#main character woobifying

[maglors-grief]

Can someone explain to me the logic of some people being anti-Targaryen but still supporting team green? I just got done reading posts and comments from people who say that hating House Targaryen led them to siding with the Greens and I just don't get it...?

The most prominent Greens (Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, Daeron) are half Targaryen, they have the traditional Valyrian appearance of silver hair and purple eyes, they practiced incest by marrying Helaena to Aegon, they rode dragons. Like they definitely acted more Targaryen than Hightower. These people do realize that the Greens weren't trying to topple the Targaryen regime, right? It's not as if the Greens were attempting to annihilate the entirety of the Targaryens. The Hightowers just wanted a Targaryen who shared their blood on the throne and their supporters believed that a son should come before a daughter.

I'm just genuinely confused about the people who passionately hate House Targaryen but yet they like and support the half Targaryen characters who committed some of the worst war crimes during the Dance. Make it make sense because I am baffled. Am I just not getting something?

[aliusfrater]

don't piss me the fuck off

[mandalora]

Stolen from amidonexor, no one asked me either

[moistvonlipwig]

dumbest fucking post ever. hey you guys know you cannot have meaningful character development OFF SCREEN right. on account of. characters do not exist when they are not on screen

[woomycritiques543]

(TW: SA, Rape, Cannibalism, leak mentions.)

Ah, I understand, thanks for apologizing.

Im just used to people going “WHY ARE YOU SAYING ____ DONT INSULT MY BLORBO” thats all. As for the show, I wouldn’t assume subversion when this is the same show that’s going to have angels named after vaginas and a villain with the subtly of a toothpick despite the fact that the show is meant to have loads of “depth” but only does so for pitty points instead of looking at things from both sides.

Like in HB: you got stella, a racist who owns imp slaves being all “>:)” but then Stolas, another racisr who owns imp slaves, being shipped with the race he discriminates and going “🥺” all the time. Stella getting demonized just because she dislikes one of Viv’s blorbos, and the blorbo gets “🥺” when he’s equally as horrible. So do you expect them to suddenly know how write a show about development and accountability when they couldn’t even do it with Helluva Boss, something that was written recently that the creators refuse to improve, especially since it’s gotten only WORSE with time? To assume that it’s going to be subversive just because it’s another show, when the shows are from the same creator, doesn’t make sense.

As a poc, for me Hazbin just comes off as a white savior story that only depicts what a character is as “bad faith” for the audience to hate that character, but gives any main character the “🥺” treatment despite them being just as awful. Adam is a mysognist who likes killing people, but so is Angel Dust.

So why should I see one as “good faith/root-able” while the other one as a “complete monster” when both seem to have people that they care about (for Adam: to an extent…) and either way, both are genocidal murderers that are creeps? It gives the message that someone “deserves” to be rewarded just because they changed for THEMSELVES and not because they actually want to, especially since in HB, a show with the same exact kind of message, the show depicts their bad behavior as “charming” to the point where it’s not even really showing it as “bad” anymore and they still literally get away with murder, out of the blue, and aren’t pushed enough to change just because the writers say so, and they also, like Angel, make it so its just “They’re traumatized, so you should root for them to change for A REWARD and be rewarded by said superficial development despite being racist, mysogynistic sexually harassing serial killers!” instead of the nuanced “You should change for you, but also should be to help others because it’s the right thing to do. Oh yeah, and a sexual harasser shouldn’t go to Heaven, that shit doesn’t suddenly go away just because they go “UWU” and have a “UWU” backstory. They’re still terrible, people don’t actually change if it’s for a reward, it’s superficial change, and there’s just some behaviors that stick to people for life if it’s severe enough. Have some boundaries ffs!” ,

The main goal of the “Happy Hotel!” is to have people change for an award. Even Katie acknowledges this with “You want people to change- just because?!” But then the show DEMONIZES her for saying this- when she was right?! Charlie wants people to suddenly change after years of being sexual predators and serial killers. -and for Hazbin and HB to suddenly give this “Anyone can change! Just BRIBE THEM! What could go wrong? -and if they’re traumatized, give them some slack even if they’re a creep, they’ll change eventually just CHILLL! Stay with your abuser! What could go wrong?!” Is a terrible message to give people!

