#we stan south in this household

[dianthe715]

in defense of south

okay listen listen listen listen.

take it from me. a north simp appreciator.

it's pretty common to blame south for north's death, and how she acted during project freelancer as well. but let's not forget delta telling church and caboose that the dakota twins were treated as an experiment, to see what would happen when one twin got an A.I., and the other did not. they were pitted against each other from the start, and put south in the position of having to be in competition with the only person in the program that she really trusted; her own brother. its easy to blame her but when you're in a program you already hate, and you are embarrassed and humiliated by the program directors, and they force you into your own brother's shadow? i dont think any of us would respond very well to that.

and when it comes to north's death, let's not forget that north essentially chose theta over south. if he knew that holding theta would endanger his and his sisters lives (which im sure he was able to know), and he didnt give theta up? maybe north wasnt 100% in the right either in this situation. theta was a computer program. south was his living, breathing sister. south injured him so im not saying she was right, but maybe im saying that the dakota twins are some complex characters and pinning all the blame on one and making her look like an inherently bad person seems unfair.

[y-allium]

Ive somehow gotten into southpark??? So have a doodle dump

Can you tell whos my favorite lol

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

I'm just happy to know that there's other big boy Stan fans out there :)

HELL YES!!!

[monmuses]

This town never really changed, despite how many years had passed. Butters got to watch this town grow and adapt over time while new additions came to stabilize its growth, but the kids knew this town wouldn't ever truly change its roots. Most of the buildings that had been there since they were kids were still there, either purchased for new stores or left to wilt for years to come.

And for Butters, he seemed to be one of the only kids who stayed the same overtime. Just with more thoughts on the mind but too afraid to express himself.

Anxiously, he fiddled with his sleeves, looking up and down at Craig before gazing back down to the floor, almost worried with what he might say to him. He always felt small, but never this small. A stutter came out, clearing his throat to speak.

"...i-it's kinda all I have... I guess," he mumbled. "I-I like takin' walks 'round town. Sometimes, I... I see all our friends when I'm walkin' like I'm a kid again! I-I don't know. Maybe it's me gettin' all excited about the past, but... but I-I like it here. It's all I got for home... y'know?"

     @monmuses  〢  cont from here .

It should not—and doesn’t—surprise Craig.  The Midwest is always slow to embrace change and anything with intrigue, which tends to hit either coast first and creep steadily inward.  This sluggish adaptation is especially egregious in rural areas like South Park.

“Yeah, the more things change…” he muses, mostly to himself.  Heidi Turner walked up to his locker in elementary, gave him a withering, sympathetic look, and said, I’m sorry, this town never changes.  Craig didn’t say much to her then, just shook his head to let her know it wasn’t her fault and there was nothing she could do about it.

It hasn’t even been that long since the last time Craig was in town, so he shouldn’t be talking as if he’s new to the place.  However, it is something of a test as well, to get a read on Butters.  And he has concluded that… the more things change…

“So, there’s really nothing going on around here.”  Not with Butters, anyway.  Craig narrows his eyes scrutinously and asks, “Don’t you get tired of it?”  He has never been much of a mall guy himself, even less so now that he has outgrown the candy store inside.  “Isn’t it kind of pointless if you don’t intend to buy anything?”

[nwjn-z]

Hello~ could I request Stan knocking on reader’s window in the middle of the night sad bc Randy’s being… Randy? So they go out to Stark’s Pond and sit on the bench while he rants and they drink n stargaze n stuff?

Late night confessions — feat. Stan Marsh x reader

warning(s): yelling, drinking, swearing

author’s note: OMG ANON IM SO SORRY I DIDNT UPLOAD THIS SOONER IVE BEEN REALLY BUSY, here you go tho i know it’s late asf but i hope you like it😞

It was 2:34 am, and the quite mountain town of South Park was in a peaceful slumber, but the Marsh household was anything but quite and peaceful.

“ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS DRINK AND MOPE IN YOUR ROOM ALL DAY INSTEAD OF HELPING YOUR FAMILY!” Randy seethes to his son.

“HELPING YOU WITH YOUR STUPID FUCKING WEED FARM ISNT HELPING THE FAMILY YOU DICK!” Stan spits back.

“You know what Stan? I am so sick and tired of your shit. You don’t do jack shit all day, you never want to help out with the family business, and when you do decide to help you always fuck up. You are going to get no where in life with this kind of attitude Stanley.”

All it took to push Stan over the edge was bringing up his future. Ever since starting high school, Stan biggest anxiety was what he was going to do with his life. The fear of ending up a “waste of space” kept him up at night.

“Seriously fuck you dad.” Stan sniffles as he storms out the house, wanting to be anywhere but “home”.

Stan gets in his car and makes his way to town with only his phone and wallet. He needed comfort right now. He needed to go somewhere that was familiar, somewhere that he felt safe at.

Stark’s Pond was special to Stan. Growing up it was his favourite place to be, where he hung out with his friends, where he had his first kiss, and where he had his few good memories with his dad.

But he didn’t want to be alone right now, he wanted to be with someone he could talk to, who would understand him, who could make him forget all about his problems, who could make him feel good no matter what, he needed you.

You were up late for no particular reason. It was summer so you were off your normal schedule. You mindlessly scrolled through your phone while the rest of your family was fast asleep.

When Stan made his way to your house he began to climb up on to your balcony. When he managed to do so he couldn’t help but stare at you through the space in between your curtains.

He saw you laying on your stomach swinging your legs back and fourth and holding a pillow to rest your head on while you where preoccupied with your phone.

You where so beautiful to him. You always had been since the day you two met. He loved your hair, your eyes, the way you talked, how you were always to quite yet kind, the way you made him feel so weak. He loved it all, he couldn’t get enough of you. He wanted nothing more than to make you his.

He continued to stare, looking longingly at you with hearts in his eyes until you noticed him staring and freaked out. He saw you jump and threw your pillow at your window before you realised it was him. You cursed him under your breath while you opened the curtain to open the window for him.

“You scared the shit out of me.” You told him,

“I’m sorry I just got distracted.” he replied.

“What are you doing here, it’s almost 3 o’clock!” You said,

“I know im sorry, I just really need someone to talk to I just had a huge fight with my dad and I don’t know where else to go.” He says as his mind rushes thinking back to the fight as he tries to hold back tears.

“Hey hey it’s okay I’m sorry, we talk if you want I’m here for you.” You say sincerely.

Hearing your sweet voice speak to him so gently after being yelled at and berated makes him break his composure and hot tears stream down his face.

You immediately pull him into you and caress the back of his head as he buries his face into your neck, holding on to your waist for dear life.

After some time he reluctantly pulls away and wipes his face.

“I came over to ask if you want to go to Stark’s Pond with me.” He mutters as he tries to compose himself.

“Let me get my jacket.” Is all you say in response wasting no time getting your jacket.

“We’re gonna have to leave through my window, I don’t want to wake my parents.” You say zipping up your jacket

“Okay” he says meekly.

You both make your way out your window with Stan helping you get down. You get into Stan’s car and he begins to drive.

As you make your way to Stark’s Pond, you can’t help but stare at him while he drives. He has one hand on the bottom of the stirring wheel and the other hand on the gear shift. His hands are rough from years of sports and roughhousing outside, yet whenever you felt them they were so soft.

Your daydreaming was cut short when he came to a stop and you realised you weren’t at Stark’s Pond.

“I’m gonna grab drinks real quick, you want anything?” he asked

“I’ll just have whatever you are having, even though you shouldn’t be drinking.” you say in disapproval of his habit

“Yeah I know but I kinda need it right now.” he responds somewhat bashfully.

“I guess” you say.

As you sit in the car waiting for him you start to wonder why he came to you. I mean you guys are close friends but you thought that him and Kyle were closer, that he would go to his childhood best friend for things like this. Right?

You aren’t left with your thoughts for long as Stan quickly makes his way out the store and back into the car.

He gets back into the car and after a couple of seconds he starts to drive again.

The convenient store wasn’t far from Stark’s Pond so you arrived fairly quickly.

“We’re here” Stan announces

You simply reply with a hum in acknowledgment and make your way out the car with him.

You sit down and he hands you a drink before cracking open his. You two sit in silence drinking until your thoughts from sitting in the convenient store parking lot make their way back into your head.

“Hey, why did you want to hang out with me of all people?” you say still leaning your head back staring at stars

“What?” He asks, almost dumbfounded

“I mean like why not Kyle or Wendy even, they’ve known you longer and probably better than I do so I just thought you would go to one of them for something like this.” you tell him honestly

“Do you not want me to come to you?” He asks, worry written all his face and voice.

“WHAT!? NO! I mean i just thought that like, you would think I wouldn’t be any help you know?”

“Nah dude that’s bullshit, besides why would I go to my ex about my problems.” he chuckles lightheartedly

“I don’t know I thought she would get you I guess.” you say as he shakes his head “no”.

“Oh well what about Kyle then, surely he’d be your first responder or something.”

“Kyle doesn’t know shit about me at this point, anytime I try and talk to him about the things I go through he just doesn’t get it.” he responds truthfully

“We’re still best friends and all but, he just doesn’t understand why I can’t just “get over it” you know? It gets really fucking frustrating.”

You take a minute to process what he said but before you can say anything he begins to speak again,

“You aren’t like that though. You’re always so nice and never make me feel stupid or crazy for feeling the way that I do.”

