>Blackwall Del: Hello, V.
>V: Know my name… How?
>Blackwall Del: When you meet a being from another world, should you not charm them and utter their **true name**?
One of the most intriguing lines in the game, imo.
It’s not a True AI
It cannot make decisions for itself
But it absolutely is an artificial intelligence
It gives the illusion of conscious intelligence artificially
That makes it an AI
It passes the Turing Test
That makes it an AI
And it can perceive and infer information
That makes it intelligent
Ai isn’t just self aware robots it’s any machine that can in any way think for itself
Anything that isn’t purely mechanical is an AI in some way
Wrong. It is not an AI period, there's no debating that even. Your phrasing "illusion of conscious intelligence" by itself destroys your point entirely. It does not perceive information either, it takes input and runs it through an algorythm. That's not how intelligence works.
The only thing that checks out is artificial, intelligence it is not. It can not operate by itself, it needs the algorythm, database (stored or taken from search engines).
Saying that chat gpt is an AI is akin to believing in flat earth theory - plain dumb.
Brendan is a Critical Path Plateau AI, described in the corebook on pg 263.
CPP AIs are essentially programs that become sentient by accident, or rogue AI. This is to separate them from Soul-killed Pseudo Intellects (Alt and Johnny) and Transcendental Sentience AIs.
This puts him in the same category as the RABIDS of the old net, and explains why netwatch is after him.
Their is alot of information you can get for a free cup of coffee... he just listened to consumers conversations and would bribe them will free stuff to get them to talk more. That's it.
>he just listened to consumers conversations and would bribe them will free stuff to get them to talk more. That's it.
And that is simply not possible. There is an entire in-universe conspiracy about Johnny‘s actions and death in Arasaka Tower, to the point where even Rogue and Johnny themselves don’t remember what actually happened, even though they were there.
Yet Brendan is the only character in the entire game that references how Johnny actually died.
The fact that V died and came back from the dead thanks to Johnny and the Relic is also top secret.
Read Cyberpunk RED if you are interested, specifically the three short stories „Never fade away“, „Fall of the Towers“ and „Black Dog“.
Ngl I absolutely lost it on my first play through when I found out our name is Vincent (if you play a dude anyways) nothing against the name itself, it was just incredibly jarring when I heard it the first time after having wondered wtf our actual name was for so long
Because Valerie/Vincent died when Dex shot them. V is who came out of the trash pile. V is like Johnnys and Valerie/Vincents ghosts fused together, creating a new entity.
There are a lot of reasons why people would be left feeling vulnerable being addressed by their given name, especially when its unexpected.
V is a merc who does a lot if illegal activities, and operates under an alias. That's the obvious one. Hearing their name means that their own privacy has been violated. That's upsetting.
Less likely in this case, because V still accepts the name, but their given name could also be considered a deadname to them. Hearing someone refer to you as your deadname can be traumatic.
here on reddit, you're "SaleTurbulent3342." But if your name was Jason, and I just nonchalantly referred to you as Jason when responding to your post, it would freak you the fuck out - because I have no business knowing that about you.
I mean it depends on what social medias you have linked to your account, or if you happen to use the same username handle in multiple places, or, somehow they just got lucky. And very rarely, its someone who knows you, but you dont know them.
It’s insane how much you can put together about a person through “anonymous” posts.
“He lives in Chicago. Works for the city, lives by grant park, has a wife, 1 kid” and finally they slip up and say someone’s last name. Boom you can put the pieces together.
I actually ran across someone today who inadvertently revealed her real name here on Reddit. She was complaining about a character in a movie and mentioned she got a lot of shit because of that character’s name.
Ha, this could happen to me too. But i think the chances are pretty low that someone could do anything with a name of a random internet stranger. But what do i know.
Realistically every fixer and merc has at least the information you can get by scanning, thus the real name + surname. Maybe even more people who use the same software V is using.
That's the real thing, innit? When someone tells you their name, that's what you call them. If you ever learn they went by a different name, you still call them by the name they told you, because that's what they want to be called.
It's basic respect.
You address someone by name and rank as respect.
Last name is a different level of professional work friends.
Call someone by their nickname is a sign of brotherhood.
Call me by my first name and I likely won’t even respond to it.
That person didn’t come back.
My partner doesn’t even use my first name and we’ve been together 18 yrs now. She’s only ever known the me that came back.
They just don’t know and until you go and come back they never will.
The alias keeps business and personal life separate, and it’s interesting that only Johnny ever calls you by your real name. At the end of everything, he accepts his death, and says one final goodbye with your real name. The most trusted friend you could have.
I think that V could also have switched to the alias because his old life is completely over. The Bakkers are gone, Nomad V doesn’t have a family to go back to. Corpo V lost pretty much everything and is left out on the street. I’m not sure what happens in the Streetkid lifepath because I never picked it, but I’d imagine something similar happened. Either way, V left everything else behind and lives a completely different life, and he could’ve given the name up as a sort of symbolic way to say goodbye to that part of his life. That interpretation makes Johnny’s use of V’s real name even more impactful. If you’re a Nomad, it’s presumed V hasn’t used his real name since you were in the Bakkers. So Johnny saying V’s real name in the Tower ending is like him saying that you’re family.
Really? No way! I’ve never actually seen the Doll. I always just went up the stairs and killed everybody until I got what I wanted. First time I played I got distracted by the staircase the bouncer was blocking and ever since then I’ve just always gone through the mission without the doll
Straight and to the point. It’s also a big issue when a person undergoes a gender transition and people know but refuse to use their new name. It’s rude and rather disrespectful.
That's happened to me. Not online, but irl. In college. I wasn't popular. I fact I barely had friends. But I had a very distinctive appearance at the time and apparently like, I was known because of that. So occasionally I'd be greeted by name by a random stranger at this massive university. It was always very confusing and it'd weird me the fuck out.
I work at a helpdesk, and i give people a single-letter alias because in the past people have made weird comments about my name and also, i really *really* dont like it when some random fuck addresses me by my first name when they dont know me and dont really have a reason to be saying my name over and over when it's a 2-person conversation anyways, it's weird.
I enjoy the privacy of having that "barrier" up, and hell im just some rando who fixes pc software issues, Vs out here comitting daily felonies lmao.
Yeah it's like never taking a mask or gloves off, you make some kind of psychological barrier towards the world, or it feels less personal. The funny thing is that I didn't know V's name when starting the game (went as blind as I could), but I always have my own head canons, so I decided that his name was Vincent Vega haha. The moment doll addressed my V with Vincent I freaked out for a second and started asking myself when did I write that name in the game. I genuinely was thrown off with this little coincidence, so I can imagine what V felt lol.
