#wow i don't think i have a niko tag wtf

[wonderfulcinderella]

Oh! So you're also a fan of Niko... Mind to explain to me why, exactly? It's a genuine question! He bullies Roman and Brucie, as well as Patrick to some degree, betrays pretty much everyone he's ever worked with (killing a McReary brother and then coming to his funeral, just to score Sensitive Guy™️ points with Katie was the most cruel thing I've ever seen in media ever), plays the victim all the time-- At some point I literally started rooting for Dimitri :-/. Please, tell me why you like him!

Okay so listen, this took me a while to answer 'cause I actually had to think about this for a bit -

First of all, thanks for asking, I really do love talking about GTA IV, since it's my fave GTA :)

Sooo let's talk about mah boi Niko. I fell in love with Niko literally the second I saw him. Well, that's not exactly correct. I fell in love with him while playing The Cousins Bellic when he was talking to Roman about his past (since you said Niko was bullying Roman - Roman literally fell asleep when Niko was talking to him?). I know Niko has his flaws, I'm pretty sure R* makes sure their protagonists have quite a few flaws so you can identify yourself with them. Anyways.

Considering the bullying, I don't think that's what it is? Sure, you can read a lot into it, but tbh me and my siblings do "bully" each other quite a lot, too. You have no idea how many times I told my sister she was raised by fucking wolves before we found and adopted her - she usually answers with flipping me off and telling me that I was adopted (which is actually true, that's why it's funny). I don't think Roman nor Brucie nor Packie would be as close to Niko as they are if they actually felt bullied? I mean, I wouldn't risk being shot just to support my cousin taking revenge for his dead girlfriend if I actually felt bullied by him? But it's a game and you can read into it whatever you want.

I also don't exactly know what you mean by betraying? 😂 who exactly did he betray??

Sure, he kinda DID betray Francis or Derrick (whoever you picked, I usually shoot Francis), but I don't think he wanted to work for Francis in the first place and he also didn't have that much of a choice, and yes, no matter if you kill Francis or Derrick, Niko will attend the funeral, which is kinda shitty, but what was he supposed to say? Sorry Packie but I'm the one who killed your brother, I don't think it would be appropriate to come? And if you mean Playboy X and Dwayne (the first time I played GTA IV I shot Dwayne and I never ever did that again), he did betray one of them, sure, but again, he could've said no and then they would've gotten someone else to do it.

Considering the victim part - well, he IS a victim. Based on a lot of conversations ingame Niko was very young when he had to fight in the Yugoslaw wars (I don't know where you're from or what you know about european history, maybe you wanna look that up yourself), it's implied his father was an alcoholic, they didn't have electricity in their house until he was 12, so yeah, he seems like a victim because he IS a victim. At least he's more of a victim than most other GTA protagonists (for example, Michael). I think maybe that is why I like him so much? I don't really know.

And now, last but not least, how the fuck can you even consider rooting for Dimitri? God, I hate that rat so much 😂 but I have to admit, he was a brilliant antagonist.