#something’s happening between Johnny and nomad v

[lavendermilkandhoney]

Santiago flirting with Rogue above.

Is Saul the son of Santiago and Rogue?

Some clarification : I’ve been analyzing the game and Saul for quite a while now and I tried to find evidences about Johnny being the father or even Smasher, but I wasn’t able to find enough to support it, unlike what I found about Saul and Santiago. This is only a theory and I’m dropping info after months of digging, so feel free to fish what you like and if you don’t agree, please do not leave hate.   

Santiago has dark glasses in the game. They were removed by the AMM (mod).

In my opinion Saul not only possesses features of those two, but also a part of their behavior, qualities and flaws.

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Ethnic backgrounds

Santiago’s mother was Native American and Hispanic and his father a second generation-generation Filipino immigrant.

Saul has strong Native American and Hispanic features.

Rogue’s ethnic background is unknown to me.

---

Santiago & Rogue’s relationship

“It was on the road that Santiago met a solo named Rogue Amendiares. They became quick business partners, doing gigs together around the area of Night City. Being a simple man, Santiago liked girls, guns, and fast cyberbikes; and he often teamed up with Rogue mostly because she was the one girl he hadn’t been able to score with.”

We have no idea what happened between them after the bombing.

In my opinion, even if Rogue said she wasn’t interested, women change their minds, he might have grew on her or she didn’t want a relationship to interfere with business. Things are often not what they seem in this game like Pawel Sasko said. 

---

Saul’s dialogues about Santiago

Saul is on the defensive through all this conversation.

V : You hear about Santiago? Used to be a nomad, long time ago…

S : Ever heard of our lord and savior Jesus Christ? Why folks suddenly recollecting Santiago?

V : Friend o’ mine did a job with him once.

S : That’s one old friend you got. He’s a legend, all right. Wouldn’t say he was my role model, but well… he was the man for his time and place.

V’s dialogue choice : Sounds like he’s not so legendary for you.

V : You don’t think he was all he was cracked up to be?

S : They say he was a big city nomad. Best o’ both worlds. Cept there ain’t no such thing. You’re either loyal to your family, or you ain’t.

V : Doesn’t loyalty to your friends count for something?

S : Maybe it does. Then you end up like Santiago. He snuffed it ‘cause some lunatic wanted to blow Arasaka to smithereens. What a friend.

---

Where is Santiago?

Santiago & Johnny

After the failed attempt to rescue Alt : “During the next two year, Santiago and Silverhand stayed with the Aldecaldos clan, who at the time were in the neighboring Mexico. While working with them, Santiago started to become more famous and visible in his community, suddenly finding out he was a leader.”

“At the end of the Fourth Corporate War, the nomad leader sent the Aldecaldo Lobos to help Silverhand, Rogue and the rest of their strike team in their attack on Arasaka Tower, which would later cause the AHQ Disaster and the end of the war.”

Trace Santiago

“At some point, Santiago had a son, Trace, who would become a well-known media in Night City. Santiago use to tell him about the old days, earning the nickname Old Man.”

“Trace was raised on the road by his father Santiago and the rest of the Aldecaldos clan. Despite being the son of the leader of an entire nomad nation, he was determined to make his own impact on the world rather than following in his fathers’ footsteps as either a mercenary or a nomad leader, eventually becoming a media to accomplish that.”

Santiago slept around a lot. It’s possible he might have had many children.

Santiago also has an unnamed child listed in his bio.

Santiago’s death is unconfirmed

“By 2045, he was still leading the nomad nation.”

“By 2077, Santiago’s legacy had remained within the core heart of the Aldecaldos. Many of them see their former leader with great importance.”

Some people speculate that the nomads tried to keep his name legendary since they have great respect for the man and that he didn’t die in the bombing. Mike Ponsmith said that the game respects the original lore almost entirely.

Santiago’s holo

Santiago also appears on V’s phone. People speculated it was a bug or relic from Johnny’s memories, but Johnny never calls Santiago in his quests. Some say it’s meant to be used later and it’s a hint. It hasn’t been removed with the latest patch.

About Santiago being replaced by Saul

It’s possible that Santiago was not replaced by Saul but scheduled to reappear later. The game is short, was rushed and having this flirting scene with him in the Atlantis means that it might have another purpose than only making Johnny jealous. In the scene files, the scene where Saul and Panam have a very heated screaming match is labelled “Panam and Santiago”. 

Now, a software engineer talked a while back on tumblr about how the scene files contain implicit information about the characters.

https://arasakas-ronin.tumblr.com/post/643533166771044352/v-getting-shot-down-in-many-languages

After screaming against Saul, Panam says this : “Thanks, I believe the last time I pulled something like that, I was ten years old.”

It can mean they are only reiterating a scene from the past with Santiago. No other places in all the scene files with Saul is mentionned Santiago instead of him. 

It’s also possible that Santiago was planned to still be the leader in 2077, but for multiple reasons, instead of replacing the character, they made another son.

---

Rogue’s past

“After the bombing of Arasaka Tower, by 2045, she had largely retired from the solo lifestyle and worked in the Afterlife as a middleman between solos and potential contracts. This was to ensure they would not harm her because of her involvement in the terrorist attack. She also had a son around this time.”

We have no idea who her son is at the moment.

In my opinion, the drawing found in her room looks like the last thing she kept from her son before coming to own the Afterlife. He could have been born a bit before that time seeing the drawing skills.

“By 2045, Lilayah and Trace had met other edgerunners in Night City, forming a small group who, from time to time, helped each other.”

Trace was probably at least 18 years old by 2045. He has blue eyes and brown hair. Here’s a photo of him (probably the one behind in the middle) with edgerunners you can find behind the bar counter of the Afterlife.

Greetings for nowhere

You can find this shard in Rogue’s room during the Sun ending. To me, it looks like Santiago is the one who sent it.

Hey,

I'm writing this to you because I couldn't bring myself to call you, let alone come see you. I was in town a while ago and even went to the Afterlife. I just stood and stared at the bouncer for, like, five minutes until some punks came out and told me to beat it.

I stopped by the Atlantis. Know what it looks like now? I guess you do - you were always sentimental about those things. I liked that about you - it brought us closer together. The only difference between us was how much emotion we could handle sober.

Funny - I was trying NOT to stroll down memory lane with this message. I'm staying in the middle of nowhere right now - not a satellite in sight, and the folks here drink rattlesnake moonshine. I figured you had everything you wanted in life... but you sure as hell don't have a bottle of rattlesnake moonshine. I'll send you a bottle - you can raise a glass to me.

---

Rogue’s succession

Here is a drawing in her room

Just under it there is this shard :

Banking details

Dear Ms. Amendiares

We have finalized the changes to your will as per your instructions. Details of your bank agreements have been transferred and encrypted to the datashard below. You will also be pleased to know that the civil case pertaining your transfer or ownership of The Afterlife has been settled in court. Please give us a call regarding this matter at your earliest convenience.

June Mohany Merrill, Asukaga & Finch

Conversation with Rogue about her son

Rogue (on the phone) : They’re in escrow. Paperwork’s with Asukaga and Finch. Yeah, everything’s fine. Got not reason to worry. Now, pull over, kill the engine and have a nice long look at the stars. Simply that. You won’t regret it. Gotta go. I love you.

Johnny : Rogue. Who was that?

Rogue : My son.

Johnny : Wasn’t expectin’ that... You’re telling me you, uh... you got a, uh...?

Rogue : Private life? Yeah. And we’ll leave it at that.

---

Jim Morrison

Santiago���s background and family backstory is very similar to Jim Morrison’s. The quests where Saul is featured heavily have two songs from The Doors (Riders on the storm & Queen of the highway). Saul also does poetry like Jim in his text and dialogues.

---

Note : Rogue and Saul’s deaths mirror each other.

---

This is a closeup of Saul and Rogue’s iris. Same colors and texture.

The rest are Alt, Evelyn and Misty

With a younger Saul

#saul bright #santiago aldecaldo #rogue amendiares #nomad #aldecaldos #street kid #cyberpunk 2077 #jim morrison #the doors #family #saulvalerielovestory #lavendercyberpunkstories #lavendermilkandhoney

[trashcatsnark]

WIP Day

Tagged by @derelictheretic like a week ago, but i was binge playing cyberpunk post patch and didn't have much content to share, so here i am now; late but ayyyyyy

As always, I'm balls deep in cyberpunk hell, so have a snippet from the next chapter of my cyberpunk fic.

“Came up with a hell of a plan, seemed like you might have done this a time or two.”

“Thank you. How you approach things- that's the trick. Mine is the triple A.”

“Triple A?”

“Assessment, Assembly, Action,” Panam puts up a finger for each word, tapping them as she explains each step, “Whatever your task, you do three things. Start by assessing what you already have and what you'll face, the problem. Then you plan with those variables in mind. Take what you have, get what you need, assemble things, people. Finally, you take action. Simple.”

V gives a contemplative hum; despite her teasing, Panam seems to have her shit more together than the merc does. Which isn’t a hard bar to meet but still. V looks between the electric plant in the distance and Panam.

“Personally, been using the F.S method,” V signs as she looks back to the nomad, who raises an eyebrow.

“What’s that?”

“First, you fuck around the you see what happens. F.S,” V tells her, grinning when Panam laughs, a dry exasperated sort of laugh. Rolling her eyes at V’s nonsense.

“And how’s that been working out for you?”

“Well,” V shrugs, “sitting here with a pretty girl coming up with the plans for me- so can’t complain.”

“Yeah, ye-what did you just call me?” Panam’s voice sounds somewhere between flustered and angry. Blinking at V and just barely through the dark of night, under the glow of the truck dash; V swears she can see some rosiness creeping up beneath the soft brown of Panam’s cheeks.

“Called you pretty, sorry…?” V repeats, trying not to laugh, “I thought you knew.”

Panam just sighs, rolling her eyes and refusing to meet V’s.

“You’re too much sometimes, V.”

“That so?”

“Very much so.”

V can’t help but laugh, even though she can feel Johnny glaring at her from the backseat. Gaze heavy and disdainful. The merc looks into the rearview mirror; through the dark and the red of his aviators, she can feel them making eye contact.

“Got something to say- just say it.”

“Nothing,” he shrugs, a cruel sneer on his lips, “just tryna figure out which part of your brain I’m gonna puke on.”

“And back to ignoring you.”

“Couldn’t ignore me if you tried.”

“So, come up with the triple A stuff yourself?” V asks Panam, Johnny groaning as she does in fact ignore him.

Have a V unintentionally flirting with Panam, while Johnny is less than amused.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #johnny silverhand #panam palmer #silverv #female v

[justagirlsearchingforamuse]

Since you guys enjoyed my male cyberpunk romance options post, I decided to finally get to work on the female/non-binary ones. So first of all, let's start it off with our main girls, Judy and Panam. I plan on doing a part 2 and currently working on the part 2 for the boys.

1st. Judy Alvarez:

I enjoyed her romance quite a bit and love her as a character and I believe since we don't have any lore for her or anything that convinces me otherwise that she should be bi. I think she should be strictly for female/non-binary V with and more feminine features.

I feel that she should've had her own ending and not one that ties into Panam's, one where you decide to leave Night City with her, and or I would've enjoyed it if you could've taken any one of your serious romance options out of town. I feel that an ending with V deciding to call up Judy and there is an option to pack up your things, at least your weapons and clothes and just leave to the next city over. It ends up with you helping Judy and packing up your things in her van, Judy decides to drive and asks you where do you plan on going, you can choose from 3 options. 

The first choice you can say anywhere and that you don't care, you just want to live your final moments with Judy. The second choice should be something like Atlanta to see your family and or to wherever Judy used to live in the past. The last choice you can choose to give Judy some money to leave town and say to wait for her in the next town over so it can lead to you choosing whether to go with Hanako's plans or Johnny's. I can imagine the last ending resulting in Judy being seen,   arguing years later to keep your stuff when she's selling some of her old things. She ends up fighting to keep the necklace that V is always seen with and she wears it, it ends with Judy entering her van and promising to never forget you.

Also, I believe that she and most of the serious romance options should have at least one quest where you can go on a date with your partner, I believe hers would be you helping her with Clouds. Though it's not much of a date, you insisted on helping her fix things, and you guys spend most of your time trying to protect Clouds from The Tyger Claws who end up trying to attack again. It ends with Judy losing hope in Clouds, almost wanting to give up on the place but you can choose to convince her to keep fighting for Clouds. Or to give up and just sell the place and let all the hard work you guys did go to waste. If you choose the first, it leads to Judy promising to come up with more things and saying how she'll make some calls to some more people. The first choice ends with you both making out and you falling asleep at her place after she orders pizza and watches a few movies with you.

The second choice ends with Judy being hopeless and asking to be alone for the moment, ruining the date almost and putting a small dent in your relationship.

I believe that Judy is pretty well developed for a love interest and as a character, she stands strong on her own and is an interesting character who fits well with V. I enjoy their relationship as I do with most of the relationships which are very adult in the way that V tries not to rush things and doesn't promise their love interests the world. The love interests have their own lives and don't act like a bunch of teens or young adults, trying to make drama out of something small. They respect V, they add more to V and give V another reason to keep fighting, another reason to want to live, to get the damned chip out of their head.

Also, I want more Johnny and Judy interactions in the sense that I want to hear more of his thoughts on Judy and hear how he feels about V and them being together. He doesn't seem to hate her and maybe even would like to see that if you romanced Judy and did the Temperance ending he tells only her or your romance interest that you're gone. Well, he does it vaguely or sends your romance interest an anonymous email, vaguely stating that V is gone and that they disappeared/passed. Judy I feel would react in confusion as well as emotionally, she's nearly crying in the voicemails and is talking about the email or voicemail Johnny sent and is asking where are you.

2nd. Panam Palmer:

I like Panam Palmer as a character and I feel that her quests do explore a lot of the nomad lifestyle, her quests explore more about the people of the nomad lifestyle. I feel that she should've been bi and I was hoping that she and Evelyn were the 2 bi options because literally in my first playthrough was worried I was gonna romance her. Cause she was flirting a lot from what I saw and thought that you'd be able to romance her during the sandstorm. I feel she should've been bisexual or pansexual along with Evelyn.

I feel she should be able to be easily romanced by male/non-binary V with a more masculine appearance and she should've been a little harder to get with by a female V/non-binary V with a more feminine appearance. Also, is it just me but I wasn't a big fan of her sex scene, imo I feel they should've changed the sex scene to possibly happening during the sandstorm or after V confesses to dying. Or even them making out in the big ass tower before being interrupted by Saul. Also, wouldn't have minded learning more about Panam in terms of hobbies, like I would've loved it if she was a singer or was a decent guitar player. I also would've enjoyed scenes where we actually just chill with the Aldecaldos and like chill by the campfire or help out with some of their everyday problems, etc.

I like her but I didn't feel a seriously deep connection to her like I did with the other 3 romance options, I wish they added more depth to her and more of a serious tone to her. I do like the more serious tone towards the end and how her path explored being a nomad, what it means to have family, etc.

I do wish everyone in terms of romances had as many quests, depth, and just effort put into but her path is decent just not my favorite personally.

I feel she and Evelyn should've been the main bi options, she should've been easier to get with a male' V but also should've been able to date fem' V. The paths should've been similar or even show Panam having fem' V be her first-ever official girlfriend, show a new side to Panam with fem' V. I would've seeing Panam being a little shy and or a bit reserved around fem' V, I would've enjoyed seeing her hesitate a bit first before having her first kiss with V. I would've also enjoyed love scenes for bi characters being kinda different in the sense that I would've enjoyed Panam and male' V's love scenes to be raw, a bit filthy, and Panam is not holding back. Maybe it's just me but I disliked her love scene with all the green and all the switching really turned me off tbh. I would imagine Panam and fem' V have a love scene either being in a tent or during a quest in which fem' V and her share some beers, look at the stars, and relax.

Her love scene with fem' V would show a more gentle, natural, and aesthetic kind of scene, a lot of kissing, Panam going down on you, you kissing/nibbling on Panam's ear whilst you slip your hand in between her legs. It ending with Panam's arm wrapped around you and you wake up to the morning sun above you.

I feel another quest she should've had was you and V (Doesn't matter what gender) could've gone out on a road trip all around the badlands and you guys just have a good time together. Blasting music and making fun of each other's music, drinking beers, turning up to some music, and you both kissing in the backseat much to Johnny's annoyance. 

3rd. Evelyn Parker:

So I feel she should've been the main female bi romance option and she should've held a much bigger part in the story, becoming either a replacement for T-Bug if she dies in your playthrough or just finding out about her. She at first could be bitter towards you considering how you treated her in the beginning or she can come off as distant and wanting nothing to do with you at first. She wants to run from you and talks about leaving Night City with Judy, how she needs a fresh start. Similar to Judy, she stays because of how close she's grown to you, because of how it's hard to leave you to your inevitable death all alone, she finds it hard to leave you after I'd say her first 3 or 4 quests. She'd be one of the mysterious and harder romances to get, considering that at first, V thinks Evelyn wants someone who can help her and help her solve her problems. But in reality, she wants someone who will have her back, someone she can trust, someone who will make her life worth living.

I'd imagine she'd have about 3 to 5 quests and 2 of those quests lead to a romance, her quests would be about finding The Woodsman, getting rid of him, taking care of T-Bug, etc. I'd imagine that her romance starts in her second or third quest, she doesn't quite trust you yet but she's finding herself falling you all the time.

One of her missions would probably be her either taking you out to a really expensive bar or something where it ends with a love scene that progresses to the car if you're male' V. But if you're fem' V I feel the love scene would progress to her apartment, Evelyn pegs me as being kinda kinky but nothing like Meredith who broke the kinky scale. I'd imagine in the love scene with fem' V she'd be choking you a little bit, caressing your face and she's in control this time, you eat her out, she fingers you right before you come before fucking you from behind with her fingers. She's also making you suck on her fingers. It ends with fem' V waking up to Evelyn rushing out of the door, saying she has business to take care of and that she enjoyed last night and would later text you asking to meet up at her apartment. She asks if you want something serious and you can choose what you want your relationship to be, if you choose something more serious she ends up giving you a key to her apartment. 

