#THEY TALKED TO EACH OTHER WITHOUT RUI OFFERING AN OUT OR MIZUKI RUNNING AWAY!!!!!

[limewatt]

kamikou cheer squad “you’re not stuck on that rooftop anymore, rui” -> ena5 mizuki side story 2 “welcome to this side, mizuki” what if i cried. they’re finally both free of that rooftop……. they’re not friends in solitude anymore… they’re friends!!!!! that have each found their people!!!

also, in cheer squad, rui's “there's something i want to say, but i'm scared that i'll drive everyone to the other side again if i say it” was craaaazy. such a direct parallel to mizuki... and mizuki reassuring him (and having asked him to direct the cheer squad in the first place) being why he was able to gather his courage... “you'll be fine rui. seeing you at the culture festival made me believe you're not stuck on that rooftop anymore. i'm looking forward to seeing what crazy idea you'll direct!” i'm not caught up on all of wxs's stories so i can't say if it has an impact there, but rui's success in getting his feelings across in cheer squad being how he's able to reach out and make new friends in pandemonium/spirited affair... gwah.

rui's effect on mizuki is obvious. he's in a fair amount of her focuses / side stories / + picnic and ena5. and RIBBON... the shadow his absence casts on her... being the reason she was hesitant to reach out to niigo because she was scared niigo would leave her eventually like he did... but also the reason she wanted to reach out at all... because rui made her see that there are people in the world who will understand her... the 1 in “25:00:01” on kimi no yoru wo kure’s cover being rui’s colour… all so awesome. but mizuki's effect on rui is subtler/less focused on. so cheer squad where mizuki is unequivocally a key part of rui's growth is so special to me.

[friendsinsolitude]

mizuruian is great because mizuki keeps both of them at a distance, but in opposite ways. like mizuki and an are straightforwardly friends, they chat, they hang out, they have lunch together, they get along super well! but they don’t talk about anything serious ever. mizuki doesn’t talk about her issues, and an is fine with that. she likes it when mizuki talks about herself, which she doesn’t usually, but she’ll never push. they’re great friends, but i don’t know that i could say they’re close. an is honestly nearly a form of escapism for mizuki. someone who treats her normal that she never has to offer any serious sincerity to. jesus.

and then mizuki and rui and their stupid “we used to kill time on the rooftop in middle school with only each other for company” relationship that took them 4 real life years to say they’re friends without any sort of affix. for matter of rui knowing like all her issues, having been mizuki’s form of escapism in ages past, mizuki spends a lot of time avoiding him because he’s a walking talking reminder of everything she doesn’t want to think about. they’re close, but they don’t hang out and could for a while not be considered friends without a dozen asterisks. right.

so like mizuan are friends but not close, and mizurui are close but not friends. with their powers combined, it balances out. between an’s unwavering affection and acceptance and rui’s understanding and comfort through familiarity, i think mizuki manages to not run away. and in doing so, an gets to understand her and close the distance a little, and rui gets to hang out. so awesome… mizuruian is a mizuki neuroticism min% speedrun