Follow TV Tropes

Following

History StepfordSmiler / VideoGames

Go To

OR

Added: 598

Changed: 1297

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Louis from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' is Empty. In the events of The Sacrifice comic, Louis had to kill a person who attacked him in a bathroom stall (the person became an infected or "zombie") and saw the destruction of his workplace and the city from the viral outbreak, testing his will since he always had a positive outlook in life. Louis still holds the "everything will get better" attitude, even after he and the other survivors had to endure 2-3 weeks of fighting zombies and escaping from an overzealous military force. Francis calls Louis out on this a few times, telling him that continuing to believe things will return to normal is foolish and/or insane thinking and that they are going to have to get used to striving to survive as long as they live. In the final part of the comic, Louis starts to crack when he believes there is no escape from the bridge they're on and asks his fellow survivors to kill him so the zombies won't kill him instead.

to:

* Louis from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' is Empty. In the events of The Sacrifice comic, Louis had to kill a person who attacked him in a bathroom stall (the person became an infected or "zombie") and saw the destruction of his workplace and the city from the viral outbreak, testing his will since he always had puts up a positive outlook front and always tries to look at bright side of things in life. the ZombieApocalypse but the comic hints that it may be just him putting on a brave face so that he doesn't give in to the possibility that things won't get better or return to how they used to be. Francis (who is the cynic of the group) calls Louis still holds out for being too optimistic, but Louis brushes it off and says being positive got him where he is now. Despite him being as brave as he can be, Louis's optimism cracks at the "everything will get better" attitude, even after end of the comic where he and the other survivors had to endure 2-3 weeks of fighting zombies and escaping from an overzealous military force. Francis calls are trapped on a stuck drawbridge with the infected closing in on them. Louis out on this a few times, telling him can see that continuing to believe things will return to normal is foolish and/or insane thinking and that they are going to have to get used to striving to survive as long as they live. In the final part of the comic, Louis starts to crack when he believes there is no escape from the bridge they're on all pretty much screwed and asks his fellow survivors to kill him be killed so that the zombies infected won't do the deed instead.
--> '''Louis''': Guys. I got a bad feeling about this.
--> '''Francis''': Wait, what? Louis, come on we--we been worse than ''this'', man. This is--this is nothing.
--> '''Louis''': ''You're'' the one that should be sad, Francis. I was gonna give your dumb ass a job.
--> '''Zoey''': Okay, shut up with that kind of talk. We've got some ammo left. We just need... to... Shit! God damn it! We've come this far! It can't ''end'' like this!
--> '''Louis''': I love you, Zoey. I love ''all'' you guys. Listen, I want you to
kill him instead.me before--
--> '''Bill''': Save it. [[HeroicSacrifice Cover me! I got this!]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Litchi Faye-Ling from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' is Depressed. On the outside and towards the people of Orient Town, she is highly sociable, kind, compassionate and caring doctor who is idolized by pretty much everyone, and it might not be a lie at all, she's deep down kind-hearted. However, she never told anyone about her own problems, that being a desperate lover with GuiltComplex, especially for letting her lover turn into an EldritchAbomination, injects herself with the same corruption which granted her power and looking for a cure and in the same time rotting her body away, and she'd rather bear the burden herself than worrying those she cared about with it. [[spoiler:Hazama managed to find out her face behind her smiler face and used that to manipulate her to get her ForcedIntoEvil under the guise of eventual survival from the escalating corruption and the chance to cure that lover]]. Which in turn, made her pull a new mask in front of Rachel: She pretends that only her lover needs help and she's the only one who can, while in truth, she also needs help as well when the other source of help (Kokonoe) flat out refused to help. Unfortunately, Rachel bought that mask and dismisses her as an obsessed idiot who chose the wrong side.

to:

