*giggles* so many layers here. nvm the fact im behind cause im not a patron. BUT! this is more “not my kinda thing” her way of expressing it… woah. redflags if you arent seeing them, buddy, you need to expand your perception, and ethan can 100% be described as “dense”
Figgly
15 days ago
Yikes, i hope i never get into an abusive relationship, i would fall for it so easily.
To me it looks like she’s genuinely trying, but just sucks at it.
Happy for you 🙂 For me this portrayal is SO on-the-nose it hurts, almost like it’s exaggerated, but also… like, this is absolutely a real conversation I’ve had. At the time I thought the other person was trying. abuse is so insidious.
it really does feel like mind control, and even when we figure it out, we feel chained by all the “good times” and “good intentions”. Able to see, but not feel, the manipulation. haha sorry
That’s the hard thing – most of the times it’s intentionally abusive, but sometimes some people *are* trying and don’t realise how they’re being abusive.
I don’t really get that vibe from her, though. For lack of a better word, it’s as if she’s trying to ‘groom’ Ethan into her ideal partner.
its been established that all her OTHER boyfriends seem to run away, so she obviously doesnt understand that idea, and doesnt know how to deal. the grooming is her trying to make this one work where the others didnt. we humans are sooo… brainwired i guess… for whatever reason to do things “as best we can” to work towards our end goals. honestly, growth is growth, even if its hard to realize. shes trying really hard to keep Ethan.
She might be trying hard to keep Ethan. I’m not convinced she is trying hard to be a nice person.
Like a prisoner of war who is reading a written statement, she do some things because this provides her the best odds of getting what she wants, not because she thinks it is right.
And honestly, I’m not even very convinced she’s trying a different method rather than merely being a bit less intense or blatant than usual.
This 5 second interaction in total isolation could also look like someone who’s trying to learn.
It’s in with the previous context that it becomes a textbook example. No-one just naturally flips from her previous intense controlling behaviour to openness to learning on a dime like that.
Actual change is slow, sudden change should always be suspect.
It’s called condescending behavior. There is no trying here, only blatantly obvious steering in the direction the abuser wants to move the decision. Very superficial gestures preceding “see, I tried and you rejected me, so, it’s not me – it’s you.”
Vukodlak
15 days ago
Put it on honor mode and see how easy she finds it.
What if she is really that good? At HOMM3 playing maps at impossible most of the time felt casual for me… and the latest HOMMs campaign is also not really challenging on hard. Some ppl excel at certain games… Having said that: in bg3 I didn’t try Honor mode as I was sure I would fail, needed 3 tries on the dragon fight on my first/only play through…
It’d be a fun twist if she found it easy, basically revealing that she’s familiar with the game… but kept pretending otherwise. Gaslighting works even better with bigger lies, at the right pace.
MSM007
15 days ago
I think this is where he finally realizes she is gaslighting him
Nah, the “ours” is there on purpose. Because that way she says “When we do my thing, it’s actually our thing, so you aren’t doing anything for me.”
You know, that way she doesn’t have to say “We did my thing, so it’s fair we do your thing now”.
Mike
15 days ago
Prediction: Ethan will make a completely fair jab at her poor strategy in turn-based combat being a form of “disability” and she’ll get mad at the condescending tone.
No! Not the window! 👀 What if he doesn’t respawn?! 🥺😅
ReaverRogue
14 days ago
Oh god, PLEASE dump her ass already.
Mildar
14 days ago
NOW I hate her. She was terrible, toxic person before, I would never want her in my life but just NOW she crossed my line and I actively hate her. Thanks Tim…
leduk
14 days ago
god please may this arc end asap it’s plainfull to watch
At this point I’d just restart the game in honour mode and leave her too it!
Cypher
14 days ago
I mean, we do all remember Barrelmancy… Stepping to the camp for the equivalent of a medieval tactical cluster bomb is a different classification of game by itself. And turning the camp into a mobile graveyard, or outright throwing some party members like a skipping stone. Or warping evidence of theft to camp immediately, as you were talking to them still.
Bob
14 days ago
“And that’s when I killed her, your honor.”
“Case dismissed”
John
14 days ago
Yup, I hate her. I mean, I hated her before now, but this really cements the hatred.
Drop her into Shar’s Cloister and let’s see her talk about “no challenge”
Nik
14 days ago
Okay. Given my hatred of Turn-based games I can finally find some commonality with her.
Oddly enough, this represents a generational divide. When I was growing up, fights in games like Baldur’s Gate were considered challenging because gamers had not yet developed the expectation that a “real gamer” would take to the internet to research the solved fights. The challenge was in solving the fight. Looking up answers for fights was considered cheating. Now, unless you’re a hard core gamer who’s participating in the Alpha test, it’s the starting line. If you play Baldur’s Gate without looking up any spoilers, it’s actually much more challenging and engaging.
