#fat post covid kyle

[fennecfiree]

i drew it

fat post covid kyle.. iddc.. i headcanon he grows up to look exactly liek his mom... hahahahvgds

[pononoin]

Collecting all the images like this to draw Stan them

[11x13kyle]

pls sell me on stan being gay i want to know more

stan only shows actual “interest” in wendy when they’re not together. when they are, he doesn’t care, forgets, and sometimes is even actively annoyed, like it’s a chore. also really think about the throwing up.

compare the way he acts towards kyle to the way he acts towards wendy. he will go to the ends of the EARTH for kyle but won’t even text wendy back. also wendy has a lottt of similarities to kyle so that’s also an interesting factor

when they insult cartman they call him fat. which he is. when they insult kenny they call him poor. which he IS. when they insult kyle they call him jewish. which he IS! and when they insult stan they often call him gay.

post covid special also furthers the whole “stan shows zero interest in women.” this is also furthered by the episode spring break. actually all of s26 is basically a gay stan thesis statement.

every time there’s an episode about sexuality, gender, and gayness specifically, stan is ALWAYS one of the most important characters or at least seems deeply affected by it

this:

he’s also trey’s self insert who, as we all know, is g

[mantequillamcwhoremick]

kenny for the ask meme 🧡

Fantastic. Let's get the most important one out of the way🧡🧡 The silliest little booger🫶🫶🫶

Favorite thing about them:

Two things; his unwavering kindness and his immortality.

I love how kind and sweet and charitable he has remained despite, or maybe because of, all the horrors that he's been through. He could've become a cynical asshole and I wouldn't blame him, but instead he dedicated his time caring for his sister, become a symbol of hope for South Park and become a philanthropist once he became rich enough to afford it.

His immortality is just a dope fucking concept and I have so many different AUs and stories in progress where it's the centered topic. It just fascinates me i love it

Least favorite thing about them:

Literally nothing. I love all his ugly ass booger attributes. Even his stupid ass hair dryer side profile. Maybe I hate that he doesn't have enough episodes where he's the main character

Favorite Line:

"Yeah, people don't even care if shit's dumped everywhere. Everyone just loves technology."

"Sometimes, people do stupid things. Sometimes they don't realize what should have come first. Until it's too late."

(Sorry I couldn't pick just one. He's my favorite little guy.)

BrOTP:

Kenny & Kyle >:))) their friendship is SO unexplored even though they have so much canon potential. The fact that Kenny went to Kyle to get his help as Mysterion "because I think you are the smartest kid in class" is so telling for how much he respects Kyle. Then also that Kyle is the one to initiate Kenny's cheesing intervention in the major boobage episode speaks for how Kyle cares for him. And the "I can't die" "It's not pretty cool, Kyle, it fucking hurts!" conversation is so juicy and full of interesting conflict potential. Maybe that's why K2 are the dynamic that receives arguably the most attention in my fic🫶

Also Kenny & Tweek. SO MUCH untapped potential in that dynamic.

And Kenny & Cartman!!! They're such interesting foils in every way, the "fat ugly mean kid and the detached loner poor kid", both the poorest kids at their schools and both with a fascinating dynamic with Butters. They're best friends and rivals, they're each other's biggest haters and somehow have a soft spot for each other too.

OTP:

Kenny and Butters. I'm not gonna elaborate because I'd be sitting here all day but if I could summarize it I'd point you to Mysterion vs Chaos, the fact that Paladin Butters had a canon crush on princess Kenny in TSOT, their canon sugar daddy/baby dynamic in post covid when Butters literally scammed everyone else in his path, and the fact that I love tragic characters finding joy and wonder in each other.

nOTP:

Can't really say any bc Kenny has interesting dynamics with everyone lol but if I have to name popular romantic ships that I just don't see I'd name Crenny and Stenny shjshsk SORRY

Random Headcanon:

He loves food and eats FAST like a starving animal (licking his fingers afterwards and everything) he's not exactly the kid your mom would love for his dinner table manners

Unpopular Opinion:

He isn't suave or handsome. IRKS me when he's a big ladies' man in fics. He's stinky and not an overly smooth flirt; any attention he gets from girls is because he's genuinely kind and sweet

Song I associate with them:

Favorite Picture of Them:

He's such a wannabe mysterious little fucker

[stardust-sunset]

kyle would not be chubby. absolutely no disrespect to other anon, hdc whatever you want, i just cannot see it given his canon character traits. kyle seems like the kind of guy that takes his physical health very seriously, and it’s kind of obvious that he feels a certain way about being overweight. i’m not saying he’s outwardly fatphobic toward anyone but cartman, but i am saying that deep down he would be afraid of being fat (based on his own mom being overweight and how everyone treats cartman) so yes, he’d have some internalized fatphobia. he’s the kind of guy that’s like “well if you’re unhappy with your weight you should work out and eat better, being healthy is important🤓👆” and because he had so many health issues as a kid, i see him as having mild health ocd and using exercise as a way to relieve the anxiety that comes with that. he’s also insecure about other parts of his appearance like his hair and nose, so i see him working really hard on his physique so he can have something about himself that he’s confident in. he’s also arguably the sportiest of the boys, he genuinely enjoys physical activity, and every time we see the broflovskis eating dinner it’s something like salmon and vegetables. genetics don’t just automatically make you overweight if you’re actively doing things to stay at a caloric deficit.

and then in post covid he is so obviously the fittest and tallest among all of his male ex classmates, barring tolkien (adult tolkien is absolutely jacked, argue with the wall) so we can assume he carried his healthy habits into adulthood.

fit kyle is basically canon. sleeper build kyle is the best hdc. and NO SKINNY STAN you can rip sexy beer-bellied post covid stan from my cold dead hands!!!

yeah, i can’t really see him being chubby. i can see him being baby faced throughout middle school, but i can’t see him being chubby.

but i can see him being a little bit ocd about health. probably not really a mentality of ‘i don’t wanna end up like my mom or cartman’, maybe he does have a bit of an internalized fatphobia, but i can kinda see him also having a mentality that ‘my immune system is already fucked up, im diabetic and unhealthy health wise, i don’t wanna be unhealthy weight wise’. i think it’d be a mix of both, unfortunately.

stan wouldn’t be skinny. randy would probably have him eating ‘rich people food’ or maybe it’s just simple genetics. i dunno. i can see stan being somewhat fit in high school, but in college, that’s another story.

[god-forsaken-sp-confession-blog]

I feel like some people really over-exaggerate how fat Post-Covid Stan is. I mean, yeah, he's chunky, but the way some people talk about him you'd think he looked like Jabba the Hut. Is it a fat fetish thing? Playing up how big he is to make Kyle seem more like a twink? Or is being a little chubby at all the exact same as being morbidly obese to some people?

.

[amporella]

BODY TYPE HEADCANONS:

Stan - Stocky! Is always a little heavy for his height (6′0); as a teen/young adult because of muscle, as an adult PC aged because of fat. Is especially broad around the chest and shoulders regardless of age. Develops muscle easily and hits the gym to cope... ends up very buff for a lot of his adult life. 

Kyle - The opposite; fairly short (5′6) and fairly light. Has trouble developing significant muscle mass due to diabetes complications, but is reasonably strong anyway. Body is triangle shaped; slender around the shoulders, retains the Fat Ass the girls liked about him. Is generally very grabbable and liftable. Has freckles ALL over.

Kenny - WIRY. Around average height (5′10) and always skinny - has very little fat on him. Has a little bit of muscle from working odd jobs, and it’s tightly packed; the way he looks while muscled is a lot different to the way Stan looks.  Tans very easily in the summer and has freckles too!

Cartman - Stays fat for pretty much his entire life; I cannot decide on a height for him for the life of me. Not very strong, but very hard to tip over; he’s built kind of like a brick wall in that way? Unathletic but good at sports with tackling because he can stop pretty much anyone.

Craig - VERY TALL (6′4). Nearly has to duck under doorframes. Body shape is pretty much the opposite of Kyle’s; broadest part of his body are his shoulders, with a thin waist. Is generally pretty light for his height. Has big hands and long legs; most of his height is made up with his legs, and he looks pretty disproportionate until he grows into it. Has a little muscle, but dodges athletics whenever he can.

Clyde - Remains the second fattest kid throughout his life, and is also athletic! Hefty; not super fast, but can LIFT. Is a little shorter than average height (5′8) and really just thinks he’s the hottest thing ever.

Tolkien - Tall (6′1) and is very athletic throughout his whole life; was able to kick ass in Post-Covid, and never loses that ability. Is very proportional muscle-wise; you can tell he’s got them, but he’s not super visibly buff. Has a specific workout regiment, and carries his weight very evenly throughout his whole body. 

Tweek - Shortish (5′7), very lean, and very tough; takes boxing classes throughout high school and is strong because of it. Could lift Craig. Has muscle from boxing, but it’s not super obvious; he’s still skinny and definitely looks it for most of his life.

Jimmy - I ALSO DON’T HAVE A HEIGHT FOR HIM. But regardless of his height, he has a very strong upper body and compensates very well for not being able to exercise his lower body. If you’ve ever been to a fair and seen one of those hang from x challenges for however long, he wins every time and gets banned from playing.

