#the capacities cannot be guaranteed.

[beach4boy3]

Seismic Pallet Rack, Racking, new and used, shelving, cantilever rack (concord / pleasant hill / martinez)

[k17y]

.

[licorishh]

Hey as a super introverted but not shy person I'd just like to say the jokes about extroverts "adopting" introverts to "get them out of their shell" are actually completely unfunny and it just goes to show how little respect a lot of y'all have for the fact that we genuinely don't want excessive social interaction and that y'all are forcing us to do something that brings us extreme physical and mental discomfort because you perceive our introversion as a failing rather than as purely a difference in personality.

We don't need your "help" to socialize. We're not children. We're simply not interested in spending every waking second of our lives talking to people and being talked at in return.

[kavehater]

I cannot fathom the level of self importance some people must have to behave this way

[fxirybun]

🍂 PAC: your higher self's short message for you

this is a collective reading ! take what resonates and leave what doesn't. i cannot guarantee 100% accuracy. take the pac reading lightly ჱ̒ ｰ̀֊ｰ́ )

ෆ⸒⸒ letter 💌

your higher self's message for you is that you're being encouraged to embrace the flow of life and to be adaptable in facing a transformative period. you're being told to trust your instinct and allow yourself to move with the currents rather than resisting it. this could also be a time for you to explore new opportunities , even if they seem to be unknown to you. sometimes you tend to move in all sorts of directions , trying to handle everything at once. your higher self is advising you to take things slow and do it at your own pace. try to accomplish it one step at a time to see its progress. by trusting your intuition , you can handle the difficult challenges with ease.

ෆ⸒⸒ cinnamon 🥧

your higher self is urging you to embrace your unique talents and sense of creativity more openly. some of you might be holding back the parts of yourself or is hiding behind a mask , but now is the time to step into the light and share your gifts with the public. your higher self believes that you have all the right tools that you need to succeed , yet it is up to you to bring them forward. you're being told to not be afraid to show who you truly are and trust in your abilities. you're being encourage to look for an inventive solution to challenges. remember that you have the capacity to navigate through any obstacles once you let go of your fear and insecurity.

ෆ⸒⸒ tree 🌲

your higher self is encouraging you to be gentle and compassionate towards yourself and to those people around you. this is the perfect time for you to nurture the dark aspects of yourself by going through a healing period. if you used to be someone who chooses the mind over the heart , your higher self wants you to show your vulnerable side with an open heart. you may be facing a situation that requires a forbearing approach. trust in your ability to bring a calming presence. your true strength lies in your ability to be temperate in this harsh world. take this opportunity to ground yourself in love and kindness , allowing this energy to guide your actions and decisions.

[girlthatgotawaysdiary]

study tips: how to get a 4.00 GPA 🩰

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

All throughout last year I've gotten perfect grades on my report cards and many of my friends have asked how I've done it and i seriously had no idea until recently when I started to take notice of my new ways of studying... and today ive decided to put all my findings on this post...so here we goo...💋

#1 finish ur homework the second u get it:

I cannot stress this enough HOMEWORK IS IMPORTANT! idc if you’re too lazy or busy studying for exams, homework is almost half of your grade, doing it the second you get it is the best way to eliminate the stress and procrastination you get when trying to tackle an assignment.

#2 be nice to teachers:

ultimately teachers are the ones deciding your fate, so being a teacher's pet isn't always a bad thing. you don't have to absolutely love them, but giving them respect while speaking, trying to connect with and get to know them, and even just thanking them after class would take you a long way. 

#3 pay attention in class:

ive heard this a million times and as a girly with undiagnosed adhd it is so hard for me to focus during class, but one thing I found helpful is sitting in front of the class. this was important because the teacher was literally in my face so I couldn't zone out. a thing that also helped me is 24/7 taking notes or highlighting passages.

#4 start caring: 

in middle school, i literally did not care about school whatsoever(and im sure most of u as well) and that was because i didn't have any severe consequences. my parents may get mad at me and i may feel disappointed in myself, but there was no long-term consequences. so when i started high school.

i had to start caring because high school grades are all that matters to universities. it was also because i knew i had a dream and wanted to achieve it, and the only way to do so was to fake being a good student till i actually became one.

something that also stops you from caring about school, is u caring about other people or what they think of u, whether it be positively or negatively. thinking about others will take up most of your brain capacity very quickly, which would result in u being distracted and not caring about ur schoolwork.

#5 surrond urrself with people who actually want to improve themselves:

this is SO important! surrounding urself with negative people who don't care about education can greatly affect you(e.g. making u late to class) making friends with people who show up to class on time, get their work done fast, and respect others is a pathway to getting good grades. i believe that the most people you spend time with reflect on who you are, and don't let those people be negative.

*now these tips won't guarantee you getting immediate straight A's, but applying them to your school life will definitely improve it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

[sayruq]

Below is a statement by the UN Relief Chief that is both true and meant to reassure zionists that he is not pro Hamas

Despite this, there is a smear campaign against him (and the UN in general)

All this to distract people from this grave warning issued by Martin Griffiths

The scenario we have long dreaded is unraveling at alarming speed. More than half of Gaza’s population – well over 1 million people – are crammed in Rafah, staring death in the face: They have little to eat, hardly any access to medical care, nowhere to sleep, nowhere safe to go. They, like the entire population of Gaza, are the victims of an assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope. More than 28,000 people – mostly women and children – have been killed across Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health. For more than four months, humanitarian workers have been doing the near-impossible to assist people in need, despite the risks they themselves were facing and the traumas they were enduring. But no amount of dedication and goodwill is enough to keep millions of people alive, fed and protected – while the bombs are falling and the aid is choked off.

Add to this the widespread despair, the breakdown of law and order, and the defunding of UNRWA. The consequences are humanitarian workers who are shot at, held at gunpoint, attacked and killed. I have said for weeks now that our humanitarian response is in tatters. Today, I’m sounding the alarm once again: Military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza. They could also leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door. We lack the safety guarantees, the aid supplies and the staff capacity to keep this operation afloat. The international community has been warning against the dangerous consequences of any ground invasion in Rafah. The Government of Israel cannot continue to ignore these calls. History will not be kind. This war must end.

[camellia-thea]

i know we talk a lot about the isolation of chronic illness and disability, but i really don't think ablebodied folk get it.

i have made one new friend in person since graduating highschool in 2020. she is my housemate's girlfriend. she stays over frequently, and the only reason we are friends is because she stays over and we have shared university papers. i would not have had the opportunity to befriend her otherwise. that is in the space of three years.

i don't go out much. i cannot guarantee that i will leave my house within any given week. technically i have class i need to go to twice a week for an hour, but those moments aren't time for friends, they're time for classwork and i don't interact with people in a social capacity there.

i simply do not get the opportunity to meet people.

i cannot go out with friends and meet new people that way, because my social circle is already so small, and i don't have the energy to go out half the time anyway. when i do, i suffer for it later.

i don't meet people on campus because i'm immuno-compromised, and ableds seem to have forgotten that we are still in a pandemic.

i don't go to clubs or go out for the sake of going out because i can't. i've grown agoraphobic, because i am so worried that something health related will happen and i'll get stuck somewhere alone. i hate leaving the house because of the guarantee of an anxiety attack which leaves my body more likely to flare. it's a vicious cycle of isolation.

i am not the only one who has experienced this -- i can still leave the house, i can still go and visit friends with assistance. i struggle, but at the end of the day, it's still an option. there are others who are completely isolated.

the worst of it is that people leave. people get tired of the 'i can't come, i'm sorry', of the 'hey, i'm sick, can we postpone?'. even people who you love and hold dearly will stop trying. and it's awful. you have to sit and watch these people who you love walk away because they can't deal with your disability. i don't have words to describe how much that hurts.

it really is impossible for ablebodied people to understand, because for the majority of us, this isn't temporary. this is just how we have to live. and your social circle can only really get smaller.

