#viktor gif pack

[pfpanimes]

⌕ league of legends/arcane - viktor.

like or reblog if you save/use. 🤍

[mx-pastelwriting]

𝙑𝙞𝙠𝙩𝙤𝙧 (𝘼𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙚) 𝙂𝙞𝙛 𝙋𝙖𝙘𝙠 #1

Viktor in Arcane (2021) Voice Actor Harry Lloyd

♥ mx-pastelwriting does consent to their gifs being used. Do not claim as the maker of these gifs. ALL FREE TO USE (DO NOT CLAIM) REMEMBER TO CREDIT.

[theaslion]

[silassinclair]

Yandere Boxer x Reader 2

Masterlist Here!! // Previous Part Here!

CW // Nonconsentual touching

A couple days have passed since Vladimir has been on life support. And today he finally woke up.

“Doc…?”

You turn your head inhumanly fast when you hear the quiet mutter of the fighter. Rushing over to the bed you get some water and some medicine.

“You’re finally awake Vladimir. Everyone was worried about you.” You say and lean his bed up so he can drink some water.

Vladimir’s expression remains solemn. He’s thinking hard about something and it worries you. Vladimir has always been your least favorite guy here at the gym. He’d sexually harass you and catcall you everyday but he’s still your patient.

“Do you remember what happened? Who did this to you?” You ask him carefully.

The man’s knuckles whiten as his fist clenches and he utters gutturally, “I can’t remember.”

You nod in understanding. “That’s alright. What matters is your recovery.”

For the rest of the day you stay by Vladimir’s side until he was ready to walk on his own. He’s a tough guy so he was able to get up and leave all by himself. It’s late at night now though so it’s time for you to wrap it up. You pack your belongings in your backpack but pause when you hear your clinic door open. Facing the door you see Viktor, your ex childhood best friend.

“Clinic is closed for the day. Everyone left already so why are you still here?” You ask him.

Viktor just stands there quietly. He looks around the room and shoves his hands in his hoodie pocket.

“Just wanted to check on you.” He says in his deep timbre.

You look at him skeptically. “Do you need something?”

He faces you with a small crooked frown. “No…”

Viktor has always been the quiet type. Even when he was a little boy. Some habits never change you supposed.

“Viktor I know you’re here for a reason. You can tell me.” You say and offer him a rare smile.

The tall man gives a guttural hum before saying, “It’s unsafe for you to go home at this hour alone.”

Ah, so that’s what this is about. He’s worried about you. But why now? Here he is wanting to keep you safe yet he brushed you aside in high school like you were a leech. What changed his tune?

“Viktor I’m perfectly capable of going home myself.”

He grunts disapprovingly and takes large steps closer to you making you freeze. His body is so close to yours now. Only mere inches separating the two of you. To look him in the eye you have to crane your neck up just because of his sheer height.

Ever so slowly he puts a large, roughened hand on your shoulder. His expression is sincere as he says, “Kroshechnyy (Tiny) please. I can’t explain why I did what I did in high school right now. The story is far too long and complicated. And I do apologize for leaving you all alone and casting you away. I don’t ask for forgiveness, all I ask for is for you to let me make up for not being there for you.”

You take in his words wholeheartedly and nod in understanding. Viktor is mature, everything he does is with reason and comes with explanation. And there is no hatred in your heart towards him. You could never hate Viktor even if you tried. So you nod.

“Okay. I expect an explanation one day because I’m worried about you. It… really scared me when you suddenly cut all contact. I don’t forgive you but I won’t let our past affect our jobs. So let’s just take things slow and build our way to becoming friends again?”

Your answer made the stoic man’s heart soar above the atmosphere. All he can think of is that he has a chance again. He couldn’t help but pull you into an embrace. An embrace he’s been thinking of for years. Viktor’s missed your touch, how your body melted against his as you cried into his chest when you ran away from home. Or how you’d cuddle against him while watching an R rated movie when you two weren’t supposed to. He’s missed you so so badly.

You on the other hand felt like you just got swallowed whole by a whale. Sometimes you forget how puberty hit Viktor like a freight train. Unlike when you two were kids his hugs now felt like you were being eaten. Your arms can barely wrap around his torso for goodness sakes! But this is getting really awkward for you so you pat his back with your hand.

“Uhm can you let go of me now? We’re not quite friends yet Viktor. I'm still pretty mad at you.”

The giant lets go of your smaller frame with the face of an injured puppy. Never would you have thought that an ass kicking brutality machine like Viktor would pout.

“I’m sorry. I just missed you a lot.” He mutters with his head down in shame.

"I understand that but you have to understand how I feel too Viktor. You really hurt me back then. So let's just keep our hands to ourselves yeah?"

He nods reluctantly and follows you out of the clinic and into the main gym. All the lights are off, only the ominous glow of moonlight through the windows provides light. Once you two arrive outside you both make your way down the sidewalk together. You didn't have a car or bike so you walked everywhere. It's unsafe but you can't afford safety.

"It's supposed to snow today."

"Huh?"

You look up at Viktor in question. "What did you say again?"

But at that very moment you felt the icy touch of a snowflake land on your nose. And seconds later millions of more flakes fell from the black night sky. Each flake was fat and heavy; not just little flurries of ice. No, this was real snow. And it was damn cold too.

"Oh no I should have taken the bus. Fuck." You curse to yourself. "I'm sorry for dragging you with me Viktor. Go head home now, I can get home myself."

"Don't say sorry. I asked to come with you. My fault." Viktor utters. But you don't hear him well. Instead you utter a quick goodbye and tell him to get home safe. You continue on your way home by yourself leaving Viktor behind. The snow rises on the sidewalk millimeters by the second making your walk more slippery and annoying.

When you arrive at the front door of your cheap apartment a wave of warmth washes over you. Maybe the cold has made you go numb and this is an illusion of warmth. Unlocking the door and going inside you stomp your shoes on the doormat to get the pesky snowflakes off. So does Viktor.

Viktor...

"VIKTOR?!" You shout and look up at him. Low and behold there's the 6'3 boxer right at your closed door. How could you miss him? He's fucking huge!

"There's no need to yell. We are indoors." He mutters and looks around at your messy apartment from where he stands like a statue.

Opening the door with a swing you put your hands on Viktor's chest and try to push him out. "Get out of my house! How did you even get here?!"

He looks at you plainly while you try to push his unmoving form out the door. "I said I would walk you home. Also this is an apartment, not a house."

The door shuts with a loud slam from the sheer force of your swing. "Quit messing with me! You can't be here Viktor! This is my hou- apartment!"

He just looks down at you and nods.

"Viktor! Ugh oh my god you're so freaking dense! I'm a woman." You gesture to your chest.

"I'm aware." He replies, eyes locked on your chest.

"N-NO! Stop looking at my chest!" He doesn't even flinch when you shove your palm in his eyes to make him look away.

"You wanted me to look at it."

"NO I-!" Your arms slap down to your sides. "Ugh... The point is that you can't just be in a woman's apartment. Especially without her permission! You're a man, I'm a woman. It's inappropriate."

Viktor quirks an eyebrow. "What are you implying?" His dark downcast eyes gaze into your own. A mixture of complex emotion stir within yours while there's only one in his.

Pure, Unadulterated, Affection

"Kroshechnyy." He hums gently and twirls a lock of your h/c hair in his finger. He's close, too close for friends let alone work acquittances. You can smell the shower gel and the dupe designer perfume on him. It's intoxicating.

But this is Viktor… the same man who one day cut you off and treated you like a stranger. You snap out of your daze and slap his hand away. "Stop that. We're not going there. You can stay here until the snow storm clears. But the moment the last flake falls I want you out."

He smirks and nods with a hum. "Thank you." Viktor hangs his jacket on your coat rack and steps further into your messy apartment. Not wanting him to trip in the dark you flick the light switch on.

Your living room is small. Small couch, small T.V, small dining table in the corner. There’s a tower of unwashed dishes in the sink and a bunch of medical textbooks on the table.

“I didn’t know I’d have a guest over so I didn’t tidy up.” You say as you scurry around the living space to clear some of the clutter.

“Hmm.” Viktor hums. Instead of standing like his usual still self he decides to help you clean, much to your dismissal.

“Hey you don’t have to do that! I got it.”

“Hm.”

He’s got it.

“No no don’t bother trying to clean that off, it’s been stained like that for months.”

“Hm.”

The stain is gone.

It goes back and forth like this for half an hour until your living room is all tidied up. This would have taken you over an hour without Viktor’s help. And you feel bad for having him help but you can’t help but feel grateful.

You two are seated at the table. As a subtle thanks to him you give him some left over beef stew which he devours under minutes.

“Thank you for helping me clean up… I appreciate it.” You thank him shyly.

Viktor looks up at you from his empty bowl. “No problem. Think of it as a favor between friends.”

The soft smile that grows on your face can’t be helped. His words were just so sweet. Viktor really was trying to make up for the past. And you understand he can’t tell you why he suddenly shut you out but you do know that the reason was likely for your own good. He did mention he got involved with bad people…

But there’s other issues at hand now. Like sleeping arrangements. The couch is tiny. No way could Viktor sleep on it. You however can kinda fit on it. Well, a quarter of your legs will be hanging off but it’s either that or sharing a bed with Viktor. And you’d rather not.

“So sleeping arrangements. I’ll take the couch since you won’t fit and you can take my bed.” You say and put away his bowl.

Viktor follows you into the kitchen as you wash the dish. “No. This is your home. You will sleep on your bed.”

“But what about you?” You say slightly worried. If he sleeps on the couch he’ll get some serious muscle pains. And that isn’t good for him considering he’s a boxer.

“Simple. We share bed.” He smiles with a small dopey grin.

“Absolutely not.”

“You’re hogging the blankets.”

“Бо” (no)

“Yes you are.”

“Бо”

“You 6 foot bump on a log; I swear to god I’ll kick you off this bed and you’ll sleep on the floor.”

“I’d like to see you try kroshechnyy. Also, I am 6 foot 3 inches. Get it correct.”

You groan and turn the other way. It was like you two were kids again, bickering and fighting over who got most of the blanket.

After a large yawn you mumble, “Whatever. I’m exhausted so goodnight…”

Viktor says nothing in return. After a little under half an hour though you begin to snore softly after succumbing to your slumber. Viktor on the other hand has been wide awake the whole time. Flat on his back he stared at the ceiling waiting for you to fall asleep.

And now you were.

He leans up slowly as to not rustle the covers too much. Your eyes are shut and your lips are slightly parted, a tell tale sign of deep sleep. Slowly and carefully Viktor gets out of the bed. He walks around to your side where you lay asleep and vulnerable. Dark thoughts come to mind. He could do anything he wanted to you. You’re so small and weak compared to him. There’s no stopping him if he just picks you up and takes you home with him.

Scarred fingers gently brush against the plush of your cheeks. They’re so soft and warm.

“Cute.” He thinks to himself with a smile. Everything about you was adorable. Your protective nature of people because you’re a doctor, your height, your smile, and your personality.

Viktor’s so proud of you. He’s proud that you were able to make it out of the trenches of their east European town unscathed. Unlike him; he had to go through hell and back just to make enough money for food. He was never book smart like you. He was street smart, but street smarts didn’t put food on your plate.

His hands wander to your bare collarbone. Why would you wear such a revealing night shirt in the same bed as him? You were the one going on about how he was a man and you were a woman after all. But here you are seducing him with that low rise silk night top.

“My beautiful girl.” He whispers lowly while tracing over your skin with the tip of his finger.

“What do I have to do to make you mine?… I’ll do anything.”

“And I mean it.”

[inkspiredwriting]

Oh Boy

Five Hargreeves x reader

A/N: Welcome Milo Hargreeves :)

Warnings: none

The Hargreeves siblings were on the road, packed into Klaus's eclectic van that smelled faintly of patchouli and spilled coffee. They helped five with a mission for the CIA and as usual, the situation had spiraled into a series of bizarre events. Currently, they were arguing about the quickest route back to the house, with Luther insisting on a shortcut through a dense forest and Diego arguing for the main highway.

"I’m telling you, Diego, the forest is faster!" Luther exclaimed, leaning over the map splayed across his knees.

"And I’m telling you, it’s full of potholes and we’ll get stuck," Diego countered, his brow furrowing.

In the back of the van, Five was sandwiched between Viktor and Ben, trying to tune out the noise. He sighed and glanced at his watch, wondering how much longer this argument would last. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.

"Hold on," Five said, fishing his phone out of his pocket. "It’s Y/n."

The van quieted slightly, everyone curious about the call. Five answered, his expression softening of the thought of his wife’s voice.

"Hey, Y/n. What’s up?" he asked, but before Y/n could respond, a high-pitched, excited voice cut in.

"Daddy! Daddy! It’s happening!" Maddie’s voice squealed over the line, almost making Five drop his phone.

"Maddie? What’s happening?" Five asked, a sudden sense of urgency creeping into his voice.

"Mommy’s having the baby! Right now!" Maddie announced with the dramatic flair only a four-year-old could muster. "She said you need to come to the hospital fast!"

