The Creek ship has become one of the most popular in the South Park fandom, particularly through fan creations. It has been praised by critics, mainly for its positive representation of homosexuality. Tweek and Craig's differing personalities have been a point of discussion amongst critics, with one suggesting their behavior in "Put It Down" parallels the varying attitudes between American citizens towards a potential nuclear strike from North Korea onto the United States. The video game South Park: The Fractured but Whole contains several references to Creek, with a side-mission of the game consisting of collecting yaoi of the two.
Background and canonical recognition
Tweek Tweak and Craig Tucker's first major interaction—and only subsequent one prior to "Tweek x Craig"—was in season 3's "Tweek vs. Craig".[1] The episode is often cited as the catalyst for the ship.[2][3] The pairing of Tweek and Craig, commonly referred to as "Creek", dates back to 2005, when fan-art depicting the two as a romantic couple began appearing on DeviantArt.[4] "Countless" pieces of fan-art and fan-fiction depicting Tweek and Craig have been created by fans.[3][5] Since its inception, Creek has remained one of the most celebrated ships in the South Park fandom, maintaining a level of popularity on FanFiction.net rivaled only by Style, the romantic pairing of Stan and Kyle.[6]
A reference to Craig's possible homosexuality appears in the season 19 episode "The City Part of Town", in which Mayor McDaniels introduces him as such; the episode aired prior to "Tweek x Craig", where the boys become romantically involved.[1] Once the show's writers became aware of Creek's popularity, they posted to the series' official blog asking fans to submit yaoi [a] artwork of Tweek and Craig to be featured in "Tweek x Craig";[4][8] roughly 1,500 pieces of art were submitted.[6]
In the episode, Tweek and Craig are initially hesitant to begin a relationship, overwhelmed by the enthusiastic support they receive from the town of South Park.[9] Ultimately, they decide to become boyfriends in order to appease South Park's residents.[10] The episode's ending did not make it clear if the two were sincere in their relationship or if they were only putting on a facade for the town.[11] Subsequent episodes confirm that Tweek and Craig remain in a relationship following "Tweek x Craig".[9] Creek was the first piece of fan-fiction to ever be featured on South Park.[12]
The game South Park: The Fractured but Whole includes both Tweek and Craig in superhero alter-egos; a side-mission of the game involves collecting yaoi portraits of the two, similar to those shown in "Tweek x Craig".[13] The player must also help them take couples therapy with the school counselor, Mr. Mackey; and one of the boys' special moves, entitled Eros Eruption, references Eros, the Greek god of love and sex.[14]
Reception and Analysis
Collider listed Creek as the second best relationship in the series, labeling them as a "normal and happy" couple, and noting how they, unlike many other of the series' couples, remained together in South Park: Post COVID and South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID, two television specials depicting the show's main cast as adults.[15] Kayla Cobb of Decider described Creek, particularly their appearance in "Tweek x Craig", as a satirization of how political correctness can potentially cause someone to be lumped in with groups that they do not agree with.[1] Heidi MacDonald of The Beat called the show's use of yaoi as "close to mainstream" as the genre has gotten.[6]
Writing for Den of Geek, David Crow noted that Creek showcases how South Park has matured with its LGBTQ representation, saying that series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have shown a "sophisticated" understanding of the subject following their first—and possibly offensive—take on homosexuality in the episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride".[5] For portraying the two in "Tweek x Craig", Stone would receive a nomination at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance; he ultimately lost to the Family Guy episode "Pilling Them Softly".[16]
The episode "Tweek x Craig" has been analyzed as a satirical look at Creek, with Zach Wilson of CBR suggesting that the episode "ironically [reacts]" to the ship and is used to introspectively show the audience that they have contributed to the series with their fan-creations.[17] Tweek and Craig's differing dispositions have been analyzed by critics,[18] with one such critic analyzing their clashing personalities in the episode "Put It Down" as representative of the differing public opinion on possible nuclear warfare with North Korea.[19]/Film writer BJ Colangelo praised Creek for not pandering to usual gay stereotypes and instead keeping the characters exactly as they were prior to the relationship, despite their opposite personalities.[18]
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