HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

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Cerberusx
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Cerberusx »

The entire thing I was getting at was that he should be a lost cause. It would be so perfect.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

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Cerberusx wrote:The entire thing I was getting at was that he should be a lost cause. It would be so perfect.
I see what you mean, I'm not against it at all. I've just never had it in me to give up hope. I'm excited to see where Val takes this.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

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5.
Security Headquarters, Sublevel 1, Terrace High

“Evil, beware! Today, on my shift, no danger shall overcome!” To emphasize his point, the brown-and-white GSD-mix pup growled at his reflection in the mirror.
“I must say it,” the grey male Weimaraner said with admiration, “The uniform really fits you, Bosco.”
The pup of Bino and Sasha was wearing the green-and-gold jacket of Terrace High’s private security forces. He nodded at his reflection. “Don’t I know it! Where are the baddies? I want a picture of me arresting a baddie to show papa! He’ll stop treating me like—like a pup!”
“Chill down killer there are no baddies here around.” Apparently, Tobee Gallant the Minipinscher still hadn’t mastered his speech defect. He sounded as if coffee had replaced his blood. “Not after they learnt you were coming here yep!”
Bosco wagged harder his tail. “Really?!”
“Absolutely,” Hannibal the GSD said. The black-furred dog didn’t look like he was joking –though it was true that he never looked as if he was joking. When he smiled, he scared people. “But you can still join me in my shift. We may be lucky and catch a troublemaker or two. Just don’t bite too hard.”
“Just if they don’t provoke me, Sir!” Bosco saluted smartly, then his attention went to the belt and holster hanging from Hannibal’s left side. “Ohhh, that’s not a gun, what is?”
The adult dog pulled it out and showed him. “This is our standard Taser gun. Cool, eh?”
Bosco caressed it as if it was a pet of his own. “You get to use weapons?” He asked in a reverent tone. This place was so totally awesome! Back in the Gardens, now humans allowed K9U to use billy clubs, but nothing more than that.
“Yeah this is private property and Gottschalk found a loophole in the laws concerning us using weapons,” Tobee explained. “Smart guy that one.”
Hannibal grinned wickedly, though Bosco found it funny. He bent over and whispered into Bosco’s ear. “Wanna see how it how it works?”
The pup nodded, grinning back.
“Then aim it…there, good. Now press the trigger…”
Without the least recoil, two electrodes shot out –and hit in the back the female Brazilian Shorthair cat who was busy putting on her gear. Two things happened at once: She yowled like a demon possessed, her fur *poof*ed up doubling her body volume, and she jumped so hard that she end up clinging against the wall. “THAT WASN’T FUNNY IN THE LEAST, YOU [CENSORED][CENSORED][CENSORED] OF [CEEEEENSORED]!! I HATE YOU!”
The other members of security were laughing themselves crazy, some of them curled in a ball on the pavement. Only Hannibal was still standing, giggling, his trembling paws covering Bosco’s ears. “Aw, c’mon Clementia: that was the lowest voltage, not even a sting. Hehehehe…”
The pup was looking at the cat with unexpected respect. “You can swear even better than papa! You’re cool!”
Clementia looked at Hannibal as if she wanted to eat him –and knowing her, that could just happen. “Wanna see something else really cool, pup?”
Hannibal had the decency to turn around and pull Bosco with him toward the exit. “I think that can wait, we’re off to do our duty.”
“But she wasn’t done yet!” the little one protested. “I want to know what she meant with your tail and everyone else’s—mfglfl!“ he finished as a black paw closed his muzzle.
From the threshold, Hannibal shot a reproachful glance at his colleague. “Tch, see what you did, Clem? Now the pup learnt a bad thin—“ he was hit in the head by a billy club thrown at near lightspeed.
---
The Coliseum Sports Center, Terrace High

“You surely got the eyes of a fighter, little one—“
“I got a name, big bear! And it’s Naos Foster. Bring respect!”
“Naos!” the white GSD pup standing at his side exclaimed. Then she turned back and bowed to the hulking St. Bernard standing in front of them. “I’m truly sorry, Sir! He’s like this, when he’s...” but then did she notice he was smiling.
Samson smiled, and then roared a laughter, just like a bear. “He’s a tough guy, must concede him that! You’d earn some reputation, if you lived in the street, pup.”
Naos beamed with pride. His body spoke loud enough.
“I don’t see what you got to be so happy about!” Rigel protested. “Papa and mama learnt better and abandoned that life!”
“Well, that’s because—“ but before Naos could reply, Samson clapped his paws. Once. And it was like an explosion.
“Enough, you two!”
The pups stood at attention, not daring to breath.
Budweiser, looking from a distance, nodded: This big guy got style, perhaps he could turn out as a useful trainer of the new K9U, after all…
Samson went to a rack and grabbed two pup-sized wooden swords. He tossed them to Naos and Rigel. The female grabbed it in mid-air with one paw, her brother waited until it hit his chest and grabbed it with both paws.
“Discipline is the theme of this fighting art,” Samson explained. “I could give you an armor to protect yourselves, but first I want to see how you two care for each other?”
Naos blinked, confused. “Uh?”
Samson bent down until they were snout-to-snout. The St. Bernard could easily open wide and swallow the pup as an appetizer. “Do you love your sister?”
“Er, yes! Of course!”
Samson wagged his fluffy tail. “Then try and hit her without actually hurting her.” Then he proceeded to touch several body spots with a clawed finger. “Each hit, one score. You may hit only one of them each time and then go all the way until you hit all of them…”
Naos nodded. Easy eno—
“…But you guys can’t move your feet!”
“WHAT?!” both the pups yelled.
“You heard the dawg!” said a loud mouth…from Samson’s head fur. A moment later, the tiniest of mice stuck out of his tuft. “Did you think we wanted to see a couple of runts brawling?! This is a place for sports, or you can go ‘fight’ in the park!”
Naos growled. “Why, you—“ He was stopped by a ‘no-no’ finger waved in front of his face.
“My friend Saga is right, little one: I want to teach you to use discipline. Considering who your donor is—“
“Sergeant Ralph is my papa! Stick that in your fur, you big—“ this time, Naos was interrupted by a genuine, bearlike roar! He barely stood on his feet. When it was over, the pup stood there, wide-eyed and not even daring to tremble. He was actually expecting to be eaten…
…While, instead, Samson was smiling and wagging his tail. “As I was saying, considering who your donor is, I expect you to act like a rule-loving pup. So you won’t question my dispositions. Am I right?” To that, he added a friendly grin that would’ve scared a rock back into the volcano that had generated it.
Naos nodded. Rigel was giggling.
“Good pups. Now take position, so that your swords can touch the body parts I have indicated. The essence of this discipline lays in your reflexes, not in the violence of your attacks. Avoiding a blow is not cowardice, here, in fact it will serve you to let your opponent’s defenses open for your own attack.”
Rigel lifted her paw.
“Yes, dear?”
“Uhh, Sir…But if we’re supposed to avoid, how do we know when to strike at all?”
Samson nodded. “Herein lays the secret of the good warrior: Know your enemy. You may have all the time in the world or no time at all, but here…” He tapped his skull with a finger “Here time doesn’t pass. It is just you and the only opportunity you will have to strike before going back to your defense. If you are good, you can strike twice in a row. If you’re mastering the discipline, thrice, and you know why?”
By now, both pups were listening so intently that they were barely breathing. Looking at them, Bud was sure he’d have an interesting offer for Samson by the end of the day.
“Because another secret of this discipline is to make the best use of your energies. Any silly brawler can try and submit an adversary with a furious series of blows and bites; but if it won’t work, that tactic will only leave him or her drained and completely vulnerable. A single, finely-dealt blow will leave your enemy vulnerable and you ready to attack again. Of course, this won’t work when you’re up against a gun or a whole group, but an untrained feral and/or human may be easily subjugated…” He turned and waved to Budweiser. “Oh, and yes! I want to join the new Academy and become a trainer! Can I?”
Bud shrugged, a nonchalant expression on his face. “I’ll give it a thought. Now show me what results you can get out of those two sorry excuses of litter-runts.”
---
The Pentagon Park