[megaman-r]

I am definitely going engine-first, generally speaking; a lot of those assets are UI bits and pieces. I'd say the majority even. I do have a fair amount of other sprites/tiles at least roughed out, but that's because I'm a visual artist so that's the fun part for me, and it all needs to happen at some point anyway, so I haven't tried to stop myself from working on the parts that sound fun at the moment. Especially since getting a cohesive 'look' across the whole game is a massive task, and having a really long time to think it over and refine things is only going to be of benefit.

A whole lot of what you've listed is just not possible to implement easily, if at all, in the engine I'm using. Total playtime per file, items used, enemies killed, the basics that make the game work at all (Robot Masters defeated and the like)—sure, that's all doable and largely done even, but lifelong stats across multiple files aren't supported in any reasonable way because save files simply don't interact with each other. If I load one to reference a variable, I have nowhere to store said variable to add it to another from a different save, because referencing that save will lose the first variable entirely no matter what I do with it or where I put it. Cumulative totals simply cannot be a thing with this engine, essentially, which isn't the end of the world. After all I'm basically doing an NES-like with a few modern bells and whistles, so being somewhat less detailed in save data than other modern games isn't going to make or break it.

I have no idea what is actually in each save file as far as data. They're all in JSON and they're not particularly human-readable, because everything is obfuscated. If this were actually something I was coding from scratch in a real language, yeah, I could worry about individual bits and bytes, but I picked an oddball engine off the strength of its being easy to learn (...and having already been in my Steam library from a sale...)—I know exactly zero programming languages, unless you count Pixel Game Maker MV's visual scripting system. So that hampers a lot of things; it's state-based, not object-oriented, and things like menus and UI absolutely suffer for it. The degree of tedium it takes to set up a basic foundation is...yeeegh. I do understand the concepts better, and I will probably switch to Godot or something with a lot more fine control if I do another project, but as it stands... the bit/byte count is all very interesting but I have no access to the save file structure beyond, "Keep these switches and variables, allow these others to reset to default." (Also I don't know how to do math in hex much beyond being able to generally count from 0 to 15, which is all I need to use Famitracker effectively, lol.)

I kinda just started on a whim to see if I could do it, so the order of operations has been whatever I'm confident will actually allow me to keep making progress. Things like doing the music first happened because I didn't want to get years deep into making a game only to discover that I have no ability to compose, so I completed a fair amount of it first to make sure it happened at all. (It turns out I'm okay at it, fortunately.)

But yeah, I'm sure there's a lot of nontraditional stuff happening, because I have no idea what a traditional workflow even would be. I'm emphatically not a programmer, even if I do seem to be programming. My entire background is making dumb things in RPG Maker 2000 back in high school. The fact that I've organized myself enough to get this far is a testament to the combined power of ADHD medication and sheer stubbornness.

But believe me when I say that I am painfully aware the save system should be X, Y, and Z things. It just is what it is, though, and what it is is extremely limited and very, very prone to producing errors if things aren't laid out just so. Even trying to save two files too quickly will cause at least one of them, if not both, to simply not output at all. So for even just this basic functionality I feel pretty accomplished and while I do want to add some more miscellaneous stats plus some way to view them, which is a whole other UI setup that I'll need to do, there is no way to add much beyond that.

But again, I think that won't horribly impact anyone's enjoyment, in the end. People still have plenty of fun with much less. I almost didn't even include saves, but my dev Discord voted down a classic NES style password grid system. Would have been relatively very easy to implement, but alas. The people have spoken.

I should add that there is one way that would technically work for multiple save files with lifetime play stats and you could support any sort of cumulative save data you could imagine with it, but I'm not doing it, because it would involve emulating multiple save files within one save file...meaning that for every single time a saved variable or switch is changed, I would need a bunch of branching logic to disambiguate exactly which "save file" I'm changing, and I would rather eat my own teeth than deal with the bugs that would invariably produce if anything at all in the entire game was set up even slightly wrong.

@megaman-r, @afniel

I should probably clarify what I meant.

When I say "backward", I mean that when work actually begins on a game, there's typically kind of an… order… to how things should logically go: make the game engine and all the conceptualized bits and bobs, test to satisfaction, and then make all the assets. A lot of people do it the other way, though. I used to, back when I dabbled. Realistically, though, making the entire engine first with all it entails just makes more sense to me, these days.

As for the save system? Here's what I expect from a Mega Man save:

Save Game Slot

Stages beaten and/or weapons collected (2 to 4 bits?*)

Lives, Tanks, collectable inventory (1 byte** each)

Permanent inventory (Energy Balancer, et cetera) (1 bit)

Score, if enabled (4 bytes)

Game difficulty, if enabled (1 byte)

Character, if applicable (1 byte)

New game or replay, if applicable (1 byte) - These three can probably be combined into one bit

Time played in hh:mm:ss format (3 or 4 bytes)

Deaths, if applicable (1 byte)

Other stats (E-Tanks chugged, enemies destroyed, and so on) (1 byte each)

Overall Save Stats

Games played, beaten, et cetera (1 byte each)

Features unlocked (1 or 2 bits, number of unlocks depending)

Overall time played in dd:hh:mm:ss format (1 and 4 bytes?)

(* Bits in "hex format" 8 possible "hard values" per bit: $01, $02, $04, $08, $10, $20, $40, $80 Use bit math for combinations.

Examples: - Stage 1 and Stage 3 beaten = $05 - Stages 2, 5, and 8 beaten = $92 - Stages 1 through 8 beaten = $FF

** Bytes are just standard hex bytes: $00 - $FF 10 = $0A, 99 = $63, et cetera. Multi-byte values stored in reverse order.) —

... I've put a lot of thought into this. (,:

[paper-mario-wiki]

"no art is good bc it's a misconfiguration of the natural world to suit man's vanity" Is an extremely misanthropic take on art. Is humanity not part of "the natural world"? Can one not make pigments from flowers or minerals? You say that the universe would never align so that a piece of art is made without human intervention, but the universe did align so that it could be made, you just assume humans aren't part of it. I understand that this is some faux-deep shit I'm on, but I love art and while I think good is kind of useless adjective when talking about art in general, to compare the concept of art to a tumor is a pretty bad faith take. Sorry if that was like, ironic or something and I just sent a rant into your inbox for nothing.

your faux-deep shit could never reach the faux-depths of my even shallower faux-deepness.

i think the main problem when establishing this argument in the first place was saying "all art is bad" because someone asked me if i liked any bad art, and i answered using "bad" as a shorthand for "not good". if i had known i'd be getting into this pedantic of an argument about it i definitely would have changed my wording, because things that are "not good" are not inherently "bad", which seems to be where the majority of the misunderstandings of my stance come from.

i'd ask you this: what could be considered "good" outside of something that affects humanity in some capacity? to be clear, you're absolutely right, humans ARE natural, humans ARE part of the world. but the idea of something being "good" didn't exist until humans came up with it.

