Hello again, glad to see you alive Ish.

Finals isn't so fun, but the ability of just free time is! Nice.

noway ishmael real

Also you guys have been mostly spared the brunt of my Minecraft YouTuber fixations but I'm picking up Spanish again for the sole reason that I can understand people better and that's very funny to me

I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and for the most part I can carry the thread of conversation. I have pretty decent receptive understanding in both written and spoken Spanish but I have a very hard time speaking it myself

Ishmael wrote:

Couple of my friends are like "we should play DnD together... but who would DM"

And I know if I jump on that grenade I'm going to lock myself into that role forever but also like,,, I feel like I'd be good at it and would that really be so bad

I am a chronic I Just Want My Friends To Have Fun person and I think I could pull something together that would be pretty neat


There are some times where I talk to my brother about how things from GGaD would fit into a DnD space because I think that would be a kickass campaign if someone were to play it right

Well, they always say to try GMing once. Even tho I consider myself a player mor than GM, I still enjoy the game I run

Oh, also I agree too. I was thinking of deities as PCs, with overpowered homebrew abilities and magic

We're really glad to have you, Ishmael, so I'm happy to hear what this place means to you. It's also okay that you can't be active all the time. Like you said, you're older than some of us and therefore more busy too. Just take care of yourself, and we'll always appreciate seeing you around. In the meantime, have fun with your hobbies, and thank you for staying here. 

-Galaxian-

Happy Birthday!!! :D actual birthday wishes will come from someone a bit more sane, credits to Russet and Specter for the ideas btw

-Galaxian-

Happy birthday!

WAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU ALL FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!!!!

I live! The camp season has wrapped up, college is back in swing, and I'm settling into a new groove. I hope everyone's been doing ok. The plan is to catch up on what I've missed and hopefully ease myself back in. I meant to announce my inactivity because of working at camp, and I didn't, so I apologize for that-- I know I was in the middle of a couple things that a lot of people have involvement in, so I hope I didn't throw too much of a wrench into things.

Welcome back!

Ah no worries. Yeah. we're just having the DoF plot keep on going along. We've moved onto the second phase in the town. I can look to arrange some things to give Shiloh a task, if you wish.

I lied I got horrifically depressed lmao

midterms kicked my ass

Ishmael Update: One of my favorite bands that I've been heavily involved with and following for the past 7 years or so went on tour and they had a stop nearby, so I got to see The Dear Hunter live in Cleveland a couple weeks ago! I cannot describe how much that experience means to me, their music has been a core part of my psyche (and inspiration for plenty of characters here!) for such a long time and it was wonderful to finally experience it in the flesh.

On another note; college is not going well-- it never is-- but I think I'm eking out and still passing. Sometimes I'm violently reminded that I am physically and intellectually disabled and I am simply not built to succeed with the way that the world is right now, but it is what it is. Honestly, a better way to word it might be the world is not built for me to succeed within it... I haven't done anything wrong lol

Academics aside, I'm doing pretty okay. I'm planning on getting some health stuff checked out. I have a large family, and it's often been not "my turn" to have a medical problem (sort of a joke) but it looks like the cards are in my favor this time. As long as no one does anything crazy, I can get some things sorted out.

The problem has never really been access to healthcare, it's mostly been that I just would not have the support I need for some of the things I'm trying to pursue a diagnosis for. A lot of my issues are chronic and would probably require invasive testing to really figure out what's going on and I don't have the ability to navigate that on my own. I also just have a horrible time with asking for help but I'm sure that's fine /s


In other news, I read Blood Meridian finally. I cannot in good conscience recommend it to people because it is deeply, deeply fucked up (I had to put it down and walk away from it a couple times, which I have never had to do before). It's a phenomenal book but I just felt like I was getting viciously beaten in a parking lot the entire time I was reading it

Honestly I think it's a Waffle House parking lot experience. It's written by Cormac McCarthy, who famously does not believe in most forms of punctuation, including quotation marks. Once you get used to the style I think it makes it more immersive, but that in itself is part of the parking lot beatdown. 