Wendy - Short (5′3) and petite. A little dainty looking from a distance, but gains extreme strength when angry; could and WOULD still throw down with Cartman. Doesn’t work out super often, but does it enough to keep up strength. Is a little picky and health food oriented, and always looks lean.

Bebe - Tall (5′9), very curvy, very athletic. Destroys Kenny in arm wrestling every single time. Is a gym rat, but not pretentious about it, and she hits the gym for her own personal gain, not because she feels the need to lose any weight.

Nichole - Average-ish height (5′5) and insanely clear skin. PD card Nymph Nichole destroys me and I always imagine her as a little fairy-esque; long fingers, long neck, very elegant looking. 

[wendytestabrat]

kyle’s hypocrisy in season 19 rant #2: his internalized bigotry (FROM THE VAULT [2020])

This is to add onto my post from before about how Kyle was being ignorant assuming David was from Mexico even though he was from Idaho. Honestly the line in “Stunning & Brave” where Cartman is in the hospital bed and he tells Kyle “You and I are bigots” hits so hard now. And Kyle is like “no you’re a bigot”. And I remember when I first saw that I just assumed Kyle was right and it was just Cartman saying dumb shit as usual, but no Cartman was right about Kyle being a bigot too. I liked that Cartman was trying to own up to everything in that moment but it sucks that Kyle was too stubborn to admit to it too. I mean yeah Cartman is WAYY more bigoted than Kyle but that doesn’t excuse the shit Kyle has done. First of all Kyle constantly fat shames Cartman, which is wrong and in that moment Kyle called Cartman fatass again and Cartman literally said “no more fatshaming Kyle” lmaooo. So he basically denies being a bigot but then proceeds to fatshame Cartman. Kyle you’re not making sense. But anyways what I really wanna talk about is the fact that Kyle is pretty much just as insensitive towards Judaism as Cartman. Which may sound surprising because yes, Kyle is a Jew, but it’s not like he’s proud to be one or we ever see him embrace his religion. No, Kyle is ASHAMED of it. Kyle is self conscious about being a Jew which is why he gets soooo offended by Cartman making fun of him for being one, he’s not defending his religion because he’s proud of it, it’s because he probably agrees with Cartman that being a Jew sucks, and he’s embarrassed. (Ya’ll SJWs don’t flip out at me, I’m Jewish too LMAOOO). If he was actually proud to be a Jew then he would just ignore Cartman or laugh it off and not make such a big deal out of it. There was this episode I honestly don’t remember but Kyle literally acted just like Cartman towards his parents, I think he was trying to ask his mom and dad for something and they said no so he was like “don’t be such a Jew” and Sheila flipped out at him for saying that. And Kyle can be quick to turn on his religion like in “Passion of the Jew” after Cartman told him to watch the passion & he believed that the Jews killed Jesus or whatever djsjjs. He literally WENT TO CARTMAN’S DOOR to tell him he was right about Jews. And I think that we really see Kyle’s insensitivity towards his own people play out best with his cousin Kyle. Kyle is embarrassed of his cousin, bc he’s literally the epitome of a negative Jewish stereotype, and in the episode where cousin Kyle shows up for the first time Kyle literally says in his own words “I’ve spent 5 years in this town trying to make a good name for Jews and this stereotype shows up and wrecks it all” Wow. You know what that tells me? Kyle pretty much views Jews as terrible and thinks the world only views negatively of them. I mean yeah there is anti-semitism out there but the fact that Kyle gets so hyper-sensitive about it and doesn’t know how to just shrug it off means he’s really just playing into the anti-semitism himself and making shit worse. And in the older episodes with cousin Kyle, they mostly just show Kyle being embarrassed by him, but in TFBW we see Kyle straight up being a DICK to him. That really shows how much of a bully Kyle is in my opinion, and since he’s so used to Cartman ripping on him for being Jewish he probably thinks it’s okay to pick on another kid that’s more of a Jewish stereotype than him.

update 2024: i have my receipts as usual ⬆️ and yes i’m gonna brag abt this again but i love how i was ahead of my time pointing out how kyle has internalized anti-semitism before anyone else did lol. cartman’s kid deadass called kyle a “self-hating jew” in the post covid episodes lol

[numbknee]

Enough of the suffering thru the asks abt all the other cartman ships, what abt your brain rot? 🥺 what *are* your thoughts on kyman?? Go ham dude

ooooh dear... where to begin with the kyman brainrot....... I guess I’ll start at the beginning. VERY LONG POST under the cut. this is basically my kyman meta magnum opus lmao

I’ve talked about this ad nauseam before, but I really, REALLY didn’t want to get into south park. I had only ever watched like 2 full episodes before 2021 and I simply did not understand the appeal. I just thought the draw to the show was the shock factors: gross-out humor, children swearing and committing violence, and blatant bigotry played for laughs. I didn’t understand how it could be so popular other than “well I guess there are lots of horrible people out there who like this horrible show.” 

