mantequillamcwhoremick - Tumblr blog

mantequillamcwhoremick · 2 days ago

Note

Thoughts on Tweeny friendship?

many many.

frankly, the best way to get an accurate response to this question is by looking at how i have portrayed them in my fic, but I will try my best to put it into words. Warning for long post

Sincere thanks here to @brokegoatartz whose insights, writing and conversations i had with, allowed me a deeper understanding and appreciation of Tweek's character and inspired nearly everything I have included about Tweek in Chaos Plan so far. you're forever my og, dude <3

To me, Tweek ranks up there with Butters and Kenny as one of the kids with the most fucked up families and childhoods of the show, and I think the fact that Kenny and him have that in common is a good ground to build an interesting dynamic on. This isn't necessary of course, and not a given for all characters with fucked up pasts/families (I doubt that Butters and Tweek would be able to get along well, despite both being only children of both neglectful and controlling parents, but that's another post).

Anyways, before I get into the meth thing from the Stick of Truth, I wanna review other factors about Kenny and Tweek's characters that-- in my opinion-- speak for a wonderful potential dynamic. Keep in mind that we've never seen these two characters interact in canon, so this is all purely derivation and mostly level 1-2 headcanoning.

Anyways. Let's begin.

An overly elaborate look on Tweek and Kenny's potential dynamic

1: Personalities Are Compatible

Tweek is an explosive personality with a tremendous lack of control over his emotions, tone or voice volume. There's many factors at play here; Is it his addiction to caffeine that made him this way? The one to meth? Is it neurodivergence? Is it trauma from the anxiety-inducing way his parents raised him (ex. see: "Child Abduction is Not Funny", s6, ep11)? A combination of several or all of the above? The point here is, someone like Tweek probably has a hard time making friends, and I think we see this reflected a lot in that he is not as often seen among Craig's Gang as we see the other guys (Clyde, Tolkien, Jimmy). Obviously we see him more now since "Tweek x Craig" (s19 ep6) but as early as in season 2 ("Gnomes", s2 ep18) it was established that he is seen as a freak by the other kids.

While he was part of the main 4 friend group-- even having Kyle veto Cartman throwing him out of the group in "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society" (s6, ep10) by saying "Tweek's cool"-- I do believe it makes sense that this close friendship with the main 4 (sans Kenny) didn't last. Their friendship seemed to have like the typical simplistic 8-year-old-esque foundation, where much wasn't required to consider someone your friend. However, while canonically the kids haven't aged more than 2 years over course of the show, there is a clear shift in maturity and life experience that they have gone through across the seasons that is akin to real aging. The kids are more self aware, more deliberate with whom they hang out, and their jabs at each other aren't as juvenile. Craig's complex feelings towards Tweek's issues in "Put it Down" (s21, ep2) and how Tweek's anxiety affects their relationship is a good example of this.

Considering more modern characterizations of the kids in the show; I imagine even well-intentioned people could have a hard time knowing how to handle Tweek. A personality like Butters could absorb his fears and mirror them, therefore accidentally further enabling his anxiety (watch "Poor and Stupid", s14 ep8 for an example of how Butters immediately and irrationally mirrors Cartman's enthusiasm). Someone like Kyle might want to be accommodating but ultimately get frustrated and make Tweek feel worse about himself and ultimately lose his patience (this requires an entirely different analysis post on Kyle's behavior, but for now look at how he handles Stan's breakup in "Raisins", s7 ep4, his depression in "You Are Getting old", s15 ep7, and if you wanna take a look at my ramble about Kyle's empathy). Someone like Clyde or Stan I doubt would have an easy time making a conscious effort to understand him at all-- you get my point.

Kenny, however, is a very easygoing character, very patient and entirely free of judgement, arguably more so than anyone else in the show. While he is not entirely guilt-free, there is a reason why Butters claimed that he is one of the only kids in school he actually respects ("Going Native", s16, ep11), and this reason is further reinforced and proven when Kenny decides to help Butters out and fly to Hawaii with him without any hesitation. On top of this, Kenny grew up in a turbulent household with lots of violent outbursts from family members, which he seems to handle with some form of apathy or reluctant acceptance ("The Poor Kid", s15 ep14).

