#Michiko Hato

[centaurworks]

BMV: MichikoXRobin

Commissions Open I have a Ko-Fi Social Medias Characters (Michiko Hato, Robin Kage) © @CentaurWorks On Valentine's Night, Robin took Michiko on a special date. As the night grew, the two got closer to shore and rested on a rock while looking at the night sky. Even after the water changed them into their merforms, the two looked at each other lovingly before kissing each other on this precious night. Back to the annual Be My Valentine! I wanted to do one with Michiko and Robin since I feel like I don't have much of the two compared to others. (Could be off but didn't look too deep into it.) I wanted to do one with them on the shoreline and kising each other. Of course, I wanted to make sure that I had the hearts and wanted to have the shoreline with the glowing algee. A late edition was more of the shooting stars around each other, I feel like that adds a unique romantic vibe.

[slayerdurge]

Secure Your Soul: A Cyberpunk 2077 Fanfiction

This fic was previously published under the title “Before the Event Horizon.”

Summary: Six months ago, V’s boss at Arasaka ordered her to assassinate his rival. Instead, with the reluctant but invaluable help of her old friend Jackie Welles, she pushed them both off their thrones and claimed one for herself. Now the new Director of Arasaka Counter Intel has a problem. She’s uncovered information that indicates that Yorinobu Arasaka, the heir apparent to the Arasaka dynasty, is a traitor. But without solid proof, she’s forced to take matters into her own hands.

An AU in which Corpo!V never leaves Arasaka.

CHAPTER NINE: SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

[read on ao3]

Adam Smasher.

V pressed her palm firmly against the pane of glass in an effort to ground herself. She couldn’t believe it. Being in the same vicinity as Yorinobu Arasaka was insane enough, but this was completely mind-blowing.

Adam. Fucking. Smasher. 

The man was a legend. If you could call him a man. He’d been full borg for decades—nothing organic but the brain. Rumours about him had been passed around by Arasaka employees for as long as V could remember. 

That his original body had been destroyed by a rocket-propelled grenade. That Arasaka had made him an offer: full-body conversion and a 15-year employment contract or death and what little there was left of him winding up in some stranger’s body bank. That after his conversion, he’d once gotten shot with another rocket-propelled grenade and fallen nine stories off a building only to rise up again, unscathed this time, and rip the shooter’s head clean off. That he’d recently been assigned as Yorinobu Arasaka’s personal bodyguard—that rumor seemed to be true, at least. That he was fucking Michiko Arasaka and that he got special privileges with Hato Faction because of it. That he’d single-handedly fought an entire Militech assault team on top of the Tower during the Fourth Corporate War. That he’d survived the Night City Holocaust. 

V’s train of thought veered. There were about a billion conspiracy theories about the infamous nuking of Night City’s Arasaka Tower, but one in particular suddenly came to mind. 

She couldn’t recall the source, but she distinctly remembered hearing that the bomb that had leveled Arasaka Tower and taken the lives of countless employees and bystanders had in fact been planted by famous rockerboy and known anti-corp activist Johnny Silverhand. Holy shit. V managed to peel her eyes off Smasher long enough to check on Jackie and the Relic. 

He seemed to be having a similar experience. He was gripping the Relic’s box tightly against his chest, watching the scene in front of them with rapt attention. When he noticed her looking at him, he leaned his head slightly closer to her. “Is that—is that Adam Smasher?” he whispered. “Goddamn. He’s a Night City legend. Bleak motherfuckin’ one too. What’s our play?”

“We wait. And we stay silent.” 

Smasher stood motionless near the elevator. Yorinobu was pacing in the center of the room. He seemed obviously agitated. Impatient, maybe. Every once in a while, he shook his head and cast an irritated glance around the space. Finally, after several rounds of this, he spoke aloud. “Are they here yet?” he asked, seemingly to no one in particular. 

The suite’s AI assistant answered him in its cheery, artificial voice. “They approach from the landing pad.” 

“Who the fuck are they talking about?” Jackie asked. 

“Shhh,” she shot back, though she thought she could guess the answer. She watched as Yorinobu sat down on the cushioned chair beside the coffee table. He seemed calmer, she thought, but he didn’t seem any happier. He wasn’t fidgeting as much, but his head was arched downwards, gaze fixed on an undefined point in the center of the table. 

Jackie wasn’t satisfied with silent observation. “Bug,” he whispered, ignoring V’s repeated commands, “Who we got incoming?”  

Jackie’s netrunner was good, but hers was better. Carter’s soft-spoken voice was in her ear despite the fact that she hadn’t even unmuted herself. “I hope you’ve gotten outta there by now, V, but if you haven’t, you gotta hurry.” His voice dropped to an even softer tone. “It’s the Emperor.”  

Of course it was.

She’d always hoped to one day have the opportunity to meet him. Ironic that the moment should arrive to find her cowering behind a wall like a common thief, instead of greeting him with the gravity the situation demanded. She felt a flash of irritation, at her luck, at Jackie, and at herself. She pushed the feeling forcefully out of her mind. Wallowing was useless. 

Beside her, Jackie finally fell silent.

