#(forgive my stream of consciousness essay and tags my brain is in Monday Mode)

[qsmprambling]

I think something to keep in mind re: the newer islanders comments regarding Foolish and Leo, regardless of how frustrating they are, is that it comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of qFoolish as a person, which is partially caused by the persona Foolish himself presents to everyone.

Foolish gives the impression of being a very open person who probably couldn't be bothered to keep too many secrets unless it was fun, a happy and impulsive spirit and just a general fun and chaotic person. He doesn't seem to take things too seriously, going with the flow and doing whatever seems most fun to him in the moment.

He doesn't seem like the type to get deeply attached. He doesn't seem like the type to keep secrets or hide how he is feeling. He doesn't seem like the type who would dwell enough on something that it causes him heartache, because he is impulsive, and free-spirited, and unattached, right?

He's playing with Capybaras, he's laughing with his friends, he's making jokes and playing around. Heck, he isn't even really talking about Leo that much - if you accept everything you see at face value like most of the newbies who never got to meet Leo or don't know qFoolish will, it must look like he's not all that upset about her being gone and isn't really thinking about it too much, right?

But the other islanders know. The ones who have known the eggs, and the ones that know Foolish, they all know the truth.

Bad has noted that he isn't sure other people have noticed, but he can tell that Foolish is hurting. Jaiden too has made comments a out how people don't take him seriously. Baghera left him alone with the concrete because it felt so wrong to swarm him in that moment that she knew was painful for him. And though I haven't seen comments from the others, I have no doubt all the other islanders who have been here for months wouldn't ever question how much Foolish loves and misses Leo. (Tina is the exception with the new islanders as she met Leo before joining the server and she knows Foolish is a good parent).

But the new islanders accept Foolish for how he presents himself. They see him laughing and playing and having fun and assume those are his true feelings and don't realise they are, but he is also hurting. They see him not bring Leo up and they don't realise it's not because he doesn't care, but because confronting his feelings isn't something he is good at. He prooved that when he ran away the moment he was directly asked about how he was feeling after finding Leo's message, or when he brushed off Bad's sympathy and rejected his offer of a hug (but did accept Bad's offer to stand near him, because at least it was something he could bring himself to accept...).

For Bagi it also doesn't help that she spends so much time with Bad, who is someone who is literally wearing his grief for all to see. No one is questioning that Bad is missing the eggs, because it's obvious. But just like no one (other than Foolish and Baghera) realised just how depressed Bad was in his vacation arch because of the carefree attitude he put on, Foolish's demeanor has made it so his grief is not obvious to those who aren't willing to look a bit deeper. Most people are willing to accept whatever they see on the surface, and not attempt to look beyond that. I'm sure other islanders other than Foolish are also being misunderstood - an example would be Tubbo's comment that no one seemed to care and no one was doing anything to find the eggs, without knowing about Bad's drastic actions, or Philza's breakdown over Tallulah's letter, or Fit's quiet grief, or Aypierre's increased drinking, or Roier's deterioration, and all the other things the parents and relatives of the missing eggs were feeling and going through.

Anyway I am rambling, but long story short it is frustrating when the new members don't understand the grief of Foolish because they accept his surface level persona, and that is something Foolish himself is perpetuating, but just remember that even if the new islanders don't understand, all the old islanders do. Even if they don't speak it out loud, and some are more obvious that others, they are all united with Foolish in their grief.