Especially when there’s abuse victims who have “apologist” issues because of their abuser weaponizing their trauma to guilt them into staying. All of Vivziepop’s shows so far is the literal definition of guilt tripping.

Weaponizing Stolas and Blitz’s trauma so they can do as much horrible things to people and each other but still get together just because “they’re sad and traumatized!” and “but they can get the booty if they change!” just because the creators dont actually want them to change in the first place, but to be eventually rewarded after an entire show of just awful behavior without real consequences to bring them to actually change.

Hazbin Hotel, on the other hand, having a premise that’s even worse because it REVOLVES around weaponizing trauma to guilt trip you into wanting to give serial killers, racists, rapists, and abusers rewards for their behavior by having them suddenly change out of nowhere just because “the white savior” of the story used Heaven to bribe them into doing so. So unless the show suddenly realizes that these “bottom of the barrel” people dont deserve eternal paradise just because they were BRIBED into changing and changes it’s entire premise out of nowhere, it’s doomed to fail as a message because it will just be “I KNOW THAT THESE ARE RAPISTS AND MURDERERS BUT THEY’LL CHANGE! Just- give them a season, and they’ll change right away because there’s Heaven to look forward to!” The creators even went “were coining hell!” when these characters are just a bunch of gay stereotypes in Hell, so it’s not even proving homophobes wrong either which is why THOUSANDS of homophobes love Hazbin Hotel and HB on 4chan!

It’s toxic positivity, all of it. Even from the premise alone. People don’t deserve to be rewarded just because you bribed them into changing, and they don’t deserve to be rewarded just because they were traumatized either. It’s like giving a kid candy after breaking all your dishes- on purpose! -just because they decided to cry or pat you on the back for said candy. Not because they care about you, but JUST BECAUSE they wanted candy.

Which is an AWFUL MESSAGE to give not just to trauma victims- but to anyone!

There’s thousands of fans going “People deserve to be cheated on!” just because of how Stella is depicted in comparison to Stolas, and people who want Husk and Angel together, just because Angel is “sometimes sad and sympathetic” when Angel Dust SEXUALLY HARASSED HIM and just to make it worse, the show presented this as being “sex positive” when this is a TERRIBLE WAY TO PRESENT SEX WORKERS in a world where people still see sex workers as “creeps” and think that sex work and trafficking are “the same thing.”

It weaponizes trauma as an excuse for Vivziepop’s ocs to not be given any true consequences for their actions, and it gives the message that full on change should “only” happen with a reward. I don’t need to watch Hazbin Hotel to see why it’s premise, and the show itself, is going to be awful because the toxic positivity is RIGHT THERE in the premise alone! Even more so with how awful the character “development” is handled with there being more trauma weaponizing and even less accountability than Hazbin- which is saying something, since Hazbin’s premise revolves around changing for mostly bribes instead of actually feeling “bad” and to weaponize trauma as an excuse to get said reward.

So it’s interesting how you say that Hazbin Hotel will be subversive, when the premise alone reveals that it’s going to have the same problem as Helluva Boss just by having a show where the main thing is to weaponize trauma again and to reward serial killers, racists, and cannibals with “eternal paradise” just because skinny white girl “savior!” Mcgee is going to “CHANGE THEM FOR THE BETTER!” when she’s the literal incarnation of a toxically positive TikTok girl who says that “It’ll be ok! DONT CRY! and everyone can change!”

So again.

Unless the show suddenly changes it’s ENTIRE PREMISE and also STOPS doing the “its ok to be rewarded for your behavior and to stay with your abuse victims if your abuse looks “cute!” and you had trauma, get cut some slack!” bullshit- Hazbin’s screwed!

The writing doesnt have moral bounderies.

People are rooted for to be “end game” just because, and they are also to get a reward for “changing” just because they changed for said reward. Because sure, they changed, but not FOR their friends or family, but to escape a punishment for their own actions since they’re in Hell, when the reason they’re in Hell in the first place is because they’re awful.

They’re in Hell for a reason, yet instead of thinking of other ways to solve the issue, like the tiktok cupcake Charlie is, she goes through with the hotel anyway when if you actually think about it for more than a few seconds…

The plan is just as stupid as it sounds!