An advantage of a wide private green area for the inhabitants of a single building was that there was room and more for every one of them. It was next to impossible to interfere with someone else’s activities. And that allowed anyone privacy enough for any kind of extravagant activities, as long as they respected the rules…
“WEEEEEEE!!!”
…And rules still didn’t explicitly forbid floating in the air by supernatural means.
“Again!” shouted the entirely cinnamon-colored female kitten, while spinning like a furry wheel beam.
Instead, the ethereal arms that were keeping her afloat deposited Louise Sandwich gently down. “Awww!” she mewed, pouting.
“Sorry, little one,” Morrigan the ghost cat said. “Time for someone else to enjoy a ride.” She turned to the purple female sitting cross-legged on the grass. “Tarot, you still haven't tried: Come on, it will be fun. I don’t tire, after all.”
The cat who had been named after Peanut’s former girlfriend regarded the ghost with an unenthusiastic look. As usual, she spoke in a measured, almost flat tone –which didn’t help her make friends among her peers and sometimes scared the adult pets. “Thank you, but I favor nurturing mind and soul over hyperkinetic activities. I have more fun with Uncle Fox.”
Morrigan looked as if she was facing a replicant. Was she born or did she bloom out of a pod? “I see. Then I could haaaunt you!” She wiggled her fingers in a mocking ominous way.
“Hey!” Elizabeth Rozen, a Maine Coon/Norwegian mix, protested. “Bad ghostie! You can’t haunt anyone else other than me!”
Morrigan stuck out her tongue at her. “Well, I’d like the change since I can’t interact with anyone else! I can’t even haunt your brother!” She pointed at the Finnish Lapphund, who was still standing there like a salt statue, his jaw hanging and his eyes as wide as they could get.
Dayshaun poked at the dog’s thigh and reached over to give a slight sniff to his butt. “He smells alive and well. Aunt Tegan, why isn’t he moving?”
The female Maine Coon, self-assigned sitter to Peanut and Grape’s litter, sighed. “I fear that he wasn’t really ready to deal with the idea of a ghost. So far, to him Morrigan was only Liz’s ‘imaginary friend’. I hope this revelation won’t scare him for life.”
“Tss, scaredy dog!” Parnok scolded. “Papa fought the bad ghosts in their own domain! He saved the day and the world!”
“Oh, he did?!” Liz looked all excited.
Parnok nodded like a proud lion. “Yup! He became Spot, Superdog, and taught ‘em a lesson! And he saved Uncle Martin too!” It was one of those adventures his parents had, before the litter was born, that the kittens could narrate without risking to be taken seriously. And Parnok made sure he repeated every detail as his father had told them countless times –after all, what better bedtime story than slice-of-life fantasy? Not to mention that saving humans counted as twice the awesome!
But when Parnok was done with the ‘Great Spirit War’– and he was the best storyteller in the litter – Liz didn’t look so enthusiastic. In fact, she looked sad. “Aw, I hope those poor ghosts didn’t get hurt after all. They wanted to be back with their human after all.” She blew her nose with a paper tissue, with all the grace of a trumpet.
“I’m sure they are fine, now,” Dayshaun consoled her.
“*sniffle* Thank you, you’re such a dear—” Liz suddenly beamed. “Say! Have you ever seen a real pirate cave??” And that got the kittens total attention. Their tails shot up, rigid like candles.
“That was our secret!” Morrigan protested.
This time it was the living cat who stuck out her tongue at the dead one. “A boring secret! I am tired of playing the sailor possessed. And Max thinks I am acting crazy when you possess me.” She turned to the dog. “Ain’t it true, Maxie?”
Maximillian was still there, staring, jaw agape.
“Shouldn’t we call a doctor?” Tarot asked. Like her siblings, she had been educated to use mainly that word. Grape had been adamant on that: If the new politics – if even only in Babylon Gardens and the city – was supposed to treat pets as citizens, then the animals’ vocabulary should not be species-based.
Liz stood up and patted his shoulder. “Oh, he’ll be fine! Now let’s go!” The group left.
Maximillian stood where he was. Soon, birds started using him as landing post. He became very popular for some time.
---
Blue Venice

“E tu, dolce tormento mio, lascia che ti porti a camminare.
“Per noi, distanze eterne da coprire. Guardo avanti e poi lo so.
“Vorrei vivere di più... Vorrei regnare sulle cose che cambiano…”

Terrace High’s latest theme area addition had been built around the main water reservoir area. Despite its name, Blue Venice didn’t display fake Venetian buildings –or anything that reminded the visitors about Italy. It was, instead, a triumph of tree architecture. Each plant, bush, vine, flower…everything combined to a theory of cathedrals and tunnels made of colors and smells. Birds sang and filled the air with a background symphony that didn’t prevent Mortimer Foster from humming his Italian song. The wolf/dog cub (as he proudly claimed himself to be, much to the joy of her pure wolf mother) kept rowing and maneuvering the Venetian Gondola using the typical long forcola.
Bailey was laying in the middle of the boat moving idly along the slow current. Her paw was skimming the crystal water. “That is a nice a nice song, Mort. Is that a love song? It is strangely low in tone.”
Mortimer interrupted the whistling that ended Garbo’s Vorrei Regnare, and nodded to the husky/malamute mix. “Dad says it is. Sole mio is boring; sounds like a wolf caught in a trap. And it would upset the birds.” His eyes darted to the green vault. The staff didn’t need to warn the visitors not to upset the birds; the consequences were too easy to imagine…
Bailey chuckled. “I guess your fandom would like it anyway.” Her snout pointed at the female black kitten sitting and facing Mortimer. Her long tail, fluffier than her peers’, was all wrapped up around herself as if she was giving herself a hug.. She was looking at the cub with adoring eyes, her chin cupped in her palms.
Mortimer swelled up with pride. “Soon I will be ready to join the pack in the hunts and join the feast chorus. Songs help me modulate my voice.”
Pixel reached out and grabbed her e-pad. She quickly scribbled words on it and then showed them to the cub. You are strong enough to join a pack already! Then her paw encompassed the boat he was maneuvering so easily.
Mortimer shrugged. “Heh, not really. All I’m doing is keeping her straight. The current moves her.”
Pixel rolled her eyes. She wrote again. You are supposed to boast, like males should do!
The cub’s ears bent backward. “I am supposed to be sincere about what I can and what I can’t do in first place, like a true wolf should do!” he thought about that a moment. “Ok, excluding Uncle Jack. And Uncle Daryl, when he says he can go on a diet anytime.”
Bailey looked at them bickering and smiled –puppy love, heh. She petted her belly: One day, her own little ones would pass through that phase, on their way to create a family…
She missed the countryside, a lot, even if she got to work at Foster’s farm. She missed her birthplace.
And despite the tinge of guilt for thinking it, she was happy that a tornado had destroyed her home and forced her family to move to Babylon Gardens. Who knew if she’d ever meet a special dog like King, otherwise—
*SNAP!* The sudden loud sound broke Bailey off her reveries. She sat up, puzzled…in time to see Mortimer holding half of the guiding stick and looking at it with the outmost disappointment.
“Aw, jinx!” he exclaimed, pouting. “Humans can’t even make a decent stick!”
Bailey also saw that now Pixel had her back to Mortimer and was nervously fidgeting with her tail tip while whistling innocently, as if she felt guilty for what had happened. Silly notion, so typical of a li’l one… “It’s not your fault, Pixel. Now let’s just guide this boat to the shore, we’ll walk from there.” She immersed her paw into the water. “Help me out, Mort.”
The cub hurried up to her and started padding in turn. At least, Bailey thought, King wasn’t here to protest about the organization. She was happy he was busy helping out the ferals, it would help him socialize –he was such a dear, but he still needed to open up to the others as well…
---
Ackerman Reserve

