#week 3 report

[tryingtimi]

Aight, I'll catch up with the short story updates of #60daysshortstory by @the-wip-project, because the extra working hours are finally over and I've got a fairly proper rest. Here we go.

WEEK 2 REPORT.

Rejiggle your plan. Which changes does your writing plan need for the next week?

Left off here I think. I needed to put my writing hours at the end of the day, because life didn't let me have those morning sessions as I have ten minutes before I hop on a bus to work when I have morning shifts. They are not as productive, because my mind is a mush at the end of the days. But, they are something.

Why do you want to write your story?

The theme is very close to my heart, and I promised myself last year that I'm not going to abandon the idea.

Does your plan work? What will you have to change to make it fit for your life?

It does not work in the moment lol. I've burnt out pretty nastily because of the extra hours at work. I had brainrot a lot and ideas and bumps to write, but I couldn't put words on the page. However, it's not the schedule's fault, and in regular circumstances I think it would be ideal. (the rest is under the cut, because it became long)

Have a little thinking about your Why. Why do you want to write this story? What do you want to achieve?

I want the story to convey the terror of losing control over yourself. Not even the revelation itself, but the process of slowly realising it. The uncertainty of knowing if you've stepped over the line or not. It is a theme that is close to me, because it's one of my deepest fears too.

And as additional questions: What's the name of your main character(s)? Why did you pick it?

Her name is Amity. It'll sound weird but I picked it because it has an old, werewolf sounding hehe. And now that I looked after it, the meaning – which is friendly relations if my source can be trusted – gives a nice contrast to the theme. Plus a little hint for Amity's personality, when she can control herself.

WEEK 3 REPORT.

If you get writer's block, what do you do to get out of it? Do you have trick, as special technique to help you out of a slump?

Very great timing! I don't really have one other than trying to work on other things. My first attempt goes to writing other stuff, but if that doesn't work because my work is completely empty, then I paint. Usually after a painting session I'm bursting with energy to write. (mostly because I realise my skill is lacking more than I anticipated and I get frustrated OR I end up with a painting I like but that's more rare)

WEEK 4 REPORT.

What emotions do you want to induce? What do you want your readers to feel as they read your story?

Anxiety and terror, but at the same time familiarity and understanding. The fear of losing control is kind of universal I think, but it still can be personal. Even losing control can mean many things, and can show up in many forms.

[expelliarmus]

[lilidawnonthemoon]

[intotheelliwoods]

They are on a mission :) Should note: this takes place about 3ish days after the invasion! They have just gone far enough out to reach places that were not effected by the Kraang!

Also no Leo does not have the prosthetic on- he just stuffed the sleeve there with shirts

This is part 1! Part 2 can be found here~

Context, and more comics can be found on my blog!

[toxiccaves]

Just revealed: Metal Cardbot season 2 will feature a fresh new design for our protag, Blue Cop S!

There have also been closer looks at the other new character's we've received sneak peeks of so far over on SAMG's Toy Dev Twitter, including their alt modes:

[jokeroutsubs]

Bojan on the cover of Astro Suzy, special summer edition of Suzy Magazine, focusing on astrology and spirituality. Scans and ENG Translation by: @kurooscoffee Cover Title:

Bojan Cvjetičanin: "We have a duty to change things for the better"

Article title:

