#i worked with a local rescue as a foster for the babies that had to be bottlefed

[cosmically-caffeinated-owl]

Stop normalizing finding cats on the street more than any other domestic animal

ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE IN NORTH AMERICA QUIT IT feral cats are a HUGE ISSUE please please please treat a random cat on the street as you would a stray dog please call a local shelter or rescue and see if you can work with them

They can check for chips, so if it's a pet it can go home, they can spay/neuter and release if it's an adult feral and can't be made adoptable, or find it a home. Cats are adorable ecological disasters.

[irisbleufic]

YOUR 3 CATS ARE SO CUTE OMG! How old are they/what are their stories?

Like many young-ish queer married couples, @one-eyed-bossman and I entered the fast track to pet parenthood in 2020. I was still recovering from extensive cancer treatment at the time, which is part of what makes our first kitty especially meaningful to me.

ZEL

Zel is my darling girl. She’s now 5 years old, and when we adopted her in June of 2020, she was already 1 year old. After being rescued on the streets at a few weeks old with her two personable siblings, she spent an entire year at this lady’s house with like 20 other cats at any given time. She was feral and unapproachable, but somehow I was able to get close enough to her at the rescue to pick her up and put her in the carrier. She nailed me with her claws in the process, but that’s the only time she’s ever hurt me or anyone else. The day after we got her home, I stuck my hand behind the bed in her safe room, and she set her little paw square in my palm and left it there for about a minute. I spent a couple of months crawling halfway under the bed to pet her while she was curled in her bed, and eventually I could get her to follow me around the house by asking, “Do you want to go for a walk?” She barely left my side after that. I spent a lot of 2020 sick in bed; she always curled up snugly between my ankles or my knees. She’s now the smartest cat I’ve ever met. Her language recognition shocks me even after 4 years of having her as a silly little shadow who likes to play fetch with her pink-eared mouse toy. She’s stuck to my side any time I’m on the sofa, and about a month ago she climbed fully in my lap for the first time. Her meow is barely a whisper when she does use it (only to talk to me and occasionally to the TV), but the trills, squeaks, and yowls she makes to talk to her toys are hilarious. She doesn’t even talk to her siblings like that. Unlike many white cats, she is not deaf.

NICKY

We got Nicky a year after we got Zel; he was about 8 weeks old when we brought him home in June of 2021. We met a kind lady who periodically bred her lovely Bengal queens, and Nicky was somehow a “non-show-quality” (?!!) discount kitten. He’s sweet, goofy, vocal, afraid of everything/everyone that’s outside the house, and occasionally very naughty. We hoped he would bring Zel the rest of the way out of her shell, and it worked. He just adored her from day one. She took a few months to warm up to him, but they bonded pretty fast. Now, at 3 years old, he’s a big boy—17 pounds. He likes to stand/sit on laps more than he likes to lie down in them, although he will lie down in mine a couple times a week. He brings me granola bars from the cupboard and loves trash more than he likes his toys:

EMBER

We hadn’t planned on a third cat, but the universe insisted. I mean that quite literally. On 31 July 2022, my mother died at my sister’s place a couple of states away. The morning she died, me and my four siblings took a walk around my sister’s neighborhood. We split up and went slightly different ways; my sister and her husband called me as I was getting back to the house to say that a tiny, tiny crying kitten had run out of the bushes toward them. My sister didn’t know what to do; one of my nieces is very allergic, and we were all burnt-out from dealing with Mom’s passing and the funeral home taking away her body. I told her to bring the kitten back to the house, because I was too grief-stricken to let another thing die that day. Out on the porch, I fed her milk from one of the droppers we were using to give my mom morphine, all the while making desperate phone calls to local rescues. After about 3 hours, a local vet with specialty in caring for bottle baby kittens came to pick her up. She told me that, because I didn’t live too far away in the grand scheme of things, she could foster the baby until she was old enough for me to arrange transport to my home state. There was no way I could walk away from that little baby, so I got regular photos, videos, and updates from her foster mom until I could arrange transport about 5 months later (she came home in December of 2022). She has grown up to be the feistiest tortie I’ve ever met. She has far longer hair than I ever could have guessed, and even now that she’s 1.5 years old, she has very short legs (longer end of munchkin, our vet says!) and an overall smaller stature than her siblings. She fucking adores Nicky, and he has never once played too rough for her given the size disparity. He lets her chase him, jump on him, bap him into play fights, etc. She will cry and cry at night if we don’t pick her up and carry her around before we close the bedroom doors (they get to sleep in the bedroom sometimes, but not always; Nicky likes to knock picture frames off the wall in there, and I’m not about exposing them to broken glass).

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for wanting my sister to stop fostering animals?

So, I (23nb) live with my sister (28f) her boyfriend (31m) and their baby (1f). On january 1st of 2023, one of my sister's cats died after he developed feline leukemia and his condition rapidly deteriorated. My sister was hit pretty hard by it, which i dont judge her for at all. It was a hard thing to go through and im not gonna impune her for struggling with it.

The problem i have is that her primary method of coping with the cat's death has been to foster animals for a local rescue. Now, this on its own isn't a bad thing. I think its nice that she wants to help out, but one problem is that her boyfriend is gone the majority of the time for work, which means she has to take care of their kid on her own. I do my best to help her as much as possible, but I'm physically disabled and can't do nearly as much as i or she would like, and frequently am pushed past my limits when trying to help out

We had four cats and two dogs between the three of us before her cat died - two of the cats were hers - but one of the dogs had to be put down not long after her cat died due to advanced age and major health issues that couldnt be fixed. But my sister had started fostering even before the 2nd dog died, and after it did, my sister and her boyfriend adopted one of the fosters, bringing us back up to 2 dogs

Now, our cats primarily stay downstairs because they dont like the dogs - except for one of my cats - while the dogs are usually upstairs, which means my sister is also stuck taking care of two energetic adult male dogs as well as her infant. She hasn't stopped fostering animals - mostly dogs - since adopting the new one. Even without fostering animals, taking care of her baby and two dogs (i take care of the cats, and she the dogs) was already incredibly difficult and stressful for both her and i, and adding more foster animals that might be with us for months hasnt helped the workload any

Shes also obsessed with trying to foster cats, and jumps on the opportunity to foster any that become available - which doesnt happen very often - because she wants to find a new cat to replace the one that died. She even adopted a cat from a city about 9 hours south of us because she was hoping he would be an upstairs cat like the one that died, but decided she didnt want him anymore when he didnt turn out how she wanted (he's my cat now)

And now, we currently have 13 foster kittens upstairs that she brought home at midnight because my sister just couldn't say no when the rescue and shelter kept finding more cats that needed foster homes. She says she wants to adopt one of them, and has even picked out one that she likes (the one that looks the most like the cat that died). She also wants me to put the cat she decided she didnt want thats now my cat up for adoption, because her boyfriend doesnt want us to have more than 4 cats, and if she adopts one that will put us at 5 total

Tl;dr my sister wont stop fostering animals despite it only stressing her out because of how much responsibility it is to take care of multiple animals and a year old child, and has even asked me to get rid of one of my cats so she can get a new one to replace her cat that died. I think it would be best to stop, but she gets really upset and defensive whenever i suggest it

What are these acronyms?

[tragicbeauty1991]

Hemophiliac Dog in Need of Donations

Hi all,

Any of you who know me in real life know that animals are a huge part of my world, and I tend to take on the ones who need a little extra TLC.

A little over a year ago, I posted on here asking for some assistance with an emergency situation with one of my dogs, Rufio, who ended up getting a diagnosis of EPI. I’m happy to report that we now have his situation under control and he is doing so much better!

Unfortunately, we have had another emergency come up with Patrick, my hemophiliac dog.

This was Patrick as a baby. Animal control brought him in after finding him wandering on the streets with a large lump the size of a potato on his back between the shoulder blades. When I was fostering him, the vets initially thought it might be a tumor or something and sought to operate. It turned out to just be a giant hematoma (basically a bruise) instead and he nearly bled out from the surgery. It took three blood transfusions to get him stable. Hemophilia, however, isn’t super common in dogs so that’s not immediately where their minds went.

Fast forward a few months to when the rescue did his neuter…and he almost bled out AGAIN. Neuters are usually quick and simple and heal up easily. He bled for three days. I had pee pads soaked through with blood. Parts of my house looked like a murder scene. This was even AFTER the vets had tried cauterizing and stapling the area. It just WOULD NOT stop bleeding. His entire underside turned BLACK from all the bruising. (The pic below is from a later bruise but you can get the idea.)

