#its just so FASCINATING OKAY

[alkaloidalypse]

im too tired to make a long essay of me overanalyzing the mv so im just gonna rocket fire my general thoughts about it 

SIKE this game has me on a chokehold i can never stop overanalyzing

LIKE THIS SHOT. ITS SUCH A TINY CHANGE IN EXPRESSION, SO LITERALLY TINY, BUT IT CONVEYS SO MUCH EMOTION AND I HATE IT HERE 

no but seriously i infer its because natsume was the one who wrote their ‘happy ending’. so him having an expression like this is like a ‘4th wall breaking’ because natsume was the writer in this ending. but this ending never happened. 

alternatively, it could just be a genuine expression he would have made if they did have this ending. im not entirely sure if its meant to be negative or a positive emotion but im guessing its more positive. like a “we did it. we’re here. im happy we’re all here together and i won’t have it any other way”

then we have this specific shot

“We want to feel your rhythm (Right here).”

do i have any idea whats going on right here? no. i just unfortunately have a lot of emotions 

---

the second part i want to at least talk about was the choice to change the instrumental of the animation mv. put it simply, i love both renditions but i wondered why they decided to make the instrumental different. from what i remember, the instrumental for genuine revelation was the same for the animation mv, so why the change?

im not going to guess the music direction they took but there is something i realized upon listening to both of them. 

ive listened to the original more times i could count now, and i remember how ‘happy’ it sounded until you see the lyrics and remember the story of the five eccentrics. its from there the ‘happiness’ of the song lessened to something more bittersweet in a way. the music is happy, but their story is not. they aren’t the winners, so they sing their sorrows, lament on the fate they are being pushed into but at least being able to find joy having each other, even if in the end they have to suffer for it. and as the listener, while enjoying the music i don’t necessarily feel joy (it is still a beautiful song)

but the new mix of eccentric party night, the whole music video, i can’t keep up with it. there were so many things going on on screen and the instrumental is so drastically different from the original. the build ups, the techno sounds, honestly all of that reminded me of a rave party

and that’s when i realized. that’s exactly what the animation mv was about. its a freaking party. no duh, its in the title. but they basically took that word and use it in their mv tenfold. a party is a celebration, a happy occasion, and in this ending that’s impossible to achieve, there is something worth celebrating

the lyrics are still the same, their voices are still the same. but somehow, the energy and vibe was completely changed. its like they’re hyping the crowd up to join in their party. theres birds flying, sparklers around the stage, natsume doing magic that affected the whole room, glowing balloons and said balloons being released into the air. freaking confetti everywhere, the lights changing depending on the chorus and verse and GOD there’s just so MANY things going on and it never stops. its a goddamn party and im loving it

even the group itself, they kept on jumping and twirling around while still doing the main choreography and keeping this energy up the entire time

honestly, i have not felt this hyped listening to an enstars song before. every time i watched the mv i just want to jump and join them in their dancing. i should be sad. i should feel bittersweet about it. but for some reason, im not

maybe eventually i’ll feel that same sadness i did for the original, but for now i hope there’s a full version with this mix. because i would love to dance around my room to this song

[chronostutter]

AM is so fascinating to me bc he is so blatantly the embodiment of like, american/western ideals taken to their extreme and bloody end, and that still does not spare him from being absolutely misinterpreted by people online

and like, his proximity to sexual violence/rape does not exist without reason. i know a lot of people (rightfully) are uncomfortable with fiction including these beats/themes, but it is very much a narrative tool used to further exemplify his connection to militarization/imperialism. he is the magnums opus of a warmongering empire—the ultimate patriarch, the unloving god, etc— and his actions are gratuitous and horrific all as a reminder of this fact.

idk, obviously mileage for these topics can vary (which is why i rarely want to be like "WOW THIS IS GOOD!" because i know many people who simply cannot stomach these types of works) but he is written that way to get a point across, and it does so nauseatingly well ❤️.

