synapticfirefly

[synapticfirefly]

If there are any, what parts of the fic did you have most fun writing and the most struggle writing?👀 love your work!! I just finished reading the latest chapter🔥

Ironically, my biggest struggle was sticking to the original premise. I had way more fun just letting my thoughts flow and writing wherever it took me!

For example, in the scene where Kyle corners Eric in the dressing room in chapter four, I originally planned for Kyle to just walk away. In the original fic, Kyle doesn’t even notice Eric at the mall. But when I got to rewriting it, I thought… I’m supposed to frame this as a yearning moment, where the audience and Eric are left pining over Kyle with no real interaction. That didn’t seem fun to me anymore, so I decided to deviate from the plan and give Kyle a bit more screen time with Eric.

I’m really happy with how it turned out. It let me explore how Kyle and Eric interact in the present, instead of relying on flashbacks to show their relationship.

[synapticfirefly]

Hiiii are there any characters in the mirrorverse that are attracted to eric?

Trent Boyett.

I wrote an entire chapter about Eric's first love in kindergarten and how Kyle dealt with it, but I couldn’t find a good spot for it in the rewrite, so I ended up not using it.

I also have a few mirror one-shots that I’ve written but never published...

[synapticfirefly]

Hello i love your work since the original in a mirror festively 💕💕 i was shook to see that theres a new version of it today that i had to drop everything and binge the 10 chapters lskdkskzjak i gotta comment in the chapters after this

I didnt know how u can surpass peak but you did it!! :D its so fleshed out aaaa love the dynamics of different characters and reading it made me think of eric being such an unreliable narrator lmao

Also i saw an answer to an ask about spookyfish pov fic, and i was wondering if we could get some crumbs about how m!kyle and m!stan think of the og!cartman? Cuz im pretty sure we would eat this idea UP

I'm glad you enjoyed the rewrite!

As for Spooky Fish, Stan definitely was stunned when normal Cartman hit him, but I think he was more weirded out by the rest of the world. He was also more upset about the missing animals than looking for Cartman.

Kyle was the one who ordered Stan to follow him into the other universe to track their Eric down, so his reaction to Cartman was both confused and a little irritated. I'm sure if stayed longer, he'd try to brat tame Cartman into submission instead, which would be fucking hilarious.

Unlike Liane, who undid Cesar Millan's dog training on Cartman in Tsst, Kyle would absolutely make it stick.

[synapticfirefly]

AAAHHHHHHHHHHH! BEAUTIFUL ART HAS BLESSED MY SCREEN!

(Can I make this the cover art? Pretty please?)

The moody colors, the line work, and lighting, my gawd. I just can't. I'm in awe. This really made my day and I really needed it so thank you!

Mirrorverse

I'm begging

Plz

Plzplzplz

You’re wish is my command 🪄

@synapticfirefly, Im loving the fanfic 💗 sad that it will finish soon 😔 and anyone who hasn’t read this masterpiece, I HIGHLY recommend 🙌

[synapticfirefly]

Chapter 10 is now up!

[synapticfirefly]

Chapter 10 when? Please, I have got to know how the story ends!!!!

Today or tomorrow for sure!

There's also an epilogue after this, so there's technically two chapters left.

[synapticfirefly]

Can you give an update on how far along you are with chapter 10?? Any hopes we get it soon?

It's almost finished! IRL kept me off my game, but I got this weekend free now.

[synapticfirefly]

C-ch-chapter.. 10 soon..?🥹👉👈

It's coming! Just needed a short hiatus due to work.

[synapticfirefly]

I know it's not a question but since I read your fanfic mirrorverse I thought that the song "demolition lovers" from My chemical romance suited Kyle and Cartman very well.

Valid.

[synapticfirefly]

Can we talk about Cartman's tendency to pet Kyle? And the way Kyle lets him do it?

It's such an under-discussed part of their dynamic. Cartman does this all the time. He does it to tease Kyle. He does it to comfort him. He does it to express gratitude. He even does it to pictures of Kyle when Kyle's not there.