Five’s eyes widened, and he shot up straight in his seat. "What? Now? She’s having the baby now?"

"Yes, right now!" Maddie confirmed. "Mommy’s really funny. She keeps saying she’s never letting you near her again."

Five’s mind raced as he heard Y/n’s voice in the background, yelling something indistinct but likely very colorful about her current situation. He looked around at his siblings, his urgency palpable.

"We need to get to the hospital, now!" he shouted, cutting through the chatter.

"What? Why?" Diego asked, confused.

"Y/n’s in labor!" Five snapped, already clambering over Ben to get to the front seat. "Maddie just called me. She’s having the baby right now!"

The van erupted into chaos as everyone started talking at once, but Klaus, in a rare moment of clarity, turned the key in the ignition and started the engine.

"Hold on tight, everyone!" Klaus shouted, slamming his foot on the gas. "Baby on the way!"

Klaus drove like a man possessed, weaving through traffic with an agility that had Diego clutching his seatbelt and Luther grumbling about safety. Five was in the passenger seat, frantically giving directions to the hospital while trying to keep Maddie calm on the phone.

"It’s okay, Maddie. I’m on my way," Five said, his voice as calm as he could manage. "Tell Mommy I’ll be there soon."

"Hurry, Daddy! Mommy looks like she’s gonna explode!" Maddie replied, clearly enjoying the drama more than Five appreciated.

"Exploding wives, huh?" Klaus quipped, glancing at Five. "Sounds like a blast!"

"Not the time, Klaus!" Five barked, clutching his phone tighter. "Just drive faster."

"On it, Chief," Klaus said, narrowly avoiding a pedestrian as he took a sharp turn.

"Can’t you just, you know, teleport there?" Viktor asked from the back seat.

"I would, but I need to get to the exact location and I can't teleport straight into the hospital without potentially causing a scene," Five replied, his foot tapping anxiously.

"Like this isn’t causing a scene," Ben muttered, gripping the edge of his seat as Klaus swerved around a slow-moving truck.

By some miracle (and a lot of near-misses), they arrived at the hospital. Klaus parked the van haphazardly across two spaces, and Five was out of the vehicle before it even came to a complete stop.

"Come on, move!" he shouted over his shoulder, racing towards the hospital entrance. His siblings scrambled to keep up, but Five was a man on a mission.

Bursting through the hospital doors, Five dashed to the reception desk. "My wife is having a baby! Where’s the maternity ward?"

The receptionist blinked, startled by his sudden appearance. "Uh, down the hall to the left, sir."

Five didn’t wait for further instructions. He took off, navigating the hospital corridors with the precision of a seasoned time traveler.

He finally reached the maternity ward and skidded to a stop outside the room. He could hear Y/n’s voice, alternating between shouting at the nurses and groaning in pain.

"Y/n?" Five called, pushing open the door.

Y/n, in the midst of a contraction, looked up, her face red and sweaty but breaking into a relieved smile when she saw him. "Five! About time you got here!"

"Sorry, traffic was a nightmare," Five said, rushing to her side and taking her hand. "How are you holding up?"

"How do you think?" Y/n snapped, then softened as she squeezed his hand. "I’m glad you’re here."

"Me too," Five said, kissing her forehead. "I wouldn’t miss this for the world."

"Daddy!" Maddie piped up from the corner, sitting on a chair with Allison. "Mommy said a lot of bad words."

"Yeah, she does that sometimes," Five said, smiling despite the chaos.

The next few hours were a blur of contractions, encouraging words, and a lot of hand-squeezing (mostly on Y/n’s part). Five stayed by her side the entire time, alternating between calming her and glaring at the clock as if willing it to speed up.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the cries of a newborn filled the room. Five’s heart swelled as the nurse placed their baby boy in Y/n’s arms.

"Welcome to the world, Milo," Five whispered, his voice choked with emotion as he gently touched the baby’s tiny hand.

"He’s beautiful," Y/n murmured, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked up at Five. "Just like his dad."

"I don’t know about that," Five said, his own eyes misty. "But he’s perfect."

"Daddy! Is that my brother?" Maddie asked, peeking over the edge of the bed.

"Yes, sweetie," Five said, lifting her up so she could see. "This is Milo. You’re a big sister now."

Maddie’s eyes widened as she looked at her baby brother, a mixture of awe and curiosity on her face. "He’s so small. Can I hold him?"

"Maybe later," Five said, ruffling her hair. "Right now, he needs to stay with Mommy."

The Hargreeves siblings, who had been waiting anxiously in the hallway, were finally allowed into the room. They filed in, each offering congratulations and admiring the newest member of the family.

"Nice job, Five," Diego said, clapping him on the back.

"He’s adorable," Allison cooed, peeking at Milo.

"Looks like you didn’t miss the main event after all," Viktor said, smiling.

"Yeah, thanks to Klaus’s driving," Five admitted, glancing at his brother.

"Hey, any time," Klaus said, grinning. "Just don’t expect me to do it every day."

Five rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his smile. As he looked around at his family, gathered around Y/n and baby Milo, he felt a profound sense of happiness and contentment.

Despite the chaos and the near heart attacks along the way, he wouldn’t trade this moment for anything. Because now, more than ever, he knew that his family—both immediate and extended—was what mattered most.

[leth-writes]

Requests open!

-200 followers celebration announcement

-my A03

-I'll write for Marvel, DC, and the Twilight Saga and I'm open to writing both regular and dark/yandere dynamics.

-I'll write for Simon 'Ghost' Riley and Konig, both from Call of Duty.

-I'll also write for Aemond, Daemon, and Rhaenyra Targaryen, Jordan Li, and Homelander, as well as the Arcane characters Jinx, Sevika, Vi, Viktor, and Silco.

-I'll write for any character from parts 4,5, or 6 of jojo's bizarre adventure!

-I'll write for the following Slashers: billy loomis and stu macher; the sinclairs; Michael Myers; Kevin Khatchadourian; pelle; JD; the Lost Boys

-I'd also like to write for Chrollo from Hunter x Hunter, if anyone has any requests!

-I also write for both Helluva Boss and Hazbin hotel!

-When it comes to the Twilight Saga, I'll write for the Cullens, the wolves, and the Volturi.

Obvious rules apply:

-no homophobia, sexism, racism, or any other bigotry

-all characters aged up!

-This blog is 18+!

Feel free to ask me anything!

-I also have a ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/lethwrites

-I take commissions: up to 2000 words, $1/100 words. Message me if interested!

my game: https://leth-writes.itch.io/yandere-twilight

Anon list: 🤠, 🌌, 🍄, 🍒, 🐢, 🐿️

(Dividers by cafekatsune!)

Masterlist under read more:

Wolf pack x herbivore shifter reader

Yandere Aemond x reader

Yandere platonic The Boys

Wolf Pack x reader who has a dog that hates them

Twilight wolf pack x reader who is leaving for college

Yandere Aemond x Servant! reader

Cassandra Cain x Deathstroke's apprentice

TASM Peter x reader

Wolf pack x fox shifter

Batfamily hugs

Cryptid Batfamily

Batfam Soulmate au

some batfam headcanons

superman x reader

Tom Holland! Peter x autistic reader

Avengers x hypervigilant reader

Homelander x reader who stays in the shadows

yandere platonic the boys part 2

yandere platonic batfam x broke reader

Marcus, Aro, and Caius x reader headcanons

wolf pack x reader who went missing

yandere platonic the boys part 3

brief Ghost headcanons

Jordan Li x reader

Cullen petnames

Ghost x reader headcanons

yandere Aemond x reader

wolf pack x alligator shifter

Paul x reader with dirty sense of humour

Paul x reader with facial scar

Yandere batfam x broke reader part 2

yandere batfam x broke reader part 3

Yandere batfam x broke reader part 4

JD x reader

Yandere homelander x influencer reader

Yandere Chrollo post 1

yandere Chrollo x reader who can see ghosts

Cullens and a human s/o

Wolf pack x reader who's quite aggressive

wolf pack x short reader

homelander x supe! reader

random Cullen headcanons

Peter Parker red string of fate headcanons

Paul x Jacob's ex

Fishbowl (yandere Chrollo)

Yandere Tim Drake x meta reader

Yandere TIm Drake x meta reader part 2

200 follower celebration: Cassandra Cain

Seth x imprint leaving for college

wolf pack x easily flustered reader

Lost Boys x reader

200 followers: Jolyne

Wolf pack x reader they scarred

Yandere Aemond x reader

yandere spiderverse

HOTD x oblivious reader

Yandere batfam x vampire reader

yandere batfam x trying to fight them

Yandere HOTD x trying to fight them

yandere HOTD x reader scared of their dragon

NSFW Aemond x reader headcanons

yandere batfam x reader who's scared of them

[ramblingthoughtsofayoungadult]

Unpredictable Part 3-Limoreau x black!fem!reader fic

A/N: AAAH, thank you for all the support on this. I didn't think it'd be a series but I can't stop writing.

Warnings: toxic parents, body shaming, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, and swearing

Words: 7.7k

Series Masterlist

 “…and that’s how I knew that I was meant to do charity work,” the nasal redhead concluded.

That afternoon, the Si Chi house was packed with pledges in floral or puffy Selkie and Miss Selfridge sun dresses. A handful of servers circulated the foyer with trays of orange juice and mimosas. The combination of Prada Candy and Viktor Rolfe Flowerbomb made my head spin but I smiled through it as I nodded at different pledges’ stories. All of them were desperately trying to toe the line between interesting and bragging because one could never act too important for a potential house.

“That’s great news,” I glanced at her name tag, “Brenda since Si Chi regularly engages in philanthropic work.”

 Brenda smiled widely, making the hot pink blush on her cheeks even more prominent. “I know, that’s why I’m so interested in joining this---your house.”

“Well, we are glad that you took the time to visit us. Would you excuse me?”

As I weaved my way through the foyer, I plucked a mimosa from a passing server and started sipping. Exactly five seconds passed until I was surrounded by a new crop of bright-eyed freshmen.

“Oh my gosh, are you Y/N Y/L/N?” a willowy brunette asked.

“Guilty, and you are?”

“She’s Justine,” a shorter brunette interrupted.

Justine narrowed her eyes and thinly covered the glare with a smile. “I can introduce myself, thanks, Renee.”

Renee shrunk a little in her oversized light blue sundress and I glanced at Justine.

“So, why are you interested in our house?” I asked.

Justine straightened up and smiled like a pageant girl. “Well, I’m perfectly aligned with all the values of Si Chi: Sisterhood, respect, and intelligence. I am all about women empowerment and I respect people from all backgrounds----I’m exposed to a bunch of different people as an actress, anyway.”

“What about intelligence?”

“Well, I think there’s many different kinds of intelligence and, as an actress, I’m emotionally intelligent to the point where I’m exhausted by everyone else’s energy.”

“She really has to prioritize self-care,” Renee added.

“It’s great that you’re aware of that for yourself.”

She had to be one of the least self-aware people I ever encountered and that was a difficult fete. However, her socials had decent numbers and she had been in a few Vought Plus movies, which would help her win Sydney and Lydia, the vice president, over. The next two years with her and her friend would be irritating.

A softer expression slipped across Justine’s face, and she took a step towards me. “I just want to say that I think it’s so brave that you’ve been participating in all the rush events despite your traumatic experience. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to see Luke,” she paused and placed a hand on her chest, “kill himself.”

Though it had been a week since, it still felt like a bomb rolled off Justine’s tongue when she said it. The wave of emotions that I experienced in that time was hard to describe; Shetty said that grief was a rollercoaster, and the influx of emotions was normal.

“As impossible as it may seem, one day you will come to accept what happened,” she’d advised. “You may experience more anxiety but, with your network, I am sure you will be able to cope.”

The network she referred to was strained at best and destroyed at worst. My “sisters” were as supportive as they could be: Alina gave me a Lush self-care kit, Sasha was not nearly as antagonizing as usual, Lydia gave me grief book recommendations, and Sydney let me pick what workout classes we attended. Emma and Cate were the only non-Si Chi people I spoke to since it was way too difficult to speak to the others.

Justine placed her hand on my shoulder. “If you ever need someone to talk to, you can count on me.”

“Thank you for the thought,” I replied, smiling tightly.

“You must be so grateful that Marie was there to stop him,” Renee quipped.

I sipped some more juice to keep the confusing feelings from bubbling up. Nothing could have prepared me for Marie and Andre being propped as the Guardians of Godolkin, which was arguably the dumbest name Vought could give them. The less I wanted to see them, the more I saw their promos and videos. It was horrible that the last time we spoke we had a fight but every time I saw her, I felt a weird wrench in my chest.

At the very least, Emma seemed happy for her.

Then, Coco Allen, a Si Chi junior, appeared from the crowd and squeezed between the freshmen. “There you are, Y/N, I have a crim freshman with a water manipulation ability who wants to pick your brain.”

“Sure. Will you excuse me?”

“Bye!” Renee called as Coco pulled me through the crowd.

