Tumgik
#hoyt lived au
Text
Devil on Your Shoulder
Relationships: Hoyt Rawlins & Cordell Walker
Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence, Hoyt lived AU, Episode: s01e18 Drive, Revenge, Discussion of Revenge, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Summary: AU in which Hoyt was around during 1x18 and plays the devil on Cordell's shoulder
A/N: Fic purged from the draft by people voting for it in the polls :)
Taglist (if you would like to be added please let me know): @theladywyn, @ihavepointysticks, @klaatu51, @neptunium134, @itsjessiegirl1
----
Cordell held the gun steady while he reached for his ringing phone. He glanced away from Stan for a split second to check the caller ID, answering when he saw it was Hoyt. “What’s going on, Hoyt? Everything okay at the Side Step?”
“Yeah, Mendoza’s in protective custody over here,” Hoyt said. “Geri and Micki are in the back looking for evidence of the Nation filtering money through the Side Step. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
“Stan confess yet?”
Cordell scoffed. “He’s still playing innocent.”
“Because I am.”
“Shut up and drive, Stan,” Cordell hissed.
“You got a plan B in mind?” Hoyt asked.
“What do you mean?”
“If he doesn’t confess, is what I mean,” Hoyt said. “I mean, we can get him for corrupt politics maybe but he still needs to pay for what he did to Emily. What’s the plan if you can’t get him to confess?”
“I will.”
“But what if you can’t?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” Cordell still wasn’t sure how he was going to get that confession but he wasn’t giving up.
“That’s a bridge you need to plan ahead for, my friend.”
“Well what’s your bright idea then?”
Hoyt hummed. “I’m thinking you’ve got a gun on the man responsible for killing your wife. If the legal system won’t give him what he’s due…. May be time for a little vigilante justice.”
“Hoyt…. I can’t do that. I-I need to-”
“You don’t have to.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m saying if you can’t bring yourself to do it, you can hand me the gun and I’ll do it myself.”
“Hoyt, I can’t ask you to do that,” Cordell said firmly. “That’s a life sentence you’re looking at. I thought you were going straight?”
“This is Emily we’re talking about,” Hoyt snapped. “I was ready to shiv Mendoza when your brother made us bunk buddies during his little investigation. He may be in the clear now but that sentiment hasn’t changed. You say Stan killed Emily, he deserves what’s coming to him. If you can’t do it, I will.”
“This isn’t just about Emily. This is about the Northside Nation. Stan needs to be alive to confess to all that and name all the big players. We can wipe out their whole operation if we do it right.” Cordell had to stay focused on that. The bigger picture. Even if he couldn’t get a confession out of Stan for Emily, he had enough to get him on corruption and collusion. If that was all he could get, that would have to be enough.
“If you say so….”
“Hoyt,” Cordell warned. “Do not do something stupid. Let me worry about Stan. You make sure Mendoza lives to testify against this bastard. Is that clear?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t ‘Yeah’ me. I want to hear you say it.”
The other end was silent.
“Hoyt?”
“I won’t do anything stupid. I’ll just worry about Mendoza for now.”
Cordell didn’t buy that but he had bigger concerns at the moment. Like the sheriff’s vehicles blocking the road ahead. “I’ll get back in touch later. Stay safe, alright?” He hung up before Hoyt could reply and set it on the dash.
“Your friend gonna come kill me or are you gonna take care of that?”
“Shut up, Stan.”
7 notes · View notes
Note
what are the fics you’d consider required reading (as you said in the tags of another post) ? any fandom i’d say for required reading or if there’s too much, for warrior nun ?
*heavy sigh* I had this post 90% complete when the power went out at my house and I had to rewrite the whole thing.
I'm gonna give you a scattershot approach, one fic for a few different fandoms, different types of fic, and hopefully something resonates.
🦗 (Recommend any fic, wild card!)
Avengers/MCU - The Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail series by owlet (tumblr?)
Set immediately at the end of CA:TWS, Bucky's scrambled brain does a hard reset and decides his new mission is to protect Steve, covertly. Meanwhile, he kinda gets adopted by the senior citizens that live in the shitty apartment building he's crashing in while he learns how to be person again. It's snarky AF, touching, funny, great action, fluffy domestic Avengers Tower stuff. There's some Stucky eventually, but it's not the primary focus and doesn't really show up until like the 5th story in the series. There are 7 stories, and a Q&A with the author.
OUaT - The Secret's in the Telling by @the-pyrophoric-one
Emma is being pranked by a thief while living in the mansion with Regina and Henry, and there's also magic fuckery afoot. This story is just neat. It's tightly-plotted and funny. I can't actually say too much because the whole point is that there's a mystery to solve and I'd hate to spoil it. Even when I had kinda figured out what was going on, I still had no idea how it would end. It's told from two different POVs, so it's fun to reread the first part once you know the ending. Apparently there's also a sequel, but I don't believe I've read it yet.
R&I - Calamity Jane Meets Dr. Isles, Medicine Woman by @jobethdalloway
Rizzles 1800s western AU. Maura is a fancy lady from Boston who moves west to live with her fiancé Garrett Fairfield, Jane wears pants, drinks whiskey, and roams the countryside as Jake Wyatt, an outlaw who's hunting for Charles Hoyt, the man who killed her parents. The immersion in this AU is stunning, the characters feel true to the originals while allowing for how things would change given the time and circumstances, and the buildup from their unconventional meeting to friends to more is a lovely and authentic slow burn. There's also a completed sequel, but it's still on my to-read list.
The 100 - Lightning Only Strikes Once by fiona_249 (tumblr?)
Lexa gets shot and dies, Clarke climbs to the roof of the building, gets hit by weird lightning, then suddenly she's back on The Ark, about to be sent down to Earth with 99 other teen prisoners, and no one remembers the events of the past year besides her. The ultimate fix-it fic. How do you fix your mistakes while still trying to keep the good things that happened? Balancing future knowledge with ripple effects, how much can you change before you don't know what's going to happen anymore? What do you do with a second chance? I think I've read this fic at least half a dozen times.
Warrior Nun - What If I Told You I'm a Mastermind? by @sapphicstacks
Avatrice actress AU. Ava is an unknown actress working as a bartender, Bea is a famous but reclusive actress making a comeback after several years away from the spotlight, and they get cast together in a sapphic love story. You ever read a story and go "JFC, will you two just talk to each other?" Yeah, the reason is because all of the healthy communication got requisitioned for this fic. It's incredibly wholesome and overwhelmingly romantic and also ridiculously hot. Like, prep a cold shower or make sure you're somewhere private when you read it. There's a regularly-updated WiP sequel.
19 notes · View notes
meatriarchived · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media
i cannot sleep for the life of me due to nausea, im running on maybe like. twenty solid minutes of the Essence of Sleep™ than any substantial sleep so. whatevers below may not make a lick of sense etc but imma just ramble until maybe my eyes kinda tucker out on me and whenever i become more human again ill revisit this so. possibly take it with a grain of salt
and also possible cw in the just case i ramble about anything like g.ore / injury / murder what have you. also nothing is meant to like. pigeonhole interactions into what this mess might have in it. i am simply wordvomiting at this point from lack of rest fingerguns
so when i think about the, what, i think they said roughly a month that maria's been missing? ( dont quote me pls but thats the estimated timeframe i have in my head so if its not then.... vague hand gestures ) with the implication that she's been captive so long, obviously comes with some thread-pulling on the usual M.O. of the family, which is typically yknow, kill quickly get the body taken care of so ideally no ones' missing their loved ones long enough to follow any trails. which, in that case, would mean that more than likely maria ( maybe others in the past ) were kept around as a plaything of sorts, a thing to toy with, to break.
and while i could see it being done so by johnny, for whatever his motive could possibly be to keep her alive for any prolonged period of time. frankly? i could more easily see her being kept alive for so long because of nancy. if maybe its just the womans' vitriolic nature that compels her to do so with a random victim from time to time, esp with her voicelines about some conjured up "attraction" regarding johnny on marias' part ( no ), its like. i could so easily see the woman being a big part of why they didn't kill her off as quickly - to teach her a lesson? to taunt her needlessly? to take out her sick anger on? who knows. but thats what im more inclined to at the moment when it comes to how i portray maria, esp in her Living aus.
its partly why ive got the itch in the back of my mind tho to possibly take on nancy when shes released ( i want to have more info on her esp before i decide to or not ). the woman just has so much venom in her and as much as it compels me to wanna hoist her up and throw her at a wall, shes like the hoyt of the game so far - theyre meant to be disgustingly cruel and vile and disturbing characters. but shes such a... nice foil in a sense to both luda and to maria.
like luda's not unfamiliar to killing, shes got blood on her hands in spite of her age, but shes not unnecessarily violent like nancy. luda harms or kills to get the job done - nancy has too much fun with it, she seems like she likes to take her time with people she fixates on and she seems as if she'd going out of her way to cause an abundance of unneeded harm to her victims. id argue that luda is respected in the family for her guidance and her role as matriarch, nancys' just lowkey straight-up feared to a degree because of how 0 - 10000 she can get. i can see them losing alot of potential food because she just...frankly goes way too far at times handling victims, that it makes the body mostly if not completely unusable to be butchered properly.
all that to say, yeah johnnys the one that herded maria to the family and sure i can see being why she wasn't killed immediately for likely just toying with her for a bit, tho with him i can feel the novelty of doing so could dwindle fairly quick; but i can see nancy being why shes still alive almost a month later, and in such rough shape yet still being kept alive ( in reference to her worse wounds being stitched up - if speaking with thomas in mind, he does enjoy sewing and will sew victims up if they arent ready or needing to be butchered right away so, could argue that he / bubba were told to do so by nancy to prolong maria's suffering. )
as for maria, in the aftermath of it all, its difficult to describe the types of injuries she definitely has because frankly when you consider the idea of her being alive for those weeks, her injuries must have been consistent and substantial, yknow? shes severely m.alnourished, severely dehydrated. physically shes a complete wreck and i truly think that until she saw ana and her friends? she'd gotten to the point of being shut down to it all and was simply waiting for death to take her in its arms ( which, i think if we think about nancy having a hand in keeping her so long, the lack of fight / reaction likely set her off in a different way than she's used to victims behaving and made her want to prolong marias life just to spite her ). like. at the end of it all, these people genuinely terrify and disgust and have t.raumatized her so badly, imagine being in her position for weeks.
maria's entire worldview and thoughts on people in general were so severely trampled on by this one singular family unit; she could never blindly trust people again, paranoia of being followed like she was, flinching from physical contact with people. she feels a shiver of fear when people smile broadly because she views it as having a sinister motive behind it. so much of her trust and willingness to see a shred of good in people by default just, shattered completely.
Tumblr media
to note: i am still awake and my eyes are not tired yet and i am internally sobbing cause at this point im not going to get any sleep until later in the day cause i have errands to run in a couple hrs but im gonna cut this here dsfbjhkas
i'll end it here tho by noting that, should this make sense in terms of nancy by the time shes in game and all, then theres a good chance she'll ( unfortunately ) be added but also
in terms of the slightest sliver of a chance that, should one of the friends locate maria years after shes gone off to the pacific north west on her own and tell her about the plans to return to the house?
imma just be real and say maria may or may not wanna beat the ever-loving shit outta nancy if she somehow still has the audacity to be breathing- dsasdjk
2 notes · View notes
magickastiel · 2 years
Note
Please mob boss cas and babygirld dean fic rec list?!
i'm so sorry this has taken me so long!! i read some more bc i wanted to make sure i had a decent list
putting this under a cut because most of these are nsfw 👀
russian mob cas x babygirl dean fics recs ⬇️
ok here goes! for some reason, mob!cas and omegaverse go hand in hand in the fanfic world, so i've seperated this lil list into normal au and omegaverse because i know it makes some people uncomfy!!
normal au:
i'll come for you (rating: explicit | warnings: violence | complete) this one is next on my list to read so i can't give it a definite seal of approval but it sounds very interesting!!
