#connie adopts a cat

[screwpinecaprice]

Got a freeform connverse ko-fi request, baby!

I mean, the request was them doing something cute as a couple, but almost same thing.

Thank you for the tip and request, Alphasun! 😁

[allfortheslay25]

In an au where milo has siblings that aren't Maya and Ollie, what would they be like and how would it affect the canon lore in miloverse?

Finally, I can answer this ask✨

Sorry for the long wait, I ended up pretty busy with my job and was backed up with loads of asks (I don’t like mixing my doodles unless it’s just one or two but I had HUNDREDS of asks about All for the fish and decided to just pick through and answer as many as I dared)

Anyways! For Other Kids AU (aka separate ‘what if’ AUs where the Foxes have other or more kids)

Ofc I thought of more andreil kids. What do you take me for? The aftg brainrot is my disease��😔

⚠️ this is not canon to We’ll Both Be Fine or Milo’s main story in general. This is a what if situation ⚠️

Admittedly, they could have been canon but andreil didn’t care about having more children. Milo was enough for them.

The first kid is Connie (Conner David) born 2011. Andrew and Neil decide not to deletus the fetus and so Connie is born. It is actually Nicky who gets to name him :)

Milo is very happy and emotional about having a little brother and tries to involve himself in every second of his life. They grow up very close, Connie looking up to Milo a bit.

Connie likes writing, cookies with jam, and spring

Dislikes conflict, chewing gum, and his freckled eyes (has eye nevus)

Second are the twins, Honey (Miela Marie) and Niko (Nicholas Nolan) both born 2014. Very simple decision from andreil that since Connie went well, why not test fate? And then they had twins who tried to make their lives hell. Andreil let the Foxes brainstorm names and send their best picks for andreil to choose through before narrowing it down to six (three if it’s a girl and three if it’s a boy) (they didn’t know it’d be twins) and let the foxes make a unanimous decision. The foxes decided on Nolan for a boy and Miela for a girl. Andrew and Neil ended up naming the boy Nicholas (Nicky cried about it for days) and gave Miela the middle name Marie after Abby.

Although Milo loves his new siblings, the twins are very hard to deal with and whine to him about every thing instead of andreil. The kids are also a bit air headed and tend to be hurtful without meaning to. When Milo goes to college, he finds out that they replace him with Connie who takes care of them as if they were his kids. (Admittedly, they love Connie more and it hurts Milo’s feelings)

Honey likes apiculture, traveling, food

Dislikes sitting still, sharing her things, being told what to do

Niko likes sports, napping, living life to the fullest

Dislikes being active (when it’s not sports), alcohol, explaining himself (he can’t)

Old concept designs when I was first making them

Some facts:

- Honey and Niko don’t consider Milo their brother but not in a malicious way. In their weird minds, he’s too old and different (however, they consider him family the same way Nicky, Aaron, Kevin, and Robin are)

- Honey lives with Nicky and Erik in Germany. She goes to school there

- Connie briefly lived with Stuart in the UK for two years, studying literature and journalism

- Niko doesn’t like playing exy but he goes pro as a hockey player since it’s similar

- they all call Milo something different. Connie calls him Brother or Milo, Honey calls him Mywo (Me - Woah), Niko calls him Lio or Em

- Milo used to take the kids to school (either walking or driving) since the twins were in daycare

- each kid is represented by one of the many animals that represent Milo. The rabbit (Connie), the bird (Honey) and the cat (Niko). With them, Milo is the dog. (Each animal makes up a part of Milo’s personality)

-⬆️ specific animals: White bunny (Connie) summer tanager (Honey) orange tabby (Niko) Wolf or Fox (Milo). However if they were Milo; New Zealand rabbit, Crow, and Red Siberian cat

- Maya would not be born in this au because at that point, they’d have their hands full with the twins and there’s no reason to have another. Ollie would have not been adopted either

[icepoptroll]

Family could be. . . .

@june-doe-2024 day 16: Families

Wooooooooooooo! Now THIS was a labor of love lol. So basically these family arrangements are based on my “Everyone Lives” Nurse Karnak AU.

1. Noel and his mom (she works very hard as a CNA) just happy to still have each other

2. After the accident Mischa’s adoptive parents won’t take him back. When he’s released from the hospital he ends up couch surfing for a while until he’s able to find his own place. Although the other kids’ families are happy to have him stay with them, he fears overstaying his welcome and always eventually leaves, very early in the morning. Still misses his mother terribly every day

3. Ok so this one is fun, canon be damned, Ricky has two moms and an older sister because honestly he deserves that kinda love. All 14 of their cats are rescues, some of them having disabilities and some being senior cats or sick kittens and he named them all (I didn’t really have the time to draw all 14 but there’s a bunch pictured here)

4. Ocean and her parents never got along and she decides to split when things come to a head and she can’t take it anymore. The Blackwood family takes her in and for the first time she feels a sense of normalcy in her home life. Connie has a whole new kind of love and appreciation for her family. Both find renewed happiness. Connie’s baby brother is also an excellent source of serotonin

5. Karnak adopts the Lambs when Penny’s situation threatens to separate her and Ezra. Virgil is along for the ride and sort of takes up the role of “fun uncle,” will often bend the rules and say “just don’t tell Karnak” lmao

[iwanty0uu]

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : lowkey ft: Ony

You plopped on the couch next to your boy best-friend, Ony as you played with the strings of your Victoria Secret sweat pants. Your nostrils inhaled the cannabis that he exhaled, which was the closes that you felt to him, the closest that he was to being inside of you. The scent lingered through the living room of your apartment, traveling through the window, making a careful escape before sounding the smoke detectors. The smoke was cautious, the same way your feelings were when you were with him, they crept around you, lingering in the back of your mind, clouding your senses with the lightest mist, but it still managing to nag at you, never fully disappearing.

It seemed cliche, but you met Ony your sophomore year of high-school, when he was in his junior.  Eventually , he adopted you since you were the youngest in all of his classes, and he thought your over achieving attitude was very cute (honors shit) ; and it led to you being besties, graduating early and getting accepted into your dream college while Ony started to trade school, studying business. He always seen you as a baby, supported your decisions, anndddd was there to defend you, always. But lately this “big brother” act has been feeling different. Less emotional more…sexual..

So, as you sat feeling a buzz just by inhaling the smoke, you turned to him abruptly, eyes meeting the side of his face, watching while he drew the smoke into his mouth, cheeks sinking into his face, emphasizing the sharp of his jawline. A second passed, air still warm, but he looked at you back, exhaling.

“Yo wassup-“

“Teach me how to smoke.” You interrupted, turning your body to face him criss-cross apple sauce style on the couch, black acrylic nail waving in his face before he could dismiss your thought. 

“Ony I’m a big girl and I can make my own decisions. I want you to teach me.”

You said putting your all into your response, you put your grown woman voice on, the same voice you used giving your Valedictorian, and you still were met with that loud ass, sassy ass, tone that Ony always used when you asked stupid shit.

“MOTHA FUKA NO!” He said, smoke leaving his mouth after every word, coughing as the question caught him off guard, smoke going through the wrong tubes, you could have sworn you seen the smoke leave through his ears.

“Fine.” You said grabbing your phone and texting his closest homie Connie who was also a plug that loved you like a little sister. Wasting no time, you grabbed your phone and ran to the door, ignoring Ony’s questions and angry comments, he was such an old head sometimes. You made your way down the south hall, and towards the common room where Connie said he was,feet tapping on the hallway floor, your fuzzy bed slippers slid down the tiles. Connie had no time to react to the hands that pulled him away from his chair, snatching the pre- roll from his hand, and he watched the hand that was connected to a girl who demanded,

“YOU WILL TEACH ME HOW TO SMOKE. NOW.” His hazel eyes widened, cheeks fixing themselves into a grin revealing his grill, glistening even in the horrible hallway light. His dimples were always the opposite of how he presented himself, all black sweatsuit and favorite pair of Black Cat sneakers on. He personality was almost too dark for his soft feautures, but it fit him. Before he could even answer, he realized that the girl was you, and it made him laugh even harder. Ony came down the hallway, his big ass feet echoed through the common area and you knew he would be on your ass.

