i want to bring to attention the fact that.. the world has been very, very cruel to these two and the visible state of their depression in their appearances (kanade pretty obviously so, as the length of her hair carries into the present time. rui similarly in middle school has very unkempt hair, but as well his uniform is barely together with his tie partway undone and only one sleeve rolled up)
kanade experienced a great deal of personal loss (mother died at a young age, father stressed himself into a coma thats left with some amnesia). she stopped going outside and functioning like a person, surviving only on her goal to save people with her songs.
rui was treated like a freak by his peers his entire life through elementary school into middle school to the point that (this is speculation but going off context clues of rui’s behavior early on in the story timeline wise + the bits of middle school rui we do see) he masked so hard and forced himself to be okay with his situation that he barely understands his own emotons anymore.
despite all of this. despite all of the heartache they’ve faced. they both still chose to love. they love, with their entire hearts, despite the cruelty they faced, from fate, from peers, from.. themselves.
kanade loved, and still loves her parents, carrying the love they gave to her with her. she loves the rest of nightcord. (whether you want to read into that romantically or not is up to you) she loves hona. even confronted by mafuyu’s mom, she swears to stay by mafuyu’s side and save her. i love you i love you i love you.
rui loves his parents. he also loves nene and mizuki, his old friends who were there with him through the darker parts of his life. he loves emu and tsukasa, who helped him find the joy in everything again. (and as of pandemonium it’s implied he might unknowingly feel romantically towards tsukasa.) he helps his friends with creating their dreams. i love you i love you i love you.
kanade writes songs for the people she cares about, hoping to help them- save them, making them feel better the only way she knows how. rui does the same, with shows and making robots. i love you i love you i love you.
rui and kanade became recluses, unable to connect with the rest of society. but through love, they were able to find a way back into the world, able to heal and reintegrate themselves with what they thought themselves uncapable of being. they’re able to love, and be loved. supporting those they care about and bringing that love to other people too. a message of hope for others like them.
it’ll be okay. it gets better. i love you i love you i love you.
