Chronicles of the CPDC

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Wortge
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Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

This is a series of mostly self-contained "chapters" that I've been working on since early February. As a way of putting some fun interactions I had in mind on paper and also practicing my English writing after coming back from Brazil after living there for 3 years.

Originally was planning on posting this if I ever reached 50000 words. Ended up delaying it to posting it concurrently with the story. Since my decision of having the story be set in a real-life place with an explicit specific date it takes place on ended up backfiring due to recent, world-changing events.

This is an attempt at comedic slice-of-life. Similar to 'Housepets!' itself, barring the more esoteric arcs. I don't really expect ever taking that direction, but God knows what might happen if I'm still working on this after years.

This fic was inspired by multiple fanfics that feature characters who move from New York to Babylon Gardens for a variety of reasons. That inspired me to try an inversion of that.

Spoilers at the end of chapter posts are just author notes, not actual spoilers. I'll just use spoiler tags to keep that separate from the story.

All criticism is welcome.

Content Warning: References to sensitive real-world events. References to mature media. Very opinionated characters. Censored swearing.




College Point Dogs Club, College Point, Queens, Thursday, April 9 2020, 1:35 PM

On the second floor of a small, blocky two-story commercial building built in one of the main streets of the suburban neighborhood of College Point there were three dogs. Two Golden Retrievers of roughly the same build, both wearing black collars, one collar with a small hammer-shaped tag hanging from it and the other having a small golden globe as a tag. Apart from their different tags, the only way to tell each one of the Retrievers apart would be by noticing the hammer-tagged Retriever's darker-colored fur. Along with them there was a slightly shorter Beagle breed, wearing a green collar featuring a 20-sided die. They were respectively Brian, Rob and Xander; Founder and co-founders of the College Point Dogs Club. Although the founder's leadership role gradually became more meaningless as the club administration changed to a more council-like type over the years.

Sitting at a desk with an old desktop computer and a small notebook on it was Brian, with a pencil in hand. Sitting in two chairs facing him were the two other dogs, waiting for him to start.

"Alright, so..." Brian began. "Ideally we would plan this out at the start of the week but as you know I had to be away for a while. Do you guys have anything planned already?"

"I haven't been to the club since last week. Sorry, dog. I was barely home most of those days, even." Rob answered.

"I've been busy with stuff I had set way before you told us you'd leave." Xander followed. "Not like I'd try planning something while being pretty much the only founder present here."

"This isn't ideal..." Brian sighed. "So, we need plans for the Easter weekend events. We're not allowed to do the egg hunt after what happened last year. We need something generic just to say we did something for the holidays. Maybe another Pizza Night will be enough, we've already had some this year but I don't think anyone will complain."

"Replacing the egg hunt will be controversial, but necessary." Xander commented. "Perhaps we should scale-up the usual weekend activities to make up for it."

"Nobody will care. Everyone here is pleased with just having a place to hang out." Rob argued.

"No, Xander has a point. I'm not planning on only doing that for the weekend, we'll do Pizza Night on Sunday. We could also have some music for that, is our DJ still out of town?"

"Yep, he's been out for almost a month now. I don't think he's coming back." Rob deadpanned.

"Haha, let's hope not. Sucks that we're missing the stereo."

"I could just borrow the one at home, pretty sure Walt won't mind. It's pretty much just decoration." Xander suggested.

"That would be good. We'll just tune in to some radio station, just for background sound." Brian continued. "So Pizza Night for Sunday, we could prep for it in the afternoon. Ideas for Saturday?"

"Nothing?" Rob offered.

"Don't be lazy, Rob! We must do our best for the local dogs and not take their membership for granted."

"Not like they'd have any alternative, this neighborhood is a hole."

"You're already dissing your old neighborhood like that? After just a few months in Manhattan?"

"Oh, please. Harlem is barely Manhattan. I'm willing to diss my new neighborhood too."

"Let's go back to the topic, guys. You know things are bad when I start looking like the leader here." Xander interrupted. "For Saturday we could maybe set up some games, I just got a bunch of-"

"We're not doing RPGs again, Xander." Rob cut in. "What makes you think RPG players would even be part of a dog club?"

"There's plenty, actually. There's Gaspar, Jake, Sofi-"

"We could do games, actually." Brian began. "Video games to be exact, something with the arcades downstairs, or maybe we could bring some consoles and do a tournament-type thing? Do you remember we did that once? It didn't go too well but the club was like, two years old. Our organization skills weren't the best back then."

"Unlike now." Rob deadpanned.

"I don't see you pulling your weight here. We'll set things up tomorrow, are you still into Smash, Rob?"

"Not really."

"But you still have your Switch?"

"I do, I'll bring it over."

"Good. I'll ask around and we should be able to set up at least three consoles in the main area. I'll use the blackboard to keep track of the tournament, gotta make sure we still have enough chalk. I have some TVs in the storage here, I'll check if they still work tonight. Preparations should go smoothly." Brian announced while starting to scribble bullet points in his notepad.

"I have a Switch too, you know?" Xander pointed out. "I never use the thing, I'll bring it over."

"Right. Forgot about the pile of consoles at your house. Let's make that four Switches then."

"We have four TVs?"

"We have eight in storage. 19-inch, flat-screened. Quite old, so that's why I'm testing them. That's limited by our six copies of Smash, though."

"Where do you even- Nevermind. Are we really doing video games when there's pretty much a miniature arcade downstairs?"

"Nobody seems to care about them anymore. I should set up a console with some games here in the club permanently, actually. Maybe have the members bring their own games and play with their friends here, people nowadays are only coming here to eat and that's not good."

"You only want to use the arcades so you can humiliate everyone on 'DDR' again, don't you?" Rob smirked towards the Beagle.

"Heh, maybe. You know I don't really like fighting games."

"I don't either, but we do this for the people, not for us." Brian boasted. "So, going over everything. We can start the tournament signups today after the speech, I'll check the TVs, we get the consoles set up tomorrow, tournament on Saturday, Sunday morning we set everything up for the dinner, Xander brings his stereo system, we order the pizzas and drinks in the afternoon. Objections?"

"I think I can only make it here for Saturday. I don't exactly live right down the street anymore, you know?" Rob reminded.

"No problems, I don't need all consoles for Friday. I'm just glad you still choose to hang around while living far away, that's loyalty."

"Yeah, I'm such a good dog." Rob added sarcastically.

"You're gonna do the speech now?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, I'll just wing it as usual." Brian got up and stretched. "You two are in charge with bringing your Switches here, remember that. Xander should remember to add his stereo system to that. Stick around with me if you want to help with any other prep." The two other dogs nodded. "I'm gonna go downstairs now to announce our weekend plans."

While the second floor of the club building had a purely administrative function, housing Brian's desk and an almost maze-like configuration of storage lockers housing discarded items that could be potentially used by the club, the first floor housed the main gathering area. In one half of the room there was a small podium with a microphone connected to a loudspeaker behind it, many cheap plastic chairs facing it. The other half contained a few arcade cabinets placed against the walls and a table filled with assorted foodstuff. Pots filled with dog biscuits, some sloppily made sandwiches and a few bottles of different brands of soda, stacks of plastic cups lined up behind them. A crowd of around thirty dogs gathered around in the room, talking casually amongst themselves mostly around the food table with some of them weaving around the chairs.

The club's three founders descended from the top floor, being mostly ignored by the chattering crowd. Rob followed Brian closely while Xander immediately went to the arcades after descending the stairs.

"Check, check, one, two, three." Brian started testing the microphone as he settled into the podium. Rob stayed at his side, slightly behind him, crossing his arms with a look that could have him mistaken for Brian's bodyguard.

The room gradually quieted down and turned their attention, some dogs getting seated in the chairs facing the podium. "Good afternoon everyone! High attendance today, huh? For a Thursday at least. I don't even recognize some of you guys. Not singling anyone out, don't worry." The audience glanced at each other briefly, checking if they could notice any possible rarely seen member. "Anyways, first of all. A quick reminder that despite the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, club activities will always proceed as usual, as the quarantine restrictions on gatherings only apply to humans. I know I've said this time and time again, but some club members still avoid our club and even the outside out of an irrational fear of transmission. Just practice basic hygiene and avoid unnecessary contact with humans, for their own good. Pass this on. Moving on, apologies for my absence here this week, family matters. Sadly with the short time we have to prepare for our Easter weekend activities our most ambitious ideas had to be shafted, but I'm sure most of you will enjoy what we have cooked up regardless! Most of you should remember what happened during last year's event and as a result of that we're not doing the egg hunt this year, we really don't want NYPD breathing down our necks again, especially right now." A few sighs could be heard coming from the audience. "But it doesn't mean we won't party! This Saturday we'll be hosting a small Smash Ultimate tournament! Single-elimination, one hundred dollars as first-place prize! We plan on having four consoles set up here, one for the matches and the other three for free play. Maybe other games even, it will be fun! I know a lot of you are video game fans. We'll need your help obtaining two more consoles, as we presently only have two secured, so come talk to me after the signups if you're interested in leasing your Switch, five bucks!" Some mumbling could be heard from the crowd. "And that's our plans for Saturday! For Easter day we're doing another Pizza Night! You know the drill, it starts at seven o'clock! That's all for today's announcement, have a good afternoon! Enjoy the club! Signups will start in a few minutes at my desk!". The crowds slowly stood up and dispersed across the room and outside.

"So what do you think? Things will go OK?" Brian asked Rob as he followed him back upstairs.

"I think you informed people well, let's hope we get a decent turnout." Rob pondered for a moment. "What 'ambitious ideas' were you planning, by the way? Don't remember you ever mentioning that."

"Oh, that? Pffh, I was just bluffing." Brian laughed as he reached his desk to sit down and boot up the computer. "I hope to come up with grand plans for the Independence Day celebrations though, we'll prepare the best festivities in the city! People are going to fly in just to attend it! Our days of financial woes are finally over, we have no excuses not to give our members the best now!"

"We have plenty of excuses! Haven't you checked the news? Save the speech for your fans, Brian." The other Retriever huffed. "And I don't think this tiny converted office building would be able to handle anything bigger than a small fireworks show, which I don't think are even legal here?"

"We'll see, let's just hope some people show up for the signups here and this video game idea doesn't totally bomb."

"Do I get to say 'told you so' if it does?"

"When did you ever disagree with it?"

College Point Dogs Club Second Floor, Thursday 2:47 PM (One hour later.)

"Brutus joining our little Smash thing, huh?" Brian commented. "That's an unexpected participant."

"Dude looks like he's always ready to kill everyone in sight." Rob added. "Well, they do say that gamers are antisocial."

"Don't you play games for literally all the free time you have at your home? Anyways, that makes it eleven participants. Let's hope we end with an even number or else I have no idea how to set this up."

"There is a way, right? In the history of tournaments, there must've been at least one with an odd number of participants."

"I'm sure you can check Google for that in five seconds, just don't feel like thinking too hard."

"Umber here is my favorite to win, by the way." Rob said while pointing at a name in the spreadsheet displayed by the computer monitor. "Dude was the runner-up in a big tourney in Jersey last year. He's going to destroy everyone else here so hard. At least I hope it's not boring for him."

"You taking bets or something?"

"Should I? As a participant I don't think I can."

A dog soon appeared in their view coming from downstairs, interrupting their conversation. The dog had fur ranging from light brown to cream colored and floppy, dark brown ears. They also sported a red collar with a bone-shaped tag hanging from it.

"Hey." Brian greeted neutrally. "You here for the signups?"

"Yeah!" He answered nervously. "I've never competed at a game like this, but it can't hurt to try!"

"Worst-case scenario you get eliminated immediately and get forever ostracized." Rob teased.

"Really?" The brown dog asked worriedly, backing away slightly.

"No!" Brian cut in. "Let me just put your info here... Right..."

"Uh..." Brian stared at the strange dog intently.

"Your nam-" Rob started to ask.

"No! I got this." Brian interrupted. "The leader should never forget a member's name! And it's not like we've got anyone new in weeks."

"I'm pretty sure I've never seen this lad before."

"Because you're rarely here anymore, no offense. This dude helped me with the Christmas decorations last year, I'm pretty sure! His name is..."

"Uh..." The unknown dog began shyly. "This is actually my first day here."

"Seriously?" Brian yapped incredulously. "I guess age is finally getting to me. I got to sign you up as an actual club member before you join the tournament, let me just get the member list here first." Brian started rapidly moving and clicking his mouse.

"So... A bone tag, huh?" Rob started, looking at the newcomer. "What's next? A cat with a fish tag?"

"I really loved chewing bones as a pup!" The brown dog exclaimed enthusiastically. "The tag just ended up sticking with me!"

"Similar story to mine, actually." Brian commented as he started setting up the membership application form. "Got this hammer tag for building the treehouse at my first home all by myself! Haven't built anything ever since."

"At least I here take pride on my little globe." The other Retriever said, holding his tag. "How many countries you been to, new dog?"

"Do other universes count?"

"Uh... No?"

"Well then... I've been to Canada once! And I've been to Kansas! Missouri! Indiana! Wisconsin!" He excitedly listed.

"Midwest enthusiast over here. That's better than at least half of this club, for sure." Rob cut in. "Haven't seen much of that part of the country myself, but I don't think I'm really missing anything." He added dismissively.

"Alright." Brian interjected. "Let's get this over with. Full name?"

"Peanut Butter Sandwich."

"What?"

"That's my name!"

"Peanut Butter, last name Sandwich?"

"Yeah!"

"OK. Cool." Brian briefly glanced at Rob with a mocking expression. "Do you know your breed?"

"Mixed Canadian Pointer, I've been told."

"Explains the friendliness." Rob commented.

"Hah. You live around here? In College Point?" Brian continued.

"Yeah!" Peanut nodded. "Just moved in yesterday!"

"You moved in this month?!" Rob interrupted. "With all the disease stuff that's going on?!"

"We all had this move planned months from now. My humans are being very cautious with everything."

"Huh. Well, it's their funeral. The whole city's pretty much shut down for humans but my owner still has to go to work every day. It's kinda eating me up slowly. Keep them safe, OK?"

"Where are you originally from?" Brian returned to the questionnaire.

"River Ridge!"

"Is that a neighborhood or a city?"

"City in Illinois." The other Retriever cut in. "It's a Chicago suburb."

"Of course you'd know that." Brian quickly grumbled. "All's done!" He exclaimed while turning to face Peanut. "Welcome to the College Point Dogs Club, Peanut! Feel free to enjoy our grounds! You'll be in bracket six in the tournament, please be here this Saturday by 1:00 PM."

"Pleasure to have you on board." Rob added, shaking the brown dog's paw.

"Wait! Aren't you guys in need of more Switches?" Peanut asked while turning back after walking a short distance away from the desk. "I could lend you mine!"

"Oh, sure." Brian answered. "I'll pay you once you give it to us, the sooner the better."

"No need for that! I'm just happy to help!"

"I insist, please. It's free money!" Brian said playfully. "Anyways, see you around!"

Peanut turned back and made his way downstairs, leaving the two dogs alone again.

"I guess we've secured all the four consoles then." Rob concluded.

"Unless one of them ditches us. But let's not assume that."

"Contingency plans are for losers, after all." Rob deadpanned.

Only a fraction of the crowd that gathered for the earlier speech remained in the first floor, most of them leaving either immediately after the speech, after being done signing up for the tournament or once the table started running out of food. A small group of dogs remained in one of the corners of the room, having a passionate political debate, especially for a group of people who couldn't actually vote. Elsewhere in the room a dog was near the food table grabbing the last remaining food and a Beagle was frantically stepping on a dance cabinet quietly playing fast electronic music.

"Just can't do these streams today, stupid." Xander grumbled to himself as the music stopped and the results screen appeared. "What next song did I have in mind again?" He noticed a brown, red-collared dog watching him from behind with fascination.

"Oh! Do you want to play? Sorry for hogging the machine!" He said while edging to get off the cabinet.

"No, I'm just watching!" He answered with a smile. "You're awesome! How do you do that?"

"Hehe, practice I guess." Xander tried to answer as modestly as possible. "You chose a really bad day to watch, actually. Having a horrible session."

He started stepping on the dance platform again, each step making a song list scroll up. After almost a minute he stopped and pressed a button that confirmed the song selection. "Watch this one then. In before I can't even pass." He added with a laugh.

Chiptune-sounding music began to play as the screen showed a barrage of red, blue and yellow arrows moving up. Xander grabbed the bar behind him for support and started rapidly switching feet while stepping on the four different pads, each one flashing every time it was stomped. While struggling to perfect the last quarter of the song, Xander still passed it comfortably.

"That was awesome!" The spectating dog cried. "How do you hit four arrows like that?"

"Oh, in the ending? You gotta step right on the edge of the panels, it's probably a lot easier if you have human feet." Xander answered between pants.

"And you say you're playing badly today?" Peanut asked with a smirk.

"I am! That's a terrible score! I 'full-comboed' that last year! I'm OK with not improving but getting worse despite constant practice is pretty irritating!" Xander exited the results screen and the song selection screen quickly, making the game return to its title screen.

"Done for today anyways..." Xander stared at the other dog while getting off the machine. "What's your name by the way? Can't recognize you, sorry." He stopped by the stranger dog's side behind the cabinet.

"I'm Peanut! I'm new to the neighborhood!" He answered excitedly. "I just got registered today!"

"Oh, a new member huh? Hopefully it stops Brian from going on about how the club's not going to survive the year or whatever for this week. You enjoying College Point?"

"It's nice! It's a lot less open than my old one but I like the river and I'm going to visit the park next week! And where's the college, by the way?"

"There's no college." He answered chuckling. "And yeah... It's too close to the City for huge houses, I believe. You from Long Island or something?"

"Babylon Gardens!" He answered proudly. "Planned pet-friendly neighborhood in River Ridge, Illinois!"

"Ah, cool. Chicagoland, I'm aware of that city." After a brief pause he continued. "Wasn't there some urban legend about humans turning into animals there?"

"Yeah, there was! I met them once!" He answered as if it were the most mundane reply.

"Really?! So were they charlatans or not?"

"No, it's true! There's an evil badger running around with cursed items! He left River Ridge last year, he could even be around here!"

"Man, really? 'Cursed items'?" Xander asked skeptically. "Gotta hope he doesn't run into me and turn me into a human then. Would suck to have to go through twenty years of school or else starve and die in the streets."

"Are you going to the tournament this weekend?"

"Naaaah, man. I'm really not into fighting games. If you can even call Smash that." He added with some arrogance. "I'll be here just to oversee things, have to unplug all the arcades and move them for the TVs too. At least there was some heavy interest in it. Was afraid Brian's idea would bomb, you never know what the people here are interested in other than emptying the food table."

"Well, I like video games! Reading! In fact, I draw my own comics! I love to play fetch! And tag! I enjoy role-playing with friends!" Peanut started to list with enthusiasm.

"That's you done with, now let's ask five hundred more people." The conversation awkwardly paused for several seconds. "So... I'm Xander, pleased to meet you. Club co-founder and overall responsible for everything here not food-related. Or finance-related." The dogs shook paws. "Gotta head home now! Hope to see you here soon!"

"Goodbye!" Peanut waved to Xander as he made it to the front doors.

Sandwich Residence, College Point, Queens, Thursday 3:11 PM

The family's new home was considerably smaller than their older one, consisting of a detached three-story red brick house. Peanut quickly climbed the front stairs, unlocking the front door and rapidly locking it again once inside. Inside the house, most unoccupied space had brown moving boxes scattered throughout it. A purple cat wearing a blue collar with a fish-shaped tag napped away at a cat bed sitting next to the sofa's side.

"Graaaaape!" Peanut yelled after turning away from the door.

"Weren't you supposed to only come back in the evening?" Grape asked tiredly with her head buried under the bed's pillow, muffling her speech.

"I'm done already! The local park was empty and there were very few pets outside. I became a member of the dog club though!"

"It's your second day here and you've already met the local ruffians?" Grape questioned while getting up from her bed and starting to sit on the sofa.

"They're nice people!" He argued. "They're going to play a lot of video games there this weekend! I'm supposed to lend them my switch today, actually" He started heading to the stairs leading to his room.

"Whatever, I'll just stay clear of them and hope they're less of a headache than the old club." She started searching for the TV remote. "If they break your Switch it'll be an year until you're allowed another one!" She yelled hopefully loud enough to be heard by the dog upstairs, then pointing the remote at the TV and turning it on.

"How long are you planning on staying holed up in here?" Peanut asked as he entered the living room again, his portable console in hands. "You barely had any friends back home, do you want to repeat that here?"

"I had plenty of friends." She said while paying half of her attention to the TV. "There's Max, there's, uh... Fido, kinda. Tarot, Marvin... I'd be closer with Sabrina if she wasn't so deep into your girlfriend's weird mumbo jumbo."

"Hopefully that changes once we go out with our parents next week! Are they still out grocery shopping, by the way?"

"Yeah, they won't be back soon. This house is missing a lot, it seems."

"I see... Bye Grape!" He waved as he made his way to the door, unlocking them and heading out again.

"Maxie..." Grape sighed while switching on a laptop computer that was on the sofa.

College Point Dogs Club Second Floor, Thursday 3:23 PM

"...and we're not going to smuggle them into the State! Humans get in trouble for that kinda stuff, dog knows what would happen to us!" Rob was objecting to some idea of Brian's.

"We're both human-owned, so any punishment would be offloaded onto them, actually."

"Which means that if I so much as get caught littering, my owner will abandon me immediately! You know what he's going through! He can't handle these things, at least not this year!"

"It's not like you're meant to be my accomplice, I just need the-"

Peanut suddenly entered the room with no warning, causing Brian to stop his sentence and stare at him.

"I'm back to lend you my Switch!" He exclaimed happily showing his game console. "You said the sooner the better!"

"Oh hey, Nutty. Appreciate the haste." Rob said with a smile.

"'Nutty'?" Brian looked at Rob incredulously. "Thanks, your support is appreciated. Here's your payment." He turned his attention back to Peanut and handed him a five dollar bill.

"I don't need compensation! I just want to make sure you have what you need."

"Just accept it." Brian said trying to hide some annoyance. "Cordiality."

Peanut grabbed the bill shyly and pocketed it. "You guys need any more help? My parents are out and my sister's been kinda down these days and there's nobody outside."

"Nope, sorry. We're good" Rob began. "The setup will be all done tomorrow, we'll move the arcades and test the TVs today. But that's for after the club closes for the day."

"There's nobody left downstairs." Peanut noted.

"Oh dear." Brian mumbled worriedly. "This place empties up faster and faster each day."

"You weren't even here for the rest of the week!" Rob turned to Peanut. "Did you meet anyone new down there today, Peanut? I've been holed up in this room here for pretty much all afternoon."

"I met a Beagle called Xander! He plays that dance game downstairs really well!" Peanut replied, wagging.

"Well, well. None other than our presently missing co-founder Xander." Rob said teasingly. "Did you know that he's considered the best player in the East Coast? Humans included! Or was he too humble to point that out?"

"Really? Awesome!"

"Want to spend some time at the arcades?" Brian offered. "Since there's nobody left? We could kill some time there."

"Sure!"

Sandwich Residence, Thursday 6:52 PM

A purple cat sat idly in the living room watching a sitcom. The house's main door soon opened revealing two humans carrying large shopping bags, Earl and Jill Sandwich. The residence's owners and human 'parents' of Peanut and Grape.

"We're home!" Earl announced.

"Good evening." Grape answered almost robotically.

"Where's Peanut? Is he in his room?" Jill asked as both parents dropped their bags close to the collection of boxes in the room.

"He's been out the whole afternoon. Making friends with some dog club."

"He already found one? My boy!" Earl cheered.

"Have you tried meeting new friends too?" Jill asked.

"No... I'm still trying to get used to all this." Grape sighed. "Max hasn't been online for the whole day. Next time I get in contact with him I swear-"

"Honey." Jill sat next to her and started gently petting her head. "I know how you feel about this sudden change, it wasn't an easy decision for us either. We left family, friends back there. But remember that here in our new home we'll get to meet new friends we'd never know of otherwise. And thanks to technology we still get to keep up with all our old ones."

"I know, I know..." Grape replied sadly. "It's just hard to get used to everything you're used to suddenly vanishing. And you know that it's never coming back." The cat said while fighting back tears. "I know this little depression spell will go away after a while."

"It will." Jill assured. "You and Peanut can always go back once a year or so, you can stay at Grandma's house." She stood up and started to go help Earl unpack some of their newly-acquired items. "And remember you two are going to have a lot of fun this Monday at Central Park! It's a beautiful place! It'll be just like in all the movies!"

The house soon quieted down to just the noise of footsteps and some TV chatter. After minutes the front door could be heard being unlocked and opened by the family's dog.

"Peanut! You had fun today?" Earl approached the dog, starting to pet him lightly.

"For sure! I played a lot of games with Brian and Rob! I brought them my Switch and showed them my Animal Crossing town! Then Rob had to leave and I noticed it was too late." Peanut told the room happily.

"Making friends already! So proud of you!" Earl patted Peanut's head.

"Go cheer up your sister, dinner will have to wait for awhile today." Jill added from the other side of the room.

Peanut sat down next to Grape, who was watching TV with a neutral expression. She tried to genuinely smile at the dog.

"I'm not sad, just feel a bit overwhelmed by the move." She explained. "So. Did they break your Switch?" She tried to change topics.

"It's staying there in the club, for the tournament this Saturday. Tomorrow the club's going to use it for practice matches."

The room quieted down again, apart from occasional talk among the humans about where to place certain groceries. Peanut was idly tapping away on his smartphone.

"Are you going out tomorrow? You could come with me to the club!" Peanut offered to Grape.

"Come to the *dog* club? I'll pass."

"They wouldn't mind a cat! It's just a place to play games and have fun!"

"So was the old club before Bino kicked every decent member out! Organizations bring the worst in people. If I meet someone here it better be someone completely unaffiliated."

"How about going out with just me then? This Sunday?"

"Sure, Peanut. Sure." She surrendered.
Last edited by Wortge on Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:45 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This story looks like it has a very wonderful premise! I hope to see more from you!
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

Nicely done Wortge. I like the new direction you've taken the comic. I'm a fan of the original characters and setting, and I really feel for Grape. It's been a while since I've read a purely slice of life story, so I'd love to see more. :)
NHWestoN
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

Have to see what happens when the cat comes `round.... ;)
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

College Point Dogs Club Front Entrance, Sunday 1:01 PM

Two dogs, Brian and a Dalmatian, were standing next to the club entrance looking down the street. In their view, a Beagle was carrying a stereo system clumsily, approaching them.

"Are you going to help him? That looks expensive." The female Dalmatian asked worriedly.

"It really isn't. And this is the final stretch, helping now would be meaningless."

"Hey Brian! Hey Hope! Is this going in?" Xander greeted and questioned Brian.

"Yeah, put it next to where the arcades used to be."

All three dogs entered the club building, Xander dropping the stereo next to the group of outlets at one of the room's corners. The machines having been moved away for last day's video game tournament, standing behind the podium instead. Four small tables with identical TVs on them sat next to the corner, moved aside slightly to reveal the outlets.

"Good." Brian said once the Beagle put the machine down. "I'd install the arcades back now but only you know how to do that. I'll be storing the extra tables and the TVs instead."

"Yeah, yeah. You do that." Xander paused. "Let me test the stereo first." He started plugging the cables and setting up the speakers, Brian and Hope both observing him.

Xander pushed a button and the system started blaring high-pitched vocals of an unknown pop song, the music quickly filled up with distorted bass drums and chopped up breaks.

"This your type of music, Xan?" Brian asked with a laugh. Xander quickly pressed the 'Radio' button, switching the music to some insurance ad.

"Heheh. Thought I'd have to hit 'play' first." He excused, embarrassed.

"Well. That's music done with for this night." Brian turned the stereo off and clapped his paws. "Now just gotta clean this place up and prepare the pizza orders."

"Doesn't Flash usually deal with the music?" Hope finally piped in after spectating their conversation.

"Yeah, but he's been gone for a decade to visit his girlfriend in Chicago or something." Brian exaggerated. "We really just need some background noise anyways, not professional DJ work."

"Uh... I'm pretty sure I saw him at the park the other day. Tuesday, I believe." She informed. Xander glared at Brian immediately.

"Oh dear lord, are you serious?" Brian groaned while facepalming. "Guess I'll have to call him and ask him for his services today then. He'll kill us if he finds out we used a radio station for music. And if he can't make it we just hope he doesn't find out. Why didn't he show himself these last days?" Brian rambled, pacing around in a small circle.

"Well, if one of our events were a listening party I'm certain he'd show up." Xander commented.

"Oh I'm sure the club is at least ninety percent audiophiles, just like how they're all Smash fans." Brian deadpanned.

"We desperately need that census. And I'm pretty sure half of the people in that tournament have never touched the game before."

"Props to my family for choosing the worst time for a trip. Just before our Easter events."

"Hey, all in all it's all going well." Xander consoled. "How was L.A., by the way? You never said anything about it."

"You think we actually flew there? With the pandemic? They decided to go camping upstate instead, forgetting none of us actually like camping. And of course ignoring everything the goverment's been advising to humans. Just a disaster. And now they'll probably reschedule the L.A. trip and I'll have to be away for even more days. I feel like I'm Rob at his most busy years."

"Aw, that sucks to hear. Try to enjoy your travels though. Try to feel like Rob, as you've said."

"It's really not my thing. He's been complaining about the travel restrictions nonstop since last month, you know? He said that if he has to cancel his Europe trip this November he's going to somehow try go there by himself. It's like he always forgets there are humans dying out there and he thinks the quarantine measures are just the humans getting on the way of his fun."