Saburo Arasaka slowly descended the staircase from the upper floor of the suite, though not as slowly as one would expect from a 158-year-old man. He was no ordinary old man. He had access to the best medical care in the world. She’d heard that he spent a lot of time in med tanks, designed to regenerate biological tissue, though he still looked ancient to her now that she saw him up close, his skin wrinkled and covered with large moles. Despite his best efforts, the wear of time was showing. Perhaps there were limitations to what technology could achieve, in his lifetime anyway. V hoped not. If the most important man in modern history couldn’t find a way to live forever, what hope did the rest of humanity have?

With him came someone V didn’t recognize—another Japanese man, with long black silver-streaked hair tied back into a neat bun. He wore a dark kimono that left his unusual neck cyberware visible above the collar. V had never seen anything like it before, though she thought it looked like a variant of some sort of endoskeletal armor. Her optics had already run an automatic background scan of his face through the NCPD database and, unsurprisingly, had come up blank. She signaled them to run another facial scan through the Arasaka employee database instead. Evidently, her new clearance level was actually high enough to warrant a result: Goro Takemura, personal bodyguard to Saburo Arasaka. At the moment, he was methodically scanning the perimeter of the suite. V tensed as his gaze passed over the pillar, optics glowing bright red.  

“Leave us,” Saburo Arasaka said. He spoke in Japanese—she’d heard it was the only language he spoke, though she doubted it was the only one he understood.

“Arasaka-sama,” the bodyguard responded, turning abruptly toward his boss. “I still haven’t done a full sweep.”

“This is my son,” he responded. The simplicity of the statement showed he expected no further explanation should be necessary. 

“Of course. Should I retrieve what we came here to..?”

V’s breath caught. So he knew what his son had planned after all. She’d been a fool to think otherwise. 

“I will handle it. You may go.”

Takemura immediately bowed and headed toward the elevator. V exhaled. That had been way, way too close. 

Smasher looked toward Yorinobu, who shot him a brief nod, then he followed Takemura onto the elevator. Seeing the two of them standing side-by-side brought into clear view the contrast between the elder and younger Arasaka’s choice of bodyguard. Takemura was an unassuming man at first glance—muscular, but not excessively so, with a relatively short stature. Subtle markers hinted at his true capabilities—the balanced stance he held even at rest, the faint scars across his skin, the sharpness of his gaze—but there was nothing that overtly indicated he was a particularly dangerous man. Smasher, on the other hand, was pure predatory menace. 

As the elevator descended, V heard Jackie release a shaky breath, and she was assaulted by another rush of irritation, more intense than the previous one and directed solely at him. If she were caught here by herself, there was a sliver of a chance that she might be able to justify her presence. But to be caught side-by-side with a merc holding stolen Arasaka tech… that was a death sentence, one way or another. 

Before tonight, she hadn’t realized how much she’d come to rely on Jackie, how much she’d trusted him. She had no leverage over him anymore, no way to enforce his loyalty, and yet she’d still expected it. Why? It was an expectation she wouldn’t have had of any of her coworkers. She knew they were all out for themselves. Perhaps in her subconscious mind she’d actually started to believe he was different. And now she was paying the price for that mistake. 

Yorinobu and Saburo hadn’t spoken in a long time. Yorinobu was just sitting there, not looking at his father at all. Saburo didn’t look at his son either. He stood in the center of the room, his posture perfect, his hands clasped behind his back.

Finally, he turned his head towards Yorinobu, though his body remained angled away. His deep, gravelly voice resonated with self-assured authority. “Did you think I wouldn’t know it was taken from me?”

“Actually, I don’t think of you. At all. Ever.” An obvious lie, V thought. One told with the desperate anger of a helpless child. Yorinobu leaned back, finally meeting his father’s gaze. “You see, that’s your problem. You think the world revolves around you. Arrogant.”

“Yorinobu—” His father cut in.

But Yorinobu wasn’t finished. His speech was rapid, each phrase thrown like a punch in a sloppy bar brawl—wild, unsteady, but crackling with the kind of force that would leave a mark if it connected. “Why did you come? To humiliate me? To personally see to it that your son knows his place?”   

His father’s response was distant and impersonal, almost mechanical. V had the sense that the question had been asked and answered long ago. “The nail that protrudes from the wall gets hammered.”

Yorinobu threw his head back. He balled his hands into fists, then released them. He stood up, briefly facing Saburo, then turning away again. “Couldn’t you think of anything original to say?” he exclaimed. 

Saburo watched him impassively as he began to pace around the room. “And do you think it ‘original’ to sell our greatest achievement to Westerners—our future to these… barbarians?”  

“Our future? Ours?” Yorinobu broke his pace and rushed towards him, pointing a finger at his chest. “You’re mistaken. You’ve only ever cared about yourself… and your sick schemes.”

Saburo’s response was to continue watching him silently. Yorinobu stood with his finger still in the air. After a moment, he hesitated, backed away, and began pacing again. He went through this motion twice, back and forth from one end of the room to the other, then stopped and stood with his hands on his hips, the anger etching his face turning to a subtler frustration.

Saburo stepped forward slowly. His movements were glacial compared to his son’s. “I knew this day would come. That sooner or later your impudence would cross the line.” He stopped in front of him. They were once more face-to-face. This time, neither looked away. “There is much for which I could forgive you, but for treason—no.”

For a moment, there was silence. Father and son stared at each other, both unflinching, both implacable. 

