick”, but she’s never been lucky enough to have a home to miss.

She scoots closer to Joel until her forehead presses lightly against his shoulder. It isn’t because he smells like wood smoke and the lavender soap from the commissary. It’s not because the flannel is soft, or because he naturally shifts toward her in his sleep, ready to put an arm out if she needs him. It’s not because of that. She’s just a little cold.

He’s already snoring, the same rumbling cadence that drifts across the hall every night. It makes her think of the bear and her cub, tucked away in a cave somewhere nearby, curled up together. Safe. Home.

She doesn’t even remember falling asleep. When she wakes, she’s surprised to see daylight; faint, but the sun is almost up. Joel is…where is Joel? She sits up. He’s not in the cabin or outside on the balcony. She pads out the door, still in socked feet, wincing. Her blisters hurt, but not in the sharp, angry way they did yesterday. Just a dull, achy annoyance. She’ll live, as Joel would say.

Wisps of smoke rise into the air from below. She leans over the railing and finds him standing next to the fire. From this vantage point, all she sees is the top of his head, messy brown hair threaded with gray, the shoulders of his green flannel, and the mug of coffee steaming in his hand.

He looks up before she can call out to him, smiles while squinting up at her. “Hey, up there.”

She waves and runs back inside to put on her boots, then she descends the ladder–she’s gotten really fast at it, practically sliding down the rail–and jumps the last five rungs onto the ground.

”Jesus, kid, slow down. You’re gonna break your neck goin’ like that.”

“Morning to you, too, sunshine,” she chirps.

They eat around a small fire, finishing last night’s leftovers and some of the granola mix. Joel chops more firewood to replace what they used while Ellie packs up their camp. She restrains herself from stealing the one-eyed doll from the rafters.

Joel goes quiet after breakfast, focused on “leaving the lookout in better shape than they found it”, he says. But as they set off on the path back to Jackson, something feels off. They’ve barely covered the first mile when he clears his throat and catches her eye, that look that says something’s on his mind.

“So, uh…wanted to talk to you.”

She braces herself. She hears the conversation in her head in Joel’s signature drawl.

I’m sorry, but this ain’t workin’.

Time for us to go our separate ways.

You’re not my daughter, and I sure as hell ain’t your dad.

Part of her rails against it. There’s no way. Joel would never leave her, Joel would never…he would never .

But the other part–the small, mean, shameful part she keeps tucked deep down inside, the one that will always be there no matter how old she gets, no matter how long she stays with Joel–is waiting for him to make good on that threat.

She shrugs, muttering. “Okay, I guess.”

They’re side by side, almost brushing shoulders, and she straightens her spine and lifts her chin.

“Meant to tell you this last night, but…it was late n’…anyway. Outbreak Day’s comin’ up.”

“Uh huh.”

He screws up his face like he’s sucked on something sour, one of the tiny green crabapples that are just starting to grow on the tree in the backyard of the house they share. In the house where she sleeps now, in the room he helped repaint and redecorate. In the town where they live, where she goes to school, where he builds things. Home.

She suddenly remembers their conversation from months ago.

September 26th.

Joel’s birthday.

That homesick feeling wraps itself around her insides again and pulls, a steady downward tug of grief. Suddenly she wants nothing more than to be safe in Jackson’s walls, sitting at the dining table with Joel and Tommy and Maria and baby Isabel, laughing over some dumb joke Tommy told at Joel’s expense until milk squirts out her nose. She does not want to be here, does not want to be having this conversation, even if she doesn’t know what he’s talking about yet.

She picks up her pace, forcing Joel to do the same.

“That’s, uh…that’s kind of a rough…time.”

“For you and, like, everyone,” she says, practically marching away until he catches up, grasping her by the shoulder.

“Hey, would you slow down?” he huffs. “Let’s just…stop for a sec.”

She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. “If you’re trying to…to…pawn me off on Tommy again–”

“What?” he balks. “No, I–”

“Is this about the stupid Fireflies?”

He goes very still. “What do you mean by that?”

I swear.

“Nothing,” she mutters, kicking at a rock, unable to meet his eyes. “I dunno, I just…you’re being fucking weird, man.”

“No, it’s not about the…no. It’s–it’s…Christ, you know I’m shit at this stuff. Just…gimme a minute.”

He walks to the side of the path, hands on his hips, frowning. Finally he takes a breath and looks at her. 

“I’m not sure how I’ll…be for a few days. Might be…different, is all.”

“You gonna turn into a werewolf? Grow fangs and claws or some shit?”

He sighs in frustration. “No.”

“So, what? You gonna beat me or something?” She tries to smile, to make a joke of it, but her voice falls flat.

“No! Jesus, no, nothin’ like that,” he says. “Ellie, I’d never. Not ever . You know that, right?”

She looks at him for a long time, sees the desperation in his eyes, before nodding slowly. She wonders if he knows that a beating is the least of her worries as far as punishment goes. Doesn’t think he could take hearing about all the other shit that happened to kids in FEDRA school. For all his experience, Joel could be incredibly naive. Or maybe he just didn’t want to see it, didn’t want to think about it. She supposes she can’t blame him. If he knew just how broken and bruised she was, he’d probably run away screaming.

“I know, dude,” she huffs, trying to brush it off. “It was a joke.”

“Jokes are s’posed to be funny,” he says flatly. “And I’d never–ever–hurt you like that.”

She throws up her hands. “Then stop making me guess and just tell me what the fuck is wrong!”

“Alright,” he grumbles, running a hand through his hair. “Thing is…I used to drink. A lot. A lot more than…well, just a lot.”

Her brow furrows. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen Joel take more than a sip or two from his flask when they were on the road, and only when it got cold. Come to think of it, she doesn’t think she’s seen him drink anything stronger than shitwater since they came back to Jackson.

“After Sarah…after the…everything…well,” he says. “I ain’t proud of it. Could say I come by it honestly–”

“Your dad,” she says softly.

“Uh-huh. An’ it was always worse this time of year. Come end of September…I’d lock myself in the apartment and, uh…lose a week or so. Tess usually left, stayed…somewhere else. Checked in on me, made sure I didn’t…that I didn’t, uh–”

“I get it,” Ellie says, lump in her throat. “The guy who shot and missed.”

“Right. But I’m not gonna do that,” he says quickly. “No drinkin’. Between you and Tommy and everythin’ else…can’t afford to. Don’t want to.”

She nods carefully, fidgeting with her hands, picking at her cuticles. Just when she thinks she’s found her footing, something like this comes along and throws her off again.

“Just don’t know how it’s gonna go,” he says, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I haven’t been sober for this in…well, probably since the…the first one. Might be a bit…a bit cross.”

“So…normal, then?”

He sighs and gives her The Look, the one that tells her this is supposed to be a serious conversation and she needs to take it seriously. But she’s fucking lost, as usual. Is this the kind of shit people used to do Before? Stand around and talk about their feelings? It would almost be easier if he used his fists. She knows he’s good with those. He sucks at words even more than she does.

Besides, what does he want her to say? Thanks for not drinking yourself to death? Thanks for not offing yourself?

He continues more softly, struggling his way through. “I just want you to know…if I’m…if…I’m not good…for a little while…it’s not you. Okay? There’s nothin’ you could do to…to make me that way.”

She remembers the first time he told her he was sorry, how lost she’d felt when he’d tried to explain how she shouldn’t have had to shoot that kid. No grown-up had ever been sorry for anything in her life and she’d long stopped expecting them to be. Now Joel was apologizing for something he might not even do…and it wasn’t even that bad.

“Y’know, you can always go to Tommy or Maria if–”

Her eyes snap to his face. “I want to stay with you.”

“I know. But…if you need to. I won’t…be mad.”

She shrugs, not knowing what the fuck to say. “Can we go now?”

He considers her for a moment, then ducks his head in a nod.

“Sure. Yeah…let’s go.”

They walk in muted silence for a while. Ellie thinks about their house in Jackson, thinks about Joel pushing Tommy into a lake, about him squeezing her toes through her sock after bandaging her foot, about his arm around her shoulders reminding her where she stands. She realizes that the things she knows about Joel’s past can probably be counted on one hand.

He had a daughter.

He killed people.

He was a smuggler.

Now she could add “He was a drunk” to that list.

And yet, none of those things, save for the first, made the person she knew as Joel Miller.

He made good pancakes.

He bandaged her blisters.

He taught her how to hold a gun and play guitar and fish and hunt. How to keep watch and protect herself.

The silence lasts until Jackson is a tiny speck in the distance. Finally she breaks it.

“I know you said…you’re lucky to worry about me. But…that goes both ways.”

He shakes his head. “Ellie, you shouldn’t have to–”

“I want to.”

He looks over at her sharply.

“I just…I don’t wanna go away ‘cause you’re having a bad time…or whatever,” she says, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, on each step ahead. “You’re always there for me when things are shitty. It’s only fair.”

He opens his mouth, probably to tell her it’s not the same because he’s a grown-up and she’s a kid or some shit, but she cuts him off.

“And I know it’s not about…me, okay? I get it. I’m almost sixteen, which is practically seventeen, which is basically an adult. I can handle it.”

His eyebrow goes up to his hairline at that, mouth twitching in a little smirk. His hands are full, so she grabs his wrist, circling it with her fingers, squeezing to get the point across.

Finally he nods, speaking softly in his familiar warm drawl. “Alright.”

She nods back, satisfied, returning his smile.

Together, they walk toward home.

[abbysleftbicepp]

The Thief And The Fairy

An Ellie Williams x Maleficent!Reader au. part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

An: This fic is the result of an idea that’s been rotting my head for months. The story line will be extremely close to Maleficent, and a lot of the lines will be exact to the film. Fair warning, it is a strangers to lovers to enemies sooo yeah 🫶 not proof read.

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Once upon a time, in a far off land, there lived a little girl. She was no ordinary girl, for she lived in the branches of a tree on the top of a mountain. Most of her features resembled a human, however a few of her features did not.

The girl carried long, dark, feathered wings on her back, and upon her head were two scaled horns that curled ever so slightly. Her ears were almost human, as they spiked near the tops, and her cheek bones were as sharp as a blade.

The girls wings could carry her high up into the clouds and she felt like she danced with the stars as she flew, the wings never faltered nor failed her. She trusted them with her whole life.

Her tree belonged to her land, known as the Moors. It was located in a large forest next to a kingdom. The Moors and the kingdom had been at war for centuries, until 7 years ago, when the king had claimed her parents heads on his sword. Two years later, the king had died and his son, Jesse, took his place on the throne.

Because of this, Y/N was unfortunately the only one of her kind left in the Moors. There were goblins, Gorgons, Pixies, Sirens, Spriggans, mushroom fae and more. There were many family’s of each, creating a population of the Moor folk.

Although Y/N was only 14 years old, she claimed the title of the protector of the Moors, just like her parents once were. This was a mutual agreement between the moor-folk as she had the strongest wings and a power stronger than they had seen ever before. She was able to heal and break with the stroke of her finger, and she did not know what she was fully capable of, yet.

