Helloooo, so I'm writing a long kyman fic. It's gonna be a slow burn multi-chapter one. I got like a good 1/3 of it down with like a skeleton of events mapped out. Since I haven't been active in any fandom or like written fanfic since I was a teen, I wanted to post an excerpt to kinda test the waters a bit haha I'm kinda shy about sharing stuff but was greatly inspired by a lot of people's work.
Anyway, the premise is Cartman impulsively taking the fall on something and being admitted to inpatient cause of it. This excerpt is when he facetimes the gang to tell them about it. Stan and Kenny are at school during lunch, Kyle's at the hospital (has to do with what Cartman took the blame for), and Eric's at home about to leave.
I'd greatly appreciate any criticism or input! Thank u for ur time 💜💖 ^^)/
"Dude, a psych ward? That sounds pretty serious," Stan looks mildly concerned.
"It is serious, Stan. That's why Kyle's gonna owe me big time when I get back," Eric smuggly declares, "Like sucking my balls big big time."
Kenny sneakers at the brunette still obsessing over a bet they made years ago when they were just kids.
"Man, you gotta lay off the balls thing, Cartman. That's hella gay," Stan drily informs while munching on a fry.
"Hey! It's not gay! It's about humiliation and having power over an individual," Eric offendedly denies, choosing to die on that hill.
Kyle, who has been absolutely seething in the background, finally bursts, "Fuck you, Cartman! I didn't ask you to cover for me, you did that all on your own!"
Eric scoffs, "Okay, fine, Kahl, would you prefer me going to PC principal and telling him I take it all back. That he should take you off the team like he wanted? Is that what you want, Kahl?"
Kyle tenses his jaw muscles as he grinds his teeth. Of course that's not what he wants but is Cartman holding one over his head any better? His eyes flicker to the side as he contemplates for a brief moment. Stan continues eating, staring at his screen waiting for his best friend to speak as if he's watching an enthralling reality tv show. Once Kenny's giggling fit finally subsides, he lays his head on one outstretched arm and sneaks a French fry from whoever's lunch tray is right across from him.
"Fine," Kyle bitterly concedes with a sigh, "but I'm not helping you do anything illegal like murder or whatever. And I'm definitely not sucking your balls," he points at Cartman through the screen.
"Oh…" a small voice utters in surprise across the room from Kyle. The redhead looks up at a shocked nurse half way through the door. "I-I'll come back in a second to check your vitals," she embarrassedly scurries out of the room.
Kyle's mortified face soon matches his hair. "God, damn it, Cartman!"
Kenny practically dies of laughter, not even bothering to hold his phone up right anymore.
"Dude," Stan snorts before cracking up as well.
Kyle hides his face with one hand, trying with every fiber of his being to maintain any ounce of composure he can muster before combusting from rage.
Eric's amused smile warps into a shit eating grin, he absolutely could not be any more delighted by the current turn of events. He obnoxiously clears his throat before continuing, "Very well, I'll leave a legally binding contract in your room before departing, Kahl. Now Kenny," he seamlessly changes the topic.
Kenny straightens himself out the best he can. "Uh-huh?" He responds through tears.
"Wait a second, fatass, do NOT break into my room!" Kyle protests.
Eric purposely ignores his rival, knowing it'll anger him further. "Kenny, my mom says you can use your spare key to clear out my fridge whenever. She's gonna stay up in Denver with some cousin until I'm out. We don't want the food rotting up and stinking up the place so do it sooner rather than later, got it?"
"Seriously, dude?!" Kenny immediately straightens himself out in elated surprise. Woohoo!" He cheers. He knows their fridge is always packed so he and his little sister are definitely set for bit.
"Knock yourself out, dude, just don't let anything rot in there. Seriously, I'll kick your ass if I come back and my house reeks like spoiled ass."
"You got it, bro," Kenny assures with a thumbs up.
"Don't ignore me, asshole!" Kyle's demands only serve to further Cartman's amusement.