We are driven by our love of life

WITH JOKER OUT, WE HAVE WITNESSED A MENTAL LEAP AND A SOCIAL PHENOMENON THAT WE HAVE LONGED FOR. THE BOYS GIVE HOPE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CONNECTING INTO A STRONG COMMUNITY THAT CARES ABOUT THE FUTURE, EVEN THOUGH PREVIOUS GENERATIONS HAVE LEFT THEM IN RUINS. IN A FLOOD OF STARLETS AND ARTIFICIALLY CREATED ONLINE INFLUENCERS, WE GOT ROLE MODELS WHO DON'T OFFER DISCOUNT CODES, BUT IMPORTANT MUSICAL MESSAGES ABOUT VALUES. IN THE MIDDLE OF A SLOVENIAN AND EUROPEAN TOUR, THE LEAD SINGER AND VISUAL OF THE BAND SHARED WITH US WHAT HE'S THINKING ABOUT, WHAT CAUSES HE'S STANDING BEHIND, AND WHY IT'S BENEFICIAL TO DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. What are you thinking about as representatives of the new wave, the new generation? What is your attitude towards the dynamics in society, climate change, pervasive social networks, in short, everything that weighs on modern man? On the one hand, we ourselves are involved in all the processes that actively and continuously prolong the problems you are talking about. On the other hand, we are deeply aware of them and we are afraid of what is coming. It seems to me that in our generation the desire for change is very strong. There is a universal language of youth that has come together on the basis of feeling obliged and able to change things for the better. The song New Wave is about just that. We are ready to celebrate this common strength because we are encouraged by the idea that we are not alone. At the same time, we know that we are compelled to do something because someone before us has seriously 'fucked up'.

In your hit song 'Novi Val' (New Wave), already the very first verse has you wonder where to go from here. Do you know the answer?

If we want to do anything other than burn the horizon, the only way is towards community, away from egocentrism, with an onlook towards common good.

Let's stick to the anthem of the generation of love, as you named your peers and loyal supporters. The phrase 'We were born yesterday and everything is already our fault' is powerful and worrying. You have been given a pitiful lagecy by your ancestors. How do you defend yourself from taking a role of a victim and instead get actively involved in creating a brighter future?

Great question! It would be hard to change anything for the better if we put on the victim's cloak. The fact that in recent years it has become clear that there is a rebellion by people who have had enough is already a cause for optimism. When you put yourself in the role of the one who carries a scepter as a synonym of the leader of change, you move away from being a victim. And each one of us in this community carries it. In reality, we are taking the position that society is currently a victim and it is our task to defend it.

How?

We all contribute in our own way. The role of musicians is to connect people with positive messages. So by constantly reminding people about friendship, love and other social components that can be tapped into through music. In Slovenia, we have a lot of organisations that are trying to change the situation for the better in many different ways. It does not require much to at least educate oneself about what these organisations are doing. I have the feeling that many people would like to get involved and help. At the end of grammar school and at college, we were encouraged to find out about collective organisations. It was clear to them that many people would want to join of their own initiative once they knew what they stood for. I know many former classmates who are very active members and supporters of various movements. Even if we minimise our own negative energy on social networks, it is a big step towards a good state of society, and of mind.

(picture 1: Family Cvjetićanin knows how to stick together)

You seem to care about a world that is increasingly drowning in chaos. You have become idols, not only of young people, but also of their parents. Is this a burden of responsibility or does it encourage you do even more activism?

It's a great feeling when the little ones take you for an idol. As a teenager, it was also inspiring to be surrounded by the music of Big Foot Mama and Siddharta. It gave me a message in a language that I could not compare with anything else. But our creativity does not depend on what people think of us or how they perceive us. But it is a great honour to know that you are one of those who encourage someone. Many people are listening, but not hearing. Joker Out is made up of five individuals who, in real life, when the cameras and the spotlights are off, are just normal guys. We went through all the processes of growing up on the streets, socialising and playing. We went through the process of going to school, and we were not problematic adolescents. Even today, our most extreme departure from an ideal is what 99% of young people do. To party sometimes. We are not outlaws by nature.

Your work is a beacon of light, a source of hope and strength. Many have done it before you, especially the Beatles. A lot has changed since their era, much of it unfortunately for the worse. How do you keep optimistic? Why is it worth the effort?

Every musician in history who has sung about ending war and living for love has failed miserably. I believe that at least those people who follow the messenger are convinced of peace and love. If every musician encourages someone to to do so, it's a hefty amount of opponents of hate. We are driven forward by love for life.

Writing texts is a responsible job, and you are baring your soul at the same time. Where is the line, to what lengths are you willing to go to protect the most vulnerable part of yourself?