One day, Y/N was helping some of the pixies mend some of the crops, as a storm had destroyed their farmland the night before. As she used her magic to heal the poor crops, one of the Spriggan soldiers, Balthazar, came to her.

The Spriggan folk look a lot like trees. They disguise themselves as such from the humans, as a way to hide from them. Their ears are large and can shield their faces from harm, they have sharp wooden teeth and their body’s almost resemble a skeleton made out of wood. Their jobs were along side Y/N, as her soldiers. They usually carry wooden spears with them as weapons and did not speak human like the pixies and Y/N could, however they could still understand it.

Balthazar made some earthy deep sounds, which is the Spriggans way of communicating.

“What do you mean there’s a human in the Moors? there hasn’t been for years.” Y/N protested, slightly nervous to encounter her first human since the last war, where her parents were stolen from her.

He replied with similar noises as a moment ago.

“She’s stealing from the pool of jewels? Tor heavens sake we need to stop her. They’re not hers to take.” She announced before flying up into the clouds and towards the pool of jewels.

When she arrived, two more Spriggans were surrounding the entrance to a small cave in the mountain right next to the pool, however it was covered in ivy so she couldn’t see the human hidden inside. She landed on a grass covered rock inside the pool, in-between the Spriggans.

“Come out!” She demanded. She had no response from the human, maybe they speak a different language now? She decided to try her luck again.

“Come out this instant!” She spoke louder than before.

“No! They mean to kill me!” A female voice spoke. Her accent was different to the humans that Y/N remembered. Perhaps the humans had changed their way of speaking the language.

“They don’t mean to harm you whatsoever. They know you have something that doesn’t belong to you. You have to give it back!” She spoke loud and clear.

The hidden human hesitated, but slowly crept out of the ivy, into the open. She had auburn brown hair, pale green eyes and freckles scattered along her face. Her hair was tied up into a pony tail and she wore ragged old clothes, covered with an old brown cloak. She looked quite small for a human.

“Are you fully grown?” Y/N asked curiously, analysing the humans appearance.

“No..” The human responded.

“I believe she’s just..a girl?” Y/N said slightly confused to her soldiers.

“And you’re just a girl…i think..?” The human stepped into the conversation.

“Who are you?” Y/N asked the human who stood before her.

“I’m called Ellie. Ellie Williams. Who are you?” She replied with confidence.

“Y/N” The fairy replied with the same amount of confidence. One of the Spriggans quickly reminded her of why she was here, meeting the human.

“Yes! right.” She spoke. “Like i said earlier, i believe you have something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“No i dont.” Ellie said confused, trying to act dumb. Y/N rolled her eyes and held out her hand expectedly. Sighing, Ellie digged into her pocket, retrieving a jewel and chucked it to Y/N’s hand. Y/N then gently tossed the jewel back into the pool.

Y/N and Ellie walked together through the forest, as Y/N wanted to make sure the girl was safe leaving. Ellie’s eyes were glued to Y/N’s wings, she felt drawn to them. They were like nothing she’d seen before. She decided to speak before her stares got too weird.

“if i’d known you’d throw it away i would have kept it.” Ellie complained, knowing she could have gotten a meal by paying with that jewel, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten a whole meal.

“I didn’t throw it away. I delivered it home, as i’m going to do with you.” She announced. The girls walked through the woodlands together in a comfortable silence. Ellie admired the nature around them, and gasped as fireflies flew passed them.

Finally, they reached the end of the forest where there was a large grass field that separated the Moors from the kingdom.

Ellie came to a halt, Y/N following suit.

“Y’know, some day i’ll live there,” Ellie spoke, pointing into the distance. “In the castle.” She frowned, hoping her dreams will someday come true.

“Well where do you live now?” Y/N asked curiously. She was so drawn to Ellie in a way she couldn’t describe. She’d never felt like this before.

Ellie turned her face away, embarrassed to face Y/N as she responded. “In a barn..”

“So your parents are farmers then?” Y/N continued, not noticing Ellie’s demeanour change.

“My parents are dead.” Ellie responded quite bluntly, her head hanging low.

“Mine too.” Y/N looked at Ellie with sympathy. Maybe not all humans were bad anymore. Maybe it was time for the moors to stop being afraid.

Ellie looked back at Y/N with the same expression. She stared into the fairy’s eyes for a while before speaking up.

“We’ll see each other again.” She said with confidence, turning so her back was to Y/N and took a few steps forward

“You really shouldn’t come back here you know.. it’s not safe.” Y/N protested, she almost cared for the human. She felt connected to her in ways she didn’t understand.

Ellie turned around again to face the winged girl. “and if i made that choice, if i came back…would you be here?” Ellie asked with a smile tugging on her lips.

Y/N looked around for a moment, she was lost in thought.

“Perhaps.” She shrugged with a smile. Ellie was beaming, and stretched her hand out to shake Y/Ns. When the girl took Ellie’s hand, she immediately took it back and gasped in pain. Ellie’s face dropped and concern rushed through her body.

“What’s wrong?!” She exclaimed, her eyes searching Y/N’s face for answers. Y/N gripped her palm in pain, where Ellie’s ring touched seconds ago.

“Your ring..Iron burns fairy’s.” She explained to the concerned human in front of her.

“I’m so sorry!” Ellie said apologetically, before she took her ring off and threw it as far as she could. Y/N felt her face heat up and her heart grow warmer. Humans were a lot kinder than she thought, so it seems.

“I like your wings.” Ellie spoke, interrupting Y/Ns thoughts. The fairy’s grin only grew wider upon hearing her words as Ellie walked across the fields, towards her home.

Later that night, Y/N couldn’t sleep. Her mind was flooded with thoughts of Ellie and how she, who had so little in the world, threw away her ring so that their hands might touch again. Her heart longed to see the human once more, and all her hatred towards the humans had shifted into peace in her mind. She believed that maybe they’ve changed, and that there is good in them.

The young thief who had once hoped to steal a jewel, had managed to steal something far more precious.

“Y/N?” Ellie called outside the forrest, where they she had last seen the fairy. “Y/N!” She called over and over again. After a minute or two of calling her name, she decided it was hopeless and sighed. Suddenly, there was a gust of wind behind her, and she heard something thump onto the ground.

Turning around in a haste, Ellie saw the girl she had hoped to see stood in front of her, smiling ear to ear.

“After all these weeks, look who came back” Y/N teased. Ellie smirked and walked closer to the girl.

“I thought it was worth the risk.” She replied, a smile growing bigger on her face by the second. “So, what do you do to entertain yourself around here?” Ellie asked, and Y/N only replied with a smirk.

“Follow me.” She spoke before running into the Moors. Ellie quickly followed suit, curious as to where they were going.

[fivenightsatfreddysfanfiction]

She Remembers

It's Mike's birthday. Faith and Gregory meet.

--------------------------

.

It was something of a yearly tradition, bittersweet but warm. Faith and ‘Digo would pick up a simple cake at Dapper Goods bakery, meet with Jeremy at his workshop to pick him up and his photo of Mike, and then drive together to Circus Baby’s Pizza and Parties. Mike’s birthday was one of celebration and remembrance, a cozy event for family and colleagues, friends made by their shared opposition to the Aftons and Fazbear Entertainment.

Meera would have the pizzeria closed for the day, eating the cost of skipping a business day in favor of having a private setting for them all. When she first offered her restaurant as a place to host the birthday parties, it had been out of guilt for calling Mike out of retirement to help her foil Elizabeth Afton’s plan to use replicas of the animatronics to harvest Remnant for William Afton. She had explained that if she hadn’t done so, maybe it wouldn’t have caused Mike to realize how dangerously close he was to being like William, already possessing the power to surpass death but not yet losing his connection to his own humanity.

After all, it wasn’t long after they’d foiled the facility’s labyrinth that Mike gave up Six to normalize his lifespan, and then he passed away with Faith’s mom within the year. There had been the hope that perhaps he’d come back to them as a reincarnation, like Faith and ‘Digo and the other Reborn Children and the two senior Guards had done. But year after year passed and there was no sign of him. Faith had to content herself with the idea that her father had gotten his wish of moving on while Jeremy continued holding out hope that Mike would come back in some way.

The guilt Meera felt soothed over time as she got to know Mike’s family and realized they didn’t hold anything against her. Mike was as stubborn as they got, once he made up his mind about something he held to it come hell or high water. He would’ve gotten the idea of what long life would do to him eventually but the risk would’ve been higher that he wouldn’t have caught on until after his Doll passed and he was left still enduring time. No one wanted to think about what that would have done to his mental state.

They arrived at the pizzeria and smiled in greeting at Meera as she waved and opened the door for them. “Everyone else is already inside, so decorations are up and good to go,” she told them, holding open the door so there was clearance for Faith’s cane to pass through, “Would you like me to get one of our wheelchairs for you? Lucian cleaned them this morning so they’re sanitized still.”

“That’d be lovely, thank you. You’d think being the spirit that helped Dad power through injuries would let me get over a silly knee surgery faster but noooo,” Faith trilled with a roll of her eyes while her wife snickered behind her hand.

“I told her to bring the one I bought her but she insisted she was fine,” Jeremy sighed, “Got that stubbornness from Dad.” He folded his jacket over his arm, shaking his shoulders to loosen them up. “So the gang’s all here?”

“Yeah, Alex and Sydney are in the back of house to help with making dinner,” Meera added and gave them a small, strained smile, “Alex still doesn’t want to intrude on the party so he said he’s fine with eating in the break room, and Sydney still doesn’t remember that Mr. Schmidt was the person his past self had targeted before his death but he doesn’t want to leave Alex alone so he’s also staying in the break room.”

Jeremy’s expression scrunched up like he’d bitten into a grapefruit while Faith just tutted at him, flapping her hand at his arm. “At least they’re giving us space,” he acknowledged.

“Also, just to warn you guys, Sydney asked if Vanessa and Gregory could help with preparations so they might be out and about to keep Gregory distracted,” Meera added as Circus Baby arrived with a wheelchair, holding it in place for Faith to ease herself into with a relieved sigh.

“Who’re they?” ‘Digo asked in mild interest, holding the cake in her arms and nodding at Jeremy’s offer to push the wheelchair in her place. The group headed into the pizzeria together, walking under colorful banners and the sound of Mike’s favorite playlist streaming songs through the dining room.

“Remember when a bunch of robbers broke into Freddy’s and hijacked the Fazband?” Faith asked casually and ‘Digo huffed, expression growing annoyed.

“Oh yeah. The lil punk that took control of Foxy from the Fourth Child and the big meathead that kept shooting at every damn thing?” she retorted and one of her eyes twitched, “Don’t tell me they reincarnated too! I thought they were trapped at Freddy’s while the rest of us got reborn!”