"Can he even go by himself? Do they have flights without humans going to Europe?" Xander began moving towards the deactivated cabinets. "Anyways, let me get these things going."

Brian gazed at one of the front windows while preparing to make a phone call. He noticed someone familiar walking on the other side of the street. "Hey! Is that Peanut?" He pointed out to Hope, who was standing close to him.

"That new dog? Yeah. Don't know that cat with him though." She noted.

"Looks like Oliver."

"Since when is Oliver purple?"

"What? Oh, you're right. Nevermind that then."

College Point Streets, Sunday 1:06PM

"And that there is the College Point Dogs Club!" Peanut pointed at a small office building across the street. "You want to check it out?"

"For the second time: No." Grape warned.

"Alrighty." Peanut grabbed his phone and continued fiddling with a map app. "We could visit the park now, it's quite nearby!"

"Didn't we just come from the park?"

"Another park!" Peanut pointed the phone screen at her. "Look how big it is!" Grape could barely make out a green blob in the middle of a gray-and-white grid.

"Let's check it out then." She conceded.

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, Sunday 1:59 PM

"That wasn't nearby at all!" Grape complained as they crossed a street, entering a parking lot built under an elevated freeway. "We must be way past College Point by now! Shouldn't we be wearing leashes?"

"They don't have that law here. At least not in public spaces." Peanut stopped to look at a leaf-shaped sign. "Look! 'Flushing Meadows Corona Park Avery Gate'" He read. "The park's just past these cars!"

Cat and dog made their way to a small footpath circling a large open field, some groups of pets walked around the footpaths or lounged on the grass, a few with humans.

"Look at the size of this place!" Peanut started exclaiming. "This makes the Milton grounds look like a backyard! Although technically they are."

"If there's another magic temple here we're moving again, by the way."

Peanut started tapping his phone again. "This here is the 'Avenue of Research'! Crossing it is the 'Avenue of Progress' and it leads to the 'Pool of Industry'!"

"Stop spoiling! Let's explore the place by ourselves!"

"OK." He pocketed the phone in his collar. "Let's circle the pool and head towards that globe!"

They strolled slowly, side-by-side. Blending in with the pets. They soon found themselves facing a large steel globe displaying the world's continents in relief suspended over a large pool. The globe was surrounded by many water-jet fountains that occasionally shot jets of water upwards.

"This is the Unisphere!" The dog started. "The world's largest globe! It was built for the 1964 World's Fair and the fountains were designed to make it seem like it's floating!" Grape quickly glanced at Peanut's paws to check if he was still reading from his phone, which he wasn't.

"Very cool." She muttered with disinterest. "Wanna go left now or go right?" To their right they could make out a stadium, to their left there were three saucer-shaped observation towers next to a ring-shaped concrete building.

"I think I saw that place in a music video once." Grape noted, looking left.

"It's in GTA!" Peanut exclaimed. "Let's go there!"

"Since when do you play those kinds of games?"

"I'm almost twenty, Grape!"

They reached the concrete structures, which were surrounded by renovation works. They observed them in silence for a few moments, Peanut quickly taking a picture of them.

"Guess we check the stadium now and then head back?" She suggested.

"Sure!" He agreed.

"Can we call up a taxi or something to get home? I think I've been walking for two hours."

"This is the first time you've left home since we moved! You're starting to fatten up." Peanut taunted.

"Really, Peanut?! It's on then! We're going to race home!"

"No! Sorry!"

They soon made their way to the proximities of the stadium seen earlier, stopping by the bollards in the border between the park and the stadium's complex. No park visitors, human or pet, were nearby.

"I think we really shouldn't be here." Grape commented.

"Let's get out. Just wanted to see it up close, sorry." Peanut said hurriedly while observing some of the movement near the stadium. "There's more to see to the left, actually. There's the 'Hall of Science' and the zoo, they're closed for humans because of the disease spread but pets can get in paying full-price."

"Let's leave, We're visiting another park tomorrow anyways." She looked at Peanut sternly. "We shouldn't be coming home too late. Peanut. Remember we're new here! We don't know how dangerous these streets are! Mom and Dad thinks we're just walking the neighborhood right now!"

"Let's head home then. I think we came from the right." He turned right and started walking alongside the stadium complex's edge.

They walked along a small footpath, crossing a small bridge and soon sighting the familiar parking lot they entered the park from.

"Had fun, Grape?" Peanut asked happily as they left the park grounds and entered the city streets again.

"I did, really! Sorry if I'm not showing it. At least it beats staying home talking to Max about all those TV shows he's been binging."

Peanut nodded silently. Noticing that was her first mention of her boyfriend to him since they had to move from their old home.

"How's Tarot by the way?" Grape remembered. "Can't she just teleport herself here?"

"No, not anymore. Since long ago." Peanut answered. "She's really busy with the usual celestial stuff, things are going wild because of those transformed humans."

"Oh! That. Yeah. That was weird."

"As opposed to that temple game you were yourself involved in?" Peanut asked sarcastically.

"That was just really flashy and epic, not weird."

"The time travel and universe-hopping?"

"Can't I just wish for an ordinary life?"

Both of them made their way across the many city blocks separating the park from their home. With some occasional idle chatter between the two.

"You know what? I'll visit the dog club with you someday." Grape suddenly decided.

"Really? That's awesome! You'll love it!"

"Let's temper our expectations a little. You did tell me they have those dog biscuits, right?"

"They do! They even have those 'feral mix' ones you love! And they have a pinball machine! A lot of racing games! They play games at the club's parking lot!" Peanut described with enthusiasm.

"Pretty much an amusement park." Grape deadpanned.

"They're all having pizza this night for Easter! It's gonna be awesome!"

"Not today, Peanut! Today I feel like hibernating until tomorrow night, after this tour."

"Oh, but we're going to Central Park tomorrow! We'll probably walk even more than today."

"Don't remind me." Grape complained and crossed her arms.

Long Island City, Queens, Monday 10:27 AM

The Sandwiches' car drove along an elevated road between modern glass high-rises and skyscrapers, the morning sun shining brightly on them. Peanut and Grape sat on the backseat, both of their human 'parents' in the front seats. Grape sat on the seat's right side, looking at the scenery from the window. Peanut happily pointed at the window from the middle seat.

"This area here is called 'Dutch Kills'!" He took a small glance at his smartphone. "Very recent development, most of these towers are less than ten years old!"

"I'll make sure to steer clear of the Dutch." Grape mocked the name.

"'Kills' is a Dutch word! It means 'creek'."

"I see no water."

Peanut pointed at a big industrial-looking building with three towering smokestacks in the distance. "That's the 'Ravenswood Generating Station'! Oil and Gas power plant built in 1963."

"I can smell the smog already."

"And these brown buildings are the 'Queensbridge Houses'!" He pointed at a group of apartment blocks that could be seen from the elevated avenue. "Bino and his brothers were born here!"

"I'd be very OK with never hearing that name again."

"We're now approaching the 'Queensboro Bridge'! It goes over 'Roosevelt Island'!"

"Peanut, could you please quiet down for a bit? I'm trying to relax and enjoy the drive." Grape tried to hide her increasing annoyance.

"I'm enjoying our impromptu tour guide myself." Earl weighed in from the front seats. Peanut beamed.

"Remember last time we went to Chicago? He was doing that back then too." Jill commented quietly to Earl.

"To the left you can see the United Nations!" Peanut continued. Grape sighed and pressed her head against the window.

Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan, Monday 10:40 AM

A car stopped on the right side of the avenue separating the dense urban area from the forested park, dropping off a cat and a dog.

"We'll drive by here to pick you up at noon, remember that!" Earl shouted from the car to his pets. "You two have fun!" The car quickly pulled out and drove off.

"Bye, Dad!" Peanut waved.

Peanut and Grape briefly stared at the park entrance next to them. "So, do you have anything planned?" Grape started. "This place seems absolutely enormous, make sure we can make our way back here."

"Of course I do." Peanut flashed his smartphone to Grape while smirking. "We'll check out the park and be back in no time!"

"I don't remember you loving that thing so much back in Babylon. If we somehow get lost and have to walk all the way back home, I'm riding you."

"Not happening! And online maps are the best way to check out new places to see. Let's go!"

The pets crossed the park entrance, making their way to a wide footpath bordered by benches. The park was relatively empty for the Monday morning, with some groups of pets and some rare lone human joggers. Some raccoons could be occasionally seen.

"Cool! The Central Park Zoo is right there!" Peanut pointed out, noticing the opened gates they were approaching.

"The gates are just open." The purple cat noted. "Shouldn't there be a ticket booth? Is the zoo even open?"

"Let's just enter!" Peanut hurried, crossing the gates. "Oh boy! I wonder if Alex is here!"

"That was a movie, Peanut!" Grape cried. "Don't tell me you actually think the characters exist!"

"Bino told me it was based on real events!"

"Stop mentioning that person! And it wasn't!" She exclaimed. Grape thought a little as she strolled deeper into the zoo. "And wouldn't they be in a circus right now or something? Don't remember the direction they took the franchise in."

Peanut noticed a set of smaller gates next to a sign directing people to the ticket booths. The gates being currently closed. "Oh. I guess the zoo is closed." The dog frowned.

"Isn't everything closed at this point? Because of the 'pandemic' and all? I tried telling Dad there'd be nothing to do!"

"Calm down, Grape. There's still a lot to see."

They left the zoo area and walked the park's footpaths aimlessly, walking under stone arch bridges carrying the streets crossing the park and passing by some rock formations. A jogger aggressively dodged the slow-moving pets at one point.

"There's a dog statue over there." Grape took note of a bronze statue of a Siberian Husky standing in a proud pose near a footpath junction.

"It's Balto!" Peanut yelled while running at it with a start. "He saved a town in Alaska from a disease outbreak!"

"Isn't Alaska quite a ways from here?" Grape asked as she reached Peanut, who was reading a plaque in front of the statue.

"It was national news! Didn't you watch the movie?"

"You know how I am with staying awake during movies! Especially in your 'Disney Nights'."

"'Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled 'docs' that 'relyed' antitoxin six hundred 'mils' over 'rouch' ice'" Grape partially read the plaque out loud, intentionally misreading some of the words that had awkward formatting. "'Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence'. Wonder what it would take for humans to write these things about us cats."

"The Serum Run of 2021!" Peanut joked.

"That'll be me attempting to drive a car upstate to save an orphanage of sick human children." She continued. "And then they'll build a statue of me in Shanghai." They soon left the statue and made their way to a particularly wide path.

"I guess this is like, the main street." Grape commented.

"It's the 'mall'!" Peanut quickly pointed out. "There's a lake at the end!"

"You remember that without even checking your phone?"

"Of course! You think I don't know where I am?"

"Guess I'm putting my full trust in you. You better not lead me to another cursed temple."

"Why do you keep bringing that up? As if you could hide something in a park inside a huge city."

"Movies have taught me otherwise. Everything mystical happens in this exact park right here."

The duo continued walking the footpath, some pets casually greeting them while passing by. The path ended in an ornate underpass leading to a large fountain in a terrace overlooking a small lake.

"I thought the lake was green but that's just the trees' reflection." Grape noted, both she and Peanut leaning on a short wall overlooking the lake.

"It's like 'Zootopia' in here." Grape observed while looking around, many groups of pets chattering and strolling around the place, some taking pictures. A single human looked down at the terrace from the nearby overpass. "Reminds me of the mall during the Pridelands premieres."

"But it's because humans aren't supposed to be coming outside." Peanut noted sadly. "It's probably not like this normally."

"Small town, eh?" A voice from their side made them quickly look left, seeing a black-collared Golden Retriever with a golden globe tag. One of them recognizing the stranger instantly.

"Rob!" Peanut cried.

"Peanut! What're you doing here in Central Park?"

"Our parents dropped us off here to visit! This here is Grape, my sister!"

"Your parents, huh? Well, pleasure to meet you, Grape! I'm Rob, Peanut here knows me from the little College Point club."

"This is Rob, Grape. The club's co-founder!" Peanut introduced.

"Guess this was completely unavoidable then." She muttered quietly. "Hello." They shook paws. "Pleasure to meet you."

"My owner's visiting some friend in the Upper East Side and I have to wait a lot." The Retriever started telling. "There's nothing to do there so I decided to take a walk here. But later me and him are going to look for some takeout! It will be super cool!" Rob exclaimed happily, Peanut noticing the change from his usual stoic behavior.

"You call him your 'owner'?" Grape asked.

"Uh, yeah? My actual, very canine parents are alive and around, after all. Plus calling a human 'Dad' is just weird!" He explained. "So your humans are showing you around, huh? Thought for a sec that you meant your biologicals and that they were one of those working 'family dogs'. Although them adopting a cat would be pretty out there."

"They drove us here, yup!" Peanut replied. "They're Jill and Earl. They left us here to explore the park until noon. Then they'll try to show us the rest of the city."

"Nice. You two just moved here, right?"

"Last Wednesday, yes." Peanut answered.

"I don't know whether this is the worst time or the best time for sightseeing. Humans basically banned themselves from anything that's 'non-essential' to avoid a virus spread. So while most stuff's just closed, some of the biggest entertainment options can afford to open themselves only for pets, which means a lot less crowding than normal."

"It was like this back home too." The other dog informed. "Any recommendations? Here at the park, I mean?"

"Uhh... Not really my favorite place in town, to be honest. It's just trees." Rob scoffed. "I think the Met would take too long to check before noon. And my owner may call me back at any time too. There's a lawn nearby with an amazing view of the city." He suggested.

"Let's check that out then." Peanut agreed and the group started walking away from the terrace overlooking the lake.

"You certainly seem to act better than the co-founder of Peanut's old club, I'll tell you that." Grape finally commented.

"Oooh... Who's that?" Rob asked with interest.

"Would rather not even say the name. He's always acting all proud and rude! He kicked out the other club leaders and now the club is just some kind of cult meant to celebrate him! But everyone just goes there for free food!"

"It's not like that!" Peanut interjected. "Last year they had a great Easter egg hunt!"

"Of course even them are able to pull that off." Rob muttered to himself. "He's like an inverted Brian then. Dude's been going crazy trying to satisfy the members to the point I don't even think he enjoys it anymore."

The group of pets crossed an opened gate, entering a huge, open lawn. Some pets having picnics or lounging in the sun. Looming over the trees bordering the lawn there was a wall of tall buildings, some very thin skyscrapers jutting behind them, some of them still under construction.

"Neat!" Peanut quickly took a picture of the lawn and the skyline with his smartphone.

"Really not a fan of standing under the sun like this. At least it's morning so it's not that bad." Rob said. "They're building taller and taller buildings each year and people are complaining that they're going to cover the park in shadows. I think this lawn would be much better like that. City people seem to paradoxically think that trees are the best thing and towers are ugly and evil."

"There should be a balance." Grape continued the thought. "Nobody wants claustrophobia even when standing in the middle of a field."

They walked across the lawn and reached the other side, crossing another gate and continuing their walk in a footpath following a fence that surrounded the entire lawn.

"Why is there a fence surrounding an empty field? What are they protecting here?" Grape asked.

"Go figure. Maybe it's to keep the raccoons from littering there at night. I think they close it for the winter too." Rob tried to answer.

"How would a fence stop a raccoon?"

"First step to solving a problem is to make it seem like you're trying to solve it."

The group continued walking slowly, observing the park and some statues of humans in the distance. They soon arrived at a roundabout at the other end of the 'mall' they had crossed earlier.

"Was last night's Pizza Night at the club fine, Peanut? If you were there." Rob inquired suddenly.

"I was. It was great! When are you coming back there?"

"Probably Wednesday. Was actually planning on going today before my owner had plans."

"You think that'd be a good day to have Grape visit?" Grape started looking a little embarrassed.

"Probably. What, is she planning on joining or something? That'd be new."

"No!" She yelled. "I just told him I'd be OK with meeting his new friends in the neighborhood!"

"It's fine! You're welcome there." The Retriever assured. "Now, becoming friends with the local cats is trickier. They kind of just hang around in each other's houses so you have to become friends with one to meet the rest."

"Really? No hangout places for cats?" Grape remembered the old alleys at the edges of Babylon Gardens, which sometimes swarmed with feral and domestic cats looking for discarded food.

"Not that I'm aware of. Not in the neighborhood. There's the local Multiplex which I remember was full of cats last time they released a 'Pridelands'. It's still open only for pets, you know? The high pet population in the area makes that profitable, I guess."

"We should be going, Grape." Peanut interrupted after checking his phone's clock. "It's 11:50" He started walking towards a nearby crosswalk.

"And my owner's surely taking his time, huh?" Rob commented. "Mind if I stick around?"

"We wouldn't mind at all!" Peanut answered as Grape nodded quietly.

The two dogs and cat made their way to the zoo area they entered from. Peanut checking his phone for directions from time to time. The conversation considerably dying down. They eventually left the park and made it back to the sidewalk of Fifth Avenue.

"So, how're you two enjoying 'N Y C'?" Rob asked emphasizing each letter sarcastically. Trying to make some small talk while they waited.

"I like it!" Peanut replied first. "I miss home and my friends but there's so much to see!"

"It's OK." Grape answered neutrally. "Our old home of River Ridge was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, long drives to go anywhere interesting. This is my second day going out, went through some relocation depression once I got here."

"I know that feeling." Rob began. "I moved recently too, such a sudden change of routine can be saddening."

"You're new in New York too?" Grape asked, surprised.

"No, no! I've lived my entire life in College Point but my owners went through a divorce over their kid and I moved away with the man. I live now up in Harlem but try to stay in touch with my old friends."

"Oh, that's rough. I'm sorry." Grape sighed, she started staring at the Retriever's globe-shaped tag. "Does that little globe tag you're wearing mean anything? Pets here rarely use themed tags, I've noticed." She asked.

"It sure does!" He boasted. "I'm a world traveler! Been to all continents, including Antarctica! If you count just flying over it. I'm hoping to go on another trip across Central Europe near the end of the year! Hope to cross Slovenia and Croatia off the country list." He was wagging in an almost Peanut-like fashion.

"Oh, cool. I've been to Egypt once, I think."

"Same! I visited Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and Luxor!" The Retriever wagged. "What about you?"

"Uh... The Merimde."

"'Merimde'? I'll look that up once I'm home, what was there to do there?"

"I... My trip there was under much different circumstances than what you're probably imagining. Let's change topics, Mom and Dad are about to arrive to get us some lunch and show us more of the city. Since you're a local, can you recommend us places to see?"

"Oh! Uh..." The dog pondered for a little. "You don't plan on eating out with your owners, do you? Sit-down for humans is banned statewide still, I believe."

"We'll probably order takeout and eat in the car, don't worry."

"Right, uh... Restaurants here in the Upper East Side are pretty exclusive, richest people in the country probably living there. At least the richest that are OK with living in an apartment instead of a giant mansion. Finding a budget option might be a challenge. In nearby Midtown there's plenty of cheap fast-food chains, Five Guys, McDonald's. All of them open, last time I checked."

"Moving all the way to New York to eat at a McDonald's, great." Grape snarked.

"Hey, it's the safe option! Now, about sightseeing... If you have the money for tickets, The Met and the Natural History Museum nearby are open for pets. Not sure about the Guggenheim. These past days I checked the observation decks at the World Trade Center and Hudson Yards, both also open only for pets! Really great view of the city from above! Enjoy everything before everything's back to normal and we have giant lines everywhere. I certainly am!"

"You're acting like the epidemic's a good thing, you know?"

"Sorry if I'm giving that impression, but do you think pets will be more privileged than humans at any other point in history? In times like this we should just enjoy the moment to avoid all the stress caused by worldwide human suffering and a looming complete economic collapse."

"Alright. I'd really love to talk about anything else right now."

"If you're interested in history it's best to-" Rob interrupted himself to fish his vibrating phone off his collar. "Oh, that's him!" He pointed out to the two. "I've been here since 9 AM, he better have an excuse." Rob grumbled as he answered the phone. "Sup Shane, did you forget to eat or something?... Haha, alright. I was checking the park out to pass the time. I'll be there in a few minutes, wait for me in the lobby already... See you soon, bye." He put the phone away.

Grape and Peanut soon noticed the familiar car approaching them. The car stopping next to the sidewalk and opening the back doors. Rob held off his goodbyes, watching the two other pets preparing to get in the car.

"Dad! Mom!" Peanut called while he and Grape entered the car. "Are we going to eat now?"

"We are." Earl affirmed. "Is that dog with you?" The two humans looked at the Golden Retriever standing next to the car.

"He's Rob! He's from the dog club I go to!" Peanut explained.

"Hello. I'm your new dog." Rob edged getting in the car, then stopping abruptly. "Just kidding!" He joked.

"What a cutie!" Jill exclaimed. Rob blushed a little.

"I was just waiting with your pets for my owner to be finished with some stuff in a nearby apartment. I gotta leave right now, he's already waiting. Peanut! Grape! Hope to see you both at the club this Wednesday!" He waved and walked away.

Grape decided to break the silence of the car ride. "Rob recommended us a lot of stuff to do, since he's a local. I forgot most of it."

"I remember all of it!" Peanut immediately piped in. "He said a lot of stuff is still open but only for pets."

"We know, we looked things up already." Jill affirmed. "Also, you're planning on visiting the dog club, Grape?" She looked at the purple cat.

"I guess! Peanut convinced me earlier. And now one of the founders just went ahead and exposed that to the rest of the family." She complained.

"He's one of the club leaders?" Earl asked, surprised. "Atta boy! Not even a week in and Peanut's getting his connections!" Peanut smiled proudly, unaware of the comment's implications.


These are technically two "chapters". I'm merging them because they're quite short by themselves and also only one day apart.

The second half is about 70% rewritten compared to its original February draft, to better reflect the state of the city in April. I actually really prefer this new version over the original, which had Jill and Earl awkwardly following Peanut and Grape around the park without really saying anything.

About the future of this work: I have about 70K words left to post, with events all the way up to the end of May and one "flashback chapter". So there's still a lot to read even if I suddenly stop writing anything after today, which is unlikely.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Really wonderful job on writing this chapter! Make sure you keep up the good work!
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trekkie
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by trekkie »

Dry interesting story! Correct me if I’m wrong, but I am picking up some sinister implications from that new club. Keep up the good work, I’m interested in seeing how this progresses .
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

In ... triguing. ;)
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

Really enjoying this chill story. I hope Grape enjoys her visit at the dog club, she could use a welcoming community to help her adjust to her new life. :)
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

trekkie wrote:Dry interesting story! Correct me if I’m wrong, but I am picking up some sinister implications from that new club. Keep up the good work, I’m interested in seeing how this progresses .
Can't really correct you without spoiling, can I? I'm honestly curious about what might seem ominous about the club at this point the the story, the way it was presented.

Mild spoilers ahead, just some facts that are known by the three dog club protagonists at this point but aren't necessarily meant to be known by the reader. Some of it gets occasionally brought up but never fully explored, as of where I'm writing right now.

The neighborhood's dog club is just a pet community project of Brian's that he always wanted to start, founded in 2015 with funds from his rich, 2-parents-and-2-human-kids adoptive family.

The main goals of the club are simply providing dog-oriented entertainment to the local population, as College Point is mainly just residential and depends on the rest of New York for leisure options. Not all the club members are necessarily locals, a huge part of them being from the nearby "pet-friendly neighborhood" of Whitestone.

Recently, starting last year. Brian gets his own income from managing a "pet emancipation" project connected to his family's corporation. Similar to the Milton's "ECP". The project manages ownership transfers of paying pets from humans to the corporation itself. Freeing these pets from human ownership in exchange for money. That way they're legally "owned" by the corporation and therefore are still considered "pets" rather than wildlife or strays, enjoying the benefits while also not having to be subject to humans.

That being said, none of the main characters are "emancipated". They're all subject to their human "families".
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trekkie
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by trekkie »

Apologies, sometimes I misread things.
“Freedom has cost too much blood and agony to be relinquished at the cheap price of rhetoric.” - Thomas Sowell

“The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day I accidentally got gin in the steam iron.” Phyllis Diller
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I really do like what you have planned out with the spoilers you posted! They sound like they are gonna be really amazing and make the story even better! ^__^
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

College Point Dogs Club, Wednesday 3:41 PM

The club's first floor had about a dozen dogs in it. Three dogs were taking turns at an arcade machine with the rest enjoying conversations while casually eating. A Beagle and a Golden Retriever with a globe tag talked while sitting down on two chairs that were moved from the podium area, placed against the wall.

"I just can't get into their stuff. It sounds like a mad scientist's computer exploding." Rob answered Xander.

"It's not that weird! You weren't trying to start with their newest stuff, were you?"

"I was! I tried their newest album, which has a name I don't think anyone has ever tried pronouncing."

"No, no, no! Even I can't get into their recent works! Start with their 90s releases, it's really accessible experimental electronica. Then move on to their next albums. Everything past 2010 is just repetitive and boring."

"I'll check it out. Just for you, Xan. Just for you."

Rob grabbed his phone and started looking for something, intending to show it to Xander. He soon noticed a familiar brown dog entering the club, a purple cat tagging along.

He turned the phone's screen off and put it away. Turning to Xander. "Look! Nutty's here, does he usually come this late?"

"Stop it with that nickname! It sounds kinda offensive." He observed the duo briefly. "And he has a cat with him now."

"That's Grape, his roommate. We actually met and spent some time together in the City some days ago."

"You and his roommate?"

"No! Me and the two, at Central Park."

"Hm. Cool." Peanut scanned the room and started making his way to the two sitting dogs, making them anticipate a greeting.

"Hello! Rob! Xander!" Peanut greeted with a smile, a shy Grape standing behind him. "This is Grape, my sister! She's here to meet some new people!"

"Good afternoon." Rob greeted neutrally.

"Pleasure to meet you, Grape!" Xander stood up and shook paws with the cat, prompting Rob to also stand up. "I've heard you're already acquainted with Rob!"

"Yeah, yeah." She started. "We met this Monday, he showed us around a little."

"How was the rest of that day, by the way?" Rob asked.

"It was awesome!" Peanut cut in. "We went to this huge museum with this 'planetarium'! And to a huge tower! I found out Grape is super scared of heights!"

"I'm not!" She yelled. "You shoved me onto a glass floor! What reaction did you expect?!"

"Peanut! You'd do that to your sister?" Xander playfully asked.

"It was funny though!"

"So..." Rob began. "You guys wanna do something? The arcades maybe? Or go outside and get some fresh air?"

"Where's Brian?" Peanut questioned.

"Upstairs doing some administraton work. Or maybe just watching YouTube videos, who knows."

"I'm gonna go introduce Grape! Be right back!" The duo walked away towards the stairs. Making their way up, they found themselves facing a lone dog at a desk using a computer. He immediately reached for his mouse and clicked a few times upon noticing the dog and cat.

"Peanut! What brings you here?" The Retriever greeted. "Is that your cat roommate Rob told me about?"

"Indeed she is." Grape cut in. "I suppose you're Brian, the ringleader. Nice to meet you."

"Uh. Yeah! I founded the club many years ago. A place for the many pets of this little residential neighborhood to gather for entertainment!" He almost boasted.

"If it's for all pets why is it called a 'Dogs Club'?"

"Oh! Well... I'd probably say 'dogs' instead of 'pets' in that sentence if you were one. But this club would welcome anyone! It's just that this club's activities are mostly aimed at dogs. Clubs with members of multiple species are usually clubs that deal with specific interests, rather than just general entertainment." The Retriever explained.

"Right..." Grape tried to register the explanation. "Do you know any cats around here?"

"Most of them! The social ones at least. Want me to introduce you to someone?"

"Actually..." Grape pondered for a second. "Scratch that. Only as a last-ditch effort."

"You haven't met any? I do know that most of them are kind of shut-ins."

"Not that I'm any better."

"Grape was close with very few people in our old neighborhood." Peanut interjected. "She just had a boyfriend and some of my friends by association."

"Peanut!" Grape objected. "It's rude to reveal my personal life to strangers!" She turned to the club founder. "I don't even know what's going on with Maxwell, how do I make a long-distance relationship work? Not to mention how cold our romance's been recently. I've probably snuggled more with Peanut than with him!" Peanut immediately blushed furiously.

"Romantic relationships are a complicated subject indeed." Brian began. "Taking that leap from romance to family-raising is very complicated and should take into account a lot of planning, not that it's necessary. Nothing wrong with having a life partner without your own kids, that's the norm with most pets, after all. There's also issues concerning job-seeking and even emancipation, if you want a truly independent family. But I'm avoiding talking about that here in the club to avoid some conflicts of interest."

"Let's please change the subject!" Grape pleaded. "And anyway, Peanut. I'm friends with Res, and that had nothing to do with you."

"True." He agreed. "And he's not from Babylon. In fact, he spends a lot of time here in New York! Hard not to when you work in big media."

"Big media?" Brian inquired. "Is he famous or something?"

"No, his 'owner' is." Grape informed.

"Anyways. Let's go, Grape!" Peanut started running back downstairs. "Rob and Xander are waiting!" Both Grape and Brian tried to exchange courteous goodbyes but were unable to, the cat soon leaving to follow Peanut.

The duo soon appeared back downstairs. The two waiting co-founders interrupting their conversation as they approached.

"So. How was Brian?" Rob asked Grape.

"He's alright." She shrugged. "We accidentally talked about cats for minutes."

"Yeah, that's cat-loving Brian for you."

"Really?" Peanut widened his eyes. "He's interested in cats?"

"Nah, not really. I'm just teasing. He doesn't have any special interest as far as I know. Unlike someone else in here." Rob avoided looking at a glare from Xander.

"He tries to keep track of the population." The Beagle explained. "You end up having to know a lot of cats for that. Most populous pet species in the neighborhood after all."