Castiel is a member of the Bratva who holds a lot of power inside and out of prison. Dean is a former Army medic whose big mouth got him into deep trouble with the Aryan brotherhood just weeks into his sentence. He needs protection, or his measly two years in lockup could end as a death sentence.
life is a highway (rating: explicit | warnings: none | complete) dean is oblivious and hot for an accent. cas is violently hashtag girlbossing his life
The one where Dean falls for fellow student Cas, who’s so much more than first perceived. Will Dean be able to live with the secret once revealed, or will it doom them both?
rule one (rating: unrated (i'd say mature) | warnings: none | complete) short oneshot which i would love more of! dean is the prison babygirl and cas has dibs
There were only a few rules to prison. Some were the stuff you saw in movies: keep your head down, spend as little time in the showers as possible, etc. And some were specific to the George Hoyt Correctional Facility (aka Purgatory): the guards usually overlooked contraband porn mags if you let them have one, if TJ is on kitchen duty do not eat the mashed potatoes. And most importantly: you do not fucking touch Dean Winchester.
angels like you (rating: explicit | warnings: violence | incomplete) it looks like this one may have been abandoned but i've subbed just in case because i really liked where it was going!
Dean Winchester's trip for a drink turns into so much more when he visits the Red Room, a shithole strip club right in the center of the city. Run by Castiel Krushnic, the leader of the Russian mob, it's a hotspot for booze, sex, drugs, and for-hire mercenaries. But Dean doesn't know that- he's just moved here. Yet, in his first week in the city, he's already attracted the attention of Krushnic himself- which can only spell trouble, in a town like this one.
look what you made me do (rating: explicit | warnings: graphic violence | complete) despite the serious and dramatic summary, this one is VERY fun. a dark romantic comedy if you will
Dean watches, terrified, as blood coats the door–his knuckles depositing more and more of it with every knock. “Come on, Cas, open up.” Panicked, he looks back over his shoulder, the dead of night feeling less comforting and more like it’s about to bust wide open at any second. How could he be so stupid?
hit on me (rating: mature | warnings: none | complete) this is super cute! dean and cas are both just trying to do their jobs with mixed results
Dean had a standing date every Thursday night with an incredibly attractive Russian businessman. Well, “date” may have been a little misleading, given that Dean was at work and the Russian businessman was someone Dean waited on. Whatever Dean could think what he wanted about it in the privacy of his own head.
perfectly capable crime lord (rating: teen | warnings: none | complete) i'm cheating a bit with this one because cas isn't russian but he does speak russian at one point so eh
When Dean asked his boyfriend what his job was, Cas told him, completely deadpan, “I’m a mob boss, Dean.” But no one’s boyfriend is actually a mob boss. Right?
shouldn't have opened the door (rating: teen | warnings: none | complete) again, cheating bc cas isn't russian but this is a very cute series!
Dean opens the door one night to find one of his spookier customers at his door.
omegaverse au:
shipwreck of your heart (rating: explicit | warnings: violence | WIP) ✨ ok this is THEE fic to read and follow imo!! if you're like me and you don't have strong feelings about a/b/o, i would recommend giving this a try! while a/b/o is definitely a theme here, it's not front and centre. dean is the most babygirl to ever babygirl. cas is basically a russian mr darcy. it's amazing.
Dean Winchester is a young Omega working three jobs to support himself and his abusive, alcoholic father. His dream is to help his aunt and uncle send his brilliant little brother to college. One of the few bright spots for him is the job he works at a burger place called Mystery Spot, a restaurant owned by four Russian brothers that Sammy and Dean joke all the time is a front for a mafia. One day, however, when a man comes in and tries to kill Dean’s favorite Krushnic brother right in front of him, the Omega is forced to admit that maybe his running joke with Sammy isn’t too far off the mark. As Dean is thrown into the world of the Krushnic mafia, he finds himself getting closer than ever to Castiel Krushnic himself. The Alpha seems to harbor a strange soft spot for Dean, one that grows more obvious and more confusing by the day. Suddenly, Dean has to wonder why the kindest person in his life is a mafia boss, and why said mafia boss is so dead-set on taking care of him. It’ll take a very stubborn person to convince Dean he deserves that. It’s lucky Castiel Krushnic is a very stubborn man.
better than revenge (rating: explicit | warnings: none | complete) as the author's notes say, this one is a lot lighter than you think it will be! this definitely has a 'modern' omegaverse vibe too which is a lot more enjoyable to read than most other a/b/o fics
Dean Winchester is #blessed. He's got a great family, a million followers on social media, ad endorsements coming out of his extremely fine omega ass, and he's about to graduate with a hard-won Master's Degree in Computer Engineering. Said degree is an escape hatch to the life he craves, away from the scripted roles his well-meaning father keeps trying to corral him into. Dean's a lot of things, but he's not cut out to be a Don—or to fall in love. Castiel Krushnic is a ruthless, hardened alpha underboss for the Russian Mafia and his only soft spot is for his daughter. When she's sent away to the U.S. in hopes of a better life, Castiel follows, reluctantly moving a chunk of the operation with him. His marching orders are clear—first order of business is to send a message to John Winchester, Don of the enemy local syndicate. The easiest way to do that? Use his son. Sounds easy, but Castiel wasn't expecting to fall head-over-heels, or for Dean to want him back. What's an alpha to do when a beautiful omega and an unorthodox mob boss have him questioning everything, abandoning his past and all of its pain for something much better than revenge?
17 notes · View notes
loumauve · 1 year
Note
For the writer's ask: 12, 16 and 17!
thank you for the questions!! <3
[the list of questions can be found here]
12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?
couldn't possibly remember all of the ones that have slowly grown on me over the past what.. almost two decades of reading fic, but 'Hanahaki Disease' has been a recent one. and I don't always like it, just when it's done well. don't think I'd ever write it though
16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?
I LOVE AUs. most AUs will do. love me a good 'one of them is a monster, actually' and a lot of 'they get to live. fuck you, canon'. magical realism is always nice, too.
also a big fan of 'let's change one thing and see how everything spirals from there' really, really love that.
OH! also the whole 'let's put these characters in a whole different setting but keep them exactly true to who they are and go from there' SO GOOD. can really tell a good writer from that, they have their characters pinned down SO WELL.
17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?
well, as we know from this amazing art, Skate AU for Horizon has been on my thoughts, somewhat parallel to trying to figure out an Old Ones/modern au and what they would all end up doing post school in that timeline.
@finrays and I have also been pondering a His Dark Materials AU in the broadest sense, those are always present in my mind whichever fandom I'm in.
then there's still the everyone lives au for Horizon, which.. if I was at all able to write long-fic I'd love to write someday, because I have a whole bunch of feels about so many things in that.
and then, and I know nobody here really remembers, there was a little show called Haven and another show called Fringe and I really wanted Olivia Dunham to meet Audrey Parker, and I have legit notes on that in a notebook somewhere, but I'll never end up writing it, again, bc long-fic and my brain do not cooperate (I don't know how y'all do it, I'm so impressed)
..I just looked through my folder of handwritten notes and printed out fic I wrote, and there's a bunch of crossover AU ideas like one with Thelma (from Hex) meeting Annie (from the og Being Human) like.. this heavily dates me lol but I did love those shows at a time, and still kinda do even if they're a little cringe now.
there's also an AU for Crossing Jordan where Lu lives and Hoyt dies instead. bc.. ya know, I wanted it to be more gay and that seemed like the perfect solution (don't blame me, I was still in the figuring out I'm actually queer phase of my life then. literally half my life ago)
anyway, I used to really love thinking up crossover AUs which is funny considering how I don't really love to read crossovers these days
2 notes · View notes
Text
Uneasy Listening: Pills April 30, 2022
Tumblr media
Neely, you know it's bad to take liquor with those pills. Songs about pills! If I do say so myself, I'm very happy with how it came out.
listen on Mixcloud Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night Hank Williams III - Pills I Took
DJ speaks over the Upsetters - Drugs and Poison
Bee Vamp - Valium Girl ISS - (MET) FORMING Quincy Punx - Young and Dumb Hoyt Axton - The Pusher
DJ speaks over Skream - Tek-a-Pill
Gang of Four - Glass The Druids of Stonehenge - Speed Macy "Skip" Skipper - Bop Pills Eyes - TAQN Hence the Name - The Stuff in the Medicine Cabinet Is Not Candy Crass - Poison in a Pretty Pill Canned Heat - Amphetamine Annie
DJ speaks over Inter-Circle - The Pusher
The Fall - Totally Wired (A capella live 1981) Bo Diddley - Pills Ffa Coffi Pawb - Valium BGK - Pill-Party Double Cheese - Pills and Wine Polyphonic Size - Mother's Little Helper
20/20 - Yellow Pills Loretta Lynn - The Pill Laurice - Black Beauty Total Control - Meds II 28th Day - 25 Pills Big Star - Downs (Demo)
Au Pairs - Diet Dody Goodman - Tranquilizers They Might Be Giants - Lie Still, Little Bottle ISS - (I Want a) Amphetamine Prescription Gary Stewart - Caffeine, Nicotine and Benzedrine Rudimentary Peni - Pills, Popes and Potions
The Other Half - Mr. Pharmacist Uncurbed - Valium Holiday Blue Arkey and the Blue Cowboys - Too Many Pills Constant Mongrel - Perks and the Thrills (Pills)
The Freeze - Powder, Rock & Pills
8 notes · View notes
rpsocsandcanonohmy · 9 months
Text
Devil on Your Shoulder
Pairing: None
Rating: Gen/Teen
Word Count: 553
Warnings: Hostage situation, Discussion of Revenge, Implied/Referenced character death, Alternate Universe, Hoyt lived AU
Summary: AU in which Hoyt was around during 1x18 and plays the devil on Cordell's shoulder
A/N: @anyfandomangstbingo square filled- "Hand me the gun and I'll kill him myself"
AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49252087
1 note · View note
blubird513 · 4 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I got someone who asked in the previous Lisa post: https://blubird513.tumblr.com/post/190978331868/nern-terry-and-olan-the-team-the-team. What Fly would look like. 
I don’t usually do things out of the comments, but to be fair, I name dropped Fly a lot in that post, and it’s only fair that a visual goes along with that! Soooo. Meet a young Frank “Fly” Minetti!!!!
Headcanon: This boy spends most of his time at the Olathe Dump, which he renamed “Garbage Isle”. His only goal in life it to make the best damn go-cart Olathe has ever seen out of scrap. Besides that ambition, he’s quite unmotivated at anything else. The guy has had run-in’s with Olan often too, as Olan likes to shoot bottles and windows off of abandoned cars, Fly usually chases him off with his presence alone. And yes, before you ask, Fly hates the light and hides among his garbage, he’s like a molerat/vampire/garbage dude.
ALSO, that curl he has on his fly mask, that’s totally his hair, don’t even! 
86 notes · View notes
askrisedonnie · 2 years
Text
Tumblr media
My name is Donatello Hamato Solstice, but I go by many other nicknames, of which you will not be informed of. But Sol is preferred as a name.
I go by he/him and they/them pronouns, I also go by meow/meows/meowself and moon/moons/moonself. Do not refer to me as she/her or it/its.
My birthday is November 17th, 2004. I am a minor, so please respect that. If I am sent any NSFW I will delete it.
I'm asexual.
Feel free to come and talk to me whenever. Except for when I'm busy.
Those whom I am currently living with are:
LEE: @hamatoblueleonardo
RAPHA: @hamatoredraphael
TELLO: @hamatopurpledonatello
Tumblr media
//OOC
main acct is @the-unicorn-system
dni from there applies here as well!
this blog is co-run by two headmates of the Unicorn System, Woomy and Donnie (preferred name is Star)!
We are 18+, but we request that you still not send nsfw for us or the character. Body may be 18+ but we do have a few younger middles in our system that don't want to see a big ass in the screen.
if we do an ooc post, we will do our best to indicate who's speaking. Woomy usually speaks without any emoji, while Star will use ⭐ before his speech. If we're too lazy, tired, blurry, or stressed to indicate, we'll try and tag with "woomy post" and/or "star post". We may also tag other alters if they feel the need to step into a situation for us.
