#8?
8. Nicknames? And, if so, how did they originate?
Oh boy, there are a ton of nicknames. Johnny's family is extremely fond of nicknames and he's rarely ever called by anything but a nickname. So, for him, nicknames are more commonly used than regular names. And Ryan just really likes them.
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Nicknames for Ryan include:
Ry: The most common nickname of Ryan's and not exclusively used by Johnny, just a shortened version of his name.
Sunshine: This was the first semi flirty/teasing nickname Johnny ever started calling Ryan. It started after they were assigned to be roommates during the Majestic stay and Johnny quickly realized how much of the opposite of a morning person Ryan was. He enjoys using it to make fun of “how much of a ray of sunshine” Ryan is before coffee. Ryan just rolls his eyes at it at this point.
Anxiety Cure: While Johnny rarely ever says this one aloud, this is how Johnny talks about Ryan to his friends when he was trying to be subtle about his crush. It's actually Ryan's contact name in his phone based on how Ryan was actually really reassuring and comforting whenever he'd mess up in training aka curing his anxiety.
प्यार: It means love in Hindi (which I think was Johnny's mum's first language so he speaks it as well). Johnny started calling Ryan this a few weeks into their relationship. He was a little nervous to see how Ryan would react to it, but he ended up melting pretty much any time he hears it so Johnny uses it a lot. The first time he let the nickname slip around his dad though he got teased about it for months.
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Nicknames for Johnny include:
Johns/John: The most common nickname of Johnny's and not exclusively used by Ryan, just a shortened version of his name.
Pretty Boy: Ryan has been calling Johnny this since the day they met (while only privately to his friends at first). He never really hid his affection for the boy and while Johnny took the nickname in a teasing way, Ryan absolutely meant it flirtatiously. It is also Johnny’s name in his phone and the cause of much teasing by other dancers and crew members.
親愛的: It means darling in Cantonese (which I do think Ryan would speak due to his mother and grandmother). Ryan actually started calling Johnny this before they got together and refused to tell him what it meant. Johnny just assumed it meant something like goofball or idiot (since Ryan would call him it a lot if he was acting stupid or making bad decisions). It wasn’t until Ryan’s little sisters asked Johnny if he was dating their big brother since he was his “darling”. After that, Johnny turned into a blushing mess every time he heard it, even after they got together.
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I hope you enjoyed!!
