#honestly the thing is i think more people should be able to do what i do

[eternitycongregation]

People also get used to the way K-12 school teachers have a tendency to take on a parental role with their students—because at that point of your life you are still a kid and they treat you accordingly (sometimes even coddling you)—and so they are immediately blindsided by professors approaching you as an adult whom they expect to think and function independently for the sake of yourself. One of the biggest frustrations professors have about the education system is that K-12 doesn't prepare you to think on your own by the time you reach university, they instead teach you how to get by and game the system to get farther than you reasonably should with the least effort possible. The education system teaches you to compete with your peers instead of collaborate and make you unable to weather the inevitability of a failure. Of course the professors are irritated and ornery about this, their job is now twice as difficult because students are missing key fundamentals that their courses are supposed to building upon, students care more about getting perfect grades than learning, and they have even less time than K-12 teachers do to cover the curriculum that most likely is just going to be dumped out of their student's brains once finals are over.

The professor is the very last possible educator before you enter the workforce; it is their job to prepare you for it or to stop you if the path isn't right for you (at all or just right now). They have experience in the particular field(s) they're teaching in and can give you personal anecdotes and advice on how to navigate those fields, the windfalls and pitfalls alike. Professors often give you tough love and hard talks, because they know a lot of people enter university with extremely idealistic views on life, society, and what the future will hold...being able to face criticism and reality in a controlled space is much better than fucking around and finding out the hard way. A lot of people don't understand that if your professor doesn't humble you, life will, and it's easier to drop a course you're not ready for or drop out of school and come back when you're ready than to fix your life after you've crashed and burned it. These people know their fields and what it takes to survive in them, and it only benefits people to listen.

Honestly, Anaxagoras and Ratio are not even terrible representations of professors. They're exaggerated for comedic effect, sure, but I've had professors who behave similarly to them and they were delightful instructors to have. I got more and retained more out of those classes than the ones that were easy. Though the problem with people's mischaracterization of Anaxa is that they don't even read the text on their screens properly, not so much that they misunderstand the role and purpose of a professor. Anaxa will wax poetic about how proud he is of students who can hold their own in a debate with him and will eagerly answer questions just for people to claim he doesn't love what he does.

And I think most importantly for Ratio, people need to understand that he doesn't teach undergrad at your typical college, he's a postgraduate professor for the intergalactic equivalent of an Ivy League school; every student who passes his classes becomes a top expert in their respective field. The only people who make it into his actual classes in the first place is the best of the best across thousands of planets in the universe (and the nepo babies); he should have extremely high expectations for his students. If you have all the money, resources, and support to get you to a desk in his classroom, the only thing that's stopping you from succeeding is yourself and your own habits and he can't nor should he fix that for you. He's getting paid to teach IPC heirs + child prodigies like himself. This is why he approaches his "lesson" for the Herta Space Station researchers the way he did; careers on the HSS are only for the best of the best, many people dream of working on the station but never make the cut in their lifetime. And yet even from the player's own observations of the HSS researchers, you can tell they all are foolish bootlickers at best. Staging a wakeup call in a controlled environment while the lingering threats to the space station are being taken care of was necessary. Several researchers literally died because they were unprepared for a security breach and unable to fend for themselves, and that's negligence to the highest degree.

That being said, Ratio's relationship with the Trailblazer is noticeably different than how his students proper describe him (biases and all). When he visits the Express, he's delighted to be there because he thinks most of the crew are pleasant, intelligent people to be around in their own ways + he believes traveling across the cosmos brings its own wealth of knowledge (i.e. the adage "experience is the best teacher"). He engages TB in thoughtful conversation and gives them advice, telling them to not seek external validation and that transformation is an inevitable type of suffering. He texts the Trailblazer asking if they have any academic ambitions, gives pros and cons of the fields he suggests, and offers to write a letter of recommendation if TB does decide to pursue a formal education. He doesn't impose any expectations on them besides "you need to think for yourself". Ratio exhibits the capacity to meet people where they're at and doesn't typically treat regular folks with the same ire he has for the elite.

