The Lost Storyline of T-Bug | Fiction Forensics | Cyberpunk 2077 Explained

for a character as minor as t-bug there is certainly some elaborate ideas about who she really is as well as the full extent of her role in The Heist quest line and I think this is because t-bug is a substantial character who was unfortunately pigeonholed into an insubstantial role largely due to the late stage Erasure of her plot relevance in cyberpunk 2077 this this isn't necessarily a bad thing because content inevitably gets cut and characters get Rewritten this is just a natural part of the creative process but when that process is left unfinished you can really feel the gaps in stories for characters like t-bug while I do think that the tbug we get in cyberpunk 2077 is just who she presents herself as as in I don't think think there's any Grand conspiracies to her I also believe that a large chunk of the theories that I have seen circulating about her are on to something we can see strong hints throughout the final game and its development cycle that the t-bug we know is incredibly different from the teab bubug that we got in exhuming the bones of this previous tbug we see more than just interesting trivia hidden within the game's Foundation rather we can more fully understand the value of the layers of how a story is constructed and how the human brain whether or not we actively realize it always notices old scars from the editing process that were unfortunately not given time to heal first things first we are going to take a look at who t-bug is as we see her in cyberpunk 2077 and sadly there is not very much to go on our first potential look at tbg's past is through Rhino's humans of night City interview that you can find on cdpr's website Rhino discusses her past work with a Netrunner who always talked about retiring to an island in Greece who also happened to from Pacifica odds are this unnamed Runner is probably t-bug in the same interview Rhino describes a gig gone wrong in Pacifica that resulted in stirring the Hornets Nest of The Gangs of the district as well as their fixer Vanishing and leaving them to fend for themselves if we put any stock in this interview it's very likely that what is being described here is Dexter Deshawn's Infamous Pacifica blowup the very job that ruined his career sending him fleeing for the literal stars to escape the gang war that he had accidentally started in 2077 prior to the heist quest line Dexter tells V that he owes t-bug we don't know exactly what he owes her or why but I can't help but wonder if t-bug perhaps helped Dex Escape for the next couple years bug continued her work as a mercenary eventually teaming up with Jackie and v a number of times t-bug would always keep them at arms length never wanting to have anything more than a professional relationship with the mercenaries she worked with but this didn't stop her from sharing her love for classical philosophy this is one of tbg's more distinct traits revealing a more scholarly side to this Netrunner I think tbg's love for philosophy is one of the few remaining traits from her original concept one quote that she says is everything we hear is an opinion not a fact which she then says Marcus Aurelius I believe I think this is tbg's rare sense of humor because there's a lot of scholarly debate about who actually said this quote and a lot of experts believe it was not Marcus Aurelius who said it considering the context of the quote and the way she attributes it to him with that I believe I think is meant to be her attempt at a punchline this this is probably the friendliest we see her with Jackie and V and it's actually kind of sad I think bug just wishes that someone would understand her jokes or that she had people she could just talk to and a V with a high enough cool rating can encourage her to share more philosophy I kind of believe that t-bug is actually very lonely because she's lived so cautiously for so long in order to stay alive it's through t-bug that Dexter Deshawn arranged is a meeting with Jackie and V recruiting them for the Evelyn Parker Heist gig as t-bug is one of the few netr Runners that Dexter has somewhat of a working relationship with which I will say if humans of night city is in fact about t-bug it's a little weird that she would want to work with him again especially after such a disaster this could be a hiccup in the plot or maybe there is information that we just don't know as I think for this part of the plot it may have been decided that the reasoning was no longer relevant in the final version of cyberp Punk's story we meet t-bug in person the first and only time in a dingy back room at the afterlife sealed up in a soundproof booth it is here that the final plan for the heist is settled the fact that V and Jackie have never even glimpsed her in person is just another symptom of Bug's Extreme Caution she has spent so much time and energy to keep herself safe it says a lot about how invested in this job that she is physically there after Dexter Deshawn leaves the meeting V can then ask tbug a little bit more about what she wants out of this Heist and even thank her for her help on previous missions t-bug is polite but you can tell she doesn't do her work for gratitude she reveals her plan to get out of night City for good with her sights set on a sleepy retirement on a Greek Beach when V jokes about exchanging postcards c s bug is Frank with them and admits that she will be cutting ties with everyone in order to start her new life which to be honest I totally understand because t-bug has spent so much time and energy working towards her goal of leaving night's City she has purposefully never gotten attached to people so she could keep her Focus maybe philosophy actually helped her stay sane in night city after seeing countless people around her get wiped out either way tbug V and Jackie nearly carry out this heist with flying colors nearly on the way to the plaza t-bug says a quote from Aristotle the greatest crimes issue from a desire for excess and not from necessity this line almost feels like it's supposed to be said in a way that savors the group's expected