#ship: usnavi/ruben/vanessa

[thisstableground]

In most versions of events, Ruben catches a plane hoping to escape safely to Montego Bay, only for Ian to sit in one of the empty seats beside him, and nobody is paying enough attention to see that he needs help.

In this version, the two seats next to Ruben are already taken.

Please comment if you like it because comments make me happy, thank you!

#fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben #i love the them!!! #yes its another au i like writing them meeting for the first time so that vanessa can be rude about him

[ruvieracd]

Should we expect smut in Rochambeau? 🙈 What is a "turn on" for the boys? Does Lee Scoresby have a romantic/sexual interest?

So...no smut in this one, just some hints of stuff (b/c this fic was originally written for my eleven year old niece who came up with the idea) but that’s not to say we can’t have separate parts for ‘missing’ pieces of the story as a separate work. 

We can indulge the other part of your question though.

- Lee is pretty hard for us to ship him with anyone b/c his focus is Lyra. I can’t really picture him putting attention on anyone else, but that’s not to say he probably doesn’t get out and get laid once in a while. He’s just not really interested in a committed relationship right now.

So....Alexander, I’d say his turn ons...back in the day, he probably got laid every week and you know then Eliza was never not pregnant so every time she sneezed was probably a turn on. After his life with Eliza, it’s not realistic to think he took to celibacy. He probably even attempted to start over a few times, but he just couldn’t get over Eliza. He probably had sex though, just meaningless sex. This will shock everyone, but I think he’s honestly kind of vanilla-y. I think at this point in his life, his biggest turn on is love and stability. 

Usnavi, of course, has Vanessa and he’s happy. They live together and get to be parents to Sonny basically. Usnavi likes to be dominated. He’s a bit on the submissive side of sex-and don’t forget he has the cheat factor of telepathy so he knows what Vanessa wants. He’s a “Yes, Dear” kind of guy in every sense of the way. I promise you he’s been pegged and probably doesn’t care who knows.

Ruben’s pretty easy. He’s turned on by affection. Not necessarily a ‘dominate me’ (he’s had enough of that in Jamaica), but a ‘please make the first move’ kind of mentality. About to get a little bit dirty from the RACD side (my other fic series if anyone’s interested) but Ruben’s what Alvie calls a unicorn and can basically ‘finish’ without ever being touched. He’s pretty happy and satisfied just to have intimacy and kissing and cuddles and good love making. 

Alvie and sex are a little tricky because he’s used sex a lot to get by. Sometimes hooking up with a dude at a bar meant a place to shower and sleep for the night. He’s extremely sex-positive and is more scared of the emotional aspects of a relationship than sex. He does like to get a little rough now and then (get tossed on the bed, held down, tied up, biting) but Ruben’s not totally into that (yet) but no worries because Alvie is turned on by just about anything. Good coffee? Sure. Cute laugh? Sure. SpoilernotSpoiler he’s also really turned on by Ruben being in control of his powers and taking bad guys down. 

I’ll attempt Lee, but like I said, I only see him as a loveable cowboy dad. I feel like Lee would kind of like to be dominated and take on a submissive role in the bedroom, but don’t call him Daddy. That’s weird.

@break-so-beautifully has her own opinions (as we are two different writers) so here are hers:

I agree with Alex.  The whole thing.  He's old fashioned and vanilla.  He's never had another real relationship other than Eliza.  He's been with other women, but it just wasn't the same, so he's sort of given up on ever finding real love again.

Lee - fairly similar , but I think he'd be more dominant but would not be opposed to being submissive every so often.  I think that Lee's primary focus is Lyra and I absolutely do not ship him with anyone as a result.

Ruben just wants to be loved for who he is.  He doesn't want to be dominated, but he's not opposed to someone else taking the lead.  Also, he's not opposed to experimenting with new things either.  He's a cuddler after going so long with people just using his and not really taking his feelings, wants, and needs into account.  And he's loyal like a dang puppy.  

Alvie is way more sexually experienced than Ruben and that's not necessarily a good thing.  Alvie's been hurt, rejected and used which only complicates his sometimes fragile mental state.  He's always game to try new things and as such, he keeps Ruben on his toes.  At the end of the day though, he's also loyal like a puppy dog.  