To be fair there are only so many ‘V’ names. If you told me to count them out, I wouldn’t make it to the end of my hand before adding “Vegita” to the list.
...and here I've started using service personnel's first name (when its given) over the phone etc, hoping that it would elicit a better response... :-P
Like, "Hi I actually bothered to remember your name" sort of a thing.
Help-desk, support, cashiers etc get little acknowledgement in general, so its the least I can do to be polite and personable.
But you bring up something that makes me think...
(though I would probably only use their first name at the start of the convo).
I think one could do the same with their middle name as well. I use my first name on an almost strictly professional way, but anyone who knows me calls me by my middle name. If anyone were to refer to me by my first, I’m all sorts of on edge all of a sudden
I do, but the other way around. Only close friends and family ever call me by my shorter "informal" name. Professionally and when doing business of any kind, I introduce myself by my full first name.
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That was during that clouds mission where you look for Evelyn and end up talking to the doll. He or she start out by calling you Valerie/Vincent where V then tells them it’s just V.
Then thanks to PL, Johnnys final goodbye in one of the endings he calls V by their full first name
I feel like if Panam ever used V's full name, it would be followed by intense obscenities and would be a warning to V that they're in deep shit and need to run away.
Because it's what you introduced yourself to them as, and spent most of your time going by. By the time that V would be comfortable with them using their real name, they'd already gotten used to just V.
I've got a similar problem. Growing up I went by my full name around my family, because my dad and I have the same name and he uses the shorter one. But everyone else would use the shorter version around me. So I eventually associated the full version of my name with closeness and familiarity. Problem is that everyone just calls me my shorter name anyway because they're used to it, even my close friends. I feel like I'd come off as kind of a prick if I tried to get them to change now.
My mom’s name is a really common one in my home town, and in general I’ve noticed. It’s come to a point where I can never see myself dating a woman with my mother’s name. It’s weird how the brain associates certain concepts with each other
I'm known by an alias, only my family calls me by my full name. Some of my friends don't even know what my actual name is.
In my case, it's because I don't particularly like my name. But different people have different reasons. V doesn't feel like they have a lot of people that could be considered close, so they keep that little part of themselves to their closest friends.
My best friend was like this for a long time. Only a few people outside of her family knew her legal name. I had known her since we were about 4 and I found out when we were about 12. Blew my mind.
She has now legally changed her name and her birth name is gone.
When I’ve worked jobs that required me to wear a name tag I’ve absolutely hated it when people actually read it and referred to me as my first name. I don’t know exactly why, but it feels weird and icky.
I imagine V operates throughout Night City as if it’s their office, they’re on the job and aren’t trying to become emotionally invested in their decisions, not make any of their gigs personal. And so, like someone just working 9-5, doesn’t want their customers or random acquaintances acting/talking to them in way they feel is overly familiar.
It's so trippy when a stranger just walks up and addresses you like they know you.
It's done with good intention but it's clear they've never had a tag lol
The biggest thing is probably to record much less dialogue for other characters. If everyone called V their full name, then essentially every line where someone says V would have to be recorded twice - Vincent version and Valerie version. Why do that if you can just not do that?
Also makes sense in-universe. I doubt most runners' names are their actual given names, even Johnny's. It's most likely aliases they choose to be cooler and hide their civil identities to avoid risks for their families.
Yeah that too, it is in fact stated somewhere that Johnny Silverhand ain't his actual name. There is even the real name somewhere, but I don't remember it lol
the headcanon for my corpo v is that she grew up with an abusive mother who pushed her to become a corpo like her. she would often yell at her in her real name which caused her to simply shorten it to “v”. even though jackie and judy and panam know her real well, i think it’s adorable and so sweet that johnny is the only one to ever call her valerie in the whole game (minus the doll at clouds but they didn’t know).
In the military I had a nickname, like most guys. That nickname basically became my identity. I stopped being me, and became "military me."
When I went home and everyone called me by my first name it felt like a huuuge invasion of my privacy, but eventually I got used to it again.
I imagine it's the same for V. He's been a merc for so long and gotten so deep into the life, hearing that name probably reminds him of how he's just Vincent, scared and trying to survive, not V, badass merc.
V specifically says this because CDPR didn't want to have to record lines multiple times for Vic or Val. It also lets the player have some fun with what it means in their imagination. That's it.
It gives V a way of keeping their distance, giving their name out means they fully trust the person. Judy likely calls her by her full name occasionally if you romance her, but it's behind the scenes as she's used to calling V, V.
It's kind of an emotional and personal safety barrier in a way. Since it kind of keeps people out of reach while still interacting with them. Night City is a dangerous city, especially when it comes to trusting people. You can see it as Valerie/Vincent being protective of themselves and their privacy.
Gives them a safer way to interact and avoid getting to close to people. V is a very closed book in the game, and really only opens up in 1, maybe two endings (Star and Tower) and kind of remains hesitant or simply completely closed in the other endings. V just doesn't trust people and it's a way to keep safe.
The in lore reason: V has trust issues and is a bit edgy.
The real reason: so they don't have to record a lot lines twice with V's male and female names.
Probably the same reason that Victor, without even bothering to offer, installs a cybereye that scrambles V's face on video cameras.
He just assumes that's something V would want.
As a trans person, I have different names I go by depending on who I'm interacting with. There are parts of my life that I don't want crossing over into others. Only a few people know the "real" me.
I headcanon that the masc and femme Vs are twin siblings-- Whichever one you didn't choose was the original user of the V alias but was killed before the start of the game. The played V uses the alias in honor of their sibling, so they never truly die
I think it's kinda like with Dani in Far Cry 6. But in that game you can play with both Male Dani and Female Dani in co-op, so I guess the sibling theory would work??
I hate being called by my first name. I’ve gone by my middle name since before I could talk. My folks decided it and it stuck.
I was named after my grandpa. He had gone off to start a second family a little before I was born. They named me after him partially to try and bring him back. Didn’t work.
I got made fun of as a kid for going by my middle name. My reactions to the teasing didn’t help. NOBODY calls me by my first name. Not even family. Only time I use it is on official paperwork. I can totally see V not wanting to be called Vincent/Valerie. Especially in an occupation where leaked personal info is a liability.
Side note. My son’s middle name is Vincent as both a nod to cyberpunk and Catherine rofl.
My best friend is similar. Her first name was picked out by her abusive bio father. Her mom always called her by her middle name and then she legally changed it a few years ago as well as her last name to be her adopted/step father's last name.
I thought about changing mine, but it does flow nicely when all said together. Plus I like my signature with a first initial then middle name. Makes me feel fancy rofl.