His words flustered you. Only you made him feel comfortable and safe? You felt your heart clench at the thought. Without thinking you put your hand over his and finally look over at him,

“I’m glad I can be that person for you.” You say sincerely with a smile on your face

And just like that Stan just couldn’t take it anymore. You were truly the most amazing person he has ever known. You’re sweet, kind, and genuine soul made his heart swell and his face smile. He couldn’t hold back the words that left his mouth in that moment,

“I’m so in love with you.” He says with hearts basically in his eyes.

“What!?” You respond eyes wide and face flushed

“WHAT?!” he yelps, “OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY I DIDNT MEAN IT LIKE THAT I MEAN I DID BUT NOT IF YOU DONT WANT ME TO AAAHH IM SORRY JUST FORGET I EVER SAID ANYTHI-“

“I like you too, well love.” you say honestly having waited for this moment for what felt like an eternity,

“Wait what?Really!?” Stan says, dumbfounded but simultaneously feeling his heart burst with joy

“Yeah dude” you respond with a lighthearted laugh, but before you could say anything else you felt the slight wetness of his lips on yours, relishing in the feeling you close your eyes and lean in, completely melting in his touch.

“You love me?” he asks smiling, wanting nothing more than to hear you say those three words over and over until he can’t hear anymore,

“I love you.” you say, more than happy to repeat that phrase till your voice gives out.

[democratthatlovesguns]

BOMBSHELL: Trump Just Proposed New “Christian” Legislation

New legislation proposal, just out, from the Donald Trump campaign, known as the Right to Penetrate Act … They’re not calling it that, but I’m calling it that because it’s what it should be called.  The legislation, such horrible legislation, would give the president and his agents the right to come into your home, into your children's room if they want, and it's really unbelievable what they are trying to do ... But they really want to pass this legislation, believe me. And what it does is: it gives them the right to fuck anybody right up the ASS if they want to.  Your children too, they’re not safe.

You would think they could not do it to the children ... That they would say, "you know, maybe not the children" ... But they are such horrible people … They want to do it to the children too.

It's disgusting, and the main-stream media is not going to report on this because they don't report the truth ... They never have, let's be honest; especially Faux News, such horrible people at Faux News. And they'll say it's all lies, but let me tell you, it's not. It's not lies. And they are going to do it, they are going to fuck everybody right up the ass ... Right up there, RIGHT UP THE ASS, unless we stop them. It's all in there in Project 2025 ... It's all in there, believe me. And they want to do it to me ... They've seen how beautiful my body is, much better than any republican's body. You've seen how beautiful my body is, the doctors they all say the same thing ... They take one look at me and they say, "wow, what a beautiful body ... What a healthy body." They all say it, the doctors, and everybody else. They won't say it out in public, but okay, anyway ...

Imagine your children just going to sleep at night, such beautiful children from all over the world, in America ... Imagine them going to sleep at night not knowing that Trump is waiting to come into their room and do unspeakable things. And it's truly horrible what they are trying to do. But that is who they are, the Evangelical people, the Christians.

DEAR MAGA REPUBLICANS, DOES THAT SOUND GROSSLY FUCKING STUPID?

That's how stupid MAGA sounds when they repeat or defend Trump's claim that children are having gender affirming surgeries in public schools, without parental consent.

THAT IS HOW FUCKING STUPID YA'LL SOUND!

*Actual footage of children in MAGA households right now*

"Jesus Christ dude, they've done some stupid crap before, but Jesus Christ!" - Stan Marsh (South Park Season 6 Episode 11)

[humorisstoredinthetits]

The Heathers + Veronica and Halloween

Jello Shots it's Halloween, Liver Spots it's Halloween

Halloween is probably the holiday that the residents of the Chandler-Duke-McNamara-Sawyer household look forward to the most

Mac still maintains that Christmas is better, but even so she still gets super excited when October rolls around

The four of them go all out for the holiday

They build a giant graveyard in their lawn

They've bought custom fake tombstones that have their names written on them, about 7 skeleton's worth of fake bones, bags of spiderwebs, giant spiders, several animatronic ghosts, the list goes on

It takes a while to set up just because of the sheer amount of stuff, but when it's done it looks amazing

People will come from miles around to see their decorations and take pictures, and their house has ended up on Youtube and even on the local news a few times

The main attraction is the giant skeleton that Chandler got one time

It's easily three stories tall and has to be stored in a warehouse whenever it's not in use, but it is terrifying seeing this giant skeleton tower over the already massive mansion

It also has to be put up by helicopter, which is not cheap

Chandler had gotten it as a prank

The others were being very annoying (they beat her at Mario Party and she is the pettiest of bitches) so she decided to prank them and did so with some Halloween spirit

The idea was that they would come home from work and see this giant skeleton and freak out, but what really happened was that they got home and were amazed at how cool and scary their house looked

She got upset because they were supposed to be scared, to which they said "Heather it's literally 3 fucking stories tall we could see it from miles away"

His name is Mr. Skel Eton (it was Mac's choice, Chandler thought it was dumb but Duke and Veronica liked it and it stuck) and every year they look forward to his installation and dread paying for his removal

Around the middle of the month Mac will come to them with her costume theme

Her and Chandler had always done themed costumes when they were kids, like Anna and Elsa or the Powerpuff Girls (Mac was Bubbles, Chandler was Blossom), a tradition which they continued into adulthood

Some of the costumes they've done include;

South Park: (Chandler as Cartman, Duke as Kyle, Veronica as Stan and Mac as Kenny)

The Wizard of Oz: (Chandler as Glinda the Good, Duke as the Wicked Witch, Veronica as the Scarecrow, Mac as Dorothy)

Spongebob: (Chandler as Mr. Krabs, Duke as Squidward, Veronica as Patrick, Mac as Spongebob)

The Nightmare before Christmas: (Chandler as Sandy Claws, Duke as the Oogie Boogie, Veronica as Jack, Mac as Sally)

Scooby-Doo: (Chandler as Daphne, Duke as Velma, Veronica as Shaggy, Mac as Fred)

Teletubbies: (Chandler as Po, Duke as Dipsy, Veronica as Tinky-Winky, Mac as La-La)

Sometimes they re-use these costumes for Comic-Con

Sometimes they get Betty and Martha to abandon their usual Wesley and Buttercup costumes and go with them, for instance during the year they did Wizard of Oz they went as the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man, but some years they year the theme and say hell no

Such was the case during the Teletubbies year

Chandler had tried to nope out of that one too but Veronica and Duke told her that if they had to be humiliated so did she

JD also gets roped into this, but he doesn't have a choice in the matter

Veronica will just send him a text saying "You're gonna be XXX this year" and if he tries to refuse Chandler and Duke will get increasingly petty and bother him until he accepts

They made him go as Noo-Noo the Teletubbies year and he literally glued a vacuum to his nose

He didn't speak to any of them for a good few weeks

If they don't need him to join with the theme he'll dress as Jason Vorhees and hide in their bushes, jumping out if someone gets too close

Mac was kinda upset by this, but he reassured her he only does it to people who look like dicks and never kids, so she just kinda accepts it

During the Halloween season they'll watch some appropriate movies

Chandler, under absolutely no circumstances will watch a horror film

She despises them with every fiber of her being, if she sees Veronica or Duke watching one she will go sit outside or go to 7/11 until its over

Mac also gets nightmares if she watches one

One time they watched The Shining and Mac insisted that she is an adult, she can handle a stupid movie

She could not

They had to sleep with the lights on for weeks after

That being the case they usually stick to PG films

Of course that comes with its own issues

None of them can agree wether A Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas or Halloween movie, if they play it in October Veronica and Chandler say that its too early, if they play it after Duke and Mac say that its too late

They tried to watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown but they all got so pissed off at how stupid Linus was being that they had to shut it off

Hocus Pocus and Coraline are good options that don't result in an argument breaking out

Their favorite Halloween movies;

Chandler - Hocus Pocus

Duke - Nightmare Before Christmas

Veronica - Coraline

Mac - Muppets Haunted Mansion

The latter is a point of contention

The other three think that its stupid, but Mac loves both the Muppets and Haunted Mansion and even if they Kermit puppeteer doesn't sound quite right she still loves the movie

As for candy, their house is usually filled to the brim with sweets but this gets even worse around Halloween

They'll go to Costco the week before to load up on the boxes of the full sized Hershey bars and the like, but Chandler has to hide them so her wives don't eat them all

She made that mistake once, and none of her wives could hear straight for a week after the yelling spiel she went on

"WE ARE ADULTS, IF YOU WANT CANDY GO TO THE FUCKING STORE AND BUY YOUR OWN, WHY DO YOU IMBICILES INSIST ON STEALING THE ONES FOR HALLOWEEN WHEN YOU KNOW THAT THE STORES ARE GONNA BE SOLD OUT SOON..." and she went on and on and on and on

Like literally everything else in their lives they argue over candy corn

Mac and Veronica love it, Duke and Chandler would rather eat cow manure

Chandler absolutely refuses to buy any on her shopping trips or even let it in her kitchen so they have to keep bowls in their rooms

Their favorite Candy:

Chandler - Werther's Originals

(The others call her Grandma whenever she eats them, but they're good ok?)

