#i wanna do a sahota one too but i never started on it

[befuddled-calico-whump]

there were always other paths...

Vic got where he is today thanks to a series of choices. At any point, his life could've spun a different direction.

(description of each under the cut)

CIA (top left):

Despite being scouted for Black Kite as a teenager, this Vic never accepted his would-be mentor's offer, instead sticking with the CIA's recruiting program. Vic grew to be a top agent, and despite remaining a bit of a loner, he's kept satisfied by his accomplishments on the job. He's never been completely stripped of control in this timeline, and as a result has never seen a need to do the same to others, though he still enjoys power plays and getting the upper hand.

Hermit (top middle):

After the death of his mentor, this Vic chose to isolate himself instead of struggling to continue black ops work on his own. He took up residence in a remote cabin, and dedicated all his time to learning the land and building a home for himself from the ground up. He rarely has any interaction with other people, save for the handful of trips he makes to town every year for supplies. Vic prefers to bury painful memories in work and bushcraft studies over confronting them, and never plans on returning to society.

Rock Bottom (top right):

This Vic never met Tom Beck. After his mentor's death, he took any sketchy mercenary job he could get his hands on, and never stopped. The work he's been doing has taken a significant physical and mental toll on him, but he can't stop, and refuses to acknowledge he's punishing himself. He'll go days without eating or sleeping, and weeks without leaving his apartment if he's between jobs. Eventually it'll kill him. He just hopes it hurries up and gets it over with.

Prison (neg) (bottom left):

The wrong split second decision led to the arrest of both Vic and Sahota. It was almost immediately apparent who the more dangerous of the two was, with Vic attempting an escape as often as he could, leading to him being kept in solitary and heavily restrained the majority of the time. He's incredibly bitter and bloodthirsty here, feared by most of the other prisoners and despised by the guards (he's killed a few of them). He has nothing left to lose, and isn't out of fight yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Prison (pos) (bottom middle):

After leaving behind his seedy mercenary work for a job at Rotorworx, Vic struggled to settle into a "normal" job and routine. In this timeline, his cry for help wasn't ignored, and Tom Beck encouraged him to go to therapy. This helped Vic cope with his past, and also led to his voluntary confession and arrest. He's looking at a life sentence, but he doesn't mind as much as he thought he would.

Dead (bottom right):

Let's be real, Vic could've easily died a thousand different ways if things played out slightly different.