Patrick has been fortunate in that since we adopted him, most of his issues have been manageable at our local vet up until this point. A few days ago, however, my hyper, lovable goofball who usually will dash for a piece of food the second it hits the floor decided that he did not feel like getting up for breakfast.

He went from “I am going to drag mom after this squirrel across the yard” to “I don’t want to even get up to pee unless I REALLY have to.” And then he stopped showing interest in CHICKEN. And even though there weren’t any outward signs of a bleed, I knew something was VERY wrong. We rushed him to the emergency vet yesterday where they did a bunch of imaging (x-rays, ultrasounds, and a CT) to determine the possible cause of the bleed in his abdomen and gave him some much-needed blood transfusions and cryoprecipitate.

He’s on the mend and will hopefully be coming home soon…but the total cost for this is going to be somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000. Fortunately, the rescue we worked with when fostering him—Too Broke Girls Dog Rescue basked out of upstate South Carolina—has been willing to help fundraise. If you can help donate ANYTHING we would be incredibly grateful. You can donate directly to the rescue’s PayPal (toobrokegirls19@gmail.com) or Venmo (@toobrokegirls) and specify that it’s for Patrick. You can also go to their Facebook page and use the donate button on a post they shared about him.

[dooksofearl]

SQUEAK SPEAK

Monthly newsletter for Dooks of Earl Ferret Sanctuary Inc

Happy April and Greetings to Everyone!

Much excitement at our little rescue this month and I can't wait to tell you.

Thanks to my income tax check coming in our fundraising goal for between now and May 1st is only $768.00

That will cover

The rescues regular bills like; utilities ($280 on average since our HVAC is still out, but we are hoping someone is coming to fix it soon), and pet foods ($488). I have managed to raise enough to cover the other bills and supplies from my income tax check. And of course, none of this is for me personally nor do I get paid for the work I do. It's not about me, it's about these animals and making their lives amazing for however long they have left.

Other needs that the rescue has not included in this list are:

As always, Pine pellets from Tractor Supply Company, we go through about 30 bags a month.

The blue dishes we got last time will be added back to our list because they are working so well for our sweet seniors and tiny ferrets in helping them eat in a more natural position.

We still have a short wishlist with links to these items on Amazon. The pine pellets I just listed tractor supply gift cards because they don't sell the pellets through Amazon for delivery.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/63ZMinE?ref_=wl_share

I also want to remind everyone that you can pick us as your Walmart.com round up charity and that you can send gifts from our Walmart registry and Chewy Registry if you'd like.

https://www.walmart.com/nonprofits/7a69297c-7cb2-4cb9-a70f-3eaedd738ef4/profile

https://www.chewy.com/g/dooks-of-earl-ferret-sanctuary-inc_b103217538

We still need fence panels for an outdoor dog kennel yard if anyone has any locally they'd like to drop off. And if you are throwing out any 13 gallon kitchen trash cans or plastic bins of any size we would be thrilled to have them.

We currently have 11 ferrets in amazing foster homes so our population here is becoming very manageable for me AND we have 4 new volunteers!!!!! We are so happy to welcome Michael, his wife, and his mom to our team. They will be coming soon to help me get things back to tip top shape and I greatly appreciate it.

And an amazing girl named Michal who came yesterday and spent the day helping me. The ferrets were crazy about her and you know Keiko was too. The bunnies warmed right up to her but they are very friendly girls. Mr Maru gave her the tour till his house was finished then he had to go see what I had done and grab snacks. Cal the sugar glider, slept through it all. But what delighted me most was Mr. Spooky. Our shy, bite first ask questions later guy, went right to her and cuddled her. WOW He is still having a hard time with Justin not being here. Ferrets grieve just like us and he was really close to his dad the Ferret King. He gave me kisses and now this. It makes me so excited and emotional for him.

There was a minor set back for me medically as I have a new allergy, possibly to Stevia. Of course I try to do something good for my health and now I look like I have rolled in bees. If you don't know, this is not a surprise. Lol But I got some medicine for the hives and hopefully will be feeling much better very soon. Until then if you see me dancing against the doorway like a bear, just walk away. 😂

I'm through infusion 3 of 8. YAY! And I have a surgery consultation coming up finally so I am hopeful that it goes well and we can get a date for surgery. 🤞

I have a potential part time job as a virtual assistant and I am truly excited about that. And we are looking at setting up the trailer for a rental so that I can generate a little income and start paying off old debt and getting back on my feet again.

The three month anniversary of losing Justin was really hard on me but I want to thank everyone for their abounding kindness and support. Some days you and these rescue babies are all that gets me through to the next day. I am so grateful to have you in my life.

I also want to mention if you don't get a thank you note and receipt for your donation or some sort of confirmation, please check with me to make sure we received it. I always send a thank you note if it lets me and if you use cashapp I send a heart.

You are awesome and amazing and greatly appreciated. I could not do what I do if you weren't here supporting us and cheering me on. I hope the blessing that you are comes back to you ten fold. Have an amazing month!

Shelly Breeden-Conner

Executive director

Dooks of Earl Ferret Sanctuary Inc

731-326-0690

Tax ID 88-0945277

Donations can be made in app at:

https://www.jotform.com/app/213234930973154

Zelle and PayPal

dooksofearlferretsafehaven@gmail.com

Venmo @DooksofEarl

Cashapp $dooksofearl

Checks or money orders can be mailed to:

Dooks of Earl Ferret Sanctuary Inc

4826 US HIGHWAY 70 E

BROWNSVILLE, TN 38012-8412

[johnbierce]

People really liked the photos of my cats, so I guess I should officially should introduce them? Fair warning, some sad kitten stuff in the post. (More cute and happy stuff, though.)

So we've got three cats: Seth, Cairo, and Hathor. They're all Vietnamese street cats we mostly adopted via fostering from a local shelter. (I live in Vietnam, I love it.)

Seth, the ginger, is the oldest (1 year old) and biggest of the three. He is incredibly attached to the other two, and is an extremely protective, loyal big brother.

- Lets kittens nurse on him, will let the kittens steal his food.

- He's addicted to dried fish. ADDICTED. He will bite your fingers if you don't give him his dried fish fast enough. Will NOT share his dried fish with the kittens.

- Loves belly rubs to a ridiculous degree. I've given him 34 minute belly rubs before. (I timed it.) Just full on both direction belly rubs, to a level that would satisfy dogs.

- Very smart cat. Stole the brain cells from all the other gingers.

- Handsome, kind gentleman. Very polite. Slow blinks whenever he sees us.

- Chatty.

- nose and toe beans are so pink that we constantly fear Anish Kapoor coming for them

Hathor, the tortie, is the youngest and smallest. I doubt she weighs more than two kg, and doesn't seem to be growing any more.

- Very smart. TOO SMART. Opens drawers. Hunts everything. Commits crime. Loses her collar constantly. Possibly trading it for crime related tools?

- Loves being carried like a baby.

- Tolerates belly rubs.

- Sploots

- Bleps more than the vast majority of cats

- Follows Seth everywhere, nurses on him (pretty sure she thinks he's her mom?)

- Very chatty. Not afraid to yell when needed.

- Grooms and is groomed by Cairo a lot

- Our only non-foster- adopted her from a lovely couple that rescued her mom and siblings off the street. (Street life is TOUGH for cats in Vietnam.)

- very shy around strangers

- likes high places, like atop the kitchen cabinets

- Did I mention the crime?

- murders more lizards and bugs than the others combined. Also birds. And a bat once.

And then we have Cairo. The middle cat both by size and age. He is... a fuzzy little grumpy dumbass with a tragic backstory.

- When he and his brothers were discovered, two of the three were stuck in a concrete drain pipe and had to be rescued by a work crew with power tools. The third was stuck in a bush nearby, and could have easily escaped by simply backing up. Guess which one Cairo was?

- We only fostered two of them, the original foster intended to keep the third, who was a special needs kitty (back injury, would be months or years before he could have walked.) Tragically, all three were infected with FIV, and both of Cairo's brothers passed away from it. However, we managed to catch Cairo's symptoms in time, and the vets here in Vietnam have an actual functioning treatment for FIV, and Cairo pulled through just fine! (The treatment is NOT cheap, takes months, and is only effective if you catch the FIV in time, which we just barely did. Cairo had to spend two weeks staying at the vets in intensive kitten care.)

