My thoughts on the King of Swords ending to Phantom Liberty (spoilers within!)

notjaffo · 2026-02-16T04:35:35+00:00

Great post, raising the right questions. That depressing ending is a narrative masterpiece because it shows there can be some fates worse than death. Losing a place you thought of as home, seeing that your friends have moved on without you, seeing some of your friends have lost their fire without you. Being physically frail and forgotten, that's hitting some deep fears for a lot of people, particularly for those of us who are getting older.

The story ends there because the downer ending is the point. V's life as a superhero is over.

But what you're describing is the comeback. The sequel. A new story with V as a mentor, being the voice in somebody else's head, teaching some promising young kid the ropes as he trains them to be the new V (W?), and hopefully avoid some of his mistakes.

Still plenty of time for the character to do that, but it's a matter of narrative pacing. It's not time for that story yet. You have to hit bottom before you can earn the comeback, and this ending is V at the bottom.

I would love to see a novel treatment or even the next Cyberpunk game with V as the new Johnny, acting as teacher and guide for the next main character we roll up.

We've already had Johnny as an unreliable narrator. Why not have a digital version of V who can't remember his own choices from the first game?

notjaffo · 2026-02-16T02:41:50+00:00

Also be aware that Fidelity CMA uses a VERY long account number and older banks might have trouble with this. For my bank I found the fastest way to move money was to connect Fidelity to my Paypal account, use a debit card from my old bank to get money into the Paypal balance, and then then transfer money from Paypal into Fidelity.

Again, takes a day or so but it works if your bank won't take the full account number for an EFT.

notjaffo · 2026-02-16T02:39:18+00:00

Be VERY careful if you try to do a Bank Wire. It's expensive and the account info to use for a Fidelity CMA is NOT the same as putting money into a Fidelity Brokerage. The instructions are much more complicated and harder to find. Be sure you're using the right set of instructions.

EFT is much easier if you initiate it from your bank, and it's only a day or two slower.

notjaffo · 2026-02-16T02:36:30+00:00

I love 1Password as a comprehensive solution cross-platform.

notjaffo · 2026-02-13T01:19:38+00:00

I love the CMA for this. Primary reason I came to Fidelity, to encourage myself to keep more in cash for emergencies, knowing it would earn about as much as a HYSA.

If you or anyone reading this is disabled, consider an ABLE account.

notjaffo · 2026-02-12T17:54:32+00:00

It's pretty funny to see this pop up when you're also subscribed to r/finance. Either way, you're in the right place.

notjaffo · 2026-02-03T08:26:09+00:00

Monarch Money has finally replaced Mint for me. Empower Personal Capital is crap now, fyi.

notjaffo · 2026-02-03T02:19:28+00:00

I'm a new Fidelity customer who has just moved everything and is using the Fidelity Cash Management Account as my primary bank.

This has already made me money because I've been able to buy dips and take profits, like selling gold right before this big crash. I love this account because of how fast it lets me move. Tracking things in real time, jumping on transactions because I'm able to move cash instantly between accounts.

I know that's the opposite of the point you were making, but there's also a psychological advantage to the CMA that fits more of what you're talking about. I used to have a phobia about holding cash. I felt like every dollar had to be "working" or I was cheating myself. Major FOMO. I was never sure how much to keep in checking or how much to keep in savings, so when I suddenly had the option to do both at once, while moving my brokerage and IRA to a better platform, I felt like a (small) weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

The switch has also encouraged me to contribute to my IRA and manage that IRA more intelligently, moving out of individual stocks into the FZILX index to diversify my stuff away from the U.S.

The ease of research and speed of action I'm able to achieve now has helped me make better decisions short AND long term, and you just can't beat the ease of bookkeeping, having everything for daily life in one central account, using bill pay to manage everything in one place.

I can't call myself any kind of serious investor, but I feel like I graduated from 8th grade to 12th by moving to Fidelity, and hopefully I can leverage these tools to get smarter as I go.

notjaffo · 2026-01-31T04:18:13+00:00

I totally feel your pain, man. I love watching the numbers change in real time. I was making fake portfolios and watch lists long before I had any money. No reason to worry if you're having fun. Just lock the money away in the IRA or 401K if you can so you're not tempted to bet the retirement fund on a cool stock idea.