And you could say that's just Cartman, he's just touchy, that's just how he expresses himself . . . except that it's really not. All this petting and stroking isn't something you see him do with Stan and Kenny. (Friends he has said multiple times he loves.) It's not something he does with his actual pet, Mr Kitty. It's not something he does with his mom. It's not even something he does with Heidi or Yentl. There's a lot of hand-holding and kissing in those relationships, but Cartman appears to consider this expected romantic partner behavior, and to be imitating that accordingly. What you don't see with them is the clingy, almost unconscious need to touch he demonstrates with Kyle. Kyle has to be stroked, patted, petted, hugged, poked, pulled on . . . it seems to be a comfort thing for Cartman, and that is just so fascinating to me.

It's also endlessly fascinating to me that Kyle - who has no problem putting Cartman in his place about anything else - allows this nearly every time. Maybe there's some token complaining, but he never actually tries to stop it. It's not "ew, Cartman is hugging me" it's always "why is Cartman hugging me?" and that's a subtle difference I think gets overlooked. People like to claim Kyle's response to Cartman having a crush on him would be disgust, and that Kyman could only ever be one-sided for this reason. But Kyle's response to Cartman being affectionate with him is actually pretty much always confusion, not disgust. I get the impression Kyle doesn't know how he feels about it.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here, but it's just so interesting to me, the relationship they both have to touch. Cartman uses Kyle to fulfil his need for touch and connection - and Kyle doesn't often reciprocate this touch, but he pretty consistently makes the concession of allowing it. They're feeling each other out, trying to work out "who are you to me and what do I feel for you?" It's one of the elements of Kyman that makes the ship so endearing, I think. There's this sweetness to it that absolutely should not exist between these characters, but does anyway.

Definitely! You’re right, Cartman does seem to seek out physical contact with Kyle considerably more than with anyone else he isn’t directly romantically involved with and my favourite instances of this is when he does so under the guise of antagonizing him. Two examples of this are the whole ‘Jennifer Lopez’-thing in “Fat Butt and Pancake Head” and Cartman promoting Kyle to the Germans in “Funnybot”. In both cases he uses an instance of disrespecting Kyle as a front to compliment him, with the ‘Jennifer Lopez’-persona constantly being gushing over him, telling him how much she likes him, calling him ‘handsome’ and of course ‘kissing’ him by Cartman pressing his hand against Kyle’s mouth. This is especially interesting considering the fact that later in the episode it is very heavily implied (and then pretty much outright confirmed in “200”) that Cartman really doesn’t have full control over the character. In “Funnybot” Cartman calls Kyle either ‘gentle/soft’ or ‘juicy’ (lol), ‘pretty’, and ‘very beautiful’ in extremely mangled German (which I guess is just regular German in-universe since the native speakers talk just like that) and while the context of the scene is obviously very dark for the viewer, who can infer what’s going on, Kyle doesn’t actually seem to realise what is happening. He doesn’t appear to understand what is being said at all and as such Cartman doesn’t even really have the excuse that he’s teasing him.

This scene fits the reaction you described that Kyle tends to have when Cartman engages him in physical contact very well: Kyle reacts to Cartman excessively touching him with confusion but simply lets it happen. He has every reason to be wary of Cartman’s intentions and yet he makes no effort to stop him from what he’s doing. In “ManBearPig” Kyle wakes up to find Cartman leaning over him and while he doesn’t actually touch him, he does get extremely close to him, giving us the famous image of their faces mere inches apart. Kyle’s reaction to this is incredibly understated: He appears at most slightly irritated and attempts neither to push Cartman off nor to move away from him. Once again, he mostly just seems confused by Cartman’s behaviour but, as far as we can see, makes no further attempts to investigate the reasons behind it. This understated reaction is an indication of an (imo) often overlooked aspect of their relationship, which is that while Kyle is well aware of what Cartman is theoretically capable of, he doesn’t actually seem worried that he’d ever seriously harm him. Personally, if I found myself trapped in a cave with a person who constantly professes his hatred for me and whom I know has no qualms about killing people, and then woke up to find said person looming over me in my sleep I’d be much more worried than Kyle appears to be. In fact, considering everything that has happened over the course of their relationship and how many despicable things Cartman has done, Kyle seems Weirdly Comfortable And Safe With His Evil, Ill-Intentioned Friend. Because that’s what they are: They’re friends. To call it a complicated friendship might be an understatement but when it comes down to it the simple fact of the matter is that these two do like each other. While in earlier seasons a point could be made that they only spend time together out of necessity (with the main four being somewhat isolated from the other kids, as Craig points out in “Pandemic 2”, and Cartman originally being an incidental part of the group as ‘the friend no one likes’), they’ve both long since expanded their social circles to a point where they are no longer ‘forced’ to spend time together for lack of better options. Kyle would be more than justified in cutting Cartman off completely and yet he doesn’t and I can honestly see no real reason for this other than the fact that he simply cares about him as a person.