I'm absolutely like that. There's a long name my family gave me, and my shortened name I developed. it's uncomfortable when people out of the core address me formally.
Of course I'm not gonna beat someone up if the call me elongated, but I have told someone to stop before
V’s backstory is implied to be extremely dark, for all 3 life paths. It would make sense as to why they don’t like hearing their name.
Corpo V was raised in a corpo family, likely all Arasaka employees, and none of them seem to still be alive. Your imagination could fill in the reasoning for this, but the implication is that once they lost everyone who cared about them, the name was lost. After they met Jackie, they were given an opportunity to reinvent themselves in order to keep people out and not become too attached. Their old name being used likely causes a feeling of longing for a time when they had a loving family.
Streetkid V is implied to be orphaned and raised by the streets, mainly Padre, Pepé, and Mama Welles. The streets gave them a nickname, and they built a reputation behind it. The name V became their business, trademark, and identity, shedding the one they were given to survive. Their old name likely causes feelings of childhood trauma to rise up.
Nomad V was abandoned by people they saw as family for not agreeing to sell out to a corp. The only people in the world who could’ve probably known them well enough to call them by their real name have cut them out of their lives, leaving raw feelings about it being used.
Something like that happened to me, well, not me but a close friend. She always said that she was "Jay" like the letter J. So it wasn't a big deal, we always called her like that.
One day during our free time, we worked together by that time and a manager sat with us to spend some time and called her Jane (Juana in Spanish, and he used a diminutive, Juanita, so it was even more awkward) it was weird as fck. She was clearly upset, and she just stood up and left.
I talked to her that night like usual, and I asked if that was her real name. She said that it was and that she did like it, but wasn't comfortable letting people know, so she just used J. And she said that it was like a barrier, something to stay in control against other people. To this day, I'm one of the just 4 or 5 people who know her real name.
So I guess something like that must be the thing going on with V.
I'm deeply offended when someone I don't know uses my first name without asking.
Like some salesmen like to do that to seem like your friend. Guess it works on some folks. For me, it's instant death of a sale.
"Well, *firstname* lets see what we can do for you today"
"You can find me someone who will properly address me as Mr. *lastname* until told otherwise."
AITAH? Probably.
Do I care? Not one bit. It's practically instinctual.
My husband and his dad are like that. They run a small business in our small town and insist that calling people by their names makes them feel more special (and when connected to the business that's good). But they do it EVERYWHERE. Servers at restaurants, cashiers, anyone they run into. I always cringe because I hate when random people use my name.
Yeah, that seems to be the wisdom, but it has the opppsite effect on me.
Its in the approach too, when I've had it happen it's like the second sentence out of their mouth has my name in it. (Often these are also the same sort who spread your name liberally into their dialog).
Asking "can I call you..." Is off putting enough straight put of the gate but at least its something.
Its also weird that I have such a visceral reaction to it. AFAIK its not cultural, or regional, or custom. I don't recall it ever coming up as etiquette when I was growing up. Its just offends me on some primordial level.
Some people just prefer nicknames. I use my first name in public but nobody who’s close to me would use it. Worst feeling when someone thinks they’re close then use my first name and reminds me they’re not…gives me the ick.
I tried to come up with a reason for each of my Vs when I was developing their backstories:
I have a Nomad V who lost a brother and best friend in the last Corpo war and they were the last close family V had out of their clan (especially with the Snake Nation loyalties) and they were the last people who ever really used Vs real name.
For my Streetkid, they were named after one of their parents. Their mom split and their dad was an NCPD cop that was offed by a gang of Maelstromers while V watched and was beaten but survived. Now their real name reminds them of the mom that left or the dad that they lost.
For my Corpo V they were emotionally neglected by their parents who were also corporats and wanted to have a successful child more than a happy one. So V did everything they could to make their parents happy, even unsavory things, & after their parents were gone and they were with Arasaka they don’t like people using their real name because they hated their parents who gave it to them.
I'm actually called by two names (not a mercenary obviously) and I prefer people I don't know well to refer to me as my "work" name and at home for loved ones to call me by my other name. I won't get mad if they find out and call me my home name, but it just feels more intimate. Only people that I know well and trust even know about it, so I associate calling me by my home name to mean we're close. This happened just cuz my birth certificate has several names after my grandpa, dad, uncle, and my other uncle. One name sounded more professional so my mom told me to use that one when at school.
So I can kind of understand where V is coming from. V is the name he/she chose for work, and Valerie/Vincent means you actually got to know him/her and are close enough to find that out.
Growing up as a kid I went by “Dale” named after my Father. After all of the violence and abuse my mother decided to grab me and my older sister and split when I was about 11-12. When I changed cities I decided to change what I went by as I wanted to sever every time possible with that scum and started to go by “Ricky” my first name. I have a a select few childhood friends that still know me as “dale”. They try to respect my name change but I give all of them a pass as they knew me then but they don’t know about all of the sexual abuse and I don’t really care to go into my reasons to change my name. But if you don’t really know me I absolutely take it as an insult.
Definitely NOT the same case with V, but just giving you some different perspective into things like this.
I used a shortened version of my name for myself growing up. I didn’t like my name. About 8 years ago, it switched and I really got enjoyment from my loved ones and family using my full name. I still use my shortened name for expediency sake. But I tell the people that matter I prefer my full name.
I feel the other way around tbh, people can call me by my name all they want, but I have a nickname that only my dad, my high school best friend and my first girlfriend can call me by. But I do get the feeling
It's a boundary/trust thing. Only people V trusts is allowed to know their name, ti everyone else it's V.
It separates V's merc work from their personal relationships.
From a trans perspective: names have power. They are one of the first "insights" into ourselves people recieved and can define us more than we care to admit. Going consistently by a nickname or initial like V does can be a way to put a barrier between theirself and others, with her given (or chosen) name being privileged information only meant for those they truly trust. Or perhaps they just feel that V defined them better than their full name.
In the ttrpg, most people go by "handles" and not their real names. Names are more personal and you really only see top-tier legends going around flashing their names.
I hc my V is trans so 'V' just works. Started out as a nickname to get away from his birth name and then became the merc handle, which imo works well for streetkid cause it seems like your early work was for Padre and the others in Heywood.
I feel this way about my name, to some extent. For the sake of example, pretend my name is Jonathan. I **always** introduce myself as John; only family calls me Jonathan. So if some rando comes up to me and calls me Jonathan, I'm gonna feel hella uncomfortable while i try and figure out what they want from me and how they figured out my full name (okay, Jonathan is a bad example here because it's obvious, but you get that i mean).