“Well, they’re my cousins, and they’re trying not to step on any toes so please no fighting in my pizzeria?” Meera told her with a nervous laugh, “And as for Vanessa and Gregory, they’re both Aftons but they have the name because they had their identities stolen and remade by the Afton Family. Their memories and Remnant were affected so Vincent’s been helping them recover what they can.”

“More families destroyed by that madman’s ambitions and that horrible company,” Faith muttered with a shake of her head, “Still, it’s Dad’s birthday so let’s focus on the party and memorium.”

The table for the party was nicely decorated, Mike’s picture set up at the head with flowers and tea candles placed around it. The cake was set nearby and everyone chatted in lively tones, catching up on each other’s lives over slices of pizza, salads, and lasagna. Not all of the Reborn Children could make it, travelling abroad in their work, but the ones that did shared stories of their past childhoods with Mike while Faith chimed in with stories of him growing up.

They danced and laughed to the more energetic songs in Mike’s playlist, sang Happy Birthday over the cake, then divvied it up for everyone to have a piece as the party began winding down. Circus Baby came out often over the course of the party, refilling drinks, deftly clearing away dirty dishes and replacing them with clean ones, and escorting a blonde woman and a small brown-haired boy to the game corner. As people began saying their goodbyes with hugs and small sniffles, dispersing to return to their own lives, Faith found her attention wandering over to the two strangers playing in the game corner. Circus Baby watched over them, leaning against a pillar in a deceptively casual pose, while the boy stood on a stepping stool to play one of the arcade games, the woman cheering him on.

Those two had to be the Aftons Meera spoke about. With how young they looked Faith wondered if Elizabeth Afton had targeted them for her plans when her attempt at harvesting Guard Remnant failed. She felt a bit bad at the thought; Mike’s success at keeping the Strength to Survive and Jeremy’s Warmth of Life out of Mrs. Afton’s clutches meant other innocent lives were ruined in their place. Maybe the younger Guards would finally be able to put an end to the cycle once they got back inside that dreadful Pizzaplex to find out how deep the rabbit hole went.

“I’m gonna visit the little pirate’s room before we head home,” ‘Digo sighed, stretching her arms over her head, “Jeremy’s already warming up the car for us, so I’ll be back in a flash. You good?”

“Sure, I’ll pack up Dad’s photo and the flowers. We can keep them fresh in the cooler at home and then place them on his and Mom’s gravestone tomorrow,” Faith replied with a smile, “I always come into these birthday parties thinking I’ll just be moping and sad, but they’ve been nice to just catch up with everyone and have a little fun celebrating Dad’s birthday.”

‘Digo hummed, a complicated expression on her face that leaned on the side of rueful as her eyes sought out the photo of the man at the head of the table. “Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve just sucked it up and said sorry to the old man when he helped bail us out of Fazbear’s Fright,” she finally said in a quiet voice, “But I’m not the one that bit him. I’m not Violet. I have her memories, but this life is mine. I was living it without those memories and I’m still living it after they got unburied. Just sucks we never got that sorted out.”

“Small regrets,” Faith mused with a nod, “I don’t think he’d hold it against you, you know? Dad was gruff and could be a jerk, but when it really came down to it, he couldn’t blame you guys for everything. Not once he learned why you guys were so angry and who killed us all.” She huffed then and waved her wife off, “Go pee so we can go; I just want to relax in bed and sleep after all this. Couldn’t even dance because of my damned knee!”

‘Digo smirked at her before pressing a kiss to her temple and then walking off to find the bathrooms. Faith watched her go, then turned her attention back to the Aftons.

The boy had won his game, folding his tickets into a neat stack with a smile while his mother clapped encouragingly. ‘Huh, didn’t think anyone else folded tickets like that,’ Faith mused with a nostalgic smile. Mike did that as a kid to make sure he could keep a tight grip on all his tickets without leaving any loose to get snatched by anyone looking to get some easy tickets. Most of the other kids didn’t really think like that, just gripped them and let them trail like ribbons.

What were their names again? Vanessa and Gregory; Faith watched them have a conversation and then Gregory was walking away to the prize corner while Vanessa pulled her phone out to type on it, probably messaging someone. As the boy approached the counter where the security puppet would pop up to do the prize exchange, Faith narrowed her eyes as a faint suspicion began rearing its head. If the best part about a pizzeria was trading the tickets for prizes, why did Gregory look so annoyed by it?

The puppet rose out of the prize box and leaned over the counter to look at Gregory while the boy glared up at it like he had some personal vendetta against it. Despite herself, Faith giggled a little behind one hand. It was like old times, with the Marionette being a nuisance to Mike and Mike snarking and cracking puns at it to irritate it back. Her smile shrank a little as she considered the scene before her.

Could it..? ..No, it was just a coincidence. Gregory was a victim of Elizabeth Afton and her experiments at the Pizzaplex so it’s no surprise that he wouldn’t like animatronics. Right? Faith scolded herself for thinking otherwise.

The puppet made no motion to collect the tickets Gregory held out, which made Faith tilt her head in confusion. Was it broken? Meera hadn’t made any mention of the puppet having technical issues. How was Gregory going to select his prize then?

Gregory waited a moment before realizing the puppet wasn’t working and scowled in such a way that Faith’s heart twisted painfully. She remembered a glare like that during Mikey’s recovering some months after the Bite, when he couldn’t remember what he liked to do for his birthday and his emotions were a storm as he scowled at his cake, whatever excitement and joy he should have felt swallowed by a haze of pain and frustration and fear of something he couldn’t remember. She blinked rapidly to dismiss the memory and hold back tears, it had been too long since her Dad’s birthday last made her so emotional. Was she starting to see pieces of him in everything and everyone now?

Gregory huffed after a bit and dug into his pocket, bringing something out in his clenched hand, small and shiny. But before he did anything with it, he stiffened and Faith blinked again when his head swiveled over to have him stare at her directly with alarmed eyes. She offered a politely neutral smile to try and reassure him that she meant no harm, noting how quickly he shoved his hand back into his pocket as his gaze flicked up to over her head. Probably noticed the curl of her hair that arced over her head in her signature hook. Faith was always amused by the surprise she elicited from people over it.

He seemed uncertain, glancing over at his mother a few times before taking a few steps in her direction. Faith kept her expression friendly though she couldn’t help but be curious. He didn’t seem very bold, but maybe that was just because she was a stranger to him. He certainly seemed very boisterous when playing those games in the arcade.

“Hello there,” she greeted warmly once he was near, “You look like you took those games to the cleaners!” Gregory huffed a short laugh, mouth twitching into a quick smile before it fell back into that semi-confused scowl that Faith knew so well it was frightening.

“Yeah, I had a lot of practice with those games,” he replied and shrugged, “My name’s Gregory. Is it your birthday today?” His nose wrinkled as he asked that, a dubious tone in his voice.

“Well, Gregory, I’m Faith and today was my Dad’s birthday,” Faith told him, patting the framed photo gently. Gregory leaned over to look and blinked, his eyes going wide.

“Oh, that’s the guy on Mr. Fitzgerald’s desk! His dad, Mr. Schmidt.. he’s your dad too?” he exclaimed in surprise. Faith nodded.

“Jeremy’s my older brother. Dad kind of adopted him and it took a while for our parents to figure out how to make it official,” she replied with a fond sigh, sitting back in her chair as Gregory chewed on that with that same semi-confused scowl.

“But he looks younger than you,” he finally said, squinting at her sharp laugh. Brutally honest and confused by the reaction to it; he really was so much like Mikey had been... No, he couldn’t be him. Gregory had fallen victim to Elizabeth Afton and Mike had evaded them via raw strength. Surely if he reincarnated he wouldn’t have fallen for any trap, right?

“Jeremy’s got a knack for looking young,” she finally said and pointed at the cake, “Would you like a slice? There’s not much left.”

Gregory’s eyes went wide, an obvious want on his face that he then reluctantly tamped down, mouth thinning into a flat line. “I’d better not,” he replied, brows furrowing slightly, “Cake.. cake’s not good today.”

Faith stiffened slightly, a faint chill passing over her. “Oh?” she heard herself say distantly, “Why not today?”

Gregory drummed his fingertips against the tabletop, scowling in frustration at the cake offered to him. “Lines,” he finally replied, struggling to get his thoughts out and Faith could see a different boy standing there at the table, fighting to speak what was on his mind, struggling against memories lost and suppressed because of a bite and her own attempts to keep him alive. “I dunno, I just don’t wanna cross any lines,” Gregory sighed in aggravation, rolling his eyes as he pushed lightly against the table and used the momentum to put distance between himself and Faith, “Cake’s not good today. Sorry, ma’am.”

“No, it’s okay,” Faith murmured shakily, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at the boy with new hope and new anxiety, “I understand. I understand.” Gregory looked up at her sharply and she smiled tremulously; maybe he was in there, maybe she was just reaching, desperate to believe her father’s ghost was back, yet desperate to believe it wasn’t. Because if she was right, then Mike didn’t escape Freddy’s after all. If she was right, Afton hurt her old friend to the point of forgetting himself. “A line you weren’t supposed to cross, but you did and it didn’t go well, so now you know that today you shouldn’t cross lines, and should probably avoid cake.”

“Hey, no making fun, I have amnesia so go easy on me!” Gregory protested, folding his arms over his chest and sulking. Faith laughed again, wet chuckles as she carefully dabbed at her eyes with one of the paper napkins. “Ah, geeze, I’m sorry if I made ya cry, lady!” Gregory exclaimed, alarm on his face as he waved his hands in front of himself, “Can I make it up? Vanessa’s gonna ground me forever if she catches me making old ladies cry!” His eyes widened and his hand dove back into his pocket. “Ah, here! Look, this belonged to your dad, right?” Gregory asked as he pulled out the object he’d hidden from her earlier. His shoulders hiked up in a hunch, his hand slowly opening in that way a kid would when they really didn’t want to share. “You.. you can have it back.. if that’ll make you happy?”

Faith blinked, hand rising shakily to her mouth as she gazed down at Mike’s name tag. That silly cheap plate Byron had provided to him to wear that he had carried for years, until that fateful night it had been ripped off in the frenzy of trying to keep him alive after a second bite from Foxy. She thought it had been well and truly lost, or at least ruined by the passage of time. Yet aside from the pin being bent out of shape and then back into it, it looked as shiny as that final night.

“I cleaned it up some and tried to fix the pin, but it wasn’t too bad when I found it,” Gregory explained nervously, “Guess somebody put it back in his locker for safe keeping? The latch on it, ah, didn’t hold up against time, I guess.”

She just nodded slightly, reaching down to gently pass her fingertip over the name tag as she picked it up. There was a faintly cool feeling radiating from it, her soul shivering in recognition. A small amount of Mike’s Remnant -emotions of determination, frustration, irritation, and grief- was layered onto the metal, soaked from years of exposure. It flickered an outside connection, likely from Six pulling at any item Mike once possessed that now carried Remnant from him to use as a source of strength. He could have just found it. It didn’t have to mean anything. It didn’t prove anything. How would she be able to confirm something no one else had caught any inklings of?

