Tom Vecchi

**Thomas "Tom" Vecchi** (Born on January 4) is a Delos Crossing resident and owner of the *Veni Vidi Vecchi* General Store. He is (determinant: was) married to Tessa Vecchi. He is also running for Mayor in Delos Crossing. Tom Vecchi is also the hidden main antagonist of the entire game.

## Appearance

Tom is a middle aged man with green eyes, some balding, dark greying hair and a goatee. He is depicted in Chapter 1 with his green work apron on, sporting many pin buttons for his campaign for Mayor.

## Personality

Tom seemingly acts polite and friendly to most of the people around him, if his interactions with the twins are anything to go by. For example, Tom is shown taking into consideration Tyler's transition and ensuring to use correct pronouns whenever he speaks about him. Tom also seems to be kind to his wife, caring about how she feels overworked and dragged down by all the shop's responsibilities.

As a hobby, Tom enjoys the crossword puzzle in the local paper, but is seen to be frustrated with some of the answers he can't get.

Tom is supportive of gun control, as well as additional funding for local schools. This is part of his electoral campaign and was published in the local paper. He informs Alyson that even though they do sell firearms at the store, he still believes in gun control and vetting customers thoroughly before selling them any weapons.

However, this front of being calm and kind to others seem to be a mask for his true, colder personality. When it is revealed that Tom is the father of the twins due to them remembering something at the pier, he is shown to adopt a more sniveling and cowardly personality in the encounter near the house in chapter 2. Tom drops his polite act, and shows a darker nature that is apathetic and almost indifferent towards others. Tom is, in reality, considerably manipulative, emotionally neglectful, and irresponsible. Tom did a very piss-poor job of apologizing for the damage he did to his children with his absence, nor did he take into account the damage that he did to Mary-Ann by abandoning her and threatening to take the children away from her. Tom also makes excuses for his deadbeat nature, and even comments on how his kids would have starved if it wasn't for the money that Tessa and Tom gave them; this shows him failing to consider that those are his children, and that he should have been in their lives by default (also, feeding them was definitely his responsibility and not something to get applause for). He ran away from raising his kids, and dumped the problem onto the mother unfairly, which was even harder on a woman who already lost her son at a young age.

Tom also shows an abusive side to his past lover, Mary Ann; he only seems to have liked her for her attractiveness, and seems to have taken advantage of her poor mental state while getting with her. He is also harsh to his children, and doesn't care about their lives or their future, claiming that he'll tell the truth of the twin's mother's death to everyone if it means protecting his campaign and dragging their name in the mud. This shows that Tom only cares about himself, and no one else; not even his loved ones. Tom also cheated on Tessa, further showing an inconsiderate and insincere nature. Tom also makes a comment that "something like this would have happened sooner or later", further hammering in the point that he preyed on Mary Ann for his own sick benefits. He didn't care about her as an actual person, making him a toxic individual, and someone who shouldn't be trusted.

Tom also resorts to crime to shirk his duties; he racks up a count of arson as he attempts to burn down the Ronan barn in Chapter 2. He did this because it had a box that contains evidence that Tom was the father. During the event, Tom even knocks down his own son Tyler in the process. While Tom didn't knock down Tyler maliciously (it was an accident as Tom was leaving the area and didn't know Tyler was there at the door), and even though he explained the action by claiming that he never meant to hurt anyone, Tom is still callous, cruel, and doesn't think before he acts. Further showing a cruel nature, Tom let his own past lover die by a stab wound from a young Alyson, and saw Mary Ann succumb to her injuries while hiding in the bushes. This serves in showing him to be a coward and a man of inaction; it can also be argued that Tom's absence and neglect of Mary Ann further worsened her mental health, and was what allowed the twins to lose their mother. Tom never takes true responsibility for his actions; he does claim that he made mistakes, which shows a bare blip of self awareness in his mind. This acknowledgement of wrongdoing is ruined, however, by him claiming that he'll do whatever the twins want as long as this doesn't go public; Tom clearly cares about his own self image and wants to hide his infidelity and neglect from others. In this encounter with his children, he is shown deflecting blame and tarring the images of others so that he looks better in comparison. Tom raises his voice at points when he is confronted on his moral failings, showing him to be at least partially unstable, and definitely emotionally driven.