but alas. people tend to discard aspects of a character that make them uncomfortable/refuse to engage with the source text so now we have people who think AM is just some sad angry ai. when actualy he’s like if you gave one of those bigoted generative models access all nukes ever and poor temper management LOL

but ah well such is the nature of the beast

[welcometogrouchland]

I love Steph's origin as told in the Secret Origins 80 page giant- I just overall think it strengthens her character by giving her a lot of pathos and adding to her heroism (which isn't something writers were focused on in her actual intro in detective comics #647 since she was just meant to act as a plot device back then) BUT there is one tiny detail in it i will begrudge, and that is the portrayal of her having a minor love at first sight moment for tim

Secret origins 80 page giant, ID in alt

(or well, technically this was their second meeting in that story (the brick was the first) so...love at second sight?)

Mostly because Stephanie showed no interest in her introduction and only showed romantic feelings towards Tim AFTER this moment here:

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Straight up the progression here goes:

The adventure in 'tec where they first meet -> Tim investigating the same crime scene as Steph -> she beats him up not knowing it's him at first, apologizes but says he shouldn't have scared her -> he remembers her/the moniker she goes by -> they talk about plot for a few pages -> Stephanie starts flirting

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Which...is so fascinating to me and says so much about Stephanie. She highlights the fact that Tim "remembered" her. Like. Steph. Girl. This is our bar? It's sweet but kind of speaks to how much Stephanie is ignored at home/how little and sporadically she's shown interacting with her peers (and rarely ever the same kids twice). Her idea of peak romance is just...being on someone's mind even when you're not there.

Kind of also adds layers to Steph's proclivity towards jealousy later on, a manifestation of her insecurity and loneliness (though don't get it twisted, she's not written this way bc Dixon and co think it's an interesting character flaw, they wrote it bc they think it's an inherent character flaw of (particularly young) women/girls, which is very apparent in how he approaches Ariana's character as well from what I've read)

Also the fact that Steph becomes so smitten for Tim almost immediately after this is (a few issues later she aggressively flirts with him during AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION. WHERE SHE'S THE HOSTAGE) again is kind of a mixture of kind of funny and sad. One boy is nice to her once and she's fully ready to wife him. Girl you are deranged (affectionate) (concerned)

[quamaii]

Max when the contraption he built specifically for Jimmy to throw knives at Duncan is used by Jimmy to throw knives at Duncan:

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

ways journalists have really described alex turner and miles kane:

"Wearing matching outfits, gazing into each other's eyes, talking about their instant connection… Alex and Miles' claims that they wrote the Shadow Puppets' album about 'a girl' weren't fooling anyone. Quite simply Alex and Miles are hopelessly, madly, enviably in love with each other. Please lads, just be true to yourselves, embrace your feelings, and have a massive snog - we can't bear the tension any more."    - NME

“If there’s one sexual dynamic at work tonight at the Usher Hall, it’s homoeroticism. The Last Brokeback Mountaineers are a camp pair of strutting cocks, to be sure.”  - The Wee Review

"Speaking to them together feels like interrupting a conversation that's been going on since 2005." - NME

“Looking over at his manspreading counterpart, Kane gleefully points at Turner’s exposed bulge. Not wanting to be rude, I look away.” - SPIN

“Watching them finish each others’ sentences, agonise over their answers to how well they know each other and embrace when it’s time to leave... well, you’d need a heart made of Hoosiers CDs not to find it incredibly sickly sweet.” - NME

“Alex Turner and Miles Kane turn towards each other with fond looks when we suggest they’re best friends. Like doodle in each other’s notebooks BFF status. After spending 15 minutes with them though, we’re pretty convinced they’re going to grow old together in matching tracksuits.” - Sidewalk Hustle

“Miles Kane looks like he’s gagging for a great big man-hug (and maybe more...) off his buddy. These two have spent overly long admiring themselves and each other.” -  The Wee Review