“Owie,” King said.
“Problems?” Peanut asked him. The Pointer mix dog was busy with his own package of goods. He put it onto the counter, in front of a fox family.
The smaller Corgi shook his ears. “My ears are burning, all of a sudden.”
Peanut chuckled. “Must be your wife thinking of you.”
“Please, that’s a granny’s tale!”
Peanut shook his head. “No, it’s true: Grape learned to call for me this way, no matter where I am. Sometimes I feel like I’m going deaf!” He wagged his tail, smiling as if he was really proud of his cat.
“Weirdo.” King shook his head and went to grab another package. He was already dreaming of his bed, of the 72-hours sleep he’d take to recover…
“Took you long enough,” a gruffy female voice said from behind the thing he had just put on the counter. “I feared I’d grow my winter coat before my turn came.” The opossum eyed the package suspiciously. “What’s in this?”
King was panting as he said. “Species-oriented dry emergency food, basic drugs and a first-aid kit, some random book chosen by someone with a twisted sense of psychology, practical tools for home. Carts,” he pointed at the pile of plastic shopping carts the other animals were taking to transport their new possessions “must be returned, even if broken. We’ll recycle the plastic. ‘Thank you’ is appreciated.”
Jessica grabbed the package. “Then thank you, o deliverer of conscience’s self-balm. Sorry if I can’t pat your back: I’m busy pretending you did something important for me.” She started walking toward the carts.
King’s shock lasted 3 seconds, sharp, before his face started reddening, just like when he had lashed out at the Good Ol’ Dogs club after the catnip bomb.
Fox saw that and yanked him away by the collar just in time, while the other grey-furred paw clutched around the Corgi’s snout. Even the stifled mumbling sounded way too embarrassing for rating!
“Do you want me to eat her?” Boadicea offered while working to the distribution as promised. If not else, this ‘distribution center’ could turn out a neat idea after all! Now all preys would be decently fed for the winter! Plus, this area would be better than a mall! Her pack would just have to stay here and wait until someone was so fool to come here, alone…
“This place is protected,” the voice of Zachary interrupted her just before she started drooling. Five-generations-cursed rabbit!
Zachary needed no special powers, no magic, to recognize the look of a happy hunter. But for once, why not let the others think he could read minds too? “Boadicea, this I tell you and everyone else, and let it be known throughout the whole woods!” His voice became a crescendo as his arms encompassed the artificial meadow. “This is your oasis, your gathering place to find what you need during the harsh of winter and the scorching summer. It belongs to you all, and all of you will benefit of its contents! Whoever comes here, will come in peace and in the name of life. Anyone trying to break the truce warding this place shall be treated as enemy of each and everyone else! Even the crows, the insects and all carrion-eaters shall leave their corpses untouched, and no grass shall grow where the body will lay, forever to remind that cowardice and treason come with the highest price to pay!”
‘Rapture’ was the best word to describe the condition that linked all ferals listening to that speech. Even pets and humans had held their breath.
It was Zach who broke the silence. He bent in two, paws over knees, like an athlete after the new York marathon. “And please don’t make me say that again. I wouldn’t remember a word.” He was happy, happy, happy and again REALLY happy that he had performed with Peanut and Grape’s theater company. He still had to understand how could a game of play pretend loosely based on Jesus Christ Superstar help him come up with this speech, but in the end who cared? It had worked! Zachary smiled…then his face froze with shock as he realized what he had just said!
<Told ya!> An all-too-familiar voice chuckled in his mind. <The best prophets are reluctant.>
Last edited by valerio on Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Brendmar
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Brendmar »

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UPDATE!

Exciting things Val. Adventure awaits!

--Edit: Changed picture to a revision I spent an hour doing for whatever reason--
Last edited by Brendmar on Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by kavviyenta »

First time Peanut and King interact!...which still is not existent in canon.

Hmm, Raptor has shade of blue? Led me to wonder about who the third of Helias's kitten is. I used to refute that assumption on a certain someone.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Honorable Intentions »

Hooray for updates!

Forgive me for asking (it's been awhile since I've read the story, I should try and recap), but have we met Alcor's sister yet? I'm trying to remember haha.

Ah, so they haven't.

So Raptor seems to be a bit of a lost cause, wonder what Alcor's sister will be like. In fact I wonder who she is.

On an unrelated note. I never noticed that King and Peanut have never interacted in the comics! That's flown way over my head. :lol:
Last edited by Honorable Intentions on Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Brendmar »

Honorable Intentions wrote:Hooray for updates!

Forgive me for asking (it's been awhile since I've read the story, I should try and recap), but have we met Alcor's sister yet? I'm trying to remember haha.

On an unrelated note. I never noticed that King and Peanut have never interacted in the comics! That's flown way over my head. :lol:
We have only met Raptor, Alcor's brother. The third of Helias' Litter is still unknown.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by TarSnowpaw »

Hi, I figured I should join the masses but I wanted to finish reading your awesome Fic Valerio. t took me 3 months of off and on reading between my college courses and my other projects but I have to say I am captivated by this reality you have created and many times you caused me tears but more often than not i got to smile. So thank you for the ride my new friend, I'll be around.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

Thank you very much. I will come back as soon as I find some new inspiration
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Cerberusx »

It's fine Val. No need to rush, after all it's important that you have your inspiration when one writes. For one will not be satisfied with what they do otherwise.
"Living is Hard Dying is Easy"

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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by kavviyenta »

200k hit! :D

What now? We are reading what The Rick said will be a 45 strip arc.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

Well, I knew I was taking risks when introducing elements in Joel's past, other than playing with the quite-unknown mechanics and scopes of the Cosmic Game.
My bad for indulging too much in what was a long way to be shown yet.
I am starting to rethink the whole of HTPS from scraps, there are simply too many interconnessions based on flawed premises to be ignored. I'll be waiting until the current "Heaven's not Enough" HP arc before seriously rebooting the whole of the stuff, but some changes are due.
Because i so DETEST reboots.
And all that's left is me asking you to bear even more patience.
I'm truly sorry, guys.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Brendmar »

It's fine dude. If you end up rebooting the whole thing, I'll read it. If it ends up only being small things to fix accuracy, cool. If its a total redo. Still cool. Even with at total redo I don't imagine things completely changing. Just some more accuracies to the source. You gotta do what makes you happy. If we end up learning something new about Joel, cool. We didn't know a lot at all. If it stays unknown, fine, the story you gave him is by no means bad.

Do what you gotta do buddy. I'll be where I'm always at. Right here, waiting for the next chapter!
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by GameCobra »

Sad to hear that, Valerio. I know you like pouring yourself into the continuity and rebooting the series must suck after some mistakes are made :(

I hope to read this whole gem someday though :D
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by _Stu_ »

I don't get this... why rebooting? I mean, this alternate universe works the way it is, imo.

Of course, if you feel to, there's no problem at all, an author must be free to do what he thinks is better for him. In my opinion, it's not that necessary. ;)
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

_Stu_ wrote:I don't get this... why rebooting? I mean, this alternate universe works the way it is, imo.

Of course, if you feel to, there's no problem at all, an author must be free to do what he thinks is better for him. In my opinion, it's not that necessary. ;)
It works under what have been revealed as several wrong assumptions. i can take certain liberties with romantic developments, such as with the Grapenut and their offspring...but everything that is attached to the cosmic beings is simply wrong. I need to stay as much compatible with the mainstream, and I failed by taking liberties in territories still too much unknown and then creating important connections inside the ficcie. As if I wrote that the ferrets were the Sandwiches' pets only because I didn't know who were the real owners! It doesn't matter that it may turn out funny, it's a major mistake. And I *do* hate such imprecisions, even moreso when i cause them myself
Now, again, I have to wait until the current arc is over before taking the necessary steps toward a more coherent rewriting. But several important points will be maintained, that I can say. it will not be a CAD, but only a sort of large readjustment with several consequences along the way.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by villa »

i would like to say 3 things

1.i read through the entire fic in a week it is amazing.
2.it is an alternate universe do your thing and try to tie in a 10-20% links to the cannon or more based en your ideals.
3.i would like to see it continue from here and branch sometimes. the best part of writing is the challenge in my opinion. either way good job and i wish you good luck.

but i don't want to sound like your master so my point is take your universe where YOU want to go not to where the HP cannon points instead run near it and cross the cannons trajectory when you want.

