So, there I was, walking into Washington Square Park, thinking I’d only catch a few video-worthy moments of some Timothée Chalamet look-alikes, maybe snap a picture or two on my camera. Little did I know, I was about to walk into the most chaotic, chronically online fever dream imaginable, of which I was proudly a part of. 

It started off with a handful of Timmy clones, each one rocking his signature floppy hair, perfect cheekbones, and a look that said, “I don’t do small talk.” Each one of his eras was present, from Willy Wonka, to Paul Atreides, Bob Dylan. 

But then… things got wild.

Within minutes, the park was swarming with Timothées—like, literal packs of guys trying their best to smolder. Some were there for the social experiment of it all, while others were taking it very seriously, like the Associated Press. An unlikely news coverage, turned livestream. 

A few were clearly hoping this would double as a dating game. You could spot people scanning the crowd thinking, “Wait, is this my chance to meet my soulmate-Timmy?” While one girl was passing out personal dating business cards. As I watched, it felt like all these people’s “for you pages” had come to life, right in the middle of NYC.

Just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any weirder, the NYPD showed up and told everyone it was shut down. The leaders of the event gathered the Timothees and ended up unintentionally hyping up the crowd. All of a sudden, one of them looked a little too real. 

And then, as if the universe heard them, rumors started flying that Timothée himself had seen the TikToks. Was he going to show up? Was he in the park, blending in with his clones? Who knows. Turns out, the real Timothee popped out of thin air, making his way through the crowd; a testament to how Gen Z he is. 

The look-alikes started parading around the park and on to the streets like they were leading some kind of Chalamet March, phones out, capturing every second like it was a livestream.

 The contest was relocated due to lack of permit according to the police, but I would say it had more to do with  the public panic of real Timothé’sappearance. The regular dudes turned geniuses holding the event got up on a makeshift stage in full suits and top hats and called out for all the contenders to line up. The finalists tried their best to emulate the Timothée vibe while the crowd roared a yes or no. 

The winner? He took home a trophy and a $50 check: What a deal, right?

These lookalikes may have just turned into a Timothee surge of greatness. What started as a niche, chronically online meetup had blown up, landing on everyone’s Instagram stories and somehow even catching the attention of The Associated Press and Vogue. Suddenly, the whole world knew that Washington Square had hosted the strangest, most New York City thing that could possibly happen. \. Fangirls, we did it again.

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