“As soon as I decide to just get started without Kane, Turner accidentally Facetimes him from his pocket, and the two erupt into a fit of giggles, our conversation veering off course for the third time in as many minutes.” - Consequence

“While Turner stares on the ground during his answers, Kane watches him like a lovestruck teenager from the side.” - Musikexpress

“Say this for Lennon and McCartney, or Plant and Page: they never had their own romantic rock ‘n’ roll portmanteau. But “Milex”—Miles Kane and Alex Turner, for the uninitiated—have just that enviable kind of bromance. The two even moved to Los Angeles in tandem a few years ago. No wonder multiple “Milex” pages have cropped up on Tumblr, breathlessly re-posting the duo’s every embrace and droll quip; there is fan fiction, too, the kind that would make a coal miner blush.” - Interview Magazine

'"Alex Turner is like a princess in need of his prince Miles's assistance to get down from a tower." - Dutch Review

"You'd be forgiven for barely noticing anything beyond the front of the stage, though. Like a pair of teenagers egging each other on, Turner and Kane are the most infatuated frontmen since the Pete Doherty and Carl Barat." - Hot Press

"If Miles Kane had a 'hard on' for being a front-man before The Last Shadow Puppets, he's grabbed the opportunity Turner's patronage presented him with both hands. So to speak." - Q Magazine

"The feeling is contagious too, as though we're looking in on star-crossed lovers finally reunited." - Hot Press

[moeblob]

Erin, to her crush: You're a dick

Mason, the crush: I won't argue! But to clarify -

[ratatatastic]

"Listen, I love seeing you get into it after the whistle, too, man. Because you'll throw down—Like, you and [Steven] Stamkos went at it... you been going at it with a lot of different guys, but Evan Bouchard—" "I'm not tough! I'm not tough! No! I felt bad about that, man..." "I gotta ask about the chokehold, though! With Evan and he's like tapping out! Is he making any noises? Do you even know that he's in a compromised position? That maybe he can't breathe or whatever? What was going through your mind when this happened? And what was your reaction when you saw it afterwards?" "Yeah, I mean, listen some guys like to keep up the persona... I'm not the toughest guy in the league, I'll never claim to be that. I don't fight often. I haven't—I don't think I did last year at all, but I do believe in protecting yourself. You know, I saw Barkov get hit, and it was pretty dirty hit in my mind—in the moment, right?...before and after replay, and stuff like that. You understand the league made the right call, and what not... But, I see him, he's vulnerable, he's one of their better players, one of our better players on the ice, that was all it was, right? Just grab him and do something. You know, I felt bad about it, I apologised to him in the handshake line on the way out, right? It's all part of the game."

"What did he say? 'No problem'?" "'Go fuck yourself!'" "No, he said, 'All good, no issue.' I'm sure I'll get hit from behind next year or something so..." "'See, I got 45 points in playoffs...'" "Hey, but I'm with ya! I said it at the time! The Draisaitl hit on Barkov—Like, he knew what he was doing, he went straight through his head...I don't know..." "It's—No doubt, no doubt." "...In regular season he's probably getting suspended. You know, if that's the regular season..." "Yeah, and you know what? It all ended well, and Barkov was fine so... the league made the right call obviously, right?" "Yeah..." "Whatever...but when Max Domi—years ago...and he's kind-of like pressuring you, pressuring you, and you're like, 'What?' And you didn't get your guard up and he catches you with one...he catches you right in the jaw, you ate one! Were you thinking afterwards like, 'Man, I know I'm drawing a penalty here, but I gotta protect myself so I don't eat a fucking punch again like this, and set myself back with concussions'?" "Yeah, that obviously taught me a lot about protecting myself, for sure. For sure. You'd rather be the first one in there than the last one so...Yeah, it's not about dropping the gloves or anything, but getting your guard up and—definitely being the first guy to separate yourself, I think, is important. Yeah, I mean, that's all I'm gonna say about that."