Woomy is the most frequent fronter as I don't know how to disconnect from front quite yet, so you'll see more of me than anything.
This blog is an AU of Rise Donnie. It will contain heavy topics such as grief, injury, manipulation, hallucinations, loss of a limb, medical experimentation, trauma, ect. If you are not comfortable with this blog, don't harass us. Please block and move on, the last thing we want is to make someone upset or triggered over the contents here.
Feel free to try and rp with us, we love hanging out! However do not interact with us if you are affiliated with the users hoyt chocolate/sweet_cheesits, nia1sworld, or turtle animator/smoothturtle0.
16 notes · View notes
slashingdisneypasta · 3 years
Text
Slashers Toy Story!AU
Or, *cough* a way for me to write out a buncha funny Incorrect Quotes and smoosh two things I love together.
Tumblr media
Woody: Jason Voorhees
Buzz Lightyear: Michael Myers
Jessie: Ghostface
Prospector/Stinky Pete: Roman Bridger
Bo Peep and Ham: Freddy Krueger
Mr Potato Head: Chucky / Charles Lee Ray
Mrs Potato Head: Tiffany Valentine
Slinky: Carrie White
Rex: Bubba Sawyer
Barbie: Jennifer Check
Ken: Patrick Bateman
Lotso-'O'-Huggin' Bear: Sheriff Hoyt / Charlie Hewitt. Was gonna be Bo, but Hoyt just fits way better. Plus he has Thomas.
Chuckles: Monty
Big Baby: Thomas hewitt
The Chatter Telephone: Luda Mae Hewitt
Also, Sunnydale Daycare: Ambrose. Because why not.
*I'm thing the kids in Toy Story are the fanbase and creators of the Slashers in this AU. Like, Andy and Bonnie are the original creators that make up the canon stuff and created them to be the infamous characters we all know- and Sid is us fan-people that twist and distort the characters for our own pleasure, haha XD *
An abundance of Incorrect Quotes bellow the cut!
Chucky: *With all the features on his face mismatched*
Chucky: Hey Freddy, look! I'm Picasso!
Freddy: ... yeah, I don't get it. *Leaves*
Chucky: *what... * You uncultured swine!! *Shakes his fist at Freddy's retreating back. That was a good fucking joke, goddamn.*
~
Michael: *Writing down on whiteboard:* Excuse me... I think the word you're searching for is
THE SHAPE.
Jason: *Already so done with this edgy boy's bullshit*
Jason: *Moves attention to his own whiteboard, starts writing*
Jason: *Shows board*
NO. The word I'm 'searching for', I cant say, because there are preschool toys present.
*Gestures ferociously to Carrie and Bubba.*
~
Jason: *Ughhhh. Shows board that he frantically wrote on:* Its not a KNIFE! Its a little stick of plastic!!
Freddy: What's wrong with him??
Chucky: Knife envy~
Freddy: Ah been there
~
Jason and Michael: *Watching Dr Loomis give psychology advice*
Jason and Michael: *Slowly tilting their heads sceptically, in unison*
Michael: *Holds up board for Jason to read:* ... I don't think that man has ever been to medical school.
~
Jason: *Trying to get Michael to help him. Writes passive aggressively on board and shoves the thing in Michael's view:* Would you give me a hand!???
Michael: *Fucking slices his own arm off and chucks it at Jason*
Look, he's having a bad day...
~
Freddy: *Sneaks up on Jason and digs his fingers into the giants sides*
Jason: *Whips around and cracks Freddy in the face from shock*
Jason: *Realises its just Freddy as the other groans and holds his nose, and looks a little guilty. Oh, Freddy. Writes on board and shows him:* There's gotta be a less painful way to get my attention.
Freddy: Agh- Fucking- Merry Christmas, hockey puck!
Jason: *Catches sight of something above them, tilts his head. Writes and shows board:* Isn't that mistletoe?
Freddy: *A slow, creepy grin rips across his face* Yep.
~ Toy Stoy 2~
Jason: *Frantically holding up a board:* Michael! I was a yo-yo!
Freddy and Chucky: *Look at each other*
Chucky: 'Was'?
~
*Michael and the others watching a dude try to buy Jason and failing.*
Michael: *Thinking: Mm, now just walk away.*
Man: *Follows after where Jason went.*
Michael: *Thinking: ... the other way.*
~
*After Jason has been stolen- everyone is panicking*
Michael: *Stomping his foot, trying to gather these psychopaths' attentions. Wait a minute! Wait, hold on! When he semi has their attention, he shows a piece of paper with writing on it:* This is not time to be hysterical.
Freddy: Its the perfect time to be hysterical.
Bubba: *Gasp. Should we be hysterical!?*
Carrie: *Tries to calm Bubba down, a hand on his arm and voice gentle* No-
Chucky: Yes.
Michael: *Thinking: ... well, maybe*
~
Freddy: Give this to Jason when you find him
Freddy: *SMACKS MICHAEL UPSIDE THE HEAD*
Michael: ... *Holds up board* Alright. But I don't think it'll mean the same thing coming from me.
~
Freddy: *Up ahead* Hey guys! Why did the toys cross the road!?
Michael: *But rolls his eyes. Not now bacon bits.*
Bubba: *Perks up and waives. Oh! He loves riddles. Why?*
Freddy: To get to the chicken... on the other side!
*They all look out and celebrate, seeing where Jason was being kept hostage... but then realise how dangerous getting across will be as a giant fricken truck careens by and crushes a can the same size as them*
Bubba: ... *Promptly turns around and starts walking back the way they came. Oh well. We tried-*
Michael: *Grabs Bubba back*
~
Jennifer: I can help! I'm Tour Guide Jen!
Jennifer: Please keep your hands, arms and accessories inside the car, and no flash photography! Thanks.
Chucky: -I'm a married man, I'm married man, I'm married man-
Freddy: *Shoves Chucky out of the way* Then make room for the single fellas.
~
Michael: *Ugh. Writes on board:* They're on level 23.
Carrie: How are we gonna get up there?
Bubba: *Gestures to balloons, then up to the sky. Meaning: Maybe if we find some balloons, we could float to the top!*
Chucky: Are you kidding? I say we stack ourselves up, push the intercom, and pretend we're delivering a pizza.
Freddy: How bout a roast? *Grins*
Freddy: *Assesses Chucky and Carrie in turn* With tenderised pig and a slaughtered lamb as sides.
Chucky: Hold the fuck up did you just call me a pig- and a side-
Carrie: What?
Bubba: Oh! Oh! *Pats his chest excitedly. Do him! What about me??*
Freddy: ... Eh, you can be the toy that comes with the meal.
~
*Michael does something to get them all hurt and doesn't to care at all, of course. Just moves on.*
Chucky: Remind me to glue his mask on his head when we get back.
Freddy: *Nods, yep*
~
Chucky:*Embracing Tiffany after having been away saving Jason*
Glen and Glenda: You saved our lives! We're eternally grateful!
Chucky: Oh, fuck...
Tiffany: You saved their lives, Chucky?? Oh, my hero.
Tiffany: *Immediately drops Chucky in favour of picking up the babies* And they're adorable! Lets adopt them!
Chucky: *Thinking: What? No- Absolutely not- Don't say tha-*
Glen and Glenda: Daaaaddy!
Chucky: Fuck.
~Toy Story 3~
Jason: *Holds up a sign as he stands there menacingly with his machete:* You got a date with justice, Charles.
Chucky: Heh, too bad, 'sheriff'. I'm a married man.
Tiffany: *Comes out screaming, wielding goddamn nun chucks*
~
Michael: *Eyes narrow behind mask, slowly holds up sign he prepared earlier:* Bastard son of a hundred maniacs.
Freddy: Hah. That's Mr Bastard son of a hundred maniacs, to you!
~
*The toys/Slashers watch some toys, including Jennifer and her car get thrown in the donation bin*
Ghostface: Oh, man, poor Jen.
Freddy: ... I get the corvette.
~
Tiffany: Its alright, Jen, it'll be okay.
Jennifer: Well... Needy and I have been growing apart for a while...
Jennifer: Its just... I cant believe she would kill me!
Chucky: *Who's 'best friend till the end'/victim also killed him* Yeah. Welcome to the club, toots.
~
Hoyt: They just love new toys, don't they?
Chucky: Love!? We've been chewed, kicked, drooled on-
Tiffany: Just look at my nails!
Hoyt: ... Hm. Well, here's the thing, sweetheart. You aint leavin' Ambrose.
Tiffany: *Thinking: Oh fuck no he did not just- * Sweetheart!? Who do you think you're talking to!? I have over 10 kills, and I deserve more respec-
Hoyt: *Covers Tiffany's mouth with his hand* Ah, that's better.
Chucky: *Thinking: I'm going to fuck this douche up- * Hey, no one takes my wife's mouth. *Shoves Hoyt back off her by the chest* 'Cept me.
~
*Hoyt and Thomas bring Chucky back from 'The Box'. He's more fucked up looking then usual, sand all through his hair and stuck to his plastic features. He shakes it out of his pockets.*
Tiffany: *Gasp* Sweetheart!
Chucky: Eugh... it was cold. And dark. Nothin' but sand and a couple of Lincoln logs.
Freddy: Ehhh... I don't think those were Lincoln logs.
~
Ghostface: I was wrong...
Chucky:
Chucky: Ghostface is right. He was wrong.
~
Jennifer: *Fake cries*
~
Chucky: *Slaps a Pidgeon*
~
*Trying to reset Michael back to his former settings/self (The one that knows them and therefore will maybe-perhaps-possibly not kill them*
Freddy: Oh- oh- oh, here we go. there should be a little hole under the switch.
Jason: *Little hole little hold little hole- Nods. Got it!*
Freddy: To reset your Michael Myers action figure, insert paper clip-
Jason: *Sharply turns to Bubba, urging him to put his finger in the hole quickly*
Freddy: Caution; Do not hold button for more then five seconds...
Michael: *Suddenly stops thrashing and goes slack*
Everyone: ...
Bubba: *Jumps off him, holding up his hands. Its not my fault!!*
~
Michael, on Spanish Mode: *Gives Jason two sweet kisses on either cheek*
Jason: *Awkwardly, slowly holds up sign:* We gotta switch him back.
~
Ghostface: Oh! Mikey!!
Michael, still on Spanish Mode: *Sees Ghostface*
Michael: *Drops to his knees, gathers up Ghostface's hand*
Michael: *Looks up at Ghostface in utter awe and admiration*
Ghostface: *Freaken freaked out. Shouldn't he be the creepy one in this outfit? Leans away* Uhh... did you fix Michael?
Freddy: Uh, sorta. I mean I for one think this is a huge improvement.
~
Michael, STILL on Spanish Mode: *Does a dance of feelings around Ghostface, wanting to express himself*
Ghostface: What- why- please stop I'm gonna pee myself- Of laughter or fear I have no idea but I WILL PEE
Michael: *Grabs and dips Ghostface, and holds up a sign* We will be the most famous killers in history, together.
Ghostface: *Thinking: Oh I can get behind that, hell yeah- *
Jason: *Arrives*
Ghostface: Oh- *Scrambles out of Michaels hold* JASE!
Michael: *Watches them move on together* *Throws down the sign*
Tumblr media
Freddy: I suddenly feel disgusting, like... I somehow ended up in some kinda... love-square, of some kind...
~
Jason: *Nicely gestures for Michael to give him some help*
Michael, stillllllll on Spanish mode: *Sniffs his nose at Jason's hand, shoving him out of the way with one arm like no thank you.*
~
Jennifer: Authority should derive from the consent of the governed. Not from the threat of force! // Or, alternatively which I think fits a whole lot better- // I am not going to stand back here and let another fucking old white guy tell me what the fuck to do!
Chucky and Freddy, two old white guys: *Look at each other*
Chucky:
Freddy:
Chucky and Freddy: *Shrug*
And that's it seeing as I don't really wanna see Toy Story 4. I hope you enjoyed this silly thing with me at least a little XD
Okay so I got a little attached in the end.