So, like any sensible person, you ran away from the sexy scary black man looking for you.

He then booked it around the corner, closing in on you, and he grabbed you by your waist, hoisted you over his shoulder, giving your ass a tap as he jogged up the stairs like it was nothing.Opening the door, ignoring your protests and shutting it behind him.

“PUT ME DOWN NIGGA YOU GOT ME LOOKING LIKE A PICK ME IN THE HALLWAYS.” you complained, fixing your curly hair as it fell into your eyes. He then threw you on the couch, pillows flying, INCLUDING YOURSELF, from the impact. You bounced and laughed when you noticed  how angry he looked. But his furrowed brows, and sharp eyes made you realize that he was deadass…

Your life flashes before your eyes as you regained consciousness, you felt Ony’s hard thrusts into your tight pussy, expanding your walls and filling you all the way to the brim. You don’t exactly remember how you started having sex but you know that you initiated it for a fact. And he was even more upset when you tried to tap out after he ate you out.

So now, you found yourself face down into the pillows of the continuously bouncing couch, ass up, feeling his dick curve up into your spine.You twitched as you squeezed around his dick, biting your lip as your mouth watered, he grabbed your waist and thrusted harder, deeper. 

“Onyyyy I’m sorryyyy I- can’tttt uhh”

You breathed out, reaching your chubby hands behind you in an attempt to slow down the mean thrusts that your “bestfriend” ruthlessly gave you.

“Nah, you said you a big girl right?”-

He paused, sweat beaming down his glistening skin, the cold light of your kitchen illuminating your living room, revealing the secret that both you and the boy shared in the dead of night. But honestly, the fuck he gave you sounded nothing secretive, with your lewd moans, and the claps make by his thick bucking hips and the fat of your ass being loud enough to wake up a fuckin hibernating bear.

“Then take this big fuckin— shitttttt— Then take this big fuckin dick”

He said harshly, so harsh, you wanted to cry from overstimulation and his sassy ass attitude. He slapped your plump ass as you gasped in pain. Although you loved the pleasure, he went too hard and you couldn’t manage his thick private area :/

You decided to grab his thick hand that held your waist like he was holding the world, the harshest most loving touch you’ve felt. You squeezed hard, and looked behind you, lashes wet and clumping together, making eye contact with him. You watched as he bit his bottom lip and slowed down as you watched his facial expression change in realization.

Here he was, bullying your pretty fragile, inexperienced pussy, and you felt him pull out. Apologetic hands flooding your back, a trail of kissed leading up to your neck as he lightly flipped you over on your back so that he rested in between your legs, still hovering over you.

“Baby I’m so sorry I forgot I swear I didn’t mean it” he said kissing the fat of your cheeks. (the ones on your face nasty.)

You didn’t often see Ony so sappy and apologetic but it was obvious that he meant it, and who would you be to not throw a pity party?

Your bottom lip curled inwards as your eyebrows indented, you allowed your eyes to water and sniffle while you watched him kiss your tears away. 

“Ny that was mean…” you sniffles, rubbing your eyes like a cranky baby.

 *insert crocodile tears*

“I’m so sorry my love.. let me make it up to you.”

He said moving your hands, kissing your lips while he gently handled you.

“You gotta- *sniff* buy me sushi *sniff* n teach me how to roll and take me shopping,”

You demanded,your soft hands rubbing his templed while he pecked your face lightly.

~ “Whatever you want princess”

THE END!

I HOPE IT MET YOUR EXPECTATIONS!!!! -𝓵𝓮𝓵𝓮 <3 @mya2real

[dailymothanon]

Old Man Maine 😯 I like him cuz he’s nautical and that’s cool! He’s a Maine cat as always… and he adopted Mary n raised her 🐱! I love me some old characters 😛 most of New England gotta be old cuz they told me so

My sketch of Old man Maine and Connie.. (might be married 🔥)

[thosewickedlovelies]

it's where I belong

Summary: Rancher Boy!Javier Peña’s queer awakening

Tags: bisexual Javier Peña (although his identity is not explicitly stated); the bartender ships it; javier peña x OMC

Words: 1,937

Note: Title (and general inspo for this installment) is taken from the song Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan. You don't have to read the rest of Rancher Boys for this to make sense, but you should bc it's great 😌 Happy pride :)

Masterlist

Once, Javier Peña walked into a bar in June.

It wasn’t that kind of bar. Or at least, he hadn’t thought it was. But looking around, he noticed a lot of people who seemed…sparkly, somehow. And affectionate. And there, on the back wall by the pool tables, hung a large, rainbow-striped flag, fluttering over the bricks.

“Can I get you anything?” A bartender appeared in his line of sight.

Javier tore his gaze from the flag.

“Whiskey, on the rocks.”

The bartender adjusted her cutoff flannel while the card machine booted up. It was tied beneath her chest, and the edges of a tattoo snaked along her ribs, the finer details blending into skin darker than Javi’s.

As Javi took out his card, he started, “Is this a…a bar for…”

Lord only knew what he thought he was trying to say. Thankfully, the bartender took pity on him. “A gay bar?”

“…Yeah.”

“Not explicitly. ‘We’re friendly to all’,” the woman quoted pointedly. She pushed a coaster toward him with that very declaration stamped beneath a depiction of a familiar sign. Friendly’s, read the green neon loops- the same as the ones above the door he’d entered through.

Ah.

“We just like to make sure everyone knows.” Her head tilted. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Javier said.

After a beat, the bartender relaxed. “There’s not usually this much rainbow stuff in here. But we always go big for pride month.”

“Pride month?” Belatedly, Javi recalled the rainbow logos and merchandise that he’d noticed appearing over the past few days. Because it was…June? “Oh.”

The bartender had stepped back to dry some clean glasses. Now she smiled slightly, turning to face him. “You new in town?”

From a booth near the pool table, several voices rose in chorus with a soulful pop song playing from the speakers. Five sets of masculine shoulders swayed; they exhibited not a shred of self-consciousness. The bartender sent them a fond look.

“Temporarily. I’m here for a few weeks on business, with my pa.” Javi sipped his whiskey, the burn a warm, familiar comfort.

“Workin’ hard, then,” she deadpanned.

Before Javier could reply, her face softened, all her attention diverted to a second woman that had appeared beside him, leaning over the bar. Her black sequined top let out a spill of cleavage that Javi quickly averted his gaze from.

“Hola, mi amor,” the second woman cooed.

“Hola, nena.” The bartender set down her work and met the woman over the bar top with a lingering kiss.

“Puedo tomar una bebida? Tengo mucho sed,” the woman purred. Can I have a drink? I’m so thirsty. But it wasn’t any of the bottles behind the bar that claimed her attention. Her eyes danced up and down the bartender’s body, gleaming.  

She angled Javi a sharp, appraising glance. Javi met her gaze, then deliberately looked away, sipping his drink. Satisfied, she sat back on her stool.

The bartender, after extracting another kiss from the woman, brought her a glass of something clear and full of ice, and Javier listened to them talk. About their days, about their friend’s new cat, about what to have for dinner tomorrow. They sounded like every other couple Javier had ever known. They could have been Steve and Connie, if Steve and Connie knew anyone who would adopt a hairless cat or complained about gringos clogging up their favorite taco place.

Two of the men in the booth embraced when the song they’d been singing ended. One of their friends threw a fry at them, dramatically lamenting his own singlehood. Javi looked down and swirled the ice cube remaining in his glass, feeling simultaneously alone and strangely reluctant to leave.