I have never consciously inhibited the process of looking inside myself. But I feel that with age and experience I understand more and more what can lead me to a deeper state of mind. In the beginning I didn't dare to dig into myself. Today I have no problem in fully exposing my feelings, because they are, after all, states that happen of their own accord - and it is impossible to force them

(picture 2: The boys of Joker Out became even closer)

No Slovenian artist has enjoyed such a fierce international success as Joker Out. Concerts in iconic European clubs are literally sold out in hours, even minutes. How do you accept fame? Is it a blessing or is there also a bit of fear?

There are certainly Slovenian musicians with international experience. Maybe not at our age, but that doesn't take away from their importance. We have achieved a very nice success here in terms of listeners, we have honed our skills and we have grown with the band as a collective. We have grasped who and what we are as a whole. We are a group of people who make music purely because we really enjoy it. Whatever feelings our music-making evokes, it all comes from us in the most sincere way, Fortunately, our music is liked by a larger crowd and we have managed to transmit our unforced joy, happiness, joy across national borders. There is no better catalyst for such a breakthrough than Eurovision, we chose the moment to participate wisely. It paid off as a successful project, because for a good band it doesn't matter which part of the world it comes from. It's important to be heard - and we were heard by a lot of people. The only thing that has changed so far is that the bonds between us have strengthened. Suddenly we have been forced to talk about emotions and experiences that we did not have before. There has been a lot of filtering of unfamiliar feelings. The desire to create increased a thousandfold for all five of us.

Are you aware of the role that the public attributes to you, to act as a beacon of light in a crowd of frustrated, bitter people?

No. I would hardly say that I can understand that. Every time I hear something like that, it strikes me that it is saying too much. I really cannot think of myself in such a strong context.

You are giving yourself away. You are constantly on the road, interviews, concerts, promotional tours. It's exhausting. How do you recover? What calms you down, fills you with grace?

It's true that we give a lot of ourselves. But we get so much more in return. Nothing calms me more than coming home and being close to my family. And of course the company of Kris, Jan, Jure and Nace. The people we were with friends before this euphoria, have stayed with us, this team surround us with a lot of love.

(picture 3: He's noticing, that young people are connecting into a strong community that cares about the future)

As a front-man and lyricist, you are even more exposed. You've crossed the magical 200 thousand followers on Instagram, which is a mega number, but also a mega stressful situation. Most young people who find themselves in such a situation turn to intoxicating substances. Can you consciously stop and say that you need time for yourself?

The only thing that made me a bit anxious was the sudden exposure to such a large audience'on social media. This brings with it unimaginable dimensions of human imagination, including malice. Imaginary stories emerge in which people literally compete to see who can come up with something more bizarre. This stress got to me at the beginning, because I felt that I had to defend myself in front of the public. In the end, I realised that I didn't need to convince anyone and that it was enough to know the truth. With the help of colleagues who have similar experiences, I have calmed down. As for the substances, I have a natural protection against those, because I am an incorrigible hypochonder. I dare not take an aspirin unless it is really urgent. Above all, I know when to stop.

You come from a close-knit, loving family. That is certainly a solid foundation on which to build your personality. What is their view of everything that happens to you?

They are very proud! Of all my achievements and of me for being able to pull off a music career combined with the academic milestone of graduating. My parents and my grandmother are definitely my biggest supporters. They accompany me on my journey with warnings, but they are more about eating regularly, to not get a stomach ache, to consume enough water and to get enough sleep. I have been chronically lacking the latter in the last few weeks.

What is your relationship to astrology, esotericism, in short, something that is intangible but can be felt?

Superstition is the one I use the most. For Eurovision I had a special pair of underpants and I was haunted by the feeling that if I didn't wear them, everything would go to hell. Jan's mum gave me a lace clover, which I didn't dare leave in Ljubljana. I asked the stylist to sew it on my outfit as a precaution. I got a clay horseshoe from a little girl, and it went with me to Liverpool. It will seem strange to some, but I believe in energies and ghosts.

How do you strengthen your spiritual side?

Not very well. I wish I had managed to acquire more spiritual knowledge in the last year. For example, basic meditation techniques and the laws of yoga, because I am definitely not physically active enough. The feeling of being 90 years old eats up most of my spirit. My back hurts all the time. The best thing I do for inner growth is to read books. Not enough, but I'm going to get better. A little less phone scrolling and more self-reflection, that'll do the job! Author: Tomaž Mihelič, PHOTO: VITA OREHEK

Scans and translation by: @kurooscoffee (jokeroutsubs) DO NOT REPOST!