- We didn't originally intend to keep Cairo, but after losing his brother and almost losing him, yeah, we foster failed hard.

- Did I mention Cairo is NOT smart?

- Hyper food-motivated

- Has a raspy voice like a pack-a-day-smoker, even when he was a tiny kitten.

- Excellent at grooming himself, very classically handsome.

- When play fighting the others, his only strategy is to open his mouth as wide as possible and lunge straight at the others. He, uh, never wins. Not even against Hathor, who is TINY.

- Our cuddliest kitten

- Spotty belly, which, sadly, he doesn't enjoy having rubbed

-Likes to nurse on my shorts. Very cute, but very painful, because he kneads his claws into my thighs. And I have, on multiple occasions, answered the door for deliveries with a big kitten drool patch on my shorts that looks just like I wet myself. And I don't speak Vietnamese (and even moreso not the local dialect), so I can't explain that it's just cat drool. 😥

- Always confused at how Hathor and Seth manage to climb tall things.

- Confused about most things, really.

- SCREAMS. Cairo hungry? Screams. Cairo wants in the office with the AC? Screams. Wants to nurse on my shorts? Screams. Very effective communicator.

- Grumpy little grumbler. Constantly complaining about something or other in his raspy little voice. Is he being picked up or pet when he didn't ask to be? IT'S THE WORST THING EVER DONE TO ANY CAT EVER

- Has never been fed. Ever. Not once in his life.

You might have noticed that there are, in fact, FOUR cats in the top photo.

The fourth cat isn't ours, he's just a neighborhood cat that enjoys hanging out at our place and annoying us. We call him Vegemite, and he:

- Meows constantly, even at the other cats, to their confusion and annoyance. They don't like him, but tolerate his presence. (Except Hathor, who smacks him in the face ten times a day. Not hard, and no claws, but she doesn't want him right next to her.)

- Had to be trained not to steal our cats' food. (We feed him separately from them- dude was SKINNY when he first started coming around. Not our cat, but dude needed a good meal or three.)

- Un-neutered, and sprays our house sometimes. Has peed on my wife's laptop MULTIPLE times.

- Still trying to figure out who his actual owner is? If he doesn't have one, we're going to get him neutered and get him shots. He was way too friendly to be a full-on stray, though, strays in Vietnam are NOT friendly. (The ones that are get stolen for the pet meat trade, which is a really fucked up industry that almost everyone in Vietnam hates, outside its small customer base. News reports of pet thieves being severely beaten are not uncommon here.)

Anyhow, kitties! They're very good, and we love them very much!

[pastries-and-pokemon-cafe]

Suppose I should make a personal intro post before I start posting business stuff.

Hello, my name is Scotti, he/him pronouns. I own the Pastries and Pokémon Café in Castelia City. We're not like, super popular yet since we just opened fairly recently, but I'm trying to help find Pokémon from the local shelter some good homes and I figured I could put my baking to use to kind of help make that happen?

Oh, I know I say "we" a lot when I talk about the café and that might be confusing since I'm the only human working there, but that's because three of my own Pokémon help me with the food and drink prep! Custard, my sweet baby boy Alcremie, helps me take orders and assigns the 'mons from the shelter to partner up with customers for their meals. He has a good sense for which 'mons might make a good match for which people. I don't know how he does it! Bruleé, my Quilava, does the drinks. She makes the best cup of coffee I have ever had, and customers love when she perks her head over the counter to watch them drink her creations. Finally, Macaron, my Slurpuff, helps me with the patisserie aspects of the café. He's a very sweet little man who loves to make berry tarts, and he definitely has never once snuck a few berries for himself while decorating them!

Recently as part of my deal with the Castelia Pokémon Rescue, I've begun fostering one of their "Problem 'Mons" to help show my customers that any Pokémon is adoptable as long as they find the right trainer, but... Well, to put it lightly, you might see a lot of vent posts about a certain little bastard in the future. I won't say names for now, but you'll know.

Anyways, yeah, that covers it. Welcome to the blog!

[wiithstars]

❀ *ﾟ park chaeyoung. librafeminine. she/they. bisexual biromantic. ⇝ hey, isn’t that annaki pallas-dexicos / mae danbi? i think that the thirty year old from meteora, greece works as receptionist at happy villagers vet clinic, but outside of that people describe them as the happy sigh of a sleeping dog, the smell of recently bloomed flowers, and cozy oversized sweaters. i hear they are naive & quick to forgive, but they are also known to be amiable & considerate. consider giving them a visit at their home in delilah’s den gated community and get to know why they’re called the sweetie pie. 

trigger warnings for intro: child abuse, bullying, death

It’s not an event she remembers, but as a baby, Annaki was left with her brother’s on the doorstep with reckless abandon. While the family of that doorstep did step up to take in the children, they were lucky with the doorstep chance had brought them to.

The Pallas-Dexicos were a family suffering from poverty, with barely enough food to feed the extra mouths they took in, and then turning to use those children as a way to get favors by making the children suffer, drawing more guilt from the community who had no idea the parents were behind it. Being diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1 at a young age, Annaki would have her insulin withheld from her, putting her into insulin shock on multiple occasions as the young girl was put in through confused agony. The only thing that hurt her more than the abuse she suffered was watching her brothers in pain by the same hands, always wanting to curl up in their arms no matter which one of the three was hurt that day.

Eventually, Child Protective Services finally stepped in to help the three of them, who were then transferred to Manchester’s foster care. Separated from the only two people she knew actual love from, Annaki was bounced from house to house, never making much connections with the families until the age of thirteen. A family who she would stay with for almost three years had taken her in, and Annaki finally felt she found a family who would truly love and care for.

She was sadly wrong, as they would later return her into the foster care system. This betrayal was internalized as she hadn’t thought she did anything wrong or to upset them, yet she was returned like a purchase at a store. But Annaki always saw the best in people, even after what she had endured, so she believed it had to be something about herself that behind what had happened.

Most of her time was spent just trying to survive the brutalities of the foster care system and the constant switching of schools. Going to school was barely an escape from the ever-changing foster home she would return to as she faced bullying from her peers. Her optimism when it came to others made her an easy target for girls to pretend to be her friend when in reality, they were mocking her to her face and behind her back. Annaki usually couldn’t tell the difference between a genuine and ridiculing friendship, desperate for some kind of amity since she was so detached from those she lived with.

When she finally turned eighteen, she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Eventually she would follow her brothers, who she finally was able to reconnect with, to Anchorage and was still looking for a job she truly enjoyed after working mostly retail positions for the years prior. Coming across a request for a vet position at the local animal hospital, Annaki jumped on it, the idea of being surrounded by animals all day sounding desirable. She was hired and has had the job for a a few years now, even if she annoys those around her by suggesting adoption any time one of the shelter animals comes in.

She has a dog of her own, not a rescue, as he is a Diabetic Alert Dog who is trained to know by scent when there is a change in her blood sugar. Mochi is usually with Annaki wherever she goes.

Personality-wise, Annaki is a very extroverted and cheery person, despite all she has been through. She can sometimes lack when it comes to intelligence and is easily manipulated, but it is only because she still has her heart open to those around her, knowing there’s good people out there even if she has had the misfortune to have many of the opposite in her life. She can be quite talkative but takes an interest in what others have to say and will remember things that are only mentioned in passing. She prefers to spend her time around people rather than be alone and, when she is alone, needs her dog close by.

[crysta-cub]

I'm Back

Soooo it's been a hot second since I have posted anything on Here. About 2 years or so... Soooo a little update on life seems to be needed.

I found a guy... Yep after 8 to 10 year or so of not having any relationships other than one night stands I finally encountered a guy that was interested in sharing his life with mine... We both attended a mutual friends wedding (I was a bridesmaid) and he was smitten as my friend called it... We did a little long distance relationship thing. Then he bought a house so me and my dog Eevee could move in with him... We got engaged last Christmas and we just got married on November 5th (remember remember the 5th of November).

So this guy I'm now married to. He already had a cat named Chelsea and it took a while for her to get used to Eevee. Eevee is enthusiastic about meeting cats and Chelsea was once a feral cat who enjoys not being chased. They have come to a mutual understanding. Chelsea is sweet but doesn't care for being picked up.