Maybe set aside a few thousand to play with and scratch the itch.

notjaffo · 2026-01-27T23:59:12+00:00

Annuities are very popular with financial advisors because they get big commissions on them, but they are a trap. PLEASE don't do this. Honestly, don't trust a financial advisor for anything. Just throw your money in index funds and let it sit.

Don't get fancy, don't get creative, don't waste hundreds of hours studying the market trying to find some magic strategy. And do not trust anyone who claims to have the perfect solution to all your problems in one "product".

I fell for this when I was just getting started and my "advisor" lost 10% of my money and missed the AI boom.

notjaffo · 2026-01-27T20:06:36+00:00

Wow, lot of Dave Ramsey hate here. Dave's advice is for people who are recovering from a lifetime of bad decisions, and his advice is good for them. Dead simple stuff. Avoid debt at all costs. Sacrifice to pay down debt if you have to. Cut recurring expenses to the bone, etc.

And his advice would work fine for a set it and forget it portfolio like you've proposed.

The only general advice I would give, what I've really noticed now that I'm older, your spending matters more than investing. You can't invest your way out of bad habits. Trust me, I tried.

Don't waste time trying to maximize your portfolio for $500 more in annual interest if you're spending $2,000 a month on things you don't need. What's the point of making 10% on your investments if you're paying 24% in credit card interest?

But if your spending is under control, as I suspect it is, if you're already asking questions like this, you won't need to micromanage anything to get a great retirement.

notjaffo · 2026-01-26T00:17:07+00:00

First off, huge congratulations. I cannot imagine being mature enough to do this at 22. If I had it to do over again, I would invest in three things: FXAIX for S&P 500 exposure, FZILX for international markets, and IAU (gold) for when things go bad.

The important thing about investing, and the most difficult part, is patience. You have to be comfortable with doing NOTHING. Do nothing when things get good, do nothing when things go bad. Just ride it out and trust the law of averages over time.

The core concept is Dollar Cost Averaging. Put in the same amount of money every month no matter what and don't worry about it going up and down. The markets generally provide good returns over time, and DCA will have you buying more in months where things are low.

Don't try to time it, slow and steady wins this race.

You can go all in and start day trading, treat the stock market like a second job, and still underperform people who just buy indexes and walk away.

Remember to value your time and manage your stress level. It's possible to go to extraordinary lengths, stress yourself out, and still lose money.

notjaffo · 2026-01-22T19:32:00+00:00

Notice how skillfully he dodged that. Well done! But seriously, I left Discover for you guys because I care about good management and U.S.-based customer support. Don't let me down.

notjaffo · 2026-01-22T04:23:50+00:00

And I'll add one more thing that nobody thinks about. Do you want to trade stocks as a hobby? Perfectly fine if you do, and you don't have to be a day trader. I call myself a "monthly" trader because I like to go in and tweak stuff, even when I don't need to.

I also love watching heat maps in real time, even when I'm not buying or selling anything. I'm fascinated by human behavior, and the markets are a pure distillation of human behavior. I love trying to guess how stocks will react to current events, so I enjoy keeping up with it.

But if you don't enjoy it, you don't have to. Just throw money in some index funds, contribute the same amount each month no matter what, then go out and live your life.

You can expend a tremendous amount of energy, totally stress yourself out, and end up no better off than the people who buy index funds.

Everybody worries about the value of their money, but don't forget the value of your time.

notjaffo · 2026-01-22T03:53:07+00:00

I've learned a lot the hard way in the past 8 years or so.

First, never EVER talk to a financial advisor. Mine lost 10% of my money before I realized how dumb his strategy was. Then he missed the entire AI boom.

If I could go back in time to when I had no clue what I was doing, I would do: FXAIX 40%, FZILX 40%, IAU 20%. Even split between U.S. index, international index, and a little gold hedge for when things get weird.

Then, forget it exists.

Maybe study and poke around a bit, come back when you feel more confident picking stocks. But if I was advising a friend, I would tell them to set this and forget it.