Duke - Skittles

Veronica - Red Vines

Mac - Candy Corn

Eventually Halloween night rolls around

Their house is well known for being one that gives out full size candy bars, so people will travel near and far to get some

It got so bad one year that they eventually limited it to one bar per person per night, but to make up for it they bought a giant cauldron and filled it with smaller candy and everyone was allowed to grab as much as they could in a single handful

Some people have gotten creative with the word handful, making things like giant hands to grab more candy

Usually the four of them will hand out the big candy and Martha and Betty will handle the smaller candy, making sure no one is coming back for seconds

While she is handing out the candy Chandler reflects on her past

Her mother was vehemently against Halloween, claiming it to be the devil's holiday and forbidding Chandler to participate

On Halloween itself she would drop Chandler off at Mac's Dad's, going to church to pray for the salvation of humanity or whatever and not wanting the others to see the evidence of her sin (Chandler)

**Line break**

Mac's Dad thankfully wasn't a massive prick like Chandler's and would buy a costume for Chandler in secret and let her and Mac go trick or treating

The night always ended too fast, Chandler being forced to give her candy to Mac to hide the evidence from her mom, but she never forgot those happy memories they shared

And in the present, she can't help but give some extra candy to the kids she sees trick or treating with their friends, seeing her and Mac in them

[icanseethefuture333]

Have you watched the recent Dream academy documentary? So Hybe’s new global group katseye went through a Surivial show, and upon the Surivial show they released a documentary, and all the katseye - dream academy girlies were going against Manon? She’s like extremely pretty but they all seem jealous and envy towards.

Can you please do a reading on how katseye member see her??

We stan Manon in this household!!!

(I know you asked to do a reading and not give my opinion but I like to gossip about reality TV shows so I will make a separate post 👉🏽👈🏽)

I WAS LITERALLY WATCHING IT TODAY LOL. I think I’m like on episode 4??? It’s so dramatic but I can’t stop watching. I said even before Manon debuted she was getting so much hate for no reason, but after seeing the show, I see it’s envy coming from a lot of the girls as well. To keep it short - the hate is just because people hate to see a black girl be feminine, popular, pretty, and shy. Manon really represents a different side of black women that we don’t get to see often in the media which is someone who is beautiful but also anxious, gentle, insecure, and introverted. The girls took advantage of the fact she’s more soft spoken and talked over her more than once. They also were hating on her before they joined that house because a staff member from HYBE chose her personally (especially Naisha and Adela)!!!

I genuinely feel for her because people were not respectful of her cultural differences yet wanted their culture to be respected and I found that really irritating. Especially how in Switzerland health is a big priority and sis literally had covid and they were angry she wasn’t going to rehearsal??? And then told on top of it to just “do better” 💀. I would of been pissed. Two girls both had surgery and had to skip out on practicing but nobody said anything.

I understand how the girls were feeling and were upset and yes it is hurtful to see how “the halo effect” can happen in real life. A person that is prettier could get a position in a group just because they’re attractive but I think that’s just a harsh reality they needed to face. In the music industry, especially the US and South Korea, looks are very important. I think that most of the girls felt they were “beautiful” but didn’t realize they possibly couldn’t be the prettiest girl of the group. There were 20 girls who got chosen to compete, realistically speaking someone was going to be prettier or more talented than you (and yes that could be a black woman because being the beauty standard and/or white does not mean you are the prettiest!) 👀🍵.

Overall, I think the show is messy as hell but it’s what needed for a wake up call. I think people have dreams of being kpop idols or celebrities but don’t understand exactly how harsh that industry can be. People will chew you up and spit you out at any given moment. If being a idol is a person’s dream then they need to be confident with a secure mindset and need to be prepared with the proper knowledge on legality (so many idols lost the right to their group name, music, and so on because they didn’t know what was in a contract)

[feministsouthpark]

Mrs. Tweak - Character analysis (Part 1)

I'm starting a new series, analyzing some of my favorite South Park characters, starting with the one and only... Oh no... She's only known by her husband's surname! Well, for the purposes of my text, I'll call her on the widely accepted fanon name, Helen. And it's not like South Park has shied away from using fanon names in their official material. Let's start with S2E17 Gnomes, in which she appears for the first time, along with her son and husband.

"Some things are more important than money. The people of South Park count on you to give them that first cup of coffee every day."

Her very first line serves as introduction to her values and beliefs. She is a devoted housewife, who believes in her husband. Clearly, she is a woman with a strong moral code first and foremost, and is a devoted housewife second.

Helen: Oh, hello, son. How was your day? Tweek: UUuuUunh! Helen: That's good. Who are your little friends? Tweek: What do you mean?! Kyle: We're his oral report buddies. Stan: Yeah, we have to stay up all night to write it. Helen: Well, have some coffee boys. I'll brew up another pot for later.

In her next interaction we learn about her as a mother, and she is shown caring for her son and being patient with him. But we're also met with a flaw in her parenting (of course, what else could you expect from South Park) which is that she nonchalantly offers coffee to children.

Kyle: Coffee? I don't think I like coffee. Helen: Oh, you'll like this coffee. It's fresh. And she coerces them to take it, although it's clearly out of good willed ignorance, rather than malicious intent.

Stan: 'Kay. Maybe it'll help us figure out what to do our report on. We have to present it to the entire South Park town committee tomorrow. Richard: Oh. I've got one for you. How about doing a report on how large corporations take over little family-owned businesses? Helen: Richard! Richard: No, I'm- serious, hon. These boys should learn how the corporate machine is ruining America. You see, I own a coffee shop and now a great, big, multi-million dollar company is going to move in and try to take all my business, which means I may have to shut down and sell my son Tweek into slavery. As you see, she is opposing to Richard using the children for commercial, however she is indifferent towards the way he threatens Tweek, probably because it's too common in their household. She chalks it up as Richard's weird sense of humor. She is however more strict with her son than her husband, as we see in the exchange that follows.

Kyle: We're already doing a paper on Tweek's underpants gnomes. Helen: Now, Tweek, how many times do we have to tell you? Your underpants are missing because you lose them, not because of underpants gnomes. Which line solidifies her as a grounded-in-reality type of individual. While Richard threatening Tweek wasn't that big of a deal for her, since it was a joke anyway (not that Tweek would know that, however Helen's parenting skills are lacking in the child's healthy psychological development department), but she stands up for something that she sees a problem with, because as soon as Richard says the boys should do their project in corporate takeovers again, she opposes, just like she did for the first time the idea was conceived, but this time she further explains her worries, instead of just interrupting.

"Honestly, Richard. I don't see why you have to preach to some eight-year olds."

While she is dismissive of her husband's idea of using the children, she still demonstrates great care for his side of the problem. "My goodness. That's going to be a huge coffee house, honey." Then what follows is 8 year old Kyle questioning her parenting methods. Probably based on the fact that Sheila is overprotective, and Helen is quite the opposite.

Kyle: Do you ever think maybe you shouldn't give your son coffee? Helen: Like, how do you mean? Kyle: Like look at him. He's always shaking and nervous. Tweek: Agghh! Helen: [holding a bag of Tweekers BLEND] Oh, that. He has ADD, attention deficit disorder. That's why he's so jittery all the time. The writing seems to imply that Helen is in fact wrong, and her letting Tweek drink coffee is the problem (well Richard gives it to him mostly, but she fully enables it), however Tweek does show genuine signs of ADD in the later seasons, so in retrospective canon, she might as well be right, at least partly.

Back to the episode's political topic, she has yet another exchange with Richard about her concerns: Richard: What do you think, hon? [she crosses her arms and moves away him. He follows] Hon? What's the matter? Helen: I have a big problem with this. Richard: What do you mean? Helen: We are just using those boys for our benefit. They have no idea what they're saying. Richard: But, kids are great to get people on our side. Helen: You don't just throw a child in a political commercial to sell your beliefs. I won't be a part of this anymore. [walks out the door] Richard: Honey, all's fair in love and war. And coffee. Hon? Hu-hon? As you can see, while Richard asks for her opinion, it's not out of respect. He just wants her to tell him he's doing great, he expected her to compliment and reassure him, even though she clearly stated time and time again that she disagrees on the matter. Richard ignored her thoughts and expected her to go along with everything he does, only after she leaves him, does he realize he is taking her for granted. And the episode makes it clear that the writers of the episode believe her to be right. In the end, she gives the "I've learned something today" speech. Yes, the parent who is wrong in one thing (giving her son coffee) and gets criticized by the ever so judgemental moral compass of the boys, Kyle, also gets to give a Kyle-speech of her own, which positions her to be in the right on that specific debate. South Park has low-key been creating multidimensional female anti-villains back in season 2? Well, yes, but that is party because this character wasn't conceived by Trey and Matt only. This episode is co-written by Pam Brady - a producer and creative consultant of the show - in her only full-on writing credit for the series. And I can't help but feel like her sense of womanhood helped shape Helen to be the well-rounded character she is. "These boys are absolutely right. We've been using these poor kids to pull at your heartstrings for our cause, and it's wrong. We're as low and despicable as Rob Reiner. You keep protesting and complaining, but did any of you ever even bother to taste Harbucks coffee? Harbucks coffee got to where it is by being the best. Don't you think you should at least try it?" There you have it. She is pro-corporation, and wether you agree with her or not, so are the writers (in 1998). And you better believe Trey and Matt see her as the hero of the story by the moment she is insulting Rob Reiner! She even earns a turn in her marriage, Richard listens to her at once, and tries Harbucks, and realizes he likes it. He then gets a new job running the local Harbucks, gaining more money than before. So he did not only became a better husband for her sake, but also a better breadwinner - thanks to her efforts to talk some sense into him.