Ruben and Alvie sort of see each other as their lights at the end of the tunnel.  Ruben thinks Alvie saved him and Alvie thinks Ruben saved him.  They just work.  They shouldn't, but they do.  This is further evidenced by the fact that their abilities and control of said abilities are enhanced when their together.

That leaves Usavni.  Usnavi is VERY content to be at home with Vanessa.  Like Eliza is for Alex, Vanessa is his one true love.  He'll do anything for her.  I agree that he's more submissive in the bedroom, but he also sometimes like to show her that he can be the protector.  I would imagine they have some interesting role play that would probably involve wresting for control.  He lets her win.  Or at least that what he tells himself.

#Rochambeau asks #Rochambeau stuff #Lee Scoresby #Alexander Hamilton #Usnavi de la Vega #juan alvarez #Ruben Marcado #His Dark Materials #Hamilton #In the Heights #Do No Harm fic #fic stuff

[awkward-but-nice]

legit question

when did the in the heights fandom become the do no harm ft. in the heights fandom?

#like #i don't mind a crossover every now and then #but it's everywhere #it's flooding the tags #and it's kinda getting on my nerves #in the heights #do no harm #specifically the usnavi/ruben/vanessa ship that's going around #like obviously you can ship whatever you want but... #at this point i feel like usnavi is getting shipped with literally everything that walks

[pika-ace]

ITH/DNH Semi-Matilda AU

ALRIGHT! Thanks to this Do No Harm kick this fandom has been on and thanks to specific people *coughcough @thisstableground cough* I've been utterly IN LOVE with this whole crossover of Ruben living in the barrio and being happy. One of the things I want more of in this crossover is Sonny and Ruben friendship because I think it could be REALLY cute. And I rewatched some clips of Matilda and my AU brain started cranking and THIS HAPPENED SO YOU GET TO SUFFER WITH ME!! *throws post at your face* (Also, if you have no idea what I'm talking about just look for Do No Harm stuff on my blog or the blog listed above or on tumblr in general; you'll find what you need)

ANYWAY! First off the cast is as follows: Ruben as Ms. Honey, Ian as the Trunchbull, Sonny as Matilda (still debating on whether to make him Matilda's actual age or fifteen) and Usnavi and Vanessa as Matilda's parents (only they're not neglectful or abusive)