When we got to the less populated living room, I exhaled a breath I did not know I was holding. Then, I turned to the beaming Coco.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome. You know I hate entitled freshmen,” Coco mused.

Coco was the only other black girl in Si Chi and happened to be the first one to talk to me when I visited the house last year. She was a little shorter than me with deep mahogany skin that always glowed. She always wore her waist-length jet-black hair in tight curls and accessorized solely with gold jewelry. That day, she wore a fitted white sundress with espadrilles.

“Were there this many last year?” I asked.

Coco shook her head. “But there are a few more black girls so it’s promising.”

“That’s great! I hope I can find them before the event’s over.”

“That would be great.” Coco eyed me. “So, how are you holding up?”

“I’m okay, the mimosas don’t hurt though.”

“They never do. You didn’t have to come today, you know, you could have taken more time, get out of here for a minute.”

I shook my head. “I needed this, it’s a nice distraction or, it has been. Besides, what would it look like if the secretary didn’t attend?”

Coco nodded slowly but I could tell that the gears in her head were turning too much for her to be convinced. “You’re already Sydney and Lydia’s favorite and they might have let it slide.”

I cocked my head at her and she immediately started chuckling half-heartedly.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. The hoops they make us jump through are ridiculous,” Coco reflected.

“It makes sense why you didn’t want to be an officer even though you’re poli sci,” I commented.

Coco grinned. “Hey, I’m making decent connections just by being in this house. This is just a steppingstone on my path to become the first black woman supe president.”

Even though the title was long, if anyone could do it, it was Coco. One time last year I sat in on one of her debates in class and she had a senior in tears and their debate partner ready to put their laser eyes to good use.

“Well, don’t forget little ole me when you’re a big shot,” I teased.

Coco frowned. “What do you mean ‘little’? You have done too much to talk like that.”

I shrugged. “Not that they’re not as important but my four-year plan is less impressive than yours.”

“Oh yeah, the plan where you basically end up a trophy wife? No shade but, I think you’d be way too bored in that role.”

“Hey, I would have a city contract too. Plus, it’s what I want and what I see for myself every time I look into the future. Every step I have taken up until this point puts me closer to that.”

My voice was much stronger than I thought it would be but Coco was always pushing me. Some days it was motivating and on others, it was infuriating.

“Like I said, I’m not trying to crush your dreams or your plan but is that really all you want for yourself? Especially thinking about all the good you’re already doing with your powers?” Coco questioned.

Her words plagued me for the rest of the event and bugged me when we gave our ratings of the pledges to Sydney and Lydia.

“Oh, and Y/N, don’t forget to send me that compilation with all the pledges’ socials,” Sydney requested as I was on my way out of the foyer.

“Of course, you’ll have it by the end of the day.”

Everything was much quieter underwater, except for my thoughts, but those were much clearer. Every time I thought about where I would be in five years, it was the same: smiling at a city event on the arm of some suit. I never saw the man’s face but I knew he had to be somewhat attractive. My eyes fluttered closed at the bottom of the pool and I focused on my future.

It was the same image, complete with flashing cameras and I was wearing a gorgeous rose pink Oscar de la Renta gown. My hair was piled on top of my head in Senegalese twists, and I was smiling widely. However, when I tried to look at whose arm I was on, it was like I could not turn my head. The harder I tried, the sorer the side of my neck got.

After a few more seconds of trying, I pushed myself up to the surface and sucked in the air. The sky was a mix of orange, purple, and blue. Sydney was blasting “My Head, My Heart”, which signaled that she was getting ready to go out with Eric Landon, the president of Sigma Kappa. It would be nice to be asked on a date, a proper one without the expectations of sex later.

My face warmed at the fact that I had never actually been asked out. People constantly told me how good looking I was but that did not translate into boys falling all over themselves for me. There were the occasional fun nights out but it would always end in that same venue. I didn’t think I asked for too much: flowers, good morning and good night texts, respect, intelligence, and ambition. Emma told me I watched too many movies once and while that could have been true, I also thought that it wasn’t too much to ask a guy to hold a door open.

It also did not help that Jordan was the last person I ever got close to being intimate with. I groaned at the thought and dove underwater, making my way to the other side of the pool.

An almost-kiss should mean absolutely nothing but I could not stop thinking about it, just like I could not stop thinking about how Jordan would throw me under the bus to save themselves. I would never do that to anyone, especially not someone I cared about.

But you already did, the voice in my head hissed.

Marie didn’t count, I didn’t mean to do that; Andre, Luke, Cate, and Jordan decided for me. I would have stayed if it was my choice but that didn’t matter to Marie or any of them.

I pushed myself from the side of the pool and butterfly stroked my way to the other side. Thankfully, the water was heated and soothed my aching muscles. As I was about to resurface, I noted a blurry tall blonde figure standing above me. When I pushed up, Cate stood over me, her eyes worried.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“Hi, can we talk?”

“Sure.”

A few seconds later, I was wrapped in a fluffy towel and standing across from Cate. Her eyes shifted around for a moment before she suggested we headed inside. When we got to my room, she immediately closed the door behind us.

“Is there any way someone would have listening devices in here?” Cate asked.

“No,” I said slowly.

“Are you sure? There’s shit out now where they put it in the tiniest crevices and you would never know,” Cate argued.

“I would have seen it or had a hint about it. What’s going on?”

Cate finally sat on my bed, and I opted to stand across from her. “Andre and I found some stuff that makes Luke and Brink’s deaths way more complicated.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for one thing, they totally cleared out his room the day after he died and I mean everything.”

My eyes widened. “Even the…special drawer?”

“Yes, and at first, I thought it was protocol but what would they do with all those----”

“I get it, Cate, what else did you and Andre find?”

As Cate continued to speak, I could feel my stomach sink further and further, until I was sure it was somewhere in the house basement. Nothing Cate said meant anything positive for anyone. If there was some kind of lab under us, that meant anyone could become a part of it.

“Have you told anyone else?” I asked.

Cate huffed and leaned back on my bed. “Well, Jordan’s been spiraling about Marie and the rankings, so I can’t get a word in about anything else.”

“They’re spiraling?” I asked.

“You haven’t talked to them since Luke died?” Cate asked.

When she said it like that, it sounded like I committed a cardinal sin. After that day, there was nothing else for me to say to them. Even though I saw them in class occasionally, I never spoke to them and desperately tried to avoid eye contact.

“They could have reached out too,” I muttered.

“You’re such a younger sibling,” Cate commented.

“It’s true!” I whined.

“Well, they’ve been freaking out about the rankings since they fell down to number five and Andre’s number one.”

Being in the Top Five was like Jordan’s lifeline. They’d always shared a friendly rivalry with Luke but I knew they wanted to be number one eventually. They spent almost all their time making sure they stayed in a high position and to drop to bottom of the Top Five must have been devastating.

“Oh no,” I whispered.

“Yeah, and your new best friend cracked the Top 100 and is Jordan’s new nemesis,” Cate added.

 I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a chocolate brown loungewear set. “Neither of them are my friends.”

Cate frowned. “Seriously, what is going on with you? The other night, you and Marie were inseparable, and you and Jordan were bantering. What happened?”

It must have been the fact that I was holding all my thoughts and feelings in because I burst.

“Marie and I can’t be friends since she thinks I’m a shallow bitch who would sacrifice her to save myself because I hang out with people who do. The funny part is that Jordan admitted they would backstab me if they could get ahead, which is definitely not something I would do to a friend or anyone I almost kissed!”

I was panting by the end and my chest felt a lot lighter. However, my nerves began to build when I noticed Cate’s mischievous grin.

“Who did you almost kiss?” Cate asked.

“That’s not the point,” I mumbled.

Cate stared at me for a second before lighting up. “It was Jordan, wasn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You hesitated which means I’m right. It could have easily been Marie though since you were all over her.”

“Why do people keep saying that? I was being nice!”

Cate held up her hands in a relaxed defense. “Chill, Y/N, it’s okay to like more than one person at once.”

“I don’t like either of them.”

“At all?” Cate quirked an eyebrow.

“No,” I pouted.

Cate looked unimpressed and I felt even more unimpressed since I knew that I liked Marie and Jordan platonically.

“Okay, we’ll save that for later but, I don’t think Jordan would tell you that they would backstab you and they would not think about it. They would do it to other people, but not you.”

“You’re just saying that because they’re your friend and you weren’t there.”

Cate cocked her head to the side. “Think, Y/N, did Jordan really say, ‘I would backstab you if it would save my ass’?”

As I recalled the memory, I slowly rocked back and forth on my heels. “They didn’t say that but, they didn’t answer me when I asked if they would.” “You probably caught them off guard,” Cate reasoned. “I’m sure if you talked to them, things would go okay.”

I hesitated and set my clothes on my bed. “Let’s say that I decided to speak to them, I don’t know what to say. Even if I did, my class tomorrow isn’t with them.

“You’re not going to the Think Brink gala tomorrow night?” Cate asked.

Earlier that day, Mom mentioned something about a gala on the phone but I was only half-listening. In my defense, there was only so much complaining about her clients and Dad that I could stand. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and “Go to Brink gala” was in bright letters on my calendar.

“I guess I am,” I concluded.

“Then, you have some time to figure it out. You might get lucky and not even have to say anything.” I nodded and messed with the charm on my phone. “But what about Marie?”

“You’ll figure that out too. Indira’s taking her to the gala so, you can get both your ‘friends’ back,” Cate said, putting “friends” in air quotes.

“Why did you do it like that? Don’t say it like that.”

“Just because you’re in denial doesn’t mean I am. Think about it, would you be this freaked out if we had a fight?”

The “yes” should have come immediately but it didn’t; it died in my throat, and I couldn’t look at Cate. Why were things different with Marie and Jordan? Why did I stress out about them when I tried to stop thinking about them?

“Can you just make me say the right thing?” I asked.

Cate mulled it over for a moment. “I think it’s best if you do it yourself. If you don’t have a vision about it, something will come to you.”

“Thanks, Cate. If you and Andre need any help snooping----”

“You will be the first person I text,” Cate assured.

“I was going to say that I’ll probably know before you.”

I narrowly avoided the pillow Cate tossed at me and laughed at her effort.

“Maybe you are getting a little too cocky, Y/N.” She stood and walked over to me. “And for the record, I would never betray you in any way, neither would Andre or Jordan. If either of them did, they would have to deal with me.”

“Thanks, I would hug you but I’m still soaking wet.”

“Yeah, that’s smart. I know this might be useless but try not to worry about everything.”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

“You’re taking the meds from Indira?”

“Yes, Mom,” I teased.

“Just trying to help.”

Strangely, that was the first night since Luke’s death that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The trend was that I would strain myself to have premonitions until I was exhausted and tried again in the morning. For once, sleep found me quickly.

After sitting through a two-hour lecture on trauma’s impact on villains and heroes, I was more than happy to wander back to the Si Chi house and decompress. In a few hours, Talia, Mom’s assistant, would arrive with options for the gala. Then, the glam team would arrive and do their best to ignore Mom while they did their jobs.

I needed all the relaxation I could get.

 As I was mentally reviewing which movies I could watch, my phone kept buzzing in my back pocket. I thought it was another flurry of comments on the TikTok Coco and I made yesterday but it was from a strange number.

XXX-XXX-XXXX: Y/N, pls come 2 my dorm, it’s an emergency.

XXX-XXX-XXXX: Im srry we haven’t talked in a while but it’s important.

I frowned and typed back, ????

XXX-XXX-XXXX: It’s Marie. Emma’s in trouble.

My stomach dropped and I replied, B there soon.

As I raced around other people on campus, my thoughts moved faster at the possibility of what could have been going on with Emma. The last time I had spoken to her was two days ago and she was okay then. If anything, she may have been tense because Marie and I were not speaking but she had not said anything else.

I was halfway to their dorm when I ran into something solid.

“Watch where you’re going, Y/N,” Maverick sneered.

“If you put on some clothes, maybe I’d see you,” I shot back as I continued down the hall.

When I finally got to their dorm, I was panting and could barely knock. Marie pulled the door open, pulled me in, and closed the door behind me.

“Did you sprint here?” she asked.

I nodded. “You said…it was…an….emergency…Emma.”

In the middle of me grabbing my bearings, I noticed something tiny next to one of the supports on Emma’s bed. Slowly, I slid to my knees and crawled over to it. When I realized who it was, a choked gasp escaped my mouth.

“What happened?” I whispered.

“I don’t know. She was like that when I got here and I didn’t know what to do so I called you since you’ve known her the longest,” Marie rambled.

Her words barely registered in my brain as I went to one of Emma’s drawers, grabbed a small set of clothes, wrapped her in it, and carefully set her on her bed. Emma was barely breathing and was ghostly pale.

“Emma, I know you’re probably not going to like this but, you’re going to need to eat something.”

She didn’t reply and for a second, I wondered if she could.

I started rifling through all her stuff until I found a box of crackers. My hands trembled as I broke them into small pieces and kneeled in front of Emma. She never looked at me as she nibbled on each crumb I fed her.