The Cam & Strick Podcast | 7.30.24 (x)

hey diddle diddle the cat with the fiddle...

"im not tough im not tough noooooo i felt bad about that man 😣😣🫣" dear god our players are acting like theyre not war criminals...ekky notoriously not a fighter hes just here for a fun time its not his fault he manages to get involved in every single scrum and starts ragdolling bodies guys

[squeiky]

METAL SONIC X CHAOS ZERO!!!

IN ALL THE CHARTS I COULD FIND!!

Some of the charts got repetitive, so i cropped it.

NOTES: there may be someee minor inconsitences as sometimes id change mind my across one chart to another.

If you want an expliantion for ANY of my choices here, please ask! I am starving for conversation about this relationship- so please please please ask my questions- or just tell me your own ideas! Idk! Communicate! Your words and thoughts are not dumb!! They are very important to me and must be shared!!!

Also, some more of my thoughts + notes after the cut:

-----------

I think my favorite charts are the first two, since the first one was pretty thourghough and easy to get whilst also including intresting and unique questions to the relatio ship dynamic. the second one i added a bit of character interaction so its really cute, and thats practically why i like.

---

I particularly like the touch chart, as i really had to consider wthe physicality of these two, and the custom model was fun to make (look they're even holding hands haha). It was a bit tricky considering i had to figure out what touches where welcomed and what weren't based on previous canonical interactions, and my own theories/speculations.

---

Oh, to explian the "lends clothes" and "borrows/steals clothes", i always found the neat detail of Neo Metal Sonic's wardrobe possesing a kind of.. arm warmer/bell sleeve? As well as its pants(?) Being a bell bottom.

Without the belt/butt cape, it does make metal sonics limbs somehwhat resemble the sillouette of Chaos' body, so obviously- i just figured that Chaos, if he were to wear any clothing, would probably be stolen by Metal Sonic since it already seems to be fond of that particular look that Chaos naturally has.

--

Oh, and Metal and Chaos being somewhat organized is due to thier jobs and enviornment they grew up in. Eggman, being the opposite of Sonics carefree, chaotic attitude, would likely prefer more cleaner, organized or "controlled" enviornments. Thus, i feel that Metal Sonic may have picked up a few tidying or cleaning habits that were a cause of eggman simply teaching or implimenting features in his bots to prefer the "clean up" of "dirty" or "messy" areas.

For chaos, i do recall reading something (perhaps on the chao wiki) of him purifying the Altars water and keeping it relatively clean from debries and such. Furthermore, having to be sole guardian of little children chao, the altar and the master emerald, requires a lot of responsibility and- if anyone has worked with children before- it can get very messy very quickly. So its mere speculation, but i do think Chaos would have picked up many cleaning habits as well, as well as cooking/harvesting skills due to him having to take care of large batches of critters.

Surprisingly, for a creature named "Chaos", the name only truely applies to the singular instance in which he is "Final Chaos" (as thats likely what the echidnas called him during and after that time.) Turns out, Chaos is way more controlled and responsible than chaotic and carefree.

So to segway, out of the two, Metal Sonic would be way more chaotic considering its nack for stirring up trouble (CD, Sonic Heroes, Chaotix.. ect) for the heroes, as well as it not really having major responsibilites outside of its purpose to "destroy sonic" and occasionally obey whatever task eggman requires of it.

Thus, is why in the driving promps, i title it "a speeder".

---

To explain the "Cognito Egro Sum" (aka. I think therefore i am) and the "infinty symbol" for the ages, er.. Metal sonic is a robot, and Chaos is an immortal being. If your being technical with it, you can say they're both relatively young, considering Chaos chao can't age and are often stuck in the form they were hatched in- despite the fact that chao do infact change as they age-

One can consider the idea that Chaos, for all intensive purposes, looks and probably is pretty young- if we apply chao logic to him.