Tom Vecchi is not the most evil of the antagonists created by DontNod Entertainment. For instance, a far worse individual is Mark Jefferson in Life is Strange, as he was a man that was murderous and one who was implied to have taken advantage of teenage girls for his own gain. Tom is more akin to an absent father and poor husband, so Tom doesn't reach the aforementioned Mark Jefferson level of depravity, and Tom's crime list is quite a bit shorter than Mark Jefferson. However, Tom still shows selfishness that is expected of a villain; he has a neglect for human life, an apathy that is evidently shown in his actions towards his own children by abandoning and forsaking parental responsibility, and a two-faced nature; he was completely aware that he had children, and chose to act lukewarm and distant towards the twins, despite being knowledgeable of their quest in learning what happened to their mother. All these negative traits combine to make Tom incredibly disgraceful and dislikable in the eyes of the audience.

## History

Little is know about Tom's past prior to 1992. We know that he married Tessa and that he was supportive of her with the opening of her cafe next to the general store.

Tom is listed as being the Treasurer for the Delos Crossing Chamber of Commerce. This information was found on a pamphlet produced before the game's release as part of an ARG.

At some point after Mary-Ann moved to Delos Crossing in 1992-1993, Tom developed an attraction to her. After Mary-Ann’s firstborn child Leo died as a young infant, Tom convinced Mary-Ann to sleep with him and the two began an affair.

In 1993, Tom learned that Mary-Ann was pregnant as a result of their affair. Tom admitted to Mary-Ann his marriage had been unhappy for a while but Tessa didn't deserve his betrayal. He offered to give Mary-Ann money for an abortion, but she refused. Despite knowing that he was the father of her eventual children, Tom had little to no interest in interacting with the twins and maintained a cordial but awkward distance from them throughout their childhood.

A few days before Mary-Ann's death, Tom took a boat across the lake to meet her at her dock. It's unclear if Mary-Ann requested the meeting or if Tom showed up unexpectedly as Mary-Ann is carrying a shotgun. The two argue about money and Mary-Ann's mental state. When Mary-Ann asks for help and threatens Tom with information she has on him in the barn, Tom retorts that if the truth were brought to light no court would let Mary-Ann keep her children. Mary-Ann insists Tom has no claim to her children and threatens to kill him if he shows up on her property again.

On March 1 2005, Tom again visited Mary-Ann and the twins’ home. He later states that he was concerned for Mary-Ann’s safety that night. After watching Mary-Ann fiddle with a gun in her garage, Tom ran into the forest, afraid that she was going to attack him. Tom watched as Tyler Ronan ran from Mary-Ann onto the dock, and saw Mary-Ann follow him. He then claims that Mary-Ann lowered the gun and said “I’m not going to hurt you” before being stabbed by Alyson Ronan. Tom then fled the scene.

## Chapter 1

Tyler and Alyson encounter Tom at his store where he is surprised by Tyler's transition but remains polite and engages in small talk. Alyson can ask Tom about business and his campaign for mayor.

## Chapter 2

Tyler and Alyson stop at the store to talk with Tessa. As she is absent, they speak with Tom. Tom reveals he knew Tessa reported Mary-Ann to child services but says he stayed out of the situation since he felt he had nothing to add. When asked why he never said anything about it, Tom says the issue was between the twins and Tessa and that he tries to stay out of the affairs of other people.

Tyler asks Tom if he knows who their father might be. Tom says Mary-Ann was close to many men, but he doesn't know who could be their father. He then leaves the store for a meeting and asks Michael to close up the shop.

After speaking with Tessa in the Delos Crossing graveyard, the twins return to the big wooden house to find the barn on fire. A man dressed in a dark rain coat (who is later revealed to be Tom) runs out of the barn, hitting Tyler with the door. The barn itself is in disarray with objects broken and thrown around as the mysterious man searched. The twins find a box under the floorboards of the barn that the man apparently tried to destroy. The box contains letters from their father confirming the affair with Mary-Ann and his decision to cut off the relationship once she became pregnant.