Eventually, she grew back to her normal size. As soon as she was, she pulled her knees to her chest.

“I’m sorry you saw me like that,” she muttered.

Slowly, I sat next to her and it was almost the same way zookeepers treated wild animals. If one moved calmly enough, they would not get attacked. Marie sat on her bed.

“It’s okay, I’m glad we were able to help,” I replied. “What happened?”

Emma sniffed. “I opened up to this girl in my class. We’re scene partners for a project and we were talking, and I guess I felt comfortable enough to tell her about how I get small. I thought it was just between us, but she posted this…this video on YouTube telling the whole world about it.”

“Who’s the girl?” Marie asked.

“How do you get small?” I uttered at the same time.

Emma froze for a moment and looked away from me. “I make myself…sick.”

When she said it, I suddenly remembered all those times she would go to the bathroom and then come out a miniature version of herself. However, all those times, it was for different commercials or other work-related events. Then again, there had to be times when she did it at home or at my house.

How did I never notice? “Emma, I’m so sorry. I wish you would’ve told me sooner,” I said.

Emma turned to me with a glare in her eyes. “Really? How would I work that into a conversation? ‘Hey, Y/N, I’m sorry to interrupt but, I make myself throw up to get small’?”.

“We’re friends, friends tell each other this kind of thing,” I insisted.

Emma scoffed. “Please, like you would get it if I told you. You’re perfect, you always have been. Your face, your hair, your body, your eyes, your life!”

“That’s not fair.”

“Emma, I think you need to get help,” Marie interrupted.

Emma’s gaze flickered to hers and I thought she might set Marie on fire. “I need to get help, that’s rich coming from you. You act like no one can see your scars.”

Marie flinched and her eyes narrowed slightly. “I do that for my powers, that’s different.”

Emma laughed callously. “Please, at least be honest. How about this: I’ll go to therapy when you admit to cutting.”

Emma’s voice had no tone and every word she said was like a hammer slamming into my chest. She wasn’t in the right headspace for any conversation and I kept reminding myself as I stood.

“We should talk later when we’ve all calmed down,” I suggested.

“I don’t want to speak to either of you again,” she hissed.

It took more effort than usual to swallow the lump in my throat as I let myself out of their dorm. Just as I was about to lean against the door and wallow, Marie slipped out behind me and shut the door. I took a step back, barely avoiding a pair of girls rushing past.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

“It’s fine.”

Silence filled the space for a moment, and I had no idea how to fill it. Cate said I would know what to say but I was at a loss.

“I’m sorry about what I said…that day,” Marie delivered gently.

My eyes snapped up at her. “Oh.”

She sighed. “I was just angry, and I thought you were a part of it but, Emma kept saying that you would never do something like that. I just didn’t know how to reach out or say anything.”

I know the feeling.

“I accept your apology but I’m also sorry that no one came back for you. I guess it worked out, though?”

Marie sighed and leaned against her door. “Sort of. The perks are nice and I’m in crim now but I feel like everyone’s looking at me and expects something from me; almost like they’re waiting for me to fail.”

“Really? They had me convinced you’d be the black Starlight,” I teased.

Marie laughed half-heartedly. “I still want to be a hero, though, someone like her people can look up to.”

“Anyone in particular?”

Marie hesitated. “My little sister. We were both obsessed with heroes when we were younger, but I was the one who got Compound V. She always looked up to me and I want to be someone who would make her proud.”

“That’s a really admirable goal,” I complimented.

She smiled softly. “What about you? Shouldn’t you be my competition to be the black Starlight?”

My expression faltered and I looked down at my French acrylics. “No, I don’t think I have the showmanship you do. Besides, my goal isn’t to be in the Seven.”

“Really? What do you want to do?” Marie asked.

“So, I have this four year plan and if I follow the steps I am on to a T, I will graduate with a city contract and be engaged to an eligible supe.”

Usually, when I told someone my four year plan, my chest swelled and my shoulders rolled back unconsciously. This time, it felt like I was a toddler showing my mom a drawing I made in school.

“Is that it?” Marie asked.

“I know it’s more traditional and maybe even a little lame but, it’s what I want,” I maintained.

Marie nodded slowly.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, I just imagined you doing something in, like, criminal AI or stopping criminals from re-offending.”

“Both are great, they’re just not me.”

“Which is fine,” Marie insisted.

She sounded a little too eager but I let it go as we started walking down the hallway.

“What should we do about Emma?” Marie asked.

“I’ve never seen her like that before but she’ll need time to cool off.”

“Sounds good, I just have nowhere to go until the gala tonight.”

“You could come to Si Chi for a bit. I can’t promise they won’t try to initiate you, though.”

Marie laughed. “Me, in a sorority?”

“Hey, we’re getting more black girls this year so you never know!”

“Whatever but, yeah, I’d like to hang out with you…at your house.”

Even though Marie rushed the last part, a smile quirked on the corners of my mouth. It would be nice to have a new friend over and it was even nicer that there was no more tension between us.

“You know, Emma never told us the name of that girl,” Marie pondered once we got outside.

“Oh, that’s easy.” I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I reached the right one.

Shelby answered on the first ring. “Y/N, hi!” “Hey, are you on your way to class?” I asked.

“Yeah, if I’m late one more time, Professor Elix is going to make me do an improv one-woman show!” she panted.

“Well, I don’t want to slow you down but, you have class with Emma Meyer, right?”

“Oh yeah, Intro to Stage, why?”

“Cool. She told me her stage partner has an incredible Insta aesthetic, but she never told me her name and I need new inspo.”

“Oh, that’s Justine. I don’t know her last name but I’m sure you’ll find her.”

“Thanks, Shelby. Have fun in class.”

“Thanks!”

I hung up and turned to Marie, whose eyebrows were raised. “What?”

“What was that voice?” Marie asked.

“It was my voice. Haven’t you heard of code-switching?”

“Fine. Did you get the name?”

“Yes, Justine and I’ve met her.”

“What? How?”

“She’s rushing Si Chi.” I couldn’t keep the devilish smile from working its way into my mouth.

“What does that look mean?” Marie asked.

“It means that there are many more perks to being in a top house besides living in it.”

For some reason, everyone thinks that white girls have a monopoly on passive aggression and relational aggression. That was not the case at all; black girls simply are more inclined towards active aggression but we’re capable of both. I proved as much during Brink’s gala.

The ballroom was packed with board members, trustees, alumni, and the wealthiest GOD U students, the latter being my target of interest. They were all easy to approach since I had met them at some function or another.

“Y/N,” Bianca Peterson gushed as she hugged me.

Her Gucci Guilty perfume tickled my nose and I willed myself not to sneeze as I politely pulled away from her. “Bianca, it’s been too long. I think the last time I saw you was at Beta Ro’s Brunch for Boy Scouts.”

Bianca nodded, light auburn curls bouncing around her sculpted features. “Yes, we bonded over jewelry.”

“And you still have fantastic taste,” I mentioned, gesturing to the gold buckle around her wrist.

“Thank you, it was a present from Theo but I gave him a few hints,” she bragged lightly.

“How is rush going?” I asked.

“Pretty well, our pledges are shaping up nicely this year, not that they don’t every year,” she quickly added the last part.

“Of course. Do you have a lot of girls from Counting?”

“We’re interested in a couple, why? Are you trying to poach?”

I shook my head. “Not at all, I just wasn’t sure if you heard what Layla from Zeta Nu discovered.”

Bianca raised a microbladed brow. “No, I don’t think I have.”

I took a deep inhale and slowly shook my head in disbelief. “Oh, well, I should let it come from her then.”

A moment later, Bianca glanced across the room at Layla Ruthers, the president of Zeta Nu, who was smiling politely at a pair of hunched-over old men.

“In case I don’t have a chance to talk to her, what happened?” Bianca asked.

I glanced around us for a moment before leaning closer. “Apparently, a freshman posted a video about another girl’s eating disorder.”

“Really?” Bianca’s eyes widened.

I nodded. “Layla was insulted for the other girl and banned the pledge from rushing Zeta Nu. She even said that no respectable house would accept someone so low-class.”

“Oh,” Bianca uttered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take up all your time. I should go mingle.”

I made it about two steps before Bianca gently grabbed one of my arms.

“Wait, Y/N. Did Layla say the name of the pledge?”

My eyes wandered around the twinkling lights of the room for a second. “Justine something, I think.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you later.”

“Sure!”

The rest of my conversations followed that pattern. Each girl I spoke to was shocked and horrified by my words. Plus, none of them would dare speak to the other; that would mean another house had better information than them. My final target was easily the most important one: Sydney.

In her ice-blue mermaid dress and intricate updo, she looked more like Cinderella than a gala attendee. She was standing at a table, nodding her head at something a shorter guy was saying.

“Excuse me,” I politely interrupted, “I need to borrow Sydney for a second.”

The guy deflated slightly. “Sure.”

“I’ll see you soon.” Sydney huffed a sigh of relief as soon as we were out of earshot. “Thank you, I don’t know what he was even talking about.”

“Anytime,” I replied.

She snatched a champagne flute from a passing server and downed half of it. “I can’t wait for this night to be over.”

I nodded. “It is morbid despite their attempt to dress it up.”

“Yeah, and my parents won’t stop bugging me about my future. I can only apply to so many internships and not everyone is looking for a telekinetic,” she griped. “Sorry, how are you?”

“I’m alright. Ironically, I think he’d hate the name they picked but I didn’t know him super well,” I admitted.

“Right.”

Here it goes.

“So, I think the event the other day was a success,” I commented.

“Definitely. The house was packed. It’s too bad we can’t accept them all.”

Sydney smiled as she spoke.

“I know. It’s great that there’s so much interest.” I paused for a second. “But, I wanted to tell you that something came up with one of the pledges.”

Sydney gestured for me to continue.

“Even though my social media deep dive on the pledges was thorough, something came up today that I thought you should know when considering the pledges,” I explained.

“Okay.”

“Today, Justine posted a video exposing another girl’s eating disorder. Several of the girls were upset when they saw it.”

“That’s awful,” Sydney responded.

“It’s also so disappointing since I met Justine during that event, and she was saying how women empowerment is important to her. I know that women empowerment is a huge passion for you and a foundation for Si Chi and to imagine a pledge so willing to tear down another woman infiltrating the safe space you building is horrifying.”

Despite the liquor, I could tell Sydney was processing my words quicker than any computer. Her expression shifted from shock to anger to coldness. Then, she finished the last of her champagne and set it on the table closest to us. “Thank you for telling me, Y/N. I’ll see you later.”

As she walked away, I grinned widely at the response. Bid Day was going to be even more fun and interesting than last year. To celebrate, I grabbed myself a flute of champagne and sipped it as I started to wander the room.

“Y/N!”

My body froze at the masculine voice and my mind raced with what to say or do. Finally, I decided to face Jordan. They were in their masculine form and standing at a table by themselves. Though they looked fantastic in their navy suit, they looked like they hadn’t slept in days.

“Hello.”

I practically sang it and prayed for someone to make the floor swallow me.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

“Um, sure.” I walked closer to their table and rested my forearms on it.

 “It’s good to see you,” he started. “Outside of class, I mean.”

“You too.”

Jordan nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s good.” He paused. “I’m sorry about everything.”

I looked up from tapping my nails on the tablecloth. “Wh---”

“Please, let me finish. That day…I don’t know why I didn’t just tell you that I wouldn’t throw you under the bus but I wouldn’t even think about it. How could I do that to my little freshman?”

For the first time ever, my chest warmed at the nickname. However, I tried to bite back the smile that was worming its way onto my face.

I glanced away for a moment, crossing my arms over my purple sleeveless satin gown. “Well, I guess I forgive you,” I playfully grumbled before turning back to him. “But you still did it pretty easily to Marie.”

Jordan’s expression faltered and he sipped some champagne. “Don’t mention her.”

“Why not? She’s my friend and we did a very mean thing,” I argued.

“Look, I protected myself and you that night, I won’t apologize for that. Besides, she’s still here and she’s doing great,” he spat.

“I know you’re pissed about the rankings but, those can change, especially with how hard you work and how powerful you are.”

Jordan scoffed. “That’s how it should work but no one wants to back a bigender Asian.”

His words made me stop for a second. In all the time I knew them, Jordan seemed invincible to punches, laser beams, electric shocks, and words. They made succeeding at Godolkin look so easy but it must have been anything but. Plus, Luke and Brink’s death must have impacted everything else.

“We’ll see about that,” I challenged. “There’s about thirty trustees and every board member in this room. There will have to be a few who will like you.”

Jordan hesitated. “I’m not really in the mood to promote myself.”

“Then let me talk,” I offered.

He eyed me for a while before crossing over to my side of the table and looping one of his arms with mine. “Don’t make me look bad, freshie.”

“I think that’s impossible.”

The first target was easy: a thirtysomething white guy with floppy light brown hair and an oversized gray suit. I focused on him for a moment, gathering as much information as I could.