The bartender reappeared in front of him. “Another whiskey?”

Clearing his throat, Javier straightened. “No, I shouldn’t. Thank you.” He made to stand and don his sunglasses

“Come back anytime. A lot of nice people come in this time of year.”

Javi gave a nod to her and then to her partner. The woman smiled in return, and Javier left the rainbow flags rippling behind him.

—

Twice, Javier Peña walked into a bar in June.

It wasn’t that kind of bar, but you wouldn’t know it looking around. The place was full of bubbly, happy people of every appearance on the gender spectrum, and some off the spectrum besides. Rainbow was too limited of a word to describe the variety of colors on flags.

All the same, it felt…relaxed. Homey. Pool balls cracked from a trio of tables. Too-big groups squashed into booths, giggling over knocked elbows and pressed-together thighs. Dancing broke out sporadically, the odd couple swaying alone or groups unable to resist the combination of the music playing and the contents of their glasses.

“Oye, whiskey boy!” The bartender Javi had met before popped up behind the counter in front of him. “Nice to see you again. The same on the rocks?”

Tonight she could have been mistaken for a college bartender, in a t-shirt snipped and tied to within an inch of its life. Glitter streaked her long black braids. Javier couldn’t help but wonder if her more feminine partner had had a hand in either statement. Tonight the bartender’s eyes were wide and bright, as if absorbing the energy in the bar and reflecting it back.

“Just a beer, thanks.”

Javi found a stool near the end of the bar, bottle in hand. He didn’t really have a plan of any kind. He could, technically, take someone back to his hotel room, but he didn’t relish the thought of his [pops] potentially seeing them leave tomorrow morning. He wasn’t in the market to make friends. His usual play was to nurse a few drinks while people-watching alone, but somehow that felt…wrong, here.

Or maybe it was Javier who was wrong. This place sure felt like a gay bar tonight, and he didn’t really have a place in one of those. Everyone else seemed to have friends and lovers and grins on their faces. What was he doing here, besides bringing the mood down with his brooding?

“You’re looking at that bottle like it’s about to break your heart.”

Javier looked up (and up, and up) at a man with desert-blond hair sticking out from under a Texas A&M ballcap. He was good-looking, Javi supposed, and dressed pretty normally if you didn’t count the sinfully tight fit of his shirt. He might have been one of few people in the bar besides Javi himself who didn’t have rhinestones somewhere on their person. Fine lines were just visible at the corners of his eyes, so it might have been his rangy build- or maybe the openness of his smile- that made him look young.

All of Javi's dependable wittiness seemed to have fled. His mouth quirked by muscle memory. “Nah, beer’s about the only thing that hasn’t broken my heart,” Javi tried.

The younger man laughed. “Can I get you another one, then?”

And so Javi allowed himself to be drawn into conversation with the man. Jason, his name was. The bartender gave him a friendly nod as she deposited their drinks- he must have been a regular here. It was nice, talking to someone- about himself, about Jason, about nothing at all. This kind of…companionship, however brief it would end up being, was something Javier hadn’t realized he’d been missing.

He relaxed into it. Into the comfortable, friendly atmosphere of the bar. Javi wasn’t blind. He saw the admiration in the younger (for he was indeed slightly younger) man’s eyes, heard the comments that tiptoed just this side of flirtatious. He didn’t discourage it. Why would he? It felt like it’d been a damn long time since Javier had been so enjoyed.

And he found himself enjoying Jason in return. There was a warmth, an awareness prickling in Javi’s chest that he recognized. It spread the longer they sat and talked, sparked in his fingers, the ends of his hair. It felt like…something loosening in him. Some knot unraveling that he hadn’t ever acknowledged was there.

As the night wound down, though- as their knees bumped and their laughter came warmer- Javier felt the knot drawing tighter again. He came to a decision. Quickly, gruffly, he confessed: he’d never done this before. He hadn’t set out find someone like this, didn’t want Jason to feel used- but Javi did want him. Had he mentioned that part?

As Javi half-stood from his stool, breathing hard, mouth dry, Jason’s look of surprise melted into something else. He placed his hand on Javi’s knee. Jason’s warm smile set fire to Javier, and the knot in his chest turned to ash and flaked away.  

—

There was more than one knot to his fears, Javier would discover. There was a whole web, intricately tangled and connected to subjects he would have never imagined. Some of the knots he picked at thoroughly, taking the time to smooth every kink (ahem) in their connecting cords. Some, he would realize, during the course of his research, were actually stupid, and these he excised without a second thought. Others, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to undo completely.

But that was for future-Javi to worry about. Present-Javi was tangled in much more pleasant things, like bedsheets and Jason’s unexpectedly strong arms. They spent many long, long nights together over the next few weeks. A few mornings, too, making Chucho raise his eyebrows upon seeing his son dash back through the hotel to shower, shirt buttoned askew and sweat still gleaming on his neck. 

It was a dizzying fling. But Jason was a good teacher, and Javi had never been one to shy from a challenge. By the end he’d have Jason flush-faced and gasping, making jokes like “my best student” and “Remind me to bring you a gold star next time”.

Javi didn’t remind him, of course, and Jason didn’t bring any gold stars.

He brought something else.

“I got you a present,” he said, and Javi did a double take.

“What?”

“I mean, it’s just a little thing, they sell them everywhere during pride month, and I just thought…” Jason shrugged, fidgeting bashfully, and held out his hand.

In it sat a small pin in the shape of a waving flag. Its rainbow stripes were unmistakable. Javi stared at it, his throat constricting. Slowly, he took it from Jason’s palm, the metal cool against his fingertips.

“You got me a pride pin.”

“You don’t have to wear it, or put it anywhere visible, obviously. I just thought…to remember me by. To remember yourself by.” Jason looked up from under his lashes then. Whatever else Javier took from their time together, Jason wanted him to remember the significant conversations they’d had.

Emotion swelled unexpectedly in Javier’s chest. He reached out, wrapped his fingers in Jason’s hair, and tugged him closer. Jason accepted his kiss with a sigh of pleasure, and they spent the next several minutes memorizing each other’s taste, the feel of their bodies pressed together, warm and firm.

Finally they parted, lips swollen, breath mingling. “Thank you,” Javier said, voice rough. “I’ll remember.”

He didn’t wear the pin. But he put it in his pocket, and it gave him a little jolt every time the edges poked him.

–

Their paths didn't cross again. But Javi takes the rainbow pin with him everywhere he travels, and on a ranch in Tennessee, he takes it out and studies it. He thinks of a man, and a woman, and another flag striped in red, blue, and black.

Thanks for reading :) ♥️♥️

Dividers by strangergraphics

[moonspirit]

Aruani definitely talk to their cat.

The current scenario I am thinking off is Annie being sick one day, and when Armin gets back home he finds the cat crawled up with her on the couch (Annie is sleeping)

Donut, (their cat cause what else will Annie name it) notices it’s other owner returning and jumps off the couch to great him, and Armin picks him up stroking behind his ear “did you take care of mummy like a good boy today? Did u take care of her for me” (the answers is yes cause cat hugs always makes Annie better)

This totally happens, anon xD

Wouldn't surprise me if Aruani adopt Donut as a stray kitten and she grows up in a highly verbal (Armin) and expressive (Annie) household and adopts a mix of both worlds. Silly parents waking up too late and breakfast is now 2 hours late? Meow the fuck out of the room and throw and angriest pout/glare she can muster. Silly parents being nosy? Ask for privacy while also having a claw in their clothes so they don't really go away (it's okay if they're 20% "there").

That said, Donut is a very responsible cat! Annie sick? Donut is given instructions by the Boy Parent and she sure as hell makes sure Annie eats those peas he made for her! Armin overworking? Donut is given w a r n i n g s by the Girl Parent and you bet your ass she's there to slap Armin in the face if he so much as touches a pen. (Annie also gives her permission to rub her butt and sprawl all over Armin's papers with her claws out. Works.)