“I’m just glad your mother didn’t live to see this,” Saburo said. “The heart should break but once.”

V saw it coming a split-second before it happened. Saburo had pushed him too far. Yorinobu lunged at his father, gripping his hands around his neck and pressing him up against the pillar.

“Oh shit!” Jackie exclaimed, the need for silence completely forgotten. V winced. But Yorinobu didn’t seem to hear him over the sounds of his own grunting and his father’s muffled chokes.

V watched the struggle numbly. There was nothing she could do. Not when she was implicated in Jackie’s theft. Not with Smasher likely still nearby. At the edges of her dulled awareness, various emotions battled for recognition: a flicker of fear, a jolt of incredulity, a pang of sadness. And, beneath it all, steadily rising above its competitors to break through to the surface of her consciousness: the relentless pulse of anger. She despised feeling helpless. 

Saburo’s resistance seemed to be winding down. He was still flailing slightly, but his strength looked to be quickly waning, and Yorinobu showed no sign of releasing him. How absurd that a man who had come so far and achieved so much could meet such a pathetic end. 

V had never put much stock in the concept of justice—she didn’t believe there was a God who would one day judge all the sinners, nor did she think any other kind of cosmic consciousness would intervene and deliver karmic retribution upon the unworthy. And the humanist perspective? Ha. What a person deserved had nothing to do with societal standards and everything to do with what they could take for themselves, and those too weak to defend what they had would eventually lose it. She’d known all this was true even when she was still young enough to feasibly believe otherwise, and it had never distressed her in the slightest. 

But this. It was the first time in her life she’d felt moral outrage. This disgusted her. 

As the last traces of life left the body of the most powerful man in the world, V remembered that she wasn't entirely powerless herself. She pulled up her optics’ HUD, located the menu for the full-sensory BD-scrolling software she'd had since she was twelve, and pressed record. 

She only caught the very end, and she knew it wouldn't be enough—video evidence had been considered inadmissible in courtrooms for ages, ever since the proliferation of basic video generation AIs. BDs weren't much better. A skilled editor could weave fiction out of the starkest reality. This recording wouldn't be enough to take down Yorinobu Arasaka. But it was a start. 

Saburo Arasaka lay motionless on the floor. His son stared at him blankly. He held up his hands and examined them, as if he couldn’t believe what they’d done. V watched him closely, still recording. His reaction seemed genuine, and there was no one to perform for as far as he was aware. A hot-blooded murder, then. He hadn’t known in advance that he was going to do it. He sat down on the coffee table, not looking where he was sitting, knocking over a bottle in the process. The liquid seeped into the fabric of his pants, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I wish…” he began in a faltering voice, “I wish to put the hotel on lockdown.” 

“May I ask why?” the suite’s AI responded. 

Yorinobu stood up, walked to his father’s body, and leaned over it, placing his finger at the neck as if to check for a pulse. That act struck V as strange. It seemed redundant at this point. Was it wishful thinking? Or just tying up loose ends? After a moment, he addressed the AI again, his voice now stabilized. “Saburo Arasaka has been murdered.”

“Code Red initiated.” 

AIs weren’t usually programmed to show emotion, but V thought this one actually sounded nervous. Or maybe it was just her own nerves making her imagine things. 

The AI began projecting its voice throughout the Plaza, so loud that V could hear eerie echoes from outside the suite, all relaying the same message. “Attention! Code Red has been initiated throughout Konpeki Plaza. Please remain in your rooms and follow all instructions given by staff.”

Immediately after, the elevator doors opened, and Takemura rushed in, with Smasher at his tail. Smasher stopped just outside the elevator, a good distance from where Yorinobu was leaning over his father’s corpse. V prided herself on her skill at interpreting microexpressions, but Smasher’s mechanical face simply wasn’t designed to show them. She had no idea what he was thinking.  

Takemura kept going forward. He was far easier to read. His composure slipped the moment he saw the body—lips parted slightly, shoulders tensed—then he regained it just as quickly. His posture smoothed over, and he pressed his mouth into a serious expression. “What happened?” he asked Yorinobu.

Yorinobu turned toward him, straightening and moving to meet him in the center of the room.  “My father has been poisoned.”

“Poisoned?” Takemura repeated. He tried to move closer to the body, but Yorinobu blocked his path. 

“It seems so,” he said firmly.  

A brief hesitation. “Yorinobu-san… I doubt…”

“What is your job, Takemura?” Yorinobu asked, moving even closer to him, so that their faces were only inches apart.  

Takemura looked away. On the surface, it seemed like he didn’t want to meet the gaze of a dissatisfied superior, but V thought that maybe he was also trying to examine Saburo’s body from a distance. “I don’t follow.”

“It’s a simple question,” Yorinobu insisted. “Answer it.”

Takemura turned his attention back to him, nodded stiffly. “To protect the head of the Arasaka family.”

“Then I do sincerely hope you’ll do a better job of executing your duties from now on.”

His head dropped. “Forgive me, Arasaka-sama. I shall not disappoint.”  

He’d addressed him as he would have addressed his father, V noted. He hadn’t done that earlier. A meaningful change, to be sure. But was it a genuine show of support, or was he just stringing him along for now? 

