Yeah, but what little breezy says is exactly how people react to this. Nicole is of course still Nicole. She’s just as manipulative and controlling as she was ever since we first met her. But she’s using a different tactic right now. Before she was confidently controlling. She knew she could do whatever, so she did whatever. Now she stepped into a different gear. She’s “giving Ethan whatever he wants”, while gaslighting him that of course that’s what she always does. Like when he pushed in hard so that he can order for himself, and she’s like “Of course everyone… Read more »
In psychology it’s referred to as the “honeymoon” phase. The cycle of abuse is often: Abuse > Escalation > Break-up > Honeymoon > Abuse > etc There comes a point where the victim has enough, crossing the threshold of their boundaries or what they’re willing to put up with so the abuser has to reel them back in. This gives them more time to normalize their behaviour and/or move the goal posts of what the victim is willing to tolerate; slowly decreasing the chances they will leave. Most abuse victims don’t even realize it’s happening, we as human beings try… Read more »
the sad thing is that such behaviour is often not conscious on the abuser’s side. she may genuinely try to be nice and not understand what the hell is wrong – she tries so hard, after all. Just to instinctively turn to manipulation the very next minute.
Not a villain as I see it, but a quite unhappy person with warped relationship dynamic – because of skewed role models in the childhood, trauma or something like that.
Frankly, should go to therapy (if able to see and comprehend that there is something wrong)…
No not really. She was gas lighting him back in the store and at the dinner, acting like she doesn’t treat him like ass and that him pre-empting her ordering for him wasn’t a thing she does all the time. Making him feel bad for neglecting her even though he just . . . didn’t call her back right away. This is what’s called the honeymoon phase of an abusive relationship. It’s how abusers convince their victims to stick around, a little light at the end of the tunnel that gives them hope. If Buckley is writing a genuinely abusive… Read more »
She is actively manipulating him. OBVIOUSLY manipulating him like a 0 on the old subtly roll but Ethan is back to being portrayed as an idiot with 0 growth for some reason.
Naw man, this is love bombing. She was controlling, they broke contact for a while, long enough that he had time to think better of their relationship, and now she’s being very “supportive” of his boundaries and “taking an interest” in his passions, but every time she does, it starts with her trying to manipulate him back into her sway. She just waiting for the point at which he doesn’t assert himself, because that’s when she knows she’s got him.
I’m not sure I’d say it’s a critical fail just yet. A failure, certainly, but he’s asking questions to himself at least. It’s when she starts going back to normal that we’ll see if he’s really blinded or if he’s going to catch on.
Robert
19 days ago
All charm until the next speed bump.
Gonfrask
19 days ago
Well, talking about beards, she is getting quite high rolls in her persuasive checks…
Wonderful self correcting…bard! (As dwarf player I support that comment, in the proper setting)
Last edited 18 days ago by Gonfrask
ReaverRogue
19 days ago
I didn’t really mind the Troll. Well written villain, clearly insane motive, good stuff overall.
Elijah, while his methods were definitely poor, had his heart in the right place.
Black Hat was bearable, and has cool powers to boot.
Even Eugene was understandable to a point, despite the machine slavery.
But god damn, do I hate this bitch. This is one well written piece of shit you’ve made here, Tim. Everything about her makes my blood absolutely boil, and I spend each week going “ETHAN NO! GET OUT OF THERE!” as a result.
She’s equally intolerable as the troll because both are a kind of people who exist in this world and at an abundance at that.
What made the troll unbareable is that it made no sense why anybody would follow a guy this obviously lying and talking out of his ass.
But then again…. look who became POTUS…. TWICE!!
She is unbareable because she’s too realistic. Her awfulness comes from everyone knowing someone like her and maybe even having dated someone like her.