110 notes · View notes
kbysh-kds · 3 years
Text
FC3!Diego AU headcanons
Whoooo boy, ok this is long! It migth take a few minutes to scroll through 👀
Vaas was born in Yara, rigth in the Castillo residence. Both Antón and her wife were fairly young, just in their 30s and recently married. The residence - once a summer house in Antón’s chilhood - was given to them by Antón’s brother as a marriage present (The same house Antón shows Diego in the Rite of Passage comics)
Mama Castillo was a very soft spoken, polite woman. Her family was on the poorer side, being one of many siblings. So, when she announced her engament to Antón her family was more than happy to accept their marriage.
Antón being an up-and-coming politican at the time, just staring to plan out how he would run for presidency, made sure to get brownie points any way he could. And this was what caused the start of the strain on his marriage. He got in touch with a wrong people and stacked up an insane amount of debt, which he couldn’t pay. 
It turned out that those people were slavers (an early version of the Pirates basically), and since Antón couldn’t pay they demanded him to give over something entirely else. That being a now six year old Vaas.
Agreeing was the worst decision and nor Antón or Mama Castillo ever recovered. Mama Castillo fell ill a few days after after all the stress and worrying for her boy. Antón? Ofcourse he was worried aswell, but didn’t want to show this infront of his wife. He made sure to hide any uncertain emotions just to seem calm and collected. And he carried this with him all the way to his presidency.
Meanwhile little Vaas gets taken to the Rooks, where he ends up in a prison camp. He’s scared shitless, but which six year old wouldn’t be? You’ve just been taken away from your parents, you don’t know where you are and you don’t understand what they’re saying to you because you don’t speak the language. Luckily the Rakyat was already at war with the slavers and liberated the prison camp just a week later.
Vaas was already covered by smaller scars by the time the camp got liberated. He couldn’t stop shivering, didn’t even let a Rakyat doctor touch him until the doctor spoke to him in spanish. Since he was so small and already showing signs of malnourishment the Rakyat took him in, specifically Citra’s family who was nine year old small girl at that time.
He learned to speak english from Citra and the other children but he never actually learnt how to read or write. 
Citra was already fascinated with the perfect warrior story even as a little girl, wouldn’t stop telling about it to her new little brother. And when she was chosen as the Warrior Goddes - as per Rakyat - and tradition her first fitting candidate for a perfect warrior was none other than said little brother, now in his teens.
Vaas was completly oblivious until Citra made him drink something. Going through the worst possible drug trip of his life the next thing he knew when he regained conciousness was his own sister, well, taking advantage of him. Even he doesn’t know how but he managed to escape, now with a gaping slash wound above his brow stretching up to his scalp from a kukri. (The same knife both Buck and Citra are looking for.)
Back home, Mama Castillo falls pregnant again, despite reaching her 50s. Antón is happy to say the least, but Mama Castillo? All the memories of her sweet boy that was taken from her flooding back all at once wasn’t healthy for her. She didn’t live through childbirth and Antón was left as a widow with a newborn son named Diego.
Due to his wife’s passing and the fact that he willingly abonded his oldest Antón becomes overprotiective of Diego, almost helicopter parent like (but in a strict way) not willing to go through the pain of losing a child again.
Half a month after his escape from Citra and the Rakyat, Vaas meets Hoyt who recently came into power after killing the previous overlord (The man Antón became indebted to). Hoyt recognized Vaas, hearing about him from the previous overlord and seeing how the freshly twenty year old boy was desperate he offered him a job as a right hand man and thus, the Pirates were formed.
Hoyt took the first oppurtunity he could get to pump Vaas full of drugs, make him addicted so he couldn’t escape. This was also the perfect time according to Hoyt to tell Vaas how his real father willingly gave up on him.
Vaas, now going through existential dread since both of his families betrayed him starts destroying himself with anything he could think of: smoking, stronger/heavier drugs, self harm even. He found the most comfort in drugs, since whenever he was high, going through various trips an image of a younger woman would always comfort him, talking sweetly to him and he knew this woman was familiar. But he just couldn’t figure out why.
During the start of the summer of 2012 (roughly a month before Far Cry 3′s events) Antón visited the islands to conduct business with Hoyt, brining a now five year old Diego with him. Hoyt wasn’t exactly fond of the idea of tolerating a little shit of a toddler while they talked business, so he tasked Vaas with the lovely task of babysitting a toddler while his father discussed a drug deal.
Ever since Hoyt told him about his real family, Vaas despised the name Castillo. When he learned that the five year old he had to look after was a Castillo too, he thougth about drowning him right then and there. But, he soon changed his attitude when he figured out that Diego, was in fact, his little brother.
Vaas quickly grew fond over Diego. From taking 2 hour naps with him (even though Vaas was probaly passed out and Diego just cuddled up to him) to showing all the cool little places he found when he was in his teens. He’s just happy to have a family member than didn’t utterly disappoint him.
When Antón and Hoyt finally finish business after week, Vaas brings Diego back but before Antón could leave he calls him aside. At first Vaas is screaming, throwing everything he could at him and then breaking down, almost on his knees begging his father to take him back home, how he hates this island, how he hates the people here, how he hates Hoyt and so on and so on. Once Diego chimed in Antón didn’t really have much of a choice.
Hoyt was furious, how couldn’t he be? The most valuable little puppet was ditching him rigth infront of him. But did Vaas care what Hoyt think? No he doesn’t. Not anymore. Once he arrives back to Yara he notices the pictures in their home. A woman with long, loosley braided brown hair. Vaas instantly recognizes her as the woman from his various drug induced trips. Findig out that woman is Mama Castillo, his mother was comforting. And probably for the first time ever, he could relax.
45 notes · View notes
Text
These are all fics that have not escaped my drafts, not even for a single chapter. I can't provide links like the last poll series but I will provide a general summary below:
Crime Family Walker- Cassie joins
Summary: Cassie stuffs Cordell in a trunk and he's not pleased with it. Cassie is arrested for assaulting an officer, but Cordell also wants to handle her the Walker Way. James manages to talk him down from murder and suggests they help her find Miles as a way to gain a hold over her. Cordell reluctantly agrees.
Cassie/Trey
Summary: Cassie and Trey are dating and they're getting ready to take their relationship to the next level- until Trey learns about the massive antique doll collection Cassie keeps in her bedroom. He makes an excuse to leave but things are awkward after that. Cordell has to fix this because he cannot work in this environment.
Nobody dies but everything still sucks
Summary: Cordell and Cassie both get shot while on a mission. They both make it through surgery but both of their families are extremely worried and taking it out on James and Trey. Also there's recovery time.
The many ways we could've avoided this nonsense
Summary: 3 ways we could've avoided the nonsense around Shannon and the mustang. Includes Stella telling James and the grandparents finding out.
Drunk!August telling on himself in 3x05
Summary: August got more than a little tipsy at the party and tells on himself for throwing it without Stella's help before Cordell can get mad at either of them.
1x18 Hoyt lived AU
Summary: In which Hoyt is around for 1x18 and plays the devil on Cordell's shoulder on how to deal with Stan.
Tom/Kate Heist AU
Summary: Kate Carver is a world-class theif. When she gets called upon to steal from the notorious Tom Davidson for one of his rivals, she initially refuses but the siren song of money and glory eventually win her over. The heist goes well until it doesn't and she finds herself at the mercy of the most dangerous crime boss in Texas. Sparks fly but neither of them can let it show. She talks her way into a deal where the works for him until she "repays" him and they slowly get to know each other better.
Cassie is pregnant with Kevin's kid but he's dead whoops
Summary: Shortly after 3x15, Cassie finds out she's pregnant and there's only one person the father could be. Stressed and confused, she turns to Abby for help to figure out what to do. After a lot of thinking and talking with everyone, she decides on keeping the baby. Trey, being the closest, gets assigned with Helper duty and ends up catching feelings. Baby is born while everyone is stuck on the ranch at Thanksgiving (again). She also opens the door for Cooper to be involved with the baby if he really wants to be but warns him not to make promises he can't keep (again).
Walkernatural Extra- Cassie/Dean
Summary: AU where Kevin is as he is in canon and not Adam Milligan. Cassie has been propositioned by Kevin and Trey and Cordell are eager to push her that way but she has Concerns. Dean listens to her and offers to help investigate. "Do you have any idea how many 'pillars of the community' I've had to kill because they were monsters?" After the truth about Kevin comes out, she calls Dean for comfort and they Get Comfy while watching Hawks Shadow.
Walkernatural Extra- Cordell at Azazel's Battle Royale
Summary: Walkernatural AU (because why not) where Cordell gets pulled into the Special Child battle royale with Sam. He helps Sam get the rest of the special children under control (though he's definitely freaking out) and kills Jake before he can kill Sam. However, Azazel's threats to his family have him worried and it takes a bit for Sam to talk him down and convince him that Dean and Bobby can help. He takes them all back to his family in Texas. Dean and Bobby are both a little weirded out by this "other Sam" but they don't think anything of it until Dean remembers the nursery originally had two cribs.
13 notes · View notes
nightmarewritings · 3 years
Note
So Im a big sucker for any soulmate AU like the first words or colorblind ones, but Ive never seen any written for Thomas. Do you think you could write any kind of soulmate AU for Tommy? This man needs something nice to look forward to. 💕
Oh I LOVE soulmate AUs! I've been wanting to try my hand at one for a while, so thank you for this!
Thomas Soulmate AU
Thomas hasn't met many people who have had a soulmate. Luda Mae had hers long ago, and that was it. Henrietta often talked about how wonderful it would be to find one, how she's heard your world just erupts into color, that there's so much no one can see until the day they first touch their soulmate, but Thomas isn't so sure he believes it.
True or not, Thomas is certain he doesn't have one, and if he did, they wouldn't want him. So he goes about his days working in the black and white slaughter house, and later in the black and white house they live in.
You burst into the house, shoving Monty aside and tearing through, trying to find your way to someone, anyone, that could help you. Thomas was caught off guard, he knew you they were there, but he wasn't exactly sure where until you slammed into his back, the speed of the impact knocking you backwards on your ass. He turned around, you were practically paralyzed before the giant man, he wouldn't even need his chainsaw or anything but his arms to capture you.
When he grabs you, it feels like an electrical shock and his vision goes white. When it fades back into view, he's stunned. Has the floor always looked like that? The walls? He's never seen anything like it before, it feels like a completely new world.
You're in shock. Of all the moments to meet your soulmate, you never expected it to be while running for you life, and CERTAINLY never expected it to be one of your captors. But the more you looked at him, the more beautiful he seemed. The new colors of the world were all so bright and beautiful, but they seemed even more radiant with him.
Hoyt came in, asking what the hell was taking Tommy so long, why was he just standing there. Thomas turned to face him and pointed from you to himself, then opened his hand in front of his eyes with a flourish. Hoyt laughed, and realized exactly what had happened.
You won't be dying any time soon, but you won't be leaving either. But with your soulmate, who treats you so kindly and brought color to your life, would you ever even want to?
98 notes · View notes
orangejuicetoast42 · 3 years
Text
Noceda and Blight Pt. 2
Time for more info-dumping.
First things first they all live in Bonesborough, California. I’m not sure why I was so set on it being in California, but it just works so I’m going with it. The Betas work at the Bonesborough Police Department or the BPD (see what I did there), while the Cannons attend Hexside High School.
I don’t really like the name Winona for beta Willow. It’s not a bad name, I just feel like it doesn’t fit her. So in this Au her name is Weslia, though most call her Wes besides her sister Willow and people she has just met. Wes is Lucia’s partner and has been for the past two years. Over this time they have become pretty good friends and tend to hang out along with Amelia when their off duty. As I said she has her sister Willow, who still lives with their dads, stays over with Wes sometimes on the weekends. Their dads own the local plant nursery where Willow and occasionally Wes help out. They are also in charge of the maintenance of the park because one of the dads is on the city counsel.
