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baka-bakeneko · 2 years ago

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Swaddle Serenade - River Ward x Fem! V Reader

tags: effects of childbirth, unresolved grief, happy ever after, unconditional love, postpartum

word count: 1.3k

synopsis: V and River are solid. The Ward family gains a new member.

a/n: first is here, second is here, we are reaching a finale of the Babe of Night City saga 😭

The warm slip of sleep was definitely calling your name, but this time heavier than before. You remembered when you flatlined for the first time in your life, not a fan of it, and felt your body become lead as your breathing slowed to something unrecognizable.

That feeling was slowly creeping in, coaxing your arms holding your son to relax because River was quick to swoop in and cradle him.

"V," River soothed against your temple, and though you tried to respond, your mouth felt to heavy to function.

"V," his voice gained more traction, sturdier in his throat as you felt him straighten up behind you.

His free arm curled around you stiffened, trying to sit you up though you were now deadweight.

"Valerie!" His voice was harder now, something that'd immediately made his son flinch and start to cry.

River looked over to Takemura and Viktor by the door. "Vik, fuckin, come help her! Joss!"

He called out for his sister as Viktor rushed to your side, taking your shoulders and laying you flat on the floor.

"What happened?" Joss ran back in, dropping the heater she went to find and kneeling to hold your cheeks. "River, what the hell happened?"

River shrugged, moving to sit up on his knees. He cradled Phoenix closer, trying to soothe his son from startling him. "I-I don't know, she was fine a second ago, she was smiling and now she won't wake up."

Vik leaned in and pressed his ear to your chest, hoping to hear a heartbeat. In the deepest depth of your body, you felt his skin against yours. The grease from his hair made it feel slick brushing along your skin.

"She's still here, her heart's really faint. I have some bounce back in here." Viktor began rifling through his bag, hoping to find the adrenaline he needed to revive you.

"V," River's voice cracked as it echoed through to you. You could imagine his eyes welling just like they had when you told him you were pregnant. "Come on, baby. Come back to us."

His hand went for yours, squeezed it tight before bringing it to his soft, warm lips.

"V," a voice deep within your subconscious broke through. "I hate to admit it, but that's a cute little bastard."

Johnny. Of course Johnny was always readily available at your absolute worst hour.

"He's right, chica," another voice, something so close to a distant memory piped in as well. "That's a cute little hombre you got there. Good genes."

If you had a voice, you'd chuckle. Jackie fucking Welles complimenting your child was something you'd never think of in a million years. How many steps you'd taken to get here now and just away from Jackie, it felt like a whole life since his death.

"Where's that bounce back, Vik?" River asked impatiently, leaning forward to press his ear to your chest.

You so readily wanted to fold your hand to the back of River's neck, hold him there like you used to before his heavy body squished your baby bump.

"I'm looking, I'm trying." Vik's scrambling through his medicine bag turned frantic. "Come on, kid, fight."

Takemura took a step up to the situation, baring down at you from the foot of your body. He patted at his suit pockets before finding what he was looking for.

"Move out of the way," he ordered to River, readying the bounce back needle and jamming it directly in the center of your chest.

"You take care of them, V. They need you." Jackie's voice echoed through you as the darkness began to float away. "Say hello to Mama and Misty for me."

"Give 'em hell, V. Don't get knocked down again. Be that fucking rockstar." Johnny quipped as you felt yourself snapping back into your body.

Suddenly, your eyes pried open as you inhaled a rattled wheeze.

"Call that fucking ambulance, Takemura." Joss ordered as you blinked and tried to regain your bearings.

You barely had a moment to figure out how you ended up on the floor before River's lips collided with yours, then trailed up the slope of your nose.

"Don't fucking do that again, Val. Shit," River said, exasperated breaths easing from his lips.

Your hand reached up to tease your fingers at the front of his shirt. "I don't plan on it," you croaked, hissing at the sudden pain clicking back into place.

You squinted an eye to see Phoenix, nuzzled in the crook of River's arm while he bent over you, trying to not shed more tears into your hair.

"Gave us a fucking fright, V." Joss said, patting softly at your cheeks before scooting away for River to help you up slowly.

"Yeah. Christ, V. Warn us next time you wanna do that," Vik added, massaging his own chest as if he were about to follow then folded his hand to his forehead. "I gotta call Misty."

You groaned, sitting up into River's hold before resting your forehead to his shoulder.

"Don't go back to sleep yet," River urged softly, his nerves obviously shot.

"Don't be so comfortable then," you retorted, working through the gravel now lodged in your chest.

The adrenaline stung deep into your tissue, making your whole chest burn along with your hips and ass. The pain definitely wouldn't let you sleep for some time.

River squeezed into the hospital bed next to you, hanging his leg over the edge to allow you more room. He curled his arm around your head, leaning in to stare at your sleeping son held in your grasp.

"He's got a full head a hair, V," River said, taking his index finger to trace Phoenix's wispy hairline.

You smiled, nodded softly, while your eyes began to sting with the threat of tears. It was shocking that you almost left him behind after just getting him.

You were stressed upon reaching the hospital, ready to hear the worst news of your life. It wasn't often you had such a long string of good luck, it was bound to run out at some time.

But it was just a condition of malnutrition, which River took personally since he cooked every single day. The doctor claimed it was a combination of malnutrition on your part and the trauma of childbirth.

Now though, you were just told to rest easy.

You opened your mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words to convey how you felt. You leaned into River, tilting your body into him.

He was your person after all. And he was still around.

"He looks so much like you, I just wanna eat him," you tried but it sounded so wrong leaving your lips, unsure how parents managed to express their love for their children.

Your eyes blurred with tears the more you stared at your son's soft face, his cherubic cheeks and long lashes that rested against his dark skin like his father's. "I miss him already."

"Aww, V," River soothed, nudging his nose to your temple before resting his lips in the same space. "It's okay, baby, he's here."

You sniffled, of course that was true. You were staring at your little fighter now, but you pulled a hand away to fold against still-round belly.

"I know," you whispered, moving your hand to rest against Phoenix's chest. "I just...held onto him for so long."

"And you have all his life to hold him still," River tried, his fingers combing your hair away from your face. "We're not going anywhere."

You shut your eyes and pulled Phoenix in close to rest between you and River. River looked down at his son then reached to caress his metal thumb under your eye.

You looked at him, your bottom lip ready to jut out but you bit it back. "Marry me."

River's brows raised at your words, his lips quirking into a smirk. "V..."

"I love you," you said, reaching your hand up to grab his. You intertwined your fingers between his. "I know it's kinda late since you're not getting any younger, but..."

River leaned over Phoenix and caught your lips to stop you from talking. "I was gonna say, that you took what I was trynna say. You're not getting rid of me."

----------------------------------------------------

nope, nope, no, no, no, no, no you didn't see it, i didn't see it. this didn't exist, happiness is futile. i was never here.

#river ward #river ward cyberpunk #river ward x v #cyberpunk #cyberpunk2077 #fan work #river ward romance #v cyberpunk #fanfic #bbs: baby bullshit #bakeneko

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choccy-zefirka · 7 months ago

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In the dark of night, the elevator screeches and groans its rusty way up from the garage and through the megabuilding's murky insides. Its endless grated shaft is filled with some sickly fumes, like a smoker's throat. But on the inside, its flimsy box is deceptively bright, all awash in the orange and pink of the giant monitor panel — here to distract people as they drag themselves down from their crammed apartments, towards a long day of whatever soul-shredding drudgery that earns their corporate overlords a few extra zeros on the dotted line, and then back up again.

The elevator's current passengers can very much distract themselves on their own, however. Their faces are a cloud of jittery pixels, obscured from any surveillance cameras by clever optic implants — but their bodies speak where wandering mouths and hungry eyes cannot. The man's back is pressed into the wall, legs wrapped around the woman's broad, muscular torso... Which almost appears pixelated as well, as she is covered in an elaborate pattern of abstract tattoos: huge patches of solid black, with slivers of pale skin spliced in between. Her jacket has flown wide open, with nothing underneath. Indecent exposure? To no-one but that unseeing, ever-smiling faces of TV hosts up in the screens. And, of course, the man she keeps pinned close — devouring him until the very Ding! of arrival. The elevator's, not theirs; they have a long way to go still.

