#megatower

[el-0sario]

[realtyhubph-blog]

Wagner Residences Baguio Lot

Wagner Residences Baguio Lot

📍 Lot 1-A-7-C-3 Wagner Residences Greenwater Baguio City Benguet Vacant Lot : 05639-DAG-263Location : Benguet Province Property Features Vacant Lot Lot Area: 150.00 sq.m AS-IS-WHERE-IS Basis property documents on the process lot is regular in shape flat terrain frontage of 12.46 meters Buyers should make a bid through the online submission platform from November 14, 2022, at 9:00:00AM…

[huskyheroine]

DERELICT MEGATOWER CLIMB

Last Floor: 21. 夕日 (Sunset)

Seemed like a good floor to stop on. Wow, what an album so far. I know I'm not very far up but this is like everything I love about what James Webster does with none of the blah stuff. Not yet anyways, we still have quite a climb ahead of us, but for now I am very very into this. Looking forward to hearing more!

[pentaghast]

and how much of v's memory does johnny have access to? how much can he see? if johnny lives then is v completely gone? they must be, but johnny would've already seen their memories before, so how real did they feel to him?

[for-mer-ly-geneposting]

ralph breaks the internet derelict megatower au. do you catch my drift

[meaning-of-nuwrld]

death’s dynamic shroud.wmv - F00 ベースキャンプ『RUINS』

Video filmed by James Webster - “Shinkansen from Himeji to Fukuyama”

Bandcamp

[technovillain]

TITLE CARDS FOR ANOTHER STORY

Current Episodes:

Hire & Fire - Calvin Wykowski quits his lackluster job at the Megamart and finds a new career in Umbers Inc. Accompanied by his new work partner Edwin O'Leary, he visits Hiyoko's Chamber of Doom for his first work task.

TV Special: The Umbers-Elsik Megatower - The once-beautiful planet Araelia has slowed down and faded away save for one epicentre of life: the Umbers-Elsik Megatower. After the death & disappearance of Motley Elsik 11 years ago, co-founder Charles Umbers was forced to take the helm of tower management.

Bowled Over - Calvin and Edwin visit a bowling alley for their next task and discover a disturbing resident in the storage rooms.

Here Or To Go? - Looking for the next item on their list, Calvin and Edwin visit a seedy restaurant run by a mother-daughter duo trying to cover up a dark secret.

Impersonal Trainer - Ed and Cal are not getting along or performing well on the job. Edwin's friend and Umbers Inc. intern Mina Southcourt decides to give the duo training for extra credit.

Bored of Directors - After an coincidental mixup, Calvin and Edwin put their "Southcourt training" to the test... onstage... in front of the Megatower Board of Directors.

Umberground Tour - After the new high-priority mechs ordered for Charles Umbers’ personal project are sabotaged, he must retrain them by way of a personal history lesson.

[byberbunk2069]

Ronnie’s other bestie, the Crusty Scum Fuck, Brian Buchan.

He is 24 years old and if he stops taking s-keef he will (probably) die.

He’s a part time data courier for RCS and survived an attempted decapitation by Maelstrom - he will tell you about it against your will. His other gigs include smuggling supplies for clinics at megatowers and general dealing.

Prior to RCS, and the War, he ran in the same Santo gang with Ronnie before she left SanDom for good. They were reunited again around 2075 at Lizzie's doing a BD delivery.

(Crop tank made using @wanderingaldecaldo’s custom tee framework.)

Anna and Valerie are @gibson-girlboss's OCs

[juliaspencer]

Got in the mood to jot down a few lines. A couple of days ago under my post @marine-123 asked me if I had a fanfic on the topic of the post or if I wanted to write one. Now I think I want to write one, but I don't know how to develop my thoughts properly. But still, I decided to try to write a small snippet of my thoughts on the topic.

Yes, by the way, I am writing through a translation program, as English is not my native language, so there may be mistakes in translation.

Since returning from Dogtown, Rosalind Myers had been absorbed in the pile of business that had accumulated during her absence. But her thoughts were constantly interrupted by the Knight City mercenary who had rescued her, and his declaration of love to her on the night of the rescue, when she had given herself over to chance and spent a stormy night with him.

She stared at a distant point, immersed in the memories, and smiled.

A shiver ran through her body as she remembered that moment of ecstasy, and how she had given him the goodbye kiss he had asked her for as she left. Rosalind suddenly realized that she had fallen in love. It wasn't just a crush, it was a feeling that couldn't be brushed off like a pesky fly, a feeling that swept over her head.