“Trevor Emerson, GOD U alum and old money beneficiary,” I muttered to Jordan.

“Isn’t he supposed to hate me?” Jordan hissed back.

“He’s overcome by white guilt since his recent discovery that all the black and brown people who built and managed his family’s manor were not salaried employees,” I explained. “He’s dying to look as much of an ally as possible.”

Jordan straightened up. “Good job, freshie.”

“I haven’t even gotten started.” I painted a polite smile on my face. “Mr. Emerson, it’s so nice to meet you, can we bother you for a moment?”

Two guilty and three haughty donors later, Jordan and I found ourselves at a different table. It was the first time that I saw him smile that night.

“You were amazing out there,” Jordan exclaimed.

“Thank you but you also made my job a little easier being talented and whatever,” I joked.

“Seriously.” Jordan grabbed my hand. “You might have saved my ass.”

I tried to ignore the tingle that shot up from my hand into the side of my neck. “It’s okay, I’m happy to help.”

When they announced that the video was about to start Jordan sulked again. “I can’t believe they’re making us sit through this shit.”

“Me neither.” I rest my hand on top of his. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask sooner but, are you okay?”

Jordan laughed humorlessly. “No but schmoozing with you did help a little. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah.”

When we parted our separate ways, I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress skirt and approached my table. Fortunately, Mom and Dad had not burned down the ballroom with their arguing. In fact, when I got to their table, Mom was on her phone and Dad was rhythmically tapping his fingers against the tablecloth, looking anywhere but her.

“Hi, were you bored with me gone?” I asked, giving Dad a side hug.

“Not at all. I met a few board members and sold a few pictures,” he responded.

I nodded and slowly took the middle seat between them. The video was equal parts patronizing and infuriating. However, my parents’ whispers kept me from focusing too much on the video.

“Y/M/N, can you get off the phone for one second? They’re playing the video,” Dad hissed.

“I am about to cut the biggest deal of this quarter. They can send it,” Mom hissed back, waving a manicured hand for emphasis.

“Mom, people are starting to stare,” I quietly interjected.

“Let them stare. This is what’s paying for you to be here.”

“Don’t act like I don’t contribute!” Their words used to make me flinch but I forced myself to sit up straighter and breathe.

“I’m grateful for it, for both of you, really. You both paid to be here and I thought you would not want to miss the man they’re honoring,” I whispered.

Those words made Mom slowly mutter something into the phone before placing it face down on the table and leaning forward. At that same time, they flashed a picture of Brink and me across the screen. He had been meeting with my small group when the photographer appeared.

Dad squeezed an arm around my shoulder and I softly leaned into his touch.

“Thank God you lost that baby fat,” Mom commented.

“Y/M/N,” Dad said quietly.

“You know it’s true, Y/D/N,” Mom hissed back.

Suddenly, Dad’s arm felt like a boa constrictor, and I gracefully slipped out of its grasp. When the video ended, I drank a fresh flute of champagne. The bubbles instantly went to my head as I giggled at Dean Shetty introducing Marie.

She looked really pretty even though she was nervous.

“Do you know her?” Mom asked over the applause.

“We’re friends,” I replied.

“So why is she a guardian and not you?”

“She was more involved in stopping Luke than me,” I lied.

 When Dean Shetty cued everyone to return to socializing, Mom turned to me.

“Your grades are fantastic and your standing in your house is good,” Mom began. “But eligible bachelors will not notice you unless you stand out like her.”

“Y/M/N, leave her alone. Anyone who doesn’t notice Y/N isn’t worthy of being in our family anyway,” Dad defended.

Mom ignored him. “That girl, Marie Moreau, is not your friend, she is your competition. You are in the prime setting to have everything you’ve ever wanted but she could snatch it from you. You’re supposed to be able to see things like this coming, Y/N.”

“I do see things coming and I know Marie wouldn’t do that to me,” I quipped.

At that moment, Mom’s eyes bore so deep into me that I didn’t think that anyone could claw them out. Her eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her head at any moment and I could feel my breathing pick up.

“I’m sorry, it just slipped out,” I promised.

It felt like forever until she leaned back in her seat and grabbed her phone.

“Make sure it doesn’t ‘slip out’ again. Now go socialize.”

“I need a minute, Mom, I’ve been socializing since we got here.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “This again.”

“What?”

“Y/M/N, please.”

“No, no, Y/D/N, she is constantly using, what, anxiety to get out of speaking to people. You are always too soft on her and make me look like the bad guy. I’m the one helping her be normal,” Mom snapped. “Anxiety didn’t exist when we were her age, we just did what we had to do, and look where we are now.”

I wondered if Emma ever felt as small as I did in that moment. Then, I wondered if she ever made herself small to hide from people, even her mom. Wordlessly, I left the table and tried to avoid any cameras as the tears burned in the corners of my eyes.

I tried to take deep breaths to calm my trembling chest and keep my throat busy. My chest shifted from trembling to heavy and I started looking around the room.

“I hear one piano…feel two fingers…smell three different alcohols…and see---”

“Y/N, are you okay?” Cate’s voice broke me out of my rhythm and I glanced to see her sitting with Marie and Jordan, who was in their feminine form.

My chest felt much lighter and I quickly wiped away my tears. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Bullshit,” Jordan called gently.

Cate pulled me into a hug and had me sit between her and Marie. “What happened?”

“My parents, well, my mom mostly. I guess I got too anxious for her, and she yelled at me,” I rambled.

Cate smiled softly. “Then you came at the perfect time. We were just talking about our horrible parents.”

My ears perked up. “Really?”

“Well, mine are dead,” Marie commented.

I turned to her and placed my hands on top of hers. “What? I’m so sorry. How did it…”

“I accidentally killed them with my powers,” Marie explained.

“That must have been horrible.”

Marie barely nodded and I squeezed her hands. “I just told my little brother to go away during a camping trip. He never came back and my mom pretty much locked me away,” Cate confessed. “I was seven.”

 “What?” I whispered.

“I killed my grandpa with my powers,” Jordan interjected.

We all turned to her and I cocked my head to the side.

“No, you didn’t,” Cate countered.

Jordan smiled. “You’re right, I was feeling left out.”

I didn’t think that I could laugh the way I did but it felt so nice. At least I had friends again.

When I started sipping on the whiskey Cate stole, I saw a brief image flash before my eyes. There was a guy with curly brown hair covered in dirt running away from several bloody bodies. He paused for a moment and opened his hand, revealing a tiny sleeping Emma. When the vision left, Andre was standing in front of us.

“Seriously?” I complained before he even spoke.

[rqpawz]

rqgoddess -> lolitarq -> rqpawz ☆

(੭ ˊ^ˋ)੭ FURINA or HELENA ◠◠ she / he / vamp

❛ radqueer , angelqueer & dollqueer ! pro - para , pro - transid , pro - bodily anatomy , comp - c & pro - consent , profiction , pretty much pro - everything . ☆

cis + transharmed , transharmful , cis + transrace , cis + transabled , transage ( permatween ) , cisplural + cisintersex + cisqueer + paraphile . trans - id + xenogender hoarder . traumagenic & programmed , hc - did system .

𓂅 host , furina fictive + viktor hargreeves irl - doubles are not allowed to interact . f/o's are finnick odair and nico di angelo , p/o is ryan ross - we do not share with anyone . ౨ৎ

we do stimboards / mooboards , dni banners , userboxes , pfp / icons , trans - id + blankqueer term coinings , headmate packs and rentry graphics !

[anachrosims]

[TS4CC] 18TH CENTURY MILITARY CAMPAIGN SET

Wow! Wowowow!! It's finally DONE!

This set was inspired by 18th century military campaign equipment. This set is really for storytelling, since pretty much all items (aside from the bed and surfaces) are decorative. I'd like to do more add-ons for this in the future, but for now I think we're good as-is.

Some items were converted from the Werewolves pack but are now BGC.

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

43 packages! Nearly all are new meshes! Everything is BGC unless otherwise noted.

Cutlasses - Laying, Wall Mounted, Leaning

Pistol, Laying/Leaning Rifle

Laying, Mounted Tricorn Hat, Dragoon Helmet

Soldier's Wall-Mounted Coat

6 Tents, Large & Small - Each size has open, half open, and closed variants

Short Boots, Tall Boots Laying & Upright

Field Cannon & Powder Keg

Trio of Bottles, Inkwell with Quill, Books with Wax Stamp, Knitting Box (Nifty Knitting Required), Pile of Journal Inkwell & Letters

Printed Posters & Broadsides, Hanging Military Maps, Desk Map with Compass

Large Steamer Trunk, Officer's Dressing Table (Cottage Living may be required), Soldier's Laundry Pile

Soldier's Single Bed, Campaign Chair with Cushion, 2x3 Floor Cloths

Deco Teapot, Knitted Blankets, Box of Matches, Soldier's Rations, Deco Fire Spit (fits OVER and works with most fire pits)

Functional Telescope

I'd also like to thank these people:

historicalsimslife for the pistol which you can get as an accessory here! @historicalsimslife

Viktor Violetta Enterprise for the Ferguson rifle accessory which you can get here! @viktorviolettaenterprises

Steve Henderson at Archive3D for the cannon model, which is here!

revolutionsims for the dragoon helmet hat & British tricorn, which you can get here & here! @revolution-sims

Also, some recommended CC-makers to make your 18th century experience a little more authentic outside the palaces:

@historicalsimslife / @300yearschallenge / @revolution-sims / @edorenelredirect / @simulatedstyles / @peebsplays / @simsfromthepast / @thejim07 / @strangestorytellersims / @historicalfictionsims / @linzlu / @javitrulovesims / @buzzardly28 / @sunlittides / @sifix / @llazyneiph (stays & wigs & mods) / @gilded-ghosts / @joliebean / @lilis-palace / @stereo-91 / @simverses / @bruxel-reign

***

@emilyccfinds / @ts4history / @historicalccsims4 / @allhistoricalcc / @historicalsims4cc / @southernsccfinds / @maxismatchccworld / @mmccfinds

***

-->GET IT ALL HERE @ PATREON, FREE, NO ADS!!<--

EDIT: IT TOOK ME SIX HOURS TO GET THIS POST AND GRAPHICS TOGETHER I’M NOT REDOING THE GIFS Y’ALL ARE FINE I PROMISE

[gravity-barbie]

The Sparrows dating someone with ADHD HCs

Request

Viktor version

Masterlist

Marcus Hargreeves

-Marcus is understanding, he has to deal with siblings with far worse quirks than any of yours, things like your distractibility and hyperactivity rarely get to him

-Still, he is a responsible type, and if you’re not the best at managing your symptoms his leader instincts kick in and he goes out of his way to help you break bad habits and and bring some order into your life

-He’s a natural problem-solver and you have plenty to go around, it may feel overbearing or even patronising at times, but really the amount of things he does to make your life easier in between his already packed schedule is very sweet

-You two are quite different so some (mostly harmless) clashing is to be expected, he wishes you had more direction and caution, you wish he was more spontaneous and relaxed, but with proper communication these differences just make you a better match

Ben Hargreeves

-Ben’s willing to adjust to your ‘difficult’ traits, for instance, before he knew you had adhd, he would get offended and annoyed by you zoning out or easily getting distracted from him, and honestly even now it sometimes makes him a bit self-conscious but he works to manage those feelings

-He himself is an irritable and impatient person, (something you may have in common) so he does get frustrated with you sometimes but he always scolds himself for it, especially since he knows you tolerate worse faults from him

-If he ever sees anyone else get frustrated with you he’s so outraged and protective, he’d absolutely get in a fight over it

-Once he’s used to it he really likes your spontaneous nature, he does have a very fun side, so he’s always up for wild outings you suggest in the middle of the night or anything else like that

Fei Hargreeves

-You and Fei are pretty dissimilar, she’s cautious, collected, a planner, whereas you pretty much can’t help being a bit reckless and disorganised, but though it takes some getting used to, Fei isn’t bothered by your differences, if anything she’s kind of fascinated by them

-She offers advice sometimes, like reminders of consequences you tend not to consider, but if you don’t ask for her help she’s not going to overstep, she respects your right to make your own choices, even one’s she’d never make

-If you do want her help though, she’s the perfect person to ground you, incredibly helpful with things like organisation and navigating your more difficult emotions, without ever taking all responsibility off of you

-Fei doesn’t like being cooped up much more than you do, so the two of you enjoy a lot of physical, outdoorsy activities together, which are great for both burning through your energy and bonding with her

Alphonso Hargreeves

-Alphonso can be just as unfocused and unorganised as you are so he doesn’t hold that against you, if anything he’s kind of glad that’s something you share cause it means you can’t hold it against him either

-Though neither of you have the best life skills which can be a problem, he definitely wishes he could offer you more help when you’re struggling

-Where you really differ is your energy levels, he’d be content to just cuddle all day and you can hardly sit still through the length of a movie, he does actually love your spontaneity but he can only participate in small doses

-You’re probably easily stressed and irritated which is a little difficult for him since he really just wants to live life as comfortably as he can, but on the upside because of that he’s rarely a cause of your stress and is great at relaxing you

Sloane Hargreeves

-Those traits you’ve probably been scolded for your whole life, being hyperactive, emotional, even thoughtless, Sloane finds them so endearing, as there isn’t a part of you that she doesn’t accept wholeheartedly

-She’ll gladly offer help if you need it, for instance she likes leaving little post-it notes around your place with important reminders and sweet affirmations, however she’s not overbearing, she knows how frustrating it is to be micromanaged and trusts you to make your own decisions

-Maybe it’s because she was raised around some of the rudest people on planet earth, but she never holds it against you if you talk over someone or accidentally say something inappropriate, she might offer a gentle critique but she’ll also be quick to defend you if someone else has a problem with it

-She absolutely loves to hear you ramble, and how bizarre your train of thought can be, it makes her wish her power was reading minds so she could explore yours

Jayme Hargreeves

-Honestly if anyone else were as energetic and inattentive as you are that would really grate on Jayme, but luckily she loves you so she only finds it charming, not that she’s above poking fun at you for it

-Being the silent type she doesn’t mind how talkative you are, it balances out, granted it certainly helps that you’re one of the few people in the world she deems worth listening to

-She’s not usually one to volunteer her time for others, but understanding the added difficulty your ADHD causes you she always offers to help you with things like paperwork, cleaning and the like

-If anyone ever gives you crap in front of her it’s there funeral, if someone as unsociable and irritable as Jayme can appreciate you, they have no excuse not to in her eyes

[koisplosion]

Sebastian id pack !