You're all gonna get subjected to my Dog Autism for a minute (I am autistic about dogs, I do not have dog autism)

I'm re-reading this before sending it and realizing I went on a hell of a tangent lmao

It drives me INSANE that so many college students get dogs. My hot take is that a lot of people who think they want a kid actually want a dog (a small, cute, codependent creature that loves unconditionally and has limited free will) and most people who think they want a dog actually want a cat (a pet that is independent, somewhat low maintenance, and is able to entertain themselves with limited supervision) and that some people who want cats should actually just get a plant

But I digress. Anyways.

I think I've mentioned before how much I despise "doodle breeds". The guy who created the labradoodle (Labrador Retriever + Standard Poodle) has gone on record to say that he wished he never did it. The whole point of him developing the labradoodle was to create a low-shedding guide dog. There are 3-5 breeds (depends on who you ask haha) that are consistently favorable for service animal work. Poodles and Labs are 2 of them. Poodles and Labs were historically breed to retrieve waterfowl for hunters, and the traits that make them really good for that naturally lend themselves to service work.

Notice how both of them are working breeds? Animals specifically developed for a purpose? They also make good family dogs, but generally speaking you have three categories you can sort breeding lines of a certain breed of dog in. I'm gonna be slinging terms around so here's what I'm talking about:

 TLDR: there are differing breeding lines of dogs to fulfill different purposes (work, show, companionship) and picking dogs from one line over another can impact the offspring that dog produces
(This is assuming you are looking exclusively at purebred/mostly purebred dogs)
Working Lines (also referred to as field lines)
Parents/ancestors display traits best suited for "work" i.e. birddogs, service work, and occasionally high-activity, dog-experienced households. Typically slimmer, more athletic, driven dogs where aesthetic is not the primary purpose for their existence; breed standard (written description of the ideal/perfect appearance of the breed) is followed but sometimes not strictly upheld. Recorded lineage is important as it creates a better picture of health, temperament, etc. Many working dogs are registered with kennel clubs/breed organizations for this purpose

Show Lines (also referred to as bench lines)
Ancestors are registered within a kennel club/society so there is a clear lineage. Emphasis is placed on breeding champions to one another; their offspring are the most likely to align with the breed standard (can you see how this eventually becomes a problem?). Tend to be more flashy and showy than working lines. A show line Labrador Retriever will tend to be heavier and have less muscle tone than a working line Lab, and less drive. There is a greater risk of creating "hypertypes" in show lines, where emphasis is placed so highly on certain aspects of the breed standard that you create dogs that have an exaggerated form of that feature (Short muzzles on Pugs, wrinkles on a Shar Pei, egg-shaped heads on Bull Terriers). Some working line dogs may show, and some show line dogs will work. Some breeds don't have a very distinct work/show divide, but some do. A lot of retrievers and spaniel-type dogs have a visible difference.

Both work and show lines take special consideration to creating healthy, well-balanced offspring. A dog with poor eyesight, bad joints, and a history of aggression shouldn't be bred, and this is generally the case. 

Pet Lines (also referred to as companion lines)
 These tend to be dogs that do not qualify for work or show for one reason or another. A dog that is skittish around loud noises can't be near someone hunting ducks with a rifle, or a Dalmatian having large splotches instead of spots disqualifies them from showing. They may also have some undesirable trait like low confidence. Stuff like that. Lineage is not as important, but some are registered (this is typically by request of the breeder so their data is complete when looking at registered lines). You're more likely to see a disqualified show dog here rather than a washed-out working dog, but both still exist. Some people breed specifically for family lines-- they tend to be more mellow, more accepting of strangers, gentle, etc. A family friend has a Cocker Spaniel that is too neurotic to work or show, but she is a wonderful family dog. Pet line dogs are less likely to receive the extensive health testing of working or show lines, which means that, generally speaking, they should not be bred once until those are done, and even then there should be a lot of thought put into if it is the right thing to do as there tends to be a genetic reason these dogs have been removed from show or work.

Back to doodles. No breeder worth their salt is breeding doodles. They are not an actual breed-- no standard has been set, no health markers have been made, and we're honestly past the point where that can feasibly happen. Because of this, anyone who is breeding doodles (when I say doodles, I mean anyone crossbreeding any breed with a poodle, not just Labradors) is doing so unethically. Most of the time, it's for the money-- people will willingly shell out thousands of dollars for what is functionally a designer mutt. This includes pet stores. It's also for the aesthetics. They make some damn cute puppies, I can't lie, but most doodles have a weird mixed coat type because you're crossing a straight-furred dog with a curly-coated one and it makes them mat like crazy. 