I decided to have Beta Gus in this au, so his name is Alexzander and has just recently moved to the area along with his younger brother Gus and their father, Perry. Alex has just been transferred to the BPD to be their newest homicide detective and crime scene analyst. So he is basically this world’s Barry Frost, though they only share the technological know-how and the aversion to dead bodies. Perry quit his old job because he want to make the move with Alex and knew how upset Gus would be without his big brother around. He lucked out by getting the job of being the Bonesborough Channel 10 news reporter. Of course that means Alex has to watch what he says around his dad, not that he thinks Perry with leak anything but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The character I had the hardest time find a role for was Lilith. I at first was gonna have her work with Eda at the Creaky Owl, but after a while I felt she was better off being the sergeant detective of the homicide unit. Course she and Eda still have a good relationship and spent time together when they can. Lilith is kind of like Korsak, like being Lucia’s partner before Wes and being one of the oldest detectives in the department, though she is very by the book.
Lastly, there’s Belos. I wanted him to be a foil to Lucia like Charles Hoyt was to Jane. Though rather than being a serial killer, he is the kingpin of a city wide drug ring and he is responsible for the deaths of dozens. Most who have heard of him know him as the Emperor, but his real name is Belvedere Crowne. Lucia has only come face to face with him once back when she was still in the drug unit and their encounter was one of the few times she actually feared for her life. 
That’s it for now, though I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite Au’s to create characters for. Also you can read part one here.
18 notes · View notes
teamhawkeye · 5 years
Text
Cross Road Blues
Fandom: FC5/FC3
Characters: Anna Bishop, Hoyt Volker, Sam Becker, Buck Hughes, Willis Huntley, Dennis Rogers, Citra Talugmai, Vaas Montenegro (mentioned only)
Pairing: None
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Canon-typical violence (can’t stress these two enough, it’s a Far Cry game fic), minor character death
Word Count: 9,530
Summary: Alone and on the brink, would you accept the hand extended to you when it belonged to sin incarnate? (A FC3 AU starring Anna L. Bishop)
________________________________________________________________
“‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where -' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'- so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.’”
- Lewis Carroll, “Alice In Wonderland”
________________________________________________________________
The bottle in her hand was slammed down unceremoniously on the counter.
“Another.”
The barkeep barely even looked at her as he slid a fresh beer her way. Anna wasn’t all that drunk and she wasn’t bothering anyone, even with as unnecessarily loud and brusque as she was being. Badtown had far worse come through this dive daily – she was actually surprised she hadn’t seen the usual suspects come slinking in yet at noontime. Perhaps they all sensed her foul mood and kept some distance…a wise decision, she guessed, given how agitated she was and willing to look for any excuse to release some of her frustration.
She hadn’t made many friends since leaving the States, even less since arriving unceremoniously on the Rook Islands. So feeling essentially dumped by the two separate anchors she’d come to rely on – both in the span of a single month - had reduced her to day drinking as she did now, sitting sullenly and contemplating her future…or lack thereof.
Maybe that Vaas character was right…she’d hit the ground and no longer had a chance. She should have never jumped from that plane…
____________________________________________________
Anna’d been thinking for some time that she shouldn’t have left the United States. Her whole life, she’d never even seen the West or East Coast – there was so much territory left uncovered she could have explored.
But then Louis Draven had been paroled and common sense had gone out the window.
All her neighbors and family friends in Jackson County had beseeched her to go on vacation, to get away – however far away it may be - and find something else to occupy her mind. They’d all had the good sense to predict that if she remained, some other terrible thing might befall her…or she herself would go seeking trouble.
…they weren’t wrong to worry.
She’d sat for a few days in Chief Deputy Shaw’s living room, surrounded by relics of her past – of photos of her mother and father in their prime smiling down at her – and contemplated her future. Nothing seemed more alluring than seeking out Draven and confronting him; if there was ever a chance at closure for the deaths of her parents, it lay with him.
…but then again, he was the monster in her closet. The nightmare that had plagued her for years, that had completely upended and destroyed her life. A chance at seeing him face-to-face again left her trembling so violently she could scarcely even remember to breathe.
So she’d booked a last minute trip out of Bozeman to California and turned tail and fled.
And after a few days on the coast – finally getting to the see the ocean she’d spent her whole life dreaming about – she’d booked another trip to Thailand at the behest of the hotel concierge. And from Bangkok, she’d been talked into joining some new barcrawling acquaintances in a group skydiving venture over some secluded islands, far from prying eyes.
Every single bad decision – both past and present – led back to Draven. If he had just stayed rotting behind bars like he was supposed to, she would have never been besieged by pirates on that beach and dragged off to be thrown into a cage, readied for auction to the highest bidder. She would have never met Vaas, that psychopath who treaded a dangerous line between absolute insanity and startling clarity. She would have never had to have broken herself free and taken off into the jungle alone, pursued by armed guards, snarling dogs, and even a Black Hawk helicopter.
She might never have taken her first life as she had been forced to during that desperate escape to freedom.
“What do they say in America? ‘There is a first time for everything.’”
Dennis Rogers had told her that at their initial meeting in Amanaki Village. He’d been her first real ally, outside of the scatterbrained Dr. Earnhardt.
And the first person she’d mistakenly put her trust in.
The Rakyat seemed noble enough: they were a people fighting to preserve their home, their islands besieged by chaos and violence. They fought to survive…something she could relate to. And so she’d readily agreed to help them where she could, taking on Vaas’ pirates head on and fighting to reclaim some of their territory for them.
Dennis had promised her an eventual meeting with the Rakyat’s enigmatic leader Citra - the real power and figurehead on the northern islands. Anna wasn’t particularly convinced of the woman, just based on what she’d heard whispered about her; the Rakyat saw her as some sort of warrior goddess and Anna had long since run out of patience with stories of the divine…Still, if anyone would be able to help her return to the mainland and figure a way back home, she was the person who could.
There had been an eventual arranged introduction, after Anna had been escorted to Citra’s mysterious temple in the middle of the jungle; she’d been received with initial warmth in regards to her exploits in the name of the Rakyat, causing hope to blossom in her chest for the first time in weeks. However, the pleasantries had ended there when Citra had quickly made clear she didn’t see their working relationship panning out much further and summarily dismissed her.
“You possess great strength and courage – the makings of a true warrior…but you lack conviction.”
She might as well have just slapped her in the face: it would have left the same mark, the same brand. We appreciate what you have done for us but you will never be one of us, nor will we expend any effort to help you in your quest.
In spite of all the services she did in their name – all the lives she took, civilians she saved, outposts reclaimed – it wasn’t enough. Nothing would ever be enough, she quickly ascertained, even as Dennis tried to assure her otherwise.
“Citra sees the fire in you – but you must embrace it, not run from it.”
She’d seen him only two or three times more after that before being largely relegated to radio calls; now she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d even heard his voice. Those rejections smarted but she’d tried her best not to let it deter her. Especially not after several different sources in Amanaki whispered to her of people in Badtown who might be more willing to help an outsider such as herself. So she’d headed east and sought out the only other major center the northern islands housed…and almost immediately regretted her decision.
Filth lined the streets, with sick and drunken people either ambling about or sprawled out right in the open. Prostitutes were working every corner and there were probably more certifiably insane residents than there were sane ones. Her first minute in Badtown had Anna wondering if she wasn’t the victim of an incredibly malicious and unfunny joke: who on earth could be here that could possibly help her?
It wasn’t until the next day that she spotted him – the man in the white suit. Beyond his incredibly conspicuous choice of attire, he was one of the very few other Caucasians on the islands…picking him out of a crowd wouldn’t have been difficult.  
She had the distinct feeling he knew she was coming into town and let himself be seen; he implied as much without outright saying it when they were alone together in his underground base. He was Willis Huntley, CIA. He was on an important op for the United States government, tracking the activities of one Hoyt Volker and the massive criminal enterprise he’d built on the islands over the years. Did she want to be a true patriot and serve her country, here and now?
Anna would have agreed to just about anything in that moment if it meant scoring a guaranteed ticket home; she’d practically tripped over herself to say yes as it was.
And so she had become an agent of Langley…or an accessory to an agent, as Willis had been quick to inform her. She was by no means truly CIA and her involvement would remain as a footnote in a file that would eventually be buried in the stacks of some warehouse in the future. Fortune and glory had never been what she’d aspired for so it hadn’t hurt her ego in the least – she’d merely taken to her missions with gusto, eager to press forward.
A few burned drug fields, rescue missions for transport manifests, and a few covert spying ops later, she was feeling more secure in her chances of heading home within the next month or so. The Rakyat were managing to hold the ground she had secured for them and were finally giving the pirates enough trouble that they were forced to seek assistance from their mysterious boss, leaving them in a precarious situation. There was only so much left to do on the islands, as far as Anna could tell, before the big guns would sweep in to finally put pressure on the man in charge and force his empire to crumble.
Only fitting, then, that she’d returned to Willis’ shack for further orders and been blindsided her with the news that he was leaving her behind. His operation in the Pacific was over and he was shipping off to Russia to start a new assignment, putting the Rook Islands behind him…never to return.
“What about me?” she’d demanded when she’d regained her tongue. “When do I get to go home?”
“Whenever you can find your own way off this rock,” had been his blunt response.
He’d turned and stared at her while she visibly tried – and failed - to process what she was hearing.
“Your country thanks you for your service…but there’s bigger fish to fry out in Moscow. Hope you have enough money saved to charter a boat, since that’s your best bet of getting back to the mainland.”
That had been all he’d had to say on the matter. He was too busy with packing up his gear to even put much note into how long she lingered, hoping he was joking or that he’d at least give her something more to work with. She’d finally had the sense to drag herself back up the stairs and out into the stagnant Badtown evening air, tail between her legs, when it was clear he was an even bigger asshole that she’d pegged him for at their very first meeting.
Anna’s feet had taken her straight to the bar on the other side of town to drown her misery and ponder her disastrous luck once more…
__________________________________________________________
And there she had remained ever since. She’d poked her head out every now and then to see if Willis would ever show his face again, but she had seen neither hide nor hair of him. It was probably better that way, she realized, as her hurt was replaced with potent rage and despair – she might have slugged him given the chance. Not only was she going to be left behind with no real shot at making it to the mainland for help, he’d effectively handed her a death sentence by having her do all his dirty work in his stead.
It wasn’t just the pirates and Vaas she had antagonized now – she’d kicked the hornet’s nest by attacking Hoyt Volker’s product and sabotaging a handful of his operations. There was no way she’d escape those actions unmarked…it wouldn’t surprise her in the least if there was already a bounty on her head or a hit squad off in search of her.
The Rakyat couldn’t protect her, even if they wanted to (which they didn’t…): they could barely protect themselves. And Willis had effectively wiped his hands of her as he prepared to abscond north and head to his latest assignment. She was back to being on her own in these foreign lands, armed with only her wits and strength to keep her safe...
So, she was thoroughly fucked.
Knocking back another full swig of beer, she grimaced to herself at its strong ethanol kick. Maybe she’d head back to Dr. Earnhardt’s place for a spell while she sorted things out. She knew he’d never turn her away or turn her in: he seemed to have imprinted on her quite a bit. It didn’t take being called “Agnes” one too many times or finding old photographs of his daughter lying around to know she was filling some sort of void for him. She understood the pain of losing family but she wasn’t looking for a father figure…and the affection he doted on her left her feeling uncomfortable. Not because he was overstepping any boundaries – he was a very kind and respectful, albeit strange, man. His warmth simply left her with a painful yearning in her heart for something she’d been missing for so long...
It had made her visits to see him briefer and less frequent as her time on the islands progressed…but maybe this was the universe giving her a sign it was time to return for a lengthier stay. She’d spent time there undisturbed by the doctor’s usual pirate clientele in the past, meaning they hadn’t ever noticed or been clued into her presence. Perhaps there could be a way for her to stay there with Earnhardt and work on getting-
“Anna Bishop.”
It wasn’t a question; she took her time acknowledging, taking a swig from her drink and rolling it over her tongue before finally taking a glance over her shoulder. The men behind her were not what she had expected to see – not at all. They were well equipped - both in Kevlar vests and packing assault rifles – and clearly disciplined based off their rigid stances as they stood waiting at attention. Looking all the part of a PMC…and very much out of place in the shithole they all found themselves in.
“Who’s asking?” she demanded finally, expression trained blank even as she knew just who they worked for and why they were here.