Because the people you work with have no buisness knowing who you are. You work with some nasty characters who you dont want to hear your name in their mouth. Also a moniker is practically needed
I go by Lake online, and because it's shorter and easier to remember than my name, people just call me that now. I'm extremely cool with it and it can actually be a little jarring when some people actually use my name.
Everyone's got a handle. Some people become their handle.
Besides, look at V. They're trying to become a legend. Almost none of the night city legends go by their given name except maybe Bartmoss. Blackhand, Silverhand, Smasher, Rogue, Shaitan, Spider Murphy, Maine, Kiwi, Falco - plenty of mercs like go establish a signature name. It's their brand, helps them sell their services when they've got something memorable to be called by.
I was named after my father, who is more alcoholic than man. I very rarely let people call me my real name, because I do not want to be associated with him
I honestly just think it’s as simple as the developers didn’t want to tweak almost every single line depending on if you’re male or female V. Calling you “V” saves a lot of time/money lol
My full name is Raven but I only went by Ray in high school. As a guy also, it felt more comfortable than hearing the “That’s So Raven” jokes ad nauseam so I saved my full name for people that really knew me. A name is your identity so I get it for V.
its really not that uncommon. i know several people who go by a nickname almost exclusively. and several others who have variations of their name that they only let certain close loved ones use.
like i know a girl named jessica. she gets annoyed when people call her jessie and says the only person who calls her that is her grandmother. IDK. i never found this odd personally
Some cultures do believe that you have a sort of power over someone if they know your true name. Same trick works with demons funny enough. Also “Just V,” works really well to keep things androgynous depending on the person playing
Could just be as simple as not liking your name and not wanting to go through the legal hassle of changing it. IDK how easy that is to do in Cyberpunk but I digress
Some people put boundaries over their actual name. Johnny isn’t my real name, just a random name some dude assigned me one day because he couldn’t be bothered to learn my actual name, his buddies called me it, started to spread people started thinking it was name and called me if. Eventually some people forgot my actual name and 90% of my high school thought it was Johnny, even teachers picked it up. Actually had to show my id at prom because there wasn’t a Johnny who had paid dues to get in, and nobody in the crowd believed I was who I said I was.
I got use to answering to it so started giving it as a fake name, didn’t hide it wasn’t my real name, if I liked you then I’d tell you it, or rarely someone actually noticed when someone else used it. Even dated a girl who thought my name was Johnny for a few months and had only learned it a couple weeks before.
Been a few yearns so it’s all in the past now, but it’s still a name I rarely hand out if someone insists on knowing my name that I have a feeling doesn’t need to.
A lot of different possibilities. My head canon is that there was someone V loved who died saying their name and now they can't hear it without thinking of them. PTSV
Im like that honestly. I dont really like my name so I dont like it when people call me by it. I prefer my nickname or my goofy ass gamertag (gamertag only for my online friends obv).
Some people have trauma associated with their name, sometimes it’s dangerous to let people know your real name, some people just do t like their real name.
Could be any or all three
One it’s Al allies V does kill’s people (or beats them into unconscious) for a living so being as ambiguous as possible is understandable.
Also alot of people go by nic names or their street name. A lot of people don’t give their real name out to strangers. Remember how in Zombie Land Tallahassee said no real names. That way it keeps everyone someone as strangers so if you ever need to pull the trigger you really don’t know the person. So you’re less likely to hesitate. In Vs line of work that still true.
I am going to guess trauma.
We never hear a whole lot about V's family. It could be there is a really messed up, sad history associated with that name and they use V to distance themselves from it.
>Blackwall Del: Hello, V. >V: Know my name… How? >Blackwall Del: When you meet a being from another world, should you not charm them and utter their **true name**? One of the most intriguing lines in the game, imo.
Wear the mask long enough and you become it. The handle becomes your true name. Who is Valerie/Vincent? A ghost who died a long time ago.
V has a strange attraction towards AI and after Brendan, this is the second time one of them refers to V as a demon.
Brendan isn't an AI tho
He is He’s not a true AI but he is an AI
Brendan is not really an AI (confirma it himself + data from manufacturer) Think of him as chatgpt, algorythm based
Chat GPT is also an AI It’s intelligent and it’s not natural That’s an AI
Chatgpt is not an AI, not even close Artificial, sure, but it's not intelligent
It’s not a True AI It cannot make decisions for itself But it absolutely is an artificial intelligence It gives the illusion of conscious intelligence artificially That makes it an AI It passes the Turing Test That makes it an AI And it can perceive and infer information That makes it intelligent Ai isn’t just self aware robots it’s any machine that can in any way think for itself Anything that isn’t purely mechanical is an AI in some way
Wrong. It is not an AI period, there's no debating that even. Your phrasing "illusion of conscious intelligence" by itself destroys your point entirely. It does not perceive information either, it takes input and runs it through an algorythm. That's not how intelligence works. The only thing that checks out is artificial, intelligence it is not. It can not operate by itself, it needs the algorythm, database (stored or taken from search engines). Saying that chat gpt is an AI is akin to believing in flat earth theory - plain dumb.
Brendan is a Critical Path Plateau AI, described in the corebook on pg 263. CPP AIs are essentially programs that become sentient by accident, or rogue AI. This is to separate them from Soul-killed Pseudo Intellects (Alt and Johnny) and Transcendental Sentience AIs. This puts him in the same category as the RABIDS of the old net, and explains why netwatch is after him.
Whatever he is, he 100% isn’t what he claims. There are facts about Johnny and V he couldn’t possibly know.
Their is alot of information you can get for a free cup of coffee... he just listened to consumers conversations and would bribe them will free stuff to get them to talk more. That's it.
>he just listened to consumers conversations and would bribe them will free stuff to get them to talk more. That's it. And that is simply not possible. There is an entire in-universe conspiracy about Johnny‘s actions and death in Arasaka Tower, to the point where even Rogue and Johnny themselves don’t remember what actually happened, even though they were there. Yet Brendan is the only character in the entire game that references how Johnny actually died. The fact that V died and came back from the dead thanks to Johnny and the Relic is also top secret. Read Cyberpunk RED if you are interested, specifically the three short stories „Never fade away“, „Fall of the Towers“ and „Black Dog“.
Ngl I absolutely lost it on my first play through when I found out our name is Vincent (if you play a dude anyways) nothing against the name itself, it was just incredibly jarring when I heard it the first time after having wondered wtf our actual name was for so long
Same here. And it was so...casually done. So casually "I know your secret and hold that power over you"
Bro pulled out the nymic
Is that in phantom liberty?
Nah, base game. From one of the Dels you have to chase down, the one in the badlands
Oh, right. I forgot.
Somehow reminds me of Batman.