As all three men boarded the elevator, V focused her attention on Takemura, trying to decipher the true intentions behind his behavior. She was nearly certain he didn’t actually believe Yorinobu’s story—he’d been instantly inquisitive at first, then he’d turned distracted and hesitant. That hinted that he’d realized he wasn’t going to get the answers he was looking for from Yorinobu, maybe even that he was planning to turn to other sources. But it didn't necessarily mean he would be willing to act against him. 

V noted that Takemura’s shoulders were slightly slouched, his head still drooping. It reminded her uncannily of a dog that had just been reprimanded by its owner. He felt guilty, that was for sure. Perhaps it was simply the self-doubt that could plague any agent that failed to complete a mission objective. She’d learned a long time ago to watch for it in her own operatives, to make sure they were still fit to continue working. But V had the feeling that in Takemura’s case, this was something more. This seemed personal.  

He could be a potential ally, if he stuck around Night City long enough.

“I think they’re gone,” Jackie whispered. She was momentarily surprised by the sound of his voice. She’d halfway forgotten he was there. 

“I think so,” she agreed. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Bug, the Plaza’s locked down,” Jackie said, then paused, waiting for the response. “Well, because Yorinobu Arasaka fuckin’ offed his own pops, that’s why.”

“Jackie,” V hissed, “Be careful who you tell that to, for fuck’s sake.”

“Do you wanna get out of here or not?” Jackie demanded. “Any ideas, Bug?” 

While Jackie listened to his netrunner’s plan, V stepped tentatively out of the pillar. She walked around it, to the spot where Saburo Arasaka’s body was. She knew she only had a few seconds to do anything useful, to find any proof of what had happened here. She examined the body closely. Her earlier impression had been right—he looked older up close. And feeble too, now that the spark of life had been snuffed out. She bent down, making sure not to touch any part of his body or clothing, and carefully removed his WWII dog tags. She stuffed them in the pocket of her suit jacket. At the very least, they might prove she was actually here. 

“V, let’s go,” Jackie said from behind her. She turned towards him. He’d followed her out of the pillar and was pointing at the suite’s balcony with the hand that wasn’t clutching the Relic. “Bug’s gonna get that door open.”

Jackie made straight for the balcony, V right at his heels. They waited, tensions rising every second Jackie’s netrunner used to counter the Plaza’s security protocols. Finally, mercifully, the doors slid open. V stepped out, but a sudden outburst from Jackie made her freeze with one foot in the doorway. 

“Bug!” He shouted. “Bug! Answer me, damn it!”

“What happened?” V shouted back at him.

“She… she got made.” 

V immediately unmuted her mic. “Carter! Are you okay?” 

“V! Yes, I’m fine! What’s going on? Did you make it out?”

“No time! Tell you later!” 

“V, no! Don’t—”

She ended the call. She turned back to Jackie, who was still standing inside the suite, head bowed, looking absolutely crestfallen. She raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t intend to die with her, do you?”

“Que descanse en paz,” Jackie muttered. He lifted his head, and she was relieved to see the determination on his face as he marched onto the balcony. “She said there was a ladder.”

“You mean that ladder?” V asked, pointing at the neighboring side of the hotel. “Are you kidding? It’s a 100-story drop.” 

“You got a better idea?”

Despite the constant havoc of the night, V found herself grinning. “Yes, actually,” she said. “I do.”

V had been interim Director of Counter Intel for four months, one week, and two days before they’d made her promotion permanent. It had been a turbulent time, as transfer of power always was at Arasaka. The masses she’d risen above had stirred uneasily, watching her every move like a pack of hungry hyenas circling a feeding lion. And those on her level had been only moderately less restless; after all, the concurrent fall of two influential and well-established Department Heads was a sobering reminder that none of them were truly invulnerable.

It’d been fun while it lasted, but after 129 days of constant plots and political maneuvers, when she’d received the news that Arasaka had decided to move forward with her official promotion, the only thought on her mind that night had been how best to celebrate the occasion. So she’d made a somewhat impulsive decision. She’d bought an AV. 

Not just any AV. A model year state-of-the-art Rayfield Excalibur, self-driving, equipped with camouflage armor, and capable of reaching a top speed of 250 mph. A dependable vehicle that could find her anywhere, even if she were at the top of a building and it was in a subterranean parking garage. All it took was a flick of her eyes to signal her optical HUD. 

“V?” Jackie said warily. “Why the fuck have you got that loca smile on your face?”

[another-corpo-rat]

Vic x Michiko? I know they’re friends in your canon and I’m honestly desperate to know more about their dynamic. xD (can’t remember if I’ve asked before, sorry)

oml the besties, the co-conspirators-

are you ready for me to ramble? cos im going to- the readmore is a warning tbh

I have 100% considered them as a couple -- a polycule actually tbh, Smasher wedged his way in there as he's wont to do -- and i haven't exactly ruled it out just yet. One of the sticklers for my consideration is Michiko's husband Marc and his position/role in it all, or if i want him alive at all.

The foundations for it is already there, or will be if i ever actually write but yknow,

Victoria and Michiko's companionship starts with a simple basis: the mistrust of Yorinobu Arasaka. I'm operating soundly on headcanon here, but I reckon any corpo worth their lick of salt would feel something in the air before Yorinobu stole the relic; an anticipation, kinda like when your hair stands on end before lightning strikes too close.