"For real?" Peanut replied.

"It's in line with the national average." Rob added. "There are slightly more cats than dogs around."

"Huh, you'd think otherwise." The only cat in the group commented.

"We're gonna hit the road now!" Xander suddenly exclaimed. "Me and Rob decided to see if we can catch a movie before he goes back home! We're walking to the multiplex and if you want to you can come with us! Rob's paying." Rob nodded.

"We definitely want to!" Peanut cheered. "Right, Grape?"

"Right." She started following the group towards the main doors. "I wonder if I can somehow get a driving license." She muttered to herself.

Multiplex Cinemas, College Point, Queens, Wednesday 4:26 PM

An average-sized cinema complex stood in the center of a large parking lot. With just a few cars parked in the non-handicapped spots closer to the building. Three dogs and a cat were crossing the lot, walking towards the cinema. Some groups of pets chatted next to the main entrance while two K-9 officers stood next to the set of doors, controlling the access to the insides.

"So, let me finally check the showtimes." Rob started as they stopped close to the entrance, tapping on his smartphone. "You two can choose different movies if you want to."

"Haven't been to a theater in almost a year, I think." Xander observed. "I'm OK with watching anything as long as it's not superheroes." Peanut frowned a little.

"That's a very big restriction nowadays, actually." Rob deadpanned. "Uhh... April 15, 5 PM... 'Mulan'?" He suggested to Xander.

"Chinese propaganda for the Chinese market. Also this Disney remake trend is stupid." He scoffed.

"'The New Mutants'? It's an X-Men spin-off."

"Hard pass! What did I tell you?!"

"How about 'A Quiet Place: Part II'?"

"No idea what that is. I'm not watching a sequel to something I don't know."

"'No Time To Die'? It's the new James Bond movie."

"I can tolerate that. Didn't that horrible new pop singer make a song for it?"

"So picky." Grape piped in. "No wonder you haven't seen a movie since forever."

"Picky and proud! If only everyone else had such cynicism, maybe they wouldn't be repeating the same idea over and over."

"James Bond it is then." Rob decided. "You two?" He turned to the new neighbors.

"I'm fine with that." Grape answered. Peanut nodded and wagged.

"You're both over four, aren't you?" The Retriever inquired.

"Yes." Grape answered impatiently. "Let's go before there are no seats left! This movie released like, a week ago." She crossed the complex's doors, the rest of the group following her.

"No seats on a Wednesday? Debata-" The group collectively widened their eyes as they saw the massive crowds formed in the complex's main lobby, many dozens of pets waiting to buy tickets and food.

"Oh." Rob uttered. "I forgot how many theaters they closed even for pets throughout the city, everyone probably had to come to this one. It's almost like we're not in the middle of nowhere."

"Ah, yes. College Point, New York City. Pretty much the new Wyoming." Xander deadpanned.

"Manhattan is the self-proclaimed 'Center of the Universe'! Everything else might as well be the Central Asian deserts!" Rob continued.

"Stop rambling and get on line before we have to get terrible seats, Rob!" Xander hurried. "We three will buy the food!"

"Get me the small bucket!" Rob shouted while the rest of the group got farther. "And just water!"

Sandwich Residence, Wednesday 8:18 PM

A black sedan approached the red-bricked building the dog and cat now lived in. A lone human driver sat on the driver's seat. Two dogs and a cat sat on the backseat.

"You can stop here already!" Peanut warned the driver. The car slowing down to a stop. "See you soon Rob!" He said his goodbyes as he opened the rear door.

"See you soon Peanut! Hope to see you around Grape!" Rob shouted just before Grape got out of the vehicle and shut the door, the car soon began moving again and disappeared from view after turning a corner.

"So... You liked the movie?" Peanut asked Grape as they started walking towards their house.

"I enjoyed it. Was awake for all of it at least. Three hours though?"

"We didn't plan on arriving this late. Mom and Dad will understand though! What about the club dogs? As bad as you assumed?"

"A step up from before. Nice people, really. What do we plan on getting from all of this? You introduced me to your new friends, but I don't want to be 'that cat that's always with Peanut'."

"It's a good start. Brian told you he can introduce you to some of the cats."

"I don't know why I'm trying so hard anyways! Friendships should just form naturally!"

"Because Mom told you to make new friends?"

"Manipulated by humans again! How do they keep getting away with it?!" The two reached the top of their house's front stairs, Grape unlocking the door and getting in with the dog tagging behind.

"You two!" Earl called from the sofa. "You must've had a lot of fun to come home this late, huh? Or did something bad happen?"

"We went to the movies!" Peanut cheered, sitting down on the sofa and grabbing his Switch from a nearby end table, Grape locking the front door and heading straight upstairs. "It turned out to be three hours long though!"

"It happens. Try to not go beyond 10 PM, OK?" Earl suggested.

"We won't." Peanut soon was lost in a game he booted up.

Hermon Atkins MacNeil Park, College Point, Queens, Friday 2:31 PM

A lone purple cat was walking the neighborhood's waterfront park's perimeter from east to west, observing the brown apartment blocks of the Bronx across the river in the cloudy afternoon. A few pets played by themselves but the cat's attention was caught by a lone cat observing the river at the western side of the park.

Grape approached the gray tabby cautiously, the cat looking intently at the river while leaning on the promenade fence. "Is there something fascinating you can see from here?" She small-talked.

"What? Oh... Um." The male cat replied shyly with a start. "I'm just... Uh... Plane spotting."

"And what is that exactly?" Grape feigned some interest.

The cat looked a little embarrassed. "It's watching the planes taking off and landing at the airport, can you see them?" Grape looked across the river, seeing a few passenger planes moving over a flat area. The faint city skyline loomed over in the distance. Both cats leaned on the fence and observed in awkward silence.

"I see some." She answered simply.

"Active runway right now is runway four." Grape nodded and pretended to understand. "Starting the takeoff roll right now is an American Eagle. 'Romeo-Papa-Alfa Four-Four-Niner-Two', Embraer 175, New York to Columbus, Ohio." Grape was just dumbfounded at that sentence. Soon a plane could be seen moving towards them, taking off and climbing over the river as it banked left and moved away from the two observers.

"Entering the runway now is a Delta." He continued after a long pause, losing most of his shyness. Grape just continued looking at the view. "Airbus A321, 'Delta-Lima One-Eight-Seven-Seven', to Atlanta." The plane came clearly into view after some moments. Repeating the last aircraft's movements.

"Next is an American. 'Alfa-Alfa Two-Two-One-Tree', 737 heading to Miami."

"How do you memorize all this stuff?!" Grape asked, flabbergasted.

"I don't, of course! That'd be crazy! I'm just keeping track of them here."

Grape looked away from the river to see the tabby showing a phone that had a map with a number of moving yellow blips in it. "Ah, of course, technology." She sneered.

The other cat started observing the airport again, stopping his commentary. Grape decided to try breaking the ice. "So you come here and watch the planes usually?"

"It's not exactly a hobby, no. I have some interest in aviation and decided to stop here before heading home."

"And before coming here you were?"

"At a friend's house." He answered promptly.

"Sorry if I'm intruding too much, I moved here recently and don't know anyone."

"It's fine." The conversation awkwardly died off after the apology.

"I live with a dog." The purple cat began again trying to start a conversation. "He introduced me to the 'dog club'. Do the local cats here have anything similar?"

"You visited the dog club?!"

"Is there a problem with that?" Grape asked with a curious rather than aggressive tone.

"Not to me, but some of the cats have weird objections to befriending the dogs."

"Oh great! This place is pretty much a reverse Babylon then." She complained.

"'Reverse Babylon'? Is that something religious?"

"Oh! Babylon is the name of my old neighborhood." Grape clarified. "There was a dog club there that really wanted to keep dogs and cats separate. While the cats didn't really care who you chose to hang out with."

"I see. Thought that was some kind of idiom." He paused briefly. "Where's that, by the way? Just curious."

"Edges of River Ridge, near Chicago."

"Oh! Didn't they have that case about transformed humans there?!"

"No! That was just some impostor wildlife trying to get in the ferrets' weird 'animal civilization' program easily." Grape lied to avoid the unusual subject.

"Figures. I never got that update." The tabby pretended to understand the reference to ferrets and programs.

"So the cats don't have a club?" Grape suddenly steered the conversation.

"*We* don't. But we have a Discord with a lot of the cats here. I guess that's the closest thing to a club. Sometimes we have meetups in the City, usually once a week or so."

"A Discord?! Really?! What's with this place and this dependence on technology?"

"Don't be a luddite, it's practical. We don't have some rich dude renting a building for us like the dogs do."

"Actually a good point, back home the cats hung out near the alley dumpsters."

"Things are going that bad in Chicago, huh?" He joked. "I don't have Discord on my phone. Mind coming to my house and I send you the invite there?"

"Sure. I don't know how that works, I only use it to chat to some people."

"It's just a link you have to copy, let's go then." The tabby started leaving the promenade.

"I guess we never introduced ourselves. My name is Spline." The male cat revealed after the duo walked a few blocks in silence.

"Pleased. My name's Grape."

"Guess your parents were fixated on your fur color. What breed is that, by the way?"

"That's only part of the reason for the name, and I have no idea. Peanut jokes that I'm a shiny cat, like a Pokémon."

"That the dog you live with?"

"Yeah."

Ramirez Residence, College Point, Queens, Friday 3:00 PM

The tabby unlocked the main door of his house and held it open for his new acquaintance. "Mom! I'm back home! Visitor with me!" He yelled after locking the door again.

"Kay!" A disinterested shout came from another room.

"My PC's upstairs! Just follow me!" The cat trotted towards the stairs.

The two cats entered the dark bedroom, Spline walking to the closed curtains and pulling them up, revealing the room. Both cats turned their attention to a computer desk as Spline headed towards it, a game console and a desktop computer standing on it. Grape looked curiously at the computer case's tempered glass side panel, some of the components inside lighting up in green as Spline pressed the power button.

He waited for the OS to boot up, sitting down and looking away from Grape shyly. The chat client's black window soon appeared on the monitor. "OK... I'm a mod so I can give you an invite link." He quickly clicked on a few tabs. "Here it is." Grape started getting her smartphone and preparing to copy the link manually. "Actually..." The tabby began. "The server's going to notify when you join. So only use it if you're ready to start talking. Let me set the invite to never expire... Alright."

"So should I just copy it for now?"

"Take a picture of it, maybe save it on the notepad, y'know?"

Grape opened a notepad application and started writing the link letter-by-letter, making sure the capitalization in the randomly-generated code was correct. "I'm done, thanks for everything."

"No problem! Hope you can find some friends!"

"Me too. Goodbye!" Grape started to leave the room.

"Bye! Ask mom to unlock the door!"

Sandwich Residence, Friday 11:57 PM

The living room stood in silence in the night. A purple cat was stretched along the sofa, using an old laptop computer and looking at a phone. A brown dog sat on a nearby cat bed. Silently playing with a portable console plugged into an outlet.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Grape thought as she entered the link into a text bar.

'Cats of Queens' Discord Server, The Internet, Friday 11:57 PM

The chatroom consisted of three sections. On the left a list of 'server channels' separating the discussion into topics, '#general' currently highlighted. On the right a huge list of members had mainly pictures of animation stills or drawings as their avatars, the odd ones out being actual pictures of cats. At the center was the main chat area. Showing the most recently sent messages.


MEE6 [BOT] Today at 11:57 PM
@Grape#2881 Has joined the server! Welcome!


a Today at 11:57 PM
whomst would that be


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 11:58 PM
food's here!


Grape Today at 11:58 PM
Hello
Spline invited me here


a Today at 11:58 PM
no idea who that is
lol


Grape Today at 11:59 PM
one of the mods
at least he told me


N3rveX Today at 11:59 PM
first name basis with the mods already huh
this one is protected


Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 11:59 PM
what do u even mean by that
hello @Grape !
welcome to the server


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:00 AM
Welcome!


_Ksk_ Today at 12:00 AM
Invites aren't public anymore
So anyone joining had to ask the mods personally
And Spline is @OldArch
He's offline


Grape Today at 12:01 AM
right
he told me this is a good place to meet local cats
and I believe he was mistaken


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:01 AM
whoa hitting the sass already


a Today at 12:01 AM
meet hot cats in your area!!


N3rveX Today at 12:02 AM
sorry for the bad impresssion
we will now debate respectfully in a civilized manner


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:02 AM
yeah dont leave immediately lol
wouldnt be the first time tbh


Grape Today at 12:03 AM
No its fine
just making sure you all know why im here


a Today at 12:03 AM
is that you in your avatar?


Grape Today at 12:03 AM
it is
me from like 3 years ago


Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 12:04 AM
is ur name related to your fur color by any chance?


Grape Today at 12:04 AM
what do you think
hating my dad more and more each passing day


N3rveX Today at 12:04 AM
could be worse


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:05 AM
I met this cat once
called Genocide
which frankly
is a super sick name
but he hated it
and i had to call him Geno


_Ksk_ Today at 12:06 AM
I don't think you're in any place to judge names


N3rveX Today at 12:06 AM
seriously
switch your @ already


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:06 AM
no


_Ksk_ Today at 12:06 AM
OldArch is from College Point isn't he?
@Grape you from there?
That's in the north end close to LaGuardia Airport


Grape Today at 12:07 AM
Funny you should mention the airport
I met him staring at the planes from the park
telling me their flight number and plane model
lol


a Today at 12:07 AM
wow


Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 12:07 AM
lol i would never guess
hes always here talking about video games


N3rveX Today at 12:08 AM
I would never guess because he told me ace combat sucks once
must be one of those blowhards who hate anything that isn't a sim


Grape Today at 12:09 AM
and yes @_Ksk_ im from college point
moved in a few weeks ago
from river ridge IL


a Today at 12:09 AM
big move huh
hope you enjoy queens
i dont


Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 12:09 AM
isnt the squirrel human from there


Grape Today at 12:09 AM
STOP THAT
every time
someone brings that up to me


N3rveX Today at 12:10 AM
It's your town's claim to fame dude
gotta get some tourism out of that
because what would you visit illinois for


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:10 AM
get that new york elitism outta here
and werent you from montana or something


N3rveX Today at 12:10 AM
for like a year


Grape Today at 12:11 AM
river ridge has a theme park
based on theme parks


a Today at 12:11 AM
Six flags: Six flags


Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 12:12 AM
what a meme


Grape Today at 12:16 AM
Do you people like pridelands
just desperately trying to talk about something here


N3rveX Today at 12:16 AM
the books or the movies?


Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 12:16 AM
pridelands is colonialist schlock made for horny teenagers lol
no offense


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:17 AM
didnt the ending suck or something
remember some drama about that


N3rveX Today at 12:17 AM
Yeah it did
hopefully they change it in the movie
people will complain whether they change it or not
but if they change it
it will only be the 3 people who liked the last book complaining


a Today at 12:18 AM
the books are so obviously written by a cat btw


N3rveX Today at 12:18 AM
lol for real
like
what human writes felines like that
auburn has some shelter cat trapped in her basement
forced to come up with more books
and that explains the decline in quality


Grape Today at 12:19 AM
first of all
how dare you
all of you
that ending was subversive and beautiful
second of all
your not too off the mark n3rvex
wait why did i type that


_Ksk_ Today at 12:19 AM
I liked it, Grape
So you're not alone here
That means that 2 out of the 3 fans are accounted for


Grape Today at 12:20 AM
Not every ending has to give the fans all they want
and it ties everything together nicely


N3rveX Today at 12:20 AM
No it doesn't what lol
it's full of plot holes
it makes the second book literally meaningless
what a waste


ZentrixSM Today at 12:22 AM
Hey guys sorry for asking this so late
but are tomorrow's plans still set
for game night at Jon's place


a Today at 12:22 AM
shut up dog
pridelands talk is restricted cat territory


_Ksk_ Today at 12:23 AM
Stop that, Nate
I know you're just teasing
But we don't want species wars in this server
And @ZentrixSM Jon hasn't deconfirmed anything
So it's up


ZentrixSM Today at 12:23 AM
ok good
Rob told me something about Jon's owners being away
and I thought that would affect the plans


_Ksk_ Today at 12:24 AM
Them being away is why the plans exist at all
They do have babies after all
Can't have a bunch of animals rocking up the place


ZentrixSM Today at 12:24 AM
Yeah makes sense


Grape Today at 12:25 AM
@ZentrixSM who's Rob?
Rob from the dog club?


ZentrixSM Today at 12:25 AM
Yeah that Rob
oh wait you're Peanut's roommate
Didn't notice you're here


Grape Today at 12:25 AM
you're Xander?


ZentrixSM Today at 12:26 AM
yeah lol


Grape Today at 12:26 AM
what are YOU doing here?
i thought this chat was for cats


_Ksk_ Today at 12:26 AM
Grape, don't make me warn you too
Zentrix is here because some of his friends are here
And all mods are OK with it


ZentrixSM Today at 12:27 AM
^
Only dog in this chat btw
honorary cat pretty much


Grape Today at 12:27 AM
Sorry, that came out wrong
I have nothing against dogs here
I live with a dog myself


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:28 AM
ew


ZentrixSM Today at 12:28 AM
Yeah and you kinda hung out with 3 dogs this week lol
but don't worry I'm ok with your dog-loving ways
and as a honorary cat I hope the others are too


N3rveX Today at 12:29 AM
keep your fetishes to yourselves
anyway @Grape check out this review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lUfaeCAjic
goes over my grievances with that last book
and the overall series


Grape Today at 12:30 AM
I'm not going to dislike something because a human in a suit tells me to
but ill check that out later
going to bed now
good night


N3rveX Today at 12:30 AM
Sleep at midnight? amateur
cya


Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 12:31 AM
gn grape


Apologies in advance for the scroll-destroying format.

Wednesday chapter turned out a little dull in my opinion, so here's also the Friday one as a bonus. I'm also trying to keep updates at around 5K words, since my latest chapters are usually hovering around that instead of the 2-3K of the first ones, back when characters weren't developed enough for me to come up with longer conversations and I wasn't planning on anyone but me reading this.

I remember back when I wrote this I was afraid one of the mentioned movies would be delayed and I'd have to change the dialogue in the movie scene, if only I knew.

And before anyone asks. No, the YouTube link isn't meant to work.
Last edited by Wortge on Sun May 10, 2020 3:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
Amazee Dayzee
Posts: 25846
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:24 pm

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Really loving the work you are putting into this! Please keep writing!
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

I'm sad to hear that Grape's relationship isn't working out. She could use a friend like Spline. Great chapter Wortge.
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

College Point Dogs Club, Saturday 5:14 PM

A few dogs ran around the almost empty parking lot at the side of the club building, a bone-tagged Canadian Pointer in their midst. Inside, the food table was completely empty and only a hammer-tagged Golden Retriever and a Beagle were present. The Retriever using a dance cabinet and being cheered on by the Beagle.

"How do you miss there after nailing the middle?" Xander asked as the level ended.

"I have no idea what I was doing, dude." Brian replied.

"That's most of the game in a nutshell." He stopped and pondered for a while. "Try 'Clockwork Genesis' now. Medium difficulty."

"Will that kill me instantly?"

"You wouldn't trust your dear coach? It's easy and plays to your strengths. And you've done it before."

Brian browsed the song selection screen and selected an electronic song. Passing the level modestly well. "Well, that was kind of a disaster." He complained.

"That's one percent lower than your PB! Really good considering your hiatus!" Xander encouraged.

"My 'hiatus'." The Retriever scoffed. "As if I'm playing this game all the time otherwise. You know I play casually and don't aspire to become a god like you."

"I never did, to be honest! It just happened." Xander tried to say modestly. "You want to continue going?"

"No, I'm shot." Brian said tiredly. "I'm stopping and closing the club for the afternoon too. If it's OK with you."

"Yeah, I'm heading home too. Have to clean myself up and get ready to go to Jon's place. You up for it?"

"With all your cat friends? Nope, too awkward."

"Awkward indeed!" Xander smiled. "But they're fun guys! Catch you later then!" He started heading to the main doors.

"Later."

As Xander got outside and turned on the sidewalk he immediately faced a waiting purple cat, making him jump.

"Hello, 'honorary cat'." The cat smirked.

"Grape!" The surprised Beagle yapped. "What are you doing here?! Were you waiting for me?!"

"Not exactly. You see, I just found out about this dog who's knee-deep in the local cat circle."

"It's not a cat circle!" The dog started walking again, heading to his house, the purple cat following him. "It's just friends, who happen to be cats! Them being cats has nothing to do with it, they just play the games I do!"

"And you're in the Discord made for cats living in Queens because?"

"Because they're all there! Isn't that an obvious answer?"

"Alright, alright." Grape toned down the sarcasm. "Sorry, I have some experience with a dog desperately trying to hide a deep love for cats."

"Who? Peanut?" Grape's eyes widened immediately. "He made it pretty obvious with all the snuggling at the theater." Xander continued without noticing Grape's reaction.

"What?! How?! When?!"

"Which? Who? Where? Why? Come on, Grape! You were even purring!" Grape was completely speechless. "But roommate love is nothing special, even with the species barrier. So stop assuming having cat friends means I want to marry a cat lady and trying to shame me for 'trying to hide' it!"

Grape finally regained her composure. "Alright, alright. 'Honorary cat' business aside, I'm here because I want to come with you to 'Jon's Game Night'."

"You made that sound like a date." He laughed. "And it only begins in like, two hours. I'm going home right now."

"Right. Can you pick me up at my home then?"

"I... Don't know where that is."

"Oh... I haven't memorized my address yet. I'll be at your house before seven o'clock OK? I remember where it is from the Uber ride after we went to the movies."

"OK, Grape. See you then." Xander waved at the cat walking by his side.

"See you." They parted ways.

Stevenson Residence, College Point, Queens, Saturday 6:31 PM

In the house's living room a lone human sat at a desk placed in the corner, staring at a computer monitor intently. A Beagle was sitting on the room's sofa, playing a game console. The TV screen showing a hypercar racing around a race track. A doorbell suddenly rang, catching only the human's attention.

"Now that's a rare sound." The male, late-twenties human commented. "You didn't call anyone, did you Xan?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no." The dog replied, full attention on his game.

The man looked through the main door's peephole, seeing a purple cat standing outside, waiting.

"It's a cat." He informed Xander. "Do you know them?"

"Oh!" He paused the game and stood up. "I forgot! I'm supposed to bring her to the game night today, it's a bit too early though." He started walking towards the door, the human returning to his computer to let his dog open the door instead.

"Is that your girlfriend or something?" The human questioned.

"It's a cat!" The Beagle yelled.

"And?"

"No! What's going on today?!" Xander opened the door and was soon facing Grape.

"Good evening." She said diplomatically. "I'm here for the game night, as discussed."

"You're super early, it's one block from here. We have half an hour left."

"If only someone had clarified that. Can I wait here then?"

"Sure, come in!" Xander invited with the friendliest tone he could. Letting Grape in and closing the door. "I was just playing video games here to kill time, and that in the corner is Walt."

"Hello." She said to the human at the room's end.

"Hey." The man greeted, not turning his eyes from the monitor.

Xander got on the sofa again and continued his game. Grape taking a look around the room and eventually sitting on the sofa too, watching the gameplay with little interest.

"First place, huh?" The cat commented.

"I have to win this race to get a car I want." Xander started explaining. "It's ninety laps though, so I just run a few laps until I get bored and then pause the game to do something else."

"Hope it's all worth it."

"Unlikely, blame my collectionism."

Grape watched in silence for minutes, the lap counter finally reached the eighties eventually.

"The car this race unlocks is actually this really old motor carriage. It's pretty much a joke car."

"Uh-huh."

"I just want to take it to the hilly race tracks and see if I can complete a lap." More silence resumed.

"I don't recognize you." The human in the room directed to Grape. "You a new friend of Xan?"

"I guess, I'm using him to get introduced to the local cat circle."

"I see. Ironic you need a dog for that."

"Well, a 'honorary cat' is the next best thing."

"Stop bringing that up!" Xander barked. "We could go now, to be honest." He paused the game, got up and turned the TV off. "They won't mind us being ten minutes early."

"Let's move then." They both headed out of the house, Xander waving at his owner.

Cornell Residence, College Point, Queens, Saturday 6:52 PM

Cat and dog both climbed the front stairs of a relatively large two-story house, the Beagle proceeding to ring the doorbell.

The front door opened, revealing a male Skogkatt. "Xander! Glad you could make it!" The cat greeted. "Oh, you brought someone?" He noticed the accompanying purple cat.

"Last-minute change of plans. Sorry for not telling. Kinda forgot to be honest." The Beagle excused. "That's Grape, friend of a friend." The Beagle entered the house, leaving the two cats at the door.

"Hello." The silver-furred cat greeted cordially. "So you're Grape? You were in the chatroom yesterday, weren't you?"

"Yes, that would be me. Hi."

"Hi! My name's Monarch. My nickname there was 'Kay Es Kay'. Glad to meet you in person."

"Glad to meet you too, Monarch." Both cats shook paws, Grape soon entering the house before Monarch closed the door behind them. She looked at the main room. Xander and an orange tabby were seated in a four chair table set, the tabby behind a GM screen already set up. Elsewhere in the room a lone white Siberian cat was playing a video game on the room's TV.

"We're playing 'Star Trek Adventures' today." The Skogkatt explained. "There should be room for an extra chair if you want in. We're still waiting for the last player, not that he's late. Everyone's super early today for some reason."

"Rare thing to complain about." Grape commented.

"Everyone!" Monarch called for the room's attention, everyone else turning their heads towards him. "This is Grape! She joined 'Cats of Queens' yesterday! Apparently acquainted with Xander here!" The rest looked away again as the introduction ended.

"Acquainted, huh?" The orange cat commented curiously to Xander.

"Yes, we went to the movies with Rob this week. And if you imply anything more I'm leaving!" He warned teasingly.

"So you're joining, Grape?" Monarch asked as he approached the game table, Grape staying near him.

"Star Trek Tabletop RPG? I don't really know this one."

"Willing to try?"

"No, I'm good. I'm off to the TV."

"Alright, have fun!" He took a seat facing Xander.

Grape proceeded to the sofa facing the TV set, sitting close to the quiet cat. "Hey." She greeted casually.

"Hey." He replied shyly. "I'm Wolf."

"Hi, Wolf." Grape chuckled internally at the canine name. She paid attention to the TV, showing a sports car speeding up along a large empty freeway.

"Great, I guess this is just fated to be the rest of my day then." She thought sarcastically.

The purple cat watched as the car did some turns and dodged a few other cars. "So, did you watch the video?" The Siberian started.

"What video?"

"The one I linked." Wolf waited for the other cat to answer, who just stood in confused silence. "Let me introduce myself again." He began again. "I'm Wolf, my nickname in the Discord is 'Nerve X'."

"Oh, you're the book critic." She mocked. "No, I didn't. Wasn't home much today."

"I see. More of the outside type?"

"Uhh... Not really. Was mostly making company to my brother."

"Cool. Biological or home-sharing brother?"

"The latter. A dog, in fact."

"I see." Wolf was trying to make the computer-controlled cars crash into each other in the game, failing and looking noticeably bored.

The doorbell rang. "There he is!" The orange tabby at the game table exclaimed. "Three minutes late! Making up for your excessive prematureness." Xander got up to answer the door this time, opening the door and revealing a gray tabby cat.

"Glad to have you here, Spline." The Beagle greeted. "We're just getting started."

"Right." He entered the room and Xander closed the door. "We're doing the Star Trek one, aren't we?" He crossed the room but stopped as he noticed the purple cat sitting with Wolf. "Grape! You're here?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I was told about the 'Game Night' at the Discord." She clarified. "Good evening, Spline."

"Good evening." He continued to the table. "I met her yesterday. Added her to our Discord too." He explained.

Discussion over the game picked up at the game table. Contrasting with the awkward silence at the TV set.

"My brother's name is Peanut, by the way." Grape small-talked. "You know him?"

"Your *dog* brother?" He sneered. "No, I don't." Grape tried to hide her offense.

"Gold coming from 'Wolf' over here." She shot back, pointing at him.

"Oh, we're already going there, aren't we? But no, I don't know him. And that's because I'm not a local, not because I hate dogs."

"You're not from New York?"

"I'm not from College Point. I live in Forest Hills."

"Oh." Grape pretended to know of the neighborhood. "Hard to meet new people here. The streets seem devoid of pets."

"Have you tried the parks?"

"Yes, mostly dogs frequent it. I've been told that barring worldwide epidemics human children are also usually there. But I ended up meeting Spline while walking there."

"Well, there you go then." He congratulated. "Flushing Meadows Park is right next to my house, lots of dogs and cats there. But a lot are tourists."

"Been there, and I'm not taking that walk again."

"You walked all the way from here? Wow. Can't imagine doing that."

"Blame the 'dog brother'." The conversation paused for a few minutes.

"Back in my old home there were a lot of pets outside, everywhere, more than humans." Grape revealed. "It was a neighborhood branded as 'pet-friendly'. Humans with pets were encouraged to move there so they lived close to all the other pet-owning humans, making sure that their pets could meet other pets very easily."

"I see." Wolf replied with mild interest. "Kinda like Whitestone."

"'Whitestone'? Is that close?"

"Very. It neighbors College Point, it's east of the bridge."

"And you have pets walking all over the place there?"

"Probably, haven't been there a lot. Quite far from my stomping grounds."

The Siberian cat gave a little pause. "My stomping grounds being mainly my house and the local mall, of course." He added self-deprecatingly.

"Wanna play something?" He offered. "There's another controller there next to the TV, but they don't really make split-screen games anymore. Shame. We can try finding something."

"Sure. Half of my day was watching Peanut play outside and I don't want to make that the other half too." She got up and got the extra controller.

