ty dearly for making me appreciate howardkim, you are absolutely right they are so very abnormal about each other and i’m sad i missed their dynamic beforehand :(((
when do you think howard started ‘signalling’ kim out (both as in when he took a personal interest in her and when did he start to ‘weaponise’ her need for approval)? and was it motivated by him projecting onto her or was it him noticing her thirst for approval and putting it to good use?
also sorry for the upcoming vague question, but i really do want to just know your general thoughts on how the mcwexler and howardkim compare? [like ig either in terms of which you prefer (howardkim i think?) and why or ship dynamics in general, or canon, or if you find anything super similar or different across their dynamics etc? idk if there are many really direct similarities, but i think jimmy is very eager and desperate to prove himself to kim the way she tries for howard, and ig her loyalty to both men that are ‘bad’ for her can be compared?]
The way I literally jumped for joy when I first got this ask then proceeded to forget about it. I'm so sorry anon
When we put it into perspective, it's pretty understandable that most of us don't see what's actually going on with them at first. It takes a special kind of fixation on both of their characters to do that methinks.
As for your first question I'd say the latter part of it answers the former quite succinctly. He started to take a personal interest in her exactly when he noticed Kim showing her need for approval in a series of actions, standard things that go-getters usually do to move up within a corporate structure like taking the initiative, taking on extra work, etc. though with Kim, it had to have been taken to a different level of intensity which made her stand out in his eyes. I once talked about that Kim might have moved to ABQ with a mindset to start her life over while carrying a lot of baggage and regrets and how the combination of those things formed the unhealthy core of her motivation. I still approach Kim's character in relation to Howard with said hypothesis cause it aligns well with the patterns in her behaviors to me.
As for Howard's own motivation, I can't stress enough that it's a combination of both his projection and that he LIKED it. He liked that Kim's eagerness/enthusiasm to prove herself bordered on desperation, he liked the power trip and utilizing the most of the investment that actually paid off and then some (I want to put an emphasis on his enjoyment rather than the projection this time since I want to focus on the fact that Howard was undeniably WEIRD about her and not his every action was based off a comprehensible reason). I think Kim wasn't carrying out all of said performance to prove herself to Howard specifically but that Howard saw a golden opportunity within her and decided it's not weird or suspicious at all for a CEO to reserve so much attention, both positive and negative, for an associate. For all we know, Kim could have been mentored by a different person entirely who didn't have to hold as much power as Howard, but he swooped in and (further) isolated her just in time.
I touched on how McWexler and HowardKim compared to me a few times before, particularly in the similar and contrasting ways their interpersonal relationships played out from Kim's perspective. In a nutshell, my take is the same as yours, that their commonality lies in both Howard and Jimmy being representations of Kim's neglectful and careless mother, (though there were differences between them upon a closer look at their nuances), that Kim canonically felt a strong sense of responsibility toward both of them -- Howard's emotions as opposed to Jimmy's more physical wellbeing. Conversely, there's a stark contrast between Kim never being relaxed, happy, or genuinely optimistic with Howard and her exhibiting those precise attitudes in front of Jimmy. I would add that Kim's job stability wasn't as bad when she's working for Howard as it was with Jimmy if Howard didn't also created a ton of anxiety around that for her lol. Essentially it's a lot of similarity within the differences and vice versa.
What you said about Jimmy's pining for Kim's approval paralleling her doing the same with Howard is interesting! It kinda speaks of my hc that while at HHM, there were instances where Kim wasn't as by the book as she ought to be and took "shortcuts" or pulled a stunt every now and then to accomplish a goal , which ended up impressing Howard when he found that out purely cause of how far she's willing to go to fulfill her duty. Possibly my sanest HowardKim thought to this day.