Something that was core to her and her father as Faith and Mike, something so deeply ingrained in them that they’d recognize it on instinct, or close enough.

Faith began humming, a melody she heard so often on the night shift with Mike, when the power went out and time was cutting it close and Freddy stood at the doorway with his internal music box playing the seconds down, a gamble on every failure of whether Mike would escape or not. A melody that had been lost since then, replaced by other music boxes and sounds over the years in many iterations of the pizzeria.

“Hm hm hm-hm hm, hm hm-hm hm hmmmm,” she hummed out and watched as Gregory stiffened, eyes going wide and wild as they darted around in search of something, a faint panicked expression growing on his face. “Do you recognize it?” Faith murmured, settling in as her suspicions were confirmed just with that, a tiny and sad smile on her face.

“Wh-what was that?!” the boy hissed out, shaking himself off once he recognized there were no threats in this pizzeria.

“Afton stole your memories, didn’t she?” Faith asked quietly, “Stole them or destroyed them. They couldn’t fight you, couldn’t win against you, back then, so they came for you when you were like this. How cruel, but unsurprising.” She smiled again, rueful and nostalgic, “But you’ll find some way to win again. You always do. That’s the trick behind your curse.”

Gregory just wrinkled his nose, tilting his head as he looked up at her in confusion, “Huh?” She just laughed and took his hand, opening it to place the name tag back on his palm and then closing his fingers over it.

“Keep it. Belonged to you anyway,” Faith told him, “I think you’ll be needing it more than me.” She tapped her nose, then his, a mischievous smirk on her face. “Bit of advice. Don’t linger on the same camera too long, do a walk around before the time starts if you can manage it so you can have a baseline of rooms to compare with on cameras, sometimes holding still will save you when running doesn’t, and most importantly of all...”

“Gotta conserve power,” Gregory recited in the same breath as her wording. He blinked and Faith grinned.

“Yeah, you got this. I have faith in you,” she said with a giggle, “Beat the Afton Family again, okay? I hope you get your memories back, but if you don’t just know that me and Jeremy will be all right. We’ve had good lives. We’ve had happy times. Don’t worry about us.”

“Ooo-kay?” Gregory replied in a questioning tone and gave her a crooked smile out of nervousness that she immediately clocked as Mike’s grin, the kind he put on when cornered by a situation he couldn’t curse and punch his way out of easily.

“I think your mother’s looking for you. Why don’t you go on and find her?” Faith told him, giving him an out that he eagerly took with a quick expression of relief. She waved as he ran off for the arcade again, straight for the young woman watching them cautiously.

While those two talked, probably to discuss Gregory’s conversation with her, ‘Digo reappeared at Faith’s side to collect the flowers and place them in her lap with Mike’s photo. They left the table together to head to the entrance and get to the car.

“So.. what was that all about?” ‘Digo asked in mild interest, “Anything interesting the Afton kid had to say?”

“Nah, just passing on some advice I learned from Mike about the night shift,” Faith replied, sitting back in the chair with a content sigh, “Thought the kid could use it someday.”

“I suppose since it kept the old fart alive against a bunch of pissed off ghost kids it’s gotta be good for something,” ‘Digo snarked, grinning at Faith erupting into laughter as Jeremy hurried over to open the doors for them at the entrance and then at the car. “Think it’ll do for a kid without a ghost of his own? Those Aftons are messing with Remnant and souls. How’s one punk supposed to deal with that?”

“I don’t think we’ve seen his full potential yet. He’s just a kid still, ‘Digo, give him time to grow into himself,” Faith said and sighed in contentment.

Her father and old friend was there, his memories lost by what Afton had done, but still surviving somehow, still holding on through Gregory. If he surrounds himself with enough of the Remnant Mike left behind on his possessions, and Six realizes his identity too, maybe a miracle could happen? It was a nice idea.

“Good luck, Gregory,” she murmured, “Give ‘em hell for us.”

[sassyfrassboss]

Gosh I think they’re just beyond desperate at this point. I don’t think she’s signed any deals, we haven’t heard a peep from WME and the only thing being remotely spoken about is invictius. Partly people there’s a real feeling that it’s a dumpster fire behind the scenes and harry is desperate to right the ship in time for the actual event.

The fact that we didn’t get some sort of leak from Meghan about whats potentially dropping ~soon~ while Catherine was in the hospital is wild to me. Going even further, with the release that she wasn’t going to be doing public facing duties til April at the earliest and nothing from monceito. She hasn’t touched the suits reunion rumors, and not a peep about the blog revival. I think she’s hoping and praying that Harry’s going to get an in back with the family and that will re open doors for her.

Let's look at some of their "accomplishments/projects" since 2020:

Travalyst - NO CLUE what happened to that. I feel like it was similar to that dude who tried to get a big concert going and then took people's money and nothing ever came of it. Harry took all this money and made a few speeches but no a peep in over a year.

40x40 - Yeah that crashed and burned for Meghan. All of the SWAG she bought and is sitting on. Some of it was even returned to her from A-List celebs.

They got the cover of Time but people made fun of the cover so much because it looked like Harry was her hair stylist.

Their NYC royal tour when they went to the UN and were relegated to meeting someone lower on the totem pole than they wanted and it was a very short meeting.

Harry at the Endeavor Awards and her in that awful dress. Right across the street was a big celeb event that they weren't invited to...

Meghan is still involved with Smartworks but you never hear anything about that.

They have each gotten small awards here and there that don't amount to anything and get basically zero press.

During 2020 they were doing Zoom calls and jumped on the BLM bandwagon but that stopped.

They donated some $ to that women's shelter in Texas.

They joined that Chef's organization but basically threw some money at him and hopped on his coattails while taking all the credit.

She went to Uvalde for attention and brought sandwiches and chips...she had her camera crew with her and was banned from entering where the volunteers were. Shortly after this there was a school, mainly black kids, that had a school shooting and people died but she ignored this because it didn't have the massive headlines Uvalde did.

Spotify - fired after 12 episodes which took 2 years to produce.

Netflix - their series went over relatively well but people are tired of hearing them complain. Their next production was basically a handout from Netflix because they had nothing else.

Her book tanked. Epic Failure.

He op-ed in the New York Times I think was buried after a day basically.

I mean the only thing they have done in the past 4 years that actually brought them some sympathy and positive attention was the Oprah interview.

Then Prince Philip died and all of that went away.

They have crashed and burned left and right the past four years.

Every project or bandwagon they have jumped on fizzles out after a few months. Then they show up to random events that leave people wondering why the hell they are there.

Right now they desperately need the BRF. Even if Meghan refuses to admit it. They need the shine that William and Catherine bring. But they won't be welcomed back. He might because he is a royal prince but she would be sidelined.

[cinnnamongrl]

sorority secrets- ellie williams (part 4)

pairing: college!ellie williams x fem!reader

summary: part 4 to this fic. you can find part 3 here.

warnings: [18+ MDNI] explicit language, mentions of alcohol, sexual themes, kissing, ✨tension✨

author’s note: part 4/5 !! have fun gays

“you really didn’t have to do that.” you spoke through a pained smile. “i did! and you have to go because i already told campus news that you are chad are a hot new item” she winked. a hot new item? “you did what?” ellie interjected, sitting up. “why-“ you closed your eyes and took in a breath, “-why would you do that?” you spoke calmly despite the irritation bubbling at your chest. emilia tutted like you were asking a stupid question “because i did some digging and turns out someone has famous sorority blood. daughter of an ex kappa upsilon sigma president dating the current kappa upsilon sigma president… that’s the news people really care about!” she explained. “… is it?” “yep!” she beamed.

~~~~~~

“campus fucking news” you said in disbelief. ellie snorted and held her hand above her eyes to shield the sun beaming down on her as she walked you to your class. “it’s not funny! look at the fucking text i just got from my dad” you handed her your phone.

“jesus” ellie handed your phone back to you. “yeah..” you mumbled. “he’s ‘proud that you’re respecting and upholding family values’… this is all because he thinks you’re dating a frat boy?” you scoffed, “when you put it like that it sounds insane. i think it’s because chad’s the kappa pres and kappa means a lot to my dad. he still gets involved with the fraternity even now. and my parents… they’re traditional. and they have these ideals of me being exactly like them. and they think it’ll get me to where i want to be.” “in a dull marriage where you have 4 kids and 0 orgasms?” you hit her lightly “i’m serious!” she hugged your side into hers and kissed your forehead “i know. i’m sorry angel. that’s a lot of pressure and it must be tough on you.” “what am i gonna do about tonight?” you huffed. she looked at you, “you’re gonna go.” you blinked up at her. “and you’re gonna humour emilia and the others until we figure out how to get you out of this little situation.” you nodded your head a few times, then a small smile appeared as you looked up at her “you not gonna be too jealous watching me on a date with someone else?” you teased. she poked her tongue at her cheek lightly and a little smirk played against her lips “why would i be jealous when he’s not a threat?”. you raised your eyebrows “such confidence, williams.” “well, am i wrong?” she tilted her head towards you and you shook your head with a laugh.

~~~~~~~

warm sticky heat pawed at your skin as you weaved your way through a crowded tipsy bison to reach the bar. you stood waiting to catch a bartenders eye when a hand you knew wasn’t ellie’s was placed on your lower back. “i’ll get the drinks” chad spoke.

despite how much you wanted to be away from this bar and this date, chad wasn’t… awful. sure he’s talked about himself a lot, and yes he’s gone through his camera roll and shown you highlight clips of his football games but he wasn’t the worst frat guy you’d ever come across. he was respectful at least and did seem to have a genuine interest in getting to know you. you nearly felt bad that he was on a date with someone who has absolutely no interest in him. nearly. he placed your two drinks on the little table for two that was conveniently in perfect viewing distance from the booth where your friends sat. you did a little scan; brittney was talking to one of chad’s friends, emilia seemed to be rejecting a kappa guy, madison was ranting to chloe, ellie was… sitting, her back against the booth, manspreading slightly with one hand against the back of the seat, the other holding her drink and she was staring right at you. you adjusted in your seat slightly and let your eyes run over her. she winked half-jokingly and a giggle escaped your throat. “don’t you think?” your brain suddenly processed the background noise you’d been hearing was a question directed at you. you turned your head to chad suddenly. “oh um… yeah.” he nodded thoughtfully and smiled “i knew you’d agree,” he reached his hand out and placed it on top of yours. oh god. “you know… you’re even cuter than emilia said you were.” you lifted your mouth in a hopefully not-too-obvious fake smile. “and you’re like, super smart and shit” you looked down to avoid his intense gaze and his hand reached out to brush a piece of hair behind your ear. you tried not to visibly cringe and instead looked up and change the subject “so tell me about that soccer game again”. he smiled, one eyebrow lifted in confusion “football.” “yeah, that.” he took in a breath and began rambling again about his sporting achievements.