Male' V love scene would have Evelyn being more submissive but more like a power bottom, she gives male V' oral which leads to you fucking in the backseat of her car in the missionary position. Leads to her riding you until you both come. She'd be pulling on your hair, she'd grab your hand and make you choke her for a little bit, she's kissing on your neck a lot, etc. It'd end with Evelyn lighting up a cigarette and asking if you'd take her home, you take her home and it ends with you kissing her before she goes home and asks you to call her in the morning. This leads to her calling to ask you if you want something more serious or something less than serious with the first option ending up with you getting a key to her apartment.

She'd play a decent role in the game, actively working towards getting the chip out and getting things back to the way they were. I imagine in one of the endings specifically The Temperance ending, she'd be one of the few to know that Johnny took over and it ends with her begging Johnny to give her a response, to tell her something. I'd imagine Johnny is fine with her at least after a while but at first, he's not gonna be too nice to her.

4th. Meredith Stout:

She could remain simply a one-night stand but what I would enjoy is being able to initiate either phone sex or be able to meet up with these one night stands again. But she also could have a few more quests, maybe some that revolve around her missions she can't get done without you and it leads to V wanting to romance her and wanting something more serious. Call me a bitch but I personally can't see Meredith wanting or feeling as though a relationship would be right at this point in her life. To me, Meredith from our first interactions come off as kinda manipulative and a bit unhinged when things don't go her way, maybe V helps kick her entitled and stuck up habits. Makes her realize how she sees people who don't have as much as beneath her is a terrible way to see people and a terrible way to think.

Or you could just screw around with her and help each other with whatever missions and shit like I'd imagine that she'd be apart of the endings or plays a similar role to Alt being able to help you take down Arasaka. I'd imagine if you romanced her or made a big impact on her she'll agree but if you are just fuck-buddies and or haven't completed all of her quests then she'll hang up or say she can't. If you do she manages to get militech and what not to help as reinforcements to help you in some way so you can get to Mikoshi in one piece or at least help you most of the way. But the endings still are the same but in the credits, she talks about how she hasn't heard from you and how she just wants to know if she's alive. She says she respects if you just want to be gone off the face of the earth.

Sorry Meredith stans but I can't see her being too serious with you if so then she's gonna spend time bettering herself before she delves into a serious relationship with you. But I'd imagine if you did have an impact on her, in The Sun ending/Path Of Glory she'll be in your bed and she'll be a bit kinder towards you and you'll have relationship problems.

5th. Misty Olszewski:

I love her as a character and how sweet she is, I feel that she could've had a deeper relationship with V, and them becoming best friends could've also been a good thing. She gives me pansexual vibes very much and will be willing to date all V's just treat her with love and respect. But I do feel that if you were able to romance her, the relationship would happen almost like a one night stand or something, maybe you both get drunk and sex happens. I feel Misty would feel as though she's betraying Jackie and being with you, which makes things complicated and weird. If anything I feel she'd be included in DLC as a more serious romance option, any DLC where Misty has time to process Jackie's death and has time to grieve. Any DLC that is later on or caters to an ending such as maybe the Nomad ending or The Sun ending perhaps.

First of all, she'd have like 3 or 4 quests where you just try and grieve with each other and or just be good friends, I'd imagine that one of the quests would be you suggesting teaching her how to swim or something because something tells me she wouldn't know how. Misty comes off as shy but open to try it if you give her enough encouragement and make her feel like things will be fine. You both go hang out somewhere out of town and end up going swimming and you teach her, but maybe something happens similar to Judy with the relic where you end up fainting or passing out. She ends up saving you miraculously and expresses how she feels like she's losing you and how she feels you're withering away from Night City. It results in Misty taking you back to your apartment, insisting you rest and try and get some sleep but you can insist on her staying and if she does, she ends up sleeping in bed with you and a kiss happens. She ends up pushing you away or the night after and saying how it's not fair to Jackie. How she enjoys your company but things feel better with you guys being friends, insisting that it was wrong to have a romantic relationship just sometime after Jackie passed.

I imagine things with her can end up being weird and awkward for a little bit afterward but she remains your good friend and she genuinely worries for you a lot, she won't play too big of a role in the game. But would play a similar role to Judy, I'd imagine that if you didn't romance anyone but her or if you romanced Judy, you'd be able to pick her to take along with you in the Nomad ending.

She'd be apart of the small list of romance options/good friends you'd be able to take with you in the Nomad ending.

She's really sweet though and you learn about her insecurities, learn more about her relationship with Jackie and how he planned on teaching her how to swim, he planned on getting her a beagle or finding her a dog. You learn a lot about Jackie and her and she's a really good friend of yours who wants to take things slow and make sure things are great when you start a more serious romantic relationship.

6th. Claire Russell:

She should've been a romance option or at the very least a ons, she might be straight but I'd say she gives off strong bi or pansexual vibes, she'd date any kind of V regardless of gender. I'd imagine that sometime after you murder the corpo cunt who killed her husband, she calls you up asking for a drink or asks you to meet up at her garage. She expresses how she thought she'd feel better after hearing he's dead but she feels the same, you both get a bit drunk and talk about past relationships and struggles. You both end up dancing to some music and it leads to you both slow dancing and if you play your cards right then you'll end up being able to kiss her. Claire and you both end up on the couch in her living room and you both have a grand time, I imagine she kisses you a lot, gives you plenty of praise in between sex, and she gave you some oral.

Afterward, I can imagine she wants to be with you but she needs a little more time to just enjoy being alone, dealing with Dean's death and such. Also, she talks about cars a lot and you can find her at her garage fixing up Beast and you can talk with her about fixing up your cars and anything like that. She doesn't play a huge role but she'll call you and you can call her before the final mission, similar to River you don't tell her what's up and you tell her how you'll always be her biggest fan. How you want her to keep racing and keep living her best life, she gets a little suspicious but can't put her finger on why you're saying all this. In the credits, she keeps saying how you won't answer and how she just wants to get a text or something, saying how you disappeared and how she really wants to see you.

Also, she gives me very much into working out and homegirl stopped working out a while ago because she had little to no motivation to do so. But when meeting you, she'll text you pics of her at the gym, her muscles, and saying how she has better muscles so she can cuddle you better.

I'd imagine that she'd be apart of The Sun ending and you both have a decent relationship with her, she expresses how she'd follow you anywhere and to let her know if things are wrong.

In the suicide ending, just as she's calling to find out what happened to you she gets a knock at the door and drops the phone, you can hear Misty and Viktor tell Claire of your death and it ends with her breaking down in tears before she pitches her phone at the wall.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #cyberpunk claire russell #cp2077 #claire russell #misty olszewski #evelyn parker #judy alvarez #panam palmer #meredith stout

[kendo413]

ValVarez headcanons, pt 3

Here is the final part of the Judy/Fem!V headcanons. Thank you for checking these out, and as always, if any of this sparks interest have at it.

V deals with a lot of fixers. She's the hottest merc in town right now, and everybody knows her name. Judy has opinions on them, based solely on how V talks about them.

Rogue is a bitch, but she's Johnny's bitch so V resolves to just not speak about her much at all. Apparently she and Johnny made a deal not to talk about outputs, former or current, and Judy does not want to know what Johnny thinks of her.

By far, Regina is V's favorite, and Judy's too. Judy has seen the text messages between the two, and never once has Regina insulted her girl. Regina praises V and tells her she did a good job even if V can admit her performance was less than preem. When V talks about her day, she saves the Regina gigs for last so she can always end on a high note.

Wakako sounds every bit the Tyger Claw she is. Judy doesn't like her, in fact she is Judy's least favorite fixer in all of night city, and V can't deny feeling that way as well. V relays that Jackie always told her she would never get a "Good job" out of Wakko, but that's never stopped her from trying anyway.

Mr Hands sounds like something out of a cartoon. Even V admits he's a bit eccentric for a fixer, but she's only worked with him a "HANDful" of times so far so she doesn't really have a read on him.

El Capitan is a professional, through and through. V can appreciate that, and respects the way he cares about his mercs. Judy can appreciate that if her girl goes missing while working for him, he won't just write her off as a deadbeat who skipped town.

Dino is a character. V says he's loud and enthusiastic, always quick to openly tell V when he is impressed by her skills. He's the only fixer V has ever gone drinking with, and the first person since Jackie to drink her under the table.

Padre is someone V knew before she moved to Atlanta for two years. V seems to have a lot of respect for the way the man conducts business, and based on what V has told her, the man knows more about honor - true, Night City honor - than Takemura ever will.

When Judy meets Johnny for the first time later on, he will admit that was the moment he realized he was wrong about her. Judy won't ask him to elaborate, and he won't offer.

Dakota values family above all else. When V does a good turn for her in the Badlands, she is quick to offer solemn thanks, but when V makes a mistake she is even quicker to criticize. V makes a point to avoid Dakota whenever she swings by the Aldecaldos camp.

Sometimes V's fame is a double-edged sword, no pun intended. V admits while bandaging a gunshot wound in her arm that when gangoons see a woman sprinting towards them with a blade in hand, their first instinct is to shoot without thinking. They know they're outmatched and by reputation, V rarely shows mercy. V only laments that sometimes she isn't fast enough to reach them before the trigger gets pulled and an innocent is executed before her eyes.

V disappears on a mission for Johnny with Rogue, and comes back from it with an altered perspective. Johnny isn't the leech in V's head anymore, but apparently a broken man that against all odds has gotten a second chance. V tells Judy she is going to give Johnny the space to make amends, give him control for a while if he needs it. Judy disagrees, they argue, and this time it's Judy who shows up at V's door with an apology and an offer to watch Nibbles at her place, in case Johnny forgets to feed the cat.

V agrees, but only after relaying - through tears of laughter - a series of indignant rants from Johnny about how he can take care of a simple animal. There are also increasingly specific instructions from him about what she does and doesn't like.

Later, V will admit some worry over how Johnny knows so much about the cat's likes and dislikes, since she isn't sure they've ever interacted at all before. Not that she remembers, anyway.

Misty always seems to know when Judy is having a particularly bad day. Maybe that one dinner was enough to tune her into Judy's aura, or maybe Misty just has impeccable timing. Either way, Misty has a way of clarifying things that Judy has been stewing on in the most indirect manner Judy has ever experienced. Whether she has mystical powers or not, Judy can admit she has a strange knack for helping people.

V goes with Takemura to find a way to clear her name with Arasaka and get rid of the construct in her head. Instead, a parade becomes a battle ground, the Arasaka princess is kidnapped, and Takemura dies. She doesn't hear from or about V directly, but she does see her gonk of an output sprinting past Gillean Jordan's report moments after the reporter goes live.

When Panam shows up with a bottle of tequila and a bag of takeout the next day, Judy expects the worst. Turns out Panam had just been craving something other than nomad food, and Judy's apparently near one of her favorite hole-in-the-wall wonton shops.

V finds them later, giggling over trash TV and ineffectually trying to shoo Nibbles away from the empty containers. V is just glad Panam hasn't pushed her down to fourth favorite human in the cat's opinion.

After V relays the tale of the parade, Judy is grateful it's Panam expressing relief that Takemura died instead of V. Johnny must agree, or at least say something that V can't argue with, because she spends the next 15 minutes pouting on the rooftop. She comes back smelling of cigarettes and helps herself to any leftovers Nibbles has abandoned, grief shelved for the time being.

At some point in the night, Panam swears a blood-oath on-her-mother's-grave pinky-promise-guarantee that if anything happens to V, Judy has a home with the Aldecaldos and they will take her wherever she needs to go. Drunk Judy starts crying and can't stop, both touched at the offer and gripped with dread at the prospect.

Judy is also relieved that should her worst nightmare come true, at least she won't be alone.

V shows up after a day or two of running errands for Johnny with Kerry freaking Eurodyne's autograph and an honest to god pair of prescription glasses. Apparently Kerry gets a mild thrill out of making Johnny - in any form - wear the ridiculous square framed glasses. It's also the least he can do for V after literally getting the band back together.

V is ecstatic when they look out over the city and she can see more than just an admittedly impressive blur on the horizon for the first time since she was 14 or so. Judy is not so subtle about how sexy she finds V with them on.

They're both very disappointed when they break just a few days later.

Judy meets Johnny, and it goes as well as can be expected. Nibbles notices the difference first, and then Judy picks up on the differences. Really, the dark aviators around her neck and the frequent crotch scratching should have been a dead give away.

They have a meal that Judy throws together, Johnny polishes off the rest of the whiskey V brought over some nights ago, and the conversation is stilted but civil. Judy makes him sleep on her couch, and it takes a lot of coaxing from V - her V - to share a bed again after the strangeness of seeing a stranger watching her from V's face.

It really shouldn't be surprising that V has a lot of money saved up. Not only is she amazing at her job, but V picks up everything unclaimed that she finds lying around to sell, she doesn't buy cars because she sucks at driving anyway, and unlike most people in Night City, she doesn't really bother with adding more chrome to her arsenal. By that logic, it's no surprise at all.

Judy supposes the real shocker was finding out her output is officially a multimillionaire that runs around the city wearing two different shoes because she couldn't find a matching pair that didn't have blood on them.

It takes a lot of convincing, but she does manage to get V to go clothes shopping with her. In ends with V's new outfit getting ruined by a cyberpsycho attack. Zane can't issue a refund, but Judy is very appreciative of him calling V back in with the promise of a discount a few days later. Who knew her adorable murder machine would look so sexy dressed up like a corpo?

Judy finds a collection of shards in V's apartment, in a box under her computer desk. It should be creepy that V has dozens of shards from random dead people she finds in the city. V explains that they're all victims, not of her, but of various unfortunate happenings in Night City. They all seem to be either right before they died, or something that jumped to the fore of their mind as they were crossing over.

V explains, as gently as she can, that the shards remind her of how Evie kept replaying the fight she and Judy had during her darkest moments. V didn't want them to just get tossed away and forgotten so she kept them. Judy may not be able to say it yet, but she makes sure V at least feels the love Judy has for her in that moment.

Kerry turns out to be a needy bitch, if Judy gets to have an opinion on the situation. He only seems to call V for things at 2 in the morning, when they've both just managed to fall asleep after a very long day. Maybe she's just aggravated that V is always willing to drag herself out of bed to help a friend in need with his stupid rivalry. Nibbles isn't nearly as warm a bedmate, but somehow hogs more of the covers.

V sends a selfie of herself and River, a mountain of chopped veggies between them and Judy can't help but think it isn't fair. Nothing is fair in Night City, but that V is dying now, when she's making friends and learning new skills as though she isn't close to flatlining at any moment is just Not. Fair.

Judy fixes her makeup before calling to tease V about how her chopping skills need some work. V is indignant at the very thought, and River assures her they've been practicing. V promises to bring some over later, and Judy's heart swells with affection.

Kerry and V destroy a yacht, and V announces it's officially the most expensive vehicle she has ever destroyed. Johnny is insistent that the Porsche she wrapped around a pole 30 seconds after taking the wheel was priceless, and the internal argument is apparently so intense that neither notice when Judy goes to bed for the night.

Everything happens fast, or at least suddenly. V's condition has progressed too far, and if something is gonna happen it's gotta happen now. V still makes time to call Judy before she goes off for what could be her last gig.

Judy spends the next few days occupying as much of her time as she can with editing their BD. If she stops working, she starts worrying, and she can't afford to lose faith that V will come back to her. Not now.

When she gets the call from Panam, she can't help but physically sag in relief. V did it. There isn't much time though, so Judy grabs the already prepared bags - one for her, one for V, and one for Nibbles. As she shuts the door to her apartment behind her, she feels like she's finally going home.

The second they get a quiet moment alone together, Judy informs V that she is not going to be the one to tell Mama Welles they ditched the city.

#valvarez #judy alvarez x v #cyberpunk 2077 #headcanon

[fresh-prince-of-denmark]

Interpretation of V’s Mikoshi Poem Pt1: Life is Murder

Cyberpunk spoilers ahead: 

Let’s talk about Cyberpunk’s literary references and what they mean for the story, coming from a former English professor/teacher.

Alt will read you one of two poems you cross the bridge to the Mikoshi depending on who is in control. Johnny is read an excerpt from Sailing to Byzantium by Yeats, while V is given an excerpt from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. For now, let’s focus on V’s poem:

“Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, 

The muttering retreats 

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels 

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: 

Streets that follow like a tedious argument 

Of insidious intent 

To lead you to an overwhelming question. . . . 

Oh, do not ask, "What is it?" 

Let us go and make our visit.”

Cool. Some English majors (derogatory) work at project red. So why should I care?

Well I’ll tell you:

First, a summary: In this story, the narrator is on an evening stroll with a woman he most likely has a romantic relationship with although the vibes are far from a romantic love sonnet. Interestingly enough, the first few lines of this poem have been cut from Alt’s reading; including the epigraph from Dante’s inferno, which translates to the following:

 “If I but thought that my response were made

to one perhaps returning to the world,

this tongue of flame would cease to flicker.

But since, up from these depths, no one has yet

returned alive, if what I hear is true,

I answer without fear of being shamed.”

This missing piece from Alt’s poem can be read several ways; most of them drawing a parallel between the Blackwell and hell. In fact, Dante’s inferno has a lot of similarities to the story. One can make a comparison between Virgil and Alt, leaving a debate on who plays the roll of Beatrice (the one being saved) and Dante (the one doing the saving) between Johnny and V. I have to wonder at the writers choice to leave this portion out, as there’s a lot to be said here about who truly comes out alive: who’s flame will cease to flicker? V, for obvious reasons, does not return to the world of the living the same. She will not live much longer, and is dying despite being temporarily “saved.” However, if Johnny returns to the body, he is no longer the Johnny we know; arrogant, self-assured, and more than a little narcissistic. The will to fight seems to have died within him; he leaves Night City, presumably looking to start over. While V clearly changes him before Mikoshi, he is a broken and somber man after returning to life, a flickering flame of who he once was. There’s also a connection to be made about Johnny/V dying and returning to life, literally rising from hell. The next part of the missing introduction is as follows: 

“Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table;” 

I can’t think of a better way to describe what is happening in Mikoshi aside from the line “Like a patient etherized upon a table.” Johnny and V, in this moment, are suspended in an almost dream-like state. In Eliot’s poem, the “treatment” this patient is awaiting is presumably an examination/reflection of the self, which will lead to the narrator making a major decision. In this scenario, V is being forced to make a very tough choice, one that will take a lot of reflection as they decide what (a few months) of their remaining life is worth. 

On to the actual portion of the poem that Alt reads:

“Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

Of insidious intent.”