*sigh* im gonna go re-read. good luck val!
i strive to put more happiness into the world then i took out of it
and hope others strive to do the same.

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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Legotron123 »

I have a couple things I would like to say about this.
1: it is NOWHERE NEAR as bad as if you wrote that the ferrets were the sandwhich's. This is an AU, which means as long as you don't go to far away from canon, which you haven't, it's still going to be okay. Personally the only part I thought was a bit far fetched was max becoming dragons boyfriend.
2: I absolutely HATE IT when stories just end in the middle without resolving any of the plot threads. Baileys kid haven't even been born yet!
3: there are some absolutely AMAZING scenes in this that you would have to completely redo if you were to start over. Such as the "killer whales" episodes. Those were very scary and exciting and could only be better if it had giant robots.
So those are some of them reasons I don't want you to reboot. But it is your story, so it's your decision. I just really like this and I don't want for it to just start all over again.
Play The Hayseed Knight. This isn’t self promotion, I just really like the game.

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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

OK, after reading your responses -and assuming they reflect the majority of my readers', I'll keep the series as it is, getting back to it ASAP.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by villa »

thank you for considering our opinion val good luck. *salutes*
hoffen, dass Sie Schriftsteller Block nicht bekommen
(it's german by the way)
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by GameCobra »

You really should stick to what you already have, Val. You already wrote so much as it is, it really would be a shame to have to reboot it all after the effort you went through on it. =P

While I never saw what stuff you did with the celestial beings ~ If it bothers you that things didn't match up to what the main canon does, you can still ultimately make changes to patch things up the way you wish and want it.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Obbl »

I'm pretty sure it's a little too far along to be patched, but I also like the setup you've got here, Val. It's made a new story that has a lot of interesting points to it, and a lot of heart. :D
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Brendmar »

There is a new chapter in the works, there is also a secret project that I've been working on that we will hopefully be releasing sometime soon. So keep an eye around here!
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

6.
Wildlife Distribution Center, Ackerman Reserve

“…And this should be all!” Fido called out, as he put the last of the boxes into a cart where a couple of sparrows were perching. The police dog turned to his ‘colleagues’. Everyone else was left with no boxes. Every animal of the Reserve had been given food, medicines, books –everything that could help them during an emergency or just to spend some time reading. Fido was wagging his tail. “Congratulations everyone, guys. It’s been a great day!”
The assembled pets applauded. Tiger just decided to collapse against the table and snore some time away, followed by Marvin and Zachary.
Martin Foster stretched, then massaged his arms. “After this stunt, I’m SO gonna spend the rest of my life behind a desk. All worth it, though.”
Every one of the volunteers was, to various degrees, tired. But only one of them looked like he was ready to do some extra work. “Hey, babe,” Maxwell said to the anthropomorphic female reptilian that everyone knew as his girlfriend, “Wanna check that chopper for maintenance?” And he added a good biceps-flexing to that.
The ‘chopper’ in question was a redesigned Mil-V12, a veritable flying building.
Tian, the one also known as ‘Spirit Dragon’, Tarot the Pomeranian’s ex-master, just patted the cat’s shoulder and lovingly pecked his head fur. “Nevermind, my hero. Now take some rest, you earned it.”
Max’s grin didn’t falter –in fact, it looked a lot like a sort of rictus. “Good. Because my back is broken in three points. Imma fall in a coma nau!” And this said, he collapsed upon the pile of the Albert pets.
“Daww, how cute,” said a voice from behind the dragon. A voice followed by a couple of golden bird paws delicately holding Tian’s shoulders. Paws followed by the beak of an anthropomorphic, blue-feathered gryphon. “Seriously, Draggie. I could almost believe you’re in love with your Chaos Harbinger.”
Dragon sighed, holding her arm against the other. “Pete, we don’t have to come to this. Just say it, say that you accept my offer, win the Game and let’s just go on. I want to help these mortals without the burden of—“
“Of what?” Pete interrupted here. His voice was like satin, but the hard edge was there, like cold steel forged in a star. “Of the rules you accepted when we started it? Those same rules that allowed you to entrap me in my own temple for thousands of years? ‘We’re not playing pattycake’, remember? You said it yourself.”
“Pete, I…”
The bird paws held tighter her shoulders. His voice became colder. “No. I have listened enough from you and from your ex-boyfriend. I still feel the pain from the punch I got from that overpowered mortal mutt. And worst of all, I still feel humiliated for losing my White Avenger after 7,000-years careful planning. Because it was your ex’s doing, right? Destroying the farm, make Bailey come here so that she’d become pregnant – and thus unavailable for the Game – before I could have her by her own will, right?” This time, the gryphon’s voice became threatening like a cobra’s hiss. “Tell me, dear: Did you call for his help?”
“No.” One word. Flat with sincerity. “Kitsune himself would’ve invalidated that move, had I directly or indirectly involved someone else in the Game. It was only bad luck that caused my ex to intervene in King’s favor.”
Pete shook his head. “I believe you, but not on the ‘bad luck’ thing: Hadn’t Martin Foster been Joel’s brother, nothing like this would’ve happened. Not to mention that you didn’t exactly put yourself on the line in respect of the Game.” Then Pete turned his head and whistled like a bird. “Ohh, Kitsykitsy-Kiiitsyyy?”
Dragon looked puzzled, to say the least. “What are you--?”
“Calling out our GM of course. In case I was being a naughty birdy…Hmm, Can you see him around? No?”
“That doesn’t mean—“
“It means that I’m still legit, dearie.”
“So you’re gonna hurt Martin? Just to spite—“
Pete’s eyes flashed with golden energies. “Heavens forbid. No. I’m just changing my plans…again. My Dark Paladin is getting weak and useless, now that affection and love are worming their way into his resentful heart. My prophet is taking too much time to fully realize his potential. I will use…someone more versatile. Someone who belongs to all worlds by its own nature. Someone who will not hesitate to serve me. Someone whose hatred is growing as strong as the nobility in its soul. The perfect warrior.”
Dragon had just a glimpse of his smile, but it was enough to send shivers down to every fiber of her soul. “There is only one class that can live to that word, and it is—“
Pete nodded, his grip on her shoulders relaxing, his voice getting back to normal. “I suggest you get ready for the day of confrontation, my dear. When it comes, it will be a real hit… Oh, and by the way: Thank your ex for me, I owe him this occasion. What would a mortal say in this occasion? ‘Kids gloves are off’.”
---
Blue Venice, Pentagon Park, Terrace High

