History Characters / ClassOf09

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: There is exactly one scenario where Nicole taking the nice option presented to her ends with her ahead with no strings attached. [[note]]If she rats out Jeffery's fetishes to the school, talking him down from killing himself means he doesn't pull a gun on and shoot her.[[/note]] In any other scenario, deliberately being nice or trying to take school seriously will end up screwing Nicole over. It's played for drama in one ending, where Nicole earnestly ''tries'' to be friends with some of the male students, but ends up exhausted by their antics and is eventually ostracized over a nasty rumor no one defends her from. She becomes so fed up with how people treat her that [[spoiler:she hangs herself.]]

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the ExtremeDoormat romance option that would do anything for love. Ari is by nature a HopelessSuitor because her ''only'' option in the school is Nicole, who all-but identifies as asexual due to how little she cares for sexual gratification and only goes along with Ari's 'lovesick puppy' attitude because she can initially ''get favors'' out of Ari and later keeps the routine going because Ari is ''so'' weak-willed she'll ''apologize for Nicole insulting her,'' which appeals to Nicole's darker, sociopathic, cruel nature. As the romance becomes more and more destructive, it becomes clear that Nicole doesn't understand why what she's doing is so terrible if Ari can just leave at any time. At the same time the reason for Ari's blind devotion becomes obvious to the player; as Jecka points out, Ari's ExtremeDoormat personality is actually a legitimate co-dependency problem that prevents Ari from feeling safe and secure with herself to leave Nicole until the abuse warps her perception of romance with women. Though the ExtremeDoormat is typically a pitiable figure that's romanced to offer them companionship, ''Class of 09'' shows how toxic that need for companionship can be and how someone like Ari would benefit less from a ''relationship'' and more from ''therapy'' that addresses their co-dependency, which Nicole herself points out to Ari in the 'Reject Ari' route.

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Nicole's deceased Dad]] who comitted suicide when Nicole was 14, which set the stage for her to become the bitterly jaded and depressed girl she is by the start of the game.

* RiddleForTheAges: The only hint to why he blew his brains out was a suicide note that blames Nicole. The game never elaborates what a ''fourteen year old girl'' could've said or done to influence his decision, and even Nicole [[NotMeThisTime is at a loss for how she could've caused it]] as the event was her CynicismCatalyst.

* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the ExtremeDoormat romance option that would do anything for love. Ari is by nature a HopelessSuitor because her ''only'' option in the school is Nicole, who all-but identifies as asexual due to how little she cares for sexual gratification and only goes along with Ari's 'lovesick puppy' attitude because she can initially ''get favors'' out of Ari and later keeps the routine going because Ari is ''so'' weak-willed she'll ''apologize for Nicole insulting her,'' which appeals to Nicole's darker, sociopathic, cruel nature. As the romance becomes more and more destructive, it becomes clear that Nicole doesn't understand why what she's doing is so terrible if Ari can just leave at any time. At the same time the reason for Ari's blind devotion becomes obvious to the player; as Jecka points out, Ari's ExtremeDoormat personality is actually a legitimate co-dependency problem that prevents Ari from feeling safe and secure with herself to leave Nicole until the abuse warps her perception of romance with women. Though the ExtremeDoormat is typically a pitiable figure that's romanced to offer them companionship, ''Class of 09'' shows how toxic that need for companionship can be and how someone like Ari would benefit less from a ''relationship'' and more from ''therapy'' that addresses their co-dependency, which Nicole herself points out to Ari in the 'Reject Ari' route.

* TokenGoodTeammate: He's the only male faculty member who hasn't done anything grossly illegal. Most of the humor surrounding him is more bizarre in nature, such as him not being worried about his wife being dead and being easily duped into saying he's a pedophile. Tellingly, though, Principal Lynn is quick to catch him on his behavior, something she doesn't have the leverage to do with other teachers, suggesting he really might be a science teacher with no skeletons in his closet. The only reference to anything illegal Mr. Burleday may have done is Nicole once claiming that Mr. Burleday felt up another student to the counselor, but this is never brought up again in the whole series.

* TokenGoodTeammate: He's the only male faculty member who hasn't done anything grossly illegal. Most of the humor surrounding him is more bizarre in nature, such as him not being worried about his wife being dead and being easily duped into saying he's a pedophile. Tellingly, though, Principal Lynn is quick to catch him on his behavior, something she doesn't have the leverage to do with other teachers, suggesting he really might be a science teacher with no skeletons in his closet.

