Recession Indicator: Wattpad Writers Are Back Thanks to Regina George and Rodrick Heffley

Edits of popular mean girl Regina George from the cult-classic film Mean Girls and doofus Loded Diaper frontman Rodrick Heffley from the Diary of A Wimpy Kid series have taken over Tiktok, causing Wattpad writers to come out of the woodworks with newfound inspiration during a fiction fantasy drought period.

The combination of these characters is something I would’ve never dreamed of, but makes perfect sense.

Of course, the most stuck up and pretentious girl in school should be with the rebel lowlife punk rocker — it’s a familiar tune sung throughout various forms of media, like Duncan and Courtney from Total Drama Island.

All credit should go to the brilliant Tiktok creator Monialynn who had the bright idea of putting these two together while creating fan art. The ball then got rolling when it crossed the For You Page of various tiktok editors.

Scenes of Rodrick and Regina paired with All American Rejects “Dirty Little Secret” made me become heavily invested and deeply moved. This edit gave me a high I haven’t felt in years. 

Edits with backstories of Regina denying feelings for Rodrick, but him pining over her tantalized fans — especially those with an “The Summer I Turned Pretty” shaped hole in their heart.

There’s something about polar opposites matching each other’s vibes so perfectly — it’s impossible to resist.

The storylines all fall under the tropes of friends to lovers, grumpy-sunshine and forbidden love, making it all the more entertaining.

Millions are invested in a story which can never be on the big screen — at least not with Rachel McAdams and Devon Bostick’s portrayal — is something I haven’t witnessed since the cross-shipping of Jack Frost and Elsa and the renaissance era of One Direction based fan-fiction. 

If only a film executive would’ve thought of this nearly two decades ago, we wouldn’t have to live in a world of what ifs and endless possibilities of how this story could go.

Stories revolving around the two have started to infiltrate Wattpad following the release of these slow burn enemies to lovers’ edits. The pairing has even been coined as “PunkPlastic” amongst other ship names.

If this is a recession indicator, it’s one that’s welcome.

Gen Alpha will finally get to experience what it’s like to read a story only teenage Wattpad writers can produce. They’ll get to experience the euphoria of staying up at night with any of One Direction’s or Ed Sheeran’s “x” album blasting through their headphones waiting for a chapter to drop and discussing it in the comments.

The feeling of going on the Episode app every hour to see if the author of a community story has uploaded the latest installments of these gripping tales brought nothing short of pure bliss.

It’s a canon event formative in every young girl’s life, and I’m glad the new generation can experience this as well.

The uproar this ship has caused has led to many other ships of characters from different universes being created. It’s the multi-verse. I’ve seen edits of Tom Welling’s Clark Kent with Ashley Tisdale’s Sharpay Evans, and Dylan O’Brien’s Stiles Stylinski with Vannesa Hudgens’ Gabriella Montez.

Keep ‘em coming. It’s what the people — the people being me — want to see.

This is art, and art should always be championed. We should always encourage artistry, and these innovators’ imaginations are something special to witness. 

This kind of creativity should be platformed for millions and not gatekept from the world like it once was. Apps like Wattpad and Episode used to be considered niche, but now various films have been spawned from these stories — though most of them should’ve never been adapted. These are apps that raised me and played an influential role in the kinds of media I consume. 

These edits have unlocked a level of nostalgia I have never felt so intensely in my lifetime and has pulled me into a rabbit hole I don’t think I can get out of — which honestly, I’m okay with.