-and if things were “nuanced” instead of oc favoring, Charlie’s hotel would fail, and the show would have the mcs lose because they’re TERRIBLE PEOPLE who are only wanting to change for a bribe from a “princess of Hell” who thinks of morality like a 5 year old when she’s 100+ years old and should clearly know better from age alone, but is made to have no brain for plot convenience-

So I don’t even need to watch Hazbin to know that it will be bad because since Viv doesnt think much before she writes:

THE ENTIRE PREMISE BEHIND HAZBIN makes no sense!

It’s just “Toxic Positivity “I can be as shitty as I want but can be rewarded at the last second just because “IM SOWWY”, not because I actually feel bad, so i can get a reward after being a murderous creep!”

Which could have been good if this was intentional, but it’s not! Helluva Boss roots for Stolas and Blitz, two people who rape each other, to be together just because “uwu trauma!” and for Charlie to “prove her haters wrong!” just because she’s the protagonist!

-Vivziepop herself having tons of toxic positivity, her standom too, so the show was actually doomed to be terrible from the start because it’s a show written by a terrible person who REFUSES to change from her anti-blackism with Alastor and over overall toxic behavior for the past years. So after examining the premise for the first time in years, wow, Vivziepop really hasnt changed at all!

The toxic positivity is still in full swing!

The entire premise of Hazbin Hotel is:

“Inside every demon is a rainbow!”

It’s Toxic Positivity: The Show.

When “demons”, are the bottom of the barrel, and even if they have some morals, should you give them a chance just because they want to be rewarded for it! NO! They’re still awful, and them having a “sad life” doesnt make them any less terrible than ANOTHER person just because the only person (Adam or Stella) doesnt have said “UwU!” backstory!

They’re ALL TERRIBLE PEOPLE and the fact that a show like this is going to be streamed to a public full of abuse victims who will see this and likely go “Wow! My abuser is sad too, I should stay with them!” seeing how it’s gotten to a point where people are now literally saying that “Some people deserve to be cheated on” or “Give a abuser some slack, they’re tryinnnnnng!” instead of “Be the bigger person, dont betray someone’s trust and be an asshole yourself just because your wife sucks!” Or “Some relationships are so bad that it’s not meant to be-”

The fact that Vivziepop is encouraging these REAL lack of boundaries with the messages of her shows is horrifying!

People are taking these messages, and actually applying them to how they live.

THAT’S HORRIFYING!

So thank you, because I didnt realize just how terrible Hazbin’s premise was until you mentioned all this to me, and also just how awful Helluva Boss is, and how much that’s going to effect Hazbin since the premise alone is akin to Helluva Boss’s issues. I actually keep forgetting that they’re from the same writers too honestly- lmao, im even more excited now this is show is going to be awful! ❤️

So both shows, from the same writer, from premise alone, send the message that someone “deserves” to be rewarded for their behavior just because they “changed” for that reward or because they had trauma.

Which clearly- is an AWFUL message.

But Vivienne didn’t think much into it, so we got: “A character trying to redeem demons, who are in Hell foe a reason, and trying to get them to change, not for the good of others, but just to benefit her getting her parent’s approval, and for them to be rewarded with eternal paradise right after being CANNIBALS and RACISTS and SERIAL KILLERS and RAPISTS!” Again, there’s no boundaries here and the writers arw rewarding these characters just because they like them, not because they actually deserve it, and weaponizing the trauma of these characters so the audience doesn’t just see them as better faith than they actually are, but just as an excuse to give them a “HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!” reward to some extent, or any happy ending at all (unless Vivziepop actually takes a risks and has a sad ending where they stay in Hell because they’re actions were THAT bad that they don’t get to Heaven and Charlie learns MORAL BOUNDARIES where she realizes that not everyone deserves redemption or will suddenly turn a new leaf just because you bribe them with a chance to go to Heaven. , which would be actually nuanced… but I doubt that she’ll take that risk.)

What ive been trying to say is…

Vivziepop isnt going to stop being “Vivziepop” just because Hazbin Hotel is slightly newer.