100,000,000,000,000,000 light years away, two planets crash into each other, each with their own forms of biological life so different from earth's that we would find it difficult to even classify it as life if we were given the chance to observe it, but that doesn't matter because we would have never been given the opportunity to reach those planets anyway under any circumstances. is this a good thing? is it a bad thing? i don't think it's either, it's just something that happened.

because "good" and "bad" are code words used to reflect the societal values of the person using them, they cannot exist in a vacuum.

so if that's the case, and "good" and "bad" only exist to us, what does it mean to us?

well, something "good" is something with objective benefit or subjective enjoyment-- but subjective enjoyment of something can also contradict the nature of its objectivity. soup can be considered "good" because it sustains us and is therefore beneficial. soup can be considered to "taste good" because someone might enjoy the flavor. but "torture" can only be seen as "enjoyable", but it benefits nobody-- even if the person doing it enjoys it. that's just them subjectively enjoying it.

conversely, something can be objectively good but still subjectively unenjoyable, like having a soup that's healthy in a way you think tastes bad! you'd still benefit from it, even if you didn't enjoy the experience. but regardless of whether or not you enjoyed it, what has the greatest bearing on something being considered "good" is its objectivity, as it's something fewer people can debate.

now, all of that being considered, what can "art" do that is objectively good, without it serving some secondary purpose? something that is objectively good can be artistically created, like a children's hospital designed by a genius architect-- but its goodness in that case would be derived from its benefit, with the subjectivity of it being something that only enhances its good.

a piece of fabric, stretched across a wooden frame and painted using colorful oils, creates no benefit objectively, it exists solely in the world of subjectivity. how can something be "good" if the only thing it does is hold the potential (not the guarantee) for a person to look at it, and enjoy looking at it?

more importantly though, is that bad? it's not.

but it is superfluous.

^ please forgive me for typing all of this. im so sorry. it's just so easy to be pedantic. i promise im not a stick in the mud and i love art, i just also happen to be someone who is personally deeply concerned with rhetorically whittling communication down to the bare knob of its meaning (XRA style).

because it is something i find subjectively enjoyable.

[gay-dorito-dust]

I fee like Jason would gently but firmly break off his relationship with his s/o because he'd want to try to distance you from his vigilante life, he'd obviously never tell you about his other life. he'd try to convince you to move out of Gotham, maybe after dumping you he'd convince one of your friends to contact a relative of yours who lives far outside Gotham to try to entice you out of the city because he can't fully concentrate knowing Gotham could get you at any moment.

If you don't leave you'd find that you escape a lot of situations you shouldn't and that known bad guys even pretty big criminals tend to just leave you alone and pretend you don't exist even if you happen to find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, a random goon will just escort you out or a mugger would realise his mistake and beg forgiveness and leave all your belongings safely beside you. Redhood follows you a lot not that you know, he wouldn't want to frighten you, on some nights he'll sleep on your balcony or your fire escape just to be near you.

I’m basically reiterating what you’ve already said because it’s so fucking good anon. You took my singular braincell. How dare. 🦦

.Jason cannot focus on both keeping you safe and on clearing Gotham. It’s just not realistic. So if one thing had to give then Jason would selflessly chose to save you from a life of constantly look in over your shoulder. You deserve a better life and unfortunately Jason knows that you’ll never get that dream life staying in Gotham.

.Redhood had a plethora of enemies and Jason didn’t want you to become a victim of his acts of vigilantism. It wasn’t fair on you but Gotham never was or is a fair city for anyone involved. You could be alive and content one moment but dead in a dingy alleyway with corrupt people trying to gloss over your murder the next.

.So like you said anon. He goes to every contact he had that could help him in getting you moved out of Gotham, whether that be friends, family, whoever could aid Jason speed up the process in getting you settled in elsewhere was more then welcomed by him.

.Breaking up with you would be the worst thing Jason ever had to do, which is saying something, but again as much as Jason wanted to be a selfish man, he couldn’t bring himself to keep you in a city that will ultimately be the death of you both in a literal and metaphorical sense. He thought he had finally got the chance to be happy and get to live out his life with you, but when the villain of the week vaguely mentioned you in some capacity, Jason’s blood ran cold as everything in his body went mental; screaming at him to end this fucker right here and now for daring to mention you and demand how they knew.

.However he knew that’s what they wanted confirmation but still a part of his brain made him believe that they already knew of your relationship with redhood and that scared Jason unlike anything else. You were his Achilles heel and he hadn’t even realised that until the moment you were being threatened. And at that point Jason was at a loss of what to do to prioritise your safety because he would do absolutely anything to protect you and keep you safe but sometimes the best thing for him to do was to let you go and hope that you live a better life elsewhere. Far, far, far away from Gotham.

. Maybe sometime in the future when things have calmed down, he’ll visit but that’s never a guarantee. He thinks himself a death omen and he’d rather you live in safety and security. So he stays in Gotham as though he was chained to the damned city. Forbidden from ever leaving. Yet he’ll never forget you and everything you’ve done for him, I’d like to think he’d keep one thing that reminds him of you as a reminder of all the good times you’ve shared. Jason knew his heart would always belong to you and the item he kept was only a reminder of that.

.If you don’t move out of Gotham however, you start to realise that you are the most Luckiest/safest person if there ever was one. Goons, villains, thugs, all of them avoid you as though you were the plague, like you possessed something so potent that had them retreating back into the shadows, hissing as though you’ve burned them without touching them.

Which you did and he happened to be the infamous Redhood. Nobody fucks with you when Redhood is your silent but slightly terrifying guardian looming over you from the rooftops, daring anyone to try anything within his presence and to see where it gets them.

. A thug could’ve been gunning to steal your bag after managing to corner you in some dingy alleyway, holding you a knifepoint, and all of a sudden all the colour in their face vanish as their eyes flickered upwards and boom. Redhood. The thug is shitting it, their eyes are bulging out of their head as they throw the bag back at your feet and mutter ‘I ain’t planning on dying over some stupid bag, fuck that.’ Before running away with their tail between their legs like a little bitch.

. You, confused, would look up in the same place that the thug did. Only to find absolutely nothing before shrugging your shoulders. ‘Must be the drugs he was taking.’ You’d conclude before continuing on your way home to your beautiful boy, Jason.

. I’d like the idea that you caught Redhood sleeping out on your balcony/fire escape one night and now not only are you taking care of your beloved boyfriend but also a 6’2 vigilante who’s built like a brick house with guns strapped to any part of him that you could see. It’s cute and adorable because you’d probably also come to the conclusion that he was the reason why you were being left alone, and to show your gratitude to him you start leaving food, drink and something comfortable to sleep in out for him whenever you could alongside a note that said; ‘thank you for looking out for me but please for the love of god take care of yourself.’