ellie had never really considered herself a jealous person. that was until she was being forced to watch some douche put his stupid hands on your and touch your hair and get to put his dumb frat boy face near yours. the fact that she was having to sit metres away and pretend to everyone else she was rooting for this fake date was adding to the bitterness creeping through her body. she pictured herself striding over there, knocking chad off his chair and carrying you bridal-style out of the bar, knight in shining armour rescuing her princess. watching him lean forward to speak into your ear was her last straw, she couldn’t stride over to rescue you but she also couldn’t sit here and watch chad get to act like she did with you all because of some stupid lie at a party.

you stared blankly at chad as he rambled, practically spaced out and nodding at appropriate times. out of the corner of your eye you spotted ellie getting up and walking towards the restroom and a spark of excitement went through you at finally getting an opportunity to talk to her tonight. you looked back at chad “oh my god no way that’s so funny hahaha imgonnausetherestroomillbebackinabit” you blurted out as you were standing up from your seat, desperate to escape before he could stop you. you headed straight for the restroom, praying all of the girls were too engaged in their conversations to follow you. you swung the door open and were met with an empty room minus ellie who’s arms were stretched out to lean against a sink. her head turned to you as you walked in, door closing behind you and she smirked, “what is it with you always following me into toilets?”

you smiled at her “maybe i just needed to use the restroom.” she stepped towards you, “oh? so you didn’t come running in here so you could abandon your date and get me alone for a few minutes?” you looked away playfully “i don’t know what you’re talking about.” she reached you and placed her arms around your waist. “i don’t blame you. he seems like a boring motherfucker.” you gasped in faux shock “are you… jealous?” ellie rolled her eyes dramatically “yeah i’m crazy jealous,” voice dripping with sarcasm, “he’s out there sipping on his drink waiting for you,” her hands travelled to your lower back, “and i’ve got you in here, pressed up against me” her hands dropped down to squeeze your ass and the action made you fall into her closer. ellie’s words came out casually but her possessive actions were exposing her jealousy which made you want to reel that part out of her even more. “you know, he’s actually quite interesting.” ellie pulled her body from yours by an inch and looked at you. “he’s pretty funny too.”

ellie took her hands from you and placed one on her hip “‘mh. it’s just weird ‘cause i didn’t see you laughing much.” you looked up. “weird. i definitely was.” ellie crossed her arms. “you’re trying to make me jealous.” she told you. “‘m not. was just sayin’ he’s not that bad.” ellie chuckled and grabbed your hands to pull you back into her, face close to yours. “that’s cute. if you wanted me to get all possessive, you could’ve just said.” her tone slightly darker. you chewed on your lip, any response lost before it even reached you. she tilted her head to the side, “hm?”. a barely audible mm left your throat and she laughed. “don’t get all shy on me now, you were trying to rile me up a second ago.” she rested a hand on the back of your neck, thumb stroking your cheek and she brought her mouth inches close to yours “you want a kiss?”. you nodded enthusiastically “mhm”. she was dragging her other hand up and down your side, tickling the bare skin of your upper leg just before your skirt stopped. “then tell me what you really think about chad,” she spoke lowly, “who you’d rather be out with.” you sighed, “you already know. just kiss me.” “i want you to say it”. you huffed, “he’s boring. and not funny. or interesting. and i wish i was out with you instead.” she tutted in sympathy, near-mocking pout present. “me too, sweet girl.” she lowered her mouth to yours and kissed you. you released a little sigh of relief into her mouth. you were all-consumed by ellie; her body pressed to yours, her scent making your mind fuzzy, the taste of her earlier drinks on your tongue and head swarming with ellie ellie ellie. your body swelled with the urge to drag her into a toilet stall and-

the restroom door swung open and you ripped away from each other just in time to hide your activity, though probably not enough to hide your flustered appearance. three girls you didn’t know stumbled into the room and claimed the sinks. you looked at ellie and she looked at you. tension still high but now with no outlet. she slowly backed out of the bathroom and walked back to her booth. you debated following her for a second but you looked over and saw chad, head in his hands drumming his fingers on his beer bottle and you begrudgingly decided to go back over there before your friends pestered you about not trying hard enough on your date. you made your way over to him but before you got there brittney stopped you. “we’re going outside to vape. come with?” she spoke flatly, her question more of a demand. who knew brittney would be your saviour? you followed all of the girls, including ellie outside of the bar. the night’s harsh air was a welcomed by your overheated body. just as ellie made her way to you emilia approached you.

“having fun?” her tone hopeful. “sure!” you smiled. “he really likes you, i can tell. and you clearly like him. you guys should go exclusive!”. you scoffed, “i don’t know about that”. you noticed brittney was frowning at emilia from a distance, manicured fingers holding onto her blueberry ice elf bar. she pulled emilia over to stand with her which left you alone with ellie. “hi” you spoke and tapped her leg with your foot. she laughed “hi pretty” voice out earshot of the others. “um.. here’s an alley by the side of the bar. you think they’d notice?” you asked. she blinked at you with raised eyebrows, voice full of pretend shock “did you just invite me into a dark alley?” you furrowed your brows with a pout barely hiding your smile “not like that, perv. i meant so we could talk more privately.” “oh talking, i see” she laughed. she did a quick scan and grabbed your hand “c’mon”. she lead you to the side of the bar, away from the eyes of anyone except people passing by on the street. you leaned against the brick wall and ellie stood in front of you.