While Prufrock is taking his lover on a romantic stroll, they are hardly walking through rose gardens. They are traveling through the unpleasant parts of a city, and he is noticing all the unsavory parts of his world. Obvious references to night city include one-night hotels (such as the no-tell motel, the Pista Sofia, or the hotel that Johnny and V stay at after the parade, which Johnny gripes about and asks ‘what kind of losers stay in a place like this?), and ‘the sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells,’ which is possibly a reference to the fact that food in Night City is real sketchy (odd things like synth-milk, which Takemura complains about throughout the game). The streets like a tedious argument works on several levels here; both the crime of night city’s streets, which is relentless and quite literally never-ending (V can’t walk two blocks without an assault in progress task spawning), and the socio-economic ecosystem that threatens self-combust at any point. There will always be conflict between gangs, between corpos, between Arasaka and Militech, and between the nomads and the Raffins/Wraiths. In one mission with Padre, you find out that Arasaka and Militech are on the verge of waging another war. None of this conflict is positive, and always ends in bloodshed, often of the innocent. One can argue themselves in circles trying to find a solution to NC’s problems, there is no win-win situation. It’s a bit of a damnned if you do, damnned if you don’t situation. This comes up in conversation with Takemura on his career with Arasaka, as well as several other missions that involve those who choose to work for corporations to survive. This is also a point of conflict between V and Johnny a multiple times, one that never gets an answer. A literal tedious argument, tedious because there are no ‘happy endings for all involved’ in Night City. The final lines of Alt’s reading have more to do with V/Johnny’s final choice:

“To lead you to an overwhelming question ...

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

Let us go and make our visit.”

All the unsavory things V has to do to survive, all the people that have died to get to Mikoshi, lead up to one ‘overwhelming’ question: who will live on? There are so many other questions that should be answered: what is beyond the Blackwall? Are Johnny and Alt real, or is the soul truly dead, and are they just a copy of the people they once were? What happens to the idea of God and the afterlife when you introduce the idea of Soulkiller? But much like in the poem, we don’t get these answers. In fact, we are barely given time to contemplate the question as we fight for survival. A decision must be made, despite not knowing or even having time to dwell on these answers. Similarly Johnny, when presented with these questions in several side quests, refuses to even entertain the question, much like the poem’s narrator. 

The rest of the poem, which is not included in Alt’s reading, is full of allusions to the story. The “yellow fog,” which persists across the poem is full of cat-like imagery, conjuring the bakaneko, the spirit of misfortune that can bring people back to life that Takemura mentions (coincidence that V/Johnny can adopt a cat? Keeping death as a close companion? I think not). Prufrock spends the rest of the poem contemplating his question, talking himself in circles, and the only thing that changes is his age as time slips by. Just as he seems to be making progress, he talks himself back to square one and begins again. Much in the same way, Johnny and V go in the same circles. Their journey begins with their deaths, and to death they will both return no matter what. Nothing they did really mattered, the world remains the same, broken and unfair. As Prufrock later contemplates: “Do I dare/ Disturb the universe?…Would it have been worth while/ To have bitten off the matter with a smile,? To have squeezed the universe into a ball?” Johnny loses his life trying to strike against an unjust world, yet he is scarcely a memory to most residents of Night City, who do not have time to contemplate what is right and what is wrong; their focus must be on survival. 

Interestingly enough, both the poem and Cyberpunk reference similar secondary materials. Prufrock references Lazarus and Hamlet as he contemplates how he will never lead an exciting existence. Lazarus, much like V/Johnny, famously rose from the dead. Hamlet is a reoccurring theme in the storyline; Prufrock, V/Johnny, and Hamlet all are faced having to inevitably make a very difficult decision, the latter two involving tragedy for all no matter what. It’s also up for debate whether Hamlet is turning mad, similar to how we can’t be sure how much Johnny is driving V “mad” by taking over their mind. Despite this comparison, V/Johnny are no Hamlet/Lazarus. They are Prufrock; their lives, and their deaths, are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Despite their efforts, they will simply fade away until they remain only in the memories of those they left behind. The play is further referenced as Jackie’s grave reads “Goodnight, sweet Prince,” and in a deleted audio file Johnny tells V “Sleep well prince/princess” before taking control if V chooses to attack Arasaka with Rogues help. What makes this more interesting is when you look at the line in which Hamlet is mentioned:

“No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;

Am an attendant lord, one that will do

To swell a progress, start a scene or two,

Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,

Deferential, glad to be of use,

Politic, cautious, and meticulous;

Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—

Almost, at times, the Fool.”

The Fool, which is mentioned several times by Misty, represents V and Johnny, in the journey that is told by the major arcane in tarot. The beginning of a journey — of a cycle — while the Death card symbolizes the ending of one phase and the beginning of another. An often painful transformation into something new. The main theme of Eliot’s poem is cycles; he  talks himself in circles, never making a choice, always ending up where he begins. Circles are mentioned once again by Kerry during his personal mission, when he talks about beginning a new cycle in his life. V/Johnny’s journey together begins with death, and so it must end that way for them; whether it is a physical death, or a death of the self. No matter what, V’s fate is inevitable; they will face death again head-on, just as they did at the beginning of their story. The chosen passages of this poem asserts this cycle — the first three words of Alt’s first and last sentence are the same: 

“Let us go.” 

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk #johnny silverhand #cyberpunk v #v cyberpunk #arasaka #cp2077 #cp 2077 #cyberpunk2077 #cp project red #v #Alt Cunningham #cyberpunk spoilers #insufferable former English majors unite #please add your own thoughts to this #and thank you for coming to my dissertation defense #my posts #cyberpunk meta #cyberpunk 2077 meta

[tired0artist]

not enough (part one)

>part two<

paring: female!V x Johnny Silverhand

warnings: angst, coma, alcoholism, drug use, amnesia (there will be a happy-ish ending so don’t worry too much)

summary: after the whole shit show in mikoshi, V got out with her body and mind. but also an engram of the one and only Johnny fucking Silverhand and some good information. after months of planning she finally did what she promised to do.

note: okay so. I will be describing V as how my V looks like. but I will try to keep it to a minimum and you can just switch things up in your head as you read <3

————<•>————

Music was blasting just few rooms away and V could even feel the floor vibrating a bit. But it didn’t matter to her, as she held a warm hand in hers.

V looked up and smiled at the face of the man who only months ago was a parasite in her brain. A parasite turned friend. And later...

Her mind continued to replay their last conversation over and over again, during all this time without him.

“You will have to leave now, if you want to go back to your body” said Alt. Or rather what was left of her.

“But what about Johnny?! Can you get him back on the chip?” V asked, feeling desperate to know.

“V no. You leave this shit hole and live your fucking life. Don’t you even dare to try to put me into some fuckers head” Johnny said, arms crossed as he for a millionth time tried to tell V to just go on. But of course. When did the young nomad ever listen to him.

“Shut up Johnny! I was talking to Alt!” she yelled not even glancing at him as her eyes stayed trained on the woman.

“I can do it. During your useless banter I got inside Arasaka’s network. It seems they still have the body of Robert Johnathan Linden”

V was confused for a second why the guy mattered, when suddenly she got a flash of an very old memory from Johnny. Along with some embarrassment and anger.

Before she could question him, he pointed his finger at her saying “Don’t you even dare. Not a word, got it?”

She smirked but turned back to Alt “Okay where is it?”

“Outside the city. Nomad’s territory. It’s an old, private lab” Alt said.

“Okay I’ll find it”

“V—“

She turned towards Johnny saying “Not a fucking word got it? You promised to save my life and I said that I would take a bullet for you. This is the bullet Johnny”

He simply stared at her, before nodding “Alright, you fucking stubborn nomad. Just don’t kill yourself in the process, or we’ll be having words here. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah I know. Now Alt, do I simply put the chip in his body?”

“Yes. But I have to warn you. During his time on your head, the chip got damaged. I fixed what I could but there are still some cracks”

“The fuck does that mean?” Johnny asked.

“Nothing too important. Slight memory loss or complete memory whipe of the time inside V”

“What...?” V asked, her heart dropping quite a bit. She wanted him to remember her. Remember them.

“Shit... okay I can live with that” Johnny said and walked over to V.

“But—“

“Shut up for a hot minute, kid. Now. I want to remember this time with you as well, no matter how boring it really was in the beginning. But if I won’t, then you’ll just have to tell me. And charm my pants off, again”

She laughed “Did I really charm your pants off? I don’t recall seeing you without them”

Johnny didn’t laugh, instead he leaned in and kissed her. It felt weird as they were technically data, but still it was perfect to them.

When he finally pulled away he just whispered “You sure did, sweetheart...”

“Johnny... I—“

“Shh... I know. Tell me up there in the world”

V nodded and said “I’ll help you remember. I promise, Johnny”

He smirked and touched her hand with his “I know, you stubborn nomad. Just know that... I’m sorry for how I might be when I wake up. Don’t be afraid to slap me if I really go overboard okay?”

“I handled a dick version of you who was trying to kill me once. I think that I’ll manage”

He laughed and nodded “You sure did... just V... I don’t want to be like that anymore. I don’t want to be in a room full of my friends who can’t stand me. I don’t want to be in a room with you and see you hate me...”

“I’ll never hate you Johnny. I’ll be there for you at all times no matter how much of a dick you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. I trust you, sweetheart”

“Your time is up. You need to leave, take the chip with you” said Alt and before V could react she was back in her body.

V was staring at his hand again, her thumb drawing circles on it just as the door opened.

“Alright. That’s enough kid, you’re going out”

With a deep sigh V turned to see both Rouge and Kerry standing in the door.

“No. I’m waiting for him to wake up”

Kerry took a few steps towards the merc and put his hand on her shoulder “Rouge is right, V. You need to get out a bit, you’ve been here for two weeks”

She was silent as her grip over Johnny’s hand tightened.

“Please, honey. Let’s go for a walk at least. Or a ride to get something to eat” Kerry tried again, the worry on his face clearly visible.

“You won’t help Johnny if he wakes up to you looking like a corpse, at his bedside. So get your shit together, V” Rouge said. Even through her words here cutting, there was clear worry in her eyes.

V finally nodded and put Johnny’s hand back on the bed, as she stood up. Well tried to stand up. Because as soon as she moved, her head spun and Kerry had to catch her, before she smashed her head.

“Are you alright?” Kerry asked in pure worry as the nomad’s violet eyes almost rolled into her head.

“No she’s not. Come on, you we need to get her something to eat. I’m driving” Rouge said as she walked out the door, with Kerry picking up V and following her.

After that incident, both Kerry and Rouge were taking V out to eat and sleep out side the room in Afterlife where Johnny was.

Kerry basically moved V into his villa, along with her’s and Johnny’s cat. And Rouge was constantly getting V to sit beside her for at least few hours at Afterlife, as she was dealing with some mercs. Just to get her out of that room.

Judy and Panam also were constantly calling and messaging V, after Kerry and Rouge contacted them and told them what’s going on with the merc.

Panam came to sit around with V in the Afterlife. The bad blood between her and Rouge was quickly forgotten after the older woman saw how Panam was caring for the other nomad.

Judy preferred to visit V at Kerry’s villa whenever he was leaving. She didn’t even let the merc go to the bathroom alone, instead staying out side the door and getting V to keep the conversation going through the door.

One evening V and Kerry were sitting on one of his couches, with him playing and humming the same relaxing song that he did on the yacht.

“Hey, Kerry?” V asked as she stared at the way his fingers moved on the guitar.

“Yes, honey?” he asked immediately his eyes were on her.

She looked up and asked “Can you... uh... teach me how to play? I was thinking that maybe... Johnny would enjoy some music aside from the muffled banging at the Afterlife”

He smiled and his eyes got brighter as he nodded and moved closer to the young woman, saying “Of course! Okay so for now you’ll watch, then we’ll get you to try”

A week later, the nomad was already playing the one song that she learned on the guitar that she got from Kerry. She was even humming along as she sat in Johnny’s room, her long black nails now short and her fingers covered by bandaids from how hard she was learning.

She grinned and said to him, while playing “I know that I’m shitty. But you told me that it was all about the feeling or whatever”

V looked down at the guitar and started playing once again, when suddenly she saw Johnny’s fingers twitch. She immediately stopped and put the guitar aside, rushing to his side and taking his organic hand in hers.

“Johnny? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand”

There was nothing for a while, but then she saw him frown a bit.

Immediately she called Victor and told him to come, the same thing with Rogue and Kerry. She stayed by Johnny’s side, telling him to squeeze her hand and that he’s safe, that his friends will be there soon. That she’s with him.

Rouge was the first one to arrive, as she was already in Afterlife. She walked over to V asking.

“Did anything happen?”

“His fingers are twitching every now and then, he’s also frowning whenever I tell him to squeeze my hand” V explained as she moved to caress Johnny’s hair, that she kept trimmed the same way it was when he was in her head. Same goes for the beard.

As her hand moved to to tuck a stray hair behind his ear, he let out a sigh and stopped frowning, his whole body relaxing.

“Well damn... it’s like he’s responding to your touch, kid” Rouge said, while sitting on the couch in the room observing the still unconscious man.

V’s eyes went wide as Rouge smirked, the nomad looked back to the rocker boy and whispered “I’m here Johnny, just come back to me. I still need to kick your ass for making me wait so goddamn long, and for that time when you smashed my head against the window. And no. Just because you were nice later, doesn’t mean that you’re off the hook old man”

Victor arrived soon with Kerry following. As the ripperdoc worked, the others waited. V and Kerry were both pacing, being the “impatient assholes” as Rouge called them. But the Queen of the Afterlife was also getting a bit impatient, which caused her to lit up a cigarette.

“The fuck is this...?”

Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the blinking and confused rocker-boy in the room. He raised a bit to take in his surroundings.

“Johnny...” V said and came forward with Kerry following.

For a moment Johnny stared at V in silence, then he looked down at him organic hand and back at her saying.

“I know you... you’re V”

Just as V was ready to let out a breath of relief, Johnny added.

“You’re the chick who was here with me the whole time. The one who played that shitty music today... or was it yesterday? I don’t fucking know... so what you’re a fan or some shit? Or did we fuck once?”

Everyone went still in the room, even Kerry stopped smiling as he looked at V with worry. The merc’s face was neutral as she just turned towards Kerry saying to Johnny.

“How about Kerry and Rouge ease you into most of it. I need to go out for a bit” with that she stepped away and glanced at Victor “Check him and the chip, once more okay? Call me if anything will be wrong, or need to buy anything”

V then smiled shakily at the confused Johnny and left the room, ignoring Rouge and Kerry who moved to follow or stop her.

Around two hours passed with V drinking in the bar with Claire keeping her company. She didn’t call Panam or Judy cause she knew that they would freak out and act as if V couldn’t handle shit.

Of course it fucking hurt to see Johnny like that. And to just not recognise her. Of course it’s not like she didn’t know that it would happen, but that stupid ass brain of hers was hoping that Alt was wrong.

“Maybe I’ll get you some water?” Claire asked, the angel she was.

V looked up and said “Another Jackie Wells”

Claire smiled tightly and made the drink, sliding it towards V.

Looking down at the glass V smiled bitterly. The only way she could be around her best friend was to drink his stupid drink, that he made her so many times and the way he fucking knew that she didn’t like it.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see Victor standing beside her stool.

“Is he alright? His arm working? I have another model ordered for him, but—“

“He’s fine physically. His arm will need replacing but for now it should be fine” Victor said, while sitting beside her on a stool.

“And how is he handling being in the future?” V asked, her mind clearing immediately from all the alcohol.

Victor sighed “Not well... but it seems like Rouge and Kerry know how to talk to him. But I want to know how are you? We know that there’s a small chance that he would remember but still. How are you holding kid?”

V laughed bitterly saying “You’re all acting as if he was my husband and not ex parasite turned friend...”

“V...”

“What do you want me to say Victor? Yeah it’s shitty, but I’m still gonna help him out and he beside him. I don’t care what he has to say about that. But I’m fucking staying!” she said and finished her drink, standing up “I promised him that I wouldn’t leave him. I promised him that I wouldn’t hate him...”

With that she patted Victor on the back and walked back to the back room where Johnny was. She walked in and everyone was looking at her immediately.

“Honey—“

“Kid—“

Both Kerry and Rogue started, but V spoke over them.

“How the star of the show?”

Johnny snorted and looked at her in interest “My fucking head hurts and I’m staring at the chick who was my incubator for weeks”

“Johnny” Kerry scolded, not being pleased with the choice of words.

“Basically. Here, have one” V said as she handed Johnny a cigarette. He looked up at her with a frown, as she shrugged “Near the end, when were connected my head hurt without a cigarette. You told me that it’s because of the lack of nicotine, that you had the same thing”

Johnny took the cigarette and lit it up, sighing in relief “Fuck... maybe there is some truth to what these two are saying”

“We told the truth, Johnny. Now it’s up to you to live up to where you were inside her head” Rouge said.

Johnny snorted and glanced at V saying “Please. Some nomad kid couldn’t change me that much. I was probably playing nice so that she wouldn’t off me”

“Fuck, Johnny” Kerry sighned.

“What Kerry? That’s what I would do!”

V sighed and counted to 10 inside her head, already knowing that dealing with Johnny is going to be tough.

And she was right.

For weeks V was helping Johnny get accustomed to the year 2078. She got him a job, while he was living in the room back in the Afterlife. He refused to live with Kerry and V in the huge mansion, instead preferred to be close to the party. She got him a new arm and gave him his clothes, weapon and car back, while sticking around trying to get through to him.

Even after V told him everything. Johnny only claimed that it was bullshit and continued on being an asshole.

Of course the merc left out all about the kiss and the nights they spend cuddled in her apartment, after learning that they could touch.

Johnny went through many stages with V.

First he was aggressive and pushed her around, telling her to fuck off and find a life. She annoyed him with the way she would fight back but never left him alone. Never hated him.

Second was ignoring. He would treat her as if she wasn’t there and even fucked another girl with her not far away in the bar. Still she kept being around. Didn’t hate him.

Third was trying to annoying and trying to fuck her constantly. He would filirt and be a sarcastic dick at the same time. He would touch her and tell her all about his impressive dick. Once against she was still around, without any reaction to his actions. Not hating him.

The fourth and current stage was using her. He would call her in the middle of the night for her to came and get his drugged or drunk ass from some chicks apartment, street or bar. Every call. Every time. Every hour. She was there and got him home safely. Without hating him.

Until now.

It was 3AM and V was looking around the alleyway where Johnny said he was in. And there he was. With a girl keeling between his legs, smirking at her.