Wolf was checking a pile of game cases inside the TV stand. "Jon! Are you OK with me choosing another game?"

"Choose whatever!" The orange tabby answered from their game. "Just make sure you disable autosave! And most of the games are in the hard drive!"

"Right!" He gave up on looking inside the cabinet. Getting back on the sofa and grabbing his controller. Grape already sitting with a controller in hand, waiting. "Last console I had it was all CDs." He commented to Grape.

Wolf was staring at an on-screen game list, scrolling idly. "Are you OK with shooting games? I don't have much experience, especially with a controller."

"That just means we'll be playing on a level field. Go ahead." She smirked. Wolf nodded and started the game.

The Siberian cat fiddled with the game settings, unfamiliar with the game. Both cats in silence. Eventually he managed to set up a split-screen match with no AI-controlled opponents between the two.

"Here we go then." Wolf spoke. "So what's your experience with this type of game?"

"Uh, none? I rarely ever play video games unlike all the nerds around here." She teased.

"What do you play then?"

"Hmm... I watch TV, I browse the Internet, I try to take naps, I go out with Peanut or with friends, I do 'Imaginate' sessions at home."

"And what would those sessions entail?"

"Uh..." Grape got a little embarrassed at the request for an explanation. "We put paper bags over our heads and play out different types of media."

"You LARP at home?! And we're the nerds here?!" Wolf laughed.

"Shut up! It's fun." Grape playfully retorted. "Everyone here is always stuck indoors playing video games or chatting online. The fact I go outside at all should cancel it out."

"Hehe. That's the big city for you. We can't all run outside to play in the woods and get eaten by the local wildlife."

"To be honest..." Grape started. "When I think of lots of pets outside that's from like, ten years ago. Nowadays when I think of it, the Gardens are as deserted as College Point here. The local dog club is dying, the dogs moved from playing with their balls and sticks to playing with their handhelds and phones, not to mention the ones joining the police force for some codforsaken reason. The 'pet-friendly' spirit of the Gardens has declined and all that's left is yet another American decadent suburbia."

"Whew." He whistled at her little speech, which she somehow gave while killing his character twice. "Guess you don't miss the 'Gardens' as much as you thought then? Rose-tinted glasses and all."

"I'll always miss it. The people, not the place. And by the 'Gardens' I mean Babylon Gardens, in River Ridge, by the way."

"The squirrel city, I know."

"Don't start."

Sandwich Residence, Saturday 9:46 PM

Earl sat on the living room's sofa, using a laptop computer while the TV talked to no one in particular. The door could be heard being unlocked and soon a purple cat stepped into the house.

"Staying outside longer than Peanut for once, eh? You had fun Grape?" The human asked as the cat made her way to her little cat bed.

"Yeah, 'Game Night' was fun. Met some of the local cats. The nerds at least." She lay down on her bed, looking at the TV restfully.

The room's occupants were in silence for many minutes, eventually Grape began. "Dad, why did we move here instead of Whitestone?"

The human was a little surprised by the question. "Now, What prompted that question?"

"I was told a lot more pets live there. Didn't you look over the best neighborhoods for pets before moving?"

"I did. And this one was up there. Isn't Whitestone just beyond that bridge anyways?"

The room stood in silence for about a minute. Earl decided to elaborate more. "Grape, remember we're just a middle-class family trying to survive in the big city. Keep in mind we're in a way better situation now than back in River Ridge, especially once this virus scare is all over. Mom doesn't have to drive one hour every day to work anymore, I'm renting out my old workshop for a fortune and I'll very likely move from mechanic to manager at my new place in a few years." He stopped to lower the TV volume a little. "We might even move to Whitestone eventually, if you really want to."

Grape felt a little ashamed of her question after the small speech. "Sorry. I kinda assumed you chose this place only thinking of you two. That was wrong of me."

"We definitely did not. And haven't you made a lot of friends already?"

"Well... I lucked out a little finding a single cat outside during an afternoon walk, but sometimes it looks like not a single cat lives here."

"Dogs though?" He playfully asked.

"Plenty, thanks to their little club. Maybe we should make cat clubs a thing."

"Haha... Maybe."
Last edited by Wortge on Fri May 08, 2020 6:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This is getting really interesting! I hope to read more from you soon!
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by FireworkFox »

This has been a very enjoyable read so far!

Also, I ship Grape and Xander!
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by trekkie »

Good to see Grape coming out of her shell more.
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Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

(Four Months Earlier)

College Point Dogs Club, Friday, January 3 2020, 11:19 AM

A Golden Retriever wearing a gold-colored tag shaped like a globe got out of a black SUV, walking to the club's front entrance. Upon entering he sighted a familiar Beagle attempting a very fast song at the club's arcade dance cabinet. The music consisting of extremely fast kicks layered over a rhythm that sounded like a stereotypical pirate-themed song. Three other dogs Rob recognized as mere acquaintances were sitting on some of the chairs facing the podium, using the club grounds as only a place to meet each other and chat.

Rob approached Xander, waiting for him to finish his level. "Ninety-nine point one, huh?" He commented from behind, Xander turning to face him after being alarmed by the sudden familiar voice. "Is that good?"

"It's a personal best, yeah." The Beagle replied, stepping off the machine and joining Rob. "And also by default a world record. Nothing special, I haven't touched that file in a while."

"'Just' a world record, nothing special." He deadpanned. "Can't blame you for not touching that song, the howl is that music? I know your music tastes are quite eclectic but that sounded like a defective washing machine."

"It's not to my liking either, most of the music in this isn't. There's just so many anime songs in this too, I'm always conscious of choosing those because I don't want the dogs to assume I'm an anime fan or something."

"Don't you even know Japanese already? What's the problem with that?"

"Just the connotations that liking anime carry. Also the fact that I've never actively followed any anime, making that assumption simply incorrect. If people want to assume I'm something I at least want their assumptions to be right. Me being an anime fan or a cat lover are the most popular ones and they're both wrong."

"What would right assumptions of you be?"

"Let's see... I'm too judgmental, I'm not that good at StepMania, I'm a picky eater, I'm bad at making friends, I'm stubborn, I'm-"

"Jeez, Xander! Your self-esteem is just off the charts, isn't it?"

"You asked for it."

"Anyways, I almost forgot! Happy New Year, Xan!"

"Oh come on, Rob! Who cares?! It's been days since the arbitrary big-number-changing day! We can stop greeting each other with 'Happy New Year' already! I was with you during the countdown and we said that to each other back then, no point in repeating it until January's over."

"Hahaha! I'll greet you like that just to always get that reaction. What do you have against Christmas and New Year's?"

"It's all fake and meaningless! At least New Year's can be kinda interesting with the countdown but Christmas is just corrupted Pagan traditions coupled with mindless consumerism! Santa Claus is literally a Coca-Cola mascot! Which is a terrible drink, by the way!"

"Keep that up and the Christmas Ghosts will pay you a visit. Although to be honest I kinda agree, I just celebrate it anyway because it's... Dare I say, fun."

"I don't find anything fun in everyone acting fakely cheerful. How about everyone does that for the whole year instead? And you can go ahead and summon the ghosts, I'd love to revisit my past myself."

"Do you have something against the present? I do! With Shane deciding we're only going to travel abroad in November."

"Wow, really? When was the last time you didn't fly out during the summer?"

"Last year! With the divorce and all! My last trip was to Finland in January last year! I am going to die like this!"

"Oh, Rob. Death due to lack of traveling, that's a new one."

"It's a basic necessity at this point! There's still eleven months left! It's barely the halfway point!"

"Hold on, alright? Pretend you're traveling to New York right now."

"I've been everywhere over and over already! Anyways, I'm kinda exaggerating on my outrage, I understand this isn't Shane's fault. Hopefully we come up with amazing plans for next year, especially with all the money that's piling up from not spending anything on travels recently."

"Uh, you did ask me about what I think of my present. I have nothing against it, I think life's good right now. Just having everything I need and being satisfied with it."

"That's the life, Xan. Don't you just spend most days on the Internet?"

"Internet and club, Internet and club. I go out somewhere to eat or have fun once in a while, because even I would eventually go crazy keeping that routine for months. But I'm very happy with this life, and I understand very few people can claim that."

"Well, everyone on the Internet claims they're depressed, that's why you think that. I like to think most people are at least OK with their life."

"I'd like to think that too. The world is far from dystopian, but give it a few decades."

"Oh, stop with that already! We're going to solve Global Warming just like we solved the Ozone Hole and the Malthusian Catastrophe, alright? No need to worry yourself to the point of anxiety."

"You two!" A familiar voice was heard coming from the stairs.

"Speaking of anxiety." Rob grumbled to Xander.

"Hello, Brian. Happy New Year." The Beagle greeted the other Retriever.

"You of all dogs wishing someone a New Year outside of New Year's Day?" Brian replied. "Was that one of your resolutions, Xander?"

"Hahaha, nah. Just wanted to test if you'd find it strange. Anyways, what is it?"

"We need an urgent meeting. This is Rob's first visit here since the New Year events, so let's go upstairs."

"There's only three other people." Rob pointed out. "They won't even hear us here."

"Are you seriously getting lazy now? Don't you walk all over the city every day? And this low amount of members is exactly what we're going to discuss." Brian went upstairs before any of the other founders could reply.

"Really bossy today, isn't he?" He commented towards Xander. "Not a good start."

Upstairs, Brian was sitting at his desk, the computer turned on. The two other dogs sat on the chairs facing his desk.

"You even have the chairs set up for us in advance." Rob began. "I'm dreading this talk so hard right now."

"Spare me of your riffing, Rob." Brian almost growled. "The club is collapsing, that's all. We tried to come up with an amazing New Year event, I believe we succeeded, it went well, feedback is great, but people just aren't interested anymore. Even with me trying to actively promote the event outside of the club we had the lowest New Year's attendance since 2017, and now daily attendance is in the single digits. I know lower numbers are to be expected during the winter but this is just a clear sign that the novelty of the club has worn off for the entire neighborhood and people will move on to other things no matter how much we innovate."

"How does the start of this January compare to others?" Xander asked, leaning on the desk harder to pass off as more concerned.

"Last year had fifteen at its lowest point. It's bad."

"Uh... Have you tried getting some feedback on why people aren't visiting?"

"Of course! They say they don't really care anymore, the ones who are blunt enough to say that. Others say they mean to, nobody can really suggest something they'd like for me to do. In-club feedback is just completely worthless, it's just a bunch of empty, gratuitous 'You're doing an amazing job!' and 'Keep up the good work!', nothing I can work on! 'Your club is perfect Brian! But I'm going to leave now and never come back! Everything is just so amazing! I love life!'" Brian mocked in a high-pitched voice. "Actually good feedback comes from outside, where people think you don't hear them and they can leave the fake cordiality behind. There you will find people actually saying what their problems with the club are. But I'm not going to be sending spies to ask dogs in the streets what they think of the club, that's just too over-the-top."

"It really is." Rob added.

"But yeah..." Brian sighed. "If attendance stays in the low single digits for a month I'm going to close this thing indefinitely, maybe turn it into something just for us three even. Sucks that now that I have money overflowing from the P.I.S. and I can do big things with the club it just randomly collapses out of lack of interest."

"What is that, by the way?" Xander asked. "Every time you mention it my brain just shuts off, sorry."

"Come on, Xan! It's been months since I started managing it! It's a part of my dad's corporation dedicated to owning pets who don't want to be owned by humans. They pay us and we register them as pets under our guardianship and also handle all their paperwork concerning their properties and their jobs."

"Right, right... That explanation will stick in my head, don't worry. You basically have pets without owners paying you so they aren't sent to a shelter, to think the club's now being funded by extortion."

"Oh, zip it. Even humans have to pay money monthly just so they don't get immediately thrown out of their homes, and that's in the thousands rather than hundreds. We're almost saints in comparison... Maybe this is all just karma, I swear attendance started declining as soon as I started working with that and funding the club with my income."

"Let's not actually be superstitious. I don't think it would be so bad if we just turn this into our little playground, as you've described."

"So that you can play all your anime songs without being judged?"

"Really, Brian?! If I wanted to I could just bring that machine back to my home, you know?"

"Just kidding, just kidding. Anything that can help me lighten up a little these days."

"Are we here to discuss any strategy or did you call us just to say everything is hopeless and that the world is miserable?" Rob piped in again.

"I don't have any strategy. People don't care about the club, that's all. We're just in a terrible starting place, New York City. Even though College Point is a little isolated, the dogs still have countless options of entertainment outside of the club, all indirectly competing with us. Restaurants, bars, museums, theaters, cinemas, parks, arcades. Many of them newer than the club, many of them marketed towards pets. Barring extraordinary events, they will continue to grow stronger as we grow weaker."

"So the only solution you can find is getting rid of all the other choices?"

"Just to show you how bad things are. But, oh well. At least in the end of all this I'll still have my job, might try to make that my passion now instead of running this club."

"Well." Xander uttered after a brief silence. "So people are forgetting the club and it's turning pointless. It's not that bad, you know? You started the club because you wanted to give something to the neighborhood, if they
don't care about it, then is it really a problem you have to close it?"

"Fair point. It gives me pride, OK? Just looking at a big thing that I helped create. I'll continue running things normally for this month and not really trying to one-up things as I was trying to throughout the last year, I'm making that my resolution, I guess. I have the usual small events for the weekends planned already, nothing major. I have no idea what we'll do for Easter after last year's fiasco. If the club even survives until then. In fact, I don't even know if we'll do anything for that day because my family's planning on dragging me to a trip that month."

Rob was alerted immediately. "A trip?" He wagged. "To where? You're finally leaving the city for once?"

"Knew you'd go all puppy like that if I mentioned that. I'm going to Los Angeles."

"That's cool, Brian! Hope you have a lot of fun, it's a fantastic city!"

"I hate that, actually. Isn't Los Angeles just an overpriced big suburb anyways? I've been there before. There's nothing there that's worth losing a few days here for."

"Of course there is! You spend all your days here already! Can't you have something else for once?!"

"Not if it's worse than staying here! I'll just have to tag along with the humans, doing things like checking theme parks and beaches! I really don't care! But I'm not going to be a party pooper and tell them I don't want to go."

"Even if you don't like the destination, the journey itself is fun! The plane ride! Just seeing all the different places as you travel from attraction to attraction inside the city!"

"You think exclaiming things you like to do will change my opinion?"

"You've never tried it! You've never properly tried it! Your whole life, you've spent it stuck in your little mansion! Going from taking care of your little treehouse, to studying your owner's work, to running this accursed club! Maybe once this thing collapses I can teach you how to go out and enjoy life!"

"How can you be so self-centered, Rob?! Are you kidding me?! You think I'm forcing myself to like those things?! Not everyone has the exact likes that you do! Put that in your head! This is all your fault anyways! Because you just had to move away to the City! I told you it'd affect the club negatively!"

"Don't you dare tell me to put the club over Shane's wills." Rob warned with a low growl. "I moved, not even by my own choice, and I'd never object to moving out with Shane just because of the club." Rob got up and sighed. "You're just lost today. Sit down, take a chill pill. And watch as club attendance rebounds and you notice you're just going postal for no reason. Who's going to come to the club in early January? I'm now going to go out with Xander here." He put his paw on a shoulder of the still sitting Beagle, him shyly standing up. "We're going to the City to relax after all this drama here, going to check out some of the club's 'competitors' there. And I just want you to consider if all this stress is worth it for something you've just noticed nobody cares about. Good day." The two dogs left the room and went downstairs, Brian just facepalming with both paws and not trying to come up with any kind of retort.

"You're OK with going out with me, right?" Rob asked his Beagle friend as they left the building and stopped in front of the entrance, next to the road.

"Sure. That was sudden, you just deciding to drag me away from Brian."

"Sorry for asserting myself like that over you. Just felt like going out with one of you. Ideally the one who isn't going crazy."

"What's your takeaway from all of that? You think the club's going to have no attending members soon?"

"Maybe yes, maybe not. It's a mystery. Whatever the outcome is, I hope Brian survives."

"I'll miss it if Brian really decides on pulling the plug, I'll have to go back to going to some of my dog friends' houses instead of just finding them in the club."

"Yeah. But in the end, it's just the little neighborhood arcade slash playground. We can survive without it... Let me call a ride here. Actually, let's walk a few blocks before doing that. Don't want Brian to come here running telling me he's sorry or dog forbid continuing that argument." Rob started almost jogging across the road, Xander following.

"You're both still friends, right?"

"Of course, Xander! Really? Our friendship's been going for over twenty years, it can't all end because of one day. We'll see each other, Brian will be calmer, nobody will even bring up what happened now. But let's leave that for another day." He stopped at the next city block, several houses shielding him from the club. Rob grabbed his smartphone and started using the ridesharing application.

Xander waited for Rob to stop using his phone. "Do you have any idea of what you're gonna do today? What did you even come to the club for?" He asked as Rob stored his phone and began waiting for the car.

"For you two, mostly. Wanted to eat lunch there but I guess it'll all go to the three dudes who were there."

"It's really sad now that you think about it, actually. The lunches Brian prepares are made with fifty members in mind. That's a lot of waste, although he's downscaling them by now."

"Why do you think the club's dying, by the way?"

"I have the same opinion as Brian, people get bored of things. Attendance grows very fast when something's new, then it flattens as all of the target audience becomes aware of it, then it lowers as they start losing interest. We just have to hope that the number of members who remain after the decline is enough, and it looks like it isn't."

"Oh, well. I still think attendance will gradually increase once we move away from the start of the month. If the club stops being a thing I'll still continue visiting you two here, OK? Don't worry about that."

"You don't have to, we can all go to your apartment uptown and then do stuff in the City instead of in Queens."

"Good idea too. I just don't want to feel like I'm abandoning you."

"We'd never assume that. What are you planning on doing today, again?"

"It's almost noon, we're gonna eat out somewhere. Feeling like trying the 'Restaurant Roulette', just choosing something randomly off the street. We're going to Midtown, by the way."

"Fair enough. Be careful with your choices, remember restaurants are made with humans in mind unless noted otherwise."

"It'll be fine! I've done this in so many different places! What could possibly go wrong?"

"Food poisoning?"

"Yeah! It's not that bad!"

"People have died from that, Rob! Don't worry, I'll be the super-ego to your id."

This actually isn't the previously-mentioned "flashback chapter". This one was written very recently (last Saturday). Meaning I wrote it after writing everything I plan on posting only in May.

Decided to move it to this spot in the story to show the atmosphere in the club in the near past. Also the next chapter takes place only on Friday so this helps in not having a huge post gap.
Last edited by Wortge on Sun May 10, 2020 3:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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trekkie
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by trekkie »

Good work. I like how you’re writing this, keep it up.
“Freedom has cost too much blood and agony to be relinquished at the cheap price of rhetoric.” - Thomas Sowell

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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This story is just as good as your other story that you are writing and I love reading the both of them! ^^
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

It's just a one-off. The story's going back to April after that.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Well you did a very awesome job on writing it anyway and I am very impressed! I hope we can see more!
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

Excellent chapters. I'm glad the club survived past January.
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

(Four Months Later - Present Day)

Harlow Residence, Harlem, Manhattan, Friday, April 24 2020, 10:44 AM

In the living room of a modestly-sized condo inside a tower block a human in his low-thirties sat on a living room chair, wearing a full suit with a face mask and idly watching the television. A Golden Retriever was stretched along the sofa, using a mobile phone.

The dog put his phone away and got up. "I'm off to the club today, Shane. Probably be back around five, alright?"

"Alright." Shane replied automatically. "Actually..." He began as the dog started making his way across the room. "I'm heading back right now too. Do you mind if we travel together? Y'know, bond a little?"

"What do you mean? Don't you work downtown? I'm taking a Uber to Queens, our paths don't overlap at all." Rob questioned while getting ready to open the condo's door.

The human got up and joined the dog near the door. "We'll both take the Subway. You're OK with that?"

"No! There's no subway in College Point!" Rob exclaimed as he left the condo and made his way to the nearby elevator. "Am I draining your finances with my car rides? So much for all your rich friends!"

The human locked the condo door and joined his dog in waiting for the elevator. "No, you're not. And you shouldn't think of friends as money dispensers, you should know that, having that rich dog friend."

"What?! Brian isn't rich!"

"Look. The truth is, I'm worried about your safety. You've been using this thing a lot since we moved, haven't you heard of people getting assaulted and kidnapped in these cars all the time?"

"No? And that kinda stuff only happens to humans."

The elevator doors opened and they both got in. "They only happen to humans until they don't. Don't be the first." Shane shot back.

"Are we seriously having this talk?! We've been to Mexico, for dog's sake! I only ever use Uber to get to the club!"

"Rob! Just this once! OK?! Please!" The human begged. "If anything happens to you... I will die!" He said emphasizing all three words.

They left the elevator as the doors opened and made their way into the streets of Harlem after crossing the block's lobby. "Slowly losing your sanity, huh?" Rob playfully asked his owner. "What about me taking a taxi then?"

"No, no. Today you take the Subway. I'll drive you there once the car gets fixed if you tell me when you plan on going in advance instead of just leaving out of the blue."

"Well, that's miles better than the Subway! Can't I just call a driver today and then from now on you drive me there instead?"

"No. It's easy! You'll ride with me up to the 42nd Station and then you transfer to the 7 train all the way to Flushing. There's a bus that goes to College Point from there."

"Taking a bus? I'd rather die. And I know how to read a subway map, thank you!"

"Go ahead and walk all the way then, keep your pride."

"Ugh... Love you, 'dad'." The dog grunted sarcastically.

"Love you too, son." They both started descending the subway station stairs.

Flushing-Main Street Subway Station, Flushing, Queens, Friday 11:39 AM

A crowd of pets and humans climbed up the subway stairs up to the street level, a grumpy Golden Retriever with a globe-shaped tag among them.

"Can't believe this B.S.!" Rob was thinking to himself as the crowd dispersed away from him and he started walking the many city blocks to his dog club. "How exactly is this safer than just trusting a single person to take me somewhere instead of killing me randomly?"

"I guess if someone tries to do something to me here there's at least other people to help."

"But what about the 'bystander effect'? People just look, expecting someone else to step in."

"Then I get dognapped here and brought to some dungeon."

"Gotta grab eight hidden pages there before a minotaur finds me." He started amusing himself with absurd thoughts and pop media references.

"I escape the basement and find myself exiting a small cabin in the middle of Siberia."

"Turns out it was all a dream! I'm actually at a hotel in Paris! It's Shane's first trip after getting married! There's no drama! There's no kid! Just me and two desperately-in-love humans, ready to travel the world together!" The Retriever let out a sigh.

"But I shouldn't complain, things are going fine at the moment. We still have travel plans, I haven't lost anything. It's just like life right after he moved from his mother's house, one of the best times of my life."

"Guess he's going all 'mama bear' on me now because he doesn't want to lose both of his 'kids', maybe we need to talk?"

"Maybe if we talk I'll convince him to let me use Uber, Lyft, whatever else. Or go full-on oldschool yellow taxi. He can drive me there but that restricts me to waking up at like, 7 AM."

"The alternatives? Maybe ask Brian's family? No."

"Xander's owner? Maybe!"

"Never show my face in the club again? Hmm... A bit rude." He joked to himself.

"Really don't feel like making this trip again back home. Maybe I'll grab Brian or Xan and do stuff at the City. Simplifying my trip back home. I assume they're allowed to call up a taxi for themselves."

"...Dog! The maps make this area look way smaller than it is!"

College Point Dogs Club, Friday 12:11 PM

A crowd of dogs gathered at the food table, trying to fill up their plates or just grab some of the food with their own paws. A purple cat stood out from the crowd, grabbing one or two dog biscuits from the table occasionally, shyly trying to stay far from the most crowded parts around the table. Xander and an Alaskan Malamute were leaning on one of the arcade cabinets, talking. Xander holding a smartphone and wearing headphones attached to it.

"It's pretty cool, Flash." Xander began after a small laughing fit. "It's more of a joke song if anything, but it's fun and enjoyable. Kinda obscene though."

"It is, isn't it?" Flash agreed, laughing a little. "They also have those songs that are just random MIDI instruments put together with random samples. It's really funny and... Well it's kind of a guilty pleasure too."

The Beagle laughed. "You plan on dropping some of these next time you DJ?"

"Hahahaha, *no*." He fake-laughed and answered bluntly.

Xander started tapping on the phone after removing his headphones, handing them to Flash. "Here's a song I found last week, it's called 'Little Wolf'."

Flash put the headphones on and grabbed the phone. "'Little Wolf' but it's missing the vowels, I see." He noted. "And is that really the artist name?"

"Yeah, I don't know what's with me and unpronounceable titles."

They both stood in silence, listening to the music or waiting for the other's reaction. "It's cool." The Malamute concluded. "Very haunting."

"It just kinda loops from then on. But it's a howl of a good loop! For me at least."

A Retriever brusquely opened the club's main doors, only a portion of the present dogs turning their attention to him. He jogged towards Xander's position.

"Xander! We're going to the City this instant! My human's being a *** and I need your owner to drive us there! I'll pay for your ride back!" Rob shouted from across the room, getting closer to the two dogs.

"Guess that song's obscenity rubbed off on him somehow." Flash commented to Xander before Rob got close.

"Rob!" Xander yapped. "You're leaving already?"

"Yes! Let's go before I start starving!"

"You went all the way here just to go right back to the City?"

"Yes! Because I'm unable of reason! Call your owner and let's go!" Xander started fishing for his phone and trotting to keep up with Rob, who was heading to the club entrance already. Flash just watched the dogs leave, dumbfounded.

"Well. That went south quickly." He commented to himself.

Flash continued listening to his playlist quietly, grabbing a few snacks from the table at some point. A brown dog wearing a bone-shaped tag approached him eventually.

"Hey Flash!" The dog cheerfully greeted. "Haven't seen you in the club in a while!"

"Hey Peanut." He greeted neutrally. "You were in the Easter pizza thing, I believe?"

"Yes! And I haven't seen you since."

"Yeah... Haven't been to the club since then, actually. I had post-vacation blues for a while." Flash sighed. "I was visiting my girlfriend earlier this year. Will probably be more than a year before I see her in person again."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I have a girlfriend who lives far away too."

"Really? Well... Glad to have someone to relate to."

"Her name is Tarot!" Peanut started eagerly. "She's a Pomeranian I've been dating for ten years! But she got really busy these past months and now I moved cities and I think we're drifting apart!" He started whining. "Do you have any long-distance relationship advice?"

"Uh... Well... We both met back when I was in a shelter, we got very close but she got adopted before me." He paused as he got a little teary-eyed. "Me being adopted a few days later. I ended up finding her online a few years later. We video chat a lot, she's usually online. We talk about our different days, our interests, you know? It comes naturally."

"Right! My girlfriend doesn't have a computer. She has a 'Crystaltab' though! But I never figured out how to use it."

"I see. Never heard of that."

"But given how busy she's been lately, maybe I'll only get in contact once I come back to visit my old friends. Don't you think that might be better, though? It will make the reunion more special!"

"What? No! I don't think it's a good idea to bottle it up like that. How long-distance is this relationship we're talking about?"

"She's in Illinois. River Ridge."

"Wow, small world." Flash commented curiously. "My girlfriend lives in Joliet."

"That's really close! I've been there!"

"Indeed. But well, Peanut. If your girlfriend is unable to contact you outside of physical contact. Then I'm out of ideas. Because my relationship has never been like that." The Malamute said sadly.

"She can contact me spiritually though! Maybe she'll try to eventually!" Peanut brightened up.

"Uh... Sure. I'm not superstitious myself." A confused Flash replied.

"Thanks for the help, Flash!" Peanut suddenly ended the conversation by running outside.

"Well. That went weird quickly."

I-495 West, Queens, Friday 12:30 PM

A red compact car sped along the freeway, passing by many rows of houses. A human sat on the driver's seat, a Beagle and a Golden Retriever on the backseat.

"So... How's your day, Rob?" Xander tried breaking the car ride's silence.

"What do you think? Shane decided to prohibit me from getting car rides, so I had to spend more than one hour at the Subway to get to the club."

"Really? He's always struck me as very liberal when it comes to you going out."

"Guess the divorce's getting to him now. You should've seen it! This morning he was all like: 'Rob, please keep me company while I go to work! I don't wanna lose you!', never seen him like that."

"So what's gonna happen to your club visits then?"

"I don't know, maybe he'll calm down and tone it down. Maybe I'll adapt to having to go to the club via subway. He's willing to drive me to and from the club but he usually works nine-to-five and that means me having to wake up super early."

"You know, I could visit you instead then."

"You could. If I knew he would object to me going today I'd just call you up, or maybe Brian, if he isn't busy planning a gala or something."

"He is, by the way. Cinco de Mayo."

"Cinco de Mayo?! That's a new one!"

"Good excuse to have Mexican! And you know he's going to make parties for everything with all the extra funds the club has now."

The car approached the tunnel that linked Queens with Manhattan. Making the car's passengers realize that their car ride would soon be over.

"So do you have any actual plans for today?" Xander asked. "Walt has no idea where he's driving to."

"I'll just drop you two somewhere in Midtown." Walt replied. "That's what 'the City' means to me."

"That would be fine!" Rob advised. "I'm planning on doing the 'Restaurant Roulette' today."

"After what happened last time?! I don't think I'm up for it!"

"Oh, come on! That was just the Russian part of the 'Roulette'! You know I'm a pro at picking good, underrated restaurants. Having been to hundreds of cities myself! You think I can't do that in my own hometown?"

"I'll just trust you less this time. And your 'hometown' is the biggest out of all those cities!"

