#for some it happens early and obviously—Kuboyasu is probably the easiest example of this

[fluffydice]

Thinking about this again… a platonic interpretation of this event is so impactful because it reinforces the fact that Saiki is one of, if not the only person in her life (Besides my girl Chiyo… love you babygirl…) that doesn’t really want anything from Teruhashi. She’s in unfamiliar territory with trying to be a gyaru because she’s never had to really substantially change for people to like her?

Don’t get me wrong, she puts a lot of effort into maintaining her image, but there’s a strong degree of self-love in who she is as a person. Her attempts to capture Saiki’s attention are completely foreign to who she is, but she tries it anyway because honestly it’s a reasonable route for someone who sees relationships as mostly transaction-ary (I maintain my image and make people happy—people who are happy serve me and treat me the way I deserve) and has never had one be based on equality (Again… Chiyo I love you you’re the exception…).

All this to say, her brief attempts to change herself to be more likable to the guy she likes is stunningly teenage girl of her (instead of the goddess she plays at being)… and immediately shut down by Saiki. Saiki, who has respected her as actually perfect since their first genuine outing. Saiki, who always thinks of her as an equal opponent, one of the few able to catch him off guard. Saiki, who gasped when Teruhashi affirmed that she really is all that and doesn’t have to change to be appreciated—because he remembers so strongly that she’s the kind of person he really fucking admires, and can’t even deny it like he usually does with his friends.

okay something ive never said about the terusai offu because i thought it was really obvious but i just realized ive never seen anyone say this- i genuinely do not believe that the "type" saiki told aiura to tell teruhashi was his... ACTUAL romantic "type". if you get what i mean? it IS the kind of person he likes, but not necessarily romantically. like he just told aiura to say that to get teruhashi to stop trying to be gyaru.

i still believe it was a romantic moment but not in a "omg shes my type, the love of my life!!" revelation, he just... described the type of person he prefers over someone who would change their values to fit in. and teruhashi made him realize that it IS her in a way he hadnt realized... the offu wasnt a "omg im in love" moment, but a "huh. this is a new perspective i hadnt considered."