* Litchi Faye-Ling from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' is Depressed. On the outside and towards the people of Orient Town, she is highly sociable, kind, compassionate and caring doctor who is idolized by pretty much everyone, and it might not be a lie at all, she's deep down kind-hearted. However, she never told anyone about her own problems, that being a desperate lover with GuiltComplex, especially for letting her lover turn into an EldritchAbomination, injects herself with the same corruption which granted her power and looking for a cure and in the same time rotting her body away, and she'd rather bear the burden herself than worrying those she cared about with it. [[spoiler:Hazama managed to find out her face behind her smiler face and used that to manipulate her to get her ForcedIntoEvil under the guise of eventual survival from the escalating corruption and the chance to cure that lover]]. Which in turn, made her pull a new mask in front of Rachel: She pretends that only her lover needs help and she's the only one who can, while in truth, she also needs help as well when the other source of help (Kokonoe) flat out refused to help. Unfortunately, Rachel bought that mask and dismisses her as an obsessed idiot who chose the wrong side.



* Hazama/[[spoiler:Terumi Yuuki]] of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' has a mask of being a very polite intelligence officer who is inept at combat and as such hates it in the first game but is really a sick sadist who is [[MagnificentBastard either personally behind, directly involved in or can be linked to]] [[{{Troll}} EVERYTHING bad]] in the ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' universe. His reason? [[ForTheEvulz Just because he can and it amuses him]]. He gave up the pretense in the second game as it was clear he's the BigBad and [[PaperThinDisguise it wasn't fooling anyone anyway]].

to:

* Hazama/[[spoiler:Terumi Yuuki]] of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' has a mask of being a very polite intelligence officer who is inept at combat and as such hates it in the first game but is really a sick sadist who is [[MagnificentBastard either personally behind, directly involved in or can be linked to]] [[{{Troll}} EVERYTHING bad]] in the ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' ''[=BlazBlue=]'' universe. His reason? [[ForTheEvulz Just because he can and it amuses him]]. He gave up the pretense in the second game as it was clear he's the BigBad and [[PaperThinDisguise it wasn't fooling anyone anyway]].



** There's a whole town of Stepford Smilers, well-groomed but down-to-earth, assured Andale is the best little town, that their blessed country will protect them from the commies, and that all is right with the world. This being Fallout, of course, things find room to go [[ImAHumanitarian downhill]].

to:

** There's a whole town of Stepford Smilers, well-groomed but down-to-earth, assured Andale is the best little town, that their blessed country will protect them from the commies, and that all is right with the world. This being Fallout, ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'', of course, things find room to go [[ImAHumanitarian downhill]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
fixi


* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky The 3rd'': Contained within the 15th Star Door at the bottom of the FireAndBrimstoneHell Gahenna, are the memories of the Angel of Slaughter amongst the other SexSlave children at "Paradise", where the other slaves are shown as colored silhouettes displaying this behavior with creepy exaggerated smiles and excuses for her not to worry about them.

to:

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky The 3rd'': Contained within the 15th Star Door at the bottom of the FireAndBrimstoneHell Gahenna, Gahenna are the memories of the Angel of Slaughter amongst the other SexSlave children at "Paradise", where the other slaves are shown as colored silhouettes displaying this behavior with creepy exaggerated smiles and excuses for her not to worry about them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Bonus Boss is a disambiguation


* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The Dung Defender is a LargeHam and a BoisterousBruiser. However, [[spoiler:Dream Nailing him during the [[BonusBoss White Defender]] fight reveals he's not as jolly on the inside as he is on the outside, and that he dearly misses his deceased comrades.]]

to:

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The Dung Defender is a LargeHam and a BoisterousBruiser. However, [[spoiler:Dream Nailing him during the [[BonusBoss White Defender]] Defender fight reveals he's not as jolly on the inside as he is on the outside, and that he dearly misses his deceased comrades.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky The 3rd'': Contained within the 15th Star Door at the bottom of the FireAndBrimstoneHell Gahenna, are the memories of the Angel of Slaughter amongst the other SexSlave children at "Paradise", where the other slaves are shown as colored silloettes displaying this behavior with creepy exaggerated smiles and excuses for her not to worry about them.