So I agree that Kyle probably wouldn’t react with disgust to the hypothetical reveal that Cartman harbours romantic feelings towards him. I’m not claiming that he would necessarily be elated but I’m pretty sure ‘disgust’ would not be his first reaction and I think many people who think that it would be might at least partially hold that opinion due to projection: Because while we, as viewers, are frequently meant to find Cartman repulsive both physically and emotionally (his embodiment of the 'fat bastard' trope is a key part of his character, after all), Kyle doesn’t actually appear to overtly feel that way about him – which is to say he does kinda but not exclusively and it’s all just a bit more complicated than that. Kyle being thoroughly confused does seem like the most likely reaction to me. Regarding the physical aspect: Of course Kyle frequently makes derogatory remarks about Cartman’s appearance, specifically regarding his weight (to the point where it’s been a main focus of their dynamic for almost thirty years) but we see several times that his critique actually seems to stem from a place of worry and that he feels bad when he thinks that these comments have actually managed to hurt his feelings (e.g. “Raising the Bar”). Of course, what exactly Kyle’s feelings towards Cartman are is, with good reason, a source of much discussion and I’d claim that Kyle himself isn’t very sure of this. His sentiment towards Cartman definitely seems very erratic, with Kyle going from actively attempting to get him killed in “Fatbeard” to being concerned for his emotional well-being just a season later (“201”, “Poor and Stupid”). This concern Kyle has for a person he supposedly can’t stand has been a pretty consistent part of his character in later seasons and it’s especially striking when compared to the way he disregards his best friend’s feelings when he’s in genuine need of emotional support (“Raisins”, “You’re Getting Old”). This discrepancy is not only an indicator of the complicated relationship Kyle has with Cartman but imho also hints at at least one reason for it. In a (painfully long-winded😅) comment on AO3 I just touched on the similarities between Kyle and Cartman how interesting I find the very different ways in which they deal with their shared character traits. I believe this is something that draws them towards each other, though I’m certain that neither is actually consciously aware of this. You put it so beautifully in your last sentence: "There's this sweetness to it that absolutely should not exist between these characters, but does anyway." There really is an unexpectedly soft underbelly to their relationship that is a lot of fun to explore. While I wont deny the toxic aspects of this ship (in fact, they’re a major part of what I find interesting about it), there is also the surprising potential for a real emotional connection between these characters.

[synapticfirefly]

you are a genius because ive been reading the questions you've answered about Scott in this tumblr previous to chapter 9 and you never said "yeah kyle killed scott". you always said "scott died in XXX" or something like that

because technically eric killed scott. dude this is absolute cinema

[synapticfirefly]

WAIT,SO KYLE WAS WITH SCOTT OR, I AM CONFUSED MY ENG IS NOT THAT GOOD SO YEAH

Chapter 9 spoilers:

Yes. By force.

[synapticfirefly]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61636630/chapters/158814487

v_v

I really hope the fic get updated so at least something good happened today i had a bad day

It's done. Now it's up to my beta to do his magic.

[synapticfirefly]

I really hope the fic get updated so at least something good happened today i had a bad day

It's done. Now it's up to my beta to do his magic.

[synapticfirefly]

No chapter 9 today? 🥲👉👈

I'm sowwy... but probably not. Maybe tomorrow?

There's a couple things I need to rewrite and I also can't stop adding more to the chapter. It'll be the longest one so far, so hopefully the wait will be worth it!

[synapticfirefly]

In the mirror fic, does Kyle wear that green hat like in the show? Just curious!

Sometimes! If he can't tame his hair that day, the hat comes on.

He used to wear it all the time, but Eric kept playing with the flaps too much when they made out, so he stopped wearing it out of spite.

[synapticfirefly]

Is chapter 9 appearing today?

Not today, but most likely tomorrow! (Or at worst, the day after.)

There's a scene that I have to go over with my beta today because I'm having second thoughts about it, but he's not off shift until much later, so I'll have to wait in the meantime.

Thank you for your patience!