[aurorangen]

done with classes for the semester 👍

[mueritos]

I HAVE MUSCLES

WHAT THE FUCK??

LIKE I FLEXED MY ARMS AS A JOKE AND I ACTUALLY HAVE VISIBLE MUSCLES

THIS IS GREAT

OMW TO GO DO PUSHUPS NOW

YEAAAH!!! you'd be surprised how quickly you can see ur muscles start to define! it's pretty cool :3 keep getting lots of water and protein in and have lots of fun friend!!! its been awesome seeing your updates ehehehe

[riley-coyotl]

First Monthly Puppy Report Card for Kelpie!

Now that we’ve had her for a little over a month, here is our first puppy report card for Kelpie (idea yoinked from @kangals!), for her progress from 8 – 13 weeks. Be prepared for these to contain Too Many Notes because that's just how I am. Categories subject to be added to or change as she matures and things become more or less relevant.

Food (drive, appetite, sensitivity): 🟡 - Moderate food drive, she loves to eat but sometimes gets picky with treats and we’re still figuring out what works best to motivate her (flavors, textures, variety?) She also loses interest in most food treats if she’s overwhelmed/overstimulated, which has its advantages and disadvantages re:training. Also, if I give her a chew that’s too big and/or not interesting enough, she won’t usually eat/work on it right away and becomes very interested in finding a place to “bury” it for later. She’s very good at burying things and it’s very cute, but I think sometimes it’s stressful for her feeling like she has to get it buried, and I wish she’d just eat the dang things...makes it harder to occupy her when I need to (pen/crate/separation training etc.) She does have a great appetite for her puppy food though and is always stoked for meal times! She does unfortunately seem to get some tummy upset fairly regularly, I think from when she has eaten too many rich treats at once...see above re:figuring out what works best for training treats. :/

Toys: 🟢 - Super playful, loves to play with toys—with us, with the other dogs, or by herself! She loves tug and has a wonderful natural retrieve which I’ve been encouraging and reinforcing. We’re working on baby toy skills, biting the toy and not my hand, switching between toys, encouraging focusing on the correct toy when playing alongside the other dogs, and gradually improving there. She does still think another dog having a toy makes it more interesting, but we’re working on her staying on her own toy and not stealing theirs, and she’s learning.

Sleeping: 🟢/🟡 - Settles in her pen in our bedroom pretty much right away at night, and will usually sleep for 6-8 hours… BUT in the same pen during the day (and this is a problem because between me and my partner, he sleeps at night and I usually sleep during the morning/day,) she is only able to settle/sleep 2-4 hours at a time before she wakes me up needing to go out. At this point she typically settles in her bedroom pen quickly during the day too but occasionally she’ll be a little restless/whiny first. As for napping during our wake cycle hours (e.g. in the pen in our family room where there is more activity, or on the couch,) she sometimes has a hard time settling and will fight her sleepiness. I think she prefers it to be dark when she’s sleeping, but she is getting better about that.

Crating/separation: 🟢/🟡 - Haven’t done much work with the actual crate yet; kinda introducing it slowly, she’ll happily go inside to earn treats, and she sleeps in it on her own fairly regularly, but I haven’t shut her inside for longer than half an hour here or there while she works on a frozen stuffed snack. That said, for management/confinement we’ve been using puppy pens in the family room and our bedroom instead of crating, and she has become fairly decent at being left in her pen(s) when we leave the room or go to sleep (see above (sleeping) re:her ability to settle in her pens,) which is a HUGE improvement from when we first brought her home and she was constantly crying at any separation whatsoever. She’s also pretty good at entertaining herself with her toys in her pen, but she does sometimes get some FOMO if we’re around/“available” but she can’t be involved, and will whine/yap a bit before giving up and entertaining herself. Also, at this point, we have been able to leave her home in her pen in our bedroom while we leave the house for up to around 2 hours (haven’t tried longer yet,) giving her a frozen stuffed snack, which she happily eats and then settles and sleeps until we return. She’s doing really great with that!