Tho you know what the funniest thing would be? If aruani are FIGHTING and all the communication happens through Donut.

"Tell your father he shouldn't wait for dinner. He can eat the boxed lunch his female coworker gave him that he didn't refuse because he's so nice."

"Tell your mother she doesn't have to tell me she doesn't like the haircut. Hahah. I already know she prefers Connie's haircut to mine..."

"... Tell your father this has nothing to do with the haircut."

"Tell your mother I love her but I understand she doesn't have to love me back..."

"Tell your father to stop being so dramatic."

"Tell your mother she's-"

Donut stalks off. RIP. Born a cat, used as a pigeon.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #35 – To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis

This was my second shot on reading something of Willis’, and I found it far more enjoyable than the first. Which is something of a feat, honestly – it’s a rare book that you can more-or-less accurately describe s a ‘cozy romcom�� that doesn’t make me recoil. But it was charming! And dated, but mostly only charmingly as well.

The story is the second in a series, which no one ever told me when recommending it because it does not matter in the slightest (at least, I had no issues at all following along with the story) – though it does mean that it hits the ground running and requires you to pick up quite a bit from context for the first while. It follows Ned Henry, a historian at the University of Oxford in the mid-21st century – a field that has been changed dramatically by the invention of time travel. For example, it’s suddenly in desperate need of particle-accelerator money, which is why and the entire rest of the department have been conscripted by an incredibly generous donor to help her reconstruct Coventry Cathedral exactly as it was before being destroyed in the Blitz. Exactly. ‘God is in the details’, and Henry has spent subjective weeks running himself ragged attending wartime rummage sales and sifting through bombed out ruins to try and verify the fate of a glorified flower pot mainly notable for being overdone and ugly even by Victorian standards.

After going through so many rapid-fire temporal shifts that the jump sickness leaves him waxing rhapsodic about the highway and falling in love with every woman he sees, he’s sent to Victorian Oxford to lay low and recuperate, and deliver a vitally important package to a contact already in situ. Unfourtunately that jump sickness means that he’s pretty unclear on the particular what and who. Really it’s remarkable that things don’t spin even more wildly out of control than they do (and there’s a period where he might have accidentally made the nazis win WW2).

So yeah, not what you’d call a serious novel. Most of the plot is sneaking around trying to make sure various members of the Victorian gentry fall in love in the right pattern to make sure someone’s grandson can fly in the RAF down the line and someone else elopes off to America on schedule (with drastically limited details and new information from back home changing things ever so often). Also sneaking a pampered rare-fish-hunting pet cat and slothful bulldog around before they arouse the wrath of their hosts. The apocalyptic threat that’s theoretically hanging over everyone never really feels real, and it’s all just pleasently absurd and enjoyable to read.

The comedy reminds me of early Prachett, in a way? Which like, a light comedy from the ‘90s in large part poking fun at English academia, of course there are similarities, but still. Not that that’s n insult. There’s plenty of absurd situations caused by miscommunication or desperately trying to work around absurd social conventions or personal foibles. Almost the entire Victorian cast (and a decent number of the present-day characters as well) are objectively ridiculous people, and the book has a lot of fun making do the literary equivalent of chewing scenery for the camera.

I call this a romcom, but I’m not ever sure that fits, honestly. It is a comedy with romance, between the two lead characters, whose dynamic with each other is the main throughline of the book. But it’s never really a source of drama? Or a motor of the plot. They are coworkers who end up working in close confines and get alone fine, who both awkwardly admit they find each other very attractive and start flirting and at the end they kiss and adopt a cat together. Least miscommunication- or conflict-ridden central romance in fiction you’ve ever seen. I don’t know enough about the genre constraints to determine whether it counts or not.

Part of the appeal of this was honestly the odd ways it came across as a bit dated? Not at all in a bad way but just, like – the fixation on the Blitz as the sine qua non of English history feels very 20th century? The references to the Charge of the Light Brigade and Schrodinger’s Box and Three Men in a Boat, combined with the felt obligation to step back from the narrative and explain what they were in case the reader wasn’t aware – just the idea that someone reading a time travel story won’t already be familiar with the concept of temporal paradoxes, really. It all added up to a reading experience that felt a bit off-kilter in a pleasing way.

This is obviously a story very fascinated by Victoriana – both the time period and the popular memory. Its perspective on the period is – I guess ‘affectionate contempt’ might be the best way to put it? It clearly doesn’t think much of the Oxfordshire gentry, the women shallow as a puddle and obsessed with marriage gossip and spiritualism, the men with their heads stuffed with some academic fixation and utterly divorced from all practical affairs, both obsessed with petty one-up-man-ship of their peers and casually abusive and callous towards the servants who run and organize their lives for them. But it all feels rather good-natured; not a trace of righteous fury or real class hatred is on display, the fact of the empire and the source of their fortunes is I think not even mentioned. One more way it feels a bit dated, I suppose, or maybe just a way my usual reading’s much more explicitly political about these things.

I’m also not sure if this is a matter of tastes or popular memory changing or just my impression of what the received common wisdom is being parochial or inaccurate, but – given the association of ‘Victorian’ with imperial grandeur, aesthetic superiority, eye-wateringly expensive historical real estate, etc, it is quite funny how the book takes for granted that to be ‘victorian’ means to be horrifically gaudy and over-designed, devoid of elegance or restraint, and to have probably ruined some real medieval beauty in its creation.

Anyway yes, you absolutely could dig into this book and write some meaty essays out of it, but I simply was not reading it closely enough to do so. It’s probably overlong and definitely meandering and unhurried, but I did find it a really enjoyable read.

[hollowfyshunsuikubo]

Personal AOT HCs

AN: My best friend started me on this anime purely because they thought I’d like Erwin. They were right of course but the lore elements are cool too. (Please take this peace offering before my very long Bleach x reader ily)

Featuring: As many as I can fit.

Contains: NSFW, Crack, fluff, a lil angst

MINORS DNI I WILL CONTACT YOUR PARENTS.

Hange can sleep anywhere. Like. Anywhere. Moblit has found her sleeping in/on: tables, roofs, a horse, a wild horse, a tree, in a hole, on the stairs, upside down from her ODM gear, and once in Levi’s office.

Onyankapon tries so hard to be a Cool Uncle but ends up coming off like a Weed Fuckboy Chill Cousin. He's also really good at chess.

Erwin liked to adopt little stray cats. HQ was always full of them- little kittens, Mama cats, grumpy old street veterans with ear nicks and scars. He loves them hard enough for them to miss him when he's gone.

Levi hated the cats but sometimes pet them. In his grief after Erwin died he sent them all away to good homes. A tiny little kitten remained hidden in Erwins old room and ate scraps for two months before Levi found it. He kept that single one. It has blue eyes.

Sasha has an incredibly high metabolism, which is why she eats so much. She needs protein and carbs constantly. If she got enough, she'd be twice as strong and Reiner and would benchpress Mike for fun.

Connie shaved his head until some girl mentioned he'd look hot with soft curls. THEN he started growing it out a little.

Jean is so devoted to Mikasa he doesn't sleep with anyone else. Well, there was that really weird night with that guy, but that doesn't count... right.

Eren is both so homophobic and so ally it's hard to tell that he's bisexual.

Armin has the biggest library. Erwin, for some random reason, left him all his books. Levi didn't contest that. In some books, Erwin even left little annotations- speaking even though he is gone. Armin flips through the pages often, wondering if the Commander he didn't know so well would have ever seen him as a son, if he had lived.

Yelena doesn't know who's right or wrong, a lot of the time. She agrees with Eren, people should pay. But the lives that will be lost... is war really worth it? She sits up at night with a drink and a cigarette glaring at the moon, wondering if her ideals are placed in the wrong people. But never once does she defect or speak out.