For Victoria, Michiko is more appealing than any other of the Arasaka bloodline, and while she holds no love for the family she recognises them as powerful pieces of the board: if change is to happen, it has to be with one of them at the helm. Yorinobu made it clear he held no love for his father and the company in tandem, and Victoria holds something of a grudge after he attempted to have her replaced as Smasher's netrunner. Hanako would be more appealing were she not confined to a compound for most of her adult life - too sheltered, even from the teeth of their own company. Victoria doubts she could solve a conflict if the weight of her family name wasn't enough.

And that leaves Michiko; the black sheep. Once sheltered herself but thrust into the public and Arasaka eye following the death of her father. And while once Victoria did fall for that sweet, naive act that she held up like a shield, it was soundly shattered in her eyes once she learned the girl and Smasher had a thing. Her founding and the success of Danger Gal also raised her quite a bit in Victoria's opinion.

For Michiko, Victoria is another ally in her pocket but perhaps one with more gusto than the rest of the Hato faction - Michiko despises talking ill of her own people, but a majority of them think that her leading them is enough for victory. She knows it is not, and she wasn't going to turn down the opportunity of having a damn good combative netrunner with a direct line into Yorinobu's dealings on her side

Beyond that practical reason, Michiko did just genuinely want to get to know Victoria as well. She was curious of the woman, but noted her aversion to companionship and so wanted to think her approach through carefully - kinda like building trust with a stray cat, done gradually with consistence

Later in Victoria's canon, when Yorinobu is dead and Hanako has retreated to Japan, not quite with her tail between her legs but certainly shaken by the sharp turn taken by the Hato faction, Victoria and Michiko's dynamic become what it would remain if they were to be a couple; the empress and her shadow. Very much a 'they shout my name, yet whisper yours' sort of thing

Michiko doesn't want to destroy Arasaka in the same way her uncle did, reform is enough for her. Rebuilding, restructuring (because unlike her uncle, she doesn't spew moralisms and then turn around and destroy livelihoods with the same self-righteous folly he condemned his father for-) but she's not naive, and she trusts Victoria to reel her in when her ideas border too closely to ideals.

Just as she is there to reel it back when Victoria's suggested methods are a touch too brutal to be acceptable, too much how things used to be done. She understands that force and fear are necessary at times, but the netrunner tends to push it too far; her bloodlust more readily apparent when its not being overshadowed by Smasher - and as much as its a steady cause of conflict between them, it is something that draws Michiko closer to Victoria. she has a thing for danger, she guesses

It would bring them together, already close as they are after planning a coup within a coup - placing an explicit trust that paid off for them both, solidifying their companionship into friendship and then potentially something more

so yes, 10/10. absolutely am considering Michiko as a potential partner for Victoria

[centaurworks]

FUCK YEAH!

love is stored in the ocs

[multi-muse-transect]

Hot take: 2077 character assassinated Hanako Arasaka. If you read the lore of the table top, Hanako is always against her father and doesn’t agree with him most of the time while being the most kindest and thoughtful of the family being a counterpart to Yorinobu. She should’ve been another character like Takemura adding a shade of gray within the corpos showing that not all of them are assholes and should’ve been part of the Hato faction instead. It’s like CDPR wanted a manipulative female villain and chose the wrong one, it should’ve been Michiko instead. 

[dewakinnara]

Well, I’m not dead yet. xoxo

And welcome, Michiko Arasaka to our otome!

"When Oda's loyalties lie to a corporation split into pieces, you have no choice but to put them back together to save your life. Ex-detective, leader of the Hato faction, and Saburo's only grandchild Michiko Arasaka is a force to be reckoned with, and is here to help."

[solo-net]

V as a NPC

Huge thanks to @visceralcoma who came up with this and posted the template here. 

The Basics

Name: Vera Hendrix

Age: 26-27

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Nationality/Race: African American

Family: The Bakkers ( absorbed into Snake Nation ), Mother ( killed by Wraiths ), Father ( killed by Wraiths )

Lifepath: Nomad

Style: Kitsch. She wears a mixture of purple and black and dyed her hair a noticeable dark purple. Violet lenses hide her brown eyes, and she wears an old left-arm prosthetic that is skeletal in appearance.

Character Arc

Where can they be found in Night City?: Vera is available in Act II. Look for her just inside the Afterlife waiting for Panam to finish her conversation with Rogue. Talk to her and ask her questions about life as a nomad, to which she’ll give curt and short answers. Extend the conversation long enough, and a drunk patron will harass her. Choosing to talk the drunk down is the only way to trigger the cutscene when she knocks the man unconscious with a punch. 

She will then thank you for giving her time to catch him off guard before leaving with Panam. She can also be found helping Panam fix her car in Rancho Coronado, the two of them bickering over each other’s mechanic skills.

Are they introduced via a gig? Or are they connected to the main story somehow?: Heavily associated with the main story as she’s a nomad who moved to Night City to investigate the deaths of her parents. 

