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southieparkie · 2 years

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Hot Take Bunny Headcanons and Responses to Common Bunny Arguments that Really Aren’t Even Hot Takes Now That I’m Reading Over Them But Whatever Lol.

I’m gonna start off with some good ol’ headcanons.

Butters is a short king and Kenny is a tall king. That’s just how it is.

I headcanon that although Butters is fairly secure in his identity as an AMAB, he still finds comfort in, and even encourages, feminine pet names. Kenny calls him “princess,” “wife,” and very jokingly, “babygirl”

Butters smokes. Kenny is a stoner. Argue with ya mama. Also Kenny gets pissed sometimes because Leo gets lipgloss on his blunts and it just throws off his mojo. But he can’t stay mad at him for long <3

Bunny is a pretty couple. I don’t care they just are. Kenny has a very pretty face, very charming and very handsome. And Butters. Butters is fucking gorgeous. All of his bullies in elementary school got ugly. Him, though? He got his glow up.

I am a huge fan of flirtatious Butters. LIKE. HUGE FAN.

Bunny is ADHD x ADHD couple I’m correct I’m correct I’m correct.

I actually really like the idea of rebellious reckless Kenny. Like, that’s my shit right there. Because if he is, and he gets hurt, that gives Butters an excuse to doctor him up and be all fluffy with him.

Vic Chaos is Dr. Mccormick’s sugar mama-

Fuck y’all “Buttercup” is an adorable nickname. Nicknames in general are just adorable.

All of my other “hot-take” headcanons are inappropriate. So I’m not gonna talk about them-

What I wanna do now is take a minute (or twenty) to talk about common discourse-starters in the Bunny fandom.

But first, I wanna reiterate one more time. When I say butters is gnc, he is a gnc CREATUREEEEE. He is hyper-femme (me fr). He has meltdowns about his trauma, then covers his tears with makeup (me fr), he expresses his feelings through his sewing machine (kinda sorta me fr), has the best outfits in school (me fr), and will key your car :)

But don’t assume that I also believe he’s a meak, powerless, washed up little baby just because I headcanon that he’s gnc (If you automatically associate femininity with any of these traits, I’m gonna give you the nastiest side eye.) Butters, from what I can understand, is a slick little guy. He’s shady, he’s a gossiper, he’s prone to snapping at people, and I’m happy (<- lying) to admit that he has this weird jealousy relationship thing going on with women. Personality ≠ Hair and Makeup and feminine outfits. Those are two totally seperate things.

Protective Kenny

In terms of Bunny, people say that Kenny would not be Butters’ protector/save his little meow meow from the evil Stephen-Wephen. I’d like to argue that both of these aren’t outlandish ideas. They just need to be done right in order to seem legit.

Protective Kenny is such a real and accurate headcanon because…that’s who he is! That’s what he does! He protects his little sister from their questionable foster home and strange new school, he protects his friends from Cthulu’s clutches by stating that he’ll die for good if it means that his friends would be safe, he voluntarily goes to hell to protect the fucking world!

Question, if this boy is willing to sacrifice so much to make sure nothing harms who/what he loves, why is it so jaw-dropping to say that he would do so for his boyfriend?

I do get that this headcanon can be trivializing because, yeah, it does kinda bolster the whole “meak little overly-dependent meow meow” pretense onto Butters. Yes, Butters most likely will stand up to his parents one day all by himself, but what happens when Stephen inevitably responds negatively? I feel like Butters would double down after seeing Stephen’s reaction to being yelled at. Because snapping and delivering one loud, detailed, emotional monologue triggered by years of hurt, anger, and mental disintegration isn’t going to magically undo the complience, discipline, and obedience Stephen has drilled into his head.

Butters is going to back down and go back to obeying his father because it’s instinctual. And because of that, he needs someone to step in and encourage him to not fall into this headspace. He needs someone to let him know that what he feels isn’t disobedience, it’s his conscience recognizing that this is bullshit. And if that backfires, then yeah, Kenny’s gonna take matters into his own hands.