to:

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky The 3rd'': Contained within the 15th Star Door at the bottom of the FireAndBrimstoneHell Gahenna, are the memories of the Angel of Slaughter amongst the other SexSlave children at "Paradise", where the other slaves are shown as colored silloettes silhouettes displaying this behavior with creepy exaggerated smiles and excuses for her not to worry about them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky The 3rd'': Contained within the 15th Star Door at the bottom of the FireAndBrimstoneHell Gahenna, are the memories of the Angel of Slaughter amongst the other SexSlave children at "Paradise", where the other slaves are shown as colored silloettes displaying this behavior with creepy exaggerated smiles and excuses for her not to worry about them.

Added: 452

Changed: 129

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Aerie in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' is Depressed. She’s very depressed due to a traumatic past, but tries to look cheerful despite for it.

to:

* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'':
**
Aerie in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' is Depressed. She’s very depressed due to [[BrokenAngel a traumatic past, past]], but tries to look cheerful despite for it.it.
** BarbarianHero Karlach in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' acts as a cheerful TeamMom to the rest of the party, but is Depressed due to her very DarkAndTroubledPast (which involved going ToHellAndBack) that left her deeply traumatized with bottling her negative emotions as her only coping mechanism.

Added: 2118

Changed: 1900

Removed: 232

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Example Indentation / Alphabetization


* [[spoiler: Carol]] in ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight''. She became this because she was frequently bullied in her childhood and had no friends. She posed as a GenkiGirl in order to remedy this, and sadly this worked ''all too well''.



* [[spoiler: Carol]] in ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight''. She became this because she was frequently bullied in her childhood and had no friends. She posed as a GenkiGirl in order to remedy this, and sadly this worked ''all too well''.



* ''VideoGame/{{A3}}'' has Sakuya Sakuma. He is upbeat and cheerful, but before joining Mankai Company, he actually has lost his parents and often gets moved from a set of relatives to another, causing him to feel like he has no place to belong. He does not take it lightly when Masumi suggests that someone else plays Romeo instead, because it feels his place is getting taken away.

to:

* ''VideoGame/{{A3}}'' has ''VideoGame/{{A3}}'':
**
Sakuya Sakuma. He Sakuma is upbeat and cheerful, but before joining Mankai Company, he actually has lost his parents and often gets moved from a set of relatives to another, causing him to feel like he has no place to belong. He does not take it lightly when Masumi suggests that someone else plays Romeo instead, because it feels his place is getting taken away.



* Shade in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2: Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty'', is [[BlatantLies most definitely not the only living person in Oasis]]! He's rigged up the bodies of a few people with crutches and speakers, posing them in "lifelike" positions and using pre-recorded ECHO tapes to create the illusion that they are still alive and capable of meaningful social interactions (he's either not aware of or willingly ignores tape malfunctions). He even went to the trouble of recording a rejection to a marriage proposal. He doesn't want the Vault Hunter to leave so soon, before they've gotten to know each other, but he can't really stop them (both because he's a dehydrated, delirious civilian compared to an armed and armored Vault Hunter and he's a quest-giving NPC so he can't leave his booth). Upon learning that there was an underwater cavern filled with water directly under Oasis, he descends into [[LaughingMad tragic laughter]].

to:

* Shade in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2: Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty'', Booty'':
** Shade
is [[BlatantLies most definitely not the only living person in Oasis]]! He's rigged up the bodies of a few people with crutches and speakers, posing them in "lifelike" positions and using pre-recorded ECHO tapes to create the illusion that they are still alive and capable of meaningful social interactions (he's either not aware of or willingly ignores tape malfunctions). He even went to the trouble of recording a rejection to a marriage proposal. He doesn't want the Vault Hunter to leave so soon, before they've gotten to know each other, but he can't really stop them (both because he's a dehydrated, delirious civilian compared to an armed and armored Vault Hunter and he's a quest-giving NPC so he can't leave his booth). Upon learning that there was an underwater cavern filled with water directly under Oasis, he descends into [[LaughingMad tragic laughter]].