Potty training: 🟢 - Aside from her having a UTI when she was 8 weeks old that caused her to be waking us up every hour to go outside when we first got her, she’s been doing pretty great! She is pretty darn good at letting us know when she needs to go out. Accidents have been relatively few, and she has only pooped in the house I think once in the entire time we’ve had her (and it was entirely my fault for missing her asking to go out.) She has also mostly figured out the potty bells all by herself just from watching the big dogs! She still can’t hold her pee very long when she’s awake/active, and occasionally if she’s busy playing she won’t realize she needs to go until it’s Too Late, but I know that stuff will improve with time/maturity.

General training: 🟢/🟡 - She is really smart and has picked up a lot just by observing things (which she does a lot of observation, she’s a clever little pup!) That said, her attention span for training sessions isn’t that great yet, and I think she’s not particularly good at generalizing behaviors in different environments yet either. So we do not have a lot of behaviors actually on cue yet, and mainly I have just been focusing on play, engagement, handling, socialization, and just foundational skills for the behaviors I want to teach in the future, rather than training specific behaviors. And we’re still figuring out the best treats to use to motivate her in various contexts. That said, I’ve noticed that we’ve already developed a decent language of communication with each other despite not having done a ton of formal training, and I’m pretty proud of that!

For specific behaviors, though I can’t say she “knows” them with any fluency, she’s working on sit, down, stand, touch (nose target to hand,) chin rest (cooperative care foundation,) muzzle (stick her face in a cup,) as well as eye contact, and foundations for drop it and leave it. A few other things too, like basic luring and shaping skills, but nothing is remotely “finished” yet and practically nothing reliably on a verbal cue so I feel a little behind hahah :’) (but I remember feeling the same way about Juni too and it all worked out, slow and steady wins the race!)

Recall/Off-leash skills: 🟢 - Currently don’t have a recall cue aside from “pup-pup-pup-pup!” but she is doing great about that and is pretty reliable at this point, and getting reinforced heavily for responding to that and just for checking in with me too. Does well wanting to stick within a reasonable radius of us on her own.

Leash walking: 🟡 - Haven’t done much actual formal training on loose leash walking, but she’s starting to pick it up anyways. She does try to pull when she needs to go to the bathroom (she wants to get to the Right Spot) or if she’s excited/really wants to sniff/fuck with something, but I’m not too worried about that at this point… She seems to really enjoy walking right at my heel/between my legs a lot (or underfoot) and I have been rewarding that position a lot just any time she offers it, I think it’s going to translate well to LLW as we get more practice.

Biting: 🟡/🔴 - She is a little SHARK! She bites the hardest out of any puppy I’ve had. She doesn’t get bitey as frequently as some of my other puppies, but when she gets in bitey moods she bites HARD. In the first couple of weeks we had her, she broke the skin and gave me a few gnarly little punctures multiple times. That said, she’s gotten a LOT better about it, and is starting to learn not to bite so hard. I don’t expect or try to teach my puppies not to bite at all, I just expect them to learn to be inhibited in their bites so it doesn’t hurt. We haven’t consistently gotten to “doesn’t hurt when she bites” territory yet, but she at least hasn’t made me bleed in a little while, and is starting to respond to me asking her not to bite me...at least a little. 😂 I have also come to learn that if she’s starting to bite too hard during play, it often means she needs to pee and hasn’t realized it yet.

Manners: 🟡 - I don’t really expect much re:manners from her at this point. I over-emphasized teaching and enforcing manners with Maple when she was a puppy and I regret it because it led to her not communicating her needs as actively, so I have kinda swung the other way and tend to let my puppies be a bit wild. So I will give Kelpie a mid grade on this one since she has a strong mischief mode, tries to steal the TV remote, bites ankles, jumps on people/the other dogs, isn’t good at respecting door boundaries yet, has tried to get up on tables/counters for food (thankfully she’s not tall enough yet so we still have time to nip that in the bud,) is still figuring out what is/isn’t For Puppies to play with, and she yaps/barks a lot when frustrated… However, she is also learning to sit nicely for her food (and to politely beg for treats/scraps,) doing well not trying to steal my food when I’m eating around her, and beginning to respond to me interrupting her when she’s doing something I need her to stop. So by my standards here, she’s doing ok! Going to start working on her not jumping on people now that she’s not tiny anymore, and gradually work in other stuff too. Not door dashing is a priority here for me too.