“I wish you were here, Kingy,” Bailey said in her cellphone. Her tail was wagging with every step. “This place is so beautiful…I can’t believe we never came here yet…” She frowned. “Honey? Are you sleeping?”
The light snoring at the other end of the line came to an abrupt halt. “What?! Coffee, newspaper, the mail…Oh, no sweetie, I wasn’t sleeping. Puppy’s word. I am dead, as a matter of fact. Are you sure you don’t need transportation?”
The Husky/Malamute mix chuckled. “You’ll make me feel old. Relax, I feel invigorated, actually. There are the most beautiful flower smells, and trees that make you wish you drank a lot before starting a walk.”
“Thank you for this lovely image that will haunt my mind forever. You know what? When our helicopter’s back, I’ll come there and offer you the nicest picnic in that park. Is that a deal?”
Bailey looked puzzled. “But there’ll be no time to prepare—“
“I’m pretty sure that Herr Gottschalk has a whole shop dedicated just to picnic paraphernalia, romantic Moon included. I’ll handle it. You just wait for me there at the Park, OK?”
Bailey’s tail wagged slowly, in a seductive way, as if her corgi husband was there with her. Her silk-like voice matched her tail. “I’m sure it will be our best date ever. See you.” She snapped the phone shut over King’s funny moan.
The black kitten walking alongside Bailey wrote rapidly on her ipad and showed it to the female. Do all grownup boys act like that? Papa Fido surely does so with mama.
The black-furred wolfdog puppy walking with them snorted and made a face. “Not me! You will never see a wolf acting like that! Females are soo overrated!” he added with a snotty expression.
Pixel the kitten fumed silently.
A branch from above snapped and fell in front of the pup, almost hitting his feet! Mortimer’s fur almost turned white.
“From what I heard about Kingy,” Bailey said, “he too was like you when it came to girls. It only takes the right one.” She ruffled the pup’s head fur.
Mortimer shrugged, for now easy to be still alive. “Yeah, whatever…Aunt Bailey? Something wrong?”
Bailey had stopped. A cold wind coming from behind her ruffled her fur, sending shivers down to her bones. Dead leaves rustled as she turned.
And saw it.
A shadow. A figure hidden behind a tree, shadows obscuring it, except for part of its silhouette.
A dog. An adult. With pointed ears.
Bailey felt her heart accelerating. She felt…threatened, and yet the single blue eye she saw was so filled with sadness…and so its voice as the figure said, “Why don’t you like me?”
“Aunt Bailey?”
The dog almost jumped out of her fur. “Kids! Odog, did you see--?” but when she turned, there were no shadows, no dead leaves rustling and no cold breezes.
They were alone.
“See what?” Mortimer asked, sniffing at the air. “You smell scared. Are you ok?”
Bailey caressed her swelling tummy, feeling the soft movement of her pups. “Yes, I am…” She smiled at the cub. “It’s all right, I thought I saw someone but—“
“Oh, hi there!” said a merry voice, as a figure emerged from the same point where the ‘shadow’ had been. The figure of Liz Rozen; the Maine Coon/Norwegian mix was carrying her housemate, the dog Maximillian, by his tail. She waved her paw at the trio. “I see you found our secret spot. And to think we hadn’t even invited you for the hunt, but the more the merrier, right?”
“Hunt..?” Bailey said, before smiling at the kittens – Dayshaun, Parnok, Tarot and Nutella – who were with the two adults. “Hi there, li’l ones. What ‘hunt’ is aunt Liz talking about?”
“Treasure hunt!” Parnok said. He was sporting a patch over his left eye and a gleaming saber. “Avast yer mast, ahrr!” He mimicked a couple of attacking moves with the weapon.
“Isn’t that…dangerous?” Bailey asked, perplexed.
“Oh, no!” Nutella answered. She walked to Parnok…and gave a lick to the blade’s flat surface. “Candy!” She said, liking her lips. “Wanna try?”
“I think I’ll pass. So, Liz? What’s with this ‘treasure’ thing? Fox and I used to spend whole days following the maps drawn by Mom.”
“Oh, but this is the real thing!” Liz said. “Morrigan showed me. See that rock?” She didn’t wait for an answer and walked toward what looked like a really heavy rock. She pushed it with a groan…and the rock moved with a soft rustle of grass.
Under the rock, there was a stairway. It descended down in the darkness, rapidly disappearing from sight. It could’ve been a few feet long, or miles, for all Bailey knew. “And you said you went down there, before?”
Liz nodded enthusiastically. “Yep yep! Though it’s Morrigan who guides me, usually.”
“Who’s—“ Bailey started to ask, only to be interrupted by all 4 kittens who said as one, “Don’t ask.”
Nutella produced a torchlight, shaped like an old-fashioned oil lamp. “We got this!” She pressed a button and turned it on; the thing produced a real wavering light, like a candle’s. “See? It works!”
“I don’t know, guys,” Bailey was saying. “Shouldn’t you call your parents and ask them for permission? This place looks—Mortimer!
The little wolfdog had already disappeared into the dark maw, his claws ticking quickly against the woodsteps. “Last one is a human!”
“Ahh, now dat’s guts t’be spilled! Ahrr!” Parnok growled, before running down into the darkness himself. Bailey had a vision of herself being mauled by Grape if even one of the kittens should get harmed.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Liz said happily while stepping into the hole. “Morrigan is already looking out for them.”
Bailey facepawlmed. This day was definitely turning into a hectic one… “Give me the lamp, girl,” she sighed, extending her paw.
Maximillian stood where he was, jaw hanging, gaze lost in nothingness, as the group descended into the hole…

The first thing that came to Bailey’s mind was relief: The stairway wasn’t long. Still dangerous enough to get a sprain or a fracture, but not deadly dangerous.
The ground, down there, about six feet under the surface, was soft. It smelled like damp earth, fungi and exposed roots.
It was a tunnel, leading into more darkness. At least, there wasn’t the smell of other animals. “So, real pirates dug this place?”
“Yup!” Liz said. “Morrigan told me this was one of their escape routes from their dens. And we’re not talking just pirates. Did you ever hear of the infamous Bloody Dragon?
For now, Bailey was content to see that the little ones were all gathered here. And, judging by their expressions, they were not going to leave. “Fox gave me a book about pirates: The Bloody Dragon is a sort of legend, a ship run by animals.” In the book, it was said that animals from various ships had gathered and built their own ship, with a blood-red dragon as figurehead. A ship that had run amok through the seven seas, her crew made of the fiercest creatures from the wild, and the most cunning from the human towns. A ship nobody had sunk. A ship that was told to have gathered incalculable riches before settling down to her never-discovered port…
Bailey, leading the group, kept looking around. The tunnel was tall and large enough for a bear. And the ground was deformed by…pawprints. Of all sizes and species, an uninterrupted procession of impressions preserved during the centuries. Bailey could almost smell the long-gone presences and hear the whispered voices as the creatures scurried in the dark, carrying booties, weapons, food—
This time she wasn’t brought back to reality by someone of the group behind her. This time it was the pups. They had gotten restless, again. *Sigh*, why don’t I just get hormonal like every other female, instead of seeing things?
“…retired.” Dayshaun was saying.
Bailey shook her head. “I’m sorry, Shaun, what did you just say?” At least, she hadn’t tripped or worse.
“I said that if this was the place of a river, even a subterranean one, the waters must have retired, perhaps due to an Earthquake. Like it happened with the Mississippi river. Who knows, the port may still be there, And the ship, too.”
“Were that the case,” Tarot shrugged, “Liz would’ve found her already. Right?”
Bailey kept seeing things. For a moment, she thought Liz’s eyes were glowing with their own light. Instead of reflecting the lantern’s. Right? “Oh, silly,” Liz answered. “I wasn’t looking for the ship. I didn’t want to disturb all the ghosties.”
No one took notice of Parnok getting closer to Bailey. “But…they’re gone now, are they?” The kitten asked.
“Of course not,” Liz giggled. “But they told me they were getting lonely. So I thought I’d bring along some friend. It will be fun!”
---
Coliseum Sports Center