“Mr. Volker wishes to speak with you. Please come with us,” the man on the left stated.
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly and Anna was suddenly aware of how much of a pariah she’d just been branded; the eyes of the other patrons had all turned towards her, making her feel unspeakably hot under the weight of their stares. Trying not to focus on how her stomach had plummeted at the namedrop, she kept her gaze steady as she looked on as unimpressed as she could manage.
“And if I refuse?” she tested.
Neither man reacted to her bluff, still staring at her unflinchingly.
“We must insist,” the first man said simply.
She briefly weighed her options. Running seemed laughable, almost as much as making a stand did. Her eyes had taken in how trigger ready their fingers were resting on their weapons and knew they’d drop her before she even had time to reach for the pistol tucked into the waistband of her shorts. There was no one to recruit in helping her out around here – most of the locals were petrified of the pirates…and judging by their reactions to the appearance of these soldiers, even more terrified of the man who ranked above Vaas.
Turning back to face the bar, she briefly made eye contact with the bartender; his apprehension was so palpable she could practically taste his fear in the air. With a sigh, she knocked her drink back and set the bottle down with a loud clatter, pushing herself tiredly off her stool. The man on the right extended a hand out towards her; she stared at it wearily for a moment before fishing her pistol out of her waistband and placing it in his grasp.
As it slipped from her fingers, she had to work to control the rapid acceleration of her heartbeat, feeling as if the walls were suddenly closing in on her even as she was led outside and underneath nothing more than the burning glare of the Pacific sun.
__________________________________________________________
They’d chauffeured her straight to a helicopter waiting on the beach. And not some cheap passenger bird – a Black Hawk by the looks of it. She’d never been in a chopper before…hadn’t been in a plane until she left the States however long ago that was now, she couldn’t quite be sure…
It was better than being in cramped economy class, she supposed; but it was hard to feel anything other than anxiety as they crossed the sea and headed for the southern islands. There was a knot in her stomach that only grew tighter with each passing minute, amplified each time her eyes left the water below and back to her traveling companions. They were at ease, but she could see their fingers close to their triggers and knew that if she tried to pull anything before they landed, they’d riddle her with lead and dump her body in the ocean without care.
There was far less jungle on the southern isles – and far less natives. From the height they were cruising, there was nary a village or outpost unoccupied by privateers in sight. She’d heard Hoyt took issue with the locals and Rakyat but the legitimacy of such a claim became abundantly clear on his home turf. Even without setting a single foot on the ground, she could tell they ran a tighter ship over here…one she would not be able to bail from so easily.
She was starting to realize the knot in her stomach was a warning of perhaps more than just the end of this journey…
The massive concrete walls in the distance had to be their destination – it didn’t take a genius to figure out that was Hoyt Volker’s HQ. The compound was really more of a fortress: beyond the giant walls, all topped with barbed wire, there were checkpoints and armed guards at every single point of entry. There were soldiers wandering the street and sentries outside ever building on the premise, placing eyes and ears in just about every corner. Anna took in the sight of all of the security measures – all of the armed men prepared to rain fire upon their employer’s enemies - and felt something akin to acceptance settle into her chest, easing some of the sickness in her stomach…
The chopper had barely set down just outside the sprawling complex before the soldiers at her side were grabbing her by the arms and dragging her back out under the sun. It surprised her they’d been so benign up until now – being in sight of their boss and peers must have fueled their aggression and she knew better than to resist now. They paraded her through the streets, drawing every pair of eyes onto her as she struggled to match their pace. She was taken into the largest building at the heart of the compound and straight for the staircase at its center; it was all she could do to keep herself from stumbling on any of the steps, trying as hard as possible to maintain whatever dignity she had left even as her heart thundered in her chest with terror.
They marched her through a pair of large, opened doors and into a sprawling office space overlooking the front courtyard and the river beyond the perimeter wall. The large leather armchair behind the desk was occupied but turned away and facing the large windows as Anna was dragged before it by her escorts.
“Anna Bishop for you, sir,” the man on her left announced simply.
Anna had only seen Hoyt Volker twice before now, both times at a distance. He wasn’t physically imposing, in the sense that he was very lean and lithe…but he had an aura of absolute menace that made all the hair on the back of her arms and neck stand on end as he turned in his chair to face them. The man took in the sight of her with a smile, looking remarkably pleased to see her.
“Ah, there you are! So good of you to accept my invitation to meet.”
Had her courage not abandoned her long before her arrival here, she might have leapt on that statement with a scathing retort. Instead, she could only hold her silence and try to keep her gaze steady as he gave her a thorough onceover. Finally, he made a dismissive gesture with his hands she quickly realized was not meant for her.
“Leave us.”
The soldiers released her and turned without another word; she fought the urge to rub the skin on her arms where their fingers had dug in, merely watching as they filed back out the way they came, shutting the doors noisily behind them.
Leaving Hoyt and her finally alone…
There was an unbearable silence that reined between them for several moments that left Anna feeling dizzy with apprehension as she turned back to face him, taking in the way he was gazing at her. Finally, he gave her a smile and gestured towards the chair across from him.
“Come. Sit.”
She didn’t want to – her base instinct of digging in her heels was replaced by the overwhelming urge to turn tail and flee. But she made herself walk slowly towards the offered seat and planted herself in it, trying to look braver than she felt.
Hoyt had an unwavering stare that made her feel smaller than she already was. Still, she forced herself to meet his gaze head on, her heart pounding so loudly in her chest she swore he could hear it. The silence was unnerving and she had a feeling he was letting it drag on longer than necessary to rattle her cage.
“You’re a difficult woman to get ahold of,” he said finally, looking amused. “There’s only so many…civilized places on these islands. And you seem to make very few appearances in them.”
He already knew she had been doing that on purpose – staying disconnected from his network of spies and informants who might lay eyes on her – so she didn’t bother with a redundant answer.
“Self-reliant. I like that,” he admitted. “There’s only one person you can truly rely on in this world to take care of you…and that is yourself.”
A lesson she’d long since learned; still, to hear it from him, made her already queasy stomach feel worse. It made her realize that somewhere in his past, there was a connection to her own…neglect, abuse, betrayal…
“Do you smoke?” he asked suddenly.
She swallowed thickly as she tried to regain her capacity for speech.
“On occasion,” she managed to force out, softer than intended.
Her eyes watched his hands as he reached into his desk and brought forth a box of cigars; he hadn’t asked what she smoked and she had to wonder if he knew that she’d only had cigars since arriving on the islands. She reached forward hesitantly as he offered one to her, careful not to let their fingers touch.
There was only a moment to sit awkwardly with the unlit stogie in her grasp before Hoyt produced struck a match and held it out to her. The only way to accept was to lean forward across the table towards him, forcing her eyes to leave him for the first time since entering the office. When she finally drew back and brought her gaze quickly back to him, she found his eyes had never left her, still watching her every move.
Hoyt’s eyes were a curious shade of green that could almost be described as pretty…if there wasn’t such sinister intent behind them. Just as she was starting to feel herself start to sweat under the weight of his stare, he turned his eyes from her and down to his desk. She watched as he flipped open the small booklet before him and took in the familiar sight of her portrait in its corner.
“Anna L. Bishop. Born 27 November 1993…only 18,” he stated, looking between her passport and her face.
She tried not to squirm under his roving eyes, finally taking a drag from her cigar to help steady her nerves.
“You look it,” he acknowledged after a moment. “But after all the trouble you’ve caused, I’d have thought you were at least mid-20s. And trained by the military…or police…”
He reached for something else that immediately caught her eye, her heart stopping at the familiar glint of gold between his fingers. She watched him brandish the badge, her eyes glued to it, as he stared her down.
“A tad young to be sheriff,” he surmised correctly.
“…it was my father’s,” she managed to force out eventually.
“Ah. Dear old dad…won’t be missing this, will he?”
“Probably not. He’s been dead for years.”
“Hmm. And mummy?”
“Same for her.”
There was a momentary beat of silence where she forced her eyes towards the cigar smoking between her fingers, frantically working to recompose herself. Hoyt discarded the badge carelessly back onto the surface of his desk and it took all of her strength not to let herself look at it again, taking another puff from her stogie instead to ease her frayed nerves.
“You’re not military, you’re not police…”
His gaze was unrelenting as he pinned her to the spot.
“So how is it that you’re running around out there making professionals look like a bunch of fucking children in a sandbox?”
She swallowed around the lump in her throat, thinking over her response carefully. In the end, when she finally returned his stare, she chose honesty.
“It’s me or them. I’m just out there doing what it takes to survive.”
Hoyt scoffed, laughing lightly beneath his breath.
“Survival would be hiding beneath some rock and avoiding attracting any attention to yourself. Instead you’re leading raids on Vaas’ men, burning down fields and blowing up weapons caches.”
He wasn’t wrong but she held her tongue and watched as he visibly weighed his next choice of words.
“I’m not bothered by you fighting your way to freedom. Or the men you killed, or the trouble you’ve been giving my boy Vaas,” he said finally.
This is the calm before the storm, she realized suddenly.
“What I can’t have is you destroying my product, my property!”
Her heart was racing even as she tried not to give a reaction to his shout; still, when his hand had swung down towards the desk’s surface, she’d flinched, unable to stop herself from closing her eyes in preparation for a hit that never came. She only gave herself a moment or two to steady her breathing before forcing her gaze back on him, taking in his scorching glare as evenly as she could.
Several seconds passed before he finally leaned back into his chair, his gaze softening ever so slightly as she brought the cigar back to her lips and took another puff.
“Fortunately for you, the pirates you killed in that last little stunt were all stealing from me.”
How convenient.
Still, she could hardly believe anyone would be ballsy enough to try and rip off Hoyt Volker. She understood those who crossed him seldom lived to tell the tale - had observed as much back at Beras Town when he’d forced those people through the minefield for taking his transport manifest.
Then again, until recently, she had been actively undermining all his operations with gusto…perhaps being far removed from the man and his presence gave an inflated sense of confidence. Sitting before him, as she did now, was an entirely different thing altogether: she couldn’t imagine taking him head on anymore.
“The plan was always to burn the cut they intended to sell and then be rid of them…You did me a favor handling that all in one go. So, I’m going to cut you a break.”
The look she sent him must have spelled out her disbelief as he spread out his arms as if to wave away her suspicions.
“Clean slate. Back at square one.”
“Square one,” she repeated hollowly.
Her mind placed her back to that night in the cage, before she’d broken free and ran from an armed pursuit into the jungle. She knew from the start they were going to sell all their captives off - the pirates’ chatter had left her with no doubts about that, long before Vaas had dangled the impending danger in front of her. First they ransomed off their prey…only to then auction them off to the highest bidder anyway.
If Hoyt still meant to make a buck off her…
“It’s just me…,” she spoke up finally, trying to keep her voice steady. “I don’t have any money to pay a ransom. I...”
A lump formed in her throat voicing that last statement and she quickly swallowed around it, working hard not to crack. She’d run out of tears a long time ago – she’d be damned to have that change now in front of Hoyt of all people.
“Negotiations generally go better if you don’t play all your cards at once,” he advised with a hint of amusement.
Probably true. Still…
“We’re a bit beyond bullshitting each other at this point,” she stated plainly. “I know when to fold a bad hand.”
His eyes seemed to sparkle at such a statement but she wasn’t sure what it was that he latched onto; she could only watch as he rose from his chair and circled the desk to come stand before her. As he loomed over her, she could barely keep herself from shaking, even as he reached out and grasped her chin in his hand, tilting her face upward. Hoyt’s eyes seemed to bore into hers and it was all she could do keep from shutting hers tightly to escape from some of his intensity.
“Such a rare thing, eyes like that,” he noted. “Plenty would pay a fortune for a pretty girl with different colored eyes.”
Her heart lurched in her chest but she held his gaze, letting her gaze harden to steel. Terrified as she may be, anyone trying to buy her would be met with resistance. She was a fighter, through and through, and would be damned if she didn’t go down without a fight…
“If I were to sell you,” he continued, finally letting her face slip from his fingers. “But I don’t want to do that.”