SO, the beginning's a little fuzzy since I don't know how old to make Sonny (seven or fifteen). Depending on his age, I'm thinking either Usnavi, Sonny, and Vanessa move to the barrio to live permanently or Phillidelphia for a temporary time so Sonny still has to go to school (I'm leaning towards that one). Anyway, Sonny goes to his new school and quickly finds out that it's ruled by an insane and INCREDIBLY violent Headmaster called Jason Cole, but he's actually Ian Price (don't worry, it'll make sense) and Ian basically acts like the Trunchbull does and if you haven't read the book, that means Ian HATES the students with a passion and just about bullies EVERYONE and physically, AND mentally abuses them AND the teachers if they overstep their boundaries or break the rules. The worst of it is being locked in the bunker, a small concrete room under the school. Rumor has it that Ian takes any bad kid down there, straps them to a gurney and leaves them in the dark for as long as the entire school day (Matilda is a VERY fucked up story if you didn't know) So Sonny's the new kid and is warned by his classmates RIGHT AWAY to not do anything to incur Ian's wrath and that there's no point telling Usnavi and Vanessa (BTW they're already together and basically pseudo-parenting Sonny here since his parents are gone) cause they wouldn't believe him. Sonny eventually meets his teacher, Mr. Marcado who everyone loves. All his students love him and he's an AMAZING teacher. And since Sonny's a bit brighter than his other fellow students, he and Ruben get along and become friends. Ruben even stops by Sonny's place to tell Usnavi and Vanessa how well he's doing in school (also if you're into the OT3, we can TOTALLY have romantic undertones here and in between the lines X3). Eventually, Ruben invites Sonny to his little apartment and Ruben tells Sonny that Ian has been in his life for a LONG time. Ruben had a pretty good life; a great job at a top-class hospital, with a PhD that he got in his twenties, and was on the path to create drugs and medicine worth SO MUCH money that would make him famous in the realm of science. But then, Ian happened, and maybe we can twist the whole DNH show plot around a bit to match this, but basically, Ian did some illegal shit and has scarred Ruben for life and followed him when he became a teacher at Sonny's school, and Ian became the principal so he could just keep harassing him and keep an eye on him (cause Ruben knows of his secret activities). Of course, Sonny is SHOCKED and PISSED after hearing this; Ruben didn't tell him the details of what Ian did to him but Sonny still wants his teacher out of danger. But before dealing with Ian, Sonny wants to take care of Ruben first cause he's living ALONE with a VERY bad case of PTSD and those two things DO NOT mix well, so Sonny first tells Usnavi and Vanessa what Ruben told him and that he wants to help Ruben, and Usnavi and Vanessa agree. After that, Sonny starts getting Ruben to talk and get friendly with Usnavi and Vanessa, by inviting Ruben over to his place, or having Usnavi or Vanessa come pick him up when he's at Ruben's place, and the three start getting along very well. Also, if we take the OT3 romance route, this can TOTALLY be seen as Sonny playing matchmaker XD Also, while Ruben's been getting to know Usnavi and Vanessa, Sonny's been scoping out Ian and trying to figure out any way to get back at him or find some kind of proof to get him arrested. This involves A LOT of sneaking in and out of Ian's place but one day, something went wrong and Sonny got caught. Ian shoved the kid in his car trunk and drove him to the school where he strapped and gagged him on the gurney in the bunker where he intended to leave him for as long as possible. So now, Sonny's trapped in the dark bunker and scared out of his mind but luckily, Sonny had taken Pete with him on that excursion who managed to escape and Ruben's house was the closest so he ran to him for help. Ruben ran to the school, got Sonny out and they have a quick hug (Sonny also learns that Ruben acts a lot like Usnavi in protective mode) and Ruben drives Sonny home and gives him a stern talking to. 'Sonny, what were you thinking?! You're lucky Ian didn't KILL YOU! He doesn't care that you're a kid, he will break you! Don't ever go into his house again, I don't want you ending up like me!' But of course, this just gives Sonny more incentive to get revenge on Ian and one day, he finds the proof he needs (WITHOUT getting caught this time), finding out that Ian murdered the real Jason Cole and figures out that Ian Price has been on a police hit-list for a while. So the next day at school, Ian has figured out what Sonny took and is totally on to him and is going to kill him first chance he gets. Ian basically corners Sonny during the school day cause he knows that no one in this school will turn him in so Ian's basically pinned Sonny to the wall with a giant crowd of students and teachers watching. Ruben tries to stop him but Ian grabs Ruben's arm and begins twisting it, 'I broke both your arms before, and I can do it again, Rubes; now just walk away.' But Ruben is 100000000000000% DONE and pulls away, 'I'm NOT your lab rat anymore Ian Price!' And everyone watching gasps cause everyone knows about the notorious and dangerous Ian Price; who would've guessed that the guy who looks JUST LIKE HIM might be a fake! (morons...) Anyway, Pete rallies up the students and convinces them to fight back and they ALL start wailing on Ian while the teachers call the police. Long story short, Ian is arrested, the school gets a more stable principal, Ruben is given his life back, and he moves in with Sonny, Usnavi, and Vanessa where they become one big happy family, and everything is good :)

#in the heights aus #matilda #there we go #we got another matilda au just without telepathy #I just need ruben and sonny being friends okay #you guys can have the ot3 but i'm all about platonic stuff over here #in the heights #do no harm #ruben marcado #let ruben be happy #sonny de la vega #usnavi de la vega #vanessa otilia garcía #also I don't care of you guys see the usnavi vanesa and ruben stuff here as romantic or platonic #I personally prefer platonic #but you guys ship who you wanna ship #I don't judge

[belphegor1982]

thisstableground replied to your post: thatsoneginger replied to your post: The problem...

   i sometimes forget to add the character tag later but yeah, if its getting in the way of me wanting to post i just put it under the ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben and fandom: do no harm/in the heights tags, bc that reassures me that the only people who see it will be the ones looking for that stuff    

Yeah, I think I’ll do that, then - when I post something, use the “#verse: one step two step waltz” tag and then maybe if I’m feeling confident in a few months tag the characters. Thanks for your input :o)

#thisstableground #answer

[teddybear-movedblogs]

Tagged by @thisstableground thank you!!

Current top three ships!