. Jason loves it and finds it’s unbearably cute as he perched himself on your balcony/fire escape, eating your food and making himself comfortable for the night while you slept. He wished he could at least kiss your forehead and wish you a goodnight sleep but he knew he couldn’t and he hated it but as long as you were safe, that’s all Jason could ever ask for. He’ll shower you in affection soon but tonight he was on watch duty.

[thebibliosphere]

So, I've been getting a few "hey, so now you're fixed, you're going to write books faster now, right?" type messages, and hmmm. That's a loaded word right there. "Fixed."

Yeah, not too keen on that word.

What I assume these people mean to do is congratulate me on finding out a major cause of distress and illness in my life and offer well wishes for my continued relief and recovery. I assume that's what was really meant. But just to entertain the first part of that ask, no, I am not "fixed."

There is no "fixing" the kind of chronic illness or disabilities I have. My ailments are genetic and lifelong, and if you're new here, newly diagnosed at the start of the pandemic, so my treatment thus far has been limited. Most of it is things I have pieced together myself.

That I've been able to do anything over the last year when I suffered 215+ migraine days on top of the connective tissue disorder I have, and the other condition that causes spontaneous anaphylaxis--not to mention the unmedicated ADHD I cannot treat with meds (yet)--is nothing short of miraculous.

So, now that my migraines are improving thanks to finding out I have binocular vision disorder on top of all the other stuff, will I be writing books faster?

I can only hope so.

But I also cannot say, "yes, absolutely, one book a year from here on out," because I just do not have the physical and mental capacity to guarantee that. Nor am I going to inflict that kind of mental and physical torture on myself (again) because it's the exact kind of thing that causes my health to crash and burn. And here's the thing:

Every time I burn myself out. Every time I push myself too far to keep up, it takes longer and longer to recover. The harder I push myself, the fewer books I will produce. That's the truth of it.

So I get it, it's frustrating. You want more of the fun thing (and thank you so much for loving what I do!), but you'll have to bear with me a little bit longer.

I am finding my stride as a multiply disabled creator, and I've spent the last two years untangling the guilt and imposter syndrome I experience over being "popular" but not being well enough to produce work at the same pace as everyone else around me.

I have worked out a system that I hope will be sustainable instead of leading to the continuous cycle of burnout I was trapped in for 10+ years as an editor. I have safety nets and supports in place that I didn't have before, and hopefully, those will help too. Time will tell.

Am I excited to get back to work? Absolutely. I'm ecstatic at the prospect of having fewer migraine days and more coherent brain days. But I'm also going to take my time to enjoy the process as well. I'd like to enjoy the things I write too. And I hope you can appreciate that.

So thank you for understanding, and for your patience. If you decide you can't wait, I'll understand. But please don't send authors, even able-bodied, neurotypical ones, messages like that. It's unkind. And I don't think any of you mean to be unkind.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

7x07 Costume Meta

Well!! Where does one even start with this episode!!!

We start with Hen - thats where! Well actually we start by saying that no Bobby or Athena in this meta - as they were only seen in uniform!

I also want to say - starting with this one, I'm going to have to pull back from the very full on costume meta's I've been putting out each week - work has got incredibly busy (I'm about to undertake a massive multi £million project) and I just don't have the capacity - mentally and physically or the time, to write meta for every single one of our main (and the regulars/guest) cast. These metas take a huge amount of effort and energy and while I love writing them, I need to have the time to pursue other things alongside them, (which I currently don't) and give myself time to rest - I don't want my AuDHD to spiral me into burnout.

So while I'm still going to be putting out a costume meta each week, I cannot guarantee which or how many characters and costumes I talk about - I may do all the characters but not all their costumes or just a few of the characters but all their costumes - it depends on my capacity that week. I will commit to doing Buck and Eddie every week (unles they're only in uniform) because they are the reason I started doing these metas in the forstplace and are my blorbos!

I hope you can understand and still enjoy what I do produce and my inbox will always be open if you have specific questions you'd like to ask! Thanks for understanding

Now on with the meta - below the cut as usual!

Hen

Hens costumes go on a bit of a journey in this episode

Not going to lie - this t-shirt - I am obsessed with it as a choice for Hen and for this scene. Loewe t-shirts start at $300 - I am clearly in the wrong job and universe!! But that aside - we have this bright cyan blue (because its a cyanotype design!) which means trust and loyalty, but it is combined with a cow parsley print and cow parsley in flower language means safety sanctuary and refuge - due to its prevelance in church yards and churches being places where one could seek sanctuary (hisotrically speaking). So this is hen offering all of those things to Mara (on behalf of the Wilson family) and that is just beautiful to see.

Hen in a bright pink hoodie when the pink = naivety and innocence theme we have for this season is going strong, it does also play into the idea of secrets and cheating a bit as well - as we see Deidra give them a way to contact Maras half brothers family, and the implication that Mara's mother cheated on Maras father is made clear as well.

Then we get this birth of love jumper with pink roses on a gold background. gold in colour theory mean optimism, enlightenment and prosperity and with pink roses meaning gratitude and new beginnings, the symbolism of the sweater is pretty clear - even without the words 'the birth of love' wrtien on it - along with mara being in yellow and back in contact with her baby brother, all things are looking pretty positive in the Wilson household right now!

Maddie

its all about the pale blues and lavenders for Maddie this week.

The pale blue we see Maddie in here plays into the same blue theming we've seen Buck wearing since the end of season 5 - this is all about Maddie getting some closure and moving on from her past - leaving Doug and the trauma he put her through in the past. The blue bookends that mini arc for Maddie in this episode - showing her still doing a bit of processing over her trauma surrounding Doug and his kidnapping of her.

We also get the tan coloured jacket with its golden wrm undetones - its within the brown spectrum of the colour wheel and therefore plays into the theme of stability and protection.

We also get this beautiful lavender colour in the middle of it all as well. Lavender is a colour of cleansing and tranquility - which ties in nicely to Maddies pale blue closure and moving on journey for the episode.

Buck

Buck decided to just play out the green and blue colour theme on his own this week - the dark bottle green shirt with a navy blue apron thats messy and stained is an interesting choice! This is the second time this season we've seen Buck in this dark green shade, and both times have been around Eddie and both scenes have related to issues with Eddies relationship with Marisol and the idea of keeping secrets of some description.

combine this with the other times we've seen Buck wearing this dark bottle green and things become even more interesting

-2x18 - Buck and Ali relationship end -3x12 - skateboarding -3x16 - when Buck takes Red to see Cindy -5x13 - when he confesses to Taylor about kissing Lucy -5x18 - when he breaks up with Taylor

the skateboarding scene is the only one that doesn't fully fit the bottle green narrative at play in the other three scenes - its also the only other scene where there is no blue present - Eddie is wearing white and buff, so it can be discounted from the pattern by virtue of the lack of blue.

All 4 of the other scenes involve a relationship crisis point of some description - Ali all but ends their relationship (side point here, Buck is also wearing blue and green in this scene as the hoodie is lined in navy blue).

- Red discovers Cindy has dementia and cannot remember him - ending any hope of that relationship being something he can pursue. This scene does however sit slightly apart from the later scenes as well - by virtue of Red being the character involved - and not someone Buck has a close personal relationship with - Red is a new friend.

Buck confessing he kissed Lucy puts his relationship with Taylor in jeopardy and it then ends in 5x18 - both of these scenes play into the theme of the lack of trust and of secrets on top of the relationship crisis points.

