Why do you think k2 isn't popular anymore?
hi anon! I love to talk so I'll answer this but I'll preface it by saying that although I'm not new to South Park, I'm newer to its fandom. I joined in like 2021 and by that point k2 had already fallen out of favor! before that I just observed it peripherally.
I think it's probably for a few reasons.
of the three main 4 ships for Kyle, it's obvious why k2 is the least popular of the lot. the other two have popular shipping tropes built in (best friends and rivals). there's also not a lot of canon moments to point to, you know, k2 doesn't have a "Guitar Queer-O" or a "Crack Baby Athletic Association" or whatever, really, whereas style and kyman have several such episodes. like I guess you have "Jewbilee" but a lot of people write off those early seasons. (and you have the Mysterion trilogy... to ME. pivotal k2 moments)
and I could end it there because that explains it for the most part but you're right. I think there was a time k2 was more popular than kyman at least (style was always reigning champ until creek took the crown!!!).
I personally believe that fandom (in general, not specifically SP) in recent* years has developed this sort of obsession with Ships Becoming Canon and that some ships are More Canon and therefore More Correct than others which has throttled both crackshipping and multishipping.
like idk there were obviously ship wars (nasty ones!) and OTPs in the 00s and 2010s, but it felt like people were more open to imagining the possibilities and potential between characters who may not have had much (or any) interaction, based solely on their personalities. there's a lot to say about the evolution of fandom as a whole but that's not your question.
so people have kind of settled on their one ship per character and that's it. most Kenny ships have been snuffed out by something or other (fitting) except for one. and that's bunny. and because it's got that one episode, it's now the Most Correct choice for him.
sorry you asked about k2 and I turned this into another complaint about the loss of Kenny biking :''( anyway, I think the appeal of k2 is the potential. you also can't approach it the same way you do style or kyman which I do think has stifled its popularity. this post, despite the broken links, is one of my favorite explanations of their fandom potential that also keeps in mind that we're working within the confines of what we're given. that is to say, South Park doesn't exactly lend itself to this sort of overwrought thinking but we all do it anyway.
it's not dead tho. plenty of people do still ship it and love it!! and I hope you support the @k2-fanzine when it comes out. but yeah you're right, it's lost steam and there's more reasons than what I've listed but I talk too fucking much.
*and by recent, I mean recent! I reblogged this list of character and ship weeks from the far off year of 2019 that @6ftkyle found while deep diving his old SP blog. look at all that!
anyway you should ask my bestie @6ftkyle these questions. he's the k2 guy. I'm actually a kyman truther but I think Kenny's gonna catch his mans Kyle in his fall from grace from their inevitable divorce.
and shout out to @deny-the-bird who asked for a shout out.