“it seems like you’re always sneaking me off to hidden places” she said lightheartedly. “well id prefer not to have to sneak away to be able to kiss you but we’re in a bit of a situation.” ellie raised an eyebrow playfully, “and who’s fault is that?” she teased. “hey, i had my reasons.” you defended yourself. “yeah, you were so scared of being in love with me you had a make up a fake crush and he happened to actually exist.”, she laughed. you kicked her with little force “i was not in love with you. i met you a few days before then!” she was still laughing, “and yet i made such an impact you felt the need to deny your real feelings for me”. you crossed your arms, “you’re such an asshole” “hey i’m kidding. i had to pretend to myself that i hated you after that night so i wouldn’t cry” you burst out into affectionate laughter “els”. she smiled and wrapped her hands around your back to bring your body into hers to kiss you. it was sweet and gentle, and yet it still made your stomach flip. against all her body’s instincts she pulled away and took your hand, “let’s not have them wander round here and catch us kissing on your date with dreamy chad”. you giggled and let her lead you back to the bar.

~~~~~~~~~

the drinks ellie used to entertain herself last night while she couldn’t be with you were making themselves known as she woke with a fuzzy head, and the loud banging on her door was not helping. she checked her phone for the time and saw 3 missed calls from you and forced herself out of bed to open her door. you walked past her and threw yourself down onto her bed.

“have you seen it?”. she looked at you for a few moments, “seen what?” you huffed and shoved your phone into her hand. a campus news feature. taking up the screen was a photo of you and ellie kissing. it was dark, zoomed in and kind of blurry like it had been taken from a distance, and anyone who saw the photo wouldn’t be able to make out where you were but you knew it was from last night in the alley. ironically where you’d kissed for about 3 seconds max. under the photo was some writing, ‘chad’s new girl kisses random girl behind his back???’ ellie looked back up at you, “oh god”. you took your phone back and shoved it in your pocket. ellie frowned, “who the hell would ta-“ “we’re going to eta” you interrupted. you practically marched down to the eta house, ellie behind you trying to catch up with your fast pace. when you arrived, emilia, madison, chloe and katie were having breakfast in the dining room. as you stood at the head of the dining table, hands on your hips you realised you hadn’t planned what to say at all. you weren’t even sure what you marched down here to do. accuse someone? defend yourself? maybe they hadn’t even seen it.

“who runs campus news?” spluttered from your mouth. madison looked up at you, “i don’t know. but people can submit whatever they want and most of the time it’ll get published.” the harsh sound of a chair scraping against the floor reached your ears and suddenly emilia was walking towards you “you guys. we saw that feature,” she hugged you both individually. “how awful. and poor chad, he’s already text me asking what’s going on.” selfishly or not, chad’s feeling were at the bottom of your list of problems right now. “so are you two like.. a thing?” katie spoke. emilia spoke up, “no she likes chad! it was just one kiss right? maybe you should go over and talk to him. he’d probably forgive you if you explained it was just a silly mistake. don’t let a great guy like him get away.” you stared at her, failing to hide the confusion on your face. ellie stood beside you chewing on her lip. there were a few seconds of silence. “how do two girls have se-“ “katie.” madison cut her off. this conversation was proving to be even less helpful than you’d predicted. “listen- where can i get in contact with campus news to get the photo taken down?” you spoke calmly, only ellie noticing the frustration peaking through your tone. “you could try calling the number on the website?” chloe offered. “thank you.” you grabbed ellie’s hand and swiftly left the eta house.

back at ellie’s dorm you scrolled through campus news looking for some sort of contact number. ellie sat beside you in silence, a little intimidated by your frantic energy. “babe.” she tried. “mh” you replied, eyes still glued to your phone and fingers scrolling rapidly. “it’s gonna be fine.” she assured you. “‘s not. unless i get it removed from campus news quickly before my parents see it.” ellie took a deep breath, “don’t you think.. in a way it might be for the best?”. you looked up from your phone at her, irritation clear on your features. “how would this be for the best?” she leaned back, resting against the arm being held up by the bed “well you wanted to get out of the chad situation.” “yeah not like this!” you shuffled back a little, frustration building. “not with me?” ellie accused. you rolled your eyes “that’s not what i meant. i don’t want to have to explain this to my parents.” “what’s so awful about your parents finding out? you were gonna have to tell them you’re not dating chad at some point.” ellie said, letting her own frustration show. you picked your phone back up and huffed in anger, not wanting to have to justify why you wanted the feature taken down. “or were you?” ellie spoke. you looked at her again “what?” “were you ever even going to tell them? or am i just some college experiment for fun before you go off and actually start dating a real chad so you can live the life your parents want you to live?” bitterness and hurt ran through ellie’s words. “don’t be like that, ellie.” “well?” ellie waited. she wasn’t sure what for. maybe for you to reassure her, kiss her and tell her she’s being ridiculous and that obviously that wasn’t going to happen.

“i’m gonna go.” you stood up and left her dorm without another word.

part 5

a/n: this is my dramatic tv show outro: dun dun dunnnn! will ellie and reader make up? 😿who took the photo?🫢 and why?😳 find out soon on sorority secrets ! (a cinnnamongrl production) ;)

tag list @ximtiredx @gold-dustwomxn @nil-eena @alexpritch @robinismywifee @sc0ttstre3ted @ilovemoneymorethenmen @amberlynn28 @eyeluvangel @amitycat sorry some blogs won’t tag :(( (might be bc of ur visibility settings)

happy to add people to the taglist but i can’t tag you if you don’t have your age in your bio!! my blog is 18+ !!

[dreamy625]

Overture and beginners - chapter 2

< Chapter 1

Words: 2212

Content: There’s casual drinking and smoking in this chapter, and some smooching

-----------------------------

For such a casual arrangement, Katie found that a quite unreasonable level of anticipation crept up on her over the intervening week. She flaked on another date with Gary and then, after ten minutes of introspection, called him back to end things altogether. With the vision, however uncertain, of a particular sweet shy smile perpetually hovering in front of her, Gary had just… faded into the background. Oh he was nice enough, and she’d liked that he had a respectable, clean job - chilled goods manager at the new supermarket - and a car, but it turned out, not much else. He wasn’t the most exciting bloke in the world, and the only thing he seemed to be really passionate about was Sheffield United. She let him down gently, blaming their incompatible work schedules rather than the fact that he was boring, and he accepted it with predictable stoicism. 

-----------------------------

Steve’s head had swivelled like an owl every time the door swung open and finally, at twenty past six, he was rewarded with the sight of Katie walking into the pub and looking around searchingly. He jumped up, almost knocking the bar stool over, and then, checking himself, strolled oh so casually over to where she was standing. 

“You came! I mean, hi.”

“Well, sure. I hear this is where all the cool kids hang out on a Friday night,” she quipped. 

“Oh definitely,” agreed Steve, eying the motley collection of steel workers and engineers, some still wearing their overalls, that made up the majority of the patrons. “Have you just got off work?”

“Err, yeah, busy day,” (in fact she had put the cover on her typewriter nearly an hour ago and had spent the intervening time in the ladies’ loo refreshing her makeup, fussing with her hair, and trying to get the ink stain off the cuff of her blouse). 

“Can I get you a drink?”

“That would be lovely.”

While Steve went to the bar, Katie scoped out a small table in a corner made less gloomy than most of the pub by the last of the evening light coming in through a frosted window. When Steve sat down with a vodka and orange for Katie and a pint of beer for himself there was a brief awkward silence when it dawned on both of them that this was now undeniably a date. 

“So, you’re not with your mates today then?”

“Oh they’re around here somewhere. Last I saw they were in the back bar reenacting William Tell and the apple but with darts and a pickled egg! I couldn’t watch.”

He mimed an unfortunate apprentice turning cross-eyed as a poorly-aimed dart approached his forehead and Katie’s laughter, and Steve’s bashful delight at having made her laugh, seemed to break the ice. After that, starting with their common ground of Wisewood Comprehensive, they shared reminiscences about Mr Taylor’s wig, the time 3B set fire to the chemistry lab, and whether the boiler room was actually haunted, before moving on to families, with Steve telling stories of escapades with his two younger brothers, and then grumbling about their shared workplace, each striving to top the other’s tales of dimwitted colleagues and virtually inedible canteen food. Steve’s shyness evaporated once he got engrossed in the conversation, and he was funny, and observant, with a talent for mimicking voices and mannerisms. Katie tried, however pretty his eyes were, not to stare at his face the whole time, and instead found herself studying his hands - black staining like all the men in the manufacturing departments, from oil and metal dust worked so deep into the skin that you couldn’t wash it off however hard you scrubbed, and long slender fingers that were always moving - pushing his overgrown fringe out of his eyes, fiddling with a cigarette, tapping on the table, tearing the corners off beermats. Three drinks and several packets of peanuts later and they were on to more personal topics - childhood dreams, hopes for the future, and, of course, music, at which point Steve’s twitchy fingers took flight, subconsciously miming chords and riffs as he talked about his favourite players. They were in the middle of discovering a shared love of David Bowie when a group of blokes from the factory walked past on their way to the pool table, and one of them did a double-take. 

“Aye aye, Dreamer’s found a girl!”

“Is this your sister, Steve-o?”

“Bet it’s his cousin - they’re like that in Hillsborough.”

Charlie, bringing up the rear, gave a couple of the young men a good-natured shove, “Come on lads, this might be the only time he’s ever spoken to a woman, don’t ruin it for him.” Still snickering and with some crude hand gestures, the group continued on their way. 

Clutching his forehead and turning pink with embarrassment, Steve apologised, “I am so sorry. I work with a bunch of hooligans.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been at GEC long enough to know what they’re like. The office girls call your bit of the factory the monkey cage!”

He grimaced. "Sounds about right."

“Why do they call you Dreamer?”

“Because I’m always sleeping when I’m meant to be working.” He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “And because I want to be a musician and they think that’s a pipe dream.”

“Well that’s very unsupportive of them.”

“Yeah. They’re probably right though,” he mused gloomily.

“No,” she insisted, suddenly fierce, “how dare they try to squash your dreams!” Impulsively she reached over and squeezed his hand. “You’ve got all the time in the world to get there. And you’re already doing it, playing in a band and all.”

Steve’s head was lowered and she followed his gaze to where it rested on their joined hands. Self-consciously she released her grip and moved her hand, not snatching it back but trailing her fingertips across the landscape of tendons and veins. 

“So, what would you like to do now? Another drink, or…?”

Mustering every ounce of courage he possessed, Steve stretched across the table and very lightly touched his fingers to her cheek. “I would like…” She heard him take a quick breath. “To kiss you. But I don’t want to do it with all that lot watching us.”

“Well, I would appreciate a kind gentleman who would walk me to my bus stop.”

“I am at your service, m’lady.”

Conveniently, it turned out that they lived close enough to one another that Steve could catch the same bus as Katie and only have to walk a couple of extra streets. After establishing this plan, the previously easy conversation dried up, stifled by the anticipation hovering in a cloud above their heads. As they walked, their hands occasionally brushed against each other, and they both pretended not to notice. As they rounded the corner and came in sight of the row of bus stops, they saw that there were quite a number of people already waiting there. 

“Oh goody,” muttered Steve under his breath, “another audience.” Looking around quickly, he spotted open gates leading to the yard in front of some factory or warehouse and stepped sideways into the shadowy gateway, inclining his head in an invitation for Katie to follow him. Though not in the habit of following strange men into dark corners, this one somehow seemed irresistible. 

“Sorry, not the most glamorous of locations,” he said with an anxious smile. 

“At least it's private, and doesn't smell bad."

“So…” He looked at her a little sideways, fidgeting his feet. He could feel his heart beating fast and his palms were sweaty. 

“So… I think you said you wanted to do something?” she teased, looking up at him with doe eyes.

Steve stepped closer and reached out a hand, hovering it uncertainly before deciding that her shoulder was a safe place to land it. Katie put her hand on his other arm and tilted her face up expectantly. He leaned down and bestowed a soft, chaste kiss at the corner of her mouth and then waited for a moment, in case she was going to yell ‘bleugh’ and run away - okay that had only happened once, when he was nine, but it had stayed in his mind as a possible outcome ever since. Happily, there was no cry of revulsion, so he lightly brushed his lips across hers before pressing them together. She responded eagerly, and he felt inspired to elaborate, alternating delicate pecks with firmer pressure with pulling her lower lip into the slightest pout to graze the soft inner edge. His kisses were like questions, to her, to himself - do you like that, can I do this, does that feel good? Each move tentative at first and then more ardent as the response was a clear yes! Eventually they reached some kind of natural conclusion, separating with a final clinging pop and little puffs of hot breath.

“Wow…” She blinked, temporarily unable to find any more words.

“Really? I’ve never had a ‘wow’ before.”

“Maybe we should check it wasn’t a fluke?”

The first kiss had brought them closer together and this time Steve dared to put his hands on Katie’s waist. She lifted up on her toes and looped her arms around his neck. This kiss was bolder; Steve’s tongue traced the inner edges of her lips and she parted them and moved her own to meet it with exploratory touches. His hands gripped tighter on her hips, and hers tangled in his hair. 