Even when V thought that her heart didn’t shatter anymore. It was broken beyond repair during all these times with Johnny. She felt it shatter once again as she flinched in pain. Still she simply turned and went to the car to wait for him.

Few minutes later he was in her car, grinning. Some time into the drive he said something that triggered her for the first time.

“Sorry sweetheart. You were getting late and she was so so lovely. Blonde all that, exactly my type”

V flinched as she stared down at her dark skinned hands, and the thick black hair that reached her breasts. The exact opposite of the blonde woman.

Also the word he called her for the first time since...

I trust you, sweetheart...

Sweetheart.

She stopped the car near Afterlife, saying “Go. Afterlife is near maybe you’ll sober up a bit after a walk”

“Ahhh getting tired of me sweetheart?”

She doesn’t know how she even did it, but in a second she turned and slapped him harshly. Screaming at him for the first time since he came back.

“Fuck you Johnny! I know what you’re doing! You’re pissed that I don’t hate you like your friends did back in the day! How I’m not leaving like Alt did, when you got too difficult to fix up! Do you know how I fucking know?! Because you were inside my mind. I saw all that pain and loneliness you felt! I know it! You even told me about it although you knew that I knew!”

“You don’t know shit!” he yelled, only to get slapped again.

“Quite the opposite, Johnny! I know all of your shit! And I’m not leaving! Or hating you!”

“Why?! Why?! Why won’t you leave?!”

“Because I love you!” she screamed tears escaping her violet eyes “And you just keep on hurting me... I throught that I can handle it... but maybe I was wrong...” she added quietly, looking away from him.

Then she raised her hand and took off his glasses, to look into his dark eyes as she whispered “I’m sorry Johnny... I tried so hard... I’m sorry that I failed you... sorry that I wasn’t enough... I hope that maybe you will remember some day and stop being what you’re now... I love you, always”

Johnny was so stunned by what happened that he didn’t react to V kissing him gently behind the ear, where the chip was and whispering.

“I’m so sorry, my love...”

Then she pulled away and got out of the car, walking away with stunned Johnny still inside her car.

•there will be part two so follow me or just check the tag “Johnny Silverhand x V”

•also English isn’t my first language so sorry for any errors.

#johnny silverhand x v #johnny silverhand #night city #cyberpunk kerry #cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #cyberpunk rogue #female v #angst with a happy ending

[heartofsnark]

He’s Not Real, She’s Not Pretending (Johnny Silverhand/OC Female V)

Notes; Sooooooo, I’m posting porn for a game that won’t be out in 20 days, that I just started to seriously look at 2 days ago, but ummmm Johnny Silverhand like fuck man. He’s living rent free in my head both in game and irl. I already have an oc and I really wanted some fuck, so my V is named Aidan, she is a baby and a a slut in this context. This is completely based off oh hey, if we fuck in game, and Johnny in brain, Johnny watch us fuck. And then it spiraled. 

Word Count: 4303

Chapter Warnings: Voyeurism, Unprotected Oral Sex, Blowjobs, Cum Swallowing,  Protected Vaginal Sex, One Night Stand/Semi Anonymous Sex, Calling out the wrong name, MMF Threesome, but like while he gets laid Johnny is like lowkey cucking this guy but he don’t even know cause he can’t see the man cucking him, its weird, metal fingers on clit, like that’s a thing here, cumming on someone/semi-facial???? And the weirdest thing to explain is like, she’s deaf and takes out her hearing aids, so she’ll only hear johnny since he’s in her head that bypasses hearing damage, so like, disability device being removed for sex????? What is this??? Who knows?????

Edit: I HAD A FUCKIN SENIOR CITIZEN MOMENT AND FORGOT TO MENTION; @enchantedbythebidders IS ALSO TO BLAME BECAUSE SHE HELPED PUT THOUGHTS IN MY HEAD, SO THIS IS NOT ALL MY FAULT!

“Really, this guy?” Johnny scoffs and rolls his eyes, leaning against the bar. Aidan is once again somewhat thankful that no one else can hear the long dead Rockstar that lives in her head. 

She pretends she doesn’t hear him either, despite him being the one voice other than her own who she can hear no matter what. The man standing in front of her is attractive, as far as she’s concerned, over 6ft with plenty of muscle and some cybernetics glinting against the side of his shaved head. The alcohol in her system has made it easier to ignore Johnny, but it brings the reason she’s here to the forefront of her mind. 

Aidan needs to get laid, plain and simple. She hasn’t had a proper orgasm since Johnny started living rent free in her head. There’s a certain level of embarrassment at just how easily and maybe even unavoidably peeps on her. He pops visibly into the world whenever he feels convienet, for him that is, and seems to make a habit of making sure she knows he’s there when she’s in some state of undress. Johnny’s watched her change without a hint of shame, making comments on her body and laughing at her reactions, like he’s not the weirdo. He’s sat in the bathroom while she showers, talking to her about plans of burning the city down, like she wasn’t fucking naked. 

Safe to say, she hasn’t ventured into what would happen if she tried to get off with him around. She doesn’t need him making snide comment while she has a hand in her panties. But, with a hookup, another person and a decent amount of booze. She may just be able to distract and loosen herself up enough that she won’t even notice him, though he has a habit of making himself impossible to ignore. But regardless, the former nomad needs this, she’s constantly tense and finding herself horny at every provocation, her dumb sexually frustrated lizard is even starting to think Johnny’s hot which is not a road she needs to traverse. Talking to the ghost in your brain is one thing, trying to find out if his holographic form comes with a dick is another. 

“You do remember I can hear your thoughts, right, Samurai?”  

“Is everything okay? You seem distracted?” The guy, who’s name she’s already forgotten, asks. As if she needed more reason to ignore Johnny. 

“Oh yeah, sorry, there’s just been something kind of annoying nagging at the back of my mind. But I’m good, you wanna get out of here?” 

“Yeah, sounds good, there’s a motel not far from here.” 

“What are we waiting for then?” 

“Ugh,” Johnny groans and rolls his eyes, evaporating into cyan static as Aidan leaves with her bedmate for the night. 

Hands reach up into her bleached bob as the man presses Aidan against the door, his lips against hers, a strangers tongue roaming her mouth. She puts her hand over his, attempting to move it lower, as nice as her hair and face being touched is… This isn’t romance, she wants to be groped, manhandled, to feel him squeeze her ass or shove his hand down her pants. Even at the door before they’ve entered the room, she just wants to get fucked. But he doesn’t get the memo. His hand doesn’t move from cupping the back of her head. 

“Didn’t go for brains, did ya?” Johnny’s voice taunts and Aidan bites down harder on the stranger’s buttom lip than needed, her annoyance for Johnny seeping through her actions. 

Normally, when someone annoys the everloving fuck out of her, as Johnny is so prone too. She’d remove her hearing aids, submit herself to silence until they get bored and fuck off. But, Johnny’s in her fucking head, his voice echoing through her mind as clearly as her own thoughts, the only noise in this world she can’t shut off. 

Aidan reaches behind her, opening the motel door and stepping into it, tugging the guy, what the hell was his name again, in by the bottom of his t-shirt. Kiss broken, she watches as he closes the door behind him, right in the holographic Johnny’s face. If that would actually prevent him from following, she’d be ecstatic. She’s sure he’ll be back in a moment, because he’s never fucking gone for more than a heartbeat. Doesn’t matter, she decides, this isn’t about Johnny. It’s about scratching her itch and cumming. She yank her shirt off over her head and throws her bra after it, whats-his-name, blinks for a moment before his eyes look over her breasts; pale and freckled. It was sudden, a quick cut to the chase, and she knows that. 

“I, uh, really fuckin’ need this.” She admits, face flushing. 

“Hey, no need to beat around the bush then,” the guy laughs, and he has such a pretty smile, she wishes she remembered his name. 

“Fuckin’ hell, you that damn desperate?” Johnny’s laugh mingles with the strangers, now plopped down on a chair in the motel room, “you gonna start humping his leg, next?” 

The chair is positioned just across from the small room’s bed, Aidan and her partner standing beside it, between where Johnny sits and the old mattress. Johnny sits casual, strewn with his legs wide open, at the perfect vantage point to stare dead on at Aidan and what-his-face. 

“You alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah, just that annoying persistent nagging fuckin’ thought,” she grumbles, tapping the back of her head, she’d give anything to rip that fuckin’ chip out right now.

“We don’t have to if you’re-“

“No, no, uh, if you’re still up for it, I really really want this.” It’s so sweet of him to offer to stop and she recognizes that but dear lord that kindness is not what she wants right now. She needs someone to fuck her brains out, so Johnny will leave with them. 

“You’d probably be getting laid more if you didn’t act like a nutjob, you know that?” Johnny cuts in, that too pretty cocky smirk across his face. And he probably heard that too, fuck. 

“Okay, if you’re sure,” the stranger says, pulling his shirt off over his head, Aidan’s eyes following down the line of hair that vanishes into his jeans. She kicks off her boots and starts unbuttoning her jeans, waiting for him to get the message. As nice as his chest is, she needs his dick, like yesterday. In her mouth, her cunt, anywhere, she just fucking needs it. 

“I’d be puking if I could,” Johnny taunts again, but he’s laughing dark and deeply, no hint of disgust, “really had to wind up in a cock whore’s head, didn’t I?” 

He could always leave, she nearly tells him so, but stops herself. Knowing it’d confuse and or frighten her hookup. Instead, she kicks off her jeans, leaving her in nothing but her panties as the stranger starts to undo his own jeans. Her thighs are clenching and she’s already slick. 

“My entire existence is in your head, so no, I can’t help but see your little show. So, if I’m stuck watching it, I might as well have some fun with it too.” 

He wants to see a fucking show? She can give him a goddamn show.  

Stranger drops his jeans, kicking out of them along with his shoes. And Aidan doesn’t hesitate to drop on her knees in front of him, she’s practically drooling as she pulls down his boxers, hearing him curse above her. He’s already hard, leaking pre-cum, and hot in her grasp. She licks up the length the next moment, dragging the silver ball piercing in her tongue along it, wetting the underside with drool. 

“Oh fuck…” 

“Fuck.” 

Johnny’s and the stranger’s curses mingle, she tries not to worry about what the forgotten rockerboy is thinking, why he’d curse like she’s drooling on his dick and not a rando’s. Whatever he’s going through is his own fucking problem, he’s the one who wanted to treat her like his own personal porno flick. She teases her tongue across the head of his cock, licking along every curve of it, then lapping where pre-cum drips out. Aidan gives a moan when she tastes it, trying to convince her bedmate it’s the best thing she’s ever had. And while it’s more a faint bitterness, the mere fact she’s tasting cock makes her insides clench. 

She looks up with big gray eyes, her pick of the night has his eyes closed, biting his lip at the feeling of her on his dick. And then she takes him down her throat, gagging softly at the resistance there as she pushes her head down further. Determination, she takes him until her nose is flushed to his hips. Her jaw aches at the stretch but she ignore it in favor of swallowing around his dick, letting the muscles squeeze around him. It’s hot and heavy in her mouth, twitching in and leaking in her throat. Aidan holds still for a moment, just swallowing and moving her tongue around him, imagining how the length of him  will fit inside of her cunt. 

Then the ache is a bit too much, the need to breath a bit too strong, and he’s murmuring curses as she pulls off of him completely. She keeps her mouth open wide, panting and showing off the way saliva still connects her mouth to his cock. 

Johnny curses and she sees him in the chair from her peripheral, watching with heavy lidded eyes as she sucks cock. She spares a side glance at a shift of movement, silver arm glinting as it catches the light, she realizes he’s rubbing his own cock through his pants. There’s a noticeable tent forming, which may answer a previous question… Her face goes brighter red, but she pushes through, this isn’t about Johnny or at least it shouldn’t be. 

And she’s back on the stranger’s dick, sucking him off in earnest as she bobs her head up and down the length of him. Never quite as deep as the first swallow, but she moves as far down his cock as her new pace will allow. Occasionally feeling the head teasing the back of her throat. Fingers entangle with her hair as she reaches a hand to play with his balls, squeezing and massaging them, his groans have gotten louder, testicles drawn tight. He has to be close, she wants her reward for a job well done. 

“I’m gonna cum…fuck…” He warns and she pulls back for a second, gently clenching the base of her cock between her fingers to help stop him from shooting his load right that minute. 

“You want to cum on me or in my mouth?” She gives him his options and he whines, she expected to be the one tossed around and fucked raw, but it’s becoming more obvious she picked out a guy who’d rather be bossed around a bit. Even if it’s not what she was looking for, she’ll take it, happily. 

“Can’t fuckin’ think right now,” he groans, “just wanna cum, please.” 

“On your face and tits,” Johnny says, low and husky, making it clear he has no trouble making a choice. Though, judging by his cock still being tucked away in his leather pants, he’s not quite as cum-brained as her hookup. 

And after a moment of considering Johnny’s request, Aidan wraps her lips around the man’s dick and gives a hard suck, letting go of the pressure around him. He groans as he cums directly down her throat, hot heavy spurts of it on her tongue. She swallows every last drop, not letting any of it touch her face or chest. 

“Bitch.” 

She swallows the last bit, grinning at Johnny’s insult, as she strokes the stranger through the last of his after shocks. Aidan stands up, she’s still in her panties, now soaked through with slick. She turns to face the bed, her ass now to Johnny and her hookup, allowing them a view as she purposely bends over to peel her panties off. Allowing both men to see her slick aching cunt; panties in hand, she turns back to face them. And she tosses them at Johnny with a devious smirk, to the unnamed stranger, she threw them to empty chair. But her and the ghostly anarchist, within their own reality that exist merely due to a chip in her head, her panties landed in his lap. His hand grabbing the wet black silk and wrapping them around her fist. 

She’s not sure how it works, far from a techie in her knowledge, but she can see him interact with objects. From smoking cigarettes to leaning his weight against whatever he sees fit, after all if he couldn’t interact with anything in the physical world he’d phase through the chair, floor, and everything around them. But to everyone else it’s not seen, the objects just laying flat and useless. 

The stranger’s hand grasps her hip, in her personal space within the moment, having stroked his cock back to full erection. 

“Want me to return the favor?” He offers to eat her out and she’s surprised at the heat that rushes up her cheeks, despite just slobbering on his cock the question makes her blush. 

“Let him do it,” Johnny says with a drawn out groan, her panties still in his hand as he undoes his belt and pulls his cock out, “wanna see you get licked.” 

Would have though he’d have learned by now, she’s not interested in fulfilling his requests. 

“Fuckin’ really,” he curses out at the thought, realizing he won’t get what he wants from her and he can’t do anything about it. His voice is edged and sharp, a hint of anger. 

“Appreciate the thought, but I need you in me, bad. That okay?” 

“Sounds good, I got a condom in my jeans, give me a second.” He starts to rifle through his abandoned jeans and jacket, Aidan clenching her thighs as she waits, she’s finally about to get what she needs most. 

“He’s not gonna fuck you right.” 

She tries hard not to audibly groan at Johnny’s words or watch the slow drag of his hand over his cock. Then she notices the black fabric he presses against himself, using to jerk himself off, her panties. Aidan likely deserves that, but she’s more distressed over the way it makes her insides clench than worries of the fabric. Though given what he is, she’ll probably find them virtually untouched later. 

“I’m serious, Samurai, he’s not gonna give you what your after. He’s too soft for you, can’t fuck you the way you need.” 

Shut up, Johnny, she rolls her eyes letting the sentiment ring out in both of their minds. 

“Got it,” her date, if you can call it that, returns with condom in hand, she takes it from his hand. 

“Lay back on the bed, I’ll take care of everything,” she tells him. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he says and god if she wasn’t so desperate the words could have dried her up quicker than the Sahara. Even when she wants control, that is not a nickname she cares for. Johnny laughs when she wrinkles her nose. 

“Told you so, ma’am.” 

“Don’t call me that,” she says to both to her hookups earnest slip up and Johnny’s condescension. 

“Sorry,” her hookup offers as moves to straddle him, her back to his view. 

“It’s okay, we’re strangers, don’t know everything about each other.” Her voice is a little kinder as she rolls the condom down his length, listening to the little inhales of air as he feels her touch. 

“Hmmm, wouldn’t be nicer with someone who does, someone who knows it all, someone in your head.” Johnny has moved, zipped, to stand at the foot of the bed. So, he can watch her more clearly she assumes. His cock and her panties are still in his hand. 

She ignores him, instead moving to hover over the stranger’s cock, letting the head just tease her slit open. Aidan whimpers and whines, unable to help it at the feeling of being stretched open as her weight comes down slowly onto his dick. Inch after inch sliding into her, pressing at her deepest parts. Despite some kinks misaligning, he fits nicely inside of her, helping scratch the itch. 

“A nice dick don’t mean anything if they don’t know how to use it,” Johnny taunts again, his gaze is hot on her skin, “I know everything you’ve been wanting, everything that you dream of that gets you going and makes you whimper, and I know for a fact this guy isn’t gonna give it to you.” 

‘Fuck off’ she mouths the words, despite knowing he can just hear her think them, she starts to bounce herself on the stranger’s cock, chasing her pleasure as she fucks herself on him. But she doesn’t miss how Johnny starts to stroke himself faster, nearly matching the pace she’s set for herself. 

“Might as well be ridin’ a toy. 

“Fuck… you feel so good,” the man beneath her groans just as Johnny starts to mock his prowess. 

“Good? That’s all he’s got is good?” 

“Fuck…” 

Aidan closes her eyes, trying to shut out the image of Johnny if nothing else, while both men’s voices ring out, audible even over her own whines of pleasure, she tries to focus on how good it feels to finally be full. Bouncing her ass harder as she rides the stranger’s cock, hoping somehow the smack of flesh against flesh, the creak of a bed could drown them both out. 

“Bet your tight, a wet little vice wrapped around his cock.” 

“Fuck…faster please…” 

“He’s probably already close, feeling the way you stretch around him, watching the desperate little way you fuck yourself on his dick.” 

“Hnnnn, fuck..” 

The two men’s voice go back and forth, a mess in her head, an overwhelming mess where Johnny’s words edge her further but the noises of her hookup stir up guilt, how could she get off to him being shamed? How could she get off on Johnny’s taunts and teasing, why does every word he say stoke a fire deeper inside of her, make her wetter, and push her closer to edge. While the man she’s actually fucking only seems to set her back on that journey.

Johnny isn’t real. She tries to tell herself, not physically, he only exists to her. Aidan should focus on what real and here and beneath her, but everything draws her back to the phantom in her head.  