At first I got a job working at a distribution center loading freight trucks... At night... It was an interesting gig but not what I wanted to do with my life. The hunt for a job I desired was on... And guess what. I now work at a local SPCA. My dream has always been to work with animals and I finally get to do some rescue work.. doesn't pay much but I have been a part of many happy endings. I have fallen in love with soooo many animals here and love seeing them go to great homes.

And this has lead to new additions to our family.

I knew Eevee needed a dog friend so that she'd stop bugging Chelsea all the time and had someone she could play with. I had to wait til we were ready as well as wait for a month due to a requirement from the shelter but this last January we adopted a sweet old soul of a boy that we named Harvey. I like to joke that he retired at the age of two and has country music as his background music. He's not as energetic as Eevee but he is all love and a soft whoo boi. (I love his howls)

Then my parents sold their place and moved in with us until they found their new home. It was nice having them over and not having to cook and clean for a bit. They're retired and my mom still likes to keep busy. At my work someone abandoned a box of 3 week old kittens and I jumped on the opportunity to foster them. Well my mom ended up doing most of the work so I could sleep but we raised them up to happy healthy kittens but only one was a special CH (aka wobble) kitten. We named her Freya and Freya stole our hearts and was the only kitten to decide that Eevee was her dog mother and would go out of their room to seek out Eevee specifically. Eevee wanted to mother all the kittens and Chelsea wanted nothing to do with them. Harvey just looked at us for help if they got close. Freya is growing like a weed and is all mischief and chaos (and we can pick her up and hold her whenever we want)

My parents have moved out and I'm back to doing the adulting but my stories are still running through my head and the itch to write and create is returning. I'm working on one short story I've been wanting to put out for the longest of time. Should be finishing that up soon (maybe today, we'll see)

Enjoy my little menagerie of fur babies

[bufomancer]

Assorted Critter Updates

So after my partner and I move we’re going to have essentially a test litter of soft furs to see how things go. All of the resulting babies will stay with us for life unless one of our local rodent friends specifically falls in love with a couple.

All the planning and theoretical thinking in the world doesn’t fully prepare you for the realities of breeding. It certainly helps, but it’s not a guarantee.

So after we move we’ll set up the adult enclosures for the resulting babies, get a female or two from a local pet line breeder, and we’re thinking Palamedes (the youngest badger face boy) will be the father. He’s a sweet, friendly guy who is good with handling.

If we do end up breeding long term I would want to buy soft furs from other pet line breeders in different areas to add to my gene pool and prevent severe inbreeding, but I don’t want to go to all that trouble and spend all that money if we end up deciding after a few litters that breeding isn’t for us. So we’re starting with one litter using the best of what’s local to us, and we’ll see how it goes from there.

And at the same time we plan to foster hamsters for the local hamster rescue (possibly gerbils and/or mice too, since they take in those as well, but knowing us... if we foster mice we’re going to end up keeping them.) as well as make improvements to the habitats of our permanent residents, and keep an eye out for reptiles and amphibians in need of a temporary safe place until a suitable forever home can be found.

Cardamom is doing very well with his healing. I actually now think that Florian is the issue, as I saw him chase Dracula and bite his butt seemingly unprovoked last night, so Florian has been separated and I will at least attempt slow reintroductions of Cardamom to Clover and Dracula. If that doesn’t work, I’ll likely split off some of my female mouse colony so he isn’t totally by himself.

Florian will probably remain by himself. He is quite old, he’ll be two in June, and with his eye problems this will make it easier to catch him for his daily medications. I don’t really want to go through the stress of reintroducing him to a new group of soft furs right now.

Wonder’s growths are getting a bit larger and are in a position where if they keep growing they’ll start inhibiting her movement. She is quite old already, but at least right now is still active and bright. Both of the mice I adopted her off craigslist with have long since passed so I’m pleasantly surprised she’s stuck around this long anyways. I’ll be sad to see her go but once she can’t run around like she loves to it just won’t be fair to keep her with us.

Ricearoni has been on a bit of a hunger strike with our terrible weird back and forth weather but I’m hoping that’ll end soon now that it seems to be warming up for good. Niobe has been unaffected as far as I can tell, no missed meals. She even took a quail.

Freak wasn’t in his usual spot under his water dish today. I didn’t dig around for him, I will eventually if I don’t see him but I’m hoping he’s feeling more settled in and comfortable and that’s why he’s not just sticking to his preferred burrow.

I haven’t seen Boots in a while as she’s at my mom’s until the move but I need to go over there once my work schedule goes back to normal (we had a callout all week so everyone has been working OT to compensate but hey more $$ for critter stuff) to check on her and to work on the background for Ricearoni’s adult enclosure too. Hopefully I’ll see her, my mom isn’t awake/home much during Boots’ active hours but she’s been eating and all her maintenance is taken care of. I’ll check on her as soon as I’m able to.

The cats are enjoying the warmer weather (since now I can keep windows open for them to sniff) but not enjoying me working so much. I’ll take them out on the harness when I’m able.

I want to revamp Meryt’s enclosure when we move but beyond that he is doing well.

Katie has been out more lately so I may do some more work on hand taming her, but it’s not too important to me since she’s mine. The foster hamsters will get socialized so that they’re more adoptable but I don’t really care much about whether I can pet my own hamster or not.

[theramseyloft]

Pigeon rescue being shut down for “Keeping nuisance animals” needs help finding homes for their birds.

From Tutu.Pigeon’s instagram;

https://www.instagram.com/tutu.pigeon/ 

Hi everyone, I don't even know how to write this post and my heart aches saying this. Our next door neighbors complained about the availability in our backyard and the Garfield NJ health department came to shut us down. 

We have a week to re-home our beautiful rescues and I've been working night and day to find them new homes. 

I've been summoned to court for the following violations: 1. Keeping of animals considered a public nuisance, 2. Having a coop that's too close to my home and the neighbor (needs to be 25 feet or more away), and 3. Having a wild bird feeder that is open. 

Apparently, we needed a permit to have the pigeons and the city is not allowing me to remedy the situation and apply for a permit. 

We do not have enough room in the yard to move the aviary (it has to be taken down) and as renters, our landlord would not be happy about all the pigeons in the home. We are cornered, and it is another reminder that people really do not understand or appreciate pigeons. 

How can animals inside their cage bother anyone? We are heartbroken and will do whatever possible to keep Tutu as a pet. 

We have been blessed to have people step up to help us, and we are arranging to drive all over the United States to find the birds placement in sanctuaries. 

If you would like to support us in any way, please donate to our fundraiser (link in bio) so we can make the necessary trips to Vermont, Oklahoma, and other neighboring states. It will be multiple days of driving but our beautiful rescues deserve another chance. 

Thank you all for the love you've shown us and we will continue to run this page as best we can. I think there is much work to be done to fix people's perception about pigeons and so so many innocent animals that need saving. 

Our disabled pigeons have been granted temporary asylum upstate NY while they find forever homes. As I write this, Beaker, Doll, Minion, Slate, Ally, Dove, and Farble (our disabled pigeons) are on their way to a new life. 

10/3/20

Hi everyone, I wanted to update you on our situation. We are still actively re-homing our beautiful birds. Yesterday, 7 of our disabled/sick pigeons (Beaker, Ally, Slate, Dove, Minion, Farble, Doll) were transported upstate NY to a safe haven while we find permanent placement. The wonderful Sue from @themiafoundation is taking care of "The Jersey Seven" and set them up in their own beautiful room where they are comfortable (pic 9 and video 10). You probably already know of Sue, her pigeon and puppy combo have won the hearts of many! (picture 8). Yesterday were able to find a great home for our beautiful one-eyed Grover with @pidgey.fred. Grover immediately went on her new mommy's shoulder and I believe she's probably still sitting there 😆 We have lined up more permanent homes for our pigeons but still have 16 pigeons that need placement. We are planning our multi-state trip and need your support to make this happen. There are people interested in adopting our birds in California, Washington, Florida and Oklahoma. If you can support us, please donate to our link in our Bio. We appreciate everyone's help and support thus far. You have been so very kind to us. The GoFundMe link is new, specifically for re-homing, so I can share updates on there about our trip. If we can make this happen, you will be able to see pics and videos of our destinations and the Pigeon's new homes. ♥️

10/5/20

Today we say goodbye to our aviary, and the so many beautiful moments we have captured. I'm blessed to have crossed paths with these beautiful creatures and been able to save them. I will keep fighting to secure them a good life, we will not give up on them. Our babies have struggled enough in their early lives and I can only hope they will all find loving homes. Thank you for your donations, it means the world to us. Please continue to support us on our GoFundMe (link in Bio). We are also blessed to have a friend who is taking the aviary and our babies until we can adopt everyone out. This buys us some time. You have all been so generous with us. Even though at moments it doesn't feel like it- the world does have good people and when we stick together we achieve the impossible.

