fix: wink is now a real CSS animation, no longer sticks (v0.1.3)

The v0.1.1 wink was rendered as a static SVG (left eye drawn as a
closed curve). Once the 5% random gate picked the wink tone, the
left eye stayed closed until the next page render — if the
dashboard sat idle, Buddy was stuck mid-wink indefinitely. David's
report: "the eye does not unblink."

v0.1.2's lower probability (30% → 5%) reduced how often you'd see
the stuck state, but didn't fix the underlying issue.

This release makes the wink a real transient animation:

- sprite.php no longer swaps the left eye for a closed path when
  tone is wink — both eyes are always open circles in the SVG
- buddy.css adds @keyframes buddyWink that briefly closes the
  left eye (scaleY 0.1) for ~250ms every 2.5s, applied only when
  the parent has the .buddy-sprite--wink class
- right eye keeps its normal 5s blink — the asymmetry is what
  makes it read as a wink rather than a synchronised blink
- mouth/cheeks/label still differ for wink tone (those are valid
  static state changes); only the eye behaviour moved to animation

Net effect: when the 5% chance fires, Buddy now actually winks
(closes, opens, closes, opens) instead of freezing one-eye-shut.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -9,6 +9,25 @@ Format: [Keep a Changelog 1.1.0](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/) — versi
 
 ---
 
+## [0.1.3] — 2026-05-27
+
+### Fixed — Wink no longer gets stuck
+
+The v0.1.1 wink was implemented as a static SVG render (left eye drawn as a closed curved line). Once the random 5% chance picked the `wink` tone, the page rendered with one eye closed and stayed that way until the next page reload — and 95% of subsequent reloads went back to a non-wink tone, but if the dashboard sat idle, Buddy was stuck mid-wink indefinitely. David reported it as *"buddy has the wink face but the eye does not unblink."*
+
+v0.1.2's lower probability (30% → 5%) reduced how often you'd see the stuck state but did not fix the underlying issue.
+
+v0.1.3 makes the wink a real CSS animation:
+
+- **sprite.php** no longer renders the left eye as a closed path when tone is `wink` — both eyes are always open circles in the SVG.
+- **buddy.css** has a new `@keyframes buddyWink` that briefly closes the left eye (`scaleY(0.1)`) for ~250 ms every 2.5 s. The right eye keeps its normal 5 s blink. That asymmetric pattern is what makes it read as a wink rather than a synchronised blink.
+- The wink animation only runs when the parent has the `buddy-sprite--wink` class, which is still controlled by the same 5% probability gate from v0.1.2.
+- The mouth (asymmetric smirk), cheek opacity (rosier), and mood label (`Cheeky 😉`) all still differ for the wink tone — those are valid static state changes. Only the eye behaviour moved from static-state to transient-animation.
+
+Net effect: when the 5% chance fires, Buddy now actually winks (closes left eye, opens it, closes it, opens it, etc., every 2.5 s) instead of freezing one-eye-shut.
+
+---
+
 ## [0.1.2] — 2026-05-26
 
 ### Tuned — Wink probability lowered from 30% to 5%

assets/css/buddy.css

@@ -24,6 +24,17 @@
     animation-duration: 7s; /* sadder Buddy blinks slower */
 }
 
+/* Cheeky wink: when the mood-label picks the 'wink' tone, the LEFT eye
+   runs a faster, more dramatic keyframe that closes for ~250ms every
+   2.5s. The right eye keeps its normal 5s blink — that asymmetry is
+   what makes it read as a wink rather than a synchronised blink.
+   v0.1.3 fix: previously the wink was a static SVG render (left eye
+   drawn as a closed curve), which got stuck on the page until the next
+   render. Now it's a real transient animation, so Buddy unblinks. */
+.buddy-sprite--wink .buddy-sprite__eye--left {
+    animation: buddyWink 2.5s infinite;
+}
+
 @keyframes buddyBob {
     0%, 100% { transform: translateY(0); }
     50%      { transform: translateY(-4px); }
@@ -32,6 +43,10 @@
     0%, 92%, 100% { transform: scaleY(1); }
     94%, 98%      { transform: scaleY(0.1); }
 }
+@keyframes buddyWink {
+    0%, 80%, 100% { transform: scaleY(1); }      /* eye open most of the cycle */
+    85%, 95%      { transform: scaleY(0.1); }    /* closes briefly = the wink */
+}
 