Though one will argue "but Chaos is ancient" which is true, but his case is similar to Shadow's as he was trapped in that Master emerald for... millions of years............. so, similarly to how shadow was stuck for 50 years yet remains a teenager both inside and out, Chaos- for whatever age he was before he got trapped, probably still thinks and acts like that, as well as Tikal. Except now they probably need a LOT of therapy.

^hence why i put chaos's sleeping habits as "sleeps poorly" and "sleeps to little". In hindsight, being trapped in a emerald for thousands of years, with your freind of who's father killed your entire* family and burned your house (altar) down and tried to steal your most precious item (master emerald) and being the girl whos stuck with your freind(?) who killed your entire bloodline and basically genocided your entire community- stuck with him for THOUSANDS OF YEARS- is.....is going to require a lot of therapy.

So y'know, bad sleeping problems. Also probably why i depict Chaos hugging a lot + being affectionate, since being deprived your community that is entirely reliant on the concept of "caring, loving, and nurturing one another" (cause.. the opposite of that means chao will basically die upon reincarnation), for thousands of years is... a good recipe for touch starvation and a need for attention.

^hence why chaos is also on the attention side of some charts.

----

^ just conintuing off of that previous statement, i did move Chaos closer towards "extrovert" in the "extrovert or introvert" prompts, as since Chaos, unlike Metal Sonic, deals closely with many chao, and often is surrounded by a crowd of them, i do believe that Chaos would have to atleast gain some energy from social interaction in order to surivive that every day, without burning out.

----

The whole "who talks more" thing is kind of funny because, technically, its metal sonic (see Sonic Heroes + Sonic Free riders) who has more lines than.. Chaos's total of zero!

Meaning that, if anything, the "he said no pickles" meme would probably mean that Metal Sonic would be at the counter whilst Chaos is sitting in the back.

Though, compared to MANY other characters, these two are practically dead-silent, and would most likely rely on non-verbal ways of affection than verbal.

---

Oh and the "ethical v. Immoral thing" where i emphasized that chaos was "neutral" was because by compsring him to "chaos chao", theres a dark side, good guy side, and then neutral. Considering Chaos's history of amazingly goodwilled to horrendously incidous, one can conclude that he practically in the middle in terms of ethics or morality.

Metal sonic is definetly on the more immoral side, though i wouldnt put it all the way, as i do have considering enviornmental aspects to its behavior (such as well.. being a badnik, and being constantly exposed to eggman's immoral behaviors). So, other than like, unnesecarily abusing animal freinds in CD, and throwing a ship probably full of people at sonic (Sonic heroes) there aren't many instances in which Metal Sonic does something completely immoral and unjust- without any context regarding eggman ordering it too, or simply it just doing its job as a badnik.

However those actions are prettt bad on its own- though compared to... killing out an entire species... drowning thousands of people in a city and attempting to kill eggman with a giant laserbeam... and to whatever hyjinks eggman gets up too...

Its actions seem.. relatively small (though not obsolete.)

So like, theres not going to be many issues regarding "metal sonics gotta be a good guy"/ "i can fix him🥺" mentalities, since its kind of hard to do that, when you have a kill count of a 100+ whilst Metal Sonic is still on the "i'm needlessly harming animals, and threw a boat"...

Then again, i like to think the leiniency allows for them to work on themselves together, rather than tear eachother down or hate eachothers guts.

---

Transgender - both for my headcannnon, but also a refrence to it literally going "i transformed myself with my own hands" and well, i cant resist a pun/play on words now can i?

Agender- chaos dont have.. genders.

However, i thought this would change when introduced to concept of feminine and masculine models of the ancients in frontiers, but looking at Chaos, he doesnt resemble either one very much (tbh, in Sonic Forces, his model actually looks more akin to the fem version, than the pointy and sharp masc ones) and looks more akin to that of the children, if anything.

Plus, being masculine or feminine isnt really and indicator of gender anyways.. so like..???