I'd like to think in their vulnerable moments, Mikasa and Annie sneak out together after the Rumbling. They sit under the stars and train for a little. They end up covered in bruises. Annie admits she's sorry. Mikasa admits she is too. They keep fighting, because what else is there now?

Historia cares for her child, but can't look at her daughter. She sees to much of what she wished she had, too much of a life she was denied. She loves her little daughter, but can't help but resent her too. Historia is scared she'll end up like her mother, and pushes all of it down.

Before he died, Beretoldt thought about how his life was going to save another person's life, but in the back of his mind he wished he could see his parents one last time. He was, after all, only a child.

Reiner went to therapy, once. He cried and cried and cried. He hasn't gone back, but his mind feels better. He can finally sit down and put his life into reasonable order. He misses Porco, oddly enough. He misses being told the truth and seen as just a man.

Annie misses the feeling of her Titan. If you asked her, she'd say it's like a puzzle piece is missing, a warm embrace ripped from her. Her crystal was the last thing from her Titan that felt like a home. She'd say it's like missing the skin of your back because you peeled it off. She'd say it's a longing. But she doesn't talk, not often now.

When Eren and Mikasa fucked off to Switzerland, they had a ball of a time. Mikasa got really good at cooking, Eren finally learned to chill the fuck out, and of course: geese. Lots of geese.

Floch, weirdly enough, unlike Jean, has a lot of sexual experience. The girls he sleeps with says he's a damnable bastard in person, but actually kind of sweet in bed. Sure he's rough but he makes sure they like it. He has four bastard children and he's very, very proud.

Sasha and Connie would sometimes just fight with long sticks. Hey Siri, play "Duel of The Fates" I should write for Star Wars they got really good at it.

Eren and Floch had a one night stand. Yelena walked in on them halfway through and laughed so hard they stopped. It's never happened again, but Yelana likes to hint at it.

Zeke often just fucking. Sits there. He'll just be brooding and he'll zone back in and what the fuck it's been three hours why didn't anyone tell me. He likes his beard as well, he doesn't like to shave it because he's got a bit of a baby face, and he even has a comb specifically for grooming it. He gets bitches too. He's a big fan of pussy eating btw. Really, really big.

Historia knows what a strap is. No she will not tell anyone but they KNOW it was Ymir. A bad influence even after her goddamn death.

Gabi wakes up screaming some nights, begging for it to stop, begging to be able to go back, to not do what she did. Falco tries to comfort her, but some nights, all she can say is "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry Sasha." Connie, sometimes, hears this. He gets... Angry. And sad too, knowing that Gabi was just a kid, indoctrinated and brainwashed, and that her regrets equal his own.

[catsofcalifornia]

Connie Morgan from Cats Needing Homes in Moreno Valley, California

Click here for more information about adoption and other ways to help (as well as a video of Connie Morgan)!

Click here for a link to Cats Needing Homes' main website.

Connie is a beautiful black panther who is looking for her forever home and she won’t give her heart to just anybody. She is looking for a cat savvy family who has a heart as big as hers!

She loves sweet attention, lap time, and sleeping in bed with you.

She is looking for someone to take a leap of faith with her and give her time to love you.

She is good with cat friendly dogs and cats.

Back story. The last of a litter of four kittens abandon in a cardboard box in a park. Connie is social, playful, cat friendly and is good with cat friendly dogs. She enjoys sharing your bed with you spending time under, and on, the covers and enjoying being pet as she falls asleep!

[imzsuzsis-blog]

"I hate him, what the hell was wrong with him yesterday?" I looked angrily at Max and Cheko, who also learned about everything from the news. "Fuck me, I'm sorry that Oscar was such a bastard yesterday and gossiped about the whole thing." Max looked at me sadly and shook his head. Osc recognized him as a kind and cute boy, just as I am not such a dick. "This hurt me too when I read it, especially that it became a forced situation, if I were in your place I don't even know. I would have screamed and said, damn it, you're right." Sergio caressed my back the whole time, I knew he was the one to tell everyone the truth, just so he wouldn't be in the middle of it. "I understand... Anyway, thank you Sergio, you're in a good position." I leaned back, spread my legs and started shaking them. I could only swallow, I grabbed my water bottle to see if I was thirsty, but I didn't feel like billions of eyes were staring at me and just as many index fingers were pointing at me and just as many mouths were snickering at me, I was doing all this behind my back. "It won't work, I'm sorry, I have to hide this weekend!!!! Coming Out I can't take it!!!!!" I started sobbing, shouted and ran away from them.

"You should apologize to your teammate, Oscar, because you were a mess yesterday, I was an asshole." I saw that Loki was very, very angry with me, I think he should have come out to Lando when he was a love mess in nineteen and twenty. He also started dating a model and also dated a sexy back dancer once, and he openly exchanged it. "Are you in the picture, what's your Lando doing at nineteen and twenty?" "Yes, many people said, but yes, he was a dick and he shouldn't have, especially when he found out when he wanted a threesome, but where Fedrik protested, where Connie protested, and when they found out, they both threw him away with such a short-haired English nobody. They won't start again." He sat down next to me and gave me a faint smile. "I know it happened in his twenties, I read that he was the one who did it"

"Hello, I'm looking for you Lando, can't you see me? I'm Connie Joops. I haven't seen him since 2020” I scratched the back of my neck and sucked on my lips. "He can come back from the press conference now. Third, would you be Connie?” He nodded, the guy looks very sexy to us, but unfortunately engaged. "Yes, my friend Fedrick is also here. Lando will accidentally bring me and my partner together." I lowered my eyes and felt that there was something wrong, but I just wanted to chat with him, "Nothing, thanks for the information." We didn't tell him, but he was right behind him and almost to him... ,,Excuse me... Connie? You?" Yes, we are looking for you and Fedrick, it would be important. When will you be able to have tea with us?",, Now is also a good time. I guess I'll leave you guys alone or something." "No matter where you're thinking, we'd just tell you, look, they're engaged, thanks to you, we can even adopt a baby, just for your signature." I looked at him, those weren't his tears of joy, he was sobbing on my shoulder. "When will I get there? Yes, I am now pregnant with twins, but when will I be engaged? Now I have someone again for a while, but with that fucking bridegroom, I'm the unlucky one who will die alone among cats!!!!"

I chatted with Charles over there, I yelled at him to see if you could see him wrong, but it's not Lando who's crying because he's pregnant, he's crying all the time for no reason. "You're not crying again for no reason, Charles, can you read lips?" "I don't know, you're so stupid, I just said that drunk at a party." "You're an idiot drunk monkey." "You've become a sane know-it-all bastard since you've been my teammate." "Lando!!!!" "And again?" I was caressing Lando's hair while I didn't even notice that Charles was pointing out that I'm an idiot again, so instead I'm dealing with my best friend in the world. "Yes, my two exes, with whom I dated at the end of 2019 and until the middle of 2020, are getting married!!!!!" There he was writhing and almost hysterical, and the newborn Leah came out of her again. ,,No problem and how are you again Leah? You promised you're done fucking with this forever Lando, you're not Leah Norris, you're Lando Norris.” "Leave me alone Carlos!!!!! I'm tired of everyone looking down on me because of my pregnancy and thinking that only girls can be pregnant, you know what, anyone can say anything." I held my face, I couldn't believe what he was saying, this is going to be the top of a scandal, now I'll try to form a good union with him. "What if..." "I say I can't do it, but if the nest piles up on me, I'll need the worms." "That way you don't need a little union!!!" I slapped him, he knows I'm right, he's just too stubborn to see it now.

[srslyscary]

┊┊. OTHER RELATIONSHIPS !

⟿ HER BROTHER !

> CONTACT NAME ᕯ lil bro kyle (<3)

➠ her little brother is just a big ol’ sunshine, like felix but make it way different.

