I know and I agree with you ; I just feel like the very last thing (the loan shark prepared to rape her with his friends) she's a victim in this.Nicki is growing on me and i'll probably do her route after my main girls but she's no victim.
The game does it's best to paint that picture but even as a woman I can't let her pass the buck on this one.
Every problem she has, she brought on herself. She made one bad decision after another and stayed wityh a guy she knew was bad for her.
She had options, she picked the wrong ones. It's easy enough to say they took advantage of her and they did to a certain degree. Problem is they only took advantage because she put herself in the position to be taken advantage of.
She could have left dickhead on the first day she came to the MC for money. She could have gone to the MC when dickhead spent everything they had. She could have gone to the MC when she got back from dickhead 2's.
She made a string of bad deicisions but make them she did.
I go hard on Nicki for the same reason I go hard on "modern women". Neither of them take responsibility for their own shit and own up to their mistakes.
Nicki fucked up, repeatedly. She's suffering and i'm more than happy to help her out but she's suffering through choices she made.
You're right she wasn't thinking straight. But Brent is a POS and even if he had some influence on her, she was still capable of making her own decisions, she wasn't completely submissive to him. She was just upholding this idea of "the relationship" no matter what ; "he's my boyfriend so I have to be faithful, etc"Iirc, she actually decided to break up with Brent after the night with MC, especially if MC is good guy towards her. She just had made joint account earlier during the relationship with Brent, while Brent was basically manipulative and abusive arsehole during their relationship. It allowed Brent to use the money MC deposited on Nicki's account and if you also remember the loanshark wasn't really that bothered that Brent used Nicki's signature for the loans. Also if you consider the emotional abuse Brent had made Nicki go through, her actions are somewhat understandable. Basically Brent had eroded her confidence and self-image during their relationship, so Nicki had serious fears of what might happen with MC after that night. She wasn't basically thinking straight during the time she was away from MC.
That's the thing, it's easy to criticise someone for not doing the smart things from outside, not seeing what's going inside their minds, not completely understanding their experiences and mentality. You'd do well to read about bit on how abusive relationships work and how it affects the victim in those relationships. It really fucks up with their mind, eroding their self worth, trust in their own judgement, and even make them blame themselves for the actions of abuser. "It wasn't their fault that they got angry at me, i was stupid and made a mistake" kind of bullshit thinking, that once the victim assumes is really hard to break out of. It's one of the reasons why victims of abuse will protect the abuser and return to them even after having been able to escape once or twice to safety. Some of them falsely thinking that the abuser will change for good. Thankfully in Nicki's case, she was finally able to leave Brent thanks to the influence of MC, but she would still be fucked up for a while, until she dealt with the mental trauma. Tbh, if i was MC on the good guy path, i would try and suggest to Nicki that she saw a professional therapist about all the shit she's been through.You're right she wasn't thinking straight. But Brent is a POS and even if he had some influence on her, she was still capable of making her own decisions, she wasn't completely submissive to him. She was just upholding this idea of "the relationship" no matter what ; "he's my boyfriend so I have to be faithful, etc"
Even though he does nothing for her and only brings her trouble. He fucked her good when she left him but the signs of his douchebaggery where clear as fuck and for a long time. She has no excuse for this, to me at least.
Yeah I thought you were talking about an abusive relationship ; and it was for sure. But not to that extend.That's the thing, it's easy to criticise someone for not doing the smart things from outside, not seeing what's going inside their minds, not completely understanding their experiences and mentality. You'd do well to read about bit on how abusive relationships work and how it affects the victim in those relationships. It really fucks up with their mind, eroding their self worth, trust in their own judgement, and even make them blame themselves for the actions of abuser. "It wasn't their fault that they got angry at me, i was stupid and made a mistake" kind of bullshit thinking, that once the victim assumes is really hard to break out of. It's one of the reasons why victims of abuse will protect the abuser and return to them even after having been able to escape once or twice to safety. Some of them falsely thinking that the abuser will change for good. Thankfully in Nicki's case, she was finally able to leave Brent thanks to the influence of MC, but she would still be fucked up for a while, until she dealt with the mental trauma. Tbh, if i was MC on the good guy path, i would try and suggest to Nicki that she saw a professional therapist about all the shit she's been through.
Now i'm not saying Nicki is 100% innocent of the decisions she made, but she definitely isn't in fully guilty either.
I am not one of them. I don't dislike Nikki as a character but I don't really trust her version of events either. Just because MC is inclined to dislike Brent we kind of overlook the fact that his impressions of him are colored by jealousy and resentment and we don't really know that much about him other than what Nikki is telling us. MC accepts most of her stories at face value without much in the way of collaboration and no proof. Maybe I've just had too many bad girlfriends and seen this particular movie too many times. TheDamn, the length some western people go to remove agency from women just to free said women from responsibility when they make mistakes. Brent is a pathetic shitlord with no power or leverage to do anything. The only objectively real bad thing he did to her was forge her signature on loan papers and even this he did behind her back because he wouldnt be able to make her do it. Yet for some people he is an adept of abusive psychological warfare who turned poor Nicki into subservient battered wife.