"Welp, gotta go pack up some essentials. Don't know how long I'll have to be admitted … but it's all worth it for my dear friend Kahl's sake," Eric fakes sincerity. With a hand over his heart, he winks at Kyle.
"Oh, Fuck off," Kyle rolls his eyes.
"Well, good luck, dude. Don't blow up the place trying to escape," Stan waves goodbye from his screen.
"Guys, wanna say bye to Cartman? He's gonna go do some time at a loony bin," Kenny asks, reversing his camera to show the rest of their lunch table.
"We heard. You guys are super loud," Craig complains before biting his burger.
"Hey! Don't call it a loony bin, asswipe! That's totally insensitive to people with mental health issues. Not cool dude," Cartman condescendingly lectures, doing what he does best, playing the victim.
"Cartman's getting admitted? Dude, that's crazy!" Tweek comments.
"Wait, who's getting what now?" Clyde looks up from his phone, unaware of the conversation going on around him.
"Cartman, dude, he got in trouble again so PC principal's sending him to a psych ward," Tweek rapidly explains.
"Oh," Clyde responds in his usual nasally tone.
"All in order to save Kyle from getting kicked off the team," Cartman adds.
"Don't act like you did it from the kindness of your heart, fatass!" Kyle quickly corrects.
"First it's Cartman, then they'll be coming for the rest of us!" The jittery blond panics.
Craig pats his boyfriend's shoulder. "No they won't, honey, we don't cause the town to blow up every other month like they do."
"Hey!" Kyle indignantly exclaims.
"We haven't been directly responsible for the town's destruction for like," Stan counts the time in his head, "at least a year now!" He defends himself and his friends, receiving a middle finger from an unimpressed Craig.
"L-l-later, Eric, don't dr-dro-dr-dro-drop the soap," Jimmy jokes before offering up his signature smile.
"Jim, that's for jail," Tolkien corrects.
"Aw, we'll miss you, Eric! Don't take too long in the psych ward!" Butters gleefully shouts.
Kyle rolls his eyes, feeling himself getting more and more irritated by the situation at hand. "Oh, for Pete's sake, it's not like he's dying, you guys." The longer these farewells are dragging on, the more he can feel a twinge of guilt spreading throughout his subconscious and twisting up his guts.
"Poopsikins, mommy can't find Mr. Kitty's carrier, do you remember where we left it?" Liane can be heard calling from the background.
"Just a second, meeem!" Eric hollers off camera before getting back in frame and sticking out his tongue with a peace sign, "Later, losers ~ " he sings-songs and hangs up.
"You know …. For someone being sent off to an insane asylum, he seems really unbothered by it," Tolkien points out.
Kyle's eyes flicker down for just a second before choosing to quickly dismiss further analyzing Cartman's reaction to being sent away. "Well, yeah, it's Cartman. Do you really expect him to react normally about anything?"
"That's true," Tolkien immediately agrees, chalking it up to Cartman just being Cartman.
For a brief moment, Kyle remembers the time he was admitted when the town wouldn't believe him about Mr. Hankey but before he can even decide on entertaining that thought, Stan speaks.
"Wow … so he's really leaving, huh?" Stan says more than asks, looking a bit absent minded.
"I guess so," Kenny pensively looks down at the lunch table, head resting on crossed arms. He turns to Stan and forlornly admits, "dude … I'm actually feeling kinda bummed out."
Kyle bites the inside of his cheek. The reality of their current predicament further sinking in.
"Aw, Ken," Stan frowns and pats Kenny's shoulder.
"It's okay, Ken," Butters comforts, patting Kenny's back, "he said so himself, he probably won't be there for long."
"Isn't this a good thing though? Things are going to be a lot more peaceful while he's gone," Tolkien suggests.
"If Cartman gets admitted for the rest of the school year, I'll be sooooo happy," Craig chants in a monotone.
A sniffle directs everyone's focus towards Clyde.
"Clyde, you okay, buddy?" Craig puts down his lunch to fully focus on his friend's concerns.
"We *sniff* were starting to *sniff* get along more *sniff* this year," he powers through a closing throat.