"They say Tokyo and London have much more diverse food scenes, but we'll have a good time! I'm in charge after all!" Rob boasted sarcastically.

"At least keep in mind we're dogs when choosing."

[UNKNOWN], Midtown Manhattan, Friday 12:56 PM

A small, thin restaurant had a few table sets in the front and a small counter in the back, nobody manning it. The two dogs were at one of the tables next to the front windows. A lone cat was eating at one of the tables next to the counter. The restaurant's walls were decorated with a few framed pictures of stock pictures of food, some of them with visible watermarks. A small paper notice hanged on the front glass doors, warning in broken English about changes in operating times and restrictions towards human clients.

"How bad is your judgment today?" Xander snarkily asked Rob.

"Have you tried the food yet? I know you desperately want to run away to that McDonald's."

"McDonald's is trashy but it's consistent! This place looks like it hasn't seen a customer in years!"

"Incorrect. What about that champ sitting over there? Doesn't it look like he's enjoying the food?"

"Uh... No?" Xander noticed the cat's depressed look while eating his food.

"Life's hard these days, OK? Nothing to do with the food."

"Is it hard for you? You've been grumpier lately, even before today."

"Have I? What have you noticed?"

"I dunno. I remember you being really dismissive back when Brian was trying to plan something for Easter."

"I'm just sick of Brian overworking himself over the club, and trying to extend that to us. First he complained about the money, then the attendance, now it's our events that aren't enough. It sucks when the perfectionist in the group ends up being the leader. I've been honestly having a blast recently, with the human quarantine enforced by the current pandemic, the stuff that's still open only for pets is so uncrowded! It's like living in a small city with the structure of a big city, it's awesome!" Rob started wagging involuntarily.

"Don't make light of that, Rob! People are dying! You know the economy's terrible now because of that, right? That'll affect you too!"

"Ooh, 'the economy'." Rob mocked. "At least I'm doing my best to help, right?"

"I'll concede that. Can't say I'm doing much."

A human came from the door behind the counter and placed two plates of food at the dogs' table. "Enjoy the food!" He exclaimed in a strong unknown accent.

"Thank you!" Rob said courteously, then noticing Xander's disgusted face.

"This looks like gangrene." The Beagle complained.

"Willing to check if it tastes like gangrene?" The Retriever taunted. Already starting to eat his food.

"Why are you like this? I'm barfing on you if this is like the last time." He grabbed the spoon and reluctantly ate some of it. "It's alright."

"See?"

"It's like, potato sauce or something? Why can't the menu just have the ingredients listed? Why is the meat black?"

"Just part of the challenge. Part of the 'Roulette', I'd say."

"I thought this was supposed to be enjoyable!"

"Isn't it?"

"Not if you go out of the way to make the experience as dangerous as possible! Next time we eat out I'm choosing! Your chances are over!"

"So much for the food being 'alright'. And you were OK with eating that weird mush Peanut brought to the club once."

"I was just being nice." Xander paused for a small fit of laughter. "That was horrible, though! Like, wow!"

"Not even a month in and he's made you eat worse food than me. Care to rethink your opinion?"

"Don't make me downgrade this food from 'alright' to 'bad'. Speaking of Peanut, he was talking to me about his girlfriend earlier."

"Peanut? A girlfriend? You don't mean his cat roommate, do you?"

"No, no. He had a dog girlfriend back in his old home. She hasn't been in contact with him at all it seems."

"Hah, and you know what that means." Rob smirked.

"Let's not gossip on strangers. Anyways, where do you plan on going after this?"

"No idea, dog! I'm living in the moment! Maybe go to Central Park and chill? I kinda ran out of things to do after trying everything out before it's open for humans again. My travel club is nearby but I haven't been there since forever."

"Oh, a rival club huh? Maybe you should switch allegiance now that Shane's restricting you."

"I'd start calling Ubers behind his back before ditching you guys." Rob said proudly. "And I've been part of the travel club way before moving, you'd know that."

"Yeah, yeah. I'd like going there actually, know more of the world."

"We'll see. Let me text them to see if they're open."

Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Friday 1:40 PM

The Golden Retriever and Beagle walked along the neighborhood's sidewalks, looking at the many row houses and talking among themselves.

"How snobbish is this place going to be, by the way?" The Beagle began. "A club dedicated to world traveling in the middle of New York can't possibly be working-to-middle class."

"We're similar in terms of wealth, aren't we? And nobody's going to mock you for not traveling often, you're a guest."

"They'll mock me when I fail to pass the test of naming every European capital to enter the building, I'm sure." Xander joked.

Rob laughed. "Xander, please. I'd never enter one of those clubs that have entrance exams. That's the very definition of snobbism and elitism."

"But you'd be able to pass that test?"

"European capitals? Please! At my best I could do even the Pacific Islands capitals!"

"Fiji?" Xander challenged.

"Uh. Suva!"

"Not like I can check that anyways."

Rob suddenly turned towards the front door of one of the row houses. "It's right here." He started climbing the front stairs.

"It's just someone's house?"

"Yeah, we mostly hang out in a room. Don't be spoiled by our club's building, this is Manhattan! Nobody can afford that much space."

"Not complaining. Don't want the snob to end up being me all along."

Rob pressed the intercom at the door's side. "Global International Worldwide Pet Travel Society and Archaeology Circle. Name, please." A voice came out.

"Rob Harlow! Accompanied by one non-member."

"Welcome back, Rob!" The door buzzed and unlocked.

"Well, at least they didn't forget me."

"Archaeology?" The Beagle inquired.

"Never cared about it!" Rob entered the club's main room. Being greeted by a brown-furred mutt and a German Shepherd.

"Glad to see you here again, Rob!" The female mutt greeted. "First visit this year, I believe?"

"Yeah, yeah. Haven't had the time, sorry." They both got inside and the Shepherd closed the door behind them.

"And your guest is?" The mutt questioned.

"I'm Xander" The Beagle cut in. "Just a friend spending the afternoon with a friend."

"Pleased to meet you, Xander." The male German Shepherd entered the conversation. "Where did you last travel to?"

"Rob!" Xander barked. "You promised me no tests!" He turned his head to the other two members. "I... Uh... Went to Six Flags last year."

"Nothing to be ashamed of!" The mutt patted his back. "We're just curious! I'm Gaia, he's Dennis." She introduced.

"Hi." Xander waved to Dennis shyly.

Gaia continued. "Sitting down on the chairs there is Elise with a visiting friend. Club is empty today, pretty much. This year's been pretty bad for traveling because of the virus epidemic and all." Xander looked across the room to see two cats on two big living room chairs. One cat completely white and the other completely black. They both waved a little towards the newcomers.

"Hey Elise." Rob greeted casually from afar, just looking at the white cat. Turning back to Gaia. "Last year's planned trip was a bust thanks to all the divorce stuff, so I don't have anything to add to our world map."

"I've heard about that." She started. "Sorry about all that's happening." Dennis left the conversation, walking towards the two cats.

"It's fine. We have plans for this year though! November we're starting in Prague, then going south visiting Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Hopefully we can pull it off!"

"Hope you enjoy it! Slovenia is super underrated!"

"Everyone says that about anything east of Germany." Rob touched Xander to indicate him to follow him. "Check this out Xan! It's our world map!" He arrived at a large world map placed on the wall.

"See if you can put a pin on any place you've been to that hasn't been pinned yet! Guests should use the black ones!" Xander looked at a small box of push pins, then at the map. Hundreds of pins were nailed on North America, the East Coast being almost completely covered. There was some high density of pins across the US and in Canada and Mexico. The density decreased outside of North America, Europe and East Asia. Africa having about twenty pins for the entire continent.

"Hmm... Seems like New York City is taken already." Xander commented sarcastically.

"Can you believe that?" Rob deadpanned.

"I... I don't think I can place anything. I've been to Jersey, Pennsylvania. I've been to Boston. Any major city in the country is taken. Paris and Tokyo are obviously taken too."

"It's alright. Most of my pins in this map are small villages I just drove through."

"Where are your pins?"

"Yellow ones. I guess because of my fur color."

"Easy to remember." Xander looked for yellow pins placed on the map. Seeing some across France and Germany, then finding some in the American West Coast.

"No yellow pin in New York! Guess you've never been here, huh?"

"Red pins are for places multiple members have been to."

"Oh!... Very organized." Xander took notice of red pins nailed on almost all major cities, pins of different colors usually radiating from them.

"Anyways..." Rob began. "Right now I would usually sit down and talk about my last travel experiences. Which I guess would be about how I had to take the train all the way to Queens today." He joked. "But I'm just here to show you the map and to show everyone else I didn't forget about them."

"We could relax here for a bit, couldn't we? It's not even two in the afternoon."

"I guess. Have a seat then."

Rob looked at the rest of the room, Xander was unsurprisingly heading towards the two cats and German Shepherd. Rob decided to get close to Gaia, who was using a smartphone while leaning on one of the walls.

"So..." Rob small-talked. "How was Mongolia?"

"It was great. Post-soviet cities, desolate arid plains, great people, beautiful mountains, actual nomad humans! Reminded me of Kazakhstan a bit."

"Been there too! Kazakhstan, that is. I've heard Kyrgyzstan is gorgeous."

"Definitely in my list too. So you're doing East Europe next?"

"Yeah. Looking forward to Croatia in particular." The conversation paused for a moment. "Who's the cat with Elise?" Rob started again. "Are they from Egypt? Judging by the tag."

"Maltese, actually. And she's here for the archaeology part of the club. She's from out-of-town and her dad's in a meeting right now."

"A meeting? During the quarantine?"

"Go figure. I guess archaelogy is 'essential business' now."

"And her name is?"

"Uhh... I forgot. We just greeted once. You want to ask her?"

"No, it's fine. I'm going to kill some time with Xander here and then we're both heading back to our homes, if that's OK with you."

"Go ahead and have fun, Rob. You're always welcome. Mind if I ask who this Xander Beagle is?"

"Puppyhood friend of mine. From back in my College Point days."

"You say that as if you moved from there years ago."

"Eh. Sometimes it feels like that."

'Cats of Queens' Discord Server, Friday 7:12 PM


鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 7:12 PM
that last video sucked though
lol


O_s_Tor Today at 7:14 PM
it wasnt that good yeah
but people had really high expectations also
so a lot of the hate was undeserved


ZentrixSM Today at 7:17 PM
Hey gamers
finally back home


a Today at 7:18 PM
sup dog
<3


ZentrixSM Today at 7:19 PM
Love you too Nate
Rob showed me some cats today


a Today at 7:19 PM
not even trying to hide ur cat love anymore are you?
hope u had fun


ZentrixSM Today at 7:21 PM
hey, it's incidental
Wondering if any of you know this cat
pure white cat named Elise
lives in Astoria
always traveling with her owner abroad
whos an archaeologist
has a friend, black cat named Sabrina


O_s_Tor Today at 7:22 PM
we tinder now


a Today at 7:23 PM
we dont know every single cat in the city, no
I barely know my own neighbors


ZentrixSM Today at 7:24 PM
Doesn't hurt to ask
just figured someone with that life might know a lot of people


OldArch Today at 7:25 PM
Never heard of that person
don't think anyone here would be in that circle
archaeologist travelers


ZentrixSM Today at 7:26 PM
Figures
I guess I'm in that circle now
spent the day with Rob today
and he showed me to his traveler friends


OldArch Today at 7:27 PM
Even your dog friend is into cat groups now
the pathogen spreads


ZentrixSM Today at 7:27 PM
Stop that
I don't care about species
and the group was like 50% dog 50% cat


a Today at 7:28 PM
but u still call the group 'some cats'
cute


GrapeJS Today at 7:31 PM
Hey guys
any plans for tonight
or any day


O_s_Tor Today at 7:32 PM
plans for what


GrapeJS Today at 7:33 PM
anything
going out
I was told this group meets up regularly


OldArch Today at 7:34 PM
Only part of this group meets up regularly
the most extroverted ones
and you decided to ask this on a friday night lol
check the pins on #meetups
I think they have something planned for tomorrow


GrapeJS Today at 7:36 PM
oh ok
thanks for the help


OldArch Today at 7:37 PM
yw
Last edited by Wortge on Sun May 10, 2020 3:42 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Make sure that you keep these chapters coming! The story and others in the Fan Project board are the only reason why I haven't gone insane yet. :lol:
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

Sandwich Residence, Saturday 10:58 AM

A purple cat waited in front of her house, looking at the street both ways for any approaching car. Eventually a white SUV arrived from the right, stopping in front of the cat.

Grape opened the rear door and stepped in. "Good morning, Wolf." She greeted the Siberian cat already sitting on the right side of the backseat.

"Morning! Let's have some fun today, shall we? Didn't know your roommate would be joining you! I'm sure the two will be fine with it!"

Grape's eyes widened. "What?!" She looked to her left and saw Peanut getting seated, closing the door and clicking his seatbelt. The car already starting to move. "Peanut! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm going to see your friends! Xander said it's OK!"

"What do you mean 'Xander'?! How do you even know?!"

"He told me you were with his friends! And I saw you getting ready this whole morning!"

"Peanut! It's OK to ask me first, you know?"

"Let it slide, Grape." Wolf interjected. "Deep down we all knew we'd open the floodgates by having Xander join. I'd appreciate a shake-up myself."

"Doesn't the group generally dislike dogs? Spline told me that."

"Nobody will say anything to his face, OK? Just don't act all dog-like and everything will be fine!"

"No sniffing, licking or barking! Got it!" Peanut exclaimed as if in a boot camp.

"Peanut!" Grape called. "Just know that if your feelings are crushed, the blame is all on you!"

"It's fine! There's nothing left to crush anymore!"

"What?!"

"Nothing! I'm fine!"

"Should I be driving you both back?" A woman shyly asked from the driver's seat.

"Just go, Mom!" Wolf answered.

I-278 West, Queens, Saturday 11:11 AM

The car trip continued uneventfully, an awkward silence being maintained for several minutes.

"So..." Wolf tried to begin. "How's living with Grape?"

"It's great!" Peanut eagerly answered. "We go to the dog club a lot! I'm teaching her how to play racing games! Yesterday we-"

"Let *me* discuss my own life, please?" Grape complained.

"But he asked!"

"Bad question, sorry." Wolf apologized shyly. "What's your name again?"

"I'm Peanut."

"Peanut, right... Peanut and Grape, very nutritional." Grape faked a laugh at that.

"I'm Wolf." He continued. "It's nice to meet you. Never hung out with a dog before."

"Good to meet you, Wolf. I've hung out with wolves before!"

"You have?! I wasn't really serious with that wildlife comment last week."

"Domesticated wolves." Grape cut in. "They moved into our old neighborhood and tried to adapt to civilization. How's that name treating you by the way? Do you get mocked for it?"

"No? Like, not really. Some people joke about it but I wouldn't say it's anything malicious."

"Different story from a dog we knew. His name is Tiger. Constantly gets teasingly called a cat by some of the neighborhood dogs."

"I mean, if someone kept calling me a dog because I'm named 'Wolf'... I don't really know how I'd react, like... Woof? It's not really offensive, just absurd."

"If they constantly told you you like to do dog things and stuff?"

"I don't know, I'm good at ignoring people. They say people bully only to get a reaction."

"Fair enough. You should be Tiger's psychiatrist."

"And do you two get teased for being named after food?"

"Um... No. Not until after we moved. I've heard one or two jokes since then."

"Rob sometimes says I'm 'being nutty.'" Peanut piped in.

"Pretty sure he stole that from Bino."

Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1, Brooklyn, Saturday 11:36 AM

A Persian and a Siamese cat waited next to a crosswalk in a large paved area that went all the way to the waterfront. They were both holding paws while a few people, mostly pets, walked by, enjoying the morning.

"You up for waiting until 11:40?" The female Siamese suggested. "If they don't show up we can just start walking and call Wolf to tell him where we are."

"Sure. That should've been the plan from the start." The male Persian grumpily agreed.

"Don't be selfish. I like waiting for everyone before starting, just makes me anticipate the fun even more! Oh!" She pointed at an approaching white car. "That's Wolf's ride! They're here!"

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"The 'FAO' yellow license plate. It's gonna stop, look!"

"What?! Since when do you pay attention to stuff like that?" The car soon passed the two cats slowly, pulling next to the curb a small distance away from the crosswalk and flashing its hazard lights.

"I guess you're right." He commented, impressed. "Not late for once, extra points for Wolf."

"Wolf's super punctual, actually! Too bad he rarely shows his face around."

"Unless video games are involved." The Persian added.

The car opened the right rear door, a brown dog stepping out.

"Uh." The Persian uttered.

"Wasn't it just Wolf and the new purple cat?" The Siamese asked, confused.

Peanut ran off to greet the two cats while Wolf and Grape were busy still getting out of the car. "Hello! I'm Grape's brother! And Wolf's new friend! I believe." The couple just stared, confused by the unbidden dog.

Wolf quickly caught up to Peanut to interrupt the interaction. "Let me take care of the diplomacy." He cut in. "This is Peanut, Grape's dog roommate. He kinda jumped into the car as we were getting her." He excused with an embarrassed smile.

"Oh. Hello, Peanut." The Siamese shook paws. "I'm Alma. And this is King."

"Hi." King greeted neutrally.

"And there's Grape." Wolf took notice of the only now approaching purple cat. "Our new cat from College Point."

"Spline's hood, huh?" King commented. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice meeting you two." Grape shook paws with King. "Uh..."

"King and Alma." Wolf introduced. "Let's get going then?" The group began walking along the park's waterfront.

"I actually knew a dog called King back in my old home. Very grumpy guy." Grape started.

"I can be when I want to!" King teasingly warned.

"Wow! Look!" Peanut suddenly cried, pointing across the river. "It's the Downtown skyline!" He started reaching for his smartphone.

"You've never been here?" The Persian asked curiously.

"Not to this park!" He started taking pictures of the view. "The Statue of Liberty! This is my first time seeing it!"

"Are you serious?! Do you all never leave your homes?! We're not humans, you know?"

"We're new in town, OK?!" Grape argued. "I'm going out right now for a reason!"

"Glad you're working on it." Alma piped in. "Today we're gonna walk all the way to Pier Six where there's this amazing seafood place! Isn't it, King?"

"Yeah, it's good." King answered stoically.

"Nice. Should be a step up from the 'seafood places' I used to go to." Grape commented.

"Is the dog fine with eating seafood?" King tried to ask Grape without having Peanut hear.

"I'm allergic!" Peanut suddenly exclaimed, startling the Persian.

"Oh! That's unfortunate. They do serve fish too, though. Is that fine with you?" The dog responded with a nod.

The group continued to walk along the waterfront in silence. Peanut staying close to Grape, Alma to King, Wolf just shyly walked in the same direction as the rest of the group.

Peanut suddenly stopped and called for Grape's attention. "Grape! Stop! I want to use the binoculars!"

"Can't you already see the city well enough? Use your god-given eyes!"

"Grape! Be nice to your brother! We can wait." Alma reprehended.

"Sorry! He's just been very clingy lately." She apologized. Grape turned to Peanut. "Alright. Sorry. Go ahead and check the view."

"Do you have any coins?" Peanut asked, a little ashamed.

"Don't *you* have any coins?"

"Uh... I lost my spare coins on a bet with Rob last week. And I left my wallet home."

"Are you serious?! Is this Rob going to turn into our new Bino?! Here... Take this." She handed him a few coins she could find in her possessions.

"Thank you, Grape!" He immediately inserted some coins and started using the binoculars.

"Your brother's so cute, Grape!" Alma exclaimed.

King looked at her incredulously. "Alma! Really?!"

"There's the Statue of Liberty!" Peanut started exclaiming to the group while looking at the sights. "And the Staten Island Ferry! And The Freedom Tower!"

"This again, Peanut?!" Grape interjected.

"Stop that, dog! You're making us look like tourists!" The Persian chided.

"Aren't we? Do you wanna see?" Peanut offered.

"I'll pass, just enjoy it quietly."

Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6, Saturday 12:38 PM

The group of four cats and one dog sat at one group of tables set on a boat deck, already having finished their food.

"Are we gonna go see the river? When will this boat leave?" Peanut asked eagerly.

"What do you mean?" King replied. "This is a boat restaurant, it's not going to go anywhere."

"Then what's the point of having it on a boat?"

"I don't know! There's also food trucks but they don't start driving around while everyone's eating! I guess it's a way of setting up a restaurant without having to build a whole building for it."

"I just wanted to see more of the city! We two have been stuck in our neighborhood for a month now!"

"You know our parents are busy with work, Peanut." Grape piped in. "And we're going out about as often as we did back in River Ridge, to be frank."

"River Ridge?!" Alma interjected. "Isn't that where a bunch of humans turned in-"

"No!" Grape yelled.

"Oh! Sorry! I guess I was mistaken?"

"We're still not sure with what we're doing for the afternoon." King began again. "Wolf's ride will be here again at 1 PM, we could all go home or go visit some other place."

"You're welcome, by the way." Wolf added.

"He speaks!" The Persian remarked sarcastically. "I've been thinking of going to Coney Island Beach, haven't been to the boardwalk in months."

"The beach?! I've never visited a beach before!" Peanut exclaimed.

"What do you mean you've never been to a beach?! You literally live in a coastal city!"

"We're new here, we've been over this." An annoyed Grape cut in. "You really haven't been to one, Peanut? I thought you went to a lot of places with Tarot."

"Well, we haven't! And stop mentioning her!" Peanut almost shouted, angered.

"What?! Peanut, what's going on?!" Grape asked with a mixture of surprise and concern.

"Nothing! Just stop!" Peanut seemed to be in the verge of tears. The rest of the group just looked curiously at the back-and-forth.

"Whatever. Let's go then." Grape suddenly got up from her chair, prompting the rest to start leaving the boat restaurant.

King tried to break the resulting awkward silence. "To the beaches then?"

The rest of the group grumbled something that could be loosely interpreted as an agreement.

Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, Saturday 3:29 PM

Four cats sat on a bench placed on the boardwalk, facing the beach and ocean. A brown dog was nearby, at the part of the beach closer to the boardwalk, playing by digging holes and trying to build things out of sand.

"...And that's how Peanut tricked me into hugging the local K-9 sergeant!" Grape finished.

"Wow, he seems so innocent at first glance." Alma commented.

"He is!" Grape exclaimed. "It's just that his trickster nature sometimes overrides that!"

"No dog can suppress their inner havoc-wreaking demon, after all." King added.

"Hah. Pretty sure us cats have that same reputation too."

"Do we? I'm honestly not aware of that."

"Hmm... Maybe I was just defending dogs out of instinct. And also thinking of my boyfriend, lately he's been trying to really get under his brother's skin."

"Ah, sibling drama." Wolf started. "That's one of the reasons I don't regret being raised alone."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Wolf. Just look at him playing! It warms my cold cat heart."

"Yeah. Really the first time he's at a beach?"

"I believe so."

"Probably gave up on building anything. Someone should tell him you have to build stuff where the sand is more wet, now he's just stuck in that pose for almost a minute."

"Wonder what he found that's so interesting, he's just looking down intently."

"He's lying down now."

"Augh, Peanut! Why?! He'll have to take a bath once we get home now!"

"You accepted that the second he stepped onto the sand... Is he crying?!"

"... Uh... I was really hoping this moment would only come once we got home, I'll be right back." Grape got up and jogged towards Peanut while the rest of the group looked with concern.

Grape crouched next to the sobbing dog. "Peanut! What's going on today?! Is it Tarot?!"

"No! It's..." He couldn't control his voice and started just whining and sobbing, going back to sitting down on the sand while looking away from Grape.

"Don't play me for dumb, Peanut! You've been acting weird this whole week! Is she ignoring you?! Did she break up?!"

"Grape! She's busy and... I don't know! What if something happened to her?!"

"She's fine! Max told me everyone is OK! Why didn't you talk to me about this? Were you bottling everything up?"

The dog descended further into more sobbing and crying. "...I just want to hear her again! I know she's busy with the cursed coin stuff, I don't want to..." His speech lost all coherence.

"So much for all those heartfelt goodbyes." Grape embraced the dog tightly. "Do you want us to sleep together?! Do you want me to play more games with you?! Do you want to play 'Imaginate' and have me play as Tarot?! I'm sorry for calling that weird!" She hugged Peanut tighter. "Do you want to come home?"

"No! I don't want to ruin your outing... I'm sorry for losing control!"

"Peanut. Our outing is pretty much over. Stop getting sand all over your fur and let's go! What happened to Tarot's cellphone?! I'll tell Mom and Dad to see if they can contact her." Grape started trying to get Peanut to stand up, directing him towards the stairs leading to the boardwalk.

"They can't!" Peanut continued to say between sobs as Grape slowly pushed him. "Her dad's away all the time!"

"We'll find a way!" Grape approached the bench with the cats. "Does this beach have any showers to clean this mess up?" She asked her group.

"Not that I know of." King replied.

"Just shake it off! Mom won't mind!" Wolf suggested.

Grape immediately ducked to avoid having sand thrown at her as Peanut started shaking his fur.

Wolf took a glance at Peanut's dirty fur. "I think that should be fine for the car ride. What happened, Grape? Is Peanut feeling well?"

"Heartache. His girlfriend has been busy this whole year and losing contact after moving is slowly breaking him."

"She's not even trying to call?" Alma asked.

"We'll go over things once we get home. I'm so sorry for all of this. Can we call for our ride home already?"

"Don't worry about it! We know it's not your fault." King assured.

"I'll call Mom, go console your brother." The Siberian cat added.

Sandwich Residence, Saturday 4:44 PM

Grape and Peanut were snuggling on the living room sofa, both slightly wet from a recent bath together. Grape tried to control some purring while Peanut was occasionally letting a giggle out.

Grape broke the silence. "So. You feeling any better?"

"Yes... Sorry... I ruined your afternoon didn't I?"

"Don't even think about it, Peanut! If I had known you were so lonely."

"I tried to compensate for her with you... But seeing those two cats today, snuggling and kissing all the time. It made me miss her so much!"

"It's OK, Peanut. It's OK. Do you want to replay one of your adventures with her with me?"

"No, no. It's fine. You were right, that is a little weird."

"As if we weren't weird to begin with. We'll work something out, OK? I'll tell Max to give Tarot a piece of my mind! Abandoning my Peanut like that! Because of some weird coin magic?! Who cares?! Why does it matter so much to her?! It's not her business anymore!"

"Grape! Now it's your turn to calm down!"

"Sorry. Even if nothing works out I'm sure Mom and Dad will agree to send you back to the Gardens for a while, in an emergency." The doorbell suddenly rang.

"Well. That's way earlier than usual." Grape commented. She waited for the door to be unlocked and opened but no sound came from them. The doorbell ringing again after several seconds.

"Sorry." She stopped embracing Peanut and got up. "Guess I'll go check the door."

Grape's eyes widened as she opened the door, revealing a familiar black cat wearing a large ankh-shaped tag.

"Sabrina?!" She tried to pass her paws through the apparition, expecting some hologram but her paws just meeting solid flesh instead. "How are you even here?!"

"'Hello' to you too. Grape." The black cat replied sarcastically. "Dad had to visit New York for this weekend and since you live here now, I decided to go with him to check up on you guys. Are you two adapting well?"

"You see... At first I thought I was the one having trouble adapting, but Peanut recently... How's Tarot?" She suddenly asked.

"She's fine. Busy and stressed, but fine. Why?" Sabrina looked behind Grape, seeing Peanut lying on the sofa, beginning to sniffle again.

"She's completely ignoring Peanut! It's destroying him! You know how much he hides his negative emotions!" Grape yelled as she closed the door while Sabrina entered deeper into the house.

"Oh dear. She's been busy working with the celestials over the cursed coin. You know that temple raid three years ago made her a bit workaholic."

"Not an excuse! She was still meeting with Peanut all the time! If she doesn't contact Peanut by Monday I swear I'm gonna petnap her and lock her in our bedroom!"

"Grape! Please!" Peanut pleaded from the sofa.

"This is being hard for Tarot too!" Sabrina argued. "Her Crystaltab broke again! Do you think she's willfully neglecting Peanut?!"

"Just give her a cellphone or anything!"

Sabrina walked away from Grape and sat down on the sofa, next to Peanut. "Peanut." She began to console. "I'll tell Tarot about how you feel, OK? She might even be able to visit, to make up for all of this. I knew she was busy but not that she had absolutely no contact. That's not fine with me."

The dog stopped his sobbing. "Thanks, Sabrina. I'm sorry for not being strong."

"I can say for sure she didn't intend to go dark for so long. I'll make sure she understands how you're feeling." She suddenly got up and trotted towards the door. "I have to go now! My dad's waiting!" She opened the door and disappeared outside, not bothering to close it again.

Grape locked the door again, dumbfounded. "Did that even happen?"

"Tarot's gonna call me! Tarot's gonna visit me!" A now extremely happy Peanut cheered, dancing on the sofa.

"You know what, Peanut?! You really are 'nutty'!"

This is the start of a small "Peanut misses Tarot" arc and I'll be frank, it's by far my least favorite. I don't know if it's because I'm not very interested in the premise, if it's because the writing here is noticeably worse, or both. I just feel like I only started it because I felt forced to address the fact that both Grape and Peanut had to abandon long-lasting romantic partners before the story. Address that in a way that went beyond occasional mentions.

Also. Thanks for the support, to everyone replying to the thread. Sorry for kinda ignoring your encouragement. I have a tendency of acting in a very official tone everytime I post on a forum, only replying to questions and never expressing anything.
Last edited by Wortge on Sun May 10, 2020 3:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
NHWestoN
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

Amazee Dayzee wrote: Wed Apr 22, 2020 5:15 pm Make sure that you keep these chapters coming! The story and others in the Fan Project board are the only reason why I haven't gone insane yet. :lol:
They're a lot more uplifting than the news. ;)
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Wonderful job with these new chapters! Keep it up!
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

Poor Peanut, I expected better from Tarot. I really enjoyed this little episode, nice job :)
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

College Point Dogs Club Second Floor, Tuesday 11:09 AM

Brian was using the club's computer, as usual. Continuously checking catering options.

