I'm gonna state it clearly and loudly. I adore @hellokittyricki. As a street fighter player she's phenomenal and as herself, she's inspirational to me. I geeked out hard at Combo Breaker 2017 and caught her while she was in a rush to somewhere. All I could manage to say was "Ricki, your Chun-Li is so awesome!" and she briefly acknowledged me before power walking elsewhere. I immediately thought "shit, I just played myself" and subsequently explained my plight to my dude @magn3gro. To which he responded in the only way a good friend could "LMAO". I thought the night was gonna be a downer, but at some other point in the night she was out and about. So I took my chance, nervously apologised for earlier and explained myself. In a stammering mess I explained that I was a fan of her, and that she was an inspiration to me not only as a top tier FGC competitor, but also as a person who is herself at any cost. I essentially let her in on something very few people know about me. She smiled, hugged me and allowed me to take this picture (as well as a picture of us together). Easily one of the proudest moments of my photographic existence, my FGC experience and well... As a person who is also becoming myself at any cost. To Ricki, thank you for giving me that moment, it was more important than I think you might have noticed. :) meeting you was one of a few dreams come true and I hope one day to converse (and play a set) with you sometime. #fgc #streetfighter #rickiortiz #photography #combobreaker #combobreaker2017 #portraitphotography #girlslikeus #proud #protecttranslives