10/15/20

Hi everyone, just wanted to update you all on the aviary takedown and this entire situation. We have successfully relocated the aviary to our friend's home a few hours away. It took us two days of taking it apart, getting some help with the lifting and then reassembling it at it's new location. It was a stressful time for the birds as they spent most of this time in their boxes and carriers. Their new safe haven is quiet and beautiful with lots of other animals such as chicken and ducks roaming in a private yard. If you recall, this is the place we rehomed Sophie (renamed Quinn) when Tutu couldn't get along with him. The last pics and videos show the aviary that Quinn lives in with friends. Our birds are being kept at this location while we secure safe homes for them. Our friend is very kind and is making updates to the aviary to make it more spacious, since the birds are a bit cramped. Here, we had an indoor room that they used as well. In the video you can see that we installed a smaller cage to the end of the aviary which the birds seem to be enjoying. With regards to adoptions, we have secured a handful of new homes and even found a great person in CA willing to adopt most of our babies. Our special needs birds such as Beaker remain upstate and have vet appointments coming up. Dove (the beautiful white wedding release bird) has been successfully rehomed after recovering from her sickness. This week we are planning to rehome in NC and GA and are driving down from NJ. Next week we will rehome in CT. Finally, we still need to raise enough money to take the week long trip to CA.

10/16/20

Hi friends, our babies are being pampered in their foster home. We've installed an extra flight cage to make them more comfortable since they've been a bit cramped in the aviary without their indoor room. Look how everyone is settling in. We estimate that it will be a few weeks before we can make our CA trip where almost all of our remaining birds are being rehomed. We still have 6 birds upstate recovering and not yet ready for adoption. Recently Dove (the wedding release pigeon) was adopted out! For us to make the Cali trip, we need to reserve an RV since it's roughly 5 days of driving each way. It will be quite impossible to check into a hotel with our birds. 😅 We will also need the room for several cages and to be able to clean the cages and keep everyone happy and fed. We need to purchase more cages and pads. The rental costs $200 a day, plus gas/tolls. We have donations saved but estimate we need another $1,700 to make this trip happen. Please help us by donating or sharing our GoFundMe campaign (link in Bio).

10/17/20

Rehoming Trip Day 1: We are driving South to North Carolina today and rehoming some of our turtles in a beautiful pond setup (we've rescued 13 turtles through the years). @tani.turtle. We will then continue down to South Carolina where we should arrive by midnight. We are driving 12 hour days this weekend. Tomorrow we plan to rehome another turtle and also our pigeons in Georgia before heading back up to SC again for the night. Day 3 will consist of driving back home. In the meantime, we have tons of cameras set up so we can keep an eye on everyone at home and so we can talk to Tutu through the monitor. Thank you all for chipping in and help us fund our trip down South. We plan to make a couple trips to rehome more locally in Connecticut and keep saving up for our Cali trip which should conclude our rehoming. From there we will continue to place our special needs birds as they complete their recovery. 

We have quarantine spaces open here at The Ramsey Loft, if needed, but they seem to have fosters covered and, understandably, they would prefer their remaining pigeons to go straight to their adoptive homes.

If any one is looking to adopt a pigeon, please contact them via  Facebook messenger (https://m.me/yazmin.feliz) instagram page (@tutu.pigeon), or text  646-705-8047

[maiashq]

     helllooo  again,  cuties  !  lenny  back  at  it  with  another  intro,  this  time  for  baby  maia.  as  always,  everything  about  mai  is  below  the  cut,  please  like  or  reach  out  if  you  wanna  plot  !

* ✼:♡*ﾟ✿ ↝  jessica vu . cis female . she/her .  ／  maia sallows is blasting sunflower, vol. 6 by harry styles again … ugh , i swear they play that song every single day ! you’d think they’d learn how to pipe down . oh , you don’t know them ? they live in apartment 3B . i haven’t talked to them much , but i know that they’re twenty one years old , and that they’ve been living in the complex for one and a half years . i always run into them when they’re coming back home from bob & rue’s , and they seem really passionate and materialistic . maybe you’ll have better luck with the cancer than i do .

*  𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒  .

full name  :  maia adrienne sallows

nickname  :  mai ( pronounced like “ my ” )

age  /  dob  :  twenty one  /  july 1 , 1999

gender  /  pronouns  :  cis female / she, her

sexuality  :  pansexual

occupation  :  twitch streamer / social media influencer

*  𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘  .

little mai was born in vietnam, but her birth parents lived in poverty and made the difficult decision to put their daughter up for adoption, wanting to give her the best chance at life. being an adorable bundle of sunshine, mai was quickly scooped up by a young couple living in vancouver, canada.

her adoptive parents decided to honour her heritage by naming her maia.

maia never really realized she was different from her very caucasian parents when she was very young, they were always just mom and dad. but as she grew older, her peers began pointing out her asian features and maia’s eyes were opened to her differences.

her parents never really knew how or when to have the “ you’re adopted ” conversation, but things were made easy for them when maia came home from fourth grade one day and popped the question, but not much really changed within the sallows house after that. and as she grew older, she began to properly understand the concept and how lucky she was to have parents who chose to give her a life full of happiness and health.

the sallows own and run a local animal rescue shelter, so maia has known compassion and benevolence her whole life. she grew up playing with young puppies and kittens, and rehabilitating scared animals. the shelter was a short walk from both the sallows home and maia’s schools, so she grew up spending a lot of her free time working in the shelter.

along with her passion for animals, maia fostered a passion for make up and beauty as she grew up. throughout high school, maia began posting her beauty looks on instagram and by the time she graduated, maia had grown quite a following.

instead of going off to college like most of her friends, maia began working more at the animal shelter and growing her online presence. eventually, she found herself streaming on twitch after revealing to her followers her secret obsession with video games. that was when she skyrocketed. she actually just recently hit 500k followers on twitch and continues to grow her channel as she plays in popular among us lobbies and also streams her usual content of animal crossing, overwatch, resident evil, and more.

can’t lie, my main inspiration for maia’s gaming has been my increased viewership of streamers like hafu, fuslie, wolfabelle, and valkyrae! fuslie is my biggest inspiration, with her cute, funny, and outgoing on-cam personality, but i also wanted to draw on wolfabelle’s less “ girly ” catalogue of games.

maia finally moved away from home in early 2019 and moved into opal apartments. she considers herself a full-time content creator now, but still helps out at the animal shelter whenever she can.

*  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑  .

i imagine maia as a combination of phoebe buffay, mary poppins, monica geller, and taylor swift’s lover era. she’s the sunshine poking through cotton candy clouds, that feeling of euphoria when you see a little puppy walking down the sidewalk, the childlike innocence of watching your favourite disney movie.

she’s the mom friend of the group, but also the baby. she’ll hold you hair back after a night out, bake you cookies after a break up, and get riled up like a baby lion if someone is mean to you — all while simultaneously being too soft for her own good and needing her own cookies because she be getting her heart broken every other week.

everyone is her best friend. she’ll do anything for them, which is also her greatest downfall. break her heart, and she’ll apologize for the inconvenience — but break her friend’s heart and she’ll drop kick you into another galaxy. she soso protective of those she loves, but could channel some of that protectiveness towards herself.

the bitch is always dolled up. she loves makeup, can talk about it until your ears fall off, and will show up to everything in full beat. she loves to experiment and has a lot of fun doing other people’s makeup. she’s also your go-to skin care / self care bitch. she knows all the best formulas ( hyram who ? ) and she’ll gladly let you borrow anything from her full stocked collection.

she can most often be caught enjoying the outdoors during the day. she loves sunshine, going for walks, and finding cute new cafes or boutiques to shoutout on her instagram. she also has no shame stopping in the middle of the sidewalk for a mini insta shoot, so be prepared to become a personal photographer if you hang out with her.

at night, you’ll catch her on twitch, streaming until her neighbours yell at her to shut up. her aesthetic is that hella cute pink and white light up shit. the makeup usually doesn’t come off until after the stream is over, and she loves her chat so much, it’s adorable how much her mood can brighten once she starts the stream.