When she realized she couldn't concentrate on anything else, she decided it was time to visit her favorite mercenary and ordered an avi with destination NC H10.

V was about to go to bed, he'd had a long day. He'd had to travel around Dogtown doing Mr. Hands' bidding to get information on the Black Sapphire infiltration.

Avi Rosalind Myers landed on the top floor of the parking lot of the Megatower H10. Going down the elevator Rosalind was already beginning to doubt the correctness of her decision to come here, what if Vi was not at home and the whole trip was in vain. When the elevator doors opened, she didn't want to sink deeper into self-defeat. She stepped out into the corridor and looked around for the apartment she wanted and realized that it was no better than their condo in Dogtown.

She found the door she wanted and rang the intercom. A few moments later, the door opened.

But suddenly he hears the intercom ringing.

"Who's up this late?" - Vee thought to himself as he went to the door.

When he opened the door, the tiredness and sleep were gone, surprise and shock were on his face. In the corridor stood the person he least expected to see at the door of his apartment.

In front of her stood a handsome man in just his underwear and with undisguised surprise on his face.

"Hello, V! I'm sorry to be so late and unannounced!" - Rosalind said apologetically.

"May I come in?" - She asked.

"You're still asking!? Of course!" - You could hear the enthusiastic notes in Vee's voice.

Upon entering the crartory she immediately threw herself into Vee's arms.

"I missed you!" - Rosalind whispered and kissed Vi.

That's all I've been able to do so far.

If you can give me feedback.

I want to say a huge thank you to: @lodgeofeilhart for Spider And The Fly.

@disastroussketchbook for Lucretia my reflection.

You girls inspired me to write my story with our favorite president. I've never written anything like this in my life and I don't have a writer's block. I hope something will come out of this.

@marine-123 your comment under the previous post was the starting point of this endeavor.

[cinnasalmon]

Zevlor still lives in baldurs gate

maybe somewhere small inside the city or a crawling bit of land just outside it. but hes there and being there he runs into people.

He finds himself eye to eye with Rolan, who's long since settled himself as master of the tower, long since married Tav. for a moment the are is hard and stilted, both with a string of thoughts. before either can say anything Zevlors partner appears and pats their arm excitedly. Telling him they've found just the right centerpiece for table and running off.

Rolan looks to them leaving and back to zevlor.

"You're married now?"

"Yes..."

"They seem...nice"

"They're lovely"

"Good"

Zevlor just look at Rolan confused, Rolan responding a bit off offhandedly

"Good, you deserve a good life. You've done enough to earn it."

With that Rolan has said his part and left, Zevlor is left standing there with forgiveness he didn't think he would ever get.

Im dead. I'm dead. I'm dead im dead.

I literally have no words because the alternative is a megatower of borderline incoherent keyboard mashing. Thank you everyone, goodnight, have a nice life, it was nice knowing you

[sohkrates]

The Abyss Stares Back: My Work in Progress List

So @msmcnevertweet tagged me to share my work in progress list (wip) and I warn you I have the distinct good fortune to do this full time after decades of awful customer service work so I've been playing catch up these past few years:

ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT

There are games that I am working on, more or less, right now.

Nostalgia & Dragons 4th Edition. This is a game I'm making for a friend's bachelor party. It's a one-pager that seeks to replicate the experience of 4th ed. D&D with minimal rules and failing forward resolution.

RIG. Mecha souls-like solo game. Based on the Rune system. This is uh... gonna come out sooner than later.

Big Damn Heroes. Classic D&D shit with an irreverent take on western fantasy tropes. Inspired by Blades in the Dark and Slugblaster. (someone please suggest a better name for this I don't want it to be a fucking Joss Whedon quote but it's so perfect I can't think of anything)

Fealty. A collaboration with the incredible Galen Pejeau. Commoners in a monarch's court try desperately to steer the nation. Inspired by the novel Wolf Hall.

The 55. This is my #dungeon23 project. A cyberpunk megatower full of unique locations, corpo suits, and more.

Neon Black version 8.0. The next reincarnation of my cyberpunk forged in the dark game. I have a fairly comprehensive notes document that summarizes all the new changes. I pick at it every day. My goal is to have something that can be tested this fall.