* AmbiguousSituation: Was Kyle so obsessed with Jecka that he would've done anything, including murdering his mother, to get a date with her? Or, as Nicole {{lampshades}}, was his relationship with his mother already so bad that he probably needed little reason to kill her anyways. While Kyle claiming Jecka as "his" leads support to the former, the game ultimately never really makes it clear.

** Nicole's mother has been in and out of divorce court at least eight times and is at her wits end with her daughter, coping with dealing with Nicole through a combination of xanax and wine. She's also one argument with Nicole away from just kicking her out onto the streets [[spoiler:which indeed does happen in several routes in both games]].
** Nicole's mom has given up entirely on her unnamed deadbeat son, being easier to deal with compared with Nicole but that's only because all he does is eat and plays video games all day whenever he's not creeping on underage girls on the internet.[[spoiler: In both the original game and ''Re-up'', he always gets arrested for possession of child porn about halfway through the game]].

* AmbiguousSituation: Was Kyle so obsessed with Jecka that he would've done anything she asked, including murdering his mother, as long as he got a date with her? Or, as Nicole {{lampshades}}, was his relationship with his mother already so bad that he was probably going to kill her sooner rather than later anyways? The game never really makes it clear.

* LackOfEmpathy: Being a sociopath, Nicole seems genuinely incapable of feeling guilt over her actions, and often takes enjoyment in the misery of others. That being said, it's pretty heavily implied that this is a front Nicole puts up to hide her boundless levels of self-loathing and disdain for the world around her as she does tend to lay off when people are actually distressed as seen with Kylar and Jecka. [[spoiler: The aftermath of her abusive relationship with Ari has her comtemplating her own guilt.]]

* LackOfEmpathy: Being a sociopath, Nicole seems genuinely incapable of feeling guilt over her actions, and often takes enjoyment in the misery of others. Although, there are a few exceptions to this, like her friendship with Jecka.

* ArmouredClosetGay: [[spoiler: Or Armoured Closet Bisexual in his case. He clearly has a thing for Nicole, but it's implied he is more attracted to guys than he is willing to admit. When Nicole asked Kylar is he ever played with a sleeping teammate's ass, his reply is "well... not in a gay way." In another scene, Jeffery will reveal that he once caught Kylar kissing the captain of the football team. Kylar doesn't deny the accusation, but instead reacts in anger to the point of threatening to break Nicole's nose when she teases me about it]].

** Nicole has been a depressed DeadpanSnarker since her father killed himself and blamed her in the note. Since then, Nicole simply no longer cares for her own well being, having taken up a prescription pill and drinking habit since turning 14. Nicole also rather convince herself she's a socipath (and has developed some of the tendencies to match) than be hurt again, remaining almost completely detached from other people after her dad's suicide and her mother forcing the family to frequently move across the country after every divorce.

** Nicole has been a depressed DeadpanSnarker since her father killed himself and blamed her in the note. Since then, Nicole simply no longer cares for her own well being, having taken up a prescription pill and drinking habit since turning 14. She's also almost completely detached from other people after her father's suicide, not helped by her mother forcing the family to frequently move across the country after every divorce.
who considers herself a sociopath with some of the tendencies to match, who

* AmbiguousInnocence: Nicole's mom isn't the best parent, even if her daughter drives her right up the wall, but whether she's aware of [[PaedoHunt her son's interests]] before his arrest remains unknown. [[CassandraTruth Nicole does claim her brother is a pedo]] and does claim her mother favors him more in a few arguments, but her mother doesn't have much reason to believe her [[BigScrewedUpFamily considering their usual relationship]].

* NoNameGiven: His text box just calls him "Mall Cop".

* SoleSurvivor: Can become the last member of her family standing in ''Re-up'' should you choose one of the handful of endings that don't end with her death or imprisonment, as her brother still gets arrested for possession of child porn while her mother can die from [[spoiler:a heart attack that could've been prevented if Nicole and Jecka hadn't snorted her heart medication for a cheap high]].

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Emily's route in ''Re-Up'' ends with Nicole only suffering a seizure thanks to cutting her share of the pills with harmless vitamins to spare herself while Emily dies of an overdose right there on the classroom floor. Nicole does survive the initial seizure, but downing a near lethal cocktail of pills no doubt took some years off her life or only helped her outlive Emily by mere hours]].

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Nicole is a depressed DeadpanSnarker who considers herself a sociopath with some of the tendencies to match, who simply does not care for her own well being and has become almost completely detached from other people following her father's suicide and her family frequently moving across the country. Nicole's mother has been in and out of divorce court at least eight times and is at her wits end with her daughter while having completely given up on her eldest son, a deadbeat who only eats and plays video games all day whenever he's not creeping on underage girls.