Indeed. The best because she is so damn relatable. Villains like Nicole exist in real life. Narcissistic abusers are some of the scariest people on the planet.
a sign of a good series or franchise, is when you have a villain character who is hated and despised MORE than the main villain. for example, harry potter (i am focusing on a specific character, so do not bring up any toxic subjects about the author or themes) voldemort was the big bad evil villain. but delores umbridge is more hated than he is by every fan group i ever talked to. voldemort sought to cheat death and become all powerful, was cruel but could also be rewarding to his followers. umbridge was sadistic, twisted, cruel and mean just… Read more »
darkoneko
18 days ago
….ohno
Paul
18 days ago
Having played BG3 multiplayer with friends…this will not end well.
It certainly wouldn’t, but she wont even let him boot up the game before changing the subject to what she wants.
Verdiekus
18 days ago
I know Tim has to make money on these but 1/3 of my screen is covered in adds (phone) and I can only close out the smallest one. Still love the comic, not saying it’s going to make me leave or anything. Also, congratulations for making a villain we hate more than the Troll.
It’s easy for her to top that list because her behavior is exceptionally well written by Tim to mimic real narcissistic abusers. Everyone has probably met one, and way too many people have been victims to one. Everything from the gas lighting, to the love bombing, to the control. It’s chilling.
What kind of phone? I get a single ad at the bottom of my screen that barely covers anything, and lately adds that I can completely scroll passed without blocking my view of anything.
Yeah, the 4 ads I get on desktop mainly stay out of the way, but the 2 ads on phone are both larger (relative to screen space) and are overlaid on top of the webpage, costing nearly a quarter of my vertical resolution. I mainly view on desktop, so it doesn’t affect me much personally.
This is a new ad company I’m trying, and these ads are “programmatic,” so I don’t actually get to place where they go. The “algorithm” decides on the best spot, based on how my site is built. Since it doesn’t want to use the top space, I’m going to try and remove that, which should shift everything up on mobile, comic included. Probably won’t even need to scroll down much anymore. With that said, on my phone, I only really see the bottom bar and occasionally the little video that disappears. I’ll keep an eye on it, and see if… Read more »
At this point, I would be totally fine jumping the shark to have this shit resolved. Lilah from the other universe shoot her in the head Terminator-style. Whatever it takes at this point.
Vukodlak
17 days ago
She’s Joker and He’s Harley Quinn.
Anne N
17 days ago
Red Alert! Red Alert! Whoop! Whoop!
Run away!
Skorpeyon
17 days ago
Looks like I have a problem with my RSS reader with the free comics. It apparently won’t show anything older than a month old, so now that the comic has moved to that status, I don’t see new updates. I haven’t seen anything for a few weeks now. Unless there’s some way to shift the free feed to show the day the comics release or not, I think that feed will become useless to some people eventually, as most readers only go back so far on a feed to show “new” items.
Lance
17 days ago
Oh, great, she’s love-bombing now. Hope Ethan doesn’t fall for it.
EnJonEer
17 days ago
So am I the only one who thinks she may be luring him back to her place so she can tie him up and try to never let him leave?
You know, it’s weird. I’m actually starting to dislike reading this story. I keep at it because I know that it’s supposed to feel gross and eventually there will be a payoff. But man this one is hard to get through.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
Oh boy…
Ethan is managing to roll a -20 on his Sense Motive check here, which I didn’t even know was *possible.*
I dunno, she’s a lot less aggressive and he’s being able to make his own decisions, get her to compromise on things… Maybe things are turning around?
Nope. This is classic abusive behaviour. One nice day can alleviate a LOT of pain when the abuser thinks their victim might try to flee.
This is called in psychology, the “Honeymoon Phase”.
Where is she doing any of that?
She’s still doing the same tactic of cutting off and overruling Ethan every time he’s trying to speak up (against her.)
This isn’t Nicole compromising by playing the game Ethan wanted. It’s Nicole denying Ethan the opportunity to have the conversation he wanted.