"Chilaquiles, Carne Asada, Chimichanga, I should get Xander to help me with pronouncing these names if I don't want to make a fool of myself..." The club leader thought to himself.

"Attendance today is one hundred and four percent compared to the Tuesday average, pretty good. Returning visitors are going up." The club's other Golden Retriever leader entered the room, being noticed by Brian.

"Hey, Rob! How was the subway ride today?"

"No more of that! Shane finally came to his senses! Kinda."

"Oh really? You're allowed to get here by car again?"

"Yep! One caveat though." Rob twisted his collar to Brian, showing a small black device stuck in it.

"What's that? A GPS tracker?"

"Indeed! Man going full '1984' on me now. But I don't really care, not like I'm planning on running off to the mountains."

"Very good to know! A sharp decrease in attendance from one of the co-founders would be disastrous! The future of the club looks way brighter now."

"You also said that when I told you I'd be moving neighborhoods. And the club's even doing better since then!"

"That doesn't prove anything. We shouldn't always rely on best-case scenarios."

"Maybe it proves people here don't actually tolerate me. What are you doing there, by the way?" Rob moved to get a look at the monitor.

"Don't even joke about that, Rob! Nobody here is hating you behind your back. I'm just going over April's statistics."

Rob tried to decipher some of the spreadsheet. "Funny I just mentioned '1984' a while ago. Are you seriously going over every single member?"

"Only outliers. Claire here has only one registered attendance: April 12, our Easter event. Last attendance before that was February 29."

"How is that an outlier? Just seems like a non-committed member to me, nothing wrong with that." He grabbed a nearby chair and sat next to Brian.

"She was very commited in December, having long breaks before and after that. Just curious."

Brian scrolled idly through the list until he picked another name. "Here's Peanut: Second newest member, extremely active at first but now starting to lose interest. In line with the usual new member profile."

"Indeed. People like things better when they're new and interesting. Remember when we had recently acquired this place and I was almost sleeping here instead of home?"

"Haha, it's really hard to imagine you caring more about the club than me now. Things change."

"Peanut got super close to us for a while, especially me and Xander. It was almost like he was trying to become the fourth member of our 'council' or something."

"You know, we could make that a thing. After all it's not like we three will be running this club forever."

"Are you seriously thinking of having this club span generations?! Jeez, Brian!"

"Hey! Just a thought! You never see yourself doing something for forty years, but what if?"

"Then we only discuss that after thirty years, OK? Also, Peanut is only like, two years younger than me."

"I'm actually bookmarking that date. 'April 28 2050 - Ask Rob about fourth club leader'."

"Go ahead, I'm voting for whoever the newest member by then is, to shake things up. Also bold of you to assume the club will be active in 2050 when you're always going on about how at best we have three years left."

"Hey. Sometimes I get too worried, OK?"

"How are things going for the club right now, actually? Try to be rational and, dare I say, optimistic."

"They're going extremely well, but it's not sustainable. Take a look." Brian showed Rob a line graph of attendance numbers for the current year.

"Oh, wow! We really were doing pretty badly in January."

"I told you! Eighteen member average. Complete loss of interest."

"That's a really nice bump in March though, and it seems we're still riding it."

"Very likely effects of the pandemic, that's why I say it's not sustainable. Lots of entertainment options heavily dependent on human staff had to close down, causing a surge in attendance due to a smaller abundance of other options."

"Any other possible effects of that? I know unemployment is skyrocketing right now, all these club dogs are still dependent on human income to... Well, exist."

"Right, right! Here's the April 20 survey." Brian switched to a window with a complex-looking spreadsheet. "Never showed you this because I just thought you'd dismiss me as being too paranoid as usual, glad you're interested in this stuff for once."

"Anything that can help you see things aren't so bad, Brian." He looked at the monitor briefly. "Care to decipher some of this for me?"

"Eleven percent of the sample answered that all of their human guardians are unemployed, up from three percent in January. Respondents answering 'Yes' to the question 'Do you use the club's meals as a replacement for eating lunch at home due to budgetary reasons?' have risen to seventy-two percent from twelve percent."

"Wow! You know, I never thought of our lunches here as charity."

"Here's an eye-opening one: Employed members have gone from five percent to nineteen percent. Self-owned members are now five percent, up from one percent at the start of the year."

"And that's related to the stuff you work with. They aren't 'self-owned' though, are they? They're owned by corporations."

"PR-speak. Nobody's going to pay money so a corporation 'owns' them, they'll pay to 'not have to be owned by a human'. And in the end that's exactly what we provide. We don't do anything to all those pets other than just let them live. Unless they stop paying, of course."

"Gosh, you're sounding like a movie villain there."

"What can I do? It's still a business. If not paying still lets you keep all your pet rights without having an owner, then what's the point of paying? All the pets in the service also cause expenses by themselves, since we have to handle a lot of their bureaucracy as their 'owner'."

"Don't you think there's a chance humans will give more rights to stray pets and suddenly make your business worthless?"

"Humans wouldn't be able to support the sudden population of pets who now aren't forced to seek shelter with them, especially with the current frail economy. The current situation is just so uncertain right now. Here in the club we have more members attending and our daily meals being considered more important than usual, pretty safe situation. We should just work more on our events so that we're able to retain this level of attendance even once things eventually go back to normal for the humans. But then looking at the P.I.S., we have demand for pet workers skyrocketing, because they're not restricted like the humans are and have lower wages. We have demand for self-ownership also skyrocketing, because pets are finding jobs for themselves and emancipating from their now-unemployed families. It seems like an extremely beneficial situation, and it is! We're making a fortune, which is even helping the club, as you know. But this won't be kept forever, these pet workers aren't really replacements for humans. Human lawmakers will eventually take action if there's a giant pet workforce taking human jobs away from them, and we're not exactly a megacorporation capable of lobbying the system to that extent. I'm very afraid this will end with a sudden decrease in pet employment once the crisis begins calming down. And then what happens to all the self-owned pets? Who now have no income? Will I be forced to oversee hundreds of pet families being forced into shelters because their income is now gone? The anxiety I feel just thinking about this stuff, and I have to keep it all bottled up inside me too."

"Augh, Brian! If this stuff's eating you up inside so much you should've just told me weeks ago! This goes way beyond just thinking people are losing interest in the club! How about we deal with that anxiety right now then? Son! Turn that computer off right now! We're going outside!" Rob said in a mock deep voice.

"Not now, Dad!" Brian teased. "Actually... Sure. I'm mostly done right now anyways."

"There you go."

College Point Streets, Tuesday 11:25 AM

Two Golden Retrievers walked the streets of the quiet neighborhood, chatting along.

"...There's only two reviews though! They're both one-star, one has no text and the other just says 'Bueno'. Real mixed signals." Brian was telling Rob about his Cinco de Mayo club plans.

"And I assume your family doesn't really have experience with Mexican food catering?"

"No, they've never organized events by themselves. If they ever had to though, I bet they'd come running for my advice!" He boasted.

"I can honestly see that."

"Can *you* advise me, though?" Brian smirked.

Rob chuckled. "Can I? You know I hate most Mexican food, that's my third most controversial opinion."

"Just joking, I'll probably choose the most well-known option. Granted they can handle the demand and they pass my testing."

"They'll be sweating bullets at that. What's a food critic compared to the judgment of the leader of a dog club?" Rob laughed.

"I'll teach the humans how wrong the assumption that dogs will eat anything can be!"

"You should get Xander for that if you really want to teach them."

"Let's make it 'hard mode' for them, not 'nightmare mode.'... Do you have anything in mind to do, Rob?"

"Do I ever? Not really."

"Let's just keep following this road, it bends to the right here and eventually crosses the avenue the club's in."

"I rarely ever see these parts, do you know who lives here?"

"I can recall some of the member addresses, yeah."

"That's kinda scary, 'Dear Leader'. I actually know this house here." Rob pointed at a three-story red brick house. "That's Peanut's house, or should I say, the Nutsha-"

"Don't you dare finish that reference! But you're correct, if I can recall things right. How do you know that?"

"That's from when me, Xander and him went to the movies. His cat roommate was with him too."

"Oh, right. I remember that."

"And you were just shut inside your little room the whole time."

"I mean, did you ever ask me?"

"What would your answer be?"

"Let's see... That's the day Peanut appeared in my room and showed me his pet-sister, Grape. I was just passing some time, but I wasn't in the mood to go out to do something for so long... Yeah, I'd say 'no'."

"Bingo! Let's forget about Cinco de Mayo for a day and just go all out? To make up for how busy you've been this month?"

"I desperately want to say 'absolutely not' right now, but you know what? Let's go!" Brian pumped his arms up.

"Yeah! As if you have to worry about Cinco de Mayo right now! There's still a week left! That's one hundred and sixty eight hours left!"

"Please don't put it like that."

Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, Queens, Tuesday 12:07 PM

The two dogs approached the museum's main entrance, the museum looking like any ordinary office building.

"We're really doing this?" Rob complained. "When I think of having fun outside I'm really not thinking of museums!"

"I thought you were the cultured type, Rob." Brian said with a disapproving tone. "Haven't you been to hundreds of museums? With all your traveling?"

The dogs quieted down as they entered the building and paid for their admission. "I only go to museums when traveling because they're like, the first thing that shows up in maps when you check." Rob continued.

"Then pretend you're traveling. Can I pass off as Shane?"

Rob laughed quietly. "You know? Maybe a little. Shane would get kicked out from here though, no museums for humans."

"Anyways, I decided to come here because they're doing this '2001' exhibit, that's been in my radar for a while. I've always loved that film."

"How? It's super boring and makes no sense!"

"Is that another one of your controversial opinions?"

"I don't even think so, it's just this old idealistic movie about how in 2001 we'll be doing space tourism and Pan Am will still exist."

"It was amazing for its time!"

"Another way of saying it sucks by now."

"I like the symbolism, and the setting, and I'm interested in what the exhibit will display."

"Whatever it is it'll be more interesting than all these old cameras here."

The dogs continued their visit, looking at old items related to filmmaking, trying to read their info without staying still for too long. Rob mostly looked over the museum's other visitors, a group of five cats chatted while they strolled around the exhibits. Some other scattered pets were walking around, mostly by themselves.

"I'm surprised they're keeping this museum open during the human quarantine." Rob commented to Brian. "There's like, ten visitors here. I understand them keeping the huge museums open because they still get like, one thousand pets per day. But this one is pretty minor, and pets interested in film history must be a rarity."

"Money's money, Rob." Brian affirmed. "We're still paying to be here. Full-price, no less. Look at the staff, they're all dogs or cats. They're very likely part-time pet volunteers, miserly wages compared to professional human workers. This thing probably yields a profit even with just fifty daily visitors, and the administration even gets to brag they're 'keeping their human workers safe'. 'Keeping them safe' by laying them off indefinitely and replacing them with cheap emergency labor. Dog knows what's gonna happen once this is all over, will these pet workers remain here? Will their wages increase? Will animal equality agendas progress? It's so uncertain once you begin thinking about it. And it's an election year too."

"Oh no, is that your anxiety acting up? Sorry for bringing that up."

"It's fine, it's fine. We wait and see how things go in due time. The good thing from all of this is that with all the money we've been making it's possible to prepare for hard times if they decide to crack down on human unemployment caused by pet workers. Just gotta create a huge financial buffer for that. Hate to benefit from mysery, but that's capitalism for you. I knew what I signed up for."

"Tone it down a little. You're sounding like a movie villain again." Both dogs quieted down. Rob trying hard to be interested in the information coming from the countless item descriptions at the exhibits.

"Have you never been here before?" Brian suddenly inquired.

"Have been here once, quick visit with Shane." Rob began. "Don't really remember much, only those themed rooms that would display art films that were a few minutes long and were like, shots of graffitied walls set to ominous music."

"And you just sit there." He continued after some silence. "Pretending that you just get everything and you're really cultured and open-minded. Reminds me of trying to watch '2001', actually."

Brian chuckled. "It all comes back to that then. Looking forward to repeating that?"

"I don't know if you're taunting me, but that wasn't really a bad experience. Neutral if anything."

"Better than 'Restaurant Roulette'? Xander told me you did that with him again recently."

"We did! Small restaurant Midtown, it was mediocre."

"And Xander's opinion?"

"Mixed-to-negative. As good as possible, you know he's picky."

"Been hanging out with anyone else recently?"

"Well... Shane, if that counts."

"It doesn't."

"I also visited my travel club. With Xander, same day as the roulette."

"Are they doing well?"

"Three members in attendance when I visited, early afternoon. If your club had similar numbers I bet you'd have a heart attack."

"They're a more specific club, OK? Lower numbers are normal. And I meant if the members were doing well, not the club structure."

"They're all fine, all three of them. We talked about Singapore a lot. And Malta."

"Isn't Malta still in the list?"

"Yep! Never been there. Hurts my pride deeply." Rob deadpanned.

The duo entered one of the small movie display rooms. An empty room decorated with a cubist theme. Both dogs sat down and watched a fairly abstract short film.

"Is this the experience you remember?" Brian asked, a little jokingly.

"Yup! These are definitely rectangles." Rob watched the movie for a small moment before starting again. "You up to go eat somewhere around here after this visit? Later you could visit my home too. You've barely been to the place."

"Sure, Rob." Brian answered, slightly hypnotized by the film.

Harlow Residence, Manhattan, Tuesday 2:59 PM

The condo's main door opened, two chatting Golden Retrievers stepping in.

"...and thanks to all those copyright laws, the national movie industry moved from New York to California." Brian was continuing, as Rob got around to closing the door and opening the blinds. "Nowadays, though. It seems like the majority of movies are going back to being set and filmed around here."

"Kind of a shame, really." Rob commented. "You already see New York every day and every night. Then you go watch a movie and it has the exact setting as your own life. It's all Los Angeles and New York. If I had to make a movie I'd set it in a more obscure place, like... Boise."

"You'd have to work in Boise though. Would your cosmopolitan heart be able to take that?"

"Dog! You know I travel abroad almost every year! I've been to some seriously 'middle-of-nowhere' places!"

"Right. Fair enough."

"But the answer is no. I wouldn't be OK with temporarily moving to Boise."

"Wow. That conversation almost ended with you not dissing a place you don't live in."

"Hey, not wanting to live in a place isn't negative. In fact, it's the inverse that's extremely positive. Anyways, is there anything you wanna do here at my 'abode'? I don't think you've visited it in months."

"I haven't, it's pretty new to me. What does it offer?"

"Well. Of course it's not as spacious as my old house. But you've got the TV, the kitchen. In my room there's my Switch and my PC."

"Your PC, right. Could I use it really quick to check some club stuff?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What did I say about today? Forget the club for at least a few hours!"

"I can't! I still have to head back there and close it for today, you know? And while we were eating I remembered a few things I have to get started with!"

"You've been thinking about the club during our lunch?! Without my permission?! You know what?! Fine! Go write your ideas down and then we're playing video games for hours or something!"

"Love it when you pretend to be outraged, Rob." Brian smirked back at him. "I just want to check a few things really quick. Since your PC has access to the club's intranet."

"I don't even know how to set up that stuff." Rob followed Brian towards his own room. Brian already turning the PC on. Meanwhile Rob connected his portable console to a small TV and turned both on.

He sat down on his bed and tried to decide on which game to choose from the game list, ending up giving up to wait for Brian. Brian was mirroring his usual days at the club's second floor. Checking a few spreadsheets on one side of the monitor while having several internet browser windows open on the other.

"You know, Brian?" Rob started, edging closer to him from his bed. "I'm going to indulge you, what are you working on now? Now that you somehow converted my bedroom into the club's second floor in the span of a few seconds?"

"We all love being in familiar territory, don't we? I'm almost done."

"Done with what?"

"Quick financial analysis. Ended up having to do it at the last minute this month."

"Oh, of course! The 'financial analysis'!" Rob exclaimed sarcastically. "You're basically a human at this point."

"Not the first time I get that. Being a dog doesn't mean I should ignore our budget, especially if I'm in charge of administration."

"Just didn't know things were that formal. Everything's going fine, right? Since at least your business is booming."

"Extremely fine. The club is accumulating a lot of money, everything is. We should be concentrating more on retaining member interest by organizing bigger events."

"Isn't it time for you to cut back on your allowance a little then?"

"Allowance? That was ages ago, I don't get that anymore. This is all from my own pocket and member donations. All the money is just overflowing, it's more than enough for the club. I have no idea where to spend it at this point, it just piles up."

"Hard to part ways with some hoarded cash, eh?"

"You're in no place to call me selfish, are you?"

"Guilty. Also screw you for tricking me into talking more about club issues! Let's play something before you have to leave!"

"Just a sec." Brian raised a paw while clicking a few more things. "Alright, I'm done." He turned the monitor off and sat on the bed with Rob.

"If you thought Peanut's Animal Crossing town was cool, check this one out!"

"That game puts me to sleep, dude."

"Spreadsheets are much more exciting, I know."

"Honestly? They can be. You know my love for statistics."

"After today I certainly do. Guess it's now your turn to play the part of the uninterested jerk. Sorry for not loving the art of filmmaking."

Unknown Street, Babylon Gardens(?), Afternoon(?)

Peanut walked the streets of the suburb he spent most of his life in. With no clear destination, even to himself. The neighborhood just a blurry reconstruction of what he remembered it being like. Cars passed by occasionally, the houses were unfamiliar. Peanut never paid enough attention to notice the uncanniness of his current environment. He soon noticed a familiar Pomeranian standing under a tree, next to the sidewalk he was walking on. He picked up the pace to greet his girlfriend.

"Peanut!" Tarot called. "You haven't shown your face in a while, do you still care about our relationship?"

"Of course I do!" He hugged her tightly. "I just couldn't find you!"

"Here I am then, Peanut. How about we make up for all the time you've been away?"

"Of course!" Peanut tackled Tarot while in her embrace, making both fall towards the grass, Peanut licking her face continuously. "I've missed you so much! Please stay with me!"

"I'm not going anywhere, Love."

Peanut snuggled with Tarot on the grass for what felt like minutes, just enjoying the company of the girlfriend he missed so much. Why did he stay away from her for so long, anyways? They would always spend their days together, even with Tarot usually being too busy with her otherwordly affairs and not giving him much attention. It didn't matter though, right now Peanut had her right under his arms.

Peanut noticed his surroundings now being different, the forested suburbs he grew up in replaced with a dense grid of skyscrapers. Surroundings that were familiar to him, from a recent family trip he remembered. He returned his attention to his girlfriend, who was completely unreactive to his snuggling now.

"Tarot?"

Peanut opened his eyes. Being greeted by the darkness of his bedroom. A purple cat sleeping very close to him, in the same bed. The memories of his recent dream quickly came back to him, seeing Tarot, touching her, hearing her voice. Peanut scanned the room, seeing a digital clock shining in the darkness, reading 'AM 4:02'. He accidentally let out a whimper, quickly checking if Grape was woken by it.

"Just a few more hours, it's alright." Grape consoled Peanut, her eyes still closed.

Peanut started to sniffle quietly, embracing Grape and trying to go back to sleep.

First time I'm "late" posting a chapter, oops. Which means the next one will have to be posted very soon, sorry for the possible reading overload.
Last edited by Wortge on Fri May 08, 2020 6:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

That was a very incredible chapter! Also don't worry about not sticking to a schedule. I'm sure everybody knows that it isn't always possible.
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

College Point Dogs Club, Wednesday 9:51 AM

Xander and Flash were leaning on one of the arcade cabinets, doing their usual music discussion with Flash's smartphone and headphones. Only a few dogs were present due to it being still early in the morning, most of them idly chatting.

"It's really beautiful, Xan." Flash started. "Didn't expect you to choose such a sad song. Is there something wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"There's nothing wrong, it's just a pleasing song. And just because you have a slow piano and violins doesn't mean a song is 'sad'."

"Most people would disagree with that."

"It's sound! It doesn't have feelings. What makes a violin sad? What makes a fast beat happy? Nothing aside from social conditioning."

"Music is all about evoking feelings though. Didn't expect philosophy suddenly coming from you."

"I just wanna listen to slow-paced, melancholic music without people assuming I'm dying. Sometimes I feel like-"

The club's front doors were suddenly loudly kicked open, a brown-furred mutt proudly walking inside.

Flash turned his attention to the newcomer. "What's with the door abuse everytime I'm here?"

"Rejoice! Dogs of 'CP'! A true leader is here!" The unknown dog boasted, then heading for the stairs.

The two dogs stared at the mutt as he disappeared after going upstairs. "I guess someone has grievances with Brian?" Xander guessed.

"That's rare. You know who that is?"

"I'll be frank, most of the people here are a blur to me. Brian is good with that though."

College Point Dogs Club Second Floor, Wednesday 9:54 AM

Brian was at his usual place, sitting behind his desk. Amusing himself with something on the club's computer. A brown dog soon entered the room and faced the desk.

"Hey, Byron. Haven't seen you in a while." Brian greeted, not paying a lot of attention.

"What did you just call me?!" The newcomer shouted, outraged.

"Uh..." The Retriever took his eyes off the monitor, looking at the stranger. "Sorry. Confused you with someone else, easy with that huge 'B' hanging from your collar."

The mutt raised a finger. "I'll let that pass. I assume you're this little club's leader."

"I am. Along with two other dogs. One of them is downstairs, I believe." Brian's eyes suddenly widened. "You're not NYPD, are you?"

"What? No! I'm visiting this place as the founder of a well-respected dog club! I believe you'd appreciate the advice of a professional."

"I certainly would." Brian assumed a formal tone. "What are your credentials then?"

"I'm Bino. Founder of the Good Ol' Dogs Club!"

"And where would that be?"

"Babylon Gardens!"

"Uh... And where would that... be?"

"Don't play dumb! It's a world-famous club!" Bino paused to ponder for a moment. "You've mentioned you're working with co-leaders, haven't you?"

"Yes. Rob and Xander usually discuss club matters with me."

"That will be your downfall! I used to run the club along with my brother, but he betrayed us for a cat!"

"What, did he bomb the club because some cat told him to?"

"Yes! Metaphorically. He fell in love with a cat! Despite club rules forbidding relationships with cats!"

"I mean, cat love is a bit weird. But I don't think that should be club matters."

"It undermines the club's unity! If most of the members interact with cats, they'll get ideas from them! It might as well be a cat club by then!"

"Honestly, most of the cats I've met have been very upstanding. Nothing wrong with taking anything from them."

"But this is a dog club!"

"It's a club for dog interests! Not dog supremacy! How do you run *your* club, 'leader'?"

"Kicking out the cat lovers, for starters. I provide food, games, and grand speeches."

"'Grand speeches'? I don't think anyone here would appreciate that as entertainment. Even if it's a stand-up or something."

"It's not 'entertainment'! Speeches increase morale! They show them who's the alpha!"

"I don't think having a day dedicated to just hearing people talk would do too well. I know the big podium area may give you the impression speeches are a big part of this club, but that area's usually just used as some kind of forum. Speeches here are only given for informational purposes."

"No wonder the club's full of cat-loving degenerates! You should tell them cats are not to be trusted!"

"Why do you think it's full of them?! What's even your problem with cats?! That's not even my opinion! All three of us founders know a lot of cats, in fact!"

"Wow, then this place is rotten to the core."

"Where does all this cat hate come from, Bino? This is an intervention now."

"I live with one! It's torture!"

"So much for 'no contact with cats'. And you're extrapolating your distrust of cats from your experiences with a single one?"

"I have no idea what that means. But know this, 'Brian'. Once this thing collapses, I'm going all the way back here again just to dance on its ruins!" Bino suddenly stormed off, fuming.

"Huh. That came out of nowhere." Brian commented to himself, going back to his computer activities.

Xander arrived upstairs a few minutes later, an amused look on his face.

"So." The Beagle started. "Mind filling me in on the guy who arrived telling everyone he would fix everything and then left screaming we're a hopeless cause?"

"No idea, I'm not at a point where I'm hiring people to advise me on management."

"So that was just some randomer?"

"Yes! He told me he's leader of a club I've never heard of! Then started complaining about cats and left."

"He thinks there are cats in the club?"

"He thinks we should isolate ourselves from cats. Seems like he lives with a bad cat and is traumatized by it."

"Hah. If only he knew my connections with cats."

"He was telling me to kick you and Rob out of leadership, you know? And he didn't even know about your cat friends."

"Very hostile guy, then. I assume his club's super successful?" Xander asked sarcastically.

"Never heard of it."

"Not surprised. Should we keep an eye out for that guy?"

"I think he's just delusional, not actively malicious. Don't think he's a local either."

"Alright. See you soon then. Spend some more time downstairs today, sometimes I worry about you."

"No need to. See you later, Xan."

Sandwich Residence, Wednesday 9:49 AM

Peanut and Grape were sitting on the living room sofa, side-by-side. Peanut was busy playing his Switch while Grape was almost falling asleep, alternating between watching the TV and Peanut's game. Eventually the doorbell rang, making Peanut immediately spring up and run towards the front door.

"Peanut! That scared the carp out of me!" A now-very-awake Grape shouted.

Peanut hastily unlocked the front door and opened it. Facing a familiar black cat with a large bell hanging from his collar.

Peanut tried to hide his disappointment briefly, before being filled with genuine joy at the reunion with his old friend. "Max! It's so nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you too! Now get rid of that moodiness before I staple a smile on your face!"

"I'm better now! Grape helped me a lot!"

"Well, well. But can *she* help you with that too?" The black cat took a step to the side, revealing a Pomeranian standing behind him to Peanut.

"Tarot!" He yelled before tackling Tarot, almost falling off the house's front stairs. Hugging and kissing her while on the floor.

"Hope the K-9 recruiters didn't see that one." Max joked, walking towards Grape, who was now standing closer to the door, watching.

"Welcome back, Maxie" Grape greeted. "We were planning on surviving a year but I guess we could barely make it a month."

"Heheh. I guess you could blame Peanut though?"

"Oh, I know *who* to blame. But first come here, you cute thing!" They both ran against each other, hugging and kissing.

Letting go of Max, Grape approached the other two lovers. Who were now standing up while sharing affections.

"Tarot." The purple cat glared. "Give me one reason why I should let you live once Peanut is done with you."

Tarot gave a nervous smile. "Um... Peanut would be happy?"

"Seriously, what were you thinking? I chat with Max almost every day and that's barely enough to make me not miss him! You know how attached Peanut is to everyone! Last night he was talking about how much he misses Bino! Bino, for cod's sake!"

"Look." She fully turned her attention to the purple cat. "Many mistakes were made. My Crystaltab got bricked by some update, the one I planned on giving to Peanut got stuck at customs. Murphy's Law is real and strong at the moment, Grape."

"All of this because you're completely relying on your arcane stuff as usual. Can you at least get a cellphone? For these emergencies?"

"I have one, but it's currently universe-misaligned. I already have a small present planned for Peanut, of course. Communication-related."

"I already got the best present I could ask for!" Peanut beamed from Tarot's side.

Grape groaned. "Dear lord Peanut, that's so sappy!"

Max embraced the three other pets. "So, now that the four musketeers are temporarily back. Do you have any plans for the next days?"

Peanut immediately piped up. "Oh! We could go to the park! It's so big and there's so much to see!"

Grape's eyes widened. "Oh no, Peanut! You don't mean *the* park, do you?!"

"We left stuff to do that day! There's still the 'Hall of Science'!"

"It's too far! Can't we leave that for the weekend? So Mom and Dad can drive us there?"

"We're leaving on Saturday, Grape." Tarot informed.

"Yeah." Max confirmed. "Dad booked us in a hotel for only three days."

"Wait." Grape interrupted. "*Your* dad brought you here?"

"He did! Bino had to come along too but he's busy checking the neighborhood or something. Sabrina's dad paid for this little emergency visit."

"Bino's here?! This is suddenly turning into a nightmare."

"I don't expect him to want to do stuff with us, it'll be fine for you." Max waited for any comments before continuing. "So, off to the park now?" He smiled.

"You'll all pay one day." Grape grumbled. "I'll call Dad and then we'll go."

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Wednesday 10:55 AM

The group of four entered the park from the same access Grape remembered entering. They strolled through the footpaths, going in the general direction of the anticipated 'Hall of Science.'

"Pretty big for a park, yeah." Max agreed. "Reminds me of the Milton's preserve."

"All of that without the cursed temples and cultist animals! What's not to like?" Grape replied.

"Deep down you're missing that, aren't you Grape?"

"Missing what? The temple? Res and Peanut almost dying? Whatever happened in that last floor? Believe it or not, I don't. That day felt like it lasted a year!"

"Can't say the experience was much more positive for me." Tarot added.

"You two are no fun." Max complained. "Peanut!" He called. "My second-favorite dog in the world! You've been giggly for a while, what's so good about this science thing you want to go to?"

"Everything!" The brown dog exclaimed. "I was checking everything about it on the way here, there's those rockets! And those exhibits showing lights and colors!"

"Colors, huh? Don't dogs see everything in black-and-white?"

"No we don't! How do you think I would color my comics then?"

"Badly."

"Exactly! Wait, what?!"

"Maxie..." Grape warned. "Criticizing Peanut's comics is still restricted territory, you know?"

"Apologies, they're all amazing." He complimented with exaggerated politeness. "You two enjoying your new home?" He changed topics. "Aside from all the homesickness."