➠ surprisingly kabi gets along with her brother and they have a very strong bond, they’ve been like that since kyle was born.

➠ gets in trouble with his older sister than he does with his parents. kabi calls him his full name over the phone when she’s mad (kyle daniel somun).

➠ yes. his middle name is daniel.

➠ they rarely use each others korean names.

➠ the internet knows all about her brother since she’s always with him. most of her instagram posts are about her brother and their crazy adventures together when they were younger.

➠ her family all lives in seoul with her, so she often goes to see her brother at their family home.

➠ kabi is definitely planning to buy kyle a house for his graduation present.

➠ loves her brother to death, he’s always been a little goofy sweetheart. he gets most of his humor from his older sister.

⟿ HER GIRL BESTFRIEND !

> CONTACT NAME ᕯ queen connyyy

➠ best friends since she was a small girl. she currently lives in canada.

➠ conny’s actual name is constance, but when kabi was younger, she could never actually say her name so she started calling her “conny”. conny’s nickname for kabi is “junie”, hence the way she would say it as a small kid (and because of her birth name ‘journee’).

➠ they met in first grade and almost finished elementary together. kabi left canada after her 5th grade year in 2008, to finish school in korea.

➠ luckily in that year they had SOME type of communication devices, considering kabi was only 11 at the time.

➠ they lost contact for a while, but in 2017 kabi happened to take a family trip to canada and ran into conny in a store. she didn’t recognize her at first until conny spoke up while seemingly remembering her. they caught up and exchanged new numbers.

➠ conny is only 3 months younger than kabi (november 5, 1996).

➠ conny has been on only ONE of kabi’s skz vlogs during one of her visits to canada.

➠ one of her non-idol friends to support her in her career.

⟿ HER BOY BESTFRIEND !

> CONTACT NAME ᕯ diddy lol

➠ this.. is tak daesung… also known as diddy.

➠ very handsome fella.. but has never had a girlfriend.

➠ the nickname “diddy” is a little joke that runs around the both of them due to a mispronounced word.

➠ has a black cat named miso.

➠ daesung and kabi met in korea, she met him during middle school and graduated highschool with him (May 21, 2015).

➠ they still keep in touch till this day, even after kabi became an idol.

➠ she doesn’t hang out with him as much as she used to, but she tries her best. they hang out with each other on each other’s birthdays to celebrate.

➠ they were born a day apart, daesung was born the 14th of august.

➠ daesung is a content creator (youtube and twitch), and talks about kabi on his twitch livestreams the most.

➠ kabi joined daesung in a stream once, and wasn’t surprised everyone knew who she was.

➠ another one of her non-idol friends who supports her in her career. blasts skz songs like every single stream on his waiting screen.

⟿ HER CATS !

> NAMES ᕯ tazi and bada

➠ tazi is a mixture of a maine coon and a balinese cat breed (on the left), bada is a mixture of a maine coon and a siberian cat breed (on the right). tazi is a female while bada is a male.

➠ tazi was adopted on november 18, 2020 at 4 months old. she weighed just enough for a healthy cat and was taken home by kabi as soon as she saw her. she was named after kabi to somewhat match her stage name, and she thought tazi was the cutest cat ever. tazi is now 4 years old.

➠ tazi’s name actually comes from the tasmanian devil, because tazi is a very wild cat.

➠ bada was adopted on may 2, 2016 at 9 months old. bada is a very quiet cat, like the ocean (hence his name being “bada” which is ocean in korean). bada has never been a wild cat, and he enjoys the quiet moments with kabi when she’s home. bada is now 8 years old.

➠ bada was kabi’s support animal throughout the rest of her trainee years.

[conradtms]

hello my friends! i'm sarry, twenty-six years old and very bad at introducing myself in intros (or in general). it's been a long time since i've dedicated myself to developing a muse like this, so i'm pretty excited, which means i'm going to love plot with you all! that said, below i will leave some information about conrad.

BASIC INFO

name: conrad winston alexander fox

nickname: connie or cory

age: 30

zodiac sign: aquarius

sexuality: heterosexual

BACKGROUND

the first child of a royal family, conrad was born with a lot of expectations on his shoulders simply for being male. and, for better or worse, somehow conrad always fulfilled everything his parents expected of him.

having been born with an entire script ready to follow, conrad was never one to think much beyond that, and often stopped doing what he really wanted to do to dedicate himself to a greater principle, which was his country. for a while, that was more than enough for him, until he reached his teenage years and began to have some doubts about what he really was and what his parents shaped him to be.

a small spark of wanting to have a little more freedom to be the young boy he was, made conrad rebel for the first time against the royal family's rules of conduct, becoming an expert at sneaking out of the palace in the dead of night and join his school friends at clandestine parties.

the feeling of freedom ended up addicting the crown prince, who found in a double life the alternative he needed to avoid getting lost in the midst of all the strict rules of the royal family, which seemed to have a double weight for him.

the choice to go to college was another way to have a little more independence, even if it was for a small fraction of time, since he had to return to the palace at the end of the day. after graduating with honors in international relations from cambridge university, conrad simply fell in love with the field, fueling the desire to become a diplomat in the future.

that's what brought the prince to new york. he is currently a master's student at nyu, a university he chose for two important reasons: to stay as far away from his country and the eyes of the national media as possible, and to be a little closer to his younger brother, austin.

during his stay in the city, conrad tries to ignore the weight of his surname as much as possible and stay out of the spotlight, taking advantage of the skills that his time in a double life helped him develop to keep his private life confidential.

ADITIONAL INFO

conrad lives in the paragon, queens.

he has a cat he adopted from an animal shelter, whom he named lampard.

he is a very warm chelsea fc fan, and rarely misses a match, even if it disrupts his sleep due to the different time zone. in his house, in fact, you can see some items related to the football team spread throughout the rooms, such as his favorite mug.

one of his favorite places in the city is rockaway beach and every morning, before going to nyu, you can see him religiously running along the beachfront.

at the moment that's all i have in mind, and i'm totally open to any kind of plot you heart may desire!

[animalhumanemn]

We adopted our cat Marley, a four-year-old tabby about two months ago. It took him about two weeks to come out of hiding on a regular basis. By the end of the third week, he was fully integrated into our little family. Marley is the sweetest cat ever!! He is a very active and curious thing with an amazing personality. He is very happy in our home and we are very glad to have him!

— Connie

[fefesoutsiderstuff]

OC Headcanons

When Dally goes to jail, Melinda panics. She has a little hoard of cash to bail him out. Any money she can get goes to the hoard.

Sugar will hug anyone as long as they haven't proved themselves unhuggable. She defaults to you being a valid hug source. All you have to do is say the word and she is snuggling you.

Dasha is equally snuggly, but a little more cautious. She'll trust you pretty easily if Darry seems at ease around you, though.

Connie goes for walks in the park at night. She sneaks out regularly, but it's not to party or anything. It's to exist outside at night. This is how she saved Dally's life.

Chiara and Darry met because Johnny was getting picked up from the hospital after the fire at the same time Chiara's sister was having a baby. Two-Bit wouldn't stop teasing him.

Sugar got very excited to meet Chiara because "Finally! A friend who knows what normalcy feels like!"

Chiara absolutely loves Sugar.

Everyone in the gang loves Chiara. Everyone. They think she's great.

So the backstory between Connie and Dally is: Connie and Dally are twins. Connie gets adopted. Dally and Melinda don't. It's not much more specific than that. You might want to combine this with someone else's Dally backstory headcanon(s) for context. Anyway, they were reunited when Connie saved Dally's life by jumping in the middle of the conflict with the police and yelling at them to stop at the last second. No one knows how this worked without anyone getting hurt.

I saw a headcanon on Wattpad that Marcia has three cats so while Johnny and Ponyboy were running from the cops and wanted for murder, Sugar was just petting kitties. That was almost the happiest night of her life.