Despite how close she is, she can’t cross the precipice, a wall built up in her core that won’t let her cum. That tension in her stomach refuses to snap, refuses to allow her the pleasure, the rush of endorphins, she’s been so desperate for. She fucks herself up and down as hard as she can, the smack of skin hitting skin echoing, and she’s sure she’ll bruise herself in her desperation. Tears of sheer frustration build in her eyes, why can she just fucking cum?

A hand cups her face, flesh and warm, vaguely slick with sweat or precum, she doesn’t know. But Aidan opens her eyes, looking straight up at Johnny. His dark brown eyes look down at her, dark hair falling into his face. 

“Take out your hearing aids for me?” For once his voice comes with a little upward inflection, insinuating a question and not a demand. 

“Huh?” 

“I want to be the only thing you hear right now.” 

And this time she listens, throwing one quick look over her should at her hookup, his eyes closed and head tossed back in the pillows, lost in the feeling of her around him; Aidan gently pulls out her hearing aids and the world goes quiet. No more sounds from him, not even the faint whirr of the fluorescent lights, or the slap of flesh. 

“Good girl,” Johnny says, his voice ringing out as clear as ever, for it comes from her own brain. The praise makes her clench and whimper, the kind of attention and names she likes best. He leans his forehead to hers, his hair tickling her face. 

He’s not real, but he feels real. She feels his skin, hears his voice, can smell the cigarette smoke on his breath. And she feels metal fingers, cool as they pushing against her slick cunt, finding her swollen clit with ease. She whines, as he rubs her, stroking friction against her nerves. 

“So fucking wet, you’ve wanted my hands on your for a while, haven’t you?” He teases, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. 

“Yes,” she lets him hear it in voice and thought. 

“He may be inside you, but I’m the one who’s gonna make you cum, you got that?” 

“Yes, yes, fuck, please,” she whimpers, fucking herself and grinding against Johnny’s fingers. Every bounce and rub of his fingers pushes her closer to the edge. 

“Who’s gonna make you cum?” 

You, Johnny. She thinks but doesn’t dare say it, for fear of the man beneath her hearing, even in the throes of pleasure, she needs to be rational, Johnny isn’t real and if she starts screaming the name of a ghost while she cums… 

“Say it, out loud,.” His fingers slow their movement, nearly stopping their motion altogether, his threat clear and she fucking needs this. 

“Johnny!” Another hard rub before she’s finished the first syllable and his name becomes a scream, the tension snaps, the bubble of pleasure pops, and she’s overwhelmed by her pure euphoria. Toes curled and squirming she finally finds her release, cumming around the man inside of her, mind going blank for a moment.

Then the fog in her brain starts to lift, aftershocks coming and going, she can feel the condom bloated with cum inside of her…. Johnny is laughing, chuckling a rich and warm sound, and oh god she said his name. 

Aidan puts her hearing aids back in, clenched in her sweaty fist this entire time, trying to do so quick enough that it isn’t noticed and she can catch anything he may say. 

“…ohnny?” 

She catches the very end of it and oh no, oh no. Johnny’s still laughing. 

“Hmm, didn’t quite catch that, something wrong?” She tries to act nonchalant, like she just missed it, as she pulls herself off his cock. The emptiness makes her whine, but she may need to detach herself from this situation as soon as possible. 

“Who’s Johnny?” He asks again as she turns to face him on the bed, the stranger’s eyebrow raised. He doesn’t seem mad, just genuinely confused. 

“Yeah, who’s Johnny?” The old rockerboy says, smirking and how he can look so cocky with his dick still hard and out, she has no idea. Why is she even thinking about his dick, she catches herself, that’s oh lord. 

“Uhhh, why do you ask, who said anything about a Johnny?” 

“You did, loudly, while you came.” 

“Uhhhh….” 

“He got you there.” 

“Look,” the guy says, smiling kindly, “like, if you’re hung up on some other dude, it’s cool, like you said, we’re strangers. But, uh, if you’re thinking that much about this Johnny guy, you should probably just like talk to him about it.” 

“I’m not hung up on, Johnny, I assure you.” 

“Hmmm, debateable,” Johnny taunts and she’s gonna rip this fucking chip out of her brain if it kills her. 

“Say what you want, but I clearly wasn’t the guy on your mind tonight.” 

“Hard to compete with the guy who’s in her mind.” 

“Uh, yeah, I guess, sorry…” 

“No worries,” he says and she’s continuously thankful he can’t hear Johnny’s snide ass remarks, “I’m gonna grab a shower then head out, rooms already paid for if you wanna chill here.” 

And her one night stand gives her a friendly tap on the shoulder, like they’re bros and his dick wasn’t just inside of her, then heads to the motel bathroom. Aidan collapses on the bed, face flushed and struggling to accept the mess of a night. 

Then a weight settles over her, Johnny suddenly straddling her sternum, knees on either side and pressing into the bed before he sits his weight fully on her. His cock is still hard and leaking, has been the entire time, now smearing precum hot into her skin. 

‘The fuck are you doing?’ she mouths, glaring up at him. 

“What no love for the guy you’re so hung up on?” 

The shower starts up in the background, which should block out the sound of her talking to the ghost currently stroking his dick over her tits. The head flushed red and his pace quickening, he’s been shifting pace back and forth this entire time, no doubt he’s close to bursting. 

“I fuckin’ hate you, you know that?” 

“I know for a fact you don’t,” he groans beneath his breath, as his cock twitches in his hand, “besides, told you where I wanted to cum.” 

“Y-Ahh!” 

He curses beneath his breath and she yelps as it hits her, cum splattering across her chest and face. It certainly feels real, hot and thick across her breasts and chin, salty when her tongue swipes away a drop that hit her lip. But no one else but her and him would ever be able to even see it…  

Images of being able to walk around Night City filled and covered in his cum, with no one else even knowing flicker across her mind. 

“You’re not even pretending to hate me anymore, are you?”  He’s grinning wickedly, face flushed beneath the dark scruff of his beard, long hair sticking to his forehead. And she can’t find in her to disagree. 

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #johnny silverhand #have i been kicked out of the fandom before the game comes out? #okay cool

[asleepyraven]

Reflections

Summary: Johnny processes the conversation he and V have in the oil fields.

Word Count: 1101

Warnings: Language and brief mention of blood.  Characters: Johnny, Female V (Nomad) A/n: If I missed any warnings please let me know! In the mean time hope you enjoy! I haven’t written in a while and this asshole (affectionate) has taken over my life so I thought I’d practice by getting in his head for a bit.

Johnny stood, arm pressed against the cool glass of the window of V’s apartment mulling over the conversation they’d had in the oil fields a few hours ago. He’d never really...talked to anyone like that before.  Sure, sometimes he and Kerry had gotten too drunk or too high on god only knew what and they’d had some talks, but it was nothing like what he’d had with V. Most of those times it was Kerry going on about something, Kerry spilling his guts about one thought or another, and yeah sometimes Johnny would agree, admit he felt some of that shit too, but it never felt like last night had. He never felt so fuckin’.... vulnerable.  He glanced over at V, passed out on the bed and shook his head. Why the fuck does she sleep like that? How many nights now had he spent with her; and he still didn’t understand it. It was just a quirk of hers he supposed. Maybe it blocked out more of the light, but then, she could just close the window shades and she refused to do that too. She liked the neon lights. Something about them comforted her, which made no sense since, as a Nomad, she was used to falling asleep under the stars. The only time she actually used the shades was when she tried to sleep during the day. V was just strange.  Johnny had spent weeks in her head now, and he still didn’t quite understand her. He���d spent days going through her memories (sure, maybe it was a huge invasion of privacy, but what else was a guy supposed to do?). He watched how she interacted with people, tried to study how she operated, but it didn’t quite explain how she thought. He’d told her he’d figured it out, and he thought he had, but she kept surprising him.  Like tonight.  The oil fields. A whole lotta nothin’. The final realization that no sign Johnny Silverhand ever existed at all. Arasoka tower had been rebuilt, Samurai had faded to dust, and the battle cry he had died for had been silenced. Johnny who? All his rage, all that anger he took out on everyone around him, it did nothing. It amounted to zilch. All it did was hurt anyone that had ever been gonk enough to care about him. Maybe he didn’t deserve to be remembered at all. 

But then V had carved his initials and for some reason that helped. It was like she snapped him back to reality, forced the world to remember that he had once lived in it. He was almost too scared to ask her, but he had to- she knew him better than anyone; what was his legacy? What should he be remembered for? 

“The guy that saved my life.”  Felt like he’d be shot clean through when she said that. How the fuck was he supposed to live up to that? He was the one fucking killing her. 

“You don’t know how much I want that to be true, V” He’d surprised himself with how true that was. Of course from day one he had to care about what happened to V, they were sharing a body after all, but she was just some gonk merc. Now? Well you couldn’t live in someone’s head for this long and not root for them even if they were fatally empathetic. 

He’d fucked that up too though, or so he thought, but against all odds she’d given him a second chance. Maybe that shouldn’t have surprised him since V was almost always willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. It was the kind of thing he hated in her at first. He didn’t understand how someone so naïve could survive in this city, but V wasn’t naïve. She did these types of things eyes wide open, one hand outstretched and the other on her weapon. V wanted to help people, plain and simple as that, and while it was insane, Johnny couldn’t help but admire it a little; his gonk, idealistic, little Nomad with her sense of honor and family. 

V rolled over in her sleep so that she was on her back now, her arm stretching above her head. Johnny grinned at the sight of the tattoo he’d gotten her. She had claimed to be furious about it, but she hadn’t removed it and once the initial anger had passed, he’d caught her shaking her head at the irony of it. Like it or not, they were in this together. 

He moved from the window and went to sit on the bed. She looked so small, so fragile, so tired. V was sleeping longer and longer since the last major malfunction. It was easy to look at her and think nothing was wrong; she was, when she wasn’t coughing up blood, pretty good at hiding it. Seeing her like this though, when her guard was down, he could see the toll the chip was taking on her. She didn’t think it about herself, but she really was strong.  “I’m not going to fuck this up again, V, promise,” he muttered. 

He really hadn’t meant to hurt her with his night out; he just wanted a little fun. Why did his brand of fun always end up hurting someone?  He crawled to the back of the bed and laid down, his flesh arm behind his head and metal one across his stomach. Maybe it wasn’t too late to change things. He’d been sort of given a second shot at life, more than most at any rate, and he’d have to be an idiot to waste it. From now on, he’d do better. He’d try to fix what he could, starting with Rouge. Not only had V given him a second chance, but she’d agreed to call Rouge. 

Johnny wasn’t sure if she really would give him control again though. When he pointed that out, she suddenly seemed a lot less excited by the idea, but she had agreed nonetheless. 

“Tomorrow,” she promised. “I’m exhausted and Rouge needs space. I’ll call her first thing tomorrow.”  She didn’t have to call at all though, and there was fuck all Johnny could really do about it, if she wanted to, but he believed she would. Something changed between them out there, they had... fuck, an understanding now? Maybe that line that had divided them was blurring or gone all together. Who the fuck knew anymore? The whole situation was fucked sideways. 

Speaking of fucked sideways, what the fuck was he going to say to Rogue? 

Next Part: Overthinking

#cyberpunk 2077 #johnny silverhand #female v #nomad v #johnny silverhand x v

[solo-net]

'Pre-relationship' 1 – 7 for Goro and Vera! ✨

1. How did they first meet?

Their first meeting was in Konpeki Plaza. Vera and Jackie were hiding in that cubby with Goro Takemura on the outside, scanning their hiding place. Vera’s first thought when those red eyes locked on her face was, ‘That man is going to kill us both.’ 

For Goro, his first meeting with Vera was in that landfill. He barely even broke a sweat when he shot Dex in the head and left him in a crumpled heap before kneeling down beside a half-dead Vera to assess her for any further injuries. He needed the nomad alive for interrogation, and his first thought when he stared into her eyes was, ‘Her eyes are violet.’ Seriously. The first thing he noticed about her was her violet eye contacts, lol. 

But after the Heist and the car chase, their first official meeting took place in Tom’s Diner. 

2. What was their first impression of each other?

Not very good. 

As a trained soldier and abled bodyguard, Goro had a talent for sizing up people, and he used that skill as soon as Vera stepped foot in the diner and took a seat across from him, studying her with eyes that gave nothing away. At the same time, he noted every detail about her. If the tiny nomad was distressed in any way by her friend’s death, she didn’t show it. Her expression was as unfeeling and cold as ice, but her eyes were red-rimmed and lined with exhaustion.

He’d mentally assessed her again, and this time with a man’s eye instead of a trained soldier. He didn’t have much use for thieves, but she was a beauty. Mid to late twenties, with a face that did not fit the usual description of a filthy nomad or hardened mercenary, clearly shaped, delicate in appearance, smooth dark skin, purple hair, an intriguing sultriness to her large violet eyes and full lips. She was missing her left arm, replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic that gleamed dully in the fluorescent lighting of Tom’s Diner. A beautiful woman, but hardly enough for him to ignore what she truly was.

V was a woman with no honor or morals. But a useful pawn he needed to avenge his master.

His witness.

Vera had sensed Takemura’s hostility and veiled contempt from the moment she spotted him in Tom’s Diner nursing what looked to be hot coffee, though he kept his face impassive, his eyes hooded. Saburo’s Arasaka’s bodyguard disapproved of her for some reason, but if he were aiming to intimidate her, he would hit a dead end. She was a nomad; she dealt with people like him her entire life—corporate suits who thought themselves better than everyone, soulless monsters with shark smiles and cold eyes. Takemura Goro was handsome in a refined, mature way, but his condescending attitude and God-like worship of Saburo Arasaka turned her off.

He wanted to use her to avenge an old fossil who lived for too long and get back in the good graces of the same corporate world that dropped him when he stopped being useful. He didn’t trust her, and she didn’t trust him.

That was fine.

She needed to get the biochip out of her head, and if that meant allying herself with this Arasaka cheerleader, then so be it.

3. Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?

Vera’s parents are dead. Goro was too far away for his family to ever form an opinion about her. But their friends had plenty to say. Johnny was against Goro from the start for obvious reasons, Vik’s not exactly a match-making genius, but he hoped that Vera would get along with him. Misty felt that fate had brought them together. Jackie was unsure if Goro could even be trusted because of his close ties to Arasaka. 

As for Goro’s friends, Oda half-suspected that there was something more to his partnership with the little thief, but he was being resentful and had immediately assumed that she was a whore who’d used her “wiles” to manipulate his teacher. Honestly, Oda had wrongfully judged Vera, but he wasn’t mistaken about their close relationship. 

4. Who felt romantic feelings first?

Surprisingly, it was Goro who began to fall for Vera first.

Goro thought that he had the thief all figured out, that he knew her and could predict her every move, but the more time Goro spent with her, the more he began to realize that she was a stranger to him and that he knew nothing. She was very subtle and careful not to reveal much about herself to him. She was unnervingly quiet and did not express her feelings easily, forcing him to make an effort to read and understand her better. Yes, she spoke but only to greet him and go over their next course of action before clamming up again and letting him take the lead.

Mercenaries are a loud, boastful lot without an ounce of control. But Vera was the complete opposite, and it caused Goro to adapt to her personality to understand her as a person better. Goro found himself slowly becoming fond of her, and it thrilled him to be rewarded with small smiles and little tidbits about her life before she became a mercenary. Goro was starting to look forward to their meetups and even found himself becoming protective of her, going so far as to position himself between her and his former student. Trust between them was built stone by stone, and in the end, Goro fell in love with her.

5. Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

Yes. 

Both tried to resist their feelings for each other, and both failed.

Goro was having a hard time with his affections for her and was so sure that it was merely lust and nothing more. Vera was horrified that she was becoming attached to Saburo Arasaka’s bodyguard and felt like she had betrayed her nomad roots. Feelings for the enemy? Impossible. Disgusting. 

So why did it feel so right?

6. If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?

Goro would have laughed and called me a fool before having me forcibly removed from his presence and thrown out on my ass. Vera would cut me off and forbid me from ever saying such a thing. Yeah, none of them would have believed me. 

7. What would their lives be like if they had never met?

Hmm, Goro would still be Saburo’s bodyguard and remain so until he either died defending his master from an attack or simply remained by his side. Vera would have probably romanced Judy and left Night City with her to join up with the Aldecados. Their lives would have continued without much happening.

@pheedraws 

#answered ask #( .vera x takemura. ) #otp: two souls indivisible #THANK YOU! #I had so much fun writing this out!

[warsofasoiaf]

I'd love to hear your thoughts about Cyberpunk 2077 when you are ready/have finished the game. Maybe besides the game itself you have an opinion about the crunch, bugs and general feeling of disappointment in a good portion of the fans

Sure thing. It’s going to be a long write-up and there are going to be spoilers, so you better believe that this is going to have a cut. Reader beware. For context, I have beat the game, and I played it on PC and only on PC.

I’ve been a fan of the cyberpunk genre for a long time. Transhuman and techno-utopian sci-fi always struck me the wrong way; that it was too optimistic and ignored a less savory element of human nature that simply would not go away with the advent of new technologies. While I only briefly dipped my toes in the water of the Cyberpunk tabletop game (I was always a bigger fan of Shadowrun), I did enjoy the genre and was eager to see a AAA cyberpunk game. I also really liked CD Projekt Red with what they did with RPG’s like the Witcher 3. Particularly when it came to the smaller sidequests, they really found a way to bring a lot of noir elements and hard-hitting character moments to the game, and I believed that it could translate very well into a cyberpunk game. After all, noir was a similar response to detective fiction to what the cyberpunk genre was to earlier elements of sci-fi. So I was quite optimistic when it came out. What we got was...well, it didn’t quite meet up with expectations.