really think the constant mischaracterization of educators in hsr like dr ratio and anaxa is because people just really hate their teachers. most people don't enjoy their experiences in academia, and i don't blame them it is a flawed system that often extorts students and their work. they believe or maybe subconsciously think their teachers to be part of the problem of the education system— i'm not saying they're wrong to have this perspective. but i think for professors specifically it's very different.

to remain in academia for upwards of over or nearly a decade not only as a student, but a worker? academia is abusive, pervasive, and restrictive. to continue studying in that environment takes real genuine love, along with the spite that comes with it. i know everyone has had their fair share of terrible professors, i have as well. however, i think those who chose to become educators have always been really wonderful teachers i'll remember for my entire life.

anaxa and dr ratio are a bit crude, they treat the trailblazer as someone who needs to be educated, not to befriend. but to continue spending time with someone in an attempt to teach them something that may benefit them is not an act that comes from cruelty. they don't hate their students, or teaching for that matter, they're just a bit stilted at times. just as all professors are when they've been surrounded by academics for the majority of their lives. you can dislike their way of teaching, that's fine, but to chalk it up to them just being professors for the paycheck is hilarious. there are definitely much easier ways to be underpaid and overworked than becoming a professor with multiple phds.

[kinardsboy]

Kinda rambling here and apologies in advance because a majority of my blog is rants but I kinda just need to get these feelings out about how… terrible eddie is as a friend .. this is gonna be a long ass post lol

Eddie is, at his core a very opportunistic person.

Now, I think I should preface this with saying that this alone does not make him a bad person, and I would even argue in his defense that it is likely a trauma response/survival mode from being a dad at such a young age, and losing army pals and Shanon. However, that is not an excuse for the way he treats people.

Let’s start with the biggest example: Buck. Buck does, frankly almost everything for Eddie. He babysits without complaining, cooks for Eddie, does Eddies chores (when Eddie seemingly has fuck all to do versus buck who just worked a full shift), rents eddies house for him so he can go to texas, and then leaves without complaint when Eddie wants to come back.

Looking at the babysitting aspect closer, we can see that Eddie uses Chris as a bandaid for Buck’s problems because, its the easiest solution. Chris is a child and Buck cant be too sad around him otherwise he’ll likely worry Chris. So when Buck got his leg critically injured and was unable to work, did Eddie come over and show concern for his friend? Or did he throw his son at the problem (and get free babysitting on top of that) all while boasting about fixing the “problem”?

Then, when Buck was (imo rightfully) suing the department for his job back, did Eddie show concern for his friend? Try to understand it from his perspective? No. Instead Eddie insulted Buck for not being able to deal with shit like everyone else and called him exhausting. Then, SPECIFICALLY called out the fact that Buck wasnt able to do anything for him. 1. Not being able to bail him out of jail and 2. Not being able to see Chris.

The next issue I take with Eddie and Buck’s relationship is that Eddie seems to think he’s the only one allowed to have emotions. Especially because he stuffs most of them down all the time, so when he finally takes his head out of his ass and lets himself show something it feels like he expects the world to stop in amazing and praise him for it.

So when Buck is going through something at the same time as him, lawsuit and bobbys death arcs, Eddie gets frustrated very easily. Now, Eddies anger is something I have mixed feelings about and is not going to be the main topic of this segment. But, in both instances we see Eddie being VERY easily frustrated at Buck and our most recent example we had Eddie grab Buck, make him flinch and get in his face like he was going to hit him. Then, similarly to the lawsuit arc he uses Chris as a bandaid to fix everything. While AGAIN, making Buck do more emotional labor to keep Chris comforted and happy while BUCK IS GOING THROUGH HIS OWN TURMOIL JUST LIKE THE CRUSHED LEG ARC. Not to mention he also puts his friend duties onto chris to fix his mistakes and comfort buck..

I dont want to discuss the entire buckeddie stuff in 8.17 because honestly? It was really triggering and manipulative and people have already done much more deep analysis on it than what i have just said- so..

All this to say, Eddie and Buck have what is in my opinion an unbalanced and toxic friendship.

Eddie’s relationship with the rest of the 118 is honestly, hardly shown. However I think thats another point to my side, that Eddie is friends with them because its convenient and easy. He works with these people every day and naturally builds a bond with them due to the risky nature of their job.