We’ve seen how she reacts to criticism, and Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel were written at the exact same time period of Viv’s life, so your entire argument falls apart just from Helluva Boss’s existence alone! A show, that turned out to be awful, and was written at the EXACT SAME TIME as Hazbin Hotel!

-and the problem is that you’re giving this show way too much credit before it’s even premiered when all of the episodes of Helluva Boss that are coming out the same time as Hazbin Hotel are awful- and we already know that it’s going to be bad, not just because of the leaks but because HB and H are from the same creators, and the premise alone is a TOXIC MESS that shouldn’t have been published, in the first place, and should have stayed on the drawing board before anyone got hurt by this franchise’s awful messages.

So you want to know why I don’t have hope in Hazbin Hotel’s writing? Four Words-

VIVZIEPOP is the writer.

That is a lot of discourse for a fandom that only has one full episode huh?

[wutheringmights]

What's your beef with fanon warriors?

This is 100% on me, but basically I just have such a specific way that I like Warriors that any alternate interpretations turns me away.

I don't even want him to be CTB-esque all the time. But when I see interpretations where he's born rich or Linkle is his twin, it turns me off. Then he gets flanderized into someone who only cares about his looks. Which, no?

Most of all, the really unique thing about him is that he has significant personality faults unlike any of the other boys. And all of them get smoothed over for the sake of just making him a protective old brother figure or a helpless victim.

[electricabsolution]

wayward vagabond is the main character: an essay

only slightly kidding. flip homestuck turn-ways and he’s frodo.

[darkfire359]

Once again reminded of just how baffling it is when people criticize the woobification of characters by saying it’s something that fans disproportionately do with men. Just…huh?

Call it whatever you want. Babygirlification (where do you think that word comes from?). Poor little meow meow-ism (remember that the most literal and canonical poor little meow meow is Catra from She-Ra). The practice of looking at a character who is mean/evil/villainous and going “aww, cute little person just needs some love” is ABSOLUTELY done more with FEMALE characters.

Look up the TVTropes page for “High Heel Face Turn” or “Females are more Innocent”. The idea that women can’t be villains without some kind of trauma that excuses their actions is SOOO common. As is the idea that they can be fixed if they get a love interest.

Look at the concepts of “tsundere” and “kuudere”. These are some of the most common archetypes in anime—the girl that is mean or cold to others, but who is soft and sweet on the inside, just unable to express affection properly.

Part of OFMD’s entire premise is that the idea of looking at a scary guy in a villainous profession and going “he’s a sweetheart deep down” is *unusual* in our culture. Now, Tumblr is a specific slice of culture, and there are certainly no shortage of male characters here who get the poor little meow meow treatment. But it’s definitely not a male-specific or even male-leaning phenomenon.

[viovio]

nobody is fucking cancelling anybody or claiming characters being absolutely vile are the creators always like excusing that. we fucking know. it's just that people think it's weird as fuck that youre posting about the rapist like he's a silly little man

[delionhearts]

SAY IT LOUDERRRRRR

Ok guys I'm gonna be honest with you. I've seen some takes and I think some of you're doing too much. I'm saying this with all due respect. Let's not make things up. It's great that you want to discuss Armand's trauma bcuz fr, you SHOULD, there's a lot of space to discuss the nuances and seeds that the production planted. But what happened in Magnus's tower (post-trial) ain't about him.

This scene is about >Louis punishing Lestat< using Armand bcuz thinks he sentenced their Claudia to death. The cast already talked about this in the final credits. Armand being just an instrument in this silent war between loustat is something you could/should bring to the table ☝️ but yall went straight to Lestat's line like you want to change what is going on and ignored this very interesting aspect.

The "enjoy him" line is the most spontaneous one for someone watching your ex trying pathetically to make you jealous/feel bad. And he was talking to LOUIS. Oh, you want to spend the rest of you life with him? Okayyyy then have fun. He's all yours girl. He's YOUR problem now. ✨ Armand was tense af bcuz he knows Lestat can tell the truth anytime, expose all his bullshit ✨. It's not only OBVIOUS but I'm pretty I saw the cast/Assad talking about this.