Now, the dramatic dinner table scene that ultimately leads to a shootout between Mr Stotch and Kenny while Butters watches on in fear while pissing his pants, and then Kenny shooting Mr and Mrs Stotch dead and running away with Butters to California (or vice versa) is kind of a stretch. But to defend the people who may see it as one big showdown: it’s South Park! You think these characters are going to sit over cups of tea and have a civil conversation? No! Sure, you’re allowed to dislike that outcome and dislike the fact that people write it in fanfics, but you can’t really blame authors for writing it this way because the source material is batshit insane. Think about it this way, if Matt and Trey were to write a scene where Butters stands up to his father and Kenny is there to back him up, do you think they would either:

A) Write it like this: Butters blows up at his dad, his dad retaliates, they eventually settle down and have a reasonable conversation, and then everything is fixed…

B) Write it like this: Butters blows up at his dad, his dad retaliates, Kenny steps in, Mr Stotch attacks him, they get into a gunfight with lasers and condoms rain down from the sky and Mrs Stotch flashes her tits and there’s totally unsubtle political commentary in the form of a satirical new character nobody cares about and Holy Shit, is that Joe Biden on a bicycle?!?!

Idk. I’m neither Matt nor Trey. So anyway, Kenny is a protective boyfriend.

Stephen-Hates-Kenny

I honestly don’t think Stephen would hate Kenny as much as Bunny fans think he would. Although he’s a crude kid and one that’s mysterious and questionable when it comes to making money, it’s not like he’d be outright vitriolic towards him at first sight.

What I think does happen is that Stephen starts to dislike Kenny because he can tell that Kenny has an obvious influence over his son. If his son doesn’t meet the standards that he aggressively sets for him, and he knows that an outside force is disturbing that process, then yeah. I would assume that Stephen wouldn’t like whoever that “outside force” is because that person is taking control away from him. Not because he’s poor, or a manwhore, or even because Stephen and Stuart may or may not dislike each other. It’s simply because he’s no longer allowed to manipulate and warp his son into what he believes should be the standard, because Butters is starting to think for his own and not living by the ideals and harsh life lessons his father is instilling in him.

Homophobic Stephen Stotch

Okay, this one has takes that I both agree and disagree with. Some Bunny fans think that Stephen would be totally homophobic and unsupportive of his relationship, others believe that he wouldn’t care much in that regard and even support him. Both sides just seem fundamentally weird? To me? I don’t think that he’s homophobic, per se, but I definitely don’t think he’d support it full out.

The main evidence people use in this debate to prove that Stephen isn’t homophobic is the fact that Stephen Stotch…is literally gay himself. He has a history of going to gay bathouses and watching explicit gay films. So yeah, if this is a thing, then how would he be homophobic? Easy answer. Stephen doesn’t seem all too proud of himself for his behavior. In the same episode, he expresses to his wife that he doesn’t want to be this way. So yeah, he’s fruity, but in a “Catholic gay man is ashamed of his wicked ways and wants to undo his sins before God” way, or whatever the hell.

But that isn’t it, there’s another piece of evidence that argues that he is homophobic, and that’s the infamous “Butters Bisexual” episode. When Butters is almost tricked into sexually gratifying Cartman, his father walks in. Petrified, he sends him away to a gay conversion camp. Pretty harsh stuff, and pretty telling of where he stands in terms of homosexuality, specifically when it pertains to his son. At the end of the episode, though, he…accepts? His son for being bi-curious. And then the bi-curiosity is no longer explored nor mentioned or alluded to for the duration of the show up to season 26.

I feel like another vital piece of evidence that happens to be forgotten when having this conversation is how Stephen responds to Butters getting into a relationship period. He doesn’t seem apalled by his son getting a girlfriend at all, leaving us with the conclusion that Stephen isn’t against the prospect of his son finding a partner. But it still leaves a few questions unanswered, the main one being If Stephen is okay with a straight relationship, what would his reaction to a gay relationship be?

In my opinion, I really think it’s all a matter of perception and interpretation. The problem in this discourse isn’t exactly the idea of Stephen being homophobic or supportive. (either interpretation is backed up by canon, so it’s a matter of choice really) The main issue that people take in this aspect of Bunny is the extremity of either interpretation. Rampant Homophobe Stephen Stotch kicking his son out and murdering his son’s promicuous boyfriend v.s Accepting Healing Understanding Stephen Stotch who loves his son and embraces his son and his boyfriend with loving, caring arms. Neither of these are accurate responses to the supposed scenario of Kenny and Butters dating to me.

Raging Homophobe? No.

Accepting Ally Parent? Not exactly.

Closeted Gay Man who renounces his own homosexuality as well as his son’s? Yeah, that’s probably it. But IMO a combination of both sides of the discourse can be accurate and interesting if explored with nuance and an extra dose of consideration. I’m down with either.

