i love that ralsei is a serial people pleaser with the weight of the entire world on his shoulder a la “if i made one wrong move, everything will fall apart.” and then the first time he lies for personal gain after loosening up just a little bit, he nearly drives an innocent man to death. this is an excellent depiction of how when a deeply repressed person finally comes out of their shell, they’ll often try things that were previously considered off-limits, like expressing negative emotions or lying. there are a lot of moments when ralsei is pushed to his limits in this chapter, and times where he seems confused or even ashamed by what comes out of him.
and in doing that experimentation, somebody who is used to repressing their feelings and desires will inevitably have times where they go “too far.” i really enjoyed all of the raw, volatile emotions that ralsei showed in this chapter. this is another important hurdle for ralsei to clear in his journey of self-discovery. when missteps like this happen it’s easy to feel like maybe you were better off in your cage, but i think that having kris and susie by his side will allow him to forgive himself enough times to keep pushing and, hopefully, lead him to a more colorful existence.