Names:

August, Alexander, Alexandra, Alexandria, Alexandro, Alex, Alexis, Alexia, Aiden / Ayden, Auden, Ashton, Asher.

Benjamin, Bastion / Bastien / Bastian, Bastille, Basil, Beckett, Brien / Brian / Bryan.

Casper, Caspian, Cassian, Callum, Callister, Castiel, Cillian, Crispin, Cyprien / Cyprian.

Desmond, Damien / Damian / Damion, Darien / Darion / Darian, Dorien / Dorion / Dorian.

Emiliano, Emilia, Ethan, Evelien / Evelian, Evelin / Eveline / Evelyn, Evelyne.

Felix, Finnian, Finnigan, Fletcher, Felician / Felicien.

Gabriel / Gabrielle, Gabriela / Gabriella, Grayson / Greyson, Gillian, Griffin / Griffon, Griffith.

Hawthorn / Hawthorne, Hector, Hectare, Hadrien / Hadrian, Hasien, Hastien.

Imogen, Irving, Isadore, Isadora, Ien / Ian / Ion, Irine.

Jasper / Jazzper / Jesper, Julian / Julien / Julion, Julius, Jesker, Julio, Julie, Julia.

Kasper, Killian, Kaspian, Kassian, Kasabian, Katrine, Katrina, Katarina / Katerina, Katrien / Katrian.

Lucien / Lucian, Lucifer, Lien / Lian, Leon / Lion, Lillian / Lilian / Lillien / Lilien, Lucianus, Lucio / Luceo.

Matthew / Matthieu, Matthias, Morgen / Morgan, Mien.

Nicholas / Nickolas, Nathaniel, Nyx / Nix, Nyxton / Nixton, Nox.

Obsidian, Onyx, Oren, Orius, Orion, O'Brien / O'Brian, Octavian / Octavien, Orien.

Parker, Preston, Porter, Poet, Poem, Paien, Peregrine / Peregrien.

Russel / Russell, Rien / Rian / Ryan, Racien / Recene, Regien / Ragien.

Savannah, Sterling / Stirling, Sullivan, Sylvester / Sylvestre, Sylvanus, Sylvania, Spencer.

Theodore, Tristan , Tomas / Thomas, Thatcher, Tobias, Terien / Terrien.

Urien

Void, Victor / Viktor, Victoria / Viktoria, Vespian / Vespien / Vaspian / Vaspien, Vien, Vivian / Vivien / Vivienne.

Wilbur, William, Wacien.

Xaydien

Zadrian / Zadrien / Zaydrien.

1st p prns:

I / me / my / mine / myself.

Ci / cige / ciggy / cigarine / cigaretteswlf

Ei / ege / eggy / eggine / eggself

Fi / fre / froggy / frogine / frogself

Fri / froze /frozy / frozine / frozenself

Mi / me / mounty / mountine / mountainself

Oi / obse / obsidy / obsidine / obsidianself

Pi / pe / pumpky / pumpkine / pumpkinself

Si / se / sebby / sebine / sebself

Si / sebe / sebby / sebastine / Sebastianself

Si / soe / soupy / soupine / soupself

Si / sashe / sashy / sashimine / sashimiself

Si / se / summery / summerine / summerself

Smi / sme / smokey / smokine / smokeself

Ti / te / teary / tearine / tearself

Vi / ve / voide / voidy / voidine / voidself

Wi / wine / wintry / wintine (winterine) / winterself

2nd p prns:

You / your / yours / yourself

Co / cigar / cigars / cigarself

Eu / egger / Eggers / eggerself

Fro / freezer / freezers / freezerself

Fro / frogger / froggers / froggerself

Mo / mounter / mountaineers / mountaineerself

Ou / obsidianer / obsidianrs / obsidianerself

Po / pumpkiner / pumpkiners / pumpkinerself

So / sebber / sebbers / sebberself

So / Sebastianer / Sebastianers / Sebastianerself

So / souper / soupers / souperself

So / sashimir / sashimirs / sashimirself

So / summer / summers / summerself

Smo / smoker / smokers / smokerself

To / tear / tears / tearself

Vo / voider / voiders / voiderself

Wo / winter / winters / winterself

3rd p prns:

They / them / theirs / themself

Ci/cig, cig/cigs, cig/arette, cig/ar, cigar/cigars, cigar/ette, cigar/cigarette, cigarette/cigarettes

Eg/egg, Egg/eggs, egg/eggy

Fro/zen, froze/frozen, frozen/frozens, frozen/tear, Fro/og, frog/frogs, frog/froggy, frog/egg

Mount/ain, mount/mountain, mountain/mountains, mountain/road

Obsi/dian, obs/idian, ob/sidian, obsidian/obsidians

Pum/pkin, pump/kin, pump/pumpkin, pumpkin/pumpkins, pumpkin/soup

Seb/sebby, seb/Sebastian, sebby/sebbys, seb/by, sebby/Sebastian, seb/astiolan, se/bastian, sebas/Tian, Sebastian/sebastians

Sou/p, so/up, sou/soup, soup/soups, soup/soupy, sa/shimi, sash/imi, sash/sashimi, Sashi/mi, sashimi/sashimis

Smo/ke, smo/smoke, smoke/smokes, smoke/smokey, smoke/smoker, su/mmer

sum/mer, sum/summer, summer/summers, summer/summery, summer/summertime

Te/ar, te/ear, tea/er, tear/tears, tear/teary

Vo/oid, vo/id, voi/d, voi/void, void/voids

Win/ter, win/winter, wint/er, won't/winter, winter/winters, winter/wintry, winter/time

Titles:

The gamer, the smoker, the mountain dweller

The seasonal smoker, the village smoker

The farmers smoke buddy, the cigarette owner

The void egg admirer, the frog egg fan, the sashimi lover

(prn) who loves sashimi, (prn) who enjoys pumpkin soup

(prn) who treasures obsidian, (prn) who smokes

(prn) who owns frog eggs, (prn) with the cigarette in hand

(prn) who admires void eggs, (prn) and (prns) addicted self

(prn) who plays games with friends, (prn) with the bottled emotions

Coinings:

Sebastian + romance

Smokerscentstellic - dissomeismoker

Stardewanatomic - stardewgender

Voidchickspritic - obsidiagem

Mascorette

Tagging:

@the-church-of-strabismus @sanguinaryfreaks and @hewasanamericangirl

Request status on the inbox

Please read the byf linked in fox's pinned post

[doctorho]

Holy darkness pt. 2

hi guys!!!! soooo this was supposed to be a fall/spooky times fic but you know what we can bring that vampire energy into january. i have permission (i can do whatever i want forever) Vampire!Viktor x gender neutral reader, 1.5k words part 1

In addition to packing your favorite book, you take a few extras too, just in case. You’d made plans to go back to the library the next day, with a pie and a book, as agreed, and the whole day you feel like your skin is tingling. It might be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, knowingly going to spend time with a strange man that was possibly a vampire, at night, in the dark, on the outskirts of town.

But man were you excited. 

It was the first interesting thing that had happened in a long, long time. And...you couldn't really bring yourself to truly be afraid enough to stay away.

So you pack your books, pick up a fresh strawberry pie from the bakey, and get on your way, walking through the darkening streets. It had gotten colder recently, and the wind was howling in the trees, and for all intents and purposes, the whole night felt like a cheap copy of something that starts with it was a dark and stormy night…

You ignore this. And the quiet gnawing nerves at the back of your head. 

When you get to the library, for the first time ever you don’t stay in the shadows on the street. 

You walk in. It feels weird – you could vaguely remember when the library was in use, but it had been like this for years now, dark and quiet and certainly with no regular foot traffic. So just…walking through the front yard, to the big, old doors, it felt…out of place. Like you were being watched. There were tall, ancient trees lining the path, there was even a fountain with some old statue in the middle, but that hadn’t seen running water in years, except when it rained.

The doors all tall, dark and imposing. You’re not really sure what to do; you hadn’t discussed the specifics with him. Typically one didn’t knock when entering a library, but in this case…it was his home. It felt rude to just walk in.

But then again, if he had some sort of supernatural powers, there was a good chance he already knew you were there, having heard you approaching. 

You still weren’t sure if he could hear your heartbeat. Which, at the moment, was thundering in your ears. So, probably. It was probably loud enough at this point that even a normal human could have heard it if they tried hard enough. 

You knock on the door. The sound is dull and quiet, your knuckles not having a big impact on the heavy wood door softened by years of rain. 

He hears it anyway. Of course he does. It doesn’t take long for him to open the door for you, and – you have to take a moment to orient yourself after you see him. He’s all smooth skin and sharp edges and intense eyes, focused and burning on you. 

Someone could tell you he’s carved from marble and you would believe them. He looked like he’s dropped here straight from the pages of some fairytale. 

(At this, your train of thought staggers a little bit, and with it, your heart. Yes, he looked like he’s straight from a fairytale – but which side? You didn’t know him. And…in some stories the beautiful things turn out to be the most dangerous ones).

And then he smiles at you, and you find that you don’t really care all that much. 

He smiles, and something in your heart settles.

You’re not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

Probably not. 

“Hello,” he says, voice calm and pleasant, “come in.”

You thank him as he steps aside from the doorway, letting you in. 

The library foyer is dark, like you’d expected, big and empty. Hollow, somehow, without all the people that it was built for. He’s clearly done some redecorating, moving things around, stacking books and turning shelves, but it was still a big, empty space. 

He nods towards an open doorway and you follow him. It leads to a slightly more cozy room, with dark wooden book shelves and warm-lit candles lighting the space. You had no idea what the space had been originally, but he’d managed to make it look like a living room; there was a fireplace, and a set of dark red velvet chairs. Tall windows lined the walls, and they had tall velvet curtains, draping all the way from the high ceiling to the floor. 

There’s a dark wooden table, and you set down the pie. You’d been careful carrying it, trying not to mush it up, and you were hoping you’d been successful in that. Gifting someone with a pie probably worked better when it still looked like a pie.

He hums appreciatively, looking at it, and you peel it out of its packaging. 

“Do you drink tea?” He asks, and for some reason, that takes you by surprise.

Not a totally outrageous question to ask from a guest, but for some reason you hadn’t expected it from him. 

“Uh…yeah. Sure.” You answer, and he nods a little. And then, he disappears into an adjacent room. 

You just stay there, not sure if you should have followed him or not. He hadn’t asked you to, so it felt safer not to. But staying in the room felt awkward, too. You try to suspend the awkwardness by studying your surroundings, and it works, for a while. 

The room isn’t as dusty as you were expecting. He’d clearly been taking care of the books. And – if you hadn’t heard the rumors of him being a vampire that should be avoided at all costs, the room might even be comfortable. 

But, for now, you stay on your toes. Figuratively speaking. 

When he comes back, he is carrying a silver tray with a steaming teapot and clinking porcelain cups. 

“It’s black tea,” he says, “I hope that’s okay. I don’t have…the widest selection.”

He sets out the tray on the table too, and glances at you. 

“That’s fine.” You answer, then sit down on the closest velvet-covered chair and lean back to study him. “Where do you get this stuff?”

He pours you a cup, and then offers it to you, smiling. “I have my connections.”

“But they don’t bring you tea blends,” you continue, “or pies.”

You take the tea cup, and wait for him to answer. Stir in some sugar. 

“No.” He says after a moment, making his own cup.

“And you don’t go out to get them on your own?”

“...No.” 

“Why not?”

He lifts an eyebrow. Looks at you. 

“I am well aware that the people in town don’t exactly…appreciate my presence.”

