----> NOCTIUM APP

[takemura]

« PLAYER INFORMATION »

Name: Ashley
Are you over 18?: Yes
Contact: evilbo or PM this journal
Other characters, if any: Thranduil


« CHARACTER INFORMATION »

Character: Goro Takemura
Canon: Cyberpunk 2077
Canon point: Arasaka ending, directly after the quest Where's Your Mind?
OU or AU?: OU
Age: Late 50s
Species: Human (cyborg)



« RECORD »


Disposition:

• STRONG LOYALTY - Takemura would not have risen to the position of being the bodyguard to Saburo Arasaka, the leader of the Arasaka megacorporation, without having loyalty to both him and the company in spades. Takemura has spent literally his entire life working for Arasaka, going from their military academy to spending 20 years of service in the special forces division, and not once did he bite the hand that fed him. In fact, he seems to idolize Saburo to some extent and speaks of him and the rest of his family in almost personal terms. If V saves him from death during the story, Takemura inevitably attempts to return to Arasaka, even though being framed for murder and hunted by his former employers is an incredible obstacle to overcome.
  
  On the flip side, this loyalty blinds him to the horrors that Arasaka has committed, both in its normal business as a megacorporation who has engaged in corporate wars and also in the micro sense of the inherent moral problems of their use of both Soulkiller and the Save Your Soul program. Arasaka has become Takemura's life, but it's at the cost of his freedom and a loss of perspective.
  
  
• SENSE OF HONOR - Though it's a rarity in the year 2077, Takemura is not out to screw over anyone else, despite the dire situation he finds himself in. It would have been easier for him to follow the next CEO in line after Saburo was murdered, but Takemura's honor would not allow him to ignore such a crime. He might state that he's out for revenge and not justice, but his actions say otherwise. While he doesn't hesitate to kill Arasaka foot soldiers if necessary, he doesn't want to see innocent bystanders (or other members of the Arasaka family) come to harm. This is all the more obvious in the way he treats V, who stole from the company, and yet becomes Takemura's comrade-in-arms for a time. Once it becomes apparent that they have the same goals, Takemura no longer tries to capture V, and never takes any of the more brutal options to extract a witness statement that might have occurred to someone with less moral fiber. The worst he does is to place a tracker on V, perhaps to make sure they wouldn't leave Night City. Takemura still works with V, on V's terms, despite who V is or what V has done.
  
  
• ORDER OVER CHAOS - Even aside from being a company man, Takemura has different views on the role of megacorporations than most other characters in the game. While he agrees that the world is not perfect, he sees the order they bring as a potential solution to widespread problems, even if they might have caused those problems in the first place. To Takemura, megacorporations employ millions of people and ensure peace and stability in dangerous areas, and simply getting rid of them would be far worse for the world than to maintain the status quo. This is why he rejects the idea of rebellion simply for the sake of doing so.
  
  
• FISH OUT OF WATER - Most of what we see of Takemura in the game is him at his lowest point, so while he's predictably easily angered or frustrated, he also displays an aptitude for calm planning... and a sort of dry humor that shows he isn't afraid to poke a little fun at himself. Still, most of his humor is unintentional. Takemura is an older man from another country who doesn't understand Night City slang and struggles a bit with using American phones. While he can't accurately be called a boomer, he has the same vibes, even if it's arguably more because he's a foreigner and not entirely down to his age.
  
  
• THE PICKY SURVIVOR - While Takemura grew up on the streets and has most certainly been in combat situations where he had few resources, he's gotten used to a much more privileged lifestyle than what most regular people can afford. His knowledge and capabilities are such that he can find himself a safehouse and hunt down people in a foreign city, but with the lack of money he finds himself with in Night City, he constantly complains about bad inorganic food and is none too happy with slumming it. He's clearly more comfortable with what he's used to over the unfamiliar.


Suitability:
Takemura is taken from a canon path where he both survived and was accepted back into Arasaka, though with a transfer back to Japan that sounds like an undeserved demotion. Being in Noctium will give him true freedom, unlike in Cyberpunk 2077, where his desire for justice left him shackled to his employers. That distance from his home world will finally give him time to reflect on his life, his standing in Arasaka, and more opportunity to listen to what his canonmates have to say about all the shady shit that Arasaka has done.

