I’ve just got to ask—is there any plans and ideas for UTBM Kalei?? Not in game, but just general miscellaneous thingys about him 👀
I mainly want to know if he has a confirmed/canon job or not since I have him down as their rehab worker
He won't be a major main character or even a support character in any of the main storylines Sam and I are thinking up (currently), but I did have some ideas on just what he would be doing in the background of the setting
I do reeeeally like the idea of Kalei being a rehab worker, as there is a lot of casual and addictive use of illegal dosages of drugs. Kalei was inspired to go into that line of work because a family member passed away due to an overdose. (I haven't decided if it was an uncle/ aunt or one of his parents yet)
Kalei is of a relatively small minority of non-bipedal people. In Pangea, if you're missing a leg or some other body part, science has advanced so far that they can regrow those parts so long as some majority of your body is intact. And if they can't or someone wants, they can have advanced prosthetics equipped to help them. Kalei, however, doesn't meet the traditional standards for these types of procedures because, well, he doesn't view himself as "disabled" because he CAN very much move around fine, it just has to be in water. And most, if not all, of human society is on land. To become bi-pedal he would have to literally seperate himself from his tail, his gift, and he finds that very upsetting.
Before his hydration sleeve, he would have to be moved around in a pretty heavy tank to get from place to place. So there are large periods of time where he was homebound. probably had to be homeschooled around his teens as his tank was just too big and it became too dangerous to go out alone .
He was most definitely picked on by other kids in school and seen as a lower human being because he is wheelchair-bound.
His hydration sleeve was made by UTBMverse Mitts, who, at a very young age, were visiting Mount Tech on a school trip where Kalei would get his tank chair fixed/ or replaced. Mitts proposed to one of the staff there that instead of a big fish bowl, they make a "big ol sock" that keeps Kalei's tail hydrated and drew up the schematics in her notebook.
To this day, Mitts and Kalei are friends and repair and make new sleeves for him so he can go about his days more easily.
Kalei's gift awoke when he went to the beach with his family. One minute he was in the shallow end, the next, he was swimming all over the place with a newly grown fin!
Kalei does not miss his legs, as even when he had them, he felt frustrated and hot all the time.
His room is an indoor pool, with the inside of the pool having special sea-themed furniture fixed to the bottom and walls.
