âmcr5â i insist, âitâs mcr5,â swaying in place before collapsing to the floor and everyone around me glances over in casual interest then turns back to what they were doing before, silently relieved that iâm finally fucking dead
TW: Abuse, Substance abuse, mentions of death, absent parents, kinda typical CP2077 stuff (if I forgot to tag anything im so sorry plz let me knowđ)
This isnât as âminiâ as I thought it would be even though I cut a lot outT-T I love Vinny too much and think about them 24/7 if you couldnât tell
Vinny Valentine was born in Louisville, Kentucky to young parents. Their mother, Maribelle, was an aspiring model and first born French-American and only 17 when she gave birth while their father, Sebastian, was a young nomad run away who was only 16 when Vinny was born. Their parents moved to Night City not long after their birth with Sebastian promising to settle down for the family, both agreed it would allow their child to have a promising future (not knowing how terrible the city was) and would give Maribelle the chance to begin her modelling career.
The family moved into Red Peaks, a modest trailer with what little they had. Sebastian was quick to break his promise, turning to the Aldecaldos for quick cash in the form of runs and mechanical work while Maribelle worked at Tomâs Diner and primarily took care of Vinny.
Their father showed little care for them, unfortunately dropping them when they were only shy of a year old as he tried to place them in their crib. After that, their mother promised to herself she would save her money, pursue her dreams and give her child a better life away from their father.
They were a quiet child who never complained or asked for much of anything, quickly picking up on French making that their first language much to their fatherâs dismay. And by the time they were old enough to go to school, they refused. They were glued to the old laptop their father had laying around, their nose shoved in old manuals and sci fi novels their mother read ages ago about netrunners taking down the big evil corporations who threatened the world as they knew it. Their parents attempted sending them to school, only for them to act out, get sick, and down right refuse to speak anything but French. It didnât take long for their parents to give up, turning to home schooling for their child allowing them to indulge in their interests and learn from the world around them with as much help as they (Maribelle) could offer.
For seven years, Vinny clung to their mother refusing to leave her side unless forced. When they were forced away from their mother however, they stayed at the Aldecaldoâs camp and spent their time playing with an older kid by the name of Kieran. That was until she was killed in a robbery, she hid them under the bed and unfortunately didnât make it under herself resulting in three gunshots in her head, a robbed home and a child who now held their motherâs lifeless body in their arms, clinging to her for any source of comfort as they called their father in their time of need.
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They were moved into the city, away from the home they knew and loved so much and left alone in the H10 Megabuilding with enough money for food at the age of seven. Still, they refused school instead they stole computers, books and manuals to teach themselves everything they needed to know about netrunning.
Vinny hid away in their home, rarely ever using the money their father left behind for food opting to use it for books, saving for tech, or simply forgetting they even had it.
At the age of 14 they were kicked out of their home when their father came back from a dead run pissed off at everything and everyone. Vinny didnât say a word to him, but their face, those bright blue eyes, the blonde hairâŚit was too much like their mother. Sebastian decided he didnât want to see them and kicked them out of the house not allowing them back in until he was gone the next day. As they wandered trying to find a place to go, they met a kid by the name of Vincent Vernon (@torble âs V) who was on his way to his apartment which they would later find out was right next door to their own.
Vincent introduced Vinny to the world of Night City, showing Vinny the good, the bad, and the dirty which led Vinny to a severe nicotine addiction. Through Vincent they met Vik who they proceeded to bother about netrunning implants, just one cheap deck that lets them do something or a set of Kiroshiâs so they can at least feel closer to their goal of being a badass netrunner like in those books they read. At 15 years old they finally received a low level deck from Vik as a little Birthday present so they would stop bothering him.
That same year, Vincent left for the unification war and destroyed Vinny. They had become reliant on Vincent, they cling to him as a guide through life so once he was gone panic set in. Others would tell them that he was off at military camp (where they thought he was) but Vinny never processed it, they convinced themselves their best friend was lying dead in the field somewhere which led to them once again hiding in their apartment unless they left to get high and drunk off of whatever anyone would give them. They dipped their toes into the wonderful world of glitter, almost dying from an overdose only being saved by Vik who they just so happened to call moments before passing out.
They began seeing Vincent places, talking aloud, refusing to see anyone and never picked the phone up anymore. When their father inevitably found out they were hauled off to Night Cityâs mental institution which did more damage than good. Vinny spent 5 months locked away, getting tested on, going through withdrawals on their own and still having the same delusions of their best friend being by their side.
At 16, Vinny was reunited with Vincent once again which made their life just a fraction better.
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19 years old, Vinny had gotten quite a bit of cyberware for netrunning, a port in the back of their head, a better deck and kiroshiâs that made their eyes look cat-like which they adored. They still struggled with their addictions but life was going well for them!! They took up some mercenary work with Vincent aiding him when he needed a netrunner.
So many times the jobs went fine, but one client sent them too close to Arasaka information which landed them on Netwatchâs radar. They werenât unplugged safely in a time of die on your own terms or die by the hands of the corpos, but luckily they didnât die.
Vincent rushed Vinny to Vikâs clinic when they couldnât speak nor could they move their right arm or leg. Their brain had been damaged by unsafe procedures and perhaps Netwatch sent a quick jolt of something towards them that fucked them over as well.
They had to get their arm and leg replaced. New kiroshiâs a lot less high tech then their last ones to keep them of sound mind that they wouldnât go cyberpsycho. Vinny went through months of physical and speech therapy, Vincent moved them into his apartment so they would be more comfortable and could be monitored considering their condition.
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At 24, they had come a long way from the incident when they were 19. They took a trip across the country to get some time alone and met a man by the name of Ross who later became their partner.
Ross had a child named Cassie, a dear friendâs child who was put in his care after she unfortunately passed after the birth. Vinny stepped up, helping to care for the child the best they knew how to and eventually moved the two of them to California (outside of Night City) so they could all be closer but refused to leave Night City themselves because Vincent was still there and they were still attached at the hip.
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Now, at 28 years old, Vinny splits their time evenly between Night City and their family in a town I have yet to figure out a name for, and runs a jack of all trades business called The Grapevine where anyone can get services including netrunning (mostly only for Vincent tho:b), tailoring, transportation, mechanics, and cooking/baking!!
Fun little side fact for making it to the end because I appreciate you!!:
Vinny and Vincent have little music projects they do and have a small following online because of that!! Vinny does some streaming for the fans and to make a bit of extra cash to better support themselves and their family:]
If you have any questions about them please please pleaseeee ask about them, I love talking about my little guy
I wish we got to see more Netrunning in Cyberpunk like getting to experience more than just quickhacks like actually getting to see MORE of what goes on and learn more in game:(
If anyone has netrunner headcanons/information pleeeease share!!! I would looove to learn what other people do with their netrunners