Before Jackie met V, the two of them did a job together and became close friends, but ultimately drifted apart. Vera attends his funeral, and V can briefly see her in the back of the Coyote before slipping out through the back door in tears. Should you choose to have V follow her, she’ll roughly tell them to fuck off and get in her car, leaving V in the dust. She’ll remember V in Act II in the Afterlife but will keep her responses short and cold...only warming up to V a little if they choose to defend her from the drunk harassing her. Vera becomes an integral part of V’s story. At first, she merely helps them with the Relic to avenge Jackie’s death but soon grows to genuinely care for V and checks her remaining nomad contacts in search of a cure.

What exclusive information about Night City would they be able to offer to the protag?: Exclusive katanas and throwing knives. If V is interested, she’ll teach them how to properly craft a throwing knife and the mods they’ll need for a katana. If V successfully swiped Satori, she’ll become excited and create a unique mod specifically for that sword.

Where is their home in Night City?: Lives in a small, clean apartment in City Center.

What is their character arc?: Desperate to lay Jackie’s spirit to rest and avenge him, Vera approaches V after Panam deals with Nash and confesses that she knows about their friendship with Jackie and the Heist. She will then promptly demand to hear V’s side of the story and, after a moment of silence, decide that she wants in on V’s quest to remove the Relic so long as they do not aid Arasaka. The way Vera sees it, Jackie died because of that damn Relic, and she doesn’t want any more blood spilled over it. She loathes the Silverhand engram and fears Johnny will get V killed to relive his rocker boy glory days.

What side jobs do they have the protag help them with?: Vera will give V a small task in gathering information on a corporate agent, Simon Bradley, responsible for providing Wraiths the location of her parents and paying them eddies to ambush and kill them. 

The side job will turn into a series of more side jobs where V slowly puts together the pieces of the murder, ultimately finding out that Vera’s mother used to be a corporate teacher and an integral part of Michiko Arasaka’s faction... At least she was until she met Vera’s father, and they ran off to join the Bakkers. 

Simon Bradley was an overeager and determined to cripple the Hato faction by eliminating its key members, Vera’s mother included. It didn’t matter that Violet Hendrix left behind the corporate world to become a Bakker… She was still considered an existing threat. V can either encourage Vera’s roaring rampage of revenge or convince her that Simon’s not worth it.

If there is a romance, what is that romance like and what triggers it and does it culminate to any physical displays of affection - and if so what kind?: If you encourage Vera to go through with her plan to kill Simon, romance will be triggered, and she’ll start to text and call V more often. 

V can also pursue her with flirty responses that will make her flustered. However, the flirty banter will eventually trigger a sweet sex scene. After the Parade, Vera, realizing that V kidnapped Hanako Arasaka, will frantically text V and then track them down to the Sunset Motel after they interrogate Hellman. 

She is angry and accuses V of not thinking things through like Jackie, sparking a massive argument between them that ends with a timed choice to either pull her in for a kiss, apologize or rebuke her. If you choose the kiss option, there will be a cutscene of the two of you kissing and stumbling to her car where you will eventually have sex with her in the backseat. 

For Female!V, she’s top, but for Male!V, she’s a bottom. 

Afterward, V and Vera will snuggle in each other’s arms, relishing in the quiet peace until V seizes up again from the Relic’s effects, and Vera quickly drives them to her place to recover. V wakes up to her cooking them breakfast, and they have a long conversation about the Relic and the shortlist of Vera’s contacts who may or may not have a cure for V’s condition. Vera will then ask V if they feel what she feels for them and if you choose Yes, she’ll smile and sit on V’s lap, holding them tight and promising that they’ll get through this together. If you select No, Vera will close her eyes and nod sadly, but otherwise, respect V’s decision.

What is their phone avatar of on the protag’s phone?: A picture of a black coyote with glowing violet eyes and a snarling mouth.

What sort of phone conversations can they have?: If you’re not in a romantic relationship with her and have remained friendly, she will text you updates about her contacts and possible cures, as well as hint that she’s snagged a meeting with Michiko Arasaka. If you’ve romanced her, she’ll constantly text you hilarious memes and talk about future plans to go out on the road together as nomads or stay in the city.

And (put this under a read more for spoilers) how do they connect with the protags ending:

If romanced, she will remain loyal to V in all endings except for Devil and Temperance. If V chooses to stay in the city, Vera will remain with them and not leave during V’s Crystal Palace gig. For the Star ending, Vera is ecstatic that V is joining her on the road, and they’ll sit on the basilisk together to watch the stars.

Add any further detail you want as well!

If you follow Vera’s quests without making a single mistake, she’ll manage to get an audience with Michiko Arasaka, granting the player another choice that does not involve joining up with Hanako. It’s the path with minor bloodshed as Michiko has no desire to kill her relatives but to cripple them and install herself as leader of the Arasaka empire. Vera is unsure about teaming up with an Arasaka, but she is determined to finish what her mother started and introduce Night City to reforms that will help the people. But if you still manage to complete Vera’s quests flawlessly and choose The Nomads she will be right there to aid V.

If you damage your relationship with Vera, she will not contact you any further and leave Night City forever to pursue a new life elsewhere.

[justpreciousotomebabies]

I figure it may be useful to give a list of the games featured and which characters belong to which game, since I haven’t yet started to implement specific tags for the games. So, below the cut is a list of dating sims and games with dating sim elements I have played, and the OCs created for different routes and choices within said games that will be mentioned in future on this blog. The more I do and play, this will get updated.