[nightttdreamers]

Someone Still Loves You | Stan x Kyle

new style fic lets goooooo! it's going to be little snapshots of them growing up and figuring themselves out and also being in love. hope u like it and feel free 2 read on ao3!

AO3 Link | 6k+ words | Chapter 1/3

It's the summer before sophomore year. Kyle just got his braces off and Stan's palms are sweaty, for some reason.

Kyle has a nice smile , Stan decides, and the thought feels like it was beamed to him by aliens.

“What?” Kyle asks mid-laugh, still grinning at his friend.

Stan scrunches his face up, suddenly self-conscious of how Kyle can notice everything. “What?”

Kyle cocks his head, raising his brows expectantly, like Stan would ever explain what just went through his head. The two exchange expressions, and Stan hopes that if he just pretends Kyle’s acting odd too, the whole thing will just drop.

“Whatever, weirdo,” Kyle says, rolling his eyes. Stan lets out a small sigh of relief, slumping back against the wall. “Anyway, we’d have these practice debates, and then we’d do them at night in the dorms, but with stupid topics.”

“Yeah? Like what?” Stan asks, feeling a bit more comfortable staring as Kyle continues his story. He rubs his hands along his thighs, sitting cross-legged on the floor just across from his friend. There’s a strange, tingly sensation in his palms that just won’t go away. It’s been there all day, only getting worse once he actually entered the Broflovski household after eagerly waiting all day. Maybe it’s puberty.

The two boys haven’t seen each other in a month, which is the longest they’ve ever gone since they were in kindergarten. While Stan’s been stuck working on the farm all summer, Kyle has been at debate camp in California (Which wasn’t even a real camp, apparently. It was hosted by some fancy college and they stayed in the dorms . But it’s not like Stan cared).

Excited didn’t begin to describe how Stan had felt all day, it was more like electric. They only had two weeks before they started their sophomore year, and Stan was eager to get Kyle up to speed on what he’d been up to.

What he didn’t expect, however, was for Kyle to come back with stories of his own fantastic summer, the new friends he’d made, and how much better things were outside of South Park. It also doesn’t help that Kyle had gotten his braces off just before camp, and apparently smiled a whole lot more without them.

“-And they had like actual college students in the dorms too to, like, watch us. And they would get so pissed if we were being loud, which I would be too, but it was so funny.” Kyle sits back down on his legs, having gotten up on his knees as he told the story. “Maybe it was a you-had-to-be-there kind of thing.”

“No, no,” Stan says, shaking his head. “It’s funny. You and your debate friends would go wild and stay up all night debating each other, sounds crazy.”

Kyle scoffs, shooting Stan a harmless glare. “Shut up, dude. Like you did anything crazier.”

“Me and Kenny would go on joyrides,” Stan boasts, not even trying to hide the smug smile that comes across his face at Kyle’s expression.

“No fucking way,” Kyle says, jaw hanging open. Stan simply shrugs, pretending like he hasn’t been waiting to tell Kyle this for weeks. “In whose car?”

“Kevin got a new truck. Well, not new new, it’s a piece of shit, but he let us borrow it sometimes. Kenny and I would drive out until there wasn’t anything for miles around us and we’d just start doing donuts.” Now, it was Stan’s turn to get up, rising to his knees as his hands mime driving the car.

“Did you drive it?” Kyle asks, leaning forward.

Stan wanted to. It took some convincing, but Kenny had let him behind the wheel even though Kevin had explicitly said only his brother could drive it. But, Stan only made it about 50 feet before he had to stop, absolutely terrified that the moment he started driving they’d get caught.

“Kevin wouldn’t let me,” Stan says, shaking his head. It’s not a complete lie, but there’s no way he’s telling Kyle that he chickened out.

“Holy shit. I can’t believe I missed that,” Kyle says, shaking his head. Stan feels a small warmth in his chest, accompanied by a slight pang of guilt. It’s not like he wants Kyle to feel jealous or left out, but it does feel good to show the other that he doesn’t have to leave South Park to have a good time.

“We’ll probably try and go again,” Stan offers. “We still have, like, two weeks before school starts.”

Kyle lets out a groan, laying back on his floor. “Don’t remind me. God, my mom’s already talking about when we’re going back to school shopping. I haven’t even been home a day!”

Stan holds back a chuckle as he watches the other, waving his hands dramatically while he speaks. He knows better than to laugh at Kyle when he’s complaining. “Dude, she wasn’t even gonna let me come over tonight.”

“What?” Kyle exclaims, turning his face to look at Stan. “Why not?”

“I was calling her and asking when you were gonna get back, and she kept saying how she wants you to be with family tonight, how she had a whole dinner prepared, how she hasn’t ‘gotten you’ all summer. I was like, no shit, Sheila, I haven’t ‘gotten him’ either!”

Kyle lets out a laugh, looking back up at his ceiling. “Sounds like her. I think she’s mad I didn’t  write her back enough.”

“How many letters did you send?” Stan asks.

“Uh, I think it was two or three to her. She would send me these letters that were just pages of family news and drama at the synagogue and updates about Ike. I didn’t have anything to say back.”

Stan smiles, knowing that he and Kyle wrote back and forth at least once a week, and that no one got as many letters as he did. At a certain point, Kyle would just add a section to Stan’s letters that he could tell Kenny and Cartman, rather than writing the two on his own. “I feel like my letters were just pages of the same random bullshit.”

Kyle shakes his head. “No way, yours were at least relevant to stuff I care about. I actually wanted to read them, even though you conveniently left out how you did donuts with Kenny.”

The statement is a little pointed, but leave it to Kyle to call Stan out for something like that. “I just didn’t think words on paper could capture the, uh,” Stan stammers, trying to come up with something dramatic to say. “The spirit! The spirit and the thrill of the drive! You know, the open road, the blazing sun, the wind in your hair-”

His monologue is cut off when Kyle throws a pillow right at his face, which Stan quickly catches. When he turns to look at Kyle, the redhead is already sitting back up, eyes daring Stan to continue. “Sorry, were you saying something?”

Stan throws the pillow right back, but Kyle catches it with ease. “I thought you wanted to hear about my joyrides?” He asks, pretending to be offended. “It’s hard to put them into words you know.”

“So you chose to do spoken-word poetry instead of handwritten?” Kyle asks, cocking his head to the side.

Stan snickers, shaking his head. “Can you imagine me sending you poetry? How fucking gay.”

Kyle laughs after a moment, like it took him a beat to get the joke. Stan notices his hands twisting together, one picking at the other, but before he can mention something about it, Kyle is rising to his feet. “I have so much shit to unpack.”

Stan watches from the floor as Kyle gets up, walking to the suitcase on his bed. “Do you have to do that tonight?” He asks, tilting his body so he can look at Kyle’s face, which is turned away from him.

“I probably should, you know,” Kyle says, in that voice Stan absolutely hates. It’s his I-have-a-ton-of-homework or my-mom-wants-me-back-soon voice, meaning he wants Stan to leave, but is too polite to just ask outright.

“Shit, okay,” Stan mumbles, standing up. “I can get out of your hair.”

Kyle finally turns to look at him, his lips pressed together in a firm line. His eyes dart around Stan’s face for a second before he speaks. “Actually, do you want to just sleep over tonight?”

The question is a bit jarring, partially due to the complete shift in Kyle’s attitude, and partially because Stan hates the phrase “sleep over” with a passion. Their friends already give them enough shit for how much time they spend together, they don’t need to sound like babies who have “sleepovers” too.

Kyle, of course, picks up on the distasteful expression Stan has. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. I’m just kind of jet-lagged and I’m probably gonna stay up and I know it takes you a while to get over here so,” he trails off, idly picking at his hand once more.

“I’ll stay over,” Stan says, causing Kyle to grin. Looking at his friend’s smile, whatever unease was building in him settles back down. “I was gonna ask you, anyway. My dad keeps making me wake up early to work with him.”

Kyle offers a sympathetic groan, opening up his suitcase. Stan sits down on the bed beside it, folding his legs under himself to leave the other room to unpack. “Are you still working every day?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Stan says with a nod. He wrote to Kyle a bit about working on the farm for the summer, but after his first few letters, there wasn’t much to say. It was the same thing every day, waking up at the crack of dawn, heading to the fields to plant or harvest, sometimes packaging their products, whatever Randy told him to do. “My dad wants to get everything out super early in the morning because he’s selling to restaurants and shit now, so the work needs an early start.”

“Is…” Kyle begins, pausing his unpacking to look at Stan. “Is your dad okay?”

Stan looks away as he speaks, fidgeting with the hem of his pants. The question is simple enough, but never something that’s easy to answer. Kyle likes to ask about his dad with simple questions like that, which Stan appreciates, because Kyle doesn’t ask is your dad still starting shouting fights with your mom every day or has your dad stopped getting wasted and cursing you out the minute you come home ?

“Yeah,” Stan says in a small voice, then adds, “The farm’s been busy all summer, so he has something to do, I guess.”

Kyle nods, turning back to the clothes on his bed. “That’s good. Any developments on the Shelley conspiracy theory?”

Stan smiles at the question, glad Kyle knows better than to dwell on a topic like Randy for long. “Dude, we have to be right, right?”

“I think so. She’s not really the generous type.”

Kyle is referring to a common topic in their letters, which is how Shelley has been driving Stan into town over the last month. Normally, she doesn’t have a choice in the matter, as their parents make her take Stan to school with her. If he wants to go into town, he either has to beg his mom or try and get a ride with Tolkien. But, his mom’s usually busy, and Tolkien’s been at his vacation home all summer, so he thought he’d be stranded.