Womanizer/Cheater Kenny

Uh. Idk. I do think it’s a little strange that people translate “10 Year Old Boy is exposed to sexual content and infatuated with it” to “He will grow up and get around with many girls (and maybe many boys).” Ultimately, though, it isn’t something I have extreme hatred towards, moreso something that I just. Scratch my head at. And don’t really have any need to talk about. Then again, it’s not a headcanon that has no evidence to back it up. Kenny does pursue sexual encounters even at a young age. He spent what I’m assuming to be multitudes of money to buy a concert ticket and condoms, and then he sat down and watched over an hour of said concert, solely to get a BJ from Tammy Warner. So, yeah, maybe he is seeking out stuff he shouldn’t be seeking. Plus, when you take puberty and hormones into consideration, Kenny might find himself persuing a few sexual encounters as a teenager.

One scenario that I see in Bunny fics a lot that really doesn’t make sense to me is Kenny selling himself for money. Like, yeah, okay, that headcanon is also backed up by canon. He was offered $20 (I think?) to give a popular radio host a BJ. But idk? I feel like that’s something the fandom should talk about more.

Cheating Kenny just pisses me off. Like, what? The most loyal character on this show would not cheat on any of his partners, and he sure as hell wouldn’t cheat on Butters. And you can play the “it’s for angst purposes!” card all you want, but out of all of the angsty shit both of these characters go through, you wanna take the easy way out? Yeah, no. We’re not even gonna go there.

Going Native

“Going Native had no particular moments that would ever allude to Kenny and Butters becoming a thing!”

Yeah. Exactly. That’s kinda the point of crackships. You don’t need any pivitol moment to justify the ship, you just need two characters, an Ao3 account, and a broad imagination. Besides, Going Native develops Kenny and Butters’ friendship. And where there’s friendship, there’s also potential for a romantic relationship!

Angst vs Fluff

I’m sorry, but if you base a ship’s validity/quality on the angst-to-fluff ratio, I just think that’s rather silly. People often make the claim that Bunny is a boring ship because it’s too fluffy and every time I see that take I just have to internally face palm. Isn’t that…good? Isn’t fluff a good thing?

I think the reason people don’t like overly-fluffy ships is because fluffy content in general mostly consists of nothing but cuddling, dates, wedding, domestic endeavors, and overall cuteness. Nothing about fluff makes you think, and that’s the point.

What drives them away from all of that is the obvious lack of sadness. It’s showing only one side of the story. In some cases, people wanna see a breakup, trauma, another breakup, an impromptu suspected cheating arc, character development, some more of that good old trauma, and then you can get to the cuddling. Kind of like a reward for using your brain and analyzing the characters first before portraying the romantic and silly stuff. But if you specifically enjoy the cuteness of the cuddling, then you’re neglecting to mention the characters’ dramatic backstories and placing a magnifying lense on only their good, loving qualities. Which isn’t inherently bad?

Like, yeah, I like angst too. Sometimes, I need to see my babies hurt so that I can see how they cohesively decide to move forward as a couple. Cool, three-dimensionality. But what if I just want to see Kenny and Butters rub their noses together like cute baby cows in love? What if I wanna see them awkwardly fumble and cutely make mistakes in an effort to make their first date the most perfect evening of their lives? Shit, what if I just wanna read about them having a pillow fight and playing footsies under the covers? Wanting either of these things is not a bad thing to want.

Now it’s very plausible that I’m just running my mouth here and people simply want to read about character depth in fanfics. That’s fine! We all have our preferences! But when you start disliking a ship simply because the popular consensus among the ship’s fanbase is that it’s fluffy, then I just think that’s a little silly.

In my opinion, yes! Bunny is a very fluffy ship! However, with both of these characters having a history of trauma and abuse on them, chances are you’re not going to get fluff 100% of the time. There will be fights, there will be hardships. Hell, if people are bold enough to portray such a thing in fanfic, and if it’s done in a way that is tasteful and in no way romanticized, then there may even be some abuse or manipulation thrown in there as well. It’s not a crazy concept, the cycle of abuse is a real-life thing that real-life couples struggle with.

Whether or not these struggles are portrayed is up to the author of the work. But if you don’t see any of that in Bunny fanfics, then you are capable of being the author that takes that risk and writes about it in your own fanwork!

ok thats all i can think of im gonna go drink some apple juice now

#south park #sp #leopold butters stotch #kenny mccormick #sp bunny #kenny x butters #friendly reminder that as i am posting this it is STILL bhm #which means i am correct and immune to criticism about this post /j #/j

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