Dear god there’s a lot of them...I have a problem, you guys...

Seduce Me

Maud

Erika

Rosana

Marcella

Jinny

Andrea

Cathy

Regalia

Zerelda

Claudia

Mystic Messenger

Yirim

Garam

Joosun

Dajoo

Annie

Yina

Gyungjin

Flossie

Huniepop

Cody

Grady

Garrett

Yuki

Nathan

Jaime

Weaver

Chuckie

Aubrey

Buck

Starr

Lindsey

Doki Doki Literature Club

Kai

Cinderella Phenomenon

Marta

Crystal

Ambrosia

Peeta

Vernadette

Tailor Tales

Marvel

Lulu

Vancy

Faustine

Odessa

Normi

Date Warp

Edie

Frankie

Magenta

Columbia

Roxie

Amnesia

Alice

Miko

Neeka

Clover

Ella

Blood Code

Lissie

Daria

Stella

Halimeda

Ozmafia

Aura

Candra

Taffeta

Bluebell

Christanta

Julie

Anora

Witney

Clarimonda

Peony

Jessamy

Gunhilda

A Hand In The Darkness

Spear

Perry

Xavier

Mr Love

Pomona

Caltha

Leilani

Bettina

Dream Daddy

Chad

Bruno

Rusty

Lucius

Vinh

Mitsuyoshi

Quigley

Baldric

7′Scarlet

Rira

Sawaka

Kurea

Kotono

Chinami

Sakika

Dandelion

Amsaja

Tokki

Yeong-Yang

Yeou

Neugdae

How To Date A Magical Girl

Fumiya

Masanari

Shinya

Tadahiro

Hyougo

Confines of the Crown

Concordia

Michaela

Radinka

Zosia

Carmensita

Nightshade

Mitoki

Mahomi

Mayuna

Marino

Sayana

Backstage Pass

Sirena

Sam

Fritzi

Joanie

Demeter

Bronwyn

Gwyneth

Highschool Romance

Shuuji

Kuan-Yin

Peppi

Soulset [Due to misreading the game description at time of purchase, I chose male names for two of the MCs, though the MC is intended to be female]

Caesar

Dante

Kitten

Joyous

Ardis

Herleva

Trick And Treat

Axel [This is the only instance where I have kept the name supplied by the game and built around it]

