The Turbulent Teendom of Thibodeaux

I was delighted at how positively y’all regarded Lulu in my last comic! :3 But for all her fierce protectiveness and maternal warmth, our dear Lulu has some serious flaws, and these flaws had a profound impact on her son Tibbs.

Lulu is a highly permissive parent…..to the point she is a full-blown enabler. Much of her mothering is driven by guilt- guilt that her son doesn’t have a father, and that they don’t have much money, and that she has to be away at work far more than she’d like to be. So she spoils Tibbs as best as she can, and sets very few rules. Somehow, despite growing up with little supervision or guidance, Tibbs grows into a bright, gifted piglet, reading well above grade level and bringing home report cards that could make Lulu weep for joy. To Lulu, her baby boy is absolutely perfect, in her view he hung the moon and stars. He’s such an easy, good little kid. Right up until he isn’t.

Lulu is enamored by her son, but she doesn't truly know him. She has an idea in her head of her teeny, precocious, precious little piglet…..and she rejects any word to the contrary. This denial worsens as Tibbs grows into an awkward and depressed teenager, and he begins to struggle in school, struggle to make friends. Lulu, burdened by her own workload and stress, cheerily turns a blind eye to her son’s issues. Tibbs isn't "moody", he's just thoughtful! His grades aren’t “slipping”, school just isn't serving his unique skill set properly! Lulu had a tough time in school too!

Lulu is unequipped to help her son, or even acknowledge that he needs help. But as Tibbs gets older, he becomes withdrawn and sullen. Doesn’t smile anymore. When Lulu meets and begins dating Mona, a shy, kindly history teacher, she hopes Tibbs will welcome the new potential parental figure, and perhaps find a friend in Mona’s son Teddy. Lulu is stunned when her once sweet Tibbs reacts with outright hostility, wanting nothing to do with either Mona or Teddy.

Tibbs, you see, has been slowly harboring resentment for his mother, who has so often been absent- or worse, dismissive-  when he needed her. Tibbs feels that Lulu abandoned him the second he stopped being a docile little piglet, and he’s furious that she’s now devoting her time and energy to this “new family”. Tibbs doesn’t want a stepmother or stepbrother, he wants Lulu. And yet he cannot bear to be around her, so he pushes her away.

The worse Tibbs gets, the harder guilt eats at Lulu. She makes excuses for his behavior and attitude, to Mona, to Teddy, to herself. Tibbs Is just…..going through some growing pains, that’s all. Lulu pretends not to notice him coming home smelling like cigarette smoke and axel grease. These are just growing pains. It’s tough for a young boar without a father figure. He’ll come around….no matter what, she trusts her baby boy to do the right thing.

When boars come of age, they experience a dramatic spike in testerone. They gain muscle mass, their tusks grow sharp and long, and they begin having annual rut seasons, which induce heightened aggression and libido. 19 year old Tibbs, deep in his first rut season, wants to do nothing more than eat, bulk, and fuck, heavy emphasis on the last one. And so he meets Joan, a playful 22-year old red river sow with a brain for mechanics and a taste for trouble.

Joan has a warm laugh and a mean sense of humor, but never too mean. She's the first person to really see Thibodeaux, flaws and strengths. She always says exactly what she means, her praise for him is never phony (like Lulu) or pitying (like Mona). Tibbs is drawn to her, deeply so, and they develop an easy friendship. There's little Tibbs wouldn't do for Joan, especially when she agrees to teach him all about his true first love- motorcycles.

Joan, having inherited a delipidated auto repair shop from her father, slyly turns it into a chop shop- a business that breaks down stolen and scavenged cars for parts. Beforehand, she'd been counting on family to do the necessary car theft, but with Tibbs around she feels emboldened to steal cars and parts with him. Why should only rich people get to have nice things?, she asks Tibbs. Why should he bust his tail working some dead end job to afford a piece of crap bike when she can build him a beautiful custom chopper? Together, they can build an empire. And together, with Joan, Tibbs feels like he's home, for the first time in a very long time.

And so, despite his family's protests, Tibbs drops out of school to follow Joan. To hell and back.