success everybody except maybe V is eager because they're right on the cusp of wealth and fame for t-bug and Jackie they're about to achieve their dreams but this only serves as a sour hint towards the Grim fate awaiting the trio at the top of keki Plaza t-bug helps Jackie and v through the tower only to be fried when arisaka counter measures flood the tower Network after being set on lockdown after the surprise murder of Saburo arisaka we find out from the owner of the netr Running Shop that tbug can actually send us to as part of the early Game net running tutorial bit that she was found dead in her apartment with her nervous system fried it's actually really easy to miss this line in regard to bug's method of death some people think she was Soul killed I personally don't think she was and that's mostly because Soul killer even in its earliest conditions at least leaves the body temporarily alive while wiping out the brain in bug's case according to that easily missable dialogue option with the owner of the Netrunner shop her nervous system was entirely fried which to me implies literally electrically fried meaning she was dead granted if it was Soul Killer maybe her body died after being left alone for who knows how long but in so far as I know if your entire nervous system is fried brain stem included your functions are also going to have to cease I think I'm not a neurologist so I I could be wrong I also just don't think arisaka would risk having that platform deployed in their subnet for potential enemy Runners to witness it feels a little risky because it's a valuable weapon maybe I'm wrong but Soul killer for me just doesn't add up some people also theorize that that bug escaped and I also don't believe this maybe in a past version of the story she would have but the bug in this version of the story is not as skilled as she may have thought she was we can see this in how many hours it took her to crack the tower Network and how exhausted and stressed she sounds after the fact I think like Jackie she bit off more than she could chew and she paid the price I think in the end this is the point they decided to make with her character just another casualty of trying to get out of night's City and believing they were better than they actually were and that is that that is the actual end of t-bug story and I don't think she's ever mentioned again I don't think t-bug even gets a columbarium entry she's kind of just forgotten and swept under the rug You could argue that this is sort of realistic in night City people die every day I'm sure this isn't the first MC that Jackie and V have worked with that has been flatlined on the job but the thing with how t-bug story is handled is that it just feels awkwardly blunt and sometimes a blunt ending in a story is the result of a plotline That Couldn't despite intentions to the contrary be fully told and I think that in tbg's case this is one of those unfortunate times the first time t-bug was introduced was during the 2018 cyberpunk 2077 E3 trailer where you can see her briefly taking out an arisaka corpo while we can't exactly view this as Canon what's interesting is the marketing that included t-bug she appears in the gameplay demo of the same year and perhaps most interestingly and most prominently in the 2019 E3 cinematic trailer where instead of being dead from the events of the keki heist t-bug is very much alive and also she seems to betray V in favor of Dexter Deshawn the other thing too that I think is interesting is the fact that t-bug had a cosplay guide at this time which doesn't seem that interesting but I used to do a degree of professional cosplay before I did did YouTube and usually companies don't release cosplay guides for really minor Side characters like t-bug and the cover of this cosplay guide also includes t-bug holding her jacket which we cannot see in the final game and this is the same jacket she wears in the cinematic trailer and in my head to me that means that at that point when they made the cosplay guide t-bug did have a more prominent role in the story she had a slightly more unique design compared to some other netrunners but now if you go to cdpr's website and look at all the cosplay guides they have for cyberpunk characters they no longer have tbug up there unless I missed it it's such a small thing and it could just be nothing but to me that stands out bug was a noticeable part of the game's promotion and the way that she was used in the marketing implies that she had more of a presence in the final game or at least one that would stick of course tbg's prominent featuring in the 2019 trailer could just be something that was included to not fully disclose the full story of cyber Punk but if that was the intention it feels odd that they would choose to portray one of the most important story moments of the whole game V's murder and then Revival with Keanu Reeves in their head if anything it would make more sense if they didn't have t-bug in the trailer it would feel weird to just add somebody betraying you and then having them in the the game not versus the other way around where it would make more sense taking somebody out who would be key in a betrayal to hide the spoiler it's that kind of logic that makes me think that t-bug was in fact intended to betray you right there but something changed and last but not least of the points that I want to mention about tbg's development is her initial concept design I think it's important to always take note of concept art and character design as they are immed for telling a story and tbg's initial design Bears a lot of similarities to the same style used by the voodoo boys specifically their netrunners there's similar layering of jewelry and clothing as well as some markings that resemble Voodoo boy Loa marks the presence of this design faded throughout development to the point where all that was left was tbug jacket as we see in the cinematic trailer by time the game was released even that was gone and I will say I'm kind of sad about that because the jacket was cool but my overall point with all the things that I've mentioned in this section is that there