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to go outside.”

He takes a breath, and stirs his tea. 

“No,” he agrees, “but it does make going outside…unpleasant.” He exhales a small sigh and looks down at his hands. “I keep to myself most of the time. It’s…easier that way.”

You nod slowly. His words sound heavy, serious. He’s fidgeting with his fingers, and he hasn’t mentioned the pie, yet. 

“Have you got any plates?” You ask, “Forks?” 

He meets your gaze, you nod towards the pie, and his eyes follow.. 

He opens his mouth, and then closes it. Then looks at you again. “Yes.” He then says after a moment, “I…haven’t shared dessert with anyone in a long time.”

“Well, now’s your chance.” You smile at him, and he smiles back, but it looks a little hollow. 

He gets up again, and soon, returns with small delicate porcelain plates – mismatching – and a dull-looking knife. 

“No forks,” he says apologetically, “but I suppose we can use the tea spoons?”

“Sure,” you answer, and then wait for him to get settled down again. He looks at the pie for a moment before starting to cut it. 

“So how’d you end up here?” You ask, while he scoops out a piece of the pie to one of the plates. 

“Long story.” He answers, without looking at you.

“I’ve got time.”

He takes a deep breath, and then for a moment, focuses on cutting the pie again, scooping out a piece to the other plate, carefully setting aside the knife and then placing one of the plates in front of you. 

“I was homeless,” he starts, simply, factually, “and wandered around for a long time, didn’t really have anywhere to go.” He stirs his tea, and watches it swirl. Licks his lips. “I ran into a man that used to work here. He told me it was empty, so I just…thought I’d stay here for a while.” He shrugs with one shoulder, “And ended up staying.”

“And you’ve been here,” you say slowly, “alone. Ever since?”

He doesn’t answer.

“Doing what?” 

“Reading, mostly.”

“And you haven’t gone insane yet?”

His lips quirk up in a small smile. “I think that’s still up for debate.” 

You look at him for a moment. “Doesn’t it get lonely?” 

You couldn’t imagine being cooped up inside one place, alone, for that long, without really…going anywhere, or seeing anyone. 

Now, he looks up. Meets your eyes, carefully. 

“Sometimes.” 

[gingersforeverbox]

May I ask for silco and Viktor with a lover who has a glass eye? And maybe it's a bit magical so in tense moments or just for the creep of it, the glass eye will sometimes suddenly move towards something/someone if that makes sense? Thanks!

Howdy my dear, thank you so much for the request and I am so sorry for such a ridiculously late reply! I hope you find this somewhere!

A/N: None that I am aware of! Just some good ol' fluff!

Viktor and Silco (Separately) if they had a partner with a magic glass eye:

Viktor:

Viktor is a curious person at heart, so naturally when y’all first meet, he would wonder why you have such a fascinating eye. However, he would not ask you outright about it until much later into knowing you in fear of being rude. 

After wading the waters of close friendship, he finally yet politely asked what happened to warrant you needing such a beautiful eye (after specifying that both eyes are gorgeous to him, but he already knew about the origins of your organic one).

Regardless of your story, he will listen attentively, offering his hand if you ever feel like you need him throughout the ordeal. He will be nothing but reassuring and insist that if it is too painful a story to tell, don’t worry about telling it. He would much rather live in curiosity than cause you pain from said curiosity.

I'm not gonna lie to you, he will spend hours looking at your eyes if you let him. Yes, even when he should be working, which is saying a lot, and Jayce thanks you for managing to pull Vik away from work for a minute when you come to the lab.

He may not be an artist by trade, but he will always compare your eyes to the most beautiful of things in the world around him. Your eye is blue? The boundless skies that share the same color make him think about how free he feels around you. Brown? He lives on coffee and he is reminded who he lives for with every sip. Gold? He pictures golden halos that would hang from your head to match your spirit and body. Grey? Thunder storms have no might like you when you are passionate about something. No matter what color, he will always find something that reminds him of you when he sees the color around him.

As someone with a disability, he would be understanding that it can be frustrating sometimes and would do what he can to make it easier for you, whether thats having cleaner on hand or at his apartment for you or an ice/ heating pack for when your socket gets irritated. 

When it comes to your eye moving, he would get a little freaked out the first time it happened because he thought something was wrong and you were hurting. As you explained to him the situation, he is more relaxed about it, but he tries to learn situationally when it happens that way he knows what’s going on. For example: If you’re anxious when it happens, he will try to help you relax if he can. 

Now if you do it for humor, he will be a little cautious because he doesnt want you to cause yourself any unnecessary discomfort, however, if someone is being rude to you he is 100% on board with you using it to freak them out.

The bottom line is that he loves you for you, and this includes your beautiful eyes.

Silco:

As a man with an unordinary eye himself, I feel that it goes without saying that he would be the most empathetic of the two due to personal experience. He would also find your prosthetic to be fascinating, magic or not. He would enjoy seeing the details in the iris and would insist on eye contact so he can find these details while talking (but lets face it, its kind of intimidating to have that much eye-contact with the Eye of Zaun).

He has a business to run and a city-state to liberate, so he would not hesitate or beat around the bush to ask about the origins of this magic eye and how it came to be in your possession. He would also determine if your eye’s magic could be used to his advantage. Could it be used for espionage? Was it just a simple prosthetic? How could this play into his favor?

If it were a sadder story, he would quietly sympathize with you, but would not let that be known until he knew he could trust you. If it were a simpler story, he would nod and change the subject likely back to business at hand.

As time crawled on and as you proved your loyalty not only to him but to Zaun, he would open up more to you. After a while of seeing you as a “very close individual” (aka he caught feelings), he would tell you the story behind his own eye. Depending on your reaction, he may tell you about other aspects of his past if it means that he can get closer to you.

He would absolutely pamper you with the best medicine money could buy. If it were an emergency, he would even see Singed for you about getting you help. Nothing is too high a cost for his lovely. I’m not saying he would use this as a way of showing his love and affection for you and as a way to win you over, but yes I am. This man has very few morals left and subtle manipulation is basic affection to him. I do genuinely think he would love you though, he just has an odd way of showing it.

If your eye moved after him thinking it was stationary the entire time would definitely throw him off. Since he happens to wear some emotions on his face rather openly, he would furrow his brow in confusion before continuing the conversation. Towards the end he would question you about it. If its a situation where it only happens when you’re feeling a certine way, he would file that away for later uses, whether thats just looking out for your wellness or as an indicator of mood. If you do it for fun, he would kinda just go “ah,” and leave you to it. If it made you happy then so be it.

This man will absolutely adore your eyes, even if he isn't as romantic about it. He secretly loves that he found someone with something in common with him. He would do anything for Zaun, but most importantly, he would do anything for you.

[callooopie]

- welcome to the blog -

Do ppl do these normally? Anyway. I am Calliope (or sbubee via twitch & Twitter) :D, I write things and I hope to start extending my tumblr/social media reach w my twitch channel (that i MIGHT link) ….. Here are things I write for down below. I wanna be mutuals with all y’all. I wanna tweak out and be down bad and post bad fics.

I hope this doesn’t read as a lame ass plug for my socials. That is the opposite of what this is. This is just something I want to pin to the start of my blog as an introductory post 👇

CURRENTLY

I am packing for college. A lack of posting is happening. The drought will end soon pookies. I am sorry for the lack of posting 😪😪😪😪 HOWEVER I will keep the ask box open bc lowkey.. I like when y’all send me things xoxoxo I’ll also get to actual requests when the chaos of packing and moving is over so if you wanna send a request or just something to talk abt I will respond. That is for sure.

What I will write for or talk about👇

HOTD (I have not watched the most recent episode)

Peaky Blinders (I WATCHED THE SHOW TOO LATE THE FANDOM’S DEAD 😭)

Soulsborne (this one’s REALLY dead.. where my Messmer fans at)

Dragon’s Dogma (..hello? Where is everyone… 😭😪)

Star Wars(?) (I have watched a little bit of The Mandalorian. I have played through Jedi Fallen Order. I have seen the hot guy from the latest show)

Arcane (I can’t wait for the Viktor arcane skin to be naked and oiled up)

- links to other socials -

No it’s not a requirement to follow me. I was actually debating putting a lot of this here. I’ll only link the Twitter and the Twitch. I wanna make a chill community and be a part of a chill community. I hope we can all commune and interact together! I am cringe and I barely tweet but I hope to change.

Twitter 👉 @sbubeee

Twitch 👉 twitch.tv/sbubeee

I HOPE WE CAN BECOME GOOD FRIENDS

[fairy-writes]

>/////< (Super nervous that you did this before and my ADHD has just made me stupid - I even looked and I can't find it if you did do it....) Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez for Viktor from Arcane pretty pretty please (But if you have done it before, just ignore this! So sorry!)

UNTIL I FOUND YOU

Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!

__________________________________________________________________________

Fandom(s): Arcane: League of Legends (2021)

Pairing(s): Viktor x Gender Neutral!Reader

Song: Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez

Notes: This song does use “her” in it, but this is a gender-neutral one-shot.

__________________________________________________________________________

The first time Viktor met you was when he was going through the Academy, not yet Heimerdinger’s assistant, but a mere TA, and you were a student from another class. It was in the dead of winter. 

You were practicing a presentation in the library while he was grading papers. He spotted you out of the corner of his eye, mouthing the words to yourself as you paced in front of your textbooks, using flashcards as a prompt. 

You were stunning. 

Viktor didn’t realize he was staring until you looked over, met his gaze, smiled, and offered a sheepish wave. He quickly turned back to the papers in front of him with a quiet cough and burning ears. From the corner of his eye, he saw you chuckle quietly and found himself enjoying the sound of your laugh.

You approached him after Viktor finished his grading session, and almost everyone was long gone. He packed his books into his satchel, shuffling papers into an orderly pile. 

“Excuse me?” Came your quiet voice, and he turned. You fidgeted with your flashcards, scuffing your feet along the carpet. 

“Yes?” He asked just as softly. You offered him a small smile, and he felt his ears warm again. 

“Could I help you with your books? It looked like you have a lot, and I’d hate for you to have to make a second trip when the library is closing.” You tried, and for whatever reason, he felt himself accepting. 

You carried whatever books he couldn’t fit into his bag and walked beside him. He didn’t miss how you kept pace with him, his cane thumping on the ground slower than usual as the cold made his leg ache. The trip to his dorm was quiet, filled with gentle conversation as you asked him about his experience as a teacher’s assistant. He couldn’t bring himself to ask anything about you, even as you bid him goodbye outside his dorm room.

You were out of his league anyway. 

Georgia, wrap me up in all your...

I want you, in my arms.

Oh, let me hold you

I'll never let you go again, like I did

Oh, I used to say

The second time he saw you was years later. This was after meeting Jayce and after founding Hextech. He hadn’t heard anything about you even as he became Heimerdinger’s assistant. He guessed he wouldn’t anyway. The Academy was so large and had so many students that it was impossible to find anything out about anyone unless he went to access school records. 

Which he figured would be creepy, so he didn’t bother looking.

Meeting you was an accident, really. You hadn’t been looking where you were going and had tripped over a loose cobblestone brick. Out of reflex, Viktor had dropped his books and crutch and tried to catch you. Keyword being tried. His bad leg was unstable as it was without his crutch, so you just brought him down with you. 

You looked at him in surprise, and he himself was surprised to see a glimmer of recognition as you helped him back to his feet and helped gather his books. 

“Viktor?” You asked, and he nodded, whispering your own name. His heart stuttered when you smiled that smile he had dreamt about for so many years. 

It was as beautiful as he remembered. 

"I would never fall in love again, until I found her."

I said, "I would never fall, unless it's you I fall into."

I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her

I found you

He kept on running into you after that. It was a little bizarre, but he didn’t mind. 

He found himself not minding whenever it came to you.

One day when you were walking the road to his lab, you asked him a question.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?” You asked, and he actually stumbled, his crutch catching a cobblestone and threatening to send him sprawling. You let out an awkward squawk of surprise and grabbed his elbow, pulling him upright with a frantic “are you alright?!”

He coughs and fumbles with the crutch now safely placed under his arm. What would he even say? Lunch was for friends. You were friends, weren’t you? Wasn’t dinner for dates? Were you asking him on a date? You stand next to him, fiddling with your fingers and waiting for an answer. 

He finds himself saying yes, and his heart nearly stops at your brilliant smile. 

Georgia, pulled me in, I asked to...

Love her, once again.

You fell, I caught you.

I'll never let you go again, like I did

Oh, I used to say

Your dinner date (Was this truly a date? Was he going on a date? When was the last time he went on a date) was at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the outskirts of Piltover. It wasn’t that far from his apartment, actually. Maybe that’s why you chose it, so he didn’t have to walk all over town. 

You showed up after him, precisely on the dot of your agreed meeting time. You held a bouquet of blueish-purple flowers tied with a silky red ribbon. You spotted him and grinned, making your way over and offering him the small bundle of plants. 