INACTIVE DEVELOPMENT

These are games that have had a significant amount of work done. Some are playable prototypes, some are incomplete but are more than just notes, or at least have a lot more notes than other projects. Not being worked on right now due to time, lack of personal interest, etc.

Stiletto. Single player game set in the city of Doskvol. You play as people trying to survive by themselves trying to make money, dodge the Bluecoats, and their shady pasts. First playbook is playable, but it ballooned way out of scope and I got burnt out.

Kassandra King: Devil's Dice. Single player urban fantasy noir game. Set in the world of External Containment Bureau, and using the same system. This game has had several iterations and is mostly ready for testing. Play as a hardboiled paranormal private investigator trying to figure out why you made a deal with the devil.

Blade Wings. This one is just Band of Blades but in space. You have pilots and ships as distinct playbooks. Options for different campaign types (robots, zerg like aliens, etc.)

Working Stiffs. A redacted materials game about being corporate contractors in space. Inspired by cassette futurism, Alien, Deadspace, etc. Progress determined by how much money you make, light PVP elements.

Untitled PbtA Card Game. Another collaboration with Galen. This one is a year or two old but it still lives rent free in my head. I really wanna get back to it one day.

Glocknights. Over the top epic fantasy. Players wield cursed weapons, IRON, in order to defend the mortal realm from the tyrannical angels that seek to enforce their divine mandate. Started as a collaboration with some other designers but I don't think any of us have touched it in a while.

Die-Atonic. Every see an assassin pursuing their target through an upscale nightclub and thought it was kinda hot? Anyway start the music, take turns asking and answering questions that illustrate the scene, history, and pursuit of two people through a location. When the music ends, the climax begins. Do you die, kiss, or both?

Blood & Tears. Vampire forged in the dark game all about living long and being sad about it. 4 playbooks based on classic humours.

DEEP IDEATION

These are games that exist as just a few notes, one solid idea I like, or maybe a cover page if I got wild with it.

Where We Dropping? A battle royale RPG inspired by the Lumen system.

Alone RPG System. A rough idea for a game SRD that lets you have an interesting and unpredictable solo experience.

Extraordinary Renditions. Y'know how in Horizon Zero Dawn there's that awesome moment in the history of the game where the government is black-bagging people from all over the world in order to get the expertise necessary to save it? What if that was a 2 player RPG?

Prisoners of Light and Matter. Matrix style RPG using the redacted materials system.

Untitled Wargame. I got back into 40k and hated all the rules so I tried to make something simpler. Just enough to maybe test but it's pretty rough right now.

The Gild. What if the slick futuristic data collection and analysis system you see in the new Hitman games fell into the hands of a bunch of rabid socialists?

Fire in the Stars. Revolution and revolt in the alpha centauri system. Had a version that was kinda playable. Spent a lot of time on the fiction, less on the mechanics. If I did this again I might just use the Nasty Brutish and Long rules, that could be fun.

Modern Exiles Hack. You cannot go home again, Night in the Woods-ass RPG. A potential collab. with the incomparable Jex Thomas of Bump in the Dark fame.

Skyscrape/DNGNCRWL. Real basic dungeon crawler where you control a party of characters. Might be cyberpunk, might be fantasy. Don't know yet.

Realm & Write. A roll and write style RPG inspired by my time with Crusader Kings III.

Slugblaster Loot Tables. Literally thought of this yesterday, just a bunch of random loot tables for the Slugblaster RPG. Could be fun?

Ahem...

So yeah that's it.

I'm still settling in here and don't follow a whole lot of active folks in the TTRPG scene so I'm gonna tag @monsterfactoryfanfic cause I really wanna know what they are working on or what their lists look like, be it videos or games or whatever.

[tenderlysharpmidain]