This isnt to say Eddie hasnt done anything for Buck or the 118, but with Buck especially, its very unbalanced.

Two former 118 members were also see this issue with is Tommy and Lena,

Starting with Tommy: Tommy was a great friend for Eddie because he provided him with a lot of things. Fun (no doubt expensive for Tommy) excursions to Vegas, a basketball buddy(heh), i think he even babysat chris once(?), and someone to spar with. Now, theres nothing wrong with sharing hobbies in a friendship but the SECOND things got inconvenient and tough for Eddie to be friends with him, he decided it wasnt worth the effort and dropped him immediately.

This, in my opinion was not in solidarity to Buck, because Buck never spoke ill of Tommy or asked Eddie to unfriend him, Buck even seemed shocked that Tommy mentioned Eddie giving him the cold shoulder. It was because Eddie didnt want to put in the effort to something that was going to be awkward.

Next we have Lena, perhaps the only one to ever call Eddie out on his bullshit. Eddie took and took from her, vented to her and then when she tried to get something back from the relationship it.. well failed miserably, and she rightfully called their friendship a one way street.

We truly lost her too soon 😞 (real quick side tangent but i take huge issue with people whatabouting her in regards to Eddies fight club arc.. Lena had her shit under control PLUS, EDDIE IS A GROWN MAN WHEN ARE WE GONNA STOP BLAMING WOMEN FOR MENS OWN CHOICES DONT PISS ME OFF).

So yeah this rant was basically a very long way of saying Eddie fucking sucks a friend and needs to seriously work through some shit before I will consider him to be like able. ESPECIALLY after 8.17.

[transfemme-shelterdog]

honestly at this point I might seriously consider never transitioning. sure it would help my depression and actually make be able to live the life I want to live but I just. I don't know. I think at this point the trans community likes cis women more than trans men. I don't want to be seen as a rapist by not only the people trying to strip away my rights but also the people who are supposed to be supporting me. I'll always be a woman because that's what the doctors decided I was. And being a woman is a good thing. It's the better thing. It's the morally correct thing. In this day and age that's so rife with misogyny I feel like I have a duty to not be some sort of gender traitor. Half the time I feel like it would just be easier to be some cis MRA. I don't care if I'm wrong anymore it just hurts too much. Sorry if this is a bit much lol. I'm okay just frustrated

I think you should transition based on what you want for yourself. Society's views on things change, feelings come and go with time, but you always need to live with yourself.

So, if it would help you to feel better about yourself, and help your depression, it's important that you do what's best for you. Not what's gonna be best for society. Society won't remember you in a day or two, people on the street won't remember you. So why should you care about conforming to what society feels is "safest"?

Every gender has its upsides and downsides. So wouldn't it be best to do what makes you happiest, and not what you feel is gonna make random ass strangers who don't even know you exist happiest?

[chow0w]

hi! sorry if this question is weird or you don't want to answer it— please don't feel pressured to.

i was wondering if you had any tips about growing your social media as an artist. im an artist myself and i would love for more people to see my work and eventually be able to sell it to support my mother. thank you for any tips you can give!

Hi! I've been in the rodeo for a long(ish) time between tiktok and tumblr, so I can hopefully give some meaningful advice! I totally get your thing about growing socials to sell art - honestly, I feel like it's way easier to get commissions and sell adopts after platforming so you're already taking the right steps.

As for growing your socials, here are my tips!

I've had the most success in doing things that other people can easily enjoy: redesigns are the main component of my blog because my audience already likes WoF, and can engage better with characters they already have an understanding of. This totally applies to other fandoms, and the size of a fandom can make a big influence on your account success too. Bigger is better! Unfortunately, this does tend to mean that OC content does worse unless you already have a consistent following.

I usually post on weekends since that's when Tumblr is most active, with a little intermediate post on Wednesday to keep my account bubbly. The good thing about this website (which makes me prefer it to tiktok, where I used to post) is how long your content can cycle for! The pace of Tumblr is much more accommodating to a busy schedule, and you can absolutely get away with taking your time when making art.

Consistency is very important with growing a following, especially if you want to connect with your followers! A lot of content creators recommend staying with one fandom/theme in your blog to make sure you attract an audience who will be interested in the long run.

