#kenbuttman

Thanks, @sinfulsanchez! OvO/ I was hoping for this one!

Why I like them: Basically, Cartman makes me laugh. Whether he’s acting cute or being pathetic, it’s always funny. I watch South Park to have a good time, and he’s a big part of what makes that time good. Furthermore I love the possibilities for his character. He can be completely unapologetically sociopathic one minute, and then the next he’ll have feelings, and be caring about his friends, and acting just like any other kid. Therefore, there’s potential for him to go through this long, angst-ridden redemption arc where he feels bad about his past and worries how his future will be if he keeps being the way he is and so makes a change through the power of friendship and learning about the power of love, or potential for him to stay the way he is and become a big, infamous, evil criminal mastermind, with immense intelligence and limitless power which will bring him as much wealth as he has enemies. It is that flexibility and versatility of his which intrigues me.

Why I don’t: I don’t even know if I should bother answering this. Isn’t it obvious why I wouldn’t like Cartman? Because he’s an ignorant bigot, and because he’s racist, and because he says anti-Semitic things, and because he’s misogynistic, and because he’s petty and childish, and because he’s basically this big fucking idiot who needs to grow the fuck up. What annoys me the most is that he never seems to learn from the mistakes he makes, or he learns the wrong lesson. It’s totally hindering his character development. Cartman never learns so he never changes so he stays all of those adjectives and nouns which I described him by. I understand that he kind of has to stay this way for the show’s sake, so that he can serve as their “antagonist” since characters on South Park are often less so actual characters and more so story-telling tools. Still, I’d like to see him develop a little. That’s why I’m always super psyched when he does something different: when he risks life and limb to save his friends, or when he shows concern for his friends, or anything which suggests he’s belatedly maturing. But then it’s ruined when, the following week, he’ll wish death or disease upon his friends, or trick or manipulate them into a dangerous situation, and it becomes obvious that he still has a long way to go. That’s why I enjoy fanon so much: I can skip all of that shit from the show and just see him being all mellowed out and matured in fanworks, and I can feel satisfied in that.

Favourite episode: This was a hard pick since I love a heck lot of the episodes which Cartman stars in, and Cartman stars in pretty much almost every episode anyway. I can never choose one favourite, so I’m going to just cheat and choose several, which are: Casa Bonita, AWESOM-O, Die, Hippie, Die, The Death of Eric Cartman, Smug Alert, Tsst, Go God Go, Go God Go XII, The Snuke, Le Petit Tourette, Breast Cancer Show Ever, Bass to Mouth, 1%, Cartman Finds Love, and Obama Wins! I’m not sure what these favourites all have in common, although I think it’s that some of them are comedy based on misunderstandings (one of my favourite kinds), some show another unseen depth to Cartman or let us watch as he seems to be going through a development or change (which, as I said, I always get psyched about), and then some contain Cartman just being stupid or wrong in a way which hilariously comes back to bite him (as per usual).

Favourite line: I’m not good with remembering quotes, but one which I really do remember thus must sit right with me is, “Kyle, this is the way the world works! If you wanna find some quality friends you gotta wade through all the dicks first!” It has some truth to it, so it’s just funny to me that this quote came from the likes of Eric Cartman.

Favourite outfit: Gosh, Cartman has so many amazing outfits! The first one that comes to mind is from that very first scene of Imaginationland I, when he’s trying to prove to Kyle that leprechauns exist, and he’s got that vest and that plaid shirt on. But I also love his cute, little t-shirts, like the ones he was wearing during that fight scene in Breast Cancer Show Ever and while being frozen in Go God Go.

OTP: Kyman. I think Kyle’s one of the very few people who is Cartman’s equal, and one of the very few who legitimately cares about him and has hope for him to become better. I feel like he’s someone very important to Cartman, and their town would fall if he wasn’t by his side.

BROTP: Kenman and Buttman. Or better yet, Kenbuttman! I love it whenever it’s Cartman and his Blond Bitches, like it was in The Magic Bush.

Headcanon: Cartman’s actually super smart and could pass all his classes with flying colours and be in the same league as the A students like Kyle and Wendy. He’s just too lazy and doesn’t care enough to apply himself to his schoolwork.

Unpopular opinion: Cartman can change. Belatedly maybe, but he still has a chance to realise his mistakes, own up to his flaws, and try to become a better person, someone others can like and be proud to call their friend.

An oh-god-please-don’t-ever-happen: Cartman killing anyone he cares about. It’s always a likelihood in a show like this, and it sucks because if he went ahead and murdered, or was the fault of the death of, his mom or any of his friends, the show would be stripped of a good character, and I don’t think that I would still be able to call Cartman my fave.