So what? Does Chaos, gender? NOPE! Chaos isn't an ancient (thats his ancestor) and is a mutated chao. Chaos are genderless, or atleast out of that particular binary.

If Tikal showed up one day and started calling Chaos a "he/him", its likely that Chaos could've just.. adopted that. Assigned pronouns by random. Amazing.

So agender, as i can't think of anything else.

---

Sexuality -idk. Look, i dont consider whomth one likes. The knowledge of my characters, or other characters sexualites comes upon me in the way preists suddenly hear the words of their gods.

I dunno, until suddenly i know. Thats just how it is.

---

Ending it here cause im hungrt and cant think of anything else to chat on.

[boxwinebaddie]

i am so sorry about this, but for iconic and comedic purposes, and because i think it is my only chance...i think because put jk in all the clean, sleek, minimalistic dark academia fits ( and made him the fkn scariest top dom motherfucker alive >.> ) and put rm!stan as raven in all the thotty gothy hot topic rockstar boy looks ( ilu tiny pants ) ...

i think it's only fair that...

my bitchy, ginger, picky snobby ricky bobby ken doll son, AKA, red hot tire siren, toxic orange pit viper and mean green newjay devil -- who wears more comme de garcons/moshino than prada, imo -- espn celebpretty sh(it) boy, twitter's favorite #cred#head, /my/ precious daytona 500 winning pookie ( dirtbag ) and the #supreme tmz trashed-and-slated nastyboy of nascar racing, the one, the only...

Kyle 'Break Check!' Broflovski <3

should get to wear all the dramatic af, xxxtreme sportyspice, ubergay nightmarish perish hilton, twinky talladega nights, white #trashion, vodka&redheadbull, apple bottom jeans boots w the fur club fits <3

( also just for shits and gigs, pls note: toolshed stan is a super casual, fashionably challenged but unbothered old carhartt beanie, oversized flannel n beat up work boot wearin king...so i'm laaugghingsdk )

like...i am sorry, but this is the right answer:

[starswallowingsea]

THIS

is the Ediacaran period and THIS

is the Cambrian period. Got it?

[fox-guardian]

I seem to have lost a few followers since the furryposting. lol. lmao, even

[suffarustuffaru]

Otto is literally so fucking crazy like you wouldn't expect it first when you first read about him

like

he's a silly lil smart fella that gets bullied but then arc 8 happens and he's fucking crazy

HAHA very very Very true. im too much of a fan of like. either the kind but Horribly Repressed characters or like. the ones that are like. unassuming but Scary AF. esp if theres crazed devotion involved... my choice of characters is far too predictable LMAO but no yeah i absolutely love otto for the reasons you stated yeah. it was wild bc i predicted a lot of the arc 8 stuff before it really blew up around ch24!! i was like dipping my toes into researching otto side content when arc 7 was still ongoing and then i kept noticing little details right? like "this man is mentally ill lmao and a little crazy about subaru but its not That bad rn..." and then i wrote a fic where otto goes feral with a pal of mine (you know who you are) in like 2022 i think? AND THEN ARC 8 CAME IN AND HALF THE SHIT WE WROTE IN THAT FIC CAME TRUE.. LMAO T^T i remember after arc 8 i had to like reevaulate my perception of otto for sure. it was like "OH SHIT IM NOT EVEN EXTREME E N O U G H WHEN I TRY TO WRITE HIM IN FIC. HES CRAZY" (impressed). i always like the unhinged characters </3

anyway yeah thats my impromptu backstory behind me brainwashing myself into becoming a huge otto fan which was then propelled by not much english content :<<<< i love how fucking crazy he is. what a guy. hes very very deceptively complicated. the dude that katy perry sings about in her hit song "hot n cold" is otto suwen. i know this bc she told me so.

[keepinventory]

living with an abusive parent is crazy ill go from yesterday, being in genuine mortal danger, to today, asking Hey do you want my old sweatpants

[volivolition]

reading Kim's Disco Inferno and i absolutely needed to read this fic earlier than im reading it right now. this is so fucking interesting.