They have to untangle their limbs then, and step out. A draft of air rushes over them, carrying the living breaths of all the souls that huddle trapped behind graffitied doors or sway in the distant corners, too deep in their own hazy little world to notice their good neighbor V stumble home topless and with company. This little breeze is far from pleasant — the one thing that never lets you forget you are in Night City, is the smell — but it has a bit of a sobering effect. Enough to let V form a coherent sentence or two, as she opens the door with a habitual fingertip press and invites her guest into the square of white light, almost blinding against the greenish darkness outside.

"Here you go. Bit nicer on the inside, yeah? Bathroom's over there if you need to wash up; Vik got me on the coil ages ago, but you might wanna grab a condom just in case. I oughta have a pack left, in the cabinet under the sink. Also got lube and all that gonk. All in there."

This is not the first time V has fired off this little intro speech to a very special nighttime visitor. Sometimes, it would be a no-strings-attached choom, here for a movie, a quick bang, maybe a couple of beers and a cig. More often than not, it would be a very obliging joy toy, in for a nice generous tip for work well done. And on very rare occasions, it would even be someone who might have become something different, something lasting, if shit hadn't kept happening and happening and happening.

If you told V yesterday that she was going to repeat this old song and dance again very soon, she'd shrug and say, "Yeah, preem, love the sound of that." But if you added that the person she'd be giving a tour of her bathroom knicknacks to was going to be Goro fucking Takemura — hair undone, snowy-perfect shirt rumpled, traces of her black lipstick blending the line between his skin and his dormant cybernetics — both she and the rude little joyrider in her skull would heave in guffaws of disbelief.

And yet, shit keeps happening and happening and happening.

This city has a way of washing over you, tossing you ‘round like a horrible fathomless sea of toxic waste... Until it chisels you down to a tiny kernel of beach glass. Small and insignificant and lonely. He's been feeling it too, a disgraced cyber-ronin far from home. S'pose it's a good thing she can help him do something about it. For him, and for her. After all, teasing the old man has always been a reliable pick-me-up, a buoy deep in the toxic sea. And this is basically teasing taken to the extreme.

They've been ever-clashing, ever-bickering chooms-through-forced-circumstance so far; and some day in the future, her skull-jacker might get proven right, and they will end up enemies. But tonight, it's time for distraction.

"V, your belongings are horribly disorganized, I cannot find... What is this?"

Takemura straightens up beside her cabinet. There is a small hand towel thrown over his arm; and in his hands, he is holding up a long, elaborate harness— with not one, not two, but three appendages attached to the front. Shaped very distinctly like tentacles.

V clears her throat and rests one hand on her hip as she leans into the bathroom’s doorway. Trying to look nonchalant.

Yeah. This is teasing taken to the extreme, all right.

"It's a gag gift from some gal chooms in the Mox. We were hanging out recently, before uh..."

Her breath catches, and not in the giddy-sweet way she would have liked it to, what with Talemura's eyes on her, dark and heavy and intent. In the split second that passes before she remembers to breathe again, it almost seems like there are splatters of red on her bathroom walls. Like back there. When Evelyn —

She blinks, and the tiles are clean again. She decides to slip back into the bathroom, cramped as it is with two people fumbling around, and wash her hands. Splash her face a little too. Her movements are idle, effortless, but her mind is scrambling to find the rhythm of casual conversation again — to leap on it like on a train that's speeding far away from her.

"Before some shit happened. The way it just keeps happening and happening and happening..."

She dries her hands off aggressively on Takemura’s towel, and the last memories of blood with them; then ducks into the cabinet, emerging with the lube he failed to find. And some wet wipes for good measure.

"So yeah,” she’s back in the doorway again, and back to acting so totally natural. “We were having drinks, and one thing after another, we began sharing stories of weird shit we stumbled into online. Not like, beyond-the-Blackwall scares or messed up snuff BDs, but harmless silly weirdness. So I ended up remembering how I was looking for... things, and somehow tumbled down an entire rabbit hole that led to hentai. As you do."

"As you do?"

Takemura follows her out of the bathroom, the tentacle set-up still in his hands, his eyebrows raised.

V snorts out a short laugh, and he smiles slightly to mirror her amusement. He is particularly beautiful when he does that, V thinks to herself, chewing instinctively on the piercing in her lip.

"Oh, I am sure you are too cultured for what makes us Western weebs get our jollies!"

"Hm."

They head for the nook where her bed is. She sits down, pants and jacket completely off, inviting. He presses his knee into the edge of the mattress and kisses her, while running his free hand along her neck and downwards. The motion is slow, and his lips linger on hers, as if he is mulling something over.

"Once in Tokyo, I went to an exhibition of nineteenth-century art that included shunga... erotic images. While it was not what I came there for, it was certainly... memorable."

"Tsk, Goro, what would your grandmother say!"

He huffs at her remark, not unamused — and then drops the harness into her hands.

"How does this work?"

She scoots over to make room for him, and runs her hands over the tentacles. Something pulses suddenly between her legs, and a sneaky glance at Takemura confirms that his own... interest has been going as steady as when they started kissing back in the car.

"I am not sure, I never actually tried it. I think you are supposed to interface with it, and then these little choombas will start moving... in time with your thoughts."

"I see. My implants are offline, so I am uncertain if I can use this on you..." he exhales softly, sliding his fingers under the hip strap of her panties and pulling them down, inch by sweetly excruciating inch. "To recreate the shunga... But you, on me — "

"That what you want?"

"Yes."

He says the word with that quiet laser focus intensity that first intrigued her when they started working together. The pulse thumps again, harder, and pressing her legs together does nothing to quiet it down.

So — gingerly, interrupting every motion to kiss him and grin at his rising moans of impatience — she gets down to preparations.

The harness rests heavy on her hips — no chafing so far; good. Somewhere, tiny ports click into place, and a tingly ripple courses through her, as data is shared between the toy and her body. This little gift is more high-tech that she thought; the girls really went all out for a simple "harhar tentacles" gag.

She is standing in front of the bed now, in all her nude, broad-shouldered glory. Some of her past hookups, especially those who'd spent too much time drooling over the chrome perfection of Lizzy Wizzy, were a bit put off when they peeled back her favorite biker leathers and saw the scars, and the muscles, and the full bush, and the stretch marks from awkward growth spurts back in her tiny-shithead, thinking-she-was-so-cool-cause-she-smoked-weed-once days. They’d hoped “her body would be nicer than her face”, also all tatted up to look like a skull mask, with a square jaw and broad lopsided nose (broken and reset way too many times); but instead, found her the same head to toe. Too rough around the edges, too mannish.

But Takemura, scowl as he might at the boorish ways of the Heywood thieves, never failed to drop a kernel of praise here and there, for a well-landed punch, a quick and deadly shot, a metal shutter rolled up bare-handed like it was tissue paper. And now, too, he gazes up at her, sprawled languidly on her mattress, like she is one of those works of erotic art back in a museum in his beloved Tokyo.

The warmth she feels at the thought, headier than a shot of the best tequila at the Coyote, resonates with the contraption over her crotch. The tentacles whirr to life, extending, unfurling, glistening with lube, their tips probing at the air, awaiting her mental command.

"Oh, this is fucking preem!" V exclaims through a laugh. The words are still hanging in the air, and her mind has already devised a plan. A quickhack to beat all quickhacks.

Now she is the one with her knee on the mattress, with Takemura right under her. The tentacles descend. One slides under his shirt — the parts of it that still cover him — and caresses the organic flesh, circling round his nipple, gliding down along the path of silver-dusted black hair, from his chest down his stomach. It’s more lean and trim than hers, but also crisscrossed by scars. Oh, she'd love to ask about them some day, if he is ever in that sincere, contemplative mood again, like he was during their stakeout on the roof.

He arches his back slightly, cursing in Japanese. His voice is so husky and slurred that V's translator does not pick up on it. But the sound of it adds to the drumming between her legs.

The second tentacle coils along his thigh, and V helps it get rid of his pants and part his legs. In all the fuss with the harness, he never did finish digging around for condoms, but at this point, she thinks they can go without them for a bit. She certainly relishes in watching his cock become fully erect, as perfect as the rest of him. Wonder if she can figure out a pose where she can both continue with the tentacles and get him off with her hand... Fuck, she'd love that.

The third tentacle teases around his buttocks, before finally slipping in, once V has made sure everything is comfortably stretched and lubed up.