This is less related to the question, but you don't actually need to run a blog or active account in order to make money from your artwork. It definitely helps, but I've had success as a commission artist with and without a platform! It really comes down to where and how often you advertise: when I do commissions, I usually advertise in discord servers - art hubs are amazing for this! I tend to gain fewer customers from servers for specific fandoms like WoF (which feels kind of absurd) but honestly I think that's more to do with the demographic of WoF readers being kids/young adults without much to spend.

Finally, the most important tip I can give you is to have a good relationship with your blog. prioritizing engagement over what you actually want to do is never a good idea, and you should take extra care not to let views affect how you value yourself as an artist. It's not uncommon for artists to realize the social media life isn't for them, and you can absolutely still post without running your blog like the navy! Just do what works for you.

I hope this was helpful! Good luck!! You should DM me if you start an account so I can follow you (っ˘ω˘ς )

[floatingquaker]

Honestly, I think you give the people at Congress too much credit. The main reason they cling to old, tired policies that have increasingly proven to have become outdated is because they aren't really focused on doing anything useful.

As it stands now, Congress is currently made up of a bunch of stubborn, selfish old fucks who are terrified of looking in the mirror and having to admit that they should throw in the towel, because it means that they'll be irrelevant and forgotten by the country at large.

They want to be able to sell books, eat lavish lunches with their supposed opponents, and indulge in long weekends off where they can fall asleep in front of the TV for four days, all while raking in donor money and ignoring what the public actually wants them to do. This is all shit they could do as private citizens, but they know deep down that once they step down from their elected office, those eyes currently all on them will dart away to brighter pastures, and they will lose their current way of life. And they are pants-shittingly terrified of that.

They want all the power and prestige of an elected position in the U.S government, but none of the goddamn responsibility. They want to be able to walk into a room and be instantly recognized as an "important person" but don't want to actually do the big things that the important person has to do. They demand respect and praise for doing the bare minimum of what we expect because they're too old and lazy to do anything more than that, but also have rigged the system in their favor so they aren't kicked out on their asses by younger people who actually recognize the writing on the wall.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the average third grader is more perceptive, responsible and active than America's elected officials.

You know, I used to be opposed to Congressional term limits because. Like. Don't we want politicians to be able to build up decades of experience in politicking? Shouldn't we treat it as a marketable skill that can be cultivated and wielded with experience and mastery?

Don't we want politicians like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi who have seen it all and done it all and have a playbook in their back pocket to answer each and every possible move that the opposing side makes? Don't we want that?

...

As I watch the established career politicians of the Democratic Party respond to the Trump Presidency, I find myself no longer agreeing with that sentiment. I think I support term limits now.

What good is a playbook that was written fifty years ago?

[sometimesanequine]

i think going fishing would fix me

[collgeruledzebra]

been a while since ive had a spell of anxiety bad enough i genuinely can't tell how much im overreacting

[pastellus]

Wonderfully put! It's honestly rather jarring for me to read the Iliad and Odyssey in iambic pentameter, when I've been reading them in dactylic hexameter all my life — same goes for prose translations like Butler's. I understand that it might be easier for English speakers to get into reading Homer that way (English is not my first language, so I first read Homer translated to Spanish and my first English translation was Fagles') and I think that there's merit in that, but a lot of the poetic intent can also be lost in changing the meter and that's something that should be acknowledged, alongside with literary faithfulness. The problem with translation is that rarely do word-for-word translations exist that convey every possible meaning of every word, and with poetry (where there's play on meaning and the meaning of word is used artistically), being faithful to the text while working within the constraints of trying to convey the author's original intent is extremely important and something very difficult to do. A good translation of any kind should be faithful to the source material in both the actual words written and the intent behind them, and Wilson's translation doesn't really do a good job at this. This is something that should be acknowledged, because discussing the Iliad and the Odyssey in English should inevitably come with a discussion on translations, since we (unlike people like @katerinaaqu, who speaks Greek, which I dream of doing one day ahaha) rely entirely on translators to convey to us as much of the original meaning as possible. If one reads only Wilson's translations, one will never truly be able to understand Homer and his works, because there's a lack of information. I have nothing for there being simpler translations like hers, that make the classics more accessible to people who are not used to reading them, but the inaccuracies in her Iliad and Odyssey cannot be excused, nor the treatment they get! I'm really saddened by the way she (and her Iliad and Odyssey are spoken of online). There's SO MANY wonderful women Classicists out there, I follow many of them, and their work so often gets ignored by those outside of the Classicists circles. As for Miller, I've sadly heard the same said of her work many times before, and in my limited exposure to it (I have yet to bring myself to finish any of her books, I've only gotten about halfway through), it rings very true. As I said in another response, to me, a good retelling (in any form of media) is one that shows us new aspects of a tale while showcasing and appreciating the source material. Miller's work has always read to me as if there's some sort of disdain for Ancient Greece and what she thinks Ancient Greece to have been (once again, MANY misconceptions about the culture and religion are shown in her books). It's very jarring to read as someone who cares for such things. I believe Wilson and Miller also have a strange connection in some ways. Or, at least that Wilson's boom in popularity owes a lot to Miller and her fans. Miller's review and praise of Wilson's Odyssey can be found right on her website and I imagine many fans have sought her translation because of Miller herself.