Nah, you don't have to be adept of abusive psychological warfare, most abusers aren't really, most of them just happen to be with people that are naturally more submissive/have weaker confidence, or have the need of pleasing people around them. In this case it was that Brent was piece of shit that constantly put Nicki down and she stayed with him way too long, so it started to erode her already weak confidence in herself. Also even with the clear trauma she suffered from the relationship, she is still mostly responsible for her actions. These things aren't so black and white that she is either not responsible or responsible for her actions. Even majority of legal systems would recognise that and judge the victims of spousal abuse based on that, when they finally snap and kill the abuser.Damn, the length some western people go to remove agency from women just to free said women from responsibility when they make mistakes. Brent is a pathetic shitlord with no power or leverage to do anything. The only objectively real bad thing he did to her was forge her signature on loan papers and even this he did behind her back because he wouldnt be able to make her do it. Yet for some people he is an adept of abusive psychological warfare who turned poor Nicki into subservient battered wife.
Any legal system that would decide that Brents behaviour prior to forging of loan documents was a mitigating factor for Nicki in his hypothetical murder by her hands is a fucking joke.Even majority of legal systems would recognise that and judge the victims of spousal abuse based on that, when they finally snap and kill the abuser.
I for one really liked how Brittani's path has developed so far (for good guy MC, at least). She's my fav character that I'm hoping MC gets to pursue in a good guy way.I get where you're coming from, but can you see how even this one small change makes Brittani's event hinge on Gabby, in a way my version doesn't? So, what if a player isn't pursuing Gabby romantically, and they're just friends? What if he's on a negative path with her? How do I get from A --> B for a player that wants to romance Brittani and not Gabby, in a way that doesn't involve me writing/coding/rendering a whole new scene branch, just to arrive at the same place?
I appreciate the feedback. But, this is the same criticism I tend to get every so often, which is basically, "Well, why can't MC do what I would've done?" And the short answer is, "Because I'm not in your head." The longer answer is, "I'm one guy and can't provide infinite options."
I'm telling a story, and in that story, sometimes characters will make certain choices, because it's good for drama. I'm writing characters, not ciphers.
I think your bar for abuse is a little too low tbh, it doesn't have to be one big single thing or multiple big single things, it can be a history of small forms of emotional abuse that all add up. Like, I wouldn't describe my father as an abusive person on the whole or anything, but there were absolutely some FUCKED up emotional shit he did to her when I was growing up, very narcissistic things and my mother is a VERY submissive, sheltered housewife kind of lady that doesn't stick up for herself. It's one of those things where sometimes when you tell someone what happened, they're thinking "....ok, so leave him, then? I don't see the big deal?" or "oh, please, it's not that big of a deal, you're just being sensitive" but it's more complicated than that sometimes; this stuff can be very subtle, especially to an outside party, I think you'd have to experience it yourself or watch someone go through it to truly get it.Damn, the length some western people go to remove agency from women just to free said women from responsibility when they make mistakes. Brent is a pathetic shitlord with no power or leverage to do anything. The only objectively real bad thing he did to her was forge her signature on loan papers and even this he did behind her back because he wouldnt be able to make her do it. Yet for some people he is an adept of abusive psychological warfare who turned poor Nicki into subservient battered wife.
Amusingly, I also think similarly. Those who exaggerate "abuse" Nicki suffered at hands of Brent apart from loan papers fraud ofc are probably living sheltered lives and never been hurt for real. Funny how that works huh.Everytime i see, again, this discussion with the same type of comments downplaying the abuse Nikki suffered i can only think those people are either very naive and living sheltered lives or are way too young to understand abuse is more than just being beaten on a daily basis.
Well and I think yours is too high. Fetishization of victimhood in cultures that are dominant in english speaking internet created effect that makes some people too eager to put other people and/or themselfs into victim category. By silly definition of abuse of some people in this thread every single relationship longer than a few months is abusive.I think your bar for abuse is a little too low tbh
Hey, I know there's a culture of victimhood developing in the west (and beyond? not sure if this is global phenomenon), and that's its own discussion, but this is not that. Emotional abuse is an actual thing; this is not something that some sensitive hippies made up or something. If you use or manipulate someone for the sole purpose of serving yourself and without any consideration for them, you are abusing them. It's not complicated. It just so happens this is exactly what Brent does and has done to Nikki.Amusingly, I also think similarly. Those who exaggerate "abuse" Nicki suffered at hands of Brent apart from loan papers fraud ofc are probably living sheltered lives and never been hurt for real. Funny how that works huh.
Well and I think yours is too high. Fetishization of victimhood in cultures that are dominant in english speaking internet created effect that makes some people too eager to put other people and/or themselfs into victim category. By silly definition of abuse of some people in this thread every single relationship longer than a few months is abusive.
But oh well, cultural differences are too great here so I am not gonna argue any further on this topic.
At least this discussion resurrected my disdain for Nicki. Never a partner material that one, an unreliable friend or a pet at best.
The homeless person is female.So far I like the idea of helping the poor kid that is only 23 living in the streets, but the way he is helping is amounting to nothing at this point. Just give him a pair of glasses, a job at one of your business or non profit and cheap rent if you don't want to watch him on the streets again. Later the guy can be developed and have a more important role like a reliable ally, wanting some guidance, options to study, heck, he can become his little anal slut as MC is so fond of.