Sonny/Graffiti Pete, Usnavi/Vanessa and... Usnavi/Vanessa/Ruben? Am I allowed to count that as a third?? I really don't consume/make content for any others- and yes they're all from in the heights which has really been my only fandom so to speak for the last... Three years? NO I will not get a new interest you can't tell me what to do

Last song I listened to

I think it was Cannibal Song by Moulettes ?? I've been rediscovering them and finally listening to an album other than Constellations!! They're really weird but really good! Chaotic witchy folk vibes with killer harmonies

Last movie I watched

What we do in the shadows!! Was a recap so I can start watching the series :D man I love that film it's just so much fun!!

Currently reading

The long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers and I'm LOVING it. It's so much fun to read and so diverse and thought out, I love the characters, the aliens the science and the queerness! I'm so excited to read more haha- it's also struck me I think because it's the kind of story I think I'd like to write, and it's reassuring to see that that kind of book CAN get published

Craving

Sleep. And maybe a cool futuristic science pod that could scan me and tell me I'm not dying and/or eliminate all my symptoms because I'm being driven up the wall by a combination of medical anxiety and distressing physical experiences and I Just. Want. It. To. Stop.

Tagging @flagupondisplay , @intheheightslive , @balievoheme and @caffeine-punk !!

#me talking #ask meme

[thisstableground]

Five months after catching a plane to Jamaica, it’s finally over. Now Ruben just has to decide what to do with the rest of his life.

Please comment if you like it, much appreciated and thank you :)

#it is DONE #i actually FINISHED A FIC FOR ONCE #sage makes things #fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben

[thisstableground]

If the three of them are going to be stuck in another country after foiling a murder attempt, might as well make a proper vacation out of it, right?

Please comment if you like it, thank you!

#fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben #sage makes things

[thisstableground]

Staring at the figure reflected in the window, Vanessa just about gets the time to think well this never happened at any of Macy O’Connor’s sleepovers before Usnavi grabs her hand, pulls her up and bolts out the door so fast she's surprised her feet stay on the ground. Usually she'd object to that just on principle but she can't argue with his reflexes this time.

aka, Vanessa makes friends with the new apartment ghost. Usnavi isn’t quite so keen. Ruben’s just happy to finally have a conversation.

Please comment if you liked it, thank you!

#sage makes things #verse: ghost ruben #fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben

[thisstableground]

Usnavi doesn’t believe in ghosts, but him and Vanessa both have to admit that things have been getting kind of weird at his place recently. It’s probably nothing to do with that notebook full of someone’s chemistry research that showed up at the store not long ago.

Ruben also doesn’t believe in ghosts, but apparently that doesn’t stop him from being one.

Please comment if you read it, thank you!

#GHOST AU GHOST AU GHOST AU #welcome to october!! #fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben #I'VE MISSED THIS

[thisstableground]

Very important question: is Ruben afraid of the dark? I have a suspicion that he is. And follow up question: does he have a nightlight? Did Usnavi and Vanessa buy him a funny kids one as a joke that he actually uses?

he is, yeah, though kind of intermittently, if that makes sense. it's not always like "turn out the light and immediately get frightened and have to turn it back on" scared (it was for quite a while, but not all the time any more). he's more conceptually afraid of the dark. when it's dark outside dark means nighttime means it's ian hours. so sometimes when he's having a bad night even having the lights on doesn't help all that much because he knows the dark is still there; waiting for it to be morning is the only thing that helps because it feels like, as long as he survives until 8:25am he's got another 12 hours to rest and plan and run until ian comes for him again.

but sometimes he is just straight up afraid of the dark too. i always imagine that when they didn't all live together, usnavi's was his favourite place to sleep, because usnavi's bedroom window has broken blinds that he never got round to replacing, they don't close properly, so there'd be light pollution coming in all night. one of the unexpected blessings of living in manhattan: it's never properly dark there.