Yeah, but what little breezy says is exactly how people react to this. Nicole is of course still Nicole. She’s just as manipulative and controlling as she was ever since we first met her. But she’s using a different tactic right now. Before she was confidently controlling. She knew she could do whatever, so she did whatever. Now she stepped into a different gear. She’s “giving Ethan whatever he wants”, while gaslighting him that of course that’s what she always does. Like when he pushed in hard so that he can order for himself, and she’s like “Of course everyone… Read more »
Yep! In abusive relationships, this is known as the love bombing phase.
In psychology it’s referred to as the “honeymoon” phase. The cycle of abuse is often: Abuse > Escalation > Break-up > Honeymoon > Abuse > etc There comes a point where the victim has enough, crossing the threshold of their boundaries or what they’re willing to put up with so the abuser has to reel them back in. This gives them more time to normalize their behaviour and/or move the goal posts of what the victim is willing to tolerate; slowly decreasing the chances they will leave. Most abuse victims don’t even realize it’s happening, we as human beings try… Read more »
the sad thing is that such behaviour is often not conscious on the abuser’s side. she may genuinely try to be nice and not understand what the hell is wrong – she tries so hard, after all. Just to instinctively turn to manipulation the very next minute.
Not a villain as I see it, but a quite unhappy person with warped relationship dynamic – because of skewed role models in the childhood, trauma or something like that.
Frankly, should go to therapy (if able to see and comprehend that there is something wrong)…
Oh honey.
She’s just behaving like groomers and abusers behave.
In the meantime. Make the reliant on you by saboting their finances and separate them from their loved ones
By turn around, do you mean a 360?
“It’s a TRAP!”
People failing their Sense Sarcasm checks here is hilarious
No not really. She was gas lighting him back in the store and at the dinner, acting like she doesn’t treat him like ass and that him pre-empting her ordering for him wasn’t a thing she does all the time. Making him feel bad for neglecting her even though he just . . . didn’t call her back right away. This is what’s called the honeymoon phase of an abusive relationship. It’s how abusers convince their victims to stick around, a little light at the end of the tunnel that gives them hope. If Buckley is writing a genuinely abusive… Read more »
You also have failed your roll
She is actively manipulating him. OBVIOUSLY manipulating him like a 0 on the old subtly roll but Ethan is back to being portrayed as an idiot with 0 growth for some reason.
Naw man, this is love bombing. She was controlling, they broke contact for a while, long enough that he had time to think better of their relationship, and now she’s being very “supportive” of his boundaries and “taking an interest” in his passions, but every time she does, it starts with her trying to manipulate him back into her sway. She just waiting for the point at which he doesn’t assert himself, because that’s when she knows she’s got him.
*Whoosh*
It’s a critical fail on his insight check.
I’m not sure I’d say it’s a critical fail just yet. A failure, certainly, but he’s asking questions to himself at least. It’s when she starts going back to normal that we’ll see if he’s really blinded or if he’s going to catch on.
All charm until the next speed bump.
Well, talking about beards, she is getting quite high rolls in her persuasive checks…
Can confirm: a beautiful bearded woman is very persuasive; but Nicole doesn’t have that advantage.
Wonderful self correcting…bard! (As dwarf player I support that comment, in the proper setting)
I didn’t really mind the Troll. Well written villain, clearly insane motive, good stuff overall.
Elijah, while his methods were definitely poor, had his heart in the right place.
Black Hat was bearable, and has cool powers to boot.
Even Eugene was understandable to a point, despite the machine slavery.
But god damn, do I hate this bitch. This is one well written piece of shit you’ve made here, Tim. Everything about her makes my blood absolutely boil, and I spend each week going “ETHAN NO! GET OUT OF THERE!” as a result.
Nah.
She’s equally intolerable as the troll because both are a kind of people who exist in this world and at an abundance at that.
What made the troll unbareable is that it made no sense why anybody would follow a guy this obviously lying and talking out of his ass.
But then again…. look who became POTUS…. TWICE!!
She is unbareable because she’s too realistic. Her awfulness comes from everyone knowing someone like her and maybe even having dated someone like her.
Yeah, she’s probably the best villain so far.
