#once i get far enough in writing the story i'm gonna swap that tag for a different one. but i don't want to reveal a certain thing early

[mikumixtwix]

honestly near everytime i see a posts about timeloops i'm thinking about my jaune v8 timeloop fic that i rlly should and rlly want to work on more. and yet i continue to not do that ough OTL

but it is always on my mind, i even have a playlist

[skeletonsweatshirt]

Connected || Viktor x gn!Reader

Connected - Prologue

Soulmate!AU (Red String of Fate)

Viktor x gn!Reader

WC: 1.3k

Tags: In character Viktor? I hope? Idk man he's rebellious against the whole damn universe in the first paragraph, The opening paragraphs are rated R for ROUGH (to read) and I am so sorry I just suck ass at openers, Viktor being indecisive,

Warnings: A very minor mention of trauma (nothing specific, just the idea of it in general), Mentions of poverty, The reader almost witnessed someone's death and that gets mentioned, just like the general anxiety of opening a college acceptance letter

A/N: Hello people that follow my Tumblr and enjoy my stuff for some reason! I have decided to gift you all with the start of my first fic. It's just the prologue, I know, but it's a nice start while I finish up the rest. This is basically just context for the story, which is literally the point of a prologue. Anyway, I'm gonna be honest most of the prologue is focused on the reader but it's a prologue and my story so I can do what I want. Also, I proofread this by myself! I used Grammarly to write it, but that is just about as far as getting my writing checked goes for this. So enjoy my absolute favorite person on all of Runeterra as I attempt to keep him in character.

Viktor had decided years ago that this whole "soulmate" thing wasn't for him. It was around when he had decided that going to The Academy in Piltover was for him. He figured that the universe couldn't determine what was right for him. Not by creating him as a disabled little boy in the depths of the city of Zaun. And not by permanently tying this stupid red string around his right pinky finger.

And even through all those decisions, he had decided not to cut the string. He knew it was a possibility. He heard stories of people severing their universal tie with their soulmates since he was a little boy. Freedom from the universe's sick puppet show for the small price of your ability to love, at least in a romantic way. 

Viktor had considered it. He seriously had. If he didn't want to have a soulmate in the first place, why would he keep his bond with whoever was on the other side? But then again, why should he cut it? He had no idea what his future held. He had no idea who was on the other side of that red string. He hadn't the slightest idea of who he would meet throughout his life, and he didn't want to miss the chance if one of those people shared the other end of his universal rope.

So that's what he left it up to. Chance. He wasn't the type to search for his other half, he had other ambitions, but if you crossed paths or exchanged glances across a crowded lecture hall, he wouldn't be opposed to investigating further. Ever the scientist he was.  

On the other hand, you couldn't believe it when you finally learned what the thread connected to your pinky meant. Soulmates. That was such a fascinating concept to you. It always has been. The universe knew who your perfect match was and was kind enough to allow you a visual path on how to get to them. 

Of course, you weren't about to drop everything you'd worked for just to go chase someone who, in all honesty, could be on the other side of Runeterra. That wouldn't be the first time you heard a story like that. Someone who either had nothing to lose or was privileged enough to be born with all the resources they wanted at the tips of their fingers, voyaging out like it was some unbelievable quest to go find their soulmate. They fell in love, maybe they had kids, blah blah blah. It never made much sense to you. You knew love was a powerful force- and so was flattery- but to give up your entire life just so you could go swap saliva with someone that could be halfway across the world? That didn't seem very appealing to you. 

You had seen the statistics, heard the stories, and read the facts. In almost every case, the parties encounter each other at least once before the end of their lives. So what was the rush? If you're going to interact with each other at one point or another, why waste time you could be using to better yourself or your education? Why waste time on something so superficial when it's going to happen anyway? 

Another phenomenon you couldn't quite understand was the people that chose to remove their strings. They were few and far between in most cases, notably where you had grown up in Piltover. What could've possibly happened to those individuals that caused them to be so...afraid? So fearful or upset about even the idea of meeting their soulmate that they would be willing to give up their ability to fall in love altogether? 

Your best guess was trauma. No matter what kind. The idea that you would grow into something that went so wrong in some cases. But that couldn't be everyone's story, you had hypothesized. You knew it couldn't. You had evidence. That evidence happened to assist your mother in, y'know...making you. He almost cut his string when he was younger, as he was finally starting to understand the implications of having a family. 

When you asked your father why he gave you a simple answer. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to provide for his family, whoever it consisted of. He was anxious he wouldn't be able to feed his wife or children if he had any. That was just part of the insecurity included with living in the Undercity, but once he slept on the thought, he learned he couldn't do that to himself...to his soulmate. Although he couldn't aid them, maybe they could support each other. 

You elected to skip the story your father eventually learned to love telling, about how he met your mother on a "business" trip into Piltover. You got the point. You understood that in his case, the idea of being able to give his companion a better life was worth sacrificing some of himself. You admired your father for that. He would take 1,000 bullets if it meant the people he cared for getting a better life. 

That was something your mother had said made you and your father so alike. Personally, you couldn't see it, but your mom reminded you at least weekly that you two were similar when it came to sacrificing yourself for the people you care about. 

You and your father were similar in other ways, sure. Your eyebrows knitted together in the same way when you got confused or focused. And when you were overly excited, you both got the same sparkle behind your eyes that your mom described as if "a fairy died back there or something." But sacrifice? You didn't really notice it in yourself...not for people, at least. You'd be willing to sacrifice yourself for your studies, though. You'd spent too many years filling up journals, drawing diagrams, and buying equipment to build a miniature lab in your attic for it to go to waste.

And it certainly wasn't going to waste. When you were just about done with high school, your parents received a letter from the Academy. The smooth black ink spread out over the off-white envelope with the red wax seal on the back spelled out your name, your address, and your area code. This letter was sent to you. 

You immediately ran to your bedroom when you received it. Anyone would, really. Because no matter what the result of you tearing open this thin outer layer of parchment was, you were going to cry. You dropped your bag at your door and procured a letter-opener from your desk. You sat cross-legged on your mattress without even removing your school clothes first. 

With a brief inhale and a soft sigh to let it out, you tore open the top of the letter. Your hands gently shook as you reached in and pulled out the tri-folded piece of paper. You'd witnessed a man nearly get his brains blown out by an enforcer right in front of you once, and yet this piece of tree cells and water mixed together was somehow the most daunting thing to ever occur in your presence. 

The letter began:

"Dear Y/N L/N,

We are pleased to inform you that your application to join us for the next school year has been accepted! We are ecstatic to have you join us in our collective goal of chasing the knowledge of the ages. Please..."

You decided to read the rest later. Tears were already cascading down your cheeks faster than anticipated and falling onto your semi-bare lap. Your eyes slowly drifted to the right, where you could admire the piece of scarlet cord that started at your pinky finger and draped dramatically off your bed, onto the floor, and out your bedroom door in front of you. You had a good feeling about this.

Taglist? - @hopefulfuturenovelauthor