* NonIndicativeName: Despite the name given to him, he's not really a mall cop (as in a SchlubbyScummySecurityGuard), but rather he's a mall ''cop'' as in a police officer. He keeps the name even after being reassigned as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_resource_officer School resource officer]] after he shoots Nicole.

* CastingGag: Joshua Tomar tends to be the butt of quite a few jokes on his native Webvideo/OneyPlays let's play channel, with his fellow cast members frequently joking about how he's secretly a [[MemeticPsychopath violent psychopath]]. Here, he's playing just that: A needleessly violent RabidCop who shoots a girl for ''shoplifting.''

* AmbiguouslyGay: Though which gender she flirts with is [[PragmaticPansexuality mostly down to personal convenience]], there are hints that she legitimately swings towards girls. Unlike Jecka, she pretty much DoesNotLikeMen and isn't willing to even compliment their looks unless it's to specifically manipulate them. On the other hand, she's a lot more willing to compliment the looks of other girls ([[PrecociousCrush including]] [[MsFanservice Principle Lynn's]] when not at odds with her over how [[AdultsAreUseless useless Lynn is]] as an authority figure) and doesn't sound averse to the idea of trying out being [[FriendsWithBenefits "sexed up abusive lesbians"]] with Jecka. During Emily's route, Nicole is flustered by Emily's compliments, and they share the same bed during a sleepover. At the end of Ari's route where they date, [[spoiler:through Nicole's final monologue and Ari's text, it is confirmed that Nicole did have sex with Ari]] , whereas in most other routes Nicole does not intend to go all the way with the guys she could date [[spoiler:and has to be constantly drugged up to do "upper" favors for men just to survive during the expulsion ending because she doesn't want to be sober enough to realize how much she's debasing herself]]. In a Twitter Q&A, she specifies that her ideal crush would be a ''girl'' she could abuse out of boredom. Unlike Ari, however, she doesn't seem to explicitly like girls so much as she hates men far more.

* BeautyBreedsLaziness: Nicole belives this in the Adulthood Ending.

** Nicole is rightfully angry with her father blaming her in his suicide note, dismissively referring to him as her "second Christmas" when recalling his death in the intro and claims to Jecka in the Prison ending that her parent'''''s''''' were "mean to her". It's ultimately left up in the air as to whether she always hated him even before his death or if [[UnreliableNarrator her trauma and current personality distorts her memories of him]]. [[spoiler:The only hint we get towards her feelings is her final line after Coach Colby strangles her to death, somberly saying "See ya soon, Dad" after exclaiming the rest of her family can "[[DyingDeclarationOfHate fuck off and burn in hell]]" with her]].

* AdamWesting: Joshua Tomar tends to be the butt of quite a few jokes on his native Webvideo/OneyPlays let's play channel, with his fellow cast members frequently joking about how he's secretly a [[MemeticPsychopath violent psychopath]]. Here, he's playing just that: A needleessly violent RabidCop who shoots a girl for ''shoplifting.''

* IncrediblyPoorJudgeOfCharacter: She's so passionate about trying to reach the remedial students that it doesn't occur to her that two of the biggest troublemakers in the school ''period'' might not really have had their attitudes changed about modern poetry overnight, especially since they repeatedly trash-talked her and her beliefs to her face.

* AdamWesting: Joshua Tomar tends to be the butt of quite a few jokes on his native Webvideo/OneyPlays let's play channel, with his fellow cast members frequently joking about how he's secretly a [[MemeticPsychopath violent psychopath]]. Here's he's playing just that: A RabidCop who shoots a girl for shoplifting.

* AdamWesting: Joshua Tomar tends to be the butt of quite a few jokes on his native [[Webvideo/OneyPlays]] let's play channel, with his fellow cast members frequently joking about how he's secretly a [[MemeticPsychopath violent psychopath]]. Here's he's playing just that: A RabidCop who shoots a girl for shoplifting.

* AdamWesting: Joshua Tomar tends to be the butt of many jokes on his native [[LetsPlay/OneyPlays]] let's play channel, with his fellow cast members frequently joking about how he's secretly a [[MemeticPsychopath violent psychopath]]. Here's he's playing just that: A RabidCop who shoots a girl for shoplifting.

* AllNerdsAreVirgins: The fact that he can't even ask a girl out to save his life is one of the running jokes with his character.