Takemura writhes, his desperate huffs turning into long whines that she never thought him capable of... Perhaps he never thought himself capable of either.

The tentacle sinks deeper and deeper, while the other two continue trailing over the flushed, sweat-slick flesh.

"You are taking it really well. I love how great you're doing," V breathes out — and suddenly, Takemura grips the mattress like he would drown otherwise, and gasps for air.

As realization strikes V, the tentacles retract involuntarily. Takemura searches her face with bleary eyes, silently begging for the pleasure to return... But first, she hits him with a question.

"They don't praise you a lot at Arasaka, do they?"

He attempts to frown. To look serious. As if he is not naked and sweating and open for her to toy with.

"Do you... praise your gun... for not missing... the target?" he manages to croak.

V shakes her head, mentally commanding the tentacles to reach for him again.

"You are not a gun, though. You are a person. And fuck, you deserve to be told when you're good. Like right now. You are being so, so good."

Takemura grits his teeth, chest rising and falling.

"V, you wicked little — Gah!"

She has finally figured out the right angle to do... Pretty much everything. Two of the tentacles are wrapped around Takemura once more, and the third — the one that traced the contours of his shuddering, melting body — has bent back, sliding into V, playing with the inner folds, going further and further in, chasing that pounding heat to completion. All the while, she moves the ring of her fingers up and down his cock, in swift, tireless pumps, as if competing with her own toy over who makes him come first.

At the end of it all, she has a sneaking suspicion that the tentacle's won out. There is just more stimulation that way. Oh, the Mox sure delivered.

Takemura swears again; this time, the translator implant informs her loud and clear that he is screaming the Japanese equivalent of "Fuck!". He lurches under her, spilling all over her fingers... And shortly afterwards, the tentacle she stole for herself finishes its job as well.

She dissolves in her own release, a gleeful cry rising from the back of her throat, and collapses right into Takemura, panting, melding into one with him: a weird thrashing mess of bare legs and dripping black appendages.

"Oh, that was fun, wasn't it?" she nuzzles against him, basking in the warmth of the body — so real, so tangible, so soft and sated — that she thought for certain would remain forever at arm's length from her.

"I do not think I deserve this kind of pleasure," he says, quietly and bluntly. It is not self-flagellation; he fully believes every single word and states it as objective fact. "Not while I have a mission to follow. But..."

He kisses her on the temple, where a little vein still carries that elated pulse.

"It is you who has been good to me, V. Thank you."

"No, you," she grins. "You are so fucking good."

Takemura blushes, a rich, dark hue that clouds his face, his collarbones, and would have surely scorched his throat as well if any organic parts of it were still visible.

"Look at him," the by-now unusual solitude in V's head is disturbed yet again. "Of course the guard dog has a praise kink."

"Johnny..." V tries her best to silently channel her most convincing “Oh, you are in trouble now, young man” energy.

"All right, cool off! I am just worried for you, is all."

In her mind, she watches the flickering digital apparition raise his hand and rub his temples.

"Look. Sex in itself is as simple as a Sixth Street muscle honcho, but when you mix it with something else, things become a million times more complicated. Have all the naked corpo rubbing you want; I’ll make sure to check out. Just... Don't forget to make the right choices."

"Thanks. But I think I'm managing this just fine. Least for now."

In the real world, Takemura seems to be voicing objections of his own.

"You cannot call me good that when I did not even properly pleasure you."

"Well, there is always next time."

Her thoughts are still halfway in Johnny-space, and when they catch up with what she's saying, she is as stunned as Takemura.

They... They can't have a next time! Next time, she might be holding a gun to his head! They are supposed to be just glass pebbles in the poisoned sea, knocked together by chance, just for one night of distraction...

"Next time? Quite unwise. Dangerous for us both. But... Compelling," Takemura murmurs.

"You have seen many sides of me that few others have, V. And I, of you."

He takes her hand and begins wiping it clean. He is very thorough, methodical with every finger; ridiculous as it sounds, it reminds V of cleaning a gun.

"We are two foxes that know each other's scent. We hunt together, lay together — our nature now draws us to find a hidden nest we could return to together."

"Foxes, tentacles, what kind of damn zoo is this," Johnny laments, before fizzling into silence again.

"I wish our circumstances allowed for more... respite like this. Like our conversations over horrible food — "

Now in the middle of cleaning himself up, Takemura cuts himself short, a flash of thought in his augmented eyes.

"V, that disgusting greasy cardboard you chewed on the roof..."

She cocks her head a little, almost wincing with whiplash at the shift from Takemura's favorite fox metaphors to... this.

"Pizza?"

He wrinkles his nose.

"I know of pizza. That is Italian cuisine. Time-honored street food. But it seems that this city spits out nothing but waste paper approximations, regardless of country. V — we can afford to linger, I think, so let me be truly good to you."

He gets up, puts his underwear back on and strides to V's computer. With far too much confidence for an old man who accidentally texts people his search queries.

"What are you doing?"

"I am going to look up what ingredients one requires to make a pizza," Takemura declares, confidence still unwavering. "And prepare one for you. As a gesture of appreciation."

V feels her eyes bulge a little. Can't say she ever got thanked for tentacle pegging and a handjob with food. Which is a bloody shame, come to think of it.

... Shit, Jackie would be so on board with the idea. He'd do something like this for Misty in a heartbeat. He'd —

"I think I'll go take a shower," she mumbles, pressing her hand to her stomach, as if that will close the leering emptiness that digs out her innards now and again, whenever something reminds her of Jackie. She talked to Misty about this, as they nestled together on the footsteps of the Esoterica. Another pair of sea glass pebbles, so very small.

"Grief is absence," she said, a quiet melody in her voice — and fuck, it sure as hell is.

…This is not even the kind of shower you are supposed to take after sex. V just stands there, useless as a mannequin, balled fists pressed into the wall, hot water cascading over her. Time stops passing in this little box of vapor — another metaphor Takemura used once, describing the city... All she knows is that when she finally breaks her trance, finds a full-body towel to wrap herself in, and plods out, wet feet loud against the floor, Takemura is still on her computer, browsing... Very much not pizza recipes.

Somehow — she can guess how; he’s the type of guy to accidentally set his telephone's interface to a language he does not speak — instead of finding and downloading a list of ingredients, or whatever it was he planned to do, he has stumbled his way into the folder with her drawings.

Yeah, big shock. The tall, tattooed, mohawk-sporting street kid has a cutesy little hobby.

She's been practicing on and off for years — that was how she had her first brush with hentai actually; clicked one link too many when scouring the net for digital art tutorials. She never could make anything on it, never could "monetize her skills", as the folks in Atlanta pushed her to — but hell, she ain't no corpo rat. She doesn't owe it to anyone to “monetize” her every breath. Sometimes she just sees light filter through a dirty window in a curious sort of way, and tries to jot down all the yellowish hues it creates. Just because it's neat.

And maybe Takemura, with his fancy corpo education and arsenal of poetic quotes, would have understood that. Something something the beauty of fleeting moments, haiku poetry something something. But of course — of fucking course! — he has scrolled down and stopped the cursor not at her reimaginings of the holographic trees in Kabuki as the real thing, soft petals trailing in the wind; not at the blocky, half-surrealist painting of her megabuilding's elevator shaft as the choked-up, lesion-covered throat of a coughing smoker... But at all the sketches she made of him.

They are mostly squiggles in flaky, textured digital pencil, done from memory and lacking any sort of detail except around his eyes and mouth. Oh, and a couple attempts at using a brush that was supposed to emulate the sumi-e technique (and probably infected her computer with at least three viruses when she tried to get it downloading). He might find those ones particularly insulting. What does an uncouth merc know of recreating fine art — especially art that doesn't involve any scandalous stuff like tentacles?

V holds her breath, clutching the towel awkwardly to her chest. In a silence that churns like spilled oil, she watches Takemura watching his own likenesses roll by on the screen. Heads half-turned in quiet contemplation; outlines of hands clasped round the ghost of a coffee cup; so many pairs of eyes, age lines lovingly rendered, gaze sometimes cutting as sword's age, and sometimes soft and slightly sad. The real man has his back turned back to her; she cannot read the expression in the eyes that ponder their digital twins... Until he swivels around in her computer chair. And then,s she cannot bear to look. She would rather be back in that fucking landfill.

"Oh no," Johnny whispers in her head. And there is not a hint of gloating in his voice. He sounds like he... understands? Did he ever have someone stumble across his music that was meant to be private, hidden, especially from the person that inspired it?

