the girl in the background is clearly in abusive relationship, even without bruise you can tell with their conversation. who does hold their partner phone and needed a permission to get it back. she also keep giving a signal to mc for help sadly it's either he ignored it or didn't notice.
great update! i'm looking forward to vanessa's route update because she is my fav. haha
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G'day Stranger!
I'll admit that when I first read this prior to playing, I was a little bummed. I've played a few 3D games where strange things happened in the background or the main character was frequently flashed by characters he didn't know, so I was wondering just why it would be put in there at all.
I forgot about it until right before this scene, so I was only half paying attention to (bimbo) Steph, but when you follow the course of what Steph's saying, this is actually a very positive scene that made me happy - from my point of view.
Steph's commenting on your current relationship and how you got her out of a very horrendous and abusive one, noting that she believed she deserved it when she in fact didn't: no ones does. At this point the girl behind her perks up - she had been listening the entire time (in public places it can be hard not to) - and hears what Steph's saying and how it closely parallels her own life. So when her partner came back and she doesn't agree straight away, getting her phone and going to the toilet, to me I read that as getting a method of communication (her own phone, not his, with all her contacts in it) and physically getting away from him. From that I infer that she's beatin' feet and gettin' outta there.
Admittedly that render isn't the best slice to analyse, but I see it not as 'please help me / save me', but '
I can do this'. I back that up with two points of evidence:
1) Fair-o, the player themself did get Steph out of the relationship, but it wasn't a semi-kidnapping 'trust me you'll thank me later', but the way she (Stephanie) is telling the story, you can see that she got
herself out, out of that mental landscape (and the player accepted her).
2) When the girl does get her phone, did you see her face? It's
only one frame, but this wonderful triumphant smirk! I thought 'YES!! YOU'VE GOT THIS!'
Now keep in mind that's just how I see it, what I took away from it: indeed had I not've read your piece I might of thought the same as you... or obsessively gone over the scene to look for some positive angle.
Anywho, have fun with the game!