Ben Dutchman
14 days ago
Keep digging sweetheart. Core of the earth is nice this time of year
some guy
14 days ago
Easy, eh?
Just load up Raphael fight and let her do it solo, since it’s so easy.
Theotherdude
14 days ago
i hope ethan finds some pvp turn based game and destroys her at it next
catclaw
14 days ago
It’s so painful to watch this entire arc. I can’t wait for it to be done. I mean that not at all because Tim sucks at story, but because Nicole is absolutely realistically *horrible.*
The bnuuy
14 days ago
Unrelated note: the button third of my screen is absolutely filled with ads on mobile. Is this intentional?
Pyre
14 days ago
Weirdly, this is Nicole at her least toxic and most relatable. I mean this whole discussion is the inverse of when Emily wanted Ethan to give JRPGs a fair shot and his reactions……weren’t great. Sure, when he was in danger of losing her (Another parallel to the current situation), Ethan played them with her and, the next day, told Lucas about pretending to like them which was probably as convincing a performance as Nicole is giving right now. I don’t know. A lot of the Nicole thing is really toxic but this feels like the one strip where, at the… Read more »
I do not condone violence.
I do not condone physical punishment for kids.
But I don’t think I’ve ever been tempted this hard to set aside my convictions.
Richard II Weatherfield
13 days ago
That’s it. We need to go full Ordo Xenos on this chick. SUFFER NOT THE CASUAL TO LIVE!!!
BlueKnight8662
13 days ago
Anyone else think she may be a plant by the Troll?
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abusive relationships are one thing but implying Ethan is nothing more but a filthy casual is WHERE I DRAW THE LINE
I’ll go pluck the feathers, who has the tar?
*giggles* so many layers here. nvm the fact im behind cause im not a patron. BUT! this is more “not my kinda thing” her way of expressing it… woah. redflags if you arent seeing them, buddy, you need to expand your perception, and ethan can 100% be described as “dense”
Yikes, i hope i never get into an abusive relationship, i would fall for it so easily.
To me it looks like she’s genuinely trying, but just sucks at it.
Happy for you 🙂 For me this portrayal is SO on-the-nose it hurts, almost like it’s exaggerated, but also… like, this is absolutely a real conversation I’ve had. At the time I thought the other person was trying. abuse is so insidious.
it really does feel like mind control, and even when we figure it out, we feel chained by all the “good times” and “good intentions”. Able to see, but not feel, the manipulation.
haha sorryNah you’re good man, sorry to hear you had to go through all that.
this is the kind of wholesome interaction that if i were Tim, i would HOPE my artistry brings out in people.
That’s the hard thing – most of the times it’s intentionally abusive, but sometimes some people *are* trying and don’t realise how they’re being abusive.
I don’t really get that vibe from her, though. For lack of a better word, it’s as if she’s trying to ‘groom’ Ethan into her ideal partner.
its been established that all her OTHER boyfriends seem to run away, so she obviously doesnt understand that idea, and doesnt know how to deal. the grooming is her trying to make this one work where the others didnt. we humans are sooo… brainwired i guess… for whatever reason to do things “as best we can” to work towards our end goals. honestly, growth is growth, even if its hard to realize. shes trying really hard to keep Ethan.
She might be trying hard to keep Ethan. I’m not convinced she is trying hard to be a nice person.
Like a prisoner of war who is reading a written statement, she do some things because this provides her the best odds of getting what she wants, not because she thinks it is right.
And honestly, I’m not even very convinced she’s trying a different method rather than merely being a bit less intense or blatant than usual.
This 5 second interaction in total isolation could also look like someone who’s trying to learn.
It’s in with the previous context that it becomes a textbook example. No-one just naturally flips from her previous intense controlling behaviour to openness to learning on a dime like that.
Actual change is slow, sudden change should always be suspect.
It’s called condescending behavior. There is no trying here, only blatantly obvious steering in the direction the abuser wants to move the decision. Very superficial gestures preceding “see, I tried and you rejected me, so, it’s not me – it’s you.”
Put it on honor mode and see how easy she finds it.
What if she is really that good? At HOMM3 playing maps at impossible most of the time felt casual for me… and the latest HOMMs campaign is also not really challenging on hard. Some ppl excel at certain games… Having said that: in bg3 I didn’t try Honor mode as I was sure I would fail, needed 3 tries on the dragon fight on my first/only play through…
It’d be a fun twist if she found it easy, basically revealing that she’s familiar with the game… but kept pretending otherwise. Gaslighting works even better with bigger lies, at the right pace.
I think this is where he finally realizes she is gaslighting him
Can certainly hope so
“ok I tried your thing, it didn’t work, can we go back to ours?”