*  𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐒  .

wanted plots

statistics

pinterest

[theasteriae-arc]

FINN LAFFERTY.

FULL NAME: Finn Eoin Lafferty 

FACE CLAIM: Ben Rosenfield 

BIRTHDAY: January 1, 1996 

GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cis male & he / him 

ORIENTATION: Homosexual  

RESIDENCE: Oxford, England 

STATUS: Secondary; Available 

BIO & VERSES UNDER THE CUT. Trigger warning for child abandonment. 

In the early hours of New Year’s Day, 1996, Antoinette Lafferty stumbled out of The Village Inn in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, after sinking one too many pints in the run up to midnight. She stood outside for a couple of minutes, then decided to take a walk up the lane in an attempt to clear her head. When she reached the gate of the old churchyard, some way down, she paused and stood there with her elbows propped up on the wooden posts. Wind stirred the leaves that made up the hedgerows on either side of the road. The storm of the previous night had abated somewhat, but it was still snowing, small white flakes drifting down from the leaden sky. The bells in the chapel over the hill tolled the hour—2 a.m.—and she imagined the nuns shuffling from their cells, through the draughty halls for Matins. When the sound faded away, the lanes were peaceful for a moment, and then Antoinette was surprised to hear a baby crying close by.

At first, she thought she was imagining it—was it the breeze, had she had simply had too much to drink? But no, there it was again. She’d know that sound anywhere, because she had two boys of her own at home, Daniel, who was four and loved dinosaurs, and Sean, who was not yet nine months old and still got her up two or three times a night. Poor lad was teething. Their grandparents were looking after both of them tonight, God bless and help them.

When the wail came again, she did not hesitate; she fumbled with the latch with numb fingers, then she was hurrying up the path and in between the graves, trying to find the child who was in such evident distress. Suddenly, Antoinette was very, very sober.

Wrapped in a thin blanket that was no match for the elements ( the snow was falling thicker and faster again now ) was a tiny boy whose eyes and nose were scrunched up tight against a mouth that was wide open and lungs that were screaming. How long had he been out here? Antoinette struggled out of her coat and wrapped him gently in it, careful to support his head and neck with his elbow. It couldn’t have been very long; he looked minutes, not even hours, old. There was still blood matted in his downy hair. Where was his mother? If she had had him here, just now, she couldn’t have got very far. She must be in a lot of pain, and very scared.

“Hello?” She shushed the baby, tried to comfort him as she searched. “Hello?” But there was nobody there. Conscious that she needed to get the baby out of the cold, fed, and into bed, she took him back to The Village Inn down the lane.

She called police and the local doctor ( the nearest hospital was more than an hour away and neither she, nor her husband, Adrian, were in any fit state to drive ) from the telephone from behind the bar, and not long later, the latter pronounced the boy healthy, aside from a slight wheeze in his chest that they would need to keep an eye on, but the former were never able to trace his mother.

The Laffertys fostered him while they conducted their investigation, then formally adopted him six months after its conclusion. They had him christened “Finn Eoin” and he fitted right into their family; Antoinette doted on him, Adrian too, and Daniel and Sean loved playing the role of big brother to him.

Finn was a quiet but intelligent child, inquisitive, interested in the way things worked, and always asking, “but why?” He took radio sets apart and rebuilt them, spent hours building complex structures out of Lego and Meccano. In later life, in his late teens, this curiosity takes him to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studies Maths and Physics under the tutelage of Professor James Moriarty (@diabolicaltendencies​), who, unbeknownst to Finn, is his biological father. Jim never reveals the extent of their true relationship ( although he has been aware of Finn’s existence for over ten years, and even, on one occasion, visited the Lafferty home when his son was out at school ), but nevertheless, he takes a special interest in the boy’s education. Finn takes a position as his research assistant in his third year at Trinity, and it’s thanks to Jim’s mentorship, not to mention the glowing reference that he provides as part of his application, that Finn is offered a place at Oriel College, Oxford, to study for his MSc in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics.

As of 2021, Finn is a second year PhD student in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics, again at Oriel College, Oxford. He lives in a shared house outside of college with fellow PhD candidates, Jakub, Sunita, and Eleanor, and his two rescue cats, Erwin and Minnie. When he’s not in the lab, the library, or studying at home, Finn enjoys stargazing and watching foreign language films with the aid of subtitles. He is currently learning Italian through a combination of evening classes and Duolingo.

VERSES.

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD. | ALT. MAIN

( i. ) Kate leaves for England with Jim (@diabolicaltendencies​) as planned. Finn is raised by his biological parents. Otherwise, his life follows much the same pattern as above.

( ii. ) Kate leaves for England as planned, but with my Jim, instead of Gold’s. In this iteration of the verse, Finn and Xan are fostered by Tobias Bellamy (@omniishambles​​). This is only meant to be a temporary arrangement, while Jim and Kate got the network up and running, but one year turned into two, and two into five, and after the Fall, which takes place c. 2012, when the twins are sixteen, it was made official. Unlike Xan, who mourned the loss of their father very openly, Finn, who had been calling Toby “Dad” for years, was privately relieved.

YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. | FANTASY AU

Finn is born to the King and Queen of Dorchadas in the first year of the war. He is spirited away by agents of King Augustus of Sarahas when he is only a few days old and grows up a ward of the crown in the south. When he returns to Dorchadas, escorted by August (@diabolicaltendencies​), Bucky & the Witch Bros (@epiitaphs​ & @gunmetalgrey​), he is in his teens and the war is over. He eschews the castle in favour of the forest dwelling inhabited by his paternal uncle, Richard (@strangerinourmidst​). His mother’s people were nomads, druids, healers, who were driven out of Llandyr after the death of Queen Mary and persecuted by King Augustus when they crossed the border into Sarahas on their way to Jiaodao in the east. When Finn reaches adulthood, he founds a new tribe, and despite having no magical abilities of his own, save for being resistant to the magic of others, he leads his followers nobly and benevolently many years, listening to their divinations.

THE SUN WILL COME SHINING THROUGH. | HAPPY VERSE (MUSICIANS)

Finn is the son of Katherine Conway, a lawyer, and her husband, Richard (@strangerinourmidst​), a chef and author. They married young, when they were both only twenty, after Kate discovered she was pregnant with Richard’s brother’s child. N.B. In this verse, Finn and Xan are not twins; Finn is born five years later, when the marriage made out of desperation turns to true love. Kate goes into labour in the middle of a trial, but only makes her way to the hospital after she gets the defendant acquitted. Her son arrives six hours later, and is named “Finnegan”, by his father.

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

A Family of Five- Part 3: Sick Day

Calum and Harlowe’s marriage hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been filled with love. This is a collaborative experience with In Sorrow and In Joy. Dad!Calum. Black OC.

CW: Over the course of this series, there are mentions of pregnancy, therapy, and postpartum depression. There is also 18+ Content (Smut)

Enjoy my masterlist | Series Masterlist

Support me on kofi

No one has my permission to repost my work of fiction. This includes translations as well

_____________________

The house is finally silent. Koha’s no longer shouting about needing his lunchbox, Harlowe’s not clicking against the tile floor with her heels, Pepper, Sissy and Jack their three dogs have been taken out, sprawled out across their favorite spots in the living room Jack and Sissy are the latest additions. Jack a german shepherd mix and Sissy is a Cocker Spaniel Corgi mix. They were a two for one deal, only in the sense that the pound warned them that the two had become extremely attached to each other. So much so that they could not go to separate foster homes. 

Calum can only blame himself for the dog additions. Koha had Pepper and they grew up together. So of course, Calum wanted Esha to grow up with a dog. So they went looking at the same local shelter from where they got Pepper from. That’s how they ran across Jack and Sissy. Esha was stoked to have a dog she could cuddle with. This of course meant that him and Harlowe were outnumbered, though the dogs did help when one of the kids is hurt in another room. They could run and get the attention of Calum or Harlowe to come to the rescue. Of course, the crying also indicated that. But the dogs loved the kids and they best was naptime when they Pepper lays down first, Koha and Esha curled up near each other and Jack and Sissy outlining them. Calum has too many photos of the same scene from multiple different times they curled up together. 