Terragen Dune Shifters | by Subterfugitive ::0 Portrait | close up view of eyes only, facing the camera ::10 Dystopian Badlands terragen ::5 Exotic dancers wearing dunepunk attire in a terragen landscape dust storm, large wide violet and coral eyes and bioluminescent biomechanically intricate maximal astrolabe eye implants with mechanical dilating pupils, also wearing perfectly round transparent holographic tech goggle displays ::3 Background | Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Civilisation from the Debris, A dusty desaturated dystopian dunepunk terragen landscape under an orange sky during a dust storm ::5 Setting | A massive dunepunk megastructure in the distance with huge banners unfurled from top to bottom, Coral and orange light in the windows of distant kintsugi cracked dusty dunepunk buildings, maximal deconstruction of dunepunk megatowers, maximal gritpunk debris ::4 Surroundings | biomechanical nanobot radioactive trinkets, sandy kintsugi pavement, spinning red-alert lights, gamma rays, biomechanical radium mushrooms, malachite ice chunks, ultraviolet indoor gardens, bright glowing viles of viscous liquid, neon alcohol ink debris, dark bloomcore, dusty frayed-wires, metal foil, intricate sprockets and gears, coral fiber-optic cable, flex-weave debris, π bokeh dust, π murmurations of coral floating embers, indicator lights, bokeh π welding sparks fall like rain, volumetric dust particles, hypermaximalism, hyperdetailed background ::4 People | random sized adult exotic dancers in the foreground wearing headpieces, backpacks, and tech goggles in dynamic poses ::3 People Details | sleek alluring molten-skin streetsmart exotic dancers are dressed in elaborate intricately handcrafted dusty dystopian haute-couture rococo cyberpunk boots with cramp-on [...]

midjourney

[huskyheroine]

DDS UPDATE: Awawa

Endless Megatower III/Ribbon EP: The weirdest Megatower so far but not my favorite, has some real heavy hitters in it through. Really good! Ribbon EP is just some tracks from Megatower extended. It's ok.

Fav Song: F??? LIFE CHANGING VIEW/ Quest 66 (Extended)

Crisis Party: Definitely one of Tech's weirder outings. I do like the genesis sound fonts and songs samples. It took me a listen or two to get it but I'm into this!

Fav Song: VIP ACCESS

Keys To The Gate: Really really liked this one on first listen but not so much on later ones?? Not sure whats going on there, usually it's the opposite. Either way, this is dope. Define one of my favorites even if it's not as good as I first thought.

Fav Song: Keys To The Gate

Kingdom Of One: OH. MY. GOD. THIS IS MY FAVORITE TECH HONORS ALBUM AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE DDS ALBUMS. THERE IS NOT A SINGLE TRACK ON THIS I DISLIKE IT IS SO GOOD. I really enjoy Tech's original work and this is some of his best on the regard, just some of his best on general. Its so catchy, so emotional, so personal, I can't get enough of it.

Fav Song: Kingdom Of One (III)

Transcendence Bot: I was so excited to listen to this album and I was not disappointed one bit. This is my new favorite DDS album. Period. It is so clean, the soundscapes are straight up magical, angelic, wonderful, whatever you wanna say. It's nearly perfect. This one is gonna be hard to beat I'm not gonna lie.

Fav Song: Spirit Of Loneliness

Rankings coming soon!

[nayfen]

Fanfic: These Fleeting Nights (1/9)

Read the full chapter on AO3

V lay on her back, mind flowing like a waterfall, cascading thoughts of the last year through the synaptic pathways of her mind. Sleep was a rare commodity of late, and the primary factor this early morning was the lack of a certain terrorist sharing her mind. Johnny Silverhand. It’d been a few weeks since her jaunt inside Mikoshi and she’d not quite come to terms with what happened or with the fact that she was now alone in her head. She’d gotten used to it, and with him gone... it was too quiet. 

“Johnny?” 

There was nothing. No reply. Just silence, an emptiness. A tear slipped down V’s cheek. She missed him. Despite everything, she missed the arsehole. 

She lay on her sleeping bag, pitch dark and quiet like nothing she’d heard; she hated it. Panam promised she’d get used to it soon, but it was full-on! Gone were the sirens, the shouts, the songs. The constant dull drone of traffic and tech buzzin’ relentlessly. Now, she could hear… the wind. An untimely gust here, the flap of a loose tarp here. The odd cough from one of her new family members, the Aldecaldos.  

Her eyes were wide open, staring blankly upwards into the darkness, gradually adjusting to the low light. They felt heavy and yet stuck, forced open by some invisible force, paralysed in place. She felt that if she were to close them, it would cause physical pain. Despite herself, she blinked, and sighed in relief as the lids refreshed her eyes, pain-free tears moistening her corneas. She drew in a deep breath and listened to the sounds around her and heard the sweet and gentle purr of Judy sleeping beside her, and Nibbles curled up on Judy’s discarded dungarees; she couldn’t decide who was loudest between the two of them. 