 /* ── Dashboard widget ───────────────────────────────────────────── */
 

buddy.php

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  * Plugin Name: Buddy
  * Plugin URI:  https://icanhelp.ie/buddy
  * Description: Adopt a small companion that lives in your WordPress dashboard. Its mood reflects your site's health — published posts feed it, outdated plugins make it sick, clearing spam makes it happy. Gamifies WordPress maintenance with a bit of charm.
- * Version:     0.1.2
+ * Version:     0.1.3
  * Requires at least: 5.0
  * Requires PHP: 7.4
  * Author:      David Keane
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) { exit; }
 
 // Plugin coordinates.
-if ( ! defined( 'BUDDY_VERSION' ) )  { define( 'BUDDY_VERSION',  '0.1.2' ); }
+if ( ! defined( 'BUDDY_VERSION' ) )  { define( 'BUDDY_VERSION',  '0.1.3' ); }
 if ( ! defined( 'BUDDY_FILE' ) )     { define( 'BUDDY_FILE',     __FILE__ ); }
 if ( ! defined( 'BUDDY_PATH' ) )     { define( 'BUDDY_PATH',     plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) ); }
 if ( ! defined( 'BUDDY_URL' ) )      { define( 'BUDDY_URL',      plugin_dir_url( __FILE__ ) ); }

inc/sprite.php

@@ -8,8 +8,10 @@
  * dog / dragon / sprite / etc.
  *
  * Mood tone changes the expression: 'happy' = open smile, 'neutral'
- * = flat mouth, 'sad' = downturned. Eyes blink via CSS keyframes
+ * = flat mouth, 'sad' = downturned, 'wink' = asymmetric smirk + rosier
- * regardless of tone (it's always alive).
+ * cheeks + CSS-driven left-eye wink animation. Eyes blink via CSS
+ * keyframes regardless of tone (it's always alive); the wink keyframe
+ * lives in buddy.css alongside the regular blink.
  */
 
 if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) { exit; }
@@ -45,18 +47,16 @@ function buddy_render_sprite( $species = 'default', $tone = 'happy', $size = 'md
          aria-label="<?php echo esc_attr( sprintf( __( 'Buddy is %s', 'buddy' ), $tone ) ); ?>">
         <!-- body -->
         <circle cx="50" cy="55" r="32" fill="<?php echo esc_attr( $body_fill ); ?>" stroke="#c9941d" stroke-width="2" />
-        <!-- left eye -->
+        <!-- left eye — always an open circle in the SVG. When the
+             tone is 'wink', the buddy-sprite--wink class on the parent
+             triggers a CSS keyframe animation (buddyWink in buddy.css)
+             that briefly closes this eye every couple of seconds.
+             That way the wink is a transient action, not a stuck state. -->
         <g class="buddy-sprite__eye buddy-sprite__eye--left">
-            <?php if ( $tone === 'wink' ) : ?>
-                <!-- Closed left eye for a wink: a downward curved line below the eye-circle's normal y. -->
-                <path d="M 35 46 Q 40 50 45 46"
-                      stroke="#2c3338" stroke-width="2.4" fill="none" stroke-linecap="round" />
-            <?php else : ?>
             <circle cx="40" cy="46" r="5" fill="#2c3338" />
             <circle cx="41.2" cy="45" r="1.5" fill="#fff" />
-            <?php endif; ?>
         </g>
-        <!-- right eye (always open, even during wink) -->
+        <!-- right eye — always open, normal slow blink even during wink -->
         <g class="buddy-sprite__eye buddy-sprite__eye--right">
             <circle cx="60" cy="46" r="5" fill="#2c3338" />
             <circle cx="61.2" cy="45" r="1.5" fill="#fff" />