"'Friendsickness' if anything." Grape started answering. "You know even before I knew I was going to move I was complaining about how stagnant the Gardens are."

"About how no pet goes outside anymore? You're really in no place to talk."

"I'm not! But the whole place started as some kind of utopia for pets. Now it's just a podunk with a family of rich ferrets as a gimmick!"

"Rated second most dangerous neighborhood of River Ridge, don't forget that!"

"Thanks to the ferrets, probably."

"I mean, we did experience some of that danger first-hand, ages ago. But don't dodge the question! How's New York?"

"It's been a month! I don't know! Our new neighborhood is another generic suburb, 'College Point'. It's more urban than Babylon Gardens."

"Taking the 'Gardens' out of 'Babylon Gardens', I see. Lots of colleges and points?"

Peanut joined the conversation between the two cats. "The name comes from a religious college that closed in 1850, Rob told me."

"Ah! Here we go! Some juicy info. Who's Rob?"

"Co-founder of the College Point Dog Club." Peanut began again. "They have a lot of games and food!"

"Oh dear. That's eerily reminiscent of something."

"Miles better than Bino's club!" Grape interjected. "Not as if that's an accomplishment."

"And we went to a lot of places in New York!" Peanut started to tell. "We went to this park right here. We went to Central Park and to a huge museum! We saw the city from above. I went to a boat restaurant and to a beach with Grape and her friends."

Max looked at Grape suddenly, surprised. "Your 'friends'?! You're hanging out with your own circle instead of orbiting Peanut's?!"

"I don't orbit Peanut! Enough of this misconception!"

"Yes you do! Look at us! Tarot is Peanut's girlfriend and you only know me because Peanut knew Bino!"

She facepalmed. "I'm hopeless... How are things back in Babylon by the way? My turn to ask now."

"Uh... People are still dealing with those transformed humans from one ye-"

"No! Enough of that!" Tarot suddenly yelled.

"Glad someone shares my opinion." Grape deadpanned.

"Um..." Max tried to recall. "Sasha got emancipated from a potentially abusive owner."

"That dog with the hearts? Good for her."

"I think that happened before you left. But anyways, things are relatively normal. Nothing crazy since you two left."

"As normal as they can get there."

"Indeed."

Sandwich Residence, Wednesday 1:37 PM

The group was back in the house. Peanut enthusiastically recapping his experiences at the science museum over a few snacks they were having for lunch. The doorbell rang while everyone was in the living room.

"I'll get it!" Peanut immediately stopped his speech. Running towards the door, reaching for the house keys already.

"Check who it is first!" Grape warned.

"It's probably Dad." Max informed. "We two still need to check the hotel room."

Peanut unlocked and opened the front door. Being greeted by a familiar brown dog with a human behind him.

"Bino!" Peanut shouted. "I've missed you!" He prepared to give his old friend a hug.

"Whoa, whoa! No need for all the physical contact, lug! Social distancing!" He dodged the hug.

"Sorry, sorry! It's a pleasure to see you again, Bino." Peanut offered his paw to Bino, who shook it after briefly hesitating, walking inside right after. "Hey, Jeff!" Peanut greeted the human.

"Hello, little Peanut! I'm here to bring Max and Tarot to the hotel we're staying in. Did you have fun this morning?"

"A lot! Thank you so much for bringing them!"

"Aww! You're welcome." Jeff petted the dog lightly.

"Did you bring the present?" Tarot asked from behind Peanut.

"Oh! It's in the car. I'll be right back!" He turned back and walked outside.

"A present, Tarot?" Peanut asked his girlfriend.

"Oh, it's nothing major. Just your own Crystaltab, you'll always be able to reach me with it."

"Didn't you already give me your number?"

"That was just to satisfy Grape." She said quietly, trying to not make the cat hear. "Don't even think about calling that number, by the way."

"Alright, can't wait!" Peanut exclaimed, trying to disguise the secret. He returned to the sofa, already bothering Grape with something.

Jeff came back with a transparent green apparatus. "Here's whatever this is. Give it to your boyfriend and then we're heading out." He handed the Crystaltab to Tarot.

"Here it is, Love!" Tarot exclaimed, walking towards Peanut and handing him the device. "I'll teach you how to use it later if you can't understand it. It's not made just for psychics, you know? Got to go now!" Peanut grabbed the tab, examining it curiously. Max and Tarot made it to the front door next to Jeff while Bino had already made it outside, after standing in awkward silence indoors during his owner's brief visit.

"See you tomorrow, Tarot!" Peanut waved.

The group exchanged goodbyes, only Peanut and Grape remaining in their home after everything was done.

"So, Peanut. Feeling sad still?"

"I wasn't sad! I just wanted to talk to Tarot for a bit."

"Whatever you say. Let's make the most out of these three days, OK?"

"OK." Peanut was already lying on the sofa, fiddling with his new 'toy'.

Central Park, Manhattan, Thursday 3:56 PM

Jeff walked the park with his dog and cat, who were clearly having their differences.

"Why can't you two get along for at least a minute?! Bino! Do I need to get the leash?!"

"It's all Max! He keeps trying to make me bump into other pets!" Bino shouted.

"Max! Stop trying to embarrass your brother!"

Max smirked. "If only you knew how funny Bino acts when he's embarrassed, you'd be joining me instead of asking me to stop."

"You two just keep getting worse and worse! Bino! Stick to my left! Max! To my right!" Jeff tried to demand.

"I'm going off on my own." Bino decided, starting to sprint forwards. "I'll meet you two where we started!"

"Absolutely not!" Jeff fumed. "You've never been to this place before!"

"Please! I almost grew up here! If only you knew the places I've been to back home!" Bino exclaimed, already getting too far from his human.

"See what you just did?" He scolded Max.

"That's supposed to be a bad thing?"

Elsewhere in Central Park, Thursday 4:01 PM

Two Golden Retrievers walked side-by-side, casually talking about whatever topics each decided to bring up.

"Last time I visited, the Big Ben still had that big cocoon surrounding it still." Rob continued. "Wonder how disappointing that should be for first-time tourists, you go to see a world-famous landmark and it's just a giant scaffolded box."

"I've seen pictures." Brian noted. "When is it coming back to normal?"

"I don't know. Something ridiculous. Like, 2022 or something."

"Enough time for people to enjoy the rest of the city, it's just a clock after all."

"I mean, it's super common for people to call anything very well-known 'overrated'. I think just getting to see a place that everyone in the world knows adds to the experience."

"That's seeing it. What about entering it?"

"People want to enter the Big Ben tower? I just meant expecting to see the famous tower and not being able to."

"If it isn't the leader of the local cat lover club!" A shout came from the distance, being noticed by both dogs.

"But there are indeed way better things to do in London, some places are very unappreci-" Rob noticed Brian's attention turning to the distant yelling dog. "That dog's not shouting at you, is he?"

"I really hope not. Just act natural."

"Shane's recent paranoia might pay off now. I hope the Mace works."

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" The distant dog continued. "Has your club collapsed yet?!"

"Oh dear. It's your inner demons." Rob deadpanned.

"It hasn't!" Brian answered, the other dog finally reaching talking distance. "Are you following me?! What do you want now?!"

Rob got curious. "You know this lad?"

"Just a coincidental reunion, believe me." The stranger declared. "Are you at least considering my advice?"

"What advice?" Rob inquired. "Did I miss something?"

"Tell your brother to shut up! This is between us two!"

"I'm not his brother! Who's this clown, Brian?!"

Brian sighed. "I guess I need to do an introduction then. Rob, this is Bino. He was in the club yesterday solely to complain about a few things."

"New clubbie, huh?" Rob raised an eyebrow. "Sorry for getting started in the wrong foot. I'm Rob, co-leader of the College Point Dogs Club. Glad to have a more critical member with us for once."

"I'm not a member!" Bino almost shouted. "I'd never join your little degenerate club!"

"If you're not a member what were you complaining about?"

Bino calmed down and started talking more politely. "You're destroying the neighborhood's values by not taking action against all the potential cat love going around."

"That's not the club's business." Rob argued. "It's not like we have cat-kissing days or something, although Xander would probably love that."

"That's his whole shtick, Rob." Brian interjected. "He just barged into my room yesterday and said you two would betray me for cats."

"Huh. That's not a nice thing to assume from strangers, new dog." Rob glared at Bino. "We give our members complete liberty. And that translates into a very friendly and healthy community."

"You're leaders! You're meant to lead!"

"We plan things, we don't demand from our members."

"What if every member starts bringing their cat girlfriends to the club, huh? Not much of a 'dog club' left then!"

"Then we hope those cats enjoy what we have in our grounds."

"You're all wackos! Good thing I'm going home soon. No wonder Peanut loves this city." He stormed off.

"'Peanut'?" Brian wondered.

"He's not even from here? How does he know our club then?"

"I hope the club doesn't come under attack or something. That's the first time I've seen someone so hostile to the idea of it. So much for trying to not think about the club for today."

"Hey, that stipulation was only for Tuesday. You're free to worry your head off today if you want."

"I don't. I got too into things recently. I blame that vacation for making me think people would think I abandoned my leadership."

"That's a lot of thinking. Wanna hit up my place before you head home?"

"Again? Sure."

Harlow Residence, Thursday 5:11 PM

The two dogs sat on the living room sofa, Rob's console now connected to the main TV. Brian played an Action RPG while Rob commented on the gameplay.

"I actually looked up the solution of this puzzle online the first time I played." Rob began. "Try making the statues switch sides and then the solution becomes more obvious."

"Right." Brian was in silence for a almost a minute before speaking up again. "Do you have any idea who that dog at the park was?"

"I was kinda assuming that was a fever dream by now, to be honest. Didn't he mention Peanut?"

"And Peanut doesn't seem the type to make enemies."

"Maybe an old friend of his who heard about the club?"

"Would make sense. That dog doesn't live nearby and Peanut moved in from out-of-state recently."

"But he wouldn't go all the way here just because Peanut told him. Peanut's from Illinois, isn't he?"

"I believe so." The conversation paused for a moment while Brian recalled something. "He mentioned he's leader of another dog club, can't recall the name."

"Leadership does bring the weird out in people."

"Is that supposed to be a dig at me?"

"I don't even know, maybe it's a dig at myself too. Are your recent plans all set, by the way? You haven't mentioned them today."

"*You* bringing up club event plans? What have you done to Rob?"

"Oh, don't mock me. I care about that stuff, just not as much as you."

"It's fine. It's all set with many days still left for Tuesday. Then I have drafts for more general events. Weekend stuff."

"What about the game console you were planning on setting up there? Permanently?"

"Holding off for the moment. Since this console generation is almost over."

"Right, right. We're in these weird transition times."

"That's the least weird thing about the current times. Also there's no space to set it up, we'd have to remove one of the arcades."

"Would Xander object?"

"Yes. Asked him already."

"Fourth of July plans?"

"Gave up on the fireworks, don't worry. I don't think it'll end up being anything special. Was just feeling super ambitious at that time."

"No need to push the limits of the club, we don't even have room for expansion."

"I know. Just feel like I should be doing more. Now that I can."

"Do more once people start complaining about you not doing enough, OK?"

"But all the people that stop frequenting don't complain before doing so! Everyone will just stop going and I'll have no feedback!"

"Then we convert the whole thing to a playground just for us three, how's that?"

"Rob! The club's the pride of my life!"

"Yes. But is it the *joy* of your life?"

"Of course! Do you think I'm forcing myself into managing stuff? I enjoy it."

"I think you're forcing yourself into enjoying it."

"Do you feel like giving it a try?"

"No, I think I'm good."

"How about giving a try at this mini-boss? It keeps throwing me off the edge."

"You're supposed to use the new key item you just got."

"Oh, right... Video games usually do that."
Last edited by Wortge on Fri May 08, 2020 6:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

Leave it to Bino to make the worst of a wholesome day. It's wonderful to see the four together again. Excellent chapter, wortge! :D
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Wonderful work on putting up this chapter! I can't wait to see what else you got in store!
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

(Six Months Earlier)

Babylon Gardens, River Ridge, Illinois, Sunday, October 20 2019, 1:03 PM

Two mostly brown-furred dogs, one wearing a bone-shaped tag and the other a small rhombus-shaped tag with the letter 'B' etched into it, lounged under the shade of an autumn tree at the edge of one of the suburban neighborhood's parks, idly chatting while observing the quiet streets.

"There he goes." Bino commented to Peanut, both looking at an Alaskan Husky walking on the opposite side of the nearby street. "Always wearing that stupid K-9 vest of his. Always feeling like a big hotshot, as if we needed another Fido in our lives. It's Sunday! He's probably not even on patrol!"

"Is he already back to work? I thought he was on injury leave after a badger slashed one of his eyes out." Peanut tried to make out the small black eyepatch the distant Husky was wearing on his right eye.

"Pffh, you believe that? His injuries look like a chicken scratch! He's just completely overreacting after something actually fought back at him for once."

"He looks a little cool with the eyepatch, don't you think?"

"Cool?! How is missing one of your eyes 'cool'?! Enjoy trying to tackle someone with your subpar depth perception now! But I guess at least now you look like some B-movie action hero! Not quite the 'summer blockbuster', but you'll get there! Backstabber!" Bino mocked vigorously, but not loud enough to be heard by anyone other than Peanut.

"To be honest, I did notice his eye a few times while talking to him. It doesn't seem that injured... Do you think he's only using the eyepatch to pretend he's battle-scarred?"

"What do you think, Peanut?! What, do, you, even, think?! If you're even capable of thinking! Of course! Anything that makes him look like the little supercop of the neighborhood! I bet you're doing a wonderful job biting any human with too much melanin in them!" He continued taunting, the Husky not even in sight anymore.

"What's that?"

"Feh! Nothing."

The two dogs resumed lounging in silence, Bino almost falling asleep. "How's the club going, by the way?" Peanut questioned.

"Fine. Very fine. You haven't been there in a while, may I ask why?"

"Last activities all sounded awfully boring. Pass."

"And you have the audacity to just admit that to me. Respect... Do you have any suggestions? All the club dogs love me when I go with your ideas, for some reason."

"That's because your ideas are always promising something and then locking it behind watching one of your speeches. I just cut out the second part. People will love you way more if you just give them what they want instead of making them watch you say how great you are for giving them what they want."

"Hmm. I think that builds morale though, and keeps the members in line. I should balance my speeches with uh... 'Speech-free' events, then?"

"Yes! Organize some really good buffets, games, and then when they're all loving everything, hit them with the speech!"

"Great idea! I should really make you the club's ideas guy!"

"I pretty much am already. I should start writing your speeches too, they're a mess."

"Oh, you'll just say that to my face?"

"Of course! As if you can afford to lose any more friends."

"Oh, Peanut. I love hating you... You're not writing my speeches by the way. My writing can't possibly be worse than yours judging by that latest superhero comic of yours."

"You didn't like it?!" Peanut slightly raised his voice, noticeably hurt.

"I pretended to like it just to reveal now that it actually sucks. It's a good trick, isn't it?"

"How about you trick one of your foes instead? You certainly have plenty."

"You think I don't? And you're an ex-foe, don't think I'll let you off so easily."

"How about that one foe right there?" Peanut nudged towards a Pembroke Welsh Corgi passing by.

"Oh, don't even make me look at that imp! That thing literally manifested out of thin air just to steal my best friend from me! Just to later abandon him for his sister!"

"I know, I know... And Bailey's his cousin, not sister."

"They shared a house for a while. Before King stole her to 'marry' her and live by themselves in their own house, like some weird human fantasy."

"A lot of pets do that now, you know? Don't you think that might be your future with Duchess?"

"Bah! I'm not sharing her with a bunch of pups! And those pets move out of their owners' because they work and can afford it. They don't mooch off rich ferrets like the dwarf does!... How old are his pups anyways? Shouldn't they be like, five? Why are they still so small? Do you think they're stunted?"

"You did call him a dwarf. Maybe he actually is."

"Oh, that's just gold! How do you like having deformed kids, you little friend-thief?! OK, I might be going too far there."

"Yeah, don't let Bailey hear that. Although maybe another huge punch will fix this ugly face of yours."

"Peanut!" Bino couldn't even be offended by the comment's bluntness, just being surprised instead. "Since when are you even capable of being this mean?! What's even happening recently?!"

"It's what you like, isn't it?" Peanut wagged, going from his recent façade to his usual cheerful attitude. "I'm just trying to be a friend you'll appreciate! Because you really need one right now!"

Bino sighed. "I guess I do."

"Don't be sad. Bottle up that sadness for when your club goes under because of your giant ego." Peanut sharply returned to his previous behavior.

"Do you think I need therapy? Jeff's been threatening me with that lately."

"I think the therapist will need therapy after dealing with you."

"Enough of the bullying, Peanut! I'm serious!"

"Yes, I do believe you need some mental help. And I really mean it, this isn't me trying to make you more comfortable around me by acting like a giant jerk."

"Amazing how you manage that... Oh, look who's coming now. The bane of my existence." Both dogs looked at an approaching black cat wearing a bell-shaped tag.

"We just saw the 'friend-thief', now it's time for the 'sister-thief'." Peanut sneered. "This mangy cat's been nothing but an annoying, unfunny, attention-seeking blowhard. 'Grape! I'm so scared and insecure!'" He began mocking with an impersonation of the cat's voice. "'Please snuggle with me all night to make me feel better!' 'If you don't love me back I'll run away and almost die again!' 'You can forget that Peanut mutt, can't you? Spend the day with me instead!'"

Bino stared at the other dog, eyes wide. "Wow... Is that really what you think of him?"

"Of course not!" His voice cheered up. "Max is a great friend! It's a shame you two don't go well, but if you work on your ego as I've suggested you two might become great brothers!"

"Uh-huh." Bino remained dazed. "I really should be hanging out with Rex instead." He muttered to himself, not being heard.

"Peanut! Bino!" The black cat approached the lounging dogs. "Are you two enjoying these dog days?"

"It's not even hot right now." Peanut started. "If you're going to make a terrible pun at least have it be appropriate."

"You're still trying to get close to Bino by copying him?"

"Trying and succeeding. He's a better friend than you'll ever be. But of course that's obvious, since he's not a cat after all."

"Alright, Pino. I'm just here to tell you that me, Grape and Tarot are about to begin playing a game of Monopoly at D'Angelo's. You'll join, right?"

"I'll join. But only because I don't even want to imagine you three alone." Peanut got up, joining the cat while Bino watched. "As if Grape wasn't enough."

"Enough what?"

"Let's go already! Cat!" Peanut shooed. "Later, Bino!" He waved towards Bino as he got farther, his dog friend chuckling silently. Peanut and Max started walking along the sidewalk towards their destination.

"Enough what?!" Max asked louder after they were far away from the other dog. "You're outside of the 'Bino radius' by now, aren't you?"

"I am! And it's a shame! Because Bino's a really good dog! I'm missing him already!"

"Peanut, I think trying to get along with Bino's driving you crazy."

"No, it's fine. It's all worth it... I know everyone assumes Bino's a completely lost cause, but deep down he just wants happiness, like all of us! Releasing all my negativity like that makes me really identify with him."

"I've tried so hard to get along with that mutt. If your strategy works I swear I'll... I don't even know how to finish this sentence."

"It has worked! All he needed was another Bino. Another proud, rude braggart who dislikes everyone he does and even insults him back. We hang out a lot now, and he even knows I'm faking it up a little."

"What do you mean 'a little'? You actually mean some of the stuff you say?"

"It's all stuff that's in my mind. But it's not my 'true thoughts' or anything like that, just really rude things that inevitably pop up in anyone's minds. And saying all of that out loud sometimes just makes you feel lighter, have you noticed me being more positive lately?"

"Well, you've always been positive. But yeah, after hanging out with Bino sometimes you act like a puppy. And seeing you suddenly switch from rude bitterness to that is really uncanny."

The two walked in silence for some minutes, Max decided to talk again. "Do you really enjoy being friends with Bino? Like, what's it even like?"

"He's entertaining. And I don't mean that in a 'laugh at him making a fool of himself' way. He likes fun games, we have fun talks, even if it's us dissing the entire neighborhood. He just has really bad narcissism, and ostracizing him for that would just make it worse and worse. Do you think he's acting better nowadays?"

Max almost stopped once the realization caused by the question hit him. "Honestly? Yes. Wow... He hasn't been complaining about me to my face at all recently, now that I think of it."

"You see? It's helping us both. I'm spilling out all my bad thoughts and becoming more positive. Bino's getting exposed to my positivity and also becoming more positive. He always complains about you when he hangs out with me now, that's why he's not bothering you anymore."

"And how does that go? He knows we two are big friends, do you just pretend to agree with him and then you say whatever bad things you think of me deep inside?"

"Pretty much! And he knows I don't mean it. But we all have a fun, enjoyable experience!"

Max just laughed and sighed. "For cod's sake... Why must we all be so weird?"

D'Angelo Residence, Babylon Gardens, Sunday 1:29 PM

A purple cat and a Pomeranian dog were sitting on the floor, around a board game put on the middle of the living room carpet.

"How much money are you supposed to start with again?" Grape asked Tarot.

"Uhh... No idea. I thought I'd remember everything, I'll swallow my pride and just go find the manual already."

"Maybe we could just improvise the rules, Peanut loves that kind of stuff... Actually, nevermind. It'll just end with him building hotels all over the place."

"And what's exactly wrong with that? Hotels are pretty much pointless in Monopoly anyways, you have a dozen pieces for something all strategy guides tell you you should never use."

"'Strategy guides'? Have you been preparing for this?"

"Well... I just don't want to go bankrupt immediately and be forced to watch the rest of game, OK? Anything that helps me have some fun for once." Tarot huffed.

"Oh, that would never happen. Peanut would bail you out."

"Unless he finds something fun in watching me lose. He's been into some schadenfreude lately, hasn't he?"

"Oh, don't even remind me... I wonder what happened to Ralph after that little stunt."

"Just where is this manual?!" Tarot raised her voice, noticeably flustered, unpatiently rummaging the game's box. "Why would this ever be anywhere other than inside of the game box?!"

"Can't you search it with your mind or something?"

"No! My avatar powers are long gone! Are you just taunting me about losing them at this point?!"

"Sorry. I just have no idea what's an 'avatar power' and what isn't. You're still psychic, aren't you?"

"Yes! With all the terrible baggage that position carries! I'll just go get my Crystaltab." She got up and headed towards a nearby end table, grabbing a green device.

"You're gonna do your 'seem to have misplaced it' speech now?" Grape guessed from the floor.

"I'll change it up." The Pomeranian sat next to Grape again, putting the Crystaltab in front of her and hovering her arms over it. "I summon the spirits of printing and teaching to tell me." She boomed out in an unnatural voice. "Where may I find the game manual?"

"..."

"... I seem to have misplaced it."

Tarot dragged the game box across the floor, grabbing a booklet that was previously hidden under it. "Of course." She muttered.

The front door suddenly clicked and opened, a dog and a cat getting in. "Here's the dog, as requested." Max declared, presenting Peanut.

"Hello!" Peanut greeted, smiling. Sitting down next to the two and later being joined by Max after he was done closing the door. "Is everything ready?"

"Far from it." Grape answered. "We just unboxed the game."

"That's alright. I'll be the car, OK?" Peanut quickly grabbed the car-shaped playing piece, then rapidly started getting banknotes from the game box.

"Peanut! Let me handle the setup, alright?" Tarot gently ordered.

"I'm just getting my piece and the money, you can do the rest."

"And how much money are you getting for yourself?"

"Two five hundreds, one hundreds and fifties. Six twenties. Five tens, fives and ones." He responded without stopping. "It totals to fifteen hundred."

The other three stared, dumbfounded. "Could you be the bank then, Love?" The Pomeranian asked. "Looks like you're no stranger to this game."

"I played it with Bino yesterday! Sure!" He and Tarot switched places, Peanut sneaking in some snuggling when they were the closest. "I'm going to build so many hotels!"

"You know that's not the main objective of the game, right?" Grape reminded her pet-brother.

"I want to make all the places I own the best they can be! Not just own everything but keep it all undeveloped."

"It's the name of the game, Peanut." Max piped in. "It's 'Monopoly'. You try to own everything and that's all that matters. Quantity over quality."

"We shall see which strategy is superior then, cat." Peanut smirked, starting to distribute banknotes to everyone.

"'Cat'?!"

"Max." He corrected himself. "Sorry, force of habit."

Peanut finished handing out the fake money to all players, each one choosing their playing piece and placing then on the board. "Let's begin then." Peanut grabbed two dice. "Let's see who gets the first turn. If it's from one to three it's me, four to six for Tarot, seven to nine for Max, ten to twelve for Grape."

"Is this part of the rules?" The purple cat questioned.

"No. But how else would we decide it?"

"I guess we'll end up playing with 'Peanut rules' anyways." Tarot sighed.

Peanut threw the dice on the board. "Four and one, five. Tarot, your turn." He embraced his girlfriend with one arm.

"Promising start. Let's hope it doesn't mean I'm also the first to go under." She grabbed the dice and threw them. "Ten." She moved her piece. "Oh, it's the jail, of course."

"You're 'just visiting', you're not arrested."

"Still means I can't buy anything this turn."

"Well, my turn!" Peanut threw the dice. "Four... Income tax, pay two hundred." He put some of his banknotes back in the game box.

"No complaints about that, Peanut?" Max asked.

"It's no big deal, the game's just starting."

"How long is this thing gonna go for, by the way?" Tarot questioned, directing the question towards the general group. "This game usually goes on for hours, are we going to actually end things?"

"Yes." Grape answered quickly. "I chose this game for a reason. I want us four together here for hours, ideally until late night."

Tarot briefly glared at the cat before returning to a neutral expression. "OK." She disguised.

Grape grabbed the dice and threw them. "Six and six, woo." She cheered sarcastically. "Is that even good?... Electric company, I'll pay the one fifty." She put some of her banknotes back in the box. "Can you tell me what that does, Peanut?"

"You bought that without even knowing?" Peanut laughed. "Here's the deed." He handed her a small card. "Whoever lands there pays four times their dice roll."

"Oh. Let's hope Maxie here lands a lucky twelve too then." She teased, throwing the dice again. "Three and five, that's 'free parking'."

"Don't jinx me, Grape." Max jokingly complained. "Especially if you actually want it to happen." He threw the dice. "Three, six. Nine, dang you're fine... That's Connecticut Avenue, one hundred and twenty, let's go." He tranferred some notes back to the game box.

"Ever been to Connecticut, Max?" Peanut asked while Max was still moving the banknotes. "If you have, I'll give you a fifty percent discount."

"Peanut!" Tarot called. "That's not part of the game at all!"

"I'm the bank, Tarot! It's like the Dungeon Master of this game, isn't it? I control the economy! Just like the real banks!"

"Never been to that neck of the woods." Max interjected by answering. "Bino's from New York though, is that close enough?"

"Nope, not even a 'sibling discount' for you." Peanut handed Max a deed card. "Maybe if a 'New York Avenue' space didn't exist already."

"Bino's from New York?" Grape cut in. "Since when?"

"He was born there. That's all, his litter was adopted very early." Max clarified. "That rudeness has to come from somewhere, you know? 'I'm walking here!'" He tried to imitate Bino's voice with a New York accent.

"What about Fido and Joey?"

"Same thing... I dunno, maybe they got less exposed to the city."

Tarot threw the dice as the conversation ended. "Seven... Community chest." She sighed. "I just want to buy something for once, for dog's sake." She grabbed a card from a deck. "I am going to die." She declared with no emotion.

"It's 'The Tower' isn't it?" Peanut piped in.

"Jail for real this time." She moved her piece. "I'm regretting not foreseeing what this game was going to go like already."

"You can't live like that, Tarot." Peanut advised while finishing grouping all the house and hotel pieces on the floor. Something he had been doing ever since his turn ended. "You can't just live every day already knowing how it's gonna end. In a way, your powers diminishing after the celestial game was over was a real blessing."

"It'd be a better blessing if everything associated with it also disappeared, like the temples and those doggone coins! I swear I'm gonna kill that ferret one day!" The other three observed the sudden outburst with worry.

"Right." Peanut began. "Looks like the cats have the upper hand, let's see if that can change... Six!... Oh, I'm visiting jail."

"You dogs just can't catch a break, can you?" Max commented. "Why did you move all the house pieces from the game box, by the way?"

"It's just a little city." Peanut pointed at a part of the group of pieces where all the hotels were clustered together. "This is Downtown." He pointed, smiling. "And surrounding it are the suburbs."

"Peanut's been obsessed with cities ever since we went to Chicago last week." Grape told her boyfriend. "He actually dragged me to Downtown River Ridge yesterday, even though there's nothing there other than office buildings and restaurants that aren't used to having unaccompanied pets as clients."

"Oh. Did you two have fun at least?" Max inquired.

"Eh, I guess." Grape shrugged and threw the dice. "Four. A solid three-one. That puts me in Illinois Avenue. Which I have been to, by the way, Peanut." She started transferring banknotes. "I'm buying that."

"Here you go." He handed his sister the card. "No discounts for the state we're currently in, I'm afraid."

Tarot's Crystaltab suddenly started making an ominous hum. She quickly moved to grab it.

"Sorry, guys." Tarot apologized. Peanut and Max nodded while Grape rolled her eyes. "Tarot speaking." She answered the 'call' formally, walking a little away from the group. "...These readings are very outdated, we've tracked it down to around Ann Arbor... It's not in Indiana! That was weeks ago! What are you even working with?!... None of the nearby psychics found anything, no... For the last time, forget about the fox! He's worthless! He's just some jerk who thinks his indifference towards everything makes him a comedy genius!... I know he's listening! I don't care! Just look for the readings east! Before he crosses the border!... Of course he can! We need a serious presence in Egypt right now too, it's very insufficient at the moment... I swear if I have to go there myself I'll... Alright, that's a good idea. You're in charge with the readings in the Detroit region then. Keep in mind Canada's very likely, he's probably worried about fleeing the police authorities... No, we're not! They'd never take this seriously!... OK, if you want to try it, go ahead... Good luck, bye."