* Zelos from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is a StepfordSmiler, as he struggles to hide a truly twisted past [[ObfuscatingStupidity behind a mask of frivolity and promiscuity]]. At certain points of the story, he offhandedly hints about his past, before laughing whatever he said off as lies or changing the subject. Whether he's lying or telling the truth is left to the viewer, unless they go out of their way to see a cutscene where he openly reveals his past to the main protagonist.
** His goal is to drive his comrades away from him, because he [[DeathSeeker doesn't want to be missed]]. Realizing the ButtMonkey of the group is also a SadClown can be quite [[{{Tearjerker}} jarring]], especially [[spoiler: if you chose the ending where [[LovableTraitor you kill him]]]].
* Another example is Jade Curtiss from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. He does it due to being TheStoic, and to mask feelings of guilt and inadequacy over [[spoiler:accidentally killing his teacher, then spending nearly ten years cloning her over and over again, only to kill the faulty clones when they failed to have her memories and thus truly be able to replace the mentor he'd lost]]. Plus, it helps a DeadpanSnarker to keep a straight face.
** Easier to miss is Guy Cecil, [[spoiler:born Gailardia Galan Gardios of Hod and heir to the title of Count]], whose family was killed [[spoiler:by Luke's father]] when he was only a small child, [[spoiler:and who has spent the years since then acting as a servant in the Fabre household and planning to kill them all as revenge for his family's death.]] He gets better as the game goes on, but some scenes still clearly show that he has anger issues hidden very thoroughly under that cheerful smile.

to:

* Zelos from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is a StepfordSmiler, as he struggles to hide a truly twisted past [[ObfuscatingStupidity behind a mask of frivolity and promiscuity]]. At certain points of the story, he offhandedly hints about his past, before laughing whatever he said off as lies or changing the subject. Whether he's lying or telling the truth is left to the viewer, unless they go out of their way to see a cutscene where he openly reveals his past to the main protagonist.
**
protagonist. His goal is to drive his comrades away from him, because he [[DeathSeeker doesn't want to be missed]]. Realizing the ButtMonkey of the group is also a SadClown can be quite [[{{Tearjerker}} jarring]], especially [[spoiler: if you chose the ending where [[LovableTraitor you kill him]]]].
* Another example is ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'':
**
Jade Curtiss from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. He does it due to being TheStoic, and to mask feelings of guilt and inadequacy over [[spoiler:accidentally killing his teacher, then spending nearly ten years cloning her over and over again, only to kill the faulty clones when they failed to have her memories and thus truly be able to replace the mentor he'd lost]]. Plus, it helps a DeadpanSnarker to keep a straight face.
** Easier to miss is Guy Cecil, [[spoiler:born Gailardia Galan Gardios of Hod and heir to the title of Count]], whose family was killed [[spoiler:by Luke's father]] when he was only a small child, [[spoiler:and who has spent the years since then acting as a servant in the Fabre household and planning to kill them all as revenge for his family's death.]] He gets better as the game goes on, but some scenes still clearly show that he has anger issues hidden very thoroughly under that cheerful smile.


Added DiffLines:

* ''VideoGame/{{Rakuen}}'':
** The Boy is a CheerfulChild who is constantly wearing a smile on his face despite his condition, [[spoiler: but deep down inside he is mourning his recently deceased father. He is also frustrated by the progression of his cancer because he overheard the doctor say that it was only getting worse.]]
** The Boy's mother visits the hospital regularly to cheer him up, [[spoiler: but her persistent smile hides constant worry and turmoil over making sure his brother is safe with her mother, her recently deceased husband, the Boy's worsening condition, and eventually having to let the Boy go when he desires to go to Rakuen.]]