Naos Foster felt each muscle of his body screaming for mercy.
He felt tired as if he had run a lap around Barcelona.
He was panting hard.
He was sure that he could actually break in a sweat any moment now. EW!
And he hadn’t even made his first attack!!!
It was of no consolation that the GSD pup’s twin sister, Rigel, had found as much difficult to attack him in the hope of finding one of the ‘spots’ their teacher had indicated as the body points to hit to win the match of this weird, wooden-swords sport.
Naos’ eyes stung. They had been unwaveringly fixed on Rigel, just as hers with his. She licked her lips for the umpteenth time. Naos was sure she, too, needed to drink. Badly. But he would not waver! He would not—
“Water for my little champions?” Samson, the massive St. Bernard, asked while carrying a big, large bucket filled to the brim. He had just the time to lay it down on the floor, before both pups dove into it like into a pool! They giggled, splashed and drank until their little tummies got all swollen up. Naos concluded with a burp that created a shower of bubbles.
“I didn’t think Kendo could be so hard,” Naos said, relaxing against the bucket’s rim. Rigel nodded sagely.
Sam knelt down in front of his guests. “That’s because you two were thinking about hitting your adversary. It will never work that way.” That earned him a couple of very puzzled looks.
“…And what are we supposed to think about, when we’re holding a weapon?” Rigel asked. “I mean, I’m not a brawn-atic like Mr. ‘My-papa-is-a-cop’ here,” she pointed at her brother with her thumb. “But fighting is not about pretty flowers.”
Samson looked almost saddened by those words. “Dear, of course it’s not about flowers! I’m surprised you’d consider me so superficial!”
“Sor-“ both pups were about to say…when, showing a big toothless smile, Samson quickly added, “It’s about thinking of pretty butterflies!”
Naos and Rigel groaned and facesplashed.
---
“Problems, grunt?” the black, uniformed GSD asked the half-breed who, dressed in a similar security jacket, was walking with him along the park.
“No, Sir!” Bosco Byron answered promptly…a moment before sitting down onto the grass. “I think I need some water. Sir,” he said meekly, between pants. “No disrespect, Sir, but this park is reeeeally huge. Sir.”
Hannibal Bates chuckled and went to the nearest fountain –an item the Pentagon Park wouldn’t lack of. He took one of the folding paper tiny bowls from the dispenser in the support, filled it and then handed it to Sasha and Bino’s puppy. “Yes, world’s largest private park, and it is supposed to be big, grunt: Gottschalk has planned to make it an organized sanctuary for the strays and ferals from the city. They will live here freely, should they ask to do so.”
Bosco drank avidly through the adult’s talk. Then, his snout still dripping water, he gave Hannibal a puzzled look. “But why not go to uncle Martin’s shelter, instead?”
Hannibal sat down near Bosco. He ruffled the pup’s back fur right under the jacket, eliciting a giggle. “When Mr. Foster transformed the old lager into the Lucky Charm Grove, he didn’t know about Gottschalk and his plans. As of today, the shelter still works for those animals who want or need a new human family. But this place…” his arm encompassed the immense space around them. “This place will be the home of those who don’t want the life of pets. Those who want freedom…but with benefits.” He winked at Bosco.
The puppy’s tiny tail thumped against the grass, making it rustle. “Oh! So they will live like…in a biiiig garden!” Then his expression frowned in deep thought again. “Hmm, wait. Won’t the humans be upset at having so many strays around? Papa always told me that humans dislike strays. And that they stink. The strays, not the humans: Humans smell like perfumed edible things.”
Hannibal laughed hard. “I’ll make sure to pass that to the others! Oh, but you’re a smart one, TG.” If he remembered well, that was Bosco’s nickname. “Apparently, Gottschalk has worked a plan for that as well: Not all of the strays will move here, there is another place reserved for them.”
“And is that a secret place? Like the unicorn den Mama discovered?”
“Hmm, yes. More or less. It’s a secret for now. Human thing.”
Bosco blinked a couple of times. “Humans are complicated. They won’t even sniff each other to get acquainted.”
“Heh, for being one so young, you surely know big words.”
Bosco beamed. “Thank you! I am taking lessons from Dayshaun. Yesterday I learnt the word ‘Discombombulate’.” Then he put a finger to his lips. “But don’t tell papa! He’ll get mad! He doesn’t want me to fraternize with cats. I’m getting bored, when do we get some baddie? I never bit one, do they taste foul?”
Hannibal nodded sagely “You can bet they do. I tasted a lot of them before joining security. And they all scream funny if you go for their butt.”
“I know! Papa always does that with the mailman when he brings us the bills.”
Another good-hearted laugh, the sun reflecting on Hannibal's metal teeth. No one had ever seen him in such a jolly humor. “Now I know who’s the smart one in the family! Listen, why don’t you join the junior classes at the Academy? It’s never too late to learn the basics of your future job, if you really want to be K9U.”
Like asking a kid if he wanted a free-for-all in a candy store! Bosco’s eyes lit up and almost sent out sparkles. “Can I?” he asked, torn between incredulous and happiest-puppy-in-the-world. Papa had never broken him such woooonderful news!
Hannibal nodded. “Of course you can. And bring along some friend, the more the merrier. You only need the permission of your papa and a few minor formali—“ But at that point, the li’l one had already produced his pup-sized phone and was speed-dialing Bino’s number. Hannibal heard the pup yapping excitedly, barely making out the word ‘cop’ and ‘academy’ as if those were the only words spoken…
A few moments later, Bosco handed Hannibal the phone –well, almost sticking it out into the adult dog’s ear. “Papa wants to talk to you!”
Hannibal sighed and took the device. “Officer Bates sp—“
“Thank you SO much for ruining the birthday surprise for my pup, you DOLT!” Bino must have downloaded the app that simulated the earpiece being slammed down hard, because the black GSD almost lost his ear.
Hannibal massaged his offended appendage while returning the phone to Bosco. “I guess he’s OK with it.”
Bosco didn’t listen. He was already doing more numbers.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

Aaannd back in business for good!
Sorry for this long hiatus. I think I have found a way to keep going with the ficcie as it is AND stick as much as possible to the mainstream's current events.
Thank you so much for your support, guys. Feedback is always welcome.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by villa »

for a author as good as you i would _
options
a. give up my soul
b. worship forever
c. praise till the end of the series
d. all of the above

please choose one
i strive to put more happiness into the world then i took out of it
and hope others strive to do the same.

to the speculation mobile initiate the wild mass contingency!
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

Option C will do. :mrgreen:
Thank you!
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Legotron123 »

Uh oh. Pete's getting the big guns. This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
Play The Hayseed Knight. This isn’t self promotion, I just really like the game.

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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by kavviyenta »

It's good to be back after so long. Still a fantastic read! :D

Dragon's ex, huh. I assumed you mean the one who spoke in blue text, eh?

I wonder where the last kitten Louise is.
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Obbl »

It's back! Hooray! :D
Great way to pick things up and give us a new hook (or two or three) :lol: . But come on, Pete, you gotta learn to be the bigger man... bird... thing... sometimes. :P
Are we going to see some pirate ghosts? :o Kittens are gonna be all over this :D
And of course Bosco. :lol: I'm glad he's getting a good mix of Sasha and Bino's personalities. I don't know if the world could have handled a tiny Sasha or Bino 2.0 :lol:
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

Obbl wrote:It's back! Hooray! :D
Great way to pick things up and give us a new hook (or two or three) :lol: . But come on, Pete, you gotta learn to be the bigger man... bird... thing... sometimes. :P
Are we going to see some pirate ghosts? :o Kittens are gonna be all over this :D
And of course Bosco. :lol: I'm glad he's getting a good mix of Sasha and Bino's personalities. I don't know if the world could have handled a tiny Sasha or Bino 2.0 :lol:
working on next episode. Yup, kittens gonna be happy kittens alright! :lol:
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