The look she gave him conveyed her disbelief; his hands rose in a gesture of good faith.
“Really I don’t. You fought hard for your freedom. And I’m inclined to give it to you…”
She watched him warily as he leaned back on the desk behind him, regarding her with a suddenly neutral expression.
What’s the chance he actually intends to let me walk outta here?
Slim to none, she wagered. In spite of his assertion of a “clean slate”, she didn’t see him allowing her to skip town after everything she had done. After everything she had seen. The drugs, the smuggling, the kidnappings and the murders she had witnessed in her short time here must only scratch the surface of all the dark deeds being undertaken on the Rook Islands.
She wouldn’t have the first clue who to approach back on the mainland, but her testimony could surely get something in the works…couldn’t it? Hoyt had to know that – he was already 5 steps ahead of her, it seemed, and knew the danger she presented left to her own devices. No, she didn’t see herself getting to leave this all behind…she could only see this ending one way…
“Work for me, kid.”
Nothing could have prepared her for a job offer – not when she was readying herself for death instead. Anna could only blink, unable to keep the shock from her face as she stared up at him in disbelief.
“You’re young, talented…a bit green, but you show real promise,” he said casually, making the situation seem all the more absurd.
He circled back around the desk and sat himself back down in his armchair; she watched as he produced another cigar from his box and lit it for himself, taking his time savoring the initial drag before addressing her again.
“You’ll be compensated accordingly…a roof over your head, real food, neither of which I know you were getting in those savage towns or the jungle.”
…that was all certainly enticing, she wouldn’t lie. Starvation and restless nights weren’t unfamiliar to her but it still wasn’t wonderful to be experiencing them once more. The promise of a decent bed and square meals certainly had her thinking it over…
“And - best of all - you get to keep doing what you do best. Only in my name now; you go where I tell you to go, and you shoot who I tell you to shoot,” he told her, gesturing with his cigar animatedly.
Anna swallowed thickly, feeling the saliva in her mouth turn acrid at his words. It had…troubled her, to say the least, at just how easily she’d taken to killing. After that first pirate in her escape from Vaas’ camp, it had become almost second nature: she barely even blinked when taking a life anymore. She hadn’t been lying to Hoyt minutes prior when she chalked it all up to survival…but perhaps it went a bit beyond that.
Hoyt, at the very least, seemed to understand that. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t be casting this pitch here and now. He thought she belonged among his ranks…working in the service of a slaver and drug lord. She hadn’t forgotten what he was or how he made his money; all his praise and honeyed words couldn’t take that knowledge from her…
He must have read the indecision on her face, given how pensive he seemed from a moment prior.
“But I understand this is big commitment, and one not taken on lightly. So…name your price.”
Anna stared at him, not quite comprehending.
“What do you mean?” she finally dared to ask.
“Anything you want…within reason,” he amended after a moment, taking a puff from his cigar. “Name it and its yours.”
What could she possibly want from him – what could he possibly give her? Her eyes darted to the far corner of the desk and the shiny gold star winking at her from it.
“I want that back,” she said quickly, gesturing for the badge.
He placed it down on the desk before her and she had to force herself not to snatch it up in the same moment. Having it back in her grasp lifted an enormous weight off her shoulders, letting her breathe normally for the first time in weeks. Her thumb slid over the shield, following the smooth trail she’d worn meticulously over the years and felt the familiar comfort and strength it lent her seep into her chest. She only allowed herself a few strokes before burying it deep in the pocket of her shorts, far from Hoyt’s prying eyes, still watching her every move.
“I was going to offer that back to you anyway,” he told her simply, leaning forward once more. “It’s meaningless to me – and probably just about everyone else. So, as a gesture of good faith, name something else.”
Anna could only stare at him, seeing how he waited in anticipation for a response and realized he was being sincere. What else could she ask for? Not her freedom, obviously, since he wanted her staying here and working for him – but what else did she want?
There was so little she craved. Money wasn’t a priority, nor was status. She would be content with so little if she could just live comfortably and in relative anonymity…all of which waited for her back in-
No, it doesn’t, a voice in her head warned suddenly, conjuring up a familiar face in her mind’s eye.
Her blood ran cold as she thought of Louis Draven once more. Everything always linked back to him – everything was always his fault. Her parents, her time in foster care, all the abuse and neglect she’d suffered, her decision to skip town and come out here-!
Wrath consumed her, causing reason to abandon her. Swallowing thickly around the angry lump that had formed in the back of her throat, she tried to keep her voice from shaking as she spoke.
“There’s a man back in the States: Louis Draven….say I wanted his head-”
“Done.”
Her eyes snapped back to Hoyt instantly, some of her rage tempered by disbelief.
“Just like that?”
He merely shrugged.
“Simple enough.”
“You don’t need to know why?” she pressed.
“You’ve got your reasons – good ones, I’m sure,” he said simply. “We’ll leave it at that.”
He levelled her with a stare.
“But know that if I do this for you, you’ve signed a contract with me. Your life becomes mine.”
There was something more than just sinister in his choice of words…but all she could think of was the smile on Draven’s face when he’d walked away from her father, bleeding out in her arms in the middle of Main Street. Her eyes were hard as stone as she stared back at Hoyt.
“You get him for me, I’m all yours,” she insisted.
If he kept his word, she meant it. But she had her doubts – no one delivered on such promises. Kind of like when the judge looked her in the eye and told her Draven would never see the light of day again after being thrown behind bars…
Still, when Hoyt smirked and reached a hand out across the desk, she took it without hesitation, shaking it firmly. An even if he didn’t make good on his word, she might have a better shot of finding help here on the northern islands than back in Badtown or Amanaki. Maybe Hoyt’s apparent interest and attention would wane and she could slip onto a boat bound for the mainland and there would be no real fuss over her vanishing. She could play the long con, if that’s what it took…with any luck, she’d be back in the States in a short while, putting this whole fever dream behind her for good.
She kept that in mind, even as a sudden heaviness in her chest cautioned her of who she had just signed her soul over to.
____________________________________________________________
Nearly two months had passed and Anna remained in the belly of the beast – but all things considered, it wasn’t so bad, she supposed.
Cutting a deal with the man pulling all the strings had immediate benefits: unlike previous agreements she had entered into with others on the Rook Islands, Hoyt actually came through for her. Real, decent food she didn’t have to scrounge for, a solid roof over her head, and an actual mattress to sleep on had her ready to speak all the words he wanted her to say a hundred times over.
The Privateers weren’t the best people to be suddenly thrust into the mix of…especially not as the lone female among their ranks. There were eyes constantly on her, making her feel next to naked just walking the streets as she learned the layout of her new home. Most kept their distance, either maintaining silence or simply catcalling as she passed. Others were bold, putting themselves in her space and forcing her to contend with their unwanted attention and defuse as skillfully as she could.
It had taken just one man going a bit too far to finally have someone step in. One of the tallest, most intimidating men she’d seen in her time at the Compound came forward and immediately had her intimidator on guard as he sized him up.
“No one messes with this one or they go straight to Hoyt,” the tall man said in a thick German accent that perfectly matched his physical appearance. “Boss’s orders.”
And that was that. The harassment all came from afar from that moment onward – and she had become fairly attached to Sam Becker, her unexpected knight in shining armor. He’d actually supervised some of her training and seemed to be grooming her to join his squad out in the field in the future.
Out of all the possibilities that laid out for her, that one was indeed the most promising. The longer she stayed here, the less certain she was that trying to make a break for the mainland was even possible. Most of the men who served here were bastards and would sooner sell her out if she approached them with such a conspiracy instead of offering a hand; those who were more decent, such as Sam and several others she had grown friendly with, would likely caution her against crossing Hoyt in such a way. He’d extended mercy to her once before – he would not do it again.
For the most part, she didn’t see too much of Hoyt himself. He was busy running his empire and she was fully occupied with being put through the paces of becoming a Privateer. The training was rather intense – she didn’t have military history like most of the men around her and hadn’t been prepared to be dropped into boot camp – but she put in her best and tried keeping pace.
When the boss did deign to drop by, it was almost always to look in on her and whatever she was being subjected to. It was a seemingly average day when he made one such unannounced visit while she was in the midst of target practice with a handful of others.
“Anna.”
Nobody ever called her Anna, as she’d said time and again. But Hoyt Volker wasn’t nobody. And he didn’t take “no” for an answer so she hadn’t bothered correcting him like she did with everyone else. She turned towards him instantly, abandoning her company at the drop of a hat; none of them protested, all knowing what happened to those who thwarted their boss’s even most inconsequential whims.
He actually waited for her to join him at his side and she was immediately suspicious of how pleased he looked with himself.
“I have a present for you,” he taunted.
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly before she could even think to conceal her skepticism; she was a second too slow, based on Hoyt’s laughter. Had it been anyone else, he might not have reacted so well to such insolence, but for some reason, he seemed to indulge hers to a degree.
“Walk with me,” he commanded.
It was a strange request but she didn’t dare question him and easily fell into step behind him. Still, as he led them away from the range and back towards the center of the Compound, she could feel her brow furrowing with confusion. Hoyt wasn’t one for silence and his quiet left her feeling deeply unsettled. Either he was deep in thought or he was unhappy…and she finally thought to be more worried about where he was taking her as he led her down into the basement of the main complex.
She didn’t need to be told what happened down here: the sight of the cells that lined either wall and the heavy aroma of sweat and fear were all the indications she required. It left her throat dry, wondering just what reason she was being brought down here for. Hoyt had called it a “present”…but was he merely toying with her? Did he have any reason to suspect she was still harboring a desire to skip town at the first chance?
As he led her towards the furthest cell back, the man she had come to know as Buck exited through its door. He spoke to Hoyt in a low tone that had the other man chuckling under his breath before waving him away. Anna watched in silence as Buck sauntered off, but not before casting a wink her way. Immediately, her hackles raised; she didn’t know him well but she knew enough about Buck Hughes to be deeply wary and unsettled by him. She didn’t have time to watch his departure as Hoyt gestured her into the cell first.
Hesitantly, she approached before nearly stopping dead at the sight before her. There was a man inside, tied to a chair and beaten to a pulp. His head was drooped over his chest, obscuring his face from view; Anna could only stare in confusion as Hoyt passed by her and towards him, circling around behind him.  
“A deal is a deal,” he told her pointedly.  
She struggled to find the words to voice her confusion just as he grabbed the other man’s hair and brought his head back up straight. Anna’s heart stopped in her chest the moment she recognized just who was before her.
That face…she’d never forget that face. Not even bruised and broken as it was now. It haunted her...she saw it when she closed her eyes, she saw it when she slept…
She couldn’t have predicted that Hoyt would have hand delivered Louis Draven to her. Beyond the doubt that he would make good on his word at all, she’d just assumed she’d be told that he was taken care of. Having him here, before her, for the first time since his sentencing all those years back…
“Well, I imagine you have some catching up to do,” Hoyt said cheerfully, dropping his hold on Draven and striding back towards her.
Hoyt’s hands were suddenly on her shoulders, anchoring her to the reality of the situation: this was real, this was actually happening. He leaned in close and she felt the warmth of his breath on her cheek.
“Take as long as you need,” he told her.
She felt his fingers slip away and heard his footsteps dissipate as he walked off.
Leaving her and Draven alone…
For a long time, she remained rooted to the spot, merely staring at the man before her. He barely acknowledged her, head rolling from side to side as he contended with the pain from his previous beatings. Buck must have been the one to put him through the wringer – she didn’t feel sorry for him in the slightest but she could practically feel Draven’s pain as he sat there breathing heavily.
For so long, she’d seen him as only a monster. Some sort of shadowy specter that was untouchable. Seeing him bleed reminded her he was just as human as she was. It finally gave her some power over him.
“Do you remember me?” she spoke up, softer than she intended.
“Fuck you,” Draven slurred after a minute.
“Do you. Remember. Me?” she demanded, voice rising sharply as she took a step forward.
Draven cast a tired, irritated glance her way but he did make an effort, sizing her up.
“No,” he said finally.
“March 8, 2004,” she stated stiffly, stalking closer. “Mountainview, Montana. You gunned down the sheriff and his wife in broad daylight on Main Street.”
