Speaking of the idea:
"All Night Laundry" (http://www.all-night-laundry.com) is an interactive webcomic. (Fair warning, it's not PG)
The author of ANL updates the comic daily, and he uses the comment section to decide which way to take the story. I think that with the community we have at Housepets!, something similar is possible.
Since Housepets! is PG, we wouldn't be re-creating All Night Laundry or making a copy with different characters.
Everything in this project will be non-canon to the "official" Housepets! comic. We don't need to stick to original characters or backstories. That might seem obvious, but I figured I should say it. If you have roleplay characters who were rejected or unused, feel free to suggest them, but keep in mind that this is a fan project, not a contest.
Please don't attempt to hijack the story or thread. Suggestions are definitely appreciated, but I will flag posts which attempt to create a new chapter or story on their own.
I'm sure many of us have good writing skills, and I appreciate that. If you really don't like the way the story is going, feel free to make a branch-off story, parallel-universe, etc., as a separate project.
So, where to begin? Since All Night Laundry inspired me to do this, I'll start the story this way:
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This was Peanut's first time to help out with this chore, and boy, was he happy! Though, as he carried the overflowing basket of clothes down to the Sandwich family's basement, he wished that he and Grape didn't shed so much. All the old fur down here always made his sensitive nose tingle!
*Ahh CHOOO!*
Peanut saw the next few seconds in slow motion. Clothes were flying, his hind paws slipped on the stairs, and as the song goes, "They all came a-tumbling down."
As Peanut rolled down the stairs, he noticed something he hadn't before. He noticed just how smooth wooden stairs can be when damp. He also noticed how soft his landing can be when falling into a pile of laundry. Perhaps he should do that part more often.
After falling into the pile of clothes at the bottom of the stairs, Peanut realized that he should've said, "Yes," when Jill said she thought it was too big of a basket for him to carry. He also realized that he had broken the basket by falling on it.
Oops. I wonder how much that's going to cost Mom and my allowan– What's that I'm seeing?
Peanut had bumped into a cabinet upon his fall, and knocked over a box of laundry detergent powder. The Sandwich family wasn't sure if liquid detergent tasted good to pets, and they weren't about to find out.
"Oh, great!" Peanut barked. Quickly, he rushed to clean up the mess he was making. He set up the box, wiped down the table and floor with a couple rags, then threw the rags in the washer. There was a good amount of detergent spilled, and he didn't want any getting into his fur. His bath wasn't for another few hours.
Then he started throwing clothes into the washer, taking care to remember what Jill had said about colors. He wasn't quite sure what she meant, but he could at least distinguish between light and dark. He decided to do the dark laundry first, since the lighter colors kindof looked white.
Jill heard all the raucous going on and asked from the upstairs door, "What's all the noise? Are you okay, Peanut? Are you sure you don't want my help?"
"I'm fine, Mom!" Peanut barked. He wasn't yelling at her, exactly, but the distance between them made him need to speak loudly.
Peanut set the washer to the right settings, filled the detergent cup to the line, then closed the lid. The Sandwich family hadn't upgraded to a fancy new front-load washer. Earl kept saying that as long as he could fix it, there wasn't any need to replace it.
Because of this, the basement was full of old things. Some needed repairs, some were only there for spare parts, and some had simply been there too long. Peanut sat on the washer and looked around, wondering when the TV would be fixed from his Wii accident. "Why did I even try to hide that?" he pondered.
His thoughts were interrupted by bubbles forming at his feet and sides. Realization dawned on him all too quickly. He forgot to self-check his volume. "The rags! The rags! I forgot about the rags!"
His panicked parking finally moved Jill into action. "Okay, I'm coming down there! Peanut, don't do anything!
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What should Peanut do?