People magically think that crossing breeds will be all positives. That is (hypothetically) the case for Labradoodles because their traits mesh well with one another and they are well-developed, all around good dogs that thrive in a large combination of environments. Not so much with something like a Bernese Mountain Dog and a poodle (Bernedoodles. The "d" stays from Labradors, don't ask me why). Berners are farm dogs, historically bred to guard livestock and pull carts. Once again you're throwing two working breeds together. Okay, cool. Berners are genetically suspicious of people, meant to be able to make decisions on their own, and are protective of things they think they are in charge of. Poodles are highly social, personable dogs that thrive under human direction and lack aggression. These traits don't mesh as well, and more often than not you're going to end up with a conflicted, anxious dog that is difficult to train and might bite strangers that come to your home to protect their flock (children). 

Basically, we're creating monsters in the name of cute instagrammable dogs. They look fine as puppies, but you might have siblings from the same litter and have one of them be a cute little guy and the other is an 80lb ball of anxiety that can't control themselves and screams at their shadow and jumps on people to try and put your face in their mouth (shout out to Oreo, I fucking hated when he came in to work because I was the only one who wouldn't let him do that so he would chew my arms until they bruised)

Back to college kids. The amount of people I see bringing PUPPIES to campus is astronomical, and unbelievably stupid for a number of reasons:
- Puppies are a 24/7 job
- If you're doing things right, having a puppy requires near-monthly vet visits for the first 6-12 months. That gets expensive
- The vast majority of people have a poor understanding of puppy development, or misunderstand it altogether. The act of socializing a dog does not mean "my dog needs to meet everyone and be excited about every new thing", it's more like "my dog needs to learn to react calmly to unexpected situations and stimuli". The goal of socialization is neutrality, not excitement. "Why does my dog strangle himself trying to get to people on the street?" maybe it's because you taught him that strangers are extremely exciting and that everyone will be happy to see him and won't mind being jumped on because you thought it was cute when he was 10lbs and now he's 45 and is going to give Old Lady Gertrude a broken hip when he shoves her to the ground to say hello
- "Why is my dog ripping up the carpet in my dorm " my brother you've put a live animal in a 10 x 12 box with nothing to do
- "everyone come see my brand new 8-week old puppy!" YOUR DOG IS NOT FULLY VACCINATED FOR SO MUCH STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP!!! It's the equivalent of letting your infant lick the floor in a supermarket, use your fucking brain!!!! You are speedrunning your dog getting parvovirus!!!! It is an extremely painful way to die!!!!

My RA had an 8-week-old Labrador at the beginning of the year and she let him run around the lobby on move-in day, literally the WORST possible day to have a brand new dog out in public. She's training him for therapy work (allegedly, most therapy dog programs won't even give you the dog until 12 weeks) and she hasn't taught him to stop charging people coming out of the elevator. I am fine and prepared to be approached by a large dog at pretty much any given moment, but I literally live with people who have a phobia of large dogs and that's unfair to them


I saw a girl last year with a husky/shar pei mix which I think is the WORST cross I've ever seen with my own eyes. Yeah, lets put a breed known for its noise, independence, energy, and aggression with a primitive breed selectively chosen for guard work that also has a history of dog and people aggression and let's put it in a communal living space where people frequently enter and exit its living space!!


Okay dog rant over

TLDR do your fucking research when you get a dog and accept the responsibility that comes with willfully placing an animal in a subpar living space. Also just get a damn poodle, they're wonderful dogs and they're popular for a reason

If I get the urge again (and I will) I'll subject you to my Dog Autism again

Finals week is coming up so I'm not gonna have time until Thanksgiving break probably

I'm procrastinating a 5 page paper until later today because I don't want to do it. That's only like,,,, 1,250 words but I don't want to write it so I'm putting it off. I've written longer papers in less time which is a dangerous habit to have but because I've experienced no real consequences for doing so I'm going to keep doing it 


Don't schedule 8am college courses kids, it's a trap and they all suck  

I kinda miss when this rp had a constantly evolving cast of people coming and going, both players and characters alike. Might be cool if we opened up to the public a little more but that's a hell of a decision to make and a lot to ask from a moderation perspective