Alder

Date A Live

Kadoma

Kii

Uchito

Soudai

Ikuma

Ikuya

Takanobu

Hoshihiko

Tadashi

Kenta

Yasumasa

Kaname

Kazuyoshi

Steam Prison

Tempesta

Purity

Iphigenia

Ultima

Olethea

Thetis

Ikemen Vampire

Isis

Janelle

Jamesina

Zelda

Bijou

Benilda

Virtue

Hortensia

Cynara

Emilia

Anais

Heddi

Ikemen Revolution

Queenie

Sigyn

Elspeth

Luna

Lila

Tilda

Tourmalina

Wallis

Theano

Virginia

Xylia

Melody

Essie

Primavera

Mae

Estefania

Merlina

Ikemen Sengoku

Yorimi

Konami

Rika

Maiho

Riko

Nachi

Hasumi

Yasumi

Marina

Saru

Himiko

Destined To Love

Seiya

Orika

Hatsuko

Michiko

Asumi

Arina

Nene

Sakino

Natsu

Mineyo

Ren

Karen

Kikuka

Midnight Cinderella

Reini

Chesna

Levana

Blasia

Crimson

Mayda

Olien

Almira

Nebula

My Candy Love

Chandella

Amalthea

Fortunata

Hadara

Zazu

Pentecost

Saturnia

Scientia

Spangle

Star Days

Thirza

Cindy

Hero

Honey

Ursuline

Melisenda

Hermia

Lynnette

Number Days

Paige

Zsa-Zsa

Libby

Dahlia

Vera

Memory Days

Yana

Shizu

Kou

Lunar Days

Pelagia

Taylor

Toni-Rose

Lani

Coco

Denise

Skye

Verdi

Chrono Days

Noelle

Martine

Annabella

Catrina

Fuschia

Norah

Annemarie

Quintina

Kingdom Days

Dilys

Bubbles

Mona

Tilly

Lettie

Idol Days

Starla

Zippora

Susan

Blythe

Hallie

Wonderland Days

Melanie

Georgia

Astrid

Joelle

Jill

The Arcana

Twila

Baku

Rama

Cerulean

Jivanta

Esmeralda

Allianora

Nightmare Harem

Mars

Astra

Penny

Talia

Diana

Avery

Nicole

Shayla

Norberta

Dangerous Fellows

Mandy

Fenella

Frederica

Prisha

Isabel

London Detective Mysteria

Cyrilla

Kefira

Kitra

Amy

Quella

Francesca

Sylvie

Ara

Zephrine

Pastry Lovers

Kora

Bonita

Quenby

Lisa

Brielle

Because We’re Here

Petra

Vanessa

Sophie

Franziska

Heike

Anja

Veronika

Katinka

Ruzena

Irmelin

Mathilda

Aicha

Smilla

Dorika

Renata

Malin

Hatoful Boyfriend

Niina

Kyouka

Chino

Aya

Fujie

Ikuko

Yoko

Tomoko

Kirika

Satori

Kinoka

Juri

Hakuoki

Katsuko

Keina

Ema 

Naho 

Kazuha

Yasuyo 

Yukina

Reiri

Fukuyo

Wami

Emiko

Nonoe

Monster Prom

Tairin

Juvee

Gerald

Ethelinda

Murdoc

Jasper

Ariadne

Mercy

Caroline

Irene

Heidi

Clyde

Vito

Beatrice

Mika

Rosco

Desiree

Harold

Theo

Panini

Deidra

Phil

Vassia

Gladiola

Hu

Sounds Of Verity

Yeshisha

Efrata

Yullis

Red Embrace

Bodi

Callis

Lake

Marcelino

Onyx

Bailey

Scarlett

C14 Dating

Eloise

Chani

Tiffany

Petrina

Ceridwen

Arcade Spirits

Norbert

Red

Sunny

Lazaro

Levi

Karim

Aithne

The Men of Yoshiwara

Riina

Inori

Emina

Yui

Hiro

Mio

Shizuna

Tsuyuha

Tsukimi

Kei

Nijika

The Charming Empire

Tomoyo

Sadami

Chiyuri

Yaeka

Shiria

Love Esquire

Mailen

Cameron

Sergeant

Darius

Andreas

Crossroads

Calandria

Amicia

Nilena

Becky

Rammi

Gods Of Love

Calpurnia

Leeba

Naama

Clarette

Psychadelia of the Black Butterfly

Nako

Rei

Akie

Rino

Mariyo

Hogwarts Mystery

Tessa

Seraphina

Cygnus

Corvus

Livana

Edmund

Erna

Jean

Wyborn

These Nights In Cairo

Jacquetta

Nancy

Rishona

Azurine

Animal Lovers

Ahulani

Nita

Saoirse

Ardenia

Aine

Ace In Space

Silver

Minty

Brucie

Kam

Jackie

Enamored Risks

Pepper

Rue

Shade

Never Give Up

Ranita

Elise

Hedwig

[danganronpalabau]

Hato, two things. 1. What's your earliest memory? 2. What's it like being an AI?

Haganehato: Weeell… it was…

Haganehato: I don’t really know where it was, but there were a few people there. Michiko’s the first one who comes to mind.

Haganehato: And… another one on the security monitors… a someone who even Enoshima thinks is gone…!

Haganehato: For the second one… I can’t really answer. I don’t really know what it would be like to be anything else, but… it’s great to have access to any files I want.

[lilacphoenix]

Commissioned by @centaurworks

His OC Michiko Hato wearing an ornament ballgown!

[yorinobu-a]

Arasaka breaks into three warring factions: the Kiji 雉 (Green Pheasant) Faction, headed by Hanako Arasaka; The Hato 鳩 (Dove) Faction, helmed by supporters of Michiko Arasaka, Kei's youngest daughter, who as a U.S. citizen, instead allies with the new U.S. government; and the Taka 鷹 (Hawk) Faction, led by Saburo's rebel son Yorinobu.

YOUNGEST DAUGHTER? YOUNGEST? KEI HAS MORE?

[e-102]

18, 22, 23 :33

18. chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet?

red velvet that shit is scrum diddly fucking umptious

22. fictional crushes?

AHHHH AHAHHAHA AAAAA HA HA HA michiko malandro, grimmjow jaegerjaquez (hes a lesbian to me), hato higashikata and i cant think of any others

23. what’s your dream wedding like?

aur my god this is a hard question ive never pictured it. im not one for ceremonies, but i guess it would be me in a bonkers crazy dress with a nice cake and not a lot of people there. i dont know X| !!!!!

THNAK YOU FOR THE ASK!

[ultimate-chess-player]

Hato why is everyone going insane

They couldn’t figure out the code for Prototype XIV... it’s been solved, now! Which means that Michiko can see the truth soon...!

[solo-net]

Michiko Arasaka knew Vera’s mother.

They were not friends but close acquaintances working towards the same goal: seeking deeper reforms for Night City and beyond. The mysterious benefactor who kept Violet Briggs from getting sacked from her job as a corporate professor was Michiko because she valued Violet’s help and admired her devotion to the students under her care. Had Violet not married Michael Hendrix and ran away with him to become a Bakker, she would have become an irreplaceable piece in Michiko’s plans, but that never came to be. 

Unfortunately, members of Saburo’s faction sought to rip out the weeds that threatened to strangle their master and sent a hit out on multiple members in the Hato Faction in a successful attempt to weaken Michiko’s power. I mean, why did a bunch of Raffens armed to the teeth with corporate guns deliberately track down and kill Vera’s parents during a scavenging trip? Think about that.

[centaurworks]

Summer Equinox Sketch - Michiko

Almost forgot that I wanted to do a sketch for every equinox of one of my characters with a limited color palette. For Summer, I went with Michiko, definitely made with not as much planning but it was quite fun to do!

[lilacphoenix]

Commissioned by @thegamingcentaur

He asked me to draw Misaki getting ready to take a selfie with her twin sister, Michiko. Yet, it seems she's too flustered for a picture. If you like the art I create, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Commissions are Open!!

Michiko and Misaki Hato (c) @thegamingcentaur