i bet that sometimes, too, if ruben's the one up late at night (which is often) then he has that thing you have as a kid, when you have to turn the light out in the bathroom or whatever and you immediately feel like somethings going to get you and you have to run so fast to hide in bed in case there's suddenly a monster following you. which is exactly what ruben's afraid ogf. so he'll sometimes end up waking the other two up by having to run into their room after turning out the lights. or sometimes he'll leave them on all night, which might cause a bit of tension because u and v were raised in the kind of environment where they'd have to do everything to cut down on costs and leaving lights on all night is a huge waste of money, though i did write usnavi going through a bit of a phase of being scared of the dark and sleeping with the lights on just after losing his parents, so i think he'd at least understand. and i'm sure vanessa wouldn't be like, an asshole about it either, but it's definitely a point of tension especially because i don’t think the paying more electricity bills side of things would necessarily be something that even occurs to ruben and might be awkward for them to bring up to him in early days relationship

so a nightlight would be a good solution to that though, actually. i have a little battery-powered one that automatically shuts off after 20 minutes, so possibly rather than or as well as using it for the room he's actually sleeping in, he could leave it on in the kitchen or the livig room or wherever without having to turn out allll the lights and suddenly feel like ian might be in the room he just left. mine is shaped like a chubby lil polar bear and it's very cute so maybe that but seal

#i was actually looking for a seal one for myself but did not find it #fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/ruben/vanessa

[thisstableground]

R definitely sleeps in the middle of the bed if he can’t sleep/has nightmares/needs some lovin. But picture this: U is on one side, quietly rapping for him and V is telling him long, boring, pointless stories in hopes of putting him to sleep. Eventually R’s eyes are closed and they start whisper fighting about who Actually put him to sleep, only for R to pop his eyes open, still wide awake because he’s not falling asleep mid catastrophe. My something to add on

i always imagine that he tends to sleep on the side of the bed nearest the door because it means he doesn't feel trapped if he needs to leave bc sometimes if he has nightmares that are that bad he doesn't want to be touched by anyone and has to go sleep on the couch/in the spare room, but i definitely also imagine that sometimes he needs Extra Love and Reassurance and he sleeps in the middle on those nights and gets extra cuddled. i love the idea of them both like...simultaneously just making all this noise at him, rapping and talking over each other then having an argument and fully believing that he'd ever be able to sleep through that. definitely two people who clearly grew up in manhattan and find loud trains and their neighbors music and random street noise relaxing to listen to and rubens like "i grew up in the suburbs and have sensory issues so like no to all of this but the fact they're trying is so cute i want them to carry on anyway"

#fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/ruben/vanessa

[thisstableground]

1 and 4 for that ask post thing!

1.   Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

oh god i have so many projects at all times. the current ones im actively working on are:

-  a silly fun UVR one where usnavi (gasp) has to temporarily give up coffee and takes it exactly as well as youd expect him to. im pretty close to finishing this one and i’m excited – it feels like a long time since ive posted any UVR, and especially anything lighthearted, and i also get to talk a lil bit about how usnavi has a new job since selling the bodega which i havent got round to even mentioning in fic yet so thats fun

-   a UVR one for christmas that’s partly usnavi dealing with his seasonal affective depression around the anniversary of losing his parents, partly showing how things are a little easier for him now that he doesn’t live by himself, and partly a fun surprise that i’m very excited about

-  UVR one where vanessa gets appendicitis bc i spun the wheel and its her turn to have a hurt/comfort, congrats vanessa??? and sorry? she’d be mad at me but i just want her to get hugs and get looked after and taken care of for a while, she deserves it, and she also deserves the scene where she’s still tripping from the anaesthesia and being a cute mess because i enjoy when vanessa cant even pretend to be cool

-   watch with serenity only has a couple chapters left and while that’s one of my favourite fics i’ve ever written, i’m gonna feel good about wrapping it up too – usnavi’s started making some positive progress in his grieving and it’ll be nice to see that take shape more and for us to be able to leave him at a point where he isn’t exactly 100% better, but he;s doing alright and he resembles the usnavi we know and love a lot more and isn’t struggling so much. i like my angst but only with the optimistic end note and its about time he got there.

- on the other hand, also writing a devastatingly sad DNH fic that’s from the perspective of ruben’s youngest sister immediately after he’s brought home from jamaica. it does end on a hopeful note too, but i have already made myself cry writing it twice so that should tell you something about how it goes

and thats to say nothing of the ideas i havent started yet or the ones that aren’t quite full enough ideas to work on, but at some point i will finish at least one of these enough to actually post something!