There are some good things about the game. Assuming you have a beefy rig, PC cyberpunk looks pretty good. Not only does it look good, but it looks like the dismal 1980′s inspired future that had defined the genre, with its neon lights, omnipresent advertising to the point of satire (amphetamines are available from vending machines in a variety of flavors and commercials are completely ridiculous). The fixers are great examples of different cyberpunk archetypes like Regina Jones being a media or the Padre being an underclass civic leader looking to protect his community with a bit of a violent streak. Plenty of the characters had great personality, the nomads and Panam were enjoyable, Judy had a great questline that detailed optimism and bitter disappointment (and the character looks cool and is a bit of a cinnamon roll), River’s quest was a perfectly serviceable cop questline with enough horror elements, they were all fine. Keanu wasn’t a great voice actor, but he did serviceably and was apparently just wonderful with the staff, so I’m willing to cut him a pass. The level design can encourage a variety of different play styles, with attribute points opening up certain pathways. Given that it’s an open-world sandbox game, the goal should be to immerse yourself in the world, and touch on elements of cyberpunk as you go through the various quests, and you do see some of that. You see the gross exploitations of dolls in the sex trade when you go to Clouds, the bizarre elements of self-expression that new technologies can offer such as the twins in Kabuki, Pacifica is an abandoned recreation ground for the rich with the nice image of rotting Ferris wheels and abandoned malls, and you can see the divide between the have’s and have-not’s on full display both in the opening (compare and contrast the Street Kid with the Corpo beginnings) or take a look at the Peralez’s penthouse apartment versus Judy’s cramped digs. Honestly, one of my favorite things in the game were just the consumables to highlight the different food and drink available to the people of Night City. The heavy population means that foods like fried ants or locust pepperoni are common, amphetamines are available in a variety of flavors, and there are no less than 20 burrito vending machines on every street (the future is not all bad it seems). I like little worldbuilding moments like this in video games because it does give a sense of completion and immersion within the world. I honestly felt bad for Johnny Silverhand, because by the end of the game I had to be a bloated man-ball of Holobites Peach Pie and Cirrus Cola. 

The game even took a few things that had aged poorly in the cyberpunk genre and improved them. The Mox is a gang specifically meant to stop the Disposable Sex Worker trope, it’s small and part of the reason it survives is that it’s small, but it offers a chance of improvement over the exploitation that the Tyger Claws offer. The cyberpyscho quest is probably the best one of this. Earlier Cyberpunk had cyberpsychosis as a serious concern directly correlated with how many implants you got. The Solo archetype even spoke about how you risk losing your humanity with your implants as you became stronger, better, faster. Even later iterations had depersonalization/derealization disorders as people who could see in the dark lost connection to those who couldn’t. A quick thought in our present though, changes this. My eyesight and hearing is just fine, but I don’t lose connection or common empathy with individuals who are blind or deaf. I have two arms and two legs and I have not lost empathy for amputees. Why then, would I lose empathy and connection with someone with average human eyesight after I get my eyes replaced and now I have the ability to see in the dark or have telescopic sight? The cyberpsycho quest actually took this concept to task; cyberpsychos around the city are seen as horrifying threats that need the high-threat response of MaxTac to deal with, but Regina is looking to see if she can cure cyberpsychosis. Mechanically, the cyberpsychos are boss-fights with elements of puzzle gameplay (how to handle the different skillsets that they have) and a bonus reward for non-lethal damage which rewards certain playstyle archetypes or prepwork for those who ensure that they have a non-lethal option. The information you find around each cyberpyscho showcase different problems in the target’s life, no real common thread or inciting incident that you can trace the onset of cyberpsychosis toward and identify a culprit. After you complete the quest, you learn the twist: there is no such thing as cyberpsychosis. Each of the targets were actually just experiencing different stressors within their lives, such as PTSD, losing their job, drug abuse, etc. and the breakdown is made much worse because these individuals have the ability to toss dumpsters like they were baseballs or pick the wings off a fly with a cybernetically enhanced brain with a .50 cal. Some of these individuals had terrible implant surgery done by bargain-basement ripperdocs and temporarily lost the ability to discern reality from fantasy, something that could easily be seen as a science fiction adaptation of temporary insanity brought on by a poor reaction to medicine. It’s backed up by the game too. V can fill every slot in their cyberware deck but never once experiences cyberpsychosis. Oda has ultra-legs and flaming-hot mantis blades and is in perfect control at every point in the game, even when he’s trying to jab those mantis blade through your sternum. Cyberpyschosis isn’t real, the irresponsible media just ran with it because fear sells. For all the flaws of the game, I respect the game for taking cyberpsychosis in that direction.

But for all those good things, the game couldn’t help but feel shallower than the Witcher 3. The side-gigs were formulaic to the point where they even led with a category. There were few twists and very little that was surprising. Exposition for these quests was limited to a short text dump and a minute voice-over. Night City was big but it was relatively sparse. NCPD never seemed to intervene in any crimes (giving the character the chance to do so) but every so often they were around a taped-off crime scene, giving a sense of inconsistency that hampered the world. While it was a bustling city, it felt empty, most of the people I saw on the street were meaningless, just NPC’s walking around to give a sense of activity. There was little in the way of things to see and experience that was unique or different about these NPC’s. They weren’t crowds I could hide in like Hitman, they didn’t have ambient dialogue that showcased something like the Witcher 3. Much like other open-world games, this sense of shallowness pervaded much of the empty space of the world; it was incredibly *big* but there was little in it. Much of the time I was driving or running through empty space that was completely worthless to me. Normal for city living, but all of that is wasted time going from point A to point B, and unlike the Witcher 3, there were no small in-game beats to help flesh it out or build it. I never had Millie from “Where the Wolf and Cat Play” give me a little picture, I never had people from a liberated village say “hey, look, it’s that guy Geralt, thanks for killing those harpies.” These were things that made the Witcher 3′s world really come alive. I didn’t have that, and I was left

Of course, we also have to handle the elephant in the room, and that was CDPR’s conduct both during production and after release. Crunch has become an increasingly common part of video game development and it’s not healthy to developers. CDPR had been called out on it once before, but it seemed there was little change in how that happens. I’m not quite sure if there’s anything we can do, and I’m sympathetic to the need to hit target deadlines to actually deliver a finished product, but there’s got to be a better way, whether that’s a change to the incentive structure, or something, because it’s hurting folks. I like games like Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2, but I understand that there was a real human cost to these masterpieces, and I wonder if there’s something we can do about that. 

Similarly, what happened after launch was beyond terrible. The last-gen console version were simply not ready for release and shouldn’t have been released to the public. CDPR openly covered up this, by only previewing the PC version, they hid the fact that the game wasn’t ready, and they avoided delaying the last-gen console version because they were looking to capitalize on holiday sales. I’m sympathetic for the need to generate sales, but the flip of this is that you have to deliver the product you advertise, and for last-gen consoles, they didn’t do so. Bugs are one thing, these games are massive undertakings of interacting systems and bugs are inevitable; some of my favorite games were buggy at release, notably Fallout: New Vegas, Witcher 3, and so on. But this went past bugs and into malpractice and deception, and that’s something that’s less forgivable. I personally had few bugs that were out-and-out game breaking but things not loading, quests bugging out, floating bags and other physics wonkiness, all of that hurt the immersion. I’d be more willing to forgive the game without the deception; I can laugh at bugs but not at ignoring quality control to get holiday sales instead of delivering a quality product. Consumers are angry at CDPR and have every reason to be, and I’m one of them. I can express my disappointment and I will do so, we need developers to stop these practices and the only way we can do that is through our wallets and words. I’m not going to tell anyone not to buy CDPR games, that’s entirely your decision because I’m a radical individualist. But I am going to say that they’ve burned a lot of their good karma with me; credibility is a hard beast to gain back. Much like other big name developers, CDPR has hurt their standing in my eyes. Whether that means I need to resort to going to indie games for a little bit or something else, I don’t know, but it’s rough. I liked CDPR and wanted to believe it’d be different, but it seems to not be the case.

Overall, I think it’s another AAA open-world game only made better by my love of the genre, and that stings. I enjoyed some aspects of it, and I hope that through Free DLC, patching, and other good deeds, the game can redeem itself and stimulate new love of the genre. But CDPR needs to do a lot more than that to win back my affection. If anyone has anything specifically that they want to know about the game, such as talk about the main story, individual characters, or so on, just ask.

Thanks for the question, Khef.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#video game reviews #cyberpunk 2077

[nereol]

In Your Arms (2/2)

Part 2 of a Val / Saul two shot (1843 words).

You can read this on AO3 or on my WorldAnvil page (with pics, music and other stuff).

"You okay?" She whispers against his shoulder. "How are you feeling?" "Free." Saul sighs. "No better feeling in the world." His fingers drawing circles on her skin and sending shivers down her spine. "Can't remember the last time I slept so well." He mumbles in her hair and Val bites down on her lip.

Morning cuddles and morning wood.

Something's off when Val wakes up. It is silent, complete silence. Silence, expect for the steady breath of the person lying behind her, holding her in muscular arms. She opens her eyes, blinks a few times. It's almost dark, just some diffused light of a lamp, and the first thing that comes in her view are rugs of a ladder. Bunk bed. She remembers and closes her eyes again. The sandstorm. Saul.

"Saul?" Val walks down the stairs in the dark basement. But even in dimmed light she can see bruises and bloodstains on his naked arms and shoulders. He sits on a chair, slumped over. "Do-do-d'you... have my goddamn cigar?" "Y-your cigar...?" Val looks down at him with a confused frown. "I told you sons of bitches... A cigar... Some ice-cold hooch... And a couple of ladies to keep me company. Either that... or you can kiss my keister." She grins and squats down in front of Saul. "Well, I could keep ya company." She winks at him. "How about a lap dance, since you're sitting already?" Val smirks up at him and he's looking at her for the first time now, frowning. "I'm here with Panam." Val adds seriously with a calm voice. "Panam...?" He looks confused. "But... she left." "Not forever." Val shakes her head. "Gonna get you out." "You, I remember..." Saul's eyeing her. "You're that merc..."

Val sighs and shifts a little, Saul's arm still under her neck. When she moves, Saul mumbles something in her hair and holds her a little tighter. Now her back is pressed against his chest and her ass against his groin. Val winces a little but doesn't move. 'It's okay... morning wood... totally normal...' She bites her lower lip. Normal, yeah... But the feeling of him hard against her butt causes her mind going places.

She can't stand it and turns around, slow and careful not to wake him. Lying on her back now, his left arm still behind her head and his right at her waist. Her tank top, which was tucked into the hot pants before, went out and up overnight, and Saul's fingers linger on her naked skin. Val turns her head to the right to look at him. There are just a few inches in between their faces. He looks so peaceful and relaxed, unlike last night when she woke him up from his nightmares.

Without even thinking about it, Val raises her left hand to brush some dark hair from his forehead. She studies his face while her hand lingers in his hair. He looks better than last night, getting some sleep in a bed pays off. But he still looks worn out - he'll need some good food and medical care, of course. But he's still good looking. Sure he's not a young man anymore. But Val doesn't care about age in the same way she doesn't care about sex or gender. Either she thinks a person is attractive or not.

Saul opens his eyes, blinking a few times. "Sorry..." Val's voice is almost a whisper, still thick from sleep. "I didn't mean to wake ya." She smiles at him, her hand still in his hair. He says nothing, just looking at her with a soft expression and green eyes still tired. Then he pulls her closer with both arms, rolling over on his back so that Val's lying half on top of him now. She chuckles low in surprise. Her head rests on his left shoulder now and her hand fell down from his hair to his other.

Saul holds her close with both arms, one around her shoulders, the other on her waist. Her top slipped up even more and the feeling of his big calloused hand on her naked skin gives her goosebumps. She shifts a little to make herself comfortable, bends her left leg which lies on top of Saul's. That's when she can feel him again, hard against her thigh. Val bites down on her lip, but Saul doesn't react at all, so she tries to relax. 'Just a morning wood.'

She closes her eyes again while his chest under her rises and falls with each breath. "Mhmm..." He sighs contentedly and leans his head against hers. Again silence, except for their breath. The sandstorm settled over night. After some time Val speaks with a low voice. "Guess we should get up soon." A deep sigh from Saul, rising Val up with his chest. "Nah... don't want to." His voice is low and deep, thick from sleep and even huskier than normal. Val chuckles low and breathes hot air against his skin. When his fingers caress the naked skin at her waist, Val sighs with satisfaction.

"You okay?" She whispers against his shoulder. "How are you feeling?" "Free." Saul sighs. "No better feeling in the world." His fingers drawing circles on her skin and sending shivers down her spine. "Can't remember the last time I slept so well." He mumbles in her hair and Val bites down on her lip. His deep, low, husky voice. The way he holds her in his muscular arms and his fingers on her skin. And his dick, hard against her thigh. Fuck. No matter what he was going to do to her now - she would be up for everything! "And I'm not talking about compared to the last few nights I spent kinda conscious on a chair." Saul adds. Val giggles again. "Yeah, it was a good idea. I slept pretty well, too."

In every other situation Val would have taken the initiative, wouldn't have hesitated for a second. But Panam is a friend sleeping in the room next door, without a door separating them and probably waking up soon. And then some other Aldecaldos will come and pick them up. Saul is the clan leader. It would be weird if he'd reject her - or if he'd disagree with Val's attitude afterwards. The relationship between Val and the clan is already tense enough because of what happened to Scorpion and the others.

But thinking about it. Saul's the one holding her in his arms, caressing her naked skin. And if she can feel his morning wood against her thigh, he can feel the touch, too. So maybe... Val let her left hand, which was resting on his shoulder, slide up his neck and into his hair. "Mhmm." A deep satisfied sound from Saul and he leans in her touch. His own hand slides up her back, under her top.

Val pushes herself up with her other hand, just a few inches so she can look at him. Her dark green eyes meet his lighter ones and she moves her hand down, cups his jaw in her hand, her fingers in his beard. His hand, which held her by the shoulders, slides up to her neck. Saul's gaze falls down to her lips, purple with almost ever-lasting lipstick, and he raises his head a little, leans in...

"V?" Panam's sleepy voice from the next room. Saul winces and Val can feel his grip tensing for a brief moment, while she closes her eyes and drops her hand from his beard to the mattress with a sigh. "V!" Panam's voice again, a bit louder now and Val opens her eyes again, pushes herself up and Saul lets go of her with a frown. She gets out of the bunk bed, careful not to hit her head and without looking at Saul again she walks to the door, pulling her top down.

"I'm here, stop shouting." Val's voice is still thick with sleep. Panam stands at the front door and moves around to look at Val, who's walking over to the couch. Then Panam's gaze is at the bedroom door before she looks back at Val, confused. "You..?" Val doesn't look at Panam. She sits on the couch and shakes some sand out of a steel-toe boot before putting it on. "Neither of us could sleep." She shrugs while looking up at Panam for a moment before she looks down to put on the other boot. "You were sleeping soundly. We... I didn't wanna wake you up."

"Okay." That's all Panam can think of in response while she's looking at Val with a frown. Saul, who has heard the women's conversation in the lack of a bedroom door, walks in the livingroom. "Mornin'." He greets Panam with a nod, but doesn't look at Val while walking over to the front door. Val looks up to look at Panam. What she must be thinking? First Val made a move on Panam and when she refused she climbed into bed with Saul? "Since when do ya care what people think 'bout you and your... lifestyle?" Johnny appears with a glitch, sitting in the armchair. "Good mornin' to ya, too." Val answers him in her mind without looking at him while she ties her shoelaces.

The sound of two bikes breaks the kinda awkward silence and Saul and Panam leaving through the front door. "Well." Johnny looks at her with a shit-eating grin. "That was what you call bad timing." She can't see his eyes behind the aviators, but he sounds smug. She sighs while pulling her googles over her head, so that they hang around her neck. "Gleeful, 'cause we got interrupted?" She raises her eyebrows. Johnny's just grinning while he lights a cig. Val pulls on the button up she's wearing instead of one of her thick bomber jackets in the Badlands before she leaves the small house.

Val talks to Panam for a while. She doesn't behave any differently towards Val than she did before, which Val is pretty happy about. Panam gives her the promised sniper rifle and even hugs her goodbye before she rides away on a bike. Val sighs in relief.

Then she walks over to the van. One of the nomads lies under the car, Val doesn't know who and she doesn't bother to scan to find out, while Cassidy stands beside it. Saul sits at the back in the open door. "I... uh..." Fuck, this situation is weird. She's usually not shy, but there are two other people listening. She looks down at Saul with a small smile curling her lips. "Better start headin' out." "Yeah, same goes for us." Saul nods and eyes her while Cassidy turns around to look at them. "Only one the radiator gets a breather." Then Saul looks her in the eyes. "Thanks, V." He sounds sincere with a soft expression at his face. "What you did for me, I'll never forget it." "My pleasure." Val gives him a cheeky grin before she turns around.

As she passes, Val pats Cassidy on the shoulder. "Thanks for bringing my..." She looks at the Apollo. "...Scorpion's bike." He only nods in response. She really is thankful for that. This way, she doesn't have to drive back to the Aldecaldos' camp first and can get back to her place faster. So, faster in the shower to get rid of all the sand.

#oc: val griffin #cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #Val / Saul #Saul Bright #Cyberpunk Saul #aldecaldos #V #female V #streetkid V #Riders on the Storm #fic

[trashcatsnark]

I recently found you through all of your silverv posts (which are amazing by the way!) and I was wondering, how does Aidan handle not being able to hear Johnny in her head after they seperate and get him his own body (because yes it's canon, we don't accept any other endings here). I imagine it would be hard for her as she got used to not having to use her hearing aids to hear him.

Ahhhhhh!!!!! Thank you so much for enjoying my posts and also thank you so much for asking about my V, I often worry a lot I bring Aidan up too much in response to things because I have absolute brainrot for my oc babies. So, thank you so much for giving me excuse. 

But in regards to that; Aidan hates it and she hates that she hates it. For so much of her life, silence was her comfort. Despite all losing her hearing put her through when it comes to her Nomad “family”, it gifted her this way to shut the world out when it becomes too much. It gave her a wall she could always put up when she was tired of the world and the people in it. She didn’t have hearing aids for years following the loss of her hearing and the first time she was given them and put them in; she cried and ripped them out, because the world was too fucking loud. Even as she’s gotten use to them, she maintains them on low volume. The world has always had a mute button and volume control, which she likes. Her deafness isolated and othered her among her clan, but she learned to use it to grant herself peace as well. She prefers more often than not to be without them, nothing better after a long day of bullshit, to put the world on mute and to be left to her own silent little world. 

Then Johnny comes in and he gets through that, barges his way into her peace and destroys the silence of her little world. The one person she can’t mute and he’s also someone who never shuts up. And in the early stages, even past his initial...first impression, he is at times entirely too much. And it feels as if something has been taken from her (and tbf a lot has been taken from her) her peace, her tranquility, her little quiet world where she could just breathe and be is gone because this stupid yelling old man had to set up shop in her brain. 