It was nice having Nibbles with them; a small hairless stray Cat V had befriended in her Megatower apartment complex. Panam was not best pleased with V when she rocked up with her carry case under her arm, something she needed to buy new, along with a rucksack with an adorable little cat pouch allowing for travel with your kitty companion. She got a little carried away in the shop. Nibbles was enjoying being out of the city instead of being cooped up in that apartment on her own. She thought... she was difficult to read. She was definitely more vocal and was a lot clingier with her. Judy was still warming up to Nibbles, convinced that she had an ‘agenda.’ She tried to blink, to reset her brain, move onto something else and stop her brain from processing.  

She heard crickets. The high chirping relentless sound of crickets. It was soothing, sort of. Rhythmic, constant; reminiscent of the incessant hiss of technology, the sound of something, somewhere, drawing power from the grid. But it was such a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Night City, and she still wasn’t used to it; it was unsettling.  

That wasn’t to say that she missed Night City, fuck no! She loved the distance, glad to see the back of it. But like an earworm of some shit-yet-catchy gang-bangers remix, she couldn’t seem to be rid of it. It plagued her mind most days- racing through the events that led them here; Kompeki Plaza, the Relic, Evelyn Parker, the Voodoo boys, Arasaka, downing a Kang Tao AV for Hellman, Dogtown and Songbird, that damned Cynosure lab. 

She sat up, defeated at yet another failed night’s sleep. As quietly as she could, she slipped on her clothes and tip-toed to the tent flap. Nibble’s head shot up at the slight disturbance and frowned at her as if to say ’You dare wake me from my slumber, Human!’  

She raised an eyebrow at her, “Chill, Nibbles!” she whispered as quietly as she could, peeking back at Judy to see if she’d stirred. She lay on her back, arm draped over her forehead, her mouth slightly open, drooling on the pillow. ‘So pretty’ she thought, stifling a giggle. She turned back to Nibbles, who had settled back down. 

V slipped out of the tent into the gloom of camp. It’d been two days since they had fled Night City and set up a temporary camp fifty or so miles away before heading southeast to Arizona. They were waiting. Cassidy hadn’t reached the rendezvous point after the storm and the Nomads were on edge. It wasn’t like him to get lost in a storm, so the only alternative was that something went wrong. He was either stuck somewhere or… worse.  

V crept through the camp, passing tents and lean-to’s and, predictably her eyes spotted a familiar figure on the ridge with a small elec-light beside them. She climbed her way up and sat down beside her. 

“Evenin’ V!” Panam said in an overly chirpy tone. She was wrapped in a blanket, protected against the cold early morning air. Her eyes were red and puffy, even in the low glow of the pitiful lantern between them. V raised an eyebrow. 

“Come on Pan… relax, it’s me!” she replied, holding out her arms. Panam broke almost immediately, falling into V’s arms and sobbing into her shoulder. “I know… Let it out girl,” she whispered as she rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. 

After a good five minutes, she came up for air. “Thanks, V…” Panam said gratefully, wiping her nose and cheeks, “I needed that...” 

“You missed a bit,” replied V, brushing a tear smear from her cheek. She pulled her closer for warmth, pulling the edge of the blanket around her shoulder. They sat and looked out at the view of the camp and the surrounding desert.  

“I’m sorry, V... I’m all over the place right now...” She awkwardly moved her hand up to her face to wipe her eyes and remove a strand of hair out of her mouth whilst trying to stay wrapped up tightly. 

“Hey, I feel you… we should be on cloud nine right now, but…” she trailed off as her thoughts returned to the awful moment inside Mikoshi. She shook her head and stared off into the distance. 

They sat quietly for a spell before Panam turned away and began to fidget with the sleeve of her jacket. 

“Um… V?” she said timidly, pulling at a loose thread. 

“Yeh?” she replied, turning her head expectedly.  

“You… uh. You think I’m a good leader?” She asked, staring off into the distance. V touched Panam’s knee for comfort. 

“Yeah, ‘course. At least… I think you try to be,” she said cautiously, trying to be honest but kind. 

Panam turned her head suddenly, “What… what do you mean by that?” She asked, a slight hint of panic in her voice. 

V rubbed the nape of her neck, “You’re a new leader, Panam. A new leader that’s been through shit! You’re grievin’. Heck, we all are. Scorpion, Bob, Teddy. Saul... Plus with Cassidy being…” 

“Don’t say it, V!” Panam snapped suddenly, her eyes full of fear and on the verge of bursting again. 