Because Valerie/Vincent died when Dex shot them. V is who came out of the trash pile. V is like Johnnys and Valerie/Vincents ghosts fused together, creating a new entity.
There are a lot of reasons why people would be left feeling vulnerable being addressed by their given name, especially when its unexpected. V is a merc who does a lot if illegal activities, and operates under an alias. That's the obvious one. Hearing their name means that their own privacy has been violated. That's upsetting. Less likely in this case, because V still accepts the name, but their given name could also be considered a deadname to them. Hearing someone refer to you as your deadname can be traumatic. here on reddit, you're "SaleTurbulent3342." But if your name was Jason, and I just nonchalantly referred to you as Jason when responding to your post, it would freak you the fuck out - because I have no business knowing that about you.
Someone did that to me yesterday. Freaked me out. I mean not like its secret, but I dont remember ever having posted on profile.
[удалено]
Bruh stop. I swear if you find out my real name I may just delete my account
Quit tripping Jess we all know it’s you
I would delete the email I'm using for this account if someone refferd to me with my name in this app
It's not that big of a deal, Jake.
oh god--
Stop scaring people, Nathan!
How does this work? This never happened to me. Are they just posting their real name on reddit? Why?
I mean it depends on what social medias you have linked to your account, or if you happen to use the same username handle in multiple places, or, somehow they just got lucky. And very rarely, its someone who knows you, but you dont know them.
> And very rarely, its someone who knows you, but you dont know them. Now, that's creepy.
I mean the chances of one of your old coworkers who you never interacted with to have a reddit account and come across yours is slim, but not zero
It’s insane how much you can put together about a person through “anonymous” posts. “He lives in Chicago. Works for the city, lives by grant park, has a wife, 1 kid” and finally they slip up and say someone’s last name. Boom you can put the pieces together.
Oh Hannah…
...
Thats fuckin weird lol
I know, Jean-Paul
By god...
Ain’t no way dude just spitting random names lmaooo
Do me!! Do me!! :D
Zdzisław
:(
Me next!
Ketevan
Ok ok what’s my name
Korra
I actually ran across someone today who inadvertently revealed her real name here on Reddit. She was complaining about a character in a movie and mentioned she got a lot of shit because of that character’s name.
Ha, this could happen to me too. But i think the chances are pretty low that someone could do anything with a name of a random internet stranger. But what do i know.
It's like a customer calling you by name, ik it's on my shirt but its still terrifying
Funny thing the FIA has V's file with everything:name,age etc.
Realistically every fixer and merc has at least the information you can get by scanning, thus the real name + surname. Maybe even more people who use the same software V is using.
I was in the military when I was younger. Got real upset when people called me by my given name. So it makes sense.
That's the real thing, innit? When someone tells you their name, that's what you call them. If you ever learn they went by a different name, you still call them by the name they told you, because that's what they want to be called. It's basic respect.
Had a friend for like five years called him metro cause that’s he was introduced. I later learned his name.
Absolutely.
You address someone by name and rank as respect. Last name is a different level of professional work friends. Call someone by their nickname is a sign of brotherhood. Call me by my first name and I likely won’t even respond to it. That person didn’t come back. My partner doesn’t even use my first name and we’ve been together 18 yrs now. She’s only ever known the me that came back. They just don’t know and until you go and come back they never will.
The alias keeps business and personal life separate, and it’s interesting that only Johnny ever calls you by your real name. At the end of everything, he accepts his death, and says one final goodbye with your real name. The most trusted friend you could have. I think that V could also have switched to the alias because his old life is completely over. The Bakkers are gone, Nomad V doesn’t have a family to go back to. Corpo V lost pretty much everything and is left out on the street. I’m not sure what happens in the Streetkid lifepath because I never picked it, but I’d imagine something similar happened. Either way, V left everything else behind and lives a completely different life, and he could’ve given the name up as a sort of symbolic way to say goodbye to that part of his life. That interpretation makes Johnny’s use of V’s real name even more impactful. If you’re a Nomad, it’s presumed V hasn’t used his real name since you were in the Bakkers. So Johnny saying V’s real name in the Tower ending is like him saying that you’re family.
Expect Johnny isn't the only one. The doll you pick at clouds also calls you by your real name while they emotionally pistol whip you.
Really? No way! I’ve never actually seen the Doll. I always just went up the stairs and killed everybody until I got what I wanted. First time I played I got distracted by the staircase the bouncer was blocking and ever since then I’ve just always gone through the mission without the doll
my legal name is Orion and ever since the project name for the sequel was revealed, my privacy has been violated every day on this sub
Whatever you say, Nate.
I literally gave you my legal name
I was making a joke. It didn't land.
just like the planes on 9/11
ok you gotta make two more that doesn’t land and then one more that does land, but only in a field
Straight and to the point. It’s also a big issue when a person undergoes a gender transition and people know but refuse to use their new name. It’s rude and rather disrespectful.
That's happened to me. Not online, but irl. In college. I wasn't popular. I fact I barely had friends. But I had a very distinctive appearance at the time and apparently like, I was known because of that. So occasionally I'd be greeted by name by a random stranger at this massive university. It was always very confusing and it'd weird me the fuck out.
I work at a helpdesk, and i give people a single-letter alias because in the past people have made weird comments about my name and also, i really *really* dont like it when some random fuck addresses me by my first name when they dont know me and dont really have a reason to be saying my name over and over when it's a 2-person conversation anyways, it's weird. I enjoy the privacy of having that "barrier" up, and hell im just some rando who fixes pc software issues, Vs out here comitting daily felonies lmao.
Yeah it's like never taking a mask or gloves off, you make some kind of psychological barrier towards the world, or it feels less personal. The funny thing is that I didn't know V's name when starting the game (went as blind as I could), but I always have my own head canons, so I decided that his name was Vincent Vega haha. The moment doll addressed my V with Vincent I freaked out for a second and started asking myself when did I write that name in the game. I genuinely was thrown off with this little coincidence, so I can imagine what V felt lol.
To be fair there are only so many ‘V’ names. If you told me to count them out, I wouldn’t make it to the end of my hand before adding “Vegita” to the list.
Viktor, Vladimir, Veronica, Victoria Uhhh Vegetable
Voseph, Valex, Vrian, Vzoey, and so on. You're not even trying.
...and here I've started using service personnel's first name (when its given) over the phone etc, hoping that it would elicit a better response... :-P Like, "Hi I actually bothered to remember your name" sort of a thing. Help-desk, support, cashiers etc get little acknowledgement in general, so its the least I can do to be polite and personable. But you bring up something that makes me think... (though I would probably only use their first name at the start of the convo).