"V..." Takemura says slowly. "Is this how you see me?"

"Sometimes," squeezing the words out takes up all of her mental strength, and none is left for as much as a sideways glance at him.

"What you are not being a pain in my ass."

"It is as I thought. We have revealed more of one another than we should have, but..."

At long last, she raises her head. His look is soft; flattered — what was she even afraid of? She just wrecked his prostate, for fuck's sake!

"But we are in too deep now, eh choom?"

"I suppose we are..."

For a moment, he turns back to the monitor.

"You have a talent, V. I wish you had met people who could see it, the way I did. Perhaps — "

"Fuck. Hate where this is going," Johnny growls. V cannot say she is too ecstatic either.

"Yeah, no. Not selling out to a corp," she snaps, despite herself.

"I like you, Goro. You just felt how much — "

Also despite himself, he blushes.

"But that's where I won't be agreeing with you. It's like..."

With a heavy sigh, she sits down on the bed, next to the discarded harness.

"Do you ever think what happened to all those other kids who washed their clothes in the same toxic ooze? Do you ever think about your chooms, Goro?"

He drums his fingers on the edge of her desk, then balls them into a fist. But eventually, the flash of anger in his face gives way to a wistfulness that makes him look so much like the soft charcoal portrait that has unfurled, full-screen, behind him. His expression beckons V to stand up, and walk up to him, and tuck a strand of silky greying hair behind his ear. He clasps her wrist, but does not pull her hand away — holding on, not breaking eye contact.

"In another life, I would have followed in my father's footsteps. Maybe I would have risen up to open a restaurant of my own, and invited them all to eat there."

"Wouldn't that have been preem?" V murmurs, and kisses his temple like he did hers. Finding that tender little pulse.

"And that pizza would be preem too. Here, old man, let me teach you how to use the Internet."

#cyberpunk 2077 #goro takemura #takemura x v #cyberpunk fanfic #this one is CITRUSY #there is a tentacle contraption involved #i did not take this seriously when writing so let's have fun together #original things

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pinkyjulien · 7 months ago

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Okay now I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon of the prev ask about Valentin's and Mitch's first meeting 👀 how does his story continue with Takemura (if at all?) Does he track Valentin down, and how, or is what follows immediately after being saved and stable again also diverging from canon? (I just love the image of Goro showing up all dusty and exasperated at the nomad's camp like "There you are!! Fucking finally!" XD)

AAAAAHHH FHF Eating you UwU

They DO meet up properly eventually! 👀 (more old screenshots being used to illustrate here hfhf)

After getting his bullet extracted, Val stayed a couple of days at camp; he couldnt really do much in his state, plus the caldos wouldnt just simply let him go like that

Mitch and Scorp were keepin an eye on him, they were responsible of him after all; if Val turned out to be a danger to the clan, they would've finished the job, succeeding where Dex failed

Val eventually woke up, and he was asked a couple of basic, straight forward question by Mitch; his name, where he's from, and what happened. Val didnt lie, but he also didnt mention the whole -arasaka- thing. He might be a gonk, but he's not dumb; saying that his failed gig was an heist on Arasaka, when every radios and tv stations been blasting about Saburo's death for the path days wouldnt be a smart move fhksjgj

It was all over the news- and Dex probably left Night City too (< at that time he wasnt aware Takemura killed him yet. Dex took Goro to the dump, only to find it completly empty. He got popped before he could swear he left him here hfjd)

Infos and Rumors goes around extremely fast in NC, especially between fixers, so Dexter departure/disappearance and Saburos death wasnt a coincidence at all; so was Jackie's and Valentin's potential death. (Jackie being confirmed dead cause he sent his body to his fam, but people had no idea where Val was)

He had to get back to NC, to Viktor, Misty- his friends, the only people he had left over there

That night at camp, Valentin experienced the Johnny Night TM; of course, he freaked out, screaming and talking "to himself" - Ripper wasnt far, knew the screams where coming from the nursery and quickly gave injected him some tranquilizer

In the morning, not sure whatever happened was a dream or not, he asked Mitch and Scorp (not friends yet, but the only guys he knew around) if someone could drive him back to NC- Dakota was still around and since she had to go back to her Garage soon, he could tag along and she'd get one of her guy to drive him to Vik's

During the drive, he explained to Dakota what happened, from the heist, the relic, Jackie- ans the weird dreams he's been getting (she's like a mother figure to him, a trusted friend)

She didnt liked any of that and pressed him to get checked properly asap, hoping this might be a virus that can get easily wiped out

Once at Vik, everyone was happy and relieved to see him alive "and well", but it quickly changed when Viktor took a closer look, obviously

He also mentioned that a guy, kinda sus looking, came in looking for him the day before. Said he could help him if he ever show up. (Takemura is a resourceful guy, I'm pretty sure he could pin down V's main ripperdoc to ask questions- and Viktor, knowing that Jackie did die, would trust Takemura's story and information since it correlate with what Vik knows)

So they make contact and eventually meet up at Tom's Diner like the canon timeline 👁👄👁

Despite all the years its still a ROUGH MAP AND TIMELINE FHJSJF that I really need to properly put down 💀💀 BUT YEAH FHDJ

Thank you friendo for the ask!! 🤗🧡🧡

#God I REALLY NEED TO GET BACK ON HIS LOOOOOREEEE #I changed so much shit there I gotta make sure the points still connect you know fhsjjg #I love the OG storyline and want to swim as close to it as possible uwu to keep it logical #while making it STINKYYY #Ask #ElvenBeard #about valentin #long post #Yall got me THINKING ABOUT MY BB

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kesterite · 4 months ago

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Love your cyberpunk work! Your Vance is really cool! Have you any other V’s that are your own or other people’s that you like? I’d love to see them!! xxx {:

the autocorrect getting vince is making me giggle so much sorry. I have a few other Vs, vince is just my favorite child. put under a cut because its a long oc rant post LMAO

ref of a few of them (including vinces old design)

Vetle is a biker bruiser and leatherboy. He was part of a sort of offshoot off the bakkers that scouted ahead, did the dirty work, and usually travelled a little ways forward or behind. I cant find his full ref because most of my drawings of him are nsfw LMAOO. he's with kerry and johnny

Van was my first V. He's a diy crust punk that lived the whole lifestyle, couch surfing in night city and atlanta before settling down for a while in night city. He was happy to get a move on with Panam, who he was absolutely WHIPPED for. I think hes also my only cis V.

Virgile is a ripperdoc techie that I actually dont think im keeping as a V. Johnnys presence doesnt make a ton of sense in his life. I think hes just an oc. He's adaptable and not very easily miffed, so he has a reputation for taking cases that other ripperdocs won't. Namely, a lot of cyberpsycho maintenance and hospice. He has a shaky rep with the voodoo boys, since he invites a lot of night city residents out into his clinic in pacifica. I haven't decided on a pairing for him although I do really like the idea of him and vik.

I made Victorino for my first playthrough with the multilingual night city (version 1) (version 2), which I cannot recommend ENOUGH as a linguistics nerd. It changes my perception of night city entirely and makes it genuinely feel like a melting pot city.

I needed a V that spoke english as a second language, so I made Victorino! They're from the same area of Mexico that was ravaged by the war johnny fought in, and didn't look up to him for most of the reasons that other people did. They looked up to him for risking it all and making the only brave choice that a soldier can (deserting). They're creative, incredibly brave, and really good at working a crowd. Their version of the assault on Arasaka tower was publicly televised. They're paired with Kerry and attached at the hip. I have a lot of thoughts about the incomprehensible tagalog-spanish that they use with each other. They also made a plan to rev up the starfucker narrative to promote both of their albums.

and, finally, Vid is another scrappy techie of a very... different personality. He has a dozen pistols, all with different quirks. He sleeps in his shitty van but runs from the cops on Scorpion's bike. His main strengths are his ability to get broken tech working again and his charming personality. Don't count on much else. While Vetle got kicked from the Bakkers because of power politics, Vid did it all himself. He flirts with River a lot, but actually cuts things off amicably to run off with Takemura.

