If Johnny and Ryan had met when they were kids - maybe Ryan's family living in/close to the town Johny lives in, before moving to the big city - Or an AU where Ryan is a part of Sing 1, how would you imagine that playing out? Any headcanons?
Oooooo, great question! I'm gonna split these two up between your two asks since they're about the same two topics, so that I can go more in depth on each one. This is going into if they met when they were kids, I hope you enjoy!
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In this au, Ryan and his family would have moved to Calatonia right after his youngest sister was born since she was sick to be near a better hospital. Ryan was 14 and while he was offered to stay in Klaus’s troupe and live at the dorms, he ultimately decided that his moms and sisters needed him there.
Since they probably moved in the middle of the year as well as Ryan spending his free time helping his moms with Amy so they could be at the hospital, Ryan was a bit of a social outcast.
Which only really helped him meet Johnny faster, as they were paired together for class projects since well, no one else would pair with them. Because of that, the two started hanging out and actually becoming friends, eventually even spending time together outside school.
Ryan definitely caught on to the gang pretty fast (literally one trip to the Taylor’s apartment and he knew) and confronted Johnny about it, sparking their first fight. But once he realized why they were stealing and that Johnny didn’t actually want to be involved, they patched things up decently quickly.
After that, they were pretty much inseparable, even as Ryan got more popular in school over the next few years. Ryan was the only one Johnny told about his love of singing and Johnny was the only one Ryan felt confident in telling about his regrets of leaving dance, even if it was what was good for his family at the time.
They continue to be each other’s entire support system up until Sing 1, with their only really arguments about Johnny’s increasing involvement in the gang. Ryan calls Johnny the moment he hears about the singing competition to encourage him to try out and even goes with him to the auditions. When the gang gets arrested, Ryan shows up at the garage with scallion pancakes and custard bao buns, for once doesn’t argue with him about the gang, and just helps him pack a bag so he can come stay with his family.
Ryan also would tag along to the theatre last minute remodel and help, along with bringing food for the performers (his mom’s idea). He also helped Eddie work backstage during the show and comforted Johnny when he was clearly upset (we could also have a shielding scene from Ash’s spikes here). Ryan’s visibly happy when he notices Johnny reuniting with his dad and he’s also in the ending photo at the new theatre.
I think that sometime within the year in between the two movies, Ryan would have gone back to Redshore on his own and eventually gotten his role back in Klaus’s troupe in time for Sing 2. He does keep his troupe’s involvement with the show a secret until Johnny shows up to class however, surprising him with an excited hug.
During the course of Sing 2, we would actually see Ryan fighting Klaus’s treatment of Johnny on screen (not that he didn’t out of this au, we just didn’t see it). This would lead to a series of escalating arguments between the two during classes and when Johnny had his panic attack, Ryan actually quit and went to comfort him instead of doing what Klaus wanted him to. They work with Nooshy together and also do the final performance together as both of them against Klaus this time. We also see Marcus greeting him with a clap on the shoulder and him being treated as a member of the family as well.
I wouldn’t really do anything except hinting at a Rynny plot line til the second movie mainly so we could see character growth and relationships a bit easier in Sing 1. However, in Sing 2 we can easily add in the two spending time together along with more flirty interactions. During the rest of the performances, Ryan and Johnny can be seen holding hands off stage, and seem flustered when Nooshy apparently points it out but don’t stop. Ryan is also asleep with his head on Johnny’s shoulder on the bus back to Calatonia, and we see Johnny smiling at him softly.
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TL,DR: Ryan and Johnny were each other’s support systems and Ryan essentially served as Johnny’s version of Eddie in Sing 1. In Sing 2, we get to see a lot more development in their relationship and a potential ending alluding to them being a couple.
I’m sorry if this got off track or is hard to follow, I’ll write it out more soon. I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for the ask! - <3 Gooseless