So, I’ve seen a good amount of hate for Emily Wilson and Madeline Miller? I’m kinda confused as to why.

Keep in mind I haven’t actually read Wilson’s stuff, but I did read one of Miller’s books (Song of Achilles) and really liked it. Can someone please explain this?

[strohller27]

.

[katboykirby]

Both announcements are for the same upcoming game. One was the teaser trailer/video and one was the full announcement itself with some more detail, but both were for the same thing. Just like the crowdfunding campaign is also for the same game.

It's almost midnight for me right now and I'm literally in bed, so this isn't going to be a super long or detailed response, sorry. I might come back to this tomorrow when I'm not already half asleep.

To cut to the chase, I just want to ask - who do you think they're talking about then, if not the reat of the OM cast? Who do you think they mean when they say "adding more characters in the future" if they don't mean TriWorlds and/or the undateables?

Which do you honestly think is more likely? That the characters they add in future updates are the established, beloved characters we've known for 5+ years and already have significant store importance? Or that the characters they add will be some completely new OCs made just for this new game, while the established cast gets erased?

There's just literally no one else they could possibly be talking about when they say that they will be adding more characters after the brothers. There are no other characters in the franchise. We've already had relationships with TriWorlds/the Undateables for multiple years. There's just simply no other possibility.

As for their wording, this is almost certainly due to long-held industry standards. In the business of game development, especially in a public-facing sector like social media, there is an unwritten but nearly universal rule that you should never say anything definitive until it actually gets released. This is more true for mobage studios and indie devs (and not so much for huge AAA studios like say, Nintendo) but the point remains the same.

Even if the OM Team already has TriWorlds on the books, even if they already have everything planned out for how and when they're going to be added, even if everything is already set in stone on their emd of things, it's still not something that they are likely to announce definitively until it actually happens. This can be for all sorts of reasons, the biggest of which is because a studio never wants to "promise" something that they can't deliver. If there's unexpected difficulties or obstacles in the production progress that leads to things being delayed, you end up with an outraged fanbase because the content you already announced has to suddenly be postponed. Just look at, well, literally any delayed game release ever.

If your voice actor has to suddenly drop out or falls ill and they can't perform for a period of time, or if your dev team gets hit with unexpected workload increases, or any other possible reason for why things could get delayed or pushed back, YOU become the asshole and your studio gets a bad reputation because you didn't deliver on what was promised.

So, what most game devs will do is make an announcement that's as close to a clear-cut confirmation as possible, while still leaving just the SLIGHTEST amount of wiggle room in their wording so that they will be covered if anything goes wrong that disrupts the release schedule.

This is why you'll see game trailers have small fine print on the bottom of the screen, stating things like "game footage not final" just in case anything changes before the game is released.

So, for the most part, yes. We can take the announcement to mean that TriWorlds will be added to the game after the brothers. At the absolute most, the OM Team worded things the way they did just in case anything causes delays or schedule changes. Promising something concrete and then not being able to deliver is never good.

As for the other points you bring up...I think there's a huge schism between the perspective of a fan/player, and the perspective of the game devs and people on the actual staff.

