I've just finished the Minding Your Own Business quest and good god, Officer Singer absolutely takes the cake for the most absolutely useless adult in this entire game. I've pointed out how ridiculous it is that Sirona's cheerfully sending off a 15-year-old student to go meddle with murderous goblins with nary a concern, and how Professor Fig essentially leaves the 15-year-old protagonist to deal with things on their own for the most part, but there are a few instances in the game where the main character's identity as an underage student is acknowledged in the form of the NPCs not wanting them to endanger themself by getting involved in whatever troubles the NPCs have found themselves in. Some NPCs will tell you their woes but insist that you stay away because it's too dangerous for a student (Alexandra Ricketts in Troll Control and Edgar Adley in Absconder Encounter), or give in after you convince them you can handle yourself (Crispin Dunne in Tangled Web). I really like it when NPCs acknowledge the fact that the main character is a student, because it rather adds to the immersion.
It's why Officer Singer pisses me off so much. I can't fault her for letting two teenagers deal with the troll during the Hogsmeade attack because the first troll was very clearly intended as a diversion to distract the sole law enforcement officer in Hogsmeade, leaving the second free to wreak havoc—it was pure luck that the main character and their companion were available to deal with it whle Officer Singer was occupied with the first troll.
But then we get to Natty's questline, and she tells us Officer Singer says there's no evidence that Rookwood and Harlow are up to no good, and when Natty goes and gets that evidence she turns around and writes to Professor Onai berating her for not keeping a closer eye on Natty instead! What the hell! I get that as a responsible adult Officer Singer wanted to make sure these kids are staying safe, but the only reason Natty got herself involved was because she wasn't doing much in the first place, and she had no right to be reprimanding Professor Onai on how she's managing her own child! Report Natty, sure, let her mother know that she's being reckless and getting involved in dangerous things, and probably there's no harm in gently suggesting Professor Onai to keep a closer eye on Natty, but Professor Onai specifically used the word "berated", implying it's more than just a gentle rebuke, and that's just not on.
Then Minding Your Own Business happens and Officer Singer goes "You bought Cassandra Mason's shop?" all disbelieving-like, and it aggravated me so much I immediately selected the second response where the main character scathingly goes "I am perfectly capable of owning a shop, did you not hear the bit about the haunted dungeon trying to drive me insane???" Priorities, Officer Singer! Get them straight! I understand the scrutiny but she has this annoying habit of being dismissive just because Natty and the main character are students which wouldn't really be an issue if she wasn't relying on these students to do her goddamn job.
"But wait," I hear you say. "She's acknowledging them as students and treating them accordingly! Isn't that a good thing?" Yes! It is! I'm not bitching about that! I'm bitching about how she's being dismissive in one moment, and in the next she's imploring the 15-year-old student she was being dismissive of to deal with a rogue witch who has no qualms about killing said 15-year-old. And that was after being taken down by a single Stupefy! The main character's dealt with worse and got back on their feet mere moments later! How is this certified officer of the law so damned weak!
By no means am I saying that Officer Singer is a badly-written character on a meta level, mind you. I think it's good to have a mix of nuances when it comes to characters and their personalities and their behaviours, and Officer Singer is a good example of that with her dismissive and condescending attitude even towards adults (see: her berating Professor Onai), combined with her reliance on the same students she dismisses to do her goddamned job. You can't have all the NPCs sing the main character's praises, after all.
I can appreciate Officer Singer on a meta level, but as a player actually role-playing the main character? She's aggravating. So useless, ugh.