I grew up in a very WASP-y town and had peers in elementary/middle school who learned about the existence of antisemitism and other bigotries through south park. because kids are stupid and don’t understand satire, many of them took it at face value and were able to have shittons of words added to their vocabulary to put people down and insult them. it was horrible tbh. and I hated the show for that, even as a young kid. I personally wasn’t perfect by any means but even as a snot-nosed, extremely sheltered little white girl I knew that you just shouldn’t do that shit. our school system in particular lauded the “golden rule” constantly (we had to do a school-specific pledge after the pledge of allegiance every day... yeah I know, very american) and I was like “cmon, you guys can’t even follow that ONE RULE to be a semi-decent human being?? really??”

anyway at the end of 2021, my younger brother asked me to watch the post-covid specials with him and he was very excited about it. I was immediately hesitant, especially because in recent years he has become alarmingly incel-y and took a hard turn to the right while I became a leftist. I reluctantly agreed to sit through it to try to understand him more because, even though his political ideology sucks ass, he’s still my brother and I do love him. 

so I watched the specials, and I came out the other side of it shell-shocked with how surprisingly good the writing was. THIS stupid show, the show that all this time I thought was bottom-of-the-barrel comedy, was... GOOD??? particularly regarding CARTMAN?? 

the only things I knew about cartman going into it were the following: he’s fat, he says the name “kyle” weird, and he’s a horrible antisemite. and they made him grow up to be a freaking RABBI. it completely caught me off guard and *gasp* actually made me laugh???? what???? 

there were plenty of other things I loved about the post-covid specials, like my depressed ass relating WAAAY too hard with stan, the extremely on-the-nose satire of the state of advertisement/capitalism with the stupid “denny’s applebee’s max” restaurant chain gag and all the old people being shoved into a giant prison retirement home once they aren’t productive anymore, kenny getting sick of the gang’s bullshit and writing “FUCK THESE HOES” on a beloved childhood photo, butters become a snake-oil salesman for NFTs, kyle being told to “think like a kid” and like 2 seconds later realizing they need to look up kenny’s ass. I could go on but you get the point. 

I liked it way more than I thought I ever would. and obviously, I often find south park funny for different reasons than my brother does because matt & trey are very good at toeing the line of appealing to both sides of the american political spectrum, but it’s become a point of bonding between us in the year since I started watching the show and I’m grateful for that. 

of course, since i’m terminally on tumblr and ao3, I also started to dive into the fandom of south park. I had heard about the whole creek thing years ago and waved it off as a stupid gag but then I realized wait, holy shit, there’s actually a GIGANTIC shipping culture around south park??? at first I got into style because of the interesting concept of post-covid kyle and stan reconnecting after decades apart and not being the same people they used to be but trying to make it work anyway (I even wrote a fic about it ahahaa...) 

but after a while I got tired of the ship because as I watched the rest of the show, I realized their relationship just wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be. like they’re best friends but... why? because they’ve known each other forever? they both like video games? they make fun of cartman together? the fact they’re “super-best-friends” is kind of taken for granted by the show and the audience, but imo matt and trey never really explore the intricacies of their relationship very much. y’all can disagree with me on this but idk, all I know is that I got bored with style as a ship after like 2 months.

while scrolling through ao3 and tumblr, I ran across kyman fics/fanart for the first time back in february or so. at first I was appalled because... why the everloving fuck would you ship the blatant antisemite with the jewish kid??? really???? isn’t style a much better choice??? but sheer curiosity got the better of me, so I did what I always do when I’m curious about a ship: select for fics with kyle broflovski/eric cartman, sort by kudos, and read the first result (or in this case the second because the first had creek as the main ship). y’all know which fic that is if you’ve even slightly gotten into kyman. it was interesting, but I personally didn’t see them as the actual characters from the show in that fic. they were fandom versions of kyle and cartman, with their personalities changed enough to fit the standard mlm shipping dynamic that’s popular in fandom spaces (particularly regarding dom/sub aspects). I’ve seen it happen in plenty of other fandoms so I wasn’t surprised, but I still couldn’t see how it could possibly work if one were to use their canon character depictions. 

all the while I was making my way through episodes of the show cuz it’s long af, and over time I became more and more intrigued with kyle and cartman’s relationship. cartman quickly became my favorite character in the show because of how fucking complex and layered his personality is (see my tags on this post), and though kyle despises cartman in countless ways, he still is the only one who consistently tries to find goodness in him, tries to make him change for the better, saves him when no one else will, and remains his friend despite everything. it’s a remarkably complex dynamic.

