i don't have anything else to say as an introduction besides that lmao so let's just get straight to it
to get to the bottom of what happened to rini this season, look no further than their argument in episode 8 at slices,, what i'm going to do is dissect that argument bc their dialogue and just how they reacted to each other's words gives a CLEAR picture of what went wrong
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1. "nini, look, i'm here to like... try and fix whatever's going on between us. i mean, like... obviously we both want to make this work, right? we're doing everything we can? i know that's why you came back from yac, and i..."
exhibit a: ricky is desperate. he's been desperate since the beginning of the episode, and all he wants to do is talk to nini and fix things bc it seems like she's avoiding him, or running away. and that scares him bc he doesn't know why she's being so distant. obviously what happened at north high is all he can rely on for answers but even that was confusing bc clearly they didn't talk it out properly
recently i noticed the implication when he asks "obviously we both want to make this work, right?" and "we're doing everything we can?". pretty clear that he's starting to think that nini wants nothing to do with him,, she's always running away and to him it looks like she doesn't care anymore,, but he doesn't want to admit that bc he doesn't want it to be true. but he isn't stupid so he sees the signs and wants reassurance from his childhood best friend that she still loves him and that she still wants to be in this relationship like he does. the one thing that's keeping him hopeful is how she came back from yac, and how he thinks it's bc of him. this isn't outright selfish thinking unlike some say bc nini literally did not tell him what her experience there was like, so what else conclusion can he make given the circumstances?
2. "ricky, stop. i love you, and i missed you, but i did not come home for you."
exhibit b: wtf nini?
yeah so after ricky spills his heart out in public,, telling her he wants to make things work out,, trying to get her to talk to him,, she only responds when he mentions her coming back from yac for him?
istg what the hell are her priorities?
for some reason, nini is so desperate to prove that she doesn't need ricky that she feels compelled to correct him that she did not go back to salt lake for him - which is partly true, but this being the only thing that gets her to respond is not a good look on her.
there goes ricky's last saving grace! his one hope that proved nini still cared.
even nini knew she said the wrong thing here bc later in the treehouse, she made it a point to rephrase what she said - telling him that she did come home for him, but there was also another reason.
also the way she says "i love you" here is so dismissive. like later we see ricky say the same three words but he emphasizes those words bc they're so important to him,, while here, nini says it like it's an afterthought which implies she doesn't see him or the relationship as a top priority anymore.