Kyle bites his cheek even harder. Cartman was certainly a lot tamer as of late. Things were finally getting comfortable between the two of them, too.
"He was being a lot c-coo-c-coo-cooler this y-year," Jimmy admits.
The nurse knocks before entering Kyle's room this time. "I'm going to take your vitals again, okay?" She smiles.
"Yeah, sure," Kyle replies before addressing his friends, "I gotta go guys. Stan, can you come pick up my keys and move my car before my parents get back? I have a minor concussion so I'm under observation for a bit."
"Yeah, dude, totally," Stan confirms.
"Later," Kenny mumbles, waving with one hand, his face fully immersed in his crossed arms.
"Alright, thanks, see you guys later," Kyle says his goodbyes, queuing the nurse to begin taking his blood pressure.
Kyle barely moves, too busy contemplating Eric's departure. First, Stan moves and now Cartman's going to be gone for God knows how long? He bitterly sighs.
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I personally think that Kyman is just queerbaiting at this point mostly because Trey Parker think it’s funny to see Cartman being obsessed with Kyle to the point he almost loves him and play it as a joke, it’s been like that for years and I doubt this will change.
Ah, this is an interesting take - but I don't think that I can agree, for a few reasons that I'll elaborate on here! First, I'm just going to be going off the dictionary.com definition of queerbaiting; I couldn't really find a more 'legitimate' one because of how slang-y the term is. So, here's the definition:
"The term queerbaiting refers to the practice of implying non-heterosexual relationships or attraction (in a TV show, for example) to engage or attract an LGBTQ audience or otherwise generate interest without ever actually depicting such relationships or sexual interactions."
I think the main issue I have with ky/man being considered queerbaiting is the implication that there is actual attraction (or a relationship) between Kyle and Cartman - especially when Matt and Trey, at least as of Imaginationland, confirmed that Cartman doesn't have sexual attraction towards Kyle.
Quote from the commentary on the Imaginationland trilogy, at 19:45 (this being referring to Cartman trying to force Kyle to blow him): "It has nothing to do with anything sexual; it's just the ultimate way that Cartman can humiliate Kyle."
I truly, really think that you have to reach to think that there's mutual feelings there, and while Cartman's 'feelings' towards Kyle are slightly less of a reach, it's still a reach - and queerbaiting implies that they actually do have attraction, which Matt and Trey seem to disagree with. Queerbaiting also implies that this is a marketing technique, and that they're using the Cartman/Kyle 'romance' to draw in a LGBTQ audience - which just doesn't make sense, as a lot of people (LGBTQ fans included) are disturbed by the concept of a ky/man romance. The Cartman/Kyle relationship is certainly part of the appeal of the show, but it's their hatred for each other (Cartman's hatred and antisemitism towards Kyle in particular) that's emphasized rather than potential romance - it's usually the fandom that chooses to emphasize any 'moments' between the two of them, rather than the creators/marketing team themselves.
Cartman is undoubtedly obsessed with Kyle - him bringing him back to South Park in Smug Alert just to have someone to respond to his tormenting comes to mind - but I don't think it'd be correct to say that Matt and Trey intentionally made it so that the average LGBTQ fan could pick up on any romantic tension between them, or that that 'obsession' is romantic in nature at all. They've definitely used Cartman being 'attracted' to Kyle before for plot - like in Cartman Finds Love - but Cartman always has ulterior motives. It's not like he's making it seem as though he and Kyle are dating due to his own desires to date Kyle - he's doing it to separate him and Nichole. Also, it's not like Matt and Trey don't have an extensive history of putting characters in 'gay' situations for the laughs, especially with Cartman - like pretty much any scene where he and Butters are close, or when he touches his cousin's 'weiner' in Le Petit Tourette. it's not like it's a Cartman/Kyle specific phenomenon - they just like making fun of Cartman's obvious repression.
I don't think that Matt and Trey are beacons of gay rights, but I also don't think that the Cartman/Kyle relationship is queerbaiting, especially not intentionally. I think it's certainly an interesting opinion to hold, but personally, I just can't agree with it, and I hope I adequately explained why!
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