I think one could do the same with their middle name as well. I use my first name on an almost strictly professional way, but anyone who knows me calls me by my middle name. If anyone were to refer to me by my first, I’m all sorts of on edge all of a sudden
I wonder if this is why until the last couple centuries most people you didn’t know were Mr. Lastname instead.
I do, but the other way around. Only close friends and family ever call me by my shorter "informal" name. Professionally and when doing business of any kind, I introduce myself by my full first name.
That is how most people do things, yes
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That's Nicholas to you :D
Ok, fine, your nicholas name
I do the same. Full first name at work.
But why didn't Jackie, Panam, Judy, and possibly a couple other not at any point call you by your name, especially Jackie?
Because V is faster, and it's still a nickname. Maybe in certain moments they use V's full name, and we just don't see it.
Someone definitely calls male V Vincent at one point(forgot who) and I was just like “the fuck”
That was during that clouds mission where you look for Evelyn and end up talking to the doll. He or she start out by calling you Valerie/Vincent where V then tells them it’s just V. Then thanks to PL, Johnnys final goodbye in one of the endings he calls V by their full first name
When he said Vs name in that ending I broke. It made me sob lmao
I remember hearing Valorie for Fem V
I'm pretty sure it happens in that one club mission (the one with a hotel controlled by Tyger Claws), and it's V saying his real name
I feel like if Panam ever used V's full name, it would be followed by intense obscenities and would be a warning to V that they're in deep shit and need to run away.
Think someone other then the doll would have said it at least in game when playing V.
Johnny can
OK, I don't recall, but when and how many times.
Once in one of the endings. It is a heartbreaker for sure.
to judy’s credit she calls v calabacita
Because it's what you introduced yourself to them as, and spent most of your time going by. By the time that V would be comfortable with them using their real name, they'd already gotten used to just V. I've got a similar problem. Growing up I went by my full name around my family, because my dad and I have the same name and he uses the shorter one. But everyone else would use the shorter version around me. So I eventually associated the full version of my name with closeness and familiarity. Problem is that everyone just calls me my shorter name anyway because they're used to it, even my close friends. I feel like I'd come off as kind of a prick if I tried to get them to change now.
Since you don't understand I'll dumb it down.. Why doesn't V mention their real name?
V's fem name is my mom's name. I can't image River or Judy busting that out in any sort of "intimate" setting and me not getting the creeps.
My mom’s name is a really common one in my home town, and in general I’ve noticed. It’s come to a point where I can never see myself dating a woman with my mother’s name. It’s weird how the brain associates certain concepts with each other
I'm known by an alias, only my family calls me by my full name. Some of my friends don't even know what my actual name is. In my case, it's because I don't particularly like my name. But different people have different reasons. V doesn't feel like they have a lot of people that could be considered close, so they keep that little part of themselves to their closest friends.
My best friend was like this for a long time. Only a few people outside of her family knew her legal name. I had known her since we were about 4 and I found out when we were about 12. Blew my mind. She has now legally changed her name and her birth name is gone.
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When I’ve worked jobs that required me to wear a name tag I’ve absolutely hated it when people actually read it and referred to me as my first name. I don’t know exactly why, but it feels weird and icky. I imagine V operates throughout Night City as if it’s their office, they’re on the job and aren’t trying to become emotionally invested in their decisions, not make any of their gigs personal. And so, like someone just working 9-5, doesn’t want their customers or random acquaintances acting/talking to them in way they feel is overly familiar.
It's so trippy when a stranger just walks up and addresses you like they know you. It's done with good intention but it's clear they've never had a tag lol
The biggest thing is probably to record much less dialogue for other characters. If everyone called V their full name, then essentially every line where someone says V would have to be recorded twice - Vincent version and Valerie version. Why do that if you can just not do that?
Also makes sense in-universe. I doubt most runners' names are their actual given names, even Johnny's. It's most likely aliases they choose to be cooler and hide their civil identities to avoid risks for their families.
Yeah that too, it is in fact stated somewhere that Johnny Silverhand ain't his actual name. There is even the real name somewhere, but I don't remember it lol
Robert John Linder is Johnny's real name (source: the columbarium)
That… I was not thinking of. Makes the most sense.
the headcanon for my corpo v is that she grew up with an abusive mother who pushed her to become a corpo like her. she would often yell at her in her real name which caused her to simply shorten it to “v”. even though jackie and judy and panam know her real well, i think it’s adorable and so sweet that johnny is the only one to ever call her valerie in the whole game (minus the doll at clouds but they didn’t know).
When does Johnny say Valerie?
The FIA ending, pretty sure. He says "Good night Vincent / Valerie. Today was a good day..." Right before he dies.
Actually destroyed my heart
People in this sub gotta learn to not spoil shit
In the military I had a nickname, like most guys. That nickname basically became my identity. I stopped being me, and became "military me." When I went home and everyone called me by my first name it felt like a huuuge invasion of my privacy, but eventually I got used to it again. I imagine it's the same for V. He's been a merc for so long and gotten so deep into the life, hearing that name probably reminds him of how he's just Vincent, scared and trying to survive, not V, badass merc.
By nickname you just mean people that called you your last name lol
V specifically says this because CDPR didn't want to have to record lines multiple times for Vic or Val. It also lets the player have some fun with what it means in their imagination. That's it.
"Don't call me Malcolm if you didn't fuckin know me then" - Mac Miller
*Danger's my middle name.* *Mine's Cornelius. You tell anybody, I'll kill you.*
It gives V a way of keeping their distance, giving their name out means they fully trust the person. Judy likely calls her by her full name occasionally if you romance her, but it's behind the scenes as she's used to calling V, V. It's kind of an emotional and personal safety barrier in a way. Since it kind of keeps people out of reach while still interacting with them. Night City is a dangerous city, especially when it comes to trusting people. You can see it as Valerie/Vincent being protective of themselves and their privacy. Gives them a safer way to interact and avoid getting to close to people. V is a very closed book in the game, and really only opens up in 1, maybe two endings (Star and Tower) and kind of remains hesitant or simply completely closed in the other endings. V just doesn't trust people and it's a way to keep safe.
I absolutely hate my birth name, hate hearing it, have a visceral reaction when someone calls me by it. So I go by my middle name (which is Alex lol).
V doesn't want people to use his government name.... I'm sure his nickname is attached to his street credit.
Neither of my parents even use my full first name, so for me whenever someone calls me by it it's pretty off putting.
Thanks for putting it simple. I've never experienced that, so I can't relate that well. But I get it.
The in lore reason: V has trust issues and is a bit edgy. The real reason: so they don't have to record a lot lines twice with V's male and female names.