little hints of kyman started creeping up on me: cartman being frequently queer-coded as a closeted gay kid. kyle getting extremely jealous of cartman and heidi’s relationship. both of them on separate occasions saving the other from death or injury without wanting any credit for it or lording it over each other. “we've been through a lot together, and... maybe that alone doesn't make us friends, but it makes us something” 

needless to say, I started to get it. and then I encountered the straw that broke the camel’s back: “know your enemy” by elsen on ao3. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve read that fic probably over a dozen times. it was shockingly well-written and so in-tune with the style and tone of the show that I was like “is this person spirit-channelling trey parker or something wtf???” and all of a sudden, I could see how, in a different universe, kyman could actually be an endgame ship. 

what sold me on it the most was how in-character it seemed for cartman to be a repressed, denial-ridden sub, especially regarding his desired relationship with kyle. there’s plenty of canon evidence that cartman has a secret crush on kyle (see this vid by johnny 2 cellos), but there’s no way that kyle could reciprocate those feelings, right?? imo kyle would probably rather die than enter a romantic relationship with cartman where he had to submit to him all the time, but if cartman would want kyle to be dominant over him??? where kyle has control and is able to curb cartman’s problematic behavior as he sees fit??? that opens up a whole other door of possibilities.

I think what kyle wants more than anything else in the world regarding cartman is for the goodness he sees deep down inside him to come to the surface, and for kyle to be the one to guide him (or force him when necessary) to becoming a better person through love and patience and inherent understanding of his fucked up little head??? I can definitely see kyle wanting that (especially since I see kyle as a repressed, denial-ridden sadist/dom lmao; see this post for my thoughts on that). 

it was all downhill from there. I found tons of other cool kyman shippers on tumblr and twitter whose writing and fanart helped suck me in even more and I’ve been stuck in kyman hell ever since. special shoutout to the asker for her kyman analysis posts that inspired this fic I wrote! love u boo <3

ANYWAY that’s how I became a whore for kyman lolololol ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ have a nice day everybody

[kyuriman]

Mini adult cartman fanon design rant that is strangely tooooooo serious below

I guess just because of Cartman's sociopathic nature and ability to seemingly sway ppl always made me think he had to have some sort of decent hygiene (or at least the ability the understand how his looks can alter ppls perception aka: putting that good boy sweater on when he wants to sway kyle) ... That on-top of having two parents that are most likely considered "not-ugly" at bare minimum is why I just don't think young adult Cartman would look excessively ugly or disheveled (maybe teen Cartman would be appropriately teen greasy) but young adult Cartman would not look outright unkempt or ugly (I ignore post COVID corrected future because un-housed Cartman was just low hanging fruit).

Idk this might be the minority opinion but when I see ppl draw fanon older Cartman as super ugly and greasy and disheveled in comparison to the others (ie: he's like the only one) than it just gives off a feeling of a fat caricature. Like they can't conceptualize the idea of a bad or mean fat person that isn't cartoonishly exaggerated. These types of designs are especially prevalent with sp fans that either dislike Cartman or completely ignore his existence which generally makes me feel like it's either a hatred of fat people or an inability to not associate morals to looks.

Like I said this before I think but it's so obvious that in canon the sp kids and adults think Cartman is ugly because he is fat. It's not uncommon for ppl to not be anything more than skin deep (anyone who is or was fat knows that a lot of ppl cannot see past weight and therefore can barely even acknowledge your facial features without seeing fat first ie: "omg you look like "insert fat celebrity you look nothing like") and I think Cartman being a bad child with a shit personality makes ppl (both in sp but also in RL) feel especially justified to bodyshame and associate looks to morals 🤢🤢🤢

Like yeah T&M drew Cartman as a fat adult that is implied to be ugly (before post COVID) but you gotta remember these two often go for low blows and a lot of that is fat jokes and implications of fat being ugly. There is a reason the "successful" Cartman is skinny and a corpo and the "failure" is fat and a blue collar worker. It's an easy joke.

Btw this isn't me policing ppls works or anything at the end of the day if you want to make the single fat character look like an anthropomorphic hippo in comparison to everyone else that's well within your right... I would just hope ppl take into consideration a fat fictional characters other attributes and lore when wanting to seriously make depictions that don't come across as "fat is gross" to other viewers.... Even if you use the justification that the character is bad.