Because I'm coming at this from the position of someone actually in the industry. I've worked in mobage game studios. I've worked on mobile games. I've been a writer (and hell, even a voice actor) for these things. I've had face-to-face meetings and engagements with members of the OM staff on more than one occasion. Some of these people are my peers in the industry. That's not me saying that my opinion is more valuable, or that my experience holds more weight or anything like that (because I'm not a Solmare employee and I don't work on OM, as much as I wish I did, lmao) but I'm just hoping it helps give perspective from the other side of the screen.

Solmare just announced that a new Obey Me! app is currently in development.

According to the video included in their tweet, it's scheduled to release in 2025 and focuses on the 'what if' scenario of living married life with the brother of your choice and the side characters are nowhere to be seen so far

[arcadianico]

i just finished q’s vod from yesterday and honestly? i feel vindicated in my belief that q’s attraction to wilbur is based more around his romanticisation of relationships (and his grief for tilín, silent but ever present) than love

[nhaneh]

funny thing is I don't really have any interest in hoarding knowledge or resources for myself in any way, I'm just bad at publishing stuff because I feel like that'd require a bit more stringent quality control than what I might expect of something made largely for my own use.

sometimes I think maybe I should set up something like a google drive or a git or something to just throw my personal- and work-in-progress stuff for people who are interested, but I dunno what limits for space or bandwidth or anything are like.

like I'm sure some people would possibly find the ColorSet unpacker python script useful?? It kinda sucks through and I want to make a better version of it and maybe one that could work as a standalone executable instead? and possibly a packer counterpart to the unpacker?? But also I keep thinking like "would this even be useful to anyone lmao??"

in theory you could probably make some kind of art program plugin that does all of this for you - even the bit with loading actual colorset information into layered colorset pairs, but I mean that's a lot of effort and I still largely use a 20+ year old version of Paint Shop Pro myself so...

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

The I feel like she sees me line being said to Eddie who is the person that truly sees Buck for all that he is. Are we supposed to take this line at face value which would indicate piss poor writing because they needed to rush to a horrible ending or do we take it as Buck being an unreliable narrator? What was the audience supposed to interpret from Buck saying that, were we truly supposed to believe him or we supposed to be pissed at Buck for saying this to the one person that truly sees Buck?

Good morning to me, I guess.

I'm assuming you haven't really seen people's reactions in the fandom on tumblr because I feel like I saw this said in quite a few posts going around, but you are absolutely not supposed to take this line at face value. I'm surprised that people think you should. 9-1-1 has from the beginning had a habit of turning friendships into romantic relationships (Bathena and Madney) and taking their time with these things rather than having an instalove situation. Even Karen and Hen, who meet when they're set up on a date together, don't instantly fall in love. I do not think they would set Eddie or Buck up for an endgame relationship with a woman by having them date that woman immediately, even if they didn't plan to make Buddie canon.

Buck is clearly struggling post-death. He's lost and once again looking for the answer from a romantic partner. He did a lot of growth in regards to his family relationships this season but not his romantic ones. Remember, his couch ended up destroyed and he asked his latest girlfriend to pick the new one out for him. Again. He's still not picking his own damn couch. After being unable to sleep on the one his mom gave him but passed out instantly on Eddie's where he ran to feel safe.

If people think this is all, somehow, an accident or the writers are doing this without knowing what they're doing, then I can't help you. Do you also think the symbolism I put into my fanfics are a total accident? Do you guys think I picked the name of the poem "Fuchsia Emerald Alizarin Rose" just because the colors are fun and they accidentally spell out F.E.A.R. or do you think maybe I did that absolutely 100% on purpose and was waiting for someone to realize?

Buck saying that to Eddie is 100% supposed to make the audience raise their eyebrows. Especially when we see Eddie's reaction. He's confused and he's hurt and he's annoyed. Eddie then spends his next few lines showing Buck (and us) that he sees Buck. Buck misses it, it goes right over his head, but the audience is shown that Buck is wrong and Eddie sees him.