But time goes on, communication gets better, relationship gets better, Johnny starts to grow, she starts to grow and he’s no longer an intruder in her little world but apart of it. It’s now their little word where only they exist, they only hear one another, only communicate with one another, just them, a world no one else can really intrude on. And that becomes her new sense of peace and comfort, Johnny does (Though she’d never word it that way, cause it sounds needy and dependent and lovey dovey, but he’s become her comfort and peace) 

And then everything changes, as it so often does, and woohoo everything’s fixed, but now Johnny’s voice is something she can’t hear no matter what anymore.  And she hates it so much, because now she’s forced to hear everything else always if she also wants to hear Johnny and she always wants to hear Johnny. Now that she wants to hear him, no matter what, she can’t. It hardly seems fair. And she hates how needy and desperate and clingy it sounds, but god the world doesn’t feel right when she can’t hear him. The first time he talks to her afterwards and she has hearing aids out, she realizes she can’t hear him, she nearly wants to cry. She always wore her “weakness” like armor, used it to protect herself after others used it to hurt her, used the barrier it provided to stay safe; but she doesn’t want that between her and Johnny, she doesn’t need it with Johnny. 

For a long long while, she’ll be wearing her hearing aids more than she ever did before. Because she doesn’t wanna miss out on hearing him, doesn’t want to ever be without his voice. Once upon a time she yoinked them out as soon as she got home, but now she’s falling asleep with them in, because she wants to listen to him as she drifts off. But, hearing aids aren’t comfortable to wear 24/7, they can itch and irritate after so long and rub the skin raw. And she’ll try to pretend like that isn’t happening, because she knows she’ll be nagged about taking them out for a while. But, Johnny lived in her head, he knows what’s happening, catches her rubbing and itching at her ears more, starts to see them getting redder. And he’s telling her gently, you need to take them out and she’ll pout even though she knows he’s right. So, she starts to limit her time using them as much as she hates being without his voice...being without any part of him really. 

If she’s truly frustrated and desperate and upset, she may even entertain the idea of getting cochlear implants, something she was always sternly against. And Johnny does his best not to get mad when he learns that because he knows it’ll be her choice at the end of the day, but if she only is thinking of it because of him, that’s not right and a huge thing to do because spoiler alert, you’ll be taking away your volume control and mute button. And Johnny knows what happens when she gets overwhelmed and overstimulated by noise, he doesn’t want her putting herself through that daily just to hear him. 

And like with anything it takes time to adjust and grow used to it. Growing pains of both her and Johnny completing forgetting she can’t hear him without them. So, he’ll talk about something extensively or call her name or start to kind of sing a new tune that just popped in his head and be like “why is she ignoring me? did I do something wrong? did i forget something? did I fuck up?” and then see her hearing aids on the bed side table and be like “oh thank fuck, i thought I was in trouble.” Or because she sometimes even spoke out loud to him as an engram, she’ll start a conversation or ask him something, not hear the answer and be like “oh...right...” 

And eventually can accept, well maybe without her hearing aids she can’t hear him but she can hold him, feel him, lay her head on his chest and feel the rise and fall of his breaths, if he hums while she’s like that she can feel the reverberation and vibration of it in her chest, when she lays on him she can feel it when he talks even if she can’t hear it (sometimes she wonders if he just makes up nonsense to say or what he may say in those moments since he knows she wont hear, he never explains and she’s still deciding if she wants to hide a recorder somewhere in the apartment to find out later) She slowly becomes comforted and okay with the fact that while she doesn’t have him the way she did before, she does have him and that alone is more than enough. 

I also like the idea that there’s bleed over between Johnny and V following separation, things that stuck from the other person. Because, you can’t fuse, be separated and it be a clean perfect divide. You can’t blend red and blue then be surprised when you get purple. They leave traces of one another behind. And with my V, I like the idea that Johnny ends up with some sign language knowledge. Not fluent afterwards but she’ll catch him absent mindedly throwing an asl sign in with his usual hand gestures, which he didn’t even know he knew. And from there, he takes to actually learning it fully because while lip reading tech is way better in 2077, its still not always perfect and he knows her well enough to know how much she just appreciates people making that effort for her. He’s never quite perfect at it, because he has a habit of talking with his hands already and using a lot of hand gestures, so sometimes he’s trying to sign but instinctively does his own little hand motion. Hand talking is a habit he can’t really break and, quite frankly, Aidan doesn’t expect nor want him too. She still understands it fine, because after being brain roomates she understands him in most situations,  and affectionately calls it Johnny Sign Language. 

Eventually, its just normal life and she’s not even afraid to use it to joke around and be a shit head, or avoid his nagging at times, because how could she not. 

Johnny: So-

Aidan: Wait, is this about Arasaka, again?

Johnny: Yeah, but-

Aidan: *pulls out hearing aids while maintaining direct eye contact*

Though even so far into it, there will be real bad days, just days where her brain is not kind to her, where she’s struggling with the weight of all she’s endured, when she just needs all of him; needs to hear and feel him, needs to feel like he’s all hers again, like they’re in their own world and nothing else matters, a bubble where only he exists to her, so she’ll insist on wearing her hearing aids to bed, laying on his chest, volume on low so she can only really hear him, and having him talk to her about anything and everything, and once she’s fallen asleep he has to gently take them out and lay them on the bed side table for her. 

Also also, I didn’t get as into it, because this is already long as fucccck because i could talk about my ocs for actual years, but I also think Johnny struggles with feeling less special when suddenly she needs hearing aids to hear him. Because he kind of being the possessive man he is liked that there were times when he was all she could hear and that meant all the focus was on him. And now he’s just another person she can shut out if she chooses to do so. 

oKAY SHUTTING UP NOW AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME SCREAM FOR THREE YEARS

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #johnny silverhand #silverv #female v #aidan becker #aidan v becker #SERIOUSLY THANK YOU SO MUCH AS YOU CAN SEE I REALLY HAVE MASSIVE BRAIN ROT FOR MY OC #THIS WAS REALLY FUN TO GET A CHANCE TO RAMBLE ABOUT THANK YOUUU #seraphfighter

[pixelgrotto]

Night City, I barely remember ya

I beat Cyberpunk 2077 last month, and honestly, I haven’t thought about Cyberpunk 2077 that much since.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. CD Projekt Red’s follow-up to The Witcher 3 was meant to be the sort of game that would stick in your mind after completion. It was promoted over eight years of hype stemming from its initial 2013 reveal as a example of CD Projekt’s infamous “vodka and Slavic magic” - a behemoth destined to change open world RPGs forever. But in the roughly 12 weeks since its release, the stuff that’s happened to Cyberpunk 2077, including its delisting from the Playstation store for being chock full of bugs and the theft of its source code by hackers, has been more cyberpunk than the actual game.

I was one of those people super hyped for this game when it was first announced. I mean, the Witcher franchise left an indelible impression on me; how could I not be psyched to see its devs tackle one of my favorite sci-fi genres? But my hype deflated over the years, largely due to tales of terrible crunch emerging from CD Projekt’s studios and social media marketing that was ill-advised at best and transphobic at worst. Everything seemed to slowly hint that the game’s vision of “cyberpunk” - a genre that can tell incredible futuristic tales of social upheaval and marginalized peoples - would be mostly style with not so much substance.

Despite me keeping my fingers crossed, the end product is pretty much what I feared - and I guess I should’ve known, since the official sourcebook for Cyberpunk 2020, the tabletop RPG that CD Projekt Red used as inspiration, actually lists “style over substance” as one of its rules.

Cyberpunk 2077’s main story revolves around a merc who dreams of big time heists in Night City named V. After a heist goes south, V ends up absorbing a biochip made by big bad corporation Arasaka that features the captured personality of rockstar-turned-terrorist Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves - who, to be fair, does a good job with the material he’s given. Cue a bunch of quests that revolve around V and Johnny coming to terms with each other, taking down Arasaka and figuring out how to separate the chip from V’s brain.

In theory, this sounds like a cool way to explore the very cyberpunk themes of identity and what it means to have a corrupt company preserve a human soul beyond its organic shell. In reality, though, the story’s a surface level examination of these concepts, and Johnny Silverhand remains a massive dick throughout most of the game, only becoming relatable if players give him the benefit of the doubt - which they’re expected to do because he’s played by Keanu Reeves.

Johnny’s animosity towards Arasaka is also never completely outlined. He - and most other characters in Night City - keep telling V that corporations are awful because they disregard human rights and destroy the environment, but we never get many chances to see for ourselves how Arasaka and similar companies, like Militech or Kang Tao, actually do this. Arasaka does kidnap Johnny’s ex-girlfriend and is behind the tech that transfers his soul to a biochip, yes, but Johnny also threatens to destroy them at all of his shows and eventually sets off a bomb in their headquarters. Not that I’m siding with the corporation, but for much of the game we’re expected to treat them as the number one enemy simply because other characters say so, which is very much a “show, don’t tell” missed opportunity. If anything, Arasaka’s portrayal feels more like a vestige of the cyberpunk genre’s unfortunate maturation during the 1980s, where the fear of Japanese conglomerates taking over the world was common and a future where Asian companies were all-powerful instead of Western ones seemed like a dystopia.

Cyberpunk 2077 is very much caught in that yesteryear mold, featuring elements that might have been progressive in the 1980s but seem passé now. For a game that relied on questionable representation of trans people in its marketing, there were no notable trans NPCs that I came across, and even though there’s a robust character creation system where you actually can make a trans person, the game makes the troubling decision to only offer binary pronouns tied to V’s voice. Despite the fact that many of the best modern cyperbunk works deal with body augmentation and the line between man and machine, most of the physical modifications you can pay for at Night City’s “ripperdoc” facilities are niche features that only offer minimal stat boosts, with only two major ones that I know of - the mantis blades and gorilla arms - actually causing extensive changes to V’s looks. And finally, while there are tons of characters of color in the game, ranging from the Haitian Voodoo Boys gang to V’s “friendly ethnic friend™” Jackie Welles, most of them are varying degrees of stereotypical. For instance, Goro Takemura, an ex-Arasaka employee, sends you text messages reminiscent of haiku at one point because he’s Japanese and has to talk like a formal, honorable samurai or something.

If you’re able to look past these issues - along with the myriad of bugs that Cyberpunk 2077 shipped with - there’s still the niggling feeling that this game could have been so much more. The signs of a troubled development process are numerous, and there are Reddit threads packed with still-visible remnants - like useless combat skill perks and an entire metro system - that were part of gameplay elements gutted at some point in order for those overworked CD Projekt Red programmers to make a long-delayed release date. Even mainstay stuff in the open world genre - like the police chases common in the Grand Theft Autos - are absent, and Cyberpunk 2077’s 2018 demo, chock full of promised features that never made it into the final product, has to be one of the most notorious bits of smoke ‘n mirrors “gameplay” in recent memory.

Perhaps most bothersome is the feeling that a lot of your choices don’t seem to matter all that much in Cyberpunk 2077, which once touted itself as “a full-fledged RPG, not a shooter with RPG elements,” but ends up feeling more like the latter than the former. The game’s three different lifepaths - nomad, streetkid and corpo - only amount to about thirty minutes of unique playtime at the start and a few different dialogue options. The vehicle combat sequences that punctuate key missions are largely scripted, looking cool but offering little consequences depending on what V aims at. The side quests I encountered had minimal branching paths, and the only time the main story opened up to offer some real choice was in the game’s final chapter. Considering that CD Projekt once developed The Witcher 2 - a 2011 game that branches dramatically at its halfway mark to the point where a lot of folks insist that you need to play it twice in order to feel satisfied - Cyberpunk 2077 feels like a step back.

And yet, despite all of these criticisms, I still put nearly 80 hours into the game over the course of December, January and February. You don’t do that for something that’s patently unfun, so let me be clear - there is an entertaining experience buried beneath an avalanche of unfulfilled potential here. Driving on my Akira-esque bike through Night City’s slums as the game’s best song bumped on the radio, taking out legions of baddies with my mantis blades and relishing in the game’s extensive photo mode (as you can probably tell by my screenshots above) was a good time. In spite of his assholery, I did feel something akin to attachment for that bastard Johnny Silverhand by the finale, and there were a few key moments - like when I was scuba diving in the ocean with my girlfriend Judy, looking at the remains of a town destroyed by the land seizing machinations of corporations - that felt like this game had something to say beyond “bang bang gunplay and neon aesthetic.”

But at the end of the day, while I do feel moderately interested in someday checking out Cyberpunk Red (the newest iteration of this franchise’s tabletop RPG), CD Projekt’s seven-year-hyped-up behemoth has largely faded from my brain one month after beating it. On Twitter, I’ve seen Cyberpunk 2077 described as something akin to a flashy Netflix series with lots of fanfare and flair but not much else - and I can’t really argue with that statement.

Night City was supposed to be the stuff of a long-term relationship. Instead, it feels more like a fling.

#pixel grotto #now playing #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk #cd projekt red

[waspgrave]

ok big spoilery asks here but johnny/v fans are so valid so i need to answer instead of being left on read 

no absolutely. I just read a fix-it fic with a premise like this and i hope the author continues it because my heart aches with the love i feel for them being able to exist alongside each other like they deserve. Cloning or cryo would’ve been a cool take - and def the one i wish had been an option lmao (and i believe it was from brain damage? something tells me the open-endedness of it could suggest there’s more to V’s story whether through ending dlc or a sequel since it is a really successful game despite the backlash rn SO HOPEFULLY they get a chance)

and if not then i’m gonna just headcanon with you that that’s how it happens <3 

oh god i’m so glad bc i feel so bad enjoying it or posting about it U_U and yes...more johnny/v fans....we’re such a powerful group

and I did get to it though i never finished it bc my stats were hellish and i needed to restart after blowing through the main quest. I’ll make a post declaring it done if you’d like to discuss the spoilers bc boy if i don’t take any chance i can to babble about him lmao

i love that one!!! i think it, the nomad one, and johnny’s ‘ending’ are such good and bittersweet one. The latter made me burst into tears lmao 

how in god’s name is that anything but a declaration of love between them, platonic or romantic? Hearing how his voice gets and how he sort of messes with his glasses nervously makes me emo af. V’s the first person - friend or love - that he winds up wanting to be a better person for and it kills me. Experiencing his memories and seeing how he treated his exes and his best friends and then seeing him admit his flaws and wanting to be the absolute best person he can for V, who he’d do anything for by the end? Owch...no choice but to want to hold his hand. 

and SDhkghn SAME same Its ok we’re saps and that’s valid. I haven’t stopped thinking about the dogtags and J + V tattoo for days

#cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #V BIG SPOILERS #we are all thinking about johnny/v

[alexanderessex3dstoryart]

Character Design and Script Writing - Cyberpunk 2077 Case Study - 29/12/2020

For today’s research for both projects, I wanted to make a case study for a game I feel very much influenced by in terms for the aesthetics and designs for the Character Design project as well as the background atmosphere and visualization for the script towards the script-writing essay. I was fortunate enough to be provided a copy of the game to play it to experience what it’s like to explore these areas as well as well as having a book looking at the extensive lore that the game provides as well as artwork from the game.

From playing the game, your offered a series of roles that you can start yourself choosing from Nomad, Street Kid and Corporative roles. Each of these roles allow the story to be taken in different places making the game very personal to how you want to live if you were living in this world yourself. I myself went with the Nomad route and one instance I had that really struck me was when you first enter into ‘Night City’ for the first time. As you cross the border, you halt at a traffic stop within the city to watch a group of people robbing a shop for money. The group tries to escape and enter in the car but the city’s police comes flying in from above and immediately grapple down onto the city floor and fire without hesitation at the crooks. It leads to an intense bloodbath of the crooks and all you can do is just watch all the action happen in front of your car having front row seat to it all. Both you and your companion are devoid of all emotion not from the trauma of it, but this gruesome human onslaught doesn't seem to phase them one bit. In fact, nobody in the city is phased by it at all. 

Instances like these help establish what kind of world you’ve just entered as it’s presented as a kill or be killed setting. This works perfectly for the kind of idea I want to cover for the script-writing portion of the project as it’s not just the tone I want to loosely base this off from, but characters reactions to horrific acts and how it doesn't bat an eye to them showing how de-sensitised they are with it. This to me makes it feel like the city is transforming people’s mindsets to think the world is always meant to be like this giving no people hope to ever explore or Challenger themselves having seen what happens if you rebel or stand out. 

I think adding onto that, the trailer of Cyberpunk 2077 when it launched on the 10th of December helps to back this up. Whilst the game itself is very action heavy, dark and bloody, the trailer really emphasis and represents what kind of game your in store for. Specifically, it’s all about people, family and the connections you make in the world promoting the RPG mechanics of the game as there’s real people living through all of this madness which is where you the player are there to dwell and experience those stories being told to you.

This is help emphaised in the trailer by how little the protagonist fights at all being replaced with close up shots of people’s faces and showing their raw emotions to events that happen in the game like body language of hugging each other further pushing that sense of family and connection. All these moments are harmonised together with the music of the trailer which really brings the connection across. I think this is because it’s not very traditional to have soft sounding and emotional music for a violet game as many people could disregard it because it’s different. But the music plays to  the trailer’s strengths from how delicate people’s lives are here with long stares on people’s faces and two people having dinner outside. These little bit of human interaction makes us feel more for the content we are watching.

Looking at the trailer in a more character design approach, faces were the big draw for me specifically between the Maelstorm and the human’s faces. The human faces have this really interesting line design on their face where LED stripes shine out of their face. They look modified and give off a artificial wrinkle vibe to them helping to deliver that cyberpunk look to them. Although in  strange way to me, it makes them look a lot sadder whenever they have a natural face with no emotion on them. This detail to me feels it flows nicely with where I want to take my story in the script-writing process as people often get cybernetic augmentations to make themselves feel better similar to plastic surgery. That’s not to say there isn’t good cybernetics but in this world of mine, cybernetics are mostly seen of a way of fitting into the city and losing part of your character which is what my Hyde character is so opposed to.

Cyberpunk 2077 — Official Launch Trailer — V

In addition to playing the game, I also received the book looking at the lore of the game and background information. Reading through, it thoroughly details a lot of how the world works like how even the littlest of things influence how the world ticks presenting a really thorough case on it’s world-building which gives me great inspiration to how I might approach it. There was one thing that stood out to me in the book which was to do with these special devices called ‘Braindancers’ which serve as really advanced virtual reality headsets and specifically how they mention it’s usage of celebrities as people can get too attached to the devices praising celebrities through it like they’re part of their lives and losing their identity because of it. This reminded me from a scene from Ghost in the Shell (1997) film where a garbage man loses all his memories from his mind being hacked leaving him completely hollow inside with no memories attached to him. I feel both of these instances I want to get across in the script-writing from maybe the dangers of idolising and retaining your character.