#ask #ocs #cyberpunk #vid #van #vetle #virgile #victorino

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thefangirltreehouse · 11 months ago

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general observations (cyberpunk 2077)

just to preface, i’ve not played through the main story at all since 2021 on my base playstation four and i’m currently replaying on my playstation five. i played as fem!corpo!v both times. this will probably have continued updates as i get further into the endgame. (now beat the campaign as streetkid!fem!v and half-way for nomad!male!v)

“don’t look now, but that’s jenkins’ girl.” i know it’s probably not intentional but that sounds like a loaded statement.

the way kerry calls fem!v “doll” is so fuckin’ cute.

wakako calls her “honey” which again, very cute. also was dying at her “is this the dali lama?” when v sarcastically implies she simply couldn’t fathom murdering for money.

the peralez’s are one of those couples and i cannot get that out of my head.

fuck the voodoo boys. i didn’t pay much attention the first play-through and ended up siding with them because of how much the game makes it clear that you shouldn’t trust corpos and i hadn’t wrapped my head around the evelyn stuff. choose netwatch and felt a little better this time.

joshua still makes my skin scrawl and i dislike those like him irl but i wish we had more interactions like what happened with vasquez - him seeing v as a legitimate dangerous liability. (i’m genuinely surprised they didn’t do that with river, surely he done some digging into v?)

i’m terribly paraphrasing but i’ve noticed there is a couple of thugs in a coronado / arroyo side mission that are like “yo, that’s v.”

i saved brick and royce, kinda disappointed you’re stuck with royce in the totentanz mission - nice to see dum dum remember v by name and how nippy v gets over jackie’s mention. (royce or millitech obviously kill brick because his grave is there).

honestly i just wanted more of the ol’ samurai geezers.

i forgot just how many npc’s hit on fem!v in comparison to male!v like, fingers guards, jacob, the roadie, general population, the bargest guards when leaving the black sapphire (that might be both v’s), they also say “ooh! you little whore!” and also kerry’s “nice rack” dig at johnny. not to mention how many folk call her a bitch, slut, cunt and white during combat.

skippy’s disturbia never gets old, especially considering it’s seventy-years-old at that point.

i still don’t understand why there isn’t an option to give kerry back his guitar - that he clearly wants back - if you’ve met him before the padré side-quest.

really not a fan of having to build quickhacks when you’re essentially buying a blueprint.

“where’s kerry been hiding you?” oh he definitely told them the ‘new output’ shtick.

jesus christ it is so much easier to make money now.

i know it’s the future and things are a little more blasé plus he’s an old, jaded rockstar but i was a little taken aback with just how much kerry calls us cracks “whores, cunts, sluts and bitches” like chill.

a little disappointed aurore had no intention of fucking v.

i can’t stand grimes but i wish we had one more mission for lizzy wizzy

style-wise, phantom liberty is a massive step-up but the clothing in this game is atrocious especially if you want to wear anything girly.

it’s nice to be able to see the colour of v’s hair this time.

i love my little type-66 avenger.

corpo!fem!v is the perfect foil to johnny. also love how some the most notable people in johnny’s life are women. alt, rogue, denny, nancy and depending on your choice, v.

i don’t really ship johnny with v, but the “old married couple” dig was spot-on.

i’m personally conflicted on so-mi, but i’d probably lean towards saving her. that said, i fundamentally believe v wouldn’t. she’s looking for a lifeline and so-mi purposely dangled it over her. she’s not got beef with the nusa, they’re offering what so-mi cannot.

still cannot stand the photo-mode filters.

i’m forever curious about the sobchak cut storyline that was given to river and takemura.

vik’s mocking, “ooOOoooh” towards zetatech and not being allowed drink on the job.

leigh’s acting when johnny simply takes v’s body / tries to give it back in mikoshi after the rogue arasaka mission and just the entire langley section are so well executed. v and river’s farewell’s in langley and in the badlands will always break my heart.

sampson’s grave just read’s “he loved his car.”

fem!v yelling, “rust in piss, shitbot.” goes so fuckin’ hard, also streetkid!fem!v’s first confrontation with hanako.

i know v isn’t trying to blow their cover, but i so wanted to turn around and go, “bitch i have kerry and nancy’s phone number.” to that nippy samurai vendor.

oda is so hot and for what? but the shit-eating grin i have every time he’s pissed at v.

objectively the most fuckable man in this game is default!male!v

misty’s accent has changed so much in the phantom liberty ending.

so has male!v, like i noticed it almost instantly. so much gruffer, which works… if v was still twenty-seven and not rounded back to twenty-three

actually, the age change was so fuckin’ stupid. v works better as twenty-seven, especially corpo!v. the ties music has to the game, to v specifically with the twenty-seven club. v and jackie being eager and dumb enough to accept the job from a disgraced fixer, but competent enough to see it through with ‘years’ of experience. above all desperate enough to finally get their big break.

i’d like to put forward a theory that yes, night city has changed in the two years v is out of the game but not as much as the delamain sequence implies. instead, it’s just a much dire and vulnerable perspective. the perspective of a powerless bystander who isn’t a one person army taking on maxtac with their wits and a pistol, taking out a whole room of gangoons with a mere glance or going toe-to-toe with araska’s most formidable soldiers with ease. v is seeing night city on the other side and it’s fucking petrifying. same goes for the player who’s been running around night-city like a god on a power trip. (it reminds me a lot of what final fantasy xv did in the original chapter thirteen. stripping back noctis’ literal god-like power, his arsenal and taken his support network, leaving a sad little king all alone in a hostile environment ready to make or break him.)

speaking of final fantasy xv… listen, i like river. i do, but i think i was a little less harsh on him because i knew he was a love interest prior to meeting him but he really needed more padding and i know it’s due to river being the remnants of sobchak but even a few missions of him setting up his business with v’s help (which could’ve kept gangs like maelstrom and the mox more relevant in the games later act) prior to the dinner at joss’ (not to mention the lack of a arc kill-switch as i know many lesbian players weren’t keen on his advances - which could’ve been done when johnny picks up on river’s behaviour). also… for how ‘progressive’ this game is giving the straight / bi girlies a ‘family-man’ angle…? how ground-breaking.

fuck meredith, gimmie a one night stand with blue moon!

fumes + afterlife on growl fm are majestic, like growl fm generally is such a great addition.

when johnny says “aware.” and v correct’s with “aggressive” to hellman.

someone’s gotta tell judy she’s got a really shitty taste in women.

listen, maiko’s an a-class bitch but i can’t help but love every scene she’s in. that “yes v, i mean you.” is so good!

as much as evelyn is to blame for the heist, she’s dealt the worst hand as it’s collateral. t-bug, dex, jackie and v to some extent are allowed to comfort of death, evelyn… not so much.

male!v in particular very much feels like judy’s guard dog, fem!v is in it to fuck around and find out in messing with maiko and the claws when it comes to judy’s post-heist arc.

the differences in line delivery are so interesting with each v, i mean it makes even more sense considering they are confirmed to be different people. like a good example is when johnny appears in the peralez’s braindance, male!v says “what are you doing here?” with a genuinely curious and amused tone, fem!v is immediately over johnny’s antics before he’s even begun. however, it’s almost the reverse when johnny comes out with his bullshit “sisters of god” analogy, male!v sounds unconvinced, fem!v sounds sceptical but mildly curious.

i adore the idea that millitech had their grubby fingers in the heist, like the implications that everything relied on two low-level merc is incredible (highly recommend this video for more on that)

i always knew johnny was an unreliable narrator, because he’s johnny but after listening to talsorian game’s line manager it just connects so many missing points - especially of the blackhand variety.

so… i went back and played phantom liberty and honestly, the best outcome is for everyone (perhaps, except v) to honour so-mi’s wish to die. reed lives and eventually agrees with v’s choice, myers’ ego is shot, massacre of innocents avoided and not to mention the access to blackwall weapons. the caveat is obviously alex. now that i’ve done that ending, whilst i don’t forgive her, i understand so-mi’s motive and can sympathise, like fuck the nusa. after evelyn, so-mi’s arc is the most heartbreaking.

guess dino really does know everyone, considering reed is his bouncer.

i wish you could ask viktor about farida.

it’s actually insane that edgerunners is only a year prior to v’s story, i know streetkid!v is aware of david but i’m surprised there’s no comment from corpo!v, considering counter-intelligence was involved (there’s a scene in jenkin’s office) and perhaps not in their life-path role yet but v is undoubtedly working for arasaka during david and smasher’s fight. actually on that, corpo!v doesn’t even comment on smasher when jackie mentions him. like v isn’t a millitech, biotechnica, petrochem or a netwatch corpo, they’re arasaka.