I think there was a lot of internal stuff going on behind the scenes way high up the ladder that meant Buddie didn't happen this season. No, I don't mean that in a tinhatting way, I just mean that they knew Fox wouldn't renew them, they didn't know if they'd get picked up somewhere else, Fox hasn't promoted or cared about this show the way it has its other shows in a while, and I think it's pretty clear there was shuffling and changes going on with 6B. So I think things had to be put off. Similar to the pandemic, where I genuinely wonder what kind of season four we would've gotten if we'd had the full 18 episodes and hadn't had to work around Covid. I think that when we know there was a big shift going on behind the scenes, we need to have some grace and patience in how that will effect the story that's told on screen.

But I think that this default to "everything good we see on our screens is an accident and the writers are making shitty choices" is a horrible bad faith argument, and it's exhausting. Aren't you exhausted? I'm exhausted. Fandom shouldn't treat the writing and production team like their enemies any more than the writing and production team should treat the fans like their enemies in some kind of war they have to win (looking at you, GoT showrunners).

We are supposed to be annoyed that Buck is missing the point. We are supposed to see Buck's yearning to be a husband and a father, and how he's missing what's right in front of him. We are supposed to put two and two together and see that Eddie was hurt by Buck's words, that Eddie sees Buck, that Eddie is Buck's safe place, and that Eddie in that moment decided he might not have a chance with Buck and needs to move on, because previously we saw Eddie admit he wants romance again but he doesn't want to go out on dates, we saw his aunt say she met her husband through work, we saw him say 'we have time' and then we saw him immediately after Buck tells him about this new girl who "sees him" flee to visit his mother and then immediately actually try dating. On a meta level this is also because Eddie needs confidence in himself as a romantic partner and needs some more experience under his belt before he's ready to take the plunge with Buck, but in Eddie's mind, I think it's pretty clear he feels Buck will never want him back and he's trying to find the love he wants somewhere else, even if his heart is still Buck's.

So that's what I think. I think it's not explicitly spelled out for a few reasons, but frankly if one of them was a woman we wouldn't need it explicitly spelled out and personally I kinda like that it's not. Something that annoys me with M/F pairings is the constant "we all know you two like each other" talks from third parties that half the time aren't about the characters but are about the audience, to either tell the audience SEE THEY LIKE EACH OTHER THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT or to give the audience some fanservice while the characters aren't ready to get together. I don't need to be pandered to that way, thank you, so I'm a fan of the slightly more subtle approach that I, personally, see going on with Buddie.

If you or anyone else disagrees with me and feels it was just "piss poor writing" then that's entirely your right. I'd just appreciate it if people who feel that way would stop watching the show, and stop putting their complaints into the inboxes of people who clearly do enjoy the show.

TL;DR - You answered your own question, Buck is an unreliable narrator (and always has been) and we are supposed to be frustrated he said this to Eddie who has proven time and again (and does so in that very scene) that he sees Buck.

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

why didn't they just use franziska for literally all of this.

[i-luvsang]

i hate being on the verge of tears in public !!! and it’s about fucking kpop i need to get a grip!!!!!!!$;73&38&2$.!’$/$3!/‘j$€{€!{£&jhhdjdhwijwgeieiehhejeiddggdneiwiwhuwjeieuebidnejskaowhhrbdieiruruidieieiehndozi&$:$£7:)3&k$$;$&jhdhiahJh

[gothmiqote]

yk as interesting as it might be to have varha meet azem i actually this it would end up doing a Number on her self esteem lmao

like the idea she has of herself is like,,, Yes she's strong yes she's the "chosen one" butshe also doesn't know for sure she's got a ton going on outside of that. before she was the warrior of light she really was Just Some Guy who had her uses on the field, there's no denying from her that she's a good shot or handy with a glaive. but also those skills don't really roll over into other areas of her life. she still thinks she lacks in a lot of the softer skills--social things largely, but not just those. before she was the warrior of light, she really truly did Not have anyone else in her life (unless you count her one estranged brother who also survived the calamity. she, personally, would not) & couldn't sort out how to properly maintain relationships past a casual depth. it wasn't that she couldn't get along at all, she just never found herself being anyone's first choice. like, she will fully admit to being an attention-seeing kid. to be fair, it makes sense with as many siblings as she had that there would be a need to stand out, she's just never felt like she actually managed to do so.