Why tf are these people trying to make THIS line about Armand's SA? We have so many opportunities for doing it. Like EXPLICIT moments lines. Mf just killed Claudia and shamelessness acting in this scene like he didn't try to kill Louis too. AND that he didn't torture Lestat and put his ass in his abuser/maker's tower, Magnus.

Let's be fr. Don't lose your mind overthinking, soldiers. Stay strong and sane. That's all.

[deer-with-a-stick]

I make a singular post referencing CQL and suddenly my dash is flooded

[exocynraku]

nightheart is less of a character to me and more of a personalization of the writer's misogyny and male-focused mindset. he hates the people around him, primarily his mother, which he only does because he believes the worst in sparkpelt; not the truth-- which he knows, has a made-up, unrealistic issue (name), his relationship with another female character has singlehandedly rewritten her personality to be of service to him while the writers seemingly abandon her previous storyline, and he continues to receive main character opportunities (be in the sunbeam-frostpaw-nightheart trio, follow frostpaw to the COTP), and is adored by a portion of the fanbase who woobify him, spouting misogynistic and ablesist beliefs without realizing it for the sake of liking another sad, lost, male character in the belief that he is something "new" and "special" (which, i don't know how to tell you this, he is NOT) to me, nightheart is not a character, he is not a person. he does not have a personality nor a story. he is not a main character nor an unreliable narrator. he is not "coded" to be anything other that a mish-mash of previous male characters. he is not poorly written, nor written well. he is a written manifestation of the writer and editors hate, even if they do not realize it. previous characters got close (of note alderheart, brambleclaw, clear sky, crowfeather) , but i believe he is the truest embodiment. (unless, for gods sake, we get something WORSE in future books)

[lgbtlunaverse]

Most annoying NMJ or JC take is when someone that dislikes them is like "oh you're a fan of him? *scoff* Well obviously you've only seen cql, where he was super watered down. In the novel he's a dislikable asshole and that's the objectively superior canon I'm working from instead of your woobified fanfic." Meanwhile your main canon is novel canon and you genuinely find novel Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue complex sympathetic characters.

[vivziepopcriticalconfessions]

"I don't understand why so many people love Lucifer and consider him attractive or adorable. He is annoying as fuck, his jokes are unfunny, and his character is such an uninteresting woobified twist of the Lucifer mythos, plus he takes a shitton of screentime away from Charlie who is supposed to be the main character"

[ineffectualdemon]

The other Shen Jiu post reminded me of the time someone basically said Shen YUAN was heartless and uncaring because he didn't immediately woobify Shen Jiu upon learning his backstory and still held him accountable for his actions

Like the main of Shen Qingqiu's reaction to the Shen Jiu backstory was "that shit was fucked up and he shouldn't have had to go through that and it's sick that he did but also that doesn't justify his actions towards Binghe. But of course the fandom has no nuance and is going to either woobify or make him inherently evil. They really prefer straightforward villains"

Shen Jiu is an interesting character because his a victim and an abuser. Which is often how it works in real life

To take it back to real life I can actually figure out where a lot of the abusive shit my parents did to me came from. And I have sympathy for their trauma and the the shit they went through

But I'm still not going to have them in my life because they didn't have to pass down the cycle. And I can even be sympathetic to be fact that stigma against mental illness was worse and mental health support was worse when I was a kid

But they are still responsible for what they did to me

And if I hurt my kid that is on me and not my trauma

The only time I give allowance is when my older sibling abused me while we lived with my parents as children. Because that was an extension of my parents abuse. Saying that! We still needed to apologise to each other to heal.

Anyway Shen Yuan recognising Shen Jiu's trauma but not using it to excuse him is not a sign of him being heartless

[buddieism]

tommy's character, bucktommy's inherent flaws, tommy & eddie as mirrors and buddie endgame; a (lengthy) meta analysis

honestly, what's really confirmed my feelings about tommy (and the imminent bucktommy bones -> buddie pipeline) is that there have now been multiple opportunities for the writers to actually make tommy a likeable/serious love interest for buck and they just…haven’t. because while fans are naturally going to overanalyse every little thing, the vast majority of the show's audience are regular viewers who consume the show at face value and don't think twice about it -- so if tommy was intended to be buck's endgame or anything remotely close to it, they'd absolutely want to make the most of his (very limited) screen time to present him in the best light they could. think about karen, the only non-main LI, and how she was introduced to us -- despite hen's cheating, we can see how dedicated karen and hen are to each other and how karen is a complex character in her own right who is immediately easy to root for and love.