so-mi’s va did such a fantastic job, especially when she and v are in the core.

first time around i play games on easy - so i don’t get spoiled at release), then do my second on hard (which is getting really annoying games are locking it behind beating it on normal) but whilst i prefer this game on hard, easy mode makes you feel like a fuckin god.

fuck that blackwall ai, i love my erebus (both playing and story implication - you can’t convince me that ain’t lilith / night-corp / mr. blue eyes texting v) but it what cost? ‘cause if you know anything about me, then you know i can’t stand horror, especially horror games other than until dawn. i play pseudo-tank in almost everything, not really possible in most horrors. i lack compete tact and i’ll admit that.

speaking of lilith, the implications are amazing. one, it’s why narratively i like so-mi going out on her own terms because trusting blue eyes? i think not. i mean think about it; liilith is attempting to breach the human world and who are her high-profile proxy contacts? promising them life? a ticking time-bomb netrunner or arguably the most dangerous human being to walk the earth. (if you’ve not looked into it, then give this a watch)

telling myers to suck it was excellent, although i fear she got the last laugh with that five-thousand eddies payment.

the parallels between v and reed’s final conversations in ‘four scores and seven’ and ‘who wants to live forever’. which each one explaining to the other how to take on their new life. you can hear the optimism in v’s take and similarly with reed at langley however the player knows how it feels when the shoe is on the other foot, it’s easy to tell reed to move on with his fresh start but it’s so difficult to stomach as v.

as a filmmaker, judy’s passion for braindances hits so much, especially during pyramid song, same with alex and evelyn honestly.

i know half the moniker is in how they die but the idea that v in one lifetime: stole from arasaka, survived a bullet to the brain, killed adam smasher, kurt hansen and maman brigette whilst yes covertly, saved the presidents life, took on maxtac for the most part alone and played samurai’s final gig with the original members, filling in for THE silverhand but still can’t be considered a nc legend if they don’t take down arasaka? *sniffs* hmmm… i’m smelling… shite?

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #v cyberpunk #johnny silverhand #jackie welles #kerry eurodyne #judy alvarez #panam palmer #rogue amendiares #alt cunningham #goro takemura #river ward

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mail-me-a-snail · 1 year ago

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for the meanie OC asks for Vance pls: future and mistake 😈 (if you've done those ones already, dealer's choice)

future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

oh man. oh man oh man. the absolute worst possible future for vance is if he gets shipped back to arasaka. all of his current cyberware are prototype implants for the (idealistically) perfect netrunner; he is, in a sense, arasaka's test build for their netrunner line of cyberware. they can't just off him to prove a point. he's terrified of going back, because he knows he'll fit right back in.

for vance, the worst possible outcome for his life (and his story) would be losing his autonomy again. he doesn't trust takemura, no matter what debt he may owe him; he certainly doesn't trust hanako. he and johnny can at least agree on that much.

he takes great care not to talk at length about his arasaka days. he also goes to the only ripper he can trust--vik, because vik was the one who checked his implants for trackers the first time around. now vance does it himself as a daily ritual.

mistake: What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

vance completely cut off contact with his sister, maya, and never tried to find her again. at first, it was for his safety and hers; he didn't want arasaka to think that she was complicit in his disappearance. though, he'll never really know if the corp had taken...certain measures to wring that information out of his family.

it's one of the reasons he stays away; he has no idea if she's still around to respond, and he's not ready to find out. when he went into hiding in early 2076, maya was still the in-house smart techie. he hopes that's where she still is.

#asks #vance #THANK U FOR THE ASK <3 #i rlly need to design maya i love her

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timaeusterrored · 1 year ago

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(A Good Brother)

(Tw for transphobia, teen pregnancy, and addiction)

Vex Kane sat across from her mother for a long time, calm as could be as the woman looked around. Melissa seemed to be shocked by both of her children’s success, Vax the king of the Afterlife and married to Kerry Eurodyne, and Vex an ex corpo and mother.

“Why are you even here? I’m not giving you money. I actually specifically remember telling you I didn’t want you in my house.” Vex could feel the presence of her lover, Goro Takemura, standing behind her. Luckily they were both level headed enough to keep the area calm and sent Victoria to her room before Melissa could see her.

“I told you, Val won’t talk to me. She froze me-“

“I believe you’re talking about my brother, correct? The one you immediately tried to take advantage of when he first saw you? I can’t imagine why he would want to talk to you seeing as you’re still disrespecting him but uttering that name.” Vex snapped, crossing her legs.

Melissa sighed, shaking her head. “I just thought she’d- he’d have some money to spar.”

“For the woman that abandoned us on the streets? Where were you when I was 15 and pregnant? Or when Vax nearly lost his eye in a street fight? Hm? When a woman he had just met brought him in to get him clean, from an addiction he probably got from you.” Vex hadn’t known her mother for very long, only enough to know she couldn’t stand her.

The older woman sat back, rubbing her face. Silence fell over the room as the women stared at each other.

“I was nine.” Vex stated softly, making her mother look up.

“What?”

“I was nine, had lost my favorite doll. Vax had a cough so bad people thought he had been smoking something. No one wanted to take pity on the kids that was sick and crying, so you know what he did? He found me somewhere safe and he looked for that damn doll. Retraced our steps from that whole day, looked on buses and trash cans, asked random people if they had seen my doll. He was gone for hours, I had gotten worried someone had taken him… he came back at around 2 am, doll in hand and some sandwiches he stole along the way. So where were you in that scenario? Hm? No where.”

Melissa had tears running down her cheeks, watching her daughter. “I’m sor-“

“I don’t want your pity. I want you to know we came out just fine without you. Vik saved us, made sure I could have my baby safely, taught Vax how to defend himself. Mrs. Welles helped Vax get clean, let him sleep on her couch. You were no where when we needed you. You don’t get to come to us when you need us.”

Vex stood, smoothing out her dress as she walked over and crouched down.

“Vax is a good person who had to do bad things to survive… if you think for a second he would have given you a single enny, you are severely mistaken. Get the fuck out of my house, and never come near my family again. Got me?” You could take the girl out of the streets but not the streets out of the girl.

Melissa stood with Vex, the ex corpo towered over her in heels and natural height.

“And don’t you dare come near my daughter.”

Vex had to learn the hard way that she was not her mother and never would be. She went to check on Victoria while Goro lead her mother out, having to hold back tears as she sat and played dolls with her daughter in the mean time.

She was a good mother, and Vax was an amazing father to Kerry’s kids. They’d never be Melissa Kane.

#I’m getting more into the Twins back story #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk v #female v #fem v cyberpunk #cyberpunk female v #female v cyberpunk #goro takemura #fem v x goro Takemura #v x takemura #fem v x Takemura #cyberpunk corpo #corpo v #the Kane twins #cyberpunk fic #cyberpunk fanfic #cyberpunk fanfiction

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therealnightcity · 2 years ago

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For Hiro 🍙💻🔮

Character asks for @fly-amanitaa 💕💕

🍙: Goro--

Hiro's relationship with Takemura is...complicated. The two are like oil and water, and although they're capable of working together towards the same goal, both have different motivations and an incredibly different outlook, and methods with which they work. Hiro struggles with Takemura's blind loyalty to Arasaka, and ties to the Corpo lifestyle, and way of thinking, and Takemura sees Hiro as a loose canon, with even looser morals. One of the things Hiro has the hardest times coming to terms with is that Takemura calls his morals and motivations into question--they're the things that he takes pride in, and to have some Corpo accusing him of not having them causes contention, and ensures that while they may be capable of working together, true friendship is harder to come by. Granted, Hiro doesn't make himself easy to get along with, and sees it as his personal mission to get under the man's skin, and see if he can incite a reaction, other than 'coolly disapproving grandfather.' Despite their marked differences, the two occasionally find things they can coexist on, particularly their love of food.