However, over the last few weeks, Shelley had been showing uncharacteristic kindness and offering to drive him to Kenny’s house. Stan waited for the catch, like she wanted gas money or him to do her chores, but it never came. 

When Kyle heard about this, he quickly declared it a mystery that he wanted to solve. After going back and forth on various ideas, the two concluded that Shelley probably had a crush on Kevin McCormick. Since then, they’ve been seeking further proof of their conspiracy theory.

“She doesn’t even complain about driving me anymore. Usually, she’s like,” Stan clears his throat, doing a Shelley impression that is far more gravelly and deep than her real voice. “‘Ugh, whatever, I’ll drive you, but don’t talk to me or touch my CDs for the entire ride.’ But the other day I asked if she would take me to Kenny’s and she just said ‘whatever,’ nothing else.”

“Does she even see Kevin when she takes you?” Kyle asks.

“Barely,” Stan responds. “If he’s outside, she just tells me to get out and drives away. She doesn’t even try to talk to him. Girls are so weird.”

Kyle snorts, turning his face away when Stan looks up at him. “Sorry, it’s just funny hearing you make fun of her, like you wouldn’t do the same thing.”

“What?” Stan replies, sitting up a bit. “No I wouldn’t.”

“Yeah you would,” Kyle says, continuing to empty his suitcase as he speaks. “You’re both total chickens when you like someone. Even if you’re dating them.”

Stan feels his face heat up, especially when he sees the smirk Kyle is trying to hide. “That’s so not true.”

It is, of course, completely true, and Stan knows it. Even with Wendy, who he’s dated on-and-off since they were basically kids, he can never bring himself to make the first move. She gets frustrated with him often, since she has to tell him to ask her to school dances or to hold her hand on dates. He’s not sure why his nerves haven’t gone away after their years together. Sometimes, he still gets nauseous when she wants to kiss.

No one knows about this problem, though. So, hearing Kyle poke fun at him about it makes Stan squirmish. “Like you’re any better,” he adds, though the statement is pretty baseless. He’s not sure how Kyle is when he has a crush, as the redhead rarely shows interest in anyone.

Kyle keeps his gaze down, and Stan can see a mix of emotions cross his face. He wants the other to defend himself just so he can point out that Kyle hasn’t had a real girlfriend, or even asked a girl out since they were ten. But, instead, Kyle just shrugs. “Yeah, guess not,” he concedes.

Again, Stan feels an unease between them. He rarely feels unsure of what to say to his best friend. If they’re not speaking, the silence is usually comfortable. This one, however, just hangs in the air, and Stan feels a sense of guilt for it.

Kyle starts to move his clothes back into his dressers, his suitcase empty now. Stan just watches him for a bit, trying to figure out if Kyle feels just as off as he does. He settles on, probably not, you’re just being weird and defensive and making things weird because you’re weird.

“Wanna borrow pajamas?” Kyle asks, bringing Stan out of his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, uh,” he takes a second to look down at his current outfit, just to gather himself. “No, thanks. I’ll just sleep in my boxers.”

“Are you sure?” Kyle asks. It’s a trait he and his mom share, asking someone if they want something, then insisting that they do if they refuse. It’s part of their know-it-all nature, but Stan finds it kind of endearing. “I have stuff that’ll fit you.”

He knows he’s better off just accepting Kyle’s offer, so he nods. “If you think so.”

“I definitely do,” Kyle says, rummaging through his drawers. “We’re not that different, you know.”

“Maybe if you stopped having stupid growth spurts,” Stan says, knowing that the topic annoys Kyle. They’ve always compared heights, constantly on their tip-toes or marking doorways for each other. There were a few years in elementary school when Stan could boast a few extra inches on Kyle, but that ended when the redhead shot up in middle school. They haven’t been able to share clothes as easily lately, especially since Stan’s been growing into the stockier build his dad has, while Kyle stays stick-thin and lanky.

“If I could, I would,” Kyle says, tossing a pair of sweatpants over to Stan. Unlike Stan, he doesn’t like being the taller of the two, constantly complaining about how his old clothes don’t fit him, and his new ones don’t look right. “Those should be good, though.”

“I forgot your mom keeps your house fucking freezing in the summer,” Stan says as he gets off the bed. He slides off his jeans, pulling the faded pair of sweatpants on. “My mom doesn’t even use the AC most nights, just has us sleep with the windows open.”

Kyle is facing away from him, pulling out his own pair of pajamas from the dresser. “She complains about hot flashes or something, I don’t know, I don’t really listen. I’ll be right back.” Before Stan even finishes getting changed, Kyle’s already leaving his room. 

Stan knows he’s heading to the bathroom for his nighttime routine. Kyle always changes in the bathroom, taking his time putting in various hair products or acne creams, whatever products his mom has him trying that month. 

While Kyle’s gone, he slides the other’s empty suitcase off the bed to make room for himself. Just beside where the suitcase was is an envelope missing its top flap, near bursting open with its contents. Stan sits down as he picks it up, noticing that it's stuffed with polaroids. Before Stan can even think that he should ask for permission, he empties the envelope, looking through the photos. They’re pretty average, various snapshots of guys that he assumes to be Kyle’s friends from debate camp. There’s lots of pictures of them laughing, shouting at each other, and Stan can recognize locations like the dorms and quads Kyle told him about. There’s one specific boy that’s in almost every picture. Stan’s not sure why he notices him, besides his blonde hair and glasses, there’s nothing special about his appearance. Stan does notice, though, that this boy is next to Kyle in every single polaroid. 

When he reaches the bottom of the pile, there’s one picture that makes his stomach twist in a funny way. It’s close up, telling Stan that Kyle took it himself rather than having someone else do it. It’s just Kyle, beaming that brilliant smile, looking at the other boy, who’s grinning right back. The boy’s lips are parted in a way that makes it seem like he’s about to speak, or maybe he was mid-sentence when the photo was taken. They seem unaware of the camera, too caught up in their own laughter to look at it even though Kyle’s the one who pressed the shutter button. Stan holds the picture a bit too tightly, only looking up when he hears Kyle enter the room.

“What are you doing?” Kyle asks, standing in the open doorway. Stan watches as his eyes dart down to the photos, widening when he sees the one in Stan’s hand.

“Who is this?” Stan asks. Kyle told him about his friends in stories and letters, but no one seemed important enough to be in almost every picture.

Kyle crosses the room, taking the polaroid from Stan. He handles it gently, looking down at the picture as he sits on the edge of his bed. “He’s- He was my roommate,” he says, lacking the enthusiasm he usually has when talking about his debate camp friends.

“What’s his name?” Stan asks, knitting his brows together. Kyle hadn’t mentioned a roommate in his stories. At least, not that he could remember.

“Does it matter?” Kyle asks, putting the polaroid back into the pile with the rest. The action is a bit dramatic, and it feels like something Kyle would do if he was trying to prove that this boy didn’t matter.

Stan keeps his tone light, tempted to reach out to the other just to close the weird distance between them. “Guess not. It just looks like you guys were really close.”

Kyle turns to him suddenly, and Stan can see how red his cheeks are. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Stan replies quickly, throwing his hands up defensively. “What? You got a new best friend while you were at camp and you don’t wanna tell me about him?”

Kyle doesn’t seem amused by this joke, probably because he can tell that Stan’s not really joking. The redhead swallows thickly and Stan has to look away to hide the embarrassment on his face. He hadn’t even thought about the comment before he made it. 

Everyone knows Stan and Kyle are best friends. They don’t say it out loud often, opting to write it in birthday cards or save the words for special occasions. It’s not something that needs to be affirmed constantly, or even addressed for the most part. Still, Kyle knows that Stan gets insecure about his place in Kyle’s life sometimes. Stan would never admit that, of course, but Kyle knows because he can read him like a book. 

“His name is David,” Kyle says after a moment. He’s not looking at Stan, instead, shuffling the polaroids together into a neat little pile. “He’s not my new best friend, don’t worry.”

Stan lets out a puff of air, trying to show just how little he was worried, but it’s clearly forced. “So why didn’t you mention him?”

In the silence that falls after his question, Stan can hear how shallow Kyle’s breathing becomes. The same uneasy feeling starts in his gut as he watches Kyle adjust himself on the bed, nervously twisting his fingers together.

“David, um,” Kyle begins, looking just about anywhere but Stan. “He was kind of more than a friend.”

“What do you mean?” Stan asks slowly, even though he knows there’s no other way to interpret that. Kyle has a friend who is more than a friend. A more-than-friend who’s a boy.

Kyle looks right at him with those bright green eyes, welling with so much uncertainty. “ Stan .” He says his name like it’s a plea, his voice tight.

The entire room feels still, and the twinge of unease in his stomach turns into full-on nausea. Stan grips the comforter beneath his fingers just for something to hold on to. He opens his mouth, wanting to ask a million questions- Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Are you sure? But, he knows they’re all pointless. Kyle doesn’t need to answer anything for Stan to know exactly what he’s trying to tell him. 

“Really?” Stan asks, his voice barely a whisper.

Kyle just nods, his jaw clenched too tight to speak.

“So, you,” Stan starts, but the words feel odd in his mouth. “You… You like boys? That’s- that’s,” he stammers, choking on the word okay . He wants to tell the other that it’s okay, but he can’t. 