comparatively, when we look at tommy's s7 appearances and specifically his interactions with buck, it becomes abundantly clear that there isn't really much depth to their relationship at all. which is fine! it's just... you know. fine. let's get into it.

following the cruise arc, we watch tommy through buck's eyes in 7x04 where he's basically wining and dining eddie -- flying him to vegas, getting them front row tickets to a fight, sparring with him in muay thai, playing pick up basketball with him -- tommy and eddie are so similar (which we'll come back to later), and we even get that line from eddie about how well they "click." as the audience, we are being subconsciously told to align tommy and eddie together -- and furthermore, we are told that tommy can easily make grand gestures when he wants to. now let's compare that to the bucktommy moments of the season.

bucktommy's first date: tommy makes a shady comment that would have outed buck if eddie or marisol caught onto it and then proceeds to abandon him on the sidewalk because he thinks buck isn't "ready" for a relationship with a man

i'll be objective here -- i understand in a show like 911 there's always going to be "unnecessary" relationship conflict for the sake of drama and i can also see how buck trying to play off their date as platonic to eddie might have put a bad taste in tommy's mouth. but we hear from tommy himself that he struggled with being open about his sexuality when he was at the 118 so he could have absolutely extended some sympathy towards buck for not wanting to come out on the spot to his best friend -- especially when tommy fully knows how important of a role eddie plays in buck's life. at the very least, he didn't have to leave buck alone on the curb. this isn't me trying to woobify buck because yeah, he's a grown man, he's fine -- but that doesn't mean it still isn't a bit of an asshole move.

the bachelor party: tommy doesn't dress up for the theme and dismisses buck when he's clearly disappointed about him doing so

tommy showing zero interest for the bachelor party buck planned is practically the writers waving a massive red flag in front of the camera -- him having to leave because he's on call is an understandable 'conflict' plot point but why not have him show up in an 80s themed outfit? it wouldn't have changed anything except that he and buck would have had a positive interaction; buck would have been happy that tommy cared enough to make that small gesture and it could have been a cute way to establish their relationship as one built on mutual effort. (btw, the bucktommy hospital kiss could be seen as a big gesture, sure -- but from a more practical viewpoint knowing how rushed this season had to be, it was also just an easy way for buck to "come out" to the rest of the 118 without having to spend too much episode airtime on it.)

the medal ceremony: tommy says 'enjoy it while it lasts' (which, LOL) and also is not shown reacting to buck receiving his medal. he also has a conversation with henren in a deleted scene.

again, i'm going to try to give tommy the benefit of the doubt -- i'm not saying he has to be sunshine and rainbows all the time and i have no issue with a character having a snarky/sarcastic side. but when his screentime is so minimal, every line of dialogue matters. and it's pretty damning that the writers aren't taking those few chances to give us something to appreciate about him. with buck, tommy makes a dismissive comment for literally zero reason, and with hen and karen, who are rightfully looking out for their friend, tommy refuses to take them seriously at all.

bucktommy's dinner in the finale: buck displays some vulnerability about losing bobby, and tommy... really doesn't seem to care.

honestly i refuse to rewatch this part of the ep because it really icks me out on another level but iirc: buck says he's glad bobby's okay because bobby is like the father he never had -> tommy says "your father's alive" -> something something joke about daddy issues. ignoring #that joke entirely, it's really insane to me that they have tommy even acknowledge the nuclear bomb that is buck's relationship with his parents. yes, we had a bit of a ham-fisted 'redemption arc' in s6 but that doesn't negate the buckley parents being absolutely heinous and the fact that buck verbalises how bobby played the role of the father figure because philip didn't -- all for tommy to basically deny that to his face -- is absurd. tommy has expressed on multiple occasions that he's jealous of the 118 family bond, so this line is just... very interesting to me.

now, let's recap all these events and bring eddie back into the mix!