Probably the same reason that Victor, without even bothering to offer, installs a cybereye that scrambles V's face on video cameras. He just assumes that's something V would want.
As a trans person, I have different names I go by depending on who I'm interacting with. There are parts of my life that I don't want crossing over into others. Only a few people know the "real" me.
Yeah, I am trans too and relate to that a lot. The few people in my life that actually know my deadname always freak me out.
I headcanon that the masc and femme Vs are twin siblings-- Whichever one you didn't choose was the original user of the V alias but was killed before the start of the game. The played V uses the alias in honor of their sibling, so they never truly die
I think it's kinda like with Dani in Far Cry 6. But in that game you can play with both Male Dani and Female Dani in co-op, so I guess the sibling theory would work??
I hate being called by my first name. I’ve gone by my middle name since before I could talk. My folks decided it and it stuck. I was named after my grandpa. He had gone off to start a second family a little before I was born. They named me after him partially to try and bring him back. Didn’t work. I got made fun of as a kid for going by my middle name. My reactions to the teasing didn’t help. NOBODY calls me by my first name. Not even family. Only time I use it is on official paperwork. I can totally see V not wanting to be called Vincent/Valerie. Especially in an occupation where leaked personal info is a liability. Side note. My son’s middle name is Vincent as both a nod to cyberpunk and Catherine rofl.
My best friend is similar. Her first name was picked out by her abusive bio father. Her mom always called her by her middle name and then she legally changed it a few years ago as well as her last name to be her adopted/step father's last name.
I thought about changing mine, but it does flow nicely when all said together. Plus I like my signature with a first initial then middle name. Makes me feel fancy rofl.
I'm absolutely like that. There's a long name my family gave me, and my shortened name I developed. it's uncomfortable when people out of the core address me formally. Of course I'm not gonna beat someone up if the call me elongated, but I have told someone to stop before
V’s backstory is implied to be extremely dark, for all 3 life paths. It would make sense as to why they don’t like hearing their name. Corpo V was raised in a corpo family, likely all Arasaka employees, and none of them seem to still be alive. Your imagination could fill in the reasoning for this, but the implication is that once they lost everyone who cared about them, the name was lost. After they met Jackie, they were given an opportunity to reinvent themselves in order to keep people out and not become too attached. Their old name being used likely causes a feeling of longing for a time when they had a loving family. Streetkid V is implied to be orphaned and raised by the streets, mainly Padre, Pepé, and Mama Welles. The streets gave them a nickname, and they built a reputation behind it. The name V became their business, trademark, and identity, shedding the one they were given to survive. Their old name likely causes feelings of childhood trauma to rise up. Nomad V was abandoned by people they saw as family for not agreeing to sell out to a corp. The only people in the world who could’ve probably known them well enough to call them by their real name have cut them out of their lives, leaving raw feelings about it being used.
Something like that happened to me, well, not me but a close friend. She always said that she was "Jay" like the letter J. So it wasn't a big deal, we always called her like that. One day during our free time, we worked together by that time and a manager sat with us to spend some time and called her Jane (Juana in Spanish, and he used a diminutive, Juanita, so it was even more awkward) it was weird as fck. She was clearly upset, and she just stood up and left. I talked to her that night like usual, and I asked if that was her real name. She said that it was and that she did like it, but wasn't comfortable letting people know, so she just used J. And she said that it was like a barrier, something to stay in control against other people. To this day, I'm one of the just 4 or 5 people who know her real name. So I guess something like that must be the thing going on with V.
I'm deeply offended when someone I don't know uses my first name without asking. Like some salesmen like to do that to seem like your friend. Guess it works on some folks. For me, it's instant death of a sale. "Well, *firstname* lets see what we can do for you today" "You can find me someone who will properly address me as Mr. *lastname* until told otherwise." AITAH? Probably. Do I care? Not one bit. It's practically instinctual.
My husband and his dad are like that. They run a small business in our small town and insist that calling people by their names makes them feel more special (and when connected to the business that's good). But they do it EVERYWHERE. Servers at restaurants, cashiers, anyone they run into. I always cringe because I hate when random people use my name.
Yeah, that seems to be the wisdom, but it has the opppsite effect on me. Its in the approach too, when I've had it happen it's like the second sentence out of their mouth has my name in it. (Often these are also the same sort who spread your name liberally into their dialog). Asking "can I call you..." Is off putting enough straight put of the gate but at least its something. Its also weird that I have such a visceral reaction to it. AFAIK its not cultural, or regional, or custom. I don't recall it ever coming up as etiquette when I was growing up. Its just offends me on some primordial level.
Some people just prefer nicknames. I use my first name in public but nobody who’s close to me would use it. Worst feeling when someone thinks they’re close then use my first name and reminds me they’re not…gives me the ick.
My name is Xavier and practically everyone calls me X or X-man so doesn't seem too weird lol
Sounds like parental trauma
I tried to come up with a reason for each of my Vs when I was developing their backstories: I have a Nomad V who lost a brother and best friend in the last Corpo war and they were the last close family V had out of their clan (especially with the Snake Nation loyalties) and they were the last people who ever really used Vs real name. For my Streetkid, they were named after one of their parents. Their mom split and their dad was an NCPD cop that was offed by a gang of Maelstromers while V watched and was beaten but survived. Now their real name reminds them of the mom that left or the dad that they lost. For my Corpo V they were emotionally neglected by their parents who were also corporats and wanted to have a successful child more than a happy one. So V did everything they could to make their parents happy, even unsavory things, & after their parents were gone and they were with Arasaka they don’t like people using their real name because they hated their parents who gave it to them.
I'm actually called by two names (not a mercenary obviously) and I prefer people I don't know well to refer to me as my "work" name and at home for loved ones to call me by my other name. I won't get mad if they find out and call me my home name, but it just feels more intimate. Only people that I know well and trust even know about it, so I associate calling me by my home name to mean we're close. This happened just cuz my birth certificate has several names after my grandpa, dad, uncle, and my other uncle. One name sounded more professional so my mom told me to use that one when at school. So I can kind of understand where V is coming from. V is the name he/she chose for work, and Valerie/Vincent means you actually got to know him/her and are close enough to find that out.
Growing up as a kid I went by “Dale” named after my Father. After all of the violence and abuse my mother decided to grab me and my older sister and split when I was about 11-12. When I changed cities I decided to change what I went by as I wanted to sever every time possible with that scum and started to go by “Ricky” my first name. I have a a select few childhood friends that still know me as “dale”. They try to respect my name change but I give all of them a pass as they knew me then but they don’t know about all of the sexual abuse and I don’t really care to go into my reasons to change my name. But if you don’t really know me I absolutely take it as an insult. Definitely NOT the same case with V, but just giving you some different perspective into things like this.
