Work Text:
"Kyle Broflovski?" Stan Marsh, lead vocalist and guitarist of the hit band Crimson Dawn (and one of MTV's most controversial artists) eyed the interviewer, tilting his head and taking an, albeit, dramatic drag of his cigarette as he took a moment to ponder the question. "The most coked-out attention whore I've ever met. Next question."
The raven-haired man couldn't help but grin when he saw himself on screen. The camera loved him and everyone knew it. After nearly a decade of going on talk shows, starring in music videos, and playing for concerts, he'd almost forgotten how much it felt not to have a spotlight on him.
But did anyone know that perhaps he didn’t love the camera back?
He turned the tv off and took a swig of the Budlight on his nightstand. The fancy, refined wines at awards shows had never really been his style. There were some things you really couldn't change.
He looked down at his phone, unable to stop himself from grinning when he saw who'd texted him.
Kyle 💚: coked out attention whore? really? that's the best you could come up with?
Stan snorted a bit. It was true that Kyle had changed his image a lot since they'd first started Crimson Dawn in their early 20's. While the public had first met him as a wide-eyed young adult who sang backing vocals, he'd gone down the same path many young stars took and had done a complete 180 on his image.
Stan wasn’t sure of an exact timeline of the collision. The past 10 years had been a blur. One minute, he was playing local gigs in his hometown with his band (and boyfriend) and the next, they’ve signed a million-dollar record deal and are on a big shiny tour bus.
It was every artists’ dream. But was it really?
Somewhere along the hazy lines, Kyle had outgrown Crimson Dawn. He was tired of just doing background vocals and wanted to take his talents elsewhere. Through an array of messy fights, words of anger, and finally, an inevitable public breakup that led to their downfall, Kyle had made his own name for himself, taking the nation by surprise when he’d suddenly ditched his baggy, boy-next-door clothes for scandalously tight outfits and glitter makeup, throwing furniture onstage and screaming his heart out. It wasn’t long before tabloids began coming out reporting on the star’s multiple overdoses, countless trips to rehab, the whole nine yards.
And it was no secret that Stan wasn’t so squeaky clean himself. But Hollywood loved to glamorize their struggles with alcohol and pills and whatever they could get their famous hands on. Instead of seeing them as real people with actual problems, most media outlets just saw them as a profit. As long as they were hurting, they’d squeeze them for every buck they could make.
So why shouldn’t they do the same?
While it was true that Stan and Kyle really did have a blood feud in the beginning of their big “split” it had only lasted a year tops before they rekindled things. But words were twisted and images were painted. The fire had so much fuel, they practically had no choice but to jump in head-first.
So that’s exactly what they did. The past decade had been filled with the pair badmouthing each other in interviews, suing each other to no avail, and writing songs that were obviously aimed at each other for fans and talk shows to speculate.
It was their own special “fuck you” to the public eye.
stan: 💙: All’s fair in MTV and war, babe.
Kyle 💚: i’ve been clean for like 3 years
Kyle: 💚: you asswipe. now i’m gonna have to defend myself on Kimmel next week. hope you’re proud of yourself.
stan 💙: That’s what you get for writing that one song lyric about me. How does it go again? ‘He burnt me with a cigarette and lit me up like all his regrets’? That had edgy Tumblr girls hating me for years.
Kyle 💚: you really did burn me with a cigarette, remember? ;)
stan 💙: On fucking accident, when we were 15! We’re 30 now, let it go!
Kyle 💚: and i wrote that song 6 years ago
Kyle 💚: get over it
stan 💙: Well…I know one thing that could help me forgive and forget
Kyle 💚: {1 image attached}
Kyle 💚: {2 images attached}
stan 💙: Fuck, Broflovski, is that a new tattoo?
Kyle 💚: do you like?
stan 💙: Love it, babe. Gonna be thinking about your ass every time I see a cherry now
Kyle 💚: that was the goal
stan 💙: Speaking of your ass
stan 💙: When’s the next time you’ll be in Seattle?
Kyle 💚: not sure. i’ll be in LA until next week
stan 💙: So what I’m hearing is
stan 💙: Crimson Dawn’s gonna be heading out to LA tomorrow
Kyle 💚: talk about a scandal
Kyle 💚: Vogue’s already spreading rumors about us fucking in the tour bus
stan 💙: Not a rumor if it’s true
Kyle 💚: make sure to bring lube
Kyle 💚: and condoms
Kyle 💚: i’m not catching any STDs from all the groupies you fuck behind stage
stan 💙: Awww babe, you know you’re the only groupie I have eyes for
Kyle 💚: aren’t you supposed to be dating that model Wendy or whatever?
stan 💙: Aren’t you supposed to be engaged to that nobody what’s-his-face craig?
Kyle 💚: …
Kyle 💚: checkmate, Marsh
Kyle 💚: i’ll see you on tuesday
Kyle 💚: you know we’re both going to hell, right?
Stan snickered at this, rolling his eyes a bit as he took one last chug of his beer in victory, highly debating on calling up room service to send him a bowl of cherries as he readjusted comfortable in the bedsheets. He kicked his pants off, leaving him in nothing but his boxers as he prepared himself for a night of workshopping Kyle’s ass from a screen. Fuck, Tuesday couldn’t come fast enough. He lay back down, but not before typing out a quick reply.
stan 💙: i’ll race you there, babe