She watched the surprise blossom in his one good eye and felt herself begin to quake with rage. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides.
“They had their daughter with them. You didn’t kill her.”
He was silent for some time, staring openly at her.
“You gotta be fucking shitting me – you?”
Anna stepped closer, eyes brimming with the full hatred of the last 7 years.
“Me.”
Draven sneered, showing her bloody teeth.
“Well look at you, all grown up…and working for some thugs. Parents would be so proud-”
“You don’t get to talk about them!” she shouted.
She had to wait for some of the red to bleed out of her vision; everything was so loud and moving so fast, much like her heart thundering in her chest. Inhaling and exhaling through her nose rapidly, she fought to regain any of her composure.
“And you don’t get to judge me for how I’ve survived up until now. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you.”
“So that’s my fault too-“
“Yes. It is,” she snarled. “If you hadn’t killed my parents, none of this would have happened! If you had just stayed in prison like you were fucking supposed to-!”
“I did my time.”
“You were handed a life sentence,” she hissed. “Just because you managed to exploit some fucking loophole and get out does not mean you ‘did your time.’ There will never be enough time on this earth to make right what you did to my family, to me.”
“Your old man killed my brother, did they ever tell you that?” he asked.
“For trying to kill him – and several civilians,” she snapped. “It was his job to stop him.”
“Still killed him.”
“You killed both of my parents.”
“It was revenge.”
“So is this.”
He glared at her through his shark-like black eyes.
“Bite me.”
Anna surprised herself with the cruel bark of laughter that ripped from her throat.
“You took everything from me. My parents, my home, my life – every terrible foster home I got shoved into, every time I got beaten and smacked around, every hardship I’ve faced these past years is all on you. That all falls back on you and what you did that day,” she spat.
He remained silent, his glare shifting from her to the wall as he exhaled in pain, finally letting his tough guy act fall through. Anna stared at him for a long time, taking in his state as she attempted to rein herself back in. Her rage sat hot and tight in her chest and the back of her throat, making it hard to even try and sort through her thoughts. But there was still a question that needed answering – something that had plagued her for so long…
She swallowed around the lump in her throat and gave herself a second before pushing forward.
“Have you ever once felt any regret for what you did?”
“No.”
His response was fast but concise: she didn’t doubt his sincerity. It didn’t make the feeling in her chest any better but at least there wasn’t the problem of guessing if he was lying to her or not.
“Given the chance…”
She turned back towards him with surprise, waiting for him to continue. He rolled his head back to stare at her, a nasty smirk on his lips…the same one she remembered from so long ago-
“I’d do it all over again, just the same.”
Her hand flew down to her holster before she even had time to think. The Glock in her hand fired off two rounds, one into each knee. His screams made her stomach turn but she refused to look away, watching him writhe.
“You bitch! You fucking bitch!”
She reholstered her pistol with shaking fingers, trying to regain control over herself. The action had been so kneejerk – she wasn’t even sure if it’s what she intended this all to lead up to. It would be an outright lie if his pain didn’t bring her any pleasure…but by and large, she just grew angrier with each passing second.
It didn’t take much for her to realize that she had reached the point of no return. What she had done just now already spoke volumes …what came next would absolutely define her for the rest of her life. Anna shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to sift pass the cold, angry voice in her head that called for blood – had called for it for so long - to see if this was actually what she wanted.
“I should…have killed you too,” he wheezed out finally. “That’s my one regret.”
When she turned back towards him, her eyes were filled with cold resolution.
“Yeah. You should have.”
His eyes went instantly to her holster as she strode towards him, but her fingers went straight down to the sheath attached to her boot instead. He didn’t deserve quick or relatively painless – this was too personal. Draven had a moment to take in the sight of the blade before her hand arched and brought it down straight into his chest.
It was nothing but reflex at this point – she barely even reacted to his gargled exclamation before she pushed the knife in further. She let it sit for a few moments, before retracting quickly, ignoring the sudden warm spray on her cheek as she brought it down again.
He finally looked to her and she forced herself to meet his eye. For a moment, she remembered that smirk he’d given when he’d ran out of bullets and walked away from her family in the street, leaving her cradling her father while he bled out. Now Draven was the one dying, his blood covering her hands…only she had no smile for him. There was no happiness to be found in this act, only hatred and wrath. Anna made sure to hold his gaze as he slipped away, the light fading from his eyes as he finally slumped over and struggled no more.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed – it felt like both a second and an eternity – before she pulled the knife out and stumbled back a step or two. Her gaze couldn’t leave his face – at his still open, lifeless eyes, vacant and unseeing – as she panted for breath, standing in the center of the cell with silence as her only remaining companion.
Her father’s badge, safely tucked away in one of the pockets on her pants, felt suddenly heavy. Like it knew what she had just done and was reminding her of the gravity of her actions. She didn’t dare reach for it, hands slick with Draven’s blood, the knife still clutched tightly between her fingers.
Slowly, she lifted the blade to wipe clean on her sleeve. She didn’t trust herself to use any of Draven’s clothing for the task – she didn’t want to set foot near him again and chance unleashing more of that fury on his corpse. His death didn’t bring her the closure she’d hoped: killing him hadn’t brought back her parents. It didn’t undo all the injustices she had endured or take away the pain she felt.
All it did was stoke the anger inside her.
Still…even if justice hadn’t been served, vengeance had been claimed. In the end, she supposed, that was all that mattered. It was over and done, nothing further to be gained; she’d just have to accept that.
After several moments of staring at the limp body across from her, she forced herself to turn and exit the cell. Out in the hall, she felt she could finally breathe again, inhaling shakily through her mouth. It was like she’d suddenly become present again after being removed from time and space – that had actually just happened, it wasn’t something she’d imagined. The blood on her hands and face seemed to have gained weight, making her hyperaware of their presence; it didn’t leave her feeling sick as she expected…just inexplicably calm as she navigated her way back out of the cellblock.
Hoyt was at the surveillance desk when she reached the end of the hall, eyes already looking to catch sight of her as she rounded the corner. Anna realized he had been watching through the camera feed and had witnessed everything that had just transpired. A knot formed in her stomach at such a deeply personal moment being watched by an outsider…but knew it would have never taken place without his orchestration and tried to smother the feeling as best she could. His smile of approval greeted her as she drew closer, spreading his hands out in question.
“Satisfied?” he asked simply.
Anna couldn’t be sure that was the word she’d use to describe how she was feeling…but it was probably the closest to catharsis she’d ever reach. Searching for the right response, she found that there wasn’t anything remotely poignant or intelligent she could provide.
“Thank you,” she managed to force out quietly.
Hoyt merely shrugged, looking unfazed.
“Merely upholding my part of the bargain,” he reminded her, watching her closely.
Her eyes flitted to him, voice returning with a sense of conviction.
“I’m with you,” she said earnestly. “Here on out, I’m yours.”
She meant every word.
Perhaps there was no coming back from this – no redemption, no absolution. But maybe it was better this way…maybe it’s what she actually wanted. She’d struggled so long with the feelings of darkness within her soul – finally given the chance to act upon them, there had been no hesitation, no doubt…
Absolutely no regret.
Maybe she did belong here with Hoyt and his men after all. He was giving her a look of approval that she’d be damned to deny didn’t make her feel sinfully justified.The desire to return home was non-existent in her now: this was home, wherever Hoyt was. She’d follow him to the ends of the earth, into Hell itself if he asked her to; she owed him a debt she could never repay.
The darkness didn’t seem so scary now, not when she walked side-by-side with what lurked in it. There was no place for any light in that inky blackness…she’d have to leave it behind in order to move ahead.
That suited Anna just fine. 
______________________________________________________
“Yeoo, standin' at the crossroad, tried to flag a ride Ooo eee, I tried to flag a ride Didn't nobody seem to know me, babe, everybody pass me by Standin' at the crossroad, baby, risin' sun goin' down Standin' at the crossroad, baby, eee, eee, risin' sun goin' down I believe to my soul, now, poor Bob is sinkin' down”
Robert Johnson, “Cross Road Blues”
__________________________________________________________
Author’s Notes: I’ve replayed FC3 a lot the past month and a half and it had me thinking...Jason Brody was 25 and stranded with friends and family to look after when he arrived on the Rook Islands. My girl Anna Bishop would have only been 18 in 2012 when the game’s timeline is set, with no family and no friends to speak of. It had me wondering just how differently things would have played out with her in a leading role as opposed to Jason.
No attachments means less danger...but also greater loneliness and despair. And she didn’t have what Citra wanted in the end so I saw her path diverging substantially from Jason’s. Aside from how charismatic I find Hoyt, I also felt that Anna would be more susceptible to him and what he had to offer than Jason ever was. It also would open up the door for future interactions with Vaas, Sam, and even Buck going this route so i ended up typing up this little story as a way to kill time between writing some of my FC5 stuff.
10 notes · View notes
sandythereadingcafe · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media
FREE boxset
MEN OF MERCY boxset 1-8 by Lindsay Cross
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3nqj5uL Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3n0Ezht Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3otsi5A Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3oAJeXQ
USA TODAY BESTSELLING author Lindsay Cross gives you the complete story of the Men of Mercy. All eight best selling full length novels in one place!
Redemption River
Hunter James didn’t want or need redemption. Until one mission turns his world upside down.
Evangeline Videl was destroyed when Hunter left. Determined to move on, she finds another man, but discovers too late the monster hidden beneath his smooth smile.
Then Hunter returns…
Resurrection River
Ranger James accepted his best friend's death like a good soldier. With guilt. Regret. Vengeance. And a forbidden desire that keeps pulling him from his mission. Desire for his best friend's widow.
A war widow, alone and broke, Amy struggles to revive her family's farm to survive.
Amy and Ranger can't fight the attraction between them any longer. But one fateful night cleaves their new found love in two...
Reckless River
Jared Crowe never wanted to return home to face the memories of abuse, but his brother’s kidnapping forces him there.
Sparrow needs to earn a place in the family business or be booted. She sees Jared spying on them and captures him. Jared is determined to find the truth. But that truth may be more than his heart can take.
Ravaged River
War destroyed him... could she save him?
After suffering brutal torture in captivity, Hoyt’s once lively spirit is shattered.
Hayden James watched Hoyt slide into a private purgatory of PTSD, taking her heart with him. When an old enemy threatens Hayden’s life, Hoyt must find the strength to slay his inner demons or lose the woman he loves forever.
Rebellious River
Ethan Slade had one love in his life, the SF. Kate got fired from the CIA by a chauvinistic boss.
After years of ribbing and sexual harassment, Kate wanted nothing to do with men. Period. Especially tall, dark and handsome alpha male operative Ethan Slade. The two come together in an explosion of passion so potent it will leave them both marked for life.
Ravished River
As a Special Forces operative, Aaron Spears treated relationships like Tangos: avoid at all costs. Then Celine Latimer walked into his life and turned his world upside down.
When she’s caught in a kidnapping plot against a local Senator, he has to race time to rescue her or lose her forever.
Revenge River
His name is Merc. He has no past. No future. Only a thirst for revenge against the traitor who betrayed his team.  He rescue’s a kidnap victim from the traitor, never dreaming the girl he rescued could be his downfall…
Nightshade:
She walks in the night.
An operative so elite even the president doesn’t know of her existence.
Merc knows he doesn’t deserve her. Nightshade knows she can’t have him. But a connection so powerful neither of them can resist draws them closer, even as a betrayal so deep threatens to destroy their very existence.
Mercy and Mayhem
Mack Grey wants one thing in his life: vengeance for the ex-CIA operative who betrayed his team. And he’s finally got the traitor within grasp, all he has to do is catch a hop across the Congo and capture his enemy.
She never thought she could love again…until him.
When Captain Marley Mitchell’s plane crashes in the Congo, she has to rely on an insanely hot commander to get her out of the jungle alive.
Deep in the jungle, Mack gives her his heart and soul. He’s willing to lay down his life to protect hers.
But Marley has a secret.
A secret that could destroy not only their hope for happiness, but Mack’s entire team.
0 notes