Changed: 16

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Now defunct


* Ayano Aishi, or {{Yandere}}-Chan of the indie game ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'': LoveSick is an Empty Stepford Smiler, since she doesn't feel any emotion, with some traits of the Unstable type, considering that her lack of emotion and empathy comes from what is strongly implied to be some sort of mental illness and she isn't afraid to kill. At first sight, you see [[BrokenSmile a normal, albeit introverted schoolgirl]]- that is, until you touch her [[SenpaiKohai Senpai]], and find yourself on the [[SerialKiller wrong end of her knife]]...

to:

* Ayano Aishi, or {{Yandere}}-Chan of the indie game ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'': LoveSick is an Empty Stepford Smiler, since she doesn't feel any emotion, with some traits of the Unstable type, considering that her lack of emotion and empathy comes from what is strongly implied to be some sort of mental illness and she isn't afraid to kill. At first sight, you see [[BrokenSmile a normal, albeit introverted schoolgirl]]- that is, until you touch her [[SenpaiKohai Senpai]], Senpai, and find yourself on the [[SerialKiller wrong end of her knife]]...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ''VideoGame/TheRingTerrorsRealm'': Meg wears a smile throughout the SurvivalHorror game.

to:

* ''VideoGame/TheRingTerrorsRealm'': Meg wears a smile throughout the SurvivalHorror game.game ''Literature/TheRing: Terror's Realm''.

Changed: 107

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* In the second game of ''[[VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica Ar tonelico]]'', this is Luca's defining feature. BecomingTheMask is the goal of her path, but she is [[TheScrappy very unpopular]] among many players who feel she hit a MoralEventHorizon somewhere along the line.

to:

* In the second game of ''[[VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica Ar tonelico]]'', this is Luca's defining feature. BecomingTheMask is the goal of her path, but she is [[TheScrappy very unpopular]] among many players who feel she hit a MoralEventHorizon somewhere along the line. She even played a role in defining the "Dorodere", the Otaku slang for the StepfordSmiler character type.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Claude in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is a [[TheChessmaster manipulative]] AntiHero (yet is still the least morally ambiguous of the three House leaders), and [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]]'s very first impression of him is that the smile he always wears doesn't reach his eyes. Later on in his support with Hilda she calls him out on this, saying that the only times his smiles are genuine are [[FireForgedFriends when he's with Byleth]].

to:

** Claude in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is a [[TheChessmaster manipulative]] AntiHero (yet is still the least morally ambiguous of the three House leaders), AntiHero, and [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]]'s very first impression of him is that the smile he always wears doesn't reach his eyes. Later on in his support with Hilda she calls him out on this, saying that the only times his smiles are genuine are [[FireForgedFriends when he's with Byleth]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Senpai Kohai is the name of the trope


* Ayano Aishi, or {{Yandere}}-Chan of the indie game ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'': LoveSick is an Empty Stepford Smiler, since she doesn't feel any emotion, with some traits of the Unstable type, considering that her lack of emotion and empathy comes from what is strongly implied to be some sort of mental illness and she isn't afraid to kill. At first sight, you see [[BrokenSmile a normal, albeit introverted schoolgirl]]- that is, until you touch her [[SempaiKohai Senpai]], and find yourself on the [[SerialKiller wrong end of her knife]]...

to:

* Ayano Aishi, or {{Yandere}}-Chan of the indie game ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'': LoveSick is an Empty Stepford Smiler, since she doesn't feel any emotion, with some traits of the Unstable type, considering that her lack of emotion and empathy comes from what is strongly implied to be some sort of mental illness and she isn't afraid to kill. At first sight, you see [[BrokenSmile a normal, albeit introverted schoolgirl]]- that is, until you touch her [[SempaiKohai [[SenpaiKohai Senpai]], and find yourself on the [[SerialKiller wrong end of her knife]]...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Crosswicking Slammed

Added DiffLines:

* ''VideoGame/{{Slammed}}'': Ecstasy tends to cover up their insecurities and sadness with a big smile. [[spoiler:They'll even try to do so if you gently turn their advances down.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Aurora's stepsister Norah from ''VideoGame/ChildOfLight'' is a sociable, charming girl to everyone save [[RatMen the Bolmus Populi]]. [[spoiler:She's really [[BigBad Queen Umbra]]'s youngest daughter Nox, and puts on a act to conceal a dangerous [[TheSociopath sociopath]].]]

to:

* Aurora's stepsister Norah from ''VideoGame/ChildOfLight'' is a sociable, charming girl to everyone save [[RatMen the Bolmus Populi]]. [[spoiler:She's really [[BigBad Queen Umbra]]'s youngest daughter Nox, and puts on a an act to conceal a dangerous [[TheSociopath sociopath]].]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* Aurora's stepsister Norah from ''VideoGame/ChildOfLight'' is a sociable, charming girl to everyone save [[RatMen the Bolmus Populi]]. [[spoiler:She's really [[BigBad Queen Umbra]]'s youngest daughter Nox, and puts on a act to conceal a dangerous [[TheSociopath sociopath]].]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* At the end of ''[[VideoGame/{{Klonoa}} Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil]]'', upon realizing Klonoa isn't from her world, Lolo tries to hide her sad emotions by smiling, until tears start rolling down her face. She asks if it's all right for her to cry, and her true emotions on Klonoa leaving her are fully shown as she runs up to him and [[FinalFirstHug hugs him tightly as he leaves]].

Changed: 680

Removed: 545

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
deleting the milla thing b/c she's not "sad person who acts happy", she's moved on from her trauma and doesn't let it define her


* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' features both a female and male example. Crystal and Clem are two seemingly cheerful and enthusiastic campers who like to root their fellow campers on (especially Raz)... and also harbor suicidal tendencies. Most of this is PlayedForLaughs: "I feel so stupid for throwing myself off the roof!" "Why did you throw yourself off the roof?" "Because the poison didn't work, duh!"
** A more depressing version is [[spoiler: Milla, a perpetually cheerful party girl who hides the fact that she worked at an orphanage that burned down, killing all inside. As if that wasn't enough, she also wound up psychically hearing their screams for help as they died]]. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Interpretations]] vary with the player with some seeing her as someone who's ''coped'' with the trauma in her past. WordOfGod says it's the latter, and that "locking up" nightmares is a perfectly healthy way of dealing with that level of trauma.
** By comparison, twice in Boyd Cooper's mind, you get assaulted by nightmares and have to fight them as minibosses. So it would seem that in the metaphorical context of things, nightmares being "locked up" is more a sign that you've dealt with them and have them under control, rather than that you're suppressing them.
* The backstory for the Pleasant family in ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' is scripted like this: MarySue and Daniel have a perfect suburban life. He's shtupping the maid, she's about to get fired, and their daughters hate each other.

to:

* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' features both a female and male example. ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'': Crystal and Clem are two seemingly cheerful and enthusiastic campers who like to root their fellow campers on (especially Raz)... and also harbor suicidal tendencies. Most of this is PlayedForLaughs: "I feel so stupid for throwing myself off the roof!" "Why did you throw yourself off the roof?" "Because the poison didn't work, duh!"
** A more depressing version is [[spoiler: Milla, a perpetually cheerful party girl who hides the fact that she worked at an orphanage that burned down, killing all inside. As if that wasn't enough, she also wound up psychically hearing their screams for help as they died]]. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Interpretations]] vary with the player with some seeing her as someone who's ''coped'' with the trauma in her past. WordOfGod says it's the latter, and that "locking up" nightmares is a perfectly healthy way of dealing with that level of trauma.
** By comparison, twice in Boyd Cooper's mind, you get assaulted by nightmares and have to fight them as minibosses. So it would seem that in the metaphorical context of things, nightmares being "locked up" is more a sign that you've dealt with them and have them under control, rather than that you're suppressing them.
* The backstory for the Pleasant family in ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' is scripted like this: MarySue Mary-Sue and Daniel have a perfect suburban life. He's shtupping the maid, she's about to get fired, and their daughters hate each other.

Top