Esha whines a little from the couch; Calum walks over, running his palm over her forehead. Normally, she would be off to daycare. However, she had a fever last night and it hadn’t broken yet either. Calum usually drops Esha off, every morning at the same time, with the same kisses, pressed into both cheeks and a big hug. Harlowe’s job and Koha’s private school are in the same direction. Esha’s daycare is a bit of an offshoot, which Harlowe could easily do.  However, Esha prefers Calum to drive her. Calum loves it too, her dancing in her carseat, her singing along to the radio. His little baby girl always excited to show him something new that she learned. It’s time for just them. 

Though the house wasn’t too chaotic, Calum did feel like he was constantly running around. He was constantly moving, more things added to this To-Do List and never enough time just to enjoy the moment. The moments he has with Esha though on the fifteen minute drive are what keeps him going some days. He loves Harlowe, Koha, and the dogs. But there’s nothing quite like seeing Esha smile, even as he’s dropping her off in front of her preschool There’s the way her tiny hand takes his, and the way she grins, waving at all her friends still close to his side that makes all that chaos still; Calum feels at peace.

Right now though, his little slice of heaven is sick. Esha stirs from her half sleeping state at the feel of a hand on her face, groaning a little. “How you feeling, baby?” Cal asks softly. 

She shrugs. “Still hurt a little.”

He nods. “Okay, give it some more time before the meds kick in.” Her cup is empty thankfully. She drank all of her water. 

“Okay.”

He tucks the blanket higher up around her, stroking softly over her cheek and bonnet. “I’m sorry you’re sick, baby girl,” he whispers, watching her eyes flutter close. Jack walks over, jumps up onto the couch and settles down at her feet. Pepper keeps watch from the floor with Sissy. Calum scratches over their heads, happy to see them being gentle with her in her present state.

Calum washes the dishes from breakfast, squeezes in a quick work out and after his shower, wakes Esha again. She pushes up away from the pillow, a small ‘hmmph’ falling over her lips. She looks just like Harlowe waking up. The same squint and the matching satin bonnets. “I know, baby, I know. But I have to keep fluids in you.”

Esha takes the cup from her father’s hand, still blinking back sleep from her eyes. There’s no sass, no remark. God, he hates seeing his baby girl like this. Thankfully, she doesn’t get sick often. When she does, it’s like someone has pulled her plug. There’s no power, no life to her almost. She falls back into the cushion, sipping away at her cup. Calum stands, picking her up, before settling into the sofa with Esha in his lap. She snuggles into his chest, though he put her in light pj’s, he can feel the warmth seeping from her body. 

He’s already adjusted the AC some to help her stay cool. “Can we watch Moana?” she mumbles against him. 

“Of course sweetheart. We’ll start if after lunch, okay?”

Esha nods. “Love you, Daddy.”

“Love up too, baby girl.” When she’s fast asleep, yet again, Calum brings the blanket back around her body. He can wait to fix her soup just a tad bit, not wanting to disturb her sleep too much. Softly, he hums a few songs to her sleeping body. 

Calum doesn’t even realize he’s fallen asleep until the feelings of nails against his scalp stir him awake. Harlowe’s smiling down at him. “I came by just to see how see she’s holding up. And I’m come back to both of y’all passed out on the couch,” she chuckles.

Calum sighs. “Hadn’t intended to fall asleep.”

She kisses his forehead. “I’ll fix some soup and then be on my way.”

The sounds of Harlowe’s work around the kitchen sends a shiver down Calum’s spine. He rests his head into the cushions, listening to the soft sounds of metal pots and pans clinking against each other. Esha’s not so warm against him; he’s not sure if it’s just because he’s gotten used to her. Gingerly he places the back of his hand to her forehead. She’s not as warm. Readjusting her, he stands, holding his sick child to his chest. 

They’ll be leaving soon. It’s, of course, going to be tricky with the dogs and the house still here in California. Calum’s tempted to just keep the house since it’s paid for as a vacation home. They can retire here during the school breaks. Maybe they can rent it out through an agency so it’s not just sitting unoccupied all the time. Harlowe’s got a couple uni’s that are interested in her already, which is a good sign because she was worried about finding work. 

Calum watches Harlowe. She’s still in the heels from this morning. It’s a shock she makes this long anymore in the shoes. The heels are a good sign though. Today’s a good day so far. Bad days don’t see heels. Bad days don’t see skirts, or fancy blouses. Calum thinks part of her recovery and stability is linked to going back to work. She can’t help her students if she’s not thinking straight. She can’t enjoy the worlds they’re creating and she can’t help them shape those worlds if all she has is a fog on her shoulder. 

It was hard, before on the maternity leave for Harlowe. It was the same old same old. Day in and day out it was just her bedroom, just the kitchen, and occasionally the outdoors. She didn’t really have a goal, just a muddled sameness marked up rising and fallings of the sun. There was Koha and Esha and Calum for sure. But part of her had taken them for granted, that of course they would be there. She was a mother, she was a wife. These people were in her life for good. 

The thing is, life is fragile and it took realizing that her students wouldn’t be able to see her on campus to know that she couldn’t take anyone or anything for granted. Just because Calum was here now didn’t mean he would have to stick this out. Te Koha had already taken too much of her illness into his soul, she couldn’t crush her own child with her heaviness, with her burden. 

“Don’t you have a class to be teaching?” Cal asks. He remembers now that her schedule shouldn’t allow her to be here. He blames the post nap fog. 

“That was last semester, babe. I redid it so I start teaching at 9, go until 12. Break for lunch for an hour and some change. Then my last class ends goes from 2 to 3:30.”

“That’s right,” he hums, still trying to shake the sleep from him. Harlowe glances over her shoulder a smirk on her face. He knows what she’s thinking. “Don’t say it.”

She holds her hands up in defense. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“But you were thinking it. You’re always thinking it.”

“You just love her, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Her face says it all though how tightly Esha has Calum wrapped around her tiny finger. It doesn’t matter though. As long as his baby girl knows how much he loves her, it doesn’t matter what Harlowe or anyone else things, or says, or doesn’t say. He’d go through Hell for her, and come back, only to go through it again if he had too. Nothing would stop him from taking care of his daughter. 

Pepper walks over, whining, pointing to the door. “I’ll take her,” Harlowe says, sliding out from in front of the stove. 

As he stirs the soup, Esha starts to wake, groaning. He sets her onto the counter. Calum’s still impressed that he can hold her with one arm. Esha’s getting bigger with every passing second. It scares him a little when he won’t be able to hold her like this anymore. When she’ll be too big and want nothing more than to run through the streets, just as wild as she’s bound to be. She holds onto the blanket, asking, “Chicken noodle soup?”

“Of course. It’s your favorite.”

“Can I have some water?”

Calum hums with a nod, opening the fridge. The back door opens and Esha smiles at up at her mom. “Hi, Momma.”

“Hey, baby. How you feeling?”

“Why you not at school?”

“Came by to see how you’re doing.” Harlowe presses a quick kiss to her forehead. Calum watches them. This is the Harlowe he knew was buried under her fog. This is the Harlowe Koha knew. The new meds seem to be helping. The idea of moving is still scary, but necessary. This place has run its course. Besides, Calum’s worried. New meds always work and then she stops taking them. He can’t do this alone, taking care of two kids, three dogs and his wife. He needs an extra pair of hands to help him out, especially when Harlowe slips. She doesn’t listen to just anybody. Her family’s no help. But Momma Joy has always managed to slip through her guard and keeps her on the right take. 

“Daddy can take care of me,” Esha retorts. 

“You’re definitely feeling better,” Harlowe laughs. “I know Papa Bear can. Momma’s just a worrier, you know.”

“Love you,” she whispers as her mom wraps her up in a hug. 

“Love you too. I’ve got a meeting, so I should probably get back soon.” Harlowe turns to Calum, sliding her hands around his waist. “Want me to pick something up for dinner?”

“I’ll cook. Don’t worry.”

With a nod, she slides away, but not before lightly patting his butt through the sweatpants. “Gross, Momma!” Esha huffs, noting the contact. 

“Do you call Papa Bear out like this?” Harlowe teases, waving as she exits the house. 

“Yes, I do!” the little girl calls to her mother’s back, laughing. These are his two girls, constantly teasing each other. 

Soup finally warmed, Esha sits at the table, taking small spoonfuls to her mouth. Her little legs dangle high above the floor. She crosses her eyes, sucking on a noddle in response to Calum’s face. He laughs, eyes closing, the skin around them crinkling too. Esha beams at the sound; she puffs out her chest a little. The laughter is because of her doing. 