Compared to what he saw his whole life in his parents, Tweek's outbursts would not at all be distressing-- considering they are not directed outwardly in violence towards other people (unlike Kenny's parents and possibly his brother). Thus, I doubt Tweek could act as a kind of trigger for him.

Adding to this: Kenny is one of the only characters I have seen display a genuine and mature sense of empathy for Cartman of all people, saying this in his will in "Best Friends Forever" (s9 ep4);

"Eric, I never really liked you. But then, nobody does. You have no ability to feel, and you are going to die alone and miserable. It is only because I feel so sorry for you that I leave you my Sony PSP."

This makes Kenny not a pushover for Cartman's bullshit-- unlike Butters-- but a person capable of admirable "love thy enemy"-type empathy, despite having every right to not forgive Cartman for anything ever (reminder that Cartman is just as classist as he is antisemitic, he is however more vocal about his antisemitism mostly because he gets a kick out of pissing off Kyle). My point here is; If Kenny can handle Cartman with the ease and empathy that he does, he can definitely be a good friend to Tweek, emotional outbursts and panic disorder included (assuming he has one). (Please do not misread this as me saying that Tweek is in any way as horrible as Cartman, or even horrible at all. This is simply an elaboration on Kenny's agreeableness and empathy, which makes him a character who gets along with pretty much everyone really easily, especially social outcasts.)

We already know that calm and collected people are the best match for Tweek through his canon relationship with Craig. And in fact, I would argue that Kenny's emotional intelligence is much higher than Craig's (thank parentification for that. it's not necessarily a good thing), so I fully believe that Kenny would even more intuitively know how to accomodate Tweek when he needs it. Tweek would benefit from people who don't dismiss or enable his anxiety and panic, and given Kenny's admirable patience, penchant for listening (given he doesn't talk much) and admirable (emotional) maturity, I think he's the perfect match to be a good friend for Tweek.

2: They're both batshit crazy. or so everyone thinks

This is a concept I have thoroughly incorporated in Chaos Plan because it fascinates me so much; I fully believe Tweek would believe Kenny about his deaths, and the second they'd have that conversation, their friendship would undoubtedly be sealed.

Let's dive in.

The aforementioned episode "Gnomes" (s2, ep18) established Tweek as a paranoid character who is uniquely able to see supernatural phenomenons when everyone else seems to look past them. I know this episode is super old and the plot and concept are very silly, but the fact that it's his introduction and debut episode marks it as forever relevant to Tweek's characterization in my eyes.

Given that Tweek's main struggle in the episode involves no one believing him about the Gnomes, it is safe to assume he could very much empathize with Kenny's struggle about no one believing him about his deaths. In "C**n vs. C**n & Friends" (s14, 13) we saw just how deeply it affects Kenny that no one remembers his deaths, and even more that no one believes him after he opened up about it.

In "Put it Down" (s21, ep2) we saw another instance of no one-- not even his boyfriend-- taking Tweek's (perfectly valid, may I add) political concerns seriously, adding to this struggle being a constant battle in Tweek's life. This understanding for how it feels to be dubbed as crazy by everyone around him, combined with Tweek's very likely belief in all things supernatural, makes it indisputable for me that he would believe Kenny about his deaths.

3: The Addiction Thing. Or The Meth Thing, I guess

Correct me if I'm wrong but I can't remember an instance where Tweek and Kenny ever interacted in canon; their dynamic has lots of hypothetical and theorized potential (given all the character analysis above), but never an instance that would confirm an incitement for how they would actually connect. The fact that Tweek's parents buy meth for their coffee business FROM Kenny's parents however... changes things.

I think I can't say much about this that doesn't speak for itself, or that has not already been discussed in great length before. #latetotheparty #firstWatchedSouthParkIn2024 However, since this is the only canon instance where we have a DIRECT connection between Kenny and Tweek, it would be a crime not to talk about it. a crime to me, at least.

We have the question: Is Tweek actually a meth-head? Do his parents actually lace his coffee with meth? Are they really that horrible? The worst part of this is that the answers "yes" and "no" are equally likely; Tweek's tics and erratic behavior, as well as his very apparent anxiety disorder and paranoia could be the effects of caffeine addiction from an early age combined with his parents' awful parenting-- but the whole meth thing adds an even darker spin to it. Richard Tweak definitely seems like the batshit insane kind of guy to test a blend on his child before he sells it-- considering how much he cares about the business and how little he actually cares for his son (I could insert a bunch of references here but that would fill up a whole page. Basically; every instance where he appears in season 6, Tweek x Craig (s19, ep6), Put it Down (s21, ep2), The Stick of Truth (2014) and The Fractured but Whole (2017)).