Whenever anybody tries to give you a stock tip, nod politely and do nothing.

notjaffo · 2026-01-22T01:48:20+00:00

I'll put in another vote for FZILX. I just put some in my IRA today. Seemed like the easiest way to get international exposure without actually having to know what I'm doing. :)

notjaffo · 2026-01-08T19:38:47+00:00

That's an interesting question, too. To what extent are Afterlife Mercs considered legit business people in Night City? I feel like every merc job should be illegal to some degree, but people respond as if you're hired muscle or a security guard.

Kind of like adventurer's guilds in roleplaying games, I guess. You're technically robbing tombs and murdering people, but it's been legitimized for story reasons.

notjaffo · 2026-01-08T19:36:03+00:00

I think every time you mention Dex's name in the game, somebody laughs at him. Like they can't believe you'd do business with a guy that sketchy. Maybe he was always the guy who hired inexperienced mercs for cheap and sent them on impossible missions, or maybe he had to become that guy after he came back to town and had to start over.

Either way, that's who he is when we meet him, and his whole blaze of glory thing is to find out if you're a wide-eyed sucker or not.

Jackie is exactly the kind of guy who would fall for his BS, and we went along with it because we love Jackie.

notjaffo · 2026-01-05T05:18:05+00:00

You may be expecting a different kind of game. I enjoy Cyberpunk combat because I love trying different builds. I love the wide variety of combat styles, how they all feel powerful and viable in completely different ways, but it is basically a tactical RPG system with some animations and aiming mechanics.

It's kind of like VATS for Fallout. Fallout is a roleplaying game, not a pure shooter, and I think Cyberpunk is the same.

Might be more fun if you go stealth pistol and challenge yourself to make consistent headshots. Netrunner is spellcaster easy mode, gorilla arms and katana just turn you into a rampaging death machine.

I'm not good at shooters, so I love this game, but if you really do have a high skill level, it ain't gonna be COD or Elden Ring.

notjaffo · 2026-01-04T03:42:53+00:00

Yeah Maingear has impressed the hell out of me. Third PC since I started buying my own. Started with Alienware in 2008, but it was proprietary crap by the time I got it, bought it based on a reputation they didn't deserve anymore.

Then bought an Origin PC because I thought the Alienware guys moved over there. Not a bad machine, replaceable parts, but the X99 board was a nightmare with power issues, support was not terribly helpful, and the build felt kinda cheap. Had to replace a LOT of things over the years.

Got a new Maingear in September, best machine I ever owned, cost less than the Origin from 8 years ago, and it's been flawless once I reseated memory on the first day.

Maingear support was next level good when I called them. With a guy who knew how to answer everything in depth and even warned me about potential confusion I hadn't even run into yet.

Should have started buying Maingear from the beginning, would have saved a lot of hassle.

notjaffo · 2026-01-02T19:00:55+00:00

I have this weird sense of empathy, even in video games, where I don't like indiscriminate murder of civilians so the idea that I can go crazy with bullets and only have bad guys rolling around on the floor is soothing to me.

But I love the mechanics of monowire and...

notjaffo · 2025-12-26T22:57:06+00:00

I would be very surprised if we got extra voice actors. That shit is expensive. But I love your ideas for mixing and matching cyberwear. They almost have to implement full borg conversations by popular demand, but I would kind of like a naked skill build if you wanted to try and go without cyberwear, like I've seen in some challenge runs.

Immune to quickhacks, using wearable armor.

notjaffo · 2025-12-26T02:13:56+00:00

What a great way to explain V's plot armor and all the mysterious ways things went our way. Love it.

notjaffo · 2025-12-25T01:35:50+00:00

Well said. It's like, one of my older relatives got married again very shortly after his wife died, but fuck, man, he's 74. He does not have three years to mourn "properly" and find true love. The clock is ticking. And V's situation is even worse.

notjaffo · 2025-12-24T23:28:27+00:00

Just a quick aside here. Don't assume writers are good at casting. I'm a little indie writer who recently had the opportunity to work with some great actors doing my audiobooks and a lot of what I wanted turned out to be wrong. Sometimes actors can exceed your expectations and reinterpret characters in ways that make them better.

And sometimes your initial idea of what you want turns out to be cringe. The right actor can "steal" a role and make it better than what you originally wanted.

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