Otherwise, Takemura isn't going to be pleased by the stranger aspects of the setting (such as the gembond transformations), but being in a city that isn't half as fucked up as his home world is still a major positive. Though he'll initially be suspicious of the locals and annoyed at being so far from home, he'll be forced to eventually sit back and treat it like a vacation. He's not likely to overindulge in Synchrony out of sheer stubbornness, but pursuit of pleasure for his own needs is fair game.

Condition upon arrival: Healthy, but with much of his combat cyberware deactivated (see Abilities below for exceptions).

Abilities:
Takemura has heavy combat cyberware motifications; according to the art book, every inch of him contains cyberware in some shape or form. However, during most of the game his advanced cyberware is deactivated and left useless. While he's essentially been re-hired during the Arasaka ending and should no longer have his cyberware deactivated, we're not given much information about what his implants can actually do. The implants listed below are a mixture of canon information and basic cyberware functions that are either common or easily obtained. Any other cyberware enhancements Takemura might have had will be left inoperable upon arrival in Noctium.


• OPTICAL IMPLANTS - Takemura has artificial eyes that sport a silver ring on top of optics that mimic a natural style and color. This is primarily a scanner, which in its current state can detect living beings through non-metal or non-reinforced walls or obstacles in a short (no further than 50 ft) radius. With his connection to an information network gone, it can currently only give him very basic information on any person he scans (are they injured/uninjured or dead). This also includes a basic 3x zoom.
  
  
• ARASAKA OS - Takemura possesses an operating system, primarily for his cyberware, that provides feedback on how his implants are functioning and if any are damaged. This includes basic monitoring of his health, including presence of wounds and heart rate. This readout is displayed via a HUD on his optics and is thus invisible to others. An expert hacker could potentially access this OS, though it'd be much easier to do so with a physical connection. Like many other people in the setting, Takemura has an interface plug implanted into his wrist that can be used to interface directly with computer systems, and likewise has jacks (located among the cyberware on the back of his neck) that will accept a plug.
  
  A wireless connection exists, but was primarily used for basic internet functions like interfacing with a phone or paying for services digitally. Neither the physical connection or the wireless one will work properly in Noctium without heavy modifications.
  
  
• SMART LINK - The SMART link interfaces with guns from his world whose primary feature are their homing bullets. This link, consisting of cyberware embedded into his right hand, both makes the advanced targeting possible and also displays basic tracking information via his optical HUD.
  
  
• ENDOSKELETON - His most major cyberware modification is an endoskeleton, proof of which is outwardly in the metal that covers his jaw, neck, and upper chest. Elsewhere, it's mostly under the skin, consisting of metal reinforcement for most of his skeleton, artificial joints, and muscle replacements in some areas. What this boils down to is that Takemura has a faster reaction time, movement speed, and greater strength than your typical non-augmented human. It's also very difficult to break his bones or part his head from his shoulders.

Aside from his other enhancements, Takemura is a seasoned combatant. He was trained in a military academy, has a long record with Arasaka special forces, and additional time spent as a bodyguard to the most elite. He's stated to be a dangerous individual even without access to his cyberware. Takemura prefers to use guns and rifles, but it can be assumed that he's also trained in both melee and hand-to-hand combat, including with traditional weapons like the katana and tanto. This expertise includes the knowledge necessary to both command a squad, and also to train others in what he's learned (Takemura has mentored at least one other elite bodyguard).

He's also, presumably, at least a decent cook given his general pickiness and his daydreaming about preparing something home-cooked instead of eating fast food.

Inventory:
An SMG (Arasaka TKI-20 Shingen) with a full clip. The Shingen is a SMART weapon that uses tracing rounds that can lock onto and home in on their targets, but the trade-off is that bullets travel slower and the homing can still be foiled by targets who move too quickly or seek cover in time. The Shingen is also small enough to be more easily concealed under a coat.

Gembond: Emerald
Gem Location: Lower sternum


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