This is excluding ppl who make art that is intended to look like realism or purposely off-putting (ie stylized that way)... This is also excluding ppl who draw acne or double chins (I don't consider these things ugly they're completely normal). I am talking about the ppl who draw Cartman as distortedly ugly in a very ooc way and everyone else as uwu anime characters with little to no distinct features that could be socially considered flaws.

[redgoldsparks]

December reading and reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon.

The Savage Beard of She Dwarf by Kyle Latino

She Dwarf might be the last of her kind, but this only fuels her desire for adventure, danger, and travel. Her famous warrior mother died before she could lead She Dwarf though the final coming of age trials, so our hero is on a quest to find the lost kingdom of Dwarves to see what knowledge she can gain from the ruins. A long the way she battles and befriends a whimsical cast of misfits who end up tagging along for the journey for reasons of their own. This story is action packed, fun, beautifully drawn and extremely aesthetically queer though there are no outright discussions of anyone's gender or sexuality. I highly recommend this comic for fantasy comic fans of all ages, it was released during covid and never got the promotion or attention it deserved. Buy this book for someone for the holidays!

Under a Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire, read by Michelle Dockrey

This third book is the series is more whimsical and light than the first two, which I suppose makes sense as it takes place primarily in a nonsense world. It introduces a few new characters, as well as bringing back Christopher and Kane from book 1. A group of these teens sets out together on a quest, but not all of them return to Earth at the end of it. I'm definitely planning to continue with the audio books of this series.

Batcat by Meggie Ramm

This magical, brightly-colored tale follows Batcat, a creature of comfort, who is driven out of their cozy home by an annoyingly friendly ghost. On their quest, Batcat is forced to face some of their deepest fears (the dark, being eaten) and some of their biggest questions: are they more a bat, or more a cat? Readers of all ages who have wondered about their own place in a world keen on dividing things into categories will relate to this quandary, and delight in the playful ways that Batcat defines themself outside of the binary. I got to read an advanced copy of this adorable book because it was written by a dear friend. Yes, I am biased, but I loved this story and highly recommend people check it out when it is released in March of 2023, or preorder it now!

Funny Planet: How Comedy Ruined Everything by Ken Jennings

This is a conversational, light, easy to read nonfiction that traces the way comedy and humor have spread their roots into almost every aspect of American life. Advertisements are now expected to be funny, as are politicians, the news, the modern art world and some types of avant-garde fashion and food. Also, social media, particularly twitter, which (even in its crumbling perhaps final days) is a near constant stream of jokes and jibes at every current happening, large or small, including very horrific tragedies that probably shouldn't be made light of. And things that were already funny, like sitcoms, have nearly doubled their joke density in the past 50 years. The author explores the historical development of comedy in these different fields, and also wonders what it is doing to our brains to be fed such a constant stream of jokes. I missed a lot of the references by virtue of having seen almost none of the TV shows or comedy specials the author was referring to, yet still found this a quick and lively read.

¡Ay, Mija!: My Bilingual Summer in Mexico by Christine Suggs

Suggs' debut memoir is a complete delight. The themes of language, translation, family, queerness, fatness, and being biracial are beautifully woven together into a rich and authentic whole. Nothing is overstated, simply presented as it was lived, and illustrated in a lovely palette of warm browns, bright golds, and smoothing blues. I loved the tiny avatar of the author's internal thoughts and how it interacted with the text and images on the page. This book uses all of the visual tools of comics to tell a wonderful coming of age story and the result is as sweet as pan dulce. I had the chance to read this book ahead of it's review and I can't recommend it more! Pre-order it now or look for it on shelves in April 2023.

The Box In The Woods by Maureen Johnson read by Kate Rudd

This fourth book in the Truly Devious YA murder mystery series introduces a new cold case for anxious teen detective Stevie Bell to bang her head against. This one, a quadruple murder from 1978 which took place in the woods outside a summer camp, was mishandled from the beginning. Dubbed 'The Box in the Woods' murders, the police at the time initially thought it was a drug deal gone wrong, then thought it might be the work of a contemporary serial killer. Stevie is hired by the new owner of the summer camp, who wants to make a podcast about the crime. Stevie doesn't care about the podcast, but she does love getting to bring her friends with her to a camp and getting her hands on a difficult case. This book continues to develop Stevie's friendships and romantic relationship in satisfying ways. I remain very delighted by and impressed with this series, and I'm excited there's a fifth book coming out before the end of the year!

Buzzing by Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman

]The power of a supportive role playing group can't fix everything, but it goes a long way. Isaac is a teen with OCD, who suffers from near constant intrusive thoughts, cleverly visualized here as bees with mean voices. Over the story he builds confidence and community by leaning into his love of fantasy and drawing; as a former fellow misfit teen artist, it was wonderful to watch him grow. This is a nuanced and diverse coming of age story, I'm so excited for all of the readers who will discover it and see themselves in it. The art is excellent, both in the real world day to day parts of the story and the D&D fantasy parts of the story. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of this book because I am friends with both of the authors- pre order it now, or look for it on shelves in July 2023!