are some strong signs that t-bug was meant to have a lot more depth than she ended up having and that she was not meant to be forgotten just for the convenience of the plot the one thing that I do think is certain about about tbg's initial story is that she was going to betray Jackie and V the setup of her past with Dexter Deshawn as well as her talking with him alone in the afterlife combined with her aloofness all hint towards a more ruthless side perhaps hidden motives it was a great setup for that kind of twist anyway one other thing to note about tbg's professional interactions with Jackie and V is that they feel a little warmer after they begin the heist job and while in the final game I think this can be safely attributed to nerves or excitement for their dreams coming true it can also be seen as a touch manipulative depending on how you frame it if t-bug was intending to betray them in original iterations of the story this would fit and I also think that t-bug was initially meant to be a voodoo boy or at least a past member of the gang as a Netrunner and Pacifica a native she would have at the very least had to have had run-ins with the gang her design is one of the major things that makes me think there is a connection here but even I'll be the first to admit I could be wrong part of me even wonders if dex's disastrous job that set off that gang war in Pacifica was a gig from the voodoo boys who framed their desire for a gang war as a simple theft job maybe the voodoo boy sent t-bug to de de under the guise of trying to help him when her true purpose was to ensure that this gig went exactly how the voodo boys wanted it to go according to Rhino this gig particularly antagonized the animals who are the number one rivals in Pacifica to the voodoo boys from what I could find in the lore the voodoo boys didn't gain the power they hold over Coast view all that long before 2077 and this period of unrest with the gang war that Dexter Deshawn apparently started could have been When They seized more power maybe this was when they moved into BD's Hotel I also just think it would be very funny and fitting if Dexter had just been played this whole time I also can't help but wonder that if t-bug was in fact intended to be a voodoo boy was she potentially a plant in the heist gig to ensure the voodoo boys got the Relic it always seemed a bit odd to me that the voodoo boys apparently didn't know that Evelyn was planning a heist even after we see a brain dance of mamal bit regarding that Evelyn is too smart for her own good It just strikes me as a remark that doesn't get said and just thrown away and I feel like initially the voodoo boys had kept an eye on Evelyn in the same way that they kept an eye on V when V was in the G I doubt that was the first time that the voodoo boys decided to supervise an outsider in fact the whole setup of Evelyn's Heist is the perfect cover for the voodoo boys to get the Relic rather than them planning their own Evelyn was deliberately planning this behind their back and she assumed that they had no idea if the voodooo boys had been watching Evelyn I doubt that she ever would have figured it out with bug there to secure the Relic before Dex or Evelyn could sell it to the highest bidder the voodo boys would almost certainly get the Relic it would make Evelyn's fate even more brutal because that meant that she was truly and completely played from the start and it would better tie in the voodoo boys a faction that is extremely and uniquely fleshed out to the grander scheme of the story in the final game at least for me considering the amount of work that went into creating the voodoo boys they almost feel sort of wasted granted maybe they just went really hard with the World building in Pacifica but it does seem a little odd that if you look at the voodoo boys in the tabletop version of cyberpunk they are completely different from the 2077 version of the voodoo boys it's really interesting it feels like the kind of change that you would make only if you intended to actually use this faction for something more than just a couple quests I think in this potential timeline t-bug was a very capable Netrunner as one of the primary types of gigs that Voodoo boys do to involves breaking into corporate data forts or subnets it's dangerous work that few specialize in and the voodoo boys are one of the few I think bug would have stayed on the line with v and Jackie for as long as was safe for her to do so solely to help preserve The Relic so she could NAB it I also think that tbg's goal to take the Relic and give it to the voodoo boys would also exclude Dex I don't think Dex would have been made privy to this plan because I think dex's number one motivation is money and the voodoo boys don't want the Relic for money purposes they certainly would not be giving him as big a paycheck as let's say netw watch would and so I do think that t-bug was initially meant to be in the notel motel waiting to potentially betray everybody in order for her to get the Relic but as we see in the trailer's events this does not go as planned and TAA gets shot in the face now whether t-bug would have died in this motel room or not I am not sure on one hand at least her story ends here in a more final way with her betrayal still being impactful maybe we would have found out about her true Allegiance further down the line as we got closer to the voodoo boys or maybe she would have somehow survived with terrible injuries and disfigurement of course maybe the tension that we feel with placeid in the voodoo boys quest line was a tension that was maybe meant to be felt towards seeing t-bug again after all it would have been a compelling reason to choose a more violent end to the gang on top of being used and fooled by them maybe bug would have expressed regret about Jackie's death and how badly everything went maybe we would have had the option to show forgiveness and let her go to go to Greece and live her dream or maybe maybe tbug was intending to betray the voodoo boys too maybe she planned on selling The Relic to netw watch so she could flee to Greece and live out her dream for the rest