intellectually speaking, she knows sh's far from stupid & that again, most of her talents really shine in the heat of battle. but like 90% of her friends are basically doctors, & she's aware she would probably have killed the world a long time ago if all the strategizing was left up to her. she'll contribute to these discussions because she's expected to, despite being really goddamn aware she wouldn't be invited to the table without the Very specific circumstances they all find themselves in.

speaking of those friends, it's not lost on her that she wouldn't have them if she wasn't hydaelyn's chosen. maybe they might have crossed paths loosely at some point, but there'd have been no reason to keep her around. having a title like that has its downsides & can definitely be more of a burden than a blessing, but on the whole? she's a bit relieved that she's been able to benefit from it in some more selfish ways (in her opinion). it's a nice change, people having expectations of her & being somewhat interested in her, even if a lot of that interest is directed towards the warrior of light instead of just her as a person. that bit of distance is weirdly comfortable at times. she's not the most emotionally graceful person, usually being too-direct or at a loss for word or reading a situation entirely incorrectly. she's impatient and forceful & is unsurprisingly bad when it comes to navigating environments like sharlayan. the only thing that saves her is the fact that she's Really good at looking confident & making her mistakes appear intentional. having a reputation helps too.

but azem? arsinoë? it's So clear within minutes of meeting her that she doesn't have these same issues. she's the type of person who draws others in without even trying. she's intelligent and witty and doesn't trip over her words (or struggle to find them in the first place). she's able to hold her own just fine in intellectual circles--hell, other people would almost certainly find her intimidating, if she didn't also radiate the type of energy that puts people at ease. there's nothing fake or exaggerated about the confidence she walks around with, and nothing seems to get in her head the same way it does varha. it's the type of inner-security she can only dream of.

i think at first she would want to meet her, just for the novelty of meeting the originator of her soul. i don't think it would cross her mind until it was too late that she actually didn't enjoy doing too much self-examination, and this would be a weird externalized version of that. and of course azem is interested in her--she's interested in a lot of things, but a shard of her own soul from a distant future would be especially fascinating. but varha would start to pick up on just how comfortable she was in her own skin quickly, and it would eat it her. people flock to azem in a way they never did to her Until she had a hero's reputation, until she offered something that was more than she could be on her own. that was when they were willing to look past her short comings. did azem even have those? probably not.

& varha's never been so sick with envy in her entire life, but she's not hateful about it. one, it doesn't make sense & two, she's Also been sucked into that vortex. azem's presence is... a lot, actually. it's domineering in any room--not unkindly, but she's impossible to ignore. she's also just a naturally charming person; there's nothing to hate. but the more varha watches her and searches for similarities, the more she starts to conclude that she seems to have inherited the more negative traits of azem. she's got the same intensity, gets tunnel-visioned about problems, & will Immediately lose her cool if you push her buttons correctly. all of that would be fine if she also got a sliver of that intangible thing arsinoë has that gives her a gravitational pull. she's like the sun, & varha would find herself starting to burn if she stays around too long.

part of her wonders maybe if venat had a hand in making sure the chips fell where they did. somehow she suspects if she were more like azem, she might have some stronger feelings about life or death situations; she might decide there was too much to live for to take certain risks. but if she felt like she was constantly falling short? or like she could have been a stand-in for anyone else? maybe it made her work just that much harder to prove something.

she's not surprised the present hades has such disdain for her. aside from the whole 'going mad from grief' thing, of course. she carries some of the least-loved parts of azem without her same light. standing next to her exposes failures of her personality that she never even knew to look for. varha doesn't dwell on hades' accusations of being a non-person; it's a waste of her time, especially when she knows otherwise. but she definitely feels like a cheap copy when faced with the original. of course, the general disinterest she'd dealt with from people her entire life made sense now. seeing what could have been--what was---makes her immediately understand. even if none of them had Met azem, they would have reacted if she'd resembled her in any way. she could get how losing someone like that would make you want to tear the world up in their name. and varha has people she loves now & who care about her in return, who would definitely mourn her if she were gone, but that type of reaction? nah, nope. they'd get over it in time; the death would be ordinary, as would the grief. which is fine by her, because she actually never Wants to see that level of destruction created for her sake, but still. she gets it.