Tyler remembers that the man in the rain coat was at the property before and realizes he saw the man when running from Mary-Ann the night she attacked him.

## Chapter 3

Alyson calls Tom on her phone and asks him to come out to the big wooden house. Once he arrives, Alyson admits they know he is their father. Tom confirms it's true but becomes defensive when Alyson demands why he never helped them or Mary-Ann. At first, Tom insists he had nothing to give and then calls Mary-Ann a freeloader for accepting all the free food and fuel Tessa gave her. Though Tom himself never offered food or fuel, he insists on taking credit for Tessa's goodwill because he "supported it."

When asked why he didn't help the night Mary-Ann attacked Tyler, Tom says he was afraid for his life since Mary-Ann threatened him and he panicked. When confronted about the barn, Tom insists he never meant to hurt anyone and that he panicked when he hit Tyler.

When the twins insist he make the situation right, Tom says he'll do whatever they want as long as the truth doesn't get out because he doesn't want Tessa hurt. When the twins tell Tom Tessa already knows, Tom is flabbergasted that she never said anything. Tyler suggests if Tom had simply talked to his wife, things might have turned out differently and Mary-Ann might still be alive.

Tom deflects, stating Mary-Ann was unhinged and something terrible would have happened sooner or later. When the twins press him for taking advantage of or abandoning Mary-Ann, Tom says he got caught up in their mother's beauty and worldliness and that love made him a fool. He admits he's made mistakes and again insists the truth doesn't go beyond the three of them.

When Tyler suggests the truth would hurt Tom's campaign for Mayor, Tom threatens to reveal what truly happened the night Tyler was attacked. From Tom's recollection, Mary-Ann did not threaten Tyler and in fact told him she wasn't going to hurt him. Tom then targets Alyson insisting Michael and the whole town will turn on her if the truth becomes known she attacked Mary-Ann for no reason.

Tyler pushes Tom from Alyson, and the twins tell him to never come back. The two of them must then decide if Tom's version of events are true or not. Tyler insists Tom was just trying to manipulate them, but Alyson points out that they've had conflicting memories before and Tom's version might not be so far fetched.

In the epilogue, Tom loses his campaign for mayor and Tessa will either stay with him or leave him.

## Relationships

### Tessa

Tessa is Tom's wife, and the two spend a lot of time together working in their business. In conversation it seems like Tessa has the dominating role in the relationship, "running the place" according to Alyson. She seems supportive of Tom's campaign for Mayor, and is described by him as a "busy-bee". It is unclear whether he and Tessa have any children together, or if he shares her religious beliefs.

### Alyson

Alyson works in the store with Tom, and the two seem to be friendly with one another. Tom is polite with her, but seems to be forgetful of her telling him about Tyler's visit back home.

### Tyler

Tom is polite and happy to speak with Tyler when they meet for the first time after a decade. It seems that they are on good terms despite Tyler's past and transition.

## Trivia

* Tom is a fan of the TV show "Survival on Ice." His favorite character is Butch, who Tessa believes is too cutthroat. However Tom insists, "That's the game." This perhaps hints at the more sinister nature of his true personality and how he views others as his playthings.
* Tom has green eyes, which is the same eye color that the twins have, which serves as another hint at their paternity, as Mary-Ann Ronan has blue eyes and the other suspect, Sam Kansky, has brown eyes.
	+ However, this can be slightly countered by how some people have different eye colors than either of their parents. This doesn't matter, though, considering Tom Vecchi is the father.
* Tom's last name, Vecchi, is Italian, and it means "old aged". This indicates that he is of Italian heritage (at least paternally, considering how people in the West usually take the last name of their father).

* Tom Vecchi has a strange quasi-resemblance to Walter White from Breaking Bad. This is probably not intentional.

* Sources - https://twitter.com/tellmewhygame?lang=en

## References

1. ↑ DONTNOD created a lore package, the contents of which were shared by some users online. Source for this pamphlet: https://twitter.com/PMaka1991/status/1289290922459635712/photo/3