 4.Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

here’s some ruben pov on vanessa from a scientist is always fine, which tbh i think was an absolute banger and i kinda wish more people had read it

“He thinks about writing that he wishes he could sink into her sinews and reverse time so that he could feel what it was like to be in her body and her mind through the whole messy process of becoming Vanessa. That she is perfectly ordinary and it makes him crazy to think about the fact that, like everyone, at one point she wasn’t anything at all and and now she is so many, many things, and he wishes she had taken more detailed notes on the process it took to get there because now he has no way to truly understand her, but he tries anyway.

He doesn’t really want to make notes but he tries anyway. Gets as far as writing the subject, which he crosses it out immediately because he can use that word for himself but never for her. He writes, Vanessa, and then closes his notebook because that seems like the only important thing to say.”

ok that was technically 2 paragraphs but i just like this idea ofruben’s love of science being the framework through which he processes his love of usnavi and vanessa without being something that defines his understanding of what it means to love and be loved as narrowly or unhealthily as it used to. he knows how complex a thing it is to be a human, all the things that had to align for us to exist as a species and for them to meet and the chemical and hormonal reactions that had to synchronise for them to all be in this place living together and in love, and the paradox of both wanting to study and understand her through that perspective because that’s what ruben does, but also being satisfied that she just is there with him and she is who she is, and will be whether he understands why or not. i think that being able to accept these strange contradictions and being content within them is the highest form of love, especially from someone to whom getting all the answers is usually so integral.

#long post #fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/ruben/vanessa #veanlerie #gotta let my hand take a lil break now but man i had fun answering stuff today!! it feels like its been a while! #ill finish up answering more tomorrow so people can feel free to continue sending stuff if they wanna <3

[thisstableground]

There’s a bird in Usnavi’s apartment.

Comments are very much appreciated!

#the ao3 version so i dont lose it #these nerds #fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/ruben/vanessa

[thisstableground]

Vanessa isn’t mad at Usnavi for having a bit of a crush on his newest customer: it’s always gonna be a rollercoaster suddenly finding out you aren’t straight in your mid-20s, and she knows he’s still head-over-heels for her, it's nothing they can’t handle together.

This Ruben guy better watch his back though, because she isn’t gonna let him get in the way of their relationship, and she definitely isn’t going to befriend him or get emotionally attached to him or develop feelings of her own for him so don’t even fucking think she will, okay?

(aka, I never wrote a Vanessa POV for pre-relationship UVR way back in the day, and I simply had to change that)

Please leave comments if you liked it, thank you!

#i need to do an extra grammar check when its not 1.30 am but i really wanted to post it today! #sage makes things #fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben #I MISSED THEM I MISSED THEMMM

[thisstableground]

The trio + musical instruments. Usnavi loves to freestyle, obviously, but what happens if he or Vanessa or Ruben (and/or!) get to use an instrument for this or that reason? Like a battered guitar, an old piano, a ukulele, etc?

usnavi can for sure play the guitar and piano. i suspect he is one of those infuriatingly talented people who is very good at translating similar-ish instruments (helped greatly by the fact he has perfect pitch) so like, he's actively learned how to play guitar which now means if he picks up a ukulele he only needs to mess about with it for a few minutes before he's like "yeah i pretty much know what i'm doing here". a very musical boy!! makes up his own songs - most of them are very silly lyrically but they are also undeniably very well-crafted (he has a couple of more serious ones that he is generally too shy to show people even though they are Extremely Good and Heartfelt)

i think vanessa could probably play a couple songs and some basic chords on the guitar - she strikes me as someone who is obviously musically capable, she has a really nice singing voice and she can dance, but what she does not have is the patience to learn an instrument. she gets mad about the part where you have to suck at it and gives up on it, definitely doesn't compose her own stuff like usnavi does, but also very much does enjoy getting him to come over and teach her how to play so that they can flirt about it (usnavi like "you know you don't gotta make up excuses for us to get our physical contact on now that we've been dating for Literally Several Years?" and vanessa's like "idk what you're talking about, shut up and sensually reposition my hands on this guitar while standing very close behind me")

ruben's talents lie elsewhere i'm afraid. his mom probably tried to make him learn an instrument as a kid so that he could be Well Rounded, and he put zero effort in. for some reason i get an "i did oboe lessons but learned nothing" vibe from him

#fandom: do no harm/in the heights #ship: usnavi/vanessa/ruben