[ikilledamanforthisurl]

it has occurred to me i may have never shared one of my slugcat ocs. here's my Artificer ripoff including arts dating back to 2021 lovingly dubbed Thundercunt

[somany-fandoms-solittle-time]

ya know what..... Kalim is one of those sunshine characters that naturally interacts and "befriends" so many characters. It's always the sunshine characters that I'm drawn to put in a giant poly-hole where basically everyone is in love with them. It just makes sense.

Kalim x Silver: He's always waking Silver up in class and tries to help is drowsy spells. They're also just one of the few genuinely sweet guys on campus so it's pure fluff. A bonus advantage is that since Silver is a Trained Knight (or on the road to be) he can protect Kalim from assassination attempts.

Kalim x Ruggie: Eat The Rich w/ a twist. My precious hyena boy DESERVES to get married to a sincere Sugar Daddy (or as my gf and I like to say, Sugar Bestie™). He's worked hard enough and Kalim is one of the few upper class individuals that would NEVER use his money or status to control, manipulate or abuse another. He just wants to help out and the endless positivity would not only bring Rugs outta his comfort zone but would also impact those in his hometown A LOT.

Riddle x Kalim: Not a favorite, but I get it. Two kids from wealthy families (one more wealthy than the other) who were kinda isolated from the "regular" world and gotta figure shit out for themselves away from their former caretakers. Obvi, very different contexts and personality but that's what helps them depend on one another. Even when they can't relate, they can Listen and Grow together.

Floyd x Kalim: ARE YOU KIDDING THEY'RE ADHD BUDDIES?!?!? Not only can they relate with similar neurological issues, but their common interests can be a safe zone for them to bond. On top of that, even with their reckless personalities and their overall lack of forethought, Floyd is STRONG and could protect Kalim from any pushback or consequences. They're also both raised by Extreme Capitalist (even thou we don't exactly know what the Tweels parents DO) so the business sense and exposure to the darker side of things probably wouldn't be too much of an adjustment for either side.

Obvi Jamil x Kalim: I know not everyone likes this ship (and considering the dynamic and difference in power/status I TOTALLY get it). Even if the relationship is seen through platonic soulmates, brother-like, or just a 'we-were-stuck-together-for-years-and-now-we-don't-know-how-to-live-apart' sitcom kinda vibe they'll ALWAYS be linked together. Besides, an angsty, complicated childhood friends to lovers story with repressed mutual pinning is a guilty pleasure of mine lol!

Whoever he gets paired with, regardless of if it's a ship that has an anchor in canon interactions or PURELY fueled by fanon crack, there's a billion tropes to work with before even having to dip into AU or Crossover. Kalim is a COMPLEX CHARACTER with so many random lore drops and info that has so much potential. Even when people are writing or creating fan-produces with a more 2d version of his character, he's still lovable!! He's one of the few reoccurring characters in a cast full of obnoxious, weird, arrogant, awful, annoying, egotistical, pigheaded teenage boys with the power of NUKES.... And isn't completely terrible.

Lemme reiterate, that I LOVE so many characters in Twisted Wonderland but boy do these kids get on my nerves. They're all little assholes in some way or another, but there's a range between "okay, pretty standard high schooler" to "IDC IF YOURE TRAUMATIZED NO AMOUNT OF BACKSTORY CAN EXCUSE YOUR ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR!!!!! YOU'RE A FUCKING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL WTF" and Kalim is a lot chiller. He's irrational sometimes and often does things without thinking it through.... But he's also a kid who's allowed to make mistakes and grow now that he's away from the bubble he grew up in. He can interact with people of all walks of life and get that perspective.

And depending on who he's paired with, romantic or otherwise, it's fascinating and heart wrenching and awe inspiring to watch him grow through the lens and experiences of the other person(s).

.........thank you for coming to my Ted talk 😌