💻: Judy--

Out of all the NPCs Judy is one of the people Hiro is the closest to, and one of the few he knew from before he was in the Claws, and stayed in contact with after he left. He sees her as a younger sister, even though they're only a year apart. They were fast friends, and they're quick to argue but make up almost as quickly, and tease each other a lot. It's usually fairly good natured, and Hiro's very protective of Judy (especially given her less than stellar line of partners), and the two of them spent many lazy nights with pizza, and beer, gossiping and catching up--about clients, or life or tech. She knows that he'll always be there for him, and likewise, and is one of the few people who noticed he went missing in there, and the only one still looking for him. She was furious with him when he turned up later, not even a call, but she could never be mad with him for too long, especially when an explanation was forthcoming, and a promise not to disappear like that again. She routinely throws clients his way, knows that in addition to being a good friend, he's also a very skilled merc. Hiro admires her drive, and warmth, even if he does admit she can be a little reckless at times.

🔮: Misty--

Hiro thinks Misty is a little odd, but he appreciates her, both as an individual and how kind she was to Jackie. Hiro always worried about the latter ending up with someone shitty, but he never did with Misty. He admires her steadiness, she's a source of calm he seldom sees in Night City, and offers an unexpected perspective, that's usually not the first one he comes to. He doesn't share her spirituality, but he's glad it works for her, and he's the last to judge on what makes someone happy. He's come to know her very well through his friendship with Vik, and although they're an odd pair, they're some of the first allies he made after leaving the Claws. They see a lot of each other, between him visiting the clinic, and his past friendship with Jackie, and she's the one who encouraged him to start celebrating his birthday, albeit indirectly. She mentioned that he gave off scorpio vibes, and Jackie ran with it.

Thanks for asking!!! This was so fun~ :3

#character asks #cyberpunk ocs #oc: hiro oda #cyberpunk 2077 #character headcanons #tyger claws #misty olszewski #judy alvarez #goro takemura

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lostinnightcity · 2 years ago

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Entry 07: May 21, 2077 (金)

I finally feel like my life is starting to settle into a new routine. Don't get me wrong, my entire personality is still slowly being consumed by a digital parasite. I still could catch a stray bullet at any hour of any day. Arasaka still hangs over my head like a cloud of acid rain. But, but...I'm catching my breath at last.

I woke up this morning and looked out my window, and for the first time, I actually noticed the building across the way. I think it's a high-end apartment, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was some software company's offices. What caught my eye was the grass. It's so rare just to see a patch of perfectly-manicured grass in Night City. For a moment, I remembered what it felt like to feel grass between my toes on a late summer day. I'd love to make it over there just one time before it's lights out for V. You reading this, Johnny? Don't be in too much of a hurry.

The Delamain cab AI has pulled me into some side hustle, wrangling rouge cabs it's lost track of. Long story, but Del's courteous and easy to work with, and he pays well. Well enough that I might be able to pay Vik back for everything he's done for me. Today I found two of the cabs. One was despondent, if an AI can be such a thing. Wanted to drive over a bridge. I did some pop psych on it and got it to return to dispatch. The other one was harder, less agreeable. Thankfully, I had a Cut-O-Matic in the trunk of my Hella, and somehow I managed to get the Delamain pinned in between a pole and my car, and I just went to town on its hood with the chainsaw until I managed to sever something important and took the cab offline. Del was thankful. The damn thing made a mess in the streets before then, though.

I was on my way to meet Claire, the bartender from the Afterlife, when Regina called me about a possible cyberpsycho incident down by the shoreline. I happened to be nearby so I grabbed my electric shotgun--correctly surmising it would be best to deal with a chromed-out basket case--and got to work. It was fucked up: from what I can gather, the whole thing was a reality show practical joke gone way, way too far. Messed up family and cut-rate implants led to a bad situation. I was able to put the psycho down without killing her (a Kiroshi targeting unit I've managed to acquire helps focus on non-lethal takedowns). Regina wants them taken in alive whenever possible. Suits me. I don't really think this was her fault. I felt bad for her. Hopefully Regina can get her the help she needs.

I was still able to make it to the starting grid before Claire. Here we are before the race:

Claire's great. Maybe a little pushy, but I can tell she's got a big heart. She lost her last driver, that's how I got roped into this. She didn't want to talk about the specifics, I can tell there's a story there that still hurts. Whatever she's racing for, it's about more than just the money.

Get this, though: We came in first! Frankly, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this. Not that I'm worried for us, we handled it without breaking a sweat. But these races are fast, and violent, and this one was right on the streets of downtown. The organizers make sure NCPD get their cut to look the other way, but some innocent could really get wiped out through no fault of their own. The next race is supposed to be in the Badlands, at least. That seems a little more sane.

Takemura was insistent I meet with him and a Saka contact of his. I didn't want to, I know it would be a waste of time at best, but what can I do? He might be one of my only ledes right now to someone who could help with the biochip. So I went down to the docks in the middle of the night (a real downer after the high of winning that race), and predictably got shat on by his contact, who turned out to be Hanako Arasaka's bodyguard. He offered us nothing, and frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't an ambush. I guess Takemura had enough goodwill with him for him to "allow" us to leave the city for good. Well, fat chance at that. I have another idea. But it was getting late, and it will have to wait.

I came home before 2:00, got out of my sweaty, rain-soaked kitch wear, and decompressed with Nibbles. I may not be living in the high-rise mansion across the block, but it'll have to do.

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totentnz · 11 months ago

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jackie: you know you're 'spposed to wear a shirt under the shirt? to catch the sweat?

v: why didn't it come with the shirt then?

jackie: i don't know but you wanna do this properly or not?

v, while rummaging through the laundry pile in order to find a shirt that's still wearable: i really don't but at this point i don't care

*fast forward to takemura and vik having to cut v out of the skank suit to save her life, revealing the "i fuck on the first date" shirt*

i know v died wearing that skank ass suit but imagine if johnny woke up in a strangers body in a landfill and they wore a shirt that says "i fuck on the first date" we could have skipped the whole i hate you part of the game

#sammy says shit #this is canon now btw #oc:v #takemura doesnt approve #vik would think it was funny if it wasnt so tragic #thinking about changing the shirt to say 'hashtag braindead'#for you know comedic purposes

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kataraqui-archive · 4 years ago

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Not me once again falling in love with a game that's being popularly shat on oh well here are all the things I love about Cyberpunk 2077 (spoilers kinda)

• Johnny being a narcissistic idealist, thanks I always wanted a foul-mouthed anarchist yapping in my ear

• V being a big sad who goes to ask a sex worker some questions and ends up getting therapy instead

• That one gun 'Skippy' as a parody of Microsoft's Clippy

• Judy's Ghost in the Shell tattoo

• Claire's trans flags on her truck and casually mentioning her transition and V not even blinking and her story not being about transphobia or coming out she's just living her life AND she's voiced by a trans woman

• the first person POV okay yeah I was sceptical but actually it sucked me in, immersive as fuck

• the text messages from Takemura, grandpa Goro accidentally sending me selfies and trying to search for good food

• driving around in the rain and neon lights to the tunes on my favourite radio station (Body Heat is the best one don't @ me)

• Panam going absolutely ape shit on Saul

• Kerry-you-made-me-feel-Eurodyne

• Kerry's whole struggle between wanting to make art that matters but being beholden to labels and realizing it pitted him against his fellow artists as competition then banding together with them to fight against the corporate wankers like god that was good shit

• V calling him 'Ker'

• Kerry going from a feral agent of chaos to sweet soft bf in like 0.0065 seconds

• This whole list could be about Kerry fucking Eurodyne

• HOW is Johnny such an irredeemable asshole yet still lovable by the end

• the fact unromanced NPC's still felt like deep friendship bonds, the love is there, like Judy still gives me the key to her pad cuz we are gay bros and I've never felt so-

• That bit when Vik tosses the screwdriver and kicks his stool he could kick me like that and I'd thank him

• V adopting a Bingus sphynx cat with Johnny it's their child now

• literally everyone else adopting V

• the voice acting and dialogue feeling so real and layered instead of people taking turns to talk and interrogate each other and just divulging all their deep personal secrets cuz you asked

• V leaving THAT voicemail on Jackie's phone T_T

• the sentient vending machine voiced by the guy who played Connor in DBH

• all the cars handling differently, sounding differently, like damn I guess I'm into cars now??