The increasingly-passionate moment was rudely interrupted when a group of lads passing in the street spotted the canoodling couple and whistled and hooted (honestly, was there nowhere you could go in this city that wasn’t infested with packs of feral boys). Steve, without breaking the embrace, held up his middle finger in their direction. Not really looking where they were going, he started to steer them, Katie shuffling backwards, into the deeper shadows. After a few steps, she bumped into a wall and broke the kiss with a little ‘oof’ of surprise.

“Sorry, I…” Steve started to apologise.

“No, this is good.” She trailed her hands down the front of his jacket and anchored them around his waist, tugging him closer as their lips met again.  

Pressed into each other, and back against the wall, Steve’s knee slipped between hers, bringing their whole bodies into contact. Katie dropped her hands to his bum, and he let out a half-moan, half-sigh that she felt as much as heard. That sound cemented the transformation that had been happening in her head since the previous Friday, turning the dorky kid from the music room into a handsome prince grown man, with warm lips and strong hands and… let’s be honest, a really nice arse. She felt him slip a hand between her blouse and her jacket, up her back and then round to the side, as if he was following the bra band underneath like a map. Hesitantly, he moved his hand to cup the curve of her breast and his thumb brushed over her nipple. Even through two layers of fabric the touch was enough to make her gasp, and Steve reacted by repeating the action deliberately. Eager for skin contact, Katie wriggled her hand under the hem of Steve’s t-shirt, touching her fingers to the curve of his back. But her hands were cold, and her realisation of it, and his involuntary shiver, broke the spell and they both pulled away from the kiss with simultaneous ‘sorry’-s. 

Steve dropped his hand back to Katie’s waist and took a half-step back, forcing himself to create distance between their bodies. He blew out a long breath. “So… that was…”

“That was…” She was still gazing at him with starry eyes.

“I don’t usually…”

“I don’t either…”

“Sorry, too fast…”

“No… maybe…”

He cleared his throat and tried very hard to form a complete sentence. “If I asked you… would you go on a proper date with me? One that’s not groping in doorways?”

“Of course I would.” She smiled, “Though I wouldn’t be too upset if there was a little bit of groping in doorways!”

“Deal!” 

As they were leaving the yard, they almost bumped into a group of older men also, by the jovial laughter and slightly wobbly gait of some of the party, on their way home from a night in the pub. One of the men stopped after a few steps, turned back and scowled at the couple.

“Uh oh, it’s Mr Rafferty, the foreman. Don’t know why he’s got that face on him though, for once I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Um, it might be because you’re holding his daughter’s hand.”

He dropped her hand like it was molten metal, muttering ‘bloody hell’ under his breath before pasting on an ingratiating smile.

“G-good evening M-mr Rafferty, I was just, err, seeing your Katherine home safe,” he stammered. “But, err, now you’re here, I’ll just say goodnight.”

He bobbed his head in a kind of awkward bow before scuttling off down the street as fast as his guilty feet would carry him. Katie tore her eyes away from his retreating figure and looked up at her father’s still frowning face. She wondered if she had lipstick smeared on her chin.

‘Home’ was all he said.

Chapter 3 >

[saintmeghanmarkle]

GB News connects Catherine's diagnosis announcement to the website downgrade by u/Von_und_zu_

GB News connects Catherine's diagnosis announcement to the website downgrade This clip is an interview of Ingrid Seward, and is interesting in itself. But after Ingrid's part is done, the hosts continue to chat and close with a zinger:Transcribed/paraphrased in relevant part:Female Host: I think they’ve issued a small statement, haven’t they Ingrid. But they’re very much in the shadow of this much more important issue.Ingrid Seward: Well the interesting thing was that they didn't find out about Kate's illness until we all found out about it. Which means there is absolutely no communication there. And then they sent a message, whether they called or not. I'm sure, I'm sure Meghan got off straight on the phone because that is very Meghan. But whether or not the call was taken, I don’t know. I’d love to know. I should think Kate was probably polite enough to take any calls. But I just cannot see a friendship recementing at this moment. They have got so many things to think about. I know people think illness brings people together but I’m not sure about that.Male Host: I think actually, Ingrid, the fact that they did find out from TV or radio the way the rest of us did. I think it is because William and Kate simply can’t trust Harry or Meghan because other stuff they’ve been told have been told ends up on an American TV chat show or in his book or Podcast or in a Netflix documentary.Ingrid: Well I think also sadly, obviously, I don’t feel that the King and Queen can really trust Harry and Meghan either. I think the whole royal family just want to keep them at a distance. Which of course they are at the moment. But Harry is coming over here in May I believe to do something with Invictus. So I think we will see him. I don’t know if we will see Meghan. But we are certainly going to see Harry. So the story will go on.Female Host: Thank you Ingrid.….At 2:18:Male Host: Getting back to Harry and Meghan, though last week it was announced that they’d been downgraded on the Buckingham Palace website. It's not a coincidence, it is not a coincidence. Because the Princess of Wales filmed that video on Wednesday. And that announcement about them being downgraded was on Thursday so it all happened at the same time. Just to make it absolutely clear just in case people think: “Oh Harry and Meghan can come back.” No. It is not happening. There is no chance of it happening because they are not working members of the royal family anymore. They've made their decision and that's it.Female Host: Yeah, we’re moving on.https://twitter.com/sage1411/status/1772551611140788482​https://preview.redd.it/yk6g6bp4goqc1.png?width=730&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca89a3f06984d0866086c75a0b7ab64991a9afb1​ post link: https://ift.tt/6pTIkuW author: Von_und_zu_ submitted: March 26, 2024 at 02:05PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[numinousmysteries]

Vanquish by Wisdom Hellish Wiles (9/9)

On AO3 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

@today-in-fic

I started this story in October 2017 after first seeing the season 11 trailer, forgot about it for six years, and then finally finished it. Compared to what some other amazing writers in this fandom are creating, it's honestly not great, but coming back to it helped me remember that writing can be fun. I hope to keep writing and hopefully keep improving. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy my vision for how the show could have ended.

As a baby, William moved the mobile above his crib using his mind. As a teenager, he employed his psychic powers to save his birth parents’ lives by spontaneously killing an entire cadre of black ops forces and, presumably, the smoking man and Reyes as well. And yet, in Scully’s mind, neither of those facts were the most impressive thing about her son.

To her, it was simply that he was there—alive and in front of her in the flesh. She wanted to stop time and catalog every detail of his body the way she and Mulder did days after he was born, laying him out on her bed and silently marveling at his tiny toes, chubby limbs, and rosebud mouth. She wanted to run her hands over his face and memorize every feature. Her baby was almost a man and he was just as perfect to her as the day he was born.

There was so much that she missed and so much she doesn’t know. When did he take his first steps? What’s his favorite food? Was he a cautious rule-follower like herself or was he constantly pushing the limits like his father? She’d never get those years back and she’d never forgive herself for giving him away, but in that moment all that mattered was that they were together again.

Mulder’s eyes reflected her astonishment back at her. In their almost 30 years together, they’d learned to communicate without words. A glance, a wink, or a nod could convey missives of emotion. As they stood in the driveway, too stunned to move, she could tell he was as overwhelmed—by shock, by love, by awe—as she was.

“Come on,” William said. “There might be others coming. Let’s go.”

Her son’s voice. Low and deep like his father’s.

“Yeah, Scully,” Mulder said, reaching for her hand. “We better get going.”

She could only nod in response and let Mulder lead them both back to their car.

“You call each other by your last names,” William said. She could tell it wasn’t a question but him logging a fact about them, or confirming one he had already sensed.

“We work together,” Scully said. “And it just stuck.”

William nodded. She was grateful he didn’t ask any questions about her and Mulder’s current relationship that she couldn’t answer. Working together the past couple of months had been good for them. They’d found their old rhythm and had been spending more time together outside of work as well, but she hadn’t felt ready to move back in yet.

Back at the car, Scully realized she didn't know where they’d go. Would they bring William back to DC with them? If colonization was imminent, she needed to get started on developing a vaccine as soon as possible.

“Can we go get my parents?” William asked, as if reading her mind. “They’re probably worried about me.”

Mulder smiled. “Sure,” he said.

“Sorry,” William said sheepishly. “I mean my adoptive parents. That’s just…what I’ve always called them.”

“Don’t apologize, William,” said Scully, even though she admitted to herself that it cut like a knife to hear her son refer to strangers as his parents. “I’m thankful you were placed with a good family who took care of you all these years.”

“Yeah,” Mulder responded. “And I do imagine they’d be worried about you.”

******

They arrived in Wyoming the following morning. William slept on the plane but Mulder and Scully, sitting on either side of him, stayed awake—both keeping guard and watching him in awe.

“This is where you grew up?” Scully asked, after William directed them to a small but well-kept farmhouse.

“Yup, lived here my whole life—well, that I can remember.”

Scully nodded. His childhood must’ve been so different from the one she could’ve given him. Instead of living in a city, he had fields to run and roam in. She wondered if he played baseball like his father and what kind of games he invented for himself when he was little to stay busy in this wide open space.

As they approached the house they noticed the front door was open and the screen door was swinging on its hinges.

“Do your parents normally leave the door open like that?” Mulder asked.

“No,” William said. “That’s weird.”

“I’m going to go check it out,” Mulder said, reaching for his gun. “You two wait in the car.”

It was the first time Scully was alone with her son since finding him the night before. She sat in the passenger seat stealing glimpses of him in the rearview mirror.

“This must be a lot to take in,” she said.

William shrugged his shoulders. “I always knew I was different. Monica told me about you guys.”

Scully swallowed. She wanted to ask Wiliam so many questions but it was impossible to even know where to start. How do you make up for fifteen years—an entire life in his case? She had once known every inch of skin on his tiny body and now he was essentially a stranger. Did he have any scars? Any broken bones? She didn’t know what he liked to eat or his favorite movie.

“Have you ever seen The Exorcist?” he asked from the backseat, startling Scully.

“It’s one of my favorite movies,” she said.

“Me too. My parents don’t watch any horror movies but I started downloading some classics and I love them.”

“William, were you reading my thoughts just now? Why did you bring up The Exorcist?”

“I guess I had a sense of what you were thinking,” he said. “It’s not so clear cut like listening to someone talk out loud but I get sentiments and sometimes words. It’s strong with you. And Mulder, too.”

“Could you read your parents like that?”

“Yeah, I got better at it over time.”

Mulder emerged alone from the house. He jogged back to the car and knocked on Scully’s window, gesturing for her to come with him. She followed him to the front porch.

“Scully, there are two bodies inside. A middle-aged white male and female. Looks like gunshot wounds. I think I can guess who they are and I’d rather not ask William to have to identify them.”

“Shit,” Scully said. “What do we do?”

They heard William’s car door open and watched as he came to stand with them. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”

“Oh, William,” Scully sighed.

“I had a feeling,” he said, looking down at his sneakers.

“Is there anyone else we should try to find? Any other family or friends?” Mulder asked.

William shook his head. He was still looking down but Scully could see him starting to cry.

“I’m so sorry, William,” Scully said. She embraced her son and felt his tears dampening her blouse. Mulder stepped closer and wrapped his arms around both of them.

They were three broken people. Parents who’d lost their child and a child who’d lost his parents, but somehow they were also a family. They just had to find a way to pick up the pieces and find each other once again.

*****

Mulder and Scully offered to move to William’s hometown in Wyoming for him to finish up high school and start their vaccine research there, but he felt no connection to the place without his adopted parents. If anything, he was desperate for a fresh start. His old town was filled with reminders of what he’d lost.

So instead Wiliam moved into their home in Virginia. It was an older, more rundown house but he could tell they had made it a home. He preferred that it wasn’t in the heart of the city because it was less of a dramatic change from his childhood home. Mulder explained that he and Scully had been giving each other some space and she had her own apartment, but as soon as they were back from Wyoming she started every night at the house and slowly moved her belongings back.

There was a spare room on the second floor for him to move his things into.

“I know this is uncomfortable,” said Scully, showing him to his room. “We love you so much, but we know you’re still just getting to know us. I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for.”

“What was in here before?” William said.

“Nothing,” Mulder said. “We never spoke about it, but I think we both hoped you’d be here one day.”

They’d had nearly everything from his old bedroom shipped out to Virginia to try to make the transition smooth. At first he told them he didn’t mind starting over, but as he sat in his new-old room he realized he appreciated the small comforts of home—his snow globe collection, his family photos, and his worn-in baseball glove.

“We should have a catch sometime,” Mulder said, picking up the glove.

“I’d like that.”

They had a lot of work to do. They were racing against an unseen clock to beat the invasion. Scully had already taken blood and saliva samples from William to try to isolate his alien DNA to create a vaccine. They had some old associates who were going to help with the science but there was still the issue of convincing the entire global population to take a vaccine to prevent the colonization of the planet–without inciting mass panic.