Grooming: 🟢 - We’ve done a lot of basic handling practice, and I feel she is doing very well with it at this point. She’s become very good for brushing and letting me wipe her down when she inevitably gets muddy. Doing pretty well with nail trimming handling. Working on foundations for cooperative care and I think she’s starting to get the picture. Working up to baths/teethbrushing, and she’s doing wonderfully for the foundational work we’ve done towards that. Of course, getting lots of treats for all of this. Started training scratchboard for nails too.

Car rides: 🟢 - She rides great in the car. Occasionally somewhat squirmy when we first get in the car, but typically she just wants to look out the window for a few minutes and then goes right to sleep. She seems to find car rides very comforting. Noticed a tiny bit of carsickness on the ride home from the breeder, but absolutely none since. If we’re out and about and have multiple stops, she typically settles quickly when we get back in the car. She has the makings of an excellent road-tripping dog!

Outings/socialization: 🟢 - She has taken practically everything in stride, bright and curious about her environment, and has recovered super well the very few times she’s gotten spooked about something. That said, she does seem to get a little overwhelmed/overstimulated sometimes. Not afraid/nervous, just...things are So Much. I think this is fairly normal for her little puppy brain though, it’s a big world out there, so I can’t fault her on it. Just have to continue to keep in mind that she is a sensitive dog, not flood her with too much at once, and give her plenty of time to process her experiences.

Dogs: 🟢/🟡 - Very interested in other dogs! She loves Maple and Juni, but is almost too interested in playing with them. She has a hard time disengaging her attention from them or focusing around them (or around other dogs we’ve seen out and about,) but she’s getting better about that, and she doesn’t get over-excited when she sees other dogs in public. Juni is absolutely loving wrestling with Kelpie all the time, to the point where I think she indulges the puppy a little too much. Maple has been less willing to engage in play with the puppy—Kelpie can bite too hard during play, and I often have to step in to “rescue” one of the big dogs (usually Maple) from her when she’s being too rough and not noticing or not listening to mild cues or corrections that she’s being Too Much. She does respect corrections from them when they are more “obvious,” but I don’t like to let it get to that point if I can avoid it. I think they are all still figuring out the best way to communicate their boundaries with each other, and improving on that, but we’re not there yet and still need a lot of supervision to help enforce boundaries.

Humans: 🟢/🟡 - Friendly, curious, interested in watching/investigating people, and happy to meet people who want to say hi, but not overly excited about people if they don’t engage her, which I appreciate. Again like with dogs, she’s not very good at focusing around them though, which we will need to work on. I want to encourage mostly polite neutrality around strangers with her since I don’t like being bothered a lot in public, and because she will be walking with Juniper a lot in the future, and Juni does NOT like being approached by strangers, so Kelpie is going to need to learn that typically if we see a stranger, we are going to ignore them. I did also see her get a bit overwhelmed once when several people surrounded us to fawn over her, so I don’t think she enjoys being crowded (which is of course totally fair,) and that’s something I need to be proactive about because it’s bound to happen because people get starry-eyed when they see a Dalmatian, especially a puppy.

Cats: 🟢/🟡 - Curious and excited, unfortunately to a fault because neither of our current cats is EVER going to want to play with her, sadly. That said, she’s gotten fairly good at respecting their boundaries and their space, rarely tries to chase them, and is starting to figure out that they’re not all that interesting for her. Though, if she’s in a rowdy mood she’ll still bark and play bow at them just out of reach while they hiss at her... Given that neither of our current cats is particularly good at training puppies (RIP Lucy, you were the best…) I think this is about as good as I can ask for at this point. Given her steady improvement, I think she will continue getting more cat-savvy.