post-bucktommy's first date, buck is more torn up about the fact that he lied to eddie than the actual date to the point that he has to vent to maddie about it. he then comes out to eddie, who is incredibly supportive (and oliver and ryan make some very curious acting choices indeed). eddie is reiterated as one of buck's most significant relationships.

pre-bachelor party, eddie is the one to suggest he and buck dress in matching (queer-coded) costumes. he then stays by buck's side at the party when everyone else leaves and although we'll never get to see it (tim minear i'm inside your walls👹), they sing an absurdly romantic karaoke song together. eddie is reiterated as one of buck's most significant relationships.

during the medal ceremony, when the camera pans to each member of the 118's love interest/family, it is eddie we are shown smiling at buck, not tommy. this is especially interesting considering we get buck reacting to tommy. i honestly can't get over how a reciprocated tommy reaction would have been an easy yet significant moment to cement bucktommy as a relationship, but they gave us eddie's instead (with chris in the background and marisol conveniently obscured, mind you). eddie is reiterated as one of buck's most significant relationships.

in the final episode, when eddie is experiencing his personal worst nightmare, buck is the one at eddie's side every step of the way. buck talks to christopher, buck reassures eddie (without judgement), and it's made clear that buck will be there for eddie, whatever he needs.

at every possible opportunity, we the audience are being implicitly told that eddie is buck's person. he is his place of support (buck having his more vulnerable coming out scene with eddie rather than his sister); he has buck's back (the bachelor party); he is his family (medal ceremony reaction), and ultimately, this goes both ways (finale).

some other things worth noting: when buck has his coming out scene with maddie, she tells him he's confused about his feelings in a way that seems to indicate she's talking about his feelings towards eddie ("if you there's something you need to tell eddie, you will"). in bobby's conversation with buck in the firehouse, he's verbally supportive of tommy and even asks if buck is going to see him, but buck goes to eddie's house instead. these were deliberate choices made by the writers; eddie has been consistently intertwined in bucktommy's relationship both overtly and subtextually throughout the entirety of s7. and let's not even get into the whole 'evan' thing, because that could be a whole other post in itself.

from the first moment we start to learn about tommy's character (beyond his... coloured past), we find out that he and eddie are practically mirrors. why not make tommy and buck share similar interests? why not give them something to bond over? why present tommy and eddie as almost identical in every way? because tommy is a placeholder for eddie. buck's initial bisexuality journey can't happen with eddie when eddie still hasn't come to terms with his own feelings. so, in the meantime, tommy is the "safe" choice in buck's mind because buck has nothing to lose with tommy whereas he's got everything to lose with eddie. buck can't confront what he truly wants yet because the risk factor is far greater and it's been repeatedly asserted that buck has an issue with people in his life leaving -- he would never do anything to jeopardise his relationship with eddie.

but ultimately (and in my opinion, fairly soon), we are going to get that moment where it "clicks" for buck and he realises that it is eddie he has feelings for. and when that happens, there's basically only one way it can go. we know buck can't keep secrets from eddie; we know eddie is going into s8 feeling "isolated"; we know tim loves making his characters suffer before they can be happy. in my mind, the narrative is going to go something like this: buck feelings realisation -> pining buck era -> eddie healing journey and a reevaluation of what buck means to him -> some insane life-threatening situation that really doubles down on how buck and eddie care more about each other than anyone else because it is 9-1-1 at the end of the day -> love confession induced by their dramatic near-death experience -> #BUDDIE_CANON !

when we factor in how there was a possibility of eddie having the sexuality arc this season instead, how tim has said buddie is one of his favourite dynamics of the show, and how supportive both oliver and ryan are of the ship, i really can't see how everything isn't building to buddie endgame. every other main pairing of the show has had seasons of development, of conflict, of bonding moments. buck and eddie have gone through that with each other time and time over (tsunami/lawsuit/shooting arc etc), which is why every other random love interest that's introduced for either of them falls flat in comparison. they quite literally are exactly what the other person needs; buck wants the stability of a home, a family, and unconditional love; eddie wants someone he can trust, a caretaker for his son but also a partner. buddie is the ship the audience wants to root for, because we know they work! now that we have canonically bisexual buck and eddie finally having to face his complicated feelings about losing shannon, buddie isn't just the logical conclusion -- it's the inevitable one.