William had faith in his birth parents, though. Every night they told him about their old cases which never failed to thrill him. And each day the awkward silences between the three of them started filling up with inside jokes, spirited arguments, and stories of the past that helped close the fifteen-year gap since the last time they were together.

They were careful about giving him space and typically after dinner he’d retreat to his room while his parents sat and talked on the front porch. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but it was comforting to hear their voices drifting up through his bedroom window.

One night around a month after moving in, he decided to join them outside. Scully smiled and scooted over, making room for him to sit in between them on the bench.

“I know you guys keep saying I don’t have to thank you for taking me in,” William started, “but I really do appreciate it. Growing up, I never thought I’d meet you or that if I did… you wouldn’t want anything to do with me because of…who I am and what I can do.”

“William, we love you for being exactly who you are. As I’m sure you’ve started to realize, the two of us aren’t exactly the picture of normalcy either. I think, together, we make a great team,” said Scully.

“Now we just have to save the world,” William said smiling.

“No pressure, right?” Mulder chuckled.

His parents draped their arms around him from either side and he felt himself relaxing against them. For the first time in his life he felt like he was exactly where he should be.

[fizzyorange-v2]

yeah you put all of my thoughts about david and william's relationship into that one post they're so tragic... i cant help but think of a different timeline where they could have been awkward brothers together, maybe one where they didn't both come from deadwood. the foreshadowing on william's part too, where in the Michael in the Bathroom parody intro from ep 32 (of all places) william sings "he's always such a bummer, he wants to trust his brother" in referring to himself. Also, the implication that everyone who comes from deadwood is messed up makes me wonder how william's parents are. maybe it has to do with the hallway of fears all the way from season 1, where william's mirror showed his father behind him with messed up eyes?

/ pd ep 33 spoilers referenced beware

Maybe in a totally different universe they could’ve had an awkward and strained but mostly healthy and normal sibling relationship. but god knows with who David is in this universe (a morally corrupt ceo) any version of William that allows himself to get close with and trust his step brother is a version that is either equally morally corrupt, very manipulated or both, and no matter what it wouldn’t be a healthy dynamic. (and that’s not really a compliant on my part, i adore fucked up and messy relationships in media lol).

Totally agree that the Michael In The Bathroom cover gave us probably one of the clearest looks into William’s psyche during this whole thing. William really did go that far because he wanted to trust his brother, and he knew if he backed out then he could lose that potential sibling relationship forever. But obviously once he realised he’d actually KILLED someone for it… the betrayal and horror overpowered that old yearning.

William’s parents have always been a source of interest to me because like… William has never said anything outwardly negative about them, but then his actions and demeanour around them always portray something slightly different. I do believe he loves and cares for his parents. But I also think the relationship there has always been kind of strained. My guess is, on top of the general David was the big shot success story William could never live up to, William was always quite distant with his family. He could always see the supernatural (something that even then made him somewhat a freak from this weird but still rural seemingly conservative leaning town) and he spent most of his time out with friends on hunts that I doubt he ever told his parents the truth of before he actually died.

His parents are canonically church goers, it would make sense that William wouldn’t want to tell them he was messing around with devilish stuff, nor that he himself was possessed in some way and able to see the dead. But then he dies, and his freakishness goes from 1 to 100 and there’s no way he can hide it now, especially not if his parents are shown his dead, lifeless body before he wakes back up in it. And maybe his parents saw this as a miracle at first, rather than the work of the devil, but either way we know from the recent rolled that William truly believes his parents see him as some freak, and I’d definitely guess the other towns people if they knew… maybe it wasn’t great for the family reputation wise in such a small town.

And there is something to the fact that, well, in the end when the monsters came for William they did just give him away to the heroes. And sure, they stayed in touch somewhat? But even then it’s one or two calls in months to years of time to your teenaged kid (though I’ll retract that if it’s implied that it was William dodging their calls… but even that leads to a point I’ll make in a bit).

But then whenever they do come back,,, even after everything they don’t seem to take William seriously. Which is very interesting. They’re often worried about him, but they don’t seem to listen to him as we saw in their recent scene where his mum got mad and had to be really persuaded to leave. They don’t seem to comprehend the severity.

They don’t understand what’s going on with him, they don’t have a clue, and I don’t think they ever really did. I think William has always been too afraid to tell them the truth about what’s going on with him (whether that was being able to see the dead, or now all the hero villain mess he’s stuck in), he’s always been afraid of them seeing him like a freak, them no longer loving him. And so he keeps it a secret and he keeps it away from them and he distances himself the best he can. He’d probably argue that it’s to keep them safe, but I think he’s mostly protecting his own heartbreak of them finding out “who he really is” and rejecting him. I think that’s his big fear, and it’s a fear he’s carried around with him since even before his first death.

So while I don’t think his parents are,,, necessarily malicious. I think they’ve definitely fucked up with William. I don’t think they ever made him feel safe enough to be himself around them. I don’t think they’ve ever been there for William when he really needed. And I don’t think they’ve ever known who their son was. But then they still act like they know best for him, they still play the concerned parents. And I think they genuinely believe they do know and want what’s best for William. But the issue there is… they don’t know who William is, and they haven’t for a really long time.

David left too, y’know? He also got the hell out deadwood as soon as he could. He also talked to (and bonded with) William over their clear joint disliking of that place. And I wonder if his parents are oblivious to how much their kids hated where they grew up, if they’re just oblivious to all of the weirdness of deadwood. Why they chose to live and stay there in the first place. They still live there to this day!

I don’t know,,, I have a lot of thoughts about the wisp-bell family and all the mess and dysfunction there. I didn’t even really get into the religious trauma of it all, which is likely a strong part of why William felt the need to hide and distance himself from his parents,,, but yeah I’ll stop rambling for now lol

[dykevanny]

haz i know absolutely nothign about zeno rpg but ur zeno au has intrigued me and im curious about it,,, i saw smth abt like. meomory loss and being handcuffed together and ik they eat ppl but thats it 😭 explain the au if u want ig bc im interested and i think thye look so silly. also bc u put vanny n will in my brain and they wont leave im shooing them with a boom and they are not moving

OK LET ME GET THE INFODUMP<3

So ummm Zeno au<3 I’m really normal. Allow me to give a brief explanation of what Zeno is first You see, Zeno is a fictional disease sort of thing that makes people cannibals. Specifically an oneset is caused by traumatic events/extreme cases of unrequited love(specifically mostly familial) and the only cure is eating the flesh of someone else with Zeno.(not widely known.) It’s also transmittable through biting like zombies. there’s one specific facility with scientists dedicated to getting to the bottom of how to cure zeno, also housing ‘patients’ (or, people with zeno being used as lab rats). Now onto character lore.

So william and henry were good friends right. Yeah. Considering that they even have a small diner together. Well one day will got zeno (oh no!) and started slowly picking off kids going to the diner. He even accidentally attacked Charlie, who escaped in one piece luckily. Charlie went to the afton household to see if he was doing okay (because will’s like an uncle to her and all! And also what if everyone else got hurt?) only to find will ate them all oops. And yeah same happened to her, but since he transmitted zeno to Charlie he was cured! How convenient! The people in charge of the labs ended up roping him and henry into being scientists for them through shady shady means and well the two aren’t on good terms and avoid each other like the plague. Henry’s still sore over the ‘you ate my fucking daughter’ thing. Luckily he has his assistant/the archivist (tape girl) to keep him company. So Vanessa right! Crazzy I know. Nessa as we know comes from a broken family. In this specific au I’m mixing her backstory with the character who’s place she’s taking (hi kuro) so basically her parents. Neglect her. In favor of her younger sibling because she was born from her mom’s affair and blablabla… she grows up basically taking care of herself. Eventually she develops zeno and starts you know. Killing and eating random girls as you do. When one night she comes home and is confronted by her parents about this!! And well you can guess. What happens to them lol. She gets captured and taken to the zeno facility where she’s specifically studied/talked to by William! They’re funny bc nessa hasn’t had anyone willingly spend so much time around her and be so nice to her. Will … well she’s a specimen to him lol. Since being cured himself zeno has been a subject of interest to him, he’s thrown himself completely into his work (under the guise of feeling soooo guilty for his actions which henry can see right through) and well. He’s realized the consumption of human flesh has something to do with it, since eating Charlie cured him. So he’s been …. Robbing the morgue/killing people when needed to feed vanessa every time they meet. Which, she’s more docile when she’s not hungry so it kind of works but she’s not like cured you know. It has the side affect of her being hungry when it’s time for someone to chat with her though which was funny the one time henry had to go in will’s stead cause he offered her a granola bar and she was like 😐 ew.?? Anyways will has gotten her total trust because he also plays board games with her yay!! He’s the only one not enforcing the whole straightjacket-dog muzzle combo also so she’s like woah !! He sees me as another human unlike these other guys :DD (needless to say zeno patients are not treated very humanely.lol) there was also one time tape girl had to be a substitute for william but nothing of note happened they just kinda chilled and ness threatened her in a backhanded and mildly gay sort of way.as you do.

Anyway yeah so basically Henry’s been experimenting with treatment through amnesia and totally surely unrelated note at the actual start of the story, Will and Nessa wake up in a strange room with no clue who they are or how they got here, and have to navigate the now bloody and corpse-strewn facility while handcuffed together with nothing to guide them except each other and the only clue to their pasts is tampered resumes which effectively switch their backstories!! Nessa is under the impression that she’s the scientist (the whole cannibalism part was left out) and she thinks William is the serial murderer/cannibal. Which was funny cause she read her own resume like wow… I’m kind of a big deal huh :) and then read Will’s like ERM.OKAY… Will didn’t read either of the resumes. Also tape girl gave everyone code names and said code names were swapped on the resumes also! So ‘bonnie’(nessa) and ‘vanny’(will) are just kind of cluelessly walking around like damn this place is really… corpsey:) until henry starts showing up and trying to kill them (he contracted zeno big surprise) and also tape girl (assumed dead) shows up sometimes just to see how things are going. Lots of shenanigans and also murder ensue.

The game also has multiple endings so. sometimes nessa ends up killing william lol. Intestine jumprope…. … ……… Also side note.will found out it’s specifically zeno infected humans that need to be fed to patients to cure them but kinda. Didn’t cure nessa on purpose<3 because she’s sort of entirely dependent on him in this way and she’s kind of his only friend.the same way he’s her only friend……wacky wild!

Tape girl is having a fucking.day. Because henry mentioned he was going to do something but likeee. She didn’t expect to be caught in the crossfires of a HUGE MASS MURDER CANNIBAL EVENT.AS LIKE ONE OF THE 4 PEOPLE STILL ALIVE IN HERE,.. once he chilled out henry explained himself and she agreed to help out (she also decided to distribute some of her recorded notes.just for fun…after the two get separated for the first time ‘vanny’ listens to them and is like woah… i was a patient here⁉️ And bon was my unethical doctor⁉️⁉️ which is funny) but like. She is the only one NOT infected in here and would like to keep it that way so she’s having quite the time. Seeing vanessa walking around unrestrained keeps jumpscaring her LOL. Once ness’s zeno symptoms start returning well ofc will as the only one she’d encountered here who she cares about is the first target but tape girl nearly gets chomped too lol.

Zeno has an interesting affect on the subjects mood which is funny. Basically when an oneset happens and the person with zeno is running around eating people they’re in a crazed manic state which. Is really fun.will and nessa are wandering around handcufffed and he’s like uhh bonnie you okay cause her facial expressions.well they went from the example on the left to the one on the right.

It’s funny bc. The memory erasure actually technically did work… her symptoms only started returning bc she got bit LOL

Pre-the amnesia incident the other three’s interactions with vanessa were pretty.limited. Considering she’s theeee most dangerous patient. Will talks to her for like an hour daily but Henry only really knows her as ‘william’s mutt’ (he was especially not a fan when he found out will had been FEEDING HER HUMAN FLESH.) and tape girl is afraid of her but also. Kind of endeared from their two in person interactions. The second one in which vanessa tried to convince her to let her cannibalize her but hey she was very polite about it..!! Henry and tape girl are both shocked and stunned that she’s actually pretty chill when she’s not insane and eating people.

TL;DR

^these fuckheads are almost all cannibals and beating each other up forever