Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Yay hanafuda! Not a thing I expected to see in this comic but it pleases me.
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Nothing I would have guessed, but once I saw it I wasn't the tiniest bit surprised that it's something Tom would throw in there.Yay hanafuda! Not a thing I expected to see in this comic but it pleases me.
I think that's an overstatement of what's happening here. We have an outsider who isn't wrapped up in all this and has a different perspective, yes, but Annie HAS been spoiled and acted out, cheated, etc. It's been a major running plot point. Pointing it out isn't saying Tony's any good. The series has been pretty consistent about showing why Tony did what he did without giving him a pass for having done it, and since this is a mid-chapter page I'm not going to assume it's moving off from that. The series may head toward forgiveness or reconciliation, but that doesn't mean it will do so without accompanying amends either. (And a running theme of the entire series is that no one is right about everything, or always maximally nice and kind. Lots of emotional messes and complicated people running around Gunnerkrigg Court.)Here's the moment I was expecting this chapter, where it's revealed that all the characters hating Tony are the voice of the Dumb Audience, and now we get a character who gets to be the voice of the Wise Author to tell us that Tony's abuse is Good, Actually.
I dunno even that though. It's showing the reason Tony did some things, but there's still a billion ways he could have made the situation better. He knew he had a problem relating to people, he knew that it was likely damaging his daughter, and he still didn't talk to any of the people who basically raised her who he can talk to and say "hey, I need you to talk to Annie about something"Looks like.
See? Now this is the author telling you you've been a jerk for assuming the worst about a character.