7.
The Kingpin, Terrace High

One floodlight turned on with a clicking sound.
Then another. And a third…and so on, until the environment was illuminated by a constellation of sparse artificial stars.
“Is it here?” Bailey asked.
“Awesome,” the purple-tailed white kitten, Parnok, said, reflecting with one word the common feelings of him, his three siblings, the wolfdog pup Mortimer and kitten Pixel.
Their walk along the presumed secret passage of a presumed long-lost animal pirate crew had brought them to Terrace High’s nuclear shelter.
A natural cave, an enormous natural cave where lay the replica of the Fulcrum, TH’s condominium.
A cave that had been transformed into a well-equipped base, with vehicles, weapons racks, a food storage area, stacks of medical products…everything hundreds of humans and pets needed to survive for a long period of time.
It gave her the creeps. Positively. The silence was like a living thing, down here. Absolute, not even the sound of insects would disturb this place. It made her feel like she was the ghost.
“And this place used to be a…pirate harbor?” Bailey asked to the cat standing next to her. Come to think of it, a cat that made look Sasha like a MENSA representative…
“Yes!” Liz answered. The cat’s arm encompassed the silent scenery. “The river and the lake are still here. Under our feet. A quake submerged them, protecting them from pollutants. They constitute the Kingpin’s fresh water reservoir. Cool, eh? Gottschalk first built this shelter, and then the Fulcrum right over it.”
Bailey blinked a couple of times. “And how do you know that?” For some reason, it seemed a lot of information to process for such a…peculiar girl.
Liz giggled. “I read the information sheet, silly.”
Facepawlm. “And I even asked…”
“Minus the pirate part, of course,” Liz quickly added.
“And who told you that? The writer of The Goonies?” Bailey asked, before remembering what they had talked about before venturing farther into the passage. “Oh, yes, the ghosts. Of course.”
Liz nodded enthusiastically. “Correct! And there they are! HI!!” She waved at someone behind Bailey.
And there they were. Bailey’s eyes widened, then she squinted and rubbed them before accepting that those were no illusion, no delusion of the mind.
Animals. Animals wearing loose garments, clothes and dresses belonging to long-gone centuries. Animals of various species from various parts of the world –a leopard, a bear, a cheetah, wolves, an eagle… Males and females, a motley crew if ever you saw one.
Animals that cast no shadow.
“What brings you here?” asked one of them, a wolf wearing the richest garment you normally saw on a Buccaneer captain. He carried no eye patch, but his left eye showed a nasty claw-inflicted scar. To Bailey, his voice sounded…natural, like a living person’s, not a ghost. She wondered if that big saber the wolf was carrying would cut as much as good as its owner was speaking.
For sure, Cap Wuff didn’s sound friendly at all. Bailey moved in front of the young ones. She could hear them holding their breath. And Liz looked like a fangirl in the presence of her idol. “We come in peace,” Bailey said with a firm voice. Living or dead, didn’t matter: You must never show fear in a confrontation. “We don’t want trouble. We’re not looking for treasures to hunt.”
The creature – no, make it entity – regarded Bailey with renewed intensity. “Then are you here for the party?”
Now that was something you rarely heard from a ghost, movies included. Was there a handbook to deal with unexpected questions from the great beyond?
For sure, Liz was nodding with such enthusiasm that Bailey could almost hear her brain banging against the inner walls of her skull.
So, what that left Bailey with? “Uhh…yes?”
The assembled ghosts erupted in a roar of a cheer!
And the past epoch took its payback! The kittens’ and the pup’s eyes lit up as the modern building, the stocks, everything brought by Man was replaced by the lost pirate den of the Bloody Dragon ship!
Bailey’s eyes took in the flood of sounds, music, the sight of the houses and the hundreds of torches, the smell of hundreds of furs and feathers and scales, the smell of the fresh water from the lake…
And there she was, in its majestic glory: A sleek ship, made to glide along the seven seas, to challenge the storms, its figurehead a red roaring dragon with its wings running like lethal razors along the ship’s flanks.
The stuff of legend, it was right in front of her eyes, the one and only ship run by animals who predated the humans’ trade routes.
And despite being this a pure manifestation of the supernatural, Bailey couldn’t help feeling…elated. Light in her heart. Honored, even.
“You are indeed a woman of courage,” the wolf captain said, with a gallant bow, pulling off his hat. “I am Keptin Ulysses Direclaw of the Bloody Dragon. And you might be, brave soul?”
Bailey noticed that now he would cast a shadow. “Uhh…Bailey Lindberg. Honored. I guess?” And then she saw the kittens and Mortimer running around, joining the party. Parnok was actually exchanging mock blows with a one-eyed lynx!
Instincts told Bailey to look out, culture told her that all of this was wrong, that she was dealing with forces beyond her comprehension…But at the same time, she felt like she belonged. This was a safe place.
“And it is, mama,” someone said. Someone with the sweetest familiar voice she could ever hear.
The voice of a male puppy dog with her fur pattern and the same collar that her corgi husband wore. And the piece of chess hanging from it. “Rook…” she said. Her puppy, her still unborn son.
Bailey just did what was natural: She got down on her knees and hugged him, feeling solid flesh in her arms. “My sweet son…” and then she felt two more pair of arms around her. The sweetest contact for any mother in the world.
“Believe it, mama,” Lira said as she kept hugging Bailey together with her twin sister Mackenzie, both the spit images of their corgi dad.
“These ones are friends,” Lira added. “They won’t harm you guys.”
If this was a dream, she didn’t want to—
“Don’t make certain wishes,” a new voice admonished her. Bailey frowned and raised her head, meeting the friendly expression of a pet cat. She looked real enough, for how much the word made sense down here. And she looked well groomed and sported a modern collar. “They have a tendency to realize themselves, given the proper…circumstances. Oh, I am Morrigan, Liz’s ghost friend. Hi!” She waved her paw and then ruffled Lira’s head fur. “I can feel their vitality, it’s like a star burning bright. I never had the occasion to conceive before my passing. Tough tail.”
Bailey stood up. “I’m sorry. But...” her arm encompassed the scene. “How is this possible? How come no one ever knew?”
Morrigan chuckled. “You know what they say: Takes one to tell one. I perceived them and Liz found the passage. Mortals just can’t see what they can’t perceive.”
Yup, silly question was silly alright. “And…the party? I never heard of ghosts whose purpose was to have a jolly good time. No offense, Captain,” she hurried to add.
“Arr, none taken!” He laughed, his paws held against his large leather belt. “This be the place where our bones lay, well hidden from prying eyes. We elected ourselves as eternal guardians of our earthly remains…but even guardians need some good ol’ jolly time. And just having living critters at our home makes this party a special one! Just as your pretty friend promised.” He walked to Liz, and took her paw in his. “Care for a dance, milady? I’d ask ma’m, but she’s married with youn’ ‘uns, and I’m still an ol’ gentlepirate!”
Liz *squeee*d her teeth out and joined Direclaw in a waltz.
“Can I have the honor, ma’m?” Rook offered with a perfect bow. “I’ll be gentle. Gentlepup’s promise.”
Bailey decided just to let her worries slip away. Keeping any wish strictly in check, focusing only on every detail she would later tell King, she started dancing.
Lira and Mac ran respectively to Dayshaun and Parnok. “Hi!” Lira said. “We know you can see us every time. You are Peanut and Grape’s natural kittens.” “Awesome!” Mac said. “We can’t wait to be born to play with you!”
“Hmph, girls can’t play boys games!” Parnok said, and waved his candy sword at the two. “Beware, witches! Keptin Parnok will feed ya to dem sharkies!”
Lira and Mac just exchanged a grin. Then, like twin bolts, they almost ran over Dayshaun and were all over Parnok. “GAK! NO! GET OFFA ME! NO TONGUEBATH! DOG DROOL AAAAA!!!”
“You’ll be my boyfriend!” both puppies said, sharing the poor kitten in a mighty hug. Dayshaun was sure he was hearing bones creaking!
“Shaun…help…”

Bailey felt the kicks in her tummy and stopped dancing. She patted herself gently. “Don’t stress yourselves, children, hm?”
“They will take that from you,” Rook said. “I am more like papa. I like…pondering.”
Bailey sighed. “Don’t I know it! Kingy always think things so many times that I fear he’ll grow old before deciding to open a pickles jar.
“Are you still comfortable with so many spoilers about us?”
Bailey took her pup’s paws and resumed the dance. “That’s a typical question your father would put. And the answer is no. The more I know about you, the happier I am, the better I can do in raising you.”

“Did you work with the Dragon’s crew?” the entirely purple female kitten asked in her usual phlegmatic tone. Next to Tarot, Pixel too was crouching by the lake’s edge where a few dolphin heads would stick out the water.
The closest dolphin nodded. <We used to,> it said through mindvoice. <We explored the waters, found the best preys, warn the crew of the traps. Stupid humans never got us. They controlled their tiny dryland realms, we were everywhere.>
“And that’s why no one ever found you,” Pixel…said. With a real voice, coming as if she was never born mute! “You always knew where to find the right harbor! Cool! And I love talking, I could never stop talking. How come you’re always so quiet, Tarot? You waste words! Speaking is so fun! I could speak forever, even in my sleep! Is it true that you dolphins sleep with half brain? I’d love to sleep with half brain so that I could keep talking with the other half! Can you teach me? Can you?”
Tarot had a sudden image of Pixel and Sasha exchanging a thick conversation during a walk, their words flooding the park all around them…
“You look green, Tarot” Pixel said. “Funny. And to think that green is such a healthy color, it’s the color of nature. Even algae are green. Mighty dragons are green. You should repaint your ship…”
<Does she ever stop to breathe?> one of the dolphins asked. The others were quietly retreating under the water.
Before Tarot could answer, a Tarzan-like howl came from the masts of the Dragon!
A puppy howl.
Mortimer!
Many drunk sailors were cheering at the black pup, as, a thick rope in his paws, their ‘star’ was getting in position for a jump!
It was one of those moments in which Tarot genuinely feared for her friend, and showed it! “Should anything happen to him while in this realm…”
“Sooo brave,” was the comment of Pixel. She had little hearts in her eyes. “I want his puppies.”

