k1ll-v-maim

[k1ll-v-maim]

would you take a bullet for me?

[k1ll-v-maim]

[k1ll-v-maim]

When Esme first set up her own clinic in NC, she had to take what space she could afford, and that meant encroaching on another rippers territory. It stayed amenable with light flirting between stealing each other business, but living and working in the same area meant that they would bump into each other at the local bars and food places they would frequent. To keep the peace, the second one in would leave to avoid disrupting the other precious free time, they both have so little of that. That is, until they decide not to. They share a drink, and then a few more...

Now Esme knows that Vik can make a decent cup of coffee at least!

[k1ll-v-maim]

Messing around with making a poster from Valerie's first live performance. Not at all the final product as I want to use a photo of her ... actually singing, this was just me fucking around at 11:30pm at night.

A few people got posters from this show, namely Jackie, Misty, & Vik.

She winds up seeing that Jackie hung his up in his garage when she goes to pick something out for the ofrenda alongside Misty, and in a moment of grief tears it off the wall. :)

Inspo for the poster is ofc from

Priss' poster seen in episode 6 of bubblegum crisis - Red Eyes. Moonlight Rambler/Red Eyes have always my two favorite episodes from the OVA. Probably not because of my bias for Priss but.... Y'know.

PSDs used: kpoplocks / irwinbae

[k1ll-v-maim]

So I can tell him to go away but I still can't smooch him? Cowards!

[k1ll-v-maim]

[k1ll-v-maim]

They named the secret V and Johnny only ending after this song and don’t want me to think they’re in love? Ok.

[k1ll-v-maim]

So here's the thing about Johnny Silverhand.

If he were a romance option, it wouldn't even be close; he'd be the most popular option. Ao3 backs this up. But the game doesn't let us choose him.

The four options the game gives us are fine as far as romance goes--they lack the depth of old-school Bioware and Larian. Panam, Judy, and Kerry are beautifully written, wonderfully messy characters. Oh yeah, then there's River (no seriously, CDPR did him dirty). But once you play through their stories, you're kinda done with them. Sure, you get some random texts, a handful of repeatable dialog, a repeatable date--but that's such a tiny sliver of your game time.

Johnny's with you for most of the game. Over the course of many hours, you get to see him warm up to V (a stand-in for you, the player), playfully trade barbs with them, and then solemly swear to off himself in order to save their/your pathetic ass.

If you think about it for more than two seconds, V has this near-psychotic level of intimacy with Johnny. The "guy in my head" trope makes a lot of narrative sense, especially in video games. It's a more interesting story when the main character has someone to talk to, rather than internal monolog or muttering to themselves. But if you overthink the trope to a concerning degree, as I have--you understand that Johnny is forced to quietly look away while V is taking a shit, showering, flicking the bean, getting random boners, violently puking blood, etc. This is way more intimacy than I have with my husband of 15 years. We close the door when we use the bathroom.

They're sharing dreams, seeing each other's memories. They pick up each other's habits. V can play the guitar. Johnny's less of an asshole and learns how to let go. They're changing each other for the better.

All the other romances in CP77 feel so damn shallow next to Johnny and V. That's not the fault of the romancable characters. It's that they've been through some very fucked-up shit together, and I don't know how you don't trauma-bond over all that. V and Johnny are the only two souls on earth who know what it's like to be an engram on a chip inside a corpse's head.

Their story is so beautiful, tragic, and fucked-up that I don't want it to end.

And I really wanna fuck that rockerboy.

[k1ll-v-maim]

Fast travel

Japantown

[k1ll-v-maim]

[k1ll-v-maim]

finally filled this template about Val :)

[k1ll-v-maim]

epilogue

[k1ll-v-maim]

[k1ll-v-maim]

I think what kills me about Johnny and V and how they speak to each other is that they Do have like these weirdly forward intimate moments of vulnerability (the dogtags, "would you take a bullet for me" "yeah, I would", things like that) but I cannot for the life of me ever imagine them like just. outright telling each other they love/care for each other in such simple words. Everything they say that Means Something is either said while they're mutually bitching at each other, and that's still Understood by both of them to have some sincerity to it. Or it's just not something that's said in words at all, rather shown thru how they treat each other (Johnny dragging V to Vik's and telling them it was their guardian angel, V doing things solely for Johnny that don't really benifit them but will make him happy.) They're insane and I'm normal about it!

[k1ll-v-maim]

unhealthy codependency is really a top tier dynamic. like they need each other to survive but god. should they.

[k1ll-v-maim]

v is taking a little long in the bathroom at red dirt 🥴🥴