Dasha, Melinda, and Sugar sort of form their own little trio within the gang. A subgroup if you will. It mostly consists of Melinda trying to maintain order.

[mybrainrotforreal]

Cat Cafe!AU Chapter 6

(TW : Detailed description of panic attack)

Hector takes a deep breath as he gets into the cat cafe, a mixture of freshly brewed coffee and the subtle hint of air freshener fills his nostril and he subconsciously associates it with comfort. There, behind the counter, stands a man who has barged in and stolen Munday’s heart from his fortress.  Charlie looks up to him and smiles at him brightly, Hector tries to smile back but thinly, he still feels awkward doing it and maybe his facial muscles haven’t been trained enough to convey expressions, too stiff. As he approaches closer, he sees Charlie is tending a familiar gray cat, Connie, which Hector remembers the cat can get a lot of zoomies, even at noon. 

“Hello, Hector!” Charlie greets him happily with his voice as his hands are occupied with dressing the cat with a suit. Upon seeing Hector tilts his head as he looks intently at the cat, Charlie adds, “Connie will be adopted soon by a family. They came up here last weekend and their daughter couldn’t let him go.” Charlie smiles happily and by the look of it, Hector is sure Charlie has done everything to ensure he’ll be treated kindly. 

The cat scratches his neck with his hind leg, making the tie become unraveled. Charlie only sighs heavily and ends up undressing the cat, letting Connie to only wear his collar. So, kids still visit this place every weekend, huh? No matter how much he wants to see Charlie, he can’t stand children getting all noisy and grabbing things with their clammy hands. He visited the cafe once, he couldn’t work and Charlie didn’t even have time to spend with him. It’s undesirable but if an important thing might happen to Charlie on the weekends, Hector considers to stop by and buy a coffee for a take away just to check up on him. Nothing too suspicious that way, right?

“You can get cats here?” While it sounds weird, Hector chooses simple phrases to sign so Charlie would understand. 

"Yes, absolutely. We've had several successful adoptions from here. Although not that much.” Charlie nods and pets the cat again, looks like he can’t dress him for a photoshoot but oh well, the white patches on Connie’s neck and chest makes him look like he is wearing a gray tuxedo anyway. “He is more like a dog than a cat, really. Not a lap cat but looks like it always depends on who will accept him the way he is, isn’t it? I mean, we'll miss him here, but knowing he'll have a loving family is what we strive for.”The barista lets the cat hops down to the floor and washes his hand and signs to Hector, “Coffee?”

Hector simply nods and points on the menu, Tuna Pastry in a cat shape. The tech worker sits on his usual spot and sets up his laptop and monitor. Charlie- He adds a note on his notepad to add an adoption page on his prototype, along with the cats’ profiles. Maybe that way people would be more interested in adopting them. In his mind, Hector flinches, suddenly remembering his time in the orphanage. He was a peculiar child, covered in bruises and cuts, couldn’t speak and was expressionless. He was aware that his silence set him apart, making him the weird kid in the orphanage. Some tried to approach him, both the children and adults but even if he could speak he saw no importance to interacting with them. Interacting with other people is the first step to get hurt and Hector has known it all along.  

While he kept his interaction to a minimum, he was always observant in the orphanage. He noticed how the other children feel sadness, loneliness, and a sense of abandonment due to the absence of their biological parents. As a light sleeper, he often woke up from a sniffled cry under his bunk bed.  Every time the visitors came up to the orphanage, some of the children wished to be adopted and be the best in their behavior, some assumed they were a lost cause and didn’t expect anything. To Hector it was a mixed feeling. Aside from wanting privacy so he didn’t have to share his personal space with others, he didn’t know what he wanted. He didn’t want to stay in the orphanage but he didn’t want to get adopted. He wanted to stay with his mother but at the same time he was afraid of her and now she was dead. The Edwards who snitched his mother wanted to adopt him but the idea of being with them made him think he also betrayed her. He wanted to run away but he had nowhere to go. Even if he didn’t want to be adopted, he didn’t realize he still has a longing for something he has never truly experienced—a place to call home, of feeling accepted.

Charlie, with his boundless energy and enthusiasm, unintentionally disrupted Hector's reflective moment by placing his orders on the table. As he sets down the coffee cups and pastries, he notices the distant look in Hector's eyes.

 "Hey, Hector," his fingers move uncertainly but his expression is filled with genuine care, "You okay? You look a little... off. Are you feeling sick?" 

Hector, still carrying the weight of his memories and the emotions they stir, hesitates for a moment. He appreciates Charlie's concern but isn't quite ready to reveal the depths of his past just yet. Still not looking at Charlie, he shakes his head, “I just need coffee,” Hector smiles thinly. Why does Charlie look so worried? Hector brushes any assumption in his head and decides to change the subject, “Have you told your boss about the website prototype?”

“Oh yes, I have, she loves the idea of it! I told her that people these days love to surf the internet before they go to places. Having a website will make it so much easier for cat lovers to find us, yes?” Charlie’s beaming smile once again pushes the gray clouds in Hector’s mind, even just for a while, Hector is relieved. “She also thinks it can be wise to invest in this.” 

Hector nods and then types, “I can add an adoption page for the cats, so we can get purrfect homes for them.” 

Charlie lets out a surprised laugh, unexpectedly, especially when Hector wrote it with such a flat expression. “I agree. Oh, and maybe we can add profiles to them, y’know like Tinder? and of course the captions will be full of cat puns. Our cook here is good with witty puns as well.”

Hector nods again, they are thinking the same thing, good. "I was thinking maybe we could add a section for customer reviews," Hector suggests, his eyes flickering to Charlie's for a brief moment before returning to the laptop. For practical reasons, Charlie, who usually sits in front of him, now takes a seat beside Hector so he can see the monitor better. He shifts his fake tail and puts it on his lap so it will be more comfortable when he sits. Hector finds it cute to the point he grips his own knees to restrain himself. 

Charlie clears his throat, his fingers reaching up to adjust the red-framed glasses perched on his nose. "That sounds like a good idea. We do get a lot of positive feedback." 

Hector's lips curl into a small smile as he nods. "What about a blog section where you can share stories about the cats and any events happening at the café?" 

Charlie's brows furrow slightly as he leaned in to get a closer look at the screen, their shoulders brush slightly. "Yes, that can be fun. People love reading about cats and Jamie has suggested that we can hold an event like movie night with cats."

Hector's heart races  with every word they exchange, he steals a quick glance at Charlie from his monitor, only to find Charlie's gaze already on him. Their eyes lock, and for a moment, the rest of the café seems to fade away, leaving just the two of them in their own world.

"So, what do you think of the layout?" Hector turns his gaze to the monitor, suddenly feels embarrassed and he praises to God his fingers are still steady enough to not make a typo, a stark contrast to the nervous fluttering in his chest. 

The barista blinks as if he is also entranced by the fleeting moment they had seconds ago. “It’s good, I mean, you've really outdone yourself. Marge will fall in love when she sees this and maybe Jamie has some ideas too. Is it possible if you can present it to us?"

Hector’s body tense imperceptibly, the thought of communicating face-to-face with a lot of people he doesn’t know, makes his heart race again but not in a good way like before. “You know I can’t speak.” 

“Ah, yes, of course.. I mean,  is there something I can help to accommodate you?” Charlie looks up to him worriedly. 

Hector frowns, nobody has ever said that to him, “Just tell them I have a condition and I will mostly type what I want to explain.”

“I will and don’t worry, I bet they can understand it.” Charlie nods reassuringly and awkwardly pats Hector’s shoulder, “Can I have your email or number? So we can… communicate better?” 

Hector sighs, trying to calm himself and takes Charlie’s phone to call his number, that way he also can have Charlie’s. 