Small animals: 🟢 - Interested in watching/chasing, but isn’t obsessive or intense about it. Pretty quickly disengaged from a rabbit that ran away from us.

Bonding/affection: 🟢 - At this point I feel like we’re pretty well attached to each other already. She definitely finds it rewarding to be with us, follows me around and is interested in what I’m doing, and seeks comfort/safety in us when she gets spooked. I’d like to see some more handler focus (rather than “ohhh, environment/other dogs!!” distracting her) but she’s a baby and also not a herding breed like my other two so I think that will develop more with time and I just have to meter my expectations and not try and compare her too much to the sheps.

She’s also a sweetheart and I love her. She loves to be petted, and likes to chew toys in my lap while I pet and cuddle her even when she’s riled up. She enjoys being picked up and hugged and gives really good hugs herself, snuggling her head onto our shoulders. Picking her up for a hug can frequently help calm her down if she’s too amped up, which I find very endearing; literally sometimes if she’s having a hard time settling, turns out what was wrong was just “needed a hug.” She’s pretty cuddly. At one point a few weeks ago I felt like she suddenly stopped being as cuddly and only seemed to want to lay by herself, but I’ve figured out that the main issue was just that she wanted it to be dark where she was napping. And since then she’s just become more cuddly, coming to snuggle up next to me/rest her head on me when she's sleepy and I'm letting her hang out on the couch with me. I think as she gets less of the puppy crazies and more mature, and gets better at sleeping when it’s not dark and quiet, she will only continue getting more snuggly and more handler-focused. I hope so anyways! The cuddly velcro temperament was a large part of why I wanted a Dalmatian in the first place, so I’m happy to see her developing into that.

Overall grade 🟢, I know I might sound a little overly critical of her/myself in some of this, but really she’s a good smart girl and a very fun, happy, playful puppy, and very sweet. I think she is a nice moderate puppy, pretty confident but sensitive, and has a ton of potential. Hoping she continues to improve with sleeping longer and settling easier during the day, so I can start getting better sleep and more rest consistently. I think that will put me in a better position to continue to bond with her and get more into a good groove with her training-wise. Hopefully she starts building more handler focus as she matures as well. Also hoping she continues improving re:being an insane little bitey shark too so she can have more/longer free roaming time in the house with us and the other dogs!

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

i really really want a young eda spinoff and i know most people are thinking about the fluffy cute stuff, seeing the old hexsquad as kids and all. i want to see that too but i also hope they use that to play up the dramatic irony and the tragedy of it all

because like. we know where these kids end up. eda and lilith being the grudgeby champions of their school? lilith gives her sister a life-crippling curse in five months and neither of them know this. odalia, alador, and darius goofing around and being best friends? at some point, we know they have a falling out and darius ends up absolutely DESPISING them (or at least alador) for the next thirty years. darius looking up to his cool emperor’s coven mentor, THE golden guard, and thinking he’s the best role model in the world? we know what happens to that golden guard. raine being all excited to show everyone how good bard magic is? we know about their slow disillusionment with the coven system over the next decades, leading them to commit treason against the covens that they-and all their friends-have spent their entire childhoods dreaming of joining.

even if every episode ends with a satisfying conclusion and the characters being happy, knowing where they end up 30 years down the line means we know most of their “victories” are temporary. even if we have an episode where eda and raine have a great time at grom together, we know that eda’s refusal to talk about her problems eventually cause that relationship to deteriorate. even if we have an episode where eda helps lilith gain some confidence, we know that lilith’s envy eventually twists into resentment and causes her to curse her sister. even if we see odalador get together and become a surprisingly sweet couple, we know that odalias’ need for control, alador’s apathy, and both their ambitions eventually warps their romance into a stiff business partnership. and that the perfect happy family they might have wanted initially eventually becomes fake and loveless.