Looking at the boy sitting across from him, it feels like he has no idea who he is. Stan knows about gay people, he’s seen them on the news or in Shelley’s magazines, always talking about how we’re just like you! But, that image doesn’t fit Kyle. He’s not a face on TV, he’s Stan’s best friend, trusted with all of his secrets, hopes, and fears. But now, there’s this massive part of Kyle that’s just been hidden away, that Stan can’t even begin to understand.

“When did you figure this out?” Stan asks.

Kyle lets out a breath, shrugging his shoulders. When he speaks, his voice is uneasy, higher than usual. “I don’t know. Um, I don’t know. Like, I think I’ve always known? But I didn’t really want to know, or, I guess, want it to be true. It’s hard to explain.”

Stan nods, chewing on the inside of his lip as he stares down at the polaroid. The bright expression on David’s face feels smug to him now, like he’s taunting Stan, I know your best friend better than you do.

Still looking down, Stan speaks again. “Why didn’t you talk to me?”

“I wanted to,” Kyle says, quick in his response. “I really wanted to tell you. For a while, actually. I just didn’t know how, I didn’t know if it was real. And I-” His voice breaks, and when Stan looks up, he can see that tears have begun falling down the other’s face. “ Fuck, ” Kyle whispers.

“You’re crying,” Stan says, though it almost sounds like a question. He wants to reach out, his hand twitching to wipe away the other’s tears. But, he finds himself unable to move forward, an invisible wall between them.

Kyle slides the heel of his hand across his cheek, trying to catch the tears before they fall. “I’m sorry, I just-” he pauses, sniffling. “If you don’t want to be around me anymore, or something, just tell me, okay?”

“What are you talking about?” Stan asks. Kyle stares back at him, wide-eyed, and Stan feels like he can actually see the other for the first time tonight. A sudden clarity hits him like a bat to the head. “You’re my best friend, Kyle. You’re always gonna be.”

Kyle exhales, letting the tears pour down his face freely now. “Really?” He asks, and the soft smile that comes across his lips makes Stan want to cry too.

“Yeah, dude. Um, do you,” he looks over Kyle, whose hands are still shaking slightly. “You want a hug?”

Kyle doesn’t even respond, instead falling forward into Stan. The redhead wraps his arms tightly around Stan’s waist, quick to bury his face in his shoulder. He nearly knocks the wind out of Stan, who slowly wraps his arms across his back in return. 

Stan exhales, just holding his friend. He can feel his t-shirt grow wet with tears, and that Kyle is trying to hide his face from him. There’s lots of things he wants to say to console the other, this doesn’t change anything, or I don’t care if you like boys . But, that’s not true, there’s no way that things aren’t going to be different after this. Kyle will still be Kyle, his short-tempered smartass best friend. But, Stan feels like he’s been punched in the gut by dozens of unfamiliar, terrifying feelings tonight that he can’t even begin to sort out. The two of them will be okay, Stan is sure of this. But, he’s feeling less and less sure of himself.

After some time, Kyle pulls away, quick to bring his arms back around himself. “Sorry for the waterworks,” he says, still sniffling though it looks like he’s done crying.

“It’s cool,” Stan says. Awkwardly, he reaches a hand up to Kyle’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. And, because he has no idea what he’s supposed to say now, he says, “I’m, uh, glad you told me.”

“Yeah,” Kyle exhales. He stretches his legs out from beneath him, laying back down on the bed in his usual comfortable position. His face is still blotchy, and Stan wants to reach out and wipe his cheeks dry. Instead, he just hugs his knees up to his chest, looking down at the other.

“Are you gonna tell anyone else?” Stan asks.

Kyle’s face scrunches up for a moment, the same way it does when he looks at a long homework assignment. “Not now. I feel like Cartman doesn’t need to know that the slurs he calls me are true.”

Stan nearly laughs, but falls quiet when he actually thinks about what was just said. How many times has Kyle had to stay silent when his friends were calling their classmates gay? How many times has Stan just listened and laughed at the jokes Cartman made about the two of them?

“Hey,” Kyle reaches out, tugging at the leg of Stan’s pants. There’s a soft smile on his face, but it feels bittersweet when there are still tear marks too. “You can laugh, dude, I was making a joke.”

Stan nods, putting on a smile back. “I know.”

Kyle chews on the inside of his cheek for a second, then turns his face away, staring at the ceiling while he talks. “I don’t really want people to know yet. At least, not the hicks that live around here.”

“What about your mom and dad?”

The question earns a scoff from Kyle. “My mom? Hearing that I’m never going to breed and make her dozens of little Jewish grandchildren? I think she’d faint.”

“Yeah, probably,” Stan says, picking at the lint on the comforter. “But, you’re really not gonna tell them? What about Ike?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Kyle replies, a frown coming across his face. “But, he’s only ten. He’s smart, but he doesn’t really get this kind of stuff yet. Did you even know what a gay person was when you were ten?”

Stan leans back against the headboard as he thinks. He’s pretty sure that, at ten, he didn’t really know what being gay was. In hindsight, his elementary school teachers or boy scout leaders that his dad would call “funny” were probably the first gay people he knew. “I guess not.”

“I think that if I told anyone, I would have maybe a week until the rest of the town found out. They’d probably bully Ike just for being related to me.” Kyle sits up on his elbows, looking over to Stan. “You won’t say anything, right?”

“Of course not,” Stan replies quickly. “I swear, dude. I’d never do that to you.”

A small, relieved smile comes across Kyle’s face as he sits up. “I know. I just, I dunno, wanted to check.”

Stan looks out the window to the mostly dark street, reminding himself that life exists outside of him and Kyle in this room. As far as he knows, there aren’t any out kids in their grade. There’s a few guys that his peers have decided are different, who get pushed around and shoved in lockers despite claiming to be straight. Thinking about Kyle getting treated like that makes an anger that he rarely feels blossom in his chest, and he has to clench his fists. But, when he glances back at Kyle, shuffling his polaroids back into their envelope, he feels a small sense of pride. He’s the only one in town who knows this secret, and Kyle trusts him to protect it.

He’s still not really happy about this David kid, and the fact that Kyle is still looking at his photo as he puts the others away. But, he’ll push that feeling pretty deep down.

“David’s out, at home,” Kyle says, just before tucking the polaroid into the envelope. “He’s from New York City. He says his dad wasn’t really happy about it, and he lost some friends, but he doesn’t regret it.”

“Yeah?” Stan replies, watching as Kyle places the envelope carefully on his nightstand. “Did any of the guys at camp know about you?”

“Not, like, explicitly,” Kyle responds. “They knew about David and they knew me and him spent a lot of time together. No one ever asked, but I think they connected the dots.”

Stan frowns. When their friends see him and Kyle off alone together, they’re quick to poke fun at how gay the two of them act. He can’t imagine how much worse it would be if Kyle was actually out. Thinking back, he understands why Kyle spoke so highly of camp and the new friends he had made.

“So, the two of you guys were together?” Stan asks, trying to keep his voice neutral. “You and David?”

When Stan turns away from the window, Kyle is already looking at him. They both look away quickly, and the tingly sensation in his palms return as he waits for an answer. “We were,” Kyle says in a quiet voice. “I had such a crush on him the first week. He was really smart, and funny, and not arrogant like a lot of the other guys. Do you-” Kyle looks back over at Stan, who’s very focused on staring out the window again. “Do you want to hear this?”

The question makes Stan’s face heat up. He thought he wasn’t being obvious with how uncomfortable the subject was making him feel. “I mean, if you wanna talk about it-” Stan starts, shrugging like it’s not a big deal to him. “I don’t know if I really, um, want details and stuff. N-not because it’s a guy, though!”

When he finally looks at Kyle, the redhead is smiling, trying to contain his laughter. Stan wipes his palms on his pants.

“What’s so funny?” He asks, unable to stop the smile that comes across his face now.

“Your face right now, dude. You look constipated.” Stan opens his mouth to protest, which causes Kyle to break and start laughing. “It’s okay if you don’t want to hear about him. I don’t like hearing about you and Wendy. It’s not a gay thing, it’s just, I dunno, cringey?”

Stan lets out a breath of relief, allowing himself to laugh along. “Fucked up that you never told me you don’t like hearing about Wendy, but, good to know it’s mutual.” He pauses, letting out a loud yawn. “Sorry, I was up at like 6 this morning, I’m beat.”

Kyle rolls his eyes, but Stan can tell that he’s getting pretty tired too. “I can, um,” he begins, glancing down at the space between them on the bed. “Do you want me to grab you extra blankets or something?”

“Why would you do that?” Stan asks, rubbing his eye as he leans back against the headboard.

Kyle takes a second to respond, in which Stan realizes just what he means. “I can sleep on the floor or something, if you don’t want to share. It’s really okay.”

Right . They’ve slept beside each other since they were toddlers, sharing a nap mat in kindergarten. The thought that they wouldn’t do that anymore didn’t even cross Stan’s mind at first, and knowing that Kyle was worried about it makes him feel terrible. “I don’t mind, dude.”

“Are you sure? It’s really fine-” Stan hadn’t noticed, but Kyle’s been keeping a distance between them, sitting at the end of his bed.

“You were gay the last time I stayed over, right?” Stan asks, and, after a pause, he can see the tension leave Kyle’s body.