So to combine those scenes with the two from this season - all involve a crisis point in a close relationship along with secrets and to a greater or lesser extent a lack of trust, leading to a breakdown or termination of a relationship. So while on the surface this is all pointing towards some form of relationship termination, my feeling is that isn't the whole story. I do think it still points towards a relationship crisis point for Buck and Eddie (as well as Eddie and Marisol and Eddie and Kim) when the fact Eddie is cheating on Marisol comes to light, the fact that Buck is also the one wearing the blue and not Eddie, points me towards thinking that Buck will also be the one to ensure that any break between him and Eddie is only temporary - because ultimately Buck has been on both sides of the coin - he has been cheated on (Abby did't technically end their relationship so Buck was technically being cheated on) and been the one to do the cheating.

Chris

Chris is the only colour in this scene - we have Eddie in white and buff and Marisol in white and black - both effectively devoid of colour - meanwhile Chris is sat between them wearing green and red - and check gets thrown into the mix as well.

The fact he is placed directly between them for most of the scene is an indicator that it is this 'family' dynamic that is going to fall under the curse of the check pattern - the check is foreshadowing the entrance of Kim later in the scene, as well as the future end of the relationship between Eddie and Marisol and Chris and Marisol.

The green is also closer to Eddies army greens than we've seen Chris in before - playing into the idea of Chris and Eddie being similar in their behaviours and mannerisms - again its a form of foreshadowing Eddies cheating arc sitting in parallel to Chris's one.

Meanwhile the red is a signal of danger (it can mean passion, love etc as well, but in this instance - as its being used in check pattern - its more a symbol of danger - a warning!).

I'm also fascinated by the foreshadowing this outfit gives us as well - the red and green of Buck and later outfits - a signifier perhaps of the check also hinting at conflict ahead for Buck and Eddie over the fact Eddie is lying to Buck and to Chris - as the use of the two colours on all three of them in the episode (and only the three of them) really highlights them as a unit once again.

Then we have Chris in a white tee and a two tone denim jacket. I am sincerley hoping that the white tee is not a signifier of the same things as Buck being in white - Chris so rarely wears white, that I am hoping it is merely playing into the idea that Chris is a true innocent in the tangled web that Eddie is weaving - the web centred around his internalised idea that he needs to find another mother figure for Chris.

Marisol

Marisol in back and white stripes is paying into stripe theory rather nicely - its indicating that change is coming. We see the beginnings of that change later in the scene with the introduction of Kim. The choice to have the stripes in black and white is also telling - its a literal representation of things being black and white and plays into the theme of Eddie and Marisol's relationship lacking colour - its very telling that both her and Eddie have worn black and or white around each other far more than any other colours, I'm not saying we haven't seen them in other colours - we have - Marisol has also worn the bright pink top in 7x01 and the blue dressing gown (and the blue top from later) and Eddie has worn his army green but the fact of the matter is that black and white are the over arching colours the two of them wear in relation to one another and tied into that is the fact that none of the scenes she has been involved in have been about establishing her as a character in her own right - all of her scenes have been set up for either Chris or Eddie - the audience is being given very little to endear her to them and the black and white also plays that out - in fact we have had more establishment of Eddie and Tommy as friends in one episode than we have had of Eddie and Marisol as a couple across multiple episodes.

There is also the fact that white means purity and innocence - which as a novice nun is on theme for her - but it also plays into the idea that she is also an innocent party in the road Eddie is about to send them on.

We also get more Marisol in Blue - its a bright blue that is very reminiscent of the bright blue that the Virgin Mary is depicted wearing in Catholic art - it plays into the theme of Eddies Catholic guilt that was established in 7x05 when Eddie found out she was a novice nun - its just yet more layering of this positioning her as a representation of the Catholic faith - as a representation of purity and goodness - she is intentionally meant to seen bland and too good an pure - its her literal narrative purpose.

Kim

Ok sooo Kim the Shannon Doppelgänger! They've done a great job with costuming her to make her look very differnet to Shannon - which is a key thing. To start with all the colours we've seen her in so far sit on the opposite side of the colour wheel from Shannon - who was much more in the yellow orange and pink side of the wheel, while Kim here sits in the blue side of the wheel - interestingly the same side of the Wheel that Buck sits on. I've spoken at length about How Buck in the pale blues we've seen him wearing since the end of season five was about his journey of self discovery and figuring out who he is and what he wants - about moving forward and leaving the past in the past. The same could be said for Eddie here its just manifesting in a very differnet way - Kim is a projection of Shannon, so moving on from Shannon and leaving her ghost in the past is what Eddies journey is all about.

I am fascinated by the fact that this suit choice - with its vertical striped pattern and white shirt underneath also plays into 6x01 Buck and the lasagne of it all - especially considering we see Buck attempting a new lasagne later in the episode - there is something in the concept that Buck getting his lasagne right in that blue zip front jacket when Eddie is there to eat it, and then not getting the new lasagne he is trying out right when Eddie is not going to be eating it - things being successful and right when the three of them are together as the Buckley-Diaz family, but not being successful or right when one of them isn't present.

This as a concept places Buck along side Shannon - something we've already seen explicitly stated on screen in this season and in direct contrast to Kim - because not only is Kim a doppelgänger for Shannon, she becomes a doppelgänger for buck as well.

The blue and white striped top in the second Kim scene also mirrors Buck costumes from season 6 - the vertical stripes and the use of blue and white - it further emphasises the paralleling of the pair of them - because the implications are clear - Eddie thinking he's found this second chance with Shannon - a second chance at happiness with when the reality is that Buck has been there all along - it plays perfectly into the Vertigo arc that Tim is using as well - Buck in the place of Midge - the best friend but the actual right fit for Eddie who has been there all along.

This black sheer top and leather jacket with the knotted updo is playing into so many themes that it makes me happy! the first and most obvious one is that its a very stereotypical 'other woman' outfit - the sophisticated seductress. It also plays her into the opposite of Shannon - dark versus light - all the flashbacks of Shannon we saw in this episode were brightly lit and bathed in light - giving her an angelic and heavenly aura - a play on her status as an angel (both in terms of her being dead, but also in terms of Eddie having rose tinted glasses on in regards to their relationship and her as a person - that common trait of making saints of the dead - especially when their death was traumatic and left things unfinished - as we have with Eddie)- Kim her is lit far more darkly and the glow of the light has a much more orange and therefore darker tone to it - its a play on temptation - the updo and leather also give her a slightly serpent like air - she is Eve tempting Adam to eat the fruit - it is serpent like. This theme plays on the other religious theme we've had established around Eddie - with Marisol being placed into this Virgin Mary role - here we have Kim being placed into her opposition as the devil - I am not saying she is evil - this is about Eddie being tempted by trying to get back what he has lost - she is a physical manifestation of what is happening - of Eddies internal struggles with his catholic guilt - much in the same way Marisol is a manifestation of the opposite side of that catholic guilt coin - they are the extremes that are pulling on Eddie in physical form and Eddie needs to find the balance.

Eddie

Boy oh boy do we have a lot to talk about with Eddie this week!1

There are three key themes at play with Eddie in his costuming this week and its so so good, I'm obsessed with the choices being made.

