The Fanatic Focuser 🍉

My beloved friend pointed out that my malachite resembled the way they designed Adrian - I felt the instant need to draw them!! (Yes, Adrian is an absolute behemoth compared to Rocky)

I'm specifically talking about the fight with Orange. I'm going to just put up a series of screenshots so we're all in the same place

(Also I'm open to feedback on the alt text if you have any suggestions for things to add pls lmk)

Notice how different Ralsei's reactions are from Susie's? I don't even have the screenshots from the cheesecake meal Green can serve during the fight. Ralsei is fumbling SO fucking hard, and Susie is reallyyyy restraining herself from trying to say something more direct, because that's her friend.

And I feel this is so important because a parallel I almost immediately drew is microagressions. This entire scene felt like how it feels for me when i have a friend who's saying some microagression-type stuff but I'm caught off guard and don't want a confrontation about it. That feeling of uncertainty when trying to communicate you're uncomfortable without SAYING you're uncomfortable, the desperate attempt to change the setting or topic altogether--it's all there. Susie asking Ralsei to just talk normally. Susie suggesting they just beat Orange up, specifically because she'd prefer that to what they're currently trying

I don't want to make any solid theories about Susie's past, because I know people already have those flying around, but what I think this TRULY confirms is that Susie has had people speak to her the way Ralsei was speaking to Orange. She's been treated like she's stupid, especially for having dreams, because people around her assume that those dreams don't suit her. What Susie already knows is that it isn't her place to treat other people's dreams like jokes. She teases Orange too, but it's probably during this fight that she realizes that Orange is serious about what she's doing and Orange's reactions are coming from a place of genuine hurt. Susie sees that. Ralsei doesn't

And I don't mean to Ralsei bash either! Ralsei's suffering from something we all go through--the middle of our awakenings where we've got so much going on in our head that it doesn't occur to us to view things from other people's perspectives as much. It happens. It's part of growing up. And despite Ralsei acting like an older sibling figure, Ralsei truly isn't any more grown than Kris or Susie. The Ralsei dialogue we got during the Orange fight doesn't mean there's a lack of empathy or care, Ralsei just genuinely hasn't considered how those remarks can come across. It's not part of Ralsei's worldview yet.

Susie will change that, though. I'm sure of it. I think this is part of Toby's themes about friendship. We have to learn from each other. We have to check each other but do it lovingly. We have to be willing to keep our eyes open to the things we say and the way they affect the people around us. These things don't cure overnight, they cure bit by bit. chapter by chapter.