Book

After reading the book, I thought I explore the game and take screenshots of areas that I found to be interesting for the script-writing process mainly areas like the slums and the city as those were my favorite to experience from how much they contrast from each other. What’s really nice with the game is that it has a built in photo mode where you can pause the game and screenshot a specific section of the world which you can then filter it to your hearts content.

The first image is one of the first slum looking environments that you find in a quest. Personally, I love the darkness that engulfs the scene here with only the lighting of the dim blue light and lanterns struggles to beat the darkness. Not to mention the smoke coming from the ground really helps to add character by all the gasses and smoke being stored and cramped in the smaller parts of the city whilst the outer city looks all glamorous.

Speaking of the city, this is a screenshot I took from the city center which is filled to the brim with architecture although strangely, not as much lighting as I would of thought would be put in here. Therese bright neon lights on the higher decks of the city sure but down below, it looks a lot darker and forgotten about in comparison. This look is something I definitely want to express in the script as it acts symbolic to the false persona that the city gives off compared to what we see on the outside.

Going back to character design, three different characters stood out to me when I was playing the game those being: Crusher, the Malestorm Gang and Johnny Silverhand.  

Crusher is this large mechanical figure that serves as a threatening bodyguard to anybody that is unfortunate to step in it’s way. Looking at him characterful, I really love the denseness of the character as he looks like this unstoppable moving force that forces itself into conflict with thinking it over. He reminds me of my Hyde character a lot not just from personality, but also the sheer bulkiness that he imposes to us. To me, this how I would want my Hyde character to be built up thick and dense when it comes to modelling him,

Having already discovered the Malestorm gang before earlier on in my research, what I found interesting about them in playing the game were their arms specifically the pipping that goes into them to create this cross between industrial and cybernetic arm. Whilst this is an easy comparison to make to my Hyde character as the arm is quite bulky, I would say it more perfectly suits my Jekyll character more from how human sized it is despite looking so mechanical if we were to compare this a sleek cyborg arm like Johnny Silverhand’s bionic arm. 

In addition to the arms of these characters, the eyes are such a huge part of the aesthetic I really enjoy from them with their use of shapes and neon lights lighting up the scenery wherever they go. The lore behind the design is that if you want to join the gang, you have to get your eyes gouged out and replaced with these artificial eyes instead which is really creepy but fascinating to me. I think terms of the Jekyll character, the eyes seemed to be a better fit for my Hyde character giving the him a more menacing and threatening aura to him.

Only Malestorm Eyes

And lastly, one other character I felt inspired by was ‘Johnny Silverhand’ your companion in the game. His bionic arm is what sticks out to me the most as it has a very sleek and well rounded design like it was designed for a human. I can imagine for the Jekyll character that i could combine aspects of the Maelstorm gangs arms with the one that Johnny possess to form a very chunky top but gradually becomes a lot thinner as the arm goes down.

Back to the character itself, there are two design aspects I like being the muscular structure and the consideration for re topology on Johnny’s bionic arm. The overall muscular structure is how i slightly imagine Jekyll’s body to be as well built. But maybe I might consider less muscular meat on his body due to him not as exercising as much to an average human. I raised the question of retopology to how the arm acts on a ball and socket set up for the arm to flex which I thought was quite interesting to see as I wonder if that was considered first before making the character.

Sketches of Johnny Silverhand before Keanu Reeves came onto the game

I think from look at all of these character designs, I have good ideas for what I would like to do to my models from the rough sketches I have of them already. I feel the idea of Johnny and the Maelstorm gang’s arm being fused together is an idea I want to hold onto despite thinking my Hyde character as inspiration for the mdoel. Overall, the research on character design on ‘Cyberpunk 2077′ has been invaluable due to having so many of the elements and ideas I want to cover being found here in this game.

#ScriptWrtitingBA2a #CharacterDesignBA2a

[relicd]

I think it is finally time we addressed the considered “canon” ending that will be on this blog. Under the cut will be the in depth analysis of the ending that is going to be considered canon for my V. This post will contain HEAVY spoilers for two different endings. The Nomad ending also known as THE STAR ENDING as well as the legend ending also known as THE WORLD ENDING so please read at your own risk for heavy spoilers for both of those. As an additional preface I would like to state I AM AND WOULD LOVE TO ALTER THIS TO FIT DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS AND ROMANCES THAT WILL BE PRESENT ON THIS BLOG SO FEEL FREE TO APPROACH ME AND ASK SHOULD WE HAVE A SHIP OR SOMETHING. A final note, this is just going to be really sad so please be ready for that as well, without further ado what I am going to call THE CHARIOT ENDING.

                            𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

No amount of planning, or preparations can  create one for the things V has endured. Such is the life of being someone like her in a place like Night City. But, there is trust and closeness that comes between friends and people that is trusted. Options are always on the table and V, well she is lucky enough to have the trust from those close to Johnny and those she managed to not fit in with but also feel like home with. There was always something right about spending her time with the Aldecaldos. So, Johnny dragging her ass to Vik’s clinic scaring the hell out of all of them put into perspective how much all of  it meant. As hard as she tried, and as much as she didn’t want to be close to people especially knowing when it came down to it she would die, V did. And she felt like she finally had a life worth living, finally had a place where she belonged.

The conversation on the roof wasn’t a short one. Trust issues, the abandonment issues all of the things V has struggled with in her life come back to the surface and they fight and argue. But, as scare as it is, as much as she tries to argue and fight him on it she finally agrees. She finally says she completely trusts him and it is honest and true. He has been with her for so long and understands her that she knows that the only person she can and ever will trust more than anything, and trust with her life completely is Johnny fuckin Silverhand. And she hates to think it but, she cares about him even it came down to herself and what she wanted he had a factor in her moves now her thought process of her next steps. Hell, always did once they got to terms with the situation. But, time was running out and at this rate they had to be calculated, they had to take the time to acknowledge each and every possibility and causality that would come with it. They couldn’t agree. They hardly did but that didn’t mean V thought his idea was a bad one, but hers wasn’t either. So, they did what was normal, the smart move anyone in their situation would do. Compromised, came up with a plan of their own. But it wasn’t just a one group plan or pack, it was going to take the people V trusted more than anything and the ones Johnny trusted more than anything.

The first call that was made was to Panam. In the time that V managed to connect with Panam she found herself in the same shoes as her, at a crossroads deciding what was the most important for herself but carrying the weight of others on their shoulders. Not to mention the similar energy and vibe they both had. V found family in Panam, as much as she hated to think that, knowing the pain it would lead to by the end of this mission she did. But, Panny had come up with a plan and V wanted to hear it out. Make it work with what her and Johnny had planned and Panny, she seemed fine with that.

She waits for Panam to come and get her with Misty, she gets a reading that is something ending in a complete mystery, not just Johnny’s future but hers as well. It makes her afraid, but she already knows how this is all going to play out. It is a simple request, but she asks for one more of each of the pills. You see, V and Johnny, they worked out a deal. V was to meet with the Aldecaldos, set up the plan to work with what Johnny knew he was going to propose to Rogue. If this was going to work and they were going to buy V more time, then these two pieces of the puzzle while on complete separate ends of the spectrum would need to come together. But that was easier when you had two puzzle pieces like Johnny and V right?

V explains that she can’t spend all of her time with the Aldecaldos on the drive but ends up passing out before being able to full dive into what her and Johnny laid out. Once she is awake Panam and Saul workout the details of the plan. This is where V interjects, in her backpocket sat Rogue, sending herself or rather Johnny in with Rogue while the Aldecaldos drew fire from both Arasaka and Militech by tunneling into Mikoshi. Johnny would be in full control of V until they plugged Alt in. Once they were stable, and Rogue and Johnny managed to find the outlet for Alt, Johnny would take the pill allowing V to take back over and switch and be the one to plug in Alt. After this they would meet up with the Aldecaldos in a secure location to all move forward to Mikoshi having triggered an Arasaka elite force. With the backing of Rogue, Panam, Saul and whomever Rogue decided would be her second they would be fine. It was hesitant at first but Panam stepped up, she agreed and with that Saul took a moment before nodding. If things worked out this would help put the Aldecaldos on the track to rise from the ashes as Bobby would put it. And V, well that was all she wanted. To set up a group of good genuinely good people up whoever she could.

Once agreed upon V met with Alt at the Aldecaldo’s camp with the help of Dakota. In her conversation with Alt it was clear that while Alt, may not be Alt Cunningham it was clear what Alt was doing was for Johnny, it would always be for Johnny. V was defensive in speaking with her, hurt. Without V, Johnny wouldn’t have seen her again, wouldn’t even fucking have existed and she was treated like nothing but a conduit. It hurt her, but she was used to it, thick skin from a life of nothing but hurt and pain. She shoved it down and when Alt begins to explain more there is worry that comes from V about what will become of Johnny after this deal. If there was any other way to bring him back. But she knows the answer, Alt and Johnny do too and she isn’t so upset but it is still a pain that lives in her chest. After frying their tech and getting the shard she makes the choice, with Johnny’s agreement to make sure the Aldecaldo’s had everything ready. Returning Panam’s gun to her and bestowing several she had managed to collect that were heavier duty since this all started. What is unexpected is being told Saul wanted to see her. Being pulled onto a truck and suddenly V was part of the family. She got a jacket. V was an Aldecaldo. And she knew it was for show, to gain everyone’s support but it still made her smile. It still made her weep because for the first time, even if it was a lie, or for show she got to be part of a family. AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. She manages to save face while it is presented, but the moment she steps off the truck she excuses herself, only to be followed by both Panam and Saul while she breaks down. For the first time since this all began V weeps. This is the first time, this is the only time since getting Johnny’s jacket that she takes it off. Looking between both of them she holds it out.

                              𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐈𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞 '𝐊𝐚𝐲 ?

A simple nod from them both, taking the jacket from her. She doesn’t ask what they do with it, nor does she want to know but it will be looked after. It won’t be pawned here someone will always wear and cherish Johnny’s jacket and that is what’s important to her. The rest is quick drinks and catching up with everyone ensuring they are prepared and when Johnny pops himself in to let V know it’s time she stops. V meets with Panam and they exchanged some parting words until tomorrow. That’s when it comes up, the question of death and fear. She doesn’t hide it, she knows her time is limited and the best way to end things should they go south is with honest. V TELLS PANAM SHE IS TERRIFIED EVERY SINGLE DAY TO DIE. She explains how she has been this whole time and they have a good laugh about how well they hide it. With a thank you, and an understanding V quietly sneaks away from the Aldecaldo’s camp and enters the city. Standing outside of the Afterlife is where the switch happens, she takes the pill and well, the rest is a blur.

It comes to her in waves, and in moments. Sometimes the layer is lighter, other times it isn’t. V doesn’t know a lot of what happens back and forth between Johnny, and Ro. Faint things are made out, small details of their plan and how it is going to end with them meeting with Panam and Saul. The conversation Rogue has with her son. The moment where they almost switch as they take off for Arasaka tower, that was an accident but they were slipping and fading between one another so much easier now. The rest is a blur, bits and pieces of the fight, of seeing Weyland. But it isn’t until Johnny lets go, takes the final pill and allows V to return that she knows they trust one another fully. This is where she connects Alt. Taking this time to lean on Panam and give herself a boost to maintain it until the got into Mikoshi.

From here they wait, until Alt gives them the all clear about the path, following this V manages to make it to where they need to go. But things were going too easy, she heard about what the Aldecaldo’s had risked while waiting and it was a guilt that was heavier than the weight she felt in the moments of dying, responsibility for Bobby and Teddy’s deaths were not carried lightly. Already making plans for what to do and what to say when the time was right, if the time was right and her stupid fucking plan with Johnny even worked. As the make it to the last few hallways she feels it, the gut feeling something is wrong. And then it happens. Ears ringing and body hurt, Saul is the first to see the pains of crossing Adam Smasher, Rogue just past the sightline. But not enough he doesn’t register her and pick her up next. The blood of both feel heavy, feel like they have a magnetic pull to the center of the world. But, the rage that is now inside of not only V but Johnny it burns and festers so much stronger. Adam Smasher never stood a chance against the rage of them combine in one body. The bullet right in his head, it is the only thing that felt right about the whole mission. It is the only thing that is right. Nothing will ever compared, in all of whatever remains of her life to the guilt and hate she has for herself being responsible for not only the death of Teddy and Bobby but Rogue, the best of the best, the queen and Saul. Their blood, it was on V’s hands and V’s hands alone. She had to bear that weight and she would never ever forgive herself for that. But, they have done it and she drags her sorry excuse for a body to Mikoshi. She jacks in and she finds Alt, she follows the words and poetry of the other woman and she sees Johnny. They did this together and instead of tapping his shoulder she hugs him. A full embrace, one of the only issues of human contact she has allowed herself to really feel in her heart.

                             𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐧𝐲, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲

It’s the simple words they need to have. Standing together as he explains that Soul Killer is tearing them apart. V laughs, makes a joke about still having one and he laughs too. They talk like a pair of old friends and V cries. Silent tears roll down her features and then they finally bring it back around to Alt. To leaving it up to her and the bombshell hits. V’s body, it’s going to reject her, her engram all of it. The body that is hers no longer belongs to her it belongs to Johnny. She isn’t mad, she isn’t even angry, she is sad, defeated. This time Johnny does the talking and she is at a loss for words for the first time ever. Tears decorate her features as if it were a christmas tree and she feels sick. Alt and Johnny argue, much like a lovers quarrel and finally she breaks through it asking for her and Johnny to have a moment. If she goes back she is still going to die but if he does, then he will live and V, well she just becomes another part of Alt fucking Cunningham. Or whatever the fuck she was now.

It is here where V tells Johnny about Ro, about what happened with her and the Aldecaldo’s. She tells him in such graphic vivid detail it drains her face of any color, some parts of the cyberspace even recreating it. And it hurts, it beats against her rib cage and her heart and chest as she relives it. And they cry, and they hug. It was all for nothing she says. And Johnny just shakes his head, if she didn’t want say goodbye, if she still had a life to live it was hers. V apologizes, for all the times they were a pain in each others asses, for all the things she had said and done that cut deep before she understood him. But, she also explains what led her to be like that. V tells him about her past, about Atlanta and Jackie, she tells him about her issues with family and that she wants to go back because she has that. She has the one thing she wanted in life more than anything with the Aldecaldo’s. People who love and care for her because of being her. He understands, and they say goodbye. A promise to never forget Johnny as they part and V enters the well.

She doesn’t remember a lot after that. The couple of weeks that follow had a lot of medication and sleeping. She is in charge of the Afterlife but hands it over to the son of Rogue and Blue Eyes to look after it while she lives with her family. And they. do, of course reminding V should she ever come back it was hers. But other than that most of those days and weeks are filled with jumbles and fragments of memories. But one thing is for sure, she wears his shoes and aviators every day and she spends each day with the Aldecaldo’s. Saying goodbye to Night City to go to the badlands and she feels fine, in fact she feels fantastic. Maybe Alt was wrong, having not seen or been able to process something like what had happened to V before in any data stream it was possible. And for the next six months V was happy. She was alive and well, she was in the Badlands with money and family. V was happy. But, they said it to one another before her and Johnny. There were no happy endings. She is fixing something and it bubbles up, the coughing. A look at her hand and it’s there. The blood. Taking a breath she lets herself stay with the Aldecaldo’s another few months, Panam trying people who have gotten some of the Aldecaldo’s out of some bad places but nothing is helping nothing is working.

                                                 𝐆𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐤

It is settled, one night when they are alone talking about her state, about the fact V was dying still. She leaves in the middle of the night. She leaves letters and is gone. Good Morning Night City is whispered under her breathe as she is welcomed back with the warm arms of Misty, Mama Welles and Vik. But, it isn’t happy. She tells them and the work begins. Time goes on, things seem to look better if not delayed. They are trying their best and with what she pulled with Mikoshi, well V has enough money to have her own place. Although she misses the sun, the love and feeling of belonging in the Aldecaldo’s she manages just fine back into old habits and places of Night City. But, her dreams are plagued with vivid nightmares of not just Rogue’s death but Saul’s. V doesn’t sleep anymore. V doesn’t look or seem like V anymore. She is tired and trying but she is dying and it hurts and it sucks. So she loses herself again, she becomes who she was in the time she was in Atlanta. It isn’t until she gets a voicemail of concern from Panam and Mitch she snaps out of it. It’s been a year since Mikoshi and things aren’t as good as they thought. Vik asked to stop seeing for three months before the year anniversary as everything appeared to be looking up but in that time, things got worse.

Her body, the pain she felt and the small moments of completely not being inside her head they grew. It was a constant pain now, like a tinnitus but for the body. So, she took medications, a lot of them and hid what was happening to everyone that she worked for or with at the Afterlife. She buried the pain, she buried herself and let her name rise up. Working on that new project and working out how to save her own life. The year that follows this is one that holds nothing but loss and pain for V. Constant updates to cyberwear to try and keep her together but, nothing works. She has to stop the merc work. Shorting out in missions, almost dying because of bullet holes. She may have her name next to Rogue and Jackie on the Afterlife menu but this wasn’t the life of a legend she wanted. She lives in a castle, alone with the money she got from Mikoshi for destroying Arasaka during the last two years. The total isolation, it takes time, slowly pulling herself away and losing everything and everyone she loves. She stops answering the phone. She gets a new place, a small one under a fake name out in Pacifica. She lives there for the next year. And the last month, that single month that she is away from hitting that third official year of being free. She is off the grid. V no longer exists. Stacks and stacks of voicemails, Vik, Misty, Panam, Mitch, Kerry, River, hell some people she only worked with once. She finally listens, because she knows its coming, it is like every single one of the relic malfunctions is hitting her at once the last few days and she wants to hear what they all have to say about her, to her. V dies, in a house under a fake name listening to endless voicemails. It happens at exactly midnight on the third year of being the anniversary of what happened at Mikoshi. She impacted so many people and had friends, family but to spare them, to hopefully avoid all the pain V died how she lived.

                                              𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫

#｡･*･ﾟ🗡️ ── ɪ ᴜꜱᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀᴍ ɪ ɴᴏᴡ? █ ╳ headcanons