However: Regardless of the meth, Tweek is canonically dealing with an addiction.

Tweek is still a very erratic and paranoid personality, and as I said; even without meth a lot of factors might be the culprit. At the very least he has a caffeine addiction, and it's not just his parents forcing it on him anymore; in "Tweek x Craig" (s19, ep6) we see him having mountains of empty cups on his desk. The consumption is clearly out of control.

Meth or not; Tweek is dealing with a severe addiction. At a very young age, may I add, something that will fuck with him for the rest of his life.

Kenny is another character we have seen deal with addiction in the show ("Major Boobage", s12, ep3) and-- unlike Stan, another character with a substance addiction-- he overcame it in the same episode. Kenny also has witnessed substance abuse all his life, and he openly condemns it (in "Mysterion Rises", s14, ep12 it is revealed he condemns his parents for getting high every night). Thus, he isn't a character who would take Tweek's addiction lightly, nor would he judge him for it considering he understands where it's coming from. I don't think any other character among the cast could have this level of understanding for Tweek's situation.

If South Park were to portray a realistic timeline of the kids growing into teenagers, Tweek would get significantly worse over time and probably end up dropping out of school. Both due to addiction issues, AND pressure to take over his parents' business-- for which he technically wouldn't need a degree. Tweek's parents care so much about the business that I doubt they'd take it lightly if Tweek refused to take it over, and I could imagine they'd even encourage him dropping out to start working more. They already pretty much enslaved him as a child (you see him trapped working there in The Stick of Truth and in The Fractured But Whole) so it's safe to assume this is their plan for the future. Tweek's addiction issues however could speed up the dropout process immensely.

...do we know another character who takes on a job super young?

Yeah, that's right. It's Kenny. ("City Part of Town", s19 ep3)

Although Kenny taking on a job is more out of his own volition, and in order to support his family (mostly his sister), I think it would be within the spirit of his character that he'll focus on supporting his family once he reaches a certain age-- and maybe thus, drop out of school. I know Post COVID depicted Kenny as a hyper-successful scientist in both endings (with and without Vic Chaos' financial support), but if anything it proves that Kenny could pick himself up and work his way there despite being a hypothetical high school drop out.

This is entering more speculative level 1/2 headcanoning, but having a hard time to keep up with school and normal teenage lives is something I see possible in both Tweek and Kenny's characters; both due to their canon jobs they take on at a very young age, and due to consequently and possibly dropping out of school. Yet another thing they'd have in common and could connect over, more than anyone else in the show. And regardless of Tweek's meth addiction, their two families have a fucked up connection that might very likely cause them to cross paths.

4: It would be so fucking funny

This is just me, but aside from all the elaboration of why they'd definitely be a wonderful friendship, their sheer characterizations are just so polar opposite that they'd make the best fucking comedic duo of the century. Similar to how Tweek and Craig match well because Tweek is comically erratic and Craig is comically chill, I think the same thing applies to Kenny and Tweek.

Kenny is a character with very little regard for his own safety, given instances like "Poor and Stupid" (s14, ep8) where he just throws himself onto an active race track simply to try and beat the shit out of Cartman. His immortality likely plays a role in how he views the importance of keeping himself safe, and in the scenario where Tweek would believe him about his deaths he wouldn't even be concerned for Kenny to a serious degree. However, the concept of erratic Tweek reacting in any way shape or form to Kenny's batshit insane every day shenanigans like chugging gasoline to impress a girl (actual words Trey used to describe Kenny once) is just so fucking funny to me. Imagine them chilling in Kenny's room, Kenny on his back on the floor flipping through a porn magazine and occasionally turning over to show a very gay and uncaring Tweek a naked woman he thinks has nice tits, and Tweek holding back the urge to fucking murder him with his bare hands because stop fucking showing these to me you fucking pervert!!! Fuck you!!

Sue me I can see it too clearly. They're my favorite hypothetical comedic duo, and I will never stop wishing for a Tweek and Kenny episode.

#hehehehedgds i spent a bunch of hours writing this out dont mind if i reblog it

47 notes · View notes