"Going to Michigan this time?" Grape asked with some scorn.

"Hopefully not." She sighed deeply. "I swear if I ever get my paws on that coin I'll... I'll contain it securely."

"My turn, right?" Max suddenly piped in. "Time to buy some roads!" He threw the dice. "Hmm... Seven... Saint James Place! Give me that!" He put some money back in the box, Peanut keeping track of the amount and handing him another card.

The four pets stood in silence for several seconds. "Tarot!" Grape shouted. "It's your turn!"

"Ugh, sorry." The Pomeranian excused. "How do I even get out of jail again? How did things go so wrong already?"

"You need some help with that?" A voice asked from behind her.

Tarot turned around to face a nine-tailed fox casually sitting down behind her, as if also a player. The other three players looked curiously at the two. "Let me guess, you're willing to help me win at a board game and nothing else?"

"Of course. I've never seen such a disastrous start to a game before... Well, I have, actually. And it didn't end well for any of the players."

"Kitsune! Please! If another human gets that coin, everything we've worked for will be in peril! Especially if it's not another no-name highschooler!"

"Why do you psychics value the status quo so badly? Let's see how things go. Maybe if a whole city turns into animals a celestial intervention will be required."

Tarot sighed exasperatedly. "You barely intervened when the whole world was in danger, I doubt you'll intervene just to save Detroit now... Look, whatever. What are you here for?"

"You need some serious help in order to roll two dice on the same number, releasing you from the jail. I'm sure that's your highest priority in life right now, so I'm gonna help you with that, free of charge. If you accept the help, of course."

"How about you just take my place then?" Tarot stood up brusquely. "Release me from this burden." She started walking out of the living room.

"Tarot!" Grape yelled immediately. "You're not using this as an excuse to bail on us again!"

"Oh, you'll all love playing with Kitsune. Do you know how many incursions I'm having to miss right now just to play this torturous game?"

"What does that even mean?! It's just a few hours!"

Tarot stopped and facepalmed just before leaving the room, turning towards the others. "This is bigger than your freaking games! Nothing is OK right now! After everything is resolved and we have no more celestial thingamajigs interfering with this universe, then we can all play and live a wonderful worry-free life, OK?! I'm an ex-avatar! I'm not supposed to just ignore all the litter that was left from their stupid game!" She turned again and left the room.

"And why not?! Who even was the other avatar?! Are they busy right now too?!" No answer came.

"Why must we all be so weird?" The fox teasingly asked after some silence, looking at Max. "So, I guess it's my turn now."

"You know what? Sure!" Grape conceded. "If we can't have Tarot anymore then we'll accept her god friend or whatever."

"I'm very flattered, Grape." Kitsune rolled the two dice. "One! No jail release for me. Don't worry, just handicapping myself a little."

"What do you mean 'one'?! You rolled two dice! That's impossible!"

"Are you really going to use that word when facing me, mortal?" He threatened sarcastically with a distorted voice.

"Peanut! You're the bank! Judge Kitsune's actions here, is he allowed to roll a one?"

"Hm..." The dog pondered. "We'd like to play with primary dimensional rules here. Sorry, Kitsune. Please redo your turn." Peanut replied corteously.

"So limited." The fox complained, throwing the dice again. "Five and five. I'm out of purgatory, beware."

Max looked at Kitsune's playing piece curiously. "Wasn't Tarot using the top hat one?"

"Oh, I'm just personalizing what I can. Don't mind that."

"Oh, for cod's sake!" Grape exclaimed again. "We all know you have god powers or whatever already! Why do you need to flaunt that constantly?! Do you need some validation?! Are things lonely for you there in Heaven?!"

"Transmogrification is perfectly fine under this universe's rules, Grape." The fox clarified calmly. "The amount of matter contained in this new piece is exactly the same as the old one, no laws of physics have been broken."

"Why can't my life just be normal?! Why is one of my acquaintances a magic(k)al fox?! How did we even get to this point?!"

"Well... The two used to play their game around Egypt and Iraq, you know? The West Nile and Babylon. When Henry Milton relocated the temple we had to partly move to this new continent here."

"And now it's destroyed, shouldn't you be bothering some people in Egypt right now? Are you perhaps afraid of some political instability? Are bullets your weak point?"

"I'll let your political insensitiveness slide. And what makes you think I'm only talking to you at this very moment?"

"Augh! Here's the casual god-bragging again! I'm going home! You two now owe me a normal game of Monopoly!" She directed to Max and Peanut. "Let's hope I can have that in my lifetime." She grumbled as she got up and headed towards the front door.

"Really, Grape?!" Max complained. "Why are you so grumpy today? You didn't really mind all this weird cosmic stuff before!"

"We all have our limits! Especially once this stuff starts eating your friends' life away! Goodbye!" She left the house, closing the door.

"Bye, Grape!" Peanut waved happily. "My turn now!" He rolled his dice. "Double ones! At least I get a free turn!... 'Electric company'... Oh, that's Grape's property." He frowned. "What do we do with it?"

"You can have it all." Max shrugged. "You dogs need some help after all."

"I'll store the money though." Peanut put the banknotes that used to be close to Grape back in the box. "Why are you classifying Kitsune here as a 'dog'?"

"He's replacing one. And aren't foxes closer to dogs than to cats? What's your species, Kitsune?" The black cat asked the fox.

"I'm not biological. But my preferences lean more towards canids."

"Your 'preferences'? Ooh..." He smirked.

Peanut threw the dice on the table again. "Four... 'Saint James Place'."

"Haha! Yes!" Max cheered. "The discord begins! Pay up, mutt!"

"If what happened earlier didn't count as 'discord', I don't even wanna know how you two will end up." Kitsune deadpanned.

"Why do you get to call me a 'mutt' but I can't call you 'cat'?" Peanut asked playfully while handing some banknotes to Max. "And don't mind that little conflict, Kitsune. We all bounce back. No matter what happens, we four are inseparable!"

The fox sighed. "We'll see about that."

Sandwich Residence, Babylon Gardens, Sunday 9:48 PM

Peanut arrived at his home, entering the living room and seeing a lone Earl watching the television. He closed the door and walked towards the sofa, beaming a smile.

"How was the game?" The human asked neutrally.

"Really fun! I won!" He sat down next to his owner.

"Good to know, Peanut." He embraced the dog with one arm, petting him. He gradually increased the intensity until Peanut had to lie down on the sofa. Earl then started rubbing the dog's belly, Peanut giggling and laughing at the sudden show of affection. He finished the petting session after almost a full minute, hugging the dog and returning to his previous sitting position later. "We'll always be together, OK?" The human assured his pet.

"OK!" Peanut chirped. "Is there something wrong?" He asked after some silence, concerned at the human's sullen expression.

Earl sighed deeply. "I have to tell you this eventually, Peanut." He looked around the room, seeing nobody else. "Mom got transferred to another branch at her work, to the head office. We four will have to move away to another city next year, permanently."

"Move? I've never moved before. To where?" The dog asked curiously.

"New York City, I'm negotiating a house in Queens. It's no Babylon Gardens, but there are nearby parks and it's decently spacious."

"That's awesome!" He cheered. "New York looks so cool! And I've never been there before! Imagine everything you can do living there!"

Earl was surprised by the dog's positiveness. "Haha, Peanut." He chuckled and embraced the dog with one arm again, petting him gently. "I'm so glad you're taking the news like that." The conversation paused for many seconds before Earl began again. "But it's very far from here, you'll have to abandon your friends... Your little girlfriend, that dog you've been playing with lately... Are you really fine with that?"

"We'll always have contact! And they can visit us there and do all the cool stuff with us too! It'll be great, Dad!" He consoled.

"Wow, Peanut... People like you is what this world is missing, you're such a special treasure." Earl said melancholically. "I just have a favor to ask of you today. Grape doesn't know this, could you go to her bed and tell her?"

"Sure!" He left the sofa. "Everything will be fine, Dad! Don't be sad!" He consoled while trotting towards the room with the cat's bed.

"Graaaaape!" Peanut yelled as he reached the bed.

Grape opened her eyes and looked up at the dog, glaring. "Peanut. Unless you're here to say something life-changing, I'm gonna hurt you." She threatened angrily.

"We're gonna move to New York!"

"What?!" She immediately sat up.

"Dad told me we're moving there next year!"

"Was that your idea?! We could have just moved to Chicago, you know?!" She asked desperately.

"Of course not! It's because of Mom's work!"

"But we can't just- We can't just move from here! My whole life's here! Max is here! What can we do?!"

"We can't go against Mom and Dad's wishes, Grape. We can talk to everyone we know from anywhere! And think of all the friends we'll make there!"

"In New York?! That's not a place for pets! We're gonna live in a tiny box apartment and everyone we meet will be another Bino! That's not a good life!"

"Not everyone from there's like Bino! Did you seriously take Max's comment seriously? And Bino's a good dog! I've been telling you that!"

"Peanut! Don't even dare trying to change my mind on Bino!"

"Dad told me he's getting a house! It'll be just like here! There's nothing to worry about, Grape." Peanut crouched down next to Grape, stroking her.

"There's plenty to worry about, Peanut! Try to move away from your permanent positivity for once! Are you OK with abandoning all your friends?! What does Tarot think of this?"

"Only us four know at the moment, I believe. I already told you we won't miss our friends here because we can just contact them. We could have a game between us four with us two living far away! Imagine that! We could use Dad's laptop to set up a videoconference and pretend they're in the same room!"

"No! What kind of dystopian solution is that?! We've all been through so much living here... It can't just all end next year... It can't..." Grape started sniffling.

"Grape!" Peanut hugged his pet-sister, joining her in lying on the bed. "Don't be sad, Grape! Please! Everything will be OK!"

"Nothing will be OK!" She yelled between sobs. "Stop telling yourself lies over and over... I can't imagine having a different life... I just can't."

"Do you want me to tell Dad to not move? Please, Grape!"

"No, it's their work... We can't just demand that from our parents... All our comforts are a result of their work, demanding them to change that would be beyond selfish... I'm sorry, Peanut. I'm sorry for making you see me like this."

"Don't be sorry!" Peanut adjusted his body, the two now fitting comfortably inside the same bed, snuggling each other. "Grape... Despite all this, you'll still have me. Does that make you happy?"

Grape broke down in tears. "It does, Peanut." She managed to let out.

The two pet-siblings drifted off to sleep together.

Another backstory one-off. Also the first and only chapter to not feature a single original character, kind of a challenge for me to write.
Last edited by Wortge on Sat Oct 03, 2020 3:06 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Wonderful job on how the story came out! I am really impressed!
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Nathan Kerbonaut
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Nathan Kerbonaut »

I love how you write these characters, both existing and original. Their personalities are recognizable but also developed in a way unique to this story. I wouldn't mind seeing some of your original developments, like Peanut befriending Bino, unfold in the main comic. Top notch slice-of-life storytelling is what drew me to Housepets in the first place. Nicely done! :D
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

(Six Months Later - Present Day)

Sandwich Residence, Saturday, May 2 2020, 1:09 PM

Jill, Earl and their two pets stood outside, waving at Jeff's car as it made a turn and disappeared from view.

"Hope you all had fun, kids." Earl said, looking at the two.

"I sure did! Sorry if I worried you guys." Peanut apologized.

"Just tell us next time something's troubling you, alright?" Jill advised. "Don't wait until you can't hold it."

"I can talk to Tarot now, it's alright. Grape, you wanna go outside for a while?"

"We're already outside." The cat pointed out.

"You know what I mean! We used to go to the club all the time before we started waiting for Jeff's visit."

"Right. The club. It's been a while."

"Over a week! Let's go then?"

"Sure, Peanut. I want to walk a little before going there though, if it's OK with you."

"*You* wanting to walk? Why?"

"I'm not going to walk to the park that's a one hour walk from here! I just want to check the parts of the neighborhood I haven't seen."

"Time to go then!" Peanut wagged. "See you, Mom and Dad!"

"Have fun, you two." Earl replied. "Don't be late for dinner."

"This will probably be just an afternoon thing. Let's head this way, Peanut." Grape turned to the right and started walking down the street with Peanut.

Powell's Cove Park, College Point, Queens, Saturday, 1:13 PM

The two pets started walking on a footpath connected to the same road their house was in, the footpath leading deeper into a wooded area.

"This park is literally a stone's throw from home!" Grape exclaimed. "How did we miss it?!"

"I've been here before. And it's just a few paths with views of the river."

"Well, of course you'd know about it. You were the talking atlas back in our first days here. I always assumed this was just woodland."

"It is, kind of. Barely anybody goes here."

"Barely anybody goes anywhere! Everything has to be 'video games' or 'arcades' for the pets here! What happened to fetching frisbees and fighting over squeaky toys?"

"Really, Grape? Old-timer talk coming from you? I don't complain about you not being fascinated by yarn balls and catnip."

"Is that really all we cats have?"

"I'd expect you to know more."

"You know more about cats than most cats do, Peanut. Don't try to disguise that."

Peanut blushed a little. "Uh... You know, they have outdoor activities at the club." He changed topics. "But they're always done in the parking lot at the club's side, not the parks."

"Nothing better than running around on concrete and risking scraping your skin off every time you fall." The cat deadpanned.

The two arrived at a small lookout, featuring a view of the river. Trees and houses next to the river could be seen from their vantage point, as well as a suspension bridge.

"Dad told me beyond that bridge is Whitestone." Grape began. "It's similar to the Gardens in being labelled as 'pet-friendly', Wolf told me that."

"Do you think it's like the Gardens? Full of pets and open places to play?"

"I dunno. I checked it on the Internet and it looks pretty similar to here. And if it's anything like Babylon it's just as deserted as here anyways."

"Babylon isn't deserted! The club dogs do stuff outside all the time."

"Thanks for making me miss home even less, Peanut."

"Harsh. Do you feel like checking Whitestone out any day? Could be a long walk."

"Never thought I'd start to walk more after moving to a bigger city. Let's head to the club already, this is barely a park. More like a strip of forest they forgot to clear out."

"I miss the club dogs already. Can't wait to return there."

"Just don't wait until you have a breakdown to visit them. Do you want to call Tarot right now?"

"Grape! I'm not like that! And she probably hasn't even left the city by now!"

"Just teasing! You big softie!" She embraced Peanut with one arm, rubbing his head rapidly.

College Point Dogs Club, Saturday 1:25 PM

Xander and Brian were both at the dance cabinet. Chatting while Xander tried to select a new stage. The floor more populated than usual, with most of the chairs usually facing the podium now being moved around the floor. Members using them to sit down and talk while having their lunch at the club.

"Always remember Spanish nouns have genders." Xander was continuing. "You can't just 'la' everything."

"And the only way of knowing that is memorization?"

"Not really. With enough experience you could make up a word and guess which gender it would have, even. You can infer that from how the word ends usually."

"Can you teach me that really quick, later?"

"Why? Are you planning on going around speaking broken Spanish for one day? Seems just silly and potentially offensive."

"It's part of the theme! Just like everything being red and green for Christmas!"

"And just like we all had pizza for Easter?"

"Oh, don't you dare go there! You know I had to make an exception. Last year's incident wasn't my fault!"

"Just kidding!" Xander smiled nervously.

"Are you going to choose something? You haven't been playing for a while."

"Ugh! Warm-up is such a chore! And this session doesn't seem promising."

"Does it ever? You're being too hard on yourself."

"Funny coming from you. My last one was pretty good, actually. But you've been busy with Rob in the City these days to notice that one."

"He's always trying to drag me out of my office when he comes here, and honestly? It's very appreciated."

"Hey Xander! Brian!" A voice suddenly greeted. Both dogs turning to look at a familiar, fairly recent club member. A slightly uncomfortable-looking purple cat next to him.

"Welcome, Peanut." Brian greeted formally. "Some food's still available at the table. We're setting up the running course at 3 PM."

"I've missed you guys! I haven't been here in forever! I got homesick last week and had friends visiting in the last few days."

"Sorry to hear that, Peanut. You've only been away for a week, though. Hardly 'forever'."

"Hey Grape! Hey Peanut!" Xander greeted from the cabinet.

"Hey Xan, good to see you again." Grape said casually.

"Oh, you're getting 'Xan'ed already by Grape here." Brian commented towards Xander. "Another cat friend for your collection!"

"Really?!" Xander barked. "Even you, Brian?!"

"Hey! I know it's not romance. If cats are better friends than dogs for you then so be it."

"Sorry for being the one dog who isn't into running around in circles. Let me show you what I'm really into!" He finally selected a stage of his game.

Brian turned to Grape. "So. Heard you were coming back here a few days just to get a taste of the dog biscuits. Want to become an actual member?"

"No! I'm just here for Peanut."

"And the cats would probably chew your ear out for it, fair enough."

"Have you seen Xander playing, Grape?" Peanut eagerly asked.

"No, I haven't. Is this that old dancing game? 'DDR'?" She directed more towards Brian.

"It is." He answered. "Although if you call it that Xan might go into a really technical discussion on how it actually isn't."

Grape watched Xander as he started playing the level. "That's crazy. And not even dancing at this point."

"Yeah. It's less dancing and more just flailing your feet around, really fun though! Xander got me a bit into it, actually. Would you like to try?"

"No thanks. The less physical a game is, the better."

"How's the club doing, Brian?" Peanut questioned. "I missed everything this week."

"Well. Our Cinco de Mayo plans for Tuesday are all set. But the speech is only for tomorrow. April was all fine and here's hoping for a better May!" He pretended to toast someone. "A dog came here to complain about cats a few days ago, though. Did you have anything to do with it?"

"Complain about cats? I don't know."

Grape's eyes widened. "Oh no. Was Bino here?"

"That's his name, yeah!" Brian raised an eyebrow. "How do you know him?!"

"He was visiting us. He runs this dog club that's actually all about worshipping him at this point."

"Hm. That's quite eccentric."

"You didn't get any ideas from him, did you?!"

"No! He suggested I should kick Rob and Xander out!"

"What about me?" Xander suddenly cut in. Having finished the stage.

"We're talking about that dog from a few days ago. Acquaintance of these two, apparently."

"I'm friends with Bino!" Peanut piped in. "He can be quite rude and grumpy but also really funny."

"Huh. I can see that." Xander had already chosen another song.

"Do you two know his cat roommate?" Brian asked.

Grape looked back at Brian. "Max?"

"I don't know. Is it 'Max'?"

"Bino lives with Maxwell, he's my boyfriend."

"Oh. Bino said that living with him is torture."

"Ambiguous phrasing. But it works both ways. Bino doesn't like Max and reacts strongly when annoyed, so it's a recipe for disaster."

"I see. What about you and Peanut? Any similar?"

"Well, Peanut annoys me in other ways." She embraced Peanut playfully, him letting out a giggle involuntarily. "But he's a fun little bundle of joy, unlike Max's brother. We used to go on some really. Uhh... Interesting adventures together."

"And you don't anymore?"

"I mean... Going to parks or out with friends for lunch don't really count as 'adventures'. I don't think we'll be repeating them, given their nature."

"Are you going to clarify on that or is it not for me to pry?"

"Most of them were with my girlfriend!" Peanut suddenly cut in. "She's psychic and currently working with 'mana draining'. Last year she and I had to go to-"

"Peanut!" Grape screamed. "You're making yourself look crazy!"

Brian shrugged. "Hey. I'm listening. I won't dismiss what you say just because of how otherwordly it seems."

"We visited a lot of universes together." Peanut continued. "Each with its own different rules and realities."

"And how did you manage that?"

"Tarot used to be an avatar, so she has contact with many celesti-"

"Peanut!" Grape interrupted again. "Stop that this instant! You're not dragging more people into this rabbit hole!"

"I wouldn't go to another universe even with the possibility, don't worry." Brian calmly told. "I can barely stay grounded at my own reality, let alone more of them."

Xander turned after finishing another stage. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing important, no." Grape excused.

"Do you two want to come home?" He suddenly asked. "Feel like calling it a day here already."

"What about your session?" Brian questioned.

"I kinda want to forget this game exists for a week, maybe two."

"Oh. Sorry to hear."

"There's other things in life." He returned to the title screen and hopped off. "Wanna come or not? There's games and fun! Grape's been there already."

"For sure!" Peanut replied, already eager.

"Hope it doesn't involve me waiting for your long races." Grape reminded.

"Hey! I was just waiting that day. You haven't even seen my room."

Stevenson Residence, Saturday 1:52 PM

The Beagle turned on the lights of his room and pulled up the curtains, his dog and cat guests following him. The room had a human-child-sized bed, normal for pets who demand for more than little dedicated pet beds. A large TV hanged over a dresser with several game consoles on it. Facing another wall there was a desk with a desktop computer that reminded Grape of Spline's. Many cube shelves were hanged on the walls, each with stacks of tabletop games.

"So this is my 'dungeon'." The Beagle began. "And I already regret sounding that nerdy."

"No need to regret that." Peanut replied. "You can't hide that with a bedroom like this. Joey would be OK with spending the rest of his life in a room like this!"

"I'm sure many people would. So whatever you guys want to do, just tell me."

"This has a lot less posters of cats than I expected." Grape mocked.

"Really?! You're still going on about that?"

"It's easy to joke about, OK?! Also why do you have a console in the living room with all these other ones here?"

"The TV there's bigger, I usually move my main one there. Also Walt plays sometimes and I don't like him playing in my room while I'm using the computer."

"Gotta hide your secrets, after all."

"Are you going to joke about how my secrets are me fantasizing about a group of cats snuggling me to death? I'm waiting."

"No, I'm good."

"Grape." Peanut called. "What's with you calling Xander a cat lover? You're almost reminding me of Bino."

"I'm truly in a quest to become everyone I hate. Xander here is in an Internet group chat dedicated to cats, the group I'm in, in fact."

"Oh, right! That group I met with you."

Xander's ears perked up. "What?! You brought Peanut to a meetup? I haven't heard of that."

Grape gave a nervous smile. "It was the Brooklyn Park meetup last week, just before we stopped coming to the club. And I didn't 'bring him', he just shoved himself into Wolf's carpool."

"That was Wolf and the two lovers, right? Alma and King. Did everything go well?"

"Relatively. Peanut got his homesickness just after that and that's why we just dropped off the map for a while."

"I've heard. Again, what do you two wanna do?"

"Can I play your 'PS4'? I only have a Switch." Peanut asked.

"Sure! Do you know how to turn it on?"

"Yeah! I've played it before. What games do you have?"

"Some exclusives and whatever free games Online gives me. Grape! You're gonna join him?"

"I'll check what you have in these shelves here." She answered, reaching for one of the shelves. "I suppose these are the games you play with the cats."

"Yeah. Jon uses my house a lot, since his human family has kids. But I've brought them over a few times too."

"'Pridelands RPG'? You're not even trying anymore, are you?"

"Here you go again, not my fault you just beelined for that one! That's a gift I've never played, Pridelands is rubbish anyways."

"Why does everyone here hate Pridelands?!"

"Even Peanut hates it? I've never watched it, I don't like the setting to begin with."

"But the cats aren't a problem for you, are they?"

"It's lions and hyenas and panthers and whatever, not cats. And I don't care about ancient African kingdom stuff."

"I bet Rob would."

"He's only been to Egypt, South Africa and Tanzania. I believe."

"Feraga?"

"Ooh! Obscure one! He'd probably be able to name its capital."

"Xander!" Peanut suddenly called. "Can you help me understand the menu?" Xander turned to see Peanut clueless at a game's Japanese main menu.

"Oh! Sorry!" He grabbed the controller and quickly switched the language to English. "There you go. Don't overwrite my save if you start a new game!"

"I know that! I know how saving works."

"Sorry. Traumatic experience."

"Why did you have the game set to Japanese?" Grape asked from behind.

"Because it's the original language."

"Even though you can't understand it?"

"Why do you assume that? I know Japanese, only up to N2 though."

"Wow. Put this guy in a room with Lester and Joey and we'll have inseparable friends." Grape commented mostly towards Peanut.

"I don't know if those are your nerd friends or something, but I'm interested in the Japanese language. Not Japanese media. I can't say a word in Japanese without people assuming I spend every day watching anime."

"Do you?"

"No. Are you gonna decide or are we just talking over Peanut playing there?"

"No, I've decided. Let's try the Pridelands RPG."

Xander facepalmed. "Of course. Let's get it going then. My ancient African lion princess." He laced with sarcasm.

'Cats of Queens' Discord Server, Saturday 11:40 PM


N3rveX Today at 11:40 PM
it has no business being 500 gigabytes though
Just ridiculous


OldArch Today at 11:41 PM
Gotta have all those 8K textures saved somewhere
even though only 5 people will use them


N3rveX Today at 11:41 PM
Need a monitor the size of a wall for that
they could make a separate download for them
but that's effort
now give us 100 dollars
you entitled gamers


GrapeJS Today at 11:44 PM
hello all


N3rveX Today at 11:44 PM
Whoa Grape
it's been some time
is your brother ok?


GrapeJS Today at 11:45 PM
he's very OK
had some old friends visit us last week
including his missing girlfriend
so it's all fine now


N3rveX Today at 11:46 PM
Hard times
hope you two can adapt well


OldArch Today at 11:47 PM
wait what happened


N3rveX Today at 11:47 PM
Grape's dog housemate started crying during our last meetup
was missing his girlfriend


NateA7 Today at 11:48 PM
rofl why was he at the meetup


N3rveX Today at 11:48 PM
finally changed your nickname back, Nate?
stop doing that


GrapeJS Today at 11:49 PM
@NateA7 He just got in the car without warning
he's like that sometimes
but nobody really minded
apart from our beach visit being cut short by him crying
but they were nice enough to understand and not complain to my face


NateA7 Today at 11:51 PM
lol king was there wasn't he?
I'd pay to see him spending a day with a dog
he's super arrogant towards them
way more than the average cat at least


GrapeJS Today at 11:53 PM
well he was able to pass off as a decent person
so that's nice


NateA7 Today at 11:54 PM
pass off as a decent cat*
dont appropriate human speech


GrapeJS Today at 11:54 PM
first time I see someone complain about that


N3rveX Today at 11:56 PM
Nate's like that
I called my paws 'hands' once
and he was livid


NateA7 Today at 11:56 PM
because they're not hands
it's like me calling my forehead my horn or something


OldArch Today at 11:57 PM
At least he admits cats are arrogant


ZentrixSM Today at 11:59 PM
I'm so going to organize a giant game night once the club's may 5th stuff is done with
the club founder is anticipating it way too much
we have small banquets every day but just because it's mexican-themed it's super special I guess


GrapeJS Today at 12:02 AM
look who's here as soon as the word 'cat' appears


ZentrixSM Today at 12:03 AM
oh no
Good to see you back here in the server Grape
didn't know if you were bored with us or if you were busy with your visiting friends


GrapeJS Today at 12:04 AM
good to see you too
Lord Parnok
and it could be both


ZentrixSM Today at 12:05 AM
Don't be difficult
we'll all be the best of friends someday
thinking of doing something at my home next week
as I was saying


OldArch Today at 12:07 AM
Is the club business doing fine?


ZentrixSM Today at 12:08 AM
Very fine
Brian used to worry about the money a lot
but it's not an issue anymore
hopefully
but now he just worries about not being absolutely perfect


OldArch Today at 12:09 AM
That's leadership for you
You're one of the leaders, aren't you?


ZentrixSM Today at 12:10 AM
Yes, we all founded the club together
Brian really manages everything
I try to give ideas and am also the only one who knows how to run the arcade machines
I don't know what the howl Rob does
he helps with prep usually
but he's not in the neighborhood anymore and shows up about twice a week or so
only a leader for being a close friend at this point
and one of the founders, of course


NateA7 Today at 12:14 AM
good job keeping all the dogs holed up in there
ur a true hero


ZentrixSM Today at 12:15 AM
don't put it like that lol
anyways, thinking of having a game night at my home this friday or saturday
I'll post something in the meetups channel once my plans are clearer


N3rveX Today at 12:17 AM
Can your dad drive us there like he's done before?


ZentrixSM Today at 12:17 AM
My dad?
Oh you mean Walt
Likely, yeah
since most of you don't live here in College Point
I think it's only OldArch and Jon
and Grape now
and Jon's been MIA for a while


GrapeJS Today at 12:20 AM
You have a really neat place by the way
I see how you convinced the cat group to let you join


N3rveX Today at 12:21 AM
you've been there, grape?
yeah Xander is super spoiled


ZentrixSM Today at 12:22 AM
Look who's talking
also Grape don't even think about bringing up our game today


GrapeJS Today at 12:23 AM
well, now you did it


ZentrixSM Today at 12:23 AM
Because I know you will


GrapeJS Today at 12:24 AM
Pridelands


ZentrixSM Today at 12:24 AM
NO


N3rveX Today at 12:27 AM
wow he logged out
I won't ask for details


GrapeJS Today at 12:28 AM
Nothing special
just love seeing him squirm
uh pretend I didn't say that

The forums are now using a dark-mode layout by default and it's almost impossible to tell bold words apart, so I'm leaving asterisks to indicate words that characters emphasize. That's actually how I originally indicated emphasis in the source .txt file I'm copying the chapters from. If this layout change remains for a few more days I'll add the asterisks to the other already-posted chapters too. I know you can switch to other layouts using the User Control Panel, but I believe the great majority of the readers don't have accounts here.
Last edited by Wortge on Sat May 02, 2020 9:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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