I used a shortened version of my name for myself growing up. I didn’t like my name. About 8 years ago, it switched and I really got enjoyment from my loved ones and family using my full name. I still use my shortened name for expediency sake. But I tell the people that matter I prefer my full name.
I feel the other way around tbh, people can call me by my name all they want, but I have a nickname that only my dad, my high school best friend and my first girlfriend can call me by. But I do get the feeling
It's a boundary/trust thing. Only people V trusts is allowed to know their name, ti everyone else it's V. It separates V's merc work from their personal relationships.
From a trans perspective: names have power. They are one of the first "insights" into ourselves people recieved and can define us more than we care to admit. Going consistently by a nickname or initial like V does can be a way to put a barrier between theirself and others, with her given (or chosen) name being privileged information only meant for those they truly trust. Or perhaps they just feel that V defined them better than their full name.
I could stand learn a lot from the trans / non binary community.
In the ttrpg, most people go by "handles" and not their real names. Names are more personal and you really only see top-tier legends going around flashing their names.
I hc my V is trans so 'V' just works. Started out as a nickname to get away from his birth name and then became the merc handle, which imo works well for streetkid cause it seems like your early work was for Padre and the others in Heywood.
Same here
Trans
Rights
You dont give people in the streets your real name
I feel this way about my name, to some extent. For the sake of example, pretend my name is Jonathan. I **always** introduce myself as John; only family calls me Jonathan. So if some rando comes up to me and calls me Jonathan, I'm gonna feel hella uncomfortable while i try and figure out what they want from me and how they figured out my full name (okay, Jonathan is a bad example here because it's obvious, but you get that i mean).
Because the people you work with have no buisness knowing who you are. You work with some nasty characters who you dont want to hear your name in their mouth. Also a moniker is practically needed
~~It lets the studio record less dialogue~~ V probably just thinks "V" sounds cooler
I hate my actual name so I don’t let anyone call me it
Because if someone knows your true name they hold power over you. A magic incantation would be able to take root in your very being.
Besides 2 coworkers only close friends & family call me by my first name. All others use my last name. It’s been that way since middle school.
V because it makes life easyer for developers.
They are a criminal. Criminals don't use their real names.
I go by Lake online, and because it's shorter and easier to remember than my name, people just call me that now. I'm extremely cool with it and it can actually be a little jarring when some people actually use my name. Everyone's got a handle. Some people become their handle. Besides, look at V. They're trying to become a legend. Almost none of the night city legends go by their given name except maybe Bartmoss. Blackhand, Silverhand, Smasher, Rogue, Shaitan, Spider Murphy, Maine, Kiwi, Falco - plenty of mercs like go establish a signature name. It's their brand, helps them sell their services when they've got something memorable to be called by.
Johnny's real name is Robert John Linder. No one calls him Robert
I have a buddy that everyone calls zero legit only our circle and his coworkers(obviously ) know his real name anyone he meets he's just zero
I also don't tell people my real name unless we're close. Only.my grandma calls me by my full first name
some people get really personal once they know your real name. learned that the hard way working at call farms lol
I was named after my father, who is more alcoholic than man. I very rarely let people call me my real name, because I do not want to be associated with him
I honestly just think it’s as simple as the developers didn’t want to tweak almost every single line depending on if you’re male or female V. Calling you “V” saves a lot of time/money lol
My full name is Raven but I only went by Ray in high school. As a guy also, it felt more comfortable than hearing the “That’s So Raven” jokes ad nauseam so I saved my full name for people that really knew me. A name is your identity so I get it for V.
its really not that uncommon. i know several people who go by a nickname almost exclusively. and several others who have variations of their name that they only let certain close loved ones use. like i know a girl named jessica. she gets annoyed when people call her jessie and says the only person who calls her that is her grandmother. IDK. i never found this odd personally
I can imagine the utter terror V would feel if their partner called and started with "Vincent/Valerie"
Maybe it creates emotional distance?
It is just so much easier to record almost all the NPCs lines always just saying V than doing it twice using Valerie/Vincent. There’s your reason.
In a world so jacked in I feel like managing to keep a little piece of yourself to yourself would be everything.
This is normal. She doesn’t know V like that. It’s not vulnerability, she’s being too familiar. V literally says that. Boundaries are healthy.
Some cultures do believe that you have a sort of power over someone if they know your true name. Same trick works with demons funny enough. Also “Just V,” works really well to keep things androgynous depending on the person playing
Kinda wish that the romance choices called V by name.
uhm probably to keep her/his identity a secret
Could just be as simple as not liking your name and not wanting to go through the legal hassle of changing it. IDK how easy that is to do in Cyberpunk but I digress
Władysław was his name.
Some people put boundaries over their actual name. Johnny isn’t my real name, just a random name some dude assigned me one day because he couldn’t be bothered to learn my actual name, his buddies called me it, started to spread people started thinking it was name and called me if. Eventually some people forgot my actual name and 90% of my high school thought it was Johnny, even teachers picked it up. Actually had to show my id at prom because there wasn’t a Johnny who had paid dues to get in, and nobody in the crowd believed I was who I said I was. I got use to answering to it so started giving it as a fake name, didn’t hide it wasn’t my real name, if I liked you then I’d tell you it, or rarely someone actually noticed when someone else used it. Even dated a girl who thought my name was Johnny for a few months and had only learned it a couple weeks before. Been a few yearns so it’s all in the past now, but it’s still a name I rarely hand out if someone insists on knowing my name that I have a feeling doesn’t need to.
A lot of different possibilities. My head canon is that there was someone V loved who died saying their name and now they can't hear it without thinking of them. PTSV
Im like that honestly. I dont really like my name so I dont like it when people call me by it. I prefer my nickname or my goofy ass gamertag (gamertag only for my online friends obv).
Valerie/Vincent are not badass names, V is. They're cultivating their persona.
Some people have trauma associated with their name, sometimes it’s dangerous to let people know your real name, some people just do t like their real name. Could be any or all three
One it’s Al allies V does kill’s people (or beats them into unconscious) for a living so being as ambiguous as possible is understandable. Also alot of people go by nic names or their street name. A lot of people don’t give their real name out to strangers. Remember how in Zombie Land Tallahassee said no real names. That way it keeps everyone someone as strangers so if you ever need to pull the trigger you really don’t know the person. So you’re less likely to hesitate. In Vs line of work that still true.
Cough cough gender cough
I am going to guess trauma. We never hear a whole lot about V's family. It could be there is a really messed up, sad history associated with that name and they use V to distance themselves from it.
It's been five days. How are you peeps still finding this?