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like the bullying and general misbehavior? that's a survival tactic. not all of it obviously a lot of it is genuinely just for fun but like.;,,,

the lunch money theft? only way johnny can obtain money for stuff like food and whatever else at his age with an obviously neglectful father.

the constantly being out late at night and going places he shouldnt? avoiding going home and by proxy his father.

picking on other kids and beating them up? this ones mostly for fun but i bet theres also an effort to make a grab for some kind of control and acknowledgement.

for him getting detention is actually optimal because it allows him to get out of going home and remaining in a relatively safe environment with reasonable adults because he's obviously Too Cool for Clubs.

like i know its a real, legit thing that happens irl- a lot of "problem kids" who act out have stuff going on at home and their behavior is a survival tactic and an effort to gain some semblance of control over their life. but like. idk for some reason i never expected it to be openly and earnestly addressed in paranatural like this- especially on a character who's been treated extremely nonseriously up until this point- even though this webcomic has been constantly surprising me for years. just. man. man. Man.

"Ah, careful-! Make sure you're supporting his neck," she exclaims just a little bit too loudly, gently taking one of your hands and adjusting it to pillow his head in your palm. You make an effort to keep your sharp claws far away from his soft little body. He stirs slightly, making a soft grumbling noise and rubbing at his face with a pudgy little hand. His expression seems far too cross for something so small. And, oh, he is so, so small. You- You know what human infants are. Have witnessed plenty of them. You always sort of thought they looked like weird, moldy little prunes. Not the most appealing thing in the world, for certain. But this... "His name is Max," she says, voice warm, lilting oddly at the end. "Maxwell Puckett."

max, in the tone of someone whose heard this a thousand times before: uuuuuuUUUUGGHGHHHGGHHGGH

isaac, growing increasingly flustered: haha? really?

max: nobody needs to hear this dad-

peter: of course! she thought i was trying to rob her and beat me with a metal pipe!

isaac: .

peter: she felt bad enough to take me to the ER afterwards, hoho! she broke a couple ribs!

johnny: SICK