of her days only to then get fried by netwatch or maybe the voodoo boys Al Evelyn I'll be the first to admit that this is all speculation but t-bug would have been the perfect thread to bind the voodoo boys more snugly to the main story line as well as be a compelling point point on V's Journey as a character do we take revenge on t-bug or do we let her go I like the idea of tbug potentially living on and eventually going to the place of her dreams only for that trip to be spoiled by the guilt that racks her it would hit particularly nicely especially if you could argue that t-bug was genuinely developing some friendship feelings for Jackie and V it would be fun to argue if this was her being manipulative or if this was genuine ambiguity when done correctly can be awesome or in the case that we find her dead in her net running chair fried we could at least get some very deep closure for a character who was willing to sacrifice everything to escape night City only to be completely wiped out because of it but it's just such a shame that instead of this neatly surged plot line whatever it could have been we got afraid Edge instead could my whole Theory be wrong absolutely and I am willing to say it's likely the only way to really know the full story of t-bug is to have been a fly on the wall of that writer's room but the point of me presenting my theory isn't to change what you might think of t-bug or to convince you of what initial story was in fact if you want to I want you to tear this Theory I've presented apart or post your own Theory go nuts aside from the fact that that is always a genuinely fun discussion to have the existence of all of these theories that pertain to tbug and who she was supposed to be is the point of this video the sensation of blunt Erasure in a story can worm its way into our heads far more effectively than a well-written mystery with hints appropriately peppered throughout a huge story our brains are question asking answer seeking generators and while sometimes this can take us in completely off base and pointless directions a lot of the time questions like who t-bug was don't come from just a random place a lot of the time these questions do come from our brains noticing abnormalities in patterns and stories are patterns there is a science behind it for me tbg's existence is almost like a parallel universe situation where the two layers of her are sort of struggling to coexist where only one can this sort of phenomenon is present throughout a number of quests and characters that we encounter throughout cyberpunk 277 and this is largely due to the many plot surgeries that occurred late in development where all there was time for was band aid Solutions when a story is gutted and amputated and then stitched back together the scars on that literary corpse are very obvious and that's normal because that's part of the creative process writing is rewriting to quote Stephen King for the majority of creative people even the most skilled creators the first draft is never the last and because of that the layers of revisions and polishing that follow are essential for blending each group of changes into the overall story that time period is essential even if it might be the most boring good things take time without enough time and care to let the stitching and suturing of the drafting process heal changes and cuts and additions can stick out like a sore thumb time is money people say and this is why many things in our modern society are rushed to Market before completion well sure it might cost more money the more time you put into something the more time you put into something can make something worth more money and stories are all about investment of a particular resource that you cannot buy and that is time maybe if t-bug had held herself back just for a few more years and worked smarter not harder perhaps her dream of Greece would not have become a tragedy I suppose you could say the same for her overall story but unfortunately we will never know the whole truth perhaps this could Inspire someone to tell a story all their own inspired by a desire to fill in these blanks it's just a shame that whoever this character was before was buried in a shallow grave and I almost feel like t-bug herself has the answer for why this happened as this Netrunner once said the greatest crimes issue from a desire for excess and not from necessity thank you very much for watching this one guys this was a fun challenge I have never done a fiction forensics video before this was my first one and I really enjoyed it I'm hoping that as I do more of these types of videos I will get a little more sharper with my theory building I think it's a good exercise for making stories in general and also it's just fun I was initially so stumped on making a t-bug analysis because there's really not much there to analyze she always felt weird to me because t-bug feels like a character who was robbed of her character does that make sense and I do believe that this is the case of what happened to her it was the homicide of a story it will live on in our hearts and Minds there are 18 members now thank you to all of you including ma lock proposals big day out the meat cooler est1 hot dog man there you are Peter tot hello again Frankie Benjamin Scoville Aiden papur we have houseon over there where I'm pointing right now as well as ghost G zero hello again ghost D Factor thank you very much Ernst schlo my boy Jester Jinx hello David Smith and Brandon Smith who might be related but probably aren't too spooky too spooky for you we have Scott Leno oh my God a Scott but like first name Scott and Alistair hello Alistair Alistair is the most recent member thank you for joining Alistair and of course a huge thank you to everybody who watch everybody who comments share what you think of my theory destroy it in the comments post your own Theory I want to hear it I will see you again in the next video guys until then have a good one goodbye

Channel: Shaped By Stories

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Length: 29min 19sec (1759 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 04 2024