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And just like that, every single barrier Thomas built up around himself was knocked down instantly.

She’s knocked down most of them by this point already. All this is doing is clearing up the rubble to allow for something new to grow easier.

So was she miserable before they started banging? Not that I blame her; being an accountant sounds like a punishment.

Here’s what I don’t get, she went to school for a field she knew she’d be miserable working in, actually completed the degree and everything, then didn’t bother to work in that field since she knew she’d be miserable, but instead got a different job where she is just as miserable for a fraction of the pay. Sure, it’s great that she met Thomas and he makes it bearable to work there, but like, she didn’t *know* that’s how it would play out, and she could just as easily have met somebody else that would make accountant work bearable, or still met Thomas some other way, or found fulfillment outside of work since she’d be able to afford hobbies.

Like, I can fully get behind not doing things you know will make you miserable, I do that all the time, but it seems she traded one miserable job for a worse paying miserable job and is only happy because she found a boyfriend at the worse paying miserable job, which doesn’t really have anything to do with the job itself. Seems like a weird series of choices to make, IMO.

I think it’s important to remember the circumstances Carol came from; She was essentially homeless for a time around when Thomas offered her the job at megatainment, and stayed with Nina until she got back on her feet. I imagine the main reason she didn’t end up with an accounting job is just that she wasn’t in a position to find one.

If working at megatainment ceases to be an option, Carol definitely has her accounting degree in her back pocket. But clearly now that she’s together with Thomas, he more than makes up for the downsides of working at her current job, so she doesn’t really have a reason to look for a “better” one.

I’ve know several people that have degrees in something they have no interest in actually doing. Also plenty of companies don’t care what your degree is, just that you have one.

My sister had a degree in audiology but realized during the clinical course that she was totally unsuited for clinical work. Don’t think she ever even applied for a job in the field. Then she started becoming crippled by rheumatoid arthritis before she was 25 and never was fully employed, though she did a lot of good volunteer work.

Unlike Carol, both she and my father were natural-born accountants and figured it out too late. They both volunteered for AARP’s tax-filing assistance program for many years.

I really like the art on the second-to-last panel. It’s rare we see one with a top down angle frontal portrait, not to mention seeing Carol being that earnest with no signs of teasing, her typical eyebrow expressiveness on any other sort of defensiveness. It all looks so good for it too! Not to mention the sincerity in the dialogue really complements the good vibes the art communicates. It’s a great panel that manages to say a lot with very few words!

Is it me or did Carol get paler recently? The freckles are fairly new as well.

I checked and in 2555 she was not paler than Thomas and had no freckles.

Yep. 2674-new-day is the first time she’s paler than Thomas and has freckles.
Compare 2618-logistics-in-kansas.
Alternatively compare the-times-between-73 for the last time that Carol and Thomas were together before this scene.
Wow. It has been over a year by a wide margin since the lead character met his girlfriend on screen.

I shouldn’t reveal my secrets, but I’ve been changing lots of things for some time now, but no one noticed until the freckles. Some people really hate freckles. I didn’t realize how much until I started getting notes about it. XD

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