i want to learn about some of the kids’ families as well. i want to see if odalia and alador’s parents made them Like That to amity and the twins. the show is all about generational trauma, after all. it would be sad but understandable to see the blight parents be abused by their parents and know that they ended up repeating the cycle. people say odalia and alador might have broken off their friendship with darius because of family-enforced classism to parallel amity and willow, but are we sure odalia and alador were the rich kids in this scenario? darius was the one who had connections to the golden guard, after all, and this analysis by @yardsards lays out how odalia and alador may not have come from old money. if they lost a friend because they weren’t seen as “high society,” then it could explain why odalia is so obsessed with family image and prestige as an adult. and also, i want to see raine’s parents. why did they insist on sending raine to an expensive school they hated? were they part of why raine was so insecure about the bard magic thing or was that just the other kids? also, i want to see more of gwen and dell. we already know how gwen failed the clawthorne sisters as a mother i want to see how dell did it. (i love both of them so much but it takes both parents to make your kids Like That)

and i would love to see them explore the emperor’s regime through the eyes of kids who have never known anything else. the clawthornes were wild witches, but lilith especially dreamed of joining the emperor’s coven. was this the equivalent of being the first person in your family to go to college? belos had only been ruling for two decades by that point, but he’s had followers for hundreds of years. did some of the other kids have family that were in covens? was that how darius got the golden guard to mentor him?

and why WAS the golden guard from the emperor’s coven darius’s mentor, anyway, if he later joined the abominations coven? did darius originally plan to join the emperor’s coven, but changed his mind after the golden guard’s death? did the golden guard even mentor darius while he was in high school? was his death what caused darius to separate from the friend group? did the other kids have mentors to prepare them for coven tryouts as well? if so, then were the clawthorne sisters at a disadvantage, since they had no family connections to a mentor, and that’s why lilith got desperate? we got a glimpse of the coven indoctrination of children in eda’s flashback episode, so was there more of that at hexside? were there kids other than eda who didn’t want to join a coven, but were pressured into it by society after graduation?

there’s also a bunch of potential friendships between characters that barely interact in the main show. like eda and lilith were in the same track as boscha’s parents. were they friends? rivals? grudgeby teammates? similarly, odalia and perry porter were both in the oracle track. maybe they’re just classmates but it would be really funny if they were actually besties. we get a mention of darius and raine being friends/worsties in hexside but we don’t actually know what they were like! did raine annoy darius with catboy shit like they’re doing as an adult? if they were good friends, that puts raine’s attempt on his life as an adult in a tragic light, since they probably assumed their friend had been indoctrinated by the emperor, and even if they didn’t want to kill him, they had to. it would be a huge betrayal to darius too if that were the case. (but if they were worsties it makes that scene funnier bc raine saw the chance to murder this guy whos been annoying them since age 17 and JUMPED on it)

anyway this started out as speculation on how bittersweet a young eda spinoff would be if the audience already knows the ending of their story but it spiralled into every single headcanon i have about the old hexsquad. go figure

[clowndensation]

going to be so honest with you, reading about other people’s experience with time off recovering from top surgery is so depressing. society really said what’s more important: recovering fully so you can remain a happy, healthy individual, or coming back to work immediately so you have money to survive.

[expelliarmus]

[loving-jack-kelly]

jack would be a stem kid because he loves doing experiments the scientific method is his best friend he loves being hands on and getting to be like I was wrong but the right answer is way cooler than I thought it would be and he loves the connections between art and science, like the way chemical reactions are responsible for why pottery glaze looks so cool and how talented at art you have to be to be good at any kind of diagramming or bio illustration

and davey would be a stem kid because people are more impressed by good grades in science and math classes than english classes so he works harder at them even though he really loves language more than numbers and when he ends up in a class with jack who seems to be goofing off all the time he's annoyed by how little work he seems to put in until he realizes actually jack is really smart but completely unaware of it because he thinks he's goofing off when he's actually running pretty well-designed experiments for fun (unsanctioned by the instructor) in between steps of the lab.

[lezzian]

does anyone have like. 20-30 bucks so i can do laundry and visit my mum this week. i keep applying to jobs and not getting them :|.

[azurescaled]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH GUESS WHO'S HOME

[adamsvanrhijn]

I just realised Rob isn't clean shaven in that video. Are they letting Thomas....have facial hair?

👀