Starting out with this white tee and buff suede jacket which ties into three separate scenes which are key in relation to Christopher and Eddies relationships with women and the the theme of Eddie looking for a mother for him.

up first - the moment Eddie lets Shannon back into Christophers life - this one is pretty obvious on the mother front - Eddie is literally letting Christophers actual mother back into his life. this jacket is closer to brown than the buff colour of the one above, but it still plays into the theme - its the point at which the theme is established.

Then we have Eddies talk with Bobby about Shannon and re proposing to her as well as the possibly of her being pregnant again. Its a key turning point in his the relationship with Shannon - it is the moment that idealisation starts to creep into Eddies perspective on her and the moment when past, present and future collide - the concept of having Shannon and not having Shannon.

Finally we have the skateboarding scene - which while being a key moment of bonding as the Buckely-Diaz dynamic continues to be established in season 3. The jacket here is the closest to the one from 7x07 and this scene comes on the back of a couple of scenes with Ana - who was wearing pale blue in one and white (with red flowers) in the second.

All of these scenes when combined with the scenes from 7x07 establish this white tee - buff/beige jacket or shirt colour way as being about Christopher and Eddies desire to give him a mother figure - that the final scene - the skateboard scene very clearly shows Buck becoming a key figure in Christophers upbringing in a far more visual and physical way - Eddie is and active participant rather than standing on the sidelines as he is in all the others - along with the choice to show buck in the dark green in the same episodes - showing Buck in a semi parental role back then to show him in an even more parental role in this one (the 'we won't wait up' was a definite choice on the script front when it had been established that Chris was staying over at Bucks and Eddie wasn't returning until the following day) - especially when you also have Chris wearing red in both episodes.

Eddie in a black shirt - one that is the same as the one from 7x06.

There is a lot at play with this black shirt, and a lot at play with black on Eddie more widely, but first up - The Christopher watch. It was so very present in this episode - the shirt cuff has been tucked underneath the watch to ensure that it is visible - because they want to ensure that we see that Christopher is still front and centre in Eddies mind through all of this - it is an indicator that Eddie is not dating any of these women for himself - they are all in one way or another for Chris.

The clincher on the watch front is that the first time we see it is when he goes on his first date with Ana - the first time he is trying to 'recapture' the magic he had with Shannon and the first time he starts dating to try and give Chris a mother figurre. The fact it is so present when he goes back to the store to see Kim the Shannon doppelgänger is proof enough that this is as much about Chris as it is Eddie - the ghost of Shannon continues to loom large in both of their lives and Eddie is very much still trying to find her again for the both of them.

The other - slightly more unhinged aspect of this is that he wears the Christopher watch out to his date with Kim later on - making it still about Christopher. The reason this is unhinged is that the one time we have seen Eddie go out on something resembling a date and not wear the Christopher watch was the poker night with Buck - I said at the time the fact that both Eddie and buck were wearing new watches was important - here we start to see its significance play out - that poker night was for Eddie (and Buck), not for Christopher in any way - if Marisol or Kim were meant to be endgame or even truly long term - then he would be wearing that watch on his dates with one of them - the fact he hasn't speaks volumes (and speaks volumes for the buddie of it all!).

the shirt itself being worn for this meeting and coming off the back of two key scenes in 7x06 tells its own story. Whilst Bucks coming out to Eddie scene is about his coming out, it is also about establishing Eddie not knowing/realising that Tommy was gay, as well as about the idea of

His wearing it to reverse his relationship with Marisol back to them not living together - to start over is obvious - the magic with her wasn't magicking, but because of his determination (subconsciously) to find a mother for Chris he rewinds rather than ending the relationship. This remains the key scene for this shirt in that episode and ties into his wearing it in this one - its all about rewinding the clock and trying again.

The thing with Eddie in black (apart from the singlets which are their own themed thing - although it still ties into the wider Eddie in black theme) is that its a colour he has worn so specifically in relation to his mental health and in connection with Christopher (and Shannon).

I'm not going to go through every instance of him wearing black - it would take way to long, but I am going to pick out a few key moments when he is wearing it - specifically shirts

2x17 - the reproposal/ divorce scene 3x12 - parent teacher night at school - mets Ana for the first time 3x15 - Christopher birth (flash back scene) 4x13 - follow your heart not Christophers scene 5x01 - Panic attack scene 5x10 - tells Carla about the hostage situation - after Chris's meltdown 5x17 - Ramons retirement party

We also have him in 6x11 in his widows weeds at Bucks bedside and in 6x17 a long sleeved waffle tee when he 're' meets Marisol at the DIY store

In regards to Marisol - he has worn black more than any other colour in relation to her (not that they've had many scenes together, but half of their scenes have been in black, and that includes their 're' meeting in the hardware store - not technically their first meeting, but Eddie was in uniform the first time they met.

The black is playing two roles with Eddie - there is the fact that it has duel meaning - it is associated with magic - specifically dark magic as well as darkness/depression, secrets and power. I know I haven't listed all of the scenes he wears black and long sleeves above - but the fact that those scenes I've listed are so very central to Eddie, fatherhood and the various women in his life is pretty telling. The fact that both Ana and Marisol were both met in scenes where he was in black or that so many of the other scenes were connected to pivotal moments in his relationships with all three women (Shannon, Ana and Marisol) - in the same way the the dark green has been for Buck - and the fact that so many of the scenes tie into the theme of his heart and not following it plays into this idea that he is in mourning - that his grief is central to all of these relationships - and that includes this new one with Kim.

Setting his first meeting (as in actual conversation) with Kim against this backdrop of his previous relationships, grief and his 'struggle's with fatherhood (including his relationship with his own father) sets this relationship off on the wrong foot regardless of the cheating aspect or the fact she is Shannons doppelgänger.

Sorry, both the pictures from 7x07 have terrible lighting - it was basically impossible to get a good still of either shirt that showed off the colour!!!! I am however obsessed with the choice to put Eddie in maroon twice in this episode - and in long sleeves at that!

The reason for my obsession - the way it plays into yet another Christopher theme. Eddie wearing Maroon long sleeved shirts (espeically Henleys) in relation to Christopher and his choices as a parent. So in this Episode it happens twice - we have his meal in the Diaz kitchen with Marisol, and then at the end of the Episode - his date with Kim - While neither scene directly involves Chris, both play into this idea of everything Eddie does in terms of his relationships in connected to Chirs - he daydreams about bringing Shannon back into Christophers life - in a better more honest way than he actually managed to do in the real world (proof of his rose tinted glasses being firmly on when it comes to Shannon) - righting the wrongs he feels he did her, then later on he drops Chris off with Buck (the other actual parental figure in Chris's life) before going on a secret date wit ha woman who looks like Shannon and Eddie is viewing as a second chance - a second chance not just for himself, but also for Chris - because Chris is missing his mom - something the show established early on in the season and the trigger that is sending Eddie into this current spiral.

All of the scenes Eddie has worn this colour in previously (by this I mean without the presence of other colours via jackets etc) - and they're aren't that many - are deeply connected to Chris and Eddies struggles with fatherhood.