Don’t you mean
“ok I tried your thing, it didn’t work, can we go back to mine?”
Nah, the “ours” is there on purpose. Because that way she says “When we do my thing, it’s actually our thing, so you aren’t doing anything for me.”
You know, that way she doesn’t have to say “We did my thing, so it’s fair we do your thing now”.
Prediction: Ethan will make a completely fair jab at her poor strategy in turn-based combat being a form of “disability” and she’ll get mad at the condescending tone.
You mean more condescending. 😜
wow that last speech bubble, oof
Maybe through the lens of gaming and noticing her behaviour in that context, Ethan will finally have his last straw.
Ethan is rolling Insight, with a circumstantial malus, in addition to his low Wisdom…
let her rage when her character gets stunlocked to death and Ethan would say a line like “So, Is it still “easy mode” ?”
That one in Particular will be a fun moment with the sexy stuff that happens in game.
Well, this relationship can go no further, time to jump out the window Ethan
No! Not the window! 👀 What if he doesn’t respawn?! 🥺😅
Oh god, PLEASE dump her ass already.
NOW I hate her. She was terrible, toxic person before, I would never want her in my life but just NOW she crossed my line and I actively hate her. Thanks Tim…
god please may this arc end asap it’s plainfull to watch
Backhanded condescension
Backhanded Compassion. Not condescension.
At this point I’d just restart the game in honour mode and leave her too it!
I mean, we do all remember Barrelmancy… Stepping to the camp for the equivalent of a medieval tactical cluster bomb is a different classification of game by itself. And turning the camp into a mobile graveyard, or outright throwing some party members like a skipping stone. Or warping evidence of theft to camp immediately, as you were talking to them still.
“And that’s when I killed her, your honor.”
“Case dismissed”
Yup, I hate her. I mean, I hated her before now, but this really cements the hatred.
Drop her into Shar’s Cloister and let’s see her talk about “no challenge”
Okay. Given my hatred of Turn-based games I can finally find some commonality with her.
ugh, see you next tuesday
I “c” what “u” did there.
Marry her!
Oddly enough, this represents a generational divide. When I was growing up, fights in games like Baldur’s Gate were considered challenging because gamers had not yet developed the expectation that a “real gamer” would take to the internet to research the solved fights. The challenge was in solving the fight. Looking up answers for fights was considered cheating. Now, unless you’re a hard core gamer who’s participating in the Alpha test, it’s the starting line. If you play Baldur’s Gate without looking up any spoilers, it’s actually much more challenging and engaging.
Keep digging sweetheart. Core of the earth is nice this time of year
Easy, eh?
Just load up Raphael fight and let her do it solo, since it’s so easy.
i hope ethan finds some pvp turn based game and destroys her at it next
It’s so painful to watch this entire arc. I can’t wait for it to be done. I mean that not at all because Tim sucks at story, but because Nicole is absolutely realistically *horrible.*
Unrelated note: the button third of my screen is absolutely filled with ads on mobile. Is this intentional?
Weirdly, this is Nicole at her least toxic and most relatable. I mean this whole discussion is the inverse of when Emily wanted Ethan to give JRPGs a fair shot and his reactions……weren’t great. Sure, when he was in danger of losing her (Another parallel to the current situation), Ethan played them with her and, the next day, told Lucas about pretending to like them which was probably as convincing a performance as Nicole is giving right now. I don’t know. A lot of the Nicole thing is really toxic but this feels like the one strip where, at the… Read more »
You’re not wrong. I like how he’s regaining some of his confidence to take control of the toxic narrative she’s been spinning on him.
I mean, insulting DnD, I get that, but saying turn based game is for casuals, bitch, please.
Honor mode time it is….
Wow. That didn’t take long, did it? Just couldn’t control herself.
Tell me you arent good at turn based games without telling me you arent good at turn based games.
Brittany Spears’ ‘Toxic’ plays.
Oh man, I HATED that song while growing up.
That song pops into my head about half the time the word “toxic” is mentioned.
THAT BITCH IS DISSING BALDUR’S GATE 3?! BURN HER!!!
uuuugh she sounds like my kids (12 and 10)
“no we don’t wanna play that game. The graphics suck”
after which they go back to playing Roblox 😖
Seems like a major parenting fail to me ;-p
I do not condone violence.
I do not condone physical punishment for kids.
But I don’t think I’ve ever been tempted this hard to set aside my convictions.
That’s it. We need to go full Ordo Xenos on this chick. SUFFER NOT THE CASUAL TO LIVE!!!
Anyone else think she may be a plant by the Troll?
The Troll could be her student!
*Everyone who has been in an abusive relationship*
…God damn it.
lol I feel like she’s on the money where this game is concerned