Falcon written and read by Helen Macdonald

This was my second book this year by Helen MacDonald. Shorter and more traditionally nonfiction that H is for Hawk, this book is a collection of facts and anecdotes about the relationship of falcons and humans across many centuries and cultures. Human have long anthropomorphized falcons, attributing to them traits such as nobility, cunning, and martial prowess. Humans have been training and hunting with falcons for at least 3,000 years; lately, we have driven many species to near extinction, and created involved and wide ranging programs to try and rehabilitate the dwindling populations. I listened to this entire four hour audiobook during one long car ride and was well entertained the whole time.

Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni

Chris, Jo, Elise, and Alex bonded over being the only queer waiters at a restaurant, but their friendship long outlasted their stint at the job. Ten years on, the crew, now in their mid and late thirties, face a whole slew of new challenges: parenting, vying for promotions, balancing partying and work, being judged by baby gays at the club, and scariest of all, drifting apart. Fans of Bongiovanni's Grease Bats will enjoy the familiar flavors of a messy, horny, queer and trans friend squad but paired with a more nuanced slice-of-life narrative. These characters are trying to stay true to themselves, invest in their communities, get laid, and support each other. But it's not so easy to balance all of those conflicting needs, and they frequently fall short. I was left hoping that the characters could forgive each other's deeply human failings. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of the book- it's available for pre-order now, or check it out when it's released in March 2023!

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker Chan

What a wonderful book to end the year with! This one came highly recommended by many friends and did not disappoint. Epic in scale, with fantasy rooted in Chinese history, this story is set in an alternate mid-1300s with Mongols attempting to control all of mainland China, but resisted by a rebel force. The book opens with Zhu, the only daughter of a peasant family struggling to survive during a famine. A fortune teller predicted a great destiny for Zhu's one brother, and nothing for her. But when her brother dies, Zhu decides she will inhabit his destiny instead. She disguises herself as a boy to seek shelter and education in a monastery, a story trope I have always enjoyed, but especially here because this book takes the narrative in a explicitly trans/genderqueer direction by the end. Elsewhere in the story, a eunuch general in the Mongol army hides a bitter desire for revenge from his dearest friend; the rebel leaders battle each other for power, doing nearly as much damage to their cause as they do to their enemies; and a daughter of a rebel commander despairs over the constant bloodshed and death of the seemingly endless war. This is a complicated conflict, in which neither side is morally superior to the other; I was equally compelled by the personalities on each side and also certain that all of them were on a path towards destruction that they could not escape.

[fennecfiree]

why do i draw fat post covid kyle instead of going outside, touching grass, spending time with my family

[pononoin]

which one is stan

Ohh man oh man I personally never think on what of bear he would be ngl JSJDD but I think he would be a chub type one maybe??? because Return of covid Stan would be a muscle bear, he wouldn't have had abs as marked as he once did but he looks much fitter than post covid Stan who is just a fat fuck with strong arms

And you didn’t ask but Kyle is a otter, He figured it out for himself when he turned 30 to start his new stage as a mature gay man after crying in the bathroom that he was no longer a twink when he found his first gray hair, Stan don’t understand anything but he will support his furry fiancé or whatever the fuck Kyle is talking about

[cool-island-songs]

STOMP STOMP STOMP

stan for the character ask :]

Welcome, come in! Nice stomping boots!!! Thank you for the ask :3

Sexuality Headcanon:

I think I generally viewed him as bi back in the day and not sure that's changed. Would be interesting if he were more exclusively gay and repressed about it, and as with all dis stuff, I'm open to whatever. Thought I would share this bit from a 1998 interview with Trey:

In this interview, he also says that of the main 4, the most likely to be a serial killer is "Kenny, definitely." (!!!)

Gender Headcanon:

I default to cis but he does seem genuinely confused about things in The Cissy huh. I'm not sure if I've read any nb Stans but that would be interesting

A ship I have with said character:

I've so far been most interested in exploring Style, Stolkien and Steek. And Stendy perhaps as a past dynamic or dysfunctional failed thing they've been dragging out too long... Stary's definitely interesting and I will probably write some Staig at some point

A BROTP I have with said character:

Being boring again and saying the main four. I do enjoy his tendency to be bad at bullying guys he's been sent to bully. He's quite naturally amicable and even in trying to steer Bridon away from his gf, he's like.. giving him a weird pep talk? A begrudging ongoing understanding between him and the goths would also be funny to me