Bailey was definitely less happy! In fact, her whole life passed in front of her. She was responsible for the little ones, and Mortimer in particular was the son of Celestia the wolf and the dog Antares. They would turn her into noodles, preggie or not—
But it was too late! Mortimer jumped! The crowd cheered. And the husky/malamute canine found herself staring in awe at how naturally the pup was using the rope to jump to the nearest rope like Tarzan with the liana, not without adding a somersault in mid-air to add to his own momentum, and then back again from where he started. A circus artist couldn’t have done better. The black-furred daredevil also put himself in a pose, with arms outstretched and flashing a dazzling grin. “Ta-DAAH!”
The pirate crowd went wild.
Bailey kept caressing her tummy. “Kids, don’t take it on me should I deliver you quite early.”
“By the dragon’s tail!” Direclaw exclaimed. “I wish that brave flying fish joined our crew in our time!”
Bailey sat down on a makeshift bench. A female cheetah handed her a piece of what looked like bread. She distractedly thanked and waved the offer away, welcoming the mundane nausea that came with her condition. “I wish to know how come you act this…friendly. The book I read described you, well, quite different from what I see.”
The cheetah chuckled, just like any other phantom within earshot. Captain Direclaw just shrugged and sat down next to his guest. “Milady, admittedly I’m no gentleman and admittedly we did do things that would make your stomach churn, but you find me a book where pirates are described in flattering words and I’ll show ye a book written by a mad drunkard.”
Good point. “So, what is true and what is false about you lot?”
Another shrug. “Meh. I don’t think we got all the time in the blue world to go into details of all our adventures. Suffices you t’know that we never sunk a ship: By law of the Sea, we respect those who fare its waves. We always hit hard those who dared to oppose us, and I have collected one many human skull whenever I found clues of torment inflicted to our brethren…But all them riches we collected? Not one doubloon we kept for ourselves, other than the necessary to buy what we needed to sail on and for the families of our brethren.” The wolf grinned. “Eventually, our enemies painted us as a bunch of sea monsters, which was all welcomed because this way they’d take it on us only and not with our friends on land. And we had a lot of them.”
“I see. And is the ship…still here?”
“Yes, and no. Y’see, eventually all good things come to an end. Humans developed better ships, better armed, even faster than our lady Dragon. That, and they were spreading everywhere, our safer harbors stopped being such.” He let out a sad sigh. “It was the curtain for the pirates era. And we chose to go with our dignity intact. Not one of us had ever betrayed its mates. Not one of us had been captured and detained by our enemies. We were going to go on our own terms, just like we had promised when we the first crew had assembled.
“We sailed here, following a river, and went as far as possible so that no one would find our ship. We settled down and spent some time and the last of our resources exploring the land and its inhabitants. We decided that some of us would just settle for life, giving them a chance to prosper and carry on our future and our good name. The other ones, the ones from the original crew, and those who didn’t belong to that land, would follow the Bloody Dragon’s destiny.”
Bailey was almost afraid to ask, though she had a fair idea of what that ‘destiny’ was…
“Yes, I had the honor of Christening her, launching her, and setting her ablaze with us all aboard. Those who were left made sure that what hadn’t burned would be used for our coffins and here we now lay.” Direclaw patted the rocky ground. “It’s ironic that the humans who came to build their sanctuary chose this place, but at least they showed respect when they discovered our graveyard. They built a whole new floor level over the lake an’ over our resting place, so that we would never be disturbed again.”
Which explained why there was no trace of the subterranean lake, Bailey thought. And no trace of local life. Everything was scurrying and thriving under the Kingpin. Gottschalk had surely gone various length to respect the pirates’ sleep…
“But what happened to the others?” Bailey asked the grizzled wolf. “I mean, did they ever come back and…err, talk to you or whatever?”
Direclaw shook his head. “Nay, they had one last and definitive order: Never to come back, just live on and make the best of their new life. Our den was safe and that’s all what mattered. The dolphins kept guard until their last breath.”
“I thought you deserved to go to Paradise or…wherever a soul goes,” Bailey observed.
Another one of those enigmatic smiles. “Brawn’n’Brains, I admire that in a woman. You coulda been a great mate.
“But yes, when the Powers-that-be offered us to walk the stairway to Heaven, someone else offered us the chance to stay here. Waiting for the moment the Bloody Dragon would be setting sails again for one last, glorious voyage. And since mortal time holds no meaning to us, we are waiting for the word from our ally, an’ that shall be the day our glorious ship’s name will be forever inscribed in modern history as we—“
“MA-MA!” Ok, it did feel weird to have your pup shouting in your ear and kicking your innards at the same time.
Direclaw stood up. “Ah, but look at ol’ me! Still trying to court a lady instead of showin’ respect.”
Bailey stood up as well. “It’s alright, captain. I don’t get often to live an experience like this. Now it’s time for some wrestling.” She turned toward Rook, grinning widely. “Ain’t your mama right?”
“YAY!”
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Brendmar
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Brendmar »

Great stuff as always Val, here to MANY more to come!
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Cerberusx
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by Cerberusx »

They ain't afraid of no ghosts! XD

*bricked*
"Living is Hard Dying is Easy"

"The longer you stare into the abyss, the hard it is to find a reasons to turn back."
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villa
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by villa »

you spoil us with your quick updates val
in other words thank you!
i strive to put more happiness into the world then i took out of it
and hope others strive to do the same.

to the speculation mobile initiate the wild mass contingency!
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valerio
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

villa wrote:you spoil us with your quick updates val
in other words thank you!
I can say, my pleasure kind reader^^
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herobrineharry
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by herobrineharry »

I post this from the depths of page 35.

There never was, or shall be, anything but this unending tale. It is eternal.
I cannot stop.
And I shall not.
All hail Valerio, greatest fanfic writer of our age.
Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho'(though) the soldiers knew
  Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
  Rode the six hundred.
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villa
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by villa »

herobrineharry wrote:I post this from the depths of page 35.

There never was, or shall be, anything but this unending tale. It is eternal.
I cannot stop.
And I shall not.
All hail Valerio, greatest fanfic writer of our age.
ALL HAIL VALERIO ALL HAIL
in all seriousness your fanfic is better written then most novels i read
including the all-mighty hitch hikers guide to the galaxy
but for now so long and thanks for all the fish
i strive to put more happiness into the world then i took out of it
and hope others strive to do the same.

to the speculation mobile initiate the wild mass contingency!
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valerio
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by valerio »

herobrineharry wrote:I post this from the depths of page 35.

There never was, or shall be, anything but this unending tale. It is eternal.
I cannot stop.
And I shall not.
All hail Valerio, greatest fanfic writer of our age.
yay, so 24 more pages to go so far.
I better hurry then, before you catch up with me :lol:
Thank you guys. I'll try and live up to such praises :D
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villa
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Re: HOUSEPETS! THE SERIES Official Thread

Post by villa »

valerio wrote:
herobrineharry wrote:I post this from the depths of page 35.

There never was, or shall be, anything but this unending tale. It is eternal.
I cannot stop.
And I shall not.
All hail Valerio, greatest fanfic writer of our age.
yay, so 24 more pages to go so far.
I better hurry then, before you catch up with me :lol:
Thank you guys. I'll try and live up to such praises :D
you already have
but feel free to go above and beyond
i strive to put more happiness into the world then i took out of it
and hope others strive to do the same.

to the speculation mobile initiate the wild mass contingency!
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