Cody told Bored Panda that Coral's personality has come down to pure sass. Basically, she's a true prankster. "At this point, she's only 4 years old, but the routine has been pretty consistent for 3 of those years," he said. "She wakes me up with a bottom slam to the face. Tries to spook me by jumping out from under the couch if I move any quicker than a snail through the living room. Begs for her 7 pm wet food, gets it, and then begs again at 8 pm as if I have amnesia. The hour I'm in bed on my phone before sleep, she's jumping over my body like hurdles to keep on playing. It's all a joy though and I wouldn't change any of it. Except maybe the moments when she flubs the jump over me and bounces off my ribs like a trampoline."
At the beginning of August, Cody became entirely self-employed — by choice, not necessarily because of the pandemic. But since he hadn't been doing much due to Covid lockdowns, Coral had grown quite attached to the idea of a human being around all the time. "She's almost always in the room with me. Typically, on my lap or rather on my iPad, supervising my work all day."
Now, when the artist comes back from a small trip to the store, Coral greets him as if he was on a week-long vacation: she offers infinite meows, and flops on the floor for pets in return. "I think the pandemic has made us closer. And made me realize how much cats don't want you to work while you're home," Cody said.
Over the years, Coral has become the center of Cody's work. The transition was pretty organic but it has its challenges too. "As a business owner and creative, I saw that I could only make comics about Coral's many quirks for so long. I mean, there are many different comic artists out there who have covered all the same topics I have with cats but in their own styles. Being someone whose livelihood relies on staying fresh while building an audience on the Internet, I had to think about how I'd continue this over years, whereas in summer of 2021 it'll be 5 years of WeFlaps Comics."
The benefit to Coral being the centerpiece of Cody's comics is closely tied to the fact that the Internet (and the world) loves cats and forever will. "This year, I've been lucky enough to be invited to this network of Webcomic artists who have a hub for conversation and collaboration. The most recent one was "Comictober," the parallel of Inktober but instead of just a single drawing, we were doing full comic strips every day of October. That month, I took notice that I don't just have to make comics about Coral's quirks, but just going on adventures with her in any scenario I please. Thus, the Coral and Cthulhu comics and so on," Cody explained the shift in his work. "Who knows what could be next! Maybe Coral and I will solve a murder or save the world from impending doom! The [possibilities] are limitless."
After spending so much time living with a black cat, Cody thinks they shouldn't get a bad rep. "They are sweet and lovely babies just like any other cat. Adopt black cats. And if you are someone who works from home, adopt two of them, and hope to god they hang out with each other so you can get some work done."