The redhead smiles, moving over to the same side of the bed as his friend. The two of them don’t need to say anything as they slide under the covers, careful to leave enough room for the other. Stan stays against the wall, coming to lay down on his back just as Kyle flicks the lamp on his nightstand off. In the darkness, there isn’t anything to distract him, just the sound of Kyle’s breathing as he settles into the bed beside him.

They lay there for some time, both staring up at a black ceiling. Even though he was tired before, now that he’s actually laying down, he knows his thoughts are swarming too fast for him to actually get any sleep tonight.

Softly, he hears from beside him, “Stan?”

“Yeah?” He replies.

“Do you think I’m being a wimp if I don’t tell anyone else?”

The answer comes easily to him. “No, not at all.”

“I just- Fuck , it’s scary.”

Stan grips the blanket beneath his hand, because Kyle sounds just like he did when they were little, and all he wants to do is tell his best friend that he’ll be okay. But, Kyle would see right through that, so all he says is, “I know, dude.”

He hears Kyle shuffle beside him, and without looking, he knows the other’s face is turned towards him. “Thanks for coming over tonight.”

“Of course. It’s been a really shitty summer without you.”

“I guess,” Kyle starts. “Thanks for staying . After I told you.”

Stan lets out a breath, trying to exhale some of the weight on his chest. There’s a lot on his mind, and so many things he’s unsure of right now. But, more than anything, he knows he could never lose this , staying beside his best friend. He doesn’t quite know how to verbalize this, for fear of sounding too cheesy or insecure or needy. So, instead, he just looks over at Kyle, giving him a smile that he hopes the other can make out in the dark.

“So,” Stan starts, keeping his voice a whisper. “Do you think you can get your mom to make pancakes for breakfast?”

The question earns a small fit of laughter from Kyle, who starts to complain about how Stan only stays over for the luxury breakfast the next day. Stan turns over to face him when he retorts, and they fall into their usual ritual of whispering lame jokes and stories, which only grow more random and delirious the longer they talk. Eventually, their conversation will dwindle, and they’ll fall asleep facing each other, soft smiles on their faces.

[chim-chim1310]

Sorry, but Jimin has no impact? What a lie. I'm from an Asian country that's very heteronormative, does not view androgynous people positively, and still gives K-pop a side-eye. But despite all that Jimin is close to a household name here, especially for younger generations (BTS as a group is undeniably more known). Media outlets mention Jimin all the time. There are even some TV shows that mention him; one, in particular referenced him in their scenes where the female characters are borderline obsessed with him (no mention of BTS, just Jimin). He has so many aspiring look-alikes here. He has people of all ages as fans.

The maknae line's impact and popularity depend on where and who you're asking honestly, but to say that JM has no impact is ridiculous. Not everyone or the GP cares about charts too, so while JM's achievements there are set, that's not the basis of everything. What about his int'l ambassadorship, his music, performances, and charity works? All those crowds, people reacting on him, the demand for him on Hollywood movies (as singer and actor), products selling out, stocks increasing? Are all those figment of our imagination? Go to SoKor and see how Jimin "has no impact" there.

Jimin catches and demands people's attention. I can attest to that because I once made my sibling (who's very indifferent when it comes to K-pop) watch some of BTS' MVs and performances, and guess what, Jimin is the one who stood out the most for her. I was a baby army back then and did this without even telling her who my (developing) bias is.

I could go on and on and state facts here but close-minded people won't care. It's futile. So for that anon and for people who think the same, go do whatever makes you sleep at night. Jimin has nothing to prove to you anyway. He's successful now and I will always be proud of him.

Anon you're fucking amazing for stating facts here. I 100% agree.

You know what most of insecure pjms or maybe just solo stans usually just see what armies are talking about and then take it as a fact and act like just because armies is talking about it, it means that the general public is talking about it too.

Jungkook and taehyung are the most biased in the fandom and that's why people who only see things what armies are talking about they make a perception that jk and tae are the most popular ones. But they fail to realize that jk and tae are just the most biased and too it's just within the fandom.

But outside of bts, jimin is the only one who attracts people's attention. You're right general public don't care about charts, they probably won't even look at it. But general public talk about someone when that person catches their attention and almost all the time it's jimin. Just take the award shows or group performances in US, jimin had trended so many times among the locals.

And obviously he's the prince of South Korea. People adore him there.

So yeah......outside of fandom if we compare, jimin is obviously the most talked about and popular then jk and tae.

Some people just lurk on army twitter, obviously they'll see jk and tae more there because they are more biased by the army, reason I've already discussed in my previous post. They lurk only within the fandom and then act as if the fandom is the whole world. Like get out of the bubble and see the reality.

[therappundit]

***THE RAP PUNDIT PICKS: 10 Albums From 2023***

ICYMI, THE PUNDIT'S PICKS - 150 SONGS FROM 2023: https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/737507981202259968/the-rap-pundits-picks-150-songs-from

Here we are, last post of 2023! Below are some of my favorite albums that dropped this year. Hope you dug these releases as well, and either way, please feel free to share your favorites from throughout the year.

Wish you all a happy & healthy New Year (buckle up, 2024 is already lookin' like it's going to be a bumpy one)...and I shouldn't even have to say this, but remember that music has no expiration date, so keep these great releases in rotation into '24 and beyond 🙏

We Buy Diabetic Test Strips by Armand Hammer

2. VOIR DIRE by Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist

3. Maps by billy woods & Kenny Segal

4. Ganger (Deluxe Edition) by Veeze

5. Burning Desire by Mike

6. Another Triumph of Ghetto Engineering by Open Mike Eagle

(Nostalgia in the right hands can be as reliable of a slam dunk in music as they come.

7. Another Planet 4 by Phik & Lungs/Loneswird

(A raw bar fest from start to finish, that's made it this high on my list off the strength of relentless consistency. Amidst the scattershot references to pop culture and NYC-isms, there are two MC's with a lot to say, so listen closely and you're bound to learn more about their personal tastes and opinions. Phiik and Lungs have off the charts chemistry and a shared vision of keeping their foot firmly on the pedal from opening bell on any verse right on through the period at the end. Another Planet 4 is just the duo's latest display of comradery in what can be considered a deceptively lengthy catalogue, but here we have Lungs/Lonesword doing a great job of establishing himself as not just a Micro Machine motor-mouth on the mic, but a producer that's capable of carving his loops into an equally potent tool to share his voice.)

8. And Then You Pray For Me by Westside Gunn

(Maybe not the record that the oldest "loyal" Griselda fans wanted, or the trap record that turned the less tapped in into Griselda stans, but it's absolutely the record that Westside Gunn. For years, anyone that followed the Griselda Records mastermind knew that the curator of some of the hardest rap records to arrive in the tradition of the Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, and Roc Marciano, at his core was a huge Young Dolph fan that wanted nothing more than to drop an album that tipped his hat to the legendary Dirty South hustlers and Three 6 mobsters that inspired him. It can be viewed as a "something for everyone" album, and while there are some static moments on the back half of the project, on the high points of And Then They Prayed For Me, Gunn is bouncing from track to track with the gleeful mania of Nicholson's Joker at the museum, fiercely confident that whatever art he smashes is immediately improved just for having made contact with him. The irony is that some of his best artistic choices don't make any reference to art at all...like his delivery on "Suicide in Selfridges" and "Disgusting", and who would have anticipated Estee Nack's delivery on "JD Wrist"!?)

9. Pommon Sense by dp0mmy

(It wouldn't be bold for me to suggest that Atlanta is bubbling with hip-hip talent, mostly because Atlanta has been at the rap game table calling shots for about 20+ years now. However, outside of the ATL, a lot of rap fans don't think of the Southern mecca as being the hotbed of diverse underground talent that it really is. Well, if this is news to you, pressing play on dp0mmy's Pommon Sense will set the record straight. A wide range of "non-household" names stop by on the young producer's record to make their presence known, so much so that it will take you a long time to really get through this album...because you will pause after every other track to check the credits, and get lost down a Youtube or Soundcloud hole, checking out the backlog of one of the many talented Atlanta-based artists that work with dp0mmy. Of course dp0mmy is at the center of it all, holding court amongest the instrumental tracks and burts of bars with standout production that puts more life and beauty into underground beats than I have heard from any under the radar producer since DJ Spinna. I'm very excited for any future music to come out of this camp, and you should be as well.)

10. Pap On P.E.D's by Papo2oo4

(As fresh and raw as he is an homage to some of rap's best music from the past two decades, Papo2oo4 sounds every bit of the New Jersey-by-way-of-NYC that he is. He can casually slide between verses and hooks with the casual menace of Curtis Jackson, but his style is definitively his own. Papo sounds equally at home over dusty instrumentals as he does over fist-pumping, Jersey club beats, and with Pap On P.E.D's being his strongest tape yet, there aren't many artists entering the new year with as sharp of an upward trajectory as Papo2oo4 is right now.)

Honorable Mention: Mookie Blaylock by Jiles & Vinyl Villain, Faith Is A Rock by Wiki, MIKE & The Alchemist, Trapper of the Year by Certified Trapper, Catch&Release by S!LENCE & Lungs, Hood Hottest Princess (Deluxe) by Sexyy Red, 2MM by Sideshow, Sundial by Noname, Summer's Mine by Babyface Ray, Liberation 2 by Tabli Kweli & Madlib, Noir or Never by Che Noir & Big Ghost, JOINTS by Marco Plus, Shook World by King Vision Ultra, The Son's Shine by Silky Southern, Pookey: Stik Figa Finds Himself by Stik Figa & DJ Sean P, a Gift & a Curse by Gunna, Infinite Victory Loop by Roper Williams, Owe It To Myself by G.T., Noise Kandy 5 by Rome Streetz, Mourning Due by Nappy Nina, Halfway There by 03 Greedo, 26: The Maryland Era by Tokyo Cigar, Everything Good? by Black Milk, Bin Reaper 3: New Testament by Babytron, Lonestar Luchador by That Mexican OT, and many, many more....

