Galaxy Palaxy

yes, susie is romantically attracted to noelle in a way that she isn't with others *gestures*

yes, noelle is romantically attracted to susie in a way that she isn't with others *gestures*

like...

'they're going to crash and burn because of the bell game' okay or maybe susie is going to make it work no matter what the game says??

'they're going to crash and burn because susie lied to noelle about the dark world' okay and susie is going to rectify that by coming clean to her next chapter????

'they're going to crash and burn because it happened too quickly' okay have you ever seen two teenagers in love?????

teenagers are impulsive to begin with, but susie is someone that has been so unloved that she jumps up at the sign of any affection. it's extremely clear that the reason susie didn't think noelle liked her is because she has such low self-esteem that she couldn't fathom that the 'top shelf' girl in her class would like her. it's not until noelle spells it out for her that susie puts a name to how she feels and even THEN she puts it in a 'i like you the way you like me' way

she then takes it SO SERIOUSLY that she views taking kris to the lake as if she'd be cheating on noelle. she doesn't even flirt with the floradinns! she learns how to make holiday cookies and what kind of flower to give noelle. the encounters with the flowers were to help susie define what love looks like to her because she simply does not know how to express it yet.

the interesting question here shouldn't be 'how will suselle crash and burn', but 'how will susie define love?'

how will the girl learn the true meaning of love?

the struggles of balancing your romantic love with a love that isn't quite that is so much more intriguing than hoping that susie just goes through a heartbreak, no?

and isn't that lesson way more relevant to this game's audience, anyway?

how do you show love to someone who is just as important to you as your romantic partner? what shape does that take? how do you do it without letting anyone feel like they're being left behind? how do you make sure that you're happy too and that you don't lose yourself by just prioritizing your partner's happiness?

i don't think suselle will remain this explosion of romance the entire time, but i do think they will work through it as it settles into something of its own. susie has so much love in her heart, she just needs to learn to believe in herself and that she can love people in many different ways, in ways that are equally important (toby, defeat the amatonormativeeeee)

ultimately, what will love look like to susie in the end?

Adeline is always around somewhere, clipboard out, keeping track of things. March and Olric can be found both inside the blacksmith shop, manning the counter or sitting at the desk, and outside in the forge, working away. Reina's always bustling around the kitchen in the Inn. Luc, Maple, and Dell are out on little adventures, exploring as you do when you're a little kid with all the time to spare. Terithia is always jumping between fishing spots, wandering throughout the entire area most days. Ryis shuffles between the workbench in town and the carpenter shop. Eiland actually goes out to the ruins to look around.

The town never feels stagnant. There's always movement, someone walking through the streets, talking by the fountain, cleaning up the sidewalks. It makes me, as the player, feel less like I'm doing it all on my own, even though they're not really progressing anything. I have never once had that feeling of "Man, why doesn't anyone else do shit in this town?" Because they all do stuff.

I haven't spent my whole life responding to people being rude, or stupid, or dangerous with knee jerk compassion. It's a new habit. The first time I did that as the lead for my lab, it was because the guy genuinely was so good natured that I knew something had to be off. But the other two times were just me going, alright, lets see if it always goes this well, and so far, it has. I'm almost 30, and I just figured out that the #1 reason people are shitty are because they are going through shit.

I don't think you have, like, a moral obligation to respond to people being jerks with knee jerk compassion. But it has made my life so much easier the last four months that I would recommend trying. For your own sake. Please.