“I wasn’t… was gonna say missin’,” She replied, moving her hand to her shoulder, and causing the blanket to fall off and a wave of chilly air made her shiver. She pulled it back over her and continued. “Truth is… even if you were the best leader around… right now…?” V paused, her words feeling false in her mouth. “What I mean is... you’re allowed a moment, you know?” V said softly and patted her knee again reassuringly. 

Panam relaxed a little with a sigh, “Yeah… I guess you’re right V. It’s been… Fuck… it’s been bad... let’s not sugar coat it!” She bit, kicking the edge of the ridge with her heel causing a scattering of rocks and grits cascading down the rocky outcrop. 

“A real shitshow yeah…” V replied, guilt flooding back through her mind. “Pan, it’s all my fucking fault! All of it!” 

“Fuck V, enough of that shit!” she retorted angrily. “You’re family now dammit!” Panam barked loudly, her voice echoing out into the darkness. She pulled V into a one-armed hug. “I’ve told you already, it’s not on you...” She murmured, sensing a need for her to provide the comfort now. 

“I just…” V began, sobbing softly as the last few weeks filled her mind again. “I’m all over the fucking place too, Pan! If it wasn’t for you and Judy, I’d just give the fuck up right now and end it!” The darkness seeped out of her, flooding the depths of her mind, unwanted and unbothered by its imposing presence. 

“V! Don’t talk like that! We will fix you, got it!” She urged, squeezing tightly. “We will fix you…” She squeaked, joining V as tears filled her eyes. 

They sat together in silent sobs, waiting for the sadness to subside and for the sun to rise over the cliffs. When the warmth started gently caressing their faces, they heard the distant roar of an engine, shouting its echoed chant on the wind, its tyres churning up the dust. Mitch was back. 

Panam leapt down from the ridge and stalked across the camp, and V followed in her wake. ‘Please let it be good news,’ V thought in desperation. Mitch’s Gecko pulled to a stop, caked in sand and dust. Panam and a handful of others gathered around and waited as the door swung open. A few beats of bated breath came before Mitch rose from the car. And clung to his shoulder, a dust-covered, tired and dishevelled Cassidy. 

A cheer erupted from the crowd as Panam launched herself towards them both in a choking bear hold.  

“Jesus Panam! Gimme a little air would yah!” replied Mitch struggling to breathe. Panam released them, tears swelling. 

“Sorry… I…” she struggled, lost for words. V moved in to help Mitch support Cassidy. 

“He’s severely dehydrated, found his car, ass sticking out the dirt, nose fully buried… hard to tell what the hell happened but, seemed the cabin was sealed and had just about enough air for him to hold out! Lucky bastard!” Mitch sneered with a smile. He looked down at Cassidy. 

“Lucky! Pfff… that damn storm…” growled Cassidy, hoarse and barely audible, “…was worse… than I thought… sent me… flyin’ down a… canyon… and…” He sputtered, coughing between every word before he coughed himself silent, wheezing. 

“Ok… Ok, we’ll hear all about it tonight, Cass, but right now, let’s get some fluids in yah, Kay?” Panam said, ushering them into camp past the cheering onlookers. 

“You damn fool, near gave me a heart attack!” yelled Carol, swooping in and driving her shoulder into V to peel Cassidy away. “I got him!” She barked, as they carried him off towards the medical tent. V shook her head and held back and saw Panam turn. A smile beamed across her face, and she mouthed, ‘Thank you’. V replied with a smile.  

‘Wow… how about that, Johnny? A bit of good luck for a change…’ V thought happily in her mind, reaching out into the depths. Silence. 

Back at their tent, she entered to find a waking Judy. “Hey, you…” V purred watching her stretching out of her sleeping bag.  

Her multi-toned, pink and green hair was dishevelled, swooping across her head, strands of which were all upended at awkward angles. She wore a small grey tank top, one shoulder of which had slipped down off her shoulder as she slipped out to lean on her elbows. A sleepy smile formed on her face. 

“Heeey!” she replied in a low growl. “You sleep all right?” She yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily. 

“Nope,” V spat plainly, and flumped down beside her, planting a quick kiss on her lips. 

“Oh no really…? Still struggling huh? Well… I for one am loving the quiet!” Judy replied, a big grin on her face. She looked adorable in the mornings. 

“Glad to hear it. Want some breakfast?” V asked, hopping back up. 

