#There's also the fact that Rooney is good friends with V and Co ever since coming to Night City a year and a half before the games

[aceghosts]

WIP Wednesday Tuesday

Hey everybody! I'm doing Wip Wednesday a little early since I can't post it tomorrow. Thanks to @cassietrn, @inafieldofdaisies, @direwombat, @nightbloodbix, @captastra, and so many others who have tagged me!

Tagging: @sstewyhosseini, @marivenah, @alexxmason, @captmactavish, @anonymousmalkavian, @clicheantagonist, @voidika, @jillvalentinesday, @theelderhazelnut, @socially-awkward-skeleton, and uhhh...anyone else who wants to be tagged! I'm blanking a little tonight. (If you ever wanna be tagged in something, just let me know!)

So, I've actually started writing again, and well it's all for Rooney's CP2077 verse. It's going to be a long one since I haven't shared anything in a while.

This first snippet is a continuation of this. It's set right after the beginning of the Phantom Liberty DLC (So spoilers, if you haven't played it yet.) An exhausted Rooney has dragged themself back to Konpecki plaza after Reed gets Myers out of Dogtown, and Yorinobu is giving them the third degree after Rooney shows up looking like they've been put through the wringer:

“Did Kurt Hansen do this to you?” Yorinobu cuts straight to, and Rooney notices the anger and concern in his eyes. “No.” Even though he sent the Barghest after Rooney and Myers, he hadn’t set the Chimera on them. Wasn’t So Mi’s fault either. Whatever had been in the Chimera was something else. A shudder runs up their spine at the thought of it. “The thing that did this to me is dead.” His shoulders drop, relaxing slightly as he motions for them to sit. They sit in the chair, trying not to wince from the pain on their left side. “I have no doubt that anyone who intends to harm you would not leave with their life, Shepard. But-,” He emphasizes the word, “I do not think you are telling me the full story.” “There isn’t much to tell. Just a standard missing persons case.” There is so much Rooney wants to tell him. They’ve trusted him with other parts of themselves that others wouldn’t be allowed to see, the parts that made Rooney vulnerable. Yet, anything they say to him about Myers and So Mi could put him in danger. And Rooney won’t do that to Yorinobu. “Things were rough for a while, but I found them alive and well. A happy ending.”

This second snippet is from a fic centering on Rooney and Yorinobu's discussion about why Rooney is in an Arasaka facility, and why they let Arasaka experiment on them. (Spoiler Alert: Wasn't Rooney's choice. This part of the timeline is supposed to be similar to ME2 where Cerberus is responsible for bringing Shepard back to life. Thanks again to Mika for this idea!):

A moment later, rational thought kicks in. It may just be an Arasaka employee coming to check on Rooney. Someone who wanted to hurt them wouldn’t make so much noise. They’ll continue with the one-word answers, the easiest way to get any corpo to leave. Yesterday, Rooney’s psychologist nearly left their session in tears of frustration at Rooney’s refusal to provide anything real. They would talk with someone, just not someone who is in the pocket of Arasaka. Yet, Rooney still grabs a wrench in their right hand, their still human one, for good measure, before pretending to be deep in concentration while working on their motorcycle. The footsteps stop, and Rooney glances briefly at the doorway. Yorinobu Arasaka leans against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, a smirk on his face. Nothing inter-. They do a double take, trying to conceal the genuine surprise on their face. What the hell is he doing here? Rooney takes it back; they do miss the quiet, even if it leaves them with too much time to think about things they shouldn’t dwell on. He needs to leave, now. “Whoever you’re looking for isn’t here.” Rooney returns their gaze to their motorcycle, tone very matter-of-fact. “You don’t even know who I’m looking for.” They don’t respond. Who does he think he’s kidding? Rooney and Yorinobu both know that he isn’t looking for them. “Don’t be hasty, Shepard.” Maybe he is looking for them. But why? They feel themself tense, swallowing nervously. The last encounter between the pair ended with a glaring match and barbed insults.

And the last snippet is during the events of 2077 after V and Jackie's disastrous heist. Up until this meeting, Rooney and Yorinobu haven't spoken in a while after Rooney chose to go back to the military rather than helping Yorinobu take down Arasaka. Yorinobu mentions his father's plans for the relic, and well:

“And what does the Relic do?” They already know what it does. It turns idiot mercs with delusions of grandeur into long-dead rockstars. “My father wanted to live forever,” Yorinobu’s voice is grave, “The Relic was his answer to that.” Their eyes widen in horror, the awful insinuation not lost on them. That’s…that’s…There are not enough words in the human language for Rooney to express how awful it is. Placing the datapad down, Rooney turns to face him, horror clear on their face. Without thinking, Rooney cups his face out of concern. Doesn’t matter that they haven’t talked to him since the argument when Rooney left the facility. They’re still worried for him. “Yori…,” their nickname for him slips out as he takes this opportunity to pull them closer, “Saburo… he didn’t try to… he didn’t…?” Even after all they’ve seen, Rooney can’t bring themself to finish the sentence. “No, he never got the chance.”

#kate writes #the rooney fic tag #verse: cyberpunk 2077 #oof this is a long one #and I hope this makes sense lol #there is also a lot of context to that third one that I left out #like the fact that Rooney didn't know that the job would be for Yorinobu or that Yorinobu didn't know Rooney would be recommended #rip to Adam Smasher being the first one who realizes this has to deal with two pining idiots #There's also the fact that Rooney is good friends with V and Co ever since coming to Night City a year and a half before the games #so that's another wrench in the plot #I hope these are good #I feel like my writing has become a little rusty #OTP: It always comes right back to you #v: cyberpunk 2077