We have this scene from 2x10 when Chris confesses his Christmas wish is to have his mom back - which leads to Eddie feeling guilty about his choices as a father and ultimately leads to Shannons return to Christophers life.

then we have Fight club Eddie in the aftermath of nearly killing a man from 3x08 - This is the only other time we see him in a Henley and the fact that the conversation he has with Bobby is so heavily intertwined with the concept of Eddie needing to be in control for Christopher - he is once again at the heart of the scene, even in his physical absence from it. It is also turning out to be an even more key scene - Bobby makes the all important comment

'Eddie I just want to make sure you don't think you have to lose everything, before you can allow yourself to feel anything'

this line is very much coming into play now - Eddie did not listen to Bobbys advice and is now setting himself on a course to lose everything. That implies that he will then finally start to feel things - able to move past his continued grief and build a future for himself. The overarching implication is that Eddie has remained in fight club mode since this scene - just that the fight club is internalised and with himself - his failings as a husband and father.

Chris goes off to summer camp in 3x18 - again a scene about Chris and Eddies role as father

and finally his first date with Ana - this scene while not obviously about Chris in the moment - is in fact all about Chris - we see it borne out over the course of Eddies relationship with Ana, but the key factor is that this is the first time we see Eddie wearing a different watch to his work watch - a second watch - his Christopher watch - which I explained the significance of above.

I've also included this tee from 6x12 because although it has short sleeves rather than long ones, it is adjacent to all of the above - he is making Christophers lunch while he and Buck talk later on after Buck has enjoyed his nap on Eddies couch, but it is also the closest they have come to talking about the will. Eddie is also not wearing a watch at all at this point - in a precursor to the poker date two episodes later, this moment - about letting yourself feel things rather than boxing them up inside feels like a key counterpoint to the reality of Eddies arc for this season.

The other thing about the red shirt black jacket combination along with all the above, is that it also juxtaposes the date with Vanessa that Pepa set him up on - the idea of wanting to be on a date versus not wanting to be on a date, whilst also ensuring black is a central theme with Eddies costuming arc this season.

Thats all for this week - Sorry again that it took so long to get written and posted - but I hope you enjoyed it none the less!

Tagged people below!

@theladyyavilee @mistmarauder @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @bewilderedbuckley @spotsandsocks

@bewitchedbewilderedbisexual @rogerzsteven @wanderingwomanwondering

@oneawkwardcookie @leothil @copyninjabuckley @shammers86 @crazyfangirlallert @missmagooglie @katyobsesses

@radiation-run @gayandbifiremenofmine @bi-moonlight @crazyaboutotps @princesschez75 @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove

@sherlocking-out-loud @satashiiwrites @lover-of-mine @yramesoruniverse @extasiswings @favouritealias @pop-kam @b-dwolf @maygrcnt

[zedleaked]

OVERTHINKER DOODLE BASED ON A DREAM MY FRIEND HAD ^

I ALSO LOOKED BACK AT SOME ATTACK CONCEPTS I HAD FOR OVERTHINKER I WROTE A WHILE AGO,, SO KEEP READING IF YOU WANNA SEE THOSE PLUS SOME RANDOM DOODLES:

General:

Cog Capacity

Cog capacity is up to 5 cogs in battle.

Lure resistance

Overthinker can only be lured for one round

Desk Jockeys

All cogs in this battle will be desk jockeys, although these versions of them are much more upgraded and powerful.

Attacks:

Spin

Brainstorm

Re-Org

Quack attack (I never wrote down what this was lol but I’m assuming it’s something similar to ‘Con-duck-tion’ or something)

Cheats:

Phase 1:

Surprise Experiment

Overthinker pulls out a concoction from their coat, they have the chance of pulling out from 6 different bottles, each having a different effect:

Green: Heals all cogs and toons in battle (though they don’t heal toons as much)

Orange: Causes an explosion, similar to overcharged cogs

Purple: Makes 1 or 2 cogs invincible for 2 rounds

Yellow: Turns everyone into ducks until the next phase (much like Buck’s duck attack in Wager Management) also turns any cog’s dialogue into quacks, that doesn’t really contribute anything to the battle but it’s funny

Teal: Makes it so you cannot see health or statuses of both cogs and toons (much like Rainmaker’s fog cheat but to a larger scale)

Red: Does nothing (Makes Overthinker sad) (If Overthinker pulls out a red concoction they are guaranteed to pull out a non red one the next turn)

Ducky See Ducky Do

Overthinker’s head explosion pulsates as he uses a random Manager’s ability (Ranging from street managers to kudos managers to main taskline managers) depending on the ability it can be in effect for 1 to multiple rounds.

Subject to Change

Overthinker will pull one Toon away from battle to conduct an ‘experiment’ on them, which involves inflicting a random effect on them which lasts 2-3 turns depending what it is, it can be either good or bad. The other Toons will have to deal a certain amount of damage to Overthinker to free their fellow Toon. (Overthinker will not pull away the same Toon 2 turns in a row, Overthinker will make sure to take each Toon at least once)

Shame Corner

If Overthinker takes too much damage in one round they will flee to the ‘shame corner’ dawning a dunce hat and all. Overthinker can’t take damage or attack for this round. This cheat will not activate after Subject to Change or if Overthinker is alone.

Phase 2:

One in the Same

Both Duck Shuffler and Prethinker share stats and only take up one space in battle. Any effects inflicted on them will be shared. Duck Shuffler and Prethinker are much higher level due to having been fused a few moments ago. Due to this they deal more damage and have more health.

Extra Attack

Due to ‘One in the Same’ Duck Shuffler and Prethinker have an extra attack where they attack together, including Wager Management this makes the two attack 4 times each round.

Castling

Both Prethinker and Duck Shuffler will jump and force a desk jockey to take their position, this will trigger if Prethinker and Duck Shuffler are:

Affected by soaked, lure or trap for more than one turn.

Targeted for two turns in a row.

Wager Management

The Duck Shuffler will spin his slots each round, even during rounds where they are also castling, both cheats will happen at the same time. The slots will land on 7 different outcomes as opposed to the usual 5:

Bust: Nothing happens.

Bar: Everyone in battle will be crushed by a gold bar.

Ducks: Every Toon gets turned into a duck until the next phase.

Sevens: Heals all Cogs and Toons in battle.

Jellybeans: Gives Toons some jellybeans.

Brains: A storm cloud attacks every Toon in battle, much like the Prethinker’s forward thinking cheat.

Explosions: Duck Shuffler will throw out one of the orange concoctions from Overthinker and blow up everyone in battle, if any Cog is soaked during the explosion they will take less damage. (Like damp from Pokemon…)

Bickering

If Duck Shuffler’s Wager Management hurts him and Prethinker in any way the two will get in an argument, causing the damage they deal for the round to be increased while they’re angry, however to compensate they will take more damage from gags as a result.

1 HP

The phase ends when Duck Shuffler and Prethinker are knocked down to 1 HP, it is impossible to defeat them while they are like this.

Phase 3:

Getting Along

Overthinker will have increased stats than his first phase due to now getting along.

Chemical Smoke

Smoke around the battlefield will hide the stats of every Cog in battle, if Overthinker is attacked directly enough, the smoke will subside until every Cog in battle besides Overthinker is defeated, in which the smoke will come back again and new Cogs will be summoned into battle. When smoke is on the field Overthinker won’t use Subject to Change or Shame Corner until the smoke is gone.

