>>150398591
>Rose mourning her dead cat
That doesn't seem like the deepest source of conflict, I think you can admit. In fact, I think the kids had a lot of these low level hangups that got resolved when the story progressed (John and his dad's clowns, Jade and her colorful reminders, etc) because it's a coming of age story. Either the adult characters would have to backslide into their childhood pathologies (which ironically enough is what John's story in Candy is all about) or it'd have to be what drives a new generation of kids, which just feels like a rehash.
>external conflicts
Funnily enough, the HSBC writers and Dirk agree with you, seeing as that's the trajectory the sequel is going in now.