Indeed. The best because she is so damn relatable. Villains like Nicole exist in real life. Narcissistic abusers are some of the scariest people on the planet.
Not all villains wear capes.
a sign of a good series or franchise, is when you have a villain character who is hated and despised MORE than the main villain. for example, harry potter (i am focusing on a specific character, so do not bring up any toxic subjects about the author or themes) voldemort was the big bad evil villain. but delores umbridge is more hated than he is by every fan group i ever talked to. voldemort sought to cheat death and become all powerful, was cruel but could also be rewarding to his followers. umbridge was sadistic, twisted, cruel and mean just… Read more »
….ohno
Having played BG3 multiplayer with friends…this will not end well.
It certainly wouldn’t, but she wont even let him boot up the game before changing the subject to what she wants.
I know Tim has to make money on these but 1/3 of my screen is covered in adds (phone) and I can only close out the smallest one. Still love the comic, not saying it’s going to make me leave or anything. Also, congratulations for making a villain we hate more than the Troll.
It’s easy for her to top that list because her behavior is exceptionally well written by Tim to mimic real narcissistic abusers. Everyone has probably met one, and way too many people have been victims to one. Everything from the gas lighting, to the love bombing, to the control. It’s chilling.
What kind of phone? I get a single ad at the bottom of my screen that barely covers anything, and lately adds that I can completely scroll passed without blocking my view of anything.
iPhone
Yeah, the 4 ads I get on desktop mainly stay out of the way, but the 2 ads on phone are both larger (relative to screen space) and are overlaid on top of the webpage, costing nearly a quarter of my vertical resolution. I mainly view on desktop, so it doesn’t affect me much personally.
This is a new ad company I’m trying, and these ads are “programmatic,” so I don’t actually get to place where they go. The “algorithm” decides on the best spot, based on how my site is built. Since it doesn’t want to use the top space, I’m going to try and remove that, which should shift everything up on mobile, comic included. Probably won’t even need to scroll down much anymore. With that said, on my phone, I only really see the bottom bar and occasionally the little video that disappears. I’ll keep an eye on it, and see if… Read more »
Thanks for listening Tim, we appreciate that you read our comments. Keep up the amazing work.
Will there be soon more pages here, last update was over 2 weeks ago?
Name the bard Her and see if she cracks!
so we’ve come to the love bombing portion of classic abuse cycle
Huh… He actually managed to say “no” there. Go figure XD
Man, I’m glad I’m mostly healed from my ex, because damn this gives me near PTSD flashbacks from a 20 year marriage.
She is good, but also this does sound like a typical trap, with someone waiting at home to at least beat Ethan.
is this where we’ll find out she’s a proper villain?
God help you when a woman says “anything you want” because THAT comes with a hidden price tag…
Ah yes, the honeymoon phase of abusive relationships. Gotta love it.
Coming from the guy who has been in that kind of relationship… run far, run fast
https://share.google/Hx0JcQeqMzZ2taIls
It’s a trap!
At this point, I would be totally fine jumping the shark to have this shit resolved. Lilah from the other universe shoot her in the head Terminator-style. Whatever it takes at this point.
She’s Joker and He’s Harley Quinn.
Red Alert! Red Alert! Whoop! Whoop!
Run away!
Looks like I have a problem with my RSS reader with the free comics. It apparently won’t show anything older than a month old, so now that the comic has moved to that status, I don’t see new updates. I haven’t seen anything for a few weeks now. Unless there’s some way to shift the free feed to show the day the comics release or not, I think that feed will become useless to some people eventually, as most readers only go back so far on a feed to show “new” items.
Oh, great, she’s love-bombing now. Hope Ethan doesn’t fall for it.
So am I the only one who thinks she may be luring him back to her place so she can tie him up and try to never let him leave?
It might
You know, it’s weird. I’m actually starting to dislike reading this story. I keep at it because I know that it’s supposed to feel gross and eventually there will be a payoff. But man this one is hard to get through.
I think that means it’s excellent writing.