“Do you want to take your hair down?” he asks, after calming from his laugh spell. 

“No.” 

Calum waits until she finishes all the bits of her soup, before they start racing to see who can drink the broth down the fastest. Esha winds up getting more on her pj’s than actually in her stomach. “Look at this mess,” Calum tsks, helping her down at of the chair. “Messy little one, aren’t you?”

“You were beating me. I had to win!”

He nods, waving her towards the stairs, a smile tugging on his lips. “Clearly winning involves dumping half the broth down your shirt.”

“Uh huh, it does.” He cleans her off, sliding her into clean pj’s. She climbs onto the sofa, while Calum cleans the dishes. She’s clutches the DVD cover for Moana, waiting. Calum’s not sure how she hasn’t grown sick of the movie yet. But she watches it with the same eager and awe as the first time she’s laid eyes on it. Calum pulls the plug on the drain, washing his hands off again. 

Esha climbs into his lap right at the start of the movie, she holds a juice pack in her hands, eyes glued to the screen. “You gotta do the singing parts, Daddy,” she states. 

“I know,” he nods, chuckling, “I know.” The singing parts also include the choreography too. During ‘You’re Welcome’, Esha joins her father, dancing around the living room. Both of them know it so well, they barely pay attention to the screen.

When Harlowe returns that afternoon with Koha, she can hear singing before she fully crosses the threshold. Her first guess is Moana, but the further they get into the house, it’s not. It’s Princess and the Frog. Calum’s dancing around during The Shadow Man’s man song. Koha drops his backpack in the foyer, running to join in. Normally, they would try to keep the kids separate if they’re sick. Clearly it is not going to work this time. 

Everyone settles in to finish the rest of the movie before Calum stands to start dinner. Esha watches from the bar counter, also scribbling over copy paper. Koha chats about his day, going over his homework with Harlowe. The house slowly fills with a white noise of sizzling, laughter and paws clicking. 

[wiithstars]

park chaeyoung. thirty. cis woman. she/her. biromantic bisexual aquarius. ☾ *ﾟ is that annaki pallas-dexicos / mae danbi behind the mask? whenever i see the receptionist at gerbil town animal hospital in pigalle, i think of she’s so high by tal bachman. rumor has it they are amiable & considerate, but naive & dimwitted can be their fatal flaws. what their neighbors in arcueil gated community call them is the sweet peach. 

trigger warnings for intro: child abuse, bullying, death 

It’s not an event she remembers, but as a baby, Annaki’ was left with her brother’s on the doorstep with reckless abandon. While the family of that doorstep did step up to take in the children, they were lucky with the doorstep chance had brought them to. 

The Pallas-Dexicos were a family suffering from poverty, with barely enough food to feed the extra mouths they took in, and then turning to use those children as a way to get favors by making the children suffer, drawing more guilt from the community who had no idea the parents were behind it. Being diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1 at a young age, Annaki would have her insulin withheld from her, putting her into insulin shock on multiple occasions as the young girl was put in through confused agony. The only thing that hurt her more than the abuse she suffered was watching her brothers in pain by the same hands, always wanting to curl up in their arms no matter which one of the three was hurt that day. 

Eventually, Child Protective Services finally stepped in to help the three of them, who were then transferred to Manchester’s foster care. Separated from the only two people she knew actual love from, Annaki was bounced from house to house, never making much connections with the families until the age of thirteen. A family who she would stay with for almost three years had taken her in, and Annaki finally felt she found a family who would truly love and care for. 

She was sadly wrong, as they would later return her into the foster care system. This betrayal was internalized as she hadn’t thought she did anything wrong or to upset them, yet she was returned like a purchase at a store. But Annaki always saw the best in people, even after what she had endured, so she believed it had to be something about herself that behind what had happened. 

Most of her time was spent just trying to survive the brutalities of the foster care system and the constant switching of schools. Going to school was barely an escape from the ever-changing foster home she would return to as she faced bullying from her peers. Her optimism when it came to others made her an easy target for girls to pretend to be her friend when in reality, they were mocking her to her face and behind her back. Annaki usually couldn’t tell the difference between a genuine and ridiculing friendship, desperate for some kind of amity since she was so detached from those she lived with. 

When she finally turned eighteen, she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Eventually she would follow her brothers, who she finally was able to reconnect with, to Pigalle and was still looking for a job she truly enjoyed after working mostly retail positions for the years prior. Coming across a request for a vet position at the local animal hospital, Annaki jumped on it, the idea of being surrounded by animals all day sounding desirable. She was hired and has had the job for a a few years now, even if she annoys those around her by suggesting adoption any time one of the shelter animals comes in. 

She has a dog of her own, not a rescue, as he is a Diabetic Alert Dog who is trained to know by scent when there is a change in her blood sugar. Mochi is usually with Annaki wherever she goes. 

Personality-wise, Annaki is a very extroverted and cheery person, despite all she has been through. She can sometimes lack when it comes to intelligence and is easily manipulated, but it is only because she still has her heart open to those around her, knowing there’s good people out there even if she has had the misfortune to have many of the opposite in her life. She can be quite talkative but takes an interest in what others have to say and will remember things that are only mentioned in passing. She prefers to spend her time around people rather than be alone and, when she is alone, needs her dog close by. 

[creepy-bi-day]

Can you please write some headcanons for the pastas with a s/o who works with snakes or large reptiles??? I'd just think it'd be funny if one of the pastas came to visit and saw an alligator or giant python in a bathroom or smth!!! Thank you!!!🖤🖤🖤

Sure! Sorry if it’s not as long as the others, I had a really bad day but I wanted to do this ask because I love reptiles. I have a little crested gecko named Jay!

So since it’s reptiles.. we gotta do Skully..

Skully, Jeff, Ben, and Toby with a Reptile Lover S/O:

Skully:

He almost never talks but like? You think you heard him gasp?

You were just chilling and filling up the bathtub for two baby alligators you found in the woods

They didn’t belong out there so you wanted to help them get big and strong before releasing them

“Hi, Jay. What’s up?”

He’s so tense as he points shakily at the tub

“Oh! I’m going to name them Jay and. (Y/n)! Cute right?”

You see absolutely nothing wrong with taking in random creatures?? I mean he was okay with the garter snakes you fostered-

“Wh-Why?” His soft, almost inaudible voice would ask.

“They were lost. They had no mom and they just needed love. So I’ll give it to them!”

Cue the babies starting to fight

He’d just leave at that point, tbh.

Won’t make you get rid of them but also will not help at all

Will, however, make you remove them from the bathtub-

Jeff:

“What the actual fuck-“

Why is there a snake in the bathroom?

He was just going to take his monthly shower?? And there’s a giant danger noodle?

You sprinted over when he yelled

“Don’t hurt her!”

“Her?! That’s a fucking beast? It’s bigger than me!”

“Not that it takes much...”

If he could glare you guarantee he would. The adult Bernese python was curled up, napping in the bathroom sink, tail flopped out and almost wagging mindlessly

You and Helen had rescued her from an abusive household. BP didn’t like snakes like you did though, so you offered to take care of the lovely gal

Jeff was against you keeping her for the first few weeks, but got around to loving her just as much as you did

“I want to name her Jane.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

BEN:

He’s not dumb

You’ve been spending a lot of time in the bathroom so like he had to find out why

Cue mission impossible music

He freezes when he sees the giant water monitor in the tub

He screeches and glitches out as it flicks its tongue at him curiously

You jump causing Jake (from State Farm) to hiss at Ben protectively

You had found the lizard tangled up in a net at one of the lakes in the forest?

They’re native to Asia but you have no clue how the woods work tbh

After rescuing it from drowning, it had followed you back, growling at anything that came close to you

“Um, this is Jake...”

“(Y/n) what the fuck?”

Toby:

“Ah, (Y/n), why do you-why do you have a bunch of lizards-“

“They’re not lizards. They’re geckos. Leopard geckos.”

You had gone out and managed to rescue six leopard geckos from a local Petsmart, and currently had nowhere to put them other than in the many large glass jars you had taken from Jack

Honestly though they kind of worked when you laid it sideways and poked holes in the lid.

The things were huge

Tobys probably more confused than anything

I mean he loves animals too but where tf-

He’d probably be the most willing to be a reptile dad. He’s always down for bonding activities with you tbh.

“I forget-I forget which one is Jason.”

“I think this one was Michael? Or was this one Freddy?”