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“Time Out”, page 20

🕑 Added 2020-09-14 17:00:03 +0000 UTC

Comments

Caramel Ankhy-Tahnk

It is hard to tell on occasion if Paulo realizes and understands Abbey is adopted and that, while his home life -now- might be better, that it was considerably worse before, and that in order for it to get better he had to actually lose both of his parents. There's no comparison between what has happened to them, they have both weathered an outsized level of trauma that scars a child for life, and we can't start asking "which is worse? neglect and abandonment or abuse and loss?" because they are different, and each come with their own struggles with coping and moving on. In one sense, Paulo is still very much in a place of neglect and abandonment, there was no state intervention to put him in a home that made sure his needs were met, that allows Abbey to have greater stability and care in which to function to his best. Of course, we can look at Augustus who up until very recently was neglected and likely abused, but still at least able to maintain an academic level on par with his peers - we know intelligence and academic achievement isn't solely based on nurturing, or stability of home life. Every child is different and it can be said that both Augustus and Paulo would be better supported by a loving home, and that for Paulo he requires the stability and investment that comes from loving guardians to be able to consistently meet expectations in a school setting, while Augustus still enjoys learning for its own sake and perhaps sees it as a form of escape from a life he'd otherwise be stuck in. Abbey had been in a bad situation for a long time, years have passed since moving in with his adoptive family, but he spent enough time with his biological parents to have fresh and ever-present memories of the worst emotions living with them caused in him, he was old enough to know his mother, feel he needed to protect her, and feel the loss of her first from going into foster care, and again from finding out she had passed away. They don't need to be compared to determine who had it harder, but they are valuable to analyse in that both Paulo and Abbey are capable of more empathy and understanding for one another and what they have gone through, and that removing pettier obstacles such as the affections of wider circles of friends and crushes or standards for academic excellence, these two could be valuable support for one another in building a life and a positive future out of the dire circumstances of their childhoods. And in particular, Abbey having come from such a dark place and now tasked with working through his trauma as something that happened to him rather than something he is still actively enduring, is in such a golden position to help in the growth and rehabilitation of Paulo, still filled with painful questions, still struggling with the neglect from his dad and feeling the absence of his mom. Maybe he needs these questions answered, but most of all he needs people who understand him and accept him and can provide him solid support and gentle guidance that can enable him to grow into a confident adult, in spite of his upbringing.

Caramel Ankhy-Tahnk

Like some of that might be my own wishful thinking, but it really does look like throughout the course of Paulo dumping the contents of his life, that Abbey's opinion of him is forcefully evolving and growing to accept this is a real person struggling who he just has never bothered to /know/ before now.

Caramel Ankhy-Tahnk

I enjoy the evolution of Abbey's face over the last two, three pages as he goes from incensed and seeing Paulo literally only existing as the villain in his personal play in which he is the unappreciated hero, to "oh wait what? well still...", THEN to "oh -shit- man this hits something intimately relatable for me", and finally to like "oh fuck I had no idea and I feel so bad for this kid now"

Steven Pope

Just gonna take that heart here and give it a good stomp.

Victor Kappel

Fanally managed to open the page (isnt working on firefox for android) Man so much sad Polo Only forgiving Taeshi for this if it ends up with Abbey seeing his mistakes and forgiving Polo Maybe even hugging him. Or if David pops up and punch Abbey That works too XD

Chloe Fowler

Uh, yeah. Fuck you, Abbey

SCD

Well...this got dark really fast...

Victor Kappel

I bet forever

Fiver

Man how long has Paulo wanted to let THIS out?

Victor Kappel

Server giving problems to anyone else? Page doesn't load for me On mobile, at least No idea about desktop

AlisterTX

Oh man I'll be so excited if this is taking us a step closer to my dream BCB ship: Paulo, Abbey, and Augustus learning to stop squabbling over girls and becoming friends through the common ground of all being members of the Shitty Parent(s) Brigade