A NOTP I have with said character:

I explained in my Kyle ask that I don't really NOTP anymore and going into that a bit more, I just think anything could happen in a fictional realm. For some ships, I'm pickier about depictions I enjoy or that fit how I see the characters. But I've also had my mind changed by characterizations that hit in just the right way, and that's always cool to experience

Some relationships are really formative even if they don't last forever. It's cool seeing that reflected in fiction and I think Stan in particular is a good candidate for it

A random headcanon:

Jealous Stan, Stan as the one pining. He has a lot of emotional sensitivity, particularly re: social relations, how he's perceived, where he stands in comparison to others

General Opinion over said character:

Stan is a lot more compelling to me this time around in the fandom. He's not merely The Guy I Endgame With Kyle which is how I think I must have seen him by and large when I was reading SP fic as a teen. I love animal rights Stan, I love Toolshed, I love depressed farm Stan, I love fat booby post covid Stan

I think I used to feel like he was too much of a golden boy for me to be able to relate to, but that illusion's definitely been shattered. Imagining him feeling so isolated on that farm drew me in hardcore. I've got many a WIP with that more depressed, cynical Stan, but I also loved how he imparts his backstory in TFBW. There's a spunky desire to do something about the things getting him down - his dad's stupidity, the general state of the town:

Trying to channel more of this energy for Stan in my writing going forward. Toolshed really encompasses so much of what I love about Stan - disappointed in his dad, loves animals, wants to do good out in the world. I'm rootin' for you, lil slugger 🥺

[south-park-meta]

Curious about 13 with Stan too. And maybe the rest of the main boys for that matter haha

Tbh I think most of my interpretations of Stan aren't all that popular, because the popular of interpretations skew more extreme. I guess like Jersey Kyle, I don't like Goth Stan. I've mentioned it before but I'm not a fan of how most fans approach his depression. It often leans into him being completely nonfunctional, needing to be coddled, or tbh just acting in ways that--statistically--are more common in teen girls than boys, likely because that's the demographic that is writing and drawing the fic most often and the authors are drawing on their own feelings as basis. Which is fine but does make the characterization off to me. Goth Stan is notable to me since it was clearly something he couldn't connect with long-term so it's further 'off'. Annnnd in general it's one of the ways fandom trends towards making one of the shipped characters feminine to contrast a masculine partner (in this case Stan being feminine, often with Jersey Kyle). Which is something that happens a lot with fandoms in general but trends more frequently in South Park. I'm not a fan of this overall since this doesn't fit with my characterization of pm any of them.

Cartman... Just that he can turn into a good person. Idk if that's unpopular with fandom as a whole but the part of fandom that likes Cartman predominantly sees him as a product of a bad household. Which, no. Imo Cartman stays an asshole and Cartman stays fat, but does get decently attractive as he grows up. (IDC about the appearance in post covid since it's also canon that that can vary wildly in different timelines so I tend to stick with my own hcs of the characters for appearance.)

Kenny uh... I don't get Bunny which might half count lol. I genuinely see very little Kenny discourse. Maybe ship wise I like Stenny quite a bit but don't read it because the ones I've read insulted Kyle too much for me.

[god-forsaken-sp-confession-blog]

Heh... butt size head canons (aged up, don't get weird)

Stan: I'm so sorry but he's flat as fuck. Flattest ass you've ever seen. No one could have a flatter ass than Stan. It's probably even concave. Even if/when he gains weight from aging, he'll still be flat. If anything, it'll look MORE flat the more weight he gains because his ass just Stays The Same. We love him regardless of his flat ass, though

Kyle: Might be controversial to specific people but I do think he has a little bit of an ass BUT! My god, it is not as fat as everyone makes it out to be. He is not going to topple over from the size of his ass. He's not going to be weighed down from a dumpy twice his size. He just has a bit of muscle because I feel like he would work out every part of his body, even his butt (via squatting, not like... Patrick from Spongebob type working out with butt)

Cartman: The whole of him is fat, it would be a sin not to give him a thicc ass dumpy. Dump truck ass. Probably uses it as a weapon. Slams his ass into people to get them to move out of his way. What an asshole

Kenny: Depends on what age we're talking. Early 20s? Flat butt, so sorry. He's still freshly getting into this neat thing called Three Meals A Day, he's still skinny and shit. Post Covid age? Oh yeah, that's an ass right there. He got the ass he's always dream off. Probably admires it in the mirror (as he should.) Good for hm, good for him

Butters: I lied before when I said nobody could have a flatter ass than Stan. Butters has the flattest ass. Boy is built like a fucking plank of wood. No curves anywhere whatsoever. You would probably break your hand if you tried to slap his ass

.