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long! These are for you.” You said sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck. He found himself smiling in return and hiding his embarrassment under the guise of sniffing the flowers. 

"I would never fall in love again, until I found her."

I said, "I would never fall, unless it's you I fall into."

I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her

I found you

“What do they mean?” He asked once the two of you receive your food and are partway through the meal. You had done most of the talking, telling him about the lecture series you were creating to give to Noxus and Piltover if you had the chance. You looked up, confusion flitting across your pretty features before you realized what he was talking about. 

“The flowers? They’re cornflowers. They symbolize hope.” You said quickly, averting your eyes when he raised an eyebrow. 

“Hope for what?”

“Well… I was hoping you’d want to do this again.” You almost whispered, and his lungs spasmed. You wanted to see him again? He offered what he hoped was a charming smile. 

“I’d like that.”

"I would never fall in love again, until I found her."

I said, "I would never fall, unless it's you I fall into."

I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her

I found you

[conretewings]

The Paths We Cross

-Viktor, needing a part for his newest invention, seeks assistance from a shop of good reputation.

-Set a couple decades before the events of Arcane season one, a young Viktor and my oc Rosemary meet. Just a fun idea I had bouncing around in my head and decided to write for fun and as a gift to the lovely @grumpyoutlaw ❤️

Sticking close to the buildings for safety and an easy escape into a shop if needed was an essential lesson and skill Viktor had learned long ago, one that he was using again this day as he wove his way through the crowded, dank and damp streets. All around vendors hawked their wares from stalls, carts, or even from bulging bags, people milled in front of bars, brothels, or hurried on their way to whatever business they had and everywhere teemed the chaos of the Undercity.

Pausing to re-shoulder his bag to a more comfortable angle across his hip, one where it's weight helped steady his limping gait instead of worsening it, Viktor glanced up at a couple landmarks to note his location and which street to turn down next toward his own destination.

"Let's see...it was-"

Feeling a couple rapid taps on his shoulder, he instinctively clutched his bag and rotated his hand to grip his cane at the perfect angle to defend himself if need be; it wouldn't be the first time.

Whipping his head around at the same moment, he found himself face-to-face with a squat little man in patchwork garb and a seemingly friendly, yet too friendly, grin so wide his crooked teeth poked out. A well-worn bag nearly his size and adorned with various items was strapped to his back, and in his grubby hands something was concealed.

"Greetings, yes most welcome greetings this day young man!" he started in a likely well rehearsed speech, "Tell me yes, tell me, are you hungry? Does your stomach yearn for a tasty morsel? Yearn no more! I have here the solution yes! For a mere two coin I offer the finest fruit one can find!"

With a flourish he opened his hands to reveal an apple clearly past it's prime, brownish soft spots dotting it's surface. Viktor had his suspicions that it likely also housed an insect or two and not wanting to either waste his money, nor evict any possible tenants, he shook his head, managing a polite half smile.

"Thank you sir, but I already ate..."

The man's eye twitched, but maintained his salesman smile, "Goodness my boy but you're thin as that stick you're using yes, poor thing, so thin! Wouldn't a bit of extra food do you well yes? It's such a good deal! A bit of lunch!"

'I'm sure it is, if one wanted to lose their lunch' Viktor thought sarcastically, but carefully started to move away as he said again, "No, thank you, but I wish you luck..."

His smile finally dropping into a sour pout, and grumbling about how he's 'missing out' the man shoved the sad fruit into a pocket and turned to shuffle off. Releasing a sigh of relief, the man's words about his weight nonetheless echoed in Viktor's mind until he bitterly shoved them away and gripping his cane, felt a renewed sense of resolve to find the place he sought and finish the project currently residing in his bag. To that end he stood as tall as possible and went on his way.

A young woman leaned on a heavy, paper-strewn wooden counter with a gnawing sense of boredom, absentmindedly tapping a pencil as she stared at a broken clock she'd been planning to fix sitting next to her. It seemed to reflect and even mock her feeling that time was, in fact, at a standstill. Normally she was proud to be in charge of her family's business, yet today, all she wanted was escape. Looking around the rest of the packed shop with it's shelving and cases of mishmashed parts, half-finished mechanical items, and antiques, nothing sparked her interest. Perhaps she'd dig through the trash again for parts to weld together. That was usually fun. Usually...

Turning her head she shouted, "Dad! Can I shove off early?"

"Absolutely not!" came a bellowed reply from far behind a curtain that served as a divider between the shop and their living quarters, "Your brother has his shift 'n so do you!"

"But I just wanna scrounge up some parts-"

"Birdie, I really need ya to mind the shop. Ya can run about with your friends 'n that beau of yours later! Now lemme finish fixin' the stove please."

She exhaled in exasperation and lowered her head, wishing something, anything would happen. As if by some divine miracle, a few moments later she heard the creak of the heavy door mixed with the musical chime of the bell attached to it. Instantly she snapped into professional mode, standing up tall and putting on a welcoming grin.

"Good day! Wares and Repairs! You break it we can probably fix it! What can we help ya with?"

Using his shoulder to hold the door open while he awkwardly made his way through it, a teen who looked to be around fourteen, though with his prominent limp and slight build it was difficult to tell, let the door shut behind him as he paused to gaze around.

Viktor gaped at the sheer number and amount of items stuffed into the large room which, somehow, was clearly organized in it's own way. Yes, this was certainly the place he'd been told about. The corner of his mouth twitched into a half-smile, feeling a sense of hope and even excitement at the prospects; surely somewhere the treasure he sought lay waiting. So absorbed was he it took a moment for the greeting he'd received to register, and he snapped his attention back to the woman behind the counter.

"Ah, yes, hello," he started, shifting his bag again and approaching, "I've been told this place can fix anything and sells almost anything as well..." planting his good foot for leverage he carefully heaved the bag onto the counter, wincing when a dull metallic thud sounded, "So I would like to know if I could ask for some assistance with this."

"Oh? And what is this?" the woman inquired, her hazel eyes alight with an eager, inquisitive sparkle that somehow set Viktor more at ease. She looked to be somewhere in her mid twenties, with thick chocolate brown hair and clad in well-worn but sturdy looking work overalls, arms covered in bandage wrappings with canvas gloves. Something about her looked very familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Undoing the snaps on the bag, Viktor carefully slid a metal box onto the counter in front of her, a gesture which only seemed to fan her curiosity's flame, as she leaned forward a degree. He turned it around and opened a lid to reveal a carefully painted bird made of tiny pieces of metal and wood atop a wire 'branch'. A hollow area in the center was lined with a worn but still soft piece of velvet.

"A music box!" she inhaled with delight, looking from it to Viktor, "It's lovely! Where did ya get it?"

He cracked another, more proud smile and stood a little straighter, "I made it. It's for my mother, but it's not working yet. Something's off with the gears, and the sound mechanism-"

The woman gaped at him, leaning closer, making to touch it but quickly pulled her hand back, "You-made it?! Freakin' hell lad! This is some sophisticated work!"

The angle at which she was now stooped over the counter accidentally gave Viktor the perfect view of her ample cleavage, an effect that in her enthusiasm she was evidently unaware of. Out of respect and to stop the threat of his cheeks growing warm he quickly flicked his gaze to her face, "Th-thank you. I was hoping you might have the parts and tools I need to complete it."

Grinning she stood, planted her hands on her hips and flicked a stray chunk of hair aside, "If we don't have what ya need, no one does! We've got this ummm," she tilted her head, "Sorry kid what's your name?"

"It's Viktor." he replied with another smile, her energy rubbing off a little, "And you?"

"Name's Rosemary! Now let's get this train movin'!"

It may have been mere minutes, it may have been hours that flew by, neither could truly say nor did they care as they worked together to tear through the shop's extensive collection. Gears and bits and bobs were selected then discarded, or placed on the counter for further inspection until they had a generous pile to work with as they carefully undid the music box's inner mechanisms to test them out.

As they worked they chatted, mostly about their mutual interests in creating or fixing things and experimentation. Rosemary told him the story of her family's business, how her great-grandfather had started it and, proudly, how eventually it would belong to her and her brother. Viktor shared his dreams of scientific discovery, of building new and innovative things to better people's lives.

"I guess we have that in common." said Rosemary softly during a slight lull in conversation.

Viktor lowered the screwdriver he held, "Hmm?"

She gently touched the tiny mechanical bird, "We want to make things better."

Eventually, after a generous amount of trial and error, Rosemary crossed her fingers as Viktor carefully opened the lid-and the bird came to life, spinning and making tinny 'chirping' sounds.

He grinned happily as she cheered with a loud 'woo hoo!' They watched it until the spring-loaded mechanism ran out of tension and the bird's movement ceased.

"Thank you so much for all your trouble," he paused, "And for talking with me. It...means a lot."

"Ya kiddin' me? I've been havin' a great time Viktor!" she chuckled, picking up tools and parts to start putting them away, "I love workin' on stuff! Plus, not everyday I meet someone clever as you!"

He gave a small, unsure laugh as he carefully slipped the box back into his bag and dug into a small coin pouch, counting out what he hoped would be adequate, "I suppose my projects aren't too bad."

Watching Rosemary practically dance about the room with graceful movements and singing softly, that familiarity he'd felt earlier came back, burning at the front of his brain but he still couldn't quite recall where he'd seen her. Shaking his head to focus he held out a hand to her, "Here is my payment. I realize we never discussed it, but this should be enough."

She took the coins, nodding as she counted, "Aye, this'll do..." then cleared her throat, "Actually, I'm not so sure."

Viktor clutched his bag and felt his stomach drop; surely it was adequate for what he'd needed! Was she really not as kind as he'd thought? He didn't really have any more to spare, what about the food he was supposed to pick up on the way home? What about-

Abruptly she snorted, clapping a hand over her mouth, "Ah no I-I was only messin' with ya! It was a joke this is fine! I'm so sorry oh your face lad you're pale as a ghost!"

Releasing the breath he'd been holding in a loud, shaking sigh, he dryly replied, "Yes, yes. Hilarious."

"Tell ya what. I'll make it up to ya; swing by anytime you're workin' on another project and I'll help...and give ya a steep discount. Deal?"

Viktor met her gaze, and seeing the remorse and sincerity there, cracked a slight smile again, "Deal."

"Well, in that case," Rosemary swept an arm around, gesturing to the room, "We thank you for visiting Wares and Repairs and I hope you'll visit us again for your fixin' needs! No guarantees."

He gave a brief laugh, "I'll keep that in mind. Farewell, and thank you again, Rosemary." Securing his bag and adjusting his cane to a more comfortable grip, he headed to the door, and was reaching for the handle-when it unexpectedly flew open, a mountain of a man taking up the entire doorway.

"Oy Rosie! I-oop!"

He skidded to a halt, having just about run smack into Viktor, who gasped sharply, moving quickly but ungracefully to one side before cautiously glancing up. The larger man, who seemed to be about the same age as Rosemary, was looking at him curiously but not unkindly with steel-blue eyes and his thick, muscular arm still held the heavy door open with no apparent effort. He also looked very familiar, but again Viktor couldn't quite place him.

He jerked his head in a 'go ahead' gesture, and Viktor mumbled thanks before quickly starting to walk out. The man was so tall Viktor passed easily under his raised arm.

Pausing in the doorway to readjust his load after that mishap, he watched Rosemary's face light up as the man strode up to her where she had retreated behind the counter and leaned an elbow on it opposite her, the pair engaging in rapid, hushed conversation.

Abruptly he realized where he'd seen the man before; a gathered crowd, indignant shouts, calls for change...and at the center, standing on a pile of crates and junk, there he was. He raised his fist high as his deep voice boomed off the surrounding buildings, two other men at his side. He spoke of pushing back, of standing up for themselves, of a more independent city. Viktor had paused briefly to watch and listen before his father had encouraged him to keep moving. As they left, Viktor heard applause and cheering before the noise faded entirely.

Unexpectedly he felt a seething, burning knot of jealous anger twisting in his gut; this man, with his sheer size and confident charm, probably didn't have to worry about constantly watching his back. He didn't have to hobble around, seeing everyone run about with ease while he was constantly left behind. He probably had lots of friends. He didn't have to hear the whispers, the cruel laughs, the insults. Viktor gripped his cane so hard he thought it may break and spun to leave.

Walking as fast as he could manage, the anger slowly petered out until he only felt a cold numbness where the rage had been, like a lead weight in his stomach. He paused to breathe, finding a relatively safe spot to do so as he gathered his thoughts and tried to calm himself. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair...

Self-pity was not something he normally indulged in, finding it pointless and unproductive, but for a miserable few minutes couldn't stop the racing thoughts. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he run and jump like others? Why was he always sick? Why had fate pointed it's cruel finger at him?

Looking up, he saw in the distance and high above, the proud spires of Piltover's Academy, the late afternoon sun shining off their facades. Slowly, the anger morphed into steely determination and he made a vow to himself-

Someday, somehow, despite his abilities, despite his origins, he would be in those rooms, gazing out over the city and feeling this same sunlight warming his face as he worked toward his dreams...