i'm so fucking happy that zomst is still talking about the nuclear family + child abuse. i daresay that, similarly to how zomst has been handling themes of abuse in the idol industry, that they're being far more explicit with it here.
this page is probably the most obvious example of it in the comic.
in alnst, mizi's permission to breathe underwater with the segyein— her permission to live entirely — was granted through shine's power. though shine was often considered to be the most 'benevolent' guardian, her relationship with mizi was dependent and underlaid entirely with a structure of power and control over mizi's livelihood and the denial of her autonomy by virtue of what she is, which is what inspired mizi's ideals around beng 'crushed' and 'crushing' others who are weaker.
and we see this reflected here in turn (though to a different level, as we can assume that the relationship between mizi and her parent here is different due to the inclusion of implicit direct physical abuse), as her permission to live in modern society in zomst is controlled by the power of 'guardian': financially, societally, etc. in any way that is used to diminish a child's autonomy within the nuclear family. in any way which puts the life of a child's in thorough control of their parent.
mizi's attempts are thoroughly around the idea of independence — despite being the one to suggest the idea, she promises to find a job to contribute to sua back for the double of amount she'd owe; she establishes that her objective here is independence and autonomy for herself, and by making that goal clear she is giving herself a level of power that she has learnt determines her control over her life.
sua, however, is quick to strip this away and instead try to provide mizi a similar structure to the one she is trying to escape. a familial one, where the 'child' or 'pet' is utterly dependent on the feelings of the one in control, and where the repayment is not physical but mental instead. the repayment in of itself is the reliance — the willingness to sacrifice your autonomy in exchange for basic necessities, which the traditional family structure as a whole is deeply dependent on.
mizi rejects this idea entirely and even calls sua out on her ideal version and projection of mizi. through her suggestion of physical violence instead of mental subjugation, mizi's ideals of what power means is still understood through physical violence — she was hit by her parent as a display of the power they held over mizi, as the nuclear family gives those in control the leeway to do so, and now suggests that sua should do so if she truly wishes to establish power over mizi.
while mizi understands power through the lense of physical violence, sua understands it through the lense of dependency and the death of personal boundaries. by assuming a submissive role that accepts violence at mizi's hands, and suggesting that mizi be the one to hit her instead, sua becomes the ultimately dominant one in their relationship underlaid by the fact that she is still the one granted mizi's reliance upon her.
tangentwithtanner