“Thank you!” Charlie signs, then goes back to his voice, “You can tell me when you are ready to present it to us,  so no pressure, really!” 

Hector only nods and smiles thinly. As Charlie goes back to the bar the gray cloud comes back again, now with thunder and storm.  Hector exhales heavily, once again not realizing he has been holding his breath and tries to relax his shoulders, but it doesn’t work. He can feel his breath getting heavier as if the air becomes denser, each inhale feeling shallow and inadequate. His chest tightens, making it even harder to breathe. His body tenses, his muscles coiling in response to the stress that coursed through him. He wants to escape, to retreat to the comforting cocoon of his own solitude in his apartment, but the wave of anxiety keeps him rooted in his seat, like he is frozen. Hector glances around the cafe, his eyes darting from one person to another. Charlie is speaking to the cook through a small window between the bar and the kitchen, the other visitors are playing with the cats and another one is reading a book.  No one is paying attention to him but he feels like he is under the spotlight.  Contrast to his inner turmoil, his exterior looks so calm, maybe just like someone who is concentrating on his laptop. Meanwhile, His thoughts spin in chaotic circles, fueled by irrational fears of judgment and embarrassment.

The memories of his school days flood his mind. Hector remembers the times when he had stood in front of his classmates, unable to utter a single word to present his science experiment. He was looking everywhere except his classmate’s staring eyes. He had been working on the volcano soda for days, making sure everything was perfect with a little to none source he had. All eyes were directed to him, feeling the heavy gazes, silently judging him.  This happened before her mother's death, where he still dared to speak, only to his mother, but even then he couldn’t find his voice in front of a lot of people. If he made a mistake they would make fun of him, if he spoke they would ask questions or realize he didn’t use red paint but the beet he stole instead since he couldn’t ask her mother to buy paint. 

His teacher's frustrated sighs and the mocking nicknames his peers had bestowed upon him still echoed in his mind. He ended up beating the other kids so at least they could understand what his fists could do. The mockery stopped but he could still feel the judging stare on his back. His teacher finally accepted that he wouldn’t utter any word and as long as his scores were good, they couldn’t care any less.  Hector felt like an outcast, an oddity in a world where speaking was expected, and his inability to do so marked him as different.  Hector's hands begin to tremble, his body is in pain and he struggles to maintain his composure, now his elbow is put on the table, his hand holding his forehead, the other hand grips into a fist so it stops trembling. His heart races, each beat like a drum pounding out his fear. He feels a cold sweat forming on his brow, making his hand wet. He needs to calm down, just calm down, damnit!

As Hector's anxiety threatens to consume him, he feels a slight nudge on his thigh. He opens his eyes and finds Charlizard is butting his head then deliberately sitting on his lap. The cat’s weight is both grounding and comforting, along with its warmth. Hector sighs heavily, his body is still tense but he tries to take control of his hand and puts it on the cat’s head, just to feel its soft fur. The orange cat closes his eyes and begins to purr when Hector rubs the back of its ear. Gradually, Hector's focus shifts from the overwhelming noise in his mind to the calming presence of the cat. The repetitive motion of its purring seems to create a sense of rhythm in his body, guiding his breathing to a slower and steadier pace. The grip in his chest slowly begins to loosen and he can feel the oxygen surges to his body again. Now he can hear the low thrumming of the coffee machine, the background music of slow piano and the chattering from the other table. Hector leans his back against the sofa and tries to relax as he comes back to his sense. 

Hector continues to pet Charlizard on his lap, the weight of his earlier distress has lifted, but there’s a sense of extreme exhaustion in his body, as if he had run a marathon. Munday looks at his food and drink on the table, the aftermath makes him lose his appetite and decides to just take the food for take away. He glances back to his laptop and finds it’s already in sleeping mode. His anxiety attack might happen just for minutes but it feels like eternity to Hector. His body aches with the aftermath of the adrenaline surge, and he wishes he can just close his eyes and rest.

He forces himself to work but it’s hard for him to concentrate, like his head is still under the water. The coffee, which is his magical elixir, doesn’t even help. After a couple of moments, he shakes his head and realizes he can’t get anything done. He tidies up his things, pets the cat on his lap -who claws his pants as if wishing he won’t leave- and manages to walk to the counter. 

“You really look sick,” The barista frowns, “Is there something I could help?”

Hector shakes his head and puts his card on the table to pay. As Charlie types his bill, he feels a cat rubbing his legs. The sight of Charlizard sends a soothing wave to his mind. Hector can’t help but feel a connection with the cat that had comforted him during his anxiety attack. Its presence has provided him with calmness and a sense of security in that vulnerable moment. As he looks at the cat, he imagines how wonderful it would be to have such a calming presence in his own apartment. Munday takes the cat and puts him on the table, “Can I adopt him?”

“I’m sorry, but you can’t,” Charlie smiles apologetically and awkwardly adjusts his glasses. “Charlizard is my family’s cat and he is bonded with Mr. Holmes here.” 

Hector only sighs and continues to pet the cat, rubbing his throat and feels the gentle vibration of his purr. If only he could adopt the three of them… 

“He likes everyone but I think you are his favorite. But there are any other cats, you know? I’m sure they would love to be your companion,”  

Hector shakes his head again, he rarely wants something but when he does, he can’t rest until he gets it. “Why is he not with your family in C-o-r-n-w-a-l-l?”

“The flight is expensive and you know…,” Charlie switches back to vocalize his words. “I need some part of my family with me. Just so it will be less lonely.”

Hector tilts his head curiously, Charlie is so full of energy and talkative, he looks like he can befriend everyone he wants, and yet he still needs a presence of non-human. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to separate you from your cat.”  then, quickly he adds with an awkward smile, “It just mean I need to visit here more often,”

“And I like it when you come here,” as Charlie hands back his card, “Hector, I don’t mean to intrude you but is there something I can help?”

Hector’s body becomes tense again, Charlie probably has seen him in his vulnerable moment, maybe he is realizing there’s something wrong with him. In those moments of intense anxiety, he feels like his inner struggles were on display for the world to see, even though he tries his best to control his expression. Hell, he didn’t even cry back then but Charlie still notices it. Now, in the aftermath, he feels exposed in a different way, as if the raw nerves of his emotions were laid bare. He feels weak. “I’m fine,” 

“ Oh, Hector, I can call the cab, if you want? I see you come here by walking from the sidewalk. So maybe you don’t live that far? or... take the bus? I mean–” 

Hector only shakes his head and turns his back to the door, by not looking at Charlie he can’t see what he signs since it feels too much. He doesn’t like it when other people interfere with his well-being. They don’t know better, the first time he let someone help him, they took away his mother. 

“Tell me if you’re already home!” Hector can’t hear another word from Charles as he closes the door. The cold wind of October meets him, a stark contrast from the warmth of the cafe. The bustling city around him irks him and he fishes his earphone to play some comforting tunes.  Hector knows he needs this time alone to recuperate, to gather his thoughts, and to rest. It is a battle he has fought many times before, but it never got easier. As he enters his apartment, he feels a sense of relief wash over him. A place where he can be himself without the fear of judgment or the pressure to speak. He immediately lays his body on the bed, letting his bag just sprawled on the floor, where it’s usually inside of his cupboard. 

Hector closes his eyes, unbuttons the top of his shirt and takes a few more deep breaths, trying to clear his mind of the residual anxiety. He knows he needs to rest, both physically and mentally, to regain his composure. He’ll be fine, he hopes.  Late at night he will wake up and do his work, he’ll work better that way.  And as he lay down on his comfortable bed, he remembers he needs to text Charlie but he can’t find the energy to do so. Damn, that cafe makes him feel so many things, even brings back so many memories he wishes he could just buried deep in the center of the earth. But for now, in the quiet of his apartment, the sleep slowly kidnaps him from the racing thoughts in his head.  A small mercy.