“Mmmhmm… Please, I’ll uh… I’ll wait here…” She said as she stretched out, causing her sleeping bag to slip down further. She wriggled free of it and kicked it aside revealing her favourite blue shorts and her long, beautiful, tattooed legs. She stretched them out, leaned back and added, “I’ll be waiting...” She flicked her hair back and shook, as it flopped about doing absolutely nothing to it. If anything, it now looked messier. V giggled before heading back outside.  

She headed across camp to find Miguel had beaten her to the grill and was cooking up a storm of sausages and synth meat. The smell was intoxicating. 

“Oh boy! Can I get in on that, Miguel?” She asked, her mouth literally watering. 

“Of course, Hermana!” He called out, as her translation subs appeared in her lower peripheral vision translating Hermana to Sister. He picked up a couple tortillas from a stack beside him. “Anything for you and your chica, eh?”-girl. Miguel said with a wink and fixed up a couple of breakfast quesadillas. “There you go, V, enjoy, eh?” 

“Gracias, Miguel, realmente!”-Thank you, really. V replied, giving him a quick hug in thanks. 

She walked back to the tent and the picnic table outside, “Rise and shine! Breakfast on the table!” She called across to the tent. She laid out the quesadillas and glided across to grab some cans from the cooler when her holo pinged with a message… from Judy. She raised her eyebrows and swung back around to the tent, the cold cans numbing her hands. She wiggled her head through the tent flap. “You just ping me or have I got a virus?” She asked, confused. 

“Hah… Yeah, I did, but…uh, don’t watch it yet! Be out in a sec, OK?” Judy said nervously. She was half dressed, wearing her go-to black bra and was pulling on her dungarees.  

“OK... I would press you on it, but these cans are so frickin’ cold!” She cried out, freeing her head and dropping them down onto the table. 

V sat down, and for the first time in three days, she felt a sense of calm. With Cassidy back, they’ll be on the move again any day now and they could finally leave Night City far in the dust. On a clear night, she swore she could almost see the towering lights from camp. It was probably her imagination, like a ghost image burned into her retinas. No doubt everyone would feel better when that was no longer the case.  

They had, after all, attacked not only Arasaka Tower but a Militech-controlled checkpoint and Night Corp construction site to get there, not to mention busting out with stolen Arasaka tech and the stolen Militech Basilisk. They were on a few shit lists, and the sooner they made themselves scarce the better. Being here in this camp felt like being in a kind of limbo, but once they moved on, V felt like her life might resume. What was left of it... 

Six months. Or maybe more, according to Alt Cunningham, rogue AI and ex-output to Johnny Silverhand. She’d “overlooked the human factor,” the toll the Relic put on the body. Her body! Though, according to Alt, it wasn’t hers anymore. It was Johnny’s. And she, V, was now nothing but a passenger, a fucking cancer, sitting in a borrowed shell. An engram. Fuck! Was she… was she even a person anymore, or just a collection of synaptic wavelengths of emulated consciousness? Did she have a soul? Hurt her fucking head just thinking about it. 

The one thing she knew for sure though was that she wasn’t about to give up; ‘Saul didn’t die for nothing...’ she thought to herself. She didn’t go to hell and back and risked everything for six fucking months… not if she could help it. Not now she had something to lose. Someone… 

“Hey!” Judy chirped, appearing from the tent, “Oh... Miguel’s quesadilla?” 

“MmmHmm… come on, they’ll get cold!” V said, passing Judy’s across the table. 

“Can’t have that!” She beamed broadly and sat down across from her. She took a big bite, closing her eyes and moaning as she savoured the taste. “Mmm... fuck that’s good! What seasoning does he use!” 

“No one knows, he mixes it himself or so I’ve heard... man’s got a gift, considering what he’s working with!” V giggled. 

Nomad life wasn’t the most glamorous; something the both of them were still adjusting to. Having hot food and running water was a surprise to them; they imagined washing in rivers, eating wild bugs and protein bars, huddled around campfires for warmth. There was a surprising amount of tech involved in the camp, most of which was admittedly sat idle in this temporary camp. But they still had the gas stoves, the heated water trucks for showers and well... campfires for the evening, because some things just work. 

It wasn’t exactly what V had in mind when she decided to leave Night City with Judy, but it was a pretty good start.

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[silverfox-story-developments]

The investigation of the tragedy at Jintech Inc's megatower has finally come to an end, read more about it in an article by Hacktian's journalist Andre Vasseur!