[the-firebird69]

It's a few other things going on and we have stories but this is huge and it is a story part of one but it is what's happening

-the UK is embroiled and it is fought over and there's a formal war now and it's heating up and in 5 days is going to be utter nightmare. At that time Trump is trying to control the place. He holds them under guard to forcing them to do the job.

were putting a warrant on him now

There are few things we don't put up with you making our son irate I thinkimg you won the argument and you didn't

and we're going to take measures too against Dave and his crew these people have to get out of here and it sucks so bad there's such whiny little Jews

-in the UK there are about 700 million tanks top side 165 ft long the entire North is suppressed and it's only about a hundred miles north of the southern tip and they are trying to advance all the time to the South and the crew is there stopping them and they were there from the start eventually he takes it over and grab some and uses their forces but that's in Sunday bloody Sunday and it is Sunday and it is building up here too that bja is fighting everybody and eventually he takes over the operation that's what you see in the edge of Tomorrow Trump is not a free man nor is Stan. It's heading that way for this coming Sunday and in the meantime Freddy Krueger is formed and Freddy versus Jason happens and it happens out there and there's an experience that goes on. It is men who put him in the furnace and they do move the first to his house that he got put in it's the same one from Jerry chaise house and Jerry didn't do it to him but they are trying to frame him. And Jerry should say was threatening our son with it, and he was doing that under the influence of the clones a little but he did himself too and now he's going to pay for it. I guess Garth is going to burn that's how he dies so he's upset. It is beginning shortly and today there are court cases that help lead up to it I wanted them is against John remillard and his next door smirking is 11:00 a.m. court case wants to go into the laundromat and bother our son. Do so at your own risk. And he plans to and we're going to mess you up. So he's a fag. It's a different kind of court case if he misses it he's going to prison not jail and then send it to this is a civil case with a criminal aspect and it's for crimes he's doing around town continuously saying they're not crimes and his son too is charged with it and they're observing their behavior here it is very good that they do and these two are going to pay for their actions cuz I see they've been doing it to them constantly by the way and to an end and they're charging them with crimes conspiracy to commit homicide too A lot of them are going to go to prison at least two are supposed to.

There is more it's going to be a heck of a week.

-it starts off with us doing construction projects here and if we don't get it in here we'll get delayed again and we mean Florida we have to be here there's way too much action going on so I'm pretty in for it now and several of them not too many something like 10:00 and it works before

we've been found meddling they say and when I say is you've been found doing a lot worse and we are going to take care of you

-today is a huge day and kicks off a lot of stuff but there's a huge amount of things happening and what we said during the weekend is going to start today they are going to start removing higher-ups before they go out to the inner ring last night 21 out 15 households came back the 50 regents of the warlock are dead and that's a lot but now there's 35 households for real you went down to 40 and it's getting low that's not very many left none of those 50 some new a few people and they were mostly obscure friends of a friend and they were in the crowd or pack and one of them you do a little bit better and it was David Curran this time now he passed away already his name was Rick Shaw. He didn't know him that much he knew him from Red devils football and it helped our son to be in that team and he was doing okay they respected him for making it and he didn't say hi and stuff like that that's what it though that's about it. They died horrific deaths they're captured in circles and exterminated really because they kept on shooting at people and didn't want to be brought in. The implications are far-reaching those houses are connected to other areas out there and those areas begin to deteriorate and people like him and his cadre were silent most of time and we're not running up to our son to tell him stuff so they had a pretty good Force it's dwindling now and it started dwindling very fast because they are engaging the clothes as you'll see they go through people quick he was calling for help you got something but most of you didn't listen and it was too late in this area is collapsing and we'll take care of the clones. Basically it's a huge area in South America names Peru and it's an important area it's huge it's like a third of the country and it stretches to the South almost to the tip and yeah it's on the western side. And in that area and it is Steve Shaw there will be the rubies and that was his wife and she knew he was gone and she's warning people about the empire and pseudo empire. This is she said she'll hold on to the rubies because they'll come and try and take them so far there were three attempts this morning and she's a trumpster that's who Steve shaw was and it's going on right now that people are fighting it. And she is trying to get near our son and figure she's a widow so she's going to try that. It's going on now too.

-there are several other things happening as a result other areas that they were in control of are starting to become a mess one of them is Western DC and that's where our son saw the general who made the Iran Contra affair happen and that was Tommy f and it's his doing and he made it happen and it's because he wants to infiltrate through that area and he was saying it to you and Arnie and others and he got beat up for it and they're going in now and they need information and more and it does lead to the movie salt or they try and threaten the White House and other nuclear weapons and so on to infiltrate. And tons of people keep them out not just the max you're going to have a war there because of what happened yesterday and last night and additionally areas in Japan are freed up and being fought over mostly the clones one of uses areas to infiltrate because he did a lot of investigations into what they're doing and posted a ton of it and tons of people are reading it right now it's going global. And there's tons of other things happening one of them is his wife is sad and irate and upset and doesn't care much for the fight let's see if people are finally alive it says he should have told people and you're seeing me posted it like me and she got mad and said he's posting his balls off and you're not paying attention and tons of people are now paying attention and see the clones here bothering you all the time it's just a smart person and it's helping her your family's helping and she'll be fine he was also abusive

-we need to straighten out a few things but we're going to post now

Thor Freya

Olympus

These are disgusting men with the clones are worse just barely

Hera

[mirabelthemiracle]

We do not stan South Park in this household

fuckin hate south park

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

What I find extremely distressful and what bothers me to the greatest extent is that Everyone, and I mean it Everyone - Queen, C&C, W&K, other royals, ALL RRs, ALL royal staff, LITERALLY EVERYONE, was aware of what was going on ie the bullying. And NOT A SINGLE ONE of them did ANYTHING! (The monarchists and Cambridge stans better stay out of this and stop defending them). I'm really really bothered by this. I'm honestly horrified!

And that “everyone” includes a big chunk of the public. Even when people suspected that something was going on, we would get shut down with pap stories about how wonderful Meghan was and how everyone loved her. 

And they just kept giving her more and more rewards. They were abusing staff during the wedding, but they still got Commonwealth positions and train rides with the Queen. I was sure she wouldn’t get another tour after the horror stories coming out of Australia, but then she got Morocco. They had to separate the households to keep their staff safer, and yet she got a South Africa tour.

 No wonder they didn’t behave. The strategy for dealing with their misbehavior was to give them more stuff.  

[heavensenthearty]

Are you seeing all the discourse today? Especially the AntiZuko? I’m getting stressed out right now.

I have peeked at it. I responded with a little rant of my own here, but tbh, I have mostly just scrolled past it. I have reached that point as part of the ATLA fandom.

I keep wondering... what is even the point in having a show inspired solely in Eastern and Central American culture, with an almost exclusively indigenous and South Asian cast of characters, the ones who include disabled-coded characters that come from explicitly abusive households only to still bring "white" analogies and "who can identify more with who" based on their skin color and country?

What is the point in exploring so many dark themes about loss and trauma only to start a competition of "who has suffered more than who"?

Geez, just saying that is already so morbid!

And from a writing and plain logical point of view, all the arguments they are giving about why is it wrong that Zuko is one of the most popular characters are just nonsensical. He isn't "stealing" any of Aang's (or anyone else's) rightful popularity. He simply does not exist. The people that brought him into existence only put a hella lot of effort in his character arc, and they made him go through efforts and pain throughout the story, and they made him feel that pain, we as an audience saw him go through that and fight against it and that's why we feel empathy for him.

If there's something I'll never, ever, ever forgive the show is that they didn't let Aang grieve Gyatso and the rest of the Air Nomads properly. It was all sporadic mentions and unrealistic, unhelpful advices.

No, kid, nothing is going to be alright! Your family, your friends, your culture died! People are still dying, people are mad at you! Cry, scream, do whatever you want, you're in your right to do so! You don't have to be an idealized, forgiveness-preaching version of what people believes a worthy hero is! But while you're coping, go outside and do some Chosen One stuff even if you don't want to because there are things to be fixed. And maybe they won't go back to being fine the way you knew them, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to create a new way of "fine" because this is supposedly a story about healing, to begin with!

👆🏽 See how that isn't what happened and he got a girls-only fanclub just one episode after he found his mentor's skeleton instead?

This is a problem with the narrative, not the character. In fact, this problem is damaging the character, it is holding him back and keeping him from achieving his full potential. Aang's character was detrimented by writing choices that made him inconsistent and unrelatable for the audience. People want to blame someone for that? Then blame the real writers that caused all of it to happen, not the fictional character that was better-written or us for noticing the difference.

My personal advice, A, is to count your blessings: Zuko is a great character, and even if he isn't exempt of faults, his is a very inspiring story and an amazing writing inspiration. Stan him unapologetically. Stan Aang unapologetically if you want, too, because Aang is a sweet character and his potential can still be explored in thousands of different ways in fanworks. It is a potential that wasn't achieved in canon, tho, and that's a conversation we should be having.