• a story that centres feelings of loneliness by having an unlikely hero make meaningful connections with other isolated misfits yes pls especially now in the middle of a pandemic

• V's sick nail polish

• riding the roller coaster with Johnny, Johnny smiling, oh god

• the subtle shifts in story/dialogue depending on your character and choices without it being an obvious game mechanic, if I hadn't done a different playthrough from my partner I wouldn't have known

• Johnny telling Rogue she was 'the one' and her saying 'I know, just a shame you died before you figured it out'

• just...I love everyone so much I desperately need eighteen DLC's and a sequel

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk #cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #spoilers #V #Kerry Eurodyne #Panam Palmer #Judy Alvarez #Johnny Silverhand #V/Kerry #screaming into the void so I don't annoy my friends with how obsessed I am

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waspgrave · 3 years ago

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oh i wanna hear more about your v is an engram theory 👀

OK SO FIRST OFF – this is really long but I think it’s interesting and plausible so enjoy! Update for NightCorp Reasoning

TLDR bc this is 1.6k worth of theorizing - I think V is a harbinger of a rogue AI virus that isn’t Johnny. NightCorp is involved. V's an engram. There's hope for Johnny and V both living.

In the prologue mission, V boots into Sandra Dorsett’s biomon and this is the moment V becomes ‘special’. V acknowledges they got a virus the next day and heads to Vik’s clinic to get it taken care of. Thing is that NightCorp is beyond a ripper’s knowledge when it comes to this. Daemons can get through security easily and stay hidden.

Sandra Dorsett can tell you later on just what NightCorp is doing.

Throughout the game, V encounters rogue AI that immediately register them as off. They say weird, cryptic things about V both being dead and NOT. This might be them suggesting Johnny is what’s keeping V alive, V being doomed no matter what, or the fact that V is something they know how to acknowledge properly bc V is now technically considered one THROUGH a certain rockerboy ‘ai’ in their head.

What confirms this is likely the case is DELAMAIN!! Delamain shouldn’t act the way he does. What he was hired to do was a simple task – get V and Jackie to Konpeki and then take them to the hotel where Deshawn is. WELL V changes that the second they plug in to his systems. They uploaded the NightCorp virus which just now created a rogue AI. Delamain is infected slowly after that and you see it right after Jackie dies when he asks where to take his body. V snaps at him to give them a moment and Delamain does which, like, OK, but his voice gets quiet as he lets them do just that. Delamain’s processing emotions. When V and Takemura are injured, V gets Delamain to get them. Again, Delamain has literally no reason to agree to come to V’s aid because technically his contract is over with. But he does, and you hear him instruct Takemura how to help V, and you even hear Delamain address Vik on V’s state. AGAIN – there’s no reason Delamain should be doing this.

So lo and behold, V wakes up and Delamain just spawned a bunch of rogue AI children because thanks to V, Delamain got an AI virus that did exactly what NightCorp wanted. This is also hilarious to think about bc yeah V is ‘patient zero’ with the virus and that happens with viruses, but also technically….congrats on your kids, because they’re displaying some facets of V in there (depression, anger, panic, introspection, curiosity, etc).

This is the bummer part tho lol – NightCorp might be keeping track of V in some manner. You can hear from that conspiracy theorist radio host (voiced by Pondsmith!) that corporations are looking through people’s eyes through their implants. You can’t NOT get optic upgrades from Vik in the main story. Garry the Prophet says very similarly cryptic things about ‘seeing through your eyes’ and if V sticks around, Garry will say he appreciates them listening and that ‘they understand his message’ and V can say something along the lines of ‘feeling like they’re being watched sometimes’. The Peralez mission follows that same line of ‘paranoia about being watched’, the only reason Jefferson is freaked out about it (if you tell him) is bc he KNOWS. V doesn’t! Johnny talks about rogue AI at the end as well, kind of tying this further into a plotline. Also, legit as you’re having this conversation, you can look over and see Mr. Blue Eyes watching you from the balcony right over. (you haven’t met or seen him before and this is easily missable) I’m not sure if he’s NightCorp, Netwatch, or possibly Morgan Blackhand or working with Alt and other AI but it’s creepy and is very intentional that he’s there.

So, ok. What’s that mean? Johnny is killing V. He is coding that is going beyond what he should probably be doing as an ‘early’ subject of the device. He’s a virus, V’s a virus. They’re both infecting each other in their own ways – Johnny overwriting V’s brain and body and V making him far more sentient and present than what earlier soulkilled victims were intended to be. (He wasn’t ‘special’ for Saburo to kill him as he did, but simply just a victim that was to avenge Kei Arasaka, the son that Rogue and Spider Murphy used soulkiller on. His engram was undoubtedly tampered with because Arasaka confirms they literally fuck around with memories, coding, etc in engrams. Saying that, though...his engram was to go into his own body – that’s a whole other theory regarding Michiko-Rogue-Yorinobu)

If you notice in the endings, Alt surprises Johnny and V with the fact that she just used soulkiller on V and then immediately says ‘oh whoopsy yeah V’s going to die in 6 months, but hey good news – Johnny will survive in their body 😊’. She doesn’t insist that Johnny stay with her but she states in a variety of ways that V could, and Johnny will do just fine on his own.

And for the record, behind the Blackwall is a sanctuary of sorts for AI. When Alt says ‘absorb’ regarding them, I’m almost positive she’s not saying she’s just going to slurp them up to die. She likely means they’ll join her and other AI and it’ll be a sort of weird digi-hive mind thing. The thing is that Johnny is just straight-up code. The tragedy about him is that’s what he is, he’s not the ‘original’ Johnny because the original one died just as V implies (and Johnny acknowledges) in that one really fucked up crucifixion mission. But what ISNT code is the human infected with a NightCorp virus.

A hopeful aspect to this is that Johnny acknowledges that they’ve been ‘the same’ for a while now. So, V might have infected his coding which might just keep him as safe as themselves. Sweet in a way, because V was so scared of Johnny taking them over but Johnny was gaining just as much from V as they were from him.

Alt wants V because V is a rogue AI by the end of the game. Because of V, rogue AI are gaining sentience and It’s Not a Bad Thing like people feared. V is one of the best things for Alt to get her hands on and she knows this. Because V’s going to be able to fight against Netwatch, who is trying to eliminate AI, and NightCorp who wants to use AI. She might also be SAVING V from both these guys who would absolutely want to use and abuse this ability that only V has.

SO. ENDING-WISE – idk how it’ll end TRULY but I do think the endings are going to lead to the same place no matter what. There’s also talk about another corporate war taking place and V/Johnny might be very important pieces of how Netwatch and NightCorp might influence how the tide will turn.

The Star – going to Tucson, Arizona where the Aldecaldos say they know people who have been able to help people out of shitty situations. Considering nomads can work even with space travel, I have a feeling they’re going to wind up in the Crystal Palace.

The Sun – V is hired by a man named Mr. Blue Eyes to go to the Crystal Palace. In this ending, you can tell that Mr. Blue eyes is legit not a normal dude lmao. Something’s off about him.

The Devil – Arasaka shootin’ you off to the Crystal Palace to do their bidding bc you literally signed a contract with the Devil.

Temperance - People keep acting like this ending means Johnny’s going to run off, change V’s appearance to his own, and whatnot just because he says something like ‘not for long/not gonna be a girl for long’. Johnny's opinion in the main menu is that he would Never disrespect V's memory or body in any manner, and gives no hint of just where that bus is going but IM GUESSING he’s somehow been contacted by Mr. Blue Eyes and he’s going to the Crystal Palace.

Regardless all these endings might go into the same place, but might also have the same outcome and that’s the discovery that Johnny’s body is out there. Johnny will be slotted right back into his head (tho u might be able to be a dick about it and go ‘nah’ bc it’s an RPG).

And for extra interest to this.

Further in Vik’s clinic, there’s a terminal from Biotechnica expressing interest in his expertise. Biotechnica IIRC absorbed BioDyne after the latter fell to bankruptcy due to them being one of the few corporations out there not acting in complete selfishness. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, Biodyne is the company that is using nanites to regenerate neural tissue.

V is an engram just like Johnny by the end. If they slot him into his body, then V might get the exact same

I know the parallels that happen are probably CDPR doing some foreshadowing for events, but they also pull weird time travel plot twists in the Witcher, and Pondsmith is a notorious geek for these things so it wouldn't be a shocking outcome.

Misty has some sweet lines saying that V isn’t doomed as long as they’re alive. CDPR is so heavyhanded with foreshadowing that I think her lines are actually implying that’s true.

u read all this you're so sexy

#cyberpunk 2077 #SPOILERY AF LMAO #the mere concept of showing ppl that i just wrote a theory essay is making me combust #also ya you're allowed to rb it i dont mind!

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