Doppelgangers

Overthinker will summon identical versions of themself at the start of the battle, each clone has their own difference whether it be slightly off colors, different speech patterns, animations playing in reverse, etc. These clones will hide in the Chemical Smoke, for every turn the real Overthinker is not attacked directly, the doppelgangers will retaliate with a group attack.

Oversized

When the real Overthinker is knocked down to half HP, they summon one last batch of clones which all kinda fuse with them, making one really big Overthinker (Don’t ask how this is possible or how I came up with this I don’t know), the battle functions similarly to phase 1 minus the Desk Jockeys.

Hazy

More strange smoke surrounds the battlefield, decreasing the defense of the Toons in battle. However, it does a similar thing High Roller does where Laff is maxxed and damage both Toons and Cogs deal is increased.

[alpaca-clouds]

People are good, actually

Okay, let me talk about this anarchism thing, that a lot of people living under the current capitalist system do not seem to grasp. As it is right now a lot of people view other people as potential threats, because we live in a society that pitches us against each other in constant competition. So even if you do not consider people a physical threat to your safety, you are kinda primed to see them as rivals at least. The only people you can rely on, society says, is your little nuclear family. (And like many queer folks, I can guarantee you: Yeah, that ain't working out for many.) Everybody, so society says, is just out for themselves and if they get a chance, they are gonna backstab you. Figuratively and literally.

It is because of this thinking, that a lot of people struggle to understand things that anarchists are proposing. A world without hierarchies. A world where everybody works together. A world where everybody has the same rights and chances. Because, so they say, in that kinda world some people will just then backstab everyone and go about their marry way with it.

And now, let me make on thing clear: Capitalism loves to push this narrative. Because it kinda needs the poorest to be in constant struggle with one another. So, we get pushed a narrative of rugged individualism. And whenever we have a show about extreme situations, we totally gonna see those characters turn against each other.

But what they do not get is, that this is not what humans are like.

We have more than enough data to proof that, in fact, humans are actually social ebings that will not only look out for each other but will in fact risk their lives to help strangers. Heck, our human capacity for empathy is so fucking big, that people will see a tiger, who might in any other circumstance fucking eat their face, stuck in a well and come together to save the tiger, releasing it to the wild.

And that is kinda one of those ideas that anarchism is based on: People are good, actually. They are just forced to be bad, because in the bad system we have created under capitalism, it is the only way they have to survive.

But as soon as even for a short moment the capitalist system is no longer working for them - for example after a natural desaster - most people will instantly revert to helping one another.

To put it differently: The problem is not people, the problem is forcing people to live in a system in which they have no other choice but to compete against one another, because otherwise they cannot survive. A system, in which people even working towards the same goal often are made to compete, preventing them from building bonds with one another. A system, that forces us to work against our own basic nature.

Which is why anarchism is for overthrowning this fucking system. Because most people under this system are not even living, they are barely surviving. And we, as a species, just can do so much better.

[ozzgin]

I love the idea of Papa Pickle and his mate with a little one! What if the little cave child wanted to spar with the fighters and tries instigating fights with each of them?

Their reactions?

I know you requested headcanons of the fighters meeting the baby first, I figured it’d be a nice intro to this one. I recall writing something birth related, but upon further inspection it was mostly focused on the reader and not the baby (twins). This will be written for an infant as singularity, but the twin AU partisans can double that.

Baki Headcanons: Meeting Pickle & Prehistoric! Reader’s baby; sparring with the Prehistoric! Child

Featuring the fighters and their reaction to the newborn, as well as a time skip of the now grown Jurassic child showing interest in training.

You’d think Baki is the most excited given his attachment to the Jurassic mom and vice versa. And to his credit, he is dutifully standing there with a wide, nervous grin, ready to welcome the little creature. He’s the first one after the parents to be allowed to hold the infant, although he’s a trembling mess and requires a nurse encircling him with her arms, constantly reassuring him. “You can’t just drop a newborn, Baki. It doesn’t work like that. You’ve…you’ve carried heavier. I promise.”

Against everyone’s expectations, Katsumi is the one that seems to mesh right in with the news. He comes from a healthy, loving family and the event is nothing new nor surprising to him. He doesn’t need any advice and casually scoops the infant up with his arm, using his large hand as a head rest. Pickle is surprised by this confidence and cautiously approaches him, observing his technique and taking mental notes. Baki chuckles at the unanticipated sight.

Retsu is the next in line to be introduced. After listening to a short briefing on the proper and safe ways to hold a baby, he breathes in and solemnly receives the child. He allows it to rest against his broad chest and supports the back with both hands. A laugh escapes your mouth as you observe the extremely concentrated frown of the Kenpo master. He’s a little embarrassed and a blush spreads lightly to his ears. “O-one cannot be too cautious when handling such fragile beings. I do not see anything worth of amusement.”

Jack prefers to keep his distance and politely refuses the invitation to also hold the infant. He is grateful to be part of it, but he doesn’t trust himself around delicate things. Perhaps when the child grows sturdier he will approach it with more confidence. Until then he doesn’t mind watching passively. There are other ways to contribute.

The way I see it, growing up among modern humans kind of guarantees that the child will be able to speak proper language. And in the few years that have passed I’m hoping that reader and Pickle have also picked up some basic communication skills. So there might even be some rudimentary dialogue coming from the parents! I wonder how Pickle’s voice would sound like.

The kid’s favorite sparring partner is most likely Katsumi. Within his family Katsumi has always been the younger sibling, but in the Dojo he is the authority figure most people look up to. From the moment your child showed the intent to train, the Karate prodigy promptly responded with tips and playful fights. He’s been teaching for years and knows how to assess the capacities of his opponent without using too much force or harming them. Compared to the rest of the fighters he has the most experience in dealing with novices and amateurs and acts accordingly.

On the opposite end of martial arts teaching is Retsu. He doesn’t like to joke around and believes his Chinese Kenpo isn’t some playtime activity for children. He has no problem explaining certain techniques to your kid, but it will be done by the book. Retsu is a great help if you need a break for the day. Kid has too much energy? It will be jogged and worked until late evening just to learn a fancy kick. No other way around it. The youngster will be returned completely passed out from exhaustion, but with a proud, satisfied smile plastered on its face.

Baki enjoys the idea of having a younger sibling, although he can be clumsy when it comes to sparring. If he’s too enthusiastic he might overdo his hits and next thing he knows, the child is on the grass crying and wailing. He scrambles to tend to the superficial wounds and frantically attempts to silence the screams. He doesn’t want to explain the ordeal to a dangerously powerful mom. Outside these small accidents, Baki is also one of the most preferred opponents.

The child is initially very cautious around Jack, but it doesn’t take too long to warm up to the idea of sparring with him. Jack has a lot of patience and most of the time just acts as a punching bag. If the youngster wants to try out a new move or practice some technique he’s seen somewhere, Jack will gladly receive the little blows and offer advice or encouragements. Sometimes after training they will hang out together doing small things like feeding the koi at the Tokugawa estate. “You’ve been training an awful lot lately. Any reason in particular?” Jack questions the little human, curious about the change. “I wanna hurry up and be strong already. Like mom!” the child looks up, beaming. Jack laughs at the last statement. “You’ve picked one hell of a goal. Good luck with that!”