I'M

HELP

I DON'T USUALLY SCREAM ON HERE BUT THIS RINARI STUCO EVENT IS MAKING ME COMBUST I'M SMILING SO HARD THIS IS IT I'VE LOST IT HAVEN'T I

Spoilers ahead! (I only know very basic Japanese but I at least understood the gist of it ghfg)

It just. It was everything I wanted that the anime didn't delve into. Rinko and Arisa being socially anxious dorks who can't even hold a conversation with each other at first, then discovering their common interest in books, then getting nervous all over again bc one conversation where they managed to break the ice doesn't mean everything's fine and dandy. Then chaos ensuing in the student council room and both of them panicking before Rinko sees that Arisa is in the same state as her and calms herself down, bc as I said in this post anxious people do tend to be calmer when there's someone freaking out beside them (I feel incredibly smug rn it actually happened aaa). I'm so proud of Rinko. Look how far she's come, she just steps up like the leader she is and takes control of the situation

But that's not all. THEY OPEN UP TO EACH OTHER AFTER THAT. Rinko, who barely said a word to Arisa before, just pours her heart out and tells Arisa everything about her desire to change and her reasons for becoming stuco prez. And Arisa? Arisa responds with admiration. When Rinko starts doubting herself Arisa immediately goes, "No no I think that's amazing!" Pure gfs validating each other? My heart?? And you know what? Arisa understands. Both of them understand each other's struggles so well bc they're very, very similar and that puts Arisa in a safe space to open up to Rinko too. Which she does, and that, needless to say, is a Really Big Deal. It's not like she hasn't been honest about her issues before, but it isn't something she's comfortable doing, and here in Rinko's presence it just happens without anyone needing to push her bc how else do you respond to someone so much like you, who just voiced her insecurities and feelings like it was nothing?

I'm so happy rn, I've been in this formerly barren, content-less hell by the name of RinAri since April 2018 and I was nervous watching this event video tbh bc what if my interpretation of the characters was completely off and they had no chemistry and I'd have to leave this hell to implode in defeat, at least where canon's concerned? But no, Bandori gave me more than I could've asked for and it was the cutest thing oh my god I love this game

Ok if there are any inaccuracies please tell me, my knowledge of Japanese comes from beginner uni courses and some recognition of kanji from Chinese and I am very Not